Chapter 360 (1/2)
The process of making Buddha jumps over the wall was very complicated and Yu Xiaocao didn't have any experience in her previous life in making it. She only knew the concept. After preparing ten sets of raw ingredients for the dish, Yu Xiaocao continually experimented with her cooking methods to find the correct way. The first few times, either the ratio of the ingredients were off or the ratio of the seasonings were off. Thus, the taste of the final dish was not as good as she would have liked.
However, even the failed attempts at Buddha jumps over the wall were delicious as it used top-notch delicacies. Yu Xiaocao was talented in cooking and her food was addictive. Thus, to the Yu Family members, the products of her failed attempts were still incredibly tasty. Therefore, before the day of the celebration that Royal Prince Yang had prepared for Little s.h.i.+tou had arrived, the Yu Family's old residence constantly had tantalizing smells wafting out of its walls. The fragrance of her cooking caused their two neighbors, the Qians and the Zhous, to drool constantly. Qian Wu, the little youngster, couldn't stop himself from going over to the Yu Family's gate to take a look. He really wanted to see what sort of delicious dish Xiaocao was making.
With each attempt, Yu Xiaocao wrote down what she learned in a small notebook using charcoal. The notes described what had gone wrong with the cooking process and proposed solutions to fix it. If she also discovered the most optimal way to cook an ingredient, it was also recorded down into her notebook…
Many attempts had pa.s.sed and she finally failed eight attempts. On her ninth attempt, she finally hit the perfect ratios and cooking methods for all of the ingredients. The scent of the food wafted around the residence in a diameter of five kilometers, causing everyone who inhaled the fragrance to be intoxicated by the 'Buddha jumps over the wall' dish.
Every time Yu Xiaocao attempted to make Buddha jumps over the wall, Zhu Junyang was always there to taste it and give his opinions. He actually proposed quite a few useful opinions and propositions. After all, a true foodie's mouth could taste all of the details. However, he managed to eat quite a lot of the attempts that were even deemed failures. Even the failed attempts were incredibly delicious that other dishes couldn't even hope to compare.
When this ceramic pot of Buddha jumps over the wall was just finished, the smell that came out was incredible and could not be compared to the previous attempts. Even Royal Prince Yang, who constantly boasted that there were no delicacies in the world that he hadn't tried, was also spellbound by the food's fragrance. In fact, he almost lost his senses in the euphoric sensation of the smell.
When the ceramic pot was opened, the whole courtyard was bathed in its aroma. Zhu Junyang praised the food unceasingly after taking a bite and couldn't think of any criticisms. Sure enough, Xiaocao hadn't been boasting when she said, ”When the lid opens and the scent of food permeates the air, Buddha smells the food and jumps over the wall!” Basically, even Buddha himself couldn't help but violate his religious precepts to take a few bites when faced with the sweet smell of this dish.
The Yu Family members could only smell the first successful batch that was made and didn't even get to taste one bite. Royal Prince Yang, who had an icy exterior but an inner core that was very filial to his family, had taken that ceramic pot of Buddha jumps over the wall after wrapping it in some cloth and brought it to the mountain residence where his mother lived. There, he and his mother were able to enjoy the dish together.
When the construction on the residence finished, Princess Consort Jing had moved in. After her second day there, she invited Yu Xiaocao over to have some fun. With Royal Prince Yang as her escort, Xiaocao 'looked around' at every nook and cranny of the mountain residence. She pointed out the small well that was in the main courtyard's little kitchen and said that it contained water from a top-notch mountain spring. She claimed that using the water from this well for all of the Princess Consort's food and tea would help her body. In actuality, she had the little divine stone help her to transform the well water into mystic-stone water.
At first, Senior Servant Su, who had served Princess Consort Jing for a long time, only half-believed Xiaocao's words. Under the persistence of Princess Consort Jing and the royal prince, Her Royal Highness only ate food and drank tea that was prepared with the water from that well. Only a few days pa.s.sed, yet her royal highness's health began to take a turn for the better and her appet.i.te improved a lot. Her skin became more tender and she had a healthy flush on her cheeks. In fact, she even looked a lot more youthful compared to before. Senior Servant Su, who was a loyal servant, repeatedly said that Dongshan Village's environment was good for healing people!
After spending half a year in the mountain residence, Princess Consort Jing's body recovered to the point where she was able to wear a hiking costume and go outside. With a few maidservants and senior servants accompanying her, she hiked the mountain, went hunting, or even went to gather some wild fruits herself. She had Yu Xiaocao use those wild fruits to ferment some wine. Her days were full of rich activities to do. Even Imperial Prince Jing, who came over on his breaks, was disregarded by her as she was too busy. It made him quite sulky.
When Yu Xiaocao had free time, she would, from time to time, cook some light dishes for the princess consort and send them to the mountain residence. Princess Consort Jing once laughingly said that the homestyle food that she made was even better than the food that the best chefs in the prince's residence made.
At first, the self-important chefs in the residence were quite offended by this and thought that the princess consort had merely gotten tired of eating sumptuous food, so she believed that homestyle food tasted better. However, after they tried the food Yu Xiaocao made, they realized how wrong they were. These simple ingredients could be crafted into incredibly delicious dishes. Was this the legendary 'returning to one's true self' cooking method? They had never thought that the cuisine that they pursued for over half their life could be produced by a ten to eleven year old girl!
The head chef at the residence along with the imperial chefs that were bestowed onto the estate all put away their arrogance and self-importance to ask Yu Xiaocao for her advice. Xiaocao didn't have anything to hide and also didn't have any lectures to pontificate. Instead, when she cooked, she allowed two of the famous chefs to observe her.
The famous chefs at the residence both felt grateful. All head chefs had their secrets that they wouldn't disseminate to others. By being so magnanimous, the two of them esteemed and respected Yu Xiaocao even more. From their observations, the two of them both had their own takeaways. After being inspired by what they saw, both of them managed to make breakthroughs in their own cooking.
When Royal Prince Yang brought back the Buddha jumps over the wall, it was already time to eat dinner. The two chefs had both made their specialties and were waiting for the two masters to try them. Royal Prince Yang was picky and was always able to find some aspect of the food that was lacking. Thus, whenever the masters were eating, the two chefs stayed at the side to hear the royal prince's opinions or the princess consort's requests.
”Yang'er, what sort of treasure are you holding onto today?” Princess Consort Jing looked at the table full of light dishes and couldn't bring up her appet.i.te. What had that la.s.s Xiaocao been up to lately? It had been a long time since the little girl came over to spend time with her. Princess Consort Jing felt that her body was pretty much as healthy as a normal person's and wanted to relax her dietary restrictions. She really wanted to eat roasted chicken, roasted duck, and smoked sausages...