CHAPTER 239: CHAPTER 234 FRUGALITY

Zhao Hanzhang instructed the cook to chop the lamb ribs into pieces and prepare the ginger and spring onions.

She looked around and asked, "Is there no rice wine?"

The cook replied, "What kind of wine is that?"

Zhao Hanzhang turned and ran, "I’ll go borrow a jar of wine from Uncle."

Fu Tinghan kindly reminded her, "It’s better to ask Fifth Uncle."

Zhao Hanzhang thought that made sense, so she went to Zhao Ming’s house, specifically to find Fifth Uncle.

Zhao Song hadn’t seen Zhao Hanzhang for a long time. Upon seeing her, he smiled and asked, "When did you come back?"

"Came back today, Fifth Uncle. I got a new kitchen tool from Wushan and wanted to make you a few new dishes to taste."

Fifth Uncle wasn’t obsessed with food, but he was very pleased with Zhao Hanzhang’s considerate attitude towards him, so he agreed with a smile, "Sure, I’ll taste your new dishes tonight." "I have everything else, just missing one seasoning."

Zhao Song suddenly understood what his son felt, but he still gave Zhao Hanzhang face, "What is missing?"

"A good jar of wine is missing."

Zhao Song thought she wanted to drink, and laughed heartily, "I haven’t even got the dishes yet, and you’re already asking me for wine."

"No, the dishes need wine to remove any gamey taste and enhance the flavor."

Zhao Song became curious, "What kind of dishes are made this way?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "You’ll know once I’ve made it. I came to ask Uncle for a jar of wine. As you know, our family consists mostly of women and children, so we don’t really keep wine at home."

Zhao Song generously said, "I’ll give you a jar."

He had someone bring a jar of wine from the storage, and it was Zhao Ming’s cherished good wine.

Zhao Hanzhang opened it and sniffed, it smelled really nice.

She squinted in delight and said happily, "Uncle, just wait. I’ll have it sent over once I’ve finished cooking."

Bearing the wine, Zhao Hanzhang ran home.

Mrs. Wang couldn’t help but mumble, "Just for one dish, you had to borrow wine from others. This jar of wine is more expensive than the whole lamb..."

Zhao Hanzhang instructed the cook to sauté the ginger and spring onion with the wine until fragrant, then toss in the blanched lamb ribs to stir-fry before adding water to stew.

The air was filled with fragrance, and only then did Mrs. Wang and the cook notice the difference with the new cooking tool. Stir-frying, it’s so fragrant...

Once the lamb ribs were stewed, other dishes were almost ready too. Zhao Hanzhang then had the kitchen dredge up the lamb ribs and split them into two portions, one for braising, and one for sweet and sour.

"Use bean oil to stir-fry, it’s extremely fragrant." Zhao Hanzhang stood by directing, as the kitchen staff wielded a large ladle to stir-fry.

Zhao Erlang followed the aroma to come over, seeing his mother and sister-in-law both present, he immediately squeezed forward, "Sister, what smells so good?"

Zhao Hanzhang let him see.

Seeing the sweet and sour lamb ribs in the pot, Zhao Erlang gulped, "It smells so good, how is this made?"

"Stir-fried," Zhao Hanzhang said with a smile, "There’s a lot you can stir-fry. Didn’t the family sprout bean sprouts? Use some to stir-fry, it’s much better than blanching in water."

The cook immediately went to fetch bean sprouts.

Ever since Zhao Hanzhang had people grind bean powder mixed with wheat flour to eat, various bean products gradually spread from the county government’s residence to the outside, actually spreading from the old family residence.

Mrs. Wang knew her daughter worked hard, also knew she wanted her people under her governance to eat better. Seeing her busy taking care of preparing bean sprouts to eat in winter when there were no vegetables;

Lack of meat among common folks, so encourage eating more tofu and the like;

She took the initiative to spread the word, each time a new dish came out from the county government residence, she’d invite sisters-in-law and clan members over to eat. Going back and forth, more and more people sprouted bean sprouts, and now, it has basically become a dish each family prepares in the winter.

Anyway, it’s not difficult, even Mrs. Wang can sprout them.

The cook stir-fried the bean sprouts, and Zhao Hanzhang had people bring out food boxes, dividing each dish into halves, filling up two large food boxes completely, then handed them to Uncle Cheng, "You personally deliver these."

Uncle Cheng agreed, taking two guards to deliver them.

Zhao Ming was sitting at the dining table waiting to eat, but since his father didn’t speak, the servants didn’t even dare to serve the dishes.

He couldn’t help looking outside once more, still not seeing anyone, he couldn’t help but say, "Father, Hanzhang might have just said it..." You should just listen.

The rest of Zhao Ming’s sentence was not uttered under his father’s gaze.

"Third Lady is not such a person, isn’t it just delayed a bit? Will it starve you?"

Zhao Ming sighed, "Time is precious, son thinks after eating, he could still do other things."

"Then go do it now, come back to eat after you’ve finished."

Zhao Ming said nothing more, he could only sit there honestly, he was hungry, how could he have energy to work?

Just as Zhao Ming was about to empty his mind and enter a state of meditation, the steward led three people inside with a smile, "Sir, Eldest Young Master, Third Lady sent someone with dishes."

Uncle Cheng bowed and greeted, "Fifth Grandfather, our lady had us bring over new dishes."

Zhao Song’s eyes curved with a smile, and even gave Zhao Ming a self-satisfied glance, "Quickly, bring them up."

Uncle Cheng instructed the two guards to bring up the food boxes, he personally set each dish out.

The father and son immediately spotted those two new dishes, as they genuinely hadn’t seen them before.

The two households weren’t far from each other, and they had come by carriage, so the dishes were still steaming.

Zhao Song picked up a piece of braised lamb rib, "Did Third Lady make this?"

Uncle Cheng bowed, "Yes." With Third Lady’s instructions, the cook made it, so it’s as if Third Lady made it.

Zhao Song then put it in his mouth to eat.

Zhao Ming patiently waited, though the dish smelled really nice, the color was quite dark, so he kept an eye on his father’s expression.

Seeing his father’s eyes brighten a bit, and his chewing speed increase, he finally reached out to elegantly taste a piece of lamb rib.

Uncle Cheng introduced the preparation of several dishes.

He was there in the kitchen, so he knew how to talk about it to make the lords more appetized.

Finally, Uncle Cheng introduced the bean sprouts, "This bean sprout dish is also stir-fried, different from the usual blanched salads and soup dishes. According to the lady, this dish is crispier and tastier."

Zhao Song didn’t move to eat them, over time he ate so many bean sprouts to give Zhao Hanzhang face, he was tired of it, and didn’t want to eat anymore when seeing them.

Zhao Ming glanced at his father, took a chopstick of bean sprouts to taste, after a moment he raised his eyebrows and nodded, "That bean taste is gone."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Song paused and then went to pick them up, "Really?"

After tasting, Zhao Song was delighted, "This is good, explain how to make it too, when I get back, I’ll ask my mansion’s cook to try."

Zhao Ming had already put down the chopsticks, wiped his mouth and said, "Father, the key is not in the culinary skills, but in Hanzhang’s new kitchen tool."

He asked Uncle Cheng, "What is such a powerful kitchen tool?"

"It’s an iron wok," Uncle Cheng said, "It’s using an iron wok, so it rarely burns, and heats quickly, much better than stone pots."

Using an iron wok, that’s quite extravagant.

Zhao Ming slightly frowned, Zhao Song also felt it was extravagant, initially, he wanted to say something but swallowed it back, and waved his hand, "You may go back, I’m very happy today, and I appreciate her filial affection."

Uncle Cheng then bowed and left.

Zhao Song, while picking at the ribs, said, "This matter shouldn’t be widely publicized; Xiping County is still in the recovery phase, and we ought to be a bit frugal."

Zhao Ming agreed.