Chapter 77: Limelight
Aunt Lin didn’t stop for a moment. Everyone was immersed in the temptation of the delicious food, so no one noticed a servant leaving the table.
Aunt Lin quickly found out where Yu Wan and the others were in the kitchen. She didn’t know that the other party was the girl she had seen twice. However, the kitchen was a little remote and could even be said to be deserted.
“It’s obvious that they don’t take them very seriously. Unlike our Madam Du, who used Old Mrs. Wei’s small kitchen the moment she came.”
Madam Du was famous throughout the world, so she was naturally not someone a nameless chef could compete with. Thinking of this, Aunt Lin felt that they were being too cautious. Did they have to use such methods to deal with a few useless chefs?
While she was thinking, Aunt Lin had already arrived at the path near the courtyard. She walked with the wind and did not smell anything for a moment. However, when she turned a corner and the wind changed direction, the overwhelming stench attacked her.!!
She felt her head buzz and her scalp go numb! She quickly covered her nose and said dizzily, “W-what smell is this?!”
The Wei Manor was too much. Even if they didn’t like those chefs, they shouldn’t have arranged for them to be in such a smelly place, right? They were making things difficult for those chefs.
Soon, Aunt Lin realized that she was thinking too much.
They did not arrange such a smelly place for these chefs. It was clearly the chefs who made half of the Wei Manor stink!
Aunt Lin staggered back to Xichun Pavilion. She had been holding her breath the entire way and her face had turned purple.
“It’s too… too smelly!”
It was so smelly that Aunt Lin couldn’t help but flee before she could see what was inside.
“Smelly?” Yan Ruyu frowned. “Could it be a stinky carp?”
The stench still lingered on the tip of Aunt Lin’s nose, making her slightly dizzy.
Yan Ruyu confirmed her guess. “It should be a stinky carp. Go and get Madam Du to make a stinky carp.”
She had eaten stinky carp before and knew that the fish smelled bad and tasted bad. She really did not know why the other party chose such a dish. However, she did not dare to say anything else. This dish was Madam Du’s hometown dish. The stinky carp she made was the stinkiest among all the stinky carp, but the taste was also the most memorable.
It was also because they were lucky that there was this ingredient in the mansion.
The stinky carp had been marinated, it had a lot of salt, and the meat was slightly dried up. Unlike previous cooking methods, Madam Du steamed and roasted it first, maximizing the stench of the stinky carp.
On the other side, Yu Wan’s stinky tofu was also ready.
Yu Song did not know if it was his imagination, but he felt that his surroundings had become even quieter. It was as if everyone within a hundred miles had run away.
“What’s that smell?” asked a lady from Xichun Pavilion.
Yan Ruyu smiled and said, “It’s Madam Du making stinky carp.”
There was a stench so quickly. The crucian carp this time was more smelly than usual.
“Aiya, it stinks!” After a while, a young lady from Xichun Pavilion frowned.
Yan Ruyu couldn’t breathe. This was too smelly. Madam Du had never done something so smelly before.
After a while, the women of Xichun Pavilion covered their mouths and noses. “No, I can’t take it anymore…”
Yan Ruyu pressed her chest. “Go to the kitchen and see what’s going on.”
Aunt Lin went.
As soon as she left, the stinky tofu entered Xichun Pavilion in a gorgeous manner. The moment it entered the room, all the women and children in the room were overwhelmed by the stench! However, everyone was surprised to discover that these were not stinky carp, but a few plates of black fried tofu.
From the selection of ingredients to the production of the stinky tofu this time, it was all done by Yu Wan herself.
First of all, the ingredients were on a different level from the stinky tofu that Aunt accidentally made.
Secondly, Yu Wan added the homemade fermented bean curd. This also increased the stuffing and culinary by several levels.
Lastly, the method of keeping it fresh had to be mentioned. Previously, in the old mansion, the tofu had turned cold the moment it was out of the oil pot. This caused the stench of the stinky tofu to freeze in the molecular structure of the tofu before it could completely disperse. However, this time, Yu Wan used the food box that she had spent a lot of money on (a hundred copper coins) to ensure the temperature of the stinky tofu when it was out of the pot. When the tofu arrived here, the temperature was still the same. Especially after being suffocated for the entire journey, when she opened the food box, the stench was so strong that one could almost see the color.
“Miss Yan, Miss Yan, Miss Yan!”
Yan Ruyu fainted from the stench.
Shangguan Yan tensed her body and did not move. Her eyes stared fixedly at the plate of stinky tofu, as if she wanted to stare a hole through it!
It was so smelly that no woman in the house dared to taste it. It was Old Mrs. Wei who felt sorry for the children’s filial piety and let Nanny Song have a taste.
Nanny Song : “…”
Nanny Song braced herself and ate it. After taking a bite, her expression instantly lit up.
“If you really can’t eat it, then…” Before Old Mrs. Wei could finish speaking, Nanny Song stuffed the remaining half of the stinky tofu into her mouth!
The stunned Old Mrs. Wei: “…”
The bolder women also began to taste it with Nanny Song taking the lead.
The stinky tofu was hot, and the fermented bean curd was cold. The temperature of the two ingredients was just right. With just a gentle bite, the texture of the ice and hot sauce was so delicious that one’s eyes were about to close. Then, one would dip it into the chopped vegetables and coriander paste. It was sweet and refreshing, making one want to eat it mouthful by mouthful.
Only Yan Ruyu and Shangguan Yan did not eat.
Yan Ruyu had fainted, but Shangguan Yan—
“Take it away! My madam doesn’t eat such things!”
How could her madam eat such unpresentable things? The little maidservant refused to let the plate get close and protected her madam well!
After a while, Madam Du’s stinky carp was also presented.
However, the stench of the crucian carp was completely covered by the stinky tofu, and the taste was also slightly bland. Although it had been marinated and fermented, it was far inferior to the stinky tofu exploding juices and sauces. It was sweet, spicy, and refreshing, and the aftertaste was long.
This time, even if she wanted to lie that it was Madam Du’s cooking, she couldn’t because Madam Du couldn’t make this dish.