Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Seafood Hot Pot i (1/2)
Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Seafood Hot Pot i
Translator: 549690339
Nurse Zhang was skeptical, but she saw Xiumei get off the carriage and surprisingly gave two taels of broken silver to the old man selling seafood.
Then, without waiting for the accompanying guard to help, Xiumei single-handedly moved the basket of seafood onto the carriage.
After blanking out for a while, Nurse Zhang guessed in her heart that Wei Ruo probably got this money from the gift that the old man from the Capital City had given Wei Ruo a few days ago.
Thinking to herself, even if the money came from the old man, it should not be spent like this. Wei Ruo simply did not know how to be thrifty.
Once back at Tingsong Garden, Xiumei moved the basket of seafood into the garden.
“Meimei, how about…” Wei Ruo’s eyes were shining as she looked at the basket of seafood.
“Miss, you want to eat hot pot, don’t you?” Xiumei at once saw through Wei Ruo’s thoughts.
“Yes, yes, Meimei, you really understand me!” Wei Ruo hadn’t even opened her mouth yet, but Meimei had guessed it all.
“Miss, your thoughts on other matters are hard to guess, but on this matter, as soon as you look at me, I immediately know what you want to do.”
“Very well, some of it will be used for a seafood hot pot, the rest will be processed and dried.”
A spicy pot bottom and seafood as ingredients, just thinking about it, Wei Ruo’s mouth was watering.
“But miss, you seem to have forgotten, we don’t have a kitchen or a pot, we can’t cook a hot pot.”
“Doesn’t the neighboring Yanzhu Court have a small kitchen? Perhaps, we could use it,” suggested Wei Ruo.
“Yes! The neighbors have a small kitchen!” Xiumei suddenly realized something after saying this. “Miss, don’t tell me you buttered up the Second Young Master with soy sauce just to get to use this kitchen?”
“Huh? Did I? Do you see me like that?” Wei Ruo looked guilty.
Xiumei nodded wisely.
Yes, you definitely are like that, Miss!
“Well, that doesn’t matter. The important thing is that we have a place to cook our hot pot. Meimei, get ready and gather the ingredients. We’ll go to the neighbor’s to cook.”
“Then I’ll go to the room to check and see how much of the spice mix you made earlier is left.”
Xiumei turned and entered the storage room that Wei Ruo had been using.
When she came back, she was holding a white cloth bag.
During this era, there were no hot peppers, and many types of spices did not exist yet. Wei Ruo, whose taste buds had been nourished by various spices, occasionally missed those stimulating tastes. So she collected all types of aromatic spices that she could find in this era.
Sichuan pepper, dogwood, pepper vine, cinnamon, mustard seed, blending these together after repeated trial and error, she found the perfect ratio to create a blend of spices that was to her satisfaction.
After mixing them, Wei Ruo would package them separately into cloth bags, ready to be used anytime needed.
“There’s only one spice bag left. If you want to eat more in the future, we’ll have to figure out how to gather those spices again,” said Xiumei, bringing back the spice bag as well as some not-so-good news.
Those spices were not easy to come by, and Wei Ruo had had to put in quite a bit of effort to gather them in the first place.
Wei Ruo nodded, “Once we’re more settled, not only will I gather more spices, I’ll also have to stock up on medicinal herbs.”
With that, Wei Ruo instructed Xiumei to stay in the Tingsong Garden to prepare the ingredients, while she went to knock on the door of the Yanzhu Garden.
The door opened, and Xiaobei, the servant boy, asked in surprise, “Miss, what can I help you with?”
“I’m wondering if I could borrow your small kitchen. As a thank you, I’ll treat you to a seafood hotpot! My Meimei’s cooking is superb, I guarantee you won’t lose out!”
“Miss, I… I can’t make that decision. I’ll have to ask the young master.”
“Then go ask your young master.”