Mrs. Jiang stared intently, her eyes were slightly red when she looked carefully, but when she looked again, she was only serious.
"It's been more than half an hour now, and there's still no movement from the two houses?" She said in a deep voice.
Tan Yue said anxiously, "The second master is busy with official duties. The eldest son and the second master have not finished school in the Imperial College. The second wife has taken the fourth young lady for an outing. The third young lady has burned her hand. The madam has just called the government doctor..."
Therefore, the Jiang family's legitimate daughter returned home for nearly an hour, but she did not see the second Jiang family member.
OK, OK, OK.
Mrs. Jiang was so angry that she laughed back, "If you don't see me, just disappear. It's not for them that you returned home."
After that, he asked the big kitchen to remove all the fancy dishes, leaving only the solid meat dishes.
Turning around, she was a kind and kind old lady again, watching her granddaughter play on the swing with a smile.
But not long after, the swing stopped.
Mrs. Jiang was a little surprised, "Why don't you play anymore? It's not dinner time yet, let's play some more."
"No, no, no." Jiang Sheng waved his hand, "I'll be happy after playing for a while."
A person must be content. No one else can touch such a beautiful swing. She can play with it for so long, and she is very satisfied.
"Besides, you can't just leave grandma dry." The little girl opened her beautiful round eyes. "You are getting older and you have to find a place to rest. You can't just stand there all the time."
With so many people in the house, only Tan Yue could say this before.
Now there is another Jiang Sheng.
Mrs. Jiang couldn't explain the ups and downs in her heart, but now she just wanted to laugh and hold her fleshy little hand again, "Okay, let's go eat."
The chefs in the large kitchen are very quick, and there are really no fancy presentations. They are full of meat and vegetables served like running water.
Pork, beef, mutton and chicken, served hot or cold, stir-fried and braised, there are forty-nine dishes in a row, perfectly covering all the tabletops, leaving only the outer ring for the plates.
Jiang Sheng was shocked again.
The food usually served in Erjin Xiaoyuan is quite rich, taking into account Xu Mo’s favorite vegetables, Zheng Ruqian’s favorite fish, Fang Heng’s favorite stir-fries, Wen Zhiyun’s favorite sweets, and Chang Yan’s favorite salty soups. , Jiang Sheng likes to eat big elbows, but it will not exceed eight dishes.
Aunt Zhang has a frugal temperament and is unwilling to give leftovers to her children, so she can only try to keep as little leftovers as possible. She also does not forget to throw them to stray cats and dogs at the door, and occasionally uses them to help the poor if they are good-looking.
Now in the Jiang family, there are only two masters eating, but a total of forty-nine dishes are served.
"Old madam, girl, there are still a few stews that are not yet cooked. I will serve them to you later." Tan Yue smiled beside her.
There are actually more than forty-nine ways.
Jiang Sheng felt like his heart was about to be torn apart. One moment he was greedy for the smell of meat, and the next moment he felt so sinful and wasted.
There is also a feeling of guilt about eating secretly behind the back of my brothers.
"Let's try the braised mutton with skin." Mrs. Jiang motioned for Tan Yue to put it on Jiang Sheng's plate, "I heard Siqing say that you like to eat mutton, and I always wanted to give you some, but I was afraid of disturbing you. Your peace."
The skin-on lamb has been tumbling in a casserole for half an hour. It is braised until the skin and meat are crispy but still intact. The various seasonings have removed the fishy smell of the lamb. Now it is lying on a white dinner plate, which is like a night away. The sleeping girl Goulan stretched out her hand in an alluring manner, "Come on, come and eat me."
Jiang Sheng wailed in his heart, I'm sorry, fourth brother, fifth brother.
She quickly but steadily picked up the chopsticks, held them firmly in full view of everyone, stuffed them into her mouth, and chewed them happily.
The mutton, with the mutton removed, tastes tender and crispy, and the outer skin has a slight chewy texture. After a few more bites, it will completely fall apart.
The skin is wrapped in the meat, which is mixed with tendons and has a spicy and spicy taste. With a "gudong" sound, it is submerged in the esophagus and finally sacrificed in the stomach pouch.
Jiang Sheng still had more to say and pursed his lips.
With quick eyes and quick hands, Tan Yue picked up another chopstick and was eaten, then picked up again, and eaten again.
This little girl has an unfathomable appetite.
Mrs. Jiang was smiling beside her, "Don't just eat this dish, try something else."
"This is stir-fried young lamb, rolled into pancakes and sprinkled with crispy pancakes. It has a rich flavor."
"These are sweet and sour fried pork slices, wrapped with some shredded green onions. The green onions are sweet and not spicy, so you can eat them without worry."
Tan Yue discovered that the girl had a really good appetite and would eat whatever was given to her, so she started to get busy and walked around the table.
By the time Jiang Sheng put down her chopsticks, the usually pampered maid was already sweating.
"Are you full?" Mrs. Jiang asked with a smile.
Jiang Sheng nodded and touched his slightly bulging belly, "Grandma, you should eat too. So much food will be wasted if you don't eat it."
Including the next three dishes, there were fifty-two dishes in total. She started eating and only managed to eat a tenth of them.
Thinking about having to throw it away in the end, she felt a little reluctant and a little sad.
"It won't be wasted." Madam Jiang could probably guess what she was thinking, "Tan Yue also wants to eat, and the maids and servants will all get a few bites."
This can be regarded as an unwritten rule in a wealthy family: the leftovers eaten by the master are shared among the maids and servants.
Jiang Sheng's expression suddenly shrank.
"Girl, are you reluctant to part with it?" Tan Yue chuckled, "No one in our Fengjing family has ever eaten leftovers. If girl still wants to eat, just let the big kitchen cook it."
"That's not it." Jiang Sheng sighed, "I knew that the food for maids in wealthy families was good, but I didn't expect that they could even eat mutton and beef. If I had a household registration, I would have sold myself as a maid."
Being a maid is good, with a fixed job, a fixed monthly salary, eating meat every day, and rewards of gold and silver jewelry.
It's a pity that beggars without household registration can't do any work or sell themselves. They can only steal and grab some to survive.
Fortunately, she now has a household registration, a family, and mutton to eat.
Jiang Sheng was in high spirits. He turned around and saw Tan Yue with red eyes and Mrs. Jiang with a solemn expression.
She realized that she had said the wrong thing and quickly added, "I'm doing well now. I'm much better than the maid. My eldest brother also registered me as a householder and I can eat meat every day."
You can also make money and even send money to others.
But before she could say these words, Mrs. Jiang took her into her arms and hugged her tightly.
Speaking of which, Jiang Sheng had never hugged others.
Most of the time, she would get excited with her second brother, or she would lean into her elder brother's arms for a while due to motion sickness. Aunt Zhang would hug her when she cried occasionally, but not as hard as this time, as if she wanted to rub her into her bones and blood.
Jiang Sheng struggled for a while, but didn't move and simply calmed down.
It was also at this moment that she heard the beating of her grandmother's heart and smelled the reassuring smell. There was a hand caressing her back, like it was beating, with a strange rhythm.
Jiang Sheng's eyelids started to twitch. She would easily get sleepy after eating, but she fell into this warm and reassuring embrace, and she quickly fell asleep.
In the dream, she was wrapped in swaddling clothes, unable to speak, and could only cry with her mouth open.
Every time she cries twice, a black-haired woman will come over, humming a song and patting the baby rhythmically, "My dear, be good, eat well, sleep well, grandma is here, don't cry."
Just like now.
