Chapter 67

Outside the Pei family courtyard, two men knocked on the door. One was in his twenties, with an ordinary and somewhat honest appearance. The other was in his thirties, tall and burly, with a full beard, looking rather intimidating. When they saw Madam Wen, the burly man asked, “Is this the home of Young Lady Xu?”

Madam Wen’s expression changed slightly when she heard them asking for Yuniang, fearing they were here to cause trouble. She was about to change her words when she vaguely recognized the younger man. He said, “Auntie, don’t you recognize me? Don’t worry, I’m Zhou the cook from the Bafang Inn in Raozhou City. Auntie, you stayed at the Bafang Inn when you first came to Raozhou City over a year ago. In early autumn, Master Xu even came to Raozhou City to sell grape wine.”

Xu Qinyu had taught him a few dishes and some cooking tips, so he had started calling her Master Xu.

This man was indeed Zhou Daqing, and the person beside him was Liang Yi, Commander Liang.

Liang Yi also said, “Auntie, don’t be afraid. We’re not bad people. We came to see Young Lady Xu because we have a favor to ask.”

Even if he missed and craved Young Lady Xu’s cooking, he wouldn’t come to ask for food in the middle of the night unless it was urgent.

Madam Wen recalled that the younger man was indeed the chef from the inn in Raozhou City. She quickly said, “Yuniang is still resting. Why did you come in the middle of the night? Is there something urgent?” She couldn’t understand why two men would come looking for Yuniang, a young lady skilled in cooking, in the middle of the night. Even if it was for her cooking, it shouldn’t be so urgent.

Xu Qinyu was also awakened by the knocking outside. She dressed and put on her cloth boots before coming out. Seeing the two men at the door, she immediately recognized them and smiled, “Chef Zhou, Officer Liang, what brings you here?”

Chef Zhou said, “We have something to discuss with Young Lady Xu.”

It was still snowing outside and quite cold, so Madam Wen invited them into the kitchen and made them hot tea.

Xu Qinyu had already heard their purpose.

They had come on behalf of the mother of Prefect Zhu of Raozhou City.

Prefect Zhu, who was fifty years old and born into a humble family, had a mother who was over seventy, which is considered a long life. However, her health has been declining over the past two years. This winter, she had become bedridden, growing weaker by the day. Recently, she had been more often unconscious than awake. The doctor said she was nearing the end of her life and advised Prefect Zhu to prepare for her passing.

Although her age and peaceful life made it a natural death, Prefect Zhu’s mother had stopped eating and drinking a few days ago. He had invited several famous chefs from Raozhou City to cook for her, but she couldn’t eat more than a bite. After days without eating or drinking, he was heartbroken and hoped his mother could have a full meal before she passed so she could go peacefully and not starve.

Prefect Zhu knew Liang Yi and had once dined with him. Liang Yi mentioned a young girl who cooked delicious food, which was so memorable that he still thought about it.

Prefect Zhu had invited all the top chefs from the restaurants in Raozhou City, but his elderly mother still couldn’t eat anything. In desperation, he called Liang Yi to his mansion and asked him about the young lady who had cooked for him before, wondering if her culinary skills were really that good.

Liang Yi assured him, “Don’t worry, Prefect. This young lady’s cooking skills surpass even those of the top chefs at Zuixian Restaurant. I don’t know why the Old Madam isn’t willing to eat, but perhaps we could invite the young lady to try.”

Prefect Zhu knew that Liang Yi was a gourmet who had tasted all the delicacies in Raozhou City. If he couldn’t forget her cooking, she must indeed have some talent.

So, Prefect Zhu asked where the young lady lived and if she could come to the mansion to cook for his mother. He was willing to offer a reward.

Liang Yi scratched his head and told Xu Qinyu, “Prefect Zhu is a good official. I don’t want to disappoint his filial piety. Although I don’t know where the young lady lives, she previously stayed at the Bafang Inn. Perhaps the innkeeper, Mr. Zhou, knows.”

Mr. Zhou knew that Xu Qinyu lived in Yuanbao Town but didn’t know the exact location. He thought that Madam Lu might know, so he went to find her overnight. Madam Lu had already learned where the young lady lived from Zhen Wu and informed Mr. Zhou.

Mr. Zhou then sent his son to take Commander Liang there.

After explaining this, Liang Yi told Xu Qinyu, “You may not know, but Prefect Zhu is truly an upright official who cares only for the people. During the summer diarrhea outbreak, the new emperor’s secret order was to seal off Yuanbao Town and the three nearby villages and slaughter all the residents. It was Prefect Zhu who held off the order until the diarrhea outbreak was under control. He then wrote a secret memorial to the capital, preventing the massacre.”

Speaking of the new emperor’s actions, Liang Yi’s face darkened.

These people guarded the border city, protecting not only the nobles and the royal family of the Great Sheng Dynasty but also its people. However, the new emperor didn’t regard the people as human beings.

Xu Qinyu then realized that they had almost been massacred during the diarrhea outbreak. Her face changed slightly, and she said, “Please wait a moment. I will change my clothes and go with you.” It was cold every day, and her current clothes were not suitable for going out. Even without these events, she would have been willing to go.

Liang Yi immediately said, “Then we will wait for you outside, young lady.”

After speaking, he and Zhou Daqing went outside and waited in the carriage.

Xu Qinyu went back to her room and changed into a thick, long gray coat. It didn’t look very good, but it was warm. Even though it wasn’t too cold with the recent snowfall in the southwest, the carriage was drafty. The journey from Yuanbao Town to Raozhou City would take at least an hour and a half if they traveled quickly, and at least two hours if they traveled slowly, so she needed to dress warmly.

Madam Wen, worried about Yuniang going alone, also changed into a thick coat and instructed her mother, Madam Gui, “Mother, Yuniang and I will definitely not be back in time for breakfast and dinner. The restaurant isn’t closed today, so please go to Madam Bai’s place in the morning and tell Cheng Ge’er to put up a notice outside the restaurant saying that we are closed for the day due to an emergency. Apologize to the customers.”

Madam Gui already knew what was going on. She patted Madam Wen’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, go to Raozhou City with Yuniang. I’ll take care of things at home.”

Madam Wen nodded and left with Yuniang.

Before leaving, Yuniang went to the kitchen and took down a large piece of cured ham. She had cured this ham at the end of last winter, so it had been almost a year, and she hadn’t eaten any of it yet.

Curing ham takes about a month, and the remaining time is for fermentation. The shortest fermentation period is six months, after which the ham can barely be eaten and has a bit of its characteristic flavor. Generally, ham tastes best after fermenting for two to three years, but if you want to eat it raw, it needs to ferment for at least three years. After three years, the raw ham has a salty and delicate flavor that lingers in the mouth for a long time.

Yuniang had originally planned to eat it after fermenting it for three years. However, this year, she opened a restaurant and sold wine, and now she has about five thousand taels of silver. She could cure a large amount of ham but had no place to store it. Her house was just big enough for living, so she had been planning to ask if there were any houses for sale in Osmanthus Alley. She wanted to buy a courtyard of similar size to her current one to use as a storeroom, not only for the ham she planned to cure but also for other food items.

Now that she was going to cook for Old Madam Zhu, who was on her deathbed, she needed to find a way to make her willing to eat, so she decided to use the nearly one-year-old ham.

Madam Wen was surprised to see Yuniang take down the ham, thinking that Yuniang’s cooking skills were already so good; did she really need to use the ham?

She remembered how much Yuniang treasured the ham and had said that after three years of fermentation, she would let them taste the raw ham slices. She would often take a look at it from time to time.

Yuniang wrapped the ham in cloth and put it in a basket. The basket also contained her homemade mushroom powder, bean paste, wooden barrel-fermented tofu, some small pickles, and a bag of yin rice.

Yin rice is glutinous rice that has been soaked, steamed, and then dried. It can be used to make porridge, which is very tasty, cooks quickly, and is soft and sweet. Now that the weather was cold, the restaurant served yin rice and brown sugar porridge for breakfast, which was very popular. Madam Wen and her family also liked to eat this porridge for breakfast.

Carrying the basket, Yuniang and Madam Wen left the house.

The carriage wasn’t big enough for them to sit together, and as women, it wasn’t appropriate for them to ride with men, so they went to the town’s horse rental and rented another carriage. Zhou Daqing and Liang Yi could both drive, so Liang Yi drove the rented carriage to Raozhou City.

It was just after midnight, around 3 AM.

It was snowing on the road, so the carriage couldn’t go too fast. By the time they reached Raozhou City, it was already bright, around 7:45 AM, and they had been traveling for over two hours.

Liang Yi didn’t delay and directly took them to the Prefect’s mansion.

After getting off the carriage, Xu Qinyu glanced at the Prefect’s mansion. The mansion was much larger and more imposing than the county magistrate’s office in the town.

Liang Yi led the two of them to the back door, which connected to the backyard where Prefect Zhu’s family lived. Prefect Zhu’s father had passed away years ago, leaving only his elderly mother. He had already married and had children, and even grandchildren.

The mansion’s backyard was quite large, but with Prefect Zhu’s entire family, including servants, there were about a dozen people living there, just enough to fill the space. The backyard was clean and tidy, with some flowers and plants, but not too many, making it quite peaceful.

Liang Yi took Xu Qinyu to meet Prefect Zhu Wenying.

When Zhu Wenying saw Xu Qinyu, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. The young lady in front of him looked too young, with a fair and pretty face, appearing only two or three years older than his granddaughter. Could she really be as good as the top chefs in the city’s big restaurants?

Liang Yi, too, found it hard to believe that the young lady in front of him had such culinary skills based on her age and appearance. However, he had tasted her food and seen her cook with his own eyes, so his perspective was different.

As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Xu Qinyu and Madam Wen greeted Prefect Zhu with a bow.

When Prefect Zhu saw Madam Wen, he was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but linger on her face for a moment. Worried that staring at another woman might cause dissatisfaction, he quickly looked away, suppressing his curiosity.

Xu Qinyu found Prefect Zhu to be quite kind and gentle in appearance, with a warm gaze.

Xu Qinyu said, “Greetings, Prefect. Shall I go and prepare breakfast for the Old Madam first?”

Prefect Zhu agreed. Although he felt that Xu Qinyu looked too young, he wouldn’t judge a person solely based on their age.

Xu Qinyu and Madam Wen went to the kitchen, while Liang Yi planned to leave. Zhou Daqing thought for a moment and quietly asked, “Master Xu, should I stay and help in the kitchen?”

Xu Qinyu could easily prepare a meal for one person, but she decided to keep Zhou Daqing as an assistant.

At this moment, even though Liang Yi was craving Xu Qinyu’s cooking, he wouldn’t be so tactless as to stay and eat. Since he couldn’t cook, he couldn’t stay to help in the kitchen, so he left first.

Prefect Zhu escorted him out the door. As they exited through the back door, he saw Prefect Zhu looking worried and couldn’t help but say, “Don’t worry, Sir. The Old Madam will definitely eat.”

He had complete faith in the young lady’s culinary skills. He remembered how he had initially disliked the fish porridge she made, but after tasting it, he, who didn’t even like porridge, could drink two pots of it in one go and still crave it now. This showed how exceptional the young lady’s cooking was, making even the things he didn’t like memorable.

Prefect Zhu nodded without saying much. He seemed a bit distracted, with other things on his mind.

After Liang Yi left, Prefect Zhu went to the kitchen to take a look and couldn’t help but glance at Madam Wen again. Finally, worried about his mother, he went to her room.

Prefect Zhu’s wife, Madam Zhu (*), was by her mother-in-law’s side. Her mother-in-law came from a humble background, and the family wasn’t wealthy. They supported her husband, who became a successful scholar at eighteen. Madam Zhu married him after he became a scholar, as her family had taken a liking to him and arranged the marriage.

T/N: different ‘Zhu’ character.

The Zhu family was also an official family, but in the capital, where noble families were as numerous as cattle, the Zhu family was considered average.

Madam Zhu was gentle and kind. Over the years, she and Prefect Zhu had a harmonious and loving relationship. Prefect Zhu treated her very well and had never taken any concubines. She also respected her mother-in-law, and their relationship had always been good. Now that her mother-in-law was on her deathbed, she stayed by her side, fearing that she might pass away while her husband was busy outside.

Madam Zhu asked, “Have they arrived?”

Still thinking about other matters, Prefect Zhu nodded and said, “Yes, they are already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.”

Madam Zhu felt anxious, “I hope mother can eat something this time.” Her mother-in-law hadn’t eaten for several days, and she was very worried.

Prefect Zhu went to his mother’s bedside and saw her with her eyes tightly closed and her brows furrowed. Even at this time, she was still worried about her elder sister, who had been kidnapped decades ago. He couldn’t help but recall his mother’s youthful appearance…

Xu Qinyu and Madam Wen went to the kitchen of the Prefect’s mansion, which was quite large.

The Zhu family had a cook, but Prefect Zhu was not particularly interested in food, and the cook’s skills were average, not even as good as those of the restaurant assistants. Old Madam Zhu had not liked the cook’s food for some time, so Prefect Zhu had invited skilled chefs from the city to cook at the mansion. Old Madam Zhu barely ate anything, and in recent days, she had almost eaten nothing at all.

The Zhu family’s cook was a chubby middle-aged man with a naturally smiling face, but at this moment, his brows were furrowed, clearly worried about Old Madam Zhu.

Xu Qinyu asked him, “What kind of breakfast did the chefs prepare for the Old Madam in the past few days?”

The chubby cook thought for a moment and said, “Breakfast was mostly wontons, meat soup, egg custard, or meat porridge, large meat buns and vegetable buns, as well as rice porridge and millet porridge.”

“And dinner?” Xu Qinyu asked again.

The chubby cook replied that breakfast was relatively light, but dinner was mostly delicacies, with a lot of meat and very greasy, which was unsuitable for the Old Madam, who had no appetite for such food.

Xu Qinyu had an idea. She saw that although the kitchen had many ingredients, they were not prepared. She had originally planned to cook Laba porridge for the Old Madam, even though it was not yet the twelfth lunar month. The weather had just started to get cold, and drinking Laba porridge would be perfect. However, Laba porridge required many ingredients, including several types of beans that needed to be soaked in advance, which was not possible now.

Since she couldn’t make Laba porridge, she decided to make red sugar yin rice porridge. She had brought a lot of yin rice, which could be used.

Red sugar yin rice porridge was very simple and convenient to make.

She asked the chubby cook for some red dates and goji berries, washed them, and removed the pits from the red dates. She also prepared red sugar syrup in advance. After cleaning and heating a large pot, she added a bit of lard. When the oil was hot enough, she added the yin rice and stir-fried it until it was fluffy and popped.

The stir-fried yin rice was then cooked with an appropriate amount of water over medium heat. After it boiled, she added the red dates, goji berries, and red sugar syrup, and simmered it over low heat for another quarter of an hour.

The red sugar yin rice porridge had a light taste, with a faint red sugar flavor, combined with the soft and sweet red dates. The porridge made from the stir-fried yin rice was thick and sweet, with full grains and a slight chewiness, making it irresistible.

This dish was simple to make and didn’t require individual small pots. It could be cooked in a large pot, making enough for dozens of bowls at once.

A bowl of red sugar yin rice porridge was smaller in portion than a pot of Xu’s Food Mansions fish porridge, but it sold for eight wen per bowl and was a must-order breakfast for everyone.

While Xu Qinyu was cooking the red sugar yin rice porridge, Zhou Daqing and the chubby cook couldn’t stop swallowing their saliva after smelling the aroma.

Although the chubby cook didn’t show it on his face, he, like most people, initially thought Xu Qinyu was too young to have excellent culinary skills. However, the aroma of the porridge proved him wrong. Despite her young age, her cooking skills were indeed impressive. After all, he had only smelled the aroma and hadn’t tasted the food himself, so he could only guess that the young cook’s skills were probably very good.

Halfway through the cooking, even Prefect Zhu and Madam Zhu, who were taking care of Old Madam Zhu, were alerted.

Madam Zhu murmured, “What a wonderful aroma.”

It smelled even better than the food prepared by the chefs who had come to the mansion before. It seemed to be a sweet dish with a very fragrant and sweet aroma.

Prefect Zhu couldn’t help but stand up. After saying a few words to his wife, asking her to watch over his mother, he went to the kitchen.

Xu Qinyu had cooked a large pot of red sugar yin rice porridge. Since it was still early and the other people in the Prefect’s mansion probably hadn’t eaten yet, and she and Madam Wen hadn’t eaten either, she decided to cook more so everyone could eat together. While cooking the red sugar yin rice porridge, she also asked Zhou Daqing to wash and finely shred some radishes.

In winter, radishes and cabbage were the most common vegetables, and almost every household had them.

The shredded radishes were salted and left to marinate for a quarter of an hour to remove the water. Then, she added eggs, flour, and some seasonings, including a bit of her homemade mushroom powder for extra flavor. After mixing everything well, she made pancakes of similar size and cooked them slowly over low heat with a little oil.

With the red sugar yin rice porridge and radish egg pancakes, the meal was complete, and there was no need to prepare anything else.

However, Xu Qinyu still served two plates of her homemade fermented tofu and two plates of pickled vegetables, making the breakfast complete.

While she was making the pancakes, Prefect Zhu came over, and Xu Qinyu said, “Sir, breakfast is almost ready. I’ve made red sugar yin rice porridge and radish egg pancakes. I’ve already cooked quite a few pancakes, so you can take some to Old Madam first. Once I’m done, the rest of the household can eat as well.”

Prefect Zhu wanted to tell the young cook that his mother was still asleep and hadn’t woken up yet.

In recent days, Old Madam Zhu has been sleeping a lot, and they don’t dare wake her up. They only brought food to her when she was awake. Just as he was about to speak, a maid hurriedly came in with a joyful expression, “Sir, Old Madam is awake.”

Prefect Zhu could only nod to the young cook and leave the kitchen to return to the courtyard. As he left, he couldn’t help but glance at Madam Wen again.

Madam Wen felt uneasy, not understanding why the Prefect kept looking at her.

Xu Qinyu continued making the radish egg pancakes.

When Prefect Zhu returned to the room, he found that his mother was indeed awake, leaning against a large soft pillow. Although she was still a bit groggy, she was talking to Madam Zhu and asking what was being cooked in the kitchen.

With a joyful expression, Madam Zhu whispered, “Sir, Mother woke up because of the aroma and said she was hungry and wanted to eat something.”

Prefect Zhu didn’t waste any time and immediately asked a maid to bring the breakfast from the kitchen.

The maid quickly brought a food box, took out the dishes, and placed them on the table. There was a bowl of red sugar yin rice porridge, a plate of radish egg pancakes, a small plate of fermented tofu, and two plates of pickled vegetables.

The maid whispered, “Young Lady Xu said this is red sugar yin rice porridge. Yin rice is glutinous rice that has been cooked and naturally dried. She said this porridge can nourish and replenish the body, benefiting the spleen and stomach. Young Lady Xu also said that the fermented tofu and pickled vegetables are homemade and can be eaten with the porridge.”

It was the first time Madam Zhu had heard of yin rice.

Prefect Zhu had already picked up the bowl of red sugar yin rice porridge and brought it to his mother’s bedside. He blew on the porridge to cool it down a bit, then scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mother’s mouth, “Mother, have some porridge. This is red sugar yin rice porridge.”

Although Old Madam Zhu was a bit groggy, she wasn’t completely confused. She knew that her son was trying to feed her. She had smelled the aroma earlier and had a rare appetite. Although she was completely blind, she instinctively opened her mouth, and a spoonful of warm, sweet porridge was fed to her.

Just one mouthful, the sweet taste of red dates, the honeyed sweetness of red sugar, and the light sweetness of the rice porridge, with its full and chewy grains, all combined to make a delicious porridge.

Having lived for over seventy years, Old Madam Zhu had never tasted anything so delicious. Even without much appetite, this bowl of warm, sweet porridge opened up her appetite.

Old Madam Zhu couldn’t help but open her mouth for a second spoonful.

Seeing this, Prefect Zhu and Madam Zhu finally felt relieved.