Chapter 90: Brown Sugar Rice Cake. (First update)...
"How did it come to this?"
At the same time, the main hall of the Hua family was filled with gloom.
Madame Hua sat on the ground, stunned, her hands covering her face as tears streamed down her face. She sobbed to her family, "How could he do this to me? I work so hard to support the family, getting up early and working late, just to take a few things back to my parents' home. How could he do this to me—"
The Hua family members stood aside, each with a different expression.
Hua Erlang's face turned grim, and his wife stamped her feet anxiously. "Sister, what's the point of crying here? You should hurry to Zheng Lang's house and apologize to your parents-in-law. Beg them to withdraw the lawsuit. Otherwise, how can we afford such a large sum of money?"
These words made Madam Hua stop crying immediately. She knew that the lawsuit filed by Manager Zheng included more than just a divorce letter. It also required the Hua family to return the money that they had embezzled over the years.
Over the years, there are more than 200 strings of cash with receipts, but the money has been almost spent. How can they get the money together?
"That's right." Hua Erlang, who had been lowering his head, shuddered at the thought. He took two steps forward, crouching beside Hua Niangzi, his hands tightly gripping her shoulders. His tone was filled with urgency, "Sister, go and beg Brother-in-law! He must be furious, that's why he made such a big deal out of this."
"Just talk to him nicely. At most, at most you won't bring anything home from now on. That should be fine, right?"
"Erlang's point makes sense. We're all relatives!" Hua Aong nodded, his brow furrowed. He stood up and closed the doors and windows to block out the curious glances from the neighbors. "You've been with the Zheng family for all these years. Although you haven't had any children, you've certainly contributed. Let's go to the Zheng family tomorrow morning with some supplies and offer some kind words. I'm sure your husband will withdraw the lawsuit."
“That money…”
"What are you afraid of? Those two hundred strings of cash are definitely just a scare tactic. Can he really force us to pay?"
Hua Erlang's heart was finally at ease when he heard his father's words. He released his grip on Hua Niangzi's hand and said with a smile, "That's right. Think about it. If he really divorces you, he'll have to spend a lot of money on betrothal gifts to marry another one. It's not worth it!"
Seeing her family's confident expressions, Hua Niangzi felt a little hopeful. She wiped away her tears, hoping that this matter would just be resolved smoothly, just as her family had said.
She thought, at most she would take less home in the future, at most she would pretend not to see when he gave things to his parents-in-law and younger brother...
But the next morning, reality dealt the Hua family a heavy blow. As they reached the steamed bun shop, Zheng's parents rushed out, shouting loud enough to be heard all the way to the end of the alley: "How dare you, the Hua family, come here?"
This shout startled Song Jiaoniang, who was about to go out to buy soy milk, and she stopped in her tracks. She leaned out and happened to run into Yu Niangzi, who was also there to buy something. The two of them exchanged glances and quietly made their way to the steamed bun shop.
Not long after, Aunt Xue and a few other neighbors who loved to join in the fun also came and gathered around to whisper. As Song Jiaoniang listened, she forgot about the important business.
The commotion outside did not alarm Linzhi. She was in the kitchen, worrying about the mountain of rice cakes.
Whether in the past or now, rice cakes during the Chinese New Year are always like leeks. After one crop is cut, another will sprout in a few days.
By the way, the rice cakes used in festivals in Bianjing are all made of pure glutinous rice. After being steamed, they are continuously pounded. In fact, it is more appropriate to call them "ciba" rather than "rice cake".
Lin Zhi thought back, and the figures of Yu Niangzi, Lu Sange, Liu Niangzi, Tao Yingce brothers and even Chen Yan emerged in her mind.
Linzhi sighed and had a headache.
Linzhi decided to eat more before the family got tired of it.
She first chopped some green onions, then cut a sausage, and then beat a few eggs into a bowl.
Mix the three ingredients evenly without adding salt and it is ready. Heat the pan with cold oil in Linzhi, and then place the glutinous rice cakes on top.
When frying glutinous rice cakes, you must be careful not to wait until one side is completely browned before turning it over. Instead, you must turn it back and forth several times and wait until a hard shell forms on the outside before continuing to fry it.
Move the fried glutinous rice cake to the side and pour the egg liquid into the pot. When the egg liquid is half solidified, move the glutinous rice cake into it and wrap it with a thin layer of egg skin.
The eggs and glutinous rice cake are tightly bonded together. Just flip them over and fry them a little, and the salty and fragrant egg-wrapped glutinous rice cake will be ready.
The salty taste alone is not enough, so Linzhi also made a sweet brown sugar glutinous rice cake.
When she left with two plates of food, Song Jiaoniang came back angrily. When she saw the breakfast in her daughter's hand, she was stunned at first, and then her face changed: "Oh, soy milk!"
Only then did Song Jiaoniang remember that she had forgotten to buy soy milk, so she turned around and hurried out to buy it.
After waiting for half a cup of tea, she hurried back with a large can of soy milk. As she poured the soy milk into the bowl, she asked with a smile, "Want to have egg pancakes this morning?"
"It's not an egg pancake, it's rice cake wrapped inside." Lin Sen broke it open and showed it to Song Jiaoniang. The snow-white glutinous rice cake stretched out along with his movements, becoming a long strip, and then slowly drooped at a certain critical point. Just looking at it made people's appetite increase.
"Rice cake wrapped in an egg?" Song Jiaoniang was immediately intrigued by this novel way of eating. She picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. The soft and sticky rice cake, paired with the salty and fragrant sausage and the charred egg, gave her a wonderful sense of satisfaction.
"And this." Lin Zhi moved another plate in front of Song Jiaoniang, "This one is sweet."
Song Jiaoniang looked at the brown sugar rice cake, and her eyes suddenly lit up. The brown sugar syrup fell straight down along the fried golden and crispy rice cake. The aroma of oil and brown sugar blended together, domineeringly squeezing out the salty and fragrant taste just now, and raised a seductive finger towards Song Jiaoniang.
Song Jiaoniang couldn't wait to pick up one and put it straight into her mouth. At first, she felt the crispness of the rice cake crust, then the soft and glutinous inside, and then the sweetness of the brown sugar syrup.
The sweet, fragrant, and soft taste spread throughout her mouth, whetting Song Jiaoniang's appetite. She quickly picked up her chopsticks and finished three pieces in the blink of an eye.
"Leave some for me!" Lin Sen finally reacted and hurriedly grabbed the chopsticks to grab the food. Lin Zhi was not willing to be left behind. The three of them quarreled and finished their breakfast in less than half a cup of tea.
After finishing her meal, Song Jiaoniang was still not satisfied: "It's more like a fruit than a breakfast."
Lin Sen also agreed with this. It was just that the sales of Double Ninth Festival cakes were average, so the family had no intention of expanding the business. Otherwise, this dish would surely be very popular.
After eating and drinking, Lin Sen asked about Manager Zheng. Song Jiaoniang shook her head and sighed, "It seems that Manager Zheng is determined this time. In front of the neighbors, he didn't even let the Hua family in, and just urged them to pay back the money. If the police hadn't passed by just now, the two families would have almost come to blows."
"It's Chinese New Year, and it's turned out like this."
"Isn't it?" Song Jiaoniang said a few words lightly. Lin Zhi couldn't help but look at her a few more times because of her strange reaction. "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Song Jiaoniang endured it for a moment, but still blurted out, "The Hua family is so shameless!"
It turns out that the Hua family didn't argue with the Zheng family, and when they left, they actually left Madam Hua behind and ignored her: "Madam Hua is sorry for the Zheng family, but she has been very dedicated to her own family."
"The result, the result." Song Jiaoniang recalled the scene she had just witnessed, and was extremely angry: "That old man Hua couldn't scold the Zheng family, and was blocked by the Zheng family at the door, so he took his anger out on her, and said that if Manager Zheng wanted to divorce her, he could do so, and they wouldn't pay a penny."
"And her brother."
"She took the money to give it to him, but now she says it has nothing to do with him and tells Manager Zheng to ask Madam Hua for the money."
"Mrs. Hua took all her dowry back home. Don't you think this is cheating?"
When Song Jiaoniang went out earlier, she was still thinking about reading gossip, thinking that Manager Zheng might be planning to crack down on the Hua family, but after seeing what happened next, she was really stunned and felt indescribably sad.
Lin Zhi was speechless, while Lin Sen pondered further, saying worriedly, "Given the Hua family's attitude, let alone matchmaking, I'm afraid they'll turn around and force Madam Hua to death, then turn the tables and blackmail us."
Song Jiaoniang was shocked: "Impossible?"
Lin Sen shook his head. "I've seen similar cases before. It's said that a man and a woman had a brief argument and threatened to use his wife as a threat. The woman returned to her parents' home and committed suicide. Her family then sued the government, demanding the return of her dowry."
"The man refused to accept the offer, saying the dowry his family gave was fake. He also filed a lawsuit, accusing them of murder and extortion."
After a pause, Lin Sen continued, "At the time, Mr. Xi thought the man was making a false accusation. But after the autopsy, they discovered the woman hadn't hanged herself, but had been strangled. Only then did the truth become clear."
Song Jiaoniang couldn't help but shudder just by listening: "Who are these people..."
Lin Zhi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Maybe he's not human, otherwise how could he do something like this that sounds like a ghost story?"
Song Jiaoniang's heart trembled with worry, and she couldn't help but get up and go outside. However, she looked around, and there were people coming and going on the street, but she couldn't find Hua Niangzi. Song Jiaoniang could only pray in her heart that nothing happened.
Worry aside, the Linzhi family still had important matters to attend to today. They returned to their house, put on their cloaks and jackets, boarded the donkey cart they had booked in advance, and headed for the food and beverage guild.
When the three of them arrived at the restaurant, quite a few people were already standing there. The couple looked around and noticed a few familiar faces they had seen at the pre-event.
Of course, there are also many new faces.
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang exchanged glances. It seemed that just as his daughter said, there were quite a few people who had hidden tricks during the warm-up.
Soon, a man in blue emerged from the room. His expression was cold, and without exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to announcing the competition for the eighth day: fruit.
In an instant, exclamations of shock rang out from the audience.
The fish ball shop owner blushed. "How could it be fruit? This is so unfair!"
When he said the second half of the sentence, he cast a questioning look at a group of people not far away.
Lin Zhi didn't recognize the man, so she whispered to the contestant next to her. The other contestant kindly said, "That's Chef Xia, who's famous for his steamed fruit. I heard his family is very well-known in Lingnan. After entering Bianjing in the middle of last year, they became famous overnight. Many wealthy and prestigious families order fruit from him."
What this means is that Chef Xia has a natural advantage in fruit.
Lin Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Not necessarily."
The other party asked puzzledly: "Huh? Why?"
Lin Zhi said, "This competition isn't held on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. It's more of a preliminaries than a main competition. Plus, we don't know who the judges will be..."
"For a chef like us who isn't a fruit chef by trade, maybe an eight out of ten would impress the judges. But Chef Xia, who's famous for his fruit, would probably have to give us a twelve out of ten to satisfy the judges."
The man was slightly startled, then he bowed towards Lin Zhi and introduced himself: "My last name is Wei, and I'm currently the head chef of Haoweizhai. May I ask who you are-"
"My last name is Lin, and I'm the head chef at Lin Zhi Ji."
"..." Chef Wei's eyes widened slightly, as if he wanted to take in Lin Zhi's entire appearance: "So, so you are Madam Lin."
Linzhi tilted her head, a little confused.
Chef Wei hid his surprise and smiled: "I've tried your roast goose, it's delicious."
As the two were talking, the man in blue looked at the fish ball shop owner with a cold face and said, "If you don't want to participate, you can just leave. No one is forcing you."
The shop owner's face turned even redder, he hesitated for a few words, and finally did not dare to say anything else.
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