Datang: Empress mother-in-law sent Li Er to test me

"But, you have to come every day!" Hu Guang said solemnly: "If you don't come, I don't think there will be anyone in Zuixianlou again. If you don't say anything else, just say this cook, who else can take on this job except you?" Da Ren?"

Why is being a cook a big responsibility?Zhang Dun resisted the urge to complain, and said patiently: "Actually, whoever is the cook will have the same effect."

"The important thing is this."

Zhang Dun pointed to the iron pot on the stove and a porcelain vase on the side.

"This thing is called a frying pan, and inside the frying pan is a frying spoon."

"The porcelain bottle contains the rapeseed oil I squeezed."

"Then there are seasonings like white salt, sugar, soy sauce, thirteen spices, chicken essence, and pepper."

Hu Guang pricked up his ears, listening carefully to what Zhang Dun said, while looking at what he said curiously.

In order to let him understand more thoroughly, Zhang Dun spoke slowly.

After all, for Datang people, all aspects of cooking are new knowledge.

In today's Tang Dynasty, cooking has not been popularized. Although vegetable oil is available, it has not yet formed a scale.

The other is the iron pot. Before the Tang Dynasty, most of the cooking fires were made of porcelain.

Porcelain has poor thermal conductivity, so fried meals are not as delicious as those made in iron pans.

Not to mention seasonings.

Among the common modern seasonings, white salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, thirteen spices, etc. are not available in Datang.

In order to get these things out, Zhang Dun took a lot of painstaking efforts. After they were out, they were all hidden in the cellar.

I don't even know the length.

The cellar is his small treasury.

Zhang Dun continued: "Add all these together, and you can make stir-fry."

"Stir-fried vegetables?" Hu Guang asked curiously, "Is it the twice-cooked pork, scallion fried lamb, and pepper chicken?"

Zhang Dun nodded.

Stir-frying is a new species in the Tang Dynasty, and the popularity of stir-frying began in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Not yet.

Zhang Dun continued: "I'll start writing the recipe for stir-fried vegetables later. After I finish writing it, even you can make those three dishes with these seasonings."

"I can do it?" Hu Guang's eyes lit up, he heard the implication from his words, and pointed to the jars of seasonings next to the stove, "Brother Zhang, what you really mean is that as long as you have these things, Other than you, brother Zhang, can other people do it?"

"Smart!" Zhang Dun gave a thumbs up and said: "That's what it means. You can find any cook to come to Zuixianlou and follow the recipe I gave. The taste will definitely be better than Dingshenglou!"

Chapter 24 Only preparing these things, it shouldn't be high-profile

"Then I'll go find the cook!"

Hu Guang seemed to see the hot scene of Zuixianlou in the future, his eyes brightened.

However, putting down the things in his hands, Hu Guang suddenly thought of something bitter and said, "No way, we don't have money to find a cook, so I'll give you all my money."

Zhang Dun smiled and said, "I'll look for it."

After explaining to Hu Guang what dishes should be cut into what kind, and what dishes should be washed first, Zhang Dun walked out of Zuixian Tower.

"I only got these things, so it shouldn't be high-profile."

Walking in Pingkangfang, Zhang Dun thought silently.

After all, Pixian Doubanjiang cannot be made right now.

To make Pixian Doubanjiang, you need to use chili peppers, but it is a pity that there is no chili pepper in Tang Dynasty.

Without chili, Pixian bean paste cannot be made. Zhang Dun always feels that these dishes have no soul.

It's a pity, Zhang Dun is a little regretful. Although he has been carefully preparing for more than half a year, he is really helpless when it comes to the peppers that are thousands of miles away.

And there are corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., which are all magic tools for cooking, but there are no ingredients, and it is difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice.

If you don’t have it, then you don’t have it, Zhang Dun thought, the local melons, fruits and vegetables are almost enough for now.

Whether it is to recruit a cook for the family or to buy a servant, in ancient times, it was basically through the dental office.

At this time, Yaxing was also called Yajiao in Tang Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, a dental firm is a firm or middleman who negotiates and introduces transactions for buyers and sellers in the market, and draws commissions.

Zhang Dun didn't go to the dental shop, but walked around the street.

Zhang Dun's eyes lit up and he walked over when he saw two ragged, yellow and thin young men begging on the side of the road.

"Lang Jun, do me a favor and give us a bite to eat!"

When the two beggars saw Zhang Dun, their eyes lit up, and they stood up with wooden sticks and said.

When the two stood up, they were like bamboo poles rising from the ground.

Almost 1.9 meters!Zhang Dun calculated in his heart, and said with a smile: "I have no money."

The two beggars were taken aback for a moment, then bowed to him dejectedly, turned around and walked to the side of the road.

"You are a little different from ordinary beggars." Zhang Dun said curiously: "Ordinary beggars don't know how to bow."

The two beggars looked at each other, and one of them said helplessly: "I want you to know, my name is Wang Meng, and his name is Liu Liang. I am a refugee from Lingnan. My family used to be relatively rich, but later my family fell into poverty. Had to run out to make a living."

"However, we can't do this well, and we can't do that. In the end, we can only end up on the streets and become beggars."

Zhang Dun asked: "I'll give you a chance to make a living, do you want it?"

Seeing the brilliance in Wang Meng and Liu Liang's eyes, Zhang Dun continued, "Come with me."

Taking the two of them back to Zuixianlou, as soon as they entered the door, they saw Hu Guang running out of the back kitchen excitedly with his sleeves rolled up.

"Brother Zhang, is the cook back?"

"Hey! What does this smell like!"

Hu Guang sniffed the smell in the air, his expression changed drastically, he hurried back a few steps, looked at Wang Meng and Liu Liang, and said in surprise:

"Aren't you going to recruit a cook? How did you find a beggar?"

Zhang Dun said patiently: "They don't want money."

"..."

Hu Guang stared at him dumbfounded, and was hit in the heart by one sentence. This is right. The advantage of beggars is that they don't need money.

"Go wash up."

While talking to the two, Zhang Dun pointed them to the bathing place, then looked at Hu Guang and said, "Brother Hu, do you have any clothes? Give them two sets."

Hu Guang felt his temples swell, rubbed his head and said, "Brother Zhang, how many immoral things did you do in your previous life, so you are reincarnated in this life to pay off your debts?"

"Don't underestimate them." Zhang Dun said solemnly: "I asked them when I recruited them. They are actually refugees from other states and counties."

"That's still a beggar!" Hu Guang muttered, but he still took two sets of clothes according to what Zhang Dun said, and threw them to Wang Meng and Liu Liang.

Not long after, the two came out wearing very ill-fitting clothes, scratching their heads in embarrassment.

"Lang Jun, we've finished washing."

Zhang Dun looked at them, nodded and said: "That's right, apart from getting thinner, if you eat stronger, even if you don't want to be a cook, there are people who want you to do other things."

thump!

Wang Meng and Liu Liang suddenly knelt down for him with red eyes.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Dun was taken aback.

Brothers Wang Meng and Liu Liang were both eighteen at the same age as him. Seeing them kneel down, Zhang Dun didn't expect it to be true.

Wang Meng said with red eyes: "Mr. Lang, without you, the two of us would starve to death in a short time."

Liu Liang wiped his tears and said, "You are our reborn parents."

Zhang Dun sighed, and walked over to help them up, "Get up, manly man, you are born to stand upright, don't just kneel down when you have nothing to do."

"Come here, I'll teach you how to cook."

With that said, Zhang Dun led the two of them to the back kitchen, pointed to the iron pot on the stove and said:

"This is a frying pan, this is a frying spoon, and this thing is called a seasoning. Do you know how to read? Just know how to read. I have written the name of the seasoning on these porcelain pots. What should be put in and what should not be put in. You can follow the recipe. Do."

After explaining it to them, Zhang Dun wrote a few recipes and asked them to try cooking according to the recipes.

At the beginning, Wang Meng and Liu Liang were very nervous. It was obviously their first time cooking, and they were in a hurry.

After cooking a few times, the two gradually calmed down a lot, and the cooking didn't seem so unfamiliar.

"It tastes good." Hu Guang's eyes lit up after eating the dishes fried by the two of them, and said, "You guys are pretty good."

Wang Meng shook his head and said, "It's not that we are great, but benefactor is great."

"Have you already called Shang Engong?" Hu Guang laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, I feel that there may be quite a few people who will call you Engong in the future."

Zhang Dun couldn't laugh or cry: "Just this time."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Dun took Hu Guang, as well as the newcomers Wang Meng and Liu Liang, and continued to prepare ingredients for tomorrow.

With the help of Wang Meng and Liu Liang, the speed of processing the ingredients was several times faster.

Busy until dark, Zhang Dun looked at the ingredients piled up like a hill, nodded with satisfaction and said, "These should be enough for tomorrow."

Hu Guang tutted his tongue and said, "I think the day after tomorrow is enough."

"The day after tomorrow?" Zhang Dun glanced at him, shook his head and said, "Tomorrow these ingredients will be fine, and they will be considered high-smelling. Do you still count on the day after tomorrow?"

Wang Meng and Liu Liang were curious for a while, Wang Meng asked: "Grandfather, will there be many guests from Zuixian Tower tomorrow?"

"There are people with names and surnames in Chang'an City, so they will probably come." Zhang Dun thought about it.

Hearing this, Wang Meng and Liu Liang were startled, Hu Guang said angrily: "Don't listen to his nonsense, even the famous people in Chang'an City will come? Why don't you say that the emperor of Tang Dynasty will come with the empress tomorrow?"

Zhang Dun smiled and said, "It's not impossible."

"Just blow it!" Hu Guang rolled his eyes, and then asked again: "Brother Zhang, are you not going back to your Yongyangfang today?"

"I won't go back." Zhang Dun thought for a while.

"Then let's sleep together tonight!" Hu Guang rubbed his palms excitedly.

Zhang Dun was taken aback, Wang Meng and Liu Liang also looked at Hu Guang in astonishment, and Hu Guang also found that there was something wrong with what he said just now, so he quickly waved his hands and said, "I want to ask brother Zhang about business matters, don't think about it!"

----

After the curfew, the mansions in various squares in Chang'an City were brightly lit.

In each mansion, there are more than a dozen servants dressed neatly.

And the owners of the mansion looked solemnly, looking at their servants as if they were fighting a war.

Chapter 25 Zuixianlou's business today, here are the guests

"Listen clearly, as soon as the day breaks and the curfew is lifted, follow me to Pingkangfang!"

"There is only one goal, and that is Zuixianlou!"

"Remember, buy me all the things in Zuixianlou!"

"You can buy me as many things as there are in Zuixian Tower!"

"Whoever can buy an extra copy, I will reward you!"

The owners of the houses in various squares and cities shouted loudly one after another.

In the early morning of the next day, before the curfew bell rang, the shops and restaurants in Pingkang Fang had already opened their doors.

When Wang Meng and Liu Liang removed the door panel of Zuixian Building and opened the door, Zhang Dun stood at the door wearing a green shirt, looking at Pingkangfang Street.

There was no one on the street.

The curfew in the Tang Dynasty was the beginning of the curfew, which was known to the people by the sound of drums every night.

In the early morning of the next day, the bell rang, which represented the end of the curfew.

But at this moment, the bell hadn't rung, the gate of Pingkang Fang hadn't been opened yet, so naturally there were no figures on the street.