flstandardbreds Chapter 124 Preparations for the Lantern Festival Banquet
Chapter 124 Preparations for the Lantern Festival Banquet
The banquet had invited many relatives from the family, and the cooks of the Jia family were working hard to show off their skills in order to impress their masters. They were so busy that they were dizzy.
When Zhao Mama from the kitchen saw the three young masters arrive, she was extremely surprised and quickly came forward to greet them, saying with a beaming smile:
"Young masters, is there anything you need that requires your personal attention? You could have just sent a maid to give you instructions!"
Madam Zhao thought to herself, "If the three young masters have any requests, I will do whatever they ask for, even if it means squeezing in a lot of space. Everyone knows how favored these three young masters are. If I can win their favor, it will be a great thing."
Seeing the bustling activity in the kitchen, with everyone rushing around and working non-stop, Jia Hu worried that his impromptu idea might affect the banquet's progress. He touched his nose, wondering if he should just give up.
Zhao's mother was a shrewd woman; seeing the young master's expression, she quickly stepped forward and smiled:
"Young Master Hu, is there anything you wish to do? No problem, just give the order."
Jia Hu:
"Are there still enough people available to prepare for the banquet?"
Zhao's mother smiled and said:
"No problem, as long as it's what you're asking for, young master, we'll make time no matter how busy we are. Just give the order, young master."
When Jia Hu heard her say this, he knew that Zhao Mama was capable of managing things and must be well aware of the situation. Since it wouldn't delay the banquet, he asked her about it.
Jia Hu:
"What kind of filling did the glutinous rice balls have at the dinner party?"
Mrs. Zhao was a little surprised. Could it be that the young master had come all this way just to ask what the filling of the glutinous rice balls would be for tonight?
Zhao's mother answered cautiously:
"Our family's glutinous rice balls are always the most classic, and they're also the black sesame filling that our kitchen is best at making. But does the young master have any objections?"
Jia Hu waved his hand.
"I just feel that eating only black sesame filling is a bit boring, and I want to try some different flavors."
Aunt Zhao, assuming it was the young master wanting something unusual to eat, laughed and said:
"Young master, what kind of filling would you like?"
Jia Hu:
"Just black sesame filling is too boring. We can make red bean paste filling, purple sweet potato filling, custard filling, peanut filling, jujube paste and nut filling, and hawthorn filling."
Jia Hu rattled off a bunch of things, but Zhao Mama felt a little dizzy. She had worked in the kitchen for so many years, and although she had heard that other masters liked to eat certain kinds of glutinous rice balls, she had never seen any family make so many different flavors of glutinous rice balls. She was stunned.
Jia Hu was still saying:
"If the glutinous rice ball wrappers could be made in different colors, they would look even better mixed together."
Mrs. Zhao was a little surprised, but she immediately realized that she was an expert at making pastries and knew about coloring, so she asked, "Young Master Hu, are you talking about changing the glutinous rice balls to various colors?"
Jia Hu appreciated her understanding and nodded with a smile:
"It's not just one color that's monotonous. You can use fruits or vegetables to color the dumpling skin, and then mix in various fillings. Wouldn't that make it interesting and novel to eat?"
After all, Zhao Mama had been a cook for many years, and her eyes lit up when she heard this. She had never heard of or made some of the fillings that the young master Hu mentioned, but she thought that such exquisite fillings would surely catch the master's eye and he would definitely reward her handsomely.
He had always wanted his daughter-in-law to be transferred to the kitchen to help him out, so that she could take over the job in the future.
However, in the kitchen, there was always an old woman named Zhou who was at odds with him, and she was challenging him. If he followed Young Master Hu's orders and made this dish, he would gain the master's favor and be able to outdo Zhou.
Seeing Zhao Mama deep in thought, Jia Hu
"Is there a problem?"
Zhao's mother was a little embarrassed.
"The young master mentioned a few of them, which are easy to use when making desserts. However, there are a few that I, your servant, have never heard of."
Jia Hu laughed and said:
"That's easy. I'll tell you the recipe, and you can go and get it yourself."
Jia Hu then explained the recipe. Zhao Mama was a gifted person, and upon hearing it, she immediately applied it to other situations. She realized that it could be done in this way, and she immediately had new ideas for several kinds of pastries. She was extremely grateful to young master Hu.
Hearing about the Lantern Festival filled him with anticipation. Such skillful hands would surely make him famous, and with that, his position as head of the kitchen would be even more secure.
Jia Hu and the other two were seen off from the kitchen by Zhao's mother, who expressed her deepest gratitude.
The three of them then went to accompany Grandmother Jia for lunch, since it was a dinner banquet.
At noon, there weren't many guests, many of whom lived quite far away and had arrived earlier. Most of the guests were men, so Jia Daishan and his men received them. Now, Jia Mu's side was able to have a peaceful lunch.
When Grandmother Jia saw them coming, she hugged them again with affection and said with a smile:
"You three little devils, what have you been up to all morning running around?"
Jia Zhen immediately said playfully:
"Grandma, we won't tell you. We'll give you a surprise tonight."
Grandmother Jia was overjoyed and hugged Jia Zhen tightly, showering him with affection. She tapped Jia Zhen's nose with her finger and smiled, saying:
"You little rascal. Surprised, huh? You're so good at making everyone happy!"
After lunch, in the afternoon, Jia Hu suddenly remembered the riddles Yuan Chun had mentioned during her visit home. At that time, Grandmother Jia felt that there was some ominous sign in her heart.
Jia Hu decided to go again to look at the riddles and see what others had come up with. He couldn't let any of them be like this. He had to supervise them in advance and make sure they were perfect that night.
The lanterns were arranged in the corridor on one side of the flower hall, hanging one by one on the frame along the corridor. The colorful lanterns were layered and stacked, which was very beautiful. It was already so beautiful before nightfall. It must be even more beautiful when the lights are on at night.
Jia Hu was quite satisfied. He had thought that with his intelligence, he would definitely be able to figure out the answers to the riddles. However, after looking around with his two underlings, they were all completely bewildered. Was their level of education too low? Apart from a few easy-to-understand ones, they couldn't figure out the rest.
The three of them couldn't help but look worried. How were they going to win the prize that night?
Jia Hu patted their heads to comfort his younger brother, and also to comfort himself, saying:
"We're young, so it's all about participation. Besides, we know a few of them."
Jia Hu absolutely refused to admit that he was quite old in modern times, and that he couldn't possibly understand what the riddles contained.
Jia Hu himself didn't want to cheat by going through things he had already memorized; that would be too boring.