Chapter 54 Sweet and Sour Pork

"That's what I was saying. It doesn't look like a fall at all."

"That's right. He was still alive and kicking before, but he fell to the ground after being exposed. It was faster than the face-changing on the stage!"

"The day before yesterday, I saw her stealing cloth in a cloth shop!" an old lady shouted at the top of her voice.

"And me! Last month, she brought her eldest grandson to eat noodles at my noodle stall. After the meal, she said there were bugs in the noodles and extorted five taels of silver from me!" A tall and thin man also stood up.

"She also stole my chickens!" a child's voice came from the crowd.

"She also often went to Grandma Li's house to eat and take things, bullying her because she was blind."

For a time, voices exposing the evil deeds of Old Lady Sun came one after another and surged towards her like a tide.

Old Mrs. Sun’s face was pale and her eyes were evasive. Before she could be interrogated, she confessed everything.

She wanted her eldest grandson to help out in the Gu family restaurant, but was rejected by He. She was so angry that she falsely accused He of accepting her benefits and taking her gold hairpin in order to destroy Gu Yunyi's reputation. This way, she could blackmail the Gu family and force them to pay more money to send her away.

Old lady Sun is such an old person, yet she loves to throw tantrums and try to commit suicide. There is no point in talking to her. Most people who meet such a person would just consider themselves unlucky and just pay her money to get rid of her.

Now seeing that Old Lady Sun had hit a wall and was in trouble, she would definitely not let go of this opportunity. Some people who had previously spoken in favor of Old Lady Sun now fell silent.

Gu Yunyi saw Xu Qingmeng coming out, and stepped forward and said, "Come on, go in, the matter has been resolved."

As the two walked in, Xu Qingmeng asked, "How will the government handle this?"

"Although this old lady Sun is hateful, her crime does not warrant severe punishment. I have already told the government that the matter regarding the Gu family will not be pursued. All she needs to do is apologize at the door and explain the matter clearly."

Xu Qingmeng nodded, it was exactly what she thought.

It's not that they are easy to talk to. After all, they still have to live here, and the Gu family restaurant still has to be run. Moreover, the government will not give them an easy time. Now they are just trying to be good people.

"She is trying to get close to an official appointed by the imperial court. Slander is a serious crime. She is also very particular about her work. She has offended many neighbors and merchants. She will definitely have to pay a lot of money. She will inevitably spend a few years in jail."

Xu Qingmeng suddenly realized and couldn't help but sigh. This old lady Sun relied on her age to bully people in the West District for many years and did a lot of fraud and extortion. Now the government will definitely settle accounts with her. Considering her age, it is unknown how many years she can last.

"Where's Er Laizi?"

Gu Yunyi shook his head: "I didn't see it."

Such a big thing even alarmed the police. Everyone in the entire West Street knew about it. It was impossible for this idiot not to know about it. He didn't even show his head, and his house was empty.

Er Laizi is the same as Old Lady Sun, stealing and extorting money all day long. Last time, he even seduced Yun Sheng. No one knows what he is planning.

The two of them came to the kitchen, but gave up thinking about it because there were guests ahead.

"Let's eat first and bring all these over."

"Hmm. Why is there an extra copy?"

"The two kids at home are quite noisy, and Xinting and Xunge are still a little nervous, so just let them stay in the kitchen."

"Okay, but I still need more teaching in the future."

"Um, do you and Mr. Huang need some drinks?"

"No need, just a quick meal will do."

Everyone brought the food to the main hall. Although there were not many dishes, the quantity was large.

After all, so much fish is prepared for the lunch set meal, and all the dishes involving hairtail are served in a big pot.

The staple food prepared by Xu Qingmeng was rice.

Although the presentation of the dishes on this large table is not exquisite, it is enough to make people drool at the sight of it.

There was a huge table of food, and Mrs. Huang's eyes were always on the sweet dishes.

"What's this?"

Xu Qingmeng: "Mrs. Huang, this is sweet and sour pork tenderloin, try it and see if it suits your taste."

Sweet and Sour Pork has a very long history. It is said that this famous dish existed during the Qin Dynasty. At that time, Qin Shi Huang liked both sweet and sour food very much. So, in order to let Qin Shi Huang have delicious meals, her mother called on people all over the world to cook this dish for him.

If this dish is cooked well, it can be reused, and it has been passed down to this day and has become the well-known sweet and sour pork.

Sweet and sour pork tenderloin is one of the classic traditional Chinese dishes. It can be found in Shandong cuisine, Henan cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Fujian cuisine.

What Xu Qingmeng learned was the cooking method of Shandong cuisine, which uses pork tenderloin as the main ingredient, and adds flour, starch, vinegar and other condiments. It is sweet and sour and delicious, which whets people's appetite.

Use the back of a knife to loosen the tenderloin, cut it into strips, add cooking wine, salt, and an egg, mix well, and marinate for about half a quarter of an hour.

Coat the marinated tenderloin with appropriate amount of starch and tap off the excess.

Heat oil in a pan until it is 60% hot, add the breaded tenderloin, and fry over medium-low heat until cooked through.

Wait until the oil pan is 90% hot and fry it for the second time. Fry over high heat until the surface is golden and crispy. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Leave a little oil in the pot, add an appropriate amount of tomato sauce and stir-fry over medium heat, add a little white vinegar, salt, sugar and a little water, then pour in a small bowl of water starch, turn to high heat to thicken the sauce.

Add the fried tenderloin and stir-fry. After it is evenly coated with tomato sauce, it is ready to serve.

Finally, sprinkle with a little cooked sesame seeds and chopped green onions.

The sweet and sour pork tenderloin is caramel-colored, with rich sauce covering the entire meat, making it very appetizing.

Xu Qingmeng was very satisfied with the meal, but she didn't know whether it would suit Mrs. Huang's taste.

Mrs. Huang didn't hesitate and picked up the chopsticks directly.

Pick up a piece of sweet and sour pork tenderloin and put it in your mouth. Instantly, the sweet and sour taste bursts in your mouth. The perfect combination of the crispy skin and the tender pork tenderloin makes you want to pick up another piece.

"It's delicious, so delicious!" Mrs. Huang praised it endlessly, with a satisfied smile on her face. "I have eaten this sweet and sour pork tenderloin before, but I never thought it was worthy of import. Mrs. Gu's cooking skills are really amazing."

He's heart finally settled down, and she felt quite proud of herself because she thought Meng Niang's craftsmanship was good.

Mrs. Huang not only tried the sweet and sour pork, but also tried all the remaining sweet dishes. She praised every one of them and even had the urge to take Xu Qingmeng home.

"Madam Gu, your cooking skills are so good that even the chef of Zuixianlou may not be able to match yours!"

Zuixianlou is the most famous restaurant in the city. The skills of its chef are among the best in the whole city. The dishes are exquisite and expensive. All those who can eat there are dignitaries!

(End of this chapter)