Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 490: Not enough points!
The emperor is so terrible!
Even though he had previously said in front of Fang Qing how magnanimous the emperor was and how he would never care about people who offended the third prince in the Imperial College, but at this moment, standing before the emperor and hearing his meaningful words, Mr. Song finally felt the essence of the four words "Heaven's power is unpredictable" as seen in those legends or operas.
Although he was confident in his cooking skills, he had no time to taste the food because of the fight with Chef Chen! Although most chefs would cook many dishes in one go without tasting them, he was not that kind of chef. What if the taste was off?
Zhang Shou saw at a glance that when Mr. Song stepped forward to serve the porridge, his hands were shaking all the time - if he didn't know this strange thing very well, he would have thought that someone had poisoned the pot, so he was terrified at this moment. He couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he simply stood up, walked around to Chef Song, and suddenly grabbed his wrist.
He quickly caught the soup spoon that Song had dropped due to excessive shock, and then said with a smile: "Mr. Song, a chef needs to be steady. I remember you always told me so. Why are you so nervous? The emperor is a benevolent ruler. He won't do anything to you for a bite of food! If it really doesn't taste good, it's just your own fault, isn't it?"
Mr. Song first turned his head to look at Zhang Shou, then glanced at the emperor nervously, and found that the smile was fleeting, and he suddenly woke up as if from a dream.
Yes, don’t say that he is not the imperial chef. Even if he is really the imperial chef, the emperor is not a tyrant. How could he do anything to him just because a meal is not cooked well!
The confident Mr. Song immediately regained his composure. He did not look at the emperor again, but concentrated on scooping a small bowl of porridge with a spoon, and then handed it to the emperor with both hands. Seeing that the emperor took it casually, he did not sit and wait for others to taste it, but took the small bowls in front of Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan, and served them, and then looked at the others.
When he looked at it, he saw not only Zhang Shou who had already returned to his seat, and Zhu Ying, a perfect couple beside him, but also Yue Shanzhang who was staring at him intently. He was stunned after having just calmed down.
Even though he was talking nonsense in front of Fang Qing, saying that all his elders said that Yue Shanzhang of Zhaoming Academy was not easy to deal with... But he knew what position Yue Shanzhang held in the academic circles of Guangdong. As one of the young talents in Guangzhou Prefecture, he had certainly met him more than once. Now that he met him in this occasion, he felt extremely subtle.
Needless to say, with what happened to him today, Shanzhang Yue would definitely criticize him outside, and the elders of the Song family, who were already annoyed by his behavior, might criticize him even more... Why did he invite this person today? Why didn't he know about it in advance! If he had known earlier, he might have used illness as an excuse not to come!
Well, since I have already served the emperor and the two old men beside him, should I pretend that I didn't see this Yue Shanzhang and just walk away? Just as he was thinking this, he didn't expect that an empty bowl would suddenly be handed to him. He turned his head and saw that it was the emperor, and he couldn't help but be stunned.
"Another bowl." Seeing that Mr. Song was staring at him blankly like a fool, the emperor suddenly looked a little unnatural. He had just questioned whether the food was delicious, and now he asked for another bowl in the blink of an eye. This was indeed a bit... However, as the emperor, he was already thick-skinned, so he simply coughed majestically.
When Mr. Song hurriedly took the bowl to serve the porridge, he stared at him for a long time and suddenly reminded him, "Fill it up."
Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan were about to eat. When they heard the emperor's reminder, the two people who were not even close to each other looked at each other and became curious. Lu Wan scooped a spoonful of food and put it close to his mouth. He was burned by the scalding heat and subconsciously moved the spoon away. When he put it into his mouth after it cooled down a little, he gradually squinted his eyes.
He had drunk a lot of porridge, some salty, some sweet, and at best, it was made with broth, which was so delicious that it could make people drop their eyebrows, but after the deliciousness, it was just that taste. But after taking a bite just now, he only felt that the freshness was very light, as if it was entangled between the rice grains. But after those twenty or so delicious dishes just now, his taste, which had been a little greasy, gradually recovered a little.
After taking two, three, and four mouthfuls, the entire small bowl of porridge was gone, and Lu Wan found that her stomach, which had been a little uncomfortable after being half full, was wrapped in warmth, and she even had the urge to stretch lazily.
Zhang Shou saw the emperor scrambling for food and Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan eating quite contentedly, so he knew that Mr. Song had performed beyond his level again today. Although he didn't think Mr. Song would really make something delicious beyond his expectations, he still hooked his finger at Mr. Song when he saw Zhu Ying was obviously curious.
Seeing someone quickly served two bowls, he naturally gave one bowl to Zhu Ying first, and then handed one bowl to the head of the mountain Yue next to him. Seeing that Mr. Song was caught off guard and then stared at him with some resentment, he remembered that both Mr. Song and Head of the Mountain Yue were from Guangdong, so they must have known each other for a long time.
But is it possible that you deliberately withhold food from people just because they are acquaintances?
Zhang Shou burst out laughing for a moment and simply stood up again. However, when he was about to urge this atypical chef who obviously had no self-awareness to go back and serve the porridge to the rest of the people, he saw the emperor put down his empty bowl again.
This time, Zhang Shou simply stepped forward himself and served a full bowl to the emperor. Then he hurriedly urged Mr. Song to serve it to the four people including Huaiqing Hou, as well as Wu Ge Lao, Xie Wanquan and Tang Ming.
After all the food was distributed like this, only a thin layer was left in the pot. Seeing Mr. Song embarrassedly scooping out a small half bowl and handing it to him, he could not help but laugh.
However, he turned around and handed the small bowl of porridge out. No doubt, it was handed to the Fourth Prince who was standing beside the Emperor and had been extremely curious from the beginning.
Yue Shanzhang has always been particular about eating in moderation. He only tasted the twenty dishes before and was only half full. He was very absent-minded when he ate the half bowl of porridge handed to him by Zhang Shou. He was just thinking about this wonderful son of the Song family. When he finished half a bowl of porridge, he realized that he had no taste at all. He only felt that it was light in his mouth, and even had a faint sweet aftertaste.
When he looked up, he found that the Fourth Prince took a bowl from Zhang Shou, hesitated for a while, then quickly said thank you, and then really slipped behind the emperor to eat. He quickly glanced at the others and saw that everyone showed an obviously satisfied expression. He didn't know what his mood was at this time.
Lu Wan, Liu Zhiyuan, and Zhang Shou's speeches just now, plus the donations raised in an instant. Even Wu Ge Lao smiled and stretched out his palm at the end, claiming to donate 1,000 strings of cash. Facing all these scenes, Yue Shanzhang felt greatly shocked. After all, although he was known to be proficient in miscellaneous subjects, the roots of Zhaoming Academy were still classics and history.
Now, the public schools are obviously not targeting the literati, or scholars in the traditional sense. This will not cause a big impact on him, Zhaoming Academy, or major private schools in the world, but he still feels uneasy.
Especially since the emperor had easily sent the third prince to Jiuzhang Hall before, and the fourth prince was obviously biased towards Zhang Shou. This was not a good sign for him, who came to Beijing this time with the intention of promoting his own doctrine to the next generation of royal heirs.
Now, Mr. Song had rebelliously given up his studies to become a cook, but the emperor was not offended. This was simply unimaginable ! Although the saying that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen is fundamentally about promoting benevolence, it has been regarded as a wise saying by scholars for thousands of years. At least, even if someone cooks, they don't take it as their main job. But Mr. Song in front of him completely overturned this point.
Of course, Zhang Shou didn't know what Principal Yue was thinking.
As the only person who didn't get to taste Chef Song's clay pot porridge, he looked around at those who were quite satisfied with the food, not like they had eaten too much delicious food and had no appetite at all. He couldn't help but smile knowingly, and then he heard Mr. Song's apology: "Dr. Zhang, it's all because I didn't do enough. Please forgive me."
"It's just a small matter." Zhang Shou smiled immediately.
"I've actually heard of the reputation of Chaoshan clay pot porridge. Most of the time, they would first boil the broth, and then use the broth to make the porridge base. When the customers need it, they would add all kinds of seafood, meat, and even vegetables to the porridge base. But I see that the porridge you served is almost like plain porridge, with just a few chopped green onions sprinkled on it at most. Your idea is quite different."
As soon as Zhang Shou finished speaking, Mr. Song smiled in a simple and honest manner and said, "No wonder I heard from Ah Liu that you, Dr. Zhang, are well versed in cooking. That's right, most of the clay pot porridge in Chaoshan is indeed cooked in this way. In fact, I also made this broth today, but it's not the meaty broth made with pork bones, chicken racks, abalone, and sea cucumber. It's a vegetarian broth."
"And to avoid too strong a flavor, I only used two things, white radish and kelp. Originally, I needed to add mushrooms, celery, etc. to enhance the flavor, especially mushrooms. Some wild mushrooms are so delicious that they can make your eyebrows drop. But let's not talk about whether there are wild mushrooms in the ingredients just provided. I think everyone must have eaten too many delicious things just now, so it's better to keep it light."
"So, I didn't add the green vegetables that I had originally planned to add. I just added a little bit of green onion leaves to enhance the color and flavor. Besides, this porridge should be considered very homely. Radish, kelp and green onion are all very common ingredients, and the price is even cheaper."
"This is a porridge that can restore the sense of taste and refresh the mouth. Otherwise , no matter how good the chefs' cooking skills are, the emperor and the elders will not be able to eat it. I didn't expect the emperor to eat so much."
The emperor had just finished three bowls of porridge and was breathing a sigh of relief. After all, the first ten dishes were fine, and he only tasted a few of the soups in the later dishes at most, because the flavor of those dishes was too strong. He might feel that the first bite of the first dish was delicious, but it would become boring later.
However, after three bowls of this light porridge, his stomach, which had just been digested, was filled. But Mr. Song's last words made the supreme king angry. What, you think I eat too much?
He was about to frown and slap this juren for being too rude, but Zhang Shou suddenly said, "Eating too much is bad for your health. It seems that the organizer Lu Sanlang really didn't think it through. He put so many chefs on the same day for selection, and there were so many different dishes. The judges' stomachs are not as big as the sea, so they will inevitably lose their appetite after a while."
"Next time, only ten people can participate in the selection at most. No more. Otherwise, we won't be able to enjoy the experience."
The emperor's original rebuke immediately turned into an agreement: "You are right. No matter how delicious the food is, it will become a burden if you eat too much!"
Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Wan had also finished their porridge at this time. When they heard the emperor's words, they couldn't help but smile. Zhang Shou had clearly found that there were more than 40 contestants on the first preliminary day of August 15, and the judges were so full that they ate too much. But he didn't say until today that he would reduce the number of contestants to single digits. He was really cunning.
There were many participants in the preliminary rounds, and many forces were involved. Everyone rushed to promote each other, and the momentum was built up. However, when it came to the semi-finals and finals, there were fewer participants, and the schedule would inevitably be prolonged. The suspense was concentrated on a small group of people, which could bring greater heat. And most importantly, the emperor was obviously interested, and he might really come every time!
When Lu Wan discovered that he and Liu Zhiyuan were laughing in perfect sync, the corners of his mouth twitched, but he figured it out in an instant.
This is not the headless Liu who used to work with him in the Ministry of War. He obviously does not intend to return to the officialdom now, but plans to work with him. It is a good thing to have a tacit understanding! So, the former Minister of War immediately coughed and said, "Your Majesty is right. I just feel full in my stomach and can't eat anything."
At this time, Wu Ge Lao, who had been silent just now, also nodded with a smile: "Although Mr. Song's porridge is light, it is served a little late. It can relieve greasiness, but it also fills up the last bit of space in this old minister's stomach. In terms of taste, it can be given a high score, but in terms of its original intention of relieving greasiness and whetting the appetite, it can only be given a low score."
After all, it was Lu Wan and Wu Mianhua who said what I wanted to say!
The emperor's face was very happy at this time. Especially when he saw Mr. Song's face, which was both embarrassed and aggrieved, he felt even better. Not only did you dare to argue with Princess Yongping, but you also dared to laugh at me!
The emperor smiled happily and said, "Let's do the things Zhang Qing just mentioned one by one. First, the streets near the Xinglong Tea House will be separated from the original Lifang and named... Xinglongfang. I will write an inscription and ask Lu Sanlang to pay for the construction of the archway! As for the public school... since we have collected enough money, let's build it. Send each issue of the school journal and the business newspaper to the palace for my review first!"
