The cook, Hu Qingqing, is a native of Hangzhou, who came to Shanghai about 10 years ago with her uncle, who is a chef. My uncle was a chef in a Hangzhou restaurant in the concession, but when my uncle was not in good health and returned to Hangzhou to recuperate, she set up a stall by herself. This stall is not in the original restaurant, but in the concession to find another set of two-entry yards to make "private dishes". The inner courtyard lives by itself, and the outer hall is greeted by a cousin, and the rule is set every day that only one table of dishes is cooked. There are no signboards outside the courtyard, and the guests who come to the door rely on word of mouth.

Although she is quiet, her craftsmanship is so good, Hangzhou cuisine and local cuisine are extremely exquisite, and her appearance is outstanding, so that it soon exploded in Shanghai. At first, she couldn't eat without an appointment, and later, there were too many guests vying to come to the door, so she simply closed the stall and didn't do it. Saying "beautiful chef girl", of course, refers to her appearance, and "delicate and expensive", there is a joking meaning in it, referring to her graceful posture, the remuneration is expensive, every time she is invited to the door, the materials are prepared by the main family, and hundreds of taels of silver must be thanked.

Listening to Yang Fang's words, Guan Zhuofan couldn't help but be speechless, a chef can be regarded as unprecedented to such a point. Presumably she has had an outstanding endowment since she was a child, otherwise she would never have such a reputation.

While speaking, the sound of cars outside the hospital could be heard, and after a while, Yang Ying's laughter sounded outside the door. Yang Fang nodded to Guan Zhuofan and said, "Ying'er brought her here, I'll go say hello." He got up and walked out, and then heard Yang Fang laughing outside the house: "Miss Hu, this trip is biased against you again." I have a distinguished guest visiting temporarily, and I did not send you a letter in advance, which is very abrupt. ”

"Master Yang, don't talk like this, I can help you run a banquet, it's a matter of asking for it." The official dialect with a Jiangnan accent is soft and good, and the tone is also very gentle, I think it is the beautiful chef lady.

When Yang Fang turned back, the two chatted casually about the customs and customs of Shanghai. Guan Zhuofan was like a little mouse scratching in his heart, and he was very curious about that Hu Qingqing, and he couldn't wait to run to the kitchen in person to see what kind of "beautiful" method and what kind of "delicate" state this famous cook lady was. As for whether it's expensive or not, it's not that you know how to pay anyway, so you don't have to care.

Yang Fang's eyes were so old and spicy, seeing that he didn't belong to him, he stroked the beard under his chin and smiled: "The so-called 'fair lady, good gentleman'." Yixuan, but Mu Ai's heart? ”

"Ahh Guan Zhuofan was suddenly drunk by him, his face turned red, and he smiled awkwardly: "Qi Weng made fun of me again, I haven't seen it yet." ”

This sentence is also not very appropriate. Of course, I haven't seen it, but after I have seen it, what about it? Now there is a Yang Ying outside, but he puts his mind on the cook, in front of Yang Fang, isn't it rude? When I think of this, I feel more and more embarrassed.

"Yixuan, what's this! When the old man was young, he was also a suave character. Yang Fang said with a smile, "But this Miss Hu, her vision is very high, how many sons and brothers are bored in front of her, even our Xue Futai wants to ask her to be a five-room, and asks someone to say it, but they are all closed-don't you say it's amazing?" ”

"Xue Futai also had such thoughts?" Kwan Zhuofan was very interested. He thought to himself, Xue Huan is the current governor of Jiangsu, and he is in charge, but his official reputation is not very good, as long as Li Hongzhang's Huai army moves, he will be the governor of the end, and he doesn't have to be afraid of him.

Hey? Guan Zhuofan was shocked in his heart, and he didn't understand that he was going to think like this-what he was afraid of, and he didn't plan to rob him of Hu Qingqing.

Hey? Grab the Qingqing?

Guan Zhuofan was confused, and he didn't understand what he was thinking.

"Xue Futai's personality is like that, after a long time, you naturally understand." After Yang Fang finished speaking lightly, he looked Guan Zhuofan up and down, and said with a smile: "It's you, Yixuan, the young man, the young man is Xuanang, maybe you can invite the beauty to look at you differently, but I don't know!" ”

Guan Zhuofan smiled and was about to speak, but as soon as the door opened, Yang Ying personally walked in with a plate.

"Shrimp and black cucumber!" She placed the plate on the table and said with a smile, "My saliva is about to fall." ”

*

*

For Guan Zhuofan's arrival, Yang Fang specially opened a bottle of three-star brandy and poured it into the crystal cup, which was full of mellow fragrance.

"It was given to me by the French consul and said it was superb. There are two in total, open one today, you can taste it. ”

Hearing that it was something sent by the French, Guan Zhuofan was a little disgusted at first, but he would never show it. He tasted it, but he didn't feel that it was any better, and for the sake of politeness, he still praised it insincerely: "Good!" Wine! "And then still focus on the dish.

The dish is not luxurious, except for one black cucumber, the three meat dishes are roasted pork in sauce, dregs and bald lungs, and two vegetarian dishes, braised bamboo shoots in oil and dried scallops and stir-fried vegetarian vegetables. The soup is not a local dish, but a half bowl of Song sister-in-law fish soup served in a large bowl. Four meats, two vegetables and one soup, a standard home-style table, but-

It's so delicious! Guan Zhuofan rained like rain, grabbed all the gaps in conversation, and sent them to his mouth, almost swallowing his tongue. This kind of eating is a bit unsightly, but he is not worried, because the more this is the case, the more face-saving the master has, and the more he feels that the hundreds of taels of silver he has paid are not in vain. Yang Ying, who keeps going in and out, sometimes covers her mouth and steals fun, thinking that this Guan master is really interesting.

"Master Guan, you flag people in the capital, don't you have anything to eat?"

"Don't talk nonsense, there are no rules." Yang Fang scolded with a smile. Yang Ying's words were a bit taboo, he was afraid of making Guan Zhuofan unhappy. "The capital is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, what good things are there?"

"Not to mention, not really." Guan Zhuofan is not a real flag man, so he naturally didn't think it was a pestle, but sighed, "I guess even the Queen Mother and the Emperor have never tasted such a delicacy." ”

"Doesn't the emperor eat the full banquet of the Han Dynasty every day?" Yang Ying asked curiously.

"The emperor is still young, and he is eating with the queen mother of the two palaces," Guan Zhuofan had a great appetite, and even drank a few more glasses of wine, and talked about some things in the capital with a slightly drunken meaning. Yang Fang had never been to the capital in his life, so he also stopped drinking and listened attentively. "The imperial meals are all warm fire, there is no wok, in terms of materials, it is naturally expensive, but in terms of taste, it is definitely not as good as the dishes you serve."

"Then you're saying that Sister Hu can go to be the imperial chef? I went and told her that she must be happy. ”

"The chefs in the palace are all fathers-in-law, if your sister Hu goes, and the emperor sees ......" Speaking of this, he suddenly became vigilant, and his own words today were a bit too much, so Haha smiled, stopped abruptly, and said to Yang Fang: "Qi Weng, enough wine, please enjoy the meal?" ”

"I've only drunk less than half a bottle, Yixuan, your amount of alcohol should be more than that." Yang Fang said with a smile. Yang Ying got up and ran, and after a while, she came back with two bowls of rice in person.

"This foreign wine has a lot of stamina!" Guan Zhuofan looked at the wine bottle, and suddenly remembered an allusion, "Qi Weng, speaking of this wine, I have heard a story, which is quite interesting." ”

"Okay, let's have fun."

"It is said that there is a restaurant, in order to attract business, half of the couplet is hung on the door, and the writing is 'three-star brandy', take this to fight with your peers, regardless of which peer can come up, you can immediately take away five hundred taels of silver. As a result, this couplet has been hanging for a full year, and no one can match it, and the restaurant's business is booming. Please guess what should the next link be? ”

"Haha, you're here to test me," Yang Fang smiled and said calmly: "Yixuan, I won't tell you, I was born as a clerk in a silk cloth shop, and I later learned foreign dialects in the church school, so these elegant things are not very good." Turning his head to look at his daughter: "Ying'er, you always boast about your words so that you don't lose to others, can you try it?" ”

Yang Ying thought about it for a while, and the few that she had prepared were either not in good shape, or they were not good, she couldn't speak, her eyes rolled, and she got up and left.

Yang Fang smiled and said, "Most of them went to find her sister Hu - isn't she the 'peer' of the restaurant?" ”

This time, I didn't return for a long time, until the meal ran out and the tea was drunk, Yang Fang asked the housekeeper to pay a silver ticket, prepare a sedan chair, and send the "beautiful chef" back to the house, Yang Ying turned back.

"Dad, Master Guan, people asked me to bring two sentences."

"Oh? What words? Yang Fang found it very interesting.

"The first sentence is that the two masters of Xiexie praised her craftsmanship." After that, he glanced at Guan Zhuofan.

"Haha, okay. What about the second sentence? ”

"She would rather reward the silver, and want to ask Master Guan to give her a link."

Yang Fang paused for a moment, and then hahadaxiao.

"This ......" Guan Zhuofan was embarrassed. It's not good to hurt others for a joke without a few hundred taels of silver.

"Yixuan, you uncover the mystery, I want to hear it too." Yang Fang said with a smile, "I will still develop the silver." ”

"This was originally a ruthless pair," Guan Zhuofan said with a smile, "Three-star brandy, right is 'May Huangmei Tian'." ”

I only heard a soft "oh ......" from outside the door, which was soft and tactful, and went straight to Master Guan's heart.