Chapter 97: Sour Cabbage Pork Ribs
The braised eggs were roasting and smelling delicious. Hu Shang came out, carrying a chair made of two wooden planks and sitting over. He said, "Give me two roasted eggs."
"Okay."
Sui Yu used a fire poker to carry two of the eggs over, and then he shook off the ashes on the remaining roasted eggs and placed them on the table.
Zhao Xiaomi took off her apron and walked to the end of the street. After a while, she ran over and said, "Third sister-in-law, the bun stall at the end of the street has moved."
Sui Yu touched his nose and couldn't help laughing: "Could it be that you were scared by me?"
Zhao Xiaomi giggled, she thought so too.
"What did you do?" Hu Shang asked curiously.
Sui Yu smiled and shook his head, then asked, "What do you think of today's baked eggs?"
“It smells good, but tastes a bit bland.”
Sui Yu understood the reason. It was that the taste of the marinade was too bland. The water boiled with soybean paste was only salty but not fragrant, and the taste of the Sichuan pepper leaves was not strong enough.
There were fewer customers in the afternoon, so Sui Yu left Zhao Xiaomi on the street to knead the bread filling. She went to the salt shop to weigh out ten cents worth of fermented black beans, then went to the pork shop and spent thirty cents to buy two meatless ribs.
Zhao Xiaomi saw her coming over with the bare bones and said with a bitter face, "Third sister-in-law, this is not spare ribs."
"I know, this is for making soup, not for human consumption. I'll buy spare ribs tomorrow." Sui Yu threw the remaining copper coins into the cash box and said, "You keep an eye on it for now. I'll go back."
"OK."
Sui Yu carried the pork ribs to Uncle Lao Niu's house and asked Tong Huaer to help stew a pot of bone soup.
"I heard something happened in your family last night?" Tong Huaer asked.
"Nothing serious."
"Did a thief really break into the house?" Tong Huaer was puzzled. She took a walk around from time to time and saw people walking in the alley. How did the thief get in?
Sui Yu would never tell her the truth. She nodded and said, "That's true. Fortunately, I hid the money separately, otherwise I would have lost even more."
Tong Hua'er didn't doubt her words. She thought for a moment and analyzed, "It would be difficult for a thief to climb over the wall near the gate. I guess it could be your neighbors on either side. These two families know when no one is home, so they set up a ladder and climbed over when no one is there."
"No, Chen Erniang has already admitted it." Sui Yu put the child down and said, "I'm going to the street. I'll get the soup tonight. You can dig out the marrow oil from the shank bones and give it to Ah Shui."
Tong Huaer saw her out, turned around, closed the door, and went into the kitchen to light a fire and stew soup.
When she walked onto the street, Sui Yu saw that there were already people in front of the stall. She quickened her pace and as she got closer, she recognized the old man standing nearby.
Zhao Xiaomi's face fell. She glared at the old man and said, "I can't drive him away."
"I want a bun." The old man came over happily and insisted on handing the three cents to Sui Yu personally.
Sui Yu lowered his eyes and handed him a bun, saying weakly, "Old man, you are already old. It's really ugly to act like this. It's embarrassing for your children and grandchildren."
"I just bought some buns, I didn't do anything else." The old man said confidently.
After saying that, he walked to the other side of the road. Not wanting to see Sui Yu's sullen face, he turned his back and ate his bun.
Whenever another guest came, Sui Yu would greet them with a smile.
The old man looked over when he heard the sound, admiring Sui Yu's smile. After finishing a bun, he left contentedly.
"You old man have no shame." Zhao Xiaomi spat.
Sui Yu pulled the corners of his lips helplessly.
At sunset, it is time to cook, but people who are too lazy to light a fire and cook because it is too hot go out on the streets.
Sui Yu took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her face. She opened the lid of the steamer and shouted, "Bean sprout and tofu buns, egg and bitter vegetable buns, and the last ten egg and chive buns, fresh out of the pot, three cents each, three cents each."
"Do you have any bitter vegetables today? Give me three. It's so hot and I have no appetite. I don't want to eat meat." An auntie spoke, but she stood far away, afraid that the scalding steam would smoke her.
Sui Yu put three buns in a bowl, brought a chair over, and said, "Find a cool place to sit. When you're done eating, return the bowl and chair to me."
Standing on the street, with the hot wind blowing past, Sui Yu shook off his sweat-soaked thin shirt and walked to the stall to continue selling buns with steam.
It was not until the sunset that the summer heat dissipated and people began to feel cool.
After selling the last eight buns, Sui Yu sat down to take a break. She scooped water to extinguish the firewood in the stove, leaving only a handful of sparking ash to roast eggs.
"It's getting hotter day by day." Zhao Xiaomi wailed, and she came over with a money box to count the copper coins.
"I'll stew pork ribs tomorrow to nourish you." Sui Yu said.
Zhao Xiaomi frowned when she heard this and asked, "Third sister-in-law, have I gained weight?"
Sui Yu looked at her carefully and said, "You haven't gained weight, but you look better and have a rosy complexion. When you first came, your face was yellow."
Speaking of complexion, Sui Yu's was the best. Despite being exposed to the smoke and sun every day, she hadn't gotten a tan. Zhao Xiaomi rolled up her sleeves to compare. Sui Yu's face was even whiter than her arms, and her cheeks looked smooth. The two frostbite scars on her face didn't diminish her beauty.
"Alas!" she sighed.
Sui Yu glanced over sideways. What happened?
"What smells so good?" A man leading a mule came over.
Sui Yu looked at the eggs in his hand and said, "The last three roasted and marinated eggs are five cents each. Do you want to buy them?"
"Eggs? Five cents each?" The man looked dissatisfied. "Don't try to fool me just because I have an accent from another place."
"I really didn't realize you had an accent from another place." Sui Yu peeled the burnt eggshell and said, "I'm not kidding. There were only ten roasted eggs in total. After selling them for a day, there were only three left."
Her honesty made people laugh. The man leading the mule took out a handful of copper coins and put them on the table, saying, "Give me three of them. Are you going to prepare food for yourselves?"
Sui Yu nodded. She moved her chair over for him to sit on and scooped him some water. She and Zhao Xiaomi began to pack up their things. Sui Liang came over with the camel.
The man finished his three eggs and drank a few sips of water from his bowl. He splashed the water away, thanked them, and said, "My dear sisters, I'm looking for a good place to stay. Could you recommend a farmhouse for me? I'd like to stay for at least two weeks."
Sui Yu pinched her brows with regret. If her inn was built by now, the money for the accommodation would be in her pocket again.
"Walk west from here, then turn north at the end of the street. Ask around after passing two alleys. Most of the merchants coming and going live in that area, so it's convenient for accommodation there." She pointed the way.
"Thank you, sister." The man thanked her sincerely. He took out a handful of copper coins and put them on the table and was about to leave.
"Hey! Wait a minute." Sui Yu took the copper coin and returned it to him, saying, "If you want to thank me for taking care of your business tomorrow, you don't have to pay me."
"Okay, I'll come back tomorrow to buy baked eggs."
The man left, and Sui Yu continued to pack up her stall. Sui Liang led the camel and walked away, while she and Zhao Xiaomi carried the wooden planks, too lazy to make another trip.
As soon as the three of them arrived home, Tong Huaer brought over half a basin of bone soup. Sui Yu took the soup and she went back.
"Are you going to cook soup noodles tonight?" Sui Liang was curious.
"No, I'm going to use the broth as a brine."
Zhao Xiaomi was left at home to cook dinner, while Sui Yu took Sui Liang out to buy eggs. They pooled money from different households and bought a total of eighty eggs.
After dinner was cooked, Sui Yu washed the pot and dried the fermented black beans. The fermented black beans would be more fragrant and flavorful after being dried. Then he fried the wet soybean paste in oil. After it was fragrant, he poured the bone soup and added the fermented black beans and Sichuan pepper leaves to the bone soup.
A pot of soup was boiling, and Sui Yu put eighty washed eggs into the pot to cook.
The pig was hungry and was grunting in the pen.
Thinking of its meritorious service last night, Sui Yu scooped a ladle of noodles and mixed it with the dumpling soup. After the braised eggs were out of the pot, she continued to boil water to cook the dumpling soup.
Zhao Xiaomi and Sui Liang were squatting in the yard cracking eggshells. When Sui Yu wasn't paying attention, she licked her fingers that were stained with the marinade.
"It smells so good, try it quickly," she urged.
Sui Liang licked it once, then licked it again. He ran into the house, got out a bowl, and scooped a bowl, saying, "I'll make soup noodles for dinner tomorrow morning."
Zhao Xiaomi was tempted, but she didn't want to imitate him, otherwise she would seem too greedy. She thought for a moment and whispered, "Give me half a bowl, and I'll make you some soup pancakes tomorrow morning."
Sui Liang ran into the kitchen and took out another bowl to scoop out another bowl.
Sui Yu saw him coming in and out, but she pretended not to see anything and did not ask any questions.
After the dumpling soup was cooked, Sui Yu twisted half a basket of radish vines sent by Dong Zi's mother and threw it into the pig feed bucket, then poured the boiling hot dumpling soup on it, and the dumplings changed color immediately.
After feeding the pigs, everyone was tired. They soaked the eggs in brine and put them in a basin. The three of them washed them and then went to rest.
The next day after breakfast, Sui Yu came back to collect eggs. He had braised a total of 180 eggs in two batches. He sold ten of them yesterday and kept thirty. Sui Yu only took away 140 eggs and 50 kilograms of dried vegetables.
"Uncle, I'm coming." Sui Yu found Lao Tu, "Try these two eggs and see which one is more delicious. I braised them using two different recipes."
The old bald man was a little surprised. He looked at Sui Yu with admiration. Is there really a recipe?
After peeling the two braised eggs, Lao Tu took a bite of each and commented, "This one is more flavorful and saltier, and this one is more fragrant."
The more fragrant egg was made by boiling it in water from the bone broth made from roasted fermented black beans. Sui Yu had an idea and asked, "So, which one do you think I should send you next time? Or a combination of the two?"
The old bald man was a little confused. He didn't seem to have promised Sui Yu to continue sending eggs in the future, but it seemed that there was no need to dwell on this issue. He said, "I'll accept all these eggs. Come over every two days. If there is a caravan coming, you can bring vegetables and eggs. If not, forget it."
"Okay, these eggs can be kept for two or three days without going bad. Do you think a hundred of them are enough? Do you want some more? I still have thirty at home." Sui Yu said.
"It's a small caravan leaving today, with only 20 or 30 people. That's enough. If there's a larger caravan later, I'll let you know."
Sui Yu thanked him, took the five hundred and twenty coins and left without disturbing the old bald man anymore.
When he got to the street, Sui Yu took a basket and went to the pork shop to buy spare ribs. Spare ribs were eighty coins cheaper than pure meat. Three spare ribs weighed five catties and two ounces (the weight in the Western Han Dynasty), and he spent more than two ounces of silver.
After handing over the silver, Sui Yu lost her appetite for the pork ribs. Even though the silver was earned for free, she felt bad about spending two taels of silver at once.
It’s too expensive, too expensive. Pork is too expensive.
The meat was taken back to soak in blood water, and the stewing of the meat was started after closing the stall in the evening. It was hot and his appetite was poor, so Sui Yu took two large bowls of shredded sauerkraut and stewed pork ribs.
Zhao Xiaomi was sitting in the yard peeling radishes, but her mind was already on the steamer. She had never eaten so many ribs in her life.
The cat official also came back. It lay at the door and wagged its tail. People came in and out and stepped over it, but it didn't move at all.
A pot of radishes was peeled and the spareribs in the pot were cooked. As Sui Yugang lifted the lid of the pot, Zhao Xiaomi and Sui Liang rushed to the kitchen.
"Get the bowl and chopsticks." Sui Yu instructed.
There was a table in the yard and the gate was locked. Sui Yu scooped the sauerkraut and pork ribs into a wooden basin and took it out. The three of them sat in the yard and ate the pork ribs in the evening breeze.
"I'm not cooking tonight, I'm just eating vegetables. Eat more and finish this pot of ribs." Sui Yu said.
"Eating spareribs for meals? How happy!" Zhao Xiaomi was delighted. "I can actually eat meat for meals. I'm really promising."
"Eat quickly, days like this don't come often." Sui Yu picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it in the bowl. She took a bite and sighed in her heart, thinking that pork ribs are still delicious.
The three of them ate slowly at first, wanting to savor the food carefully. Later, when they were satisfied, they let go and ate the meat and drank the soup in big mouthfuls.
At the end of the meal, Sui Yu was full. She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the sky, thinking that the two taels of silver were worth it. She was satisfied with the meal and was full of energy. She was thinking about her future and planned to buy some ribs to have a meal when she made some money.
"When your third brother comes back, I'll buy four more ribs and stew them in a pot. He likes to eat mutton, so I can buy a leg of lamb and stew it." Sui Yu thought of Zhao Xiping.
Zhao Xiaomi wanted to laugh out loud. What a wonderful day this was.
"When will my third brother come back?" she asked.
"It's almost July. If he could come back this year, he would have already returned by now."
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