bookrebus Chapter 216 Success
Chapter 216 Success
After agreeing to Yun Ruo to host the wedding banquet for the Xie and Yun families, Shen Huazheng would think about dishes suitable for the wedding banquet whenever she had free time, and would discuss them with Zhou Ying from time to time.
Usually at times like this, Princess Lejia would sit aside, eating pastries and listening to the two of them discussing.
On this day, after Zhou Ying and Princess Le Jia had lunch, they came to the Shen Mansion again.
They took all factors into consideration, first listed some suitable dishes, and after some deletions and reductions, the wedding banquet menu was finally finalized.
The matter that had been troubling for several days finally came to a conclusion. Even Princess Lejia, who had no objection at all and just wanted to keep the company, breathed a sigh of relief.
“The menu is finally finalized, it’s so great!!”
Princess Lejia looked at Shen Huazheng and Zhou Ying with a smile: "It just so happens that my grandmother just gave me a few bottles of honey plum wine. It tastes good and warms the body. It is the most suitable for winter. Why don't I ask someone to go back to the mansion to get it, and we can have a few drinks to celebrate."
Zhou Ying smiled and said, "That's a good idea. I heard that the fruit wine brewed by the Princess's Mansion is the most delicious. It seems that we are in for a treat today."
Today's weather is much colder than yesterday. It would be very comfortable if I could have a sip of honey plum wine.
Shen Huazheng naturally had no objection, "Okay, let's celebrate. But if we want to drink, how can we miss some snacks?"
She paused, then continued, "I braised the duck, it should be ready to eat now. It's perfect as a side dish."
Zhou Ying was puzzled: "Zheng'er, what is duck goods?"
Princess Lejia looked excited: "Zhengzheng, have you prepared the snacks?"
Although Princess Lejia didn't know what duck goods were, she couldn't care about anything else now. Her mind was filled with only one thought - Zheng Zheng and she were indeed in sync.
Hehehehe~~~
Shen Huazheng smiled: "You will know in a moment."
Zhou Ying & Princess Le Jia: (.＾▽＾)
Zheng'er/Zheng Zheng is going to give us another surprise.
*
Shen Huazheng and the other two came to the kitchen and smelled an enticing aroma as soon as they entered the door.
Guessing that the duck in the pot was almost cooked, Shen Huazheng scooped out a small plate and handed it to Zhou Ying and Princess Le Jia.
"Taste it."
Shen Huazheng braised a lot of duck, some spicy and some not.
This pot has the spicy flavor that both Zhou Ying and Princess Lejia like.
"it is good."
Zhou Ying and Princess Lejia smelled the overbearing fragrance in the air and picked up their chopsticks.
Princess Lejia was the first to eat the duck wings. She picked up a duck wing with chopsticks and took a light bite.
The meat of the duck wings is firm, chewy and tough. The aroma of the marinade permeates the meat, and when you chew it carefully, the fresh, spicy and meaty flavor of the duck meat instantly fills your lips and cheeks.
Halfway through the meal, the spiciness gradually becomes stronger, rising up layer by layer, but it doesn't make people feel uncomfortable.
On the contrary, the more you chew it, the more fragrant and delicious it becomes!
Zhou Ying picked up a duck neck with chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
The duck neck is full, and the spicy taste of the marinade and the tender and smooth pork are very satisfying. It's numbing, spicy, and fragrant.
The more you eat, the more obvious the spicy feeling between your lips and tongue becomes.
They drank a few sips of tea to get rid of the spiciness and continued eating, trying all the braised duck pieces in the bowl.
The duck gizzards are chewy and the full and rich feeling makes you feel instantly satisfied when you take a bite.
The rich aroma of the stew combined with the delicious taste of the duck gizzards is so addictive.
The skin of duck feet is thick and tendonous. When you bite it, you feel the elasticity at first, and then the tip of your tongue touches a large amount of gelatin.
After a long period of stewing, the duck feet have absorbed the brine.
As you chew, the juice from the duck's feet bursts in your mouth.
Before they knew it, Zhou Ying and Princess Lejia had finished the entire bowl of stew.
Even the lotus root slices that were served as a side dish were not left behind.
Zhou Ying drank the tea in the cup and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
"These braised ducks are really delicious! Although they are spicy, they are not too spicy to be unbearable. They are really delicious."
Princess Lejia also drank a sip of tea with great satisfaction: "So stewed duck is made by putting all parts of the duck into the pot and stewing it. It's really delicious. No wonder Zhengzheng said she prepared some side dishes. These stewed ducks are great as snacks, not to mention side dishes."
Just then, a maid came to report that the person sent by Princess Lejia to fetch wine had returned.
Shen Huazheng asked the maids to take out the braised duck from the pot and put it in a large porcelain plate.
"Come on, let's go have a few drinks."
Princess Lejia and Zhou Ying both smiled: "Let's go!"
……
Just as Shen Huazheng said, braised duck is really suitable as a side dish for drinking.
The honey plum wine has been warmed up and tastes warm. It has the unique sour, sweet and refreshing taste of green plums, as well as the sweetness of honey.
Eat the spicy, fresh and tasty braised duck, and then take a sip of the sweet and sour honey plum wine. The refreshing aroma of the wine and the fresh fruity aroma slowly spread in your mouth, sweeping away the greasy feeling.
Even the lingering spicy feeling between my lips and teeth seemed to be diluted by the fragrant plum wine, and my whole body felt warm.
It's as comfortable as being in the warm sunshine of spring.
They didn't drink much, just a few drinks indeed.
I ate a lot of braised duck.
When Princess Lejia and Zhou Ying left the Shen Mansion, they were holding food boxes in their hands, which contained various braised duck dishes that Shen Huazheng had packed.
There are spicy and thirteen-spice flavors.
Seeing that Princess Lejia and Zhou Ying liked it, Shen Huazheng asked someone to pack some spicy and non-spicy dishes and asked them to take them back for their families to try.
*
When Shen Zhaonian was on duty, the sky outside was dark and his clothes were whistling in the wind.
He did not stay outside, but went straight back home in the carriage.
It's so cold today, it's more comfortable to go home and stay with my family.
Getting off the carriage, the cold wind blew on his face like a sharp blade. Shen Zhaonian unconsciously shrank his neck and quickened his pace.
As soon as he arrived outside the yard, he heard cheerful voices inside.
"Zheng'er, you are amazing. This duck neck is so delicious."
“The duck wings are delicious too!!”
"And this duck paw is absolutely amazing."
"You eat a piece of spicy duck gizzard and take a big sip of bubble milk tea, it tastes even better."
"As long as you like it, I'll do more next time."
The words in the room fell into Shen Zhaonian's ears, and instantly shocked him. Two thoughts suddenly popped up in his mind.
The first is that Zheng'er has made new food. It seems to be related to ducks.
The second thing is that these bad boys at home actually ate alone behind his back.
At this moment, the aroma of duck meat mixed with spicy flavor wafted over from the direction of the house, and without hesitation got into his nose, cunningly hooking the glutton hidden in his stomach.
Shen Zhaonian couldn't help swallowing and took a few steps into the house.
As soon as he entered the house, he found that everyone else in the house was there except him.
"Dad, you're back. Come and try the braised duck I just made."
Seeing Shen Zhaonian coming back, Shen Huazheng immediately invited him to join the food tasting.
"Okay, okay, Daddy will be here soon."
Shen Zhaonian smiled kindly at Shen Huazheng, instantly putting aside his previous dissatisfaction, quickly washed his hands and sat down at the table.
Shen Huazheng picked up a duck paw with the serving chopsticks and said, "Dad, try the duck paw."
"it is good."
Shen Zhaonian nodded, picked up the duck's paw and took a light bite.
The duck feet are boneless, so it is not difficult to bite. When you take a bite, it is full of duck foot meat and soft crispy bones.
The spicy marinade fully soaked the duck's feet inside and out, domineeringly covering up the original fishy smell of the duck's feet.
The duck feet are thick and have gelatinous texture. They are soft, tender, elastic and chewy.
While chewing, a "crunching" sound is heard in the mouth, which is quite interesting.
Before I finished eating the whole duck feet, the spicy taste began to take effect, surging up layer by layer.
The spicy feeling brings a slight stimulation to the tip of the tongue, but it is not so spicy that it is unbearable, causing tears to flow, or causing stomach discomfort.
Shen Keheng servilely poured Shen Zhaonian a cup of milk tea, "Dad, if you drink this, you won't feel the spiciness."
Drinking milk tea can relieve the spiciness. Just now, he was very spicy from the duck feet, and only after drinking milk tea did he feel better.
"Hmm," Shen Zhaonian picked up the milk tea and took a sip. Sure enough, the spiciness in his mouth was stopped.
He looked at Shen Keheng with satisfaction. He always thought that the youngest son was the most unreasonable among the three sons. Unexpectedly, he became considerate now.
In this way, Shen Zhaonian ate a few bites of duck feet and drank a sip of milk tea, enjoying the meal very much.
After eating two duck feet, his appetite was instantly whetted.
Shen Zhaonian picked up another duck wing. If the duck paw meat was springy and chewy, then the duck wing had a completely different taste.
The meat on the duck wings is very firm, with the outer skin tightly attached to the tender meat inside. There is not a single bit of fat under the skin, only lean meat.
Like duck feet, duck wings are also braised to perfection.
The meaty aroma and spicy flavor of the duck meat blend together, and the more you chew it, the more delicious it becomes, and the more addictive it becomes.
Shen Zhaonian ate all the meat stuck to the two duck bones without wasting any.
This stuff is so delicious!!
Zhou and Shen Huazheng sat together, drinking caramel pudding milk tea elegantly and chatting about random things. The family was having a great time.
Shen Huazheng prefers duck necks to duck wings and duck feet.
She picked up a duck neck and put it in her mouth.
As soon as the duck neck enters the mouth, it stimulates the taste buds to secrete more saliva to relieve the spicy taste in the mouth.
The meat on the duck neck is very firm, and the marinade hidden in the bones mixed with the flavor of meat spreads in the mouth, mixed with a spicy taste.
The rich aroma of duck meat and the spicy taste continue to spread in the mouth, and a slight burning sensation also spreads, making the tongue a little numb.
At this time, it is really refreshing to take a sip of sweet caramel pudding milk tea.
Shen Zhaonian and Shen Huazheng enjoyed the meal very much, and the three brothers Shen Keting, Shen Keheng and Shen Kesi were also not idle.
The three of them didn't say anything and just focused on eating.
As Shen Keheng devoured the braised duck, he said to Shen Huazheng, "Zheng'er, do you still have spicy duck gizzards and duck hearts? Can my second brother and I take some to the Imperial College tomorrow? Eating one or two during breaks should help to relieve fatigue."
In fact, if possible, he would like to take some of these braised ducks with him.
It’s just that duck necks and duck wings are a bit difficult to eat, and not very convenient to eat during breaks.
As a second choice, we chose duck gizzards and duck hearts which can be eaten without removing the bones.
Shen Kesi was slightly stunned, but did not say anything. He just followed Shen Keheng and looked at Shen Huazheng.
I have to say, although what Shen Keheng said didn't sound very reliable, it was a good idea.
If you can chew one or two duck gizzards or duck hearts when you feel tired, you will definitely feel much more energetic.
Shen Huazheng took a sip of milk tea: "Of course, I have braised a lot. There is a big pot in the kitchen."
As soon as she finished speaking, the voices of Shen Zhaonian and Shen Keting rang out at the same time -
"Zheng'er, Daddy also wants duck gizzards and duck hearts."
"Zheng'er, bring some for big brother tomorrow."
Shen Huazheng agreed readily: "Okay, I'll tell you in a moment."
While gnawing on duck wings, Zhou looked at her husband and sons with some disdain.
These sons are so greedy, just like their father.
Thinking of this, she looked at Shen Huazheng again with a gentle expression.
Fortunately, my daughter is like her, that's why she is so outstanding.
Shen Zhaonian and his brothers Shen Keting were so happy when they thought that they would have braised duck to eat when they arrived at the government office/Imperial College tomorrow.
They thanked Shen Huazheng cheerfully, and then happily ate the braised duck in front of them.
It was cold outside, but the house was warm.
The whole family gathered together, eating duck and drinking milk tea to relieve the spiciness. It was such a joy.
……
Everyone in the Shen Mansion had a smile on their face, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
Emperor Jingning, who was deep in the palace, was in a good mood and even a little excited.
He looked at the large basket of potatoes still covered in dirt in front of him and was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
At the beginning, he summoned Shen Huazheng into the palace, and the two had a detailed discussion on potato planting.
Emperor Jingning specially found a royal hot spring resort and built a greenhouse in the resort, imitating Shen Huazheng's method of growing greenhouse vegetables.
Most of it is used to grow potatoes, and a small part of the remaining is used to grow vegetables.
Emperor Jingning has been paying attention to the news from the hot spring villa. As all kinds of vegetables in the greenhouse have a bumper harvest, he is more and more confident that potatoes can be mass-produced.
Today, someone finally brought him some great news: the potato cultivation plan was successful.
The potatoes in the greenhouse have been planted!!
An Desheng offered the teacup at the right time: "Your Majesty, please have some tea."
Emperor Jingning took the teacup and took two sips.
He put down the teacup, his smile growing even stronger: "The girl from the Shen family has made great contributions this time, and it is time to reward her. And the Grand Tutor's youngest son Zhou Cheng'an will also be rewarded."
Andersen was still waiting there with a smile on his face, but he didn't say anything.
He knew that Emperor Jingning had already decided what rewards to give to Shen Huazheng and Zhou Cheng'an.
Maybe it won’t be long before someone goes to announce the decree.
Thinking back on the series of things that Lady Yinghua had done after she regained consciousness, Andersen couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The Empress Dowager is right, this Princess Yinghua is indeed favored by God and is blessed.
Even the people around you can benefit from it.