Thanks to Esmeralda and Camille for your support. Here is a bonus Chapter for you to enjoy as my appreciation for their support.

Lin Fei glanced at him and said nothing.

Li Yuan coughed and said: “Anyway, you agreed! Either give me the cook or give me the recipe…or I can ask Shuangxi to go there every morning to get the morning food!”

“Well, can you ask the cook to cook not only morning meals but also lunch and evening meals? Do you think it’s feasible?”

Lin Fei didn’t look at him, his eyes still fell on Li Zhao not far away and said: “You have to follow the rules. She cooks all three meals as part of her job. What will the remaining two do?”

Li Yuan thought for a moment and said, “How about I have someone beat up those two? If they can’t cook anymore, then she has to take over”.

Lin Fei glanced at him.

Li Yuan spread his hands, but he didn’t take it seriously.

Old Lady Zhou passed away suddenly. She was celebrating her birthday yesterday, but today something like this happened. The Prince of Huaishan County and his family stood there, unable to hide the look of sadness on their faces even when they were talking to Duke Jingguo.

Lin Fei stood behind Lin Nan, his eyes falling on Prince Huaishan who smiled a little far-fetchedly.

The reputation of the Huaishan County Prince lineage had always been good among the Royal family clan. Whether it was the old Huaishan County King or the current Huaishan County King, or even the Prince’s eldest son Li Zhao, they were all gentle and sensible people outside. In this regard, even Li Yuan, who was born in Pingxi County Prince’s Palace, was not as good as him.

The wife of the current Huaishan County Prince was the legitimate daughter of Fan Yanglu’s family, and she was quite famous both before and after her marriage. From the old Huaishan County King to the Huaishan County King, and then to Li Zhao, who only got married the year before last, there had never been any such thing as taking concubines or keeping secondary households. In terms of both their lineage and moral character, this family can be regarded as exemplary among the nobility.

It was really… hard to believe that there was any stain on it.

As night fell, more dignitaries came to express their condolences. Duke Jingguo, who had come early, left first and planned to wait a few days before the ceremony was completed before he came to see Old Lady Zhou off.

The Prince of Huaishan County could not get away, so he had to ask the steward of the palace to send the person out of the house.

After leaving the gate of Huaishan County Prince’s Mansion, Lin Fei asked the steward who sent them out: “I remember that Old Lady Zhou’s heart disease has not occurred for many years. Yesterday’s birthday was supposed to be a happy event, but why did her heart problem suddenly occur?”

The steward’s surname was Song, and everyone in the Huaishan County Prince’s Palace called him Steward Song. When Lin Fei asked, he said, “Maybe it’s hot and stuffy, and the theater troupe made trouble yesterday. People with heart disease should avoid getting emotional. Yes.”

Lin Fei nodded when he heard this, looked at the haggard Manager Song in front of him, and asked, “I see that the Duke and the others are very kind to you. You must have been in the Prince’s Mansion for many years!”

Manager Song nodded. : “It’s been more than thirty years. It’s always a little sad when the old lady goes away.”

Lin Fei nodded, turned around, and followed Lin Nan and the others.

…

…

It was time to eat the morning meal again. Liu Yuan hurried into Dali Temple and met Bai Zhutong and Wei Fu who had already finished eating. The two of them were discussing with satisfied expressions what the chef had made as the morning meal today.

“I ate twenty-five shēng jiāns.” Bai Zhu said to Wei Fu, he couldn’t help but rub his belly and said with emotion, “Actually, I can still eat some, but Ji Cai came and announced that you are not allowed to take more!

Wei Fu nodded and said, “Old Ji is watching too closely, otherwise it won’t be a problem for me to eat twenty more of them!”

Hearing the conversation between the two, Liu Yuan’s feet stumbled and he almost fell.

Master Wen’s cooking was delicious, but eating more than twenty bāozi… Aren’t they afraid of overeating and feeling uncomfortably full?

Bai Zhu and Wei Fu gave up and let him go to the public kitchen to have a look.

When Liu Yuan rushed to the public kitchen full of doubts, he immediately came to his senses when he saw the shēng jiān in the big iron pot: each small one was only slightly larger than a human thumb. It seemed that the cooking method was similar to the fried food last time. There was a layer of black sesame seeds and chopped green onion sprinkled on top, but there was no dipping sauce like last time. It seemed to be put directly into the mouth.

“I had a big one a few days ago, is it a small one this time?” Liu Yuan asked curiously.

Wen Mingtang smiled as she, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan prepared the daily breakfast of shēng jiān and said, “This one is a little different from last time.”

“The size is different!” Liu Yuan looked at the twenty piles stacked on the plate. There were several shēng jiān, and he muttered, “No wonder Bai Zhu and Wei Fu can eat twenty or thirty in one meal! It turns out can be eaten in one bite at a time.”

Ji Caimai on the side took a bamboo stick in his hand and put in five or six shēng jiān skewered like a barbecue, and started eating them one by one.

Liu Yuan suddenly became interested after seeing such a bold and novel way of eating. He asked Wen Mingtang for a bamboo stick walked to the food table and sat down. Then he took a bamboo stick and skewered it in one go, then bit into it.

The shēng jiān skin was thin and yet tough. The moment you tear the skin open with your teeth, you can feel the small ball of meat filling with gravy gushing out. Liu Yuan was truly curious about how someone like Wen Mingtang managed to seal the meat juice inside these thumb-sized shēng jiāns.

There was no need to suck it carefully to prevent the juices from spilling out, as when eating a large shēng jiān. Liu Yuan took one bite, and the salty and fresh gravy burst out in his mouth. The taste was no less than that of a big Sheng Jian, but another kind of “boldness” that was different from the way of eating big Sheng Jian, whether it was the toughness in the thin skin or the crispy bottom or the tender meat filling, the rich and salty meat juice, all these textures mingled in each bite, creating a remarkably rich and delightful experience.

Liu Yuan couldn’t stop eating, and the bamboo stick in his hand added a different kind of interest to his eating method. After eating more than twenty fried buns in one go and sweeping away all the fried buns on the plate, Liu Yuan turned to look at the countertop.

Not only the iron pot, but even the countertop was empty.

Ji Caimai bit off the last shēng jiān on the bamboo stick and looked at him: “Don’t think that everyone eats too much and eats too fast!” He said, licking his lips, pointing to Liu Yuan’s empty plate, and said, “You ate a lot!”

Liu Yuan: “…”

Okay! They all ate a lot, so don’t blame anyone!

Liu Yuan left the public kitchen and went to see Lin Fei with Bai Zhu holding the file.

“We went to the inn yesterday. Lin Shaoqing was right. That Fuzi was indeed illiterate,” Liu Yuan said.

Lin Fei said “Hmm” and looked at Bai Zhu who was aside: “What’s the news about Manager Huang?”

Bai Zhu said, “It’s confirmed! He is indeed a gambler, and he cut off his own fingers when he was pursued by creditors. It’s a pity that people like him, no matter how many fingers they lose, still can’t escape their gambling habits.”

“He’s quite concerned about his reputation. After all, he’s known as the manager of a century-old opera troupe,” Bai Zhu explained. “Those gold rings and imitation antiques are all part of his façade. The genuine heirlooms left by his ancestors were sold or pawned by him a long time ago, and most of it is gone now.”

“A few days ago, due to his ongoing debts, several gambling houses joined forces to confront him, threatening to send him to meet his ancestors,” Bai Zhu continued. “That Master Huang immediately assured them, saying he had a way to raise the money and asked for a few days’ extension.”

“This kind of extension for a few days, of course, the people from the gambling houses wouldn’t believe. So Master Huang directly gave a specific date. Lin Shaoqing, what do you think that date is?”

When Lin Fei heard this, he raised his head for a moment and said: “Yesterday?”

“Lin Shaoqing’s guess is correct, it was yesterday!” Bai Zhu said with emotion.

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