Before long, Xiaoman led Erya into the house, skipping and hopping.
Sun Miao'er was washing crabs in the yard, listening to the sounds coming from inside the house. This house had never been so lively since she was reborn; it was almost always filled with Jin Shi's scolding and insults.
Now that things are like this, the original owner can finally go in peace.
"Hello, Uncle Fu," Er Ya greeted him.
Fu Yuchi was speechless. Why couldn't he just call him "brother"?
But he didn't say anything.
As soon as Er Ya saw Wei Jingnian, she couldn't help but pounce on him. Her chubby body bumped into Wei Jingnian, and she was indeed quite heavy. "Brother, how long has it been since you came to see Er Ya!"
Wei Jingnian's arm ached from being pressed down by her. He wanted to put her down, but she just clung to him. "Er Ya, your brother is busy, but I come to see you whenever I have a spare moment."
To get Er Ya off him, Wei Jingnian pulled out a handful of candied fruit from his sleeve. "Here, I brought this for you. Is that alright now?"
The moment the candied fruit was pulled out, the eyes of all the children in the room lit up. Er Ya snatched it and waved it in front of Xiao Man, "Look, my brother brought this for me!"
Xiaoman retorted, "Hmph, my sister bought me lots of delicious food when she went to the city last time!"
The two children looked ready to argue over who was better. Wei Shuhua patted Er Ya's head and said, "Go on, share the food with Xiao Man. Didn't you want to see the ducklings? I heard there are some in Sister Sun's backyard. Let Xiao Man take you there."
“Aunt Liang, that’s not a duckling, my sister said it’s a swan!” Xiaoman argued.
Wei Shuhua just wanted to get rid of these two little devils as soon as possible; their chatter was making her head ache. "Alright, alright, you two go ahead and remember to come back when it's time to eat!"
Liang Huai'an also sat down and chatted with his two brothers in the room. "Business is tough!"
Wei Jingnian asked, "Uncle, what's wrong? Could it be that the rumors outside are true?"
"That's right. I heard that some prince has rebelled, and the prices of rice and meat outside have skyrocketed. Normally, I can slaughter five or six animals in a morning, but today I only slaughtered two. I finished early and came back." Liang Huai'an sighed and drank a whole cup of tea.
Wei Jingnian also sighed, "I wonder if this year's imperial examination will also be postponed because of this, alas..."
The Wei family is large and prosperous, but the only shortcoming is that no one in the family has become an official. Now, in Wei Jingnian's generation, Wei Shuhua's brother is determined to cultivate a scholar who has passed the imperial examination.
They went to great lengths to hire a tutor from the city, bringing him over in a sedan chair every day and sending him back in the evening.
Wei Jingnian is also a promising young man. He is intelligent and passed the preliminary examination at a young age, and plans to take the metropolitan examination this year.
"Still talking about the imperial examinations, nephew? To put it bluntly, your family is so wealthy and powerful, why are you so fixated on this? When war really breaks out, you'll only feel secure if you have money in your pocket!" Liang Huai'an's family came from a military background, so naturally he had no interest in these literary pursuits.
Wei Jingnian disagreed, retorting: "Uncle, you are mistaken. Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants are the lowest. Even if you have a family business, and you are just a lowly seventh-rank official, my father would have to fawn over you. Who would put up with such a scoundrel? It's better to fight for your own honor! In our dynasty, it's better, but in the previous dynasty, the children of merchants didn't even have the chance to take the imperial examinations."
"I don't care anymore!" Liang Huai'an waved his hand. "If a fight really breaks out, I, Liang Lao Er, will go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and won't let Shuhua and Er Ya suffer!"
Wei Shuhua covered her mouth and laughed for a while after hearing this. "Jingnian, your uncle is a rough old man. Just go ahead and take the exam. If it's not offered, we'll wait until next year. If it is offered, just give it your all."
Wei Jingnian, being a spoiled and arrogant young man, was bound to go to the examination hall to compete with those scholars. "By the way, Brother Fu, I can see that you are also quite knowledgeable. At this age, have you ever taken the preliminary examination or anything like that?"
The questioner had good intentions, but the listener had no interest.
Fu Yuchi spoke calmly, "Young Master Wei, my ambitions lie elsewhere. I only wish to find solace in the countryside and live the life of a carefree villager."
Wei Jingnian, with a hint of disdain on his face, chimed in, "That's fine too. Studying is hard work. I have to get up at the crack of dawn every day, and by the time the dogs are asleep at night, I'm still awake!"
Sun Miao'er washed the crabs in the yard. There were eight people eating, so she steamed eight crabs. There were four crabs left, which could be used to make two drunken crabs, and the crab roe, crab fat and crab meat from the other two could be used to make a noodle dish.
The pot in the kitchen is boiling, with bamboo strips placed on top. Crabs are then arranged on the bamboo strips, drizzled with Shaoxing wine, wrapped with scallions and ginger, and the pot is covered. They will be cooked through in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The method for making drunken crab is quite complicated. It requires waiting until the crab is steamed before processing it. While waiting, Sun Miao'er ran to the vegetable garden outside the door and picked some fresh vegetables: a bunch of garlic sprouts, two cucumbers, and three bunches of tender celery.
A piece of dried cured meat was hanging behind the kitchen window frame. It was a gift from Wei Shuhua. The family hadn't finished it, and Sun Miao'er was afraid it would spoil, so she rubbed it with salt, left it to sit for a few days, and then dried it to make cured meat.
The meat has a perfect texture—neither too tough nor too mushy—and isn't overly salty. When stir-fried with garlic sprouts and salted pork, no additional seasoning is needed; the savory saltiness of the pork alone is enough to bring out the sweetness of the garlic sprouts to its fullest potential.
The aroma from the kitchen wafted into the house on the southeast wind. Wei Jingnian had gotten up early to travel back home. Usually, maids and servants would prepare breakfast at home, but he hadn't had time to eat it today.
Just smelling the aroma makes my stomach rumble.
"Auntie, this dish smells delicious. I may not know much about other things, but when it comes to food, no one can outsmart me!" Wei Jingnian began flattering her before even taking a bite, smelling the aroma of the food wafting through the air.
Fu Yuchi kept his head down, drinking tea. When he heard what Fu Yuchi said, he glanced at Wei Jingnian and then looked up towards the kitchen.
This girl hasn't put any effort into herself for a long time, but today, with a stranger coming, she's become quite enthusiastic.
Sun Miao'er stir-fried the salted pork, and the crabs in the pot changed color, gradually turning from green to red, and then to a bright orange. After steaming a few of the female crabs, the crab roe was so full that it almost burst out.
Steamed food should be kept in the pot to prevent it from cooling down too quickly.
Sun Miao'er took two crabs and started preparing the drunken crabs—first, she soaked them in cold water to cool them down. Time was tight; if it weren't for the guests, she could have started preparing the night before, as crabs marinated overnight are the most flavorful.
The cooled crabs were soaked in Shaoxing wine, just enough to cover them. When Sun Miao'er's predecessor ran a restaurant, the chef she hired would just joke around and fool her because she was a girl.
Later, she simply created a recipe and figured it out herself, mastering the basic essentials of the dishes, which prevented her from falling into the traps set by those chefs.
Sun Miao'er sniffed the Shaoxing wine, her brow furrowing slightly. The aroma was a bit weak; it was fine for removing the fishy smell from dishes, but not quite right for making drunken crab.
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