Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Oyster sauce.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Lin Zhi felt that they were too blunt, and she quickly added, "I've heard about your family, but when I came in, I saw that you've kept your shop tidy and clean. It doesn't look like you're about to close down."
Madam Lu was surprised at first, but after hearing Lin Zhi's words, she smiled bitterly and said, "What you heard is true, my family originally wanted to sell the shop."
Her eyes were slightly red: "It's just... it's no longer necessary now."
"The young lady knows I'm selling the shop, and she must also know about my husband's disappearance. After my family learned of his disappearance, they rushed to Quanzhou to look for him, wanting to see him alive or dead."
"But yesterday the government sent word that his body had been found."
When Madam Lu said this, her expression lost its composure and her voice grew increasingly rough. "In a few days, I will take my children to Hezhou to bring back my husband's coffin."
Lin Zhi was shocked and blurted out, "Hezhou? Could it be that your husband was killed by that gang of bandits?!"
Madam Lu suddenly looked up and looked at Lin Zhi in surprise and doubt: "How did you know?"
The news only arrived yesterday, and she had just gone to the pawnshop this morning to tear down the news of the sale of her shop. The news that the Hezhou robbery case had been solved had not yet spread.
Madam Lu suddenly remembered what the officer told her: it was a family of three who discovered the clues to this matter. The man's surname was Lin and the woman's surname was Song.
She stared at Lin Zhi intently: "You, could it be that you are Miss Song from Taiping Prefecture?"
"I'm not Madam Song, that's my mother." Lin Zhi had never imagined such a coincidence and quickly explained, "My family just happened to run into that gang of bandits and we were nearly killed by them!"
"Thank you so much, thank you so much!" Madam Lu finally understood. She took two quick steps forward, grasped Lin Zhi's hand, and was about to bow, but Lin Zhi held her back. "Madam Lu, please get up. We didn't do anything."
"How can you say you didn't do anything?" Madam Lu's voice trembled. "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never be able to avenge my husband in this lifetime!"
After that, she asked Lin Zhi: "Mrs. Lin, whatever spices you want to buy, just buy them. I will take care of all the spices for your family in the future—"
Lin Zhi hurriedly stopped him, "No, no, my family runs a food store!"
Madam Lu pretended not to hear anything, her hands moving non-stop, filling the bag with various spices and stuffing them all into Linzhi's hands: "Here, you will definitely need these!"
This was not enough, so she opened the jar and wanted to scoop some bean paste and noodle paste for Linzhi.
Linzhi didn't feel comfortable taking anything more, so she quickly put the things on the ground and stepped forward to stop her. After much persuasion, she finally persuaded Madam Lu to stop.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, a familiar delicious smell suddenly reached her nose.
Lin Zhi followed the aroma and looked at the pottery jar placed alone on the side: "Madam Lu, what seasoning is in that jar?"
Madam Lu looked at the pottery jar, her eyes filled with nostalgia. "This is the oyster sauce my husband accidentally bought from a local old man when he went back to Lingnan to buy supplies. It's said to be made from the meat of a kind of shellfish called oysters. Locals often use it to make soup, and it's very delicious."
"My husband had never seen this item in Bianjing, so he brought it back to Bianjing, hoping to use it to revive Hu Ji's reputation."
"Unfortunately, he didn't know how to make the dish, and the food store where I bought the spices didn't recognize them either. They'd been sitting there for months with no one interested."
"My husband just had an idea. He said he wanted to go to Lingnan again to learn how to make oyster sauce and import some more so that all the shops in Bianjing City would know how delicious it is. I never thought, I never thought..."
Madam Lu choked up again before she finished speaking.
Linzhi secretly added what Madam Lu had not said, but he never thought that he would lose his life on the way.
She was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Madam Lu, your husband is right. This is indeed a top-notch seasoning."
Madam Lu stood there in a daze, seemingly in disbelief.
Lin Zhi said gently, "How about tomorrow, I can use it to make a few dishes for you and your family to try?"
The shop was completely silent, with only the sound of their breathing to be heard. Lin Zhi waited patiently, and after a moment, a trembling voice echoed in her ears: "Okay."
…
When Linzhi returned to Zhangji Inn, it was already dark. Lin Sen and his wife were standing outside the inn, peeking around, with anxious looks on their faces.
It wasn't until Linzhi got off the donkey cart that the couple breathed a sigh of relief. They walked over and asked angrily, "Why are you back so late?"
"Go earlier in the future!"
"Look at the sky, it's pitch black!"
"I encountered something on the way." Lin Zhi knew that her parents were worried, so she answered their questions one by one: "I understand. I will definitely come earlier next time."
"You want another time!" Lin Sen muttered as he took the bags from his daughter and carried them back to the house. He put down the heavy bag and couldn't help but mutter, "How many spices did you buy, kid... Oh!"
As soon as he opened the bag, Lin Sen's eyes widened - a bag full of pepper, a bag full of Sichuan peppercorns, and a bag full of magnolia, star anise, cinnamon, cloves... and even many spices that he couldn't recognize.
Song Jiaoniang heard the startled cry and leaned forward to take a look, her scalp tingling. She clenched her teeth, suddenly remembering her daughter instigating the two of them to buy a shop. She turned around and grabbed Lin Zhi's ear: "You little girl, how could you, how could you buy things like that?"
She clutched her chest and asked, "Tell me, how much did you spend?"
Song Jiaoniang knew that her daughter loved to use spices, so she wasted a lot of money when cooking on the road. At that time, the ingredients and spices were all provided by Tao Lang, and it was said that they were all counted as the government's expenses, so she turned a blind eye.
But now, all we spend is our own money!
Song Jiaoniang knew that peppercorns, cinnamon, and even bay leaves were relatively cheap, but pepper and star anise were still imported products and were very expensive. It would cost more than ten strings of coins to buy a pound.
There were one bag, two bags, three bags full in front of her... Song Jiaoniang's eyes became darker and darker, and she wondered if her daughter had exchanged all the silver and money in her hands for spices.
"Mom, what are you thinking about?" Lin Zhi laughed in anger, pushing Lin Sen and his wife to sit down: "This is what I just wanted to say. In fact..."
Lin Zhi explained the whole story and said helplessly, "I had to persuade Madam Lu with all my might. Otherwise, Madam Lu would have asked me to move half of the shop away."
"It's such a coincidence." Song Jiaoniang was surprised and happy. She had heard Liu Niangzi and Lu San mention the case. The government had interrogated and investigated it for several days. Through the objects searched from the ship and the above verification, and compared it with the missing cases reported from various places, the identities of more than ten bodies have been confirmed.
After a pause, Song Jiaoniang could not hide her regret: "It's a pity that her husband is dead. I don't know if she can support this family business."
"I think Madam Lu will be fine." Lin Zhi thought about what she had seen at Hu's Spice Shop and smiled. "For example, star anise is very susceptible to moisture and insect infestation, but the spices I saw were all in excellent condition. I think Madam Lu must have studied very hard to preserve them during the time the master was missing."
"That's good." Song Jiaoniang patted her chest upon hearing this. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention back to the spices: "So many spices...it's an emergency."
"Yes." Lin Zhi handed her parents the price list she had written down. She knew spices were expensive these days, but after actually walking around the spice shop, she was stunned. "With all these spices, I just need to go to the herbal medicine shop and buy some more..."
"A herbal medicine shop? Buying spices?"
"For example, nutmeg was primarily used as a medicinal ingredient, often combined with wood fragrance and dried ginger. It was later incorporated into dishes to enhance flavor."
Song Jiaoniang seemed to understand, but seeing her daughter's eyes sparkling and her excited expression eloquent, she held her cheek and watched with a smile, occasionally agreeing.
Lin Sen shook his head and went downstairs to bring up his own dinner. He placed the dishes on the table and called out, "Come on, let's talk while we eat."
"Yes, I was confused. Sister Zhi hasn't eaten yet." Upon hearing this, Song Jiaoniang sighed in annoyance and took her daughter's arm to the table to eat.
There were only a few dishes in the inn. Song Jiaoniang looked at the plate of pickled cucumbers, the plate of stir-fried lettuce, and the bowl of stewed fish with green onions and ginger on the table. She picked and chose, ate a few chopsticks, and then lost interest. She thought to herself that it had only been a few days, and she missed the food her daughter had cooked.
Seeing this, Lin Zhi smiled and said, "I see the stove over there is quite good, and we have kitchen utensils. After we replace the doors and windows, we can move over there and eat."
Lin Sen laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Why don't we just go to a nearby shop and try it out, so we can get to know our competitors in advance?"
"That's right."
"Then let's go tomorrow..."
"Not tomorrow." Lin Zhi interrupted Lin Sen and said, "I have an appointment with Madam Lu. I want to treat her to two dishes tomorrow."
After a pause, Lin Zhi said, "I still need Dad's help with this matter."
Because it was not very convenient and appropriate to cook at someone's house, and the Rong siblings were still moving, Lin Zhi asked Lin Sen for help and borrowed the inn's kitchen.
The inn's kitchen lady was Xu, the wife of the owner of Zhang's Inn. When she saw Lin Zhi come in, she quickly picked up the pile of things in her hand and stepped aside to retreat outside: "It's not a big place, young lady, please don't be disgusted."
"How could I dislike it? I have to thank you for making room for me." Lin Zhi smiled and pretended not to see Madam Xu taking all the ingredients and seasonings out of the kitchen.
She bent down to pick up the ladle and scooped a spoonful of water to wash her hands. "I'll just make three dishes. It won't take long."
Madam Xu nodded repeatedly, looked up at Lin Sen and his wife who were chatting with the official outside, then looked back at Lin Zhi who was busy alone in the kitchen, and added: "If you need my help, just let me know."
Lin Zhi nodded in agreement, and after watching Madam Xu leave, she began to prepare the ingredients. She had already thought of the dishes she wanted to make. These three dishes were simple and basic, and would allow Madam Lu to taste the flavor of meat.
While Lin Zhi was busy, Madam Xu waited for Lin Sen and his wife to leave before muttering to her husband, "A little girl like that is left alone in the kitchen to cook. What can she possibly cook? This couple doesn't care. What if that girl messes around in the kitchen and breaks something? Can they afford the compensation?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Shopkeeper Zhang was startled and quickly interrupted her. His wife considered herself a native of Bianjing, and because of the competition in the shop, she had gradually become estranged from the outsiders around her and had been gossiping a lot.
"People say they use their own ingredients and seasonings, and even bring their own pots. What else do you have to say? Besides, Lin Lang told me that his family plans to open a food store in the future, so I think their cooking skills must be good."
"Planning to open a food store?" Madam Xu was startled and couldn't help but raise her voice: "But I saw that among the dishes she brought in, there was also a whole pork belly!"
Pork is cheap nowadays, and most of the pork dishes sold in food stores are braised pork dishes, or pork dishes stewed over low heat with rice wine and yellow rice wine to remove the fishy smell before they can be eaten.
The larger food shops in Bianjing mainly serve mutton, chicken, duck, goose, etc. Pork is mostly chopped into small pieces or boiled into lard. Only the less prestigious foot shops serve pork as their main dish.
The more Madam Xu thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss. She glared at her husband and said, "Are you kidding me? They look like a family of three from a small town. They think they can stand firm in Bianjing just by cooking a few dishes..."
At this moment, an indescribable aroma of meat wafted out from the kitchen. The smell was much better than the dishes that Madam Xu usually cooked!
Madam Xu's voice suddenly stopped. She subconsciously imitated a puppy, sniffing again and again with her nose twitching: "That smell, could it be that piece of pork?"
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