self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 23

Waiting for the godmother to finish her busy work, it was almost dark, An Ran and her godmother had a simple dinner in the kitchen outside, and the two of them went back to An Ran's room.

An Ran told about Ming'er's rest and wanting to go out for a walk. After hearing this, Aunt Liu couldn't help but said happily: "It's really a great grace that I have never had before. Mother has worked in this mansion for most of her life. Finally, I have caught up with you." Once, you don't know, just Xing'er came here to tell mother about this matter, and when she saw her, she was so polite, if it wasn't for the eyebrows, eyes and nose, or Xing'er, mother would have thought it was a different person, and she still said the same thing as last time. The silver bracelet that mother gave him was returned, and she said a lot of polite words, which was a drag on my daughter's blessing, and mother was proud for a while. In the past, those mothers rushed over and ignored her old man Sisters, now you come to find a way to make friends with your mother in a different way." He said with a sigh: "This is really a cold and warm world. Thinking about the past, mother doesn't know what it's like."

An Ran approached her arms: "This is a good thing, mother, why are you sighing, don't worry, with An Ran, there will be good days in the future."

Aunt Liu laughed: "But, with my daughter, I'm just waiting to enjoy the blessings. Let's explain something. Tell your mother where you want to go shopping. Do you have a charter?"

When Aunt Liu asked, An Ran remembered that she knew nothing about the outside world except the outer kitchen and the big kitchen in Anfu. She only knew what Yan was, what Jizhou was, and how did she know what it was. How would you know where to go.

Suddenly remembering that no matter what dynasty and where it is, the market is the most lively, and also the most direct way to understand the characteristics of folk customs and food, and said: "An Ran wants to go to the market."

Aunt Liu nodded: "It's much easier to have a charter. I'll ask someone to deliver a letter to your elder brother when I go home. Let him wait for you outside the corner gate tomorrow morning, and take a good stroll with you." Then, she took out a string of money from her pocket and stuffed it to her. An Ran wanted to decline, but Aunt Liu refused: "Although your elder brother has some money, he doesn't know what the girl's family is thinking, so he finally went out for a while." , don’t worry, buy some rouge and gouache, and some silk flowers to wear on the head, at the age of flower buds, it’s time to dress up well, it’s not auspicious to be too plain.”

An Ran just took it, thinking that she would be able to go out for a walk tomorrow, she didn't sleep well all night, she got up early in the morning, tidied up neatly, and it was dawn.

An Ran is a girl bought by the mansion, she is not free, it is not easy to go out, even if the master has the grace, she has to go to the steward to register, and get the wooden sign to get in and out. Naturally, it is the steward of the big kitchen who is in charge of An Ran Anfu.

When An Ran went, An Fu was already waiting for her. Seeing her coming, he registered her name in a booklet and handed her a wooden sign with the word An engraved on the front and her name An Ran written on the back. Tell her not to be too late when she goes back to the mansion, so let her go.

An Ran went all the way to the corner gate, the doorkeeper just glanced at her wooden sign, and let her go out. The moment An Ran stepped out of the door, she really felt like she was released from prison, no, it should be said to be a release, no Before the redemption, the prison in Anfu had to come back, and when it came to redemption, I didn't know how much money a girl like myself needed to redeem her body, so I had to find someone who knew how to do it.

An Ran has never met her god-brother, but as soon as she came out, she saw a simple-minded man standing outside. He looked about twenty years old, dark-skinned, tall and thick, and there was a faint shadow of a godmother between his eyebrows and eyes, so he knew it was him. Eldest brother Zhou Tai walked over and knelt down to salute: "Little sister is An Ran, but is it the elder brother?"

The man probably didn't expect that the godmother his mother mentioned was such a beautiful little beauty, he froze for a moment, blushed a little, and nodded: "I, I'm Zhou Tai, mother said to let me pick up the girl." Over there, he led a donkey: "Sister, come up and sit down. Although it's not far away, you still have to walk for a while." He said, helping An Ran to sit on the donkey.

It was the first time in An Ran's life to ride a donkey. It was very fresh, and it was more stable than she thought. The godmother always said that the eldest brother was stupid and couldn't talk or do things. Matzi knew that this brother Gan was a careful person, maybe he would not be ignorant, but careful, such a man was more reliable and reliable than those who could speak well.

With such a reliable elder brother around, An Ran felt relieved a lot, and began to look around. She was really surprised by the aura of An Mansion. In the mansion, she only felt that there were layers of courtyards and endless corridors, no matter how big it was, but it didn’t matter. The concept is different this time around.

The corner gate is exclusively for the servants to enter and exit. The reason why it is called the corner gate is because it is in an inconspicuous side corner. After the corner gate is the courtyard wall of the Anfu. Looking around, the stretching courtyard wall seems to have no end. From a distance, you can see the main entrance of Anfu, the vermilion gate, the red lantern, the gilded plaque, the high steps, and the two mighty stone lions in front of the gate. The imposing Shiyingbi on the opposite side is almost the same as Jia's Mansion in the Dream of Red Mansions.

Thinking about it, the grand master of the Anfu is in charge of the business, the second master is a high-ranking official in the capital, and the third master is a knight in the rivers and lakes. There is money, power and power in the rivers and lakes. The gate of the mansion is not new, and the backing of the people is not afraid that the tree will attract the wind, but it is so vigorous, otherwise, the old man would not be so nonsense all day long. However, it has really stopped a lot in the past few days. , I don’t know if I went outside, it’s better to stay outside forever, so the big kitchen can be considered quiet.

Out of the intersection, there was still no one there, and the houses on both sides looked very neat and dignified. An Ran was secretly wondering, so she heard Zhou Tai say: "The people living here are all the nobles of Jizhou Prefecture. After passing the front street, It's much more lively."

An Ran nodded, thinking of something: "Yesterday I didn't ask my mother, but I asked my elder brother to accompany me today, did I delay my elder brother's errand?"

Zhou Tai shook his head: "I feed the animals on the village outside the city. Although the work is a little tiring, the time is not long and there are many people. There are four people in total. Anyone who has something to do can take care of each other. Don't worry about it, sister. I can't do the big brother's errand."

An Ran nodded, the two brothers talked all the way, and they became acquainted when they arrived at the market. An Ran treated Aunt Liu as her own mother, and Zhou Taizhou and Zhou He naturally regarded her as her own brother. close.

Zhou Tai was even more of a sincere man, not only his mother's daughter, but also his own sister. When he arrived at the market, he helped An Ran down. Zhou Tai led the donkey, and An Ran followed.

An Ran feels that this place is a bit like the ancient streets in modern times, but the modern ones are intentionally made to attract tourists, but this place is authentic, with the shop names on both sides, the peddlers carrying burdens on the roadside, and the women bargaining with the peddler. , They are all so real, the most vivid and real market is the daily necessities of ordinary people.

Suddenly he saw a two-story pavilion at the corner ahead, and from a distance, he could see the bustle of the cups and plates intertwined in the fence on the second floor, so he pointed to Zhou Tai and asked, "Where is that place, it looks so lively?"

Zhou Tai: "That's Anji Restaurant."

An Ran was taken aback: "Second brother is working here?"

Zhou Tai shook his head: "He is a waiter in Anji Restaurant in the south of the city, this is the east of the city."

An Ran asked suspiciously: "Big brother, do you know how many An Kee restaurants there are?"

Zhou Tai scratched his head: "I can't count them. I know that there are four in our Jizhou Prefecture. According to Zhou He, there are six in the capital. I don't know about other prefectures. In fact, there are more than restaurants. Look at that name, my little sister." , all those with this name on their name are Anfu's business."

An Ran couldn't help but take a deep breath. From this point of view, most of the streets belong to the Anfu. Along the way, almost every businessman of some size has the word "An" on their name. No wonder the big The master is so idle tossing around, this is because of the money, even An Ran has always been indifferent, now he can't help but feel a little bit of hatred for the rich, this is too rich.

Seeing noon, she felt a little hungry, so An Ran wondered where to settle for lunch, looked around but couldn't find a suitable place, and suddenly heard a voice with a smile: "It's really you girl, Looking at the image from a distance, I thought I was dazzled, but it turned out to be you."

An Ran turned around, and it really was An Zihe, what a coincidence, when Zhou Tai saw a man accosting his sister, he hurriedly stepped in front of An Ran, and said defensively, "Who are you?"

Seeing a black-faced boy popping out, An Zihe frowned slightly and looked at Zhou Tai for a while, his tone was rather cold: "I didn't see it, you girl has a good friend, and you're busy meeting your lover right now when you come out."

Zhou Tai blushed: "What are you talking about, this is my sister."

your sister?An Zihe's gaze scanned Zhou Tai's dark face, "It doesn't look like much."

Zhou Tai stammered and said, "It doesn't look like she's my sister."

An Ran knew that Zhou Tai was an honest man, so An Zi was no match for this naughty man, so she patted Zhou Tai: "Brother, this is someone I know, he is the steward of Anfu." Zhou Tai heard that he was the steward of Anfu, Just flash aside.

An Zihe's eyes still lingered on him for a moment, then he moved to An Ran and smiled: "Didn't you say that you are a prostitution girl in An's mansion and can't leave the mansion? Why are you here?"

An Ran said in her heart, didn't this guy ask the question knowingly, and glanced at him: "I remember someone still owed me a meal, why, is it possible that Manager An wants to renege on the debt?"

An Zihe laughed: "It's hard to follow a man's words, so how can he say that he's reneging on his debts? What's more, if he really wants to renege on his debts, why did he come to greet you just now, and just pretend he didn't see you when he saw you?"

An Ran also smiled: "You are right, then you plan to pay back the debt."

An Zi waved the fan in his hand: "Why not, but, you have never been out of An Mansion, so how do you know any good restaurants?"

An Ran shook her hand: "Don't forget that I'm a cook, so I've never been out. If there's anything delicious, I can't hide it from me, so just go anywhere?" She pointed at the noodle stall not far ahead.

An Zihe couldn't help laughing lightly: "As expected, the nose is really good. The soup from the old Zhao's family can be counted in our Jizhou Mansion." After he said this, he didn't feel a little proud, An Ran squinted his eyes and laughed, calling Zhou Tai, The three of them went to the noodle stall in front to eat noodles.

Before noon, the tables were already full, and there was no room left. An Ran was feeling regretful, when the old man cooking noodles in front of the stove saw An Zihe, hurriedly put down what he was doing, and ran over. Greeted An Zihe from the network: "Why are you free to come over here today? Little Sanzi hurry up and put the table under the shade of the tree over there."

An Zihe: "I'm not here today, it's this girl who has a good nose, smells the aroma of your soup, and asks to eat your noodles." The old man looked at An Ran and smiled: "It's not me, old man Zhao, who is boasting. , The soup on my side is handed down from my ancestors, and it has been in my hands for hundreds of years, the girl really knows the goods."

An Zihe smiled and said, "Okay, stop bragging about your soup, and serve us three bowls of noodles neatly, and besides, half a bowl of your pickled cucumber."

"Okay, here we come." Let the three of them sit under the tree, and then went to work cooking noodles.

The old couple plus a fifteen-year-old boy, a family of three busy with a noodle stall, and a little bit too busy, it can be seen how good the business is, that boy is the third son in the mouth of the old Zhaotou just now, he is agile and clever, As soon as the three of them sat down, they brought up a large plate and put down three bowls of noodle soup. After taking a sip of the thick noodle soup, they immediately felt comfortable all over.
An Ran couldn't help closing her eyes, but when she opened her eyes, she found An Zihe on the opposite side looking straight at her, and said angrily, "Why don't you drink the noodle soup and see me?"

An Zihe raised his eyebrows slightly: "If you don't look at me, how do you know I'm looking at you?" He also lowered his head and took a sip of the noodle soup.

An Ran gave him a blank look, this guy is still a scholar even if he is blind, and he has such a bluffing appearance, he is simply a dishonest and snarky ruffian, so he stopped looking at him, went to look over there and flirt Old man Zhao with pork bones.

Take out the bones and put them in cold water on one side. Seeing that there is half a pot of broth left in the pot, add the warm broth from the stove next to it. Put the bones that have just been taken out into the empty pot and add half a bucket of it. Water, covered and simmering, looking around from time to time while doing this.

But An Zihe said: "Don't look at it, the old Zhao family's soup is not rumored, and others will not be able to learn it if they want to." An Ran pursed her lips and laughed.

An Zihe looked at her for a while: "Could it be that you can see the doorway just by looking at it?" It happened that Old Zhao's son, Xiaosan, came up and was startled when he heard this, and looked at An Ran nervously.

An Ran coughed: "I can't see the secret recipe handed down from the family. Let's eat noodles." The third son was obviously relieved, and said to himself that this is a craft that my family counts on for a living. It's over.

Naturally, An Ran also understands this truth, making a living is not easy. Since ancient times, the business of eating food has been called hard work, because you must work hard, work hard, work hard with your body, and work hard with your mind, without the slightest bit of laziness, in order to sell food.

Although this stall is small, it is the hope of the family's survival, so we must be extra cautious. After all, there are only a few types of soup, mao soup, milk soup, and clear soup.

Maotang is the simplest and is mostly used for ordinary cooking. Chicken, duck, pork bones, minced meat, and pork skin are all available. There is no special requirement. Cheng, the soup yield is high, generally three to five times that of raw materials.

Milk soup is a bit more complicated. The raw materials need to be chicken, duck, pork bones, pig feet, pork knuckles and other parts. The soup is white because of fatty acids. The soup yield is generally one to two times that of the raw material.

Clear soup is the most complicated and exquisite. Clear soup is divided into ordinary clear soup and exquisite clear soup. Ordinary clear soup is relatively easy. You only need to use natural free-range old hens with lean pork. The most important thing is to master the heat. After foaming, turn to low heat. It is better to boil the soup noodles slightly and turn into small bubbles. If the fire is high, it is easy to boil into milk soup, and if the fire is low, the umami will not be enough.

And the exquisite clear soup is served with soup top soup. You need to take ordinary clear soup, filter it finely with fine gauze, then take minced chicken, soak it in water with green onion, ginger and wine, heat it in the clear soup with high heat and stir, boil and turn to low heat, you must pay attention The most important thing is not to let the soup roll over, but to let the minced chicken on top absorb the turbid floating matter in the soup, skim off the minced chicken, and the soup obtained is clear and fragrant. This kind of top soup is often used for cooking high-end dishes such as shark's fin and sea cucumber.

The old Zhao’s family uses the second kind, milk soup. Just now, Lao Zhao took the big bones out of the pot and put them in the pot next to him to cook the soup. Most likely it was used as a cover for others to see. In his soup, there must be Put pig's claws and pork knuckles, otherwise, it would never be so rich and sticky.

It is quite rare to have such a soup head with noodles at a small stall, especially, the pickled cucumbers in his house are really delicious, and it is just right to eat with noodles, but it is a pity that the noodles are a bit soft, if they are more firm, Maybe better.

After eating the noodles, An Ran was afraid of delaying Zhou Tai's errand, so she wanted to go back, but she heard An Zi say: "I also need to go back to the house today, why don't we go shopping for a while, there are a few bookstores ahead, come with me in the evening Wouldn't it be nice to go back."

Zhou Tai looked at An Ran, he could see that his sister was quite familiar with the steward, and the two of them had something to say when they were together, if the steward could accompany her for a stroll, it would be more suitable than him, and it was also the housekeeper. Nothing will happen to the people here.

An Ran managed to come out for a trip, and really didn't want to go back so early, since An Zihe wanted to see her off, it was just right, so she nodded and let Zhou Tai go back first.

Watching Zhou Tai leave, An Ran followed An Zihe towards the bookstore he mentioned, and the street became much quieter after turning a corner. This place obviously belongs to a relatively high-end commercial area, and the shop fronts are quite exquisite, most of which are Selling antique calligraphy and painting books, there may be one or two teahouses interspersed in between, presumably for the guests to rest when they are tired from shopping.

An Zihe turned his head and said, "What book do you want to read?"

An Ran said: "Of course it has something to do with cooking, is there?"

An Zihe laughed: "You really want to be a cook for the rest of your life. What's the point of a girl's house, which is smoky and smoky every day, and can neither wear beautiful clothes nor beautiful jewelry?"

An Ran shook her head and laughed, no wonder he said that, the cook is indeed like this in the eyes of many people, but how can he, a layman, know the fun of it, thinking of this, smiled slightly: "Zifeiyu An Zhiyu joy."

Seeing the light and satisfied smile on her lips, An Zihe was really amazed, and thought to himself, does Zi Feiyu An know the joy of fish? This girl is really weird.

(End of this chapter)