Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Kneading the dough.
At the gate of the government office, two officers were pushing the idler out: "Go, go, go. We'll spare you this time, but don't do this kind of stalking again in the future."
"Yes, yes, I won't dare to do it again." The idle man smiled and only breathed a sigh of relief after the officer turned around.
He left in a hurry and just as he turned into the alley, he ran into Chen Yan and his men who were staring at him covetously.
The idler turned around and tried to run, but his body suddenly sank and he fell to the ground involuntarily, with his hands being twisted behind his back by Chen Yan.
"You, why are you arresting me?"
"I've already said it, I'm delivering a message for Mr. Zhang—"
"Which Mr. Zhang? Which street does he live in? What does he do for a living?" Tao Yingce asked sternly after hearing this.
The idle man's eyes flickered: "It's on West Street. He runs a food business."
"Mr. Zhang, the chef on West Street, moved to Xuzhou last month."
The idle man quickly corrected himself: "I, I was mistaken. It was Mr. Zhang who sells food on South Street."
"The only person with the surname Zhang who runs a silk shop on South Street." Tao Yingce's eyes were cold, and he pressed on. "Besides, Mr. Zhang on West Street hasn't moved away at all, and he never runs a food business."
Chen Yan didn't want to waste time talking to the idler, so he simply pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the side of the idler's face: "Speak!"
The idle man looked at the dagger so close to him, his Adam's apple rolling. Just as he was hesitating, he saw a dark figure flash by in the distance and knew it was his companion coming to help.
He suddenly made up his mind and rushed towards Chen Yan, hoping to take the opportunity to break free from the restraints. However, he never expected that Chen Yan had been prepared and grabbed his wrist with his backhand. There was only a click, followed by the idle man's scream.
At the same time, Tao Yingce had already commanded the rushing yamen runners to pounce on the black shadow and arrested the two accomplices on the spot.
When he brought the people back, Chen Yan found out where they hid the hostages, and immediately sent people to search for the victims and arrest the remaining suspects.
…
The noise at the Hezhou ferry did not stop until nightfall. When the Linzhi family went downstairs to eat, although Chen Yan and others had not returned yet, the inn was already full of discussions about this matter.
"Did you see that?"
"How could I not see it!" The man at the next table slammed his hands on the table, gritting his teeth in anger. "Who could have imagined that those gang of thugs were hiding right under our noses? I only regret that I arrived too late and wasn't able to kick them a few times or throw a few rotten leaves and rotten eggs at them!"
From the conversations of several people, the Linzhi family pieced together the full picture of what happened: this afternoon, government officials searched the bottom hold of a cargo ship at the ferry and found many women and children. Their faces were pale and their eyes were empty. Many of them had wounds all over their bodies. They huddled up when they saw people and couldn't even speak clearly.
"It's really pitiful."
"That's still considered lucky. I heard from officials that some of them were sold long ago, and it's unclear whether they can be found."
"That's right. There's a long queue at the city gate. They're all families from nearby towns and villages who have lost their wives, daughters, and children. They've come all the way here to inquire about what's going on."
"God has eyes, he will catch them in the end!"
"These beasts really deserve to be chopped into pieces!"
The Linzhi family listened to the conversation and felt relieved. They rested peacefully in the inn for two days before seeing Madam Xie, whose eyes were dark and she looked exhausted.
"Well, it's for you."
"?" Song Jiaoniang subconsciously took what Madam Xie handed her, and then she noticed that it was a stack of Jiaozi: "Hey? Hey? What is this money--?"
"Hush..." Madam Xie pushed the three people into the house and explained, "This is the reward the government offered for the bandits."
There is a bounty for bandits, especially for bandits like this one who have murdered many people, the bounty starts from ten strings of cash per person.
"We captured twelve bandits. Normally, we should pay you one hundred and twenty strings of cash, but the Hezhou government hasn't closed the case yet, so we can only pay you half upfront. The remaining half will be given to you after the case is closed."
Madam Xie yawned again, and before the Linzhi family could ask any more questions, she continued, "And tomorrow morning we'll be boarding the ship and setting off, so you should start packing."
"Has the case been solved?" Song Jiaonian opened her mouth for a long time, and finally asked dryly about the progress of the case.
"Almost." Madam Xie said this with a smile on her face. "I thought those bandits, who killed and looted, must be fierce and hardened people. Who knew that under torture, they rushed to confess."
"Now that the case is basically clear, the local authorities will continue to search for the victims and send them home. We can leave early."
After confirming that the matter was over, the Linzhi family could finally rest assured. After all, when they thought about being followed by the bandits that day, the three of them tossed and turned at night, terrified.
For this reason, Song Jiaoniang asked Lin Sen to give the old man another sum of money, firstly to thank him for his reminder, and secondly because the food the old man gave her was really valuable. It was nothing else but a full jar of hawthorn honey.
With Madam Xie's words, the three of them returned to the house and began packing their luggage. The next morning, the family came downstairs and finally saw Chen Yan and the others, whom they hadn't seen for a few days. Like Madam Xie, they all looked exhausted. Without even having time to say a few words, they rushed forward to help, stuffing all the luggage into the car.
"You really don't need to rest for two days?"
"No, no, let's rest on the boat." Chen Yan shook his head.
Only when they arrived at the dock did the Linzhi family understand the reason. They were not boarding an ordinary passenger ship, but a vermilion lacquered boat used exclusively by officials.
The ship's hull is painted with gold cloud patterns, and the cabins are much more spacious than ordinary passenger ships. Each room has its own bed, table and chairs, and there are also independent dining and activity areas, which are enough for everyone to rest.
Unlike Chen Yan and others who put down their luggage and went into the cabin to rest, the Linzhi family chose to go to the deck to enjoy the breeze and take in the scenery at the ferry.
Countless boatmen were busy unloading cargo here, making the gangplank creak. As soon as the fishing boats returning from fishing stopped over there, a few birds that followed them swooped down, holding the fish in their mouths and flapping their wings away amid the fishermen's shouts and curses.
There was also a wide passenger ship docked nearby. A maid with two buns came out of the cabin first. After she lifted the curtain, several women came out from inside. They were all dressed in gorgeous clothes and looked very rich.
Linzhi couldn't help but look a few more times, until she saw the person in the middle, she was stunned.
Lin Zhi tugged at Song Jiaoniang's sleeve and whispered, "Mother, look over there, does that person look like Sister Jin?"
The Jin Jieer Linzhi was talking about was surnamed Huang, the daughter of Steward Huang. She had married the eldest daughter and moved to Bianjing. Steward Huang said she was married to the steward of the Bo Mansion and was living a happy life.
Of course, like the older girls who married far away, she had not returned to the Xi family for several years.
Song Jiaoniang didn't believe it at first: "Nonsense, how could Sister Jin appear here..."
When she looked up, she was stunned: "It really looks a bit like her? It seems to be...her?"
Apart from having a rounder face and more luxurious clothes, the woman in the distance had the same outline as Jin Jie'er. Most importantly, she looked very much like Manager Huang's wife.
Song Jiaoniang was certain of the visitor's identity. Not only did she not go forward to greet him, but she also pulled Lin Zhi back to the cabin, completely unwilling to have anything to do with the Xi Mansion anymore.
Huang Jin also caught a glimpse of two familiar figures and frowned, saying, "Strange."
"Mrs. Huang, what's wrong?"
"In response to Mother Jiang, I seem to have seen someone I know." Huang Jin retracted his gaze and answered respectfully.
"Could it be that the Xi family got the news and sent someone over?" The woman called Mother Jiang frowned and glanced at Huang Jin suspiciously, suspecting that the eldest girl had sent someone to deliver the message in advance.
Huang Jin quickly explained: "It's nothing, those two people were on the official ship, maybe they are similar people."
Mother Jiang withdrew her gaze, took a second look, and finally retracted her suspicion. She glanced at Huang Jin and said, "Now we have arrived in Hezhou, and in two or three days we will be in Taipingzhou. There are some things I want to tell you in advance to prevent you from making mistakes and regretting it too late."
Huang Jin didn't understand what was going on, but she could hear the warning from Mother Jiang, so she immediately responded respectfully.
Mother Jiang glanced at Huang Jin and said, "Although you are the eldest lady's companion, you also came to our Liang family, married into our Liang family, and gave birth to children."
Mother Jiang raised her hand and tapped Huang Jin's heart: "You have to remember this. Don't tell your parents everything that happened in our mansion when you get to the Xi Mansion."
Huang Jin: "I know."
Mother Jiang sighed and patted the back of Huang Jin's hand: "I'm glad you understand."
On the other side, Song Jiaoniang and Lin Zhi hid back in the cabin and sat by the window, secretly watching Huang Jin follow Mother Jiang ashore and get on the carriage to leave.
"It's true, Sister Jin."
"Why is Sister Jin back? We didn't hear about her when we left the house." Song Jiaoniang was very surprised, but they had already left the Xi Mansion after all, so they just said a few words or avoided her.
Especially as the boat shook slightly and ripples spread out on both sides of the river, the mother and daughter's attention was immediately attracted by the wide river channel and they no longer paid attention to what was happening over there.
Seeing that life on the boat was particularly leisurely and comfortable, Linzhi came up with an idea. She pretended to be seasick, but in fact she was hiding in the house and practicing calligraphy. In her spare time, she also tried to do needlework to familiarize herself with the skills left by her previous life.
By the time she had mastered the basics, the official ship had arrived at its destination. As the ship docked, Chen Yan specifically inquired about Lin Zhi's family's subsequent plans: "...Since we've been delayed in Hezhou for a while, and our superiors have requested our return to Bianjing as soon as possible, we'll have to speed up and the rest of the trip will be a bit rushed."
"How many days will it take to get to Bianjing?"
"The original plan was for a fifteen-day journey, but now we need to reach Bianjing within ten days."
"We're fine," Song Jiaoniang agreed immediately. After two previous scares from kidnappers and pirates, she had no desire to go it alone. Following the official team was the best option.
Lin Sen and Lin Zhi then nodded in agreement, deciding to continue traveling with Shen Yan and the others. They boarded the carriage and, with full force, headed towards Bianjing.
Because they were in a hurry, they kept things simple along the way. For two or three days, the family simply ate the bread they bought along the way. Gradually, they understood why Lü San and the others resented the hard-wheat Hu bread so much; after all, they had begun to dislike it, too.
"...How long will it take until the next town for renovation?" Song Jiaonian looked at Lin Sen who came in through the curtain, her eyes eager.
"From what Chen Lang said, we'll just pass by directly ahead and won't stop." Lin Sen sighed and stuffed a hard-wheat pancake into his wife's hand. "I guess we'll have to sleep outdoors again today."
"This crappy pancake is annoying just to look at." Song Jiaoniang didn't want to see the thing at all, so she threw it into the bamboo basket and knocked her head against the carriage, her eyes full of resentment.
Seeing this, Lin Zhi said, "I'll make something while we stop to rest."
"You're not fully recovered yet."
"Almost done." Lin Zhi yawned and stretched. She was still not used to traveling in a carriage, so she had been dizzy and groggy for the past two days. Only today did she feel better.
"Besides, we don't have much, how can we cook?" Song Jiaonian wanted to persuade him again.
"No way..." Linzhi rummaged through the large bags of luggage. Although the fresh vegetables and fruits sent by the people in the prefecture had been eaten up long ago, there were still many pickled products left, such as dried vegetables, pickled duck and pickled fish.
"You can't use the dried vegetables for now, right? This pickled fish is incredibly salty, and even after steaming it, it's inedible. I think it's better to save it and use it to make soup with tofu and radish later." Lin Sen looked at what Lin Zhi had taken out, his brows furrowed. "As for this pickled duck, ah."
If the dried vegetables are left because there are no other ingredients on hand and they are difficult to make, then the pickled fish and duck sauce are left for their own reasons.
After Lin Sen steamed the fish that day, he discovered that he had no idea how much salt was put into the pickled fish. It was so salty that it made him want to drink a large bowl of water after eating a piece. He couldn't eat any other food.
There is also the pickled duck. It smells like soy sauce, but if you look closely you can see that the duck has been air-dried for too long and the fat layer has dried up to a pitiful state. It is completely different from the normally sold pickled duck with a shiny and glossy surface.
Before Lin Sen took it out and looked at it carefully, he never thought that the servants in the prefectural government would use such things as farewell gifts. He thought that people would forget about him after he left, and they were just fooling themselves.
"How do you use these things?"
"It can be used." Lin Zhi said with a smile.
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang looked at each other. Just as they were about to speak again, they remembered their daughter's ability and finally decided to shut up and wait and see.
When it came to cooking, Lin Zhi didn't even feel carsick anymore. She took advantage of the moment when the carriage stopped and asked Lin Sen to bring back a bag of flour.
"Sister Zhi, what do you want the flour for?"
“Making steamed buns.”
"Ah?" Even though they already knew that their daughter had a talent for cooking, it still felt like a dream to Mr. and Mrs. Lin Sen.
They sat stiffly in the car, staring blankly at their daughter pouring a bag of flour into a basin, then adding lard, koji powder and a little sugar, and then adding water while stirring the flour into loose dough.
Are you really going to start kneading the dough?
When most of the loose flour in the bowl disappeared, she used her fists to squeeze the flour into dough.
Mr. and Mrs. Lin Sen felt that in the blink of an eye, the flour turned into a soft dough under their daughter's fingertips.
Before they could even sigh, they saw their daughter covering the basin with a towel and then putting the basin aside.
Song Jiaoniang knew nothing about cooking, and Lin Sen could only make the simplest meals, so the couple had no idea how fast Lin Zhi was or how skillful her movements were.
After they saw Lin Zhi's movements come to a halt, they curiously asked, "Sister Zhi, you said you were going to make steamed buns. What kind of filling would you use?"
Lin Zhi waved her hand calmly, "There's no rush for the filling. We can prepare it after the carriage stops. I plan to use the pickled fish, and then I might need it..."
Before Lin Zhi could finish, Song Jiaoniang raised her voice in surprise, "Huh? Using pickled fish as the filling?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com