During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty , there was a restaurant in Yong'an County called Zuixianju. The owner of Zui Xian Ju is named Huang, and he is very kind. The guests affectionately call him Uncle Huang.
Yongan County is located close to the north and is an important border defense town. In recent years, due to the deterioration of relations, the Tatars from the north often go south to harass the border, causing the people to be forced into exile, and a small number of them will pass through Yong'an County when they flee.
These refugees were originally fleeing south, so they had very little property and many were forced to beg on the streets.
This year, many restaurants in the city refused to allow refugees to enter, but Uncle Huang couldn't bear it. He feels that those refugees are pitiful, and we should give them warmth and be conscientious.
So he made a decision that shocked the entire Yongan County restaurant. All refugees who could not afford to eat could come to Zuixianju to eat for free.
After hearing the news, refugees who had not enough to eat flocked to the place. After confirming that Uncle Huang really didn't take any money, they all knelt down to thank him for his help. And Uncle Huang did not dislike these refugees, and he warmly entertained them personally every time.
These refugees also understand that it is not easy for Uncle Huang, and helping them is entirely out of Uncle Huang's kindness, so what they want are some steamed buns, pickles and the like. Moreover, they are embarrassed to come again after coming two or three times.
But there is an exception among them. He is a Taoist priest . Every time he came in the evening when all the diners had dispersed, and every time he sat near the door. Every time he ordered a plate of peanuts, two taels of beef, and a pot of sorghum wine, and then left without even saying thank you.
After more than ten days of continuous visits, Mr. Huang’s wife finally couldn’t stand him anymore. After he left, he yelled: "Bah! Taoist priests come here every day to eat and drink. How shameless!" Often at this time, Mr. Huang would advise his wife not to be angry.
That evening, the Taoist priest arrived on time as usual, and still ordered a plate of peanuts, two taels of beef and a pot of sorghum wine. Uncle Huang's wife was already dissatisfied and deliberately slammed the plate on the table when serving him food.
Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest turned a blind eye to this behavior and continued to pour himself wine. At this time, Uncle Huang, who was settling accounts, sighed helplessly when he saw his wife's behavior. He then picked up a pot of wine, sat down in front of the Taoist priest, and started chatting with him.
Unexpectedly, before they had even chatted for a few words, the Taoist priest suddenly said to Uncle Huang: "I will be traveling around tomorrow. I am very grateful to Donor Huang for your charity to me this month."
Hearing this, Uncle Huang hurriedly said: "Why did the Taoist suddenly think of wandering, but I didn't entertain him well?"
The Taoist priest waved his hands, indicating that this was not the case, but he did not explain the reason for wandering, and instead asked Uncle Huang another question.
The Taoist priest asked: "Why did Master Huang help these refugees?"
Uncle Huang said: "They are poor people, living in a remote place. In peacetime, they could not live a good life. Now with the war, they are even more displaced. Although I am a businessman, I know that I am a human being first, and a person must have a conscience and a kind heart. ."
The Taoist priest first looked up to the sky and sighed: "Prosperity, the people are suffering. Death, the people are suffering!"
Then he said to Old Uncle Huang with satisfaction: "In the past month, I have seen you doing good things every day. I guess you are a person who cares about the people and has great compassion. Today I will give you a recipe, which contains a dish for the royal palace. , I hope you can save more people with this dish. "
Uncle Huang took the recipe book with both hands. He did not read it immediately, but clasped his fists at the Taoist priest and said, "Thank you, Taoist Priest, for giving me the book. I wonder if I can tell you the name of the Taoist Priest. I want all the people who were saved to be grateful to the Taoist Priest." "
The Taoist priest shook his head and said: "I just want to be an idle cloud and wild crane, and I don't care about those false names. However, I know the donor well, so I can tell him his surname. Pindao's surname is Zhu. "
" surnamed Zhu? "Uncle Wang lowered his head and thought secretly in his heart. Suddenly he looked up as if he thought of something, only to see that the Taoist priest had disappeared.
At this time, his wife also came over and asked about the origin of the Taoist priest. Uncle Wang did not explain, but just murmured: "The Taoist priest is definitely not a thing in the pond." After saying that, he bowed three times towards the door.
Since then, Zuixianju has launched a new dish called Pearl Jade White Jade Soup.
This pearl emerald white jade soup uses extremely simple ingredients, just tofu, cabbage and other simple ingredients. Although this dish looks simple, it tastes extremely delicious, and everyone who has tried it will never come back.
One of the strange things that happened made Pearl Jade White Jade Soup famous far and wide. It turns out that the old mother of the county governor has been suffering from eye diseases for many years and has long been blind. After accidentally eating a bowl of pearl, emerald and white jade soup, her eyes could see blurryly. She ate it several times in succession. Unexpectedly, her eyes, which had been blind for many years, completely recovered.
The old lady told everyone about the miraculous effects of this Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. With the personal promotion of the old mother of the county governor, even the dignitaries of Yong'an County wanted to have a taste of this Pearl Jade White Jade Soup.
As a result, the pearl pink jade white jade soup became popular throughout Yong'an County. During this period, there were many dignitaries such as the county magistrate who wanted to invite Uncle Huang to come and be a chef and promised a very high reward, but he declined. It's not that Mr. Huang is arrogant and doesn't like these conditions, it's just that he is afraid that if he doesn't open the restaurant, the refugees will no longer have a hot meal to eat.
The Pearl Jade White Jade Soup became famous, and diners from all over the world flocked to Zuixianju. Uncle Huang was getting too old and too busy, so he hired two waiters and trained them as disciples. Uncle Huang personally named them, one was Yongfu and the other was Yongshun.
Yongfu is a refugee. Once he was so hungry that he came to Zuixianju to ask for some food. Unlike other refugees who ate as soon as they got the food, when he got the food, he first expressed his gratitude to Uncle Huang, and then squatted in the corner with the food to eat. When Uncle Huang asked him to come to the table, he said that since he was a refugee, serving food at the table might affect Uncle Huang's business.
Yongfu did not leave immediately after eating. He saw that Uncle Huang and his wife were a little busy, so he took the initiative to clean up the leftovers left by the guests. When Uncle Huang asked him why he did this.
He just touched his head and said with a simple smile: "My mother once told me that a man is upright and cannot take other people's things for nothing."
Uncle Huang looked at the simple boy in front of him, his heart suddenly warmed, and he accepted him immediately.
As for another guy, Yongshun, he claimed to be a native of Yongan County. That day, he approached Uncle Huang and expressed that he wanted to be a waiter. Uncle Huang just looked at him twice and agreed without asking anything.
With the participation of Yongfu Yongshun, Zuixianju's business has become more prosperous. From day to night, Zuixianju is full of seats. After becoming prosperous, Mr. Huang did not forget his original intention and still provided free food to the refugees.
Yongfu is very diligent. He gets up early every day to help his wife prepare the ingredients for the day, and then cleans the entire Zuixianju. However, he is not very smart and it often takes several days to learn a dish. Yongshun has a very flexible mind and often helps Mr. Huang manage accounts. He is also very talented in cooking and can often learn a new dish after just one look.
The two seem to be two very different types of people, but they have one thing in common, that is, they both like Uncle Huang's daughter Pearl. Yes, Uncle Huang has a daughter who is a few years younger than Yongfu Yongshun, so the two of them often play with Pearl.
Yongshun has a bright mind, so he can often change his tricks to make Pearl happy, but Yongfu is very honest and stupid, and often blushes when talking to Pearl, as if he is a big girl. Pearl is an innocent little girl, she giggles every day when she is with them, and has no idea what they think of her.
The usually serious wife couldn't help but show joy when she saw her daughter smiling so happily every day. She said to Uncle Huang: "I think the two boys Yongfu and Yongshun are good. Yongfu is down-to-earth and Yongshun is smart. She will feel confident no matter which one her daughter marries in the future."At this time, the usually amiable Uncle Huang showed an expression of displeasure and said, "What do you know, you woman? Don't mention this irrelevant matter in the future."
The wife was very disdainful. She was someone who had come before. She knew what Yongfu and Yongshun were thinking when she saw the two boys. However, she did not refute Uncle Huang face to face. She only thought that Uncle Huang did not want Pearl to marry too early.
Spring, summer and autumn are coming, and Yongfu Yongshun has been here in Zuixianju for almost three years without knowing it. Uncle Huang has taught all his skills to the two of them, except for the pearl emerald cabbage soup.
Yongfu didn't care about this, because he felt that Uncle Huang had been kind to him when he took him in and trained him, and he no longer dared to expect the master to teach him his famous dish.
But Yongshun doesn't think so. He has always been full of desire for this famous dish. But in the past three years, Uncle Huang has not taught him how to make the Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. In fact, every time Uncle Huang makes the Pearl Jade White Jade Soup, he locks himself in the kitchen and cooks it alone. Even his wife cannot get close to him.
And Yongshun has been secretly learning. He often climbs to the roof to peek. It has only been three years. He has only secretly learned the ingredients used in Pearl Jade White Jade Soup, but he has no idea about the stir-frying techniques.
Just when Yongshun thought that he could no longer learn that famous dish through conventional methods, an opportunity came to his door.
It turns out that Lu Yuanwai's father died of illness a few days ago. Lu Yuanwai planned to invite Uncle Huang to host the funeral banquet, and asked for the Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. Because this soup was Mr. Lu's favorite drink before his death, the Lu family was also the most sincere and frequent family that wanted to invite Mr. Huang to come to the house as a chef.
After learning that Mr. Lu passed away due to illness, Teacher Huang immediately agreed. Just one day before the banquet, Uncle Huang suddenly fell ill.
In order not to delay the funeral banquet, that evening, Uncle Huang summoned two apprentices, Yongfu and Yongshun, to the kitchen. He wanted to teach them how to make pearl, jade and white jade soup.
Yongshun couldn't hold back his excitement. He had been waiting for this day for three years. At this time, Yongfu was also very excited, partly because he finally had the opportunity to see how to make this famous dish, but mostly he was grateful to Uncle Huang for teaching him so much.
Uncle Huang looked at the two of them and didn't say much. He just told them that this famous dish was extremely simple to make. He would only teach him once. Success or failure would depend on the individual. After that, Uncle Huang started to demonstrate.
Yongfu and Yongshun were immediately focused when they heard the words and did not dare to miss any detail. While Uncle Huang was cooking, he told the two of them a story about this pearl emerald white jade soup.
This is a story about Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang's family was poor when he was young, and his parents died soon after, so he was forced to become a monk. When he went out to beg for alms, he failed to get anything for three days and fainted on the street. Later, he was brought home by an old woman passing by. She put the only piece of tofu in the house together with a handful of cabbage, red roots green leaves, poured a bowl of leftover porridge on it, cooked it and fed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang became very energetic after eating, and asked the old woman what she had just eaten. The old woman, looking for joy in her suffering, joked that it was called "Pearl Jade White Jade Soup".
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor and tasted all the delicacies in the world. Suddenly one day he fell ill and couldn't eat anything, so he remembered the pearl emerald white jade soup he had eaten when begging, and immediately ordered the imperial chef to make it for him.
The imperial chef had no choice but to mix pearls, emeralds and white jade together, boil it into soup and serve it. After tasting it, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it didn't taste right at all and killed the imperial chef in anger. Later, he sent all his men to the countryside to look for the old woman. Within a few days, he actually found her.
When Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the old woman, he immediately recognized that she had saved him in the first place. He hurriedly asked the mother-in-law to make a bowl of pearl, emerald and white jade soup for him. After hearing this, the mother-in-law was also deeply puzzled. She didn't know why the emperor who was the emperor in the 95th year actually wanted to eat such pig food.But she still made a bowl of the same bowl as she had done before. When she presented it to Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up when he looked at it. Yes, this was the pearl emerald and white jade soup he had been dreaming about.
He quickly scooped a spoonful and stuffed it into his mouth. Unexpectedly, he vomited it out on the spot the next second. It was so unpalatable that Zhu Yuanzhang could guarantee that he had never eaten such an unpalatable thing in his life. How could something that even a pig wouldn't eat be the original bowl of delicious food? He thought the old woman was fooling him, and he was so angry that he wanted to order her execution.
At this time, Liu Bowen stepped forward to explain all this. He said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "I think the soup is still the same soup, but people are no longer what they used to be." He did not show off and immediately explained: "At that time, the emperor had not eaten for three days and was already hungry. Even if the emperor was given a rotten bun, I am afraid he would think it was a delicacy in the world."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, indicating that he agreed with Liu Bowen's statement. But his face was still ugly. After all, he had killed an imperial chef in vain for such a bowl of pearl, emerald and white jade soup. Now he found out that it was a misunderstanding. If word spread, wouldn't it make the world think that he was a foolish king who killed innocent people indiscriminately.
Probably knowing Zhu Yuanzhang's inner thoughts, Liu Bowen suggested: "Now that the Holy One has overthrown the old system and established a new dynasty, everyone in the world will live and work in peace and contentment, and the people will be prosperous. However, he was born in sorrow and died in peace and happiness. Therefore, I suggest that your Majesty This pearl, emerald and white jade soup was made a holy banquet, so that everyone in the court would remember those tragic days, and always remind everyone to be prepared for danger in times of peace, and to be concerned about the world."
Zhu Yuanzhang actually smiled after hearing this, and readily accepted Liu Bowen's suggestion. From then on, this pearl, jade and white jade soup became a royal dish in the palace. It's just that the emperor can't keep eating such unpalatable food, so with the continuous improvement of successive generations of royal chefs, this pearl emerald and white jade soup was actually made into a peerless delicacy.
After talking about all this, Uncle Huang couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. "There is no such thing as pearl emerald and white jade soup. It is just a life-saving meal for hungry people to survive!".
Yongfu listened quietly, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He was originally a poor man. If Uncle Huang hadn't kindly given him a hot meal, he would have starved to death on the street.
But Yongshun didn't care about the content of the story at all. His eyes were fixed on the pot from the beginning to the end. He just wanted to learn how to make the pearl emerald and white jade soup. As for the poverty of the people, it had nothing to do with him. He was not the emperor.
Uncle Huang finished the demonstration quickly, and then it was up to Yongfu and Yongshun to operate.
Yongshun was very confident. He kept everything Uncle Huang taught him in mind and felt that he could do it well. But Yongfu was very uneasy, not because he didn't remember the method taught by Teacher Huang, but because he was worried about whether he could prepare a meal that could feed the poor all over the world.
Soon, both of them placed the finished product in front of Uncle Huang. Uncle Huang tasted them one by one and then commented. The result was very unexpected. Yongfu, who is usually stupid, actually made it extremely delicious. However, Yongshun, who is usually very talented, makes it extremely unpalatable, and the taste is just like the unimproved one.
Yongshun's eyes widened and he couldn't believe it. He quickly tasted these two bowls of pearl emerald and white jade soup. After tasting it, he froze on the spot with a look of disbelief on his face.
Uncle Huang looked at Yongshun silently and said nothing. He gave the recipe book to Yongfu and asked him to study it frequently and asked him to keep it carefully and not to show it to anyone.
After that, Teacher Huang turned around and left. Yongfu also left shortly after cleaning up the kitchen. At this time, only Yongshun was left in the kitchen, stunned.
The next morning, Yongfu packed up his things and went to Lu Mansion, and Yongshun followed him.
Lu Mansion is located in the inner city, not too close to Zuixianju. The two of them walked for a long time and finally arrived at Lu Mansion on time.
The two of them were ushered into the kitchen by the servants of Lu Mansion. As soon as they entered, a middle-aged man came over to entertain them enthusiastically.
According to his own introduction, he is the kitchen steward of Lu Mansion named Qian, and he is also the best cook in Lu Mansion.He was very enthusiastic towards Yongfu and Yongshun, and took them to familiarize themselves with everything in the kitchen. During this process, he did not mention Uncle Huang. He must have learned in advance that Uncle Huang was ill and could not come.
After getting familiar with everything, Yongfu quickly started to operate. He was only responsible for making the pearl jade white jade soup, and other dishes were left to Yongshun and Lu's servants.
Under the clear division of labor, various dishes were quickly served to the table, and the last pearl emerald white jade soup attracted everyone's attention.
Everyone took a spoonful and stuffed it into their mouths. It melted in the mouth, fresh but not greasy. Everyone praised Yongfu's craftsmanship, saying that he was as good as Uncle Huang.
Lu Yuanwai wanted to recruit Yongfu as usual, but Yongfu declined. As if he had expected it, Yuan Lu was not angry and still praised Yongfu with a smile as he looked like his master. At this time, Manager Qian also took the opportunity to approach Yongfu and toast to him. And whispered to him: "It's getting late now, why don't you stay at home for one night, so that Qian can explain to your master later."
Unexpectedly, Yongfu refused very firmly: "Master stipulates that the two of us must not stay home at night, but Mr. Qian is so kind-hearted."
Mr. Qian also wanted to make a sound to persuade him to stay, but Yongfu clasped his fists and said, "It is hard to disobey the master's order."
Manager Qian had no choice but to give up when he saw this, and then told Yongfu to be careful when walking at night.
After the funeral banquet, Yongfu said goodbye to Yuanwai Lu and Guanshi Qian, but surprisingly Yongshun stayed on because it was unsafe to walk at night. Yongfu looked at him and pulled the car away without saying anything.
In fact, although Yongfu said it was okay, he was still a little frightened when he walked alone on the deserted street.
Yongfu pulled the carriage out of the inner city and came to the even more dilapidated and desolate outer city. The cold evening wind made him tighten his neck.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Yongfu suddenly saw two people standing in front of him. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and found that there were indeed two men in black standing in front of him, and they both held white knives in their hands.
Yongfu was startled by the people in front of him. He quickly asked who they were, but the two ignored him and attacked him with the knife. Yongfu was immediately frightened and ran back in a hurry, thinking that he was finished tonight.
At the critical moment, a group of guards with knives suddenly rushed out from both sides of the street and quickly subdued the two men in black. Yongfu had not yet reacted to this sudden change.
However, Yongfu's eyes suddenly lit up when a person came out of the guards. He exclaimed: "Master?". That's right, the person who walked out was none other than Uncle Huang, who was still ill in bed yesterday.
Uncle Huang first checked that Yongfu was not injured, then walked up to the two men in black and took off their masks. However, Yongfu was shocked by the two people who revealed their true faces. He never expected that the masked people were actually Yongshun and Qian Guanshi.
Unexpectedly, what Uncle Huang said next made Yongfu's jaw drop. Uncle Huang said calmly: "Brother Qian, you are fine."
Manager Qian was pinned to the ground and said angrily: "Thanks to junior brother, I am doing very well now! However, I don't understand how junior brother knew what I was going to do tonight."
Teacher Huang did not answer immediately, but turned to look at Yongshun and said: "Senior Brother Qian, Yongshun is as talented in cooking as you are, and he looks like he was carved out of the same mold as you. When I first met him, I knew that Yongshun was your son."
It turns out that Teacher Huang and Manager Qian both studied under a famous chef in the capital, and they have a very good relationship, and they often study dishes together. Guanshi Qian's talent is much better than that of Uncle Huang, and he often helps Uncle Huang practice dishes in private. Therefore, Teacher Huang is very grateful to Guanshi Qian and already respects him as his own brother.
The two are from the same hometown. After they left the army, they met and returned to Yong'an County to start their respective careers. Guanshi Qian was spotted by Yuanwai Lu for his superb cooking skills and was hired into Lu's house. On the other hand, Uncle Huang could only open a small restaurant to make ends meet. However, the two brothers still have a good relationship and often meet up to drink and chat together.
But it didn't last long. One night, Manager Qian hurriedly knocked on Uncle Huang's door. Opening the door, Teacher Huang saw Manager Qian with a sad look on his face and a girl with a bulging belly next to him. He suddenly felt a little uneasy.
It turns out that soon after Guanshi Qian entered the Lu Mansion, he had an affair with a maid in the mansion and unfortunately became pregnant. If this matter is known to Officer Lu, Manager Qian will definitely be kicked out of the Lu Mansion and his future will be ruined.
So, Manager Qian wanted the maid to live temporarily with Uncle Huang first and give birth to the child. Uncle Huang agreed without thinking, and promised to take good care of the mother and son.
A few months later, the maid gave birth to a baby girl. Uncle Huang was very happy. He immediately quietly came to Lu Mansion and brought the news to Manager Qian.
Unexpectedly, Manager Qian had already gotten married at that time, and the bride was Yuanwai Lu's sister. Mr. Huang immediately angrily accused Mr. Qian of not being a man for abandoning his wife and son.
Manager Qian stopped pretending. Anyway, now that the raw rice has been cooked, he was no longer afraid even if the previous incident was revealed. He immediately ordered people to drive Old Uncle Huang out.
When Uncle Huang brought this news back, the maid cried all day long and even wanted to die several times.
Uncle Huang quickly stopped her and promised that he would take care of their mother and son in the future. This maid later became Uncle Huang's wife, and the baby girl also grew into the current pearl. After
, Uncle Huang and his wife grew up together with Pearl. Although life was hard at that time, the family was very happy.
And Guanshi Qian also got everything he wanted. Not long after his marriage, he became the steward of Lu Mansion, with great power.
But all this changed after Uncle Huang launched the Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. Uncle Huang became famous and became a well-known figure in Yongan County. Member Lu also admired Uncle Huang very much, and had been trying to find ways to invite him to work as a kitchen manager in the Lu Mansion.
Manager Qian was deeply jealous of all this. He refused to accept it. He didn't understand why Uncle Huang, who was inferior to him in everything, had such high achievements.
So he asked his son to work as a waiter in Zuixianju, hoping to steal the secret recipe of Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. Uncle Huang guessed Butler Qian's thoughts as soon as he saw Yongshun, but he didn't understand it.
He still thought about the brotherhood he had felt back then, so he tried his best to cultivate Yongshun, especially in terms of morality. However, Yongshun only wanted to get the secret recipe of the pearl, jade and white jade soup, and even did not hesitate to learn it secretly. Uncle Huang already knew all this secretly.
Old Uncle Huang pretended to be ill and took the opportunity to reveal the secret recipe to Yongshun, just to make Butler Qian give up, because the book records that this pearl emerald white jade soup can only be made by a compassionate person with a compassionate heart.
However, the unwilling father and son suspected that Uncle Huang had not taught him all the secret recipes, so they focused on Yongfu's cookbook.
Fortunately, Uncle Huang sensed the crisis in time and specifically told Yongfu last night not to spend the night in Lu Mansion. And he also contacted the county guard and asked the county guard to send guards to protect Yongfu secretly.
Everything came to light, and the Qian family father and son were also taken away for interrogation.
This afternoon, Yongfu sat at the table in a daze, and Pearl in front of him was happily eating candied haws . Regarding Yongshun's departure, Pearl got part of the truth from her father.
"Hey, why did the master give that recipe book to Yongshun, a villain in the end?" Yongfu sighed helplessly.
At this time, Pearl gently tapped Yongfu's forehead with her finger, then chuckled and said, "You are stupid, my father left all the best things to you."
