Chapter 38 Spicy Chicken Goes to the City for Fun~

Outside the kitchen, Wang Xiaoyu had already filtered all the soy milk. Lin Yao and she carried the wooden basin to the makeshift stove in the yard.

There was only one pot at home, and it would be too much work to handle the tasks ahead, so Lin Yao asked Liu Dazhuang to build a simple earthen stove in the yard in advance, and also borrowed their pot.

Wang Xiaoyu skillfully started a fire and added a few more bundles of firewood to the stove.

Lin Yao slowly poured the soy milk from the wooden basin into the pot. As the temperature rose, a fine layer of white foam gradually appeared on the surface of the soy milk.

Lin Yao stirred the soy milk clockwise along the bottom of the pot, her movements unhurried. "The filtered soy milk needs to be boiled before drinking. You have to stir it frequently while boiling to prevent it from sticking to the pot, otherwise it will have a burnt taste and spoil the texture."

About fifteen minutes later, the soy milk began to boil. Then Lin Yao asked Wang Xiaoyu to take out the large firewood from the stove and reduce the heat. "Now we just have to wait for the bean curd skin to set."

In no time, a layer of pale yellow bean skin appeared on the surface of the soy milk. Lin Yao took out a bamboo skewer, gently inserted it under the bean skin, and with a slight force of her wrist, the bean skin was lifted up and trembled slightly in the steaming heat.

She carefully laid the bean curd sheets flat on the bamboo tray next to her to dry.

The two worked for an hour, making more and more bean curd sheets, and soon the bamboo tray was used up.

Seeing this, Lin Cheng quickly found two bamboo poles and helped to set it up.

Finally, they made six bamboo trays and two bamboo poles full of bean curd sheets.

Although the quantity looks like a lot, bean curd sheets are something you can eat in one bite, so they can't be sold very quickly, resulting in a serious imbalance between input and output.

Lin Yao rubbed her aching back and felt that she never wanted to make bean curd sheets again in her life.

On the other side, Liu Dazhuang and his group worked for three hours, from the beginning of the morning until the end of the evening, before finally managing to string all the vegetables together and fill two large baskets.

There was still a little less than half a bowl of soy milk left in the pot. Lin Yao added two large pieces of maltose to the soy milk and stirred until dissolved.

She filled a large bowl with soy milk and, together with Wang Xiaoyu, served it to Liu Dazhuang and the others.

Liu Dazhuang and Liang Shi were already familiar with Lin Yao's temperament, but Aunt Li and Liu Xu were still a bit reserved and hesitant to accept the invitation.

Seeing that Aunt Li and her son were dawdling, Liang simply put down her own bowl, took two bowls of soy milk from Lin Yao, and handed them directly to them.

The movement was so large that the soy milk in the bowl sloshed around a few times, startling Aunt Li and Liu Xu, who quickly steadied the bowl.

They just saw it; this soy milk was made by Lin Yao from a whole bag of soybeans, not to mention she added a large piece of maltose. It's very precious; it would be such a waste to spill it.

Liang said bluntly, "If A-Yao tells you to drink, then drink. Why all the nonsense? A-Yao is tired from carrying this. This soy milk is A-Yao's thoughtful gift. If you don't drink it, you'll spoil her fun."

Aunt Li held the bowl of soy milk, looking slightly embarrassed. "This, this is too much trouble. We came here to work for Ayao, and now we're eating and drinking here too."

Liu Xu stood beside his mother, head down, looking at the steaming bowl of soy milk. He thought to himself that this bowl of soy milk could sell for several coins. His sister, A Yao, had given it to him so readily. If he could do business like A Yao, he and his mother wouldn't have to live such a tight life.

Seeing this, Lin Yao quickly chimed in, "Auntie, don't say that. I originally only asked you to help out at the food stall at the dock, but today I'm troubling you and Brother Xu to come over. Please have some soy milk; it's good for your health!"

After drinking the soy milk, the group went home.

~

The next day.

Today, Lin Cheng and Lin Yao started getting busy at 3 AM.

The arena competition in the prefectural city begins at 7:00 AM. Considering the hour it would take to travel, Lin Yao and her group must arrive at the agreed-upon location in town by 5:00 AM.

Fortunately, most of the ingredients were prepared yesterday, so today all I need to do is make spicy chicken, pork bone soup, and soy milk.

Lin Cheng led the donkey to the stone mill, fed it a sweet potato, and gently patted its back. "Little Gray, you'll have to work hard today. When I get back from the city, I'll go up the mountain to cut fresh grass for you."

Lin Yao planned to make pork bone soup first.

She scooped out the braised pig's trotters that had been simmering all night, washed the pot, and then poured the pork bones, scallions, ginger, and wine into it all at once. Once the water boiled, she skimmed off the foam, covered the pot, and simmered it for a while.

During this break, she began to marinate the chicken.

Spicy chicken is easy to make, but it needs to be marinated in advance.

She added wine, salt, five-spice powder, and cornstarch to the chicken and mixed it well.

Liu Dazhuang and others also arrived one after another.

Wang Xiaoyu went to the kitchen to help Lin Yao, while Lin Cheng and Liu Dazhuang made konjac desserts.

Considering the long distance and the inconvenience of carrying pots and griddles, even though she planned to start a fried food business, Lin Yao only prepared an earthenware pot and a small stove, so she only planned to make some konjac noodles to sell. The rest of the people helped make soy milk in the yard.

In the small courtyard, everyone was busy with their own tasks.

In the kitchen, after ladling out the pork bone soup, Lin Yao began to prepare the spicy chicken.

She inserted the chopsticks into the oil and saw tiny bubbles rising around them, indicating that the oil temperature was just right.

She carefully placed the marinated chicken pieces into the pot. The earthen stove burned brightly, and the chicken quickly began to change color, its aroma instantly filling the entire kitchen.

After frying until golden brown and crispy, Lin Yao removed the chicken and drained the oil.

At this point, leave a little oil in the pan, add the dogwood, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, and minced garlic, and stir-fry over low heat.

A rich, spicy aroma wafted from the kitchen. After the dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns released their fragrance, Lin Yao poured the fried chicken back into the pan and stir-fried it quickly over high heat, allowing the chicken to fully absorb the aroma of the dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns.

Each piece of chicken is coated in an intensely spicy flavor, making it look incredibly appetizing.

The people outside the courtyard started sneezing incessantly while Lin Yao was stir-frying dogwood.

They usually use dogwood for seasoning, but they've never been choked by it and sneezed repeatedly. They wonder how much dogwood Lin Yao used this time.

After Lin Yao finished preparing the spicy chicken, she took out the braised pig's trotters that had been served in advance and invited everyone to eat breakfast.

When the group saw the braised pig's trotters, they were all stunned. They had never seen such a hearty dish as braised pig's trotters served for breakfast.

Seeing that no one was touching their chopsticks, Lin Yao quickly explained, "We're going to the prefectural city today, and the journey must be tiring. Everyone should eat more! Otherwise, we'll get hungry halfway through the trip."

~

When Lin Cheng parked the donkey cart at the agreed location, Lin Song was still fast asleep on the cart.

Lin Yao picked a foxtail grass by the roadside and gently scratched Lin Song's face with it.

Lin Song tilted his head to one side in his sleep. Lin Yao giggled at this, her hands still busy.

Lin Song, still half asleep, saw his sister teasing him with a foxtail grass. He immediately woke up, sat up, and reached out to snatch it.

Lin Cheng quickly held him down, afraid that he might accidentally knock over the food in the car.

Lin Yao wanted to continue teasing Lin Song, but she heard Xu Zhiheng's voice from afar: "Good morning, everyone!" Lin Yao turned around and saw Xu Zhiheng leading a group of burly men of different ages walking towards them with a menacing aura.

If she hadn't known she was only there to cook for them, she probably would have run away.

Lin Yao quickly replied, "Good morning, Young Master Xu! Good morning, everyone!"

Xu Zhiheng smiled and nodded at Lin Yao, then looked at Lin Song on the donkey cart and teased, "This little kid just woke up, but he looks quite energetic."

Lin Song, feeling a little embarrassed by his gaze, hid behind the rice bucket, only peeking out his head to curiously observe the group of strangers.

Lin Cheng stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Zhiheng: "Young Master Xu, everything is ready. Shall we set off now?"

Xu Zhiheng waved his hand and said, "Let's go! To the prefectural city!"

Along the way, donkey carts mingled among the group. Lin Song, unable to contain his curiosity, would occasionally peek out from behind the food bucket to observe the burly men around him.

When Lü Dazhi saw Lin Song peeking around, he laughed heartily, his thick beard twitching. He took a small wooden carving from his waist and handed it to him, saying, "Little one, take this and play with it."

Lin Song's eyes lit up, and he was about to reach out to take it when he hesitated and looked at Lin Yao. Lin Yao smiled and nodded, and Lin Song happily accepted it, saying crisply, "Thank you, Uncle!"

Lu Dazhi patted his head, "Good boy!"

After walking for an hour, the outline of the prefectural city could be seen in the distance, and everyone's spirits rose even higher.

At the city gate, the crowds were bustling and lively. Xu Zhiheng led the group into the city smoothly.

The city was much more prosperous than Qingquan Town, and its architecture was also more exquisite.

Lin Yao stared wide-eyed at the antique buildings, which were far superior to modern, mass-produced tourist attractions.

Lin Song was incredibly excited, grabbing Lin Yao's hand and exclaiming, "Second Sister, there are so many fun things!"

Lin Yao's eyes were full of laughter as she pinched his cheek. "Don't rush," she said, "let's finish up our business first, then I'll take you sightseeing."

Lin Yao and the others followed Xu Zhiheng to a house.

Xu Zhiheng explained, "This family are my friends in the prefectural city. You can use their kitchen to cook the food and bring it over. See the arena over there? We'll be right there."

After everyone helped unload the supplies from the donkey cart, Xu Zhiheng was about to lead the strong men to the bottom of the arena.

Lin Yao quickly called out to Xu Zhiheng, "Wait! Young Master Xu, we'll go with you! We've already prepared the food at home, it just needs to be heated up. Brother Dazhuang and his wife will bring it over once it's ready."

Xu Zhiheng didn't seem to mind. "That's fine too, you can come along."

Teams dressed in various costumes stood beside the arena, some in elegant white martial arts robes, others in eye-catching bright red outfits.

Lin Yao glanced at Xu Zhiheng's team beside her. The team members were dressed in all sorts of clothes, but they all wore red headbands.

Seeing her looking her up and down with her eyes darting around, Xu Zhiheng couldn't help but ask, "Miss Lin, is there something you want to say?"

Lin Yao was a little embarrassed. "Ah... haha, it's nothing. I just noticed that all the other participating teams were wearing matching outfits. Why aren't you guys wearing the same ones, Mr. Xu?"

Jin Yu took a step forward and blurted out, "Isn't it because the master is stingy..." Before he could finish speaking, Xu Zhiheng covered his mouth. Xu Zhiheng quickly explained, "In the arena, strength is what matters; no matter how fancy your clothes are, it's useless."

Just then, a group of people dressed in black outfits happened to pass by.

The leader scoffed at Xu Zhiheng's words, turned around, and looked at him defiantly.

"Oh, who is this? It's the Tiger-Catching Martial Arts School. If you don't have money to buy martial arts robes, just say so. If even one person from your school can defeat my Hundred Victories Martial Arts School today, I will reward you with one hundred taels to buy martial arts robes!" As soon as Zhang Xin finished speaking, a burst of laughter immediately rose from all around.

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Author's Note: Xu Zhiheng: You said it yourself!

Zhang Xin: You scoundrel!