The ingredients in the kitchen had all been procured by the guards, a task arranged by Mrs. Ai’er. Yuan Jian Country knew about this but hadn’t paid it much mind.
It was just a bit of shopping, after all.
But now, he cared a great deal.
Jiang Qiuqiu had already entered the kitchen. Judging by its condition, it wasn’t used often. Despite that, the room was enormous.
The kitchen at Starry Sky Wander had already seed huge to Jiang Qiuqiu, but this place was even more extravagant. You could roll around for a good while before you made it from one end to the other and back.
Her admiration complete, she turned to the ingredients. The seasonings and side dishes she’d requested were in a refrigerator on the counter. When she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised. In addition to the lamb and the items from her list, the fridge was stocked with many other ingredients.
There was pork, beef, a few eggs, and even bamboo shoots and tofu... a whole variety of interesting ingredients, all of which were quite familiar to her.
’It’s almost noon—lunchti. Just making lamb soup would be too modest. I should prepare a full spread.’
’The beef would go well with carrots, and I can pan-fry the tofu to make a spicy dish. I’ll make scrambled eggs with tomatoes. The pork has a perfect balance of fat and lean at—it’s just right for a pork belly dish.’
’I can use the leftovers to stir-fry the bamboo shoots for so variety. And to top it all off, a steaming bowl of fragrant, lt-in-your-mouth lamb soup. Perfect.’
With her nu decided, Jiang Qiuqiu first found the rice and started a pot to cook.
Once the rice was cooking, she turned to the soup. They had bought half a lamb, and it was so large she couldn’t possibly use it all at once. Jiang Qiuqiu decided to use the at and bone from the leg for the soup.
The boning knife in the kitchen was exceptionally sharp. She held it with the blade angled slightly, piercing the lamb’s soft belly. Her movents were smooth and her cuts, clean and efficient. She quickly separated the portion she needed.
With the leg bone separated, she still needed to chop it into smaller pieces for the soup. Jiang Qiuqiu swapped the boning knife for a wide cleaver and brought it down with a powerful chop—
The blow only managed to leave a gash in the lamb bone.
Alternating between the cleaver and the boning knife, she separated the at from the bone, then subrged the pieces in cold water. Soaking helps draw out the impurities from the lamb.
She added a few hawthorn berries to the water. The two ingredients might seem completely unrelated, but when combined, the hawthorn’s unique tartness not only neutralized the gaminess of the lamb but would also lend a remarkable depth of flavor to the soup.
With that done, she began to prepare the other dishes.
She chopped everything first before starting to cook; it was more convenient that way.
But while this was convenient for her, Mr. Yuan, who was watching from the doorway, started to panic. "What is she doing?"
"I can see the young lady has impressive knife skills and strength, but as for cooking..."
"Is that supposed to be a dish or a soup in that pot?" Yuan Jian Country asked, looking utterly unnerved. "Doesn’t she even need to turn on the stove?"
"Is this so new thod you people have researched? Replenishing spiritual power by eating raw food?"
"Ai’er, don’t tell you’re here to punish on behalf of the Military Departnt because I haven’t been taking my Spirit Nourishing Liquid on ti," Yuan Jian Country said. His shock suddenly gave way to a look of dawning comprehension. "I see right through you! And you brought a young lady here on purpose, didn’t you? You figured I’d be too concerned with saving face in front of a pretty girl, right?"
"Thinking I’d eat this awful, horrifying stuff and be too polite to say anything? Is that it?" he asked, looking as if he’d cracked the entire conspiracy.
Mrs. Ai’er was left speechless.
She really hadn’t thought that far ahead.
"What on earth are you thinking?"
"I’m really just here to give you a change of pace," Mrs. Ai’er said, having absolutely no doubt about the quality of Jiang Qiuqiu’s food. "You could eat her cooking forever and never get tired of it."
"I don’t believe you!"
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