Chapter 98 Beef Balls

Qiao Mianmian arrived at the food stall a little late, but fortunately her brothers were becoming more skilled and had already prepared many dishes, so she could start cooking right away.

"Fifth Sister, these big bones were saved separately. I went to several places to collect them all," Qiao Jiawang said. "See if this is enough. If not, I'll go to a few more places tomorrow."

"That's enough, that's about enough." Qiao Mianmian glanced at the pork bones in the basket. Half of them had already been taken by her mother to make soup base, and this was the other half.

As November arrived and the weather grew colder day by day, more and more people were eating hot pot, so Qiao Mianmian started cooking the pork bone broth in advance.

Some customers like to eat pickled cabbage stewed with pork bones, while others prefer braised dishes or pickled pepper hot pot. Regardless of the flavor, all dishes use pork bone broth as the soup base, except for fish dishes.

"Fish are more expensive now that it's getting colder." Qiao Mancang and Qiao Jiawang carried the fish in. "We only received these few fish today. Your mother said the price is going up."

A carp that was a little longer than the palm of your hand cost two coins more, not to mention the other fish.

Qiao Mancang asked Qiao Mianmian how much the price should increase.

“I’ve seen that fish prices will rise again in a while. Let’s raise them by ten coins directly, so as not to keep raising them and annoy our customers.” Qiao Mianmian grabbed a large carp, smacked it with a mallet, and deftly began to kill the fish, preparing to make fried fish pieces.

"Isn't that too much?" Qiao Mancang asked.

Qiao Mianmian said no, "If customers ask, just say that the prices of vegetables at the market have gone up, and there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, there's a shortage of fish recently, so if they think it's too expensive, they can eat something else first. Pork prices haven't gone up."

Speaking of pork, Qiao Mianmian asked, "Dad, does my third sister's family really raise pigs?"

"Yes, thanks to your reminder, Wangchun's family first raised chickens and ducks, and now they've raised ten pigs. They'll be able to sell them for money next spring." As the father-in-law, he was naturally happy that his son-in-law's family was doing well.

Ten pigs may not seem like a lot, but for an average family, it's not insignificant either, and preparing their daily feed requires considerable effort. Besides, you can't get fat overnight; it's better to take it one step at a time.

"That's great. With you here, they won't have to worry about selling their pork," Qiao Mianmian said.

Qiao Mancang laughed and said, "Only ten, there's really no need to worry."

However, the Qiao family was unaware that the Li family planned to raise them in groups of ten, adding ten more every one or two months, so that they would have money to collect every month.

Having tasted success, Li Shouye no longer went hunting in the mountains and focused on raising livestock.

The group chatted casually for a while, and soon it was noon. As Qiao Mancang came in one after another to report the dishes, Qiao Mianmian and the others were busy as bees.

Qiao Mianmian only started preparing lunch when there weren't many guests. Today, the family had bought beef, and she asked her older brother to pound it into a paste, making real handmade beef balls.

Bring water to a boil in a pot, add ginger, and then add the beef balls and cook until done. The broth is made by simmering dried bonito flakes and beef bones.

While the beef balls were cooking, Qiao Mianmian first tasted the broth. She had to admit that the broth with dried seafood was incredibly delicious. However, dried seafood was a rare treat, and this was a gift from Grandma Lu. She didn't eat it often, only occasionally indulging in it as a treat.

Part of the beef bone and bonito broth is served with beef balls, while another part is made by adding various vegetables and resembling oden.

After adding white radish, the soup gained a refreshing sweetness, which made the other vegetables taste even better.

Qiao Mianmian loves it! I'll add a spoonful of chili oil and a few drops of vinegar later, it'll be so delicious.

"Second Sister-in-law, that's about it. Take the beef balls out, I'll take the rest." Having cooked for so long, Qiao Mianmian's arms were strong. She carried a bowl of vegetables out, and just as she reached the main hall, she suddenly heard a loud wailing from upstairs. Startled, she almost dropped the bowl. "Father, Mother, who's upstairs?"

“It’s Lord Lu and his colleagues,” Madam Lin said as she came over. “I don’t know what happened, but they sounded very sad, but we didn’t dare to go up and ask them any more questions.”

She shook her head as she spoke, "Three grown men, I don't know what they're doing? Let's eat, I'm starving!"

Qiao Mianmian looked up and saw that there was no more noise upstairs. She was curious, but dared not go up, afraid of running into someone and feeling embarrassed.

Upstairs, Lu Zhao looked at Ouyang Yi across the table and regretted bringing him to dinner.

"Waaah, why can't I even cry a little?" Ouyang Yi cried, feeling wronged. "You two unmarried bachelors have no idea how much I'm suffering."

Qingjiu genuinely didn't understand, blinking her eyes as she said seriously, "It's just that your sister-in-law's childhood sweetheart moved to your neighborhood, that's nothing. If your sister-in-law had feelings for her childhood sweetheart, she would have just married him back then, why would she marry you?"

“I told you, I was the one who proposed first. If I had been a day later, the man would have proposed first, and maybe she would have agreed!” Ouyang Yi cried bitterly. “Now that man is a widower and has moved to my neighborhood. Don’t you think his intentions are obvious to everyone?”

"I don't necessarily agree," Qingjiu scoffed. "If you really suspect something, why don't you just ask your sister-in-law?"

Lu Zhao shared the same sentiment. He frowned and said, "That's enough. You haven't caught anything wrong with me, is it really necessary?"

"I...I can't reason with you. I really regret it. I should have gone to my married friends to cry, instead of coming to you two blockheads!" Ouyang Yi wiped away his tears and snorted. "Anyway, I just feel that man has ulterior motives. Of course, your sister-in-law only has eyes for me and would never cheat on you. But..."

He paused, as if thinking of something, then continued, "But yesterday, when I got home, I saw them laughing and chatting again. Brother Lu, tell me, could I already be being cuckolded?"

Lu Zhao had no idea about this kind of thing, and surprisingly agreed with Qingjiu's suggestion, "I suggest you ask your sister-in-law directly."

"Hey, you really don't understand? Asking about this kind of thing will damage the relationship. How can you just ask directly?"

Ouyang Yi looked at Lu Zhao and said, "Brother Lu, you've grown up so much, haven't you ever been haunted by a woman?"

Seeing Lu Zhao's puzzled expression, Ouyang Yi added, "You think about her while eating, you think about her while sleeping, and you want to share even the smallest things with her. Every time you see her, you can't help but smile, and your heart feels sweet. Haven't you ever felt that way?"

Always thinking about it?

Would you be happy to see them?

Just as Lu Zhao was pondering, Qingjiu gave him an answer, "My master definitely doesn't have that, I know that very well. I've lived and eaten with my master since I was a child, and the girl he's seen the most is Miss Zhao San next door, but my master hasn't had any feelings for her at all."

"And what about you?" Ouyang Yi asked.

"I...I didn't either!" Qingjiu paused, taken aback by the question. "Why are you looking at me like that? My heart is only for my husband. I've never thought about getting married and having children!"

Ouyang Yi suddenly grinned mischievously, "Qingjiu, you haven't even held a young lady's hand before, have you?"

"certainly!"

Ouyang Yi then looked at Lu Zhao, "Brother Lu, are you one too?"

"Why are you asking this?" Lu Zhao lowered his head to drink his tea.

"Oh dear, I never expected you two to be virgins. That shouldn't be the case, aren't wealthy families supposed to have..." Before he could finish speaking, seeing the fierce glint in Lu Zhao's eyes, Ouyang Yi burped, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Since that's the case, I'll treat you to drinks at Zuihonglou today!"

Lu Zhao calmly withdrew his gaze. "Aren't you afraid that if your sister-in-law finds out, she'll really run off with her childhood sweetheart?"

Mentioning his wife, Ouyang Yi's face fell again. "Waaah, your sister-in-law is such a wonderful person. She was incredibly beautiful when she was young. No, I have to go home and check on her. If someone breaks into our house, I won't live anymore!"

He ran off as soon as he finished speaking, without stopping for a moment.

When Lu Zhao came downstairs to pay, Madam Lin asked, "Was it Lord Ouyang who was crying just now?"

“He’s had a bit to drink, so his voice is a little loud,” Lu Zhao said.

"My lord, you make it sound so nice. He's not just a little older, he's practically deafening me!" Qingjiu snorted, following his master out of Qiao's Food Shop. Then, remembering Ouyang Yi's words, he thought, "I really don't understand. What's so good about getting a wife? Uncle Meng next door said his wife is all smiles to outsiders, but she's incredibly fierce to him. I'd rather not get married. What's so good about a wife? My lord, I will always serve you!"

He pledged his loyalty to his master, expecting praise, but his master simply said, "Qingjiu, I'll remember that."

"Why do you need to write it down? I'm serious. But sir, when do you plan to get married? The old lady told me to keep an eye on things for you." Qingjiu pressed on.

"If you say another word, I'll make you switch places with Songmu, and you'll go guard the mansion!" As soon as Lu Zhao finished speaking, Qingjiu immediately covered her mouth.

This time, they were going to the new house.

Now that the house has been bought, Lu Zhao will definitely move here after he gets married.

The houses have all been repaired, but the garden pruning is not yet finished. Lu Zhao came to take a look and also to organize his mother's dowry.

Knowing that the third branch of the Qiao family was skilled in gardening, Lu Zhao had informed the Qiao family in advance. A few days ago, Qiao Manhua and his son happened to come and trim the garden.

"Lord Lu." Qiao Manhua and Qiao Jiasheng quickly put down their tools when they saw Lu Zhao arrive.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'll take care of organizing my mother's dowry. You can continue." Lu Zhao nodded to the Qiao family father and son, and took the green wine to the storeroom.

Qiao Jiasheng watched Lu Zhaoyuan's departing figure and praised, "Lord Lu is such a good person. We said we were busy last month, but he specially waited until this month to let us come."

Qiao Manhua glanced around. "Lord Lu only gave us the work because of your uncle's family. He is indeed a good man. I heard that the Lu family is looking for a marriage partner for him. I wonder who will be so lucky as to live in such a nice house?"

They had been there for several days and knew exactly how big the mansion was and how many rooms it had. They didn't dare to hope that they could live in such a big mansion in their lifetime, and at most they could only sigh a few times.

"Father, isn't Mianmian not engaged yet?" Qiao Jiasheng asked.

"You really dare to dream!" Qiao Manhua's eyes widened. "Our Mianmian is good, and your uncle's family is doing well too. If Lord Lu didn't have a business in Bianjing, then we could talk about it, but do you think the Lu family would agree?"

It wasn't that he looked down on his niece, but rather that matching social status was too important. If one was too high-status and the other too low-status, even if they got married, there would be many conflicts in their future life.

"What if?" Qiao Jiasheng still hoped his cousin could marry someone of higher status. In his opinion, his cousin was beautiful, had a good personality, and his aunt was preparing a dowry for her. In every aspect, his cousin was the best girl he knew. "I think we can give it a try. Who knows if it will work out?"

Qiao Manhua looked at her son for a moment, then laughed, "If such a thing were to happen, your aunt would have gone to the Lu family to propose marriage long ago. Besides, the two families live so close together, if Lord Lu were interested, wouldn't he send someone to propose marriage?"

"Don't think about it too much. After the New Year, I should be arranging a marriage for you. Hurry up and get to work. Lord Lu is paying us to work, not to have you here to chat!"

Qiao Manhua stayed at the Lu family's new house at night to make it convenient for him to work every day, but the Qiao family would invite them to dinner.

When Qiao Mianmian returned to the food stall in the afternoon, she came over to call them.

"Mianmian, wait a minute, my dad went to the outhouse." Qiao Jiasheng was pruning a magnolia tree. He didn't need to prune it much this season, just trim it neatly, and would prune new branches in the spring.

After he finished trimming, he went to find his father.

"No rush." ​​Qiao Mianmian strolled around the garden alone. Since no one else was around, she was more relaxed. She noticed the koi in the pond and saw that they weren't afraid of people at all when she squatted down. Many of the koi swam over. "It's so nice to have a pond at home. If we raise some other fish and plant lotus roots, we can eat lotus seeds in the summer, lotus roots in the autumn, and fish in the winter."

She patted the water's surface, splashing water everywhere, and the koi scattered again.

"And what about spring?"

Suddenly hearing a sound, Qiao Mianmian trembled in fright, her body uncontrollably slamming towards the surface of the pond. Just as she was about to fall into the water, she screamed, thinking she was definitely going to fall in this time. But then a strong, thick hand grabbed her wrist and suddenly pulled her up.

Perhaps the other person didn't expect this outcome either; he couldn't dodge in time, and the two collided head-on.

Qiao Mianmian looked up and hurriedly moved away, "Lord Lu... what are you doing here?"

After asking the question, she immediately felt stupid. This was the Lu residence, and it wasn't strange that Lu Zhao was here. She quickly explained, "I came to call Uncle San and the others for dinner. Uncle San went to the outhouse, and Brother Jiasheng told me to wait here for a while."

"Hmm." A faint scent of soapberry lingered around Lu Zhao's nose, along with another delicate fragrance that he couldn't quite describe.

Hearing Lu Zhao's simple reply, Qiao Mianmian felt even more embarrassed, wondering why her third uncle and the others hadn't arrived yet.

In truth, Lu Zhao was also embarrassed. The girl's arms were so soft and delicate that he felt they would break if he used too much force. His palms were sweating.

The two stood there silently, their eyes meeting briefly before they exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

After a while, Qiao Mianmian felt really uncomfortable, and since her third uncle and the others hadn't arrived yet, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "What did you just say?"

"Oh, I was asking what we can eat in spring?" Lu Zhao asked.

"In spring, you can plant some bamboo by the pond. The bamboo shoots are tender and delicious when stir-fried, or dried and eaten all year round." Qiao Mianmian's eyes lit up when she talked about food; she was unaware of how radiant she was, only thinking about what to eat. "Your garden must be regularly tended, so wild vegetables don't grow there. Otherwise, by the river or stream, in spring, you'd find plenty of wild vegetables to pick. Shepherd's purse can be used to make dumplings, and bracken stir-fried with cured meat are top-notch country delicacies!"

As she spoke, she felt a little hungry and looked back. "Strange, why haven't my third uncle and cousin arrived yet?"

Lu Zhao also turned his head to look, just then Qingjiu arrived. Qingjiu took the initiative to suggest, "Miss Qiao, let me go and see what's going on for you."

When Qingjiu went to find someone, Qiao Manhua and his son quickly ran over. Qiao Manhua said, "My legs went numb from squatting just now, and it took me a while to recover. It was only after Qingjiu massaged them that I felt better. Lord Lu, we'll take our leave now."

He called his son and niece, and they tidied up and prepared to have dinner at Qiao's Restaurant.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao glanced at Qingjiu.

Qingjiu said proudly, "I've been practicing martial arts with you since I was little, so I have some skills in helping people clear their meridians!"

After he finished speaking, he waited for his master to praise him, but after the Qiao family left, his master didn't say a word of praise. He then asked, "Sir, am I really alright?"

Lu Zhao didn't answer, but turned around and said, "I think the wardrobe in the storeroom is in a bad location. Go and move it to the east side so it won't get damaged by the sun."

"Am I going alone?" Qingjiu felt she couldn't carry such a big wardrobe.

"Yes, I believe you can do it. I'll go check out the others." Lu Zhao turned out of the garden. For some reason, when Miss Qiao was talking about food, he also wanted to laugh.