Chapter 285

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Some picked at the warm mixed vegetables, others ladled soup.

The salted bones had simmered over low heat for a long time, their flavor fully infused into the broth; this saltiness was unlike ordinary salt, carrying the freshness from the meat and bones, with a gentle underlying savor supporting it.

The mustard greens were tender, the leaves cooked until soft, while the stalks kept their shape well, but once bitten, one would discover they were already tender to the point of collapse, so tender that even the transparent outer membrane of the stalk was imperceptible—only endless crisp tenderness, with a hint of clean bitterness.

That bitterness was a sweet bitterness, soft in texture, bitter only for an instant; once in the mouth, touching the tongue, it almost immediately transformed into a sweetness, carrying the broth's clear freshness, capable of sweeping away all杂味 in the mouth, giving one the feeling of "truly reducing internal heat, my temper has been eaten away."

After stewing for so long, the salted bone's meat was all appearance; even if the tongue probed it, it could fall apart completely, and even the bone inside could be pressed by the tongue against the upper gum to squeeze out an even richer fresh juice.

And most of the bone and meat essence had already merged into the soup—yet even so, the soup remained clear, only faintly yellow, looking little different from ordinary vegetable soup, but tasting of the utmost flavor balance, impossible to say whether the bone-meat freshness dominated or the mustard green's sweet bitterness stole the show.

When drinking, one would only feel they were one whole, using salt to highlight freshness, using bitterness to transform into sweetness, naturally possessing a sweet, moist afterthroat sensation.

With this chopstick of mixed vegetables, a mouthful of salted bone mustard soup, the mouth was instantly cleared, causing someone to feel regret.

"Ai! Ai! It's delicious, but I should have waited a while to eat—then that black char siu's flavor could have lingered in my mouth a bit longer!"

"Ai, anciently there was 'lingering sound around the beams, not ceasing for three days'; I eat this mouthful of black char siu, if I eat nothing else, the meat fragrance could revolve between my lips and teeth for three days!"

"Meat roasted by the waterside, soup boiled with mountain spring—though I am no famous scholar, I have been romantic once!"

Everyone picked at the dishes now and then, each leaving a bowl of soup on the side, waiting to clear their mouths later, knowing there would surely be more good dishes, none willing to eat quickly, still here spouting sour remarks to pass the time, to keep their mouths busy so they wouldn't be so hungry, fearing they couldn't restrain themselves from eating heartily, their stomachs would be taken up.

Just as they were speaking, another dish came up.

The aroma drifted in at the doorway, yet it was a large plate of exquisite young roast pigeons, one per person.

Seeing the servant bring out scissors, Chen Fuzi was an old hand at Song Ji, experienced in eating pigeon, and frightened, he immediately stopped them: "Wait! My one doesn't need to be cut open—I'll gnaw the whole thing with my mouth!"

He said this, and the others at the table all became curious, inevitably asking questions.

"Old Chen, what way of eating is this? Where is the refinement?"

"What refinement! One snip of the scissors, and the meat juice flows onto the plate—I have my own mouth, must the plate catch it for me?"

This was naturally a joke, but among the full table of people, who didn't have a mouth? First someone muttered: "Not cut open, can you bite it?"

But once they saw Chen Fuzi already shoving the whole pigeon into his bowl, almost everyone followed suit and learned.

Since there was no stove here, the young pigeon was deep-fried, fried until glistening with oil, its whole body between reddish-brown and burnt yellow; just looking at it made mouths water.

Unlike the roasted young pigeon in the food shop, the fried young pigeon had juicier meat; one bite, and the meat juice exploded in the mouth, the oil fragrance, meat fragrance, and brine fragrance extremely rich, the meat tender, the bones soaked through with the cooking juice, sucking on it was wonderfully fragrant.

Once the skin broke, the meat juice surged out endlessly; take a sip, savor the rich fragrance and flavor, then bite another mouthful of meat, and there was new meat juice—simply extremely busy.

Chen Fuzi was an old hand, eating with utmost care; needless to say for the amateurs. Some grabbed the pigeon leg and pulled, accidentally using too much force, splashing meat juice all over the bowl, anxious to suck it up but too late, only able to stomp their feet under the chair.

The pigeon skin was thin as paper, extremely fragrant, and because the skin was truly too thin, yet not glass-like skin, it was very easy to bite.

Once the meat entered the mouth and tasted the flavor, immediately two old men made sounds of regret—these were the two with clumsy hands, regretting the mouthful of meat juice they had just let slip.

Because tender meat was needed, naturally younger pigeons were used, not very big at all; eating one, no matter how cherished, was over in a moment.

While eating, a group of old men were still sucking the bones and savoring the aftertaste, when suddenly, without prior agreement, almost at the same time, every one of them turned to look at the doorway—because they smelled a strong fish paste aroma; it turned out a servant was bringing in a small sandal pot.

The sandal pot had just been uncovered, the "zhe zhe" sound even louder, incessant, and that strong fragrance filled the whole room.

The servant hurriedly said: "Young Lady Song says, this dish is called 'Salted Fish Eggplant Pot,' with salted fish bits added, slightly oily, please guests be careful of your stomach and intestines..."

This was said in vain; almost no one heeded the reminder, everyone had already started eating.

Salted fish bits stir-fried in hot oil naturally had a domineering rich and salty-fresh flavor; the eggplant was first stir-fried, then simmered, the outer layer slightly burnt yellow, the inside soaked up the sauce, soft as mud, carrying the eggplant's unique fragrance, but also receiving the salted fish's salty freshness, the minced meat's oil, plus garlic fragrance, scallion fragrance, soy sauce fragrance...

A dish full of rich fragrance, thick sauce, though not greasy, truly had a bit of oil; one bite, and everyone reached for their bowls of rice, starting to eat rice with it.

Everyone ate happily, only Old Tang saw the situation was bad, and anxiety arose in his heart; he hurriedly held the table and stood up to look outside, looking while reminding the whole table: "Don't rush, eat slowly, don't eat rice first—save your stomachs to taste the fish I caught!"

—Who would care about him! Busy eating the dishes, they couldn't even keep up!

"Old Tang, I'm not saying this, but this Bian River has become so muddy; you finally caught a double-spine carp, and so big, truly rare good luck, why waste it—better take the fish home and raise it for ten days or half a month before eating, otherwise it's sure to have a muddy taste!"

Fishing friends who had sat by the pond half a day together and finally returned empty-handed immediately echoed: "Exactly, we advise you and you won't listen, insisting on giving the fish to the kitchen; that young lady gets this muddy carp, who knows how she'll have a headache—you eat it if you want, I can't even keep up with the other good dishes at this table!"

After this person said this, the rest at the table all felt it was very reasonable; not only did they move their chopsticks faster, but some kind souls also劝起话来.

"Old Tang, eat your fish for the meaning of it, don't keep thinking about it; aren't the other dishes delicious?"

However, before this person's voice fell, someone else brought a dish to the table—it was Old Tang's fish arriving.

The plate was an oval long plate; inside was placed a whole braised carp; the carp fried golden, with scales, tail slightly cocked, the whole body covered in thick sauce; seen by people, it was truly a provocation of "dare you eat me?"

A group of old men, though somewhat afraid of the muddy smell, still couldn't resist; immediately everyone held up chopsticks, vying to give that carp a taste.

Ordinary carp are used to having many bones, but the double-spine carp is different; fewer bones; chopsticks slide along the fish bones toward the belly, avoiding the intermuscular bones; scales, skin, and meat together are flipped down in one chopstick, mixed with hot fragrance, add a bit of white rice, then sent into the mouth, giving a feeling of happy dizziness.

Salty and fresh, sweet with fragrance; first using pork belly to fry out the lard, using pork and fish as in-laws; scallion, ginger, garlic for fragrance; plus soy sauce, salt, Shaoxing yellow wine, and a little maltose for seasoning, making the fish meat's sweetness clearer.

The fish scales and skin fried until crispy and fragrant; no flower cuts were made at all.

Song Miao used lard over a strong fire to fry, driving away the earthy smell, locking in all the fish fragrance; meat upon meat, savory fragrance overflowing.

At this time there is a saying, called "Better to abandon three generations of relatives than give up carp scales"; the taste of carp scales can be imagined.

This fish's scales were片片翘起; after long braising, the outer skin still had an illusion of crispness, but itself had already softened; the exuded gelatin could glue the upper and lower lips together; the fish meat was extremely soft, the belly meat extremely tender; slightly higher positions had a bit of firmness; very fresh and fragrant, wrapped in thick soup juice, truly making the tongue enjoy itself very much.

And the most proud was none other than Old Tang; he ate while asking for credit: "How is it! How is it! Is this fish fishy or not, is there a muddy taste or not!"

—Who would care about him, busy eating the fish they couldn't keep up!

Dishes came one after another; when eating to the end, everyone was full and unwilling to move; when they saw the servant bringing dishes again, fear was greater than anticipation.

"Still more dishes? Can you ask not to serve them—once served I can't help but eat! I'm already full to my throat!"

"Who told you to snatch and add three bowls of rice, actually daring to eat three bowls! Do you think you're some ten or twenty-year-old youngster? Watching you makes me sweat for you—don't eat anymore!"

"Ai, I can't eat anymore; my portion should be taken away..."

But once the meal was served, no one spoke at the table; everyone fell silent.

The servant sensed something was wrong, not daring to raise his voice, saying: "The kitchen says this is a closing snack—if the gentlemen can't eat it, shall I take it away?"

"Wait!"

"Don't rush! Don't hurry! What snack?"

"Song Xiaoniangzi says it's sesame paste braised milk……"

"What kind of braising is this? Let me look——forget it, leave it for now, I'll rest a bit before deciding whether to eat……"

"Such small bowls……forget it, I'll eat now!"

He didn't rest, almost everyone picked up their spoons.

The braised milk sat on the top layer, fine and smooth, rich with milky fragrance; the sesame paste was on the bottom layer, only lightly sweetened, using the aroma of the sesame paste to set off the milky fragrance—each had its own scent when eaten alone, but one sip brought doubled richness.

Especially the sesame paste was very smooth, roasted and ground fresh, fine and thick, with no graininess at all, fragrant enough to reach the nose; eating it, one seemed to already be growing hair.

Everyone ate both satisfied and dissatisfied.

Someone couldn't help complaining about the dissatisfaction, saying: "Old Liu, not righteous, and didn't say earlier; if I'd known, I wouldn't have eaten anything this morning!"

"Right, drank all that tea for nothing, and ate snacks and fruit, wasting my stomach!"

"Such good dishes, such a good chef household, such good flavor, why didn't you invite us earlier to taste?"

Liu Hanlin laughed hehe, laughing while shooting teasing arrows at Chen Fuzi and Lao Cao Fuzi—one only focused on eating dishes, the other absentmindedly sipping soup slowly.

He said: "I only ate it two days ago and already missed you, so I had the chef household come set a banquet—but you two, Old Chen and Lao Lao Cao, have monopolized the good stuff for nearly half a year, not a word; if I hadn't happened to eat it……"

For a moment, the whole table followed his words, accusing Chen and Lao Cao without stop.

Chen Fuzi smiled and said: "It hasn't only been two days, has it? Last month Old Liu sold you that green plum dew, which came from the young lady's hand—how did he sell it to you? What good things did he collect?"

One move of using your spear to attack your shield immediately left Liu Hanlin searching the ground for his few remaining teeth.

Here it was just joking, lively and bustling, but Lao Cao Fuzi had no reaction at all; several times the conversation was driven to him, with no answer whatsoever; even when someone called him out alone, he only raised his head and gave a dry laugh.

Everyone had already noticed something was wrong.

Someone blunt and outspoken asked: "Lao Lao Cao, what's wrong with you today? Just now eating, such delicious roast pigeon, braised fish, mutton, plus char siu and stir-fried water bamboo—you ate listlessly—things you usually love, you didn't even fight for them!"

Lao Cao Fuzi forced a smile and said: "The one at home has been in poor health lately; I'm worried about her, so I naturally have no energy."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and hurriedly asked what was wrong, also recommending physicians.

Another complained: "If you knew your sister-in-law was unwell, why did you come out?"

Lao Cao Fuzi explained: "I was originally afraid I'd spoil everyone's mood by coming; I just thought we hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Old Liu had invited early, so it was fine——the family has already called a physician and taken medicine, and she's much better now; everyone enjoy yourselves, don't let me spoil the mood!"

Because of this interlude, the poetry gathering originally planned for the afternoon lost its mood; only before dispersing did everyone run to ask Liu Hanlin and Chen Fuzi about the cook's wife's origins.

Chen Fuzi laughed and said: "Far from you—Song Xiaoniangzi has her own food shop, called 'Song Ji,' at the end of Suanzao Alley inside Zhuque Gate, not far from Taixue."

He also said: "Another day when I'm free, I'll treat you to a meal; Song Xiaoniangzi's food shop has a stove, usually making char siu, roast pigeon, roast chicken, roast duck, and such—Xiao Sun can't eat sharp-beaked fowl and can't eat these, but Song Xiaoniangzi promised that when they open, she'll roast a big pig, and then I'll take you all to eat!"

Speaking, he had someone bring Song Miao over.

Seeing the person herself, everyone had even more questions to ask.

"Young lady, how did you make this outside kitchen?"

"Does the food shop deliver outside food? How is it delivered?"

"What dishes does the food shop have? Are the ones we ate today all in the food shop?"

Someone also called the steward over to have people recognize Song Miao in person, so future dealings would be easier.

Song Miao answered each one in detail, then introduced the various foods in the food shop; before she was halfway through, several said they wanted to try Song Ji's early food, and if it tasted good, they'd later consider competing with colleagues—Song Miao went out once as an outside kitchen, hadn't even returned home, and already brought back seven or eight new customers, wanting everything.

After going out, she called Zhang Siniang over, introduced her, and asked her to slowly negotiate with the various households' stewards afterward.

Here matters were settled seven or eight parts full, all loose ends tidied up, and Song Miao then took her people and all the kitchen cookware to bid farewell.

When leaving it was late morning; when arriving home the sky was already darkening.

Back at the food shop, Cheng Erniang had already left rice and dishes; Song Miao and Zhang Siniang ate slowly, then exchanged news of the day's events with the family.

Hearing there was new business, Cheng Erniang hurriedly brought out paper and brush to record the delivery locations, quantities, and who would receive them, asking carefully until satisfied before resting easy.

Since it was late, Zhang Siniang and her husband ate, packed up their things, and went home with the workers.

After Cheng Erniang saw the people off, she said to Song Miao: "Today an old woman came to the door asking for the young lady; I asked her what business, but she didn't answer and left on her own—saying she'd come again tomorrow."

Song Miao then asked in detail about the visitor's appearance and age; hearing the description, it was actually very unfamiliar, and she only felt strange.

The two talked for a while, then Cheng Erniang said: "The young lady has been busy outside all day; I've kept the stove ready in the back; if you want to wash up, hot water is ready."

She also asked whether to close the shop and shut the door first.

Song Miao said: "Er Niangzi has been busy all day too; today I wasn't here, you alone managed the shop up and down, and had to bring the new person to deliver goods—very hard work; you go wash up first, I'll lock up here in a while."

After speaking, she subconsciously glanced at the door outside.