In the end, Fang Yuci looked at her parents enviously as they ate wontons in front of her, while she reluctantly finished her own sandwich and cereal yogurt cup. Because she was not satisfied with her breakfast, she immediately followed her mother into the kitchen when she went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, "Mom! What are we having for lunch today? I'll show you my recipe!"
She is no longer a kitchen novice! During the past ten years, Fang Yuci has cooked many dishes in person to win the emperor's favor. She is so good at making all kinds of soups and snacks! Today she will definitely be able to show off her skills in front of her parents and surprise them!
Yu Jingxian turned around and looked at Fang Yuci, "What happened to you today? Did you overspend again this month? Or did you make some mistake?"
This morning, Fang Yuci got up at 6:30, which made Yu Jingxian feel something was wrong. Fang Yuci became even more abnormal after she got up, following her like a little tail. She changed the water for the flowers, Fang Yuci followed, she watered the potted plants, Fang Yuci followed... Now she went into the kitchen, Fang Yuci followed again. What made Yu Jingxian feel something was wrong was that she didn't see Fang Yuci playing with her cell phone for the entire morning. You know, Fang Yuci usually never puts her cell phone down.
Because of her abnormality, Yu Jingxian basically concluded that she had made some small mistake, or wanted to ask her for something. Fang Yuci was stunned when she heard her mother's question, and wondered if giving birth to two children in ancient times would be considered a mistake in her mother's eyes?
Fang Yuci decided not to test her mother's toughness. Under her mother's scrutiny, she looked a little aggrieved and resentful. "I didn't spend money recklessly! I didn't make any mistakes! I just wanted to show off my cooking skills and let you and my dad taste the dishes I cooked! I'm already this old!"
She was pretending to be wronged, but after she said that, her nose really felt sore. She had been in the kitchen many times in ancient times, often cooking for the emperor, the prince and the princess, and even the empress dowager, the late queen... all tasted her cooking. However, she had never cooked for her parents. Fang Yuci took a deep breath and forced back the tears.
Seeing Fang Yuci was so aggrieved that she wanted to cry, Yu Jingxian quickly said, "I didn't say anything! I just asked you one question! Why are you so squeamish now?"
Yu Jingxian stared at Fang Yuci, "Why do I feel like you're a little weird today?"
However, Yu Jingxian looked at Fang Yuci carefully for a long time, but she couldn't tell what was wrong with her. she was wearing the same pajamas and hairstyle as yesterday, and even the dark circles under her eyes from staying up late playing with her phone every day had not changed... But Yu Jingxian didn't know why, she just felt that her daughter was different today. Since the appearance has not changed, could it be that the temperament has changed? But it is impossible for the temperament to change overnight, right?
Fang Yuci calmly let her mother look at her without any panic on her face. It was not only because she had trained herself in the harem to not show her emotions, but also because she was sure that her mother could not guess the truth. Sure enough, after observing her for a while, Yu Jingxian came to the conclusion that she was pretending to be good today and would definitely ask something of her next.
Fang Yuci saw the crucian carp in the kitchen, and her eyes lit up, "Mom, let me make a crucian carp soup!"
Yu Jingxian asked doubtfully, "Can you cook crucian carp soup?"
Fang Yuci had never been allowed to enter the kitchen since she was a child. Although she had been away from home for half a year to study at university, it was naturally forbidden to light a stove in the university dormitory, and even a small electric cooker was considered an illegal appliance, so it was impossible for her daughter to learn how to cook in university.
Fang Yuci nodded confidently, "Yes." She was worried that her mother would doubt her, so she added, "What's so difficult about making crucian carp soup? I can learn it by watching the video online."
Not only can she cook crucian carp soup, but she can cook it very well. The emperor likes fish and shrimp the most, so naturally Fang Yuci is best at cooking fish and shrimp. She can cook crucian carp soup as white as milk, and at the same time ensure that the crucian carp will not break in the soup, and there will not be a trace of fish bones in the soup. The taste is mellow and delicious without any fishy smell. When her crucian carp soup comes out of the pot soon, it will definitely surprise her mother!
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
However, after Fang Yuci picked up the crucian carp, she looked embarrassed. The crucian carp at home had not been gutted and scaled yet. She had cooked crucian carp soup countless times in the imperial kitchen, but every time the palace servants in the imperial kitchen presented the crucian carp, it had been gutted, scaled and washed clean. Fang Yuci had no idea how to do these things. She could only ask her mother for help, "Mom, please help me clean the crucian carp first, I don't know how to do this."
Yu Jingxian had long guessed that Fang Yuci couldn't do it, so she quickly cleaned the three small crucian carps and put them on the chopping board. In fact, Yu Jingxian didn't believe her daughter could cook crucian carp soup at all. Now she followed her request instead of kicking her out of the kitchen, just thinking, "I want to see what you do next."
Sure enough, Fang Yuci looked at the three small crucian carps that Yu Jingxian had cleaned up and frowned again, "Mom, help me heat up the pan, and then fry the crucian carps on both sides until golden brown."
In order to make the crucian carp soup taste better and to ensure that the crucian carp remains intact when stewing the soup, the crucian carp needs to be fried first. She knew this process, but she had never done it herself. She had to serve the emperor's concubine, so how could she fry fish in a hot pan? What if the hot oil splashed on her hands and face by accident, leaving scars?
Therefore, it was always the imperial chef who would fry the fish, and Fang Yuci would stay away from him, after all, the fumes would harm the skin. When Yu Jingxian heard her daughter's words, she couldn't help but smile. She had expected this to happen a long time ago. The only thing she didn't expect was that her daughter said she could cook crucian carp soup and asked her for help in every step, and she could act so confidently.
Fang Yuci also instructed, "Fry the ginger slices on both sides as well."
"Tie the green onions into knots so they can be easily removed at the end."
"Boil a kettle of water. We'll use it to make soup after the fish is fried."
…
Yu Jingxian finally couldn't help it and pushed Fang Yuci out of the kitchen. "You call this cooking crucian carp soup? I did every step! From the time you entered the kitchen until now, you haven't touched a single thing in the kitchen with your hands! Go away, go sit on the sofa and play with your phone while waiting for dinner. I can cook the crucian carp soup! You don't need to tell me everything!"
Fang Yuci stood outside the closed sliding door of the kitchen, looking thoughtful. Is this how she cooked crucian carp soup in ancient times?
So what did she do?
Well…she'll add the seasoning at the end to taste it. It seemed like there was really nothing else she did other than that. Is this the truth behind her making the soup "with her own hands"? Why didn't she ever notice anything wrong in ancient times???
.
At the lunch table, there were only Fang Yuci and Yu Jingxian. Dad opened a small company and was busy at the company even though it was the New Year's Day holiday. Even though there were only two people having lunch, Yu Jingxian was not perfunctory at all. She prepared two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes and a soup, and two staple foods, Fang Yuci's rice and Yu Jingxian's mixed grain rice.
Fang Yuci looked at the sumptuous lunch, and her heart ached. She was studying in the city, and she would go home once every two weeks or at most once a month, which was a very high frequency. But every time she went home, her mother wanted to put all her favorite dishes on the table, fearing that she would not eat well at school. Seeing Fang Yuci only eating without picking up any food, Yu Jingxian knew she was distracted. She put down her chopsticks and asked Fang Yuci, "What happened to you today?"
Yu Jingxian was certain that something was wrong with Fang Yuci - Fang Yuci clearly knew nothing about cooking, but she still insisted on going to the kitchen to "show off her skills", but in the end she could only talk, and everything had to be done by herself. She was obviously pretending to be obedient and attentive. "If you have something to say, tell me now! If you confess, I will be lenient. Otherwise, if I find out later, I won't be so easy to talk to!"
Fang Yuci felt that she was wronged! She really just wanted her mother to taste her cooking skills! Why did her mother always think that she had other intentions? However, after hearing what her mother said, Fang Yuci searched her mind and found that there were quite a few things she needed to confess to her mother. "I'm having some issues with my phone and laptop..."
Yu Jingxian raised her eyebrows, "Do you want to replace your cell phone and laptop?"
Fang Yuci quickly shook her head, "No, no, no! I'll go fix it! Also, exam week is coming soon. I haven't studied my lessons very well this semester... I might not do well on the exam..."
Yu Jingxian frowned, "Is it because you haven't adapted to the first semester of college yet? There is still half a month left before the exam week. You should make the most of this half month and try not to let your grades get too bad. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome whether you want to continue your studies or study abroad in the future."
Fang Yuci nodded quickly to express her determination, "I will seize the time in the next half month to review seriously! Mom, I also want to get my hair cut. Long hair is a bit troublesome to take care of. I want to cut it short! And then dye it..." Fang Yuci said while observing her mother's expression.
Yu Jingxian thought her daughter's shoulder-length hair was very beautiful, but since Fang Yuci wanted to change her hairstyle, she would not stop her. "Okay, you can have any hairstyle you want while you are in college. You may not have this freedom when you work in the future."
Many companies have regulations on hairstyles. Even if the company does not have strict regulations, you often have to exercise self-discipline in order to develop better in the workplace. After Fang Yuci got her mother's consent, she immediately smiled. Great! She had long black hair in ancient times for more than ten years, which was really annoying!
There were no hair dryers in ancient times, so after washing your hair you would have to spend half a day drying it and half a day drying it! She felt that her life in ancient times was like a military training that lasted for more than ten years. During the military training, she had to get up early every day, fold her quilt into tofu blocks, and sweat under the scorching sun. Would anyone continue to do this after the military training was over?
Fang Yuci doesn't know about others, but after the military training, she slept in as much as she could, didn't make her quilt at all, and used the air conditioner and drank ice drinks. After a week of military training, she rebounded violently for more than half a month before gradually returning to normal. After traveling through ancient times for more than ten years, Fang Yuci didn't know how long it would take for her to rebound... maybe it would take decades?
Anyway, Fang Yuci has already decided on her new hairstyle. The shorter the hair, the better! The more exaggerated the color, the better!