Chapter 31 Cooking with Mud
Chapter 31 Cooking with Mud
"How confused I am! My wife was so cruel that she left Erya abandoned outside. Alas…How will I get along with Erya in the future…"
Su Huanli went back and forth in the house and thought about the plan, "If Erya is resentful, the last ten percent profit of Baiwei Building will be lost. No! Even if Zipei and her mother are not punished, I will give Erya enough compensation…"
In the Jinyuan Court, Su Li was squatting on the ground to separate the ingredients and poisonous weeds.
In order to prevent accidents, she only mixed a small number of poisonous weeds in the photo album and did not completely list herbs on the Collection of Poison. With these poisonous weeds, however, she could refine many things.
As for her daddy, she didn’t have much time to take care of him. It was easy to make him uneasy. If she could gain larger advantages by taking advantage of it, it would be unexpected pleasure.
"Miss, I was back."
The familiar voice came from the outside, and Su Li looked up and saw Mammy Li hesitating to come in with a basket and a few newly picked lotus leaves in her hands.
"Miss, lotus leaves are blooming in summer. I find them almost without any effort, but the yellow mud…"
Mammy Li opened the basket and revealed the wet yellow mud. She felt strange and said, "The yellow mud is so dirty, really… Can you cook with it?"
Su Li smiled slightly and didn’t answer. She just gave an order, "Mammy, don’t let the mud dry, or it’s not sticky. The lotus leaves should be washed very clean. I’m almost ready. Mammy, go to town for a fat and tender yellow-billed, yellow-footed and yellow-haired hen with a small head but large size."
"Alas! I am going to…"
Mammy Li quickly dealt with the lotus leaves and the yellow mud, wiped her hands and went out seeing the old butler waiting outside Jinyuan Court.
"Mammy Li, if the Second Miss needs anything, just tell us. With so many guards available, it is convenient to find anything."
Hearing what the butler said, Mammy Li was immediately surprised, "That’s great! I am still worried about how to find such a strange hen."
"Hen?" Butler Li was delighted when he heard it. The Second Miss was about to make the main course as expected.
With the instructions of Mammy Li, the whole Su Family immediately worked, and at the same time, the other two families also got the first-hand news.
"Hen? Has the girl from the Su Family developed a new dish in only a few days? If she is an ordinary girl, she should still be in the panic of being assassinated."
Yang Li received the news and felt suspicious.
"Yeah, daddy, I heard that Su Zipei’s mammy picked lotus leaves and dug for yellow mud. No one knows what kind of dishes Su Zipei wants to make."
Yang Wei immediately added that he made a big mistake in the case of Baiwei Building. If he didn’t remedy it, it would not be his turn to be the master of the Yang Family, not to mention marrying Su Erya!
"Humph! A new dish needs to receive approval of the Yang and Zhu Families. Otherwise Su Huanli cannot get a penny from the last ten percent of profits!"
Seeing the stupid eldest son, Yang Li instantly turned hostile and scolded, "Can’t you do anything right? If you are not fascinated by beautiful women, how could the other two families get involved in the Baiwei Building? Get out and reflect on it!"
Yang Wei had always been scared of his father, and with such a roar, he immediately left in terror.
Sitting in the empty hall, Yang Li suddenly sneered out, "Cooking with yellow mud?! She is such a silly little girl who doesn’t know the depth of heaven and earth. She really regards herself as a genius."
"It’s impossible to cook with yellow mud!"
The same voice echoed in the Zhu Family. The old butler of the Zhu Family firmly said, "Lord, the miss of the Su Family mixes the chicken of a hen with yellow mud. Thinking of it, who would like to eat the dish? I’m afraid that even beggars feel sick! Yellow mud is the greatest failure of the dish. The Su Family will definitely fail the taste appraisal a few days later. The remaining ten percent of the profit depends on how the Lord consults
"Hah hah, Su Huanli is completely relying on his daughter, which is too irrational. How old is his little daughter? I’m afraid that she forgets who she is after two successive successes out of luck." Seeming to be able to cope with all matters, Zhu Rongkun said, "The Yang Family is nothing to be feared. They rashly dispatched a killer, which didn’t conform to the ethics. Our Zhu Family can get at least seventy percent from the last ten percent of profits."
"Lord is wise. After Su Zipei’s failure, the cook invited by you from the County Town is to come, and we may squeeze profit from the other two families!"
"Ha ha ha…"
The laughter of the master and servant echoed inside the hall.
…
Hearing of the news that Erya was going to cook with yellow mud, Su Huanli was also panicked. Did Erya deliberately want him to fail because of hatred?
Su Huanli was so painful thinking of the glistening silver to be lost. He rushed to the Jinyuan Court in spite of his guilt.
The sun was burning.
There were all kinds of split-bamboo baskets for herbs on the ground of the Jinyuan Court. Directly shined by the sun, they cracked from time to time, producing a mixed exotic fragrance for the whole court.
Seeing this scene, Su Huanli felt slightly eased. After all, Erya was using the ingredients found under his orders instead of discarding them randomly.
Under the shade covered by vines, Su Li was studying a book carefully. Although she succeeded in practicing the fourth hurdle of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction recently, she still couldn’t digest much of it. Therefore, she had to delay the progress of her practice and digest the inspiration by reading.
"Daddy, why are you here?"
When her father came over, Su Li got up and felt surprised.
Sitting at the stone table, Su Huanli breathed foul smell, and murmured, "Erya, tell me the truth. Are you sure about the new dish?"
Su Li did not speak. Seeing her turn silent, Su Huanli instantly felt anxious and said quicker,
"Erya, you may still be resentful for being driven out from the family. I will compensate you with whatever you want! However, you cannot make any mistakes in the new dish. It’s related to the future of the Su Family! If we finally operate the Baiwei Building well, we will suffice to support your eldest brother in going further on his official career. Erya, you must not do something stupid!"
"Daddy, you misunderstood me!"
Su Li hurriedly waved her hand, as if she was scared by her father’s tone, "My eldest brother told me what happened before. Now the misunderstanding has been explained clearly. I was saved by my eldest brother. As a daughter of the Su Family, how will I be resentful? It’s impossible to make the new dish without a proper hen. That’s the reason why I didn’t speak."
"It turns out that you are worried that you can’t find the right ingredients!"
Su Huanli was shocked for a moment and suddenly realized that Erya was still worried about the Su Family. It turned out that he was worrying for nothing about trouble that may not come.
"Erya, you are really scared me to death. You’re just worried about the ingredients. I’ll find them in all the chicken houses in the Dasu Town. Rest assured. I’ll send more servants!"
Su Huanli came worriedly and left vigorously, surprising many guards.
Butler Li saw it and couldn’t help but smile. The master’s suspicion was so deep that he didn’t fully trust Erya at this time.
Just… Would Erya truly let go of the past and focus on things of the Su Family?
Even the well-informed Butler Li, who thought he knew the nature of the Second Miss wasn’t sure about it. That’s because people often changed.
For several days, the Su, Zhu and Yang Families had rushed about for the three-yellow chicken, but they did not see any all over the Dasu Town.
"Does Su Huanli deliberately put obstacles in our way? If we can’t find the three-yellow chicken, he will have the excuse to fail to make a top-one dish."
Yang Li couldn’t help but guess and immediately ordered, "Go on! Go to the County Town for the chicken if it cannot be found in the Dasu Town. If it still cannot be found in the County Town, Su Huanli must be playing tricks on me. Then he must explain to Zhu Rongkun and me."
At this time, a servant burst into the house from outside and reported, "Master, the three-yellow chicken was found!"
Yang Li’s eyes widened and thought that there was such a hen indeed.
In the Jinyuan Court, Mammy Li held a cackling hen and said excitedly, "Miss, the hen is found. Look at its yellow mouth, feet and hair as well as small head and large size. It’s the same as what you said."
"Erya, what do you think of the hen?" Su Huanli said with bloodshot eyes. Apparently he hadn’t been asleep for several nights to find the hen.
Su Li touched the soft and shiny feathers of the three-yellow chicken. Staring at it for a moment, she nodded and said, "Good! It’s the three-yellow chicken that I wanted. Mammy Li, deal with the ingredients with me."
Afterwards, Su Li turned her head and looked at her father. She said caringly, "Daddy must be very tired in these days. Have a rest while I’m cooking. When I’m done, I’ll ask Mammy Li to wake you up. What do you think?"
Su Huanli smiled happily and said, "You know how to care about me. Okay! I’m going to have a rest right now."
Su Huanli left the Jinyuan Court somewhat unsteadily. If he kept bustling about for a few days, he could have a serious illness.
In the kitchen, Su Li couldn’t take action quite a while after she picked up the knife fearfully. Mammy Li stared at her and laughed. She forgot that the Second Miss didn’t kill livestock before.
"Miss, leave it to me. I’ll definitely follow your instructions."
Mammy Li couldn’t help but offer to help. Su Li sighed with a pale face and passed the knife to Mammy Li. She said in frustration, "Well, you must be careful. Don’t make mistakes."
"Ok!"
According to Su Li’s instructions, Mammy Li deftly killed the hen, removed the feathers and opened a small opening from the back of the hen to remove the viscera and wash it. She put the whole white and clean hen in front of Su Li.
Su Li checked it and warmly ordered, "Mammy, there is the seasoning I grinded on the desk in my study. Go for it."
Mammy Li did not suspect her and ran out of the kitchen. Su Li’s eyes flashed. Immediately she picked up the knife and quickly knocked off the wings, leg bones and shine bones with the knife back, without any damage to the skin.
"Miss, is it this?"
Mammy Li came back with a white porcelain bottle. Su Li held it with a smile and took it aside. She said, "Yes, that’s right."
Mammy Li looked confused. She fetched the bottle, but the Second Miss didn’t use it.