Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 588: Qing Dynasty Banquet
On the fifth day of the New Year, He Daqing brought the food and two children to Grandma Jinhua's place. He Daqing was a well-mannered man, so he came to greet Grandma Jinhua a day in advance. Grandma Jinhua said that she was old and didn't want to go out of the yard anymore, so if anyone was interested, he could just cook a meal for her at home.

Wang Wenyuan came back from outside in the evening. When he returned to his grandmother's place, he saw He Daqing and his son busy in the kitchen. Wang Wenyuan went up to say hello.

He Daqing put down the work in his hands and said, "I was worried that you wouldn't come back. The food will be ready soon. Let's drink together."

"Okay, Uncle Daqing. Wow, Sha Zhu finally smiled. Not bad, very good." Wang Wenyuan was talking to He Daqing and saw Sha Zhu smiling at him.

Sha Zhu said: "Brother Yuanzi, I have figured it out. I don't blame my father, and I also thank you for taking care of my sister."

"That's right. People should look forward. You have grown up. Don't worry, our whole family will treat He Yushui as a relative. You can come often when you have nothing to do." Wang Wenyuan said.

"Okay!" Sha Zhu answered happily. Wang Wenyuan nodded at He Daqing and went into the main house. There were only Grandma Jinhua and her two children in the main house. It seemed that the two mothers should be in the restaurant.

Granny Jinhua said, "How is it? Have you sent it back to your Grandpa Zhang?"

"Sent her back and asked her to stay for two more days, but he said he would not stay any longer. He really cares about his unfilial female disciple." Wang Wenyuan shook his head.

Granny Jinhua said, "Blind Zhang is the inheritor of Baixi. Now he is old, and the only inheritor has gone to learn Peking opera. He is afraid that the inheritance will be broken before he dies. How can he not keep an eye on it?"

Wang Wenyuan knew the reason, so he didn't stop the old man. Wang Wenyuan took He Yushui's hand and said, "Yushui, are you ready?"

After experiencing this Spring Festival, He Yushui seemed to understand things and said, "Brother Yuan, don't worry, I'm ready. If you don't believe me, I'll take you to my room to have a look."

"Okay, let's go." After saying that, Wang Wenyuan picked up his sister with one hand, took He Yushui's hand with the other, and ran towards He Yushui's house.

Wang Wenyuan went to see what was missing from the house and buy it when the time came.

He Yushui's room was an annex on the north side. When he opened the door, he saw an antique shelf opposite the door. There was nothing on it except a few exquisite porcelain pots. He Yushui pointed at the pots and said, "Mother Feng said that we should plant flowers in pots in spring and put them on the shelf."

Wang Wenyuan said, "It's a good idea. Who came up with it?"

He Yushui smiled and said, "Mother Feng."

Turn right after entering the door, there is a kang by the window, against the north wall are two large carved wardrobes, and further in, against the east wall is a dressing table. Behind the antique shelf is an independent small space with a desk and a combined bookshelf. There are only a few scattered books on it now, and it seems that they were moved in by He Yushui.

The curtains were made of red floral cloth, and a wolfskin mattress was spread on the kang. Wang Wenyuan did not look into the wardrobe, thinking that He Yushui's clothes had already been put in. After taking a look around, Wang Wenyuan always felt that something was missing.

After another round, Wang Wenyuan asked, "Yushui, where are your bedding?"

He Yushui shook Wang Wenyuan's hand and said, "Mother Feng said that I am still young and I sleep with her now."

Wang Wenyuan laughed and said, "After all the fuss, why don't you live here? This is the house prepared for the older He Yushui."

Wang Wenyuan was playing with the two little girls in the room when Mother Feng called out from outside, "Yuanzi, it's time to eat."

"Coming." Wang Wenyuan took the two maids out and went straight to the restaurant.

Wang Wenyuan was surprised when he saw the table full of dishes when he entered the restaurant. He thought it was just a simple home-cooked meal, but Chef He made it so fancy. Many of the dishes were unfamiliar to Wang Wenyuan. The two little girls were a little excited and felt that they must eat a lot today. Sha Zhu was also very excited because he learned a lot of cooking skills from his father.

Granny Jinhua looked at the dishes and said, "Daqing, I'm sorry to have cost you so much, but the Tan family's dishes are really as good as they are said to be."

"Madam, thank you for your praise. I have only learned 60% to 70%. I still have to learn the authentic ones from the Tan family." He Daqing said modestly.

Granny Jinhua said, "Okay, today is a family dinner, so don't be polite. Come on, pick up your chopsticks. Yuanzi, have a drink with your uncle Daqing."

There is Moutai liquor on the table, which Hua’s mother bought specially in the morning.

Wang Wenyuan filled He Daqing's cup, then said to Sha Zhu, "Can you drink?"

"You have to drink it even if you can't. It's Maozi. I've only heard of it but this is the first time I've seen it." Sha Zhu's face was covered with wrinkles from laughing.

Wang Wenyuan poured him another glass, poured himself a glass, and then handed the bottle to Hua Mama, who could also drink from it.

While drinking, Sha Zhu introduced the dishes to Wang Wenyuan, and He Daqing did not stop him. It seemed that he was very confident in his son's cooking skills.

It was Wang Wenyuan's first time to eat Tan's cuisine. The braised abalone was the most outstanding dish on the entire banquet. Although supplies are becoming more abundant now, abalone, especially with three heads, is still rare in the market. Although Tan's cuisine emphasizes precious ingredients such as abalone, cucumber, shark's fin, and bird's nest, this was the only dish He Daqing could find.

The rest are very common Tan family dishes, including white fungus vegetarian stew, shrimp and water bamboo, three-fresh monkey head, steamed mandarin fish, braised duck in rice wine, and boiled cabbage, and the rest are a few common side dishes.

Granny Jinhua had eaten bird's-egg fin banquets before, and she was curious about where all these rare ingredients came from. Sha Zhu said bluntly, "These were all collected from Fengze Garden by my master, even the soup stock."

He Daqing's old face turned red, he glared at Sha Zhu and said, "A few brothers heard that they wanted to invite you to dinner, so we all got together."

Granny Jinhua didn't say anything, just said: "Thank you for being so thoughtful. Thank you fellow apprentices for me. By the way, Daqing, from today on, don't mention Tan's cuisine in anything you do or say. It's taboo now."

Wang Wenyuan was also very surprised when he heard what Grandma Jinhua said. His grandmother knew everything about the world just by sitting in the house.

He Daqing thought about it carefully and realized it was true. He glanced at Sha Zhu and decided to give his silly son some careful instructions when he got home.

Everyone was satisfied with the meal. After the meal, Sha Zhu took the two children and left the table. The two mothers also went out.

Granny Jinhua asked, "When are you leaving?"

He Daqing said, "Madam, I plan to leave on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. I have already told the children about it."

"Okay, you can just leave He Yushui with me without worry. I have taught at least eight hundred women in my lifetime, so don't worry." Granny Jinhua said.

He Daqing's expressionless face was filled with joy, and he said, "Madam's name is well-known throughout the city. This is the blessing of Yu Shui. Thank you."

The three of them chatted about some things that had happened before. He Daqing also talked about the character of the people in that courtyard, which gave Wang Wenyuan a deeper understanding. As night fell, the family dinner was over, and He Yushui finally stayed at the old lady's house.

(End of this chapter)