[Sherlock Holmes] Captured a detective

Chapter 94

In fact, life after harmony is not as colorful as John thought.The main reason is that Christmas is approaching, and there are more and more cases. Sherlock is very busy, which can be regarded as the benefit of fame.And Jenny is even more busy. In addition to carrying Sherlock's rush gifts, the garment factory has also been settled.Of course, Remus and Sirius did most of the things, but because it was just in its infancy, there were still some things that Jenny needed to go through, let alone a clothing store...

Often have to run at three ends, in fact, Remus and Sirius' hearts are also broken!

Speaking of presents, it's another year of Christmas. Tom's family always come to Jenny's party, but this year Jenny will invite a few more people.

Because this year Remus and Sirius are not only tenants, but also partners, plus Pedro, Tom Clayton's family, Mycroft, and the future owner of the tailor shop, Miss Madeleine Parker, and The Potter couple, who were embarrassed to skip because they had invited two of the tenants, actually had eleven guests to invite for Christmas this year, plus John and his fiancée, Sherlock and Jenny themselves, There are fifteen people in total... No matter what, 221b can't sit down.So Jenny decided to cancel the Christmas dinner and switch to a cocktail salon!

Remus and Sirius did not go home for Christmas, but the Potter couple next door decided to stay in London for the holidays because Mrs. Potter was pregnant and they couldn't work too hard in the first few months.On the contrary, it was the Tom family who were going to take the children to cultivate their artistic feelings. Unexpectedly, they had a conflict with Jenny's reception. The tickets could not be refunded, so they had to explain the situation to Jenny and not come to participate.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Potter." Jenny shook Lily's hand in congratulations.She knew that Lily and James had been married for several years and had never had children, which was almost becoming Lily's heart disease, and now she finally got her wish.

"Thank you." Lily accepted Jenny's congratulations generously, and her face was about to shine with happiness.

"How many months?" Jenny asked concerned.

"The doctor said it's been about two months, oh, I was too careless, I thought I'd ruined my stomach, hehehehe..." Lily didn't care, and said her embarrassing incident as a joke.

Jenny gave Lily a reproachful look, and then told her some precautions in detail, such as not eating cold food, not going out when it snows, eating more fish and fruits...etc.

There are more things Jenny needs to pay attention to at the Christmas reception.

The reception will be on the evening of December 12rd, but Jenny started preparations a week ago. She and Sherlock discussed the wine for the reception, and finally settled on a bottle of sherry, a bottle of whiskey, and a bottle of brandy , a bottle of red wine, a bottle of rum and a bottle of champagne, just make up a box.As for the quality of the wine... that's Sherlock's business, and Sherlock's task is to buy the wine back.

In addition to wine, Jenny has other beverages on hand: fruit juice, lager and still water, and of course, her homemade "juice".

Snacks can't be saved, of course.Because they are all bite-sized, Jenny made up for the quantity.For bread alone, there are butter bread, croissant bread, meat floss bread, honey bread, as well as smoked fish sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, tomato beef sandwiches made with bread.And of course there are all kinds of meatloaf and bratwurst, as well as Jenny's specialty biscuits, muffins, shortbread and petit fours.

In addition to these filling foods, Jenny also prepares various appetizers: candied tomatoes, gherkins, pickled olives, pickled beans, pickled radishes, fried peanuts and sliced ​​Chinese cabbage, cabbage, lettuce.After thinking about it, Jenny added some pickled fruits, which she made a few months ago, and now there are almost no fresh fruits in winter, so it can be regarded as a fresh taste.

This is enough for a dozen people.

But we can't forget about the Christmas dinner. Although other friends are not invited, but Mycroft is definitely invited.Jenny casually thought of the Christmas dinner as well.

Jenny wrote down everything one by one, and discussed with Fantine twice, feeling that there was nothing missing, so she started to prepare.

On the recommendation of Wiggins, the captain of the "Baker Street Squad", Jenny hired several boys to take 221b up and down the stairs, floors, ceilings, chairs, cabinets, pots, bowls, ladles, and basins in two days. Everything was polished and shiny, what needed waxing was waxed, the fireplace was cleaned where it needed to be cleaned, and all the curtains were taken down and replaced with new ones.

Because it is all manual work, Jenny is not stingy. In addition to the agreed price, she also gave each person a big bag of bread and a small bag of homemade candies, so that they can be distributed to unemployed friends, or family.Although these boys were happy, they didn't want to take it in vain. They promised Jenny to help her move the big table in the dining room on the first floor to the basement temporarily on the day of the reception, and they would come back the next day to help her bring the table back.

Street children on Baker Street like to be hired by Mr. Holmes and Mrs. Hudson of 221b, because one of them is generous and has a cool job, and the other will give delicious food every time in addition to the salary~~

"It really saved me a lot of work. They are very diligent in their work." Fantine supervised the cleaning work, and she felt quite satisfied.These boys were very neat in their work. Although they liked to take advantage of things and steal something in the kitchen, it was not too much. Fantine was willing to turn a blind eye.

"Have all the curtains been washed?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Hudson, all sent. And the cushions, dusted."

"When will our order be delivered?"

"Flour, rice and cheese will be delivered today. We still need to buy some nuts, and the oriental rice you want. The boss of the Chinese department store said that it will be delivered before dark in the afternoon." Fantine thought for a while, "Milk I asked him to deliver it tomorrow morning, so it will be fresher. There are other meats and vegetables, I’m afraid it’s better to buy them on the 22nd or 23rd. No more.”

"Christmas tree?"

"Oh, yes, the Christmas tree will be delivered tomorrow... Mrs. Hudson, is it really okay to use Cosette's dolls as pendants?" Fantine was a little worried about Cosette's craftsmanship, after all, Christmas is a big deal.

"It's okay." Jenny waved her hand, "It's been a long time, and Cosette has learned to behave well. This time I didn't interfere at all, and let her do it all by herself. Fantine, you don't have to worry too much, just It’s not an important occasion to put it at home.”

Fantine thought about it, yes, anyway, it was for self-entertainment.

Once the materials are prepared, it is not a troublesome thing to do.Pickled fruit has long been available, and side dishes, bread, and sandwiches need to be made on the same day. On the contrary, Christmas dinner will take more time.

Jenny and Fantine spent the morning making biscuits, muffins and small cakes. In the afternoon, they needed to divide the work. Jenny was going to cook the roast goose for Christmas, while Fantine and Cosette had to prepare the venue first. .

"Need help?" John asked from the kitchen door.

"Thank you, but it's not necessary. If possible, can you go and get the wine back with Mr. Holmes?" Jenny said while stuffing something into the goose's belly.

"Good idea." John nodded and went upstairs to find Sherlock.

Jenny put the packed goose into a large basin, took a brush and began to brush the sauce, turned it over, and brushed again.After brushing one layer, pour out the excess sauce in the basin, dry the goose, and then brush again.After brushing three times, it was set aside to let the sauce marinate the goose for two hours.

Outside, Fantine and Cosette spread a large rug on the floor where the dining table used to be. Jenny put this rug beside the bed in the bedroom. It made her feel distressed for a long time when it was taken down and let everyone step on it.

Fantine moved down the small table on the second floor where Sherlock and the others usually had breakfast, and spread a tablecloth on it, ready to put food there.

All the wine glasses were wiped clean at the moment, and Fantine put them in the cabinet specially in case Cosette would accidentally touch them.

The chairs and sofas had been wiped down, and the cushions were dusted.A few colorful tassels and cloth ornaments are hung on the place where there are nails. Firstly, it is for decoration, and secondly, it is also to remind everyone not to be scratched by the nails.A few small flower balls are randomly placed on several plates, adding a touch of joy to the room.

The things on the fireplace had been put away long ago, except for a clay pot with a bouquet of warm and bright red roses in it.When waiting for the reception, there will be a few plates here for food, and Jenny specially left a few small plates next to them for the men to put cigarette ash.

A small Christmas pine tree stands in the corner by the window, with a pendant that Jenny bought last year - which has been kept and reused every year - and the newly added Cosette is made of rags. doll dolls.

Here, Jenny dried the marinated goose and started stuffing the goose.

Rolling up her sleeves, Jenny first stuffed apple slices from the goose's buttocks into the goose's belly, then diced ham and eggplant, then chestnuts and dried beans rolled into small rolls, and boiled quail eggs peeled. And tomatoes, to support the whole goose belly high.Finally, Jenny tied the head and wings of the goose with a strong string, and it was ready to be roasted.

Jenny cooks roast chicken and roast duck from time to time, but Jenny cooks this kind of roast goose that is stuffed inside at most once a year, so she roasts it very carefully and carefully, taking it out and brushing it with honey every half an hour.

After Fantine finished the place, she went to the basement to move the pickled fruit and "juice" to the kitchen.

"Now, Mrs. Hudson?" asked Fantine.

"Go on, let's try to see if there is any damage."

Jenny came over and opened all kinds of bottles and jars with Fantine... Sure enough, a bottle of pickled peaches was spoiled, and Jenny had to throw them all away regretfully.

When half an hour was up, Jenny dropped the bottle again to turn over the roast goose.

"Let's put it aside tomorrow." Jenny directed, "Let's go get the juice up and check it."

"Yes, Mrs. Hudson," said Fantine, with her arms akimbo, "but let me rest first, shall I?"

"Of course." Jenny went to make two cups of coffee, while Cosette drank hot milk.

Fantine had to admit that making coffee and milk tea also required talent. Although she learned Jenny's technique and time, for some reason, the coffee and milk tea she made were not as good as Jenny's.

After chatting for a while and resting for more than half an hour, the roast goose was almost ready. Jenny took out the roast goose and put it in a basin to cool down, and let Cosette watch, and she and Fantine went to the basement to get the "juice" "And the fruit they preserved.

When fruits were cheap, Jenny bought many kinds, and packed them with paper and hay and put them in wooden boxes.Not to mention pears and apples, lemons, oranges, pomegranates and grapefruits are also easy to preserve, at most the skin is a little wilted, but dates, grapes and figs are not easy to store, and these three are the fastest to eat, Jenny Simply take out these three kinds and prepare to eat them all this time.

The "juices" are still grape juice, lemon juice, apple juice, cherry juice soaked a month ago... There are also two bottles of green plum wine and bayberry wine soaked in vodka, but these were soaked last year and have not been opened.Jenny also wanted to try making rum from sugarcane herself, but it all failed.

Jenny thought for a while, instead of taking plum wine and bayberry wine, she only took a bottle of lemon juice, a bottle of apple juice and a bottle of cherry juice.

"Is this okay? The smell of wine is quite strong." Fantine said worriedly, because bootlegging is against the law.

"Of course you can't drink it like this when making juice, you have to dilute it."

Jenny poured out part of the "juice" from a clean glass bottle, and then mixed it with cold boiled water.After diluting it, it really didn't taste like wine, but the juice taste also became lighter. Jenny added some fresh lemon juice to the lemon juice, and added some sugar, which really tasted much better.Fantine followed suit and added a few slices of fresh apples to soak in the apple juice, and added some sugar, which tasted good too.Cherry juice itself is very sweet. Although the fruity taste becomes weaker when mixed with water, the sweetness is still there, but Jenny still adds sugar to increase the taste.

"How about this." Jenny added a pickled plum to a glass of plain lemon juice.Fantine tasted it, with a strange expression...the rum was mixed with pickled sourness...it was really indescribable, but she was not used to it anyway.

Jenny also took a sip, and the taste was really... quite... well, she couldn't get used to it either.Jenny, who wanted to try to make a cocktail, had to pour out the rest of the glass regretfully.