The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 10 Tribute pears
The eleven or twelve-year-old maids of the Shangshi Bureau began to compete with paper and pen.

Everyone is in the same situation, picking out good dishes and crossing them out, feeling that they are not good enough, or that they can't do well.Some even forced themselves to cry, and Xue Li frowned every day, looking left and right at the page with several desserts, and felt that no one was suitable.

The last time I booked ten people, there are still 62 people who have not been promoted. To prevent omissions, the female officials will definitely prepare dishes for backup, and they want to make something that can be served on Qiao Xuanyi's dining table...

It's really getting harder the more I think about it!

Sydney's forehead was on the desk, scratching the desk with her hands and she collapsed.

"Tuk Tuk."

There was a soft knock at the door, and it sounded as if the people outside were timid.Xue Li was startled, got up and went to open the door, there was a little eunuch outside, asking her: "But Miss Ruan?"

Shangshi Bureau is dominated by court ladies, although there are many small eunuchs who do odd jobs, but most of them are unfamiliar.Seeing him knocking on the door, Sydney felt a little strange: "What's the matter?"

The little eunuch looked eight or nine years old, half a head shorter than her.The thief looked inside like a thief, and asked her: "There is no one else."

Xue Li shook her head, and replied that they were all on duty, and she was the only one who had to rest today.The little eunuch heaved a sigh of relief and told her: "Outside the gate, go to the east corner, someone is looking for a girl."

Sydney was even more strange, and went out in a daze.The little eunuch stopped her again, looking a bit embarrassed.

"What's the matter?" Xue Li looked at him, and he said anxiously: "Miss, just pretend that we haven't been here, don't, don't tell others about it, we can't afford to offend you."

He dropped this sentence and ran away, looking like he was about to run for his life.

She didn't even mention her name, and she couldn't mention it to others if she wanted to...

Xueli mumbled something in her heart, and headed outside with curiosity.

What the little eunuch said just now made her a little scared, but firstly, this is inside the palace and outside the Shangshi Bureau, so it can't be murder and arson; secondly, if the little eunuch is scared like that, maybe she won't go Instead, it caused trouble.

The hustle and bustle in Shangshi Bureau gave her courage, but when she stepped out of the gate and suddenly became quiet...

He walked on tiptoe.

After more than twenty steps, we reached the east corner.It was when the sun was shining brightly at noon, and Sydney looked up. Three or five steps away from the corner, there was a piece of golden brilliance of the sun and light silver of the cloth.

"...Master Wei." She bowed her knees, her eyes secretly swept to the sides and behind him, to make sure that the commander was not there.

Wei Chen smiled: "Sydney."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the shoulders of the little girl in front of him tense, as if he was very uncomfortable with this name.After thinking about it, he changed his words again: "Miss Ruan."

...it doesn't sound that different in Sydney.

Xue Li felt awkward because she had never told them her name, and he knew her name and surname just like that, which once again made her understand the capabilities of their imperial guards!

Wei Chen stepped forward, raised the bamboo basket in his hand, and said calmly, "I heard that you are going to make dessert for Qiao Xuanyi during the Mid-Autumn Festival? This is this year's tribute pear."

...? !

Sydney was stunned.

"Qiao Xuanyi is from Ningzhou." Wei Chen explained very consciously, "This is a tribute from her hometown."

But Xueli didn't care about this, and even the idea of ​​"it's a bit strange for him to send Li to cook for her knowing that her name is Xueli" was just a flash of thought.Then all eyes were fixed on those yellow pears...

She knew all too well where these pears came from.When Gong entered the palace, he had been to the Shangshi Bureau, and it had only been stored for two days. The Shangshi Bureau knew from top to bottom that there was such a batch of excellent quality tribute pears, but no one had tasted them.

I heard that there are not many pears produced in Ningzhou this year, and after careful selection, only a hundred pears were brought to the palace.It became an extremely precious thing, fifty of them were rewarded to the concubines of the palaces, and the rest were only able to be scooped up by the clan courtiers who had lost face.

After thinking it all through, Xue Li hid back and waved her hands again and again: "This can't be done..."

"Nothing is wrong." Wei Chen smiled and took a step forward, "I know that the number of ingredients in your Shangshi Bureau is recorded. Don't worry, I have added these to the total number of your pears. You can count them after you use them. It's still a match."

...the fakes are all done?
Sydney froze, what he said was "I am already" not "I will", if she didn't answer, the number would not match.

Sydney looked at him, but still didn't dare to answer.

"You don't get paid for nothing!" She refused bluntly, shaking her head as the tassel on the silver hairpin kept shaking, "If it's an ordinary pear slave, I'll accept it, this..."

"You forgot to take the medicine last time, so just use that money to buy pears." Wei Chen cut off her words.

Xue Li was slightly stunned, and he continued: "Don't be afraid that the female officials will taste it, they haven't eaten it either."

He thought too comprehensively, before Xue Li had time to say the words of refusal, he suddenly choked back with the reasons he had prepared in advance.

Xue Li was flattered: "My lord... why are you helping me like this?"

She looked at him in bewilderment and waited for the answer, but she saw Wei Chen smiling easily, and then turned around leisurely...running fast!
run, run what...

Sydney was left in the same place, his thoughts couldn't keep up with his way of doing things, and then he disappeared without having time to catch up with his steps or thoughts.

Xue Li looked down at the bamboo basket on the ground, and seemed to have no choice but to accept it.

Feeling ashamed, she remained silent for a long time before squatting down to uncover the brocade covering the basket.Taking a closer look, there is a white porcelain bottle lying among the pineapple.

Did you bring the medicine too?
The corner of his mouth slightly twitched, thinking back to Wei Chen's words just now, it was obvious that he deliberately coaxed her.Sydney was a little angry, but there was still a warm and soft feeling in her heart, as if soaked in honey.

Why did Wei Chen help so meticulously... He ran too fast, and Sydney couldn't ask clearly. The Gongli he got should be put to good use anyway.

Things really got a little easier because of that.

At least the dishes are ready--before, we had to choose from desserts, and the range was too wide. Now we focus on "pear" desserts, and the range is suddenly narrowed.

Besides, she doesn't know how to make many pear-based desserts, and she tried to write down all of them, but there are only seven or eight kinds.

Wei Chen gave her a total of six tribute pears. Sydney cleaned them and laid them out on the table for a long time. They were all the same size and color, so they were carefully selected...

She trembled a little when she thought that there were only a hundred things in total, and now there were six in front of her.

Then, trembling, he cut one for himself.Slice and taste lightly.

Three months after arriving at Shangshi Bureau, they began to get in touch with various ingredients. One of the first few rules taught by the female officials was that before cooking all kinds of things that they had never seen before, they had to taste the taste first.

Fruits and vegetables that can be tasted raw should be tasted raw, while fish, meat and some vegetables that cannot be eaten raw should be boiled in water to taste the most original taste.

In the words of the female officials, only when I know the taste of the ingredients well can I have a general idea of ​​how to season and match them.Therefore, when it comes to tasting ingredients, no one in Shangshi Bureau will be stingy, no matter how precious the ingredients are, they must be ruthless and taste them in the simplest way.

Of course, if you meet someone who fits your mouth, you may taste a little more...

A knife cuts off thin slices and puts them in the mouth. When you bite the pear lightly, the pear fragrance overflows immediately.

There is no sourness in the juice, the sweetness is rich and not greasy.Sydney tasted carefully, and then noticed that the flesh quality of this pear was also different.

The pears that are usually used to make dim sum or pear soup have a slightly rusty texture, and some fine particles can be felt when rubbed on the tongue.

The meat of this tribute pear is extremely delicate, even, a bit like an apple, softer and waxier than a crispy apple, and a bit crispier than a noodle apple, and less chewy.

Taste, taste and aroma are excellent.Sydney sent another piece of entrance, wiped his hands, quickly flipped through the letter while savoring, and quickly sorted out his thoughts.

Cui Wan said that if the ingredients are of the highest quality, it would be best if they can reflect the original taste.

Stewed pears with sweet-scented osmanthus?
This is extremely simple.

Sydney wrote these five words and stared at them for a while, then shook her head: sweet-scented osmanthus still steals the taste of tribute pears.

Cross it out and replace it with "Chuanbei Stewed Pear with Rock Sugar".

After looking at it for a while, the pen hesitated and crossed out the word "Chuanbei".

Okay... stewed pears in rock sugar, but is it too simple? !
With the idea of ​​"trying and talking", Sydney found an empty dining room and took a few ordinary pears to try.

Knowing that this dessert is too simple, she had to work harder on how to make it.I have already recalled the method of making orange stuffed with crab by the female official of Shangshi that day. After peeling the pear, I took a deep breath and cut it half an inch from the top.

This kind of pear, like Gongli, is slightly flatter and rounder, and it is just a part that can be used as a lid when you cut it.

Then change to a narrower knife and stab it vertically, draw a circle to remove the core, and fill the hollowed out part with rock sugar.

Covering the "lid", she put two pears in a porcelain dish, put them in the whole pot, and steamed them slowly.

Staring at the pot in a daze for half an hour.

When she felt that the time was almost up, Xueli became a little nervous for no reason. After thinking for a while, she ran out to find Su Zixian, and then turned off the fire, and took out the stewed pears in rock sugar.

The two pears have been stewed thoroughly, and they look white and tender, soft and waxy, and the slightly thick rock sugar pear water overflows the plate.The two each picked up a small spoon, and with a light touch, the soft pear flesh was dug out.

As soon as you put it in your mouth, the pear flesh melts, and the pear fragrance and the unique sweetness of rock sugar linger.

It must be better to use tribute pears, at least the small particles that can be tasted now are gone.

Xueli felt very satisfied, but she was a little hot, so she took a breath and asked Su Zixian, "How is it?"

"Delicious!" Su Zixian raised her hand to fan her mouth, looked at the pear whose corner was missing, and said, "But will it be inconvenient?"

Just now when she started, Lizi almost fell over, because Xueli just dropped the spoon from the other side before "helping" it back.

When she said that, Sydney also thought of this.

Inconvenient is inconvenient, but it is still delicious.Su Zixian helped her think about it, took another mouthful to eat, and then asked her, "Did you make it according to the method of stuffing oranges with crab?"

Xueli nodded, and Su Zixian took another bite from the porcelain spoon: "But you think, the crab stuffed orange is to eat the crab meat stuffed in the orange, just use the chopsticks to pick it out... You want to dig the 'shell'!"

That's it.

While thinking about how to make it more convenient, the two ate up the two pears.There is not even any juice left, the taste of the mixture of pear juice and rock sugar is really irresistible...

"It doesn't look good if you cut it up." Su Zixian curled her lips, thinking that if she wanted to cut it up and present it, it would be better to just cut it into slices and stew it!
Xueli leaned against the stove and looked at the empty plates, thought for a while, then hopped on tiptoe and sat on the edge of the stove.

After a while, I jumped down again and ran to get new pears.

I was a little uneasy while washing the pears, wondering if the five tribute pears would be enough for this method.

(End of this chapter)