Although the kitchen in this manor was not as big as the kitchen in the Imperial Palace, it still had seven large stoves, which was much larger than the kitchens in later schools.
Coming to the kitchen, a tall figure was busy inside.
This person is none other than Lu Meimei, one of the two beauties in Yangzhou. She has been busy taking care of the children's daily life during this period. She works very diligently without any complaints. Li Qi can see this.
When Lu Meimei saw Li Qi coming, she hurriedly saluted and said, "Master Li, you are here."
Li Qi said "hmm" and said, "Where is your senior brother?"
Lu Meimei replied: "He went to the bar early in the morning."
"Yes, I didn't expect him to be quite diligent in his work." Li Qi nodded.
Lu Meimei said: "Master Li, my senior brother is actually not a bad person. He will definitely do what he promises to do."
"Yeah?"
Li Qi chuckled and said half-jokingly: "Then he promised you that he would definitely let me accept you as my disciple. I didn't see him do it either."
Lu Meimei was stunned and said: "Master Li, actually I have always wanted to ask you a question."
"Do you like cooking?" Li Qi suddenly said this.
Lu Meimei was stunned, not knowing how to answer.
Li Qi said calmly: "When you feel that you really like cooking, you can ask me this question again."
"Do you know what I want to ask you?" Lu Meimei asked in surprise.
Li Qi smiled slightly, did not answer, and asked: "Have the people from the Taishi Mansion sent the materials?"
Lu Meimei nodded and said, "Oh, it was delivered just now."
"Where's the cream?" Li Qi asked again.
"It's all ready. It's all done according to your instructions. It was just delivered from the ice cellar of the Taishi Mansion together with the ice cubes. Can I get it for you now?"
"Um."
After a while, Lu Meimei brought all the materials to the table.
Dozens of fresh eggs, a large bag of flour, a large barrel of butter with a hint of air-conditioning, a basin of fresh milk. There are also sugar, jam and other ingredients.
"Master Li, are you planning to make egg cakes?" Lu Meimei asked curiously after seeing these ingredients.
Li Qi shook his head and said with a smile: "No. I am preparing to make a cream cake."
"Cream cake?" Lu Meimei said with confusion on her face.
Li Qi didn't explain too much and said: "Go and light the fire first."
Lu Meimei didn't dare to ask any more questions, so she answered and went to light the fire.
After Li Qi washed his hands and made all preparations, he began to make a cake he came to the Northern Song Dynasty, which was also the first cream cake.
He first broke a few eggs into a large bowl, added the egg yolks and sugar. Then he quickly beat them with the bamboo egg beater he made, but he kept complaining in his heart, why there are no electric egg beaters these days.
, so cheating.
He had no choice but to use his hands alternately.
In fact, he wanted to beat the air into the egg liquid, causing it to expand, so as to replace the baking powder. However, this is the most critical part of making cakes and requires skilled whipping skills. It is generally difficult for novices to succeed without professional guidance.
.
Lu Meimei had already lit the fire and was sitting there with nothing to do.
Seeing her strong body, Li Qi had a crooked idea in his mind. It didn't make sense. I, the boss, was working so hard here, but she was just sitting around doing nothing. No, this boss was too tired.
So, he immediately called Lu Meimei over and started to beat the egg liquid while teaching her the technique of doing so.
Na Lu Meimei thought that Li Qi's attitude towards him had changed. Although his expression was still meticulous, there was a trace of unconcealable joy in his eyes. He was a serious person.
The egg liquid became more and more fluffy during the beating process, and the volume expanded several times. It was beaten until the egg liquid dripping did not disappear immediately when the egg beater was lifted, and patterns could be drawn in the bowl. Only then did Li Qi grow
After a breath, there were dense beads of sweat on his forehead. Then he asked Lu Meimei to put the iron oven he had asked Cai Yong to make earlier on the stove to preheat.
Then he poured the sifted flour into the bowl and stirred. Then he poured the cream and milk into the mixed batter and continued to stir evenly. The mixed batter was fine and fluffy.
Then he used the wooden molds he had prepared long ago to shape the batter into small pieces of dough. After everything was done, he put the small doughs in the oven.
Then he taught Lu Meimei step by step how to make this small cream cake.
These small cakes were only made for the children. He had to make a more distinctive cake for Bai Qiannuo and Li Qingzhao.
Not to mention, Lu Meimei's physical strength is quite good. She can whip egg liquid quickly and steadily. Li Qi guided her to practice a few times, and then began to make cakes for Bai Qiannuo and the others. This
The cake is naturally more troublesome than the previous ones and requires some thought.
After a while, the small cake made by Lu Meimei came out first.
Li Qi asked her to give it to the children first. Although logically, it should be given to Li Qingzhao and them first, but Li Qi never cared about this.
...
"Wow! What is this? It smells so good!"
Feng Yinu, Li Qingzhao, and Bai Qiannuo, three beauties, had just arrived in the front yard and were about to take a rest. They happened to see Lu Meimei carrying a dustpan of khaki dough to distribute to the children.
A thick scent of butter filled the entire front yard.
"Ms. Lu, what are you holding in your hand?" Feng Yinu asked curiously. She has been here for so long and is quite familiar with Lu Meimei.
When Lu Meimei saw Feng Yinu and the others coming, she hurriedly saluted and said, "Oh, this is the cream cake that Master Li just made."
Bai Qiannuo giggled, "So this is a cream cake. It looks delicious."
Feng Yinu snorted disdainfully and said, "I really didn't see that."
Bai Qiannuo knew that Feng Yinu and Li Qi had always been at odds with each other. She stuck out her tongue and didn't say much. She felt as if she had eaten honey today. I am afraid that even if someone scolded her in front of her, she would also
Won't care.
"Well, this cream cake is really delicious."
"Yeah, this is made by Master Li, of course it's delicious."
The children took the cake and stuffed it into their mouths one after another, with happy smiles on their faces, praising the delicious cream cake.
These cheers are the best slap to give Feng Yinu.
Feng Yinu looked embarrassed and felt a little hungry in her stomach. She had been dancing all morning and was already exhausted. She asked Lu Meimei, "Mrs. Lu, what should we eat for lunch today?"
"Oh, Master Li is making your cream cake."
"He did this on purpose." Feng Yinu said depressedly.
Li Qingzhao smiled and said: "Sister Feng. I don't think Master Li is the kind of stingy person. It's understandable that he let these children eat first. We are fine anyway, so it doesn't matter if we wait."
Bai Qiannuo helped: "Sister Li is right, Brother Li always has his own reasons for doing things."
Li Qingzhao had already spoken, so Feng Yinu naturally couldn't say much. He pouted, and the three of them went to the living room in the front yard to rest.
Li Qingzhao came to the living room and took a sip of tea. Thinking of the happy smiles on the children's faces just now, he smiled lightly and said, "Master Li's cooking skills are really amazing."
"How about compared to Bachelor Su? I heard that Bachelor Su's cooking skills are also very good. Sister Li, when you were with him before, you must have tasted many of his delicious dishes." Bai Qiannuo smiled.
asked.
Li Qingzhao was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said: "I don't know about that. Maybe Master Li is more skilled. After all, Uncle Su is just doing it out of curiosity, while Master Li is devoted to it wholeheartedly."
"Qiniang, how can he be compared with Master Su?" Feng Yinu said disdainfully.
Bai Qiannuo retorted: "Why not? Brother Li's chess, calligraphy, painting, poems, songs, and poems are all unique and unparalleled.
He is loved by everyone and his talent is infinitely better than Mr. Song and others."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly heard laughter coming from outside, "Qiniang, if you praise me like that, I will blush."
The three of them turned around and saw Li Qi walking in carrying a tray. Because of the masks on them, they couldn't see what was inside yet.
Bai Qiannuo blushed and whispered: "I didn't praise you, I just told the truth."
Is this a boast? When Feng Yinu heard this, he almost fainted.
This girl is really like me! Li Qi chuckled, walked over, and said with a smile: "Qiniang, we have to keep a low profile, so as not to make some people jealous. You know, a woman can't get married when she is thirty years old. This
It’s a kind of sadness, low-key, low-key.”
"Li Qi, who do you think you can't marry?" Feng Yinu said angrily with her eyebrows raised.
Li Qi glanced at him curiously and said: "Feng Xingshou, why are you so angry? I'm talking about those thirty-year-old women, and I'm not talking about you. Aren't you only 29 years old?"
Bai Qiannuo saw Feng Yinu who was about to explode and said quickly: "Brother Li, don't talk nonsense. Sister Feng is only 27 years old this year."
"27?"
Li Qi glanced at Feng Yinu with a strange look, with a bit of suspicion in his eyes.
Feng Yinu gritted his teeth and forced out a smile: "What are you looking at?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just curious. I'm just curious."
Li Qi shook his head and whispered: "It doesn't look like it!"
Feng Yinu heard this clearly and became furious immediately.
Li Qingzhao smiled bitterly, changed the subject away from this sensitive topic, and said, "Master Li, what's under your hood?"
"Oh, cake, cream cake."
Li Qi said and opened the lid.
When the three of them saw each other, they immediately gasped.
But there was a cylinder about two centimeters in diameter placed in the plate. It was snow-white and had some patterns carved on the edge. On it were several orange flowers.
"Wow! So beautiful." Bai Qiannuo exclaimed.
"You---why is your cream cake different from the one Lu Meimei served to the children just now?" Li Qingzhao asked in surprise.
Li Qi chuckled and said, "Actually, it's almost the same, but there's just a little more thought put into it."
"Then how do you eat this cream cake?" Bai Qiannuo said with joy in her eyes.
Sweating! You asked me this question too?
Li Qi said sarcastically: "This---you should eat it with a spoon."
As he spoke, he cut the cake into four parts with a knife, and naturally gave the first part to Li Qingzhao.
Li Qingzhao nodded and thanked him.
Li Qi deliberately used a knife to remove a flower from the cake, put it into Bai Qiannuo's bowl, and said with a smile: "This is for you."
Bai Qiannuo naturally understood what Li Qi meant, her pretty face flushed, and her eyes were full of joy. She glanced at Li Qingzhao and Feng Yinu secretly, and saw that one of them pretended not to see them, while the other looked angry.
With an undisputed expression, she happily said "thank you".
Then, Li Qi divided another piece of cake and put it in Bai Qiannuo's bowl. Then he added a piece of cake to his own bowl, sat down, and said with a smile: "Hurry up and try it."
Feng Yinu, who was being ignored by the side, was so angry that his hair almost stood on end, and he snorted angrily to express his strong protest.
Bai Qiannuo pulled off Li Qi's sleeve and said, "Brother Li, there is also Sister Feng."
Li Qileng said: "Didn't I leave a piece for her?" Then he asked Feng Yinu: "You don't want me to give it to you, do you?" He secretly laughed in his heart. Sample, if not
Qiniang and Sister Qingzhao are here, so I can't be bothered to mess with you.
Feng Yinu snorted coldly and tilted his head to indicate that he didn't want to eat.
Bai Qiannuo didn't want Li Qi and Feng Yinu to be too quarrelsome. She originally wanted to give Feng Yinu the cake in her bowl, but when she thought that there were flowers given to him by Li Qi, she was reluctant to give it away.
So he stood up and said, "Sister Feng, let me help you." Then he put the remaining piece of cake into Feng Yinu's bowl.
Seeing that Bai Qiannuo had already taken action, Feng Yinu naturally couldn't put on airs any more and said hurriedly: "Qiniang, don't bother you, I'll do it myself."
"It's okay." Bai Qiannuo said with a slight smile.
When Li Qi saw it, he sighed softly and said, "Qiniang, you are so sensible. Brother Li doesn't even know what to praise you for. We are both women, so why is there such a big difference?"
Bai Qiannuo bit her lip and rolled her eyes at him, signaling him to stop talking.
This is really a pair of enemies. Li Qingzhao also felt helpless and said: "Let's try Master Li's cream cake quickly."
Bai Qiannuo couldn't wait for a long time. She picked up the spoon, scraped a little white cream and put it into her mouth. The first thing she felt was that it was sweet. It was so sweet that it hit her heart. It coincided with her mood at this time.
He gave Li Qi a tender look.
Li Qi secretly chuckled in his heart, it seemed that cream really had a fatal temptation on women.
Li Qingzhao took a bite. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, and he nodded slightly, but did not say anything more. With each bite, the surprises became more and more. It turned out that Li Qi also put a lot of nuts in the cake, and the cake itself was also very special.
Soft and melt-in-your-mouth, it is truly delicious.
Li Qi naturally didn't have much feelings about this cake, so he finished the cake in the bowl in a few mouthfuls.
Over there, Feng Yinu hadn't moved the spoon yet, but seeing that Bai Qiannuo and Li Qingzhao were so focused on eating, he felt itchy and couldn't care less about face. He picked up the spoon and scraped off a small piece of cream to taste it.
A gleam flashed in his eyes, and he immediately started eating like Bai Qiannuo and the others with full concentration.
After a while, the three women had all wiped out the cakes in the bowl.
"Master Li, your cream cake is really delicious. This is the first time in my life that I have eaten such a delicious pastry." Li Qingzhao praised with unfinished content.
"Sister Qingzhao, as long as you like to eat, that is the best compliment to me." Li Qi chuckled.
Bai Qiannuo knew that Li Qi admired Li Qingzhao very much, so he was not jealous and said with a smile: "Brother Li, how did you make this white cream and why is it so delicious?" Bai Qiannuo said in surprise.
Li Qi chuckled and said: "This cream is made of milk, it's nothing special. But don't be greedy. Eating too much will make you gain weight, and it's not very good for your health."
"Will you gain weight?" Li Qingzhao frowned.
Li Qi chuckled and said: "Sister Qingzhao, it doesn't matter if you eat more. You just don't pay attention to your body. Look at Feng Xingshou. He is about the same age as you. He is so strong. He is jumping up and down.
In the morning, it seemed like nothing was wrong."
strong?
Feng Yinu almost bit her head off, but she couldn't refute, because if you refute, wouldn't you be mocking Li Qingzhao's old age? The anger in his heart pushed the already high chest to the extreme.
Li Qingzhao's face turned red, and he said, "Don't talk nonsense here. We are about the same age. I am more than ten years older than Sister Feng."
"Oh, is it so?"
Li Qi pretended to exclaim, and seeing Li Qingzhao looking frail, he said sternly: "However, sister Qingzhao, you really have to eat something good. Otherwise, after the first-year banquet, you might as well eat it every day."
Come to Zuixianju to eat with my wife, look at how good my wife has given me to be fat and white. I guarantee that within three months, sister Qingzhao, you will definitely be eighteen years old again."
These words were his true words. He knew that Li Qingzhao had been tortured by illness in his later years, and he had always been unhappy. Now that he had the opportunity, of course he wanted to help her. Isn't it just a meal? This is very important to Zui Xianju.
To me, it's nothing at all.
Fat and fat in vain? I really don’t know what Sister Wang will think after hearing this. He is still eighteen years old, and this kid really dares to say anything. Li Qingzhao’s delicate face showed a trace of blush, she really didn’t dare
Continuing this topic again, he was just about to decline Li Qi's kindness when he heard Li Qi say: "Sister Qingzhao, if you don't come, I will ask someone to deliver food to your house every day."
Feng Yinu hummed, "I've seen a lot of people, but I've never seen anyone force others to eat in his own restaurant."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Feng Xingshou, you are wrong. I have said before that Zuixianju will always be free to Sister Qingzhao and will never charge a penny. This is a kind of respect. Forget it, anyway.
People like you don’t understand what respect is."
When Feng Yinu heard this, his face turned livid.
Bai Qiannuo was afraid that Feng Yinu would get angry again, so he hurriedly said: "Sister Li, please promise Brother Li, otherwise he will really be able to do such a thing."
"Qiniang still understands me better." Li Qi nodded.
Li Qingzhao was given a headache by this young couple, so he nodded and said: "That---okay."
"Is this right?" Li Qi said with a proud smile.
Bai Qiannuo asked again: "By the way, Brother Li, is this cream cake your latest creation?"
"this---."
Li Qi just wanted to say yes, but he thought that this cream cake was a very useful card, so he had to try to add some color to it. After a thought, he shook his head and said: "Oh, no, this cream cake is made by a woman."
Create.”
"Woman?"
Bai Qiannuo asked curiously: "What woman?"
Li Qi smiled and explained: "Actually, this cream cake is also called 'Take Me Away'. In the past, in a small village in the west, there lived a woman. In the second month after her marriage, her husband
So he went on an expedition with the army, and he stayed there for three years. Three years later, his husband finally came back, but not even a month later, he was about to go off to war again. This time, the woman didn't want to leave her husband again, so she begged him.
He wanted to take her with him, but fighting was child's play. How could he bring his family members with him? In desperation, the woman poured all the edible food in the house together and put it on the stove the day before her husband left for the war.
She never thought that when the milk was mixed with flour, jam, eggs, etc., she could make a very delicious pastry. Her husband was also surprised, but he also understood the meaning behind the pastry.
So he agreed to take his wife with him on the expedition."
"What's the meaning behind it? What's the meaning?" Bai Qiannuo asked confused.
Li Qingzhao smiled bitterly and said: "Qiniang, that woman has used up all the edible food in the house. If her husband leaves, won't she starve to death? This woman actually sacrificed her life for love. Indeed,
respectable."
Bai Qiannuo suddenly realized it, her eyes turned red, and she sighed softly: "I didn't expect that there is such a touching story behind this cream cake."
After hearing this, Feng Yinu's eyes became more profound, more of a kind of envy.
It seems that I was born to be a big liar.
Li Qi looked at the three women who were so moved that he sighed deeply in his heart.
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