Goldfield
Chapter 93: Honorable Guest

The southern part of the country is a land of fish and rice. Over the past two years, the area had good weather and as taxes were loosened, they even had a lot of crop leftovers. On the other hand, the northern part has been suffering from drought for many years. The town of Tanggu is near the sea, but farmers in the area are experiencing declining yields from their fields. As for the northwestern part of the country, the drought is very strong and there is nothing to plant at this point.

Transferring wheat from the southern provinces to the north was a brilliant strategic idea from their current emperor. By opening up the imperial treasury, the government could buy large quantities of rice and ship it by sea and river transport to the north. This helps stabilize grain prices in drought-stricken areas and reduce disasters in large numbers. This is also the main reason why not many refugees from the north are traveling despite years of drought.

Imperial Prince Jing was the paternal uncle of the current emperor. Even though he had mediocre abilities, his heart was in a good place and he was honest. As the person in charge of the sea trade, he often went out on his own to oversee operations. In fact, he himself repeatedly went south to escort ships carrying rice and wheat to the north.

The guest that Brother Six received today was a capable person under Imperial Prince Jing. If one wants to continue being a part of this shipping business, then it is necessary to have a good relationship with this man.

In order to keep the food warm and fresh, Brother Six asked Xiaocao to stay in the building and use the restaurant facilities as needed. Xiaocao easily agreed to this request. His father could handle the sale of boiled food alone.

By the time the cargo ship reached the shore, breakfast time had already passed. Waiter Wu from Prince Jing's estate had long since grown tired of spending time on the ship. However, he had visited the pier many times in Tanggu City before, so he was quite familiar with the conditions in the area. The only thing Steward Wu expected was to eat something warm for breakfast as he stepped onto the dry ground. Under Brother Six's direction, he arrived at a simple and crude-looking restaurant.

“Tell the kitchen to remove food!” Although Brother Six's demeanor was warm, he wasn't considered too eager for something. Instead he acted very naturally, which allowed Steward Wu to feel free and unrestrained.

“Good!” The waiter didn't disappear long before he showed up with a bowl of bright green and yellow leafy vegetables and egg soup. She reported her food name, “This is ‘sup appetizer’. These two guests, each take a bowl and start! ”

The private rooms have one particular guest who seems to have an impressive demeanor and clearly has an exceptional status. Even though that person had not ordered any food from this restaurant, he had given them a decent amount of money. Therefore, the restaurant manager had instructed the employees of the place to take good care of these guests.

“Eh? What are these green vegetables? Is this the season of green vegetables appearing on the market here? ” Flight attendant Wu had just gotten off the ship, so she felt the ground under her feet was still swaying. When he saw the greenish vegetables in the bowl, he immediately felt better inside and started to have an appetite.

Brother Liu was also flabbergasted in heart. Today, most farmers have not even planted the seeds of green vegetables. This Xiaocao, where did he manage to get these vegetables to make soup? Despite the shock of his heart, he calmly helped Steward Wu to scoop up a bowl of green vegetable soup and smiled, “Steward Wu, taste this soup ..”

‘Sup opener’ has a light and fresh taste. The vegetable leaves are tender and tender, and bright yellow eggs easily enter the throat. Such a fresh and flavorful profile fully matches Steward Wu's food preferences. He drank two large bowls of soup without rest and only then did he stroke his beard and smile in awe, “Good! Alright!! It's so delicious! ”

The second dish is boiled dry tofu. The strong taste of its boiled spice had seeped into every piece of tofu. Although this dish was devoid of meat, Steward Wu who only liked to eat meat, still ate some mouthfuls before he stopped.

The third dish, ‘pearl’ meatballs, wrapped outside with glutinous rice. Each translucent grain seemed to sparkle and glow like a true pearl. When bitten, this perfectly round-shaped meatball has a savory pork taste and a distinctive and unique duck egg yolk taste that blends harmoniously. With the addition of the fragrant taste of glutinous rice added, Steward Wu, who has traveled a lot throughout the country, could not help but praise this food endlessly, “Ah Liuzi, who has been traveling around the country, ‘this pearl’ meatball is quite tasty and the name is also quite elegant. Has this restaurant changed its chef recently? Where do they get a new chef? He was no worse than the best chef in the capital! For example, this simple dry tofu dish, ah, she can even make it taste so good .. tell me, if I manage to make her go with me, if I can make her go away with me,

Brother Six laughed, “Servant Wu is too good. You have been following His Highness, the Imperial Prince of Jing, all over the country. What culinary have you not tried? You've been locked up on that ship for too long, so you're very happy to land on land. So, it is not surprising if you feel everything you eat tastes good —— try some salted vegetables with this steamed pork, what do you think? ”

When Xiaocao made salted vegetables with steamed pork, he carefully selected pork belly slices that had a balanced ratio of fat and meat. He also made sure to remove some of the fat from the meat, so that the meat remains tasty without being greasy. Steward Wu also had a difficult childhood. After eating one piece, he could not help but continue eating a few more pieces before he reluctantly put down his chopsticks —— who would have thought even a pig could be prepared in such an elegant and delicious way, uh….

After the meat dish, Xiaocao asked them to serve a vegetable dish —— ‘spicy cabbage and asam’. Wu's steward had eaten too many radishes and cabbages in his youth, so he now hated him passionately. Therefore, he did not seem to be too interested in eating this dish and managed to try one mouthful with great difficulty. After he tasted it, he discovered that the spiciness came with acid, and the one hidden in the middle was something savory. The dishes are delicious. He thought to himself, ‘Who has the ability to make cabbage taste good? This must be a true culinary genius, right? ‘

After that, stir-fry the pork swine with sweet bean sauce. What really surprised him was that it came with a very small and thin bundle of wheat. Wrapping the meat with chunks of chives gives a very unique combination of texture and taste. That's unimaginable! Wu's steward couldn't help but eat more.

Do not underestimate stir-fried pork chops with this sweet bean sauce! Just making meat alone required seven to eight steps, and it drove Xiaocao crazy as he perfected the procedure. After experimenting many times, he was finally able to create a dish that satisfied his desire. However, his efforts were not in vain. Had it not been for his status, Steward Wu would have asked the chef about the recipe!

The last dish on the menu, ‘ slices of boiled fish in hot’ chili oil, have completely conquered Steward Wu's sense of taste. The dish seemed to be filled with bright red chili peppers. However, when eating it, the spicy taste is too pungent, making it numb but not bitter. The fish is cooked in a slippery and tender, fatty way without becoming greasy. All the fishy smell has gone but still has the unique soft taste that fish meat has. Once a person eats one bite, it makes the person want to continue eating nonstop.

“The chef here is very talented. Let him come and get the prize! ” Host Wu leaned back in his chair as he slowly sipped the fragrant tea he brought himself to this restaurant. He suddenly wanted to see this divine chef who could make food that he had never tasted before in his life.

Brother Six poured another cup of tea and smiled, “The person who made the food is actually not the chef of this restaurant. It was someone I found and brought specially for you! ”

“Eh? Liuzi, you are really very detailed and considerate! Goody! I'll remember this.. I'm very curious, where did you find someone who is very talented in cooking? ” Steward Wu stared intently at Brother Six as he asked.

Brother Six made no attempt to hide it and replied, “A little girl appeared on the dock these past few days selling ‘meat portions for one copper coin’. He has the ability to take the ingredients that others will throw away, for example pig heads, intestines, and small fish, and make them a delicious food that people fight over. This lowly man believes that he is really talented in cooking, so I have him come to help me make a table for you today. ”

“A little girl? You tell me that this food table was all made by a little girl? Then I really need to reward him! ” Steward Wu became more interested in this little girl after hearing Brother Six's story.

In the kitchen, Xiaocao sincerely started cleaning the area after the final dish was served to the guests. When someone borrows someone else's kitchen, it is correct and appropriate to return it to its original condition…

As he finished tidying up the kitchen and was about to leave, the maid suddenly chased after him and shouted, “Little girl, the honored guest inside wants to meet you! She says she loves the food you make and wants to give you a gift! ”

A bounty? Never say no to free money! He had spent time racking his brain to make this dish, and it was also not easy to make it. If the noble guest who ate the food thought it was delicious and wanted to give him money, it would definitely be more money than he could earn from selling the cooked food for one day.

Xiaocao ran after the maid to the only private room in the building. He gave her an out-of-place bow and lowered her head as she stood there waiting for her reward.

“Liuzi... did you tell me that the little girl who can make simple ingredients into delicious food is her?” Steward Wu looked at the little girl who was around seven to eight years old standing in front of him. She was wearing shabby yet completely clean clothes, and her hair had been combed into two braids. His face was thin but he had bright and bright skin. It was obvious that he did not believe that a child this young was the creator of such a delicious meal.

Liuzi, however, very seriously nodded his head and said, “That's him ..”

Waiter Wu was obviously someone who had seen the vast aspect of life, so he quickly forgot his shock over the matter. He smiled at Xiaocao and asked, “Little girl, where did you learn how to make this food?”

Xiaocao slightly raised his head and glanced at his eyes at a glance. He replied in a tone that was neither rude nor arrogant, “All of these dishes are recipes that I understand myself. Brother Six has saved my life, so since he needs to receive a noble guest, I naturally used all my abilities to help him. ”

Steward Wu exclaimed in surprise, “This is all thought and made by you? It is not a good habit to start trying to cheat people at such a young age! ”

Despite the obvious condemnation and displeasure in the man's tone, Xiaocao calmly replied, “My family is poor, and we can hardly ever taste meat or fish all year round. This is why when I saw the butcher throw away the pig's offal I thought, ‘the pig's offal is still part of the pig, so it should still be edible!’. When I went back home and pondered over it for a few days, I made the pig head and pig intestines boiled after adding a lot of seasoning to the meat. Not only does it not smell strange, but it also tastes very delicious! From then on, I became interested in cooking and making new dishes. A series of strange and interesting thoughts began to appear in my mind. Because my family's ability to buy things was limited, I never had the opportunity to experiment. Yesterday, Brother Six gave me money to create food for the entire table. I went back and experimented all afternoon and finally managed to make this table. If you don't believe me, you can take my father and ask him. My family used to have almost no food, how could we possibly have the money to hire a teacher to teach me how to cook? ”

The steward Wu glanced again at the cotton-coated clothes and coat on his body that was only cleaner than a set that a beggar would wear. Although he felt the situation was somewhat unimaginable, he did not continue to continue this question and simply branded it in his mind as someone who was naturally talented in cooking.

Originally her intention to meet with the chef was to see if she could tempt the person into working at Prince Jing's Plantation or not. Recently the leader mother did not have a good appetite and just wanted to eat a new and refreshing food. However, when he saw the thin and small little girl in front of him, he let go of the idea. A child who was only seven to eight years old still needed an adult to take care of them, so how could he leave the place he had grown up to go to the distant capital? If she missed her home and started crying, who would comfort her?

After rewarding Xiaocao five taels, Servant Wu followed Brother Liu, who took him to a nearby guesthouse to rest.