In early April, the weather forecast said the temperature would be thirty degrees. What kind of concept is thirty degrees? It is the concept that made Lu Chenchen unable to bear it anymore and change into a short-sleeved T-shirt. She felt too hot, especially in the kitchen.
Speaking of the kitchen, the kitchen, Lu Chenchen only wanted to give the Mao family a big "convinced" character.
She came to the Mao's on the day of the Qingming Festival, and four or five days had passed. Lu Chenchen had also caught some routines about the Mao's diet and schedule. Breakfast was basically bread plus boiled eggs plus milk. After eating, Mrs. Mao sent Big Mao to school and didn't come back with Big Mao until the afternoon when school was over. Lunch was mostly Lu Chenchen and mother-in-law eating at home. Mother-in-law didn't have high requirements, as long as there was meat, vegetables, soup, of course, the amount could not be too much. Dinner was when the family gathered most. Lu Chenchen originally planned to make it a little more abundant, but Mrs. Mao said that if they eat too much for dinner, it’s not easy to digest. She told Lu Chenchen to steam instead of fry, boil instead of cook, as long as she could cook.
It made sense, but Lu Chenchen felt that this kind of eating was only suitable for adults. For children, there should be big fish and big meat, rich and delicious. Seeing the children's appetite opened up and eating more, they could absorb more and grow up healthy and strong. She had underestimated that the oldest child was only seven or eight years old when in fact he was already ten years old.
But she was just a nanny, and a nanny without the right to buy groceries, only the right to pick up groceries.
Yes, most of the vegetables in the Mao family were bought by Mrs. Mao herself on vegetable purchasing platforms such as Box Horse and Meituan the day before. The next day, Lu Chenchen went to the corresponding self-pick-up point to pick them up. As for meat, poultry and eggs, Mrs. Mao said she would go to Walmart or Box Horse to buy enough for a week every Saturday or Sunday.
Lu Chenchen did like to go to the farmer's market. Not only could she pick and choose there, but she could also get some scallions and garlic cloves. But she was also very happy to be spared the hardship of running around to buy groceries, especially now that the weather was getting hotter and hotter. She naturally preferred to stay at home and do whatever the employer gave her, which was relaxing and effort saving.
But seeing the children's lackluster appearance at each meal, she still felt a little frustrated.
If this continued, the children's appetite could not be aroused. Would Mrs. Mao doubt her cooking skills?
Lu Chenchen used this reason to persuade herself and took the initiative to suggest two more dishes for dinner to Mrs. Mao: baked tofu in foil and hand-shredded chicken.
Seeing Mrs. Mao hesitate for that moment, Lu Chenchen regretted it again and scolded herself for being meddlesome. Forget about the tofu in foil, but hand-shredded chicken had to be blanched twice, first to remove the foam, then cooked through, and then soaked in cooled boiled water, and then shredded by hand with gloves on, one shred at a time. The fried peanuts also had to be freshly fried. Only those who had done it knew how tedious the whole process was. How silly was she to come up with such an unrewarding and laborious idea?
Not to mention whether she could get the employer's consent at all.
But since she had already made the suggestion, she naturally had to try to get it approved.
"Tofu is a very good calcium supplement, and chicken is also great, high in protein and low in fat, suitable for young and old." She touted tofu and chicken to Mrs. Mao like a salesperson.
It was probably the phrase "low in fat" that swayed Mrs. Mao. She finally nodded in agreement.
So at dinner, in addition to the "lush green" and "not too salty or light" dishes required by Mrs. Mao, there were two more heavy reddish dishes from the arena.
"Are you from Sichuan? Why so much chili pepper?" Unlike the suddenly bright eyes of Big Mao, the red that caught Mrs. Mao's eyes was like fire, instantly igniting her temper, and her words suddenly turned sour.
Lu Chenchen was quite surprised that such a small matter made Mrs. Mao trample her elegant temperament underfoot. She quickly explained that the chili powder she bought was a brand she had used before and not spicy at all, it was just for color and flavor.
"Really not spicy, you can try it," she picked up a shred of chicken covered in chili powder with chopsticks and put it on Mrs. Mao's plate, "And I didn't use vegetable oil, I used olive oil, it doesn't raise blood pressure, and it detoxifies, eating a little more is fine."
Hearing her say that, the mother-in-law who was originally standing sat down and picked up her chopsticks.
Mrs. Mao ate the shred of chicken suspiciously, without saying anything.
The children had already sat down around the table. Big Mao dipped a little of the soup from the baked tofu with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth to smack his lips. Then, a smile gradually appeared on his face. He waved his chopsticks to grab a big mouthful, but unfortunately the tofu was too soft and tender. He picked up and put down his chopsticks several times but didn't pick up much. Lu Chenchen handed him a spoon and he immediately scooped up a large spoonful into his bowl, without draining the oil soup.
Mother-in-law's eyes were also on Big Mao. Seeing him eat several mouthfuls of tofu rice in a row, and then reach for the shredded chicken, this time he didn't hesitate. With one swoop of the chopsticks, chicken, cilantro, dripping red oil, he stuffed it all directly into his mouth.
"Did you use chicken essence or MSG?" While slowly eating the tofu, mother-in-law asked.
This was the so-called "emperor's tongue", right? She could actually taste the umami among a bunch of seasonings.
Lu Chenchen honestly admitted, "No, no essences at all. I saw dried scallops in the kitchen, so I cooked them in a small cup of water. When lifting the wok at the end, I added a spoonful. There's some left over, it's in the fridge."
Neither Mrs. Mao nor mother-in-law said anything else.
Big Mao ate two bowls of rice and was about to eat another when he was stopped at the same time by Lu Chenchen and mother-in-law. Mrs. Mao was right, eating too much for dinner was not good for digestion. Second Mao and Little Ming were probably twins. They liked to compete. The two first picked out the shredded chicken to eat together, but because Mrs. Mao also joined the competition, the chicken was gone in a moment. Then they went to pick peanuts, you one, me one, you feed me one. At first they ate very amiably, giggling. Later, for some reason, Second Mao hit Little Ming on the head with his chopsticks. Little Ming wailed loudly...
It was a lively and delicious dinner. Promisingly, the two dishes were “cleaned out”, completing their mission.
While washing the dishes, Mrs. Mao leaned in the kitchen door and chatted with Lu Chenchen for a while. She agreed to let her make some pepper-free, sichuan pepper-free, chicken essence-free, MSG-free hot pot dishes at night. By now, she had long since regained her original grace, and her words even contained laughter. She asked Lu Chenchen where the bought chili powder was. Lu Chenchen said they were small 2 gram packs, she had poured both packs into the hand-shredded chicken, there was none left.
Mrs. Mao also said she wanted to reimburse Lu Chenchen for the money spent on the chili powder. This made Lu Chenchen feel embarrassed instead. It was just that seeing the family had all kinds of upscale seasonings but no chili powder, when she happened to be picking up a package, she bought two 5 cent packs on a whim. To ask for the money back for such a trivial thing was more laughable than anything.
Mrs. Mao also did not dwell on this issue.
She was the employer, Lu Chenchen was the nanny, and their relationship was inherently unequal. It was only leveled by money. Therefore, even if the employer had some sourness and harshness, the nanny should quietly wipe it away for the sake of the money. —— Lu Chenchen often comforted herself like this during her two years as a nanny. Of course, if she encountered an employer that was really unbearable, she wouldn't wrong herself too much either, she would just wave her hand and let each other go.
Mrs. Mao clearly didn't belong to the latter. She was measured and moderate, alternating carrot and stick. Lu Chenchen also readily accepted it.
They both laughed very maturely.
It was just that Lu Chenchen was still a little simple-minded. She thought she could gain approval and trust through cooking skills and thoughtfulness. How could she know that not even 24 hours had passed. The next day at noon, Mrs. Mao, who was supposed to come back with Big Mao after picking him up from school in the afternoon, came back early. She even brought a worker.
The two went straight to the kitchen. Soon, Lu Chenchen heard the worker's surprised, raised voice: "Didn't you install a camera here?"
Mrs. Mao had said before that most areas of the home were monitored. The one in the kitchen was on the ceiling at the entrance, and the angle could basically cover the entire kitchen.
Mrs. Mao's voice was gentle and low, Lu Chenchen couldn't hear very clearly.
The worker's voice was louder, "...a little troublesome, there are no power outlets here, wiring over..."
The two murmured.
Mother-in-law went to the kitchen to watch for a while, then walked out without saying anything to Lu Chenchen, and went upstairs back to her room.
Does this have anything to do with me? Did I cause some trouble? Lu Chenchen asked herself, also a little baffled.
Finally, they finished and Mrs. Mao left with the worker.
Lu Chenchen walked into the kitchen...
If only there was a mirror in front of her, Lu Chenchen would be able to appreciate that her face was a mess of colors like an overturned palette.
The previous camera had not moved, still coldly overlooking the entire kitchen from the ceiling by the entrance. Diagonally across from it, another camera had been installed, completely and thoroughly making up for that little flaw where sometimes Lu Chenchen's back was to it and it could not capture her hand movements.
The entire kitchen was now recorded from all angles with no blind spots.
The new installation actually had no power source, although the technician had pulled the power over with invisible wiring, there were still some traces that impacted the aesthetics. In other words, Mrs. Mao was willing to damage the overall look, just to ensure the kitchen was within her line of sight from front to back, left to right, above and below!
Lu Chenchen was speechless. She instinctively felt that this Mrs. Mao was not as easy to deal with on the surface as she appeared.
