Survival rules for restaurants: cooking and eating melons at the same time

Chapter 395 Zhuangzi Canteen

Qi Ning'an was still very interested in wild vegetables, so he asked, "Do you usually eat any wild vegetables? They are hard to find in Kyoto."

The nanny looked at Qi Ningan's serious face and realized that the young lady seemed to really want to try what that kind of food tasted like.

I looked at the time. It was noon, and it was time for lunch.

Then he said, "Miss, if you are interested, come with me to the dining room and try it now."

The nanny was smiling, and when she saw Qi Ning'an was also smiling, she felt that the young lady was indeed different from ordinary people. The way she spoke and acted was completely different from those ladies from wealthy families. She was even very jumpy, making it difficult to be angry with her.

"Everyone, hurry up and choose a room so that we can put our luggage inside. Then we can go and have some food with them."

Qi Ning'an looked at the open door of the first courtyard, which was filled with things everyone had brought, covering almost half of the courtyard.

As expected, everyone reacted quickly and divided the rooms, took their things into the rooms, and ran out with anticipation on their faces.

Who wouldn’t be curious about what to eat? Anyway, they were all very curious. In such a big manor, even the simple meals seemed to be unique.

The nanny took the group to the dining room where the servants usually ate. Qi Ning'an couldn't help laughing when he saw the large group of people. It was really amazing. It looked like an autumn outing for elementary school students.

As they entered the dining room, the rich aroma enveloped everyone at once. Everyone was amazed and thought, is this what they call simple food?

Apart from anything else, that big bowl of pork elbow didn't look like a simple meal.

The Marquis' Mansion must be powerful. Even the meals for the servants are so good.

"Miss, be careful where you step."

The nanny lifted the curtain and led Qi Ning'an into the inner room. She also saw the pot of pork elbow and said with a smile, "Today is the twice-monthly big meal. The young lady is really a blessed person. Now that the young lady is here, we can eat such delicious food."

Qi Ningan responded with a smile, but his eyes were curiously on the table.

So there is indeed not too much fish and meat, but it can be considered similar to modern fast food.

There were a few refreshing side dishes and a wild vegetable that even Qi Ning'an couldn't recognize. It looked like some kind of stir-fried wild vegetable.

Mammy looked at Qi Ning'an curiously and said a little embarrassedly, "I don't know what this dish is called, but some people feed it to pigs at home. One time, I accidentally discovered that it tasted quite good, so this dish often appears in the farm."

Qi Ning'an nodded in understanding. Even in modern times, many families grow vegetables like sweet potato vines and Swiss chard to feed pigs. However, Qi Ning'an always thought they were delicious.

No one else thought anything of it. However, the cook on the farm was stunned when he saw so many people coming. Moreover, he saw Qi Ningan at first glance.

Although she didn't dress up deliberately, the dress she wore and the accessories on her head couldn't deceive anyone.

"Madame Liu, why did you bring Miss to a place like this?"

The cook was shocked and didn't believe that a young lady could enter the kitchen. After all, he had been a cook for more than 20 years and this was the first time he saw a young lady enter the kitchen. Not to mention that she brought a group of people with her. He didn't know if they were young ladies from wealthy families or young ladies of some other status.

But the cook did not dare to neglect them. No matter who the guests were, they were brought by the young lady after all.

"Ladies, please wait outside. I will prepare a delicious meal for you."

As the cook said this, he asked everyone to leave.

But before he walked up to her, Qi Ning'an said, "I asked Mammy to bring us here. I'm curious about what you guys are eating. I opened a restaurant in Kyoto Prefecture, and I get very curious when I see different dishes, so I came here specially to take a look and taste them."

The cook looked at the dishes on the table, then looked at Qi Ning'an, his face full of struggle. He felt something was not right. These things were usually not eaten by the masters of slightly wealthier families.

Although many servants in Kyoto Prefecture might not eat as well as they do, no matter how well they eat, the rules do not allow the young lady to eat the same thing as them, right?

"This... this... this is not good, miss."

Qi Ning'an said, "What's wrong with that? I'm really curious. Let's just eat here."

Then she paused again, thinking of something, "But...if we eat it, will there not be enough for others to eat?"

The cook saw that Qi Ning'an seemed to have made up her mind, so he waved his hands in doubt and said, "No, if the lady is willing to eat, I will cook two more dishes for her."

Qi Ning'an also knew that if he refused again, the cook would be extremely anxious. Besides, there were quite a lot of people in their group, and the servants in the manor probably didn't have enough food, so it was okay to cook two more dishes.

"Okay, but I just want to try some home-cooked food, no need to cook anything fancy."

In fact, usually if a young lady, a young master or a master wants to come to the farm, they will notify the head of the farm or the housekeeper a few days in advance, for fear that they will have no place to stay or food after they arrive.

But Qi Ning'an had no experience after all, so he didn't hurriedly find someone to go to the farm to tell her until just before leaving. The chef had already prepared to kill the chickens, ducks or pigs raised on the farm and cook for the young lady.

I really didn't expect that the young lady would arrive at the farm early. I originally thought that I should cook it quickly before the young lady served the meal so that I could have an explanation.

Unexpectedly, the young lady went directly to the kitchen, which really caught everyone off guard.

Fortunately, the young lady is not the kind of person who makes things difficult for others, otherwise I don’t know how much suffering I would have endured today.

……

Of course, Qi Ning'an knew nothing about this until he returned to the house that night.

Jin Xi asked, "Miss, didn't you send someone to the farm earlier to tell us that we were coming over?"

Qi Ning'an fiercely took off the hairpin on her head and said, "Hmm? I told you, I sent someone to tell you before I left this morning."

Jin Xi was so shocked that her eyes turned dark. She had never been a housekeeper in the Marquis's Mansion, so it was not her fault that the hospitality was not good enough.

However, Jin Xi vaguely remembered that if he wanted to come to the manor, it would be better to make some preparations in advance.

On weekdays, if it is not the kind of manor where masters visit every day and there are only servants, the manor generally will not buy large quantities of food, drinks, and daily necessities.

No wonder everyone was a little anxious at the farm today. Jin Xi finally understood it now.

……

Back to lunch time.

Qi Ning'an picked up the bowl and started to scoop up the dishes with full anticipation. He had come out in a hurry in the morning and had not eaten anything, so he was now starving.