Chapter 118: The Marvelous Kitchen Chapter 117: Exchange

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Song Miao heard this, calculated the time in her mind, and said: "If we're to set off at the first watch of Mao, we need to prepare earlier—it's been raining a lot lately, I don't know where we'll eat? I'm afraid we'll encounter some mishap on the road and won't make it in time."

Zhu Shi said: "Outside Dai Lou Gate, because the location is remote, the price is cheap. My family rented a large courtyard there years ago, originally for storing goods. This time that guest brought a group of men and horses, and there are many goods, so my father volunteered to lend it to him."

She added: "I originally had an empty room in that courtyard. Why don't you stay there tonight? Otherwise, running to Dai Lou Gate late at night, I wouldn't feel at ease."

Song Miao agreed, and asked her again whether the dishes had been finalized.

Zhu Shi said: "Just those you proposed earlier. You should ask my father—he's been like this for decades, he only loves eating pig head meat with scallion-stuffed flatbread. According to his preference, this feast doesn't need to be invited; just make pig head meat, and you can bake flatbreads on the side for him."

A daughter speaking of her own father was especially direct. Song Miao couldn't help but smile and said: "If there are fresh scallions pulled out, choose the ones with enough sweetness. Cut into shreds or not, whole roots are fine too. Mix with the braised pig head meat, best to roll a few slices of pig ear together with the pancake."

"Add soybean flour to the pancake batter, roll it thinly, and it will be even more crispy when eaten. Wrapped in sweet sauce, every bite is sweet with a pungent kick—spicy, salty, fresh, and fragrant! Actually, Auntie's father really knows how to eat!"

Hearing Song Miao say this, Zhu Shi was actually led astray by her. Unconsciously following that description in her mind, she imagined the thin pancake wrapped and dipped in sweet sauce with scallion shreds, braised pig head meat, sliced pig ears—the texture—and laughed too, saying: "I didn't used to like eating scallion pancakes, but you've made me crave them!"

She added: "There's another matter. If you can make it in time, see the Buddha to the Western Heaven—that guest's entourage includes more than ten escorts, many helpers and people, probably fifty or sixty mouths. Do you have suitable dishes? Why not make breakfast for the others as well, otherwise they'll still have to think about what to eat."

Song Miao said: "That's easy. I'll just set up my stall as usual, make a pot of glutinous rice, a small steamer basket of shao mai with some soup, and that's enough."

She added: "I want to see the kitchen. Also, for tomorrow morning's ingredients, are they provided by the family, or should I buy them myself?"

"I went there yesterday. The kitchen has some common utensils, oil, salt, rice and flour, and also firewood, but the rest isn't very complete," Zhu Shi said. "I'm afraid you'd better bring everything you might need, so you won't have to go out and find things at the time."

The two said a few more words. After they finalized the discussion, Zhu Shi quoted the price.

It was indeed quite generous.

Song Miao hurriedly thanked her.

Zhu Shi waved her hand and said: "We're all family. What's there to thank?"

Speaking to this point, she suddenly changed the subject and asked: "Aren't you setting up your stall today?"

Song Miao shook her head and said: "With such a big flood, the roads are all submerged. Everything has gone up in price. Even meat and vegetables are hard to buy. The stall can only close for a few days."

Zhu Shi's face immediately showed some disappointment. She said: "I originally thought of coming over early to catch you at home and buy some snow steamed cakes and vegetarian shao mai to eat!"

Song Miao smiled and said: "There are no snow steamed cakes or vegetarian shao mai this morning. But I was just about to make breakfast. Auntie, if you have no urgent matters, why not eat a bite together before you go?"

Zhu Shi's joy showed on her face. She said: "Early in the morning, besides eating breakfast, what else is urgent? The emperor doesn't starve his soldiers!"

She added: "You know my temper. I've never been polite. Since you've taken the initiative to invite me, if I don't eat more, my stomach will be growling with anger when I sleep at night!"

Song Miao said: "I originally wanted to make a thousand-layer red bean roll today. Also, there's leftover soup from last night. I can add some noodles, but overnight soup isn't fresh after all..."

Zhu Shi hurriedly said: "What fresh or not fresh? Do you think I'm some noble lady? What polite talk is this here? Whatever you eat, I want to eat too!"

Song Miao indeed stopped being polite.

Seeing that Zhu Shi had come all the way dripping wet, with her trouser legs all soaked, Song Miao gathered some firewood and set up a small stove, telling her to go sit in the back to dry her clothes and pants, before starting to make breakfast.

Since she had been thinking about eating the red bean roll today since last night, Song Miao first kneaded the dough. When it was rising, she went to stir-fry the red bean paste.

The red beans and large dates that had been soaked early were put in the pot, boiled before sleep, with plenty of firewood added, leaving a small fire to simmer them. By now they had been simmered until soft, rotten, and blooming. She strained the soup water, then stir-fried them over low heat with oil.

After the bean paste was stir-fried, the dough had also risen. She rolled out long, thin square sheets of dough, spread the bean paste evenly over half, folded the other half of the white dough sheet over like a quilt, then spread another layer of bean paste.

Stacking repeatedly like this, she stacked a full five layers. Song Miao then rolled this multi-layered red bean dough sheet into a round cylindrical shape, cut it into red bean paste dough balls the size of half a fist, and put them in the steamer basket to rise again.

Everything else had been eaten up last night. Only some yellow bean and lean meat soup remained. The flat-cut noodles she had ground herself were gone. There were only very fine soaked rice noodles, which had been scalded soft and rinsed with cold water. Cooked with the soup base at this time, the soup was still clear and flavorful.

So when Zhu Shi and Cheng Erniang and her daughter came out talking, the table was already set with three large and one small four bowls of clear soup rice noodles.

Song Miao greeted Zhu Shi: "The steamer on the pot is still steaming red bean rolls. Auntie, eat some noodles first."

The latter nodded hurriedly. After sitting down, she added a generous amount of sour-spicy wood ear shreds, sour cowpea shreds, radish crisps, pickled sour radish, scallions, cilantro, minced garlic, and so on from the small jars in front of her. She would rather add too much than miss any, adding a full bowl lively and bustlingly. Then she took her chopsticks and said happily: "So fragrant! Let me go back and teach Old Sun, so he can envy me once too!"

She started slurping the noodles.

With such a soup base and so many appetizing small dishes added, the ingredients were completely more than the noodles.

Zhu Shi held the bowl, slurping loudly. In no time she finished it all, scooping the soup base and condiments clean. Still not done, she drank the soup down to the last drop—really, Song Miao's bowl wasn't that much.

Since she added many condiments, all sour and spicy, sweat beaded thinly on her face, especially the tip of her nose. She hastily wiped it with a handkerchief and called out: "Not good, so refreshing! What to do if one bowl isn't enough!"

Song Miao smiled: "There are still red bean rolls. I'll fix you a bowl of sweet congee. I'm afraid you won't be able to eat it, not that there won't be enough to eat."

Just then the red bean rolls were also steamed. Song Miao poured the sweet congee, served a small basin of red bean rolls to the table, and distributed them into everyone's bowls.

The red bean rolls were rolled neatly, and steamed out very neatly, with a sense of orderly beauty. The ochre red of the bean paste and the yellow-white of the dough, one ring alternating with another, like the annual rings in the very center of an old tree stump, very dense, but absolutely not sticking together. One layer of red bean paste, one layer of dough, clearly distinct.

Zhu Shi didn't use chopsticks. She directly picked one up with her hand and took a bite first.

Biting down, it was very chewy, but chewing it was very soft. Because the red bean paste was stir-fried relatively dry, eating it had a very obvious fine and sandy texture.

Song Miao didn't keep the red bean granules. Instead, she specially sifted it twice. The red bean paste was extremely fine, the sweetness was just right. The maltose mixed with the sweet fragrance of the large dates well covered that bit of bean fishy smell.

One layer of soft dough, one layer of bean paste, layer upon layer stacked. Because the dough layers were evenly thick, every bite could evenly feel the bean fragrance of the red beans and the fragrance of the date paste, yet could use the wheaty fragrance of the soft dough layer to mix them together.

Paired with a sip of sweet congee, simply wonderful!

Zhu Shi ate half of one. Carelessly, she saw a layer of soft dough wrapped with a thin layer of red bean paste on both front and back fall down. After eating this layer separately, she found it very interesting. She simply tore it layer by layer with her hand to eat.

Tearing it to eat also had its own fun and texture.

Zhu Shi lived up to her name of being a tigress from a butcher's family. She ate three fist-sized thousand-layer red bean rolls in one breath, couldn't help but burp, yet sighed: "This roll is so unique and delicious! My mother would definitely like it! My several children at home would definitely like it too—why don't I see you selling it usually?"

Song Miao explained that the weather was hot, bean paste fillings couldn't be kept, and so on. She also said: "I originally made some more for lunch. Auntie, why not take some back?"

Zhu Shi hesitated for a moment, then said: "Alright. Since that's the case, you pack up the things you're using. I'll call a carriage to take them away together."

Hearing Cheng Erniang tell Xiao Lian to watch the shop, she waved her hand and said: "Watch what shop? Take it to the house at Dai Lou Gate. A child alone at home—even if she can eat and sleep by herself, who as a mother can rest easy? Anyway, we're not going out to work."

Soon after, a carriage was indeed called over. Song Miao, Cheng Erniang and her daughter, along with many kitchen utensils, cooking utensils, needed condiments, ingredients, etc., were all loaded onto the carriage.

Behind the house at Dai Lou Gate was a huge courtyard. At this time it was full of carts, the carts loaded full, covered with oilcloth.

Others minded their own business. Song Miao wouldn't normally look more. But unfortunately, as she passed by, the smell from inside the oilcloth kept drilling into her nose.

They should all be medicinal herbs.

Song Miao's five senses were very sharp, and she soon identified licorice, dried tangerine peel, and patchouli as the three most distinct flavors inside; there was also one that somewhat resembled vaccaria, though the rest were too far away to distinguish for the moment, she still couldn't help but secretly wonder in her heart.

At this time the rain did not stop, and on top of that earlier incident in the Capital involving meat jerky, rumors spread everywhere that it might be a seasonal epidemic, causing her to inevitably overthink — these herbs are precisely the most commonly used to treat epidemic diseases.

It is said this one is a wealthy merchant; could it be that he anticipated an epidemic breaking out somewhere, and that is why he wants to do business?

But Song Miao did not ask further.

Because she heard that Zhu Shi's father and that wealthy guest were both not present at the moment, having gone out to handle affairs, she did not rush to pay her respects, but instead followed Zhu Shi to the kitchen and walked a full circle around.

The kitchen was very large, but also quite empty; one could tell it was not used much on ordinary days.

The courtyard had no well; to get water, one either had to go to the river to carry water, or go to the well at the end of the street to draw water — there were two huge water vats in the kitchen, already used until the bottom was visible.

Fortunately, according to this, the nearest river is the Cai River.

In the Capital's Cheng Nan, two rivers pass through the city; one is the Cai River, with clearer water quality, the other is the Bian River, with relatively turbid water quality.

Because the Bian River water is dirty, unsuitable for drinking, the Capital early on had rumors that the yamen intended to divert Cai River water into the Bian River, so that half the city's people would not have to drink turbid water just for convenience, but the rumor has spread to this day and there has been no progress.

Song Miao tried both water sources; because recently there has been too much rain, that Cai River water has also become quite yellow and turbid, so in the end she had to choose the more distant well to draw water.

Zhu Shi then said: "With two vats this big, you don't need to do it yourselves; in a moment I will call people to carry them in."

Song Miao agreed, and then wrote out an ingredient list.

The Zhu Family themselves are butchers; pork and mutton are readily available, very fresh; as for the other things that need to be bought, Zhu Shi did not ask too many questions, directly gave a sum of money, and told Song Miao to procure them herself.

Because the vegetable stall is far, and at this time it started to rain again, Song Miao and Cheng Erniang left Xiao Lian in the kitchen, telling her not to run around, to call an adult if anything happened, and also sent someone to inform Zhu Shi, only then did the two of them go out the door together.

By the time the two returned from procurement, it was already afternoon.

Before even entering the kitchen, Song Miao heard someone inside sniffing while speaking.

"Look at this wooden sword of mine, I made it for many days before finishing it, is it good-looking or not, how about I give it to you?"

One listen and it was clearly a little boy.

"I don't use a wooden sword." The one answering was Xiao Lian.

The person opposite sniffed twice, rustled about for a moment, as if searching on his body; after a while, he asked: "I have sugar here, do you want sugar?"

Xiao Lian still refused, saying: "I don't eat sugar."

At this time Song Miao had already walked into the kitchen first, and saw a child's figure with his back to her, squatting on the ground; judging by the clothes he wore, they were ordinary coarse cloth, unknown which family's child he was.

He was rejected several times by Xiao Lian, yet was not discouraged at all, but said: "Are you rubbing beans? What shape do you want to rub them into? Let me help you rub beans?"

He asked many times in a row; this time Xiao Lian finally relented, saying: "You don't need to help me rub mung beans, and you don't need to give me sugar to eat or give me a wooden sword; you already said sorry just now, I know you didn't mean to scare me, you mistook me for someone else, I've already forgiven you."

That child, however, was very insistent, saying: "You don't want my things, and you don't want my help, then how can that be called forgiveness?"

He also said: "Forget it, I'll go find an adult to come, and compensate you for clothes."

As he spoke, he stood up, and was about to walk outside; as he walked, he kept sniffing his nose.

Xiao Lian clearly did not expect the other party to have this reaction; she froze for a moment, hurriedly put down the mung beans in her hand, stood up wanting to chase after him, but as she looked up, she saw Song Miao and Cheng Erniang at the door, hurriedly called out to them, not knowing whether it was grievance or something else, "Wa—" she burst into tears.

That boy turned around, had not walked a few steps, saw two adults had come, and heard Xiao Lian's crying and calling for mother behind him; he was startled, and seeing Cheng Erniang go to hug her daughter, he was even more at a loss whether to advance or not; because he saw Song Miao standing to the side, he said: "Older sister, sorry, just now I was playing with someone, accidentally mistook her for someone else, scared her so she fell down, and her clothes got torn from the fall."

Children playing, bumps and knocks are inevitable.

Song Miao smiled at him, signaling him not to be nervous, then stepped forward a few steps, and together with Cheng Erniang examined Xiao Lian's clothes and pants.

She saw it was only clothes scraped through, skin grazed a little, and hearing the child cry and sob out a few sentences, she roughly understood the whole story, then turned back to comfort him: "Just now I already heard everything; Xiao Lian said it's not your fault, she has already forgiven you — don't take it to heart."

That child wiped his nose, shook his head and said: "I tore her clothes, I have to pay money; can you tell me a number, I'll save up enough and come pay it back."