Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 538 Miss Shen, are you willing to teach them?

"But why did I ask Miss Shen the same question, and she said that it would only take three to five days to learn, and seven to eight days to become proficient?"

The two chefs looked at each other, then knelt on the ground and swore to heaven and earth that they would never say a word falsely.

The fat cook with a big round face and a three-layer chin said: "When I was learning cooking, I really studied hard for six years. Even so, there are still many things that I figured out on my own after I graduated."

The thin cook, who was as tall as a bamboo pole, also hurriedly followed up to defend himself: "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, we two servants have never lied."

"I learned this from my own uncle. My uncle praised me for my quick comprehension and learning ability. I have mastered his unique skills in just three years."

"If it weren't for my unique skill of baking lava pies, I would never have been able to serve my masters in the imperial kitchen."

Shen Yu understood as soon as he heard what they said.

Yes, there is still a big difference between the teaching method at that time and the modern one.

If you want to learn from a master here, the skills are taught orally. In addition, there are rules for apprentices. If you want to truly learn cooking skills, it may take you at least three to five years.

When she said that one can learn in three to five days, she meant that she would give precise recipes without hiding anything from others, and then demonstrate step by step, and finally the student would go back and practice diligently, just like a modern crash course.

Shen Yu was worried that her careless words would cause trouble for the two chefs, so she knelt down and explained on their behalf: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The three to five days I mentioned refers to the home cooking methods, such as the pancakes and noodles that are commonly made by the people in the north."

"The two chefs mentioned three to five years. I think when the emperor asked them, he didn't tell them what specific pasta they wanted to learn to make."

"When the chefs saw the emperor asking, they must have thought it was their signature dish or their speciality."

"If you want to learn these, you really need three to five years of hard work."

“Making pasta sounds simple, but in fact, there are many variations. It is not easy to learn it well.”

The emperor originally looked at the two chefs who were explaining endlessly, but still said it would take three to five years, and was about to get angry with them.

After listening to Shen Yu's words, I remembered that when I called the two chefs to ask questions, I did just as Shen Yu said, I only asked them how long it would take to learn how to make pasta, without giving any specific instructions.

The two chefs thought it was right to reply like this, so they waved their hands and said, "Okay, everyone, stand up and talk."

All three of them thanked him and stood up.

Shen Yu looked normal.

After the fat and thin cooks stood up, they first raised their sleeves and quietly wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, then stood there trembling, waiting for the emperor to speak.

The emperor hesitated for a moment before asking, "Chef Yang, if I ask you to teach the soldiers how to make some common northern noodles, would you be willing?"

Originally, when the emperor asked a question, he should have answered it immediately, but the fat chef Yang kept saying "servant, servant..." for a long time and refused to say the word "willing".

Shen Yu watched in confusion.

I don't understand why Chef Yang, since he is already the royal chef, must be very good at pastry cooking. It should be very easy for him to teach these home cooking methods? Why does he look so embarrassed?

At this time, the Queen Mother noticed something was wrong and said, "Chef Yang, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me."

Seeing that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor did not seem angry, Chef Yang became a little bolder and said, "To answer the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, my humble cooking skills are not uncommon."

"But the master has a rule that if you don't become a disciple, you can't learn cooking skills."

"It's really what the master said. As a disciple, I dare not teach cooking skills casually."

"I wonder if the soldiers that the emperor has asked me to teach are willing to perform the ceremony of paying homage to their master."

Shen Yu was listening nearby and couldn't help but secretly break into a cold sweat for Chef Yang.

The emperor asked him to teach the soldiers how to make pasta, but he only asked him to make some homely pasta, not his signature dishes or specialties. How could he possibly need to go through such a formal ceremony of becoming a disciple?

After all, the status of a cook is much lower than that of a soldier, so how could the soldiers be willing to do that?

The emperor did not express his opinion after hearing this. He just said "Oh" expressionlessly, and then turned to ask the thin cook next to him: "What about you, Chef Yu, what do you say?"

When Chef Yang was asked the question, the thin Chef Yu had already expected that he would be asked the same question.

He thought about it for a while, then mustered up the courage to say, "Your Majesty, I am the same as Chef Yang. When our master taught us, we learned the rule that the cooking skills, menus, and secret recipes of our master's school must not be passed on to others."

"The servants are willing to teach, but the generals really need to pay homage to the master and perform the etiquette of a disciple."

The emperor saw that although the two were respectful, they still insisted on following the rules and didn't know how to change. He was so angry that he was about to scold them for being stubborn, but the empress dowager beside him called him, "Your Majesty."

The emperor glanced at the empress dowager sitting next to him, only to see her shaking her head slightly, signaling him not to get angry about the matter.

Although the emperor was angry, he had to suppress his anger and said, "Forget it, respect your teacher. It's good that you two are doing this. There is nothing for you to do here. Please leave first."

The fat and thin men were as if they had been pardoned. They knelt down and saluted, saying, "We, the servants, thank the Emperor and the Empress Dowager for their consideration. We will take our leave first."

As they spoke, the two men stood up, bowed, and backed out of the hall. They looked at each other and hurriedly left this dangerous place together.

Shen Yu was waiting nearby, thinking, if the two of them leave, then when can I, the temporary cook, leave? The emperor seems a little angry, so I'd better stay away from him.

She quietly stepped aside, but heard the Queen Mother say, "Your Majesty, there is no need to be angry. They also have their own difficulties."

"If I teach my little skills to others easily, everyone will know how to do it, so why would we need them?"

"Besides, if the soldiers have made military achievements, their future prospects will be incomparable to that of a cook."

"The title of Imperial Chef sounds impressive, but the highest rank he holds is only the sixth rank, which is just an empty title. The soldiers are unwilling to perform the ceremony of paying homage to him."

The emperor calmed down now and nodded, "Mother is right. I didn't think it through."

"I just thought about teaching some soldiers and making them self-sufficient, which is better than always sending them cooks, but I forgot about things like future and rank."

The Queen Mother looked up and saw Shen Yu, and asked with a try-it attitude: "Miss Shen, are you willing to teach the soldiers some home-cooked noodles?"

"But you are a woman, so the gentlemen certainly cannot pay homage to you. Are you willing?"

Naturally, Shen Yu did not have so many concerns and rules about the so-called master-disciple relationship, nor did he care whether the other party became his disciple or not. It was just some home-cooked noodles, not a secret recipe or a unique skill.

She nodded readily: "I am willing to do my part for the court."