Chapter 266: The Marvelous Kitchen, Chapter 268: Stony Face

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Xu Niangzi followed her inside.

It was late afternoon; she had walked all the way, thirsty, hungry, and hot, drenched in sweat, but just as she reached the entrance, a cool breeze suddenly surged out from within Song Ji's door. That breeze was no ordinary cross-draft; it was particularly refreshing.

She looked up.

Wow!

Such a huge mountain of ice!

No wonder it's so cool!

How much silver does this cost?!

Xu Niangzi subconsciously began calculating in her mind, but before she could finish, she took another look and couldn't help but stop in her tracks.

Oh my!

Another handsome young man!

The one sitting before the ice mountain was even younger, and his appearance was actually better than the one who had come out to welcome her earlier!

He wore plain-colored clothing; though it looked unassuming at first glance, it was clearly carefully cut with exquisite embroidery—one could tell at a glance he was someone of background—yet he was gentle and mild, smiling and nodding at her.

"May I ask, young lady, what buns do you want to buy? Which day, what time, and how many?"

Nodding, the young man spoke while sliding a sheet of paper and a brush over from the desk, looking as if he were seriously ready to take notes.

Judging by his attire and bearing, he didn't look like an accountant at all, yet at this moment he was acting entirely like one—could he be the young master?

Xu Niangzi gave a casual reply, couldn't help but glance at the attendant, then glance at the "young master" across from her.

She had a procurement list with her, but her own handwriting was that of a self-taught amateur, not very neat, so at this moment she actually felt a bit embarrassed to hand it over. Instead, she held it in her hand and read it item by item to the person across, all the while secretly watching how he wrote characters.

Meanwhile, the attendant from earlier had already brought over a master's chair for her to sit on and served her tea.

Seeing she had no free hand, he even moved a small table over to place the tea.

What day is this today!

Even though she was surrounded by two handsome young men, Xu Niangzi still gritted her teeth and steeled herself: what good is being handsome, can it be eaten as a meal?

After quickly reporting the numbers, she asked sternly: "I'm buying this much, is there any discount?"

Not daring to look at the person across, she only stared at the clean ground and said: "Young sir, this is Song Ji Food Shop, right? Your buns are too expensive. Mutton buns are eight wen each, nearly catching up to Yun He Lou. And what's this grilled meat chashao bun? Is it pork? How can it be more expensive than mutton buns? Selling at ten wen each, does eating it make one an immortal?!"

This was originally a clever haggling tactic, but upon hearing this, the young sir across looked anxious and said: "This lady, Song Ji's buns use top-quality ingredients and have top-quality flavor. Whether they're expensive or not is another matter. As for Yun He Lou... forget it, I shouldn't disparage other shops—you just take a bite and see if it's worth ten wen each!"

Speaking, he actually opened the steamer basket on the table and stood up to come over.

The attendant hurriedly went to receive and deliver it, saying: "Lady, try the taste first, and buy only if it's truly delicious!"

The steamer basket opened, and a wave of wheat fragrance and sweet fragrance rose out.

Large buns, opening into extremely beautiful flowers, the flowers square and neat, fully bloomed, dividing the bun into three, like a three-peaked mountain with a base, each peak the same size, revealing the saucy-red filling in the very center, oily and glossy.

A small piece of meat poked its head out, half fat and half lean. Even though wrapped in the bun dough and steamed again, the charred edges' golden yellow was still glaringly obvious. The fatty part was completely translucent, the sauce color bringing out a beautiful glazed texture, wrapped in thick sauce.

At this time the bun was mostly white with a hint of yellow, but this bun could almost be called snow white. That wheat fragrance was different from all the buns she had eaten before; it carried a milky fragrance. Not yet eaten, just looking at it, she felt it was very fragrant and sweet.

The two handsome young men across—Xu Niangzi had looked at them again and again earlier, but now she couldn't bear to lift her head. In her eyes, in her heart, there was only the bun.

There were clean chopsticks on the side. She took the chopsticks and thought to herself: This bun has something to it. Let me taste it.

The three-peaked bun. She first separated only one peak, and at first still minded her manners, taking a bite in a refined manner.

An extremely soft bite!

The bun skin was too fluffy. Clearly a large bite, but once placed in her mouth and pressed by her upper and lower teeth, it flattened at once, carrying a milky fragrance, softer than cotton, soft and yielding, still allowing itself to be pressed flat and rolled round.

This bun was not like the usual unleavened or old-dough buns she was used to eating—not a kind of noisy softness. Its texture was light and dense, but not too crumbly. That softness was propped up by countless extremely tiny, fine air pockets.

It was hard to say which bun skin tasted better, but while eating this kind, Xu Niangzi was willing to secretly lean a few steps toward it.

The bun skin was already outstanding. When she reached the filling, she was stunned again—this grilled meat chashao filling, how could it be so delicious!

A very special flavor. The sauce fragrance made the meat fragrance stand out especially. The meat juice was a little less than ordinary meat buns, but more rich and fragrant. Salty and fresh, sweet and fragrant combined perfectly. The sweetness was a rich sweetness full of burnt fragrance. Saltiness carried freshness. That freshness had meat freshness and also sea-freshness. The freshnesses converged, not a simple stacking, but a flowing layered texture.

This filling could not be described without the words "rich and mellow." One couldn't say whether it was salty with sweetness or sweet with saltiness. The meat was richly fragrant and the sauce sweet and moist.

The heat was controlled just right. Eating it was especially captivating. The fatty meat cubes were soft and glutinous, not at all greasy-feeling. They truly melted in the mouth, not greasy at all, only honestly providing a sense of fatness and beauty.

After chewing a few more times, the full fragrance of the lean meat also came out. The bun dough and the chashao meat filling finally met in the mouth—the sweetness of the dough and the salty-sweet taste of the meat, the richly flavored fat and meat juice mixed together...

Indeed, meat buns are still the most delicious in the world. This grilled meat chashao bun is the most, most delicious!

The filling wasn't considered much; obviously there was more bun dough than filling. But when Xu Niangzi ate it, she felt no sense of the shopkeeper cutting corners at all.

—Even eating the bun skin alone was extremely delicious. Moreover, it played a very good balancing role. After all, with the sweet and salty taste, relying on this skin, that pen wanting to write the character "greasy" was kicked far away to the clouds, unable to come near at all.

The bun was huge, but after all it was only one peak. Xu Niangzi took the first bite in a refined manner, then took a big bite the second time—Damn, eating buns requires big bites, big chews. So fragrant!

Originally she only planned to eat one peak, but while eating, all three peaks went into her mouth, leaving only the mountain base. That base had supported the chashao filling the longest and was soaked in sauce the best. The sauce color was too beautiful!

When she saw this "base," Xu Niangzi was already too lazy to care about manners or face.

It's just ten wen!

She had tasted this flavor; she would pay this money!

The chopsticks reached out, and the "mountain base" also went into her mouth.

Soaked in meat juice and sauce, yet not soaked through, still leaving a bit of clean dough skin. This bite was the most fragrant and the most moist.

The huge bun went into her belly. Perhaps because the dough was truly too soft, or perhaps because Xu Niangzi practiced martial arts and had a big appetite, she hadn't even filled her stomach.

Earning money through her own hard work, eating a bun, Xu Niangzi never felt wronged.

She looked up and opened her mouth to ask for another one.

Before the word "again" could even leave her mouth, a person came out from the back.

That person walked along saying, "Zhu Jie'er is pulling Old Madam, saying she wants to……"

The other party's words stopped halfway, suddenly pausing.

It was a young maiden, her head wrapped in cloth, her face veiled, revealing only a pair of eyes.

The eyes were truly beautiful, like stars, very bright, like a clear pool, clear and transparent.

This pair of eyes, upon seeing her, instantly curved into crescents, like a crescent moon; although the face was veiled, Xu Niangzi could still tell the other party was smiling at her.

She couldn't help but return a smile, about to speak, yet saw that "Young Master" across from her suddenly stand up, looking exactly like someone eagerly claiming credit.

"Stall Owner Song, this young lady has come to buy a lot of glutinous rice and steamed buns!"

While speaking, he handed over the manuscript he had just copied, saying, "I've already noted down the delivery places, times, and what she wants to buy——the young lady feels the meat buns, especially the char siu buns, are a bit expensive, asking if the food shop can lower the price a little."

"I didn't know there was actually a guest in front, it has truly troubled Young Master He to help me receive the guest——truly negligent on both sides!"

That young lady took the paper with one hand, while with the other she reached up and removed the veil from her face, glanced at the contents on the paper, and gave a salute to Xu Niangzi.

She smiled and said, "So it's a guest from the Xu Family Wuguan——what is your honorable surname? I wonder if it's an order from Cheng Shifu's side?"

Xu Niangzi answered in a fine voice, trying her best to speak gently: "My surname is Xu, I am indeed here on behalf of Cheng Shifu and the others."

That young lady then smiled and said, "Troubling you to walk so far, shall I pour the young lady a cup of iced drink?"

She asked again: "Do you like sour plum drink, or hawthorn leaf drink? If you usually prefer to fight heat with heat, there is also perilla drink——which one would you like?"

Too gentle, too amiable……

She calls me "young lady"! Clearly I look quite a bit older, and still don't know who is older and who is younger!

Born extremely good-looking too!

What kind of food shop is this! How come everyone inside is born this good! One better than the next!!

Being good-looking would be fine, but the person is also this good, one sentence and it makes you want to buy things from her.

——Then again, ten wen each is indeed expensive, but the char siu buns are that delicious, selling them a bit dearer is only right and proper……right??

Helping to receive Xu Niangzi were naturally He Qi and Bei Zhi who had come as guests.

And then Song Miao came out the second gate, reached the front hall, saw the delivery times and locations written on the paper He Qi handed over, and naturally recognized the origin of the order at a glance.

After serving the drink, remembering Xu Niangzi felt the price was high, she said unhurriedly: "The young lady feels it's expensive, that is only natural——ordinary meat buns outside are only four or five wen each, six wen can already buy decent mutton buns, my family's mutton buns sell for eight wen, char siu buns for ten wen, whoever sees them will ask an extra question."

——As if she had been inside Xu Niangzi's belly just now!

Xu Niangzi held the sour plum drink, downed half in one breath, hearing these words, hurriedly said: "I initially felt it was expensive, just now I ate one, indeed delicious——truly not a single bit lacking?"

Song Miao froze, turned her head to look at He Qi.

He Qi laughed: "I treated this Xu Niangzi——I love char siu buns most, hearing her say expensive, she even compared to Yun He Lou, I figured she mostly just hadn't had a chance to eat them yet……"

Xu Niangzi by now had already heard it out, knew the person opposite was also a guest, embarrassed said: "Indeed tastier than Yun He Lou, I originally didn't know Young Master was also a guest, thought you were this food shop's junior proprietor!"

Speaking, she fished money from her sleeve, saying: "I'll return Young Master one!"

Song Miao laughed: "One bun, though a small shop, can still be afforded, young lady comes to patronize my business, price can't be lowered, but buns can be eaten more!"

Speaking, she turned serious again: "Must also explain clearly to the young lady, char siu buns are expensive, first because of ingredients, second because of seasoning, third because of skill."

"The meat specially picks fresh pork neck, mei tou meat, the seasoning puts in plenty of sugar——you can taste it in one bite, right?"

The meat is indeed especially good, fat and lean alternating, extremely fresh, as for sugar……even if malt sugar, putting a lot in one go is indeed not cheap.

Xu Niangzi couldn't help but nod along, her heart calculating the cost.

Song Miao continued: "The meat isn't cured then seasoned and wrapped directly, it must be roasted then wrapped——if not roasted, not enough to remove greasiness, also cannot enhance fragrance."

Xu Niangzi's heart began calculating firewood money, then calculating labor.

"The flour isn't ordinary flour either, uses fine flour, specially asked the flour shop to grind wheat separately according to our requirements, inside adds cow's milk, also added sugar……"

"Young lady just ate, don't know if you noticed that the bun 'smiles'?"

Xu Niangzi hurriedly nodded.

Song Miao laughed: "That smile isn't steamed out, it's specially pinched out when wrapping, only then can it bloom so evenly——making it is many times more troublesome than ordinary meat or vegetable buns, my family's buns are all dearer than outside's, first because taste is good, second because ingredients are good, earning a skill fee."

Xu Niangzi's mind kept flashing the prices of Yun He Lou, Qing Feng Shi Fang, De Sheng Fang, Peng Ji and all those food shops and wine towers.

Comparing the skill of buns made by other food shops, then comparing to Song Ji……

Too conscientious!

When the buyer hangs the words "conscientious" on the seller's head in their heart, this price naturally can no longer be bargained down.

Not only can it not be bargained down, Xu Niangzi ate the char siu bun, and couldn't help but want to publicize it widely.

——She herself kept saying she came to bargain, those martial instructors all have loose mouths, in a few days they'll spread it wildly outside, then everyone will know she only has a loud mouth……

Unless they all eat a bite!

Once they've eaten, they definitely won't speak of her again!

The Xu Family Wuguan has many martial instructors, this time the quantity ordered is already not small, but besides that, the Xu Family also has an escort agency, just this morning a major escort returned, Xu Niangzi's Second Brother and sister-in-law led the escort, bringing forty or fifty escorts——she went early to collect accounts, to collect the employer's money.

Sister-in-law told her to arrange a few more banquet tables tomorrow, to host the brothers eating together.

But people can't just eat lunch and not eat breakfast, right?

Xu Niangzi in one breath added a hundred char siu buns, and also wanted to add dried meat.

"My brother and sister-in-law just took an escort, in a few days they'll set out, I ate the dried meat Cheng Shifu and them shared, taste very good, also very filling, too suitable to take as dry rations, saving on food, can eat for quite long, I want to buy some for them to take!"

"Buns can be made, only that dried meat might not be doable." Song Miao instead pushed back the business, "Right now took many orders, to queue again would have to queue to four days later, truly can't make it in time."

Xu Niangzi calculated the time, said: "They depart next month, we'll wait, four days later is four days later, okay?"

"Afraid it will rain." Song Miao said, "This dried meat needs sun-drying, if not sun-dried, relying entirely on roasting dry, the flavor also isn't good enough, moreover once the summer flood comes, it's not something that stops in two or three days, by then meat and dried meat both easily spoil, a few days and they're bad, guests eating won't find it tasty——rest assured, once autumn enters, if you still want later, I'll definitely queue you in front! Come again then, how about it?"

Xu Niangzi could only regretfully nod, and asked again: "Still have char siu buns today? I want to buy some to take back, can I?"

"Because it's a new product, these two days are trial making, didn't make many, all eaten by ourselves——if young lady wants, later there's still grilled char siu, one batch just out of the oven, why not take a strip of char siu back?"

Thus Xu Niangzi came full of confidence, single-mindedly wanting to bargain the price down hard, but after she ate one char siu bun, drank two cups of sour plum drink, received hospitality from three people in succession, she instead paid the deposit in full, bought an extra hundred char siu buns, and carried a full four strips of top-grade char siu, walking away full of anticipation.

She walked while hefting the thick char siu wrapped in lotus leaves in her hand, swallowing her saliva as she thought: Song Xiaoniangzi said there was roast pigeon, but it was a pity they'd have to wait a while before it came out of the oven; this time she really couldn't make it, another day, when she went out on errands next time, regardless of whether it was on the way or not, she would detour to buy one to taste!

Oh no, my roast pigeon!

After seeing Xu Niangzi off, Song Miao turned to He Qi and smiled: "Originally came to ask about the Young Master's arrangements—the Old Lady said she didn't want to fuss tonight, so she'll stay at the food shop to eat; does the Young Master have any other matters?"

He Qi set aside the scroll in his hand, his eyes lighting up, and hurriedly said: "Lately I've had no appetite; as for everything else, I don't care, but I want to eat two more of those roast pigeons!"

Speaking, he had already stood up, saying: "I'll go ask the Old Lady if she has any other instructions!"

He went eagerly toward the back courtyard.

Song Miao smiled and followed; just as she stepped out the second gate, she heard someone behind her say: "Grandmother, Grandmother, be fierce, don't smile! Put on a stern face! Right, right! Even more stern! That Doctor Lin might also put on a stern face when they first meet tomorrow—Xiao Lian, don't panic, even if you meet a master with a stern face, don't be anxious or afraid; my mother says a strict teacher produces outstanding students, a fierce master has their good points!"

"Grandmother, you ask, you ask quickly, you say: This child, what is your name, how many medical books have you studied, how many medicines do you recognize, why do you want to study medicine with me!"

?? Thank you to Book City Maiden E, Wu Man, and Xing Ye for each gifting me one Codeword Tool=3=

? Thank you to Book City friend _ae, Ao Te Man Xiao Jie, and My Cat Is Called Egg Egg for each gifting me one Small Gift^_^

? Thank you to Qing Mei Shou for gifting two Peace Talismans to Bei Zhi: ）