Inside the room.
After coming out from the kitchen, Mrs. Williams first placed the cauldron on the table, wiped her hands on her apron a few times, and then turned to Lisa Asku and said:
"Lisa, portion out the bread."
Lisa quickly stopped her blinking eyes, got up, and responded:
"No problem, Mom."
Then she led Sister Elura to the dining table, swiftly retrieved a small basket covered with a white cloth from under the table.
She lifted the white cloth and began distributing the bread.
Mrs. Williams then returned to the kitchen, and shortly afterwards, brought out a smaller cooking pot.
Setting up the dining table was actually quite simple, but it seemed joyful—because there were guests present this time, Mrs. Williams deliberately prepared an additional meat dish.
The chirpy voices of several young girls, mingling with the warm temperature from the fireplace, gradually warmed Xu Yun's spirits considerably.
In 17th-century England, apart from the aristocracy who employed servants, the cooking rights in ordinary households were primarily in the hands of women, who sometimes would even drive away the men who wanted to help.
Therefore, while Mrs. Williams and Lisa were setting up, William remained calmly seated by the fireplace, telling stories about the blue skies of Manchester.
When everything was ready, he finally led Xu Yun and Little Niu to the dining table and invited him to sit:
"Please sit here, Mr. Feiyu."
Hearing this, Andrea, one of the twin sisters, instinctively walked behind Xu Yun and pulled out a chair for him.
Xu Yun politely thanked her, and as he sat down, he used the corner of his eye to take in his first lunch in the seventeenth century:
The dining table was located to the right of the living room, a rectangular shape about two meters long and one point two meters wide, made of wood, with one support leg slightly damaged, its base propped up by a bundle of cotton cloth.
William and Mrs. Williams sat alone on the narrow ends, while the others sat three to a side:
Sister Elura, Lisa sat on one side, Xu Yun, Little Niu, and Lilani on the other.
In front of each person was a piece of bread, somewhat poorly made, resembling that kind of handmade bread not made with a mold, but looking quite hearty.
Xu Yun's plate was hastily crafted while chopping wood earlier, not polished or refined, but having been washed multiple times in a small stream by Xu Yun, it barely sufficed to hold things.
In front of the plate was a jar of butter, with about 30% of its content remaining, whether intentionally or not, the jar was positioned closest to Xu Yun's seat.
Directing his gaze inward, to the center of the table were two iron pots placed on cotton-linen heat pads, one larger than the other.
Both pots contained stews, a cooking method loved by the British—just as everything back home can be paired with pepper, in Britain, anything could be stewed.
The more famous ones are Lancashire Hotpot and Liverpool Stew, which don't emphasize the pot base, as long as there are onions and potatoes, you can even stew a shoe in it and it would still be edible.
It's rumored that when Li Hongzhang first visited England, he saw a British woman put eight ingredients into a pot to stew, hence the British stew is also known as "Hodgepodge Stew," ahem...
The small iron pot in front of Xu Yun seemed to contain a medley of vegetarian dishes, upon a quick glance, he could see lentils, cauliflower, wild greens, and Bramley apples.
Perhaps due to being soaked in chlorophyll, the entire soup appeared grayish-green and was continuously bubbling.
The contents of the large pot were relatively simple, just a straightforward stewed eel.
As an island nation, the UK had always had a thriving fishing industry; even in the seventeenth century, fish was quite inexpensive.
Therefore, the often-said notion that meat resources were scarce in 17th-century Britain actually referred to land-based red and white meats; if you wanted fish, it was still quite accessible.
For example, now with the William Clan, even if the entire family couldn't produce a single Guinea, they could still frequently consume fish, which indeed is one advantageous aspect of being an island country.
Once everyone was in place.
William clasped his hands together, leading everyone in a simple thanksgiving prayer.
Xu Yun was not a believer, but out of respect for the era's culture and the William family, he followed, closing his eyes in a gesture.
Three minutes passed, and the prayer was complete.
Upon opening his eyes, William stood up and scooped a small bowl of fish and broth from the large pot, handing it to Xu Yun:
"Mr. Feiyu, here's your fish soup. Be careful, it's a bit hot."
Xu Yun politely accepted it, then watched as William served the soup to each person in turn.
Before entering the pot, the eel had been skinned by Mrs. Williams, and the large chunks of fish were quite convenient for swallowing, though aesthetically lacking...
Xu Yun glanced at the somewhat murky fish broth in his bowl, his gaze lingered on the bowl's edge for a few seconds.
Finally, gathering his courage, he gently took a sip.
Five seconds later.
Xu Yun quietly set down the small bowl, his stomach churning wildly, tightly clenching his back molars, forcing himself to keep composure.
Hmm, how to say this...
It's quite similar to Laoshan snake grass water.
It had been mentioned before.
Xu Yun had cultivated his culinary skills during his exchange student days in the UK, so he was quite familiar with British sea fish.
Thus, upon tasting the fish broth, he immediately discerned where Mrs. Williams had gone wrong:
Firstly, the fish hadn't been marinated with scallions, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, or salt, resulting in unyielding and fishy meat.
Secondly, the black membrane, gills, and throat bones of the fish hadn't been cleaned—these are sources of the fishy taste. When processing fish, a cut at the location below the gills can remove the tendon. Then, by gently tapping the fish with one hand and pulling the tendon with the other, the tendon can be extracted.
This method can effectively reduce the fish's fishiness.
Setting down the bowl, Xu Yun silently sighed:
There, the fish soup seems impossible to drink.
Then, he once again directed his attention to those seated at the table.
At this point, William, having finished distributing the fish soup to his family, was quickly stirring the vegetarian medley with a spoon, leaving him no time for conversation.
Little Niu and Lisa continued to engage in their playful banter, their feisty bickering brother was quiet now, resembling a portrait...ahem, quiet as a calm picture.
Sister Elura was animatedly conversing with Mrs. Williams, occasionally waving her small hands for emphasis.
Lilani remained quietly silent...
Meanwhile.
Xu Yun noticed another peculiar detail:
On the table, besides a spoon and a dining knife, there wasn't even a trace of a fork.