The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Chapter 1871 The Chef

With a loud bang, the door slammed shut!

Mi Tun looked at the bundle of scallions and sighed, "I also want to go into the kitchen and do some noodle work, but no one is peeling these scallions. They're treating me like a general helper!" As he spoke, the two general helpers in the kitchen hurriedly came out and went to the storage room next door to get ingredients. When they came out, they were each carrying two baskets of vegetables!

Big Eyes stared in disbelief. "How many dishes are going to be made? Didn't the prince say he would only make one table?" Big Eyes thought to himself, "They really don't listen to orders."

Mi Tun was sensible: "Cooking for the Emperor is no joke. If the Prince says it's one table, then our kitchen has to prepare two or three tables. It's always better to prepare more than less!"

Big Eyes, seemingly understanding but not quite, went to the door and laboriously carried the bundle of scallions, which was taller than him, to the stone table. He silently began to peel them, and showed two thick, white scallions with dark green leaves still attached to their tips to Mi Tun. "Mi Tun, do you think I peeled these scallions well?"

Big Eyes was thinking, if they throw away fish if they don't clean it properly, then they'll probably throw away scallions if they don't peel them properly too! So he decided to ask Rice Dumpling after peeling two scallions!

Mi Tun was happy to see someone helping him peel the scallions, since peeling scallions was a trivial task that didn't matter to anyone. So he said to Da Yan, "I have to say, you peeled these scallions quite well!"

Being a year older means being more shrewd, and besides, Mi Tun was four years older than Da Yan. With just a few words, he easily cheered up Da Yan, who had just looked dejected. And now, Da Yan, having gained recognition and found a new job, was grinning widely again after Mi Tun's words of praise!

While Mi Tun was cleaning fish, Da Yan was happily peeling scallions one by one at the stone table. He was patient and tireless, determined to peel all the scallions in front of him.

In the kitchen, everyone was doing their jobs. The three chefs worked together to create a menu. When the menu was presented to Cheng Feng for his review, Cheng Feng was speechless. "So you didn't listen to a word I said earlier. It's already this late, the sun has set, and it'll be dark in a little while. You've created such a long menu; are you planning to work until midnight? Aren't you afraid the Emperor will faint from hunger?"

The head chef, surnamed Liu, straightened his white hat and realized that the prince truly didn't understand the intricacies of their cooking. So he explained, "Your Highness, you don't know this, but it takes us about the same amount of time to cook one dish as it does to cook ten!"

"How is this possible?" Cheng Feng thought the chef was trying to fool him!

Chef Liu was not ashamed; the prince would know once the dishes were ready. "Your Highness, you can watch from here if you don't believe me!"

Cheng Feng really had no intention of leaving. The people in the kitchen were already busy in an orderly manner, and there was no one idle to help Shang tide. Even Yu Hua was preparing ingredients for frying fish.

Zuo Youcheng was also worried about Shang tide's cooking. He figured he could help Shang Xi oversee the process, tasting the food first. If it was good, he'd serve it; if not, he'd put it away so the Emperor wouldn't get to eat it. After all, these chefs were there to back it up!

Thinking about this, Cheng Feng figured it wouldn't be a bad thing for the chefs to cook a few more dishes, so he gave up trying to dissuade them. "Just do what you think is best! But make sure the food is ready quickly. You don't need to make everything on the menu, just enough for one table. Go get busy!"

This kitchen was under Chef Liu's jurisdiction. Seeing that Cheng Feng didn't intend to leave, he asked thoughtfully, "Your Highness, you're not really not leaving, are you? Are you really going to stay here and supervise the construction? Isn't the Emperor in our palace? Don't you need to stay with him?"

"What am I supervising? Do you think I'm that free to leave the Emperor aside and watch you all frying, stir-frying, and cooking, showing off your skills? Isn't this just your princess showing off her skills again?" Cheng Feng's tone was helpless!

"Can His Majesty eat the dishes prepared by the Princess Consort?" The chef's questioning words carried a hint of disapproval of Shang tide!

Shang tide, who was selecting ingredients, overheard this. "Chef Liu, you're prejudiced against me! My cooking may be simple home-style dishes, but compared to your elaborately prepared dishes, they have a unique flavor! Besides, haven't you all tried my food? You all raved about it. I remember you all fought over my food, there wasn't enough to go around! To be honest, my cooking is quite good. Today I'm making braised fish, mushroom chicken, and a mushroom soup—all my specialties. If any of you haven't eaten yet, I'll make some extra to make you all drool-worthy!"

Chef Liu was stunned by Shang Xi's words. Their eagerness to eat didn't mean the food was delicious; it was out of respect for the Princess. The Princess had failed twice trying to cook that fish, yet even a half-baked cook like Mi Tun could easily cook a fish that far surpassed her skill level. And the Princess even claimed her cooking was remarkable! That's incredibly confident!

The Emperor was still waiting there hungry for his meal, and the head chef, not daring to delay, hurriedly said, "Your Highness, there's no need to bring our food. Although everyone really wants to eat the food Your Highness has prepared, it's a pity we've already eaten!"

The chef turned and went about his business, secretly pleased that everyone had already eaten.

Shang Xi had no one she could rely on, so she had no choice but to order Cheng Feng around, "Cheng Feng, you'll be in charge of the fire later!"

Cheng Feng said, "Don't worry! I'm here to start the fire for you! Just stir-fry as much as you want! Shall we start the fire now?"

Wait a minute, I haven't prepared all my ingredients yet, I don't have chicken, fish, or mushrooms!

So all Shang tide did was hold a piece of ginger! Meanwhile, the other side of the cutting board already had a whole bunch of vegetables chopped up!

Cheng Feng didn't dare say anything, "Then what can I do for you?"

Shang tide said calmly, "No rush, let's follow the rules!"

Clearly, this person had no clue, or rather, made no progress whatsoever; he couldn't see any of the Cheng Feng mentioned by Shang Xi.

"Honey, shall I go outside and check if the chicken and fish are ready?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Mi Tun came in carrying a copper basin. "Your Highness and Your Highness's Consort, the fish are here, and the chicken is being plucked; it will be ready soon."

Shang tide asked Mi Tun, "Where are the mushrooms?"

"It's on that shelf over there!"

"Where are the green onions?"

"Outside, Big Eyes is peeling them..." Before he could finish speaking, Mi Tun was called away by his master, who told him to prepare carrots! Mi Tun responded, grabbed a basket, and ran off to the storage room next door to choose carrots suitable for carving!

Shang tide had no choice but to find a basin at random, fill half a basin with fresh mushrooms from the basket on the shelf, and go outside. "Big Eyes, give me a scallion, and help me cut off the roots of these mushrooms later!"

As Da Yan took the mushrooms, she handed Shang tide a peeled scallion and exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, these mushrooms are so fresh!"