Huayu Chef

027 Willow Catkin Banquet

"Mengying, don't be impulsive."

Zhang Jinxuan turned around and called out, "Zhuangzhuang, make sure the camera is filming carefully."

"clear."

If an elderly person falls, it won't hurt them to help them up, but there are some bizarre cases where people try to extort money from them until they're vomiting blood. There are quite a few examples of this.

There will be a skit called "To Help or Not to Help" on next year's Spring Festival Gala, which is about this strange phenomenon of "wanting to help but not daring to help".

With the camera rolling and evidence proving their innocence, Zhang Jinxuan and Huang Mengying put aside their concerns and rushed over to lend a helping hand.

Whether to help or not, because the situation is unclear and rashly changing the old lady's posture may have the opposite effect.

"Grandma, did you fall anywhere? Do you need us to call an ambulance for you?" Zhang Jinxuan squatted down next to the old lady and asked with concern.

The old lady slapped her hands on her knees and laughed heartily, "Haha, I didn't check the almanac before going out today, and I fell twice while picking some willow catkins. What bad luck!"

Zhang Jinxuan, Huang Mengying, and Zhuangzhuang: "..."

Well, judging from the old lady's relaxed appearance, she didn't seem to have fallen and hurt herself. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and carefully helped the old lady up.

"Hey young man, watch your step, don't trample my willow catkins."

Huang Mengying chuckled, "Grandma, you've fallen and you're still wearing willow catkins?"

The old woman stubbornly insisted, "They were picked with great effort, so of course they should be hung up. It would be such a waste to trample them, and waste is shameful. Don't you agree, daughter?"

"That makes sense, but health is more important than anything else." Zhang Jinxuan asked with concern, "Grandma, should we take you to the hospital for a check-up?"

The old lady waved her hand and said, "What's the point of a checkup? It's a waste of money. I'm fine, perfectly healthy, no need to go to the hospital. Thank you all. Excuse me, could you let me pass? I need to gather some of my willow catkins. My daughter and granddaughter love my willow catkin pancakes the most. The weather's nice today, so I came out to pick some to make for them tonight. Willow catkins are only in season; they won't be available for long."

"Grandma, let me help you." Huang Mengying offered to help.

Zhang Jinxuan helped the old lady up and advised, "Grandma, you should rest. Let her pick them. Are you the only one picking willow catkins today? Didn't anyone from your family come?"

"They're busy, but I'm free." The old lady glanced at the camera in Zhuangzhuang's hand and asked curiously, "Are you all here filming with all those cameras and microphones?"

"Film some videos of picking willow catkins."

The old woman looked at her strangely. "You guys have a lot of free time. What's so interesting about filming picking willow catkins?"

"Picking willow catkins is only part of the content; we want to film a video of cooking with willow catkins."

"This is novel, who will make it?"

Zhang Jinxuan teased, "Grandma, don't look around. Look at me directly. I'm the chef."

The old lady asked with a smile, "Young man, what can you do?"

"I can cook so many things. Just take willow catkins as an example: there's cold willow catkin salad, willow catkin pancakes, willow catkin pancakes, willow catkin tofu salad, willow catkin to wood ear mushroom salad, willow catkin scrambled eggs, crispy fried willow catkins, willow catkin dumpling soup, willow catkin crispy rolls, willow catkin fried meatballs, red oil and silver thread willow catkins, willow catkin buns..."

The old lady exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, you can do quite a lot!"

Zhuangzhuang chimed in, "Grandma, our Brother Xuan can also make Peking duck."

The old lady immediately became respectful, "Then you are still the master chef."

"I wouldn't dare say that, I'm just a self-taught amateur, I usually just figure things out by chance," Zhang Jinxuan said modestly. Seeing that Huang Mengying had finished picking up the willow catkins on the ground, he kindly said, "Grandma, where do you live? We'll take you home."

"It's still early. Let's pick some more willow catkins. There are many people in our family, and it won't be enough to eat."

Huang Mengying was speechless: "Grandma, you just fell, why are you still picking it?"

"You're not seriously injured yet. We'll talk about it when you are. You guys go about your business, don't worry about me, go ahead and do your work."

Zhang Jinxuan, Huang Mengying, and Zhuangzhuang exchanged a smile. This old lady was both stubborn and adorable. If she fell and got hurt, wouldn't they be the ones suffering?

Whether it's picking one basket or two baskets, the three of them, being good people to the end, also took care of the old lady's share of willow catkins.

During the conversation, Zhang Jinxuan and his two companions learned that the old lady's surname was Lin, her husband had passed away a few years ago, and her two children had started their own families and bought apartments outside the city. The old lady was not used to living in an apartment building and was currently living alone in a small courtyard house.

Courtyard houses in Beijing are worth a fortune.

Grandma Lin is a wealthy person too.

Around 3 PM, after picking enough willow catkins, Zhang Jinxuan and his two companions drove Grandma Lin home. Upon arrival, Grandma Lin warmly invited them to stay for dinner and even agreed to lend them her space to cook and film videos.

Unable to refuse their kind invitation, and with no preference on where to film, Zhang Jinxuan gladly changed the filming schedule and stayed with Huang Mengying and Zhuangzhuang.

Grandma Lin's house is in a small alley. Every few meters there is a utility pole, which is quite low and covered with a messy and old crisscross of wires and fiber optic cables.

The alley is lined with courtyard houses on both sides, while high-rise buildings stand tall in the distance. Modern and traditional architecture coexist in an inclusive and harmonious way.

Grandma Lin's small courtyard house faces south, with three rooms on the north side: a main hall, two side rooms, and two wing rooms on the east and west sides. Entering the gate, there's a small courtyard with potted plants arranged along the corner of the wall, making it look quite cozy and livable.

East wing kitchen.

Zhang Jinxuan and Huang Mengying poured all the willow catkins they had picked in the morning and afternoon into a large basin—goodness, it was a whole basin full!

Grandma Lin beamed with joy and said happily, "Xiao Zhang, Xiao Huang, Xiao Zhuang, it was a good thing to keep you here for dinner today. You've hit the jackpot! So many willow catkins, enough for several meals."

Zhuangzhuang corrected, "Grandma Lin, my name isn't Xiaozhuang."

"Xiao Zhuang, take good care of the shots, don't get distracted," Zhang Jinxuan joked.

Huang Mengying giggled, saying that the nickname "Xiao Zhuang" was both cute and funny.

Zhang Jinxuan gently picked at the willow catkins, removing the mixed willow leaves and twigs, and joked as he did so, "Grandma Lin, you were wrong just now. We can't give you all the willow catkins. We have to take some with us."

Grandma Lin said disdainfully, "How can you be so stingy, you're a man? I won't take yours for nothing. My son-in-law owns a pastry shop. I'll have him take some home tonight, and I'll trade you the willow tassels for the pastries."

"This business is viable."

"As long as you can do it," Grandma Lin said with a smile. "Xiao Zhang, you're the master chef. Today, our whole family will enjoy your cooking."

"It's an honor." Zhang Jinxuan asked, "How many people are in Grandma Lin's family?"

"My son and his family of three, my daughter and her family of three, and including me, there are seven people in our family."

Zhang Jinxuan took out his phone, turned on the screen, and said, "It's getting late, and there are many people eating at Liusui Restaurant. Let's start preparing the Liusui Feast early. First, blanch the Liusui."

No matter how you cook willow catkins, you have to blanch them. Fresh willow catkins have a bitter taste, and you can't get rid of this taste without blanching them, which will affect the texture.

Furthermore, the willow catkins I picked today grow in the suburbs, where there are many cars coming and going, so they inevitably pick up some dust and harmful substances from the air. Blanching can effectively remove these impurities.

Before blanching, Zhang Jinxuan rinsed the water several times. Grandma Lin felt sorry for the "water bill" and jokingly told him that he was being too particular.

Zhang Jinxuan wasn't angry and did things his own way, arguing with Grandma Lin. Huang Mengying and Zhuangzhuang watched the show while eating melon seeds, occasionally adding fuel to the fire.

After rinsing the willow catkins, Zhang Jinxuan blanched them in batches. He boiled a pot of water on an induction cooker, added two spoonfuls of salt, and then poured in some cooking oil.

"Does Mengying know why I added salt and cooking oil?"

Huang Mengying said shyly, "I don't know."

"Adding cooking oil makes the willow catkins a brighter green, while adding salt helps to remove their bitterness and improves the taste. Did you learn something?"

Huang Mengying nodded earnestly: "I've learned something."

"Quickly say thank you to me."

Huang Mengying lowered her head, covered her mouth, and laughed, saying sweetly, "Thank you."