> > Here Comes The Lady Chef – Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Clear mutton soup (part 1)
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I have done the best I could – I am not fully recovered yet, so not all novels are translated. Please enjoy. I should be up and about tomorrow and normal release will resume.
This chapter is brought to you by prosperous food dot com.
In the kitchen, 200 bowls of noodles were ready. The steaming hot noodles were filled with meat and a mouth-watering aroma, whetting the appetite of all who seen and smell it.
As well, hundreds of large meat buns were piping hot and fresh. Each one is white and big, and ready to be eaten.
Zhu Zi seemed intoxicated by the smell of the food. When he regained his senses, he immediately recalled what he comes here for, and cried, "Sister Rou Er, the guest asked you to hurry up!"
"Noted, it is almost ready! Brother Zhu Zi, please grab one more jar of wine upstairs. Then ask them how do they want to eat the Clear Mutton Soup?" Wen Rou replied, but her hands did not stop moving.
Onions, parsley, lily, fungus, cooking wine, vermicelli, salt and other ingredients are all prepared.
"Dear distinguished guests, the chef said that the Clear Mutton Soup will be ready immediately. The chef asked how do you want to eat the dish?' Zhu Zi carried up one more jar of wine.
"Oh, it looks like the chef is really an expert in eating! In this case, kindly ask the chef to come over and guide us!" Sir Song Tao stroked his beard and smiled as he replied.
"She is not a chef that is an expert in cooking - she is but a mere 12 years old lass!" Zhu Zi could not help remarking in his heart.
"What are you doing here? Quick, go and summon the chef!" Governor Zhao saw Zhu Zi standing there in a daze, and immediately barked.
"Yes, Yes, Your servant will go right away!" Zhu Zi quickly retreated. In his haste to get out, he stumbled and almost fell.
Oh, what is he going to do now? Chef Wen was busy serving the beggars. This Rou Jia Mo and the Clear Mutton Soup is made by Rou Er. Should he invite Rou Er up?
Zhu Zi did not know what to do, and rushed into the kitchen.
"Sir, why do we need the chef to teach us how to eat? Can't we help ourselves?" Shen Yaoshan opened the second jar of wine.
"Both of you have not seen the real Clear Mutton Soup before. I have only eaten it once when I was a young boy, and have forgotten how to best appreciate it. I invited the chef here so that I could learn how to enjoy the food!" Sir Song Tao does not explain any more than this, and eagerly waited for the clear mutton soup.
"Shen Yaoshan, how is the wine?" Ren Yue finally could not sit still and asked Shen Yaoshan, who is helping himself to the second jar of wine.
"Excellent wine!"
Poem
"诗中日月酒中仙，
身谪蓬莱金籍外，
宝装方丈玉堂前。"[1]
"In the poem the sun, moon and wine becomes immortal,
As it flies from earth up to the ninth heavens.
It had nothing to else to offer the guard of the heavenly gates,
and laid the wine before the heavenly abbot. [1]"
Hearing this, Ren Yue was moved by the poem as well.
"Good wine! Good poem!" Sir Song Tao clapped his hand in delight. "Yaoshan, if you did not take the military examination and took the imperial examination instead, I dare to say that you have a high chance of being a top scholar!"
"Sir, you are too polite. Yaoshan is an uncouth man who knows a few words. I love the battlefields and my horse. I think that the next literately talent and future imperial examination top scholar will be Ren San Lang for sure!" Shen Yaoshan waved his hand as he smiled.
"Oh, why are you pretending to be so modest? The bandits that you were assigned to kill were all slain by me!" Ren Yue thought. But his face does not show his feelings.
While they were talking, Wen Rou's [Clear Mutton Soup] is ready.
The piping hot and streaming mutton were sliced into small bits. The rich, thick and aromatic soup was best described using one word - 'Fresh'!"
The white colour pancakes that were served with this soup were placed at one side.
Placed beside the mutton soup is several small bowls. These bowls contain diced green onion, coriander, fungus, cooking wine, fans, salt and other spices.
Seeing this, Zhu Zi immediately salivated and gulped. He is a Xianyang native, having grown up here. He had eaten this mutton soup before many times. But how come the dish today seem to be much more aromatic than the mutton soup that he had eaten in the past?
"Sister Rou Er, the distinguished guest said that he wants to invite the chef to help out." Zhu Zi said very softly.
"It is all right, brother Zhu Zi. I will accompany you up!" Wen Rou cleaned her hands and is ready to leave.
"Sister Rou Er, but….. " Zhu Zi heart raced wildly, from a mixture of fright and anxiety.
Wen Rou is only 12 years old. She had barely learned how to cook for ½ the month. Is it appropriate for her to appear in front of the distinguished guest?
"Brother Zhu Zi, hurry up. This dish is best served when hot!" Wen Rou said.
"Sigh! So it be!" Zhu Zi glanced at Chef Wen who was so busy serving the beggars. He had no choice.
The distinguished guest wanted to meet the chef that made the Rou Jia Mo and the clear Mutton Soup and did not specifically asked for Chef Wen.
And this Clear Mutton Soup and Rou Jia Mo are made by sister Rou Er….
As he thought, Zhu Zi helped to carry the dishes with Wen Rou, and arrived at the door of Lotus room.
"The Clear Mutton Soup is here!" Zhu Zi pushed open the door and shouted.
At this moment, the Lotus room seems to be enshrouded in a mist filled with a tempting aroma.
When the mist cleared, Governor Zhao face turned white. His eyes were blazing with anger, and he looked as if he wanted to kill and eat someone up.
This idiotic Zhu Zi. How could he bring a young lass over? Are you telling me that this dish is not made by Chef Wen?
At this time, old man Qiao, Qian Zizhang, Manager Lee and the rest continued to stand there, waiting to serve this distinguished guest as needed.
But when the mist cleared, they did not see the figure of Chef Wen that they were expecting to see. Rather, they were shocked to see Wen Rou, a young girl. She was still wearing a grey-blue cotton dress, without any makeup on her face. Her eyes are clear. She looked like a flower that just quietly blossoming in a clear pool.
Old man Qiao frowned. He thought, "What the hell is Chef Wen doing? I know that your daughter is learning how to cook from you, but you should not let her serve this distinguished guest!"
Qiao Zizhang remains calm as he observed Wen Rou. He was grinning in his eyes. This lass is really special!
Manager Lee was silently cursing in his heart, Chef Wen, Chef Wen arh, if your daughter screwed up, I will have to part ways with Drunken Immortal Restaurant.
Wen Rou strolled in, ignoring all the stares and dirty looks that everyone was giving her. "Sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Then she begins to pick up a big for everyone. She noticed that there is an old man sitting in the middle, and thought that this old man must be the famed Sir Song Tao.
Wen Rou used the spoon and scooped up a bowl of soup and first served it to Sir Song Tao. Then she politely used her hand to invite Sir Song Tao to drink it.
After that, she continued to pour a bowl of soup for everyone else.
"Distinguished guest, the first way of enjoying the Clear Mutton Soup is "by itself". This is the original taste of the clear mutton soup. Please have a bowl to warm your stomach first." Wen Rou voice was clear as she introduced the dish.
Sir Song Tao glanced at the young lass in front of him. She is simple, plain and did not wear any makeup. Even her clothes are simple and common, but she had an air around her attracts people to her instantly.
Despite her common and plain appearance, it did not hide her beauty.
Shen Yaoshan's eyes were half closed as he evaluated this girl. This girl is hauntingly familiar to him. He was sure that he had seen her before….
Oh yes, that day, while chasing the bandit, outside the city gates, on the snow! Shen Yaoshan's eyes lit up as he recalled.
Ren Yue looked at Wen Rou with interested, "This lass is really interesting! We had met again!"
"Oh!" While the "Unparallel talents" were lost in their own thoughts, Sir Song Tao had taken a sip of the soup and sighed in happiness……
The soup warms the heart and the stomach, and is fresh and tasty.
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Notes:[1] Poem from Yin Wengui. This is a fuzzy poem. As such, it is subjected to my personal interpretation of these lines that best fit within the context of this novel. Of course, the poets and those who majored in classical Chinese poetry may differ what this poem means. I welcome any other interpretations in the comments.
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