self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 100

King Ning rebelled, King Xiaoyao County recommended talented people, and the emperor made an exception to promote a white-clothed Wu Xiao as his lieutenant general to follow Yue Jintang to the south to quell the chaos. This incident has become the biggest news in Beijing recently.

People were discussing that they didn't even think about the Dragon Boat Festival, but it was different in Anfu. No matter what happened outside, the solar terms in Anfu had to be celebrated step by step, and it had to be extraordinarily lively.

Especially, now in the capital, Mannia passed the gate again, so she couldn't be negligent. Early in the morning, Anyuan led people to sweep the courtyard, hang moxa branches, sprinkle realgar water and use calamus, mugwort leaves, durian flowers, garlic, dragon boat flowers, Make them into human or tiger shapes, and put them in various halls...they are very busy.

An Ran also woke up very early, after doing a set of yoga weight-loss exercises, she brought her son to nurse, and the couple had breakfast together. Just after breakfast, Mannia came over with Haosi Haoyu, saying that she would help An Ran Make zongzi.

An Ran couldn't help laughing, Manniang was fine, Haosi Haoyu, these two little fellows, how could they make rice dumplings? From the eager eyes of the two, An Ran knew that they definitely regarded making rice dumplings as something new, but that's okay, It is more meaningful to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival when the whole family makes zongzi together.

An Ran likes the feeling of being surrounded by a family. She never experienced it when she was a child. Although the An family is a culinary family, the population is thin. Her father left early, and her mother has been trapped in the sadness of losing her father for a long time. I can't extricate myself, and I have no time to take care of myself.

Grandpa has a lot of things to do, and besides teaching himself how to cook, he doesn't have much time to accompany him. Moreover, as a cook, the busier the holidays are, so when he was a child, An Ran hated the holidays, because during the holidays, the already empty home would be crowded with people. Even more empty, most of the festivals are spent by myself and Lin Xinger. They accompany each other, keep each other warm, and survive the lonely years.

But An Ran still yearns for that kind of healthy and lively family. Occasionally, when she sees other people's family reunion, she yearns for it very much in her heart.

If you ask An Ran what dreams she has in this life other than being a cook, An Ran will say that she hopes to have a lively and happy home, and now that she really has one, she naturally cherishes it very much.

Seeing that Mannia took out a delicate sachet and put it on Dudu's body, An Ran looked at it for a long time, and couldn't help saying: "Your hands are really skillful, this pouch is beautifully made, unlike me, who is a clumsy, clumsy woman. "

Mannia laughed and said: "Sister-in-law's words make people laugh to death. What is it to make a purse? If Mannia has sister-in-law's cooking skills, how can she have spare time to make purses? Sister-in-law is not clumsy, she is dedicated It's all about cooking, besides, there are many women who can do needlework, not to mention the capital city, even in our mansion, but there is only one such powerful chef as sister-in-law in our Dayan."

An Ran pinched her face: "No wonder Jiayan's silent nature is coaxed by you to smile every day. This small mouth is really frightening."

Mannia blushed: "Sister-in-law, please stop joking. Mannia is fine. Master's temperament, if you hear it, you may feel uncomfortable."

An Ran couldn't help laughing: "You are so afraid of him, I think he has a very good temper, and he will never blush with you."

Mannia couldn't help joking with An Ran, she couldn't help but said: "Brother really loves my sister-in-law, my mother said it when she came a while ago, look at the meaning of elder brother's love for sister-in-law, saying she is a daughter-in-law, it's like a daughter-in-law."

Pfft... An Ran took a sip of tea, she was an old couple, her little face turned red, but when she thought about it carefully, An Jiamu really had a little bit of affection for her daughter, and she always wanted to hug her her, hold her.

Perhaps because of the age gap, this man dotes on him very much, but it is not the same, sometimes he is like a father who cares about things, sometimes he is like a brother who protects him, sometimes he is childish, but An Ran feels that he is like His younger brother and even his son.

A man plays all the roles of a man in front of his wife. This is probably what every woman desires but can't ask for. I am indeed very lucky.

The two sisters-in-law were talking, when Haosi Haoyu ran in from the outside, both of them were sweating, Mannia hurriedly pulled them over: "Oh, where are you going? I'm sweating a lot, even though it's the Dragon Boat Festival, I'll be sick if the wind blows my head." He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat of the two of them.

An Ran looked at the three mothers, feeling a little touched in her heart, Hao Si was a little older and extremely smart, her face was a bit shy and embarrassed, but the dependence of her eyes was clearly visible.

Not to mention Haoyu, who is only five years old, the memory of such an old child has just formed, if Mannia is not competent as a stepmother, he will keep thinking of his own mother, and this kind of memory will gradually deepen.

Conversely, if Mannia is a good stepmother, the five-year-old Haoyu will gradually forget Mrs. Xie. Children are the most sensitive, regardless of how small they are. They will quickly know who is really good to them and who treats them well. It is false.

Of course, we can't say that Mrs. Xie's mother is too much dereliction of duty. It can only be said that Mrs. Xie and Mannia are two completely different women. Do so many unscrupulous things.

She herself may subconsciously feel that it is for her son, to get more property for her son, and for her son to live a life of luxury and wealth forever. To put it bluntly, she is for herself.

She has been married to An's family for so many years, but An Ran doesn't believe that she doesn't understand Jiamu's temperament. With Jiamu's personality, his love for his brothers, and his love for his nephew, even if Mrs. Xie doesn't fight or snatch, she will live in luxury. lifetime.

But Xie still did such a heinous thing. It was because of dissatisfaction and greed. Greedy people tend to fall into misunderstandings. After getting a little advantage, they start to calculate a bigger advantage. Then he will aim at everything, just like Xie Shi.

Perhaps it was the experience of her natal family, a psychologically distorted mother, that turned her into such a greedy woman who would do anything to achieve her goals, but the biggest factor that caused her tragedy today is dissatisfaction, and she will never be satisfied. An Ran believes that even if After getting all the An family's property, she will not be satisfied.

She keeps calculating and asking, but she is stingy in giving, knowing what her husband likes, as long as she cooks for him the simplest meal, she will remember it with her good-natured temperament.But she insists on her identity and refuses to let go of her figure. She is stingy and doesn't want to give, so how can she get her husband to treat her sincerely? No matter love or the relationship between husband and wife, it is not born out of thin air, it is accumulated bit by bit like this, It is getting deeper and deeper.

But Mannia is just the opposite. She is not stingy with giving and never wants to return. She loves Jiayan's love sincerely and never turns back. The dignified Shangshu Qianjin would rather be a young lady than marry him. This is not something any woman can do. , her heart is very sincere, she is the same to Jiayan, to Haosi Haoyu, even to Jiamu and herself. Since she got married, she has accepted everything with a heart full of love, loves the house and Wu, as long as it is with Jiamu Whether it is his son or relatives, she accepts it calmly.

Moreover, working hard to manage her own marriage, such sincere dedication will naturally be rewarded, so, in a short period of time, she has had the happiness that Xie has never had in several years.Even Haosi Haoyu would feel that Mannia was better than their own mother in his heart.

An Ran was in a trance when suddenly Hao Yu leaned over: "Auntie, when shall we make zongzi?"

An Ran smiled, and nodded his little mouth: "Have we, Haoyu, been hungry for rice dumplings? Didn't my aunt ask someone to bring them to you yesterday?"

Haoyu pouted: "Mother didn't let Haoyu eat more, she only ate a small one." She looked at Mannia accusingly.

But Haosi said: "Mother didn't let you eat more because she was afraid that you would save food. Besides, you ate one, you ate three, don't think I don't know."

Haoyu blushed, and stole a glance at Mannia, feeling guilty, she glared at Haosi: "Those who like to complain are villains."

As soon as the words fell, An Jiamu walked in and said with a smile, "Who is the villain?"

Haoyu seemed to see the savior, and rushed over. An Jiamu picked him up and turned him around before putting him down: "Haoyu told uncle, who is the scoundrel who loves to complain, is he brother? Uncle punish him for you, okay?" "

When Haoyu heard that he was going to be punished, she was startled, and hurriedly waved her hands: "No, it's not brother, it's Haoyu's nonsense." He let go of his uncle's hand, and ran away with Haosi.

An Ran rolled his eyes at him: "Why are you teasing the child, look at Haoyu's frightening."

Mannia said, "Sister-in-law, elder brother is teaching Haoyu to understand the truth."

An Ran: "How old are you? I'll just teach you these things. Let's not talk about it. Just in time for you to come back, let's make zongzi together."

Mannia was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, Mannia is the one who makes rice dumplings, why bother brother."

An Ran laughed: "You have been married for a short time, you don't know the details, and his cooking skills are not bad, and besides, why should their men wait to eat? It is said that you can get enough food and clothing by yourself, and there is no such thing as eating zongzi for nothing. Lier."

Mannia was stunned.

An Jiamu said with a smile: "Since that's the case, how about we imitate the culinary competition and hold a rice dumpling competition in our house? All servants can participate, and the first three prizes will be silver."

An Jiamu's words, the two mansions are in chaos, everyone knows that the elder is the most generous, since he said that the first three prizes of silver are definitely indispensable, this is an unexpected windfall, within a short while dozens of people from the two mansions gathered in the garden The gatekeepers, servants, maids, servants, handlebars, gatekeepers, except those who couldn't leave on duty, all ran here.

Haosi Haoyu was so happy, they had never seen such a big commotion, the two of them looked forward to the uncle, hoping that the uncle would give an order to watch these people making zongzi.

There are already two long tables in the huge water pavilion, on which there are various ingredients for making zongzi, such as glutinous rice, jujube, candied dates, egg yolk, ham, diced meat... regardless of north and south, as long as it is the material that can make zongzi.

Mannia was also very excited. After all these years in the Shangshu Mansion, she had never had a few days of fun in Anjia. She finally understood why her elder brother and sister-in-law were not willing to go out, and they got tired of being together every day. If you can have such fun, what else do you go out for?

An Yuan was quite capable, and quickly divided the men and women into two groups. After all, it was no need to think about comparing the big men with rough hands and feet with a bunch of women and girls. There are two groups of men and women, the men's group has 26 people, and the women's group is relatively less, only [-] people.

The rules of the competition are quite simple, that is, whoever packs the most wins. However, An Yuan also explained in advance that there is no requirement for the bag to be decent, but it must be similar, at least not leaking rice.

The men's group first compared, An Yuan put on the incense, and said that the limit is one stick of incense. After speaking, he saw more than 20 men of all ages, each with fingers as thick as a mallet, pinching and pinching. The zongzi leaves began to wrap.

Who of these old men usually do such delicate work? Even if they eat rice dumplings every year, they are made by the mothers-in-law and daughters of the family. They don’t need to do it by themselves. I thought the old women’s work was nothing, so I put the rice in the rice dumplings. Ye Li, just tie it with a rope, but it's harder than anything else to know it after getting started.The extremely smooth zongzi leaves in my mother-in-law's hands can't be made in my own hands, let alone making zongzi, even if I don't know how to fold the zongzi leaves, the scene is extremely funny.

An Ran couldn't see it, so she called a woman to make a package for them as a demonstration. I packed three.

These guys are smart enough to remember, and gradually a few bags are made, although they are twisted and crooked, it doesn't look like a zongzi at all, but they are wrapped anyway.

After burning a stick of incense, An Yuan asked them to come forward with the rice dumplings. Mannia couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw the rice dumplings. Finally, she picked out the generals from the group and chose three prizes, the first, second, and third prizes. .

The twenty or so men didn't take it seriously, they came here to join in the fun and hit the big luck, it's okay if they don't get a prize, they were joking and laughing, and then came the women's group.

An Yuan yelled to start, and saw a pair of hands flying up and down, and soon one by one smart and beautiful rice dumplings were wrapped, and the eyes of these men were straightened, wondering why these women were so easy to wrap. I can't play with it in my hand.

Anyuan's family also came down to join in the fun under An Ran's instigation. Anyuan's family was skillful, and they were even experts at wrapping rice dumplings. She counted, one, two... ten, twenty, thirty...

After burning the incense, An Yuan's family topped the list with 100 rice dumplings, and the quality was quite high, the undisputed champion won [-] taels of silver.Although it is such a trivial matter as making zongzi, but seeing these boys looking at him with envy, An Yuan's old face feels extraordinarily radiant. of.

Haosi Haoyu couldn't get enough of it, so she tugged on An Jiamu's clothes: "Uncle, Uncle, why don't you compare?"

An Jiamu raised his eyebrows and glanced at An Ran: "Uncle's standard is too high, ordinary people can't compare with uncle, you have to play with your auntie."

A few brave boys started to boo: "Madam, Madam..."

An Ran laughed, and looked at An Jiamu: "You really want to compete with me? If you lose too badly then, you will be ashamed. You know, no one who has dared to challenge me has won."

This is true, the few boys around who had just made a fuss suddenly stopped, their thoughts are not difficult to guess, although they think that making zongzi is the job that old women should do, but they lost to the women's group in this way, and they feel a little bit embarrassing, they can't make it, Don't you still have the Grand Master?

In their eyes, the Eldest Master is omnipotent. What is making rice dumplings? It will definitely save the honor of the gentlemen, so they have the courage to make a fuss, but they forgot that the Eldest Madam is the number one chef in the world. , How could this bag of zongzi lose to the old man? Isn't it a joke.

As if knowing what these boys were thinking, An Jiamu laughed: "That's not necessarily the case. Madam doesn't often say that there are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the sky. Although Madam is well-known, it is only because my husband has the will to win, and the outcome is unpredictable."

Mannia couldn't help covering her mouth and chuckling, the couple was really funny.

An Ran smiled and nodded: "It's admirable to have courage, but since the competition must have a lot of luck."

An Jiamu thought for a while: "What Ma'am said is that if you don't have a lottery, it's really boring. How about this? Isn't today the Dragon Boat Festival? If the master loses, we'll set up a stove on the busiest street in the capital, and let all of today's The rice dumplings are cooked, how about giving them to the people in the past?"

An Ran nodded: "That's very good." Rolling up her sleeves, she walked over, and almost immediately, those who had just competed were divided into two groups with clear barriers, the women's group stood on An Ran's side, and the men stood on An Jia's side. Mu head.

Haosi Haoyu was standing next to An Ran at first, but she didn't know if she realized that there were all women here, so she also ran to the side of her uncle.

Mannia thought it was very interesting, so she lit the incense herself, and the two began to make dumplings. An Ran knew how well she made rice dumplings without even thinking about it. The skills are not bad, but I still don't believe it. In her perception, except for cooks, men don't cook. There is a saying that a gentleman should cook far away. This is the word of a sage.

Therefore, it was a surprise to see An Jiamu skillfully making zongzi. The men were so excited that they began to count loudly, one, two, three... and An Ran was not far behind, and also counted loudly.

It was alright at first, but then the men's voices became softer and the women's voices became louder, because the numbers were too disparate, An Jiamu's side was just ten, and An Ran's was already twenty. When the bag here reached 41, it was called 32 over there, and when the stick of incense was burned, An Jiamu made a total of [-] bags here, which is actually quite good, two more than An Yuan's. However, if the opponent is An Ran, he will only lose. An Ran made a total of sixty rice dumplings.

That's not to mention, the key point is that the buns are very beautiful, with various kinds of fillings, and the bulging small rice dumplings are rare.

Although An Jiamu lost, it didn't stop these boys from admiring him, and they really admired the old man in their hearts, secretly thinking, no wonder the old man can marry a daughter-in-law like the old lady, not to mention An's business, even making zongzi is more expensive Others are far stronger.

An Jiamu looked at the zongzi made by his daughter-in-law, and laughed: "I lost, but losing to the best cook in the world is an honor for my husband."

As he spoke, he patted Hao Si, Hao Yu said, "Let's cook rice dumplings with Uncle."

Because of the gambling between An Ran and his wife, the Dragon Boat Festival, which was originally quiet, suddenly became lively. Several large stoves were set up on the street in front of An Ji Restaurant, and the rice dumplings brought from An's house were cooked in the big pots. .

An Ran and Man Niang also came to help, although it was a game of gambling, it was just a family fun, how could he really let him cook rice dumplings by himself, not only the ones just made, but also the leftover glutinous rice stuffing, let An Yuan's family Bringing everyone out, there are ten big pots of rice dumplings.

Who doesn't know who owns the Anji restaurant, and if Anran stops here, it will be the most famous gold-lettered signboard. It will be spread to ten and ten to hundreds. In just a short while, the news of Anfu's zongzi has grown. Like wings, it spread throughout the capital.

This is the rice dumpling from the An family, perhaps, it must have been made by Chef An, who wouldn’t be in a hurry, as soon as the rice dumpling comes out of the pan, it’s gone in the blink of an eye, rushing to eat it, this is in my heart Comfortable, it's a pity that I didn't grab it, and I can only go home and eat the rice dumplings made by my mother-in-law.

Guo Zishan and his son-in-law Jiayan were recruited by the emperor to discuss matters in the imperial study. The two of them were originally high-minded people, but now they are Weng son-in-law, so they are naturally closer.

Although his daughter did not have the status of the main wife, neither Jiayan nor Anjia looked down on Mannia, and this son-in-law was also very respectful to him, so he didn't care too much about it.In my heart, I am more and more satisfied with Jiayan, the son-in-law. In the past, it was difficult to say anything, but now, as the son-in-law, Weng will naturally raise points from time to time, which benefits Jiayan a lot.

Weng's son-in-law's sedan chair was passing here one after the other, but they couldn't move as soon as they reached the intersection. Guo Zishan asked the steward, "What's the matter?"

The steward hurriedly said: "Go back to the master, it is said that the master of the Anfu is delivering the rice dumplings in front, and the eldest lady and our young lady are also there."

Guo Zishan smiled and said: "No wonder, I said why so many people came, it turned out to be the Zongzi from An Da's kitchen." He got off the sedan chair, took a look at Jiayan, and stroked his beard: "The number one chef in the world The zongzi wrapped are rare, and our son-in-law, Weng, will try it too."

The steward hurriedly said: "Master, it's too late for you to go now, I heard that the pot was snatched as soon as it came out."

An Jia said: "It's okay. Has anyone else gone? You can eat as much as your father-in-law wants."

Guo Zishan laughed: "That sounds comfortable."

Weng and son-in-law pushed aside the crowd and walked in. The bearer next to him came over and said, "It is said that our uncle is cold-tempered and not good at talking. Now it seems that we can't do it right. Look at our master."

The steward kicked him: "I just know how to chew my tongue, let the master hear it, a board can't beat you to death, so hurry up and serve me."

Weng and his son-in-law came to the front, Guo Zishan stopped, and saw that the busy girl was his daughter Mannia, although she was doing the same job as a servant, the smile on her face was quite charming, so she couldn't help but look sideways. Son-in-law, but found that his son-in-law's eyes were falling on Mannia, tenderly full of love and affection.

Guo Zishan couldn't help nodding his head, after all, Mannia was blessed, and she didn't miss out on this good marriage.

Anping saw Guo Zishan, hurriedly approached An Jiamu and whispered back: "My lord, Lord Shangshu is here."

Only then did An Jiamu put aside the matter in hand, and greeted him: "It must be because of Jiamu that he delayed your lord's return home, but it is Jiamu's fault."

Guo Zishan shook his head, glanced at An Ran behind him, and jokingly said: "If I knew that Chef An made zongzi, I would have to grab one and try it even if I fight against the decree."

An Ran laughed when she heard this: "My father-in-law's words are far away. If you are not in a hurry to go back, you can go home today, not to mention a zongzi, and you can have whatever you want to eat."

An Ran's words aroused Guo Zishan's gluttons, thinking about the famous chef Da Sai, the chickpea curd made by An Ran, and the exquisite delicacies served by the imperial chef Da Bi, he couldn't help swallowing.

Although they are now in-laws, they have no eyesight, and it's not easy to go to the son-in-law's house for a meal.Yashe is also good, but it is too expensive, one meal eats up one year's salary, and the family can't make ends meet.

Besides, he knows that the chef of Yashe is just an apprentice that this girl has taught for a few months. He is no better than a master. When An Ran opened her mouth, she just gave Guo Zishan a step. Looking at An Ran, she said with a smile: "Full capital Everyone knows that I, Guo Zishan, have a solid eye, and since you have said it, I will take it seriously, and then don't think that I will go to your house to eat and drink."

An Ran chuckled: "Look at what you've always said, you always invite distinguished guests that you can't even invite. An Yuan, ask someone to go to the Shangshu Mansion to bring your in-laws and mother over together. It's only fun when our two families celebrate the festival together."

An Yuan responded and hurriedly asked someone to pick him up, and the group returned to An's mansion.

Because it was a hot day, the banquet was placed in the water pavilion in the garden. There was a gentle breeze, and the half pond of pink lotus was both beautiful and cool. It was indescribably comfortable to sit in the water pavilion.

Speaking of which, this was Guo Zishan's first official visit to An's Mansion. Only then did I know that the An's family was said to be rich, and the scenery in any place was so unique. Coming from a famous family, it reminded Guo Zishan of Yashe.

Anyone with good eyesight can tell how many good things there are in Yashe after only going in once. If you don't know how to go in, you really can't see it. This is the reason why those rich and wealthy merchants want to go in.

There are many kinds of rich people. Ordinary rich people, even if they have silver, are dull and ignorant. They only pay attention to gold and silver, and they are vulgar.

He once went to the mansion of a wealthy native of Shanxi in Beijing. Once he entered, it was so glittering and dazzling that his eyes hurt. Even the patterns carved on the windows were made of gold ingots.

Looking at Ren'an Mansion, everyone knows that An's family is rich in silver and luxurious, but luxurious and tasteful, which is extremely rare.

Mannia came in with tea and saw her father staring at the chair in a daze, she knew what her father was thinking, and said in a low voice, "These furniture are all sent over by those merchants. My sister-in-law didn't like it, so she asked her to put it in the waterside pavilion. My sister-in-law said , These things are all for show, and they have to be practical if they are really useful."

Guo Zishan was stunned, and laughed for a long time: "This is heard by outsiders. I really want to die of anger." After taking the tea bowl from his daughter and opening it, he smelled a clear plum fragrance. He looked down and couldn't help laughing: " This is the kind of tea you can eat in Anfu."

An Jiamu laughed: "What's the matter, my father-in-law likes it. When I go back later, I will take a jar with me. Last winter, An Ran got a lot."

Guo Zishan didn't refuse either: "So, this old man is lucky."

After serving tea, Mannia went to help in the kitchen, while Guo Zishan was sitting in the water pavilion talking to the An brothers, when he suddenly saw two boys getting out of the lotus pond, he couldn't help being stunned: "Why did they get down?"

Jiayan: "This lotus pond was only planted last year. The previous bowl lotus was beautiful, but it was useless. My eldest brother asked someone to dig it up and planted lotus roots. It was only planted last autumn, and it grew in the first year. It’s so good, it’s more than enough for our two houses to eat.”

Guo Zishan shook his head: "It's only the Dragon Boat Festival, not the time to dig lotus roots."

Jiamu: "It's not the lotus root, it's the root of the lotus root. Now it's tender. Speaking of which, it's not as good as Jiangnan. At this time, Jiangnan is fresh everywhere. Who takes the root of the lotus root as a good one? Here, it has become a rare and good thing, I remember that the Cui family in Songyuelou has a signature dish called lotus root, which is made with this lotus root."

When mentioning the Cui family, Jiayan thought of something, and said, "Brother, there is something I forgot to tell you, Cui Chengzhi was sent to Jinzhou last year as the magistrate of Qipin County. Although his official position is not high, he is an important one. County, it can be seen that the emperor thinks highly of him, but in less than a year, officials from all over Jinzhou jointly signed Zhezi to participate in his corruption and bribery. The emperor hated corrupt officials the most. Beijing is awaiting trial. When Cui Chengzhi was in Beijing, I had acquaintance with him several times. Although this person is a bit arrogant, he has an extremely upright personality, and his Cui family is not poor. This Cui Chengzhi is really impossible."

Guo Zishan: "This old man knows a little bit about Tan Hualang's temperament. He is a little tactful. If he is greedy for ink, it is unlikely. From the old man's guess, his straightforward and ignorant temperament may have offended his boss and become a thorn in his side. , That's why he joined him, he is in Jinzhou alone, if others want to frame him, it's not easy."

Jiayan nodded, glanced at elder brother, hesitated to speak: "Brother, I heard that sister-in-law has some friendship with him..." Seeing elder brother's face darken, stop, elder brother is really jealous, slow down sister-in-law It's nothing to do with Cui Chengzhi, just something, it's been so long, the sister-in-law has married the eldest brother, and gave birth to Dudu, and she can't even mention it, it's really funny.

Jiayan didn't dare to laugh, it's not for fun to offend big brother.

Among the men who are close to An Ran, who An Jiamu is most jealous of is Cui Chengzhi. Although Qian Shichen once had a wicked heart for An Ran, fortunately he stopped it in time and got Qian Shichen into the imperial kitchen. It's useless for him to go to the room.

Moreover, he also knew that the little daughter-in-law had no interest in Qian Shichen at all, but Cui Chengzhi was different. Although he knew in his heart that the two of them had never met a few times, there was always a lump in his heart.

When he was in the other courtyard in Jizhou that day, Cui Chengzhi's protection of An Ran is still vivid in his mind. What's more, Qian Shichen had already arranged a marriage before, but Cui Chengzhi has not yet married a wife, and he even had a serving woman in front of him. No, the cleanliness is a bit too much, plus it is the young master of Songyuelou. Although he is not a cook, his knowledge of dishes is better than that of a top chef. This knowledge is what An Ran appreciates the most.

What's more, Cui Chengzhi was born extremely handsome and elegant, which is exactly the type that An Ran likes. He has not forgotten what this girl was like when he saw him for the first time. She was not confused by her appearance. How could his cleverness have allowed himself to be fooled for so long.

Originally, An Jiamu thought that Cui Chengzhi should not appear in front of An Ran in this life. He didn't want to, but something like this happened. On that day, his wife went to Suzhou to compare cooking skills with Wang Pinrong. Didn't it just remember that Cui Chengzhi helped her say Did you go to help Songyuelou after a few words of affection?

This is the case in Songyuelou. If he knew about this matter, with his daughter-in-law's temperament, how could he not reach out? Instead of letting his own wife reach out, he might as well make a move first, and let Cui Chengzhi go back before this matter becomes serious. Be his young boss.

Thinking of this, he bowed to Guo Zishan: "Cui Chengzhi once helped his wife, and seeing him being framed, I really can't bear it. This incident has alarmed more than a dozen officials in Jinzhou to join the petition. If this case is really the case, Lord Wanwang will help, even if he cannot be innocent, at least his life will be saved."

An Jiayan looked at his elder brother in astonishment, and suddenly felt a strange feeling, is this still his elder brother? Given how much his elder brother cares for his sister-in-law, how could he help Cui Chengzhi so much, he should be secretly happy.

He admits that his elder brother is capable and qualified, but he has to admit that the fact that his elder brother is small-minded, especially when he gets involved with his sister-in-law, is even more petty, and it is absolutely impossible to be so magnanimous.

Guo Zishan admired An Jiamu quite a bit, and nodded: "Even if the lord doesn't say anything, if the emperor asks me to assist in the trial of this case, the truth will come to light. The officialdom in Jinzhou is chaotic, and it's not a matter of a year or two, my lord. The reason why they didn’t pay attention to it was because they didn’t pay attention to it, but they were lucky, they got worse and worse, they dared to form cliques for personal gain, and framed the court’s officials, didn’t they even care about the lives of their own family members?”

For Guo Zishan's integrity, Jiamu personally admires it very much. From the official to the minister, he is equivalent to a prime minister. He holds great power, but can still keep his integrity and live in poverty. Such a person is almost comparable to a saint.

People's greed is hard to resist, and because of this, since ancient times, there have been very few truly clean officials.

There is a saying that when the water is clear, there are no fish. The imperial court has so much salary. In the officialdom, there are too many places to spend money. Not everyone is like Guo Zishan, and the reason why Guo Zishan was able to achieve the position of minister all the way An Jiamu felt that he was really lucky.

Moreover, despite his stubbornness, this old man also has a smooth side. Otherwise, the result would probably be no different from Cui Chengzhi. The salary is not much, the expenses are too high, and it is not enough to make ends meet. Most of the officials in the imperial examination were born in the imperial examination, and there were many poor families who were born in the imperial examination.

The reason why you study hard in the cold window is not to say that you are concerned about the country and the people. Eight out of ten are for the glory and wealth. If you become an official, you will be poor like in the past. how nice.

The emperor knows this truth better than anyone else, and the emperor does not want all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty to become upright officials like Guo Zishan.

When you are a little greedy, the emperor ignores it. When you are too greedy, the emperor should take action. If the officials are dismissed, the family is ransacked and the family is wiped out, and the corrupt officials die, the common people will appreciate the kindness of the emperor. ,why not.

Therefore, in the eyes of the emperor, these corrupt officials are like fat sheep. It can also be said that they are the emperor's mobile bank. Once there is a disaster and there is a shortage of money, a few fat ones will be killed.

If all the corrupt officials in the world were killed, who would help the emperor to collect money? However, there must be officials like Guo Zishan and his brothers. This is to give hope to the people, and it also makes those corrupt officials restrain themselves because of fear. Being able to serve as an example to demonstrate the cleanliness of officials and the ability to govern the country is the art of balance and the art of emperors.

Just as Mrs. Guo was coming, An Yuan's family let Mrs. Guo to a small pavilion not far away. This was An Ran's idea. Although she didn't think it was necessary to separate for meals, but considering Guo Zishan and his wife, You can only do as the Romans do.

The first thing served was the chickpea curd that Guo Zishan had eaten before. Because of the time-consuming work, An Ran seldom made this dish. The restaurants outside, even Yashe, didn’t have this dish, but Jiang Yu, the private chef in his house, made it. Once, it's a pity that the shape is similar, but the taste is a bit worse.

Guo Zishan took only one mouthful and couldn't help nodding his head: "It's really not about the level of cooking skills. The same ingredients, the same dish, just because the cooks are different, the taste can be very different."

"No wonder Jiang Yu in my house said that he will never be able to catch up with Chef An in his life. Today, I know that the level of cooking skills is not cooking skills. In Jiang Yu's words, what Chef An bestows on the dishes is the soul." , Therefore, every dish will become a superb dish after passing through An Ran's hands."

Jiamu laughed: "That's true. Back in Jizhou, An Ran once told me that every dish has its own soul, and the process of a cook's cooking is to maximize the soul of the dish itself." To inspire and give new life is what makes a successful chef."

Jiayan: "It turns out that cooking has so much knowledge."

Guo Zishan nodded: "The way of eating has been passed down for thousands of years. Naturally, it is not just a simple food. It is just like the taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty. The five flavors are integrated and balanced. Too much is not enough. This is the reason for us to be human."

Mannia came over with the jug, and when she heard her father's high opinion, she couldn't help laughing: "My sister-in-law made every dish by herself, father should taste it quickly, if you want to talk, there will be plenty of time later. "

One sentence reminded Guo Zishan, why not, what else did I say, such a table today is more expensive than the top table in Yashe, and now there are many people out there holding money and wanting this girl to cook, It's a pity that people are not rare.

Mannia personally held the pot and filled the wine, and when the wine poured into the cup, the aroma was overflowing, she looked down and saw that the wine was clear and emerald, she couldn't help saying: "This, this is the Xinfeng wine recorded in ancient books."

Mannia nodded: "Sister-in-law said that she got one by chance and took the time to brew it last year. She was afraid that she would not be able to make good wine, so she only brewed a few jars, most of which were in Jizhou, and only brought two jars from Beijing. Buried under the green bamboo in the garden, I have never been willing to eat it, just now my sister-in-law asked someone to dig it out for Dad to taste, saying that Dad is a knowledgeable person, can you taste it?"

Guo Zishan shook his head: "This girl really thinks highly of the old man, and the old man has only heard of it, and has never tasted it." He took a sip, his eyes lit up, and sighed: "The poet Chu Guangxi wrote in the poem "Master Xinfeng" It is written that the fragrance of the wine is full of flowers, and the color of the jacaranda bottle is full of bamboos in the South Xuan. This old man has eaten this kind of fine wine, and he will have no regrets in this life."

Jiamu shook his head and laughed: "My lord, there's no need to be like this. An Ran just tried it last year, but now it's done. Do you want to eat as much as you want in the future?"

Guo Zishan was stunned, looked at his daughter, and suddenly said, "Mannia, it's thanks to you for marrying here, otherwise, your father's Xinfeng wine would have been lost."

Everyone laughed at the one sentence, and Mrs. Guo over there couldn't help laughing and cursing: "It's really too much wine, why are you talking nonsense...

(End of this chapter)