Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Millet Rice Crust and Honey-Glazed Pork Jerky. (……
Madam Yu suddenly realized: "No wonder!"
Song Jiaoniang's brows relaxed, and she took Madam Yu's arm and complained, "It's only because this kiln is useful that I have time to talk to you. You don't know how exhausted I was these past few days!"
"Who taught you that your roast duck is so delicious?" Madam Yu said, covering her mouth with her hand as she smiled. "When my husband goes to buy goods, people know he's from the market in front of the Dali Temple, so they always ask you about it."
Madam Yu and Madam Song hadn't spoken together in days, and they had endless gossip to share. They chattered so eloquently that they barely noticed the silent Madam Hua, let alone the turmoil stirring within her.
Hua Niangzi looked at Song Jiaoniang in disbelief. "Guo Silang Teahouse!" She hesitated, wanting to speak but then stopped herself. She really wanted to ask for details. After all, that teahouse was quite famous, with a large area and was well-informed. It was one of the most well-informed people in Bianjing.
A shop as famous as that, even asking Linzhiji to place an order? Lady Hua was embarrassed. The steamed buns her shop made, if sold to small teahouses, would have to pay a 20% profit to the shopkeeper, or they would only let them sell after paying a rent, not to mention people begging to come to her shop to place an order.
Madame Hua was distracted and picked up the food from the plate and put it into her mouth. However, as soon as the food entered her mouth, she was startled: "What is this?"
Song Jiaoniang and Yu Niang stopped talking at the same time. Song Jiaoniang took a look and said with a smile, "This is millet rice crust."
"Rice crust!?" Not only was Madam Hua shocked, but even Madam Yu looked curious.
Both of them were naturally familiar with rice crust, but the rice crust in front of them looked completely different from the rice crust they usually saw in the rice cooker. The rice crust cooked in the pot was reddish brown or even burnt brown, with a strong charcoal grilled aroma.
But the "rice crust" in front of me is golden.
Not only that, but it was also sprinkled with powder, which gave it a wonderful aroma.
Song Jiaoniang smiled and said, "The people at Guo Silang Teahouse said that if you make anything new, you can send it to them. Sister Zhi made a few in her free time. You can try them. They are delicious."
Upon hearing this, Madam Yu picked up a piece and put it into her mouth without hesitation... In an instant, she understood the reason for Madam Hua's astonishment. The rice crust gently adhered to her lips, and the tingling touch was really wonderful and strange.
She was stunned for a moment before she bit it.
An unprecedented crisp sound rang in Madam Yu's ears, and she couldn't help but let out a low cry: "What is this?"
This, this texture, this is crispier and more wonderful than any fried food she has ever eaten!
Madam Yu picked up another piece and put it in her mouth.
Then she picked it up again, put it in again, picked it up again, put it in again...an endless cycle until all the plates were empty.
Madam Yu reached out to grab it, but it was empty. Then she came to her senses and said, "Oh, oh!"
"It's okay, it's okay. If you like it, I'll bring some more." Song Jiaoniang happily stood up and brought another plate. Seeing Yu Niangzi and Hua Niangzi enjoying their food, she became more and more proud of her daughter's ability and was in a very good mood.
Madam Yu was enjoying her meal. After finishing the rice crust, she started eating the meat jerky next to it: "Hmm, this is delicious too!"
"This is honey-glazed pork jerky. Isn't it delicious?"
"It's really delicious." Madam Yu nodded repeatedly. "If I could eat this while watching a play and drinking tea, I would be as happy as a god!"
Hua Niangzi listened to the conversation between the two silently, her mind turning. After hearing what her husband said, she wanted to be a matchmaker for her nephew. Her nephew was a scholar, but unfortunately he was unlucky and did not pass the imperial examination. His family had no money to continue his studies. He was currently copying books for others in a bookstore, and occasionally writing inscriptions for others. He could earn seven or eight strings of cash a month, and two or three strings at least.
Although the profit is not as high as that of Linzhiji's shop, he is a scholar after all. The income from Linzhiji is enough for him to study in a good academy and become an official in the future. Sister Zhi will also be the wife of an official. Isn't that wonderful?
The more Hua Niangzi thought about it, the more she thought it was a good idea. After she made up her mind, she no longer envied the Lin family's success in business or Sister Zhi's cooking skills. Instead, she listened with a smile, as if the praise was directed at her own family - after all, when her nephew married Sister Zhi, wouldn't all these things belong to her family?
Hua Niangzi made up her mind and enthusiastically joined in the conversation, chatting and laughing with the two of them. At the end, she even asked Song Jiaoniang for some pork jerky.
When she returned to her shop, she packed her things and prepared to go back to her parents' home to discuss the matter with her younger brothers and sisters.
"I asked you to look after the shops, so how did you do it?" Shopkeeper Zheng, after delivering goods to various shops, returned to see the empty shelves. He couldn't help but pull a long face: "All you do is gossip and chat, instead of kneading some dough. Look, the shelves up front are completely empty."
Madam Hua said nothing, her head lowered as she packed her things, letting Shopkeeper Zheng grumble, "Tsk, you're going back to your parents' house again? And you packed all that fruit and tea... Eh? What's that packaging? It looks like dried meat. Did you take the shark fin and maw from home too? I begged for that with great difficulty, and I was planning on giving it as a gift."
Manager Zheng couldn't help feeling upset. When he saw Madam Hua, she was pretty, with affectionate eyes and a slim figure, and he was determined to marry her. However, he never expected that Madam Hua was not only a hen that didn't lay eggs, but also missed her parents' home even after she got married. She wanted to move all the wine, tea and even fabrics in the house back home.
Seeing that Madam Hua didn't say anything, he simply bent down and took out the oil-paper bag from the package.
"That's not a shark fin bladder!"
"What is that?" Shopkeeper Zheng, upon hearing Madam Hua's objection, grew even more suspicious. He tore open the oil-paper package and was stunned to see a mysterious object emitting an oily aroma. "What is this...?"
Inside was the pork jerky taken from Song Jiaoniang. The jerky was different from ordinary jerky. Instead of being dull, it had an amber luster and a dark brown charred edge. It smelled faintly sweet.
"Madam Song gave it to me to eat."
"Tsk, why don't you save some?" Shopkeeper Zheng flipped through Madam Hua's bag, looked through it, and then muttered to himself as he took out an item. "...I was wondering if you didn't use up all the bath beans last time, so you went to buy more. You even want to take this back? Are your family that poor?"
Madame Hua blushed with anger, grabbed her things, and ran off. Shopkeeper Zheng looked at her from behind, shook his head, and made no attempt to catch up. Instead, he picked up a piece of pork jerky and put it in his mouth: "...Hmm?"
The first time you smell the jerky, you can smell the faint sweet fragrance. When you put it into your mouth, the sweet fragrance becomes stronger, and there is also the burnt fragrance after being roasted over charcoal fire, as well as the mellow aroma of the jerky itself.
Shopkeeper Zheng chewed the meat carefully. The meat was neither too hard nor too soft. It tasted sweet at first and then salty. The more he chewed, the more delicious it became.
Shopkeeper Zheng subconsciously picked up a second piece, only to come to his senses just as he was about to put it in his mouth. He looked at the pitiful amount inside the oil-paper bag, thought for a moment, and decided not to use it. Instead, he decided to take it back for his father, mother, and brother's family to try.
As he was thinking, he suddenly remembered something and muttered, "Was this done by Lin Zhiji?"
Shopkeeper Zheng's face suddenly turned ugly, and the gossip he had said a few days ago rolled up like a wave, followed by a surge of annoyance. He was so angry that he wanted to throw the meat jerky away.
But when he thought about the taste, he couldn't bear to give it up.
Shopkeeper Zheng thought about it for a long time, and finally folded it and put it in his bag, thinking that no one would ask about it when he took it home.
"Uncle, where did you buy this meat jerky? It's delicious!" Zheng's niece took a bite, her round face filled with shock. She held it in both hands, reluctant to eat it, slurping down the sweetness with satisfaction. "It's better than any meat jerky I've ever had... No, I think it's even better than triangular candies!"
The triangular candy that Zheng's niece mentioned is also a kind of malt sugar. The vendors in the candy shop will mix preserved fruits and other things into the malt sugar, and then cut it into triangular shapes. The sweetness of malt sugar and the sour and sweet taste of preserved fruits make it the favorite snack of children in the city of Bianjing, without a doubt.
Upon hearing this, Manager Zheng's younger brother and sister-in-law also took the food and tasted it. After eating, they were surprised: "It really is..."
"Where did you buy it, brother?"
"I'm afraid this delicious meat jerky isn't cheap, is it?" After finishing a piece, Zheng's sister-in-law, Lin, was still not satisfied. However, she forced herself to be rational and quietly put the rest of the meat jerky together, not letting her children eat any more. "Did you bring all the meat jerky from my family? Take some back for my sister-in-law to eat."
"It's not a big deal, it's not a big deal."
"Brother..." Zheng's younger brother was at a loss for words when he heard this. "Are you angry with your sister-in-law again? Did your sister-in-law take something back again?"
Everyone knew Hua's temperament, so it was no surprise. Sometimes, when Shopkeeper Zheng saw Hua taking things home, he would also bring a pile of things home, clamoring to give them to his nephews and nieces.
Lin didn't like to take advantage of others, and she was afraid that the quarrels in her eldest brother's family would affect her own family, so she often sent things over.
"Hey, hey, hey, how can this be my fault?" Shopkeeper Zheng was immediately indignant when he saw his brother and his family start to talk about him. "It was your sister-in-law Hua who brought it from Linzhiji and secretly wanted to take it back to her parents' home. She didn't even bother to let me taste it."
"I just took it because I was annoyed."
"... Maybe brother is talking about his sister-in-law again?" Zheng Erlang thought for a moment and said, "For example, my sister-in-law is not home."
"He doesn't like to work, and he doesn't smile when entertaining guests."
"He also said that the poor business was all due to his sister-in-law."
The couple had a perfect understanding of each other, talking back and forth until Manager Zheng blushed.
At this moment, Zheng Xiaolang, the nephew of Shopkeeper Zheng, came to his senses and exclaimed, "Linzhiji? Could it be the Linzhiji that specializes in roast duck?!"
The quarrel between the three of them came to an abrupt end. Manager Zheng couldn't help but frowned: "You also know Linzhiji?"
Miss Zheng exclaimed, "Don't you know, uncle?"
Zheng Xiaolang continued, "When I was working in the shop, people often talked about Linzhiji's roast duck. There was even a nobleman who asked someone to buy it in the teahouse, but when he didn't get it, he got very angry!"
Zheng Xiaolang worked as a tea doctor in a medium-sized teahouse in Bianjing City. Not only did he come into contact with many officials and wealthy families on a daily basis, but he also heard a lot of news. He had heard about the disaster in the south before, so he asked his family to stock up on raw silk in advance, and then resell it to make a small profit for his family.
Therefore, although he is young, his family members have great trust in him. The same goes for Shopkeeper Zheng. Every time he comes to his brother's house, he hugs him and calls him his darling, but then turns around and complains about Madam Hua for not being able to get pregnant, so much so that Madam Hua rolls her eyes when she sees Zheng Erlang's family.
Shopkeeper Zheng was skeptical: "It's not that bad...right? Linzhiji doesn't specialize in roast duck. They also make rice with toppings. The cheapest dish is only nine cents a portion. It's really cheap."
"In front of Dali Temple..."
"It's obviously where your uncle lives!" The two little ones recalled the address and shook their heads.
Zheng Xiaolang blushed. "Uncle, what's your relationship with the lady at Linzhiji? If it's good, why not ask her to help put in some words for them? If we can help with their purchases, not only can we make a lot of money, but we might even get to know some of the gentlemen!"
"..." Shopkeeper Zheng fell silent, his face turning pale, blue, red, and purple. He grunted for a while and muttered, "That's it, that's it."
Zheng Xiaolang was so smart that he could see the resistance in his uncle's eyes. He turned around and said to his parents, "Could it be that our uncle's mouth has offended someone?"
"Not really?" Lin shook her head.
"Your uncle has a sharp tongue, but he's just a private bully who doesn't have the courage to say it in public." Zheng Erlang thought for a moment and said bluntly, "Perhaps he's gossiped about someone behind their back and can't bring himself to do it. Let's wait until he's figured it out, then we can ask him."
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