Chapter 99, The 99th Inn, Walnut Pastry

After Yunyin finished speaking with Fu Wang, she picked out a large piece of tofu from the pot. This was tofu that had been frozen before. It only needed to be braised briefly. Once the tofu had absorbed the broth, it would taste even better than the tofu in the hot pot.

In addition to frozen tofu, Yunyin also prepared dried tofu. This is not difficult to make; it's just a secondary processing of firm tofu. Put the firm tofu in boiling water, add a little salt, and simmer it briefly to remove the beany taste and make the tofu firmer.

After blanching the tofu and letting it cool, wrap it in fine linen and place it on the wooden board that Yunyin used to press the tofu. Once all the tofu is laid out, press it down with the board and then place a heavy object on top.

After a while, the tofu will harden. This is just the first step. Since Yunyin is used for braising, the plain tofu can be used. If you want to stir-fry it, you can do a second step: pour the pressed tofu into a pot with spices, braise it again, and then take it out and press it with a board. This way, the pressed tofu will be firm and chewy.

Yunyin only made plain tofu this time. She took the braised tofu out of the pot, cut a piece and handed it to Fu Wang. She also took a bite herself. The braised tofu was firmer than frozen tofu, but it was also full of braising liquid. The taste was no worse than frozen tofu.

The two were eating dried tofu in the kitchen and had completely forgotten the time. It was Feng Hai who, seeing that they were late, ran to the kitchen and saw that the two were eating happily. He couldn't help but snort and say, "Yun Niangzi, do you still want to listen to the story?"

Yunyin then remembered, stuck out her tongue, exchanged a glance with Fu Wang, and burst out laughing. She finished cutting the tofu and said to Feng Hai, "I'll be right there, it'll be ready soon."

Seeing that their lips were red and swollen from eating, Feng Hai glanced at them once and returned to the main hall.

Yunyin quickly picked up the other vegetables from the pot. Besides tofu and lotus root, she also braised mushrooms and kelp, all of which were her favorite dishes. Of course, eggs were also indispensable.

The two carried two large baskets full of vegetables back to the main hall. Yunyin quickly said to Yinshuang, "Sorry, sorry, we're late."

Looking at the food laid out on the table, Yinshuang smiled and shook her head, saying, "Not at all, my wife's food is more appealing than the book I'm about to tell you about."

What she said was true. The people who were sitting to the side waiting to listen to the storyteller saw the food that Yunyin brought. Even though they had just finished dinner not long ago, their stomachs seemed to be growling again as they looked at the food on the table, and their mouths were involuntarily drooling.

Yunyin pursed her lips and smiled. She divided the food in the basket and placed a plate on each table, saying to them, "Alright, eat up. There's also fried beans after you finish eating, which is a good way to pass the time."

Zhang Lin, Ma Hao, and the others responded in unison, picked up their chopsticks, and quickly began to eat, no longer paying attention to the book that Yin Shuang was going to read. Yun Yin paused and said to Yin Shuang, "Never mind, let's wait until they finish eating. Yin Shuang, you should have some too. The tofu and lotus root are very delicious."

Yinshuang picked up her chopsticks, added a piece of lotus root to her bowl, and said to Yunyin, "Then I shall accept it without hesitation."

They had food, and Yunyin hadn't forgotten about the children either. They couldn't eat the spicy braised dishes, but Yunyin had also prepared roasted taro, roasted oranges, and sweet persimmon cakes, which they could eat.

Yunyin and Fuwang had tasted it in the kitchen before, so they weren't in such a hurry this time. They listened to Yinshuang's storytelling while eating, enjoying themselves immensely.

The book she was telling Yunyin was one she had never heard of before. It was a legendary tale with Taoist elements, called "The Tale of Ye Jingneng," which told the story of a Taoist priest named Ye Jing who captured demons and monsters and eventually ascended to immortality. It was similar to the cultivation novels she had read in her later life, and Yunyin became completely engrossed in listening to it.

After Yinshuang finished speaking, she took a sip of tea to moisten her throat. Yunyin was still a little unsatisfied. "This book is really good to read, and Lady Yinshuang's storytelling is also very good."

This was the first time Sun Lian had ever heard such a wonderful storytelling. She looked at Yinshuang and Yunyin with wide eyes and asked, "Miss Yun, can I learn storytelling from Miss Yinshuang?"

Yunyin put down her chopsticks, looked at Sun Lian, then at Yinshuang. She didn't answer Sun Lian's question, but asked Yinshuang, "Yinshuang, what do you think?"

Yinshuang looked at Sun Lian and nodded, "Okay, I'll teach you this story later." She looked at Yunyin and smiled, "Actually, there are quite a few other storybooks that are pretty good. Why don't you buy some, Yunniangzi? I'll teach them. If they learn well in the future, they can even tell stories on stage for everyone."

Yunyin's eyes lit up, and she gave a thumbs up, saying, "Madam Yinshuang's suggestion is good. I'll go buy some storybooks after the New Year." Originally, Yunyin planned to have the girls learn martial arts and then become escorts, but Fu Wang felt that was inappropriate, so she could only have them learn other things.

She looked at the culinary skills and found that only Fang He and Fang Tang had talent. She could let these two learn to cook. Fang Meng and Fang Yun could learn to make clothes. As for Sun Lian, Sun Xue, and Liu Yu, she hadn't decided what to let them learn. Now, Lady Yinshuang's suggestion was excellent. If they didn't all lack talent in playing the zither, it would be good for them to learn the zither from Lady Yinshuang.

Having resolved another troublesome matter, Yunyin smiled and said to the girls, "Alright, it's getting late, you should go to sleep."

Knowing they would be able to learn something in the future, the girls became happy and stopped wanting to listen to the story. They chattered as they walked toward the courtyard. Zheng Guilan led Fang He along with them. Because there was a bonfire outside, she could walk into the room without lighting a lamp.

Sun Lian, however, was somewhat reluctant to leave. After glancing at Yin Shuang, she followed Zheng Guilan back to her room to sleep.

After the children left, Yunyin handed Yinshuang a cup of tea and said, "Take a rest, let's talk and chat."

Yinshuang glanced at Fu Wang, who was sitting silently to the side, and chuckled, saying, "Alright, let's chat casually."

Fu Wang watched the two chatting happily and didn't disturb them, quietly sitting aside eating his braised dishes.

Yunyin and Yinshuang chatted happily, learning about some things in Chang'an and gaining a lot of knowledge. They stopped chatting with Yinshuang when she got sleepy and told her to go back to sleep.

Fu Wang handed her a glass of water and asked, "Are you sleepy?"

Yunyin finished the water in one gulp, quenched her thirst, wiped the water stains from her lips and shook her head, saying, "I'm not sleepy yet. I was so excited by what Yinshuang said that I'm not sleepy at all."

She turned to look at Fu Wang, who had been sitting quietly, and smiled apologetically, "Are you bored?"

Fu Wang's eyes were gentle, and there was no sign of impatience on his face. Yun Yin paused for a moment before saying, "It was my fault just now. I was chatting with Yin Shuang and left you aside."

Fu Wang shook his head, took Yun Yin's hand and said, "I saw that you were very happy, so I didn't disturb you. Now just sit quietly with me for a while."

Yunyin quieted down and didn't pull her hand away. The two of them sat hand in hand, quietly warming themselves by the fire. Zhang Lin, Ma Hao, and the others had already dozed off. At this moment, only the sound of burning charcoal could be heard. Because the doors and windows were closed, even the sound of the wind outside could not be heard.

Yunyin held his hand tightly and sat with him for a long time until the New Year arrived. She checked the time and it was almost dawn. She smiled at Fu Wang and said, "Happy New Year."

Fu Wang also replied to Yun Yin, "Happy New Year."

The next morning, Yunyin got up very early. Although she had stayed up late the night before, she still got up early. Today was the new year, and there was nothing to do on the first day of the Lunar New Year. She didn't need to visit relatives either. She could go on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

After having breakfast early in the morning, Yunyin took out the Tusu wine that she had prepared in advance. This was also a custom of Dazhao. People drank Tusu wine during the New Year, starting with the youngest children. Yunyin had everyone drink a cup and then let everyone go to rest. She also took a day off.

Fu Wang had nothing to do today, so he stayed with Yun Yin at the inn to rest.

After two days of nothing happening, Yunyin finally had some free time, but she felt a little uncomfortable. She checked the things she had prepared and said to Fu Wang, "I'm going to visit Sister Aman for the New Year tomorrow. I really don't want to stay at home anymore."

Fu Wang wasn't as restless as Yun Yin. As long as he was with her, he didn't feel bored even if they did nothing. Hearing Yun Yin's words, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

But when they were about to leave the next day, they ran into Romain, who was coming from town in a horse-drawn carriage.

Yunyin waved to Luoman and said, "Sister Aman, I was just saying I was going to wish you a Happy New Year today, but I didn't expect you to come."

Luo Man got out of the car with her things and returned to the courtyard with Yun Yin. She smiled and said, "I was thinking you had nowhere to go, and I had nowhere to go either. Everyone else in the shop has gone home, so I came here to sit for a while and wish you a Happy New Year."

Yunyin was naturally delighted by Luo Man's arrival. She served Luo Man fruits and snacks and prepared a lot of delicious dishes, inviting her to dine there.

After the group finished eating, Luo Man smiled and said to Yun Yin, "I have some good news to tell you."

Yunyin looked at Luoman curiously, waiting for her to continue.

Luo Man smiled and said, "So you know, I plan to open a new store in Mianzhou this spring. I will be away from Long'an County for a while. I will come back once the new store is settled."

Yunyin was surprised that Luo Man acted so quickly. In just half a year, she had arranged everything and opened a restaurant in Mianzhou. She praised, "Sister Aman, you are really amazing."

Luo Man smiled and said, "We've been preparing for this. Now that the cook has been trained and the sheep have given birth to many lambs, it's time to expand the scale."

Yunyin: "Then I wish Sister Aman a successful opening, booming business, and abundant wealth."

Luo Man: "Thank you, sister."

Knowing that Luo Man was going to open a restaurant in Mianzhou, Fu Wang raised an eyebrow and said, "Perfect timing. I can write a letter back and ask the brothers to take good care of your restaurant. If there are any problems, you can come to me."

Luo Man glanced at Fu Wang, and seeing that Yun Yin also agreed, she raised an eyebrow and said, "That's great, I won't stand on ceremony with you either."

"By the way, when can I do your makeup, girl?"

Yunyin blushed and said, "It's still early."

Fu Wang, however, was all smiles. "I'll definitely send you an invitation when we get married."

Luo Man pursed her lips and said, "Okay, I'll wait for your good news."

Besides paying New Year's respects to Luo Man, Yun Yin and Fu Wang went to Zhou Chang to celebrate the New Year together. As for Xie Yan, Song Shi, and Song Xuan, Yun Yin only sent them New Year's gifts and did not visit them in person.

Yunyin had heard from Song Xuan that they had a lot of people to visit after the New Year, and even she, who was about to get married, would have to go out with them. Moreover, she knew that Xie Yan and Song Shi would be going to the capital to take the imperial examination after the New Year, so she didn't want to bother them too much.

Magistrate Cui wrote her a letter. Yunyin was curious about what the magistrate wanted to see her about. When she opened the letter, she found that he was inviting her to the county town to attend the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the lunar month.

She handed the letter to Fu Wang: "Magistrate Cui wants to hold a lantern festival and needs some merchants to participate. He thinks my pastries are very good and invites me to set up a stall in the county to participate in this lantern riddle guessing activity."

Fu Wang asked Yun Yin, "Do you want to go?"

After thinking for a moment, Yunyin said, "That's fine too. I can make some desserts to participate. It would be an opportunity for me to let more people know about my desserts."

"Although many wealthy ladies already know about my pastries and order them from me, I still want more people to know about them."

Fu Wang asked with some curiosity, "I've never asked you this before, but why are you unwilling to open a shop in the county or the prefecture capital?"

“I understand why you were reluctant to go to the county town at first. When you first came to Long’an County, you were a stranger in the county and towns. You also had martial arts skills. Opening a shop by the official road would not result in being ostracized or encountering other dangers.”

“But now you know so many people. The Xie and Song families have considerable influence in Long’an County, not to mention that Madam Xia is also your good friend. Opening a shop in the county now won’t affect anything. I see that you don’t mind setting up a stall in the county town. The county magistrate invited you, and you accepted. Why don’t you want to open a shop in the county town?”

Yunyin looked at the valley outside, then at the well-built inn, and pursed her lips. "It's nothing, I just don't want to live in the county town for long. I prefer the mountains and forests." Actually, Yunyin only told half the truth. She did indeed prefer the mountains and fields, but there was another reason she didn't say.

She used to go home and see if she could encounter that mist again. Last year, she often went to the mountains to look for the mist. But gradually, as she met more and more people and made more and more friends, she hasn't looked for the mist for a long time.

Now she no longer wants to go home. She has already made this place her home. As for going to the county town or going out to do business or travel in the future, those are all temporary. She will eventually return here.

Since that's the case, why should she open a shop in the city? She can manage her inn well and have nothing to worry about. Once her inn becomes as prosperous as the town or the city, what difference will it make whether she goes to the city or not?

However, even if she doesn't go, she can arrange for someone to open a shop in the county town. Once she has trained the people under her command, they can go. The restaurant can't be opened for the time being, but it would be good for her to make some snacks and sell them in the county town. She will go and see how things go this time.

Yunyin smiled and didn't tell him any of this. She only said to him, "Another reason is probably that I consider this place my home. It's normal not to want to leave home."

Fu Wang nodded in agreement, "That's true. Just like me, I don't want to go out these days." However, his reasons were definitely different from Yun Yin's; he simply considered the place where Yun Yin was as his home.

Fu Wang looked at the letter she had placed aside and asked her, "So what are you planning to do to set up a stall in the county town? Since you're going to set up a stall, we need to prepare in advance." Fu Wang looked at the rabbit lanterns and lotus lanterns hanging outside, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "We also need to prepare some lanterns. In addition to the snacks you sell at the Lantern Festival, we also need to prepare some lanterns with riddles on them."

Seeing Yunyin's curiosity, Fu Wang explained to her, "Some stalls offer a lantern for those who guess the riddles. Your pastry stall, for example, offers pastries as prizes. Those who guess the riddles will receive a pastry."

"Of course you can prepare more. Some buyers don't want to guess riddles, so they can buy snacks directly from you."

After listening to Fu Wang's explanation, Yun Yin thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll prepare more snacks to give them as prizes."

As for the riddle, Yunyin is not good at it, so she plans to leave it to Yinshuang, who is probably very familiar with it.

Yunyin went to prepare some snacks. She planned to make more of the silver thread candy that Fu Wang loved, as the ingredients were simple, it was easy to store, and it could be kept for a longer period of time.

Besides silver thread candy, she also planned to make walnut shortbread. She had only made this pastry once before, and because it crumbled easily, the wealthy ladies didn't really like it; they preferred her osmanthus cake. Osmanthus cake is best enjoyed hot for its sweet and soft texture, so it wasn't suitable for her stall this time. Instead, she could make more walnut shortbread, which becomes even more crumbly when cold. She could make a lot to take to events in the city and let more people know about their pastries.

As for the new water chestnut cake and egg yolk pastry, she naturally wanted to make some more. Since it was the season for eating water chestnuts, she wanted to let people in the county know about this dessert. Although Xie Yan and Chen Rong had praised this dessert highly before, and other ladies also liked it, there were still many people who didn't know about this dessert at all.

Because of Yunyin's actions, the inn, which had been quiet for a while, became busy again. Zhang Lin and Ma Hao went to grind horse hooves, Feng Hai helped her knead various doughs, and Yunyin went to make silver thread candy.

As for Fu Wang, he was not idle either. He went to buy lanterns for Yun Yin and thought of riddles with Yin Shuang.

Since it's sold to ordinary people, the riddles naturally need to be easy to understand. This stumped Yinshuang. If it's a riddle about guessing characters, she can say many in one breath, like the simple one "big one and two small" which is the character "奈". Or a more difficult one, like "Second Miss", which takes her a while to figure out is the character "姿".

However, these are riddles designed for literate people. Few ordinary families are literate, let alone able to solve these riddles.

Looking at the lanterns he had bought, Fu Wang frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "How about we keep ten riddles for guessing characters, and the rest for guessing food or objects?"

"For example, hair on top, hair on the bottom, and a black grape in the middle," Fu Wang asked Yin Shuang. "What do you think of this riddle?"

After thinking for a moment, Yinshuang said, "Is it the eyes?"

Fu Wang nodded and said, "That's right, this kind of riddle is simple, even someone who has never been to school can guess it."

After careful consideration, Yinshuang nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll think of some more."

The two in the lobby worked together to come up with a riddle, wrote it on a piece of paper, and hung it under the lantern. Meanwhile, Yunyin in the kitchen had already started making walnut shortbread.

To make walnut cookies crumbly, you need to use low-gluten flour. Fortunately, Yunyin had prepared both high-gluten and low-gluten flour, so she could use them directly to make walnut cookies.

Making walnut cookies doesn't require kneading the dough; you just need to mix flour, oil, and sugar. However, there are still steps and methods involved. If any step is not done properly, the walnut cookies won't be as crumbly.

Authentic walnut cookies crumble at the slightest touch. Yunyin's walnut cookies are less crumbly than the ones we used to eat because they lack essential ingredients like baking powder and baking soda. However, we can achieve a certain level of crumbliness through other methods, and the finished product will still be just as good.

Yunyin first puts the walnut kernels into the oven and roasts them for a while until they smell of walnuts. Then she takes them out and lets them cool. Then she chops them with a knife, but not too finely, leaving some texture to make the walnut shortbread taste better.

She took the softened lard she had prepared earlier, added sugar, and whipped it with a tool until the lard turned white. This step is crucial because whipping the lard incorporates air, which makes the walnut cookies fluffy. The more air incorporated, the more crumbly the walnut cookies will be.

If you have baking powder and baking soda in your milk, you don't need to work too hard in this step; just beat the lard until it's soft and fluffy.

After the lard is whipped, add the eggs. Eggs also have a leavening effect. Whip the egg mixture until fully whipped, then add it to the whipped lard. Whip the egg mixture and lard together again to fully combine them.

Yunyin looked down at the mixed lard and egg mixture, touched it with her hand, and found it to be very soft and smooth. The lard was also much larger than before. She nodded in satisfaction, mixed the remaining flour and salt evenly, sifted it into the bowl with the lard, and kneaded it into a dough until there was no dry powder.

Add the chopped walnuts to the dough and mix them in using the same method. Do not over-knead. Once mixed, take a portion of dough, roll it into a ball, flatten it on a baking sheet, brush it with egg wash, and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Yunyin placed the baking tray full of round cakes into the oven she had prepared earlier, and they were ready to be taken out of the oven after about fifteen minutes.

She placed the remaining baking trays, took out the two trays of walnut cookies, which were golden in color. Some of the cookies had shallow cracks that were not obvious, but they were still there, like the crackle pattern on porcelain, which was very beautiful.

Seeing the distinctive crack, Yunyin breathed a sigh of relief. These marks indicated that the walnut shortbread was very crumbly inside. She looked at the walnut crumbs scattered throughout and nodded in satisfaction.

The freshly baked walnut cookies should not be taken out immediately, otherwise they will easily break. Wait until they have completely cooled before taking them out and plating them.

After Yunyin finished baking all the walnut cookies, the first batch had cooled down. She packed them in a basket and carried them to the main hall. By then, Fu Wang and Yinshuang had already prepared the riddles. Yunyin went up to take a look and found that she could guess several of them. She smiled and said, "These riddles are quite good. You guys are really good at thinking."

Fu Wang turned around and saw Yun Yin. He got up, took the basket from her, and pulled her to sit down, saying, "It took a lot of thinking to come up with this. We really didn't know what to write, so we wrote a lot about fruits and food. It's not difficult for others."

Yunyin lifted the cloth covering the basket and handed them the walnut cookies, saying, "Alright, your work is done for now. My walnut cookies are ready. You haven't tried them yet, have you? This is a good opportunity to give them a taste."

Because there was no baking powder or baking soda, Yunyin had to rely on manual labor to whip the lard and egg mixture, which was very labor-intensive. She would only make it when the ladies ordered it before, and she rarely made it on ordinary days. Naturally, she had never let them taste it before, but this time she let them eat their fill.

Yinshuang wasn't obsessed with food; she'd eat if there was food available, and wouldn't eat if there wasn't. Fu Wang, on the other hand, liked it. He took the walnut pastry Yunyin handed him, saw the cracks on it, but didn't say anything. He just put it in his mouth and took a bite.