Chapter 374 - A Pie in the Sky (1/2)
Yu Xiaocao seriously checked his pulse and said, “Fifth Lord, you have slight symptoms of a cold. You don’t need to take any pills, but did you bring Tongren Medicine Hall’s cough syrup?”
The emperor emeritus glared at her with his large bell-like eyes, which looked quite scary, “This lord and the people around me are all grown adults, so why would I have such a thing? Aren’t those syrups for children?”
Yu Xiaocao explained, “The syrups are mostly made of relatively mild drugs and don’t have any side effects. It’s effective for treating mild cold and coughing. Fifth Lord, you have a strong body, so you can quickly recover after drinking cough syrup. Why would you eat bitter pills and spoil your appetite?”
The emperor emeritus, Zhu Huaiyong, thought about it and felt that the little girl’s words sounded quite reasonable. It didn’t matter what kind of medication he took, as long as it worked quickly and didn’t delay him from enjoying delicious food.
After Zhu Huaiyong drank a sip of the syrup, he rinsed the sweetness within his mouth with warm water. Then he eagerly said, “Lass, quickly cut up some pig head meat and pig ears for me. Dequan, take out the wine that I told you to bring along. To drink wine and eat cold pig head meat, that feeling is… even better than living as an immortal!”
With a stern expression, Dequan looked at Yu Xiaocao and asked, “Miss Xiaocao, with my master’s health, can he eat such greasy food and drink wine?”
Without waiting for Yu Xiaocao’s reply, Zhu Huaiyong glared at him with his large bull-like eyes and shouted, “Why can’t I? It’s just a small cold. I’ve already drank ginger soup and taken the medication. Didn’t you hear what Lass Xiaocao said? My illness will get better soon! Dequan, stop wasting time and quickly go get the wine!!”
Dequan’s feet didn’t move at all, and his eyes were still focused on Xiaocao. Yu Xiaocao smiled at him and said, “He can eat meat, but he can’t drink any alcohol at all!”
Seeing that the emperor emeritus wanted to say something, she continued, “Drinking alcohol is the most taboo thing for one to do when ill. If the illness becomes more serious, I’m afraid that, in the future, even eating meat will be forbidden and you will need to eat a light diet…”
When Zhu Huaiyong heard this, he quickly let go of his desire to drink. He didn’t want to be a little white rabbit—be a vegetarian—under Dequan’s supervision!
It was about time for lunch now. Yu Xiaocao cut up a small plate of pig head meat, which consisted of more lean meat than fatty meat, and mixed it with minced garlic and sesame oil. Responding to his request, she also made a plate of pig ear strips with chili oil and cut half a roasted chicken. After that, she stir-fried several vegetable dishes and placed them all on a kang table.
Zhu Huaiyong complained about the lean meat of the pig head meat, but he unreservedly wrapped the pig head meat within a steamed bun and ate it in big mouthfuls. He devoured all the meat dishes on the table and drank a big bowl of soup, but he didn’t eat much of the vegetable dishes. After he finished eating, he rubbed his belly with contentment and lay down to rest on the kang bed.
Yu Xiaocao also prepared a sumptuous meal for Head Steward Dequan and the imperial bodyguards. Most of the dishes were the braised food from the shop and a few stir-fried dishes. Everyone was very satisfied with her cooking. Originally, it was quite a difficult task to accompany their master on a trip in December. However, when the imperial bodyguards found out that their master wanted to go to Dongshan Village, they competed fiercely for this opportunity in private. None of the imperial bodyguards who had tried Yu Xiaocao’s cooking didn’t miss and yearn for it.
Yu Xiaocao had used mystic-stone water to make the soup that the emperor emeritus drank. Therefore, when Zhu Huaiyong woke up from his sleep, his entire body felt comfortable and refreshed. His fatigue from the trip was also gone.
Zhu Huaiyong, who had filled his stomach and rested, called Yu Xiaocao over and discussed with her, “Lass, the business of your braised food shop in the prefectural city is doing very good ah! Are there any plans to open a branch shop?”
Yu Xiaocao thought about it and seriously answered, “We’re seriously understaffed here, so we can barely manage one shop! Where would we get the energy to manage another shop?”
Zhu Huaiyong widened his bull-like eyes and smacked the table, “Manpower? This lord has it ah! What do you think about this? I’ll provide the workers, storefront, and money, while you provide the skills. Let’s collaborate to open a braised food shop in the capital. You don’t have to worry about anything, other than teaching the chefs to make the braised pig head meat to taste exactly like yours. You don’t even have to come to the shop. You can take all the profits; I won’t take a single coin!!”
‘What? Emperor Emeritus, are you a fool? Or do you have so much money that you don't know how to spend it? You’re providing the money, people, and storefront, as well as also doing all the work. Yet you’re giving away all the profit and not taking a single copper coin? Did such a good matter like a pie-in-the-sky really happen to me?'
Yu Xiaocao slightly hesitated, and then asked, “Fifth Lord, didn’t I already give you the recipes for braised food? The imperial chefs in the palace have already learned the method of making braised pig head meat, so why do you still want to open a store?”
When Zhu Huaiyong heard her mention those disappointing imperial chefs, he got angry, “Don’t bring it up! When you were in the palace, the braised food that the imperial chefs made was still acceptable. But, after you left and there wasn’t anyone supervising them, their cooking skills instantly decreased! Yet they’re still claimed that they made it according to your recipe. Wouldn’t that make you angry too?”