Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 329

However, he had never learned cooking before, and each attempt ended in failure.

He Yuzhu said, "The 'Three No-Stick' dish is actually quite easy to make. First, you need to prepare the ingredients."

Crack an egg into a large bowl, add an appropriate amount of starch, sugar, and warm water, beat with chopsticks until smooth, and then strain through a fine sieve.

After He Yuzhu's demonstration, Lou Xiao'e exclaimed in surprise, "I've never used a basket at home before."

"Passing it through a sieve will make it finer. Next, it needs to be stir-fried in a clay pot, and the heat control is crucial for this step."

I took a clay pot and put it on the stove. I couldn't use high heat, only medium-low heat. I added some lard and heated it up. Then I poured in the prepared egg yolk mixture and stirred it quickly.

When the egg yolk mixture becomes a paste, He Yuzhu said, "At this point, we need to add lard again, and even more than before."

"What? You need to add lard?"

"Yes, otherwise you would never have been able to do it."

As He Yuzhu spoke, he scooped in a large spoonful of lard and stirred it continuously for more than 10 minutes until the egg yolk mixture became soft and elastic with a bright yellow color. Only then would the three non-stick ingredients not stick to the casserole dish.

"So that's how it's done. I'll try it later. Thank you, Master He."

"You're welcome."

The entire courtyard was full of beasts; the only good person was Lou Xiao'e.

While everyone else was plotting against He Yuzhu, only Lou Xiao'e discovered He Yuzhu's strengths and won her heart.

But fate played a cruel trick on them. The two had only been together for a few days when the entire Lou family moved south to Gangcheng, and from then on they were separated by vast distances.

They met again in the 80s, but by then, Qin Huairu had already seized the opportunity.

This was the first time He Yuzhu had met Lou Xiao'e, but they met quite early, and Lou Xiao'e was still a child.

Lou Xiao'e happily carried the plate out, and He Yuzhu finally finished all his work. He then cooked two dishes and ate a working lunch with He Daqing.

After lunch, He Yuzhu was about to leave when he turned around and saw Lou Xiao'e go into the kitchen again.

"Master He, there are some details I don't quite understand. Could you please explain them to me again?"

"Okay, shall we still make the 'three-no-stick' version?"

"No, could you please come to our house? My father has something he'd like to discuss with you."

He Yuzhu was surprised, but he still agreed.

Most people who consult with me are impressed by my cooking skills; otherwise, they wouldn't be looking for me as a son-in-law.

He Daqing instructed, "Zhu Zi, Chairman Lou has been quite kind to me before, so you mustn't forget his roots."

He Yuzhu nodded and followed Lou Xiao'e out. The two walked side by side, and Lou Xiao'e took the opportunity to ask a few questions, such as who he learned cooking from and how long he had been doing it.

Soon we arrived at the office building, where a Jeep was already parked.

The two waited downstairs for a while, and then Director Yang escorted Chairman Lou downstairs.

Factory Director Yang shook He Yuzhu's hand and said, "Thank you so much for your help today."

"Director Yang, you're too kind."

After exchanging pleasantries, Chairman Lou and Lou Xiao'e got into the car and were driven away by Factory Director Yang.

With He Yuzhu, an outsider, joining them, Lou Xiao'e sat in the passenger seat, and Lou Zhenhua first chatted with He Yuzhu about He Daqing.

Although He Daqing had worked in a restaurant before the liberation, he couldn't continue working there due to the chaos of war.

He later became a cook at a steel rolling mill, and quickly rose to the position of head chef thanks to his culinary skills.

When He Yuzhu was little, he often went to play in the kitchen of the steel rolling mill and met Lou Zhenhua. However, he was too young at the time, and it has been more than 10 years since then.

After establishing a closer relationship, Lou Zhenhua said, "My son is getting married in a few days. Master He, could you help prepare a few tables for the wedding banquet?"

He Yuzhu then realized that as long as it wasn't anything else, it would be easy to handle. Preparing banquets was his forte, and he usually took orders, so there was no reason for him to refuse.

Lou Zhenhua was overjoyed when He Yuzhu agreed. He had never tasted He Yuzhu's cooking before, and after eating a few dishes at noon, he praised them highly.

Upon arriving at the Lou family's residence, He Yuzhu was first invited to the study, where the two discussed the banquet dishes and confirmed the number of tables.

There's still over a month until their wedding day, so there's plenty of time.

At this stage, we are only confirming some preliminary work. He Yuzhu needs to make a list of materials some time in advance.

The host will provide all the materials according to the list, and He Yuzhu will come to take care of it the day before the banquet.

After speaking with Lou Zhenhua, He Yuzhu was invited into the kitchen, where Lou Xiao'e was already waiting. She said, "Please ask the chef to teach me some more."

He Yuzhu said, "How about this, you do it once first, and I'll point out any mistakes you make."

"Okay."

Lou Xiao'e has never lifted a finger in the kitchen, but she's willing to cook herself just for a meal.

He made it himself, and He Yuzhu pointed out any mistakes. Lou Xiao'e was obviously a novice, and she seemed flustered as she worked.

However, with He Yuzhu's guidance, it was completed with some stumbles and difficulties.

After the finished product was made, He Yuzhu tasted it and found that it was not as good as what he made himself, but it was still better than what ordinary people make.

"As long as you follow these steps strictly, you won't do too badly."

"Thank you, Master He. Could you teach me how to make a yogurt roll? I like to eat that too."

Double Milk Roll, also known as Mandarin Duck Milk Roll, is a traditional snack in Beijing. It uses a lot of milk, with one side rolled with sesame and white sugar and the other with hawthorn cake. Like Sanbuzhan, it is a delicacy that originated from the imperial court. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi was the most fond of this snack.

The main ingredients of yogurt rolls are milk, rice wine, white sugar, hawthorn, and sesame seeds.

It is rich in protein and calcium, making it an excellent source of calcium.

Its taste and texture are absolutely superb. With a gentle bite, you can taste the subtle aroma of alcohol mixed with a sweet milky flavor. The texture is both soft and delicate, as well as refreshing and cool.

Tang Lusun once praised it: "White flowers and red fruit, with succulent juice, it is both delicious and beautiful, and can be called a precious dairy product."

However, because it contains a lot of milk and sugar, eating too much of it can lead to weight gain.

At this point, Lou Xiao'e was no longer thin, although she didn't meet the standard for being fat.

Her face and arms are quite fleshy, but thankfully her waist is still relatively slender.

He Yuzhu had just met Lou Xiao'e today and wouldn't say much. Since she wanted to learn this, he could only start teaching her.

The dessert was very simple. After teaching her how to make it, Lou Xiao'e gave her a red envelope and then arranged for a driver to take her back in a jeep.

He Yuzhu chatted with the driver for a few minutes in the car and confirmed that the Lou family only had this old Jeep and no other cars. Then an idea came to mind.

Previously, I acquired a ZIS-100 sedan and a Gorky taxi in Moscow.

These two cars, the ZIS-100, are relatively high-end, but for the current domestic market, the Gorky is not much different.

I had considered selling the two cars before, but I hadn't found a suitable buyer.

Although the high-ranking leader holds great power and influence, it wouldn't be appropriate to sell the property to him.

The main problem is that it's difficult to explain the origin of the car.

Lou Zhenhua is different. He has a vast fortune, but his social status is not very high. It would be more appropriate to find an excuse to sell the car to him.

However, this matter will have to wait a while, and we can plan it out slowly later.

The primary task at present is to complete the construction of the glass bottle production line and expand production capacity.

The next day, he went to tell Tong Zhi that the key parts had been resolved, which relieved him.

Previously, he had confidently claimed that there were no technical problems and that the heavy machinery factory could replicate the entire production line.

But when the time came, the most crucial component turned out to be unavailable from the heavy machinery factory, which put him in a very awkward position.

If we report this to the factory and they negotiate with the steel rolling mill, we can still manufacture the part, but we'll lose face in front of the factory leaders.

Tong Zhi was from Sichuan Province. When he left the factory, he was completely lost and didn't know anyone. He knew he couldn't solve the problem himself, so he could only ask He Yuzhu to handle it. Fortunately, the steel mill agreed to continue production, so the production line had no other problems.

Time flew by, and Saturday arrived. He Yuzhu arrived at the entrance of Wenli's alley ahead of time.

When Wenli got off work and was almost home, she saw a familiar figure under the shade of a tree.

I had been looking forward to seeing He Yuzhu again this week, and now that I have, I am filled with joy.

He rode up to me, dismounted, and said, "What brings you here?"

"Why can't I come? I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Wenli hesitated for a moment and said, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“What’s wrong? Go back and take the bicycle home, then I’ll take you out to eat,” He Yuzhu instructed directly.

"Okay." Seeing He Yuzhu's firm stance, Wenli readily agreed.

"Wait a few minutes, I'll be right back."

After speaking, Wenli pushed her cart into the alley.

It was supposed to be a few minutes, but more than 10 minutes passed before Wenli finally came out leisurely.

It's obvious that she changed into a dress and redid her hair. Not only did she change her hairstyle, but she also added a pretty hair clip on top of her head.

Her face flushed considerably, and He Yuzhu came right up to her; he could smell a faint fragrance.

He rode his bicycle and took Wenli to a very clean little bar.

Because of limited time, we didn't go to a fancy restaurant, but the chef at this place was quite skilled, and the dishes he made were no worse than those in those restaurants.