Chapter 68, The 68th Inn: Whole Lamb Feast

Huo Yu: "I heard that the magistrate stopped arresting refugees, but he took a group of people from the prison to work on water conservancy projects. As for the able-bodied men who were serving in the military, he also released them to go home."

After Yunyin realized it wouldn't affect her, she finally felt relieved.

Shen Rong said, "I'm afraid the county magistrate of Long'an County will be rated as inferior this year."

Xie Yan agreed, "Yes, the county magistrate can forget about being evaluated this year, so he's been very anxious lately and is trying to figure out how to resolve this matter."

Yunyin didn't care about what happened next. As long as the county's affairs didn't affect her, she went back to the counter to take stock of her assets and planned to stock up on some charcoal and other winter necessities.

Thinking about winter, Yunyin thought of the cotton she planted in her field. She had already arranged for people to prune the tops in June. Zhang Lin had to inspect the fields every afternoon to remove any weeds in time. Now is the critical period for cotton boll formation, so it is essential to ensure sufficient water. In cotton fields with lush foliage, old leaves should also be pruned and rotten bolls removed.

Yunyin called Zhang Lin over, explained these precautions to him, and said, "If you are too busy, tell me and I will find someone to help you."

Zhang Lin nodded and said, "Don't worry, Madam Yun, I can manage. I have nothing to do this afternoon, so I can go to the fields and see what I can do." Now that there are more and more people at Madam Yun's place, he is worried that he is not capable enough to help Madam Yun in the future. Zhang Lin has some experience in managing the fields, and he attaches great importance to it, especially the cotton in the fields.

Yunyin was quite at ease with Zhang Lin. After he left, she continued to do the accounting. Last month, she had received three major clients. In addition to the 100 mooncakes she sold to Luo Man, she also sold some mooncakes herself. Including other passing merchants, she earned as much as 43 strings of cash after deducting costs.

However, she had to pay taxes on a large portion of this money. The commercial taxes in Dazhao were quite high, including both housing taxes and transaction taxes. In total, she only had 27 strings of cash left. Yunyin was quite satisfied with having more than 20 strings of cash. After putting away the account book, she said to Cheng Yong, "Brother Cheng, the winters in Long'an County are very cold. We need to stock up on more firewood and charcoal. Let Ma Hao go to the county town to buy them tomorrow."

Cheng Yong nodded and said, "Let him only buy charcoal, and have his men go to the mountains to cut the timber. They can't just eat and not work."

Yunyin said, "Winter in Long'an County is very cold. There are so many of us, and the kitchen uses a lot of hot water every day. These are all expenses. Let's prepare more firewood."

"Let him go to the nearby villages to collect some firewood, and we'll go to the mountains to cut some ourselves. With the charcoal we've prepared, that should be enough for this winter."

Yunyin had no idea how important her decision was. She was just habitually preparing for the future and stockpiling things to make herself feel at ease. She never expected that the winter temperature this year would be much colder than in previous years. If she hadn't made preparations, who knows what she might have encountered this year?

After Huo Yu and his companions finished eating and resting, they paid for their meal and asked Yun Yin, "Miss Yun, is there still roast duck today?"

"There's no banquet today, and we have two left. How many would you like, Mr. Huo?"

Huo Yu: "I'll take both. I'm not tired of them yet. I really want to try your new dishes today. I'll take the roast duck home to eat."

Lin Yun also said, "I haven't tried Yun Niangzi's roast duck yet. I heard from Huo Lang that it tastes very special, and I'd like to try it too."

Yunyin nodded and said, "Then I'll go pack it up for you." She told Cheng Yong to collect the money, while she went to the kitchen to pack lotus leaf buns, side dishes, and sauces. After slicing the two ducks, she handed them to them, saying...

"The skin of the roast duck will not be as crispy after it cools down. If you don't want to eat it steamed, you can reheat it slightly in an oven. If you don't have an oven, you can also use a tea stove, the effect is the same. The roast duck will still have crispy skin after reheating."

The maid behind Lin Yun took the food box and nodded, saying, "Miss Yun, we've got it. We'll do as you say when we get back."

After Huo Yu and the others left, only Wang Yu and the others remained. He let out a long sigh and said, "I couldn't speak properly with the elders around. I was so suffocated."

Lin Hui shook his head and said, "You've said plenty of things, and you were the loudest one just now."

Wang Yu retorted, "It's because you guys brought up Beijiang County School first that we started arguing."

Other students from Beijiang County School agreed, saying, "Yes, yes, your Long'an County School isn't much better either. When the county schools compete, you're about the same as us."

Lin Hui shouted, "How could it be almost the same? We beat you last time!"

As they talked, they started arguing again. One of them said, "Why don't we compete again and see who is better?"

When Yunyin returned from changing the water in the shrimp and crab fields, she saw them arguing again. She asked Cheng Yong, "Why are they arguing this time?"

Cheng Yong shrugged and said, "It seems to be about comparing which county school is better. I don't understand what's the point of comparing them."

Yunyin could understand; young people are always eager to prove themselves. After a moment's thought, she stepped forward and said, "Since neither of you is willing to concede to the other, why don't we set a time and hold a poetry gathering here? The winner will receive a banquet that I will personally prepare. What do you think?"

Wang Yu thought the suggestion was excellent, and he was the first to agree, saying, "I agree with Lady Yun's suggestion."

Shen Rong and Xie Yan exchanged a glance and agreed, "Then we'll trouble you, Lady Yun. How about we schedule it for the next day off?"

Yunyin smiled and said, "No problem, I will prepare in advance."

The two sides set a time, agreeing to leave after their next argument. Xie Yan looked around but didn't see Song Shi, so he asked Yun Yin, "Why don't I see Song Shi?"

Yunyin said, "He should go and check the surrounding environment. I asked him to paint a mural for me, and he said that he needs to determine the environment before he can decide what materials to use. I don't know anything about these things, so I can only let him do as he pleases."

Xie Yan said in surprise, "I thought he had given up selling paintings, but I didn't expect him to still be persisting. I can only wish him success."

Yunyin smiled and said, "He's quite persistent, and perhaps he really can get what he wants." After spending time with Song Shi these past few days, she felt that Song Shi was a good person and quite a good match for Sister Aman. If he really had the ability to support his wife and children and was not bound by his family, perhaps he could really have a future with Luo Man.

She had actually realized long ago that Luo Man wasn't unmoved, but there were too many practical problems standing between them, so Luo Man gave up early on. Song Shi, on the other hand, was unwilling to give up. Luo Man had seen all of this, and if the two of them worked together, maybe one day she would hear good news from them.

As the sun gradually set, Yunyin saw off those who had finished their dinner and began preparing today's meal.

Today is the Double Ninth Festival. They didn't go mountain climbing, but instead ate Double Ninth cakes and drank chrysanthemum wine. She also asked Luo Man to buy a sheep, and they will have a whole sheep feast tonight.

The Double Ninth Festival is also an important day in Dazhao. Yunyin decided to celebrate as well, following local customs. The main dish of the whole lamb feast was naturally roasted lamb, while the lamb chops and legs were marinated and roasted.

Lamb offal, bones, and meat are used to make soup, which was started this afternoon. The kitchen is steaming and the whole house is filled with the aroma of lamb. A bowl of lamb offal soup in autumn is nourishing, healthy, and delicious.

Making mutton offal soup isn't difficult, but cleaning the offal requires some care. You need to soak it in water frequently to remove the blood and impurities, which will make the soup taste better.

Lamb offal soup is actually served with vermicelli, but Yunyin didn't make it, so she substituted it with steamed buns, which can also be eaten as a staple food. Luo Man's restaurant has this dish, which they call lamb broth. In modern times, this dish is not called lamb broth, but the famous lamb stew with steamed buns.

Besides roasted lamb chops and lamb leg, Yunyin also stewed a pot of lamb and made a large plate of cold dishes. By the time she finished cooking, the sun had completely set. She called over the people who were still busy and said, "Time to eat."

Zhang Lin couldn't wait any longer, and now that he could finally eat, he quickly stepped forward to help clear the table and serve the dishes. After Yunyin sat down and said to start eating, he was the first to scoop up a large bowl of mutton soup.

He was immediately drawn in by the freshness of the mutton soup. Having followed Yunyin for so long, he had tried many delicious foods, but he was still amazed by this simple bowl of mutton soup.

The steaming soup flowed down his throat, and the warmth enveloped his heart, instantly soothing away the day's fatigue. He would be willing to do even more work if he could continue to eat such a bowl of soup.

Zhang Lin was engrossed in his meal when Feng Hai said, "Yun Niangzi's mutton is just as good as Luo Niangzi's. If we also sold mutton here, it might attract more people. After all, wealthy people prefer mutton, while fish and pork are considered lowly by them."

Yunyin ate the fragrant lamb chops, took a sip of lamb soup, and smiled contentedly. "That's because Sister Aman's lamb is so good. I heard that the grass they use to feed their sheep comes from the Northwest. She tries her best to make the lamb delicious. If it were an ordinary sheep, it would have a strong gamey smell, but look at this lamb, I just used a simple cooking method and didn't add any spices. The soup is still very delicious."

"Now I buy all the lamb I use for cooking from her. And it's not that I don't cook lamb; I still have quite a bit, it's just that I don't specialize in lamb. That's fine. There are always people who want to change things up. Not all rich people don't like chicken and fish."

Zhang Lin agreed, "Yes, Madam Yun is right. Look at Old Master Huo and Song Shi, they still come here often to eat the dishes our wife makes. Madam's cooking is excellent; she can even turn radishes into delicacies. I have never seen anyone more capable than Madam."

After dinner, it was getting dark, so Yunyin asked Zhang Lin to take Zhang Guilin home. She then took Heidou to the doghouse, fed it, and patted its head, saying, "Heidou, thank you for guarding the house."

Black Bean rubbed against Yunyin's leg, then went back to its doghouse, where it stared intently at the yard, dutifully guarding and protecting its owner.

After checking all the doors and windows, Zhang Lin returned. Yunyin closed the front door and went back to her room to sleep.

The night flew by. Yunyin felt like she had just lain down when she heard footsteps outside. She got up and stretched, and saw that Cheng Yong and the others were also up and stretching. She said to Ma Hao, who was practicing boxing, "I'll make the mushroom sauce today. You can take some people to deliver it to Mianzhou in a couple of days."

Ma Hao stopped what he was doing, nodded, and said, "No problem, I'll arrange it."

After Yunyin finished practicing martial arts, she went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Zhang Lin had just returned from town and was selling noodles and wontons at the food stall in front of the town. After Yunyin finished making breakfast, she still hadn't seen Zheng Guilan and Fang He. She asked Cheng Yong, "Have you seen Guilan?"

Author's note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! [kissing emoji]