Chapter 88 - Two-in-One Fried Crispy Pork

Lin Chunxing washed a sweet potato leaf and a handful of green beans, while Lin Duoer took a loofah and washed them all together, placing them in a bamboo basket.

After washing the vegetables, Lin Duo'er ran to Lin Chuntao's side. They did the work together. They could also cook, but they both liked Lin Chuntao's cooking the most.

Anything Lin Chuntao makes, even vegetables, tastes better than what they make.

After the girl and Lin Chuntao recited the names of the dishes, she asked, "Sister, what kind of meat are we making tonight?"

Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, "What's wrong? Are you tired of the stir-fried pork and braised pork you've had before?"

Lin Duo'er chuckled, "I'm not tired of it either."

After Lin Chuntao finished cooking the rice, she went inside and looked at the meat in the basin. There was a pork tenderloin and a piece of pork belly.

Lin Chuntao has made braised pork belly and twice-cooked pork before, but she hasn't been making any new dishes lately due to her busy schedule.

The pork loin here is perfect for making crispy fried pork.

Lin Chuntao thought for a moment and said to Lin Duo'er, "Go find Aunt Guizhi and pick some pea shoots from her field."

What are you going to do with the pea shoots?

Lin Chuntao said, "Of course we'll cook it and eat it."

"I'll fry some crispy pork and share it with you all later." As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Lin Duo'er knew that there would be delicious meat again tonight, and she skipped away. Lin Chuntao said, "Don't cut too much, just cook one bowl is enough."

"Okay, I got it."

After Lin Duo'er ran away, Lin Chuntao took the pork tenderloin out to wash it. Pei Ying was still chopping the meat on the cutting board, and it wasn't all chopped yet, but since they were making dinner now, they had to put it away and clear out the cutting board.

He was listening to the two sisters chatting.

Lin Chuntao brought over the pork tenderloin, and he quickly put away the minced meat.

Lin Chuntao cut the meat into strips about the thickness of chopsticks and instructed Pei Ying and the others to wash the scallions and ginger. Lin Chuntao thought that they had flour but no starch, but they couldn't tell the difference between starch and flour at a glance. While they were washing the seasonings, Lin Chuntao went back to the house and exchanged some sweet potato starch.

After slicing the meat strips, you have to pat them with the back of the knife to make them tender.

After preparing the meat, she put it in a bowl, added chopped scallions and ginger, poured in some wine, added salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and started to mix it well to marinate.

"Let it marinate for a while, then I'll cut some pork belly to cook together."

You can fry a lot of this crispy pork at once, so you can eat it again tomorrow.

Just as Lin Chuntao finished marinating the pork belly, Lin Duo'er returned.

"So fast?" Lin Chunxing asked in surprise.

Lin Duo'er said, "My aunt was also in the field. She helped me pick them. There was a big pumpkin on top."

"We have pumpkins in our field, why did you take one from your aunt's?" Lin Chuntao said. Lin Duo'er replied, "My aunt said that her pumpkins are especially sweet this year and that she has grown a lot. She told me to bring one to cook and eat, but she just gave it to me instead of taking it."

Seeing how hard she was struggling to carry the big pumpkin, Lin Chunxing quickly took it off her arm.

That melon was really big and quite heavy.

After Lin Chunxing took it away, Lin Duo'er breathed a sigh of relief: "My arm was almost broken."

Lin Chuntao said to her, "Shake your wrists and rub them." After she finished speaking, Lin Duo'er put down the pea shoots and began to do so. Lin Chuntao smiled and teased her, "Thank you for your hard work, Duo'er. I'll chop them up and cook them in a bit. Duo'er, eat more."

Lin Duo'er pouted, "No, no."

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "You said you didn't want it? Don't be tempted when I make it."

Lin Duo'er narrowed her crescent-shaped eyes and grabbed Lin Chuntao's arm, shaking it: "Sister, what delicious food are you going to make?"

Lin Chuntao looked at the huge pumpkin; even if she cooked it, she couldn't possibly finish it.

"I'll make some pumpkin pancakes tonight, and you can have them for breakfast tomorrow morning."

It was something she had never eaten before, and Lin Duo'er's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Go and get some red beans to pick out; we'll cook them later to make filling."

"Alright!"

She agreed and went to get the basin, then ran into the house.

Before the meat was marinated, Lin Chuntao went to prepare the flour and starch, mixing them together until the consistency was just right to coat the meat strips. As usual, Lin Chuntao also added a few eggs to the mixture.

By the time this was done, the steamer on the fire was already steaming hot.

That would take a while. She first chopped up the sweet potato leaves and peeled a few cloves of garlic. Since the loofah kept well, and Lin Chuntao wanted to eat pea shoots tonight, she only chopped up the green beans.

With all the vegetables prepared and the meat strips almost marinated, Lin Chuntao poured out the bloody water that had come out during marinating, picked out the scallions and ginger, and cracked two eggs into a bowl and stirred them well.

She went to check the rice in the steamer and saw that it was ready to be poured out and sprinkled with water. Lin Chuntao brought a winnowing basket to clean it, and asked Lin Chunxing and the others to start a fire in the yard to prepare to steam the rice and fry the crispy pork at the same time.

The meal was prepared quickly, and by the time Lin Chuntao finished, the fire was already lit. She took the steamer to the yard to steam the food, while using the stove fire to fry meat and stir-fry vegetables.

Heat the oil in a wok. The crispy pork needs to be fried twice, and the oil temperature must be controlled. For the first fry, Lin Chuntao poured the prepared flour into two bowls of meat, mixed it evenly, and made sure that each strip of meat was coated with flour. Only after she finished did she bring it over and place it on the stove.

She removed some of the firewood and waited for the oil to melt before testing the oil temperature with chopsticks.

Watching the oil in the pot start to bubble, she began to put the meat strips in. The meat strips coated in flour were put in, and with a sizzle, the crispy pork was successfully set. Lin Chuntao quickly put them in, and by the time the color turned yellow, the aroma had already filled the air.

Pei Ying and her three younger sisters stood by watching, and all of them inhaled the fragrance in unison. Lin Chuntao asked with a smile, "Does it smell good?"

The group nodded vigorously, and Lin Chuntao also took a sniff. She hadn't felt hungry before, but now the smell made her hungry.

The first frying time was short; before it even turned golden brown, Lin Chuntao used a bamboo strainer to scoop it out.

"Sis, is it ready? Can we eat now?"

As she was speaking, she turned her toes to grab the chopsticks, but Lin Chuntao quickly said, "It needs to be fried again, wait a bit."

Lin Duo'er asked curiously, "Is it not ripe yet?"

"I really want to try a piece."

"Wait a little longer, the meat inside might not be fully cooked. Fry it up later before eating."

As Lin Chuntao spoke, she began frying another bowl of pork belly. This bowl contained a little bit of fat, but it was thinly sliced ​​pork belly with not much fat.

Waiting for the pot of crispy pork to be scooped out, Lin Chuntao added some firewood to the stove to make the fire a little bigger, and then poured the two large bowls of crispy pork back into the stove to fry again.

The aroma was even stronger now, and Lin Chuntao, standing beside the stove, asked, "Would you like some chili sauce?"

"If you want to dip it, you can put some chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder in the bowl, and add some salt."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chunxing said, "I'll go get it."

Lin Chunxing went to mix the chili powder, while Lin Chuntao kept an eye on the pot. If it was overcooked, it wouldn't taste good. She quickly scooped it out when the color turned a slightly darker golden brown.

Lin Chuntao had Pei Ying bring it to the table. There was still a lot of oil in the pot, which she scooped into a bowl.

The rice was already steaming again, so Lin Chuntao quickly stir-fried some garlic sweet potato leaves, grabbed some minced meat, chopped some dried chili peppers, and made a stir-fried green bean dish with minced meat.

Lin Chuntao was also making this dry-fried green bean dish for the first time. Lin Chunhe twitched her nose and craned her neck to look into the pot.

"Sis, this smells pretty good too."

Lin Chuntao smiled, "If it smells good, eat more later."

She stir-fried the green beans before adding the crispy pork and cooking the pea shoots.

The crispy pork is rich and fragrant, and the pea shoots are refreshing, but Lin Chuntao's favorite is still the pork skin stew, and she even likes to drink the soup.

Thinking about it, he said to Pei Ying, "Buy some pigskin tomorrow."

"good."

Lin Chunxing had already mixed the chili powder and was inviting Lin Chunhe and the others to come and eat.

The pot of pea shoots was still cooking, and Lin Chuntao went over and said, "I'll have a taste too."

Lin Chunxing handed her a pair of chopsticks. Lin Chuntao didn't dip it in any sauce, but tried a piece first. The batter contained Sichuan peppercorn powder, so she wanted to try a piece first.

The golden-brown crust is crispy, while the meat inside is tender and juicy. The combination is perfectly cooked, and the Sichuan peppercorn powder is just the right amount, not too numbing.

It was a familiar taste to Lin Chuntao.

After Pei Ying and Lin Chunhe tasted a piece, they both looked at Lin Chuntao without prior arrangement.

The group was still chewing, but their eyes were fixed on her with excitement, as if they were so engrossed in the delicious food that they couldn't open their mouths.

Lin Chuntao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Don't exaggerate. I suspect you're trying to trick me into cooking for you every day."

As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Lin Duo'er had already finished a piece of food. She rushed to Lin Chuntao and said, "Sister, I feel like we were really cheated by the stir-fried pork we ate the other day!"

"This is so delicious!!!"

She stomped her feet as she spoke, spinning around happily.

Lin Chuntao shook her head helplessly, "If you eat this for a few more days, you'll get tired of it. Next time you come across something even better, you won't complain that you got ripped off, will you?"

Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe laughed on the side, while Lin Duo'er repeatedly retorted.

"No, no! This is delicious."

The soup in the pot boiled. Lin Chuntao picked up a piece to eat while looking at the pot. She cut a tomato and threw it in, then added pea shoots and some salt.

The pea shoots cook quickly with a quick blanch. Lin Chuntao waited for the soup to boil again, tasted it, and found the saltiness just right before ladling it into a bowl.

"Get your bowls and chopsticks ready to eat."

Lin Chuntao called out, and Pei Ying went to take the steamer down. Lin Chuntao removed the firewood from the fire, thinking she would cook it after dinner, since the red beans they had just picked out were not yet soaked.

With meat and vegetables available, the days in Yizhou in late August are still quite long. Even though it's probably past 5:45 PM, the sun hasn't completely set yet, and the setting sun casts long shadows.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness.

Lin Chuntao and the others sat in the courtyard, enjoying their dinner as the sun set.

They kept exclaiming how delicious the crispy pork was as they ate. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's not difficult to make. If you like it, you can make it often in the future. You can also eat it as a snack."

Lin Chuntao likes to eat pea shoots. After eating vegetables, drinking soup, and eating half a bowl of rice, she is full.

The stir-fried green beans were also quite dry and fragrant. After putting down her bowl, she picked up two more pieces and ate them.

After dinner, the sun had already set, and everyone sat in the courtyard to rest.

They were all too full to stand up and clean up, so they turned around and sat down to cool off.

Fan Liniang and Meng Yun ate quite early, and after finishing, they waited, afraid of running into Lin Chuntao and the others having dinner and feeling awkward.

They waited until sunset before they came to the door together.

The bamboo fence gate was unlocked, half-open. Fan Liniang and the others knocked gently, and the bamboo fence gate opened.

Lin Chuntao looked up and saw them. The two women smiled and said, "Madam Lin, is now a convenient time? We'd like to ask you something."

As soon as Fan Liniang finished speaking, Lin Chuntao stood up and greeted them, "It's convenient, come in."

After receiving the message, the two women came in. Lin Chuntao brought out two stools for them to sit down. "Have you eaten yet?"

Meng Yun replied, "We've already eaten. Did you just finish eating?"

Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "Yes, we made it a little late, we just finished eating."

When guests arrived, she got up and started clearing the dishes. Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er also got up to help move the table aside and wipe it clean, preparing to boil water to wash the dishes.

Pei Ying got up and saw that the water in the bucket was almost gone. He poured the rest into a basin, then carried the bucket out of the courtyard.

While they were busy, Lin Chuntao sat down beside Fan Liniang and the others.

"Madam Fan, what brings you here?"

After Lin Chuntao asked the question, Fan Liniang glanced at Meng Yun, who pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and said, "Is Madam Lin looking for someone to do the work?"

Lin Chuntao guessed their purpose upon hearing this and said, "We have found a few, but we don't need many right now."

Meng Yun asked, "Does the lady need someone to write things down?"

Lin Chuntao raised her eyebrows slightly, and Meng Yun continued, "I have a few years of schooling and can do basic bookkeeping. If you need someone, I would like to volunteer."

Lin Chuntao will indeed need an accountant in the future, not to mention money, but also to keep a record of the inflow and outflow of inventory.

She looked at Meng Yun, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Did you work as an accountant in any shop before, my lady?"

Meng Yun subconsciously looked at Fan Liniang, and finally told Lin Chuntao the truth.

“My sister-in-law used to run a small embroidery shop, and I was in charge of it.”

Lin Chuntao nodded. She didn't actually have that much to do right now. As far as she knew, the monthly salary for the accountant was not low. She didn't want to hire someone for the normal monthly salary for the accountant. She still had to build a house, so she wanted to save money wherever possible.

But Meng Yun and the others live nearby. If they work for her, they can also do some housework when they're not busy. It's actually convenient for both sides. After thinking about it, Lin Chuntao asked Meng Yun, "What is your expected wage, madam?"

Fan Liniang and Meng Yun were both stunned for a moment.

Expected wages? Isn't that whatever the employer says? How can she ask for that when looking for work?

Seeing the change in their expressions, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Mrs. Meng, name your price. I'm just starting out here, so we can discuss it."

Lin Chuntao's words meant to Fan Liniang that she was also just starting out, didn't earn much money, and couldn't possibly offer high wages. She wasn't sure if Meng Yun understood, so she could only reply on her behalf, "Madam, how about twenty coins a day?"

Twenty coins a day is very low for an accountant, but Meng Yun has very little to do now.

Lin Chuntao said, "Okay, I don't need the accountant to do much right now. After you finish what you're doing, you can take care of the family. When I have more things to do in the future, I'll give you a raise."

Lin Chuntao readily agreed, and Meng Yun and Fan Liniang were both very happy.

Twenty coins a day isn't much, but it adds up to six hundred coins a month, and the work is much easier than chopping wood and carrying it to the county town to sell.

They came with only a try-it-out attitude, but they didn't expect it to work out.

Meng Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, my lady."

Lin Chuntao smiled at her and said, "We'll be working together from now on, so there's no need to be so polite."

Meng Yun nodded. They only knew that Lin Chuntao and her friends sold rice noodle soup in the county town, but rice noodle soup doesn't require many people to work, so they still didn't know exactly what Lin Chuntao did.

Meng Yun didn't know, so she asked Lin Chuntao directly.

Lin Chuntao said, "Make sauce."

Meng Yun was somewhat surprised. Lin Chuntao said, "There isn't much stuff, just beans, chili peppers, spices, and salt. I'll have to trouble you, Madam Meng, to help me keep an inventory record."

Meng Yun nodded: "I'll get it for you tomorrow."

Lin Chuntao said, "I might not be home in the morning, but Chunhe will be. If Madam Meng comes over and needs anything, just ask Chunhe."

Lin Chuntao called Lin Chunhe over and said to her, "I asked Madam Meng to help us keep accounts. If there's anything she can't find, just tell her."

Lin Chunhe didn't quite understand, but since her sister had told her, she just agreed. She figured Lin Chuntao would explain to her after the others left.

Lin Chunhe nodded. "Okay."

After agreeing, she went off to get busy. Meng Yun thought for a moment and asked Lin Chuntao, "Did you buy any writing brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones, Madam?" Lin Chuntao replied, "I did, but I only bought one notebook. Is that not enough?"

Meng Yun said, "We need to keep separate notebooks for inventory and money, so we need another one."

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Okay, I'll buy another one when I come back tomorrow."

After the matter was settled, Meng Yun and the others returned home after a short while.

After everyone left, Lin Chunhe came over, and Lin Chuntao said to her, "Tomorrow, we can have Meng Niangzi weigh all the chilies and beans we're preparing to make sauce, including the two hundred catties we soaked today."

"good."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chunxing said, "Should we also make a note of our stall's expenses?"

The stall owner could easily keep track of his daily earnings; if he wanted to, he could simply write it down himself. However, Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe were illiterate.

Lin Chuntao thought about it and decided that she needed to hire a tutor for them.

"It's fine to take notes, but there's no rush with the stall. In a few days, I'll ask how much it would cost to hire a tutor to teach you to read."

Lin Chunxing was stunned for a moment, "Are we going to school?"

Lin Chuntao frowned slightly as she looked at her.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to study?"

Lin Chunxing shook her head, "No." The main reason was that not many people in the village went to school. In other villages, it was mostly boys who went to school. She had never seen a girl go to school.