Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 540: Homemade Recipes for Fools

Shen Yu couldn't help but feel nervous after listening to this. He was just going to teach him how to make noodles, but the emperor sent a general to be his deputy. He acted like he was going to train soldiers and even brought out military law. Are the soldiers so difficult to teach?

The emperor saw Shen Yu's nervous expression and explained, "Don't be nervous, Miss Shen. The soldiers are all men, and there has never been a woman serving as a coach in the camp."

"They are used to speaking rudely and not paying attention to details. They only respect generals who have military merits and abilities, so let General Zhou follow you to restrain them."

"Just rest assured, Professor. If there are any disobedient or lazy ones, General Zhou will help you deal with them."

Shen Yu finally understood the emperor's intention and knelt down to express her gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will teach the soldiers how to make noodles as soon as possible so that General Zheng and his men can have a good meal sooner."

The emperor nodded with satisfaction and said, "Get up, the two of you go to the Government Affairs Hall to discuss the preparations for the professor on your own."

The two men bowed and left the hall. General Zhou took Shen Yu to the government hall where ministers handled daily government affairs, and discussed preparations for tomorrow's class with Shen Yu.

Shen Yu wrote down the ingredients and utensils needed on a piece of paper according to what he had thought after returning to Yanyu Pavilion yesterday. He also agreed with General Zhou on the time and place for daily pick-up.

Shen Yu discovered that although General Zhou looked rough, he was actually very careful and not sloppy when doing things.

As for General Zhou, the emperor suddenly sent someone to arrest him early in the morning and put him in charge of this matter.

I thought the emperor was looking for two pastry chefs in the imperial kitchen, but I didn't expect that the emperor would send a young girl to teach how to make noodles. I was surprised and curious.

After dealing with Shen Yu at this time, I felt that although this young cook was young, she had some skills.

She was different from the cooks in the imperial kitchen. She spoke clearly, could write, was organized, and had a gentle temper, making people who interacted with her feel like they were in spring breeze.

When General Zhou saw that the items listed by Miss Shen were all common things, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After the two men had discussed it, General Zhou called the eunuch who had been waiting outside and asked him to send Miss Shen back to the Empress Dowager's Kangning Palace. He then hurried back to select soldiers for training and prepare food and utensils.

After Shen Yu returned to Kangning Palace, he reported the matter to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother asked about the Emperor's plan, then shook her head and said, "It is more important to teach the soldiers how to make pasta as soon as possible."

"The sooner you learn it, the sooner you can go south."

"During the time when I'm teaching, you don't have to prepare my meals. You can teach in the morning as well. This way the soldiers can learn faster."

"If you have some free time, just write a lighter menu for the cook in the small kitchen and ask them to follow it."

"I'll ask Zhenniang to go and tell the emperor to send someone to inform General Zhou that you should start teaching at the camp tomorrow morning."

Seeing that the empress dowager's spirits and appetite had improved a lot in the past two days, Shen Yu felt that this would indeed make teaching more efficient, so he quickly agreed.

When he was about to go to the small kitchen, he wrote out a menu and gave it to Chef Liu.

At lunch, Shen Yu prepared a dish of sweet and delicious chicken sauce wontons for the Queen Mother.

She wrapped the wontons and placed them on a wooden tray to dry. Seeing that it was not yet lunch time, she took this free time to talk to Chef Liu about the Queen Mother's arrangements.

They asked for paper and pen, discussed with Chef Liu, and selected the lighter dishes they knew how to cook and made a menu.

Chef Liu hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Miss Shen, we chefs make a living by cooking these dishes."

"You taught them like this, but you don't want them to become your disciples. Isn't that breaking the rules?"

After Shen Yu returned yesterday, he had already thought about this problem, so he said, "Chef Liu, the soldiers learned to make noodles not to open a shop to make money, nor to enter the palace to become imperial chefs, and it will not affect the interests of the chefs."

"They just want to allow the soldiers who are going to the south to suppress bandits to eat the food of their hometown. This is beneficial to both the people and the court, so it shouldn't be considered a violation of the rules."

Chef Liu was stunned, and looked at the other three chefs who were also listening attentively for the answer. A trace of guilt appeared on their faces, and they all stopped talking for a while.

After a while, Shen Yu finished writing the last dish and said with a smile: "I'll trouble Chef Liu for the next few days. In addition to the daily dishes, please make these extra dishes."

"Try to fry less, bake less, and cook more light and low-fat dishes."

Chef Liu hurriedly agreed. Shen Yu did not notice the expressions of the other chefs. Seeing that it was almost time, she hurried to cook the chicken sauce wontons with three fresh delicacies.

After the Queen Mother finished her lunch, Shen Yu also went back to the small kitchen to eat lunch, and then returned to the Yanyu Pavilion.

Shen Yu stayed in Yanyu Pavilion for the entire afternoon, rushing to write a recipe for a dozen home-cooked pasta dishes.

She specifically marked out the ratios of water and flour needed to make various pasta dishes, as well as the weight of salt, eggs and the like, all in great detail.

It also describes how to roll the dough, how to divide it into portions, how to wrap it, and even how long it takes to steam, bake, and boil it, and what kind of heat to use. The entire process is written in great detail.

In other words, even if you are a novice, as long as you strictly follow the amounts on the recipe and don't add or subtract ingredients on your own, you can make delicious pasta.

This is a fool-proof recipe that's perfect for home.

The next morning, Shen Yu had breakfast early, took the written menu, and asked the eunuch to lead the way to the Government Affairs Hall.

Sure enough, after not long, General Zhou came to pick him up.

The horse-drawn carriages used by the army are somewhat different from ordinary carriages. The entire carriage is much smaller, but the wheels are large and sturdy.

The carriage is not big and can only accommodate two people.

Shen Yu got on the carriage, and General Zhou rode his horse behind the carriage. The driver shouted and headed straight for the camp.

The camp was not far from the palace and it took about half an hour to get there.

The roads in the capital were smooth and the carriages ran steadily and fast. This was the first time that Shen Yu felt that he had ridden a carriage fast and without any bumps.

When they arrived at the camp, the carriage stopped directly at the gate of the courtyard where the camp's main kitchen was located.

After Shen Yu got off the car, he saw twenty soldiers like iron towers waiting there, looking at him with expectant and excited eyes.

The teaching process went extremely smoothly, and all twenty soldiers signed up to learn voluntarily.

General Zhou told them that after learning how to make pasta, some of them would go south to serve as cooks for General Zheng's army.

Some of them stayed behind to teach the new soldiers how to make pasta. Although they were still soldiers, by the time the next batch of soldiers learned to make pasta, they would be masters and their military rank would be promoted to the next level.