Border Cook

"Okay." He Shunzi nodded repeatedly. "Besides, I have another thing I want to talk to Madam Xia about, but I'll just talk to Madam Xia about it. Madam Xia will just forget about it. I've already made my words clear, and I guess Madam Xia probably doesn't agree with it."

"It's just that the steward Fu of Dexin Garden thought that the rice dumplings, ice jelly, jelly, and now the snow skin mooncakes that you made before, Madam Xia, were all delicious, so he wanted me to ask Madam Xia if she would like to work as a cook in Dexin Garden."

"I had already told Manager Fu at the time that Madam Xia was very busy and had her own business, so she would definitely not agree. It was already a refusal, but I thought it would be better to tell Madam Xia about this matter."

"But Manager Fu didn't say much after hearing that. He just said, Madam Xia, if you make any new food in the future, please pay more attention to it. If you think it's good, buy some for them to try."

Xia Mingyue nodded slightly after hearing this, "I really don't want to be a cook in someone else's house, but I can put more thought into making fresh food in the future."

Seeing that there was at least a sequel, He Shunzi was immediately delighted. "Then I'll have to trouble Madam Xia to take care of me in the future. I'll come to Madam Xia more often. If there's anything good, I can report it to you, and Madam Xia can also make more money."

"That's the truth." Xia Mingyue nodded with a smile.

After the matter was settled, He Shunzi did not stay long and drove the ox cart back.

Xia Mingyue began to busy herself with purchasing raw materials and continued to make some snow skin mooncakes.

Remembering what He Shunzi had just said about making more food, Xia Mingyue thought about it and bought some white sesame seeds, preparing to fry some crispy sesame leaves.

Hemp leaves can be divided into sweet and salty flavors.

For a sweet taste, add some white sugar when kneading flour and eggs. After mixing, roll it into a large piece of uniform thickness, cut it into three-inch and one-inch long strips, and then make a two-inch long slit in the middle.

Fold one end of the hemp leaf in from the middle opening and then take it out, you can get a hemp leaf embryo that is shaped somewhat like a twisted dough stick.

Put the fish into the pan at 60% hot oil and fry until the surface is golden. After taking out and draining the oil, Xia Mingyue brushed a little honey on the surface to enhance the flavor.

The final flavoring can also be replaced by syrup, but the taste will be too sweet and not as sweet and delicious as honey, but it does not feel greasy at all and tastes better.

The steps for making and frying salty hemp leaves are the same, except that salt is used instead of sugar when kneading the dough.

But in order to make the salty fried dough twist taste richer, Xia Mingyue added a little extra pepper powder. The fried dough twist made in this way has the taste of pepper and salt, light salty fragrance, and slight numbness. You will never feel sick of it no matter how you eat it.

Taking into account that Madam He came from a high family and her usual pastries were mostly sweet, Xia Mingyue only put a small amount of sweet ingredients when packing the hemp leaves, and most of them were salty hemp leaves with a pepper and salt flavor.

He Shunzi, who came excitedly to get the snow skin mooncakes the next day, was even more delighted when he learned that Xia Mingyue had prepared other food. However, when he saw that Xia Mingyue had prepared fried hemp leaves, the bright light in his eyes dimmed a little.

He took one of them and chewed it first. The crispy and delicious taste spread in his mouth and went straight to the top of his head. He Shunzi immediately said "Hmm?"

But he was still a little unsure, so he asked tentatively, "Madam Xia, are these fried hemp leaves prepared for Dexin Garden?"

Is it really not a snack for He Shunzi?
After all, fried hemp leaves are a food that ordinary farmers make.

Most farmers live a tight life, so their children don't have many snacks to eat on weekdays. Only when the cooked oil at home runs out, will they fry some hemp leaves for the children to satisfy their cravings.

But this fried hemp leaves are not available on a daily basis, and can only be had during festivals. At that time, the children are the happiest, holding the hemp leaves high in their hands and stuffing their mouths full of the crispy and fragrant taste.

However, this crispy fragrance is only for farmers. Even though the crispy hemp leaves made by Lady Xia taste very good, He Shunzi is a little worried that it is only for him.

Madam He must have eaten a lot of delicious food. How could she be so appreciative of such ordinary hemp leaves?

He Shunzi was unsure.

Especially when he sent food to Dexin Garden before, it was originally for the purpose of showing filial piety to those people related to him. As for whether the old lady likes it, that would be great, but if she doesn't, that doesn't matter either. After all, it didn't delay his business.

But now he was going to buy food specifically for the old lady, and He Shunzi felt quite stressed.

"It's for Dexin Garden." Seeing He Shunzi's complicated expression, Xia Mingyue guessed his worries at the moment and smiled, "Don't worry, the old lady will like it."

Older people, who come from wealthy families, have probably eaten more delicious food than they have ever eaten rice, so they are not short of delicious food.

For them, the most delicious things are often the first time they try them, or things that remain in their memory.

Fried hemp leaves are a common food, and not one that is worthy of being served on the table. Old Madam He may not be able to eat them on a regular basis, and even if she can eat them occasionally, it is probably many years since she last had one.

No matter which one it is, Xia Mingyue is confident that she can capture Madam He's stomach with this simple fried hemp leaves.

Seeing Xia Mingyue so confident, He Shunzi felt a little relieved and just responded, "Then I'll send it first."

As for whether Madam He likes it or not, let’s just leave it to fate!
With this attitude, He Shunzi left with a lot on his mind.

Zhao Dahu, who was chewing on sweet hemp leaves, tilted his head and said, "This hemp leaf is so delicious, why does it seem like Uncle Shunzi doesn't agree with it?"

"Maybe he's worried that the old lady he mentioned won't like it." Zhao Erhu said.

"Even if she is an old lady from a wealthy family, she wouldn't dislike this hemp leaf." Zhao Dahu was still puzzled. "Could it be that the taste buds of wealthy people are damaged?"

Zhao Erhu, "..."

Never mind. I can’t explain it to you clearly.

"Or is it that the old lady from a wealthy family doesn't like this on a daily basis and only feels satisfied when she eats fried crispy meat every day?" Zhao Dahu asked.

Zhao Erhu, "..."

After thinking about it, Zhao Erhu asked, "Let me put it this way. If you were asked to eat fried hemp leaves and fried crispy meat every day, would you still think these two things are delicious?"

"It's delicious!" Zhao Dahu answered very straightforwardly and confidently, even glancing at Zhao Erhu, "Could it be that you are questioning Aunt Xia's cooking skills?"

Zhao Erhu, "..."

I feel like I've fallen into a pit! (End of this chapter)