Chapter 95 Smoked Goose, Spicy Chicken

Over the course of several days, Qiao Mianmian became more and more adept at holding the baby. Looking at the child in her arms, she thought he was getting cuter and cuter. "Sister-in-law, he can really sleep. He sleeps as soon as he's full."

“Mom said all babies are like this.” Hu Qianqian was eating brown sugar and eggs. “Mianmian, I can’t eat anymore, you can have this egg.”

She's eating five meals a day now, and she's gained quite a bit of weight. Brown sugar and eggs are good for you, especially for a young woman.

Qiao Mianmian shook her head. "Give it to your older brother. Eating too much at night will make you gain weight. Actually, sister-in-law, you can get out of bed now. Just walk around the room. You don't need to eat so much. Otherwise, you'll gain a lot of weight after your confinement period. Mother and grandmother are just worried that you'll go hungry, so they make you extra food."

Hu Qianqian touched her belly. She had indeed gained weight, but her mother said that being a little plump was a blessing. However, she had to talk to her mother-in-law about it. She really couldn't bring herself to eat three brown sugar eggs after finishing her meal.

Looking at her sister-in-law, her thoughts raced. When it was just the two of them alone that night, she whispered, "Do you think Mianmian has someone she likes?"

"Who?" Qiao Jiawang tensed up immediately, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"How would I know who it is?" Hu Qianqian was in postpartum confinement and hadn't left the house for quite some time. "Recently, Mianmian has become increasingly fond of dressing up. They say women dress up for those they love, and she has indeed reached the point where her heart is fluttering with spring fever."

Qiao Jiawang frowned. "Then who could it be?"

"Oh dear, can't you, as the older brother, see even a hint of something?" Hu Qianqian pouted in disappointment. "I think Mianmian is such a good person, she deserves a good match. But she's young, and I'm afraid she'll be deceived. You older brothers should pay more attention to Mianmian, instead of being so careless and not thinking about anything. Tomorrow, you should talk to your second brother and tell him to observe her closely. Besides, isn't Mother arranging a marriage for Mianmian? If the other person is suitable, that would be perfect."

The next day, Qiao Jiawang told his younger brother about it. "That's what your sister-in-law said, but I don't quite understand. You're smart, do you think so too?"

"this……"

Qiao Jiaxing hadn't really noticed who his sister was particularly interested in, but it seemed to make some sense. "Let's wait and see. Maybe we'll see something different. If you want an answer right now, I can't think of one either."

Qiao Jiawang grunted in agreement, and the two brothers went about their business.

They noticed that their sister chatted and laughed with her cousin from the Lin family, and smiled at the Zhou brothers as well, and the same went for Lord Lu; she didn't treat anyone particularly differently.

After several days, the Qiao brothers found nothing amiss and thought that Hu Qianqian might be overthinking things, so they gradually forgot about it.

By late October, Le Ge'er will be a month old. The Qiao family doesn't plan to hold a banquet; they'll just have a family gathering.

However, since all the relatives came, there were three or four tables of people. If they were to eat at home, the restaurant would have to close for a day. So the Qiao family simply set up the banquet on the second floor of the restaurant, which was just enough for all the relatives to sit down.

Early in the morning, Hu Qianqian's parents arrived at the door, bringing with them a silver lock necklace.

One after another, members of the Qiao family's second branch and the Qiu family arrived.

The Qiao family across the street was bustling with activity. Hearing the commotion, Old Mrs. Lu felt a tightness in her chest. She sat in the courtyard, looked at her teacup, and raised it several times but didn't drink.

"Is something on your mind, Madam?" Granny Kong noticed the tea was cold and replaced it with another cup.

"I'm worried," Grandma Lu sighed. "You've seen Qiao's son, haven't you?"

Granny Kong said, "She's fair-skinned and chubby, very lovable."

"Look how lively and bustling the Qiao family is, while our place is so deserted."

The more Grandma Lu talked, the more upset she became. "If we go back to Bianjing, wouldn't it be even more desolate?"

"That's true." Granny Kong sighed as she thought about it. "The official matchmakers have found several for the eldest young master, but he always finds something to do to decline. I don't know what he's thinking. If he's not satisfied, he can just tell you directly."

"Who says otherwise? In the end, he's still the same old guy, unable to utter a single word for ages. And Qingjiu is such a dullard, whatever you ask him, he just says the same old things."

Hearing the lively commotion across the street, Old Mrs. Lu felt even more envious. "Tell me," she said, "if Zhao'er had married sooner, I could have held my great-grandson. If he keeps dragging it out like this, I don't even know if I'll have that kind of luck."

Old Mrs. Lu had been living in Lin'an for some time. Originally, the new house was ready and she could move there, but Lu Zhao said that he was used to living here and did not want to move.

Staying here is fine, so let's settle the marriage soon, but there's still no result yet.

"You will definitely have that good fortune, it's just that the young master's time hasn't come yet."

As she spoke, Granny Kong thought of Bianjing, "It's getting cold now, and it's going to snow in a few days. It's hard to go out when it snows, so why don't we go back first?"

The roads were slippery due to the snow, and Grandma Lu, not being a young person, couldn't withstand going out in the cold.

It's said that Old Madam Lu won't leave until Lu Zhao's marriage is finalized. But the Lu family is such a large household, and with the year-end approaching, there are many more things to do. Since there's no matriarch in the family yet, Old Madam Lu really should go back.

Speaking of this, Grandma Lu rarely wanted to curse, "When they come back, I'm going to have a good talk with them. None of them can give me a moment's peace!"

As she spoke, the Qiao family went out together to eat at a restaurant.

The noisy conversation suddenly stopped, and Old Mrs. Lu felt a little uneasy. "What's so good about having a big family and a lot of wealth? It's not as good as an ordinary family living in harmony. The Qiao family is truly blessed."

Granny Kong nodded; she also felt the Qiao family had a good atmosphere.

At this moment, in Qiao's restaurant, Qiao Mianmian had already prepared all the stewed dishes and was tasting them one by one. "Second brother, the smoked goose today is very good. You cut it into small pieces, and I'll make a dipping sauce."

Some people don't eat spicy food, so Qiao Mianmian didn't add chili powder when braising the smoked goose. She added chili and soy sauce to the dipping sauce now. While smoking, she rubbed a layer of minced garlic on the braised goose. After being smoked with glutinous rice, the garlic dried out and gained a unique flavor. With some dipping sauce, the tender goose meat, combined with the unique smoky and spicy taste, instantly made her mouth water.

Qiao Mianmian broke off a hot goose foot to eat and gave the other one to her second sister-in-law. "Goose feet should be eaten while they're hot. They're soft and easy to chew right now, and they're more substantial than duck feet."

Just as Cao Yuan took the goose feet, Lin Jinshan came in from outside. "Mianmian, Grandma and the others are here. Auntie said we can serve the dishes now. Oh, this is smoked goose. It smells so good. Every time I come home, I miss your cooking the most."

"It was made from the goose you brought. I thought we eat chicken and duck often, so I specially made smoked goose today." Qiao Mianmian knew that her parents had arranged for her cousins ​​to serve the dishes. "Second brother and sister-in-law, you take the braised pork and the other dishes out and bring them upstairs to Cousin Jinshan and the others."

As they were talking, Qiao Mancang brought over the menu and said that customers had arrived. "Are you able to handle the workload?"

Qiao Mianmian glanced at the menu. "Dad, my second brother can make these dishes. He'll be able to handle it."

Her second brother is now practically a chef, capable of cooking many dishes, which makes things much easier for Qiao Mianmian.

The kitchen was bustling with activity. The Lin sisters helped greet the guests on the first floor, while Mrs. Lin arranged for the relatives to be seated on the second floor.

This was arguably the busiest day since the food stall opened.

When Lu Zhao and Qingjiu came to pack up the braised meat, Qiao Mancang told them to go to the kitchen and tell them themselves.

Before the two even reached the kitchen, they were coughing from the fumes. After a while, seeing people carrying dishes in and out, and the smoke dissipating somewhat, Qingjiu pinched her nose and went in. "Miss Qiao, what are you doing? Why is it so pungent?"

"Spicy chicken." Qiao Mianmian said, handing Qingjiu two pairs of chopsticks. "This is what I kept for myself. You've come at the right time, so you can try some too. It's freshly made spicy chicken."

The diced chicken is deep-fried, then stir-fried with peanuts and dried chili peppers. It's sprinkled with white sesame seeds before serving and is especially good with rice.

Qingjiu didn't stand on ceremony, picking up a piece to eat himself and then feeding his master a piece, saying, "Delicious! It's just a little spicy!"

After saying that, he realized that his master couldn't handle spicy food. When he turned around, he saw that his master's face was red from the spiciness, so he quickly scooped up a ladle of water and handed it to him. "My lord, are you feeling the spiciness?"

After Lu Zhao finished drinking the water, he said that he had come to pack some braised food.

"Second Sister-in-law, please cut a portion for Lord Lu." Qiao Mianmian said, glancing back at Lu Zhao and Qingjiu. "I'm so sorry, my nephew is celebrating his one-month birthday today, and with the customers at the restaurant, the kitchen is incredibly busy. I'm sorry to trouble you to wait a while. But Lord Lu, I haven't seen you for a few days. Have you gone out again?"

She asked casually, and then continued to add oil to the pan, preparing to stir-fry a yellow pumpkin.

Before Lu Zhao could speak, Qingjiu interjected, "The people from Zuihonglou wouldn't let you go, so we had to go find Wang Sanzhu and Miss Ju'er. We just found them yesterday and returned to the city this morning."

"Found it? What happened?" Amidst her busy schedule, Qiao Mianmian couldn't help but ask a gossipy question.

Qiao Jiaxing and his wife were also very curious.

Qingjiu said, "They didn't have travel permits, so they couldn't take the official roads and couldn't go far. They found two people in a dilapidated temple outside the city. When we arrived, Wang Sanzhu was desperately protecting Ju'er, saying that Ju'er was a good girl from a good family who had been sold to Zuihonglou by her stepmother. He also said that they had known each other for a long time and that they would rather die together than go back to Zuihonglou."

"We've known each other for a long time?" Qiao Jiaxing finished cooking the dishes and handed them to his sister who came in to serve them.

Cao Yuan had also finished cutting the braised meat, but they all wanted to know the details, so they didn't let Lu Zhao and the other person leave.

"Yes, that Ju'er used to sell snacks at the dock and knew Wang Sanzhu for a long time. But Ju'er's mother passed away this year, and her father remarried, so he sold Ju'er to Zuihonglou."

As he spoke, Qingjiu shook his head and sighed, "Speaking of which, this Miss Ju'er is quite pitiful. Her father is truly a scoundrel!"

The pumpkin in the pot was cooked, and Qiao Mianmian divided it into plates and put it away. Finally, she cooked a yam soup, and all the dishes on the table were served. While waiting for the water to boil, Qiao Mianmian asked, "So what's the last thing? How do we finish?"

"yes……"

“The Wang family paid to redeem Miss Ju’er from her servitude.” Lu Zhao interrupted Qingjiu, “Zuihonglou received the money and will not pursue any further matters.”

"Aunt Wang is actually willing to spend this much money?" Qiao Jiaxing was quite surprised.

Lu Zhao didn't explain the specifics, took the braised food and said goodbye, "That's about it. I just had them sign and seal the document at the government office. From now on, Miss Ju'er and Zuihonglou will have nothing to do with each other."

He glanced at Qingjiu, and the two of them left Qiao's Food Shop together.

Qingjiu caught up with his master, puzzled. "Sir, why don't you say that you lent money to Wang Sanzhu?"

“If I say that Aunt Wang is determined not to pay, what will people think of Miss Ju’er?” Lu Zhao said. “Regardless of whether she’s been soliciting customers at the Drunken Red Brothel, in the eyes of the world, she’s no longer a virgin. If word gets out that the Wang family is unwilling to accept her, how will she face the gossip?”

"It's better to avoid trouble. I only lent Wang Sanzhu twenty taels of silver. If he has a conscience, he will surely pay me back. Why should I make a big fuss and tell others that I did a good deed?"

"My lord, I... I still don't understand." Qingjiu thought and thought.

"If you don't understand, you don't need to understand. Just remember not to say anything." Lu Zhao walked quickly and soon reached the alley. "Anyway, I don't expect you to think much. When you see Grandmother later, remember what I told you, right?"

“I remember, I remember. It’s almost November, and it will start snowing in Lin’an. The roads will be slippery after that. I will keep an eye on you and cooperate with the official matchmakers so that she can go back home with peace of mind,” Qingjiu said.

He remembered it, but he actually thought it would be fine for the old lady to stay in Lin'an. However, this was the adults' wish, so he would just do as they said.

But he wasn't convinced. What was wrong with his brain? It was still working perfectly fine!

"It's good that you remember. We're home now." Lu Zhao stepped over the threshold, saw his grandmother in the courtyard, and went over to greet her.