Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Shen Qing hurriedly went out to greet them. There was an old woman pushing a wooden cart at the door, with baskets full of chicken on it.

"Is this the chicken you ordered? All my chickens are freshly slaughtered and processed. Take a look, young lady. If everything is alright, I'll unload it." The old lady was all smiles and enthusiasm.

Shen Qing nodded slightly. Without even guessing, she knew the system had ordered it for her.

Upon closer inspection, the chicken was indeed quite good; the skin was slightly moist but not sticky, the meat was firm and elastic, and it had a faint poultry smell.

Honestly, they are much better than modern farmed chickens.

"Your chicken is really good," Shen Qing couldn't help but praise.

The old woman quickly unloaded all the baskets of chicken, then smiled and said, "If you like it, young lady, come order from me again next time. You don't need to pay in advance; you can pay when I deliver it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing knew that the system had already paid for the chicken.

Come to think of it, this system is actually quite reasonable; otherwise, she really wouldn't know how to explain all these random things to others.

After seeing the old lady off, a few more people came to deliver goods shortly afterward.

Before long, the stall cart, fried chicken ingredients, and everything else were all ready.

Mrs. Shen had already heard the commotion outside. Full of questions, she waited until the delivery man left before asking, "Daughter? What happened?"

Shen Qing quickly made up a few lies: "Mother, I ordered these a few days ago using my saved pocket money. I was thinking of setting up a food stall."

"Set up a stall?" Upon hearing this, tears streamed down Shen's mother's face again.

How could her pampered daughter endure the hardships of setting up a street stall?

Besides, how will a young girl like her ever get married if she has to set up a stall in public? What if she encounters someone with ill intentions...?

"My dear daughter, listen to your mother. We won't set up a stall. Once Song Wenqian returns from the capital for the imperial examination, I will arrange for you to marry him. Everything will be fine then."

Song Wenqian was a poor student. Shen's father was generous and, seeing that he had some talent, he sponsored his studies.

The original owner also got to know Song Wenqian through this, and over time, the two developed feelings for each other. Song Wenqian promised to marry the original owner if she passed the imperial examination.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen were also pleased with the outcome of this matter.

Now that Song Wenqian has gone to the capital for the imperial examination and there is still no news, the Shen family has suddenly encountered a change. Shen's mother's only hope now is that Song Wenqian will return soon and marry her daughter into the family as soon as possible.

That put her mind at ease.

Shen Qing had long ago received the memories about Song Wenqian, but she didn't feel anything for him.

As for betting your future on a man? Absolutely not.

"Mother, we can't predict what will happen in the future. We can't just sit here and wait to starve to death. What if Song Wenqian doesn't come back? What if he changes his mind and doesn't want to marry me?"

Shen's mother opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find a reason to refute it, and even vaguely felt that her daughter had some truth to it.

Sincerity can change in an instant, and no one can guarantee that Song Wenqian will really marry her daughter.

"Sigh," Shen's mother sighed heavily, "It's all my fault, all my fault. If I weren't blind, I could have taken your place at the stall."

"There's nothing wrong with setting up a stall, Mother, don't worry. Just stay home and rest." Shen Qing didn't understand her mother's worries about women showing their faces in public, so she helped her mother into the house.

She needs to process these ingredients properly. The key to making delicious crispy fried chicken lies in the initial marinating process.

Shen Qing went straight to the kitchen, searched around and found only an old knife with a worn edge. He sharpened it a few times on the bottom of a bowl and then began to prepare the marinated chicken.

The chicken arrived already prepared and cut into even small pieces, about half the size of a palm.

Shen Qing used the tip of a knife to poke the thicker parts of the chicken pieces one by one, then added rice wine, salt, scallions, ginger, and other seasonings for the first marinating.

When the time was almost up, she took out the spice powder provided by the system, sprinkled it evenly, and carefully rubbed it into each piece of chicken with her hands.

Now it's just a matter of waiting.

The night passed, and the next day, Shen Qing got up early.

She quickly dipped the marinated chicken from yesterday into the egg white liquid, then took it out, coated it with dry flour, and let it sit for 15 minutes. This way, the flour coating would not easily fall off when frying.

Then, hot oil was heated and the oil was used for initial frying over medium-low heat.

Although there was a lot of chicken, Shen Qing worked quickly, efficiently, and perfectly, and one fragrant piece of fried chicken after another came out of the pot.

"It smells so good." Mother Shen groped her way to Shen Qing's side and kept sniffing.

Shen Qing smiled gently: "Mother, please wait a moment, I'll make you a few pieces to try first."

The first fry only cooks the chicken, but the skin is not crispy enough. It needs to be fried again over high heat to make it crispy, so as to achieve the best taste of crispy fried chicken.

"Good, good, this smells so good. My daughter is really amazing. If your father knew this in the afterlife, he would be very happy." Mother Shen sat on a small stool to the side and nodded repeatedly, her eyes welling up with tears again.

Shen's father was a great cook. He started from scratch and built his business step by step before finally opening his restaurant.

Smelling the rich aroma, Shen's mother felt that her daughter had inherited Shen's father's talent for cooking.

Shen Qing didn't notice her mother's sentiments; at that moment, she was completely absorbed, her eyes only on the fried chicken.

Pieces of fried chicken rolled and tumbled in the oil. Shen Qing perfectly controlled the heat and timing, and soon she had fried all the chicken pieces for the first time.

After finishing, she increased the heat and put four or five pieces of the initially fried chicken back into the oil.

With a sizzling sound, a rich aroma of fried chicken filled the entire kitchen, and in less than a minute, she scooped the chicken out of the pot.

At this point, the fried chicken is golden brown and glistening with oil, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Shen Qing took out the seasoning and sprinkled it evenly on the fried chicken pieces.

"Mother, have a taste."

Shen's mother couldn't resist any longer; the aroma of fried chicken had already made her drool.

Ignoring the heat, she put it directly to her lips and took a small bite.

click-

Crispy and crunchy, the next moment, a burst of chicken-flavored aroma explodes in your mouth, tender and juicy, creating an extreme contrast with the crispy crust.

Then the aroma of spices blended with the fragrance of meat, the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, the richness of star anise, and a hint of spiciness—it was simply too delicious.

"My dear daughter, this is so delicious! I've never had this before. Where did you learn to make it? It smells amazing!" Shen's mother said as she ate some fried chicken. This novel taste was something she had never experienced before.

"I just did some random research myself, Mom. I have to get back to my stall now," Shen Qing said casually. She didn't dare let her mother pry any deeper.

So he quickly packed up his things, pushed his stall cart out the door, and left.