The bamboo clappers outside the residence sounded several times, marking the arrival of Mao hour. Shen Fenghuo opened her eyes. Wrapped in a thick quilt, she rolled over and sprang right out of bed.
Today was her first day working as a kitchen servant at the Dali Temple, and the thought alone filled her with energy.
“Young Mistress, you’re… up so early?”
Xiangling entered rubbing her eyes. Seeing Shen Fenghuo had already thrown off the covers, she hurried forward to hand over a thick padded jacket. “It’s still dark out, the snow is heavy, and it’s still early before the Dali Temple’s duty hours begin.”
She had been assigned by Mother Lu to attend to Shen Fenghuo’s daily needs. Though only fourteen, she was diligent, clever, and always cheerful.
Shen Fenghuo swiftly pulled on the cotton-padded jacket, layering herself up several times.
“It’s not early.”
She smiled while washing up. “Look, the young master is up even earlier than me—he’s already gone to court. As a kitchen servant, I can’t be too late.”
The emperor was diligent in governance, having changed the previous emperor’s schedule of holding court once every three days to once daily. Lu Jin had to report for duty around Mao hour and would return to the Dali Temple after court. Unless he was away on official business or under special circumstances, this was his daily routine.
Yesterday, Clerk Xiao had explained everything to her in detail: the officials would begin their duties around Chen hour, first quarter, and she had to have the morning meal prepared before then.
Washing up took only a moment. She then turned to grab the satchel in the corner, happily attaching the Dali Temple waist token.
“I’ll go wake the old madam now.”
Seeing her move so quickly, Xiangling said anxiously, “It’s your first day on duty. The old madam said last night she wanted to see you off.”
“No, don’t.”
Shen Fenghuo walked out. “Let Mother sleep well. A warm bed in winter is a rare comfort. I can go on my own. The Dali Temple isn’t far—just a short run away.”
She soon rushed out the door with her satchel, her figure like a sparrow disappearing around the corner of the covered walkway.
Another maid watched her retreating back and couldn’t help sighing softly. “Though the young master doesn’t stay in the young mistress’s room at night, she always worries about his well-being. Such affection is truly rare.”
Xiangling also felt it was unfair. “Hmph,” she snorted, smoothing the bedding while muttering, “Isn’t that right? The young mistress is the most beautiful and kindest lady I’ve ever met—smart and capable too. Why doesn’t the young master cherish her? The young mistress is good; the young master is bad!”
If she were the young master, she would surely treasure the young mistress every single day.
The young master was so clueless—it was truly infuriating.
The snow hadn’t fully melted yet, leaving a thin layer of white that crunched underfoot.
Shen Fenghuo jogged all the way in her thick padded jacket, her exhaled breaths puffing out in white clouds.
Several vegetable vendors were stomping their feet and blowing on their hands, delivering fresh produce to various households.
Before long, the vermilion walls of the Dali Temple came into view. She circled to the small back kitchen entrance on the west side, pushed the door open, and headed straight to the kitchen.
Everyone in the kitchen had already arrived. Chen Yang stood with his back to her, bent over sorting through vegetables in a bamboo basket.
Without turning his head, he said impatiently, “First day on duty and you’re this late? By the time you’re done, the officials will have been on duty for nearly an hour.”
Shen Fenghuo replied with a smile, “Head Chef Chen, the roads are slippery after the snow. I hurried as fast as I could but still ended up a step behind. Don’t worry—I work quickly. I won’t delay the officials’ meal.”
“You said it.”
Chen Yang straightened up and glanced at her sideways. “Since you’re here, you’re in charge of today’s morning meal. We’re busy preparing vegetables and don’t have time to help you.”
Before Shen Fenghuo could respond, she heard him continue, "I forgot to mention—the morning meal for all on-duty officials, clerks, and kitchen servants at Dali Temple, over a hundred and twenty people in total, must be prepared by you alone."
Wu Yu, who was nearby sorting vegetables, quietly tugged at the kitchen servant beside her and whispered, "Head Chef Chen is being unfair. It's her first day—by the rules, she should start with washing and chopping vegetables. How can she be tasked with preparing the morning meal for over a hundred people right away?"
"There's nothing we can do about it," another kitchen servant sighed. "The morning meal is the first hot meal for the officials when they start their duties. Punctuality and taste are paramount. How can she handle it alone? Head Chef Chen is deliberately making things difficult, hoping she'll mess up so he has an excuse to drive her away."
Yesterday, they had tried this young woman's minced pork with eggplant strips, and the flavor was truly excellent. If she stayed long-term in the Dali Temple kitchen, how could Head Chef Chen continue experimenting with new dishes as he pleased, doing whatever he wanted?
He must be putting in some effort, hoping to drive her away like he did with others before, making her quit out of frustration.
Shen Fenghuo, however, paid no mind. Instead, she curled her lips into a smile.
Over a hundred and twenty people? That was just too…
Simple.
In the village, feasts were prepared by one household for the entire village, easily serving over a hundred people, with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, ensuring everyone ate well, had their fill, and enjoyed the warmth of the meal.
Preparing the morning meal for just over a hundred people was no problem for her at all.
She responded loudly to Chen Yang, "No problem, Head Chef Chen. Rest assured, I will make sure the officials have a hot morning meal on time."
Chen Yang hadn’t expected her to agree so readily. He was taken aback for a moment before sneering, "Hmph, quite the confidence. If you miss the timing or make something inedible, watch your job."
Shen Fenghuo didn’t reply further and turned to walk toward the food preparation area. Chen Yang had made things difficult for her again—none of the vegetables delivered by the farmer earlier had been brought into the kitchen. Only a piece of pork hung in front of the counter.
He assumed she would just make pork buns, which the officials didn’t particularly like anyway.
Firewood had already been prepared under the stove. Shen Fenghuo thought for a moment, then added another log to make the fire stronger. She deftly cut the skin from the pork, washed and chopped it, then tossed it into a pot to simmer.
On another stove nearby, she had already set up a large pot. After blanching the pork bones, she added them to the pot with ginger slices and scallion segments, pouring in enough water to simmer slowly.
The wheat flour was freshly ground. She scooped out a generous amount, made a well in the center, and sprinkled in some fermenting agent. This was a commonly used leavening agent, made from fermented wheat bran and rice bran, which worked faster than natural fermentation.
While adding warm water, she kneaded the dough with force, repeatedly folding and pressing the dough. In no time, she had kneaded several smooth and elastic dough balls. She covered them with a damp cloth and placed them near the warm stove to speed up fermentation.
While the dough rested, she moved on to chopping the meat filling.
The kitchen knife danced nimbly in her hands as she finely diced the pork, which had a good balance of fat and lean meat. She added salt, bean paste, minced ginger, and chopped scallions, stirring vigorously in one direction until the filling became sticky and elastic.
Wu Yu and the other kitchen servants watched with fascination. They hadn’t expected this young woman to be so strong. Having worked as assistants for a year, they knew that chopping this much meat required frequent breaks, yet she showed no sign of fatigue.
Watching the smooth lines of her arms flexing as she chopped the meat, Wu Yu couldn’t help but whisper again, "Good heavens."
The pork skin gradually melted under the high heat, turning into a thick broth. Without a word, Shen Fenghuo poured the broth into a basin and carried it out of the kitchen. She dug a hole in the accumulated snow, and in just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the broth had solidified into skin jelly.
Fortunately, it was winter, so the broth could quickly solidify into skin jelly after being cooked. In other seasons, preparing pan-fried steamed buns would require making it the night before.
The skin jelly was diced into small pieces and mixed into the meat filling, while the dough had risen perfectly. When pressed with a finger, the indentation slowly bounced back.
She kneaded the risen dough evenly to release the air, rolled it into a long strip, pinched off uniform small dough portions, rolled them into round wrappers, scooped a spoonful of meat filling into the center, and pinched out over a dozen neat pleats.
Round, plump pan-fried steamed bun dough pieces were neatly arranged on the cutting board, looking white and chubby.
But as time slowly passed, officials had already begun arriving for duty one after another, yet Shen Fenghuo was still bent over, focused on wrapping the pan-fried steamed buns, one after another. The dough pieces piled up like a small mountain on the cutting board, with no sign of them being cooked anytime soon.
Chen Yang couldn’t hold back any longer and strode over to her, pointing at the pan-fried steamed buns on the cutting board. "Shen Fenghuo, what time is it and you’re still wrapping them? The officials are already here for duty. Are you planning to serve them raw?"
Steaming the buns would still take time.
Wu Yu and the other kitchen servants were also sweating for her, stopping their tasks one after another, their gazes fixed on her.
Yet Shen Fenghuo remained calm and composed, only straightening up after pinching the last pleat. She smiled and said, "Head Chef Chen, don’t worry. They’ll be cooked right away."
She directly moved two clay stoves to the center of the kitchen, added charcoal to the stoves, and waited until the flames burned brightly before placing flat-bottomed iron pans on top.
Once the pans were hot, she scooped a spoonful of oil and spread it evenly along the sides of the pans. Then, she picked up the pan-fried steamed bun dough pieces from the cutting board and neatly placed them into the pans, filling both pans in no time.
Chen Yang stared at the neatly arranged, plump white bun dough pieces in the flat-bottomed pans and nearly scolded her, "This is a pan for frying flatbreads. Are you planning to fry the steamed buns? Steamed buns need to be steamed to be thoroughly cooked and soft. Frying them is just nonsense."
Shen Fenghuo poured water along the edges of the pans as she replied, "Head Chef Chen, steamed buns can also be fried. They have a different flavor."
"Hmph, just keep making a fuss."
Chen Yang turned away angrily. "When the outside is burnt black and the inside is still raw, see what the officials say about you. I won’t speak up for you."
Not long after these words were spoken, footsteps began to approach from the direction of the dining hall.
Originally, many clerks hadn’t planned to come to the dining hall, preferring to buy Hu Ma Bing as their morning meal.
But after tasting Shen Fenghuo’s minced pork with eggplant strips yesterday, the flavor lingered in their minds, and today, as if bewitched, they all headed toward the dining hall.
As the Chief Clerk, Shi Yixian always rose early and was among the first to arrive.
Just as he reached the entrance of the dining hall, a rich aroma wafted over to him.
As soon as he entered, he saw the new cook from yesterday bustling around the clay stoves.
Had she actually moved the iron pans to the front of the dining hall?
"Chief Clerk Shi, good morning."
Shen Fenghuo, sharp-eyed, looked up and saw him, immediately greeting him with a smile. "Would you like a serving of pan-fried steamed buns with bone broth? They’re just about ready."
Shi Yixian was taken aback. "What are pan-fried steamed buns?"
Shen Fenghuo simply lifted the pan lid with a swift motion, and with a "whoosh," she opened it.
Steam mixed with the aroma of sesame, dough, and meat wafted out, even stronger than before.
Oil droplets sizzled and danced in the pan. The edges of the pan-fried steamed buns were crisped and slightly curled, while their tops remained snowy white and fluffy, dotted with plenty of sesame seeds.
Shen Fenghuo took the chance to sprinkle a handful of chopped scallions over them—the snowy white and golden-brown paired with vibrant green, a sight that made one’s mouth water just by looking.
Shi Yixian’s throat bobbed as he cleared it softly.
“Then I’ll have one!”
Author’s Note:
A’He: Would you like one?