Chapter 153 - Old Urchin (1/2)

“Eh? How come all of you are just watching me eat? If you all don’t start eating, I’m going to finish off this table ah!” The emperor emeritus took another piece of century egg with tofu and stuffed it into his mouth as he delicately enjoyed it.

This was the first time in his life that Fang Zizhen was sitting at the same table for a meal with the emperor emeritus. Sure enough, the emperor emeritus was an amiable and approachable person. In history, how many emperors had sat at the same table as their officials? Although he was a bit nervous, he couldn’t resist the tempting lure of the delicacies and carefully picked upa cube of century egg in tofu to eat.

A special flavor combined with the exquisite light taste of the tofu slowly bloomed inside his mouth. It provoked his taste buds. He had eaten the food that Xiaocao made for over a month now but she surprised him with something new every time. Even if it was the exact same ingredient, she had the ability to make it into something completely different. He suspected that even the famous chef at Zhenxiu Restaurant would not be able to recreate the same flavors that she cooked. (Xiaocao sniggered: thanks to the mystic-stone water!)

Fang Zizhen immediately fell in love with the slippery texture and fresh, savory taste of the century eggs. Once he had finished reflecting on the taste in his mouth, he wanted to grab a second bite and discovered that the plate was completely empty. The emperor emeritus, on the other hand, had a longing expression on his face, as if he wished he could eat more.

“Daughter, the portion size of this century egg with tofu is really too small right? I only ate one piece and the plate is empty. This doesn’t satisfy my craving. Didn’t you make twenty to thirty century eggs? Slice a few more for us! Today Fifth Lord is here, so don’t be petty!” The expression on his face and words coming out of his mouth made it seem like Fang Zizhen was advocating for the emperor emeritus, but, in actuality, he just wanted to eat more himself.

Yu Xiaocao glanced at the emperor emeritus and secretly sneered within her heart, ‘I’ve never seen someone at your age eating this much alone. A whole plate of century eggs with tofu had been gobbled up by you, old man. As for godfather, you’re lucky that you got to try a piece ah. My biological father hasn’t even picked up his chopsticks!!’

Despite her less than flattering thoughts, she still had a sweet smile on her face, “Fifth Lord, there should be tomatoes in the capital, right? Try some of the stir-fried tomatoes with eggs that I made. How does it taste?”

The emperor emeritus obligingly went with her request and picked up a portion of eggs as he said, “Tomato seeds were only recommended for growing last year. Not a lot of people are growing them in the capital, but you have already done so? You have a pretty good way of doing things ah! Good, Fifth Lord will taste how it is!”

Just as he finished talking, he placed the eggs into his mouth and chewed. His long beard moved up and down with his mouth movements. Xiaocao couldn’t help but face him and stare at the long whiskers for a bit.

“Not bad, not bad! The colors are bright and appetizing, the taste is fresh and sweet, it’s better than the food made by palace’s imperial chefs! Little girl, are you sure you weren’t a chef in your previous life?”

This seemingly simple statement made by the emperor emeritus made Xiaocao extremely nervous. She glanced over at her somewhat reserved father and laughed hollowly, “Perhaps ah! Who can remember their previous life after drinking Granny Meng’s soup? However, everyone tells me that I have a talent for cooking. Maybe I was truly a famous chef in my past life! Probably also one who specialized in the dishes that commoners eat!”

“This child doesn’t know how to be humble! Are there any famous chefs who are female?” Yu Hai glared at her in warning. Someone who was able to eat the food the imperial chefs made was absolutely not low in rank. His little daughter frequently liked to blabber thoughtlessly, but she absolutely should not offend Fifth Lord.

The emperor emeritus was in an exceedingly good mood and grabbed a chopstick full of chicken stewed with mushrooms. He ate it heartily and smiled, “I don’t know if there were any famous female chefs in history but I believe that our Great Ming Dynasty can have a famous female chef show up!” As he talked, he even looked at Xiaocao for a bit.

Yu Xiaocao calmly ate the rice in her bowl. Since she transmigrated over here, she hadn’t been able to eat plain white rice. When she heard what he said, she finally became more modest, “Fifth Lord, you’re overestimating my abilities. I only know how to make a few homestyle dishes. You’ve probably gotten tired of eating fancy dishes with lots of meat and seafood. Now that you get to taste some homestyle cooking, you think it’s fresh and unique, that’s all. If you had to eat this style of food every day, then you wouldn’t think it’s tasty anymore!”

Fang Zizhen was gobbling up his food with head plastered to his bowl when he coolly interjected, “I think my daughter’s skills are just plain good. I’ve eaten the food you made for over a month and haven’t gotten tired of it! My family’s daughter could make even vegetables boiled in plain water taste good! Daughter, go slice up a few more century eggs ah!”

Yu Xiaocao looked at her godfather, who had fattened up a few inches around his waistline, somewhat helplessly. Luckily, Grandpa Zhao would force him to practice martial arts every day. Otherwise, she was afraid that he would have become a rotund fatty at this point! At the rate that he was gaining weight, she wasn’t sure whether her godmother would still recognize him the next time he went back to the capital!

She grinned as she looked at Fang Zizhen and then spoke to the emperor emeritus, “I also made some century eggs out of chicken eggs and they should be ready to eat. I’ll slice up a few to let everyone try some. The uncle bodyguards over there…”

“Don’t bother with them, they’re fine eating anything. As long as they can eat until they’re full!” The emperor emeritus knew that Xiaocao didn’t make a lot of century eggs in her first batch, so he obviously couldn’t bear to let that bunch of brats eat his food, right? He was still planning on bringing some back to the capital with him!