Chapter 107: Madam Qi. (Second update)...
Linzhi teased the puppy for a while, then went back and asked someone to go to the neighborhood dairy to get some goat milk for the puppy. She also brought chicken breast, eggs, carrots and pumpkin, and made delicious dog food for the puppy.
The little black dog soon got a name: Xiao Hei.
The family naturally kept Xiao Hei in the backyard. Unexpectedly, the two grown hens were quite unhappy with his arrival. They would stalk him from left to right, flapping their wings and rushing forward to chatter whenever he got close.
The little black dog was frightened and started howling and running around the yard like a headless fly.
Linzhi stepped forward to stop them twice and even caged the two chickens. Unexpectedly, as soon as he saw the chickens in the cage, Xiao Hei's tail immediately rose to the sky. He rubbed his short legs against the ground and barked outside the cage, demonstrating the meaning of "a dog relying on the power of its master" to the fullest.
Linzhi looked at it expressionlessly and fumbled to pull out the latch on the cage.
Almost at the same time, Xiao Hei's cry stopped abruptly.
The next moment, two aggressive hens came out of the cage and chased Xiao Hei around the yard, making a scene, until the donkey's dissatisfied humming sound finally subsided.
"You." Song Jiaoniang, who had watched the whole thing, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "You're already a disciple, yet you're still bullying a puppy."
"Mom doesn't understand. Puppies are easiest to bully when they are young. From now on, you won't have the chance to bully them!" Lin Zhi said with a smile, and put Xiao Hei into the warm doghouse.
"Oh, I can't argue with you—that's right." Song Jiaoniang took Lin Zhi to see what Lin Sen had brought back from the countryside and asked, "What did you want your father to collect so many green dates for?"
"I think I need to prepare in advance."
"Prepare in advance?" Song Jiaoniang didn't hear and asked in confusion.
"Our Huasu is our signature dish." Linzhi picked up a handful of green dates, looked at their size and color, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Of course! Everyone praises it!" Song Jiaoniang was very proud when she heard this. Linzhiji Flower Pastry, after the roast goose, had become another Linzhiji signature dish, selling over 200 boxes daily. At 40 wen each, each of the four pieces sold brought in a daily turnover of 32 guan.
In fact, among the gift boxes sold in the store, large ones with sixteen or eight pieces account for the vast majority, so the daily sales volume usually reaches about eighty guan. Adding the other food sold separately and the special styles that are pre-ordered, the daily revenue from this item alone exceeds one hundred guan.
"Then mother should also know that there are already seven or eight fruit shops in Bianjing City that sell similar flower cakes, right?" Lin Zhi asked back.
Song Jiaoniang nodded. Such a hot business naturally attracted the imitation of fruit shops all over Bianjing. Therefore, her daughter would launch new products with new flavors every month, or launch new products in accordance with the seasons and festivals, and add some other fruits from time to time.
"I want to prepare for the Dragon Boat Festival later."
"Why are you suddenly talking about the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"What I'm going to make this time is the filling for the rice dumplings."
"...Zongzi fillings? Isn't that just red bean paste or something?" Song Jiaoniang was even more confused. These days, during the Dragon Boat Festival, people mainly eat sweet rice dumplings and sweet glutinous rice balls. Instead of stuffing them with fillings, they place the triangular or round glutinous rice balls on bamboo leaves and pour sweet honey over them.
Of course, if they are wealthy, they will put red bean paste in it and then pour a layer of honey on it. One bite will fill your mouth with sweetness.
Linzhi was a fan of salty food in his previous life, but he also made quite a few sweet rice dumplings. In this life, his attitude towards rice dumplings is the same as his attitude towards wontons last time. Anyway, we will focus on what the customers like to eat, so it is imperative to prepare sweet rice dumplings.
Seeing that Song Jiaoniang didn't understand, she picked up a green date and said, "I'm planning to improve the filling of the rice dumplings. The preserved dates on the market taste okay, but not to the level I want."
"Are you planning to make preserved dates yourself?" Song Jiaoniang finally understood, then was shocked again: "Putting preserved dates in the rice dumplings?"
"Hmm, jujube paste is a perfect partner." Lin Zhi was full of energy. She poured the whole bag of red dates into the vat and cleaned them. "Mom, go to the front and call a few people to help me deal with the green dates."
"Okay." Song Jiaoniang called a few people to the shop and then joined the team to remove the date pits. Holding a specially made knife handle, she inserted it vertically into the depression at the end of the green date and removed the date pit.
She puts the green dates with the pits removed in a basin, and then the next person takes over and uses a specific tool to make consistent depth cuts on the dates.
These cuts allow the green dates to absorb as much sweet juice as possible when they are stewed later, turning them into sweet candied dates.
Linzhi brings the processed green dates into the kitchen, pours them into the pot, adds honey and rock honey, then scoops in enough water to cover the green dates, and stews them over high heat.
Linzhi holds a spatula and keeps turning the green dates in the pot. The key to whether the candied dates can be excellent lies in the movements of her hands.
Driven by the heat, the honey and rock honey melt into the clear water, creating crystal bubbles that wrap each green date tightly.
This stirring and frying process would take more than half an hour. Although his arms were numb, Lin Zhi had no intention of asking others to take over, and continued to work step by step.
Until the sweet fragrance of dates fills the entire kitchen, and the green dates in the pot shed their old green clothes and are wrapped in a new amber coat, becoming golden and moist, Linzhi pours them out and spreads them flat in the basin to cool.
After all the candied dates were made, Song Jiaoniang picked up one and put it in her mouth: "So sweet!"
"It's not finished yet, don't eat it secretly!"
"Not finished yet?" Song Jiaonian watched Lin Zhi move a few charcoal stoves into the warehouse, throw the dried candied dates into a hollow bamboo basket, and place it on the stove to slowly bake it over a low fire.
This kind of baking will take at least three days.
During this period, Linzhi repeatedly entered the process, adjusted the firepower, turned the candied dates over and shook them evenly... until a layer of white frost condensed on the surface of the candied dates, and then the job was done.
At first glance, the candied dates made in this way are not as beautiful as the fried ones, and look gray and dirty.
Song Jiaoniang put it into her mouth half-believingly and was immediately shocked by the sweet taste: "How can it be so sweet? So fragrant!"
This wasn't a preserved fruit at all; it looked more like a pool of solidified honey. Forget wrapping it in a zongzi; Song Jiaoniang felt it should be sold directly as preserved fruit, which would surely be a huge hit.
That's what she thought and said.
Linzhi was too lazy to pay attention to her. She didn't want her shop to have another business - after all, the servants in charge of roast goose and fried food across the street were already complaining and hoping that Linzhi could open one or two branches.
Lin Zhi finished playing with the candied dates and finally had the heart to play with Xiao Hei. She looked around, searching for the little guy, and was soon surprised: "Why is Xiao Hei sleeping among the hens?"
Looking around, I saw two hens lying down in the sun, and Xiao Hei, who was once their mortal enemy, was sleeping in the middle with his legs spread out.
"We ran into a weasel last time." Song Jiaoniang laughed. "Before, they would fight every day, but then one day they saw a weasel sneak in, and the three of them united against each other, and their relationship improved immediately."
Linzhi couldn't help it, she picked it up and rubbed it, until the sleepy puppy's eyes widened and it hummed, then she put it on her knees and coaxed it to go back to sleep.
The little black boy closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Seeing Lin Zhi's eyes rolling, and reaching out to poke Xiao Hei again, Song Jiaoniang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "My ancestor, please stop teasing it!"
Lin Zhi chuckled, turned around and told the maid in the shop to pack two bags of candied dates, intending to let Chen Yan take them back as a snack when he came to eat.
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
After hearing the servant's announcement, Lin Zhi stood up, holding Xiao Hei in her arms, and walked out while saying loudly, "Yan'er, why are you here so early today? Ah!"
Lin Zhi saw several figures and quickly turned around and shouted, "Dad, Mom, Tao Lang and Madam Qi are here!"
Tao Lang, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, stood there, with a young woman of good looks and a solemn expression beside him. Behind them stood a dozen servants and maids, looking very impressive.
After saying this, Linzhi went out to greet the man.
At this time, Madam Qi secretly looked at the young lady. She was pretty and dressed simply. She didn't show any panic when she saw her. Instead, she came forward to greet her in a graceful manner. Her heart was relieved.
She had been married to Tao Lang for only a month, but she had never expected that Tao Lang would not want to go home and would be busy in the Dali Temple every day.
She delivered meals every day, but received no response, and even asked him to send someone to tell her that she didn't need to deliver meals anymore.
Madam Qi was worried, and she heard people in the Tao Mansion gossiping that Tao Lang went to the Linzhiji Shop every day before his marriage. She couldn't help but make an excuse to visit Tao Lang and have dinner with him, so she came here.
Linzhi was also looking at her. She saw that this Lady Qi not only had a good complexion, but was also wearing a light red shirt with a long silk skirt, which made her skin look even fairer and her face more pretty.
Men like beautiful women, and women like beautiful women too.
Lin Zhi looked at Madam Qi and liked her more and more. She smiled and said, "Sister, you're even more beautiful than on your wedding day! I wanted to say it last time, Mr. Tao and Madam Qi are truly a match made in heaven!"
Madam Qi had already suspected she'd made a mistake, and now she was even more certain. Her face flushed with shame, no longer as cold as when she first entered. She hurried forward and shook Lin Zhi's hand, "I heard from my husband that you're a master in the kitchen. That glazed peony dish, praised even by saints, was made by you."
They stood and exchanged a few pleasantries before sitting down to talk. Lin Zhi had the shopkeeper serve some fruit and tea before continuing their small talk. After asking a few questions, she understood what Madam Qi was thinking, so she left it to Song Jiaoniang and listened to what Tao Lang and Shen Yan were saying.
Halfway through, she gasped in amazement: "Why do we find more and more things the more we investigate? And they're all connected together."
It turned out that Madam Hua filed a complaint against Manager Zheng, which resulted in his brother, nephew, and his new wife's family being sent to prison. She then received a large reward.
For this reason, the Hua family came up again.
Perhaps having tasted the sweetness of success, Hua Niangzi decided to go all out and directly sued Hua Erlang to the government.
At first, they only reported him for gambling and blackmailing others. Unexpectedly, when the Dali Temple investigated, they found that he was also involved in extortion, and the target was the husband of Mrs. Rong who worked in Liurong Restaurant.
Further investigation revealed another case of fraud.
He conspired with Madam Rong's husband to defraud Madam Rong.
When Rong Niangzi's husband was arrested and investigated, it was discovered that he had committed murder. The person he killed was the one who lured Rong Xiaolang into the casino. He even wanted to murder Hua Erlang, but he never had the time to do it.
Lin Zhi held her forehead: "...Ah?"
When Chen Yan talked about this case, he was so angry that his teeth itched. He told Lin Zhi about his previous investigation. He was very depressed afterwards: "I even arrested Rong Xiaolang and charged him with murder in order to verify this case."
"There was no follow-up at the time, and the body was never found. Ultimately, we had no choice but to release Rong Xiaolang and put the case back into the unsolved mystery category."
"I didn't expect that the murderer was not in a hurry because he was right next to her!" As Rong Xiaoniang's husband, he was able to understand the progress of the case right next to her. It was a pity for Rong Xiaoniang, who didn't know that she had married an evil ghost.
Until the authorities came to arrest people, she still believed Hua Erlang's sweet words, believing that her husband had the ability to help her brother solve the background problem. She dreamed that her brother could return to Mingdao College to study again, but she didn't expect that one of the culprits was her partner.
A group of people were chattering about the case, but Madam Qi, who was sitting next to them, couldn't find a chance to interrupt for a long time and was sitting there feeling very bored.
She felt that these cases were very strange and she didn't want to hear Tao Lang mention them at home. She even hoped that Tao Lang could leave the Dali Temple as soon as possible.
Who would have thought they could chat for so long!
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