50 Remnants of the Republic of China IV (1/2)

After confirming all the ingredients, Jiang Weiguo took out two potatoes, cut a small piece of cured meat, and chose three relatively fresh green peppers.

Jiang Feng guessed that he had been asked to make Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes and Cured Meat with Green Peppers.

11-year-old Jiang Weiguo's culinary skills were not as good as Jiang Feng's.

He had good knife skills that would've been sharpened through his daily life helping Jiang Chengde, but his control of heat and seasoning were much worse. Even Jiang Feng could see that he had salted the spicy potato shreds too much, and the potatoes were not very fresh to begin with. The taste must not have been very good.

The Cured Meat with Green Peppers was even worse. The cured meat had not been salted very well. The green peppers were wrinkly and dehydrated. The seeds in them had all dried up. The taste could be imagined.

These two dishes were typical home-made ones, so it was not difficult to make them. Steward Wang had requested at least three dishes and one soup. Jiang Weiguo thought for a moment and took out the only cabbage in the cabinet.

The leaves on the outside of the cabbage had all withered. Jiang Weiguo had to peel away several layers before the leaves that had retained a little water were exposed. Although it was not fresh, it was edible.

He peeled off several pieces of vegetable leaves, cut them into sections and stir-fried them.

The visually unappealing stir-fried cabbage was ready to be served.

Jiang Feng felt that if it wasn't because Sir Huang in the first cabin didn't eat fish, his food would not be so simple and plain. Fish were aplenty in the river. Jiang Feng saw that there were at least two buckets of fresh fish in the corner. They were still splashing around.

The soup was made with Pepper, flour, agaric, kelp, and cured meat, as well as the dehydrated peeled cabbage leaves, were all chopped and thrown into the pot. In addition salt, chili powder, sesame oil, and soy sauce were added, Jiang Feng also saw Jiang Weiguo add a small handful of spices, it was a pot of thrown together stew, he almost couldn't see what the ingredients inside were, it was full of fragrance though and was by far the best dish among the others.

The soup was thick and steaming. Jiang Weiguo went out to look for Steward Wang. He found no one outside. He thought of what he had said, to go to the room beside his if he needed help. So he turned around and went to the next room to find someone.

The next room was also a kitchen. It was bigger than the one Jiang Weiguo was in. Maybe it was because there were two big pots in there. One pot was full of mushy gruel, and the other pot was filled with congee that had more water in it than rice. The three meals for the people in the lower sections must come from these pots.

There were two people in there, a slightly chubby middle-aged woman with a girl who looked similar to her who looked like her daughter.

Upon seeing Jiang Weiguo walk in, the middle-aged woman was shocked, but she quickly responded and asked with a smile, ”Are you the new cook Steward Wang found? Wait for a little while. I haven't finished cooking the gruel yet. I'll help you later if you need help. ”

For the first time since his escape, Jiang Weiguo had met a friendly stranger for the first time, and his tone went soft and relaxed: ”No, Auntie, I just want to ask where Steward Wang is? My dishes are ready. ”

Hearing that she didn't have to help him, the chubby middle-aged woman smiled more warmly, ”Wait a minute, I'll go to find Steward Wang for you.”

After a while, the chubby middle-aged woman came back with Steward Wang, there were two people following behind her as well.

When she passed by the little kitchen, the chubby middle-aged woman peeked inside. She rushed to Jiang Weiguo and asked, ”Xiao Jiang, what did you make, it smells so fragrant?”

”Auntie Li, don't ask what you shouldn't ask.” The governor Wang snapped a warning at her, Auntie Li was obviously not afraid of him. She rolled her eyes at him and went on cooking the gruel.

It was a big pot of gruel, but it hadn't been stirred for 10 minutes, Jiang Feng guessed that the bottom of the pot was probably burnt.

The two people who came with Steward Wang went to the small kitchen to pick up the dishes. They went to Auntie Li's kitchen to pick up the rice. Steward Wang asked Jiang Weiguo to follow him, for fear of Sir Huang's anger being at him if Jiang Weiguo really lacked any skill.

The first-class cabins were on the third floor, and there were people standing guard by the door. Steward Wang asked Jiang Weiguo to wait at the door. He and the two serving people went in. Jiang Feng was curious so he went in behind Steward Wang.

The first-class cabin was very large, and the standard was akin to the presidential suite of later generations. The servants and family members of Sir Huang were all in there. He was sitting on the sofa reading a book, while his wife sewed buttons beside him.

”County Magistrate Huang, the former cook on the ship, died from an illness. We have changed to a new cook today. I wonder if the dishes are to your taste.” Steward Wang said respectfully.

Jiang Feng couldn't help but look at this Sir. At first, he had thought that Steward Wang addressing him as Sir was but an honorific title. Unexpectedly, he was indeed a Sir. He had even abandoned the official position of a county magistrate to escape to Shanghai. One could only imagine how serious the disaster was in the north.

County Magistrate Huang looked to be in his fifties. His figure clearly belonged to a member of the upper classes and he had a long beard. He spared a meager glance at Steward Wang when he heard his words, ”So be it. His dishes were not delicious anyway. Useless.”