Madam Fu merely glanced out of the corner of her eye, her face as cold as ice. She said nothing.
Cai Zhi shot Lei Biao a scornful look. Supporting Madam Fu, she forced a smile and said, "Tomorrow is the Old Madam's happy day. Instead of doing your jobs properly, you're causing trouble here! Throwing vegetables at people! Do you think your lives are too long?"
Lei Biao broke out in a cold sweat as he listened. He hunched his back and came up to Madam Fu, saying in a humble tone, "Madam... I didn't do it on purpose. If they hadn't pushed me too far, I wouldn't have thrown things..."
Cai Zhi snorted, "Do you think the main kitchen is your home? Do you think the vegetables and meat just magically appear? How dare you waste them like this?"
Hearing this, Lei Biao looked a bit embarrassed, but still stubbornly argued, insisting it was Qi Jiao and the others' fault.
Madam Fu's expression remained calm, but her words were as sharp as knives. "Aren't you the head chef? If you can't do your job properly and keep causing trouble, you might as well leave. The Shu Mansion doesn't need someone like you."
When Lei Biao heard that Madam Fu wanted to dismiss him, he got anxious. "Madam, I was recommended by the Second Madam. I've always wanted to do a good job for the Old Madam's birthday banquet. How can you just ask me to leave?"
He had a flattering look on his face, but his attitude was rather insolent. "I'm not boasting. Except for me, no one else can cook the main dishes for the Old Madam's birthday banquet."
Madam Fu was annoyed to be threatened like this, especially with Zhu Lian'er being used against her. But she showed no sign of it on her face.
Aunt Mei was infuriated by Lei Biao's behavior. She said indignantly, "It's as if nothing can be done without you..."
She turned to Madam Fu and curtsied. "Madam, when it comes to cooking banquets, I dare say Jiao Niang is second to none. Her cooking skills are top-notch. Not just anyone can compare with her." As she said this, she glared at Lei Biao.
Madam Fu looked at Qi Jiao and adjusted her handkerchief. "Is what you said true?"
Aunt Mei, who had tasted many of Qi Jiao's dishes, nodded affirmatively.
The Second Miss Shu, Madam Fu's daughter, often brought back delicious food from outside for her mother, and many of them were from Jiao Niang's Restaurant.
So although Madam Fu asked, she had already made up her mind.
Just as Madam Fu was about to speak, they heard a series of footsteps outside.
A fragrant breeze blew in, and the Second Madam Zhu and her maid Jin'er rushed in.
They had heard about the commotion in the main kitchen but didn't take it seriously at first. But when they heard that the First Madam had come, they realized the situation had become serious.
The Second Madam Zhu gritted her teeth in anger and cursed Lei Biao for being useless.
She rushed over in a hurry. Entering the kitchen, she put on a big smile when she saw Madam Fu and called out, "Sister-in-law. The servants are being stupid. The stewards will take care of it. Why did you have to come here yourself?"
Madam Fu also smiled and took the Second Madam's hand. "I had nothing to do, so I came to check on the progress of the birthday banquet. I happened to catch a good show."
The two exchanged pleasantries, but there was an undercurrent of hostility.
The Second Madam Zhu turned and saw Lei Biao. Her expression changed instantly.
Jin'er understood and started scolding, "The Madam took pity on your dead parents and gave you this good opportunity to work in the mansion because you're a distant relative. Instead of working hard, you're causing trouble with the kitchen maids. Where does that leave our Madam's face? You're really ungrateful. The Madam wasted her time on you."
...
Jin'er's sharp tongue scolded everyone.
Qi Laoliu and the others were so scared that they were shaking like leaves. Lei Biao could only nod meekly and didn't dare to say a word.
After Jin'er finished scolding, the Second Madam Zhu finally exploded. "Steward Qian, how are you managing things? How can there be an unknown person in the main kitchen?"
She glanced at Jiao Niang disdainfully, clearly supporting Lei Biao.
Steward Qian said helplessly, "Reporting to the Second Madam, Jiao Niang is a well - known chef. She has a private restaurant in the county. Because her cooking skills are excellent, the Second Miss recommended her."
The Second Madam Zhu said, "Oh," but her expression was skeptical. "Who knows if her skills are really that good? Maybe it's all just talk."
Qi Jiao could tell that the Second Madam was a mean person just from her behavior. Her eyes grew cold, and she was about to speak.
But Madam Fu smiled and said lightly, "Sister, you're right. The only way to know if someone has good cooking skills is to test them."
"Before I came, I heard that this Chef Lei copied the dishes from Jiao Niang's Restaurant and claimed them as his own. I wonder if there's any truth to that?"
Madam Fu had a smile on her face.
Hearing this, the Second Madam Zhu could hardly maintain her smile. She cursed Lei Biao in her heart for his old habit. Why did he have to copy from the real chef!
"There's more than just a little truth! It's a big deal! Mother, I've tasted Jiao Niang's Glutinous Rice and Eight - Treasure Duck. It's definitely not the imitation made by this chef!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the Second Miss Shu Qingnian. She and a group of sisters had come.
The young ladies were surrounded by a large group of maids and servants, and soon they blocked the kitchen door.
Madam Fu gave them a reproachful look, but there was a indulgent smile on her lips. "What are you all doing here?"
The young ladies in the mansion were bored all day. This was a rare piece of excitement, so of course they came to join in.
They had just arrived when Mama Wan from the Old Madam's side came.
Mama Wan was not very old, but her words and actions were very proper. She carried the Old Madam's will.
When Mama Wan came, even the First Madam and the Second Madam had to be polite.
Mama Wan bowed to Madam Fu and the Second Madam Zhu and said with a smile, "The Old Madam just woke up from her nap. She heard that there was a commotion in the main kitchen and wanted to come and take a look. But she was too lazy to move, so she asked the two chefs to cook the dishes for the competition and send them to her courtyard for her to judge."
Madam Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Old Madam was not angry about this.
She said, "Just do as Mama said. Let Chef Lei and Chef Qi each cook a Glutinous Rice and Eight - Treasure Duck and send them to the Old Madam's courtyard."
A look of annoyance flashed across the Second Madam Zhu's face, but she had to smile and agree.
At this point, Lei Biao was very nervous, but he had to brace himself and start cooking.
Shu Qingnian and Aunt Mei were very confident in Qi Jiao. They kept urging Qi Jiao to teach Lei Biao a lesson.
Qi Jiao smiled. After the kitchen was cleaned up, she went to the well - stocked ingredient area and selected a fat and tender duck.
After the kitchen maid slaughtered and cleaned the duck, Qi Jiao took the knife, split the back, cut off the duck feet, blanched the duck in boiling water, then took it out, washed it, and drained it.
Then she evenly coated the duck with soy sauce.
She prepared diced bamboo shoots, diced meat, diced ham, diced chestnuts, diced chicken gizzards, diced mushrooms, lotus seeds, and dried shrimps and put them in a large bowl. These were the eight treasures.
She then put the glutinous rice into the bowl, added yellow rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar, mixed them into a filling, and stuffed it into the duck's belly.
She placed the duck back - up in a container, steamed it until the duck meat was tender and then took it out and inverted it onto a plate.
After cooking the duck, Qi Jiao heated the wok, gently added lard, stir - fried the fresh shrimps until they were cooked, and took them out. She left a little oil in the wok, added sliced bamboo shoots and sliced mushrooms, added soy sauce and an appropriate amount of the duck's steaming juice, and brought it to a boil.
Finally, she added the shrimps and cooked green beans, thickened the sauce with starch, drizzled on some fragrant lard, and poured it over the duck. And the dish was done.