Chapter 104

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

When Kong Fuyang carried that thick stack of zong scrolls back to his seat, his whole being felt light and floating.

As if he had drunk wine — the fragrance was clear and crisp on the palate, not spicy at all, only a long lingering aftertaste, leaving him dazed and intoxicated.

He first put his tasks in order, then sat down and slowly leafed through the materials before him.

But before long, someone came and knocked on the door.

"Master Kong, tomorrow we want to order more Jianghua Portion from that Song Xiaoniangzi — you want some, right?"

Kong Fuyang hurriedly said: "Yes! I want some! Zheng Yan too! No need to ask him — also, have them add another portion for me, no, add a large bamboo tube of strong tea sweet embryo, the stronger the better!"

The visitor clicked his tongue: "Aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep?"

And asked in surprise: "I only asked one question, why are you grinning foolishly?"

Kong Fuyang stared blankly: "Hehe, ah? Am I grinning foolishly?"

He hurriedly rubbed his face, only then discovering the corners of his mouth were stretched wide open, stretched very wide, the flesh on his face puffed up with a smile.

Kong Fuyang pouted his facial flesh and grinned foolishly in a daze; at the end of Sanzao County Alley, Xiao Lian, who was holding a small basket and propping a small low stool, sitting in the front hall peeling garlic, could not laugh.

She peeled garlic seriously, wanting to avoid damaging a single bit of flesh so she could take it to her sister and claim credit, but just as she was tearing the innermost layer of tender garlic skin, she suddenly heard a burst of urgent horse hoof sounds, her hand slipped, and she accidentally pinched a fingernail mark into that white garlic.

With an "aiya," she was both annoyed at herself and regretful; hearing the hoof sounds grow louder, she looked up and saw three riders, who actually stopped right at the doorway.

Mother and daughter had moved here some days ago; guests came to place orders from time to time; Xiao Lian had experienced much; encountering strangers, though still easily nervous and apprehensive, she was no longer as timid as before, only still not daring to greet them.

At this moment she hurriedly set down the basket, turned and ran toward the back courtyard, calling for her sister as she ran.

Hearing this, Song Miao came out and saw a man in a brocade robe and jade crown, followed by two familiar-looking servants, standing properly outside the door.

And when that man saw Song Miao, the embarrassment originally on his face instantly dispersed, revealing a big broad smile, and he called out: "Stall Owner Song!"

It turned out to be He Qi who had come.

Song Miao smiled and went forward to greet him, ushered him inside, fetched a cushion and invited him to sit, brought tea, introduced Xiao Lian who was peeking out from the second gate but not daring to come out, and added: "There is also the Cheng family's Er Niangzi; she went out to deliver goods just now; when she returns later, you might still run into her."

Hearing that Cheng Zijian's sister and niece had moved in to live with Song Miao and were helping with the work, He Qi was also very pleased, and hurriedly said: "In that case, you'll be able to free your hands to develop other delicious foods — we get the bargain again!"

The two chatted a few sentences; Song Miao said: "The Taixue exams finished long ago; not seeing you for many days, I thought Young Master had gone somewhere — during the Cold Food Festival I made Almond Tofu, thinking to save a portion for you, but since I didn't see you, I had to eat it myself."

He Qi instantly could not laugh anymore, and exclaimed: "I can't bear to hear this! Stall Owner Song, please don't say any more!"

Then he pressed: "When will you make it again? I'm returning to Guozixue in a couple of days; you must reserve a portion of everything for me, absolutely don't let me miss out!"

Song Miao hurriedly promised to make it when she had time, and that she would definitely reserve his portion, then asked if he wanted to stay for dinner.

He Qi, who had always jumped up and down for a bite to eat, this time shook his head, sighed, and said: "Coming over today, there's actually a matter I want to ask Stall Owner Song for help with."

It turned out that during this period He Qi had returned to his hometown with his family early to sweep the tombs; by the time he returned to the Capital, Qingming Festival Festival had already passed; he rested for two days, and before returning to Guozixue for classes he inevitably gathered with friends and relatives — who knew he would receive a piece of news.

— That Zhu Jie'er, whether she caught wind while spring-outing outside the city, or encountered something unclean, returned home vomiting and diarrhea, and developed a high fever.

The He Family was frightened out of their wits; not to mention summoning doctors and querying medicines, they even dispatched people to burn paper and send off spirits at the place where Zhu Jie'er had gone spring-outing that day.

A child's illness is hard to cure to begin with; moreover Zhu Jie'er's constitution was weak, many medicines couldn't be given aggressively; it dragged on a full seven or eight days before she slowly improved.

"She was truly pitifully ill, and on top of that had no appetite from the medicine, couldn't take in food; the whole household, top to bottom, was worried sick."

"Since I've always played well with her, this time when I went, the child secretly told me she wanted to eat the Wasabi Shrimp you made last time; I thought, why not ask you to help make another plate, I'll have someone send it back..."

Song Miao thought for a moment, then said: "Making it is easy, but wasabi mustard seeds are both spicy; though after cooking the spiciness dissipates a lot, Zhu Jie'er is currently ill, and shrimp is pan-fried in hot oil, too greasy — I'm afraid it's not very suitable to eat."

"Won't make her eat much, just a taste." He Qi hurriedly said, "Fulfilling her wish is enough."

Song Miao shook her head: "Shrimp meat is hard to digest; moreover if I make it now and send it back, it'll steam all the way, the meat will be tough by then, and won't taste good either."

And said: "Zhu Jie'er has only just recovered; if she eats my food and relapses, what then? Young Master He would also have a hard time explaining."

Just as they were speaking, Xiao Lian, who had been hiding at the second gate, slowly edged out and said softly: "Sister, give her Salted Bone Porridge — I'm not sick anymore, that Salted Bone Porridge let her have half... let her have most of it..."

Speaking to this point, Xiao Lian looked very much like she was enduring pain, and said: "The bones too, let her have half."

He Qi was somewhat surprised; he first glanced at Xiao Lian hiding behind Song Miao with only her head showing, then glanced at Song Miao.

Song Miao then explained Xiao Lian's previous illness to him, and said: "This little one just recovered too, burned with fever for five or six days straight; I'm cooking Salted Bone Porridge for her right now; why not take some porridge back for Zhu Jie'er?"

As she spoke, she half-turned, bent her waist, reached out and touched Xiao Lian's head, and said: "This time I cured a lot of bones, enough for us to eat to our hearts' content together; you don't need to give yours up."

And to He Qi she said: "This porridge doesn't use fresh vegetables, uses dried vegetables — clears lung heat, benefits intestines and stomach; those salted bones cured with salt for a day, salty salt enters the kidney, dispels fire very well; though it can't be used as medicine, southerners often eat it when they have fever and internal heat."

Hearing Song Miao's explanation and hearing the name, He Qi immediately nodded, and couldn't help asking again: "Can it be eaten when not having a fever?"

Song Miao said: "Of course!"

And added: "If Zhu Jie'er's family is uneasy about giving it to the child, Young Master He can just share it with others."

As she spoke, she went to the front to check the pot.

White porridge was cooking in the pot; the rice grains had already blossomed.

To the side, in a bamboo mat cover, sat a large bowl of bones — this time using pork neck and pork spine bones; the bones had been cured for a day and night, washed clean, then placed in the bowl.

Also soaking were the dried vegetables, which by now had soaked soft.

Song Miao cut the dried vegetables into sections, first heated the pot, added a little oil to pan-fry the salted bones until fragrant, fried until the bone bodies were golden yellow, then put them into the porridge pot together with the dried vegetable sections and ginger slices, then turned her head and said to He Qi: "Still needs a small quarter-hour; Young Master He, please sit and wait a bit?"

He Qi naturally had not the slightest objection.

Song Miao beckoned Xiao Lian over and said in a low voice: "Help Sister with a favor, okay? Go inside and bring out some food to entertain the guest?"

Xiao Lian immediately nodded, hurried off, and before long carried out many things on plates — a few pieces of today's extra Fu Cakes, two handfuls of Sa Zi, a plate of Fried Wraps, and also a bowl of Jianghua Portion; it looked quite abundant.

She set them before He Qi, didn't speak, just placed them on the low bench in front, picked up the basket she had just thrown on the ground, and hid to the side again, peeling garlic honestly like a little rabbit burrowing into a hole — coming out for a moment, going in for a moment.

Looking at the snacks before him, He Qi suppressed his greed, stood up first and went to the stove side, as per habit asking Song Miao what he could help with.

Song Miao really had nothing else for him to do, and could only say: "Today there are no bamboo shoots for you to peel..."

As she spoke, she glanced around left and right, and just then spotted Xiao Lian sitting in the corner.

Seemingly sensing their gazes, Xiao Lian hurriedly hid the small basket between her belly and legs, and said softly, "Sister, you said peeling garlic was my job!"

Song Miao smiled faintly, turned back to He Qi, and said, "Young Master He, have some snacks; this porridge will be quick, ready in a moment."

Having received his instructions, He Qi then sat back on his own cushion with peace of mind.

Seeing a tray of food, he truly could not help himself; he ate a mouthful of Jianghua Portion first, and upon tasting the clear fragrance of the pagoda flower mixed with the faint sweetness of the sugar water, he couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

He asked again, "Is there more? Can I take some back?"

Song Miao replied, "This thing doesn't travel well; right now outside it's damp and stifling, and without ice to preserve it, placed in a vessel for the journey, I'm afraid it would spoil — eating it here is best; next time I make it, I'll save a portion for Young Master He."

In a moment He Qi went to eat the Fu cake.

The mung bean and red bean cakes made this afternoon, carrying a milky fragrance, with a layer of soft and glutinous skin on the outside, a tiny piece, once eaten even the tongue root was wrapped in a bit of faint mung bean fine sand flavor, swallowed twice before it was fully swallowed, then drank a sip of Jianghua Portion, the pagoda flower fragrance mixed with the pastry flavor, and the mouth was fragrant.

— What a pity Zhu Jie'er couldn't eat it.

He Qi finished all the Fu cake, and ate half each of the remaining sazi and fried wraps; after all he was a guest, fearing he would appear too gluttonous, he slowly drank the Jianghua Portion sip by sip, and didn't dare put the remaining food into his mouth.

He saw Song Miao was busy, and it wasn't good to disturb her, fearing he would add trouble, and it wasn't good to look around randomly; he turned his head and saw Xiao Lian holding the basket, and couldn't help but take an extra look at her hand movements.

Xiao Lian noticed quickly; seeing him curiously staring at the garlic basin, she asked softly, "You don't know how to peel garlic?"

He Qi naturally didn't.

He nodded.

Xiao Lian hesitated for a moment, carried the basket over, took out two cloves of garlic and placed them before He Qi, then sat a bit farther away, and said, "This is very simple; you can learn from me."

Thus by the time Song Miao cooked the porridge into a full body, she saw two people peeling garlic with great concentration, and on the bench in front of them they had lined up two rows of peeled garlic cloves, comparing with each other who peeled more cleanly and more completely.

This He Qi was a truly marvelous person.

Sometimes he was like a child; sometimes his words and actions were far more mature than his actual age.

Song Miao finished the porridge, found a food box for delivering outside meals, put charcoal in the lower layer, placed a small lidded pot in the upper layer, wrapped that pot tightly with oilcloth to prevent spillage, then handed it to He Qi, and also asked him if it was convenient to carry.

The latter thanked her, directly said it was convenient, arrangements were already made, and also ordered food from Song Miao for two days later, then carried the food box out.

Not yet out of Sanzao County Alley, a carriage was already parked not far ahead, Dongzhi standing by waiting.

— It turned out that when He Qi heard Song Miao was going to make porridge, he ordered Dongzhi to rent a carriage at full gallop; at this moment it was just right to pick him up.

Because everything connected well, by the time he brought the porridge to the He Family, it was exactly dinner time.

He Qi first went to greet the He family matriarch, and also said he had a food shop he was used to eating at, Zhu Jie'er had also gone before and liked it very much; this time seeing the child ill, he felt great heartache, so he ordered a pot of porridge back — this porridge is called Salted bone dried vegetable congee, very suitable for feverish people to drink.

Hearing it was outside food, the He family matriarch was somewhat displeased, but for the sake of He Qi's face, she couldn't say anything, and could only say, "Since it's porridge water, I'll also taste a mouthful, to test the flavor for my family's Zhu Jie'er."

This was within He Qi's expectations long ago, and he didn't find it strange; hearing this, he handed the food box to a He Family maid at the side, and also instructed, "Serve me a bowl too — I'll also let Zhu Jie'er try the taste."

Soon, two trays were brought out, each with a bowl of porridge, and at the side many small dishes, containing celery bits, scallion bits, coriander segments, fragrant thin crisps fried very fragrant, the thin crisps all only fingernail-sized — these were all separately wrapped in lotus leaves by Song Miao.

The porridge had been on the fire, piping hot; at this moment brought out, the fragrance dispersed, and the people in the room all couldn't help but sniff their noses faster.

Smelling this fragrance, He Lao Furen originally didn't take it seriously; at this moment she also involuntarily sniffed a couple more times, hurriedly added some celery bits and scallion bits according to her own preference, wrapped with a bit of the meat pieces that had cooked down, and sent a mouthful into her mouth.

The porridge was still very hot; she only tasted a tiny bit, originally just planning to make a show, then called for someone to take the porridge away, using the excuse that her granddaughter couldn't eat it; but that one small mouthful of porridge touched her mouth, and that fragrance had already come out.

A very unique fragrance.

He Lao Furen, at her age, had drunk porridge early on and gained experience; bone meat porridge she had drunk no less, but this kind of flavor, truly was the first time tasting it.

The rice fragrance was extremely full, even fuller was the fresh flavor and salty fragrance of the bones in the porridge water; the salty freshness had already completely fused into the porridge, and it's unknown how it was done, more fragrant and rich than the porridge she had eaten before.

Whether stewing soup with bones or boiling porridge, if you want the bone flavor strong, it's best to use pork bones, but pork bones easily become greasy.

This porridge very obviously had no pork bones, and on top there was fundamentally no excess floating oil, but the porridge base flavor could achieve rich, mellow, and sweet fragrance.

The porridge body was both soft and smooth; the bones had been marinated with salt, the meat fresh flavor already locked in, long boiling not tough, the fresh fragrant flavor instead even stronger; He Lao Furen originally only touched her lips, at this moment couldn't help but swallow a whole spoonful.

An extremely warm, moist, and full mouthful, neither thin nor thick, just right; her luck was also very good, she ate a small piece of meat clinging to the bone.

That meat was extremely tender, especially fragrant; clearly only a small piece, biting down it was simply like a large piece of meat's meat juice bursting on the tongue, completely a mouthful of concentrated meat fragrance.

Generally if the meat flavor in porridge is enough, that porridge often tends to be salty; if the porridge's saltiness is just right, that meat tends to be bland, unless cooked separately — but that way it easily becomes meat is meat, porridge is porridge.

But this bowl of Salted bone dried vegetable congee absolutely would not.

The saltiness of both bone meat and porridge water were just right; the bone meat fragrance completely boiled into the porridge, the porridge's soft smoothness and rice fragrance also boiled into the bones and meat; that vegetable was also very fragrant, slightly sweet, returning sweetness, after boiling soft still had a bit of tooth feel, but didn't need teeth much, together with pepper's spicy fragrance, celery scallion bits' clear fragrance together neutralized that bit of greasiness from the bones.

He Lao Furen ate mouthful after mouthful; originally just helping her granddaughter test the taste, testing and testing, she finished testing a whole bowl of porridge.