Chapter 124 Bald Roe: He Said He Was Playing Hard to Get

Lin Yao saw Xu Zhiheng just before Baiwei City closed. She had been busy with the school and the food court these days and hadn't seen him for a long time.

Upon meeting him today, I was surprised to find that he had lost a lot of weight, especially with a golden jade figure who was gradually regaining its roundness beside him.

While Lin Yao was in a daze, a wooden box suddenly appeared in front of her, and when she looked up, she met Xu Zhiheng's smiling gaze.

"Manager Lin's business is booming," Xu Zhiheng pushed the box forward again, his tone teasing, "As a partner, this opening gift is a must."

Lin Yao took it and opened it.

Inside the box lay a jade Pixiu sculpture, its jade smooth and lustrous, its mane flowing with a lively spirit, far more exquisite than the wooden sculpture in Qingquan Town.

"It makes a pair with the one you gave me last time." She weighed it in her hand, accepted it readily, and said, "Thanks."

"Speaking of which," she changed the subject, "why haven't I seen you around lately?"

Xu Zhiheng looked at her with a darkening gaze: "His Majesty has decreed that I return to the capital immediately."

"Why are you leaving again?" Lin Yao blurted out, only realizing her tone was too urgent after she finished speaking, her ears burning slightly.

Xu Zhiheng did not miss the fleeting blush on her face. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, but he pretended to sigh softly: "When you return this time, His Majesty will probably give you a sinecure in the capital."

He continued, "My father is getting old, and he always wants to keep me under his watchful eye so that everyone can feel at ease. But who knows when I'll be able to come back next time."

Lin Yao felt a mix of emotions. Although Xu Zhiheng's words were vague, she wasn't stupid. General Xu held considerable military power, and only by leaving his young son in the capital could the court set aside its suspicions and the General's Mansion be protected.

The atmosphere in the room was unusually quiet for a moment. Lin Yao broke the silence: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away. This year you will finally be able to reunite with your family."

She stood up and straightened her skirt, her eyes sparkling, as if the absent-minded person from just now wasn't her. "Right now is the time when crabs are plump and full of roe. I'll make you a few jars of crab roe oil. Cook it until it's thick, seal it in a porcelain jar, and you can scoop a spoonful with your food on the way, or take it home for your elders to enjoy with their meals. It's incredibly delicious."

Xu Zhiheng's smile deepened. "Then thank you very much, Ayao."

Jin Yu's eyes lit up suddenly. She had finally found a chance to interject and eagerly stepped forward to ask, "What about me?"

Lin Yao was amused by him, "I'll prepare a few cans for you too."

Jin Yu was overjoyed, showering him with compliments: "Manager Lin is truly beautiful and kind-hearted. From now on, Baiwei City will surely be bustling with customers and overflowing with wealth!"

"Tu Huang You" is a term used in Suzhou dialect. "Tu" means "only" or "exclusively," while "Huang You" specifically refers to high-purity crab roe fat.

Crab roe is completely different from regular crab roe mixed with crab meat; it requires extreme purity and must not contain a single trace of crab meat.

The finished product is golden in color, thick and glossy in texture, and a rich crab aroma wafts out as soon as you open the lid. It is a representative of Chinese cuisine that brings out the ultimate in umami flavor.

The next day, before dawn, Lin Yao went to the busiest market in Lin'an Prefecture and carefully selected dozens of live crabs full of roe and fat. She weighed each one carefully to confirm its plumpness.

After bringing them back to the kitchen, she first washed each crab thoroughly, especially cleaning the mud and dirt in the crevices of the crab claws with a fine brush. Then she put them in a pot of cold water, brought it to a boil over high heat, and then steamed them over medium heat for half an hour.

The most difficult part of this dish is disassembling the crab.

The steamed crabs must be removed while they are still hot; this step is the most challenging and requires patience.

Lin Yao dragged her idle father and younger brother over to help disassemble it.

Lin Yao took out a special crab-disassembling tool and deftly peeled the crab shell with her fingertips. First, she used a small spoon to scrape off the golden crab roe and crab paste, carefully picked out the impurities, then broke the crab body open and used a skewer to pick out the whole crab meat along the texture of the crab meat, and sorted it into porcelain bowls.

Unlike Lin Yao's skillful handling of the situation, Lin's father and Lin Song encountered numerous problems.

Lin's father had no method to it, and after struggling for a long time, he only managed to produce a little bit.

Lin Song was even more impulsive than his father. He couldn't finish even half a bowl of crab meat in half a day, and he kept secretly stuffing freshly picked crab meat into his mouth.

Lin Yao told him to pick the crab meat by following the texture of the crab, but he wouldn't listen. He poked it hard, and a perfectly good piece of crab meat flew out and splashed onto Lin's father's face.

The father and son glared at each other, which added a lot of fun to this tedious task.

Once the ingredients are prepared, the cooking process begins.

Lin Yao washed and dried the iron wok, poured in an appropriate amount of rapeseed oil, and after the oil was hot, she put in the broken crab shells and slowly fried them over low heat.

As the crab roe remaining in the crab shell gradually infuses into the oil, the clear rapeseed oil slowly turns a bright orange-yellow, and the crab aroma becomes increasingly mellow. At this point, the crab shell can be removed and discarded. This step is to allow the base oil to fully absorb the crab flavor and lay the foundation for the umami taste.

Next, add a large spoonful of lard to the pot. Once the lard has melted, pour in the prepared crab roe and crab paste. The amount of lard should just cover the ingredients. Keep the heat low and simmer gently while stirring to prevent burning.

As the temperature rises, the crab roe gradually bubbles, and a rich and lingering crab aroma fills the kitchen, at which point it is halfway done.

Then Lin Yao poured in the crab meat, drizzled a little Shaoxing wine along the edge of the pot to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma, and continued to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula to allow the crab meat and crab roe to fully blend together.

Once the broth in the pot has thickened, it's time to season it. Lin Yao adds a little white pepper powder and salt. These two simple seasonings enhance the flavor while also preventing the crab roe from being overpowered.

Lin Yao had already prepared several dry, oil-free porcelain jars. She poured the hot boiled crab roe into them, filled them, and immediately sealed them.

Once the porcelain jar has cooled, the crab roe inside will solidify into a paste, allowing it to be stored for a long time.

By the time I finished all this, the sun was already high in the sky.

Lin Yao carefully wiped the sealed porcelain jars clean. There were ten jars in total. Xu Zhiheng and Jin Yu each had four jars, and the remaining two jars were kept for their own consumption.

Lin's father watched as his daughter divided up the crab roe, and felt a pang of regret as he saw that the table, which had been full of crab roe, was now reduced to just two jars.

The thought of giving it to that brat from the Xu family made her even more uncomfortable. She casually probed, "Four cans per person is too much. Two cans per person will do. We can keep the rest for ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yao assumed her father was complaining that there wasn't enough food left at home: "Father, Ah Heng and the others are going back to the capital, and we don't know how long it will be before they come back. It would be good to bring more so they can eat on their journey. If you like it, I'll buy some crabs to cook after I'm done with this busy period, and I'll save some for you to enjoy slowly."

"No, no, this is enough." This crab roe is delicious, but just choosing and dismantling the crabs took up most of the day, and it was really too much work to make.

Mr. Lin felt sorry for his daughter and couldn't bear to see her go through the trouble of preparing food a second time, but the other diners didn't think so.

Lin Yao made the crab roe oil in the kitchen of Baiwei City. After it was done, the family found a table and mixed the crab roe oil with noodles. The aroma had already made many people drool.

Lin Yao made the crab roe in the kitchen of Baiwei City. The rich aroma of crab wafted out of the kitchen window while it was being cooked, attracting the attention of many diners.

After most of the lunchtime guests had left, the family found a table and made noodles with crab roe oil.

As the group was enjoying their meal, the aroma wafted freely through the lobby, prompting several familiar diners to approach and ask, "Manager Lin, what are you eating? We'd like to order some too."

Lin Yao quickly put down her chopsticks and said apologetically with a smile, "I'm really sorry everyone, this is crab roe oil, which I made for myself and didn't intend to sell to the public."

Upon hearing this, the diners all showed regret on their faces. One of them couldn't help but persuade, "Manager Lin, this sauce tastes so good, it's a real pity not to sell it! Why don't you make some to sell?" The speaker was Manager Lu of the silk shop. Since the opening of Baiwei City, he had come to the shop almost every day and was considered a regular customer.

Lin Yao explained, "Manager Lu, you may not know this, but this crab roe oil is made with pure crab roe and crab fat. Crabs are not cheap to begin with, and dismantling and cooking them takes a lot of time and effort, so the cost is really high. Therefore, the price of the finished product will definitely not be cheap."

Manager Lu didn't think this was a problem. He waved his hand and said generously, "There are plenty of rich people in Lin'an Prefecture. As long as the taste is good, there's no need to worry about selling it! Just focus on making it. If you're worried about sales, I'll help you promote it! I manage more than a dozen silk shops, and the shop assistants there have big clients who regularly come to patronize my business. With just a word from me, I can bring you a lot of customers!"

These words truly moved Lin Yao.

Although she didn't really intend to let Manager Lu expand her sales channels, he was right. Word spread quickly, and her crab roe oil wouldn't have to worry about selling.

Having made up her mind, Lin Yao gathered the shop's employees after closing that night and asked if anyone in their family was skilled at dismantling crabs.

If you're willing to come to the shop tomorrow to help dismantle crabs, you'll be paid per piece, ten coins per crab.

Crabs are abundant in the Jiangnan region, so eating crabs is not a rare thing. Therefore, many families are skilled at dismantling crabs, and the labor cost of ten coins per crab is considered generous.

No sooner had he finished speaking than eight men offered to help, saying that their wives, children, or parents were skilled at dismantling crabs.

The next morning, Liu Xu, who was in charge of purchasing, brought back dozens of kilograms of live crabs from the market.

When the crab vendor heard that he wanted such a large quantity, he couldn't stop smiling. He not only gave him a fair price, but also generously gave him several bamboo baskets to hold the crabs.

As soon as the crabs were brought back to the shop, the employees' families arrived one after another. Lin Yao distributed crab-disassembling tools and clean porcelain bowls to each person, and after giving them instructions, everyone got to work enthusiastically.

Because it was piecework, the more you did, the more you earned, so everyone put in their best effort, and with their fingers flying across the page, the crab roe, crab paste, and crab meat were sorted and packed away.

When Lin Yao returned to Baiwei City after seeing Xu Zhiheng off, she saw that in just one morning, dozens of kilograms of crabs had been completely cleaned and prepared, and the porcelain bowls were piled high with crab roe, crab paste, and crab meat.

At this moment, Xu Zhiheng was riding his horse, swaying leisurely towards the capital.

Jin Yu followed behind, recalling what her husband had just said. Her plump face showed obvious worry. Was this what her husband meant by playing hard to get? Why did it seem so different from what was described in the storybooks?