Inside the kitchen, fighting ultimately did not break out.
After a bout of chaotic argument, Xu Changge, after sighing lightly, helplessly relinquished his position as head chef to Xu Yuan and Xu Xinyao, while he himself crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby white wall, half-closing his eyes and watching them take over as supervisors.
He truly was worried, although this time his concern was not directed at Xu Yuan.
Ever since this lad had let loose, he had been reveling daily inside and outside Di’an, eating and drinking merrily. Among these, food inevitably took up a considerable portion; through constant exposure, his culinary skills had become quite reliable.
Just as Xu Yuan did not want Xu Xinyao to enter the rear kitchen, Xu Changge’s real worry lied with this fourth sister.
This girl had actually managed to blow up the kitchen before.
After seizing control of the kitchen, Xu Yuan quickly scanned over the stove area.
The various spices, neatly arranged in glass bottles on the countertop, were even more diverse than the seasonings produced under modern industries in his previous life.
Food is the paramount necessity of the people, and Dayan’s vast territory nurtured an even more colorful assortment of cuisines.
It had been a long while since Xu Yuan entered the rear kitchen, and he was surprised to see such a complete array of seasonings.
But on second thought, he realized that this was the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
Even if not needed right this moment, provisions had to be made, as who knew when the Prime Minister and his offspring might crave something new.
And all sorts of food ingredients and seasonings in the inner kitchen were sent over from the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s own kitchen.
Sweeping his gaze past the different spices, Xu Yuan’s attention rested on two dishes freshly removed from the pot, still steaming.
Both were the most common homecooked dishes, one a plate of fried tofu, and the other a stir-fried meat dish, both simple yet fragrant.
After a brief glance, Xu Yuan chuckled and shook his head.
This time it was not mockery, for back then Xu Changge learned cooking simply to keep these three little ones from starving.
As he was thinking, the soft voice of Xu Xinyao suddenly came from the side:
"Third brother, when Xinyao was traveling through Guanghuai State’s Pinghuai Liushan County, I had a dish made with Zilan Fire Dragon Pepper that tasted sour, spicy, and refreshing, and could even emulate the texture of meat using Zilan vines."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, glanced back at this fourth sister, only to see her rolling up the sleeves of her red dress, revealing two fair and flawless arms, her eyes sparkling with a willing smile:
"After Xinyao had it, she kept thinking of you, third brother. She thought you would definitely like it."
Xu Xinyao seemed to remember something, turning back to smile at the supervisor:
"Of course, that includes you too, big brother."
The supervisor in green clothes hummed indifferently.
Unlike Xu Changge, Xu Yuan, who had a profound understanding of fine food, had heard of this dish, and asked with a hint of confusion:
"But I remember that Zilan vines, a kind of spiritual vegetable, seem to wither within two days of being picked, and we probably don’t have any in stock in the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s kitchen, right?"
Xu Xinyao laughed lightly, unconcerned, and said:
"I’ve thought about this on my way back to the capital. Zilan vines are cold in nature, belonging to the mysterious water category, compatible with Fengwei vines in medicinal properties, they could be substituted. However, their spiritual energy conflicts with the Fire Dragon Pepper, so just add some ambergris to balance it."
Xu Yuan’s eyelid twitched, and he cleared his throat:
Xinyao, full of eagerness, turned back with sparkling eyes and gestured with her hands, laughing softly, "Third brother, don’t worry, although ambergris is rich in spiritual energy, once the properties are blended, it won’t harm your body now..."
"That’s not what I’m worried about."
"Cooking isn’t actually that complicated."
Xinyao blinked, then dropped her head slightly in disappointment. However, after a moment of silence, she lifted her head again and tentatively asked:
"What about the Phoenix Nesting Nine-Fungi Soup from Guanghuai State?"
"Need to change the ingredients?"
"...Just a little bit."
Xu Yuan turned to look at Xu Changge.
After a moment of eye contact,
Xu Changge nodded slightly, with a touch of solemnity.
Xu Xinyao was thrown out of the kitchen by the two brothers.
After Xinyao left with a sulky attitude, everything in the kitchen ran smoothly.
Because the New Year’s Eve dinner had to be finished before midnight, Xu Yuan even got to experience what it felt like to order around Bi Wang as his assistant.
In reality, cooking is a very simple affair—practically any dish, when made a few times, would turn out edible; the kitchen explosions that happened in anime or novels simply did not occur. However, a certain young miss from the Prime Minister’s Mansion always treated cooking like alchemy.
Whose proper cooking ever even considers medicinal properties?
It was indeed Xu Xinyao who had blown up the kitchen previously, startling many high-ranking members of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, who thought an assassin had sneaked into the inner courtyard. It wasn’t until a group of Primordials who had achieved Mortal Transcendence rushed to the scene that they discovered it was the fourth young miss who had blown up the kitchen.
When Xu Yuan and Xu Changge returned to the main hall with the New Year’s Eve dinner, Xu Xinyao was unhappily fiddling with the thin ribbon of her red dress, her head bowed. Upon seeing the two brothers approach, she pouted slightly, showing some dissatisfaction.
Nonetheless, her gentle nature stopped her from throwing a fit, and she quickly stepped forward to help her brothers arrange the various fragrant dishes onto the central hall table.
Without any words or ceremony, once the family had all taken their seats, the five members naturally began to use their chopsticks. In the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, there were no strict rules; nonsense like "no talking while eating, no speaking while sleeping" didn’t exist.
However, although the atmosphere of this New Year’s Eve dinner was soft, it was still rather quiet, lacking the lively atmosphere typical of ordinary families celebrating the New Year.