Rebirth of Private Chef Xiao Ai

Chapter 15

The New Year's Eve dinner is always the most sumptuous in a year.Chang Xin wanted to help in the kitchen, but it was really inconvenient because she was six or seven months pregnant, and Gu Linsheng absolutely refused to let her go.Dou'er also got up early today, knowing that today would be very busy, so he took the initiative to help Song Cheng.

"Brother Song, what are you doing?" Dou'er went into the kitchen and found that Song Cheng had cooked a big pot of beef.Beef is a must for the New Year's Eve dinner, but Song Cheng made it seem too much, and Dou'er didn't know what he was going to do.Gu Lousheng also came to the kitchen. Recently, when Song Cheng stayed in the kitchen, as long as he was free, he would follow him to watch over him. He even helped make fried meatballs yesterday, which surprised the entire Gu family.

"Oh, this is a dish I heard from the old people. It's a specialty of my hometown, but it's mostly the old people who know it. It's rare to eat it now. It's very troublesome to make." Song Cheng is cooking it. Pick up the beef with a colander made of bamboo strips and put it on the cutting board aside.He picked up the knife, bent slightly, and concentrated on cutting the beef into thin slices.After the beef is cut into slices, cut into small pieces about the length of a knuckle and a little wider than a finger.

After everything was cut, he raised his head to signal Gu Lousheng, and handed him a plate.Gu Lousheng also understood it very smartly. After handing it over, he stood not far away and watched, afraid that he would cause trouble for Song Cheng.Douer asked the two of them if they wanted to eat steamed buns, and if he wanted, he would buy some. There was no breakfast at home, and everyone was hungry at the moment.Douer smiled, thinking that the two of them would be alone together, so he jumped and ran away.

Song Cheng put the sliced ​​beef aside, lit a big fire, heated up the pot, and poured a lot of oil into it. "Stand farther away later, be careful not to be scalded by oil." Song Cheng told Gu Lousheng while putting on his clothes, every time there was a possibility of getting hurt, he would tell Gu Lousheng to be careful.Gu Lousheng was very obedient today, nodded, helped Song Cheng tie the upside-down clothes behind him, and waited to see his next move.

The oil pan was hot, and with a wave of the spatula, he grasped it in his right hand, and held the plate of beef in his left hand. Using the spatula, he slid the beef into the pan little by little, avoiding the splashing of oil stars to the greatest extent. "Hey, hey, hey!" The beef was rolled in the oil, and Song Cheng stirred it a few times with the spatula, so that the beef was fried in the oil, and he continued to work.Unhurriedly, he put another part of the cut beef on the plate and put it aside.When the beef in the pot is almost fried, pull it up with a slotted bamboo spoon, put it aside, use a bowl, drain the oil, and then put the beef that was just on the plate into the pot again.This cycle was repeated many times, and finally, all the beef cut just now were fried.

Gu Lousheng felt that he had never seen this kind of dish, but he was not very curious. He knew that as long as it was made by Song Cheng, it would not be too bad, so he didn't worry too much, just watched from the sidelines.The two of them didn't communicate or chat, one was cooking and the other was standing and watching, but the atmosphere was not awkward at all, on the contrary, it was very harmonious.

The fried beef was almost drained by Song Cheng, poured into another pot, added water, green onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, covered the pot, and started to simmer.Halfway through, Song Cheng lifted the pot and added soy sauce and salt.When the pot was boiling, the aroma was overflowing, and Gu Lousheng couldn't help swallowing, it was really fragrant.

Beef was being stewed in a pot over there, while Song Cheng started to stew hoofs on the other side. "I looked at it this morning, and there are a lot of ingredients for the New Year at home. I will definitely make a big meal for you today!" Song Cheng is in a good mood now, one is because he has figured it out, and the other is because he is feeding him Nothing can compare to the sense of accomplishment of cooking for someone who cares.He will do his best to repay the kindness of the Gu family to him.

Gu Lousheng once said that a person like Song Cheng who knows how to repay kindness and is humble and respectful will always know what he can want and what he can't want more.People are often controlled by their desires, but people like Song Cheng are not, because reason can help him manipulate his desires to get what he wants.To put it bluntly, this kind of person is a smart person.

"Come here and help me pick up three or four pieces of rock candy about the size of this and put it in." Song Cheng waved at Gu Lousheng. The situation is too rare.But he was very happy, at least he was not excluded from this world, so he took the chopsticks and rummaged in the sugar bowl.

"Looks like this?" Gu Lousheng picked up a piece of rock sugar with chopsticks, showed it to Song Cheng, and after getting approval, threw it into the pot where the hoof was cooked, and stirred it with a spatula.Looking at Gu Lousheng's happy expression, Song Cheng couldn't laugh or cry, this person is so different from others, this little thing can make him so happy, he really is a foodie.

"However, why add rock sugar and not white sugar?" Gu Lousheng covered the sugar jar and put it back into the gauze cupboard. Without Song Cheng's instructions, he stood aside obediently.But at this moment, the two of them started to talk one after another, and wondered why Dou'er bought a bun and hasn't come back until now, where did he go to play?Or maybe they went to Gong Ping's house to meet up secretly.

"Broken sugar will not be too sweet or too greasy, but the taste will be better, and the meat will be more fragrant." Song Cheng poked the hoof in the pot with chopsticks and found that it was not cooked, so he covered the pot The lid continued to simmer. "Today, in addition to the cold dishes prepared by the eldest brother and the others, we also cooked a braised hoof, a boiled dried shredded pork, and the one cooked in the pot. Last time you said that you like to eat the sweet and sour mandarin fish. I will cook it together tonight. New Year's Eve dinner There must be fish, it’s just a dish, and meatballs are also included. The chicken soup was stewed last night, and it’s good to heat it up tonight. Is there anything else you want to eat in particular?”

"Anything is fine." Gu Lousheng replied bluntly, the Chinese New Year is indeed the most delicious day: "Let's stir-fry one or two more vegetarian dishes, they are all fatty, I'm afraid Chang Xin can't stand it, but he probably will too." I really like your sweet and sour mandarin fish dish, he loves fish." Gu Lousheng is worthy of being brought up by Gu Changxin and Gu Linsheng, and he always thinks about them, which is very gratifying.However, Song Cheng had already planned it out. Apart from the big fish and meat that are necessary for the New Year's Eve dinner, he also planned to give Chang Xin a few light dishes to change his appetite.

The two chatted one after another, occasionally telling a joke or something that made the other laugh. The time in the kitchen passed quickly, but they didn't feel bored at all.The beef stewed in the pot was ready, Song Cheng was taking it out with a slotted bamboo spoon, draining the juice bit by bit.

"Why, isn't it braised beef?" Gu Lousheng just asked, Song Cheng raised his eyebrows as if he expected him to ask, and smiled proudly: "Of course not. That's just the previous process. The most important thing is the last step. Just wait and see, you will like it later." Looking at the expression on Song Cheng's face, Gu Lousheng felt that he was right to keep him.It was dusty silver, not quite gold, but more peaceful and approachable.If I hadn't left him behind, maybe the Song Cheng is still living on the street, being bullied by others...

This beef is very complicated to make. Gu Lousheng just looked at it for so long and thought it was ready, but it took him a long time to make it. Those procedures are just for the preparation of the last step. It is really a complicated dish.Song Cheng ran back into the room several times, bringing back two small crocks at a time, and put them on the stove top.Song Cheng cleaned the five earthen jars, and at this moment was filling the drained beef into the earthen jars, filling each of them to [-]% full.All the earthen pots were filled, and there was still a small bowl of beef left, Song Cheng put it aside alone.

Gu Lousheng didn't understand what he was doing, why did he put the beef in the crock?Before he finished his doubts, Song Cheng took out a large earthen jar from behind the water tank, and put it on the stovetop with great effort. "It smells so good! What's in it?" Gu Lousheng leaned over and asked, feeling that the fragrance was overflowing.Song Cheng lifted the lid and showed him a jar full of sesame oil.Song Cheng turned around, finally found a big spoon, scooped sesame oil from the jar one by one, and poured it into the five earthen pots one by one.In the end, the sesame oil in the earthen pot just covered the beef, and the sesame oil in the big earthen pot was reduced by about half.

Gu Lousheng sniffed the aroma vigorously. The smell of stewed beef mixed with sesame oil, and the smell of scallions mixed with other spices made his stomach growl uncontrollably.Song Cheng looked funny, and scooped another spoonful of sesame oil into the bowl he put aside just now, and there was more than half a bowl of beef in that bowl.He washed the chopsticks, picked up the bowl and mixed it, making sure that the beef was covered with sesame oil, and passed it to Gu Lousheng: "Try it?"

Gu Lousheng took the chopsticks and bowl, he was a little stunned, and suddenly remembered the first time Song Cheng made fried steamed buns for him to eat.At that time, Song Cheng also looked like this, with some anticipation on his face, some pride, and some timidity, he handed the bowl and chopsticks to himself and told him to have a taste.Gu Lousheng thought about it, his face flushed, he lowered his head, picked some with chopsticks, and ate it into his mouth.

"What? It's not delicious?" Song Cheng stared straight at Gu Lousheng, but Gu Lousheng didn't make any movement. He just ate the beef quietly, neither talking nor raising his head, so that Song Cheng couldn't see his expression. , Can't figure out his thoughts. "If it doesn't taste good, give it to me. Don't eat it. I'll try it." Song Cheng was a little disappointed. He heard the recipe from his grandfather, but he never had a chance to try it.Maybe it wasn't very good the first time, Song Cheng thought, going to take the bowl that Gu Lousheng was holding in his hand, trying to see what went wrong.

"Hey, hey, don't snatch it from me. This bowl is mine. If you want to eat it, there is still in the crock pot. There are so many, you can't snatch it from me." Gu Lousheng stepped aside, lifted his Began to smile.Song Cheng couldn't help crying when he saw it, and he fell in love with him!It's not that it's not delicious!Gu Lousheng hugged the bowl and moved to the side, and continued to eat.Song Cheng continued to stare at him, but Gu Lousheng didn't care, he found a bench and sat down, with his back to Song Cheng, eating happily by himself.

Song Cheng was really amused by Gu Lousheng, and the disappointment just now was swept away.He hugged the earthen jar, covered the mouth, sealed it with soil, put it under the corner of the outside wall, patted the bottom of the earthen jar with snow and placed it properly, and then returned to the kitchen.Gu Lousheng was still chewing slowly, when he saw Song Cheng approaching, he turned around awkwardly, and asked, "Okay, I'll give you a little bit, and if you don't taste the things you make yourself, give them all to me." No wonder you always had nothing to eat when you were a beggar, and you always gave others up." Gu Lousheng didn't feel embarrassed at all when he said it, but was very happy. have eaten!

"What smells so good?" Dou'er poked his head out from behind Song Cheng, holding a few cold buns in his arms.Gu Lousheng and Song Cheng's guess was correct, he went to Gong Ping's house to buy buns, but it seemed that the time was wrong, so he hurried back.He saw the bowl in Gu Lousheng's hand, and felt that the aroma came from it, so he put the buns and wanted to grab the bowl, shouting: "Respect the old and love the young, give me some, hey!"

Gu Lousheng ignored him, picked up some beef with his chopsticks, and bumped Song Cheng with his elbow to bring him back to his senses.Song Cheng looked at Gu Lousheng wondering what he was going to do, so Gu Lousheng raised his hand and put the beef to Song Cheng's mouth: "You eat some by yourself, and then I will give the rest to Dou Eat it." Song Cheng was taken aback, opened his mouth obediently unconsciously, stared at Gu Lousheng, and refused to leave for a moment.

Gu Lousheng didn't realize anything. After feeding Song Cheng, he stuffed the bowl to Dou'er and said, "Brother Song made the beef this morning. You should try it too." He was stealing the joy, and he couldn't care less about the joy at the moment, so he ate a few mouthfuls while holding the bowl, his eyes lit up, and he and Gu Lousheng exchanged thoughts about eating.

Song Cheng's head was numb, his mouth was mechanically chewing the beef, and he moved to the edge of the stove like a ghost, with a silly smile on his face, he continued to poke his hooves with his chopsticks.Gu Lousheng glanced at it, thinking that Song Cheng was happy that he praised him.Although Song Cheng knew that Gu Lousheng's action just now was unconscious, it was the habit of quickly opening his mouth to feed you when he treated his family members, but his heart couldn't help but beat wildly.This beef is really done right!After working hard for so long and sweating all over my body, it's all worth it!

At noon, the family simply ate four dishes and one soup made by Song Cheng, and after listening to Lou Sheng and Douer talk about the beef dish, they all waited for the evening to have a full meal.

The hoof was ready at noon, and when dinner was approaching, Song Cheng heated up the hoof and chicken soup.Soaked black fungus was added to the chicken soup, and the fried mandarin fish was poured with sweet and sour tomato sauce, and then he cooked a dish of boiled dried shredded pork with the delicious chicken soup, making the whole kitchen full of aromas. It made everyone feel appetizing, and they couldn't wait to start it.When the dishes were all on the table, everyone counted them. In addition to the cold beef, dry-cut chicken, eight-treasure vegetables, fried bean rolls, and crispy pork ribs, there were a total of more than a dozen. road.

Gu Linsheng laughed until he couldn't close his mouth. He had just discussed with Chang Xin that their child would be called Gu Xin.This person is in good spirits on happy occasions. He has just named his child, and now he smells the aroma of vegetables and feels refreshed.So the eldest brother of the Gu family personally picked up a candle, went outside the house and set off firecrackers.As soon as the firecrackers went off, everyone cheered and wished each other well. When Gu Linsheng ran into the room, everyone toasted and started to move.

"Hey, drink less." Dou'er poked Gu Lousheng with his chopsticks, but he slapped Gu Lousheng a little and said he was neither big nor young.Dou'er rolled his eyes and told you to drink, anyway, your wine quality is not good, so it would be better if you lose face in front of Brother Song, hum!Here, one big and one small were making a fuss, Song Cheng and Gu Linsheng were drinking, occasionally interjecting a few words, all three of them tacitly agreed.

Gu Changxin and Gu Linsheng were also full of praise for the dish made of beef. Song Cheng said that he heard from the old man that it seemed to be called scum beef.This dish is best served with wine, and it is an excellent side dish for daily meals and porridge.You can get some to eat at any time when you are hungry. It can be called the main dish, or it can be regarded as a side dish.

After they finished their meal, Song Cheng brought out some more bowls of white fungus and lotus seed soup, and everyone who drank it smiled.After dinner, a few people were chatting and eating, Gu Linsheng was in a good mood, not only gave Lou Sheng and Douer a big red envelope, but also wrapped one for Song Cheng.Song Cheng was evasive and didn't plan to accept it, but Gu Changxin said with ulterior motives: "You keep it, you need money for your own affairs after all." Song Cheng didn't shirk it anymore, Embarrassed to accept.

On New Year's Eve, Dou'er shyly asked if he could take the scumbag beef that he made tonight to Gong Ping's house, and give Gong Ping and his father a can.Several adults said yes, and then Douer ran away with the jar in his arms.The few people looked at each other and smiled, it's a big deal here, but it's always good to think about each other.Gu Linsheng supported Chang Xin to go back to the room, and Song Cheng and Gu Lousheng were left chatting in the main room.Looking at the time, it is estimated that Dou'er will not come back. It will be almost an hour before the first day of the first lunar month. The two of them feel cold, but they don't intend to sleep, so they think it's better to go back to the room and chat.

When the two left the main room, it was snowing again outside.Song Cheng and Gu Lousheng walked quickly to the room, they discussed to stay in Gu Lousheng's room, it was warm.After walking a few steps, the two stopped at the same time and looked at each other. What's the sound?The two listened carefully, and found that the voice came from Gu Linsheng and Chang Xin's room.Song Cheng listened with pricked ears, Gu Lousheng blushed completely after hearing a few words, and was about to drag Song Cheng away.There was a question mark in Song Cheng's head, he didn't understand what was going on, and Gu Lousheng dragged him from the wall to the backyard quickly.

"Hey! Don't make trouble... Itch... What if you hurt the child... Uh-huh, don't make trouble..." This was Gu Changxin's voice, but it was different from usual, exuding a laziness.

"It's been seven months. It's okay. Don't you want to accompany me this New Year's Eve?" Song Cheng had never heard Gu Linsheng speak so softly, with a hint of persuasion.

"Ah! Take it easy, um, it hurts...you...you still have to watch the year! Ah... Linsheng you..." Gu Changxin exclaimed as if he was defenseless.Song Cheng looked at Gu Lousheng's already flushed cheeks, and vaguely felt that something was wrong, did the two fight?

"Shh, keep your voice down, do you want Lou Sheng and Song Cheng to hear it? I don't want them to hear your voice now. Be good, put your legs on my waist, I'll slow down."

After hearing Gu Linsheng's teasing sentence that came through the wall, Song Cheng's eyes widened, and he immediately understood.Gu Lousheng didn't have time to drag Song Cheng into the room and walked quickly. Both of them lowered their heads, entered the room, closed the door, raised their heads and glanced at each other, both a little embarrassed.After a long while, Gu Lousheng faltered and said, "Well, just pretend you didn't hear anything." Song Cheng nodded quickly, pretending you didn't hear it!But just now he heard the beginning, and now Gu Lousheng was standing in front of him blushing again, he felt that his face was so hot!

"Cough, sit down." Song Cheng sat next to the edge of the bed, Gu Lousheng thought about it, and decided not to bring out the wine.I've already drank some just now, so I'd better not drink any more, lest my wine taste bad and make a fool of myself later.Song Cheng was a little embarrassed, the two of them looked at me and you, then one stared at the sky and the other at the ground, and then one looked left and the other right, talking about each other.But as he spoke, Gu Lousheng's voice gradually weakened.

It was past midnight now, and the sound of crackling firecrackers outside resounded through the night sky in the countryside.Gu Lousheng was originally sitting cross-legged against the wall on the kang, but now he was staggering, looking like he was about to fall, and Song Cheng saw a gentle smile overflowing from the corner of his mouth.He walked over and helped Gu Lousheng drag the outer robe, almost only his inner garment was left, covered him with a quilt, and added some charcoal.

Song Cheng squatted beside the bed, staring fixedly at Gu Lousheng's sleeping face.This was the first time he saw Gu Lousheng asleep, it was very quiet.He didn't know how long he watched it, but the sound of firecrackers disappeared, and his legs became numb.He supported the bed, stood up and was about to turn around and go out, when he noticed that Gu Lou became lively.He thought that Gu Lousheng had been woken up by himself, so he hurriedly looked at it, but when he saw it, he couldn't move anymore.

Gu Lousheng was blindfolded and didn't wake up at all. He moved into the bed, stretched out the quilt with one hand and patted the space outside, and muttered in a daze: "Stand cold." You gave up your seat, so come and sleep too.Song Cheng was stunned for a long time.Gu Lousheng fell asleep again, and retracted his hands under the quilt, but gave up half of the space to Song Cheng.

Song Cheng smiled, he thought that today is New Year's Eve, so let him be selfish for once.He took off his clothes and got on the bed, not daring to get too close to Gu Lousheng, with an arm's width between them.He turned sideways and carefully tucked Gu Lousheng's quilt, kissed him lightly on the forehead, and then closed his eyes contentedly.

This new year is the happiest year since he was born.