Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 459: Let's celebrate the New Year together, it will be more lively

Shen Yu hurriedly stood up and responded. Seeing that the two adults had no other instructions, he returned to the small kitchen in the back hall.

Shen Yu was very well prepared when he came to the county government office to cook this time.

I took two pots just for hot pot.

One is a double-handled copper pot without a partition for cooking one type of soup base, and the other is a customized pot with a partition in the middle for cooking shuangyuan hotpot.

Unexpectedly, the county magistrate remembered the hotpot after eating it once in the restaurant, and when his good friend Lord Yang came over, he couldn't wait to let him try it too.

Shen Yu secretly rejoiced in his heart: "It just so happens that the shabu-shabu pot I brought here is useful. I don't have to rush back to the restaurant to get it."

The ingredients purchased in the county government according to the menu prepared by Shen Yu are extremely rich. Not only are they suitable for making various dishes, they are also extremely delicious for hot pot.

Shen Yu returned to the small kitchen and told Jiang about the dishes ordered by the county magistrate, and the two began to prepare them in perfect harmony.

Prepare the soup base and wash the vegetables.

Cut and pack the mutton, pork belly, various meatballs, fried pork, fried chicken, tofu, etc. for the hot pot separately.

Then one of them prepared the soup base for the shabu-shabu hotpot while the other started frying the meat skewers.

By the time everything was done, it was already noon and we could have dinner.

Shen Yu directed three servants who had been waiting at the kitchen door to prepare for the delivery, and sent the prepared soup base and various ingredients, prepared dipping sauce, and freshly fried meat skewers to the dining hall in the back court in two batches.

After the small charcoal stove was placed and waiting for the soup in the pot to start to boil again, a servant went to invite the two adults to come over for dinner.

When Yang Chi came in and saw Shen Yu still waiting on the side, he smiled and said, "Miss Shen, I have discussed with your county magistrate that we have some things to do in the evening, so I don't need to bother you to cook dinner."

"Once lunch is ready, you can go back and come back tomorrow to make lunch.

Before Shen Yu could answer, the county magistrate smiled and asked, "Miss Shen, I want to ask you, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, what are you going to cook for your family's New Year's Eve dinner?"

Shen Yu stood aside and said respectfully: "In reply to your words, my family will eat dumplings and rice cakes during the New Year."

"There must also be fish and chicken on the table, as well as Taiping eggs and roast duck."

"The rest is just to pick out the dishes that everyone likes and cook them."

After hearing this, Lu Zheng nodded and whispered a few words to Yang Chi.

Yang Chi seemed a little hesitant. Not knowing what Lu Zheng said, Yang Chi just nodded.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's really good. It's just the New Year's Eve dinner that ordinary people usually eat at home. Without these, there would be no New Year atmosphere."

"Miss Shen, just hearing about your New Year's Eve dinner makes me drool."

"I want you to go back and ask your mother if she would like the whole family to come to the county government office to celebrate New Year's Eve tomorrow?"

Shen Yu thought he had heard it wrong and looked at Lu Zheng in surprise.

Lu Zheng smiled and explained calmly, "Lord Yang and I cannot go home to celebrate the New Year due to our official duties. The two secretaries and the yamen runners on duty will also celebrate the New Year here."

"Although there are quite a few people, it's really quiet. Without my family around, it's really boring."

"I was thinking that if you came over to cook lunch tomorrow, your family would be worried, and it would disturb your family and make their New Year celebrations unhappy."

"Why don't you and your whole family come to the county government office? I'll trouble you to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner with Chef Jiang from the kitchen in front."

"It will be more lively if everyone celebrates the New Year together."

Shen Yu agreed immediately after understanding what was said. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "But, my family is not only large, but also has children, so it's very noisy..."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's because you have a large family and children, so it's lively this way."

"If everyone in your family is like those people in the county government, with serious faces, what fun would it be?"

"I've seen your brother and sister. They're both good kids. Just bring them all here."

Yang Chi was starving as he looked at the table of dishes. The two of them were talking nonstop, so he smiled and urged them, "Okay, the soup is ready. How to eat hot pot? I'll ask your county magistrate to teach me."

"Go back quickly and tell your mother about this. The county government will send a car to pick you up tomorrow morning."

Only then did Shen Yu notice that the soup in the pot on the table was boiling slightly, and waves of tempting spicy aroma wafted out. He realized that the governor must be hungry, so he quickly nodded, bowed, and left.

As soon as Shen Yu left, Lords Lu and Yang dismissed their attendants.

The two of them suddenly changed from well-behaved adults to old friends who joked with each other in private and were at ease.

The rice wine was boiling hot. They took a sip, took a bite of the sizzling meat skewers, and dipped the tender meat slices in the spicy and fragrant sauce with two chopsticks. Then they started eating with great interest.

Shen Yuze hurried back to the kitchen, briefly explained what had happened, and then he and Jiang cleaned up the kitchen, took the county government's carriage back to the restaurant.

After returning home, Shen Yu told his family immediately that the county magistrate asked the whole family to come over and prepare the New Year's Eve dinner together.

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

After all, they had met the county magistrate several times. Li and Jiang were fine, but Zheng Sanniang was the one who had the most concerns.

She stammered, "Girl, why don't I take Xiao Zhuzi home to look after the house tomorrow."

"I, I don't dare to go. Xiao Zhuzi is naughty. If he damages something in the county government office, how can I afford the compensation?"

Shen Yu had been thinking about this matter all the way on the way back in the car, and he figured out why the county magistrate did this.

Shen Yu smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, Sister Zheng. When we get to the county government office, just ask Yucheng and Dundun to take care of Xiao Zhuzi."

"I also asked the county magistrate if he would mind the noise because we have many children in our family."

"The county magistrate said that it would be better if there were more children, so that it would be more lively."

"The county government office is too quiet."

"When I went there today, there were only a few yamen runners on duty. Chef Xu, who specializes in making vegetarian dishes in the back yamen, also took leave. There was only one cook, Chef Jiang, in the entire county yamen."

"I heard that the restaurants are closed these days, but the wine shops in Tile House are full of people, and they can listen to music and have a feast."

"But due to your official status, the two adults cannot go there to join in the fun."

"That's why I thought of inviting our whole family over to cook the New Year's Eve dinner together."

"After all, the county magistrate has come to the restaurant to eat several times. He has seen everyone in our family, so he should be more familiar with them."

Li thought for a moment and said, "The county magistrate seems quite kind, and the prefect has also eaten at our restaurant."

"We used to cook in the chef's room, and if we ate, we would definitely eat in the kitchen while the adults ate in their dining room."

"We're not eating together, and we haven't done anything bad, so there's nothing to be afraid of."