Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 64: Cooking
On the other side, Li Yuechen moved her rocking chair to the yard, lay on it, and let her wet hair down, hoping to use the heat from the sun to dry it faster.
Xiao He stood by and served her, combing her hair with the comb in her hand from time to time.
Feeling a little blinded, Li Yuechen took a handkerchief and covered her eyes with it. She suddenly asked, "Xiao He, you have been studying for quite some time. Have you made any progress?"
"I am stupid. Although I have learned quite a few words, I am still unable to read through most of the classics..." Xiao He replied in a low voice.
Li Yuechen raised a finger and shook it: "This is not your problem. After all, you manage a lot of things in Anfu Palace every day... It's normal that you have less time to study."
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."
"Actually, I would like to teach you more tricks, but... I don't know if you are willing?" Li Yuechen asked.
Although Li Yuechen couldn't see because she had her eyes covered , she still bowed very respectfully: "Thanks for your kindness, Your Highness. I will definitely..."
"That's not what I meant!" Li Yuechen raised her hand to interrupt her. After two seconds of silence, he asked, "How old are you?"
Xiao He was a little confused, not knowing why she suddenly asked this question, but she still answered very respectfully: "This servant is... twenty-three years old."
"Hmm..." Li Yuechen nodded, and then seemed to sigh, "In fact, you are all pitiful people in this palace, whether it's you, Zheng, or Wan'er..."
Xiao He replied: "It is our honor to meet Your Highness."
"Haha..." Li Yuechen smiled softly, "Maybe so. I can't help everyone, but at least I can help you."
"What does your highness mean?" Xiao He felt that Li Yuechen seemed a little different today.
Li Yuechen replied: "You have taken care of me since I was a child, so today I will give you a choice. If you want to leave the palace and get married, I will go and talk to my grandfather, give you money, let you leave the palace, and restore your status as a good man!"
In fact, Li Yuechen does not agree with the statement that "women should stay at home to give birth to children and take care of the family."
But in this era, this is a moral code, and many women believe in it, so she certainly won't force it to change.
After all, Xiao He had taken care of her since she was a child. Although Li Yuechen didn't say it, she regarded her as her sister in her heart.
It would be a bit heartbreaking to see her die alone in this deep palace.
However, Xiao He suddenly knelt down and burst into tears: "Your Highness, please don't chase me away!"
"Hmm?" Li Yuechen took off the handkerchief covering his eyes and took a look. Then he waved his hand and said, "You misunderstood. I'm not trying to chase you away! To be honest, I don't want you to leave!"
"Are you serious, Your Highness?" Xiao He raised her head and asked.
"Really? Get up!" Li Yuechen lay back down again. "I just feel that if you stay with me forever, I'm afraid I'll end up living alone for the rest of my life."
After hearing her words, Xiao He wiped her tears and stood up: "It's okay, I hope I can stay with Your Highness forever."
"Why is this?" Li Yuechen asked.
Xiao He thought for a moment and sniffed: "I have been in the palace since I was a child. I am not used to the outside world and I am very scared... But now I am here, and His Highness is kind to me, so I don't have to worry about anything."
Li Yuechen nodded: "In that case, stay over there by my side."
In fact, most of today's conversation were Li Yuechen's true inner thoughts, but there was also a small part, which was to see if Xiaohe could be trained well.
After all, as my business grows bigger in the future, it will be impossible for me to do everything myself, so I always have to train some of my own people.
Let’s put the issue of loyalty aside for now. The key is whether one’s character is firm enough and whether one can get things done.
When the business grows bigger in the future, your subordinates must have sufficient capabilities.
Xiao He actually has potential. For an illiterate palace maid to be able to come and take care of the princess is already very capable.
Otherwise, she shouldn't be here with me, but in the Yunting Palace.
Just like Fulai, since you have the ability, you might as well develop it well so that you won’t be so tired in the future.
As for whether they are more loyal to himself or the emperor and empress, Li Yuechen doesn't care about it at all.
In fact, she hoped that Wu Zetian would have spies all around her, so that she could prove that she was harmless to the emperor and the empress and that she was truly on their side.
It is best to monitor your every move 24 hours a day and have it under all-round surveillance!
However, it is estimated that the couple would not be so cruel as to do that, and Li Yuechen does not care about it at all.
After a while, Xiao He reminded: "Your Highness, your hair is almost done, only the ends are still a little damp."
"Yes." Li Yuechen stood up from the rocking chair, "I'll draw a picture, and then come with me to the craftsmanship supervision department."
“Yes!”
Now that the iron pot is already available, the blower can also be improved.
The blowers of this era were still quite primitive, basically made of wood and leather, and required constant pulling and squeezing.
Not only is it troublesome, but the effect is also very poor.
Li Yuechen thought that he could first make the simplest fan-type blower that was used in rural areas in the past.
In the past, it was often used in rural areas when making fire and cooking. It was not very large, and the fan blades inside looked like a small shovel.
But in this age without electricity, we still have no choice but to choose pedal-operated scooters.
Just like a stirring rod, the big wheel drives the small wheel to increase the rotation speed. Anyway, it is only used in the kitchen, so there is no need to have too high requirements on the material, and a wooden one will do.
After witnessing the superb craftsmanship of carpenters of this era, Li Yuechen knew that this thing would definitely not be difficult for them.
Li Yuechen finished the drawing in no time, and then took Xiao He to the craftsmen's supervisor.
Although the craftsmen couldn't understand the pictures drawn by the princess, it didn't matter as long as she could explain it clearly.
After listening to her explanation, the craftsmen patted their chests and said that it would take three days at most to complete the task. Li Yuechen said that she was looking forward to their good news.
…
The next day, after Li Yuechen finished practicing, he planned to go inside his shop to take a look.
When the carriage stopped outside the store, Li Yuechen opened the curtains and saw several well-dressed young men sitting in groups of three or five, each with a bowl of fresh canned food in front of them.
Coincidentally, he saw a few young men preparing to go in with a laugh, and the leader was none other than Liu Huang.
Seeing the familiar carriage, Liu Huang sent his other friends in first, then came to the front of the carriage and bowed slightly: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Li Yuechen was a little surprised: "I remember I sent some canned food to Master, why did you come here?"
Liu Huang had a bitter smile on his face: "Those things His Highness gave me are so precious that I can't bear to touch them. I can only come out to satisfy my craving."
Seeing his painful expression, Li Yuechen smiled, turned around and said to Fulai: "Go in and tell Wang Xiang to give them half price today! Don't tell anyone!"
"Yes!" Fu Lai agreed.
Liu Huang smiled brightly when he heard this: "Oh, thank you very much, Your Highness!"
Li Yuechen suddenly grinned, waved his hand, and lowered the curtains.
There were a lot of guests inside today, and it was not appropriate for a princess like her to be here, so she didn't get off the car.
After the curtains were lowered, Fulai also stood up and prepared to go in and say something to Wang Xiang.
However, after jumping off the carriage, he saw Liu Huang still standing there.
So he walked over and gently reminded him, "Why are you still standing there?"
Liu Huang seemed to be unable to react, and muttered to himself: "Your Highness has bright eyes and white teeth, and a face like a peach, so handsome..."
"How dare you!" Fu Lai growled, "How dare you comment on His Highness's appearance!"
"Ah, this..." Liu Huang didn't seem to expect that he had said it without paying attention, and he immediately apologized.
However, Li Yuechen's voice came from inside the car: "Okay, go quickly, we have to go back to the palace soon!"
She did hear Liu Huang's mumbling, but she just smiled and expressed her understanding in her heart.
After all, I'm so cute, so it's normal that I was too engrossed in watching it for a while.
Moreover, Liu Huang is different from Helan Minzhi. The look in his eyes is pure admiration, so he should not be punished for this.
Hearing that the princess would not pursue the matter, Fu Lai did not say anything else. He just used his eyes to warn Liu Huang to be careful.
The murderous intent in his eyes was real. After all, he was the one who buried the last person who had evil intentions towards the princess.
Liu Huang was frightened by his murderous eyes. After shivering slightly, he quickly followed him into the store.
After giving instructions to Wang Xiang, Fulai got up and left. Before leaving, he glanced at Liu Huang with a warning look.
Liu Huang quickly apologized with a smile and bowed from a distance.
After all, he was very clear about the methods of the people in the palace. Even though his grandfather had become a prime minister, if he was secretly reported to the emperor and empress, he would be skinned alive if not dead.
…
Two days later, the craftsman supervisor delivered the finished blower.
Li Yuechen asked Fulai to sit in the yard and experiment.
As you push the pedals quickly, you can see the fan blades spinning rapidly through the hollows on the side.
When you walk towards the air outlet, you can clearly feel the wind blowing out.
Although it is certainly not as good as the electric one, it is many times better than the previous blower.
It’s no wonder that this effect has exceeded Li Yuechen’s expectations.
Looking at the sky, the sun was just about to set, Li Yuechen waved his hand and said, "Take this and go to the Shangshi Bureau."
"Your Highness, you don't have to go in person. I can take you there." Fu Lai said.
"How can I cook if I don't go there myself?" Li Yuechen rolled his eyes at him, expressing his contempt for his intelligence.
Fu Lai was stunned for a moment, then whispered a reminder: "Your Highness, a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, this..."
"I'm a woman, not a gentleman!" Li Yuechen directly retorted, leaving him speechless, and he walked towards the Shangshi Bureau.
Fu Lai, who was choked and speechless, had no choice but to follow behind.
However, no one expected that Li Zhi and Wu Zetian would arrive right after the two of them left.
The couple had come here on a whim to talk about their recent business.
However, I didn't expect that I would come here empty-handed.
When Li Zhi heard Xiao He say that the person was not there, he couldn't help scratching his hair.
It seems like I haven’t seen anyone here several times. Is there something wrong?
"Where is Chen'er?" Wu Zetian asked.
"Your Majesty, the prince just said... that he went to the Imperial Food Bureau." Xiao He answered cautiously.
Li Zhi nodded, and said, rolling up his health ball: "Well, since we are here, let's go and take a look. Just take a walk."
"As Your Majesty said!" Wu Zetian nodded.
…
On the other side, entering the Shangshi Bureau and coming to the stove, Li Yuechen first asked Fu Lai to put down the blower, and then asked him to call two young eunuchs to come and prepare to step on the foot pedal.
Li Yuechen then asked the person in charge in the kitchen to prepare rice, eggs, and chopped mutton. She also cut some seasonings herself, intending to try her hand at cooking.
Everything was prepared and the iron pot was placed on the stove, but Li Yuechen just stood there in a daze.
It’s mainly because she is too short. She is only a little more than a head taller than the stove.
So they sent someone to bring a chair over, and only after standing on the chair did they feel it was about right.
Just as he was about to start, Zhang Chengxin's voice suddenly came from outside: "The Saint is here--"
Everyone immediately went out to greet them. Li Yuechen looked at the lard that had been put into the pot, jumped off the chair, and went out to greet them.
Li Zhi came closer, feeling a little curious: "Why is Chen'er here?"
"Hehe, I'm just preparing a surprise for my parents. Now that you two adults are here, come in and take a look." Li Yuechen said with a smile.
"Okay, let's take a look over there." Li Zhi nodded.
Only Wu Zetian frowned, wondering what this girl was up to.
After entering the kitchen, the lard in the pot was almost hot, so Li Yuechen asked two young eunuchs to sit next to him and take turns stepping on the pedal.
The blower rotated rapidly, and continuous air was sent under the stove.
Li Yuechen took two eggs from the bowl next to her and opened them. After stirring them with chopsticks, she lightly pinched a little salt and poured the egg liquid into the pot.
“Shua——”
The egg liquid began to solidify the moment it entered the pot. Li Yuechen stir-fried it with an iron spoon, and then poured in the rice prepared nearby.
After stir-frying for a few times, he placed the animal skin next to the iron pan as a pad, grabbed the iron pan with his left hand, and the rice and eggs in the pot jumped directly into the air.
After a somersault, it fell back into the pot.
At this moment, a special fragrance has spread.
Li Zhi sniffed, turned his head and looked at Wu Zetian with interest.
This fragrance smells different from the food we usually eat.
A plate of egg fried rice was soon served. Li Zhi couldn't wait to try it, but Zhang Chengxin stopped him and said, "Saint, you can't do that. Let me try first!"
"Yeah." Li Zhi nodded.
Although the chance of it being poisonous is very small, it is better to be cautious, so it is better to give it a try.
Zhang Chengxin first tried it with a silver needle, and then took a bite.
Then I stood aside and waited for a while to see the reaction.
Li Zhi asked, "How does it taste?"
"I don't know how to describe it, please taste it yourself later," said Zhang Chengxin.
Li Yuechen was too lazy care about that. He asked a eunuch next to him to quickly clean the pot, and then prepared the second dish of stir-fried lamb with green onions. This was today's main dish!
