Here Comes The Lady Chef Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Ancient Recipe
Inside of the city, Wen Rou was highly excited and found it hard to control her excitement.
The two men who loved and protected her with their lives in their past lives had once again, appeared in front of her in this life.
The snow was raining on the streets, and there were few people out and about. The stalls on both sides of the street hurriedly kept their wares and closed their shops.
Occasionally there are a few travellers that were crowding against the wall, and pointing at the government notice that Government Zhao had placed all over the town.
Wen Rou could not help but giggle. Looks like Government Zhao had yet to know that the bandits had already been eradicated. This notice had barely been put up and Government Zhao would have to take them down again.
Just now, she had only heard that Shen Yaoshan was a.s.signed by the emperor to come here to get rid of the bandits. But what about Ren Yue? Why did he come to Xianyang?
Shouldn’t Ren Yue be preparing for the imperial examination in the capital, and take part in this examination in the next year?
That’s right, he should be taking the imperial examination next year. In the capital.
Wen Rou’s heart was getting more and more confused. Why these two former suitors of hers suddenly appeared in front of her in Xianyang?
That night, during dinner, Wen Rou eyes seemed to droop. She was barely holding on to the bowl of rice in her hand, and inadvertently poked the rice without eating much.
“Rou Er, are you too exhausted from working in the kitchen?” Zhou Shi put down her pair of chopsticks and put her hand on Wen Rou’s forehead.
“Mother, I am fine. It may be because the weather is very chilly today, and I do not have much appet.i.te. I am very tired and would like to excuse myself to take a rest in my room.” Wen Rou replied with her head bowed down. At this time, all she wants is to be left alone. She excused herself and went to her room.
“Hubby, tomorrow do not allow our daughter to go to work with you. She is a girl and is too frail….” Zhou Shi looked at her husband, Wen Shouzhen, and immediately nagged.
Wen Shouzhen did not say a word, and just bowed his head in silence as he eats. In his mind, he was thinking about how his daughter and disciple had managed to join forces and defeat chef Gao in the chef battle today.
But Wen Ting did not know when to keep quiet, “Mother, sister is really talented. If she is not allowed to go to work with dad and learn cooking from him, it would be a great pity!”
“Is there a brother like you? If not for you, Rou Er will not have to go to the restaurant and need not suffer!” Zhou Shi put down her bowl, glare at Wen Ting, and immediately left the dining table.
“I…..” Wen Ting just stood there with his mouth agape.
“I have finished my meal!” At this moment, Wen Shouzhen also put down his bowl. He looked at Wen Ting and barked, “Quick, finish your meal. When you had your fill, remember to wash all the plates, bowls and chopsticks!” Then he left.
Wen Ting sat on the dining table by himself, stunned. His pair of chopsticks remained hanging in the air as he sat there. Suddenly he vented his frustration and shouted “What the h.e.l.l is going on? Why everything is somehow my fault and all the blame falls on me?”
Wen Rou lays on the bed. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The events during the day continuously repeated in her mind.
“Ren Yue” and “Shen Yaoshan” were permanently entrenched in her memories, and she could not forget them.
Wen Rou was fl.u.s.tered. She really could not sleep. She got up from the bed, and noticed the cookbook that chef Gao had gifted her.
This is cookbooks containing the recipes is very old, and its pages had turned yellow with age. You could tell from this cookbook that it was written very long ago.
“Father, chef Gao is the head chef of Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant. His ancestor was an imperial chef. How could he bear to give this cookbook to me?”
“Oh! Gao Yunpeng is a mule! He only knows how to cook. He does not know anything else! So how could he know how to read? [1]”
Wen Rou picked up the cookbook. The words that her father had said reappeared in her mind as a flashback.
Frankly speaking, Wen Shouzhen is also a mule himself. Other than cooking, he could not read a single word.
But all chefs love having some face [3] and does not want to be embarra.s.sed.
Therefore, when chef Gao handed over the cookbook, Wen Shouzhen only flipped through it. When he discovered it was filled with words that he could not understand, he immediately tossed the cookbook to Wen Rou.
The cookbook that was useless for chef Gao is also useless for Wen Shouzhen – they both could not read.
But for Wen Rou, it is a treasure grove. In her past life, she had learnt to read. In this life, she had often asked her brother to teach her to read and write as she was bored. Therefore, reading this cookbook is not difficult for her.
Wen Rou causally turned the pages and read it. She unknowingly becomes more and more enchanted by what she read.
“Oh, you can use stones to cook? And you cook fish in this way!” Wen Rou was talking to herself out loud. She more read, the more absorbed she became, and the less frustrated she is.
If not for the fact that it is quite late, Wen Rou really wanted to go to the kitchen, and try out the recipes.
“Yi? There are also recipes for making wine?” Wen Rou could not believe her eyes. In the Zhou Dynasty, wine recipes are very rare.
In the last few pages of the cookbook, there are several recipes for making wine.
Wine!
Wen Rou felt a tinge of hope for her future.
A few days ago, the Yin family had delivered a jar of wine to their home. This jar of wine was kept in the storeroom.
Normally, her father, Wen Shouzhen, would have opened that jar of wine and have a bowl of wine at every meal.
But right now, it is almost the Lunar New Year. Wen Shouzhen was too busy at his work in the restaurant and temporary forgotten about it.
Once in a while, when he mentioned this jar of wine, he would casually remark that he would drink the wine after the Lunar New Year.
Wine! Wine! Wine!
Each time Wen Rou saw that disgusting thing, she wanted to kick and break the jar of wine.
If not for the fact that the wine is sealed, she would have put a dead rat into that jar, and also added all sorts of disgusting things into it.
Wen Shouzhen loves to drink wine, and Yin Fugui would send a jar of wine to b.u.t.ter him up. If we could brew wine ourselves, then perhaps we can put a dent in the plans of the Yin family.
As soon as she thought about this, Wen Rou immediately looked at the recipe for brewing wine.
Most of the wine in the Great Zhou Dynasty is based on cooking and fermentation. In the onset of winter the wine is prepared, and in summer, the wine is ready for drinking. Altogether, it usually takes 8 to 9 months for the wine to be ready for consumption. Therefore, there are restrictions in place, and it is quite hard for her to brew wine.
Wen Rou was thinking that if there is a type of wine that does not require a long waiting time, and the wine is of a good quality, wouldn’t that be great?
“Oh, there is such a recipe!” Wen Rou eyes gleamed. Her gaze was focused on a small corner of the cookbook.
There is a rare recipe for a wine that could be brewed today and is ready for consumption on the next day.
This type of wine is called ‘Chicken Wine’. As the name suggests, the chicken wine is a wine that could be prepared quickly. The ratio of alcohol to water is 1:3. It took less than one for this wine to complete the fermentation process. It could be brewed in the evening and sold in the morning the next morning. The taste is highly differentiated from the other wine and the alcohol content is quite low [2]. In other words, this kind of wine has a relatively refreshing taste and is not easy to intoxicate.
Wen Rou grinned. This wine is exactly what she is looking for!
Drinking wine until they are intoxication is easy for people to create trouble. Having a mild wine is the best!
So excited was she that on that night, she tossed and turned and found it difficult to sleep. When it is nearly daybreak, she finally managed to catch a catnap.
“Rou Er, time to wake up!” Early in the morning, Zhou Shi gently shook and wake Wen Rou, who was sleeping soundly.
Wen Rou turned over, and opened her eyes. When she saw the figure of her mother, she smiled.
It is such a blessing to have a family member around! Once she woke up, she could see her parents – this is such a great feeling!
“Mother!” Wen Rou called out sweetly.
“Rou Er, why not take a break today, and not go to the Drunken Immortal restaurant? If you are tired, rest for one day.” Zhou Shi was heartbroken when she saw the skinny and tired Wen Rou yesterday. She stroked her daughter’s hair.
“Mother, I am much better now!” Wen Rou immediate lept out of the bed, and immediately combed her hair and change her clothes.
Although she had two big panda eyes like yesterday, today she was highly excited.
Once they had eaten their breakfast, she went to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant with her father.
After working for most of the day, when the sun is almost setting, Wen Shouzhen was worried that she could not cope to the heavy workload and asked her to go back first.
Wen Rou also wanted to purchase some stuff, and immediately agreed.
Once she left Drunken Immortal restaurant, she immediately made a beeline for the winery shop to get the ingredients she need to brew the chicken wine.
On this chilly night, Wen Rou sneaked into the kitchen under the cover of the moon and conduct experiments in the kitchen.
You could not use water gathered directly from the well for brewing wine; you must use the water that had been boiled. As well, boiling hot water is unsuitable; you should wait for the water to be cooled before using it.
Wen Rou was fully absorbed in the task, and before she knows it, it is already the 3rd watch. (11pm to 1am)
She had kept the wine carefully, and hidden them. All it needs is one night for it to finishing fermenting, then it will be ready for consumption tomorrow!
—- In the next morning —
“Father, I got something special to show you!” Wen Rou smiled, and carried out the jar of the wine that she had brewed yesterday.
Wen Shouzhen was about to eat his breakfast, when he saw Wen Rou dragging a jar into the dining hall. “Oh? Young lady, why are you carrying a jar so early in the morning.”
“Hehe, I hope you will try the Chicken Wine that I brewed.” Wen Rou’s hair was still messy. She had yet to comb it. She was so anxious to have her father evaluate the wine that she had made that she rushed out without combing her hair.
But once she said the words, she immediately regretted it. This wine had only been fermented for one night. Is it really as what the recipe says, “Brew the wine at night, and ready for drinking in the morning?”
What if she opened this jar and it is just a jar of water. Won’t she lost face and become embarra.s.sed?
“Oh? My daughter had tried her hand at brewing wine?” Wen Shouzhen was very happy. “Wen Rou, when you brew the wine? How come I did not know about this? Where did you bury the jar of wine? Where did you hide the wine making equipment?”
Under the continuous barrage of questions by Wen Shouzhen, Wen Rou was fl.u.s.tered and did not know how to reply.
“Yesterday night I brew it. I did not bury it under the ground, and did not use any equipment. I just used the big wok….” Wen Rou voice was so small that it resemble the sound a mosquito makes. The sound of a winter mosquito.
“Hahaha!” Wen Shouzhen carried the jar of wine, and pulled his daughter over, “Silly girl! There are a lot of things to learn when brewing wine. Usually we brew the wine in the beginning of winter, and the wine is only ready on the last days of summer. In addition, making wine requires a lot of equipment that our house does not have. It is very difficult to brew wine! That is why your uncle Yin’s wine is not that tasty, but it is still popular.” Wen Shouzhen explained.
“That’s right! Wen Rou, it is very difficult and very troublesome to brew wine! How could brew a jar of wine overnight?” Zhou Shi smiled, and got a bowl of porridge for Wen Rou.
“I have already brewed the wine. Please try it!” Wen Rou pouted. She broke open the seal, and her heart was beating very rapidly.
“All right, I will try. I must definitely try. After all, this is brewed by my daughter.” Wen Shouzhen grinned and he purposely smiled so that Wen Rou will not be disheartened.
Just when everyone did not think much of the wine, the seal on the wine was broke, and a strong fragrant aroma effused out.
Wen Shouzhen was puzzled. He immediately stood up and looked into the jar. The liquid inside was clear and sparkling. At the edge of the jar, it was sticky.
“This is…..” Wen Shouzhen was stunned.