Cooking II

Lin Qing concluded that in order to support her family and herself, she would need to take occasional risks. While the prospect of losing hundreds of millions was daunting, maintaining the status quo would only perpetuate the existing circumstances, so she chose to take the risk.

On a sweltering Sunday morning, Lin Qing, burdened with thoughts, opted to head to the gym to exhaust her body and channel her stress productively. After a two-hour workout, she took a 10 min shower quickly and decided to go home and proceed with her cooking trials.

Over the past week, she had learned and tried cooking sweet and sour pork ribs , sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour soup .

Sweet and sour, if it was past life she would never touch anything that has sugar in it.

Despite her fondness for the sweet things, in past she was very fixated on maintaining her figure, it was more like a health obsession.

She would curbed her consumption of sugary and processed foods even go as far as meticulously counted calories, even for an apple or a glass of milk.

However, after enduring a decade of confinement in a dark, sensory-deprived environment, unable to speak, touch, or taste, and witnessing someone else control her body and indulge in various activities she forbade herself, she resolved to ease up on her stringent self-discipline. She had learned to savor flavors and to let go.

Today she tried to cook sweet and sour pork ribs again. She thought " For a lunch box I should also cook a base food, like rice or grains or salty pancakes"

She open the good food vlogger she liked and checked their videos and she found the recipes she needed and started to watch it in slow motion couple of times then head to the kitchen.

It was right after lunchtime, and the maids had just finished cleaning. Upon entering the kitchen, Lin Qing's arrival sent a wave of panic through the staff.

They were all aware that this little princess of the Lin family had recently taken up cooking. While learning to cook was one thing, the aftermath of her culinary endeavors often left the kitchen in a state of chaos, a mess no one wanted to clean. Although they couldn't express their discontent to their employers, the tension in the kitchen was palpable.

Unaware of the fearful looks directed her way, Lin Qing wore an apron, washed her hands, and with her sleeves rolled up, began searching for ingredients.

She sought assistance from the maids for the ones she couldn't locate. Placing a large pot on the stove, she let it reach a boil before adding the tender pork ribs prepared by the assistant chef.

Struggling to figure out the spices, Lin Qing found it challenging to distinguish one from another, thinking to herself, "They all smell similar." After asking to the nervously waiting maids , she finally learned which ones she needed before proceeding to season the pork ribs.

She awkwardly rubbed the mix of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey, and a combination of bell pepper, cassia, Sichuan pepper, fennel seeds, and red rhus onto the ribs, ensuring each piece was thoroughly coated before placing them into the boiling water to cook slowly and tenderize.

While the pork ribs simmered, Lin Qing began preparing the scallion pancake batter. Using a micro-balance scale, she carefully measured the required flour and salt, adding a spoonful of sesame oil and then calculating the necessary warm water. Though a bit anxious about using the knife to chop the fresh scallions into small slices, she managed to finish the task. The batter transformed into a vibrant green color with a subtle onion-like aroma.

With uncertain movements, Lin Qing poured a small ladleful of the pancake batter into the preheated skillet, creating imperfect circles that bubbled and crisped at the edges.

The first pancake was burnt.

Lin Qing started to get bored but she kept going till all the batter was used, the pancakes , some uneven and others with varying degrees of browning were all stacked up and Lin Qing finally learned how to evenly cook and get the golden colour the person in the video is talking about.

Meanwhile, the pork ribs had reached a succulent tenderness after simmering in the flavorful broth. Lin Qing clumsily removed them from the water and transferred them to a sizzling hot pan. With a brush of sweet and sour glaze, she began to caramelize the ribs.

Finally after she was done Lin Qing arranged a small portion of thr meal on a serving platter, adding a sprinkling of roasted sesame seeds for a finishing touch.

She tried tasting it , well it wasn't as good as the food their family chef made of she could point herself realistically but it was better than last time so she felt proud nonetheless.

She was tired so she decided to have a long bath to get the smell off of her body and relax after so many physical labour.

She didn't forget to tell the maids they could eat them if they wanted to but who dares to eat the food little princess of Lin family made with her own hands , they didn't dare, they arranged it so that it can be heated and to be given to male members of Lin family.

And the kitchen was a mess again.

Ofcourse none of the workers in Lin family complained, for maids their salary was four times better than a clerk who works in a super market and on top of this salary they would also get bonuses on special days.It was a good and secure job that pays high.

Although there were some rumours about Young Miss that she was rude or spoiled or domineering or stupid, she wasn't how she was rumoured to be.

Young Miss was very disciplined , towards workers she was not friendly but she was fair and distant, she would never cross any lines or disrespect any of her workers.

In society if a girl has enough confidence in herself she might called spoiled and domineering so this was a gray area that everyone would comment differently.