Early in the morning, the entire Fufeng County government office became busy. People were decorating with lanterns and streamers everywhere and running around to prepare. Ling Jing and Xia Hong, in particular, were so busy that they never touched the ground.
Even Su Dingfang, Zuo Hui, and Han Ni were taken away by Ling Jingti to help.
Xia Yu was not idle either. This fellow, along with Zhang Yu and Yin Ping, was instructing several blacksmiths in the house to work in the workshop.
Today's wealthy families basically have many blacksmiths and carpenters.
Because each family had a large amount of land, they undoubtedly needed many agricultural tools, and the soldiers they raised had to replace their armor from time to time.
These all require craftsmen.
However, what Xia Yu asked the blacksmith to make now was neither a farm tool nor a weapon, but a strange semicircular thing.
Yes, at least Zhang Yu and Yinping have never met.
"Teacher," at this time, Su Dingfang came in a hurry and said with a smile: "Prince Qin's Mansion, Prince Yong's Mansion, as well as the Duke's Mansion and Hou Mansion who are familiar with each other, all sent people to send things."
Xia Yu was stunned: "Send something?"
"Yes, they are all the snacks and snacks commonly eaten during the New Year, as well as some local specialties, such as dried goods, fresh fish, etc."
Xia Yu suddenly realized: This is probably the etiquette nowadays. He quickly said: "I'll accept them all when they come. You can ask the housekeeper to remember the list and arrange some return gifts."
He knew that the house had purchased a lot of things for the New Year, so he just gave them away.
"Yes, teacher." Su Dingfang nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly saw the strange thing that the blacksmiths were polishing and couldn't help but be startled.
This thing is flat at the top and round at the bottom, like a flat helmet, but the size is too big, and several heads can fit into it.
"Teacher, what is this?" Su Dingfang was a little surprised, thinking that Xia Yu had invented some sharp new weapon.
"Iron pot!" Xia Yu said in one word.
"Iron pot?" Su Dingfang thought for a while and determined that it must be correct. He must have never heard of it, and wondered: "What is this? What is its function?"
"For cooking."
Ah!? Everyone was stunned.
You must know that in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were no iron pots. Poor people used pottery cauldrons, pottery tripods, and stone pots for cooking. Rich families did the same, but the material was replaced by bronze.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was no cooking. Regardless of whether the poor or the rich, the most common dishes were boiled, roasted or fried.
For thousands of years, everyone seems to have been like this and it has been a convention.
Therefore, everyone was a little confused when they saw that the strange-looking iron pot was actually used for cooking. They didn't know how to cook it.
Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Xia Yu was happy: "You'll know when it's done."
To be honest, the food he has now is enough.
All the dishes are either boiled or grilled every day. You will get tired of eating all the delicacies from the mountains and sea every day, all green and natural.
Now that the Chinese New Year is coming again, Xia Yu really can't accept it if it continues to be like this every day.
There happens to be a blacksmith at home, so why not take the opportunity to get an iron pot?
Although ironware is very expensive now, and the cost of a longkou iron pot is estimated to be enough to feed a poor family for a year, what does it mean to be a powerful person?
He is now so poor that all he has left is money.
Su Dingfang left with a confused look on his face, while Xia Yu continued to wait patiently.
After a while, the head of the blacksmith, a stout man with a full beard, happily came over with a big iron pot that had been beaten: "Master, it's ready, can you take a look?"
Xia Yu looked at it carefully. The bottom of the pot was thick, the sides were gradually thinning, and the two ears were also very thick.
He took the iron pot and tested the weight.
Good guy, my hand suddenly sank. I'm afraid it's not more than ten kilograms. The iron required is enough to beat two pairs of iron pears. Not to mention, it's still fine iron.
"Very good." Xia Yu handed the iron pot to Zhang Yu with satisfaction, and said to the sweaty uncle blacksmith: "Uncle Wang, thank you for your hard work. Go to the accounting room and each of you will receive half a month's wages."
The blacksmith uncle was delighted when he heard this: "Thank you, Mr. Sir. You are the best to our servants in all of Chang'an."
Xia Yu had no airs about him, was kind to his subordinates, and was very generous. He rewarded her at every turn. Everyone in the palace was very happy to have followed the right master of the family.
"Haha, don't worry, the days will be better in the future." Xia Yu laughed.
As a time-travelling party member, he will never be short of money in his life. In that case, why would he bother with the family? There is no shame in it.
"Okay, Zhang Yu, Ping'er, let's go to the kitchen." After getting the iron pot, Xia Yu immediately rushed to the kitchen, ready to show off her skills.
When they arrived at the kitchen, they saw a large kitchen with an area of more than a hundred square meters, and more than a dozen cooks and servants were busy going back and forth.
Today, we not only have to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner for more than 100 people in the entire government, but also make all kinds of snacks and snacks, which is not an easy task.
"Mr. Jixiang. Why are you here?" When a fat cook who was about two hundred years old saw Xia Yu, she hurriedly greeted Xia Yu attentively.
This is the head of the kitchen in the mansion. Everyone calls her Mrs. Zhang. It is said that her cooking skills are very good.
Of course, judging from Xia Yu's picky taste buds who have tasted all the delicacies of later generations, Madam Zhang's methods are, well, very average.
"Uh, find a suitable stove and help me put this pot on the shelf." Xia Yu ordered.
"What is this?" Madam Zhang was also stunned when she saw the strange-looking thing called 'pot'.
"Don't ask too much, go get ready." Xia Yu waved her hand.
"Yes, sir." Madam Zhang didn't dare to ask any more questions. She was just a stranger, and in front of the head of the house, she was like an ant.
After a while, Mrs. Zhang found a suitable large stove, and Zhang Yu put the iron pot on it.
This thing was too heavy. He carried it for a long time and was almost exhausted.
Xia Yu took a look at the size and found it was a good fit, so she told Madam Zhang: "Go and prepare some mutton fat, dogwood, garlic, onion, ginger, cooking wine, fat chicken, eggs, spinach, courgette (cucumber), my husband
I want to cook some dishes myself to try."
What!?
As soon as these words came out, the whole kitchen was shocked.
"My lord, you must not do this." Mrs. Zhang looked panicked: "As the saying goes, a gentleman is far away from the kitchen. It is better to let the villain do such a despicable thing."
"You can't do it." Xia Yu waved her hand, do you know how to cook?
Madam Zhang's face flushed, she felt extremely insulted, she knelt down with a plop, and then swallowed: "Master, if you dislike this villain's poor cooking skills, please make it clear and I will go away."
Madam Zhang's cooking skills are also top-notch in Chang'an City.
If anyone found out that the head of the family was so angry that he disliked her poor cooking skills and wanted to cook herself, she would never be able to live in Chang'an again.
Xia Yu was speechless for a while, and Wen Yan comforted him: "The dishes I want to make are unparalleled in the world and have never been seen before. It's normal for you not to cook them."
"Okay, I don't mean to disdain your cooking skills. Let's get ready quickly."
Zhang Yu said impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense! Are people like you worthy of my father-in-law deceiving you? Why don't you hurry up and get ready?"
When Mrs. Zhang heard this, she felt it made sense.
Her ant-like servant, Mr. Xia Yu, has no reason to deceive her. But a person like Mr. Wen Quxing can also cook?
Although she was full of suspicion, Mrs. Zhang did not dare to neglect and quickly asked her servants to prepare.
Seeing that everything was ready, Xia Yu rolled up her sleeves excitedly.
In his previous life, when his parents were too busy, he often cooked and ate by himself.
Not to mention, when it comes to cooking, he is quite talented. His parents, relatives and friends all praise him for the food he cooks, as being at the level of a professional chef.
So, Xia Yu picked up the kitchen knife and started preparing vegetables under the suspicious eyes of everyone.
Chop the onion, ginger and garlic, slice the cucumber, cut the spinach into sections, chop the chicken into pieces... The knife skills are as smooth as a cloud.
Everyone was stunned to see his skillful knife skills, but they couldn't be faked. They knew he was a good cook at a glance!
Immediately, Xia Yu ordered to light a fire. When the iron pot was warm, he added mutton oil, onions, ginger, garlic, and dogwood, sauteed until fragrant, and then poured in the chicken pieces...
After a while, a simplified version of Tang Dynasty fried chicken was completed.
The kitchen was filled with a strong aroma.
While everyone was greedy and swallowing their saliva, they were also stunned because such a method and flavor were truly unheard of.
Xia Yu picked up the fried chicken on a porcelain plate and took a deep smell: it smells like this!
He couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks, pick up a piece of fat chicken and put it into his mouth. Suddenly, a spicy aroma penetrated his soul from the tip of his tongue.
It tastes ok!
Although dogwood is not as fragrant as chili pepper, in the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, it was thankful to have such a flavor.
Xia Yu nodded with satisfaction. Seeing that everyone was very greedy, he greeted with a smile: "Come and have a try. From now on, you can make it according to my method."
"Thank you, uncle."
Good guy, everyone rushed forward in joy. The gentle ones even knew how to use a pair of chopsticks, while the impatient ones just grabbed it with their hands.
After tasting it, everyone was shocked and burst into praise:
"Oh, it's so delicious!"
“This is so delicious!”
Madam Zhang also grabbed a piece, and as soon as she took it into her mouth, her soul trembled: "This, there is such a delicious thing in this world!"
For a moment, she felt that all her years of cooking skills had been wasted, and her heart was filled with a deep sense of frustration!
Everyone was amazed by the skill, and Xia Yu was so happy that she immediately made another dish of scrambled eggs with cucumbers and stir-fried spinach, which was ready in just a few seconds.
When everyone tasted it, they were also greatly surprised.
They didn’t know that cucumbers and eggs could be used as side dishes, and that stir-fried spinach was so delicious and refreshing!
"Okay," Xia Yu smiled and washed her hands, then ordered: "Ms. Zhang, you saw what I did just now. At noon, just make it for me again and send it over."
When Mrs. Zhang heard this, she was surprised and happy: "My lord, my lord, can this kind of secret technique be done by the slave family?"
Everyone was also surprised.
They originally thought that the skill of making such delicious food must be a secret not taught in Guigu, but they didn't expect that Xia Yu didn't care.
Xia Yu laughed loudly: "Such a small skill is nothing. In the future, I will teach you more unique dishes. Everyone just learns them, as long as they don't spread them to others."
"Yes, yes." Zhang Yu heard this and said hurriedly: "My father-in-law is kind-hearted. He has taught you such secret skills. You must understand the rules, otherwise you will not be lenient."
"Yes, yes." When everyone heard this, they all thought it was reasonable and nodded happily.
Zhang Yu's dog legs made Xia Yu dumbfounded.
It's not that he is conceited, he just wants to recruit some relatives and friends to open a few specialty restaurants in the future, so that he can make money and accumulate connections at the same time.