Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 527: If Everyone Eats Light Meals, What Do We Need a Cook for?

The fat chef rolled his eyes in disdain and muttered quietly, "Sure enough, he's from a small place."

Then he said confidently: "Miss Shen, this is not your small county town."

"This is the capital city, inside the imperial palace. The imperial palace can use as much oil as it wants. Is there any need to use it sparingly?"

The room was very quiet. Although he spoke very quietly, Shen Yu heard it clearly.

Shen Yu smiled indifferently and said patiently, "It's not a question of whether to save oil or not, but because the Queen Mother is old and her spleen and stomach are weak. She can't digest these greasy and fried foods. That's why the Queen Mother doesn't want to eat the food you cook, not because you cook badly."

The fat cook was a little confused, and said anxiously, "The Queen Mother is a noble lady. How many people in the world can eat such delicious food?"

"How can you say that the Queen Mother can't digest it and can't enjoy this blessing?"

Shen Yu was speechless. He knew there was no point in talking any further, so he just waved his hand and said, "The chef has misunderstood. After all, we are not doctors. Let's not talk about this anymore."

"What I mean is, even with the same ingredients, there are ways to make it lighter and easier to digest. If it's made like this, wouldn't it be more suitable for an elderly person like the Queen Mother?"

The fat chef was even more confused at this time.

He sat there staring blankly at the food on the table, muttering to himself, "I can't digest it. The Queen Mother is a noble lady, how could she not digest it?"

“This is how lamb tastes good.”

"Are they like those barbarians from the north, who kill the sheep, boil them in water, cut them with a knife and eat them with a bowl of salt?"

"Then what are we cooks for? How can the nobles eat mutton like this?"

The fat cook asked himself questions for a while, then immediately rejected the idea and shook his head like a rattle.

Shen Yu was sleepy and tired at the moment, and just wanted to sleep, so he could only politely say: "Chef, take these dishes back and share them with everyone."

"I only used the serving chopsticks to pick up a little of each dish to taste it. It would be a waste to throw it away."

The fat cook was still confused and just opened his mouth to say, "Miss Shen, I still think you are wrong."

Lu Qiao, who had been standing by, interrupted the fat cook and said, "Chef Liu, you should go back first."

"Miss Shen will stay in this palace for more than a month. She has plenty of time to consult her. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Our Miss Shen has traveled for several days to come and cook for the Queen Mother and save all of you. Can't you let Miss Shen have a good rest?"

Only then did Shen Yu know that the fat chef's surname was Liu.

She stood up and said politely, "Chef Liu, I am indeed a little tired. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand these things. It's just that different places have different ideas about health preservation."

"Wait for me to cook for a few days, and the Queen Mother will be in good health. Then you will understand the truth. It is much better than us just talking about it here."

After being rebuked by the young palace maid, Chef Liu saw that Shen Yu was indeed exhausted, so he stood up and said awkwardly, "We were too anxious."

"Then let's make a deal. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Miss Shen, go get some rest. I won't disturb you."

Having said that, he instructed the eunuch to collect the dishes from the table, and left with a lot of questions in his mind.

Seeing Chef Liu leading his men out, Lu Qiao said disdainfully, "Miss Shen, please don't pay attention to him. He usually thinks he is cooking for the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother always praises him, so he is so proud."

"They always look down on us eunuchs and palace maids."

"Miss, don't teach him how to cook tomorrow. Keep him anxious for a few days and let him beg you a few times before you do anything."

After Lu Qiao finished speaking, she thought about how dejected Chef Liu looked when he came back after being scolded this morning, and she couldn't help but smile in relief.

Shen Yu also smiled and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I can't hold on any longer. I need to go to bed first."

Although the bed in the palace was large and comfortable, and the warm room was as warm as spring because of the burning steamer, Shen Yu did not sleep well on his first night in the palace.

Maybe it was because I was too tired from traveling, after taking a shower and changing clothes, I lay in the soft bedding, but I couldn’t fall asleep.

Shen Yu had no choice but to think about what meal to prepare for the Queen Mother tomorrow. After thinking for a long time, he fell asleep in a daze.

The next morning, when the window paper was still pitch black, Lu Qiao, who was on duty the night before, came to wake Shen Yu up, saying that it was already early morning and Aunt Zhen would come to see her at dawn.

When Shen Yu was first woken up, he was a little slow to react. He looked at Lu Qiao's little face in a daze, and was stunned for a while before he finally remembered where he was.

She got up in a flash.

Because when she and Madam Lu entered the palace yesterday, they did not expect that the Queen Mother would keep them, so they only brought the small box containing the kitchen knife and seasonings into the palace.

When Shen Yu got up today, he wanted to touch the clothes he had taken off yesterday and folded on the bedside table, but he reached out and touched nothing. He turned around and saw Lu Qiao and Hong Yun coming in, one holding a stack of clothes and the other holding a basin of steaming water for washing their faces.

Lu Qiao smiled and said, "Miss, please get up quickly. Aunt Zhen asked the clothing store to send two sets of clothes. Miss, please see which one you want to wear today."

The palace maids' clothes are all very light in color. Although the styles are the same, they are different in color and the small lace details on the cuffs and hems of the skirts.

The two sets of clothes brought for Shen Yu were both light pink, one set was darker and the other was lighter.

Shen Yu took a look. Although she didn't often wear pink, she still thought the colors of these two sets of clothes were very beautiful.

She casually pointed to the light-colored set and said with a smile, "This color is really beautiful, but I'm a little worried that it will get dirty when I cook."

While Lu Qiao was helping Shen Yu pass the clothes, she said, "Don't worry, young lady. There is a full set of clothes for cooking in the small kitchen."

"Early this morning, the clothing store sent two sets of gowns to the kitchen according to your size. You can put them on when you go to cook."

Shen Yu thought back, smiled and nodded: "Yes, when I went to make porridge yesterday, I saw that they were all wearing white overalls and sleeves."

"I wanted to wear one, but the eunuch who was in charge of the fire said that the coats were distributed to everyone and there were no extra ones."

Lu Qiao said, "Girl, don't listen to their nonsense. They saw you coming and are afraid that you will take away their jobs, so they deliberately don't give it to you."

"We are in the Queen Mother's Palace. We have plenty to give you if you want anything."

As the two were talking, Shen Yu had already put on his clothes.

After washing up, Hongjun combed Shen Yu's hair into a bun with light and neat gestures.