Chapter 66 Meeting with Pickled Pepper Rice Noodles
Yu Zhile only slept for a short while before going to the kitchen to pack some dried seafood and mud snails for Yu Peilan to take back to the provincial capital.
The two looked at each other for a minute. Her breathing quickened and she was the first to look away.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know that sleeping helps the wound heal?" Yu Zhile's eyes fell on the gauze on Zhou Yuesheng's arm.
Looking down further she saw the ink on his fingertips.
Zhou Yuesheng responded: "I can't sleep, let me help you pack your things."
He could guess why Yu Zhile appeared in the yard at this time.
The air in the small kitchen was stuffy.
The two people stood side by side in front of the storage rack, no more than a fist's distance apart. If they moved too much, they would hit each other's arms.
Dried abalone and dried sea cucumber need to be stored in a moisture-proof manner, so Yu Zhile specially uses clean canning bottles to pack them.
"I don't want that plan anymore." Yu Zhile spoke amid the sound of oil paper rubbing against each other.
The packaging of kelp and wakame is much more casual. Put a large handful of them into large oil paper, wrap them with Chinese medicine paper, and then secure them with hemp rope.
Zhou Yuesheng paused and said, "I want to write it."
"You." Yu Zhile pursed his lips and spoke after a while, "It's up to you."
There was some content in her words of anger. After she said it, she carried the seafood out of the kitchen.
Zhou Yuesheng took a long step and caught up to explain: "There is a notebook in the book that Brother Guang borrowed. It records the research process of a professor. The scientific breeding methods in it are very suitable for Haiyu Village."
Then he went back to the west room, took out the notebook and handed it to her.
The notebook was spread out on the table. Yu Zhile was flipping through the experimental records, and Zhou Yuesheng pointed out the points that deserved special attention from time to time.
"Where did you borrow it from?" Yu Zhile asked.
I have to say that the content of this book is indeed very suitable for the current development conditions of Haiyu Village. If we can invite experimenters to provide on-site guidance, we will avoid many detours.
Zhou Yuesheng replied: "The cultural center in town."
Yu Zhile took note of this place and planned to ask about it the next time he went to town.
"Cough, cough." Yu Haiguang suddenly coughed.
Yu Zhile then realized that she and Zhou Yuesheng were very close. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.
"I have written the framework and will give it to you tonight when it is finished." Zhou Yuesheng straightened his back.
Yu Zhile nodded and closed the notebook.
Zhou Yuesheng took out other materials from the west room and continued to complete the plan on the long table.
"I said I would help him write it, but he didn't want to." Yu Haiguang folded his arms and sat next to Yu Zhile.
Yu Zhile was looking through the notebook he used to record his side job group's plans and making revisions based on the experimental results.
She scratched the paper with the pen in her hand and said nonchalantly, "What do you care about him?"
Yu Haiguang saw her little action and shook his head helplessly.
The sun gradually set and everyone came out of the house.
When it was time to leave, Yu Peilan reluctantly held Yu Zhile's hand and said, "I really want to take you back to the provincial capital."
Yu Zhile broke free from her hand and snuggled in her arms.
Finally, the jeep disappeared at the end of the trail.
That night, Zhou Yuesheng handed the ten thousand word plan to Yu Zhile.
Yu Zhile put it in the notebook and planned to find time to have a small meeting with Zhang Wenxin and Ge Tai.
In the following two days, other kitchen utensils from the snack stand and large quantities of rice noodles ordered from the neighboring village were delivered to Yu's home.
On the afternoon when all the things arrived, the six people in the sideline group gathered at Yu's house.
"Let me first tell you about the schedule for the day we go to the market." Yu Zhile asked everyone to sit around the long table. "It will be quite tiring that day, so we will have a whole day of rest the next day."
The rice noodles need to be made on the spot, and it takes nearly two hours to get from Haiyu Village to the city, so I had to go to Yu’s house at four in the morning to help make the rice noodles.
"We arrive in the city around seven o'clock, and mainly do business between seven to eight and five to six in the afternoon. We can find a place to rest at noon," Yu Zhile continued.
Then, she clarified the division of labor and the entire process for the day, and told the people that their first stall would be set for three days later.
During the last meal, everyone was assigned tasks, and the next step was for everyone to report on the work they were responsible for.
"Next month's stalls have been determined by drawing lots, and our stall is in the middle section." Ge Tai was responsible for determining the stalls and went to the city to draw lots two days ago.
This location is not a good one for a food stall.
"It doesn't matter. The flavor of the noodles made by Lele can be smelled throughout the whole market." Zhang Wenxin is optimistic about this.
Zhang Haimei, who is in charge of sprouting beans, replied: "The sprouts are growing well. Half a pound of beans can produce about six pounds of sprouts."
"The vegetable fields have been cultivated and the vegetables have been planted." Zhang Hailan reported in a low voice.
On the second day after the sideline group was established, Yu Zhile asked the village for a piece of land to grow vegetables to ensure the supply of vegetables for the stall in the future.
The task of daily maintenance of the vegetable field was given to Zhang Hailan and Zhang Haizhu.
The vegetables from the previous month will be purchased in the village at market price, and the accounts will be kept and settled when the money is distributed at the end of the year.
Zhang Wenxin was in charge of the tables and chairs. These few days, she searched the warehouse for broken tables and chairs and asked her three brothers to fix them, and she finally made four large tables and seventeen benches.
Yu Zhile ticked the boxes on his notebook as he listened.
Everything is ready.
"Haimei, you three sisters, learn from me how to make rice noodles and stir-fry. I will leave the stall to you in the future." She closed her notebook and stood up.
Zhang Haimei and her two sisters were a little surprised.
"Do you have the confidence to take over the stall and run it well?" Yu Zhile asked.
Zhang Haimei and her two sisters looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes."
The three people's voices were not loud, but firm and powerful.
"It's best to use old rice to make rice noodles. One pound of rice can make three pounds of noodles." Yu Zhile took the three of them to see the rice she had soaked a few hours ago. "The rice needs to be soaked three or four hours in advance, and the rice noodles need to be soaked one night in advance."
Zhang Wenxin and Ge Tai followed suit and studied.
"After the rice is soaked, drain all the water and prepare another basin of water." Yu Zhile used a bamboo scoop to scoop the rice out of the bucket. "One pound of rice and three pounds of water. If there is too little water, the rice paste will be too thick, and if there is too much water, the rice noodles will not form. Add some salt to the ground rice paste."
Zhang Haimei carefully wrote down every key point.
Afterwards, several people took turns adding the rice to the small millstone and grinding it into rice slurry.
Boil water in an iron pot and generate steam. Pour a spoonful of rice paste onto a bamboo winnowing basket and shake it left and right to mix well.
“Spread it as evenly as possible. Steam it until bubbles appear and it’s cooked. Let it cool and then fold it up.” Yu Zhile covered the pot.
About two minutes later, she opened the lid and a few big bubbles came out of the rice noodle.
The three Zhang sisters started to practice without stopping and steamed the next pot.
When the second rice wrapper came out of the pot, Yu Zhile lifted the first one and applied a layer of oil on the surface with a brush.
"Is this to prevent them from sticking together?" Zhang Haizhu asked timidly.
Yu Zhile nodded and praised: "Haizhu is very smart. If you have any questions in the future, you should ask immediately."
Zhang Haizhu's face turned slightly red due to the praise, but her eyes were sparkling.
"Okay." Everyone responded.
Next, it was time for the highlight of today’s meeting – learning how to stir-fry ingredients.
The first jar of pickled peppers has been pickled for about half a month and is ready to be opened.
"The kimchi jar must not be stained by oil, otherwise it will become moldy and the whole jar will be inedible." Yu Zhile reminded him again and again before opening the jar.
A unique fermented smell spread in the yard, sour with a hint of spiciness, stimulating the taste buds of everyone present.
"No wonder Lele said the word appetizing. I can drink two bowls of porridge just by smelling this." Zhang Wenxin swallowed.
Yu Zhile picked out a full bowl with a clean bamboo stick and said, "You can eat it directly."
Zhang Wenxin couldn't wait to pick one and put it in her mouth.
The moment she chewed, the spicy and sour taste burst out on her tongue, increasing her appetite.
"Hiss, it's a little spicy, but it tastes good," commented Zhang Wenxin.
Hearing this, others began to try.
"Hmm, very appetizing." Ge Tai chewed one without changing his expression.
The three Zhang sisters can't eat spicy food very well, and their faces turned red after just two bites.
Everyone wanted to learn, and the kitchen couldn't accommodate so many people, so Yu Zhile simply used a small stove to cook in the yard.
"The first step is to boil the dried chilies until they are soft, and then mash them into a glutinous rice cake shape." She poured the dried chilies into the boiling water, stirring occasionally.
The pungent smell caused sneezing sounds to occur one after another, but Yu Zhile was the only one who was not affected at all.
She chopped up the pickled peppers and said, "When setting up the stall, we also add pickled ginger to the base, which is also chopped up."
Pour the chili water out of the pot, boil it until it is dry, then add chopped onion and celery when it starts to bubble around the chopsticks.
The vegetables in the pot gradually turned yellow, and the aroma of onions and celery was fried out.
"Put the chili peppers along the edge of the pot first to prevent the oil from splashing out." Yu Zhile carefully added the glutinous rice cake chili peppers into the oil.
Fry the chili skin until dry, then add a handful of Sichuan peppercorns to bring out the aroma, and finally pour in the chopped pickled peppers and keep stir-frying.
The water in the pot continues to evaporate, and the color of the base material turns into an attractive red.
"Stir the food constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Add two spoons of white wine before serving." Yu Zhile poured in the white wine and added firewood.
The fried pickled pepper base is bright red in color and has a more complex flavor than simple pickled peppers or chili peppers. The combination of spicy and sour is just right, mellow and rich.
Everyone's olfactory system was firmly invaded by the salty, fragrant, sour and spicy tastes.
"The base ingredients are usually fried one day in advance, and the taste will be better if left to sit overnight," said Yu Zhile.
The main purpose of today was to learn, so she did not strictly follow the recipe and steps.
At that time, Chen Zhao had just finished work.
She simply scooped up a spoonful of the base sauce, added hot water and brought it to a boil, then added the chopped rice noodles and vegetables prepared in advance, and blanched them before serving.
Except Zhou Yuesheng, everyone ate pickled pepper rice noodles.
The red oil floating on the soup adds a bit of appetite to the rice noodles.
The delicate and glutinous rice noodles go well with the pickled pepper base, and the first bite amazed everyone and made everyone praise it.
"I think your table will not have enough space." Chen Zhao smacked his lips in savor.
For the first time, Zhang Wenxin agreed with Chen Zhao's words and planned to find two more sets of tables and chairs.
At this moment, everyone in the sideline group was looking forward to the arrival of the big market day.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
