Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 79 I Want Egg Fried Rice
After finishing lunch, Ye Jiayao gathered Zhong Xiang, Deng Haichuan, Wang Mingde and Cui Dongpeng and ran to a small teahouse outside to hold a meeting.

She couldn't prepare such a grand banquet by herself, so she had to bring an assistant.

Ye Jiayao had her own considerations for choosing these four people.

Zhong Xiang is more well-rounded, but Ye Jiayao wants him to focus on pastries. Deng Haichuan is responsible for checking and selecting ingredients. Wang Mingde is good at preparing various soups. It is said that he has studied vegetarian cooking, and Xiao Jingjing told her that the old princess is a Buddhist and a vegetarian. As for Cui Dongpeng, he is very hardworking and has good knife skills.

Of course, the most important thing is that these four people have a good relationship with her. For such a big event, you must find someone close to you.

Ye Jiayao talked about the birthday party: "When the time comes, I want to invite you all to come together. If we can open up the situation at once, I believe more people will come to invite us in the future. Now, the opportunity is here. Just give me a word, do you want to go or not?"

The four of them said in unison, "Go." without exchanging any words.

There was excitement on everyone's face.

This kind of good thing would have been unthinkable in the past. The chef has his own team, and outsiders have no way of getting involved. It's rare that Brother Yao is alone and is willing to cultivate them, so there's no reason for him to be unwilling, unless he's a fool.

Deng Haichuan said: "Brother Yao, just tell us what you want us to do, and we promise not to delay or retreat."

Wang Mingde and Cui Dongpeng nodded vigorously.

Zhong Xiang said: "Li Yao, we will follow you."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Okay, since everyone is willing, let's do it together, but I have to say this first. This matter can only succeed and not fail. Everyone must work hard. I will clearly divide the work. Whoever fails will not have another chance next time."

Zhong Xiang said: "We have been given this opportunity. If we don't cherish it, then we will be making a mistake. Li Yao, don't worry, we will all do our best."

"Then it's settled. I will prepare the menu tomorrow and submit it to the Helian Palace for review. Once it's approved, everyone will start preparing immediately. Also, until the menu at the palace is finalized, keep it confidential for the time being."

Everyone nodded: "I know."

Afterwards, Ye Jiayao went back to Lai Fu Inn to get her booklet, her secret to success.

She had already seen the menu that Xiao Jingjing had given her for Zhao Qixuan's old lady's birthday banquet last year. It was made by Fu Ji and was no different from other birthday banquets, except that there were more dishes and they were a bit more expensive. As expected, the menu in the Manchu-Han Banquet was more detailed and well-matched. Now all she had to do was to modify some of the Manchu dishes that southerners were not used to.

Then I walked around the street and went to a dried fruit and candied fruit shop and bought a big bag of things.

"Brother Yao, are you going to buy these to take back as snacks?" The follower Song Qi's task today was to help Ye Jiayao carry things.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Would you like to have a double knock tonight and eat and play at the same time?"

Song Qi's eyes lit up: "Okay, okay, the prince is not on duty today, but we are still short of someone. It doesn't matter, it's not easy to find someone."

Ye Jiayao looked up at the sky speechlessly. She didn't want to play with Chunyu.

"I'm just kidding, but you can eat these. By the way, which bakery in Jinling has the best cakes?"

Song Qi thought without hesitation: "Baiweizhai, apart from the cakes made in the imperial kitchen, this is the best, and the price is not cheap."

"Let's go to Baiweizhai." Ye Jiayao wanted to get a feel for the cakes on the market. She wanted to know how good they were so that she could have a standard to measure them.

The two went to Baiweizhai again. They bought some pea yellow, lotus seed cake, osmanthus cake, walnut cake, water chestnut cake, thousand-layer oil cake, etc., and packed them into a big bag.

Ye Jiayao wanted to pay, and Song Qi took out the silver and gave it to the waiter.

"Song Qi, I'll do it myself." Ye Jiayao asked the waiter to return the silver to Song Qi.

Song Qi said with a smile: "Brother Yao, it doesn't matter if I come. Besides, you bought so much, I guess most of it will end up in my stomach."

In fact, when Ye Jiayao took out her wallet in the dried fruit shop, Song Qi saw that she was not well off. Anyway, the prince had given him money, saying that Miss Ye could buy whatever she needed.

Ye Jiayao couldn't snatch the money from him, and the two of them pushing and shoving each other was not a good look, so she had no choice but to let him pay.

Having bought so many things, they didn't need to worry about dinner. They went straight to Ruyi Inn. Song Qi asked the waiter to make a pot of Dahongpao tea, and then they started to unpack and eat.

When Xia Chunyu arrived at the inn, he saw the two of them feasting in the room, with the table full of dried fruits, candied fruits and pastries.

Song Qi felt relieved when he saw the prince coming. As a grown man, he really couldn't get used to these sweet and greasy things. The most terrible thing was that every time he ate something, Miss Ye would ask him how it tasted? What were the advantages and disadvantages? He would just swallow it whole and forget about it. How could he know what the advantages and disadvantages were? Then Miss Ye would ask him to eat more and he had to say something to pass the test. He was almost fed up and fed up.

"My Lord, you are here. Please sit down. I will make you some tea." Song Qi left quickly.

"Song Qi, come back quickly and continue, it's not finished yet!" Ye Jiayao shouted.

Song Qi ran away even faster. He would not come back until the prince took over.

Xia Chunyu frowned and asked in confusion: "Not finished yet? What are you doing?"

Ye Jiayao pointed at the small notebook in her hand and said, "I'm doing research. Xiaojing's grandmother's birthday banquet has been assigned to me. I have to study which dried fruit and candied fruit snacks to use and see if there are any improvements that can be made. I must make sure that I have what others don't have and that I am better than others."

Xia Chunyu was surprised and asked, "Xiao Jing asked you to organize the birthday banquet? Will Helian Xuan agree to it?"

This is no joke. Hosting a birthday banquet is not just about cooking a few tables of dishes. It involves many aspects. Can Yaoyao do it? Ye Jiayao narrowed her eyes and smiled, and said proudly: "If Helian Xuan doesn't nod, will Xiaojing dare to let me do it?"

"Hey, don't look so unbelievable, don't you think I'm not capable?"

Xia Chunyu looked at her big, blinking eyes, which were filled with a sinister threat. For the sake of safety, he decided not to attack her.

"Then do your best. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, I have!"

Xia Chunyu was stunned. So satisfying?
Ye Jiayao's smile became even brighter, and she pointed at the table full of food: "Help me eat."

Xia Chunyu frowned, he seldom ate snacks.

"Come here, try this pea yellow and lotus seed cake. Which one do you think is better? How does it compare to what you have eaten in the palace or made at home?" Ye Jiayao handed over the cakes enthusiastically.

Looking at her expectant eyes and beautiful smile, Xia Chunyu's heart began to beat fast. Did this mean that she was no longer angry with him and that the storm had passed and the sky was clearing up?
So he happily took the cake.

"How about it?"

"The pea yellow is very delicate and melts in your mouth. It has a strong bean flavor, but it's a little sweet. You'll get sick of it if you eat too much. As for the lotus cake... it has the fragrance of lotus seeds and is sweet and smooth. The only drawback is that it's steamed too tender and not flexible enough. Overall, it's still good. This should have been bought from Baiweizhai!" Xia Chunyu said.

Ye Jiayao thought to herself that the prince was, after all, cultured and tasteful, and his evaluation was very accurate, unlike that rough man Song Qi, who ate a lot but couldn't say anything other than whether it was delicious or not.

"You have a keen sense of taste. It was indeed bought from Baiweizhai. Song Qi said that Baiweizhai is the best in Jinling City." Ye Jiayao said while taking notes.

"You're doomed if you listen to him. Baiweizhai is just an old brand with a great reputation. In fact, Juxiangyuan's is better than this. Take the pea yellow for example, Juxiangyuan's is light yellow in color, which is more pleasing, and it tastes sweet, cool and refreshing." Xia Chunyu said.

Ye Jiayao raised her eyes: "I thought he was so sure about what he said that it was true."

"The owner of Juxiang Garden was originally a pastry chef in the imperial kitchen." Xia Chunyu said.

Ye Jiayao suddenly realized: "No wonder it's so powerful, I must go try it tomorrow."

"Come on, try this osmanthus cake again."

Xia Chunyu reluctantly ate another piece: "The sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance is not strong enough. The sweet-scented osmanthus used should be from last year. In fact, the best time to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cake is when the osmanthus flowers are in full bloom. At that time, the sweet-scented osmanthus cakes mostly use newly picked osmanthus flowers, which are especially fragrant."

Ye Jiayao said with a sigh, "I think you have the potential to be a gourmet."

Xia Chunyu raised his eyebrows, glanced at her, and said proudly: "That's right, if you mix all the cakes from various families in Jinling City together, I can taste which one is made."

Ye Jiayao curled her lips and boasted.

After eating seven or eight pieces of cakes, Xia Chunyu began to feel unbearable. Then he remembered that Song Qi said to make tea. Where's the tea?
Even if I go up the mountain to pick them, I will bring them back.

Xia Chunyu reached out to take Ye Jiayao's tea and drink it.

"Hey, this is what I drank." Ye Jiayao stopped him from taking it.

Xia Chunyu said casually: "We have already kissed, what does it matter if you drank the tea? I don't dislike you."

Ye Jiayao's face turned red, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Thank you for not disliking it, but I do."

Xia Chunyu said angrily, "Hey, I helped you eat so much, and you won't let me drink water. Do you want me to choke to death?"

Ye Jiayao felt a little embarrassed when she heard him say that. She only broke off a small piece of each cake and was tired of eating them. He must have eaten so much that he must have felt uncomfortable.

"Didn't Song Qi go to make tea for you?" Ye Jiayao muttered.

Xia Chunyu said angrily, "Do you think he really went to make tea? He must have been afraid that you would catch him to taste it again, so he slipped away. It was me who gritted my teeth and held on until now, but you didn't even give me a drink of water."

"Take it, take it. I'll give it all to you. I'll go get another cup myself." Ye Jiayao got up and went to order tea.

Xia Chunyu said, "Don't shout. I haven't had dinner yet. I'm full of cakes. Come with me to eat something to suppress the smell. Otherwise, I'm going to vomit."

"It's so late, go eat by yourself, it's time for you to go home." Anyway, the food tasting was over, so he could leave.

Xia Chunyu pointed out the window and said, "Didn't you hear the heavy rain outside? I didn't come here by carriage. Let's talk about it after the rain stops."

Ye Jiayao thought about it and it made sense. In fact, Ye Jiayao also wanted to eat something else, but it was raining outside and she didn’t have rain boots these days, so she walked in the wet and felt uncomfortable.

Then he said, "How about I go downstairs and ask the waiter if I can use their kitchen to make something to eat?"

Xia Chunyu thought about it and said reluctantly: "Just make some fried rice!"

The first thing Yaoyao made for him was fried rice. The taste is still fresh in his memory.

(End of this chapter)