Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Continue "Dusk" Fireworks Cake Radish Shreds...

Under the oil-paper umbrella, the beauty's hair is like thick clouds, she wears a red skirt with green sleeves, her eyes are like autumn water, and there is a scarlet teardrop mole at the corner of her eye. She looks like she has walked out of a painting. She is so beautiful.

Duan Zhiwei was shocked by her beauty at first, and then apologized: "I left in a hurry, did I bump into you?"

The beauty shook her head in a very good-natured manner and asked, "No need to mind if you are not offended." She looked around the Duan family shop and then asked hesitantly, "Is this the Duan family restaurant?"

"Yes, yes. This is the Duan Family Restaurant. Madam Duan was sitting under the couch, chewing a honeydew. Upon hearing this, she squeezed over and pushed Duan Zhiwei to the back. She wiped the food table clean with a rag and invited her to sit down. "This is a run-down little restaurant. If you don't mind, come in and have a seat."

Aunt Duan has been much lazier recently. Duan Zhiwei was surprised to see her enthusiasm. Aunt Duan came over and said in a low voice, "Look at the material of that lady's clothes."

Duan Zhiwei: "What?"

Madam Duan said anxiously, "Oh my, the brocade shirt with a pair of mandarin duck flowers on that lady must have been made from Dongshi Yunxiang's padded jacket. It's worth several months' worth of vegetables. She's a rich person, you must not neglect her."

Duan Zhiwei became more energetic after hearing this, and immediately poured a bowl of yogurt and handed it to the beauty: "Madam, what would you like to eat? Today, our restaurant recommends locust leaf cold noodles with rolled dough. Would you like one?"

The lady sat in front of the food table and asked, "Are there any porridge or other food?" She thought for a moment and said, "If there were cakes, that would be even better."

Duan Zhiwei took a look at the dishes piled up in the kitchen, thought about it and felt that it was feasible, so he nodded and said, "Madam, please wait a moment."

The kitchen had prepared some mung bean porridge, but the sweet porridge would not taste good when paired with the sweet cake. Duan Zhiwei thought about it and looked at the pile of crispy and juicy white radishes in the corner.

Duan Zhiwei called A Pan over, and the two of them worked together to scrape off the rough skin of the radish and rub it into translucent thin threads. A Pan worked efficiently and quickly, and soon a large bowl of shredded radish was piled up like snowflakes.

Mix shredded radish with a pound of pork fat and stir-fry with coarse salt. The pork fat has a strong aroma and after it melts, the shredded radish becomes oily and fragrant. Then mix the shredded radish with glutinous rice flour and add water to mix well. This is the base for the radish cake.

Duan Zhiwei hesitated for a while, and went to the backyard eaves to get out a piece of smoked and shiny bacon, but was stopped by Aunt Duan: "I smoked that bacon with grapefruit peel and pine branches for several months. It can be sold for dozens of yuan in the West Market..."

Duan Zhiwei: "The brocade pattern of mandarin ducks is worth several months' worth of food money..." Aunt Duan let go.

Duan Zhiwei carefully scraped off the black shell on the surface of the bacon, revealing the pink meat with a smoky aroma. Duan Zhiwei thought about it and was reluctant to use it all, so he just cut some thin bacon cubes, mixed them into the radish cake dough, and steamed it in a steamer.

After waiting for a while, Duan Zhiwei took a chopstick and inserted it into the cake. If it was not sticky, it was cooked.

When Pu Tao saw that the steamed cake was crystal clear and exuded a rich aroma, he couldn't help swallowing.

Duan Zhiwei tapped the table with chopsticks: "Wait a moment, there is one more step."

Take a small pan and heat the oil, add some chopped peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant, put the radish cake in and fry until both sides are browned, finally sprinkle some chopped green onions.

This radish cake looks crispy and golden, with dark red, oily bacon mixed in and green chopped green onions sprinkled on top. It looks really delicious.

Seeing that Pu Tao's eyes were fixed on it, Duan Zhiwei gave her a piece to try. Pu Tao picked up a piece impatiently and put it in her mouth without waiting for it to cool down.

The surface of this radish cake is fried until it is crispy and fragrant, while the inside still retains a soft and glutinous texture. The shredded radish is fresh and sweet, and the rice noodles and lard are rich and fragrant. The finishing touch is the diced bacon. The saltiness and freshness of the bacon are perfectly integrated into the cake, adding a rich and layered feel.

Pu Tao ate so much that tears came out: "I have never eaten anything so delicious." She also took the opportunity to say that she would follow Duan Zhiwei forever so that she could always eat delicious food.

Duan Zhiwei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he also knew that the radish cake was a success, so he quickly brought it to the beauty while it was still hot and said, "My lady, you must have waited for a long time. This radish cake has just come out of the pot. Please try it while it's still hot."

The beauty seemed to be very well-mannered in her every move. She first scooped a little bit of mung bean porridge with a spoon to taste it, then picked up a piece of radish cake with chopsticks, took a small bite, and put down her chopsticks.

Duan Zhiwei was very confident about this dish. Seeing that the lady put it down after taking one bite, he couldn't help but feel shocked: "Is this dish not to your liking?"

The beauty took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth: "It tastes very good." She hesitated for a moment and then continued: "My name is Lian Qiao. I will be married soon, but the wedding date has been set. I haven't found a satisfactory restaurant to order the fruits and flower cakes for my dowry. A friend of mine happened to recommend your lotus flower cake, so I took the liberty to find it."

Duan Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief, and then put on a warm smile: "Of course you can, what kind of cake would you like?"

Lian Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Three kinds of sweet cakes, no matter what kind, but I need them urgently, can you get them within three days?"

"Of course, of course." Duan Zhiwei naturally agreed to take on this big order.

After getting a satisfactory answer, Lian Qiao smiled, and even the red teardrop mole at the corner of her eye became charming. She fumbled for a purse from her waist and handed it to Duan Zhiwei with both hands: "This is the deposit." Then she reported her address and the time needed in detail, opened her oil-paper umbrella, and walked gracefully into the rain of Chang'an.

Aunt Duan walked over and opened her purse. Seeing a handful of copper coins, she smiled with satisfaction and said, "Of course my vision is good... That lady must be from a wealthy family."

Little Pu Tao pried through the crack of the door, watching the woman walk away, then turned to look at the table. There was only half a bowl of mung bean porridge left, and there was still a lot of radish cake left. He stared at it eagerly for a while, and finally couldn't help but tugged at the corner of Duan Zhiwei's clothes: "Madam..."

Duan Zhiwei picked up the stack of carrot cakes, thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be a little cold. I'll go get a small baking pan and bake it again."

Little Pu Tao was overjoyed and immediately volunteered: "I'll go." He skipped and went to the backyard.

A small baking tray was lit with charcoal and placed next to the window. A few cold radish cakes were placed on it and slowly baked. They actually expanded slightly. Rambutan was waiting eagerly on the side. Aunt Duan was lying on her side, bored, drinking a bowl of sweet wine, while Ah Pan was sitting on the doorstep watching the rain.

Duan Zhiwei sat at the dining table and thought about what kind of cakes should be used for the wedding...

Duan Zhiwei couldn't think of anything, so she decided to brainstorm. She first looked at Aunt Duan beside her and asked, "What kind of flower cakes are usually prepared for weddings in Chang'an?"

Aunt Duan was already a little tipsy, and she perked up after hearing this: "Of course it has to have auspicious names, like lotus seeds and lilies, peanuts and red dates, red and green beans and walnuts."

She paused and continued, "The acacia flower cake you made before is absolutely unacceptable."

In May, the fragrance of locust trees is overwhelming. Duan Zhiwei collected the most blooming fresh locust flowers, mixed them with glutinous rice flour and sugar, and steamed them into locust flower cakes. The taste was good, but locust trees mean "ghost in the wood", so they cannot appear in wedding occasions.

Ah Pan, who was watching the rain silently, suddenly interrupted and said, "In my hometown, wedding cakes are made with fillings such as melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, etc., and the crust is puff pastry."

A Pan thought for a while and explained that the lily and lotus seed pastry symbolizes "a happy marriage for a hundred years", while the sesame cake symbolizes "promotion at every step". Different types of cakes have different meanings.

Duan Zhiwei silently picked up a piece of charcoal from under the stove and wrote them down one by one.

Pu Tao finally baked several pieces of radish cakes and gave each person a few pieces. The radish cakes were slightly puffy on the outside, crispy and fragrant, and soft and glutinous on the inside. They even tasted a bit like baked rice cakes.

A figure approached from the rain. A Pan, who was sitting on the doorstep, was the first to see the person and quickly stood up.

Duan Zhiwei estimated that it was already noon, and he didn't expect someone to come at this time. However, since a customer had come, there was no reason to stop him, so he went to greet him: "Sir, are you here for lunch?"

The person who came back this time was a young scholar, who was fairly fair-skinned, but with a timid look on his face. He put his umbrella in a corner, adjusted his hat that was blown all over the place by the wind, and after a while his eyes flickered, he said, "Just bring me some food."

Since he didn't make any requests, Duan Zhiwei wrapped a locust leaf roll and handed it to him. The scholar took it and ate it casually, but his eyes were looking around.

Duan Zhiwei was afraid that the thieves had come to scout the place in advance. Seeing him like this, he became suspicious. It had rained in Chang'an for several days, and Pu Tao did not return home, but slept with Duan Zhiwei.

There are only four women in the Duan family shop now, old and young. It would be unsafe if they were targeted by thieves. She wondered whether she should go find Xia Fangzheng and inform him of the situation.

The scholar finished eating the locust leaf roll with a tasteless taste, and then said, "Check out."

A locust leaf roll cost ten copper coins, but the scholar took out fifty copper coins from his purse.

Duan Zhiwei hesitated for a moment: "What are you doing?"

The scholar stood up and bowed solemnly: "I am Liu Zhenzhong from Hejian. Some time ago, my fiancée disappeared on the bank of Jinghe River in Chang'an. I searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her until I saw her enter Duan's restaurant this morning..."

"Your fiancée?"

"Her name is Lian Qiao, and she has a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye." Liu Zhenzhong said hurriedly, "If you know where Lian Qiao is, please let me know."

"I'm sorry," Duan Zhiwei bowed apologetically, "Indeed, a lady came to have breakfast this morning, but she just drank a bowl of porridge and left."

Rumble, continuous thunder fell, and a flash of lightning flashed down like a sharp sword, and a gloomy shadow appeared on Liu Zhenzhong's face.

"Yeah?"

He was silent for a moment, then put on that timid and innocent expression: "Then I won't bother you, my lady." He bowed politely and said goodbye, then left the store with an umbrella.

Pu Tao was frightened by the thunder and lightning, and buried herself in Aunt Duan's arms. Aunt Duan hugged her and asked in surprise: "What's going on? On the one hand, you are going to get married in three days, and on the other hand, you say your fiancée has been missing for a long time."

Duan Zhiwei looked towards the rain. Since Liu Zhenzhong knew that Lian Qiao had entered the restaurant, why didn't he come in and ask her... Maybe he had been following her, and lost her because of the heavy rain after Lian Qiao left the restaurant?

Or is it that Lian Qiao on the other side actually has no intention of getting married, and ordering flower cakes is just a cover?

Who is lying?