Chapter 223

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Song Miao turned to look at Liang Yan.

The latter raised his head, waiting rather nervously for her to speak.

"Let's first ask Auntie Zhu to take us to the door, inquire about the Zhu family's intentions; if it's proper, we'll come back to pack our luggage?"

Liang Yan visibly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded eagerly.

Song Miao thought for a moment, then said: "We're paying a visit, so we shouldn't go empty-handed. A while later on the road, buy some fresh fruit and other local specialties. If you see anything suitable, buy some little trinkets for the children who haven't met yet—is there enough money on you?"

"Enough!" Liang Yan hurriedly said, "Uncle Sheng gave me self-defense money, not a single wen has been spent!"

Matters are best done early rather than late; at this time it was still noon, and since the sun was too strong, Song Miao decided to wait until after the Wei hour, when the sky wasn't so scorching, before going out. She would call a mule cart, go straight to Sun Lizheng's home to find Zhu Shi, and then go to the Zhu family together.

Once the matter was settled, the others were fine, but only Xiao Lian, upon learning her companion was leaving just after arriving, was extremely disappointed. She had wanted to say some reluctant words, but saw Liang Yan sitting restlessly, having specially washed his head and changed into a new set of clothes. Not only that, his whole person seemed somewhat out of sorts.

When she was in Fuzhou, because the old house was occupied, she had also lived under someone else's roof, so she understood the tension well. She comforted her with a few words, but after all, they were childish words and had little effect, so she secretly came to find Song Miao.

Seeing that the time was still early, Song Miao naturally knew that saying anything now would be in vain. After a brief thought, she called Liang Yan over and said to him: "This is the first time visiting, although we need to buy things, after all, it's not as good as making something ourselves to show sincerity. Also, I need to visit an old teacher, and the gift isn't enough yet—I'll mix you a batter, and we'll make some egg rolls ourselves. You deliver one portion, and help me make one portion. How about it?"

Liang Yan hurriedly agreed.

A moment later, Song Miao called Xiao Lian over and asked her to help Liang Yan.

Egg rolls were originally extremely simple; as long as the egg batter was mixed well, even if the heat was a bit off, the taste wouldn't be bad.

She stir-fried the flour until cooked, and mixed it with eggs, lard, cow's milk, maltose, and other things to make two batters.

One was for Chen Fuzi, because his teeth were bad, so those egg rolls should be crispier, crumbling at the touch of the teeth. Therefore, she added more mung bean flour, using no egg yolk, only egg white. The other was for the Zhu family; that batter needed to be crispier and more fragrant, so not only were there more egg yolks, but also several more handfuls of black sesame.

Once the egg batter was ready and the griddle was hot, there was no need to brush oil—the batter already contained lard, and adding more oil would only make it greasy.

She took a spoonful and poured it onto the griddle surface, scraped it with a small wooden scraper, and spread it into a thin round circle. She covered it with a hot griddle containing charcoal, waited a few breaths, opened the lid, and saw the batter had slightly changed color. She quickly rolled it with chopsticks into a cylindrical shape, placed it in a bowl to the side, and that counted as one.

When spreading the egg rolls, a low fire was used. Even so, with enough eggs, enough lard, and freshly milled flour that had been ground, sifted, and stir-fried, during the few breaths it took for the egg batter to slowly form, the aroma gradually coaxed out from the griddle surface and the egg roll itself.

With fire and heat, the aroma naturally escaped faster.

Unknowingly, the whole room was filled with a warm, sweet egg aroma, lard aroma, and wheat aroma.

There is no child in the world who can refuse such a smell.

Let alone children, even an adult like Song Miao couldn't refuse it.

She had eaten it herself, and smelling it made it easier to imagine the texture and taste. As she rolled them in her hands, saliva in her mouth couldn't help but arise.

As for Xiao Lian and Liang Yan, they both swallowed saliva at the same time, especially the latter, whose head was bigger and neck was also bigger, so the sound of swallowing saliva was even louder.

Song Miao made several in one breath. When they were half-cooled, she gave one to each person first.

Egg rolls are soft when hot, but after cooling slightly, they naturally become hard.

The first ones made were for the Zhu family, without mung bean flour added, and mixed with vegetable oil. The resulting texture was even crispier.

Song Miao liked them just as they turned hard, still carrying a bit of warmth. At this time, the flavor was richer—sure enough, upon taking a bite, as soon as the teeth touched it, the double-layered egg roll shattered into pieces in the mouth, full of egg aroma and sesame aroma, with a slight burnt fragrance, making the taste even richer.

This portion had a higher proportion of eggs, especially more egg yolks. The egg aroma was extremely, extremely rich. After eating one, the egg and milk fragrance and burnt sweetness at the mouth and root of the tongue circled and circled and circled again, circling so badly, as if constantly urging you to eat another one.

Liang Yan was after all somewhat reserved, enduring not daring to raise his head. But Xiao Lian, having been with Song Miao and nurtured overnight, had already developed a bit of boldness in speaking and acting before her. At this time, she kept staring at the remaining egg rolls on the plate. Her two eyes were small, but the emotions within were very obvious, as if she had changed her surname, called Sima Lian.

Song Miao smiled and gave each of them another one, then called Cheng Erniang over from behind. She first handed her one, taught her how to roll and how to watch the fire, then asked her to supervise here.

After all, the griddle was hot. She feared the child would hurt her hands, and also feared the child would eat too much and hurt her stomach. Being stared at by the little girl's rolling black eyes, she really couldn't bring herself to refuse, so she had to call the mother over.

When Song Miao finished packing up and came out, the two griddles and three people had already made a large basket of egg rolls.

Song Miao made some more, kept a portion for herself, and packed several portions, some in food boxes, some carefully wrapped in oil paper and carried away.

Once the distribution was settled, seeing that it was almost time, she led Liang Yan out. Since she needed to pick up Auntie Zhu and also brought a child, and the place was quite far, she simply went to the main road and called a mule cart, agreed on a price with the cart driver, and hired it for half a day.

When they arrived at the Zhu family's home and knocked on the door, Zhu Shi came out to answer.

Since coming to this place, Song Miao had received much care from Sun Lizheng and Zhu Shi and her husband. The two sides interacted frequently and had a close relationship. Now, separated for two months, there was naturally some joy. They chatted for a good while before hurriedly presenting the gifts they brought.

Besides the Huazhou local specialties, she specially introduced the egg rolls: "They were made by Xiao Yan himself."

Speaking, she introduced Liang Yan to Zhu Shi.

When Xiang Yuan came to the Capital that day, Zhu Yuanzai held a banquet, and the one who introduced him from the middle was Zhu Shi. Naturally, she knew a bit of the inside story. At this time, she didn't ask more, gave thanks, and praised: "At a glance, he's an honest child!"

She accepted the gifts, gave some instructions at home, and then got on the cart together.

On the cart, they naturally talked about recent events.

"Everything else is fine, it's just that the gambling house case has been judged." Zhu Shi sighed, "I originally feared that if Boss went in, it would drag down the family's reputation. Both our families have young ones. In the future, when discussing marriage, it's inevitable people would point fingers. I was also worried the two elders couldn't bear it. Now, sure enough, a result has come out. He received one hundred strokes and was exiled for two years."

"That beast cried for his father and mother, only saying that once he got out he would definitely reform, and also saying he was sorry to my younger sister-in-law, sorry to the family—ah, what's the use of saying this now!"

Speaking to this point, seeing there was still Liang Yan beside her, fearing it would pollute the child's ears, she hurriedly changed the topic: "Let's not talk about this, it just adds trouble for no reason!"

She also said: "As for you, you've been gone for two months. Others know our two families are close, and from time to time they come to ask. Last time, someone even wanted to make character cakes for their family and chased me to the door several times!"

"And my father. In the past, on big occasions, whenever I asked him what he wanted to eat, he always said he wanted scallion pancakes. Now he's changed his tune, saying he wants to eat your shrimp dumplings and phoenix claws! He really knows how to eat. It's a pity you haven't come back all this time. He wants to eat but can't, drooling a whole basin, muttering every day!"

She asked again: "When will your shrimp dumplings be on sale? Can they be bought?"

Song Miao pursed her lips and smiled, saying: "This thing needs to be made and eaten fresh. If left for a while, the taste completely changes. Eating it is not the same thing at all. Moreover, it's not bamboo shoot season now, lacking a bit of fresh sweetness. If you really want to eat, wait until autumn when the new bi qi comes out. I'll use bi qi as a substitute. Although not as good as bamboo shoots, it can barely do."

Zhu Shi listened and felt vexed, saying: "I originally thought I could share in the glory. Who knew that the better the thing, the harder it is to get. Everything requires particular attention. No wonder what you make and what I make are completely different matters!"

Speaking, she asked about matters in Huazhou again.

Song Miao didn't mention the river channel, nor her other experiences. She only talked about Huazhou's culture and customs, as well as its food and specialties.

When she told stories, she was captivating. When she described scenery, she was vivid. When she spoke of people, she was humorous. And when she got to food, mentioning that she had actually bought such a marvelous mountain delicacy as mushrooms there, with rolling soup fresh and sweet beyond compare. She also spoke of Huazhou black red shrimp, with big heads and rich fat. Used to make braised head shrimp, the taste was exquisite...

Inside the cart body, Zhu Shi and Liang Yan, one big and one small, at first listened with great interest. By the end, they were both drooling.

Zhu Shi grabbed Song Miao's sleeve and said: "When will your food shop open! I don't live far away. Once it's open, I won't need to worry every day about what to make. I'll just go to your place to eat!"

Song Miao smiled straight on, saying, "Hard to say. I want to open early too, but I still have debts on my back. I'll talk about it after they're cleared — it wouldn't be right for the creditors to look after me, give me convenience, while I only look out for myself."

As they spoke, the mule cart gradually slowed, then stopped. The driver outside knocked on the cart body door, only saying the place had arrived.

The three people got off the cart one after another.

That driver was very thoughtful, actively helping everyone move things down from the cart. When he was about to go tie the mule and park the cart, he suddenly called out to Song Miao, looking like he was scratching his ears and cheeks, and asked, "This young lady, when will your food shop open? What will you sell? Will the prices be expensive or not? Will it suit us people who labor all day?"

He also asked, "That hawthorn leaf tea you just mentioned — do any hawthorn tree leaves work? Just sun-dry them and it's done?"

Laughing as she answered the driver, Song Miao carried the basket on her back, held the gift box, and led Liang Yan following Zhu Shi into the door.

The Zhu family lived in a remote spot, but the place was very large. The front was a slaughterhouse, the back their own residence.

The group entered from the back, walked for a while, and seeing the front hall not far off, Song Miao swapped Liang Yan to a large food box, telling him to hold it with both hands, and took the original small light one herself.

Liang Yan was a person of delicate mind, and immediately understood the kindness in it. He thought secretly: Song Jiejie treats me this well. If I don't perform well enough, Uncle Zhu won't take me in — wouldn't that disappoint her?

Thinking of this, he followed step for step behind Song Miao, even his breathing counted and lightened, not daring to lift his head much, fearing he would appear frivolous and restless, unlikable.

Before long, Zhu Butcher, having gotten word, walked out in quick steps.

Seeing Song Miao, he let out an "Ai ya," and said in a full, strong voice: "Song Xiaoniangzi has finally returned! My shrimp dumplings and phoenix claws have a landing spot now, right?!"

Song Miao laughed and greeted him, replying, "If Uncle Zhu wants to eat, just shout for me. Shrimp dumplings are troublesome, need to be made fresh. Those phoenix claws aren't afraid of waiting."

The two spoke a couple of sentences, then Zhu Butcher pointed at Zhu Shenzi behind him, saying, "Yaoniang just said Xiaoniangzi sought me for something, but didn't know what help I could give."

Song Miao then carefully took out the letter from Xiang Family's steward and handed it over.

Several pages of paper. Zhu Butcher didn't know many characters. He only glanced once, then called for someone to fetch the account room.

Presently the account room came, and was about to read that letter publicly. Seeing this, Song Miao gently tugged Zhu Shi's hand. The latter immediately reacted, calling out, "Father, speak inside the room."

She also called Song Miao.

Song Miao gave an assuring nod to Liang Yan by the table, then followed inside.

Side hall. The account room had already started reading the letter.

Sheng Shu's letter only briefly mentioned Xiang Yuan's matter, then said he wanted to exchange the deposit hanging at the Zhu family into Liang Yan's expenses and accomplices' food, and further said Liang Yan was loyal, honest, and kind, only hoping Zhu Yuanzai would take good care of him.

Hearing the letter, Zhu Butcher sighed, saying, "Xiang Yuan... ai, normally he acted very boldly. Who knew he would ultimately be harmed by this boldness!"

He also said, "Xiaoniangzi rest assured. The money is still on the books. Old Zhu hasn't sunk to coveting this bit of wealth! My house is big. It's just moving a bed, adding a set of bowl and chopsticks. I agree!"

Song Miao hurriedly thanked him. Taking advantage of the account room leaving, she quickly told them Xiang Yuan's cause of death and the cause of Liang Yan's father's death as Liang Yan had told it.

Inside the room, father and daughter listened with staring eyes and gaping mouths.

Zhu Butcher sighed repeatedly, saying, "Why bother! Ai! Why bother!"

He also said, "Recently there are often abducted people sent home by the yamen. The city is in an uproar. This morning I still heard someone say it was Yingzhou that caught the big trafficker from the previous Upper Yuan Festival. Who knew — I've seen that Lv Mao twice! Who could guess it was actually him! Xiang Yuan this person, ai! How could he do such things!"

Song Miao said, "After all it's a major trafficking case, involving too many people, connections too wide. Though the dead are great, with Xiang Yuanzai acting like that, the government won't cover it up. I'm afraid before long the news will spread back to the Capital — because it's long-term borrowed residence, I'm afraid Xiao Yan was already in trouble because of him, and in the end will still be implicated by him."

Zhu Butcher said, "A perfectly good child. His birth father was so righteous. How can he be implicated by such filthy business!"

The three people discussed a round. Before long someone brought Zhu Shenzi's old mother, Zhu Butcher's wife Zhou Shi.

Zhou Shi had always managed the accounts. Speaking and doing things, she was very straightforward. Hearing the whole story, she gave Zhu Butcher a sideways glance, and decided: "Very unlucky. Don't mention that damn Xiang family! I'll handle it!"

In the front hall, Liang Yan sat constrained, hands on his knees, back also tensed tight. The tea before him had gone cold. Fruit, snacks — he hadn't moved a bit.

Waiting until he heard a burst of footsteps outside, not long after, several people walked in.

He hurriedly stood up. Seeing clearly who came, and seeing Song Miao also among them, he then felt at ease.

Song Miao stepped forward first, introduced Liang Yan to the Zhu couple, then signaled to Liang Yan: "Xiao Yan, come over and meet your Uncle Zhu and Aunt Zhou."

Following Song Miao's introduction, Liang Yan performed a bow, about to address them.

Zhou Shi stopped him, saying, "Your Uncle Zhu and I are merchants, but we only earn money we should earn. I won't take the Xiang family's deposit either. When the time comes I'll return it to them. But I like that your family is righteous, willing to support you to grow into an adult — our family's good days have only been these few years. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Doing business, it flips just like that. Who knows what the future holds."

"If you're willing, I have a younger brother's daughter's in-laws also surnamed Liang. You can recognize me as great-aunt by that branch's connection."

"If the Zhu family business collapses later, descendants useless, only you have prospects, you'll support Old Zhu and me in old age and see us off. Even if it's only scraping by, you must give us two old people coffin money. Year after year visit the graves and mourn. Agree or not?"

Liang Yan didn't think, immediately nodded, and agreed loudly.

Once agreed, he subconsciously looked at Song Miao. Seeing the other watching him, with no intention to stop him, no more hesitation, he stepped forward two steps, and knelt before the couple, performing a true grand rite.

?? Many thanks to Xiaoxiang Maomao Chong MT for personally gifting me a sachet, and to Jiang Feng Danxia and the book friend for each gifting me a peace talisman:)

? Thank you thank you thank you ~