The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Chapter 1870 Killing the Fish

Cheng Feng said, "Why are you asking? Meal times are fixed. Except for you few errand runners, everyone has probably eaten."

That's right. The kitchen doesn't just cook for the masters. The servants' three meals a day are also prepared on time. Even if they go out to run errands and come back late, there will still be food in the kitchen for them. No one will go hungry.

However, Da Yan clearly wanted to eat fish, and his thoughts were written all over his face. Apart from Cheng Feng and Cheng Youning, only Da Yan dared to praise Shang Xi's cooking skills. Cheng Feng instructed Da Yan: "Pick a fatter fish and net two more!"

Upon hearing this, Da Yan happily raised the net, knowing that the two more fish caught in the net were for them to eat.

Big Eyes had half his body submerged in the tank. Cheng Feng felt it was dangerous no matter how he looked at it. This was not something a child like him should be doing. "Big Eyes, it's dangerous for you to fish like this. If you plunge headfirst into the tank, you'll lose your life. Put down the net and call Mi Tun to come out and fish!"

The cooks and kitchen helpers were all there, since the prince and princess hadn't eaten yet! Everyone was waiting! Mi Tun was there too! He heard noises in the courtyard and faintly heard someone calling his name, so he ran out!

Upon seeing the people in the courtyard, he asked, "Your Highness and Your Highness, are you eating now? The dishes are all prepared. Some dishes need to be heated up, and some need to be stir-fried, but they will be ready soon!"

Upon seeing Mi Tun, Cheng Feng began making arrangements, "Have the cooks work on a few more dishes. The Emperor will be having dinner at the Prince's residence later, so you..."

Having learned his lesson from being scolded last time, Mi Tun immediately turned and went into the kitchen to inform the chefs that the Emperor was going to dine there. "The Emperor will be having dinner at the Prince's residence. The Prince has asked everyone to work on a few dishes!"

The head chef, surnamed Liu, was Mi Tun's master. Upon hearing that he would be cooking for the Emperor, he immediately tensed up, grabbed an apron from the rack, and neatly wrapped it around himself. The other chefs, the second and third in line, followed suit. Led by the head chef, the kitchen staff hurried out, their solemn faces filled with joy and excitement upon seeing Cheng Feng and Shang Xi. They were people who had been rewarded and commended by the Emperor; their status had changed instantly. Even the vegetable cutter standing there felt different.

The head chef spoke first, "Your Highness and Your Highness, does the Emperor want to have dinner at the Prince's residence?" They were afraid that Mi Tun would misreport the message and cause them to be disappointed.

Cheng Feng had no choice but to repeat what he had only said to Mi Tun, and then added, "It's getting late. Just put together a table of dishes; the ultimate goal is to get the Emperor to eat as soon as possible!"

Chef Liu said he understood, and then asked Cheng Feng, "Does His Majesty have any dietary restrictions?"

"No dietary restrictions, just make whatever you want!" Cheng Feng thought for a moment and then added, "Don't bother with a menu, just make whatever you see, and prioritize speed! If you can avoid carving those flowers, then don't!"

Cheng Feng has never been a fan of those fancy but inedible things. He comes from a poor background and values ​​practicality, affordability, and usefulness!

The chefs readily agreed, but once they entered the kitchen, they started drawing up menus. They wouldn't know what to do without following the menu. And what about the carvings? How could their skill be judged without them? How could they impress the emperor with their appearance without carvings? Carvings were a must!

In the courtyard, Mi Tun walked to the large vat, grabbed Da Yan by the back of his collar, and pulled Da Yan, who was leaning over with his butt sticking out, off the small wooden stool!

Big Eyes just yelled and screamed! "Hey—hey—hey—what are you doing? Can't you see I'm catching fish? The princess is waiting for my fish to go into the pot!"

Mi Tun ignored him, snatched the net from Da Yan's hand with one hand, and said with a not-so-pleasant expression, "This is my job, why are you always trying to take it from me!"

Big Eyes pouted, feeling dissatisfied but unable to say anything. This was indeed Mi Tun's job on a regular basis! Including the tank of fish in front of him, all of which were taken care of by Mi Tun!

Although there are many and varied tasks in the kitchen, everyone is clearly responsible for their respective areas, making it easy for the head chef to hold anyone accountable if something goes wrong.

Mi Tu kicked the slightly obstructive wooden stool aside, bent down, and easily scooped a large, fat fish out of the tank, placing it in a large basin beside him.

Seeing this, Da Yan rushed into the kitchen and found the fish-cleaning tools that Mi Tun usually used on the shelf. He then picked up the small wooden stool he had just stepped on and placed it next to the large basin of fish. Just as he was about to sit down, Mi Tun grabbed him by the collar and pulled him aside, taking the tools from his hands. "These knives are mine. According to the rules, you can't touch them. And this fish-cleaning work is also mine. You're just a gofer, can you please stop coming to the kitchen and taking my work? You're just making things difficult for me! You're doing all my work, what am I supposed to do? Do you want me to get scolded by Master?"

Big Eyes stood there blankly, looking hurt. He felt a little wronged; he just wanted to help, to do the work, and to show his abilities.

With a dry, hard voice, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "The princess sent me here to help!"

Mi Tun used his silver knife to tap the fish's head twice, the force just right. The big, fat fish struggled violently, then its body went limp, only its fins trembling slightly, and it made no further struggle. This was a skillful job, how could Mi Tun leave it to Daye? Mi Tun looked up at Daye, who was still standing straight beside him with a dejected expression, not intending to leave, and said, "What can you do? Start a fire?"

Big Eyes felt dejected when the topic of tending the fire came up, but he refused to admit defeat and stubbornly insisted, "No one tends the fire better than me, and I can do all the work you're doing!"

That's clearly a boast!

Although Mi Tun is sixteen, not much older than Da Yan, he always had a master to teach and guide him when he went out to work. Now he's practically a chef, a true craftsman.

Everyone in the Prince's mansion knew that Da Yan was competitive and ambitious. However, considering his young age and his tendency to help others, even though he often ended up making things worse, everyone tolerated him and Mi Tun wouldn't hold it against him.

However, this doesn't mean that Mi Tun agrees with Da Yan's words. He learned cooking from his master since he was a child, and he can be said to have mastered these skills since childhood. "You may think that the work in our kitchen is simple, but there are actually a lot of tricks to it. Just killing fish has a lot of intricacies. If the fish is not handled properly, it will have to be thrown away!"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "What's so hard about killing a fish? If you can't kill it properly, why throw it away?" He was thinking to himself, "Your kitchen is really wasteful. I've never heard of throwing away fish if you can't kill it properly!"

Just then, a cook came out of the kitchen and tossed out a bunch of scallions. "Mi Tun, after you've cleaned the fish, peel these scallions!"