Miao Wan stayed in the house all morning and didn't come out. Aunt Geng went in to check on her several times and had some ideas in her mind.
She sat in front of the small stove at the entrance of the main hall and talked to Geng, "Madam, I don't think Awan is crying because of greed."
Geng used the needle to tidy up her hair and continued to sew the soles of the shoes. Miao Wan's original shoes were a bit tight, and thinking that her feet would become more and more swollen, Geng wanted to make two more pairs of loose shoes for her daughter-in-law in advance.
Hearing Aunt Geng say this, she remembered what happened that morning and felt like laughing again. "Then why do you think she was crying?"
"I saw Awan touching her belly and staring out the window." Aunt Geng whispered.
Geng thought, could he still be thinking about that dream? I wonder if Dazhuang caught any fish.
Aunt Geng continued, "The night before last, Ruichen left before I returned to my room. Awan went to bed early, and she didn't wake up until he left yesterday. Ruichen didn't come back last night either, and the direction Awan was in a daze was right towards the front door."
Geng was stunned. Was her daughter-in-law too embarrassed to admit that she was sad and crying because she didn't see the child's father, so she used greed as an excuse?
That makes some sense.
Since her family started to cooperate with the Zhang family in business, Miao Wan's mouth has always been full, and any delicious food is always given to her first.
Given that my daughter-in-law is so well-behaved and sensible, she wouldn't be so jealous that she would cry. Otherwise, no one would find it so funny.
If it was said that Awan was depressed because the couple couldn't see each other, and she was pregnant, which made her even more prone to excessive worry... then it all made sense.
Geng couldn't sew any more and put the needlework back into the basket. "I'll go and try to persuade her."
This is what Aunt Geng meant.
Although the Qiao family was exiled and now had no official status, titles like Master and Madam, Young Master and Young Miss were inappropriate, and the master allowed the three of them to call the younger generation by their names, but they were servants bought with a death indenture after all.
It is definitely inappropriate to expose the master's thoughts without permission and embarrass him.
Geng didn't think too much about it. When she entered the room, she saw that her daughter-in-law was indeed melancholy, just like she was when she was thinking about her husband.
She went over and hugged Miao Wan, "Awan, don't be sad. You know something about our family. In order to clear your father-in-law of the stigma, Ruichen will have to be busy for a while. When he's done, mother will definitely ask him to accompany you every day."
Miao Wan was thinking carefully about the spicy grilled fish on such a big iron plate, and was very confused when Geng suddenly hugged her and said such words.
"My husband, are you willing to accompany me every day?" Miao Shiren was very self-aware. She felt uncomfortable without such a strong young man, so she ordered Qiao Ruichen around a lot.
Hearing this, Geng was even more certain that Miao Wan was thinking about her husband. She patted her chest and said:
"I don't know yet about my son. He will definitely agree, but I guess we have to wait for a while. Don't think too much about it."
Miao Wan nodded gloomily, "Good things are worth waiting for. I'll just wait for him."
It's not so easy to deal with local tyrants. In the novel, it took the Qiao family ten years to bring down General Dingbei. There's no point in being anxious. She's still more concerned about her grilled fish...
Seeing her say this, but with a different expression, Geng was about to offer some more advice when she heard Qiao Rui yelling from outside, "Sister-in-law! Brother Dazhuang has caught a fish! What a huge one!"
Hmm? Miao Wan immediately perked up, and all her listlessness and fatigue disappeared.
She must have a bite of this grilled fish today!
Before, she was busy crying and the baby was very quiet. Miao Wan didn't pay attention to her stomach, but the baby was very quiet all morning and she felt a little distressed.
Maybe the baby also wanted to eat fish, and in his excitement he kicked her without paying attention, so he woke her up?
The baby must be feeling very uncomfortable too.
She had never been a mother, and she didn't know if the baby in her belly had such rich emotions, but this was the only relative who was connected to her by blood, so spoiling the child had to start from the womb.
She took out the spices she had bought earlier from the cupboard and walked out excitedly, not forgetting to say hello to her mother-in-law.
"Mom, I'm going to Zhang's to clean up the fish. Let's all go to Zhang's for dinner today. I'll let you taste how delicious the grilled fish is, and then you'll understand why I cried this morning!"
Geng: “…”
When Miao Wan pulled Qiao Rui out of the door with brisk steps, Geng suddenly suspected that she might be overthinking it.
My daughter-in-law... maybe she is crying because she is really greedy?
When we arrived at Zhangjia Miaowan, we found that there were not only two big fish, but also some lively small fish.
The big fish is the most common grass carp in the northwest. The big one weighs about three to five pounds, and the small one weighs only two to three pounds. Add some side dishes and stir-fry a few dishes, and it should be enough for the family to eat.
The most commonly used fish for grilled fish are grass carp, sea bass and catfish. Grass carp tastes delicious and tender, but it has too many bones and is not suitable for children.
Because of this, Zhang Dazhuang had caught some small fish. He smiled and said, "Fry the smaller ones for the children to try. As for the big ones, you can cook them as you wish. Ask your sister-in-law to help."
Although Yu’s cooking skills were not as good as those of his family due to the loss of his family’s traditional cooking skills, his charcoal grilling skills had always been excellent.
Miao Wan didn't try to be tough either. She knew she couldn't prepare food for more than 20 people by herself.
"Then let's clean the fish first, and I'll prepare the sauce."
While Yu was deftly scraping the scales and cleaning the internal organs of the fish, Miao Wan was swiftly heating oil in the iron pot.
The Zhang family's kitchen was much larger than the Qiao family's, with three stoves. She used another stove to put half of the lemongrass on it to boil water.
The remaining half of the lemongrass is placed in oil heated over low heat, and the gradually increasing oil temperature is used to bring out the unique aroma of the lemongrass that seems to have a sweet aftertaste.
After cleaning the grass carp, make cuts and apply boiled lemongrass water and salt on both sides to marinate.
Originally, cooking wine was needed, but neither family had it. Fortunately, lemongrass has the effect of removing fishy smell, so Miao Wan poured some of Zhang's liquor into it.
While the food was being pickled, Yu lit the charcoal fire while Miao Wan and Yang prepared the side dishes.
There were no decent vegetables in winter, so I could only choose some dried bamboo shoots and pumpkins, and asked Qiao Rui to go back and get some black fungus to soak.
"Second sister-in-law, do you have any mung beans at home?" Miao Wan asked Yang. Mung beans are grown in the northwest, but they are less abundant than grains.
Yang: "There is still some, but not much. If you want it, we can go out and get some later. But this thing is cold, you can't eat too much."
Miao Wan nodded. She had just remembered that there were fewer vegetables in winter, so she could sprout some mung beans to eat, but it was too late now.
Wait until the side dishes are ready and the fish is marinated.
Since Yu was more professional in charcoal roasting than Miao Wan, she didn't give orders blindly, but just sat aside.
When Yu was about to brush oil on the fish, Miao Wan took out the spicy ingredients used in the spicy soup. They were all prepared with lard in advance and could be used directly as oil.
Wow, Yu originally thought that her charcoal grilling skills were unmatched, but when she used Miao Wan's method to grill fish, she was really convinced. It really is true that there are always people who are better than you.
The taste of charcoal grilling is naturally fragrant. When grilling fish with charcoal fire, the fishy smell has been almost removed. Add spicy ingredients, and the fragrant and spicy taste is even stronger than spicy skewers.
That’s why they say that no one can resist barbecue.
The charcoal fire brings out the spicy aroma to the maximum extent, and mixed with the oil in the fish skin, it can be said that there is spiciness in the numbness and fish fragrance in the spiciness.
Not to mention that Miao Wan also used strong liquor, which made the spicy and fresh dish have a hint of alcohol. Butcher Zhang was so stunned by the sight that he didn't know whether he was craving for food or alcohol.
The children who had been playing everywhere in the house came back and gathered in a circle, staring at Yu eagerly.
Yu's daughter Qiaoya tugged at Miao Wan's sleeve and said, "Aunt, I know why you're crying because of your greed. It's so delicious! If I didn't get to eat it in my dream, I would definitely cry too."
Miao Wan: “…” You’re bringing up something irrelevant. Qiaoya, you have a good understanding. Don’t mention it next time.
Geng came over with Qiao Shengwen, but Aunt Geng, because of her status, held Changshou and refused to come over.
Geng didn't try to persuade her. She understood Aunt Geng's discomfort and decided to pick some out and send them back later.
Miao Wan pinched Qiaoya's cheek and asked with a smile, "Does it smell good?"
"Xiang——" Not only Qiaoya, but all the children stretched out their voices and answered Miao Wan in a cute and adorable way.
Miao Wan smiled maliciously and imitated the child's tone, "Xiang—you can't eat it either. It tastes spicy. You'll feel uncomfortable in your stomach after eating it!"
Donkey Egg and Dog Egg were not at home, and the other younger children were stunned when they heard this.
It smells so good, why don’t you ask them to eat it?
If you eat them, you may feel uncomfortable in your stomach, and if you don’t eat them, the whole baby will feel uncomfortable!
Sun's three-year-old son Tiedan burst into tears, "Wuwuwu... I want to eat, even if my stomach hurts."
The children all nodded hurriedly. Yang's youngest son Tieshuan's eyes were red, and his chubby head looked almost broken, which fully demonstrated the saying "No one can stop a foodie, not even death."
Geng covered her mouth and laughed, scolding Miao Wan: "Stop teasing the child. If she cries, she'll need your mother to comfort her."
Miao Wan stuck out her tongue at Madam Zhang, "They really can't eat this pot."
Before the children could all cry out, Miao Wan quickly comforted them, "But there's fried fish that's even more delicious than this. Don't forget Brother Donkey Egg and Brother Dog Egg! When they come back this afternoon, there's still a fish. I'll make a pot of non-spicy fish for you. That way, you can have one more delicious meal than the adults, okay?"
Tiedan thought about it with tears in his eyes, then hugged Sun's arm and sobbed, "We need to grill some more meat."
When Miao Wan saw that Yu agreed, she looked at the other children who were staring at the grilled fish and thought that Tiedan was worthy of being the son of Brother Zhang San.
He is the only one who knows how to bargain, so in the future, Miao Shiren must leave a place for Xiao Tiedan in her business empire.
Her brother Zhang San had just come out of the restaurant. Thinking of what his father-in-law had asked him to say, his face showed both pride and embarrassment.
After returning to the tent, even Uncle Geng could see that he was absent-minded.
But the customers were already starting to arrive, so Zhang Erzhuang could only take the opportunity to catch his breath and whisper, "What's wrong? Did Boss Yu give you a hard time?"
Zhang Sanzhuang shook his head. "He must have been beaten into a pig's head. He didn't even show up."
"So what are you doing?"
Someone else came in and waited for greeting. Zhang Sanzhuang didn't have time to say anything more. "You'll know when you get home."
Not only were the guests in the tent interested in the spicy skewers, but many people were also particularly interested in the fragrant soap and soap that Goudan was guarding. Some people even washed their handkerchiefs by themselves, which attracted many people to come over and watch.
There are more people wanting to buy than yesterday.
Zhang Sanzhuang had long remembered Qiao Ruichen's words. Although his performance was not as natural as Qiao Ruichen's, he also made it very clear that this was for his own use and he just wanted to make a fortune in spicy skewers in a low-key manner and not rely on this to make money.
Everyone wanted to spit in his face, just like your spicy skewers stall was too low-key.
The first thing you smell when you enter the tile market is the spicy smell of your house. Many people are lured into the tent after entering the tile market and forget what they originally wanted to do.
There are those who are rich and insist on buying it for one or two yuan, and Zhang Sanzhuang also sells it.
But he only brought out three or five yuan at most, and some people wanted to buy the ones they were using, but Zhang Sanzhuang disagreed.
They are not looking for retail, the reason they keep it there is for the traveling merchants who come to eat there every day.
Some merchants who didn't come yesterday were indeed jealous. When they were circling around and trying to trick him, Zhang Sanzhuang patted his chest and said righteously -
For the sake of our distinguished guests, we can work hard and make some money even if we don’t make any. But the spicy skewers can only be bought by those who queue up early enough and eat enough. We can’t let it interfere with our legitimate business and earn some hard-earned money.
Whether the merchants believed it or not was another matter, but Zhang Sanzhuang's attitude was very clear: "It's up to you to buy it, and if you don't, I'm too lazy to do the trouble."
Maybe he was angry about the experience he gained from showing off his wealth. His pretentious manner made me so angry that I wanted to beat him up.
Fortunately, Zhang Sanzhuang remembered Qiao Ruichen's words very well. The small merchants still wanted to argue with him, but the merchants with slightly bigger business understood what Zhang Sanzhuang meant and walked away calmly as if they had no interest.
The small merchants saw that the big guys didn't make trouble and lived on the smell of money, so how could they be clumsy?
For businessmen, making money is more important than anything else, so temper is nothing. They are not in a hurry to make a fuss and go back to find out.
After asking around, I found out about the queue.
Everyone thought it was a good idea. They lined up in the dark without making a sound, bought some spicy skewers in the morning, and walked away with the food boxes. The good stuff was at the bottom of the boxes, so those hyena-like lackeys in Washi wouldn't be able to exploit them anymore.
These merchants were very interested in the news that if they paid a thousand coins in ten days, they could double their orders.
However, even if it doubles, it’s only one hundred yuan each. If I want to get enough goods, I have to travel all over the country to make money after the New Year. How can this be enough?
Soon someone realized what was happening and followed the example of those who had sent their servants to come alone in the morning, and sent their servants or family members to come and eat as well.
After noon, the ingredients sold were about the same as yesterday.
Zhang Sanzhuang thought they would have to wait until dark to sell out all the goods, but after lunch time, the tent became lively again.
Customers like you have ten skewers, I have twenty skewers, he has thirty skewers and wants to take away, come in one by one waving copper coins.
Zhang Erzhuang, who was originally worried, was dumbfounded again. "Is this why my brother-in-law asked me to prepare more ingredients? How did he do it?"
Zhang Sanzhuang was busy registering the customer's name and consumption, and was also busy writing the customer's characteristics on the back. He had no time to answer Zhang Erzhuang's words.
Just talk about it when you get home, and you’ll save yourself the trouble of talking twice.
They were so busy that they were sweating all over. The adults in the main hall of the Zhang family were in the same state. They slurped the spicy grilled fish and their foreheads were covered with sweat.
The fish that was grilled earlier was put into an iron pot that was sautéed with ginger and whole garlic cloves. Black bean sauce was added and sizzled until it turned into red oil, which was then continued to be fried.
When both sides are fried, add water and cook for half an hour, then take out the fish and cut it.
There was no particularly large plate at home, so I simply cleaned the iron pot and put the fish back in.
Then put the stir-fried side dishes into the iron pot, pour the spicy hot pot seasoning red oil heated in a clay pot, and thoroughly boil out the fish fragrance. That's it.
In fact, some coriander should be added. If there is no coriander, you can use schizonepeta. But Yang doesn't eat schizonepeta, so this step was omitted.
A pot of red, fragrant and spicy grilled fish made everyone drool, and Miao Wan was very proud.
Although the materials were incomplete and she only exerted 80% of her strength, she still conquered everyone with this and at least saved 80% of her face!
The children couldn't eat grilled fish. Miao Wan felt that simply frying fish would definitely not be as delicious as grilling fish. In order to prevent the children from eating with tears in their eyes, she thought of another way.
After cleaning the small fish, marinate them in the remaining lemongrass water and cut them in half to remove the larger bones.
Mix flour and eggs together, add nutmeg and cumin powder, and a little salt water, and make a paste.
The marinated fish are coated with batter and fried in oil, similar to the famous five-spice fried chicken in later generations. Children will definitely love it.
The remaining bones in the small fish are crispy and there is no need to worry about them getting stuck in children's throats.
Finally, there was a little batter left. Miao Wan had an idea and mixed some milk cubes into the boiling water to knead the dough.
After kneading the dough, she rolled it into long thin dough sticks, then cut it into slices and fried them all in oil, without wasting any of them.
Don’t say it, although the oil inevitably has a fishy smell, the milk cubes are made of goat milk and malt sugar, which is sweet and fragrant. After frying, they become a simplified version of cat ears.
When the cat ears cooled down, everyone couldn't wait to pick up their chopsticks and eat the grilled fish.
By the time Geng brought a bowl back to Aunt Geng, more than half of the grilled fish had already been eaten.
Fortunately, although Qiao Shengwen was a gentle man, his hands were quite fast. He smiled at Geng and said, "I served it to you in advance. Eat quickly."
Geng's face felt a little hot. Her husband had been very good to her since he was young. Ruichen was the only child in the family for so long. When her mother-in-law was still alive, he also resisted the pressure and refused to take in a younger child.
The couple spent most of their lives together and hardly ever had a quarrel.
The way they looked at each other made everyone present feel a little uncomfortable, and they quickly turned their heads away, otherwise they would feel that the fish would not be so delicious.
Geng recalled the sweet memories of their youth and looked at Qiao Shengwen with tenderness. "Husband, your leg isn't healed yet, so don't eat. I'll eat for you."
Qiao Shengwen: “…”
"Puchi——" Miao Wan couldn't help herself and lowered her head with her shoulders shaking.
The adults in the Zhang family were also amused by Qiao Shengwen's shocked expression.
The children didn't understand what was going on. Their hands and mouths were full of food, but they still blinked their big eyes, imitating Qiao Shengwen to go see Geng.
Geng felt embarrassed by the children's stares and glared at Qiao Shengwen angrily, "What are you looking at? I'm doing this for your own good. When your leg heals, you can ask Awan to make it if you want to eat."
Before she came back, Qiao Shengwen had already eaten several chopsticks, and she didn't try to grab the food in the iron pot with everyone else. After she said that, she was really rude and directly poured the food in Qiao Shengwen's bowl into her own bowl. Fearing that he would be greedy, she considerately turned her back and ate.
Cui Ya, the eldest daughter of the Yu family, saw how pitiful Qiao Shengwen looked and reluctantly handed him a piece of fried fish. "Grandpa Qiao, it's delicious if you eat fried fish with us!"
Everyone watched the joke while wiping the sweat from the spicy food and eating with relish.
The aroma of fish is different from that of red meat. Fish is particularly delicious. After being grilled over charcoal fire, it is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Because it is boiled, it seems to melt in the mouth, leaving only the spicy taste and a faint aroma of wine for people to linger on.
Three or five pounds of fish were not enough for two families, but fortunately there were side dishes. The Zhang family had just made pot stickers yesterday, and they followed Miao Wan's example, breaking them into pieces and soaking them in the soup to eat.
After everyone had eaten their fill, they looked into the iron cauldron and saw that it was as clean as if it had been licked.
Miao Wan eats slowly and doesn't eat as much as others.
This was not the most delicious grilled fish she had ever eaten, but today it was more of a wish for herself.
But she was pregnant and had a big appetite, so she didn't feel that full, so she went outside and brought in the cat ears that were cooling on the windowsill.
The children also eat slowly. Their stomachs are like balls and they can always fill up a little. When they see Miao Wan eating something they have never eaten before, they swarm over again.
Miao Wan gave each child a piece. The children were like blind bears, loving everything they ate. They crunched the noodles in their mouths and before they could even swallow them, they started looking for their mothers, clamoring for more noodles.
It’s not that they don’t want to ask Miao Wan for food, but the children have been told that their aunt is pregnant and they can’t snatch food from her.
The children also have their own understanding. Their aunt is someone who would cry even in her dreams because of greed. If they snatch her food, they might get beaten if she cries again.
So who says children are not smart?
Seeing that her sisters-in-law were being pestered, Miao Wan took the initiative to share some with everyone.
The men were too embarrassed to eat it, but after the women tasted it, their eyes lit up, it was indeed delicious.
“It’s easier to eat than milk cubes, more chewy, and more fragrant.”
"Yes, it's a little fishy. It would taste better if fried in clean oil."
"Awan, you're so smart. Wouldn't it taste better if it's hot?"
Miao Wan smiled, "It's delicious whether hot or cold, but the colder it is, the crispier it is, and the more flavorful it is. What do you think, how about we sell this type of snack at the end of the year?"
Ordinary people work hard all year round, and no matter how frugal they are during normal times, they still have to eat something good during the New Year and buy delicious food to visit relatives and friends and entertain their loved ones.
Miao Wan has no intention of missing out on such a good opportunity to make money during the Chinese New Year.
But the closer it gets to the end of the year, the less time people have to sit there and eat spicy skewers because they are busy shopping. Besides, spicy skewers are not suitable for visiting relatives and friends, as many people have children at home.
She had been thinking about what to do so that she could be competitive by the end of the year. Fried fish gave her an idea: she could make fried desserts!
Things like sugar bait and cat ears can be kept.
You can add beet sugar. People like sweet taste these days, so it will definitely sell well.
Madam Zhang asked, "It's easy to sell, but if it's too expensive, most people probably won't be willing to buy it. If it's too cheap, there won't be much profit, right?"
It requires flour, sugar, milk, and oil, so the cost won’t be low.
Miao Wan had done this problem herself. She clapped her hands and said, "What if the candy was made into the shape of a gold ingot, and each piece of dough had the word 'Fu' written on it?"
"I think it's okay!" Zhang Sanzhuang just came back and heard Miao Wan say this as soon as he entered the door. He said excitedly.
During the Chinese New Year, delicious and auspicious things, like pig's head, are a good omen for good luck, so people will buy them no matter how expensive they are.
Seeing that everyone had the same idea, Miao Wan began to think about specific issues.
"But it's easy to make Yuanbao. But if you want to make the dough into the word 'Fu', it requires a certain level of craftsmanship and it's not easy to do."
After saying that, she glanced at Sun, who was the one most likely to do a good job in the family.
As for Miao Wan? Sorry, this has nothing to do with pork and spicy food. She is a theoretical person and not very good at it.
But Sun was due to give birth in less than a month, and her belly was so big that she probably couldn't even reach the chopping board, so it was impossible for her to cook.
Both families were silent for a moment after hearing this. This was indeed a difficult problem.
Everyone present looked at each other, and no one spoke.
They are good at cooking, but they need skills? Sorry, everyone here is garbage.
While everyone was worried, Zhang Sanzhuang coughed a few times and said, "Well, when I went to the restaurant today, my father-in-law called me out to talk. He said he was short of money a while ago and just got some money together. He has a few days off and wants to come to our house to apologize."
Originally, Zhang Sanzhuang didn't know how to tell his family. The Sun family had not said anything before, and his family was actually not very happy about it.
But his father-in-law has a bad temper, and he is afraid that if his father-in-law comes to visit, they will start arguing.
Now he cautiously suggested, "That is... ahem, is it possible to let father-in-law save money for the New Year and let him work hard to help us do the work?"
Sun: “…” You are such a filial son-in-law.
The author has something to say:
Miao Wan: Pampering your child starts from the womb!
Geng: Are you really not greedy?
Miao Wan: ...
Geng: At first I snatched my husband’s bowl because I felt sorry for his leg that hadn’t healed yet. Later… I felt so… good!
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