Chapter 217
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The Head Maid was allowed to sit on one of the chairs at tthe dinning table so she pulled out a knitting set and started knitting something at the dinning table. The Head Maid's assistant was also allowed a chair as she guarded the fire pit. Shen Tianyu did ask her if she wanted to read something in the meantime but she declined saying she needed to concentrate on the temperature of the room.
Time passed quickly and soon one of Rong Jian's eunuches knocked on the door of the room. "This humble one comes to inform Wangfei that the appointed time has arrived and that the kitchen servants have vacated the kitchen." He announced through the door.
Shen Tianyu flipped her book closed. "Alright. Wait for me while I change and then you can lead me there." She hadn't been to the kitchen since Rong Jian gave her the tour and she knew how confusing big estates can be so she felt she needed a guide. Since she was going to be cooking, she had to change into more practical clothing so she shed her fur coat and thick outer robe with fur cuffs for something with less fur. It was cold outside but moving around in the kitchen will serve to warm her up.
She opened the door of the house, giving the Head Maid and her assistant permission to relax in the room and stepped out. Dressed in a light blue outer robe with a plainer design, she followed the eunuch to the kitchen without huddling in on herself because of the cold. With her level of cultivation, she could circulate the spiritual energy throughout her body to heighten her tolerance to the cold. That didn't mean she didn't feel the cold, she just had a higher tolerance to it for a limited time, so that she wouldn't be walking like an old woman with a bad back problem. It wouldn't look good and the servants that passed them by might start gossiping among themselves.
The eunuch stopped in front of a one story building the size of a school building in the city with a chimney at the top and turned to the side. "Wangfei, we have arrived at the kitchen. The Head Chef and his assistant inside to instruct you on how to use the stove and other tools."
"The Head Chef? I believe I said just a mere servant or two was fine." Shen Tianyu raised an eyebrow.
The eunuch's head lowered even more. "The Head Chef insisted on advising Wangfei and Wangye had agreed to it."
"By bringing Ah-Jian up, are you trying to threaten me?" Shen Tianyu crossed her arms across her chest.
The eunuch's head shrunk into his shoulders at her cold tone. "Not at all. This one truly doesn't dare. It's just that the Head Chef insisted and- and Wangye agreed so we couldn't- we couldn't say anything..."
"I understand now. You can go back." Shen Tianyu narrowed her eyes and let her arms fall to her side. She watched as the eunuch scurried away until she saw him turn and enter Rong Jian's courtyard.
Only when she made sure he didn't pop out again did she turn towards the kitchen and walked up to it's doors. She pushed the doors open enough for her to walk through and entered. She quickly closed the doors behind her and greeted the two men inside. "Head Chef and his assistant, it's a pleasure to be under your tutelage for the time being."
"No no no. It is our honor to be in allowed in Wangfei's prescence." The older man waved his hands in front of himself. He was wearing the uniform of the kitchen staff with a small claw stitched on his chest. The claw had five fingers, the symbol of Zhu Wangfu. His assistant didn't have any such markings and only wore the usual kitchen staff's uniform. The Head Chef looked to be about forty years old while the assistant was about twenty, both older than her in terms of her age in this world.
"I would like to get started so could Head Chef or your assistant teach me how to operate the stove?" Shen Tianyu got right down to business.
"Yes, Wangfei. The stove is right over here." The assistant jumped on her eagerness and pointed her to the stove with an barely hidden excited smile. It was, as she expected, a stone stove with a place for a pot at the top and the fireplace fully exposed. There was already firewood inside the fireplace of the stove but there was no fire yet. It was cleaner than most other stoves she had seen but there wasn't much visual difference from what she knew. "As there are two openings, this stove can accomodate two pots." The assistant ccontinued with leaking pride as she made her way over.
"Two pots? That's certainly unique." She commented as she looked at the top of the stove. There were indeed two openings, side by side, on the stove top to suggest placement for two pots. 'I haven't seen a stove like this since I was reborn in this world. Even the stove at the Minister's residence only had one opening. Status is indeed all powerful.' She thought to herself as she looked downwards at the fireplace.
Seeing her drifting gaze, the Head Chef jumped in to texplain. "Frewood is put into the fireplace an lit on fire in order to heat up the pots placed on the opening. The sides of the fireplace are engraved with uh... Array script... for protection. The Array creates an invisible field in front of the fireplace so that people won't accidentallt fall in. It also keeps the ehat trapped inside for longer, which enables the double openings to cook at almost the same rate. Of course, the smoke is filtered out and goes into the air via the chimney so it doesn't cause hazard to the workers within the kitchen."
"Array formation script... you mean runes?" shen Tianyu gently corrected as she stared at the stone surrounding the fireplace. Indeed, there were faint traces of runes used for Array formations etched into the stone. She wasn't particularly gifted in runes but she could at least recognize that these weren't any of the words they used in regular writing.
"Yes! Runes! I heard Wangye invited a famous Array master to etch that into the stone!" The Head Chef announced proudly with his hands on his hips and his nose turned up.
'Not to mention a Wangye, even if the Crown Prince invited an Array Master, they might not come, much less to engrave a shield array on a stone stove. Array Masters are rare and most are quite arrogant because of their high demand. He's probably affiliated with a big organization if one was willing to do something this trivial for him.' Shen Tianyu didn't deny that the person that engraves the runes was an Array Master. The runes were perfectly aligned and smooth having none of the immaturity or roughness that an amateur's did. "I understand. I just need to light the firewood on fire, right?" She didn't voice her thought but tried to confirm this instead. She wasn't here to investigate his connections but cook, she can ask him about it later or look into him if need be.
"Yes." The Head Chef affirmed, a little deflated when she didn't say anything about the Array Master. "Um... does Wangfei need any help in the preparations or...?"
"No. I should be fine. These are all the ingredients available right now, yes?" She asked as she walked over to the table ladden with fresh ingredients. There were fruits and eggs as well as noodles and meat. She didn't tell Rong Jian what kind of dish she'd make so he had prepared a bit of everything placed on the table so she wouldn't be lacking in ingredients.
"Yes, there is more in the stockroom but we didn't want to bring all of that out as that wouldn't fit into the kitchen. If you need more of something, we are more thna willing to go fetch it for you." The assistant piped up.
"It's alright. This much should be enough." Shen Tianyu denied their help. Variety aside, the current amount was enough for her to make what she wanted to.
"Um... this..." The Head Chef stammered as she examined the ingredients.
"Yes?" She prompted him to speak without looking at him.
"Um... We- I... I am aware you said you don't need help but... may I... watch...?" Th Head Chef stammerd out his request, afraid to anger her and be denied.
Shen Tianyu looked up at him and his assistant with a hand on a box of eggs. "As long as you two aren't in my way, you can watch. Just stand by the door."
""Thank you Wangfei!"" They both uttered at the same time and hurried to stand by the door. From the proud way the both of them had talked about the stove and how clean it was despite the fading runes that they were quite proud of and attached to it. Since she didn't even know how to operate the stove, they were probably worried she'd do something wrong and damage it.
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The Head Maid was allowed to sit on one of the chairs at tthe dinning table so she pulled out a knitting set and started knitting something at the dinning table. The Head Maid's assistant was also allowed a chair as she guarded the fire pit. Shen Tianyu did ask her if she wanted to read something in the meantime but she declined saying she needed to concentrate on the temperature of the room.
Time passed quickly and soon one of Rong Jian's eunuches knocked on the door of the room. "This humble one comes to inform Wangfei that the appointed time has arrived and that the kitchen servants have vacated the kitchen." He announced through the door.
Shen Tianyu flipped her book closed. "Alright. Wait for me while I change and then you can lead me there." She hadn't been to the kitchen since Rong Jian gave her the tour and she knew how confusing big estates can be so she felt she needed a guide. Since she was going to be cooking, she had to change into more practical clothing so she shed her fur coat and thick outer robe with fur cuffs for something with less fur. It was cold outside but moving around in the kitchen will serve to warm her up.
She opened the door of the house, giving the Head Maid and her assistant permission to relax in the room and stepped out. Dressed in a light blue outer robe with a plainer design, she followed the eunuch to the kitchen without huddling in on herself because of the cold. With her level of cultivation, she could circulate the spiritual energy throughout her body to heighten her tolerance to the cold. That didn't mean she didn't feel the cold, she just had a higher tolerance to it for a limited time, so that she wouldn't be walking like an old woman with a bad back problem. It wouldn't look good and the servants that passed them by might start gossiping among themselves.
The eunuch stopped in front of a one story building the size of a school building in the city with a chimney at the top and turned to the side. "Wangfei, we have arrived at the kitchen. The Head Chef and his assistant inside to instruct you on how to use the stove and other tools."
"The Head Chef? I believe I said just a mere servant or two was fine." Shen Tianyu raised an eyebrow.
The eunuch's head lowered even more. "The Head Chef insisted on advising Wangfei and Wangye had agreed to it."
"By bringing Ah-Jian up, are you trying to threaten me?" Shen Tianyu crossed her arms across her chest.
The eunuch's head shrunk into his shoulders at her cold tone. "Not at all. This one truly doesn't dare. It's just that the Head Chef insisted and- and Wangye agreed so we couldn't- we couldn't say anything..."
"I understand now. You can go back." Shen Tianyu narrowed her eyes and let her arms fall to her side. She watched as the eunuch scurried away until she saw him turn and enter Rong Jian's courtyard.
Only when she made sure he didn't pop out again did she turn towards the kitchen and walked up to it's doors. She pushed the doors open enough for her to walk through and entered. She quickly closed the doors behind her and greeted the two men inside. "Head Chef and his assistant, it's a pleasure to be under your tutelage for the time being."
"No no no. It is our honor to be in allowed in Wangfei's prescence." The older man waved his hands in front of himself. He was wearing the uniform of the kitchen staff with a small claw stitched on his chest. The claw had five fingers, the symbol of Zhu Wangfu. His assistant didn't have any such markings and only wore the usual kitchen staff's uniform. The Head Chef looked to be about forty years old while the assistant was about twenty, both older than her in terms of her age in this world.
"I would like to get started so could Head Chef or your assistant teach me how to operate the stove?" Shen Tianyu got right down to business.
"Yes, Wangfei. The stove is right over here." The assistant jumped on her eagerness and pointed her to the stove with an barely hidden excited smile. It was, as she expected, a stone stove with a place for a pot at the top and the fireplace fully exposed. There was already firewood inside the fireplace of the stove but there was no fire yet. It was cleaner than most other stoves she had seen but there wasn't much visual difference from what she knew. "As there are two openings, this stove can accomodate two pots." The assistant ccontinued with leaking pride as she made her way over.
"Two pots? That's certainly unique." She commented as she looked at the top of the stove. There were indeed two openings, side by side, on the stove top to suggest placement for two pots. 'I haven't seen a stove like this since I was reborn in this world. Even the stove at the Minister's residence only had one opening. Status is indeed all powerful.' She thought to herself as she looked downwards at the fireplace.
Seeing her drifting gaze, the Head Chef jumped in to texplain. "Frewood is put into the fireplace an lit on fire in order to heat up the pots placed on the opening. The sides of the fireplace are engraved with uh... Array script... for protection. The Array creates an invisible field in front of the fireplace so that people won't accidentallt fall in. It also keeps the ehat trapped inside for longer, which enables the double openings to cook at almost the same rate. Of course, the smoke is filtered out and goes into the air via the chimney so it doesn't cause hazard to the workers within the kitchen."
"Array formation script... you mean runes?" shen Tianyu gently corrected as she stared at the stone surrounding the fireplace. Indeed, there were faint traces of runes used for Array formations etched into the stone. She wasn't particularly gifted in runes but she could at least recognize that these weren't any of the words they used in regular writing.
"Yes! Runes! I heard Wangye invited a famous Array master to etch that into the stone!" The Head Chef announced proudly with his hands on his hips and his nose turned up.
'Not to mention a Wangye, even if the Crown Prince invited an Array Master, they might not come, much less to engrave a shield array on a stone stove. Array Masters are rare and most are quite arrogant because of their high demand. He's probably affiliated with a big organization if one was willing to do something this trivial for him.' Shen Tianyu didn't deny that the person that engraves the runes was an Array Master. The runes were perfectly aligned and smooth having none of the immaturity or roughness that an amateur's did. "I understand. I just need to light the firewood on fire, right?" She didn't voice her thought but tried to confirm this instead. She wasn't here to investigate his connections but cook, she can ask him about it later or look into him if need be.
"Yes." The Head Chef affirmed, a little deflated when she didn't say anything about the Array Master. "Um... does Wangfei need any help in the preparations or...?"
"No. I should be fine. These are all the ingredients available right now, yes?" She asked as she walked over to the table ladden with fresh ingredients. There were fruits and eggs as well as noodles and meat. She didn't tell Rong Jian what kind of dish she'd make so he had prepared a bit of everything placed on the table so she wouldn't be lacking in ingredients.
"Yes, there is more in the stockroom but we didn't want to bring all of that out as that wouldn't fit into the kitchen. If you need more of something, we are more thna willing to go fetch it for you." The assistant piped up.
"It's alright. This much should be enough." Shen Tianyu denied their help. Variety aside, the current amount was enough for her to make what she wanted to.
"Um... this..." The Head Chef stammered as she examined the ingredients.
"Yes?" She prompted him to speak without looking at him.
"Um... We- I... I am aware you said you don't need help but... may I... watch...?" Th Head Chef stammerd out his request, afraid to anger her and be denied.
Shen Tianyu looked up at him and his assistant with a hand on a box of eggs. "As long as you two aren't in my way, you can watch. Just stand by the door."
""Thank you Wangfei!"" They both uttered at the same time and hurried to stand by the door. From the proud way the both of them had talked about the stove and how clean it was despite the fading runes that they were quite proud of and attached to it. Since she didn't even know how to operate the stove, they were probably worried she'd do something wrong and damage it.
The Head Maid was allowed to sit on one of the chairs at tthe dinning table so she pulled out a knitting set and started knitting something at the dinning table. The Head Maid's assistant was also allowed a chair as she guarded the fire pit. Shen Tianyu did ask her if she wanted to read something in the meantime but she declined saying she needed to concentrate on the temperature of the room.Time passed quickly and soon one of Rong Jian's eunuches knocked on the door of the room. "This humble one comes to inform Wangfei that the appointed time has arrived and that the kitchen servants have vacated the kitchen." He announced through the door.Shen Tianyu flipped her book closed. "Alright. Wait for me while I change and then you can lead me there." She hadn't been to the kitchen since Rong Jian gave her the tour and she knew how confusing big estates can be so she felt she needed a guide. Since she was going to be cooking, she had to change into more practical clothing so she shed her fur coat and thick outer robe with fur cuffs for something with less fur. It was cold outside but moving around in the kitchen will serve to warm her up.She opened the door of the house, giving the Head Maid and her assistant permission to relax in the room and stepped out. Dressed in a light blue outer robe with a plainer design, she followed the eunuch to the kitchen without huddling in on herself because of the cold. With her level of cultivation, she could circulate the spiritual energy throughout her body to heighten her tolerance to the cold. That didn't mean she didn't feel the cold, she just had a higher tolerance to it for a limited time, so that she wouldn't be walking like an old woman with a bad back problem. It wouldn't look good and the servants that passed them by might start gossiping among themselves.The eunuch stopped in front of a one story building the size of a school building in the city with a chimney at the top and turned to the side. "Wangfei, we have arrived at the kitchen. The Head Chef and his assistant inside to instruct you on how to use the stove and other tools.""The Head Chef? I believe I said just a mere servant or two was fine." Shen Tianyu raised an eyebrow.The eunuch's head lowered even more. "The Head Chef insisted on advising Wangfei and Wangye had agreed to it.""By bringing Ah-Jian up, are you trying to threaten me?" Shen Tianyu crossed her arms across her chest.The eunuch's head shrunk into his shoulders at her cold tone. "Not at all. This one truly doesn't dare. It's just that the Head Chef insisted and- and Wangye agreed so we couldn't- we couldn't say anything...""I understand now. You can go back." Shen Tianyu narrowed her eyes and let her arms fall to her side. She watched as the eunuch scurried away until she saw him turn and enter Rong Jian's courtyard.Only when she made sure he didn't pop out again did she turn towards the kitchen and walked up to it's doors. She pushed the doors open enough for her to walk through and entered. She quickly closed the doors behind her and greeted the two men inside. "Head Chef and his assistant, it's a pleasure to be under your tutelage for the time being.""No no no. It is our honor to be in allowed in Wangfei's prescence." The older man waved his hands in front of himself. He was wearing the uniform of the kitchen staff with a small claw stitched on his chest. The claw had five fingers, the symbol of Zhu Wangfu. His assistant didn't have any such markings and only wore the usual kitchen staff's uniform. The Head Chef looked to be about forty years old while the assistant was about twenty, both older than her in terms of her age in this world."I would like to get started so could Head Chef or your assistant teach me how to operate the stove?" Shen Tianyu got right down to business."Yes, Wangfei. The stove is right over here." The assistant jumped on her eagerness and pointed her to the stove with an barely hidden excited smile. It was, as she expected, a stone stove with a place for a pot at the top and the fireplace fully exposed. There was already firewood inside the fireplace of the stove but there was no fire yet. It was cleaner than most other stoves she had seen but there wasn't much visual difference from what she knew. "As there are two openings, this stove can accomodate two pots." The assistant ccontinued with leaking pride as she made her way over."Two pots? That's certainly unique." She commented as she looked at the top of the stove. There were indeed two openings, side by side, on the stove top to suggest placement for two pots. 'I haven't seen a stove like this since I was reborn in this world. Even the stove at the Minister's residence only had one opening. Status is indeed all powerful.' She thought to herself as she looked downwards at the fireplace.Seeing her drifting gaze, the Head Chef jumped in to texplain. "Frewood is put into the fireplace an lit on fire in order to heat up the pots placed on the opening. The sides of the fireplace are engraved with uh... Array script... for protection. The Array creates an invisible field in front of the fireplace so that people won't accidentallt fall in. It also keeps the ehat trapped inside for longer, which enables the double openings to cook at almost the same rate. Of course, the smoke is filtered out and goes into the air via the chimney so it doesn't cause hazard to the workers within the kitchen.""Array formation script... you mean runes?" shen Tianyu gently corrected as she stared at the stone surrounding the fireplace. Indeed, there were faint traces of runes used for Array formations etched into the stone. She wasn't particularly gifted in runes but she could at least recognize that these weren't any of the words they used in regular writing."Yes! Runes! I heard Wangye invited a famous Array master to etch that into the stone!" The Head Chef announced proudly with his hands on his hips and his nose turned up.'Not to mention a Wangye, even if the Crown Prince invited an Array Master, they might not come, much less to engrave a shield array on a stone stove. Array Masters are rare and most are quite arrogant because of their high demand. He's probably affiliated with a big organization if one was willing to do something this trivial for him.' Shen Tianyu didn't deny that the person that engraves the runes was an Array Master. The runes were perfectly aligned and smooth having none of the immaturity or roughness that an amateur's did. "I understand. I just need to light the firewood on fire, right?" She didn't voice her thought but tried to confirm this instead. She wasn't here to investigate his connections but cook, she can ask him about it later or look into him if need be."Yes." The Head Chef affirmed, a little deflated when she didn't say anything about the Array Master. "Um... does Wangfei need any help in the preparations or...?""No. I should be fine. These are all the ingredients available right now, yes?" She asked as she walked over to the table ladden with fresh ingredients. There were fruits and eggs as well as noodles and meat. She didn't tell Rong Jian what kind of dish she'd make so he had prepared a bit of everything placed on the table so she wouldn't be lacking in ingredients."Yes, there is more in the stockroom but we didn't want to bring all of that out as that wouldn't fit into the kitchen. If you need more of something, we are more thna willing to go fetch it for you." The assistant piped up."It's alright. This much should be enough." Shen Tianyu denied their help. Variety aside, the current amount was enough for her to make what she wanted to."Um... this..." The Head Chef stammered as she examined the ingredients."Yes?" She prompted him to speak without looking at him."Um... We- I... I am aware you said you don't need help but... may I... watch...?" Th Head Chef stammerd out his request, afraid to anger her and be denied.Shen Tianyu looked up at him and his assistant with a hand on a box of eggs. "As long as you two aren't in my way, you can watch. Just stand by the door."""Thank you Wangfei!"" They both uttered at the same time and hurried to stand by the door. From the proud way the both of them had talked about the stove and how clean it was despite the fading runes that they were quite proud of and attached to it. Since she didn't even know how to operate the stove, they were probably worried she'd do something wrong and damage it.
