Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 562: Tong Jiaoxiu's Job Seeking Department

"Guihua, you say." Zhao Zhen shouted.

"Sir, since I heard that Li Zhu from Huaixi had been here, the new wife asked people to prepare a lot of dishes and invited you to eat together. Because the master asked not to tell the new wife about his itinerary, the new wife got a bit angry and severely punished several maids who served her. These days, the new wife has been staying at the eldest lady's place."

Zhao Zhen relaxed his brows after hearing this and said, "Hui Niang, this is not a big deal, why bother covering it up."

"I haven't had a proper meal from the Privy Council in the past few days. So, Rose, ask the kitchen manager Li Xiaoer to instruct the four chefs brought by Lady Tong to prepare a table of their signature dishes. Also, inform all the ladies to gather at the newly built Lan Yue Tower on the top of the mountain tonight, and taste the cooking skills of the four chefs today."

After Rose left, Zhao Zhen walked into the hall, sat down, picked up the official documents that had been accumulated for three days and began to read them.

Before he had read a few copies, he heard the jingling of bells and saw Tong Jiaoxiu coming in with four maids. When they saw Zhao Zhen, they bowed, walked around the table, stood behind Zhao Zhen, put a pair of delicate hands on Zhao Zhen's shoulders, and gently massaged them.

She said, "Sir, Rose said she wants to go to Lanyue Tower for dinner today, so that everyone in the family can taste the cooking skills I brought with me?"

Seeing Zhao Zhen nod, Tong Jiaoxiu continued, "Sir, these four cooks are good at palace dishes, government dishes, temple dishes, and market dishes. Today, we don't have enough time and the ingredients are not ready yet. How about I ask them to pick a few dishes to cook?"

Zhao Zhen said, "There is still a lot of time to come. If they do well, let the four of them teach some apprentices and each of them will be a cook. From now on, in addition to Li Xiaoer being the manager, the four of them will also go to the back kitchen and take charge of a stove. Then we can eat Bianjing cuisine at home all the time."

Tong Jiaoxiu heard this and agreed with a smile.

"Do you and the sisters have any dietary restrictions?"

"There's nothing to be restricted by. Just tell them to cook it. Just don't waste it. I heard that in the royal court dishes, there are lamb skewers, only the two wings are taken; and for fish, only the two cheeks are taken. The rest is discarded. This dish is too wasteful. Don't make it."

Tong Jiaoxiu said: "It's not a waste. The remaining can be used to make other dishes or given to the soldiers."

Zhao Zhen said: "If I do this, won't everyone follow suit? Then, won't I be able to exploit the people? The people are poor and will inevitably rebel. Just like the world today, bandits are everywhere and the court is constantly at war."

Tong Jiaoxiu curled her lips behind Zhao Zhen and said, "Don't worry, sir. I'll ask them to make some other dishes."

After Tong Jiaoxiu left, Zhao Zhen raised the official document in his hand and turned to ask Liu Huiniang, "Hui Niang, why is Xingren Mansion still not peaceful? Have you sent someone to investigate?"

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, the scout reported that Bai Sheng, the commander of the camp, brought seven or eight people, disguised as a merchant caravan, and went into Xingren Prefecture to investigate. It turned out that the newcomer Ji Anbang, relying on his status as a confidant of General Gao and now under the care of Gao Yanei, embezzled the troops of Liang Heng, the military commander. Now that Liang Heng has lost power, the troops of Xingren Prefecture are under the command of Ji Anbang. Gao Yanei is becoming more and more lawless. Every day, people in Xingren Prefecture flee over Gaoping Mountain and enter Puzhou. Ji Anbang ordered his troops to intercept them everywhere, and General Chao and General Sun clashed with Xingren Prefecture several times."

Zhao Zhen said, "I have also seen Liang Heng. Although he is an old general, he is very impressive. Send a message to Bai Sheng to see if he can be invited to Liangshan." Liu Hui Niang nodded and agreed, "Sir, besides Liang Heng, the magistrate Gai Tianxi has been idle at home because he has been working hard to maintain the people and was slandered by Gao Ya's inner circle."

"Do you know his origins?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"He is from Runan, and comes from a family of officials. His father was once the prefect of Cangzhou in Hebei. I'm afraid he is unwilling to come and seek refuge with you," said Liu Hui Niang.

"It's okay. Ask Bai Sheng to leave a letter for him. It would be best if he can come, but if he doesn't, there will be no loss." After saying that, he asked someone to call Li San and gave him a few instructions.

At night, in Lanyue Tower, Zhao Zhen sat in the main seat, with Cheng Wan'er, Tong Jiaoxiu, Liu Huiniang and others sitting on his left and right.

The various dishes were presented one after another. Tong Jiaoxiu was the first to speak up about each dish. These cooks really had some skills, and the dishes were delicious. In particular, the "Four Treasures in One" was absolutely amazing, combining the rich, fragrant, fresh and wild flavors of chicken, duck, pigeon and quail. The four whole birds were body-in-body and leg-in-leg, and each one was intact without a single bone.

In the blue and white porcelain soup bowl, there is first a whole duck with a bright color, fragrant aroma, and a complete body floating in the soup. After the duck, a fragrant whole chicken comes into view. After the chicken, there is a delicious whole pigeon, and finally a complete quail is revealed in the pigeon's stomach, with its belly filled with diced sea cucumber, shredded mushrooms, and magnolia slices.

After eating this dish, there are also braised soft-shelled turtle, silver crucian carp, and braised duck with sauce, each of which has its own merits. Zhao Zhen was even more satisfied with the braised vegetables.

After the meal, Zhao Zhen felt refreshed all over.

Tong Jiaoxiu said in a sweet voice: "It's a pity that there are no specialties from Bianjing in the mansion, otherwise, I could make a few more dishes."

Cheng Wan'er said, "Sister, this is very good. This table is worth what an ordinary family earns in a year."

Tong Jiaoxiu said, "People are divided into different classes. Sister, you only see that this table of dishes cost a lot, but you didn't see that all the dishes were bought from outside with gold and silver. And the hired cooks cooked them. My family has too much money to spend, but now it's spent. The poor benefit, and we enjoy the food. What's wrong with that?"

"For example, this dish of fried mackerel head and tail uses four mackerels weighing five pounds, and only the head and tail are taken. These four mackerels alone are not enough for the fisherman to support his family. If the whole fish is fried and grilled, only one is needed, which is even less than enough to support the fisherman. If my family buys a hundred or so mackerels every day, we can support five or seven fishermen, isn't that great? Besides, I heard that the official has also set up a skinning shop like the one in Bianjing, and the best cattle and sheep are slaughtered every day, and they are sent to your house, and you pay according to the price."

Zhao Zhen thought it made sense, but Liu Hui Niang said, "But it can't be calculated that way. The head and tail of this fried mackerel are fine, but one mackerel was cooked in place of four, and the fish body in the middle was given to the housekeepers to enjoy. If this happens every day, won't the servants in the house try to make a profit from it?"

Tong Jiaoxiu heard this and said, "This is not difficult. I have been here for a few days and I have seen that my sisters have things to do, but I am the only one who has nothing to do. I plan to open a restaurant in Liangshan Mansion, and I will need a lot of wine and meat every day. I will select the best ones and send them to the mansion, such as mackerel bodies, which can be made into fish balls or fish cakes, which can be consumed."

As she spoke, Tong Jiaoxiu pulled Zhao Zhen's sleeve and said, "Sir, is my idea good?"

(End of this chapter)