Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 29

“We’ve been learning cooking since we were young. Even if we don’t know too many dishes, we can still cook eighty to a hundred! Not to mention all of Suizhou, even in Shili Town alone, there isn’t a single dish we don’t know!”

“Yeah, has this woman gone mad wanting to earn money?”

With that last sarcastic remark came a round of laughter. A few kitchen maids tending the fires also looked at Ying Su with mocking eyes.

The shopkeeper cleared his throat and said to Ying Su, “Little madam, there’s an empty stove over there. Whatever ingredients you need, just take them from the kitchen.”

Ying Su’s lips curved faintly. She ignored the suspicious and mocking gazes around her, walked straight to the empty stove the middle-aged shopkeeper had pointed out, and efficiently washed the pot and ladle.

The cooks hadn’t expected her to really start working. They glanced at one another, then smirked, waiting to watch a joke unfold.

The shopkeeper’s eyes flickered with curiosity. Turning to the gawking cooks, he barked, “What are you staring at? Get back to work! Don’t delay the dishes for the customers out front!”

The cooks hastily returned to their stations, but every so often, their eyes strayed toward Ying Su. When they saw her pull a fish out of the wooden bucket she had brought with her, the cooks exchanged glances and sneered.

“So she’s planning to sell fish right here in our restaurant?”

“Steamed fish, fried fish, braised fish, fish soup, we can all do those. Little madam, don’t waste your energy!” One cook said loudly to Ying Su, laughing heartily afterward.

But his laughter soon froze on his lips. Not just him, every cook and maid in the kitchen stood dumbfounded, forgetting their tasks, staring at Ying Su.

She had picked up a knife and, with a clean strike, chopped off the fish head and tail. Immediately after, her knife blurred into a storm of flashing light. Only the glimmer of steel could be seen, not the blade itself, and yet on the chopping board appeared one after another, perfectly even, uniformly thin slices of raw fish.

One cook couldn’t help but swallow hard. “Th-this… knife… skills…”

“Even cooks in Tongzhou Prefecture couldn’t pull this off,” another muttered in disbelief.

For a moment, the kitchen fell into strange silence. No one dared look down on Ying Su anymore. Though they busied themselves with their own work, their eyes remained glued to her.

Before long, a waiter rushed in, urging for dishes. The cooks snapped back to reality and scrambled to stir-fry.

From the front hall came the impatient shouts of customers, “Waiter! Why are the dishes taking so long?”

“They’re coming, coming.” The waiter set plates on the table.

But as soon as the customers took a bite, they spat it out. “Are you trying to salt us to death?”

The waiter, looking completely innocent, apologized profusely and removed the dishes. But he remembered how the cooks had been staring at that little woman earlier, and he couldn’t help but wonder, ‘What on earth did she make that captivated them so much?’

Curious, he slipped back into the kitchen with the returned dishes. Even before he stepped inside, an intoxicating aroma wafted into his nose, nearly making him drool.

The cooks, too, stared fixedly at Ying Su’s wok, utterly dumbstruck. ‘What kind of method is this? Why does it smell so incredible?’

Although they’d been watching her the whole time, Ying Su’s movements had been far too fast for them to catch. Even the technique she used to slice the fish so evenly was a complete mystery.

Hearing the commotion, the shopkeeper entered from the front hall, just as Ying Su finished plating. The dish was bright and colorful, with a fragrance that made one’s mouth water. He couldn’t help but ask aloud, “Does anyone recognize what dish this little madam has made?”

The cooks muttered awkwardly, unable to answer. Finally, one blushing cook asked directly, “Little madam, what dish is this?”

“Boiled Fish Fillets.” Ying Su placed the dish before them. “Shopkeeper, everyone, you may taste it.”

A cook quickly handed chopsticks to the shopkeeper, who took the first bite. His eyes lit up instantly. He picked up another slice, chewed, and only after swallowing said, “Spicy and flavorful, tender, fresh, and smooth.”

Hearing his praise, the cooks couldn’t resist anymore. Each grabbed a piece, and their eyes widened in shock.

“Delicious,” one cook admitted sincerely.

Another, glancing at Ying Su, added, “The taste is refreshing, with a lingering sweetness after swallowing!”

Yet another couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “Little madam, whose tutelage did you learn such knife skills under?”

Ying Su smiled faintly. “Just practice makes perfect. I never studied under anyone.”

Knife skills? Heh. She had never learned any “culinary knife work.” What she practiced was for killing. If not for needing to intimidate them and make this dish stand out, she wouldn’t have shown off like this.

The shopkeeper immediately decided to send Ying Su’s Boiled Fish Fillets to the dining hall. The result was explosive, nine out of ten customers loved it. Even those who normally couldn’t tolerate spice praised it highly after trying.

“Little madam, please have some tea.” The shopkeeper placed a cup before Ying Su. By now, the two were seated in a private room, and his attitude toward her had completely changed.

“How much do you think this dish should be priced at?” He asked with a smile.

Ying Su took a sip of tea. Suddenly remembering something, she put the cup down and exclaimed, “Oh no, my fish—” She started to rise.

The shopkeeper quickly stopped her, smiling. “I’ll buy all of your fish. Let’s just discuss the price for this Boiled Fish Fillets instead.”

Ying Su set her cup back down, looking completely at ease. “Well, how could I impose like that?”

“There’s no imposition. The kitchen needs them anyway,” the shopkeeper said quickly, though inwardly thinking, ‘Madam, your face doesn’t show the slightest trace of embarrassment.’

Ying Su nodded with a smile. “Alright then! Since the shopkeeper is so supportive, I’ll return the favor. I won’t be unreasonable, this dish will cost you ten taels of silver. I’m not asking for a single coin more.” 

“Just the method for slicing the fish so evenly is worth that much. I’ll even throw in a way to remove the fishy odor. That’s a huge bargain for you. And one more thing, this Boiled Fish Fillets will be exclusive to your restaurant. I won’t sell it to anyone else!”

She had spoken so thoroughly that the shopkeeper had no room left to bargain.

He had planned to haggle, but hearing her words, he also felt he was making a huge profit. A unique dish like this could become the restaurant’s signature. And if her method for removing the fishy odor really worked, that was an enormous advantage. 

Smiling broadly, he nodded in agreement.