Chapter 101 Hot Pot and Grilled Rice Cakes

On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, the first snow fell in Lin'an. The snowflakes, as big as goose feathers, piled up to Qiao Mianmian's knees overnight.

The snow piled up for five days before it all melted away on a sunny day.

After the snow melted, it got colder, and fewer and fewer customers came to the food stall, but more delivery orders came in.

Many people like to order a hot pot. The Qiao family will send over the cooked soup and meat, and they can light a charcoal stove, put the pot on it, and cook it until it boils before eating.

That noon, Qiao Mianmian prepared a spicy hot pot base for her family. The mutton was already tender, and all the side dishes were chopped and placed on the stove to wait for the base to boil so they could add the side dishes and eat hot pot.

"This feels quite convenient." Qiao Jiaxing stood up and put two pieces of mutton on his wife's plate. Seeing that everyone had taken their share of mutton, he then added the winter melon and cabbage. "Mmm, this mutton is so delicious! Fifth Sister, how long did you stew it?"

"It takes a full hour and a half to put it in an earthenware pot and simmer it slowly over a low fire. When the mutton is tender, radish is added to stew and reduce the broth. In the dead of winter, this is the perfect treat."

As they were talking, Qiao Mianmian saw that Qingjiu had come alone. Thinking that Qingjiu must have come to eat, she invited Qingjiu to sit down with her, "We're having hot pot at home today. Why don't you and Lord Lu sit down and eat together?"

Lin also chimed in, "Yes, don't be shy, everyone just eat whatever you like."

Lu Zhao and his servant ate at her family's restaurant every day. Today was a rare occasion for them to have hot pot, so it was especially delicious when everyone ate together!

"Huh?" Qingjiu looked at the steaming hot pot on the table and couldn't help but swallow. Qiao Jiaxing came over and pulled him down, so he sat down. "You're asking about my master? He went to the prefect's house for dinner. The prefect hosted a banquet for my master and his family today, but I don't get along with a young man, so I didn't go."

Qiao Jiaxing casually asked, "With a temper as good as yours, who can't get along with you?"

"You probably don't know him, but I just don't like him because he always calls me stupid." The old lady could say that because she was family, and she always showed concern for her mistress, but it was different with the others. Qingjiu, who had just been looking downcast, took a bite of mutton and her eyes immediately lit up. "Delicious! It's a little spicy, but I like it!"

"Eat more if you like." Qiao Mianmian cooked winter melon and sausage, and put minced garlic and vinegar in the bowl. Now that her family is better off, she can eat like this.

Qingjiu didn't stand on ceremony and ate three bowls of rice in a row. He only felt a little embarrassed when he was full. He originally wanted to buy a bowl of noodles, but ended up getting a free meal.

To express their gratitude, they helped the Qiao family clean up the front door and backyard.

On his way home, he saw Zheng Sanhua pulling a handcart, so he went over to help push it.

The firewood on the handcart was taller than a person, which made Zheng Sanhua feel much more relaxed. However, when she turned around, she couldn't see the person behind the handcart, so she asked loudly, "I wonder which friend helped you?"

"It's me! It's me!" Qingjiu hurriedly called out. "Sister Sanhua, I just finished eating and have plenty of energy. Where are you going?"

He happened to be off today, and his master had gone to the prefect's house. Since he had nothing else to do, he could help Zheng Sanhua deliver some firewood.

“Go back to our alley, this is all firewood ordered by the neighbors.” With Qingjiu’s help, Zheng Sanhua felt much more relaxed. “Thank you so much. Come to my house later to get some rice cakes. They’re homemade, very chewy and delicious.”

When it came to food, Qingjiu was very happy and helped Zheng Sanhua push the handcart to the entrance of the alley. The first house they went to was the Xu family's.

Zheng Sanhua carried the firewood inside and saw her younger sister there as well. After putting down the firewood, she went over to take a look. "Not bad, Wuhua. This little flower is quite well-made. What are you making?"

"I'm making a handkerchief for you!" Zheng Wuhua pointed to the little red flowers on the handkerchief. "One, two, three, there are three little flowers in total. Eldest sister has one flower, second sister has two, and yours will be finished soon!"

These days, Zheng Wuhua comes to learn embroidery every day. She has a quiet personality and can sit still for long periods. In addition, with her third sister earning money now, her mother doesn't have to do laundry, making things much easier for her and her fourth sister.

Hearing that it was a gift for her, Zheng Sanhua was very happy. "Then I'll say thank you in advance. I'll be waiting for the handkerchief you made."

She then went to see Madam Xu, saying, "Thank you for teaching my family's five-flower embroidery. No need, no need, how could I accept your money? Others who become apprentices have to pay a fee. Consider this as you supporting my family's business. Consider this firewood as a gift from my family to you for the New Year."

Zheng Sanhua refused the money Yunzhu offered, and Yunzhu looked at her master with difficulty.

Madam Xu did not insist. "Since Sanhua says so, then don't give it to her. Sanhua, you should take care of your health and not overwork yourself, after all, you are a young lady."

"Yes, don't worry." Zheng Sanhua patted her sister's head and continued to deliver firewood to the Wang family.

After delivering the wine to the Wang family, Zheng Sanhua took the green wine home and ate rice cakes.

When Jiang saw Qingjiu arrive, she was taken aback for a moment. Only after hearing what her daughter said did she run to the kitchen to get rice cakes to bake for them.

Zheng Sanhua moved aside the brazier, skewered the rice cakes with bamboo strips, brushed them with a layer of lard, and then grilled them over the charcoal. "Once they start to bubble, brush them with another layer of oil and sprinkle some chili powder that Sister Mianmian gave me. They're especially delicious!"

She didn't know she could eat it this way before; it was Sister Mianmian who taught her.

Qingjiu squatted to the side, holding two skewers of rice cakes in her hand, and imitated Zheng Sanhua in flipping the rice cakes over.

Soon, he could smell the aroma of roasted rice and lard, and he began to salivate.

Once the rice cakes were baked, Zheng Sanhua blew on them briefly, then eagerly took a bite. The outside was crispy, while the inside was soft and chewy. With Qiao Mianmian's special chili powder, it was incredibly delicious.

Jiang poured some warm tea, saying, "Drink some tea before you eat, or your throat will hurt."

"Mom, I want two more!" Zheng Sanhua had been busy since morning and hadn't had lunch yet, so she decided not to eat now.

"Then get a couple more and send some to the Xu family too." Looking at her daughter's disheveled hair, Madam Jiang stood behind her and tidied it up. "Can't a young lady like you care about her appearance a little?"

Her third daughter is becoming more and more like a man, and even if she were to marry into the family, she worries that it will be difficult to succeed.

Zheng Sanhua didn't care about any of that. "I have to work, I don't have time to pay attention to these things. Don't worry about me. It'll be a mess again when I go to the shop later."

"No, you have to tie your hair up properly." Madam Jiang tied her daughter's hair up. "Also, come home early today. We're waiting for you at home for dinner, understand?"

"Okay, okay, I heard everything." Zheng Sanhua chuckled, then looked over when she heard Qingjiu burp. "How is it? Is it good?"

"Mmm, it's delicious." Qingjiu ate until she was completely full, then rubbed her stomach and said, "I can't take it anymore, I have to go back and lie down. Thank you for treating me to grilled rice cakes today. If I have any good food later, I'll give it to you too."

He was already full when he ate at Qiao Ji's, but now, after eating two rice cakes in a row, he felt like food was stuck in his throat and he was about to vomit with every step he took.

Zheng Sanhua found it amusing to watch Qingjiu leave so slowly.

Qingjiu was thinking of going home and relaxing for the afternoon, thinking that her master wouldn't be back so soon. But as soon as she entered the door, she saw her master reading a book in the living room.

Lu Zhao didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to read his book. "I knew there weren't enough noodles for you, so I brought you a lotus leaf chicken. It's keeping it warm in the pot. Go on."

"ah?"

"What's wrong?"

Lu Zhao then looked over and saw that Qingjiu didn't seem happy, which puzzled him. "Didn't you say a few times before that the lotus leaf chicken at this restaurant is very fragrant and you want to try it?"

"Sir, didn't you go to the prefect's house? Why are you back so soon?" If he had known there would be lotus leaf chicken to eat, he wouldn't have eaten so much.

Want to eat lotus leaf chicken?

think!

Can you eat this?

I couldn't eat a single bite!

"I don't drink or brag with them. I came back after eating." Lu Zhao was worried that Qingjiu would be hungry, so he left early and even went out of his way to buy the lotus leaf chicken that Qingjiu wanted to eat. "What's wrong with you today? You usually seem so eager when it comes to food. Did you eat two extra bowls of noodles today? Aren't you hungry?"

Qingjiu hadn't expected his master to bring him lotus leaf chicken, and he didn't dare look at his master at this moment. He whispered, "I was thinking of having a bowl of noodles, but we ended up having a hot pot at the Qiao family's restaurant. Miss Qiao the Fifth pulled me to sit down and eat there. You didn't get to eat any, really..."

"Is Miss Qiao pulling you along?" Lu Zhao interrupted Qingjiu.

"Well... it wasn't that she pulled me, it was that she called me, Jiaxing and I sat down. So I sat down and ate, and before I knew it, I had eaten three bowls of rice. I was already quite full, and then I met Sanhua at the alley entrance. I helped her push her cart, and she invited me to eat grilled rice cakes. They were really delicious! The grilled rice cakes were crispy on the outside and..."

"Alright, alright, I got it." Lu Zhao put down the book. "Then I'll eat it myself."

The banquet was boring, and he didn't eat much, but he was actually a little hungry.

Lu Zhao brought over the lotus leaf chicken and poured himself a cup of hot tea. But after eating just one chicken leg, he noticed Qingjiu staring at him, swallowing hard. "Weren't you full?"

"But I want to try it, sir. Could you save some for me to eat later?" Qingjiu had been craving this lotus leaf chicken for days.

Lu Zhao sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll save you a chicken leg." He really didn't know why he chose Qingjiu before. He could eat and sleep well, but he was just too naive.

In the end, Lu Zhao only ate half of the wine, leaving half for Qingjiu.

As he went to wash his hands, the Meng couple rushed in, their eyes swollen. "Lord Lu... could you please help me see what's written here?"

"Father and Mother, I'm going to join the army. Don't worry about me." Lu Zhao looked at the crooked and messy words and had just read them out when Chun Sheng's mother suddenly fainted.

He quickly helped by pinching the person's philtrum, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person had woken up.

Meng Dayong stared at the note his son had left behind, speechless for a long time. "How could this happen?"

"Waaah, my son, why did he have to do something so foolish!" Chun Sheng's mother sat on the ground and cried bitterly. "Everything was fine these past few days, how could he just decide to join the army like that?"

The couple hadn't noticed a single hint of this. If they had known their son had such thoughts, they would never have agreed. They had plenty to eat and drink; there was no need for their son to suffer in the army. What would they do if something bad happened to him?

Lu Zhao and Qing Jiu hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and neither of them knew how to offer any advice.

Meng Dayong was also very anxious. "Yesterday he said he was too tired to eat dinner, and we didn't think much of it. We went out again early this morning and only found out about this when we got back. Oh my silly child, why...why did he want to join the army?"

Chun Sheng's mother was even more confused. They were anxious and frustrated, and had no ideas at all.

Lu Zhao remained calm. "If he left yesterday, he shouldn't have gone far. Besides, he should have done his research before he left." He thought of Wu Ermao.

"Er Mao is from the military!" Meng Dayong thought to himself. "I'll go ask him!"

“Let’s go together,” Lu Zhao said.

Just as they stepped out, Da Hu ran out of the house, "Auntie, are you going to find Uncle Chunsheng?"

"How did you know?" Chun Sheng's mother asked.

“He asked me to write something yesterday, and he specifically told me to tell you guys not to chase after him, because he definitely won’t come back. He said everyone says he’s mediocre, so he’s going to try his best,” Da Hu said.

Upon hearing what her son said, Jin gave him a hard slap on the bottom. "You stupid thing, why didn't you tell us Chunsheng said that?"

"Waaah, it's Uncle Chunsheng who told me not to say it, so of course I'll listen to him!" Da Hu got angry and ran home.

Jin looked apologetically at the Meng couple, "I'm so sorry, I really didn't expect Chunsheng to ask Dahu to help him with his writing. I'll definitely teach him a lesson later!"

“It has nothing to do with Da Hu.” Meng Dayong was concerned about his son. “Don’t hit Da Hu. He’s still so young. How could he understand what Chun Sheng meant? I’m not talking to you anymore. Let’s go find Er Mao first.”

Ms. Jin was still embarrassed and said she would help look after the house and let them go ahead and pursue their lover.

When Lu Zhao and the others found Wu Ermao, they learned that Chunsheng had indeed contacted Wu Ermao, but Chunsheng said it was his family's idea, so Wu Ermao gave Chunsheng directions.

Knowing where Chunsheng had gone, Lu Zhao borrowed horses with Meng Dayong and chased after him.

When Qiao Mianmian and the others returned in the evening, Lin heard about the incident and, without even entering her own home, ran to Chunsheng's house.

When she returned, she couldn't help but sigh, "That silly boy Chunsheng, he's so old, why does he still do such foolish things? His family has plenty of food, why does he have to go to the army camp?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang silently chanted Amitabha Buddha, thinking, "Perhaps the marriage is not going well, so he hasn't figured it out yet?"

Lin thought it was possible. Remembering that her family had also rejected Chunsheng's marriage proposal, she quickly went to the ancestral tablet to pray, "May the ancestors bless us and make sure that Lord Lu brings Chunsheng back."

Qiao Mianmian was called out by Zheng Sanhua. The two met at the alley entrance, where Zheng Sanhua asked what was going on with the Meng family.

Qiao Mianmian briefly relayed, "Aunt Meng is very anxious; they don't want Chunsheng to join the army."

"Joining the army might cost you your life. No matter how difficult things were for my family before, we still paid the money." Zheng Sanhua's family only had one male member, her father. If there were no men at home, it would be difficult for the remaining women in the family to survive.

“Yes, that’s why Aunt Meng and the others are worried,” Qiao Mianmian said.

"Sister Mianmian, do you think Chunsheng might be acting so irrationally because my family rejected the marriage proposal before..."

"That's none of your business," Qiao Mianmian interrupted Zheng Sanhua. "If you're going to talk about it, my family also refused. Marriage is a matter of mutual consent between the man and woman. It's not like one family is asking for a daughter and the other family has to give her away."

She patted Zheng Sanhua's arm, "Besides, there's not even a hint of anything between you two. The Meng family is just asking if you're getting married or if they're planning to have you marry into their family. How could that possibly be related to you?"

Zheng Sanhua lowered her head and sighed.

"Don't overthink it. It's his own choice. If he really resents you, it's his fault. We didn't do anything wrong."

A gust of wind blew by, and Qiao Mianmian shivered, shrinking her neck. "Alright, let's go home. It's getting dark and so cold!"

When Qiao Mianmian arrived home, her mother was waiting in the living room.

"Is Sanhua calling you?"

Qiao Mianmian said, "I chatted with her for a bit, it's getting late, you should go to sleep."

Lin sat in the hall for a while in the breeze, not sleepy at all. "Do you think Lord Lu and your Uncle Meng can bring Chunsheng back?"

As she spoke, she gritted her teeth, wanting to curse again, "What was Chunsheng thinking? He made such a big decision and didn't even tell the family. He actually asked Dahu, an eight-year-old kid, to write a message for him, which caused Dahu to get hit by his mother. I feel so sorry for Dahu. He's such a worry!"

Qiao Mianmian laughed heartily, "That's true, Da Hu is just a tool, not an accomplice. Oh, don't even think about it. With Lord Lu handling things, I'm sure it'll be fine. Think about it, what hasn't Lord Lu resolved when he's involved?"

That's true.

Madam Lin took a deep breath. "Lord Lu is composed. He doesn't talk much, but he's reliable. If Qingjiu were to go after him, I definitely wouldn't feel at ease."

Qiao Mianmian agreed, "Besides, Uncle Meng went too. Father and son can talk things out easily, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

After saying this, she suddenly realized that Lu Zhao seemed to feel very safe with her. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed the case; Lu Zhao was the most capable person in their alley.