self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 45

Mullet eggs are actually the ovary glands of female cuttlefish. Cut off the ovary glands of fresh cuttlefish, marinate them with a mixture of alum and salt, dehydrate them and solidify the protein, which is the finished mullet fish.

Suiyuan’s food list once said that this food is the freshest and the most difficult to serve. It needs to be boiled through the river, and the sand is removed to remove the smell. It is said to remove the fishy smell. Shaped like a flower petal, mix it into the top soup, add seasoning, boil, skim off the foam, thicken it with soybean flour, garnish with coriander, and this is the first soup of this state banquet.

When An Ran cooks, she has no other thoughts. She only has these ingredients in her eyes and mind. Cooking these ingredients into a delicious dish is the happiest moment for An Ran. The smile, the smile is very light, like the warm wind in the spring in the south of the Yangtze River, more like the willow silk washing in the spring water, the strands penetrate into people's hearts, and they can't be pulled out even if they want to.

A dish of mullet fish soup was made, and Mr. Mei couldn't help saying: "I just realized the plain hand spoon today, so it's so beautiful."

The mullet egg soup made by An Ran is really amazing. The soup is clear, and pieces of mullet eggs are floating in the clear soup, like petals falling in the stream. The two green spots on the top are really beautiful. .

Except for the pale-faced Zhao Laoliu, the disbelieving Liu Cheng, and the uncertain Liang Zisheng, the rest of the people present, even the chefs from the Northern School, were deeply attracted by this dish.

No matter what time it is, beautiful things can always arouse people's sympathy, not to mention the taste, but to make such a beautiful effect of a dish, it is impossible for non-top chefs to have such skills.

Although the north and the south are constantly fighting in the kitchen business, for chefs with real skills and good craftsmanship, both the south and the north will respect them, and An Ran's craftsmanship has completely conquered the chefs of the north.

As for the winners and losers of the third round, it goes without saying that they are all clear, but there are still people who are dying, Zhao Laoliu stepped forward: "What's the use of looking good, it's not just for show."

In a word, the cooks around even those from the northern faction disdain him, and they still don't admit defeat when it comes to this. Zhao Laoliu is too thick-skinned.

Mr. Mei snorted, turned his head to look at Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun nodded, picked up the spoon, held it up twice, and said to An Ran: "Miss, this soup is so beautiful that I don't know how to use the spoon. "

An Ran laughed, took the blue and white porcelain spoon from the old man's hand, and took a small celadon bowl with cracked ice, slowly pushed the spoon along the edge of the soup guzi, and the surrounding couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

If it is said that there are flowers falling from a clear spring, the movement is like peach blossoms and flowing water. A soup can be so beautiful that it is suitable for both movement and stillness, so it is amazing.

An Ran filled a bowl and handed it to Mr. Sun. The old man took it, scooped a spoonful and ate it. His face didn't change much. If he had to say it, he seemed a little disappointed.

Zhao Laoliu suddenly felt hopeful, and said to himself, as long as the old man is not satisfied, no matter how poorly he does, he can still rely on a draw in the third round, and he doesn't have to lose his job.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Mr. Sun took another bite, his face suddenly changed, and he nodded slightly, as if he was a little surprised.The fire of hope that Zhao Laoliu had just raised was half extinguished immediately, and he watched Mr. Sun take the third bite nervously.

After taking the third mouthful of soup, Mr. Sun closed his eyes and opened them after a long while: "It's wonderful, it's really wonderful..." With a few wonderful words, he looked at An Ran: "Young lady is really good at cooking. The soup is even more delicious and wonderful than what the old man ate at the imperial banquet back then."

He said, looking at several old friends: "The reason why this soup is still fresh in my memory for so many years is that the change in taste is different. Three mouthfuls of three flavors, the first taste is normal, and there is a slight taste in the salty taste. It's just a bit of hot and sour taste, but after tasting it again, I feel that the hot and sour taste is so perfect that people have to take a third mouthful, but it's the third mouthful that can taste the true taste of this soup, salty and fresh The ultimate delicious taste in hot and sour, taste it carefully, I feel that although there are only four flavors of hot, sour, salty and fresh, but one point is too much, and one point is less, it is just right, so that there is such a wonderful taste, really I don't know how the girl made it, but she is a bit better than the imperial chef back then, I can taste this soup in Fuchunju today, I have enough wishes, my wishes are enough." As he spoke, he stroked his beard and laughed out loud. Get up, very happy.

The rest of the gentlemen all praised it after tasting it, and An Ran couldn't help pursing her lips and chuckling. The difficulty of this dish lies in the seasoning. Only by leaving blank space can the diners have unlimited imagination. The color, fragrance and shape, this soup is considered complete. Only a discerning diner like Mr. Sun thinks it is extremely delicious. If a man on the street calls one, he will definitely think it is not as fragrant as stewed meat.

This is the difference between diners. Everyone has different tastes. This is also the difficulty of setting up a table. There are ten people sitting at a table, and ten people have ten tastes. The priority, age, personality, experience, and the corresponding menu will not satisfy everyone, at least let the host and guest enjoy themselves.

Just like today, if there were not a few well-informed gourmets, An Ran would never choose this soup. Watching people order food sounds like a derogatory term, but An Ran feels that it is quite a profound knowledge, and it is worth it. Every cook studies carefully.

Mr. Mei glanced at the blue-faced Zhao Lao Liu, and landed on Liang Zisheng: "Master Liang, I will be waiting for Chef Zhao's No. 1 soup, the northern dish. But I am a southern cook, since this soup is the No. 1 soup of northern cuisine, I think it will be more authentic when chef Zhao cooks it, I am looking forward to it."

Liang Zisheng's complexion changed several times. He knew that this third round would undoubtedly be defeated. He never expected that this girl's cooking skills are so good. Beicai, who had won all three rounds, won with ease. It was lost at home, and he looked at Zhao Laoliu with a dull face: "Zhao Laoliu is your turn."

Zhao Laoliu trembled all over, and the kitchen knife in his hand fell to the ground with a bang, which caused the Nanpai cooks who were watching the fun to laugh: "What's the matter? I'm afraid, I know it's no match, I can't even hold the knife, just stand upright!" I signed the life and death document, lost this round, but I will never be able to cook, anyway, this guy who eats is about to smash everything, so I just throw it away, hahahaha..." Every sentence you say is sarcasm.

Liang Zisheng's face was gloomy, and he thought that this Zhao Laoliu really didn't make a fool of himself, so he was so easy to coax, and got a third round, he was lucky, he couldn't even hold a knife, and he was about to scold him, But suddenly a kid came out, about the age of Gouzi, looked at An Ran: "I'm going to make this mullet egg soup too."

Everyone present was stunned, not knowing where this kid came from, but suddenly Feng Ji yelled: "Shunzi, you kid is no longer doing odd jobs in the restaurant, why come here to cause trouble, hurry back."

But he didn't want the boy to stalk his neck: "I won't leave, don't you want to talk about a competition? Although I am an apprentice, I can also be regarded as a cook of the northern school. I want to challenge this beautiful sister."

Feng Ji's face turned red with anger: "You kid, you don't even have a master. You have only studied in Huiquan Pavilion for a few days, and you dare to come here to mess around, and you still don't go back..."

As he said that, he was about to drag him, but this kid was so clever, he hugged the flowers and trees in the yard, using all four limbs, and refused to leave: "I can do it, I really can do it..."

This farce made people dumbfounded, but An Ran said, "Boss Feng, let him go, since he wants to do it, let him try it."

Feng Ji had no choice but to let go of the boy, but nodded his forehead: "Look back and tell your mother, so that your mother can't beat you to death."

The kid curled his lips: "My mother beats me." When he walked over, he glanced at Zhao Laoliu: "Let's say it first, I am better than mine, and it has nothing to do with you. You just admit defeat, admit defeat It's time for me to go, I saw it just now, you and this beautiful sister have made a life and death document, which is more than chopping your hands, according to me, you simply can't keep your hand, so don't bother, just chop it off and it will be clean. "

Pfft... There were quite a few laughers around, but Gouzi became happy. Although this kid was messing around, these few words were pleasant to his ears. If the life and death document is to be chopped up, should you chop the hands first, or make the soup first, what this kid said is that chopping the hands is like making soup, it is better to chop them clean first."

The two boys sang together, making Lu Laoliu tremble all over angrily, pointing at them, his face flushed red, but he was speechless, suddenly rolled his eyes, and with a bang, he fell straight up on the ground, panting There was a shofar wind, foaming at the mouth and twitching.

When Liu Cheng saw a good opportunity, he hurriedly said: "It's terrible, Zhao Laoliu has suffered from epilepsy, he must be taken to the doctor quickly, his life will not be saved if he is late, so hurry up and carry Zhao Laoliu out. "

As soon as the words were finished, two assistants rushed out to carry him, but Mr. Sun said: "Wait a minute, this old man is a little bit similar to Qihuang, this epilepsy can't move, if it moves, it will be paralyzed, and if it is severe, it will die. Let the old man take a look." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, and the boy next to him hurriedly opened the medicine box and took out the needle bag, and saw Mr. Sun pick out a half-foot-long ox hair fine needle, bent slightly, and was about to pierce Zhao. Between the eyebrows of the sixth child.

An Ran was still puzzled, even though she was a layman, her best friend was a genius doctor, and it was not once or twice that she had seen Lin Xinger get the needle, and she had never seen it go directly to the center of the eyebrows, this long needle, this person is still alive Yet.

The old man's needle had just touched Zhao Laoliu's flesh, when Zhao Laoliu opened his eyes with a cry.

Mr. Sun couldn't help laughing and said: "Unexpectedly, this old man's medical skills have improved again. The disease will be cured before the injection."

When the old man said a word, everyone around laughed, and they all knew that Zhao Laoliu was pretending to be garlic, what kind of epilepsy, because he was afraid of chopping his hands and smashing his job. Don't open your face and don't want to admit that this shameless person is their northern cook.

Mr. Mei chuckled twice: "Master Liang, the life and death certificate just now is a witness for you and me. If someone repudiates the bill, not to mention Mr. Liang, even the old man can't afford to lose this person."

Liang Zisheng looked at Zhao Laoliu with serious eyes: "You'd better admit defeat or compare yourself. Hurry up. It's you who just insisted on making a life and death document. With my official and Mr. Mei here, you still want to renege on your debt."

Zhao Laoliu's face was pale, but he suddenly pointed at An Ran and said, "This girl is clearly a cook from the Northern School, and she pretended to be a cook from the Southern School to intimidate me. I don't believe that a cook from the Southern School can cook Northern dishes so well. typical."

Gouzi jumped his feet angrily: "You, you are really shameless, you can say such things."

Qian Hong stood up and said, "This girl is indeed a cook of the Southern School. Just now I said that she is a direct disciple of Mr. Zheng. If you don't believe me, the knife in the girl's hand is exactly Mr. Zheng's kitchen knife. Following the emperor's journey to the south, my brother Feng and I were fortunate enough to be recruited into the garden to cook our two signature dishes for the Long Live Lord. I have seen Mr. Zheng use this knife, and the engraving on the knife box is the ancestor of our chef. If you If you don't believe me, you can ask Miss An?"

Liang Zisheng looked at An Ran in shock: "Young lady is really Zheng Yuchu's apprentice?"

An Ran never thought of hiding this matter, nodded: "An Ran is the master's last disciple, and this kitchen knife was passed to me by the old man himself."

As he spoke, he looked at the cooks around him: "Everyone probably thinks that the master is a cook from the south, but in the master's heart, there is never a distinction between the north and the south. The master always says that the cooks in the world are one family, and the south and the north are just different regions. , The ingredients are different, and the techniques are different. According to the heart, it is the duty of our chefs to cook delicacies for the diners. There is no difference between the north and the south. What's more, although the southern dishes and the northern dishes are different, they are also connected to each other. , Just like today’s first bagged chicken, which is the signature of Jufenglou, it is a northern dish, but there is also a three-set duck in the southern dish, wild duck with domestic duck, and domestic duck with pigeon. The whole duck needs to be deboned before it can be eaten. After making this dish, there is also a set of four treasures, which is Henan cuisine, whether it should be regarded as southern or northern cuisine. An Ran also heard from the master that there is a set of eight treasures in the Western Regions. The outermost layer is camels. There are so many dishes derived from the same technique, how can we tell whether it is north or south? It is precisely because the predecessors of the kitchen industry do not distinguish between north and south, and exchange what is needed, so there are today's north and south delicacies."

As soon as An Ran finished speaking, he suddenly heard a cook from the northern faction yelling: "But when Mr. Zheng was the imperial cook, the cooks from our northern faction were not as good as your southern faction, and even the owner of the restaurant didn't want to hire us. Cooks from the Northern School like to use Southern School cooks. They say that the dishes of the Southern School are elegant and meticulous, and they say that our Northern School cooks are useless. If Mr. Zheng hadn’t lost to our Northern School chefs five years ago, our Northern School cooks are now I'm afraid it's the same situation as the Southern School, the girl's cooking skills are exquisite, I admire her, but this dispute between the North and the South has been going on for a long time, how can the girl just talk about it in a few words."

An Ran glanced at him: "What you said is that the master often blames himself for this. The master does not think that he is a cook of the southern school. The master often said that a real cook, no matter whether it is north or south, or even the most homely dishes, Can cook authentic flavors, so the chef is not only good at southern dishes, but also good at northern dishes. He even said that the reason why northern dishes are gradually declining is because they are self-sufficient. , so that many unique skills and exquisite techniques of Bei Cai are gradually lost. Take this mullet fish soup as an example, everyone knows that it is the No.

As he said that, he looked at the boy who just said, "If all the cooks in the northern school are like this little guy, maybe An Ran won't win today. We all know that the southern cuisine's assorted tofu soup is a famous knife-crafted dish, but we don't know There is also a dish of warm mandarin fish slices and shredded lotus root in soy sauce. The mandarin fish is deboned and then peeled with a knife. The whole skin is not broken. Take the meat and cut it into thin slices. It is as thin as a hair, and each thread can pass through the eye of a needle. How can such knife skills be worse than assorted tofu soup? Even the master said that in terms of unique skills and difficulty, Bei Cai is the best in the world, but there are many unique skills nowadays. They are all lost, this is the biggest loss for our kitchen business, what our cooks rely on is their craftsmanship, if the craftsmanship is gone, what is left."

Suddenly a person said: "Is that girl from the northern school or the southern school?"

Everyone was in an uproar with one sentence, but An Ran laughed, looked around and said decisively: "An Ran is a cook, and his only hope in this life is to use this kitchen knife in his hand to cook dishes that satisfy diners, regardless of the north or south."

Mr. Sun leaned close to Mr. Mei's ear and whispered: "Where did you find this girl, such skill, such grandeur, such wit, such cleverness, I don't know there are such women in the world?"

Mr. Mei nodded: "It's smart. It's no wonder that he is the direct disciple of old man Zheng. Old man Zheng can't do it. Maybe this girl can really do it. This kind of bearing is far beyond what Han Zizhang can match."

As soon as Liu Cheng saw something wrong, the girl convinced the Beipai chef with a few words. If this spread to the capital, would she be able to do well? Thinking of this, she said: "Since the girl is so magnanimous, let Zhao go!" How is the sixth child?"

When Liu Cheng said a word, even the chefs from the Northern School couldn't help frowning. This life and death situation is a major event in the kitchen industry, how can it be such a trifle.

Gao Bingyi glared at Liu Cheng: "If it's Zhao Laoliu who wins today, how can he spare Miss An?"

Liu Cheng chuckled and said, "Zhao Laoliu is just a low-level cook, how can he compare with Mr. Zheng's master apprentice."

Gao Bingyi snorted: "According to what you said, didn't Zhao Laoliu still say that Han Yuchu is his master? He just sent out on behalf of you from the north. Could it be that you sent such a low-level little cook?"

Liu Cheng was choked by him, so he muttered at the beginning: "It's nice to say, but the brain is full of hypocrisy and righteousness for a long time."

"You..." Gao Bing's righteous face turned red, and he was about to go forward to argue, but An Ran stopped him.

An Ran looked at Zhao Laoliu and said, "An Ran respects you as a senior, our kitchen business is most concerned about seniority, An Ran will definitely not embarrass the senior, what's more, breaking your hand is equivalent to cutting off your livelihood, so you don't think about your seniors, you have to For the sake of the family of the ancestors."

As he said that, he walked over and took the life and death documents on the desk, and threw them into the stove: "This third round is neither winning nor losing, it's a draw."

Zhao Laoliu was overjoyed when he heard it, and hurriedly threw his life and death documents into the stove fire. Seeing his peers around him looking at him with disdainful expressions, his old face blushed suddenly, and he was embarrassed to stay. Get off, and run away in despair with the apprentice.

When Liang Zisheng saw that things had come to this point, the Fuchun Residence was confirmed. Not only was it confirmed, but only with Mr. Mei in charge, no one would trouble Fuchun Residence in the future. It has been shown that even if the dispute between the North and the South kitchens cannot be truly resolved, at least some sympathy has been left behind. None of the owners of the eight major restaurants are ignorant of this sympathy. After World War I, Fuchunju became famous, and I am afraid that not only those who eat southern cuisine, but also those who eat northern cuisine will also patronize it.

After all, Fuchunju has produced a chef who cooks northern cuisine more authentically than Bada Restaurant. , but offended Mr. Mei, what are you still doing here.

Thinking of standing up and saying goodbye to the gentlemen, he smiled and said to An Ran before leaving: "No wonder the girl is so good at cooking, she is the direct disciple of Mr. Zheng, I am disrespectful and disrespectful, I will go later when I have time." Jizhou Mansion visits the old man..." After a few polite words, he led the people away.

The magistrate left, and the competition officially came to an end. Because of An Ran's kindness, although the cooks from the Northern School were defeated, they finally kept their dignity. Moreover, An Ran's last words made these people feel ashamed Yu began to reflect, yes, there are so many unique skills and exquisite skills in northern cuisine, if the chefs of the northern school did not think about making progress, how could they let the southern school overwhelm them, thinking about going back to study the craft, so they all left up.

Gao Bingyi also persuaded the cook from the Southern School who was watching the excitement to go back. For a while, there were only a few gentlemen left in Fuchunju, the two owners Qian Hong and Feng Ji, and the boy who wanted to compete with An Ran.

An Ran glanced at the little guy: "Do you still want to compare with me?"

The little guy froze his head: "Why don't you compare?"

Feng Ji stomped his feet anxiously: "You are really bewildered, with your little skills, how can you compare with Miss An?"

The little guy rolled his eyes, but said: "Beautiful sister, I am a young boy who works as a handyman in Huiquan Pavilion. I haven't learned how to cook for a few days. If this soup I make can catch my sister's eyes, my sister will give it a try." How about doing one thing for me?"

An Ran was stunned for a moment, not understanding what this kid was up to.

But Mr. Mei said: "The little guy has a big tone. You need to know that this soup looks simple, but it is not easy to make."

The little guy nodded: "I know it's not easy to do, but I want to try."

Mr. Sun smiled and said: "Let him try it, it's a good thing if you dare to reach out."

The little guy's eyes lit up, and he bowed to the two gentlemen: "Shunzi thank you two old gentlemen." As he spoke, he put his hands together, first washed his clean hands carefully in the basin next to him, and then started to do it, washing his hands. Mullet money, boiling water, tearing pieces... are actually the same as An Ran's method. The difference is that the heat and the shape of the dishes are a little different. For a kid in his teens, it is already very impressive.

Even Feng Ji, the owner, was stunned. He didn't understand how a handy boy in his restaurant could have such skills.

Anran still asked Mr. Sun to taste the cooked dishes, and Mr. Sun ate three mouthfuls as before, and nodded: "Although the taste is not as good as the one made by the girl, it is also reasonable."

Then, looking at the little guy: "How can you make this soup?"

But the kid lowered his head: "My father taught me this, it's my grandfather's unique skill, but unfortunately my grandfather died early, my father didn't learn my grandpa's skills, even this unique skill of my grandpa didn't succeed , when it was passed on to me, I could only make it like this."

Mr. Sun was taken aback: "Is your surname Cui?"

The little guy nodded: "How did the old man know?"

The people present also understood at this time that the boy who got out of the way to disrupt the situation was what Mr. Sun said. The imperial cook Cui Xiaoshun who cooked this soup at the imperial banquet back then, no wonder this boy is called Shunzi. His mother pointed at his grandfather and called him, hoping that he could inherit his grandfather's craftsmanship, and she couldn't help but sigh that the grandson of a generation of royal chefs was exiled to work as a handyman in Huiquan Pavilion.

An Ran said: "What do you want my sister to promise you?"

But Shunzi knelt on the ground with a plop: "Shunzi wants my sister to agree to accept Shunzi as an apprentice. Since I was a child, I wanted to be like my grandfather and be a cook. My mother said that if I want to be like my grandfather, I have to ask someone who is better than my grandfather." You need a good master, my sister is the most powerful cook I have ever seen, so please accept me as your apprentice."

Seeing that An Ran didn't nod her head, she couldn't help being a little anxious: "My sister just agreed, and I can't go back on my word just because I'm young."

Gouzi put his hands on his hips: "Hey, there is someone who will steal my master from me. I said you, you just want to worship the master, and you are also under me, do you know?"

Shunzi was also clever, and hurriedly called out: "Senior brother." Several people around couldn't hold back their laughter.

An Ran, however, looked at Feng Ji in embarrassment. The cook from the north and the south was just a little better. She didn't want to take on an apprentice and make her revenge. He is wrong.

Feng Ji naturally knew what she meant, and hurriedly said: "What the girl said just now is that all cooks are divided into north and south. I admire the girl's mind very much, and I will not hide it from the girl. Our eight restaurants in Qizhou really can't do it." , was drawn into this North-South dispute, Han Zizhang ruled out dissidents, encouraged the northern cooks in Qizhou to compete with the southern cooks, and privately warned us not to hire southern cooks, even though Fuchunju sells southern dishes, but I also have two cooks from the Southern School at the head of Huiquan Pavilion. As the owner, we all want to hire cooks from the Southern School. , and very few people can cook it authentically, but the southern cuisine is varied and refined, and it is quite popular among diners. Besides, most of the cooks of southern cuisine can cook northern cuisine, so there is really no need to distinguish between the north and the south. Han Zizhang himself is still good at cooking. It’s not all southern food, it’s not that we are forced to divide the north and the south, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for us, but people have to bow their heads under the eaves, and please forgive us for our difficulties.”

As he said that, he looked at Shunzi: "I don't know Shunzi's origin at the beginning, and I thought he was just an ordinary boy, but now I know that he is a descendant of the imperial chef and has such talent. If he is in Huiquan Pavilion, I will accept him as a I'm afraid it will delay him, so it's better for the girl to accept him, with the girl's cooking skills, Shunzi will definitely become a talent in the future, and he will be worthy of his grandfather's spirit in heaven."

Qian Hong also said: "Yes, the girl will accept Shunzi." He sighed: "If the girl can take in a few more apprentices, even if the girl can learn [-]% of the girl's skills, it will be a blessing in my kitchen business."

An Ran lowered her head and saw the little guy looking at her eagerly, begging all over her face, and sighed: "It's fine for me to take you as an apprentice, but you have to remember that it's not difficult to be a cook, but it's difficult to be a human being. To be a cook, you must first learn how to be a human being." , to be worthy of this bowl of rice bestowed by the patriarch."

The little guy kowtowed three times with joy on his face, and the apprentice An Ran accepted it.The two landlords and several gentlemen also left, and Fuchun Residence was really quiet.

An Ran asked Gao Bingyi to go down to prepare. It is estimated that the business should come to the door tomorrow. No matter what, the pass was passed safely today. Suddenly he felt a little thirsty, and handed over a cup of tea. An Ran raised his head and smiled at Mei, and took it. After taking a sip, it tasted slightly bitter. Looking carefully, I saw several flavors in it were traditional Chinese medicine for throat.

Mei Da pointed to her throat, meaning that drinking it was good for her throat, An Ran felt warm in her heart: "Thank you, Brother Mei."

Everyone left, and Gao Bingyi quickly brought people out of the atrium. As for Shunzi, he had already been dragged away by Gouzi to show his brother's score. The place that was so lively just now was empty and silent.

An Ran sat sideways on the porch bench in a daze, and suddenly heard Mei Da's hoarse voice: "Why do you become a cook?"

An Ran was stunned, and couldn't help shaking her head: "I haven't thought about why, but I knew from birth that I was going to be a cook. Maybe it's because the blood of a cook is flowing in my bones. , Grasping is the spoon for cooking, and I have been learning cooking skills from my grandfather since I can remember."

"Grandpa? Master?" Mei Da struggled to spit out four words.

An Ran suddenly looked sideways at him: "Brother Mei, can you write?"

Mei Da was slightly stunned and nodded, An Ran handed him his hand: "You are struggling to speak, so just write it down, write it on my hand, and I will know what you want to say."

Mei Da stared blankly at that beautiful white hand, panicking for a moment.

Seeing that he was not moving, An Ran waved in front of his eyes: "What are you thinking, write."

An Ran put her hand in his big hand and waited, Mei Da slowly wrote a few words: "Is Grandpa your master?"

An Ran shook her head: "No."

Then Mei Da wrote: "Then where is your grandfather now?"

An Ran's face darkened: "Passed away." Seeing that he didn't seem to understand, he said: "I can't explain these things clearly. Anyway, since I was a child, I knew that I wanted to be a cook and pass on An's private kitchen dishes. Now I have found something more meaningful. For the kitchen industry in the world, Anjia’s private kitchen is too narrow. I want to travel all over the country, looking for delicacies, learn the unique dishes from all over the place, and record them in a book , and pass this on to all those who want to learn how to cook."

As he spoke, his eyes lit up: "By the way, maybe I can open a culinary school."

Mei Da wrote on her hand: "What is culinary school?"

An Ran laughed: "The culinary school is a place dedicated to teaching cooking, just like your academy here, the academy teaches the Four Books and Five Classics, and the culinary school naturally teaches cooking skills, starting from the most basic knife skills, systematically teaching cooking."

Mei Da wrote on her hand: "Are you Mr.?"

An Ran shook her head: "Wouldn't it be exhausting for me to be a teacher by myself, and besides, my knowledge is limited by myself. I can invite famous chefs from all over Dayan to be my teacher, so that the students I teach will not be divided into anything." North and south, the cooking techniques and unique skills of different places can also be mastered, and maybe even more powerful unique skills and techniques can be created."

An Ran's eyes lit up when she said that, and she found that Mei Da had written on her hand: "Aren't you married?"

An Ran was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help but looked up, the sky in the four corners was on the atrium, from this angle, it looked a bit like the Di Cui Xuan in the other courtyard of Jizhou Mansion, except that there was her own cage, but here she was free.

That man An Jiamu has already gone back to be his suave grand master, and he has become a veritable cook himself. The two of them are not on the same road in the first place. After meeting for a short time, they will only go further and further away. Marry?who to marryIn this world, is there a man who doesn't care about his past? Even if there is a man who doesn't care, he has to like it. There is no man in this world who makes him like it.

"What are you thinking about?" Feeling the fingers sliding slightly on the palm of her hand, An Ran couldn't help returning to her senses, and shook her head: "I didn't think about anything, I just thought about who I could marry? I'm afraid there is no one here who I like, so I won't marry Now, it’s not bad to be a cook in this life, you can teach apprentices, and maybe you can open a cooking school in the future, why do you have to marry someone.”

"Why not?" Mei Da seemed to be obsessed with this question, An Ran glanced at him sideways, and smiled, probably Mei Da has never seen a woman who is so determined not to marry, after all, the concept here is that women must be married. Yes, after twenty, she becomes an old girl. Although she looks young now, her mental age is actually thirty. Thirty, in this world, women who are thirty have become grandmothers. Thirty If you don't get married, you can scare people to death.

An Ran shook her head and laughed: "Brother Mei, I am different from the women here. You think it is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, but it is never acceptable to me. For me, husband and wife are not what you look like here."

Mei Da was silent for a long time, and wrote a sentence on her hand: "What about the couple in your heart?"

An Ran dragged her cheeks and thought for a while: "Love each other, two hearts are as one, hold your hand and grow old together." After speaking, she laughed and looked sideways at Mei Da: "I'm talking nonsense."

Seeing that Mei was in a daze, he waved his small hand in front of his eyes: "Brother Mei, you have learned boxing skills after studying, it's amazing. I have also learned some boxing skills, but they are all useless ostentation." Thinking, I couldn't help but my eyes lit up: "Brother Mei will teach me kung fu when you are free, okay?"

Mei Da shook her head and wrote on her hand: "What do girls practice martial arts for?"

"Self-protection, if I have good fists and feet, I can deal with bad people when I go out to travel in the future. How good it is."

"You still want to go out?"

An Ran nodded: "Of course, the reason why I came to Yanzhou Mansion is to experience the northern dishes here, and naturally I have to go to other places, such as Sichuan, no, what is your place called?"

An Ran scratched her head: "Chengdu? Is there such a place?"

Mei Da wrote on her hand: "You want to go to Sichuan."

An Ran nodded: "Not only in Shu, I also want to go to Yun..." Just as I was about to talk about Yunnan, I suddenly remembered that there might not be a place named Yunnan here, so I had to find Mr. Mei to find a copy of Dayan's prefectural annals to have a look. , Find out where it is, otherwise, if you go out in the dark, you don't know where to go.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly felt that Mei Da had written a few more words on her hand: "When are you leaving?"

An Ran thought for a while: "Let's wait for a while, when Fuchun Residence settles down, and I have taken in two more apprentices, so I can't just leave without teaching them, it's too misleading for my disciples, not to mention, fast-entry It’s winter, so we have to wait until this winter is over.”

Moreover, An Ran felt that Han Zizhang would not give up so easily. Liu Cheng, the owner of Yanhetang, looked like Han Zizhang's eyeliner and running dogs. Originally, Han Zizhang wanted to stir up a dispute between the North and the South, and let himself ruin the plan. Naturally, he would not Do as.

Since he knew that he was the master's apprentice, he would naturally not show up in person. An Ran estimated that he might send his apprentices to compete with him. Thinking of this, An Ran said, "Brother Mei, do you know how many apprentices Han Zizhang has?"

(End of this chapter)