"Gege, how about you try the taste this time?" Aunt Liu, the cook at Yingxi House, brought the second pot of fried spring rolls to the table early in the morning.
The ones fried in the first pot were a bit older and looked a bit burnt after cooling.
This second pot was much better, each strip was golden brown, the skin was thin and crispy, and the filling was soft and fragrant.
"Well, Aunt Liu's craftsmanship is really good!" Jin Xi said with a thumbs up.
"Hey, thank you for your compliments to Gege. My dear, that's all for this purpose. Just don't dislike Gege." Aunt Liu looked embarrassed after being praised by Jinxi.
It is said that it has been two years since she came to the house, and she used to help in the big kitchen. Because she is introverted and not good at words, in the past two years, like other cooks and cooks in the big kitchen, she has not been asked by the master or other people from time to time.
The master's reward.
This time, if it weren't for the fact that when the master came to the big kitchen to choose a cook, several lively women took leave to go home to visit relatives. She, Aunt Xin and two other male cooks were the only ones there. Therefore, she and Aunt Xin were chosen by the master to enter the main room.
She was assigned to the Yingxi Building, while Mrs. Xin went to Liutang Courtyard where Fujin lived.
For a cook in the backyard of a wealthy family, the jump from being a helper in a large kitchen to being a chef in a small kitchen is like reaching the sky in one step. Not only does the monthly salary increase by half a tael, but there are also rewards from the master during the holidays.
So she put a hundred thousand energy into her work, being cautious in her words and actions, walking on thin ice, for fear that such a good opportunity would slip away due to her bluntness.
Fortunately, although the master who served her was young, he was very sensible. Not only did he not find fault with her, but he also came up with some novel and fancy snacks for her to try from time to time. He made many and even allowed her to do so.
Bringing them home. Having such a master is a blessing for them as servants. Therefore, she serves the little master more wholeheartedly, no longer just dealing with words, but taking care of her from the heart.
"Well, Aunt Liu, I will bring these to E Niang and my brothers. You and the maids can share the rest with you." After eating two pieces, Jinxi wiped her hands and signaled Mo'er to take two pieces.
There are six boxes in each box, and I plan to take them to the cheap lady and the twins to try them out later. There are about seven or eight left, which are left for Aunt Liu and the maids who have been busy all morning.
She said something on a whim yesterday, which kept the servants in the small building busy for an afternoon and a morning. Just because Aunt Liu made a snack called "Spring Pancake" yesterday afternoon. It is said that it was very popular in the Qing Dynasty. In fact, it has nothing to do with later generations.
The spring rolls are very similar, but much flatter, and the filling is the same dried pickled beans and minced meat, which tastes a bit salty and hard. Therefore, Jinxi smiled and suggested that Aunt Liu ask her to roll the dough into long strips next time
Roll-shaped, the fillings inside can also be replaced with other fillings. For example, if you like sweet food, you can use sesame paste, peanut kernels, chopped almonds and other fragrant and crisp fillings. For example, if you like salty food, you can use
Diced peas, shredded eggs, minced shrimp, diced pork, diced carrots, etc. are combined into brightly colored salty fillings.
Just three or five simple sentences made Aunt Liu's eyes light up, and she immediately wanted to try it. Yesterday, she rolled the dough and made the fillings. This morning, she rolled it into rolls and put it in a frying pan to make spring pancakes popular in the Qing Dynasty.
It was improved into spring rolls that became popular in later generations. Jinxi suddenly felt that it was wrong for such a capable Aunt Liu to be trapped in a small kitchen. She should be allowed to go out and open a snack shop as the shopkeeper... Well, this is a good idea.
When the four newly recruited maids were able to take care of themselves, she would lead the maids and cooks to open a restaurant to earn money... so that she could save some money for her independent life after leaving the palace at the age of twenty-five...
…………
"How is it? Brother, you didn't break your promise, right?" Qi Chen pinched Jin Xi's cheek and said with a hearty smile. Yesterday, after tasting the dim sum spring rolls sent by his sister to Qingbaiyuan, he was moved and agreed to take her out of the house today.
Breathable.
"That way, my brother can continue to maintain such a good figure." Jin Xi smiled and joked: "Otherwise, he would become a fat man."
"Ah? Hahaha... Girl, this is not the explanation for breaking your promise and getting fat. Come, let me teach you..." Qi Chen affectionately hugged Jin Xi's neck and went to the side to teach his lessons.
Qi Ke shook his head with a smile and turned his head to look at the cute and sensible little tail on the side - it was Qi Liang who had been let off countless times by Jinxi and finally got his wish today, "Where do you want to play, Lang'er?"
"Wherever my sister goes, my husband will go." Qi Yuan thought carefully and then shook his head and replied.
"Okay, brother, how about taking you to see a big show?" Qi Ke couldn't help but rub his little head. It was incredible that he would have such an opportunity to be so close to his concubine who was ten years apart. Before that,
He had never even seen Qi Yun face to face, let alone taking him out of the house to go shopping. He turned to look at his sister who was bumping into his brother, chatting about some funny things, and couldn't help but raise the corner of his lips, "Say
What is it, so mysterious?"
"Hey, brother, the second brother actually said that there is a weirdo with blue eyes and yellow hair living in the Catholic Church of Xuanwumen. Do you think it's funny? How could there be such a person!" Jinxi pretended to be in disbelief and exclaimed.
She shouted. In her heart, she wished that her brother would take advantage of her and immediately take her to find out.
"Second brother didn't lie to you. There was such a person, but that was several years ago. I don't know if he still lives there now." Qi Ke smiled and rubbed her cute buns and explained.
.
"Then let's go take a look, shall we?" Jin Xi blinked her dark eyes and asked expectantly. Today, even Mo'er, the little follower, was not brought out. If such a good opportunity is not taken advantage of, who knows how long it will take if it is missed.
"Brother, just agree to this girl's request. Anyway, we haven't made an appointment with anyone else. It won't be the same wherever we go. It's a big show. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Seeing that Jinxi was so eager to go to the Catholic Church, Qi Chen clapped his hands in a funny way.
Her head turned to discuss with Qi Ke.
"Yes, it works. Let's go then. Shun Ming, change the route to Xuanwumen Catholic Church." Qi Ke nodded after hearing this, lifted the curtain, and gave instructions to the boy driving outside. The carriage immediately turned around at the entrance of the alley and headed towards
Walk to the Catholic Church at the south end.
Xi Dejinxi was very excited. The legendary Xuanwu Mentang, which was different in style from the modern Nantang and had a profound heritage, was about to be presented to her. It would be great if she had brought photographic equipment. Back in the modern era, it would be able to greatly shock the world.
eyeball.
After a while, the carriage slowed down and finally stopped in front of a leafy building complex.
"Master, Princess, the Xuanwumen Catholic Church has arrived." Qi Ke's servant Shunming's respectful voice sounded outside the carriage.
Jin Xi immediately lifted the curtain, held up his hands, and jumped out of the carriage.
"Sister!" Qi Ke called helplessly.
Jin Xi shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue at him. When she got excited, she forgot all the etiquette of ladies. She knew that Qi Ke was old-fashioned and could compete with the cheap dad, but Qi Chen would never say that.
At most, she would grab her hair tie and tease her a few words.
"Wow! The trees here are so tall." Jinxi looked up at this pine and cypress that was next to a pine and cypress that was almost towering into the clouds, and couldn't help but praise. Sure enough, it is different from modern ones. Even the door god outside the gate
, are several times better than those green clusters of towering trees in modern Nantang.
"Hello!" Just as she was about to enter the open front yard of the Catholic Church, she heard a very modern greeting coming from behind her.
Jinxi turned around quickly and saw a foreigner in his sixties, wearing the official uniform of the Qing Dynasty, coming in from the outside with a cane. He seemed to have just gotten off the carriage. His entourage was following him carrying a wooden box.
"Hello." Jin Xi took a step forward and almost forgot about her brother beside her in her excitement. Fortunately, the greeting she sent out in her childish voice was as smart as a little adult.
"You must be Mr. Nan, right?" Qi Ke guessed his identity as soon as he saw the other person's appearance and clothes. He was Nan Huairen, the second-rank minister who was the minister of the Ministry of Works and was also the resident missionary of the Xuanwumen Catholic Church.
.
"Haha... I guess you are here for a visit, right? Please come in -" Nan Huairen showed no airs of being a second-rank minister and kindly invited Jin Xi and his party into the hall.
It turns out that the former South Hall turned out to be such an ancient Baroque palace with a European and American style. The main courtyard is a five-story church with a height of 20 meters, eight feet long and four feet wide, with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception as its patron.
There are also the priest's main residence, an observatory, a library, and an instrument museum on the side... In addition, there are tall and lush pines and cypresses that reach into the sky, and the tips of their branches cover the four-meter high-speed iron cross that stands on the top of the church...
It was the quiet corner she saw when she passed by this place in a carriage two months ago.
Most of Nan Huairen's eyes focused on Jin Xi, but her performance was actually beyond her childish appearance.
Qi Yuan clasped her hands and closed her eyes in the church, touched various astronomical equipment at the observatory, looked up at the cross standing on the top of the church under the ancient tree... Her seemingly unintentional actions all revealed a sense of order.
He had an extremely familiar feeling: as if she was not a citizen of the Qing Dynasty, but a truly devout Catholic believer.
Stroking his gray beard that almost covered his cheeks, Nan Huairen couldn't help but sigh: "Very few children are willing to come here..."
"That means I'm not a child anymore." Jin Xi smiled and winked at him, and while his elder brother and younger brother were still immersed in the mysterious equipment of the observatory, he simply started chatting with Nan Huairen: "When did Mr. Nan come to the Qing Dynasty?
"
"Many years...almost thirty years..." Nan Huairen sighed with emotion as he recalled the ups and downs of the past twenty years.
"Hey, what are you talking about? Come here, today is destined to be a gift for you." Nan Huairen took out an extremely small and exquisite hand mirror from his pocket, "This is the mirror I brought from my motherland.
Isn’t it clearer than in your country?”
"Ah!" Jin Xi couldn't help but exclaim, "This...isn't this the same as the one from 'Liulixuan'?"
"Gege also knows about Liulicuan? Ah... Could it be that Gege is the little girl who spent two taels of silver to buy the hand mirror?" Nan Huairen shouted excitedly.
"Uh...it's me..." Unexpectedly, the glass hand mirror was placed on consignment by Nan Huairen in Liulicuan. Is he short of money? It doesn't make sense!
"Haha... God bless you, what a destined person..." Nan Huairen freed up his hand without the cane and patted Jin Xi on the shoulder with such force that he almost knocked her down to the ground.