Chapter 14 Oil-splashed noodles (1)
Wen Mingtang followed Jiang Laosou and Zhang Caimai with his luggage on his back.
On the way there, Jiang Laosao talked to her about the treatment of the public kitchen in Dali Temple.
"The treatment of the public cooks in the yamen of all ministries in the capital is the same. The monthly salary is 500 Wen, and the monthly rest is two days. All the food and lodging are in the yamen."
Wen Mingtang knew that Zhao Sishan's errand for him to write a code for him would definitely not be bad, but he didn't expect it to be so generous. You must know that the monthly expenses of an ordinary family of three are only 800 Wen, and her 500 Wen is also included in the food and lodging. In this way, the monthly surplus is at least half of the wages.
Besides, this can be regarded as the position of the yamen. Unless the dynasty changes, the yamen of Dali Temple is not needed. Otherwise, there is no need to worry about such things as the owner running away and deducting wages.
It is a good job that is stable and includes room and board! Of course, considering that this is the public kitchen of the Yamen of Dali Temple, the word "stable" needs to be said separately.
A group of people chatted while walking, and it was already late when they reached the Yamen of Dali Temple.
After twilight, the officials of the various ministries in Chang'an City are already on duty. However, yamen like Dali Temple are really uncertain because of the case, and it is hard to say what is on duty at the moment.
When Wen Mingtang and others arrived at Dali Temple, the yamen of Dali Temple was brightly lit like daytime.
"Guess there's another case going on!" Jiang Laosao shook his head, said something casually, and led Wen Mingtang to the dining hall of the Houya.
The evening food in the dining hall has been withdrawn. At this time, there are no Dali Temple officials who eat, only a few handymen are chatting around a pile of fried melon seeds around the table.
Seeing Old Man Jiang suddenly leading a young lady in, the handymen were startled, stood up quickly, and called "Master Jiang" unevenly.
Although he is the head chef of the Guozijian public kitchen next door, he is also a "temporary in charge" at any rate.
Jiang Laosou nodded at them with a smile, and asked, "Where's Ji Caimai?"
"It's in the room!" A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl said crisply, "I'll call now!"
After finishing speaking, he ran out vigorously, and not long after, he brought a middle-aged man in his forties over.
When the middle-aged man saw Jiang Laosao, he cupped his fists and gave a salute, calling out, "Master Jiang!"
The old man Jiang nodded to him, pointed to Wen Mingtang beside him and introduced: "This is the new cook that the old man recruited for you at Dali Temple. She just came out of the palace. Her skills are very good. Praise!"
Ji Caimai was stunned for a moment when he heard that this was the new cook hired by Jiang Laosou, but when his eyes fell on Wen Mingtang's face and he took a closer look, his expression suddenly became subtle.
Wen Mingtang noticed the change in Ji Caimai's face, and knew that something was wrong.
Sure enough, Ji Caimai sneered the next moment, and said: "At that time, the chef Zhou was a close disciple of the main chef of Hongyun! In the end, not only the dishes were mediocre, but troubles were heard. If Lin Shaoqing hadn't taken action to kill If she is transferred away, it is not the Imperial College but our Dali Temple that the family members come to find!"
Wen Mingtang, who was listening to the conversation, couldn't help but smile wryly: I didn't expect that the Zhou cook in front would be such a disruptive person. There was already a mess here in Dali Temple.
This is really rude, but Jiang Laosao is not a shameless man when he is old. He immediately smiled and said: "Old Ji! Those students in our Imperial College are only thirteen or fourteen years old. Half-grown children, it’s fine if they can’t be masters! But you officials of Dali Temple are the youngest and weak, so how can you ask your family to come to your door? Besides, you Dali Temple’s public chef... tsk tsk,” said At this point, Old Man Jiang shook his head, winked at Ji Caimai, and said, "There are so many things to talk about, which one can compare with our Dali Temple?"
Implication: Don’t you know where the public chef of Dali Temple is?
"The position of the public chef has been vacant for more than half a year. It's hard to find one for you, so don't pick it!" Jiang Laosao said, reaching out to pat Ji Caimai on the shoulder, pointing at Wen Mingtang, and said, "Wen Xiao If the lady makes you dissatisfied, you can change it again! Whether you change twelve or thirteen, you will always be in the first place. You are like a horse, and the other yamen can't catch up with you. Up."
Ji Caimai: "..."
What Jiang Laosao said is really irrefutable. What's more, there is indeed a lack of staff in the public kitchen of Dali Temple.
So, after thinking about it, Ji Caimai finally nodded.
Then, without asking what Wen Mingtang is good at, Ji Caimai said: "At present, our public chef's lunch and evening meals are all cooked by the master. If there is no one who can cook the morning meals, Miss Wen can cook the morning meals?"
Three meals a day are divided into morning, lunch and evening meals. Among them, lunch and evening meals are "normal meals" for most cooks, and they can make the most tricks, while morning meals are not good. It has always been extremely difficult for Master Chaoshi to stand out and is the easiest to be ignored.
Ji Caimai arranged him in the seat of the chef as soon as he opened his mouth. If he said that he didn't mean to embarrass Wen Mingtang, who would believe it?
Wen Mingtang could notice these discords, but how could someone like Old Man Jiang not notice it?
He was a little guilty at first, so he arranged the good-looking little lady into a place where everyone avoided, like the public kitchen of Dali Temple. Now, seeing that Ji Caimai gave Wen Mingtang a blow, Jiang Laoshou hurriedly tried to stop him.
He said: "Miss Wen is very good at cooking green plum ribs. If you arrange her to sit at lunch or dinner, you can let her use her strengths."
When Na Ding Caimai talked to him, he specifically mentioned that Miss Wen's skill in making pork ribs with green plums is excellent, and it seems to be her specialty.
The new chef took office, and directly offered a special dish, so that she could quickly gain a foothold here.
Furthermore, although Zhang Caimai mentioned that if there is a vacancy for the yamen kitchen next to him, Miss Wen will be transferred out of the Dali Temple kitchen, but it is really uncertain when the yamen kitchen will be vacant.
What if we have to wait a year or so? It is always good to stand firm so as not to be picked on by those "many things" Dali Temple officials.
It's good that the clinker old man Jiang didn't help, but this help aroused Ji Caimai's displeasure even more. He looked at Wen Mingtang at the side with a half-smile, and said, "Master Jiang's words are wrong! Which yamen in this capital city?" Can the public chef still choose three meals? Get busy, don’t you have to cook all the three meals? If Mrs. Wen can’t cook the morning meal, why don’t you go to the restaurants outside to look for it? Some restaurants really know how to only serve lunch Who is the chef who eats or night eats!"
One sentence made Jiang Laoshou speechless: Although Ji Caimai's words are a bit harsh, they are also true. All the cooks in this public kitchen cook three meals a day. If Wen Mingtang really only cooks lunch or evening meals, it really doesn't make sense.
But this morning meal...it's really hard to shine!
Old man Jiang hesitated for a moment, then looked at Wen Mingtang: "Miss Wen, can you do this court food?"
Compared to his hesitation, girls are refreshing! Smiled at him, opened his mouth, and said in a crisp voice: "Do it!"
This straightforward response made the picky Ji Caimai raise his eyebrows, a little surprised. But thinking of that Zhou cook from before, her somewhat loose face sank again.
That week when the cook was new, she also looked so sharp and diligent. No or...Anyway, he didn't dare to trust this little lady casually!
(end of this chapter)