Chapter 100 (Beggar's Chicken)
Yan Qiushu also thought that what she cooked was delicious.
In her previous life, she actually didn't eat much pig's trotters, and most of the time she ate roasted ones. Living in an era when there was no shortage of meat, she didn't like to eat fatty meat.
So she doesn't like pig's trotters as much as other meats, but if they are made into spicy pig's trotters like this, the greasy taste will be reduced a lot, and what remains is the soft and tender taste of pig's trotters that few other foods can match.
This bite of pig's trotter not only does not feel greasy, but also feels extraordinarily delicious, especially when you eat a bite of pig's trotter and then a bite of sweet rice. The richness and sweetness are mixed together, and the latter seems to just make up for the slight greasiness of the former. It is a perfect match!
After finishing a pig's trotter, there was still a lot of rice left in Yan Qiushu's bowl. After a brief thought, she decisively took a spoon and poured the fragrant soup on the rice.
After a long period of stewing, the soup has completely absorbed the meaty aroma of the pork skin and meat. It is mellow, thick, fresh, fragrant and spicy. When eaten with rice, the speed at which it is eaten is unmatched.
It was getting late, time to go to bed.
The three of them took a walk for a while and then went back to their respective yards.
One good thing about the countryside is that white noise is very comfortable. The chirping of insects and birds is not abrupt at all and does not disturb people. On the contrary, this sound makes it easier to rest.
This resulted in Yan Qiushu getting up earlier in the countryside than in the Xiao Mansion because she could fall asleep more easily.
Xiao Huaiya was the same. He went to bed early and got up early for two consecutive days, following Yan Qiushu, helping her with some small tasks and doing some heavy work.
She was a lady from a wealthy family, and in a short period of time she had become very skilled at fetching water from the well and helping to wash vegetables.
Yan Qiushu found it amusing every time she watched it.
Such a thin and weak-looking girl actually likes physical work the most. I wonder if Wan'er will become like this in the future?
It was another morning, and Yan Qiushu was sitting at the dining table at around 12:00 AM as usual.
Shui Yu made breakfast today, which was pan-fried buns. She had only eaten two when Xiao Huaiya and Zhao Shuhong came over.
Yan Qiushu was eating while thinking about how to entertain the guests today. The few times guests came before, the way she entertained them had become very regular.
The focus of farm stays is to enjoy life. There is nothing else here, but there is a lot of land and the scenery is pretty good. It is completely possible for these dignitaries to experience various handicrafts such as making tofu.
But there is no more. Due to the geographical location, there are no hot springs or mountains nearby. Fortunately, Yan Qiushu is not short of money now. It is good enough if she can earn a little, so she doesn't need to worry too much.
However, Yan Qiushu would still feel nervous every time she received guests. In her previous life, she was doing live streaming, and it was enough to show a group of netizens her leisurely farm life every day. She had never personally entertained guests.
"You mean the time of Si, right?" Yan Qiushu asked again.
Steward Gu smiled and nodded: "Yes, don't worry, young lady, everything is ready, you can just receive them."
Yan Qiushu: "Well, it's much simpler than other times when there's only one person."
As he was speaking, a black dot appeared at the end of the road and slowly expanded.
This must be the guest.
only……
Yan Qiushu frowned: "Alone?"
Manager Gu also hesitated. The person who came to make the reservation looked like a servant from a wealthy family. How could the guest come alone?
Soon the man came closer, riding a horse, with a tall figure. Looking closely, wasn't this Zhuo Ning whom I had met at Mrs. Xiao's birthday party two days ago?
"Xiang Jun!" Zhuo Ning came up to him, quickly dismounted, and greeted him with a bow. "Xiang Jun looks very good. I think you have heard the news."
"What news?" Yan Qiushu asked in confusion.
Zhuo Ning replied, "The day before yesterday, the Duke of Zhenguo reported that His Royal Highness Prince Xuan had recovered from his injuries but was still staying in Kyoto, which was suspected of violating His Majesty's will. He was ordered by His Majesty himself to return to his fiefdom."
Yan Qiushu nodded without commenting too much. She felt uncomfortable with this person, so she nodded: "So that's how it is. Master Zhuo is the guest who has been booked for today?"
Seeing that she didn't reply, Zhuo Ning didn't mind and said with a smile: "Yes, the fifth lady is with you?"
"Yes." Yan Qiushu nodded and smiled: "Master Zhuo, let me take you to see your residence."
"Okay." Zhuo Ning handed the horse to the manor's servant and followed Yan Qiushu and Gu Guanshi. However, he kept talking: "Is Fifth Miss getting used to living here?"
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "Master Zhuo can go ask her directly."
Zhuo Ning curled his lips and sighed: "Hey, you are worthy of being a member of the Xiao family, you are so tight-lipped."
Yan Qiushu glared at him, then saw that they had arrived at his next accommodation. She immediately said, "We're here. Check to see if there's anything you need. Talk to Steward Gu later. I won't be entertaining you all the time. Apart from the inner courtyard, you can go anywhere else. If you want to eat anything, just tell the people at the farm. They can cook for you anytime..."
"Hey——" Zhuo Ning wanted to say something.
But Yan Qiushu had already run away.
Yan Qiushu didn't want to be the messenger between the two of them. If something happened, it would be her fault.
Matters of the heart are the most troublesome.
When she returned to the inner courtyard, she saw Xiao Huaiya playing hopscotch, a little game she had drawn out of boredom. The girl was enjoying it so much that she stopped when she saw her coming and said, "Have you treated me well? Who is coming this time?"
Yan Qiushu nodded and said, "It was Zhuo Ning. He also asked about you."
Xiao Huaiya frowned: "Why are you asking me?"
Yan Qiushu looked at her with a smile, which made Xiao Huaiya's fair cheeks slightly red. She glared at her angrily: "Why are you looking at me?! You didn't say anything?"
"No, I asked him to ask you."
Xiao Huaiya breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I won't go out to play today. Let's wait until he leaves."
Yan Qiushu crossed her arms and said slowly, "Really? I was thinking of taking you to make beggar's chicken today~"
When they went out to play yesterday, they saw a wild rabbit. They didn't know how it ran into the field, but it was scared away by their noise. Zhao Shuhong drooled at the sight and shouted that she wanted to eat the rabbit.
Yan Qiushu felt that rabbit meat was just average and not as delicious as frogs.
Frogs are actually bullfrogs, but no one else knew. Xiao Huaiya thought she wanted to eat pheasant, so she patted her chest and promised, "I can hunt! I'll take you pheasant hunting tomorrow!"
Yan Qiushu also said: "No need for pheasant, I will make you beggar's chicken tomorrow, it's super delicious!"
Xiao Huaiya was naturally tempted. They agreed that they would go after entertaining the guests today. However, she didn't know that the guest coming today was Zhuo Ning, so she backed off.
Yan Qiushu always felt that the girl knew what Zhuo Ning meant, so she avoided him, so she deliberately teased him.
Xiao Huaiya was anxious: "Ah!"
Zhao Shuhong saw that she was almost jumping up and down with laughter, "You can still make beggar's chicken without going out, right?"
Xiao Huaiya looked at the woman in front of him with suspicion.
Yan Qiushu pursed her lips and smiled, very obediently: "Yeah, I didn't say I had to go out."
Xiao Huaiya: "..."
She curled her lips and pulled Yan Qiushu to the kitchen: "Hurry up, let's make something to eat!"
Yan Qiushu suppressed her laughter and followed her.
The chicken is naturally processed. At this time, the chicken is really the most delicious free-range chicken. The meat is plump and you can imagine how delicious it will be after it is cooked just by looking at it.
Yan Qiushu picked at the chicken and asked, "How much can you eat? I think I can eat a whole one!"
Beggar's chicken is not strong in taste and not greasy. If you eat it and drink some milk tea, you won't even need to eat any rice, your stomach will be full.
Xiao Huaiya was the first to raise her hand: "Then I'll eat a whole one too!"
Zhao Shuhong and Shui Yu also expressed their desire to eat one!
How nice it is to eat meat with big mouthfuls!
At worst, you can just eat less at night to lose weight.
So Yan Qiushu made five, for the four of them and Zhuo Ning. She didn't know whether he would like it or not, but she still made it, after all, they knew each other.
The steps to making beggar's chicken are also very simple. First, massage the chicken, which is also called marinating. Yan Qiushu has made many kinds of sauces, and only one of them is used for marinating. As soon as she opens her mouth, Shui Jue can make it.
Yan Qiushu and Zhao Shuhong were both massaging the chicken. In order to make it more flavorful, they pricked it many times with needles.
This time, no seasoning will be added to the beggar's chicken, so it will be marinated for a little longer. Then some onions, ginger and garlic will be put into the chicken's belly. Then Xiao Huaiya came over with lotus leaves, and wrapped the chicken with a large stack of lotus leaves layer by layer, and then covered the lotus leaves with mud.
When Xiao Huaiya saw this operation, he was shocked: "Can this be eaten?!"
Yan Qiushu rolled her eyes at her and said, "It's not like it's directly touching the mud, so of course it's edible!"
Xiao Huaiya's face wrinkled as he stared at her in annoyance. "Is this edible? Is it really edible? Why is wine added to the mud? Isn't it covered with lotus leaves?"
It is difficult for a kitchen novice to understand, but Yan Qiushu did it very smoothly.
After wrapping the chicken in mud, the originally irregular chicken had become an oval-shaped mud ball. Each of them held a mud ball and they walked out together.
The bad part is that in order to prevent the chicken from getting burnt, it has to be simmered in a pile of firewood. In order to ensure that it is heated evenly, Yan Qiushu wants to dig a hole.
But it’s not good to dig five holes in the farmland. It would be so ugly.
So Yan Qiushu took them out and found a place to dig a hole. Xiao Huaiya took the lead and followed reluctantly. She didn't want to come out, as it would be bad if she met Zhuo Ning.
But she just didn't want to. After she walked out for just two steps, she saw a man standing on the edge of the field and chatting happily with an old farmer.
She saw Zhuo Ning, and Zhuo Ning also saw her. Their eyes met, one was happy, and the other wanted to run away.
"Fifth Miss!" Zhuo Ning was delighted and ran over directly.
Xiao Huaiya turned around and wanted to run, but Zhuo Ning soon caught up with her. Seeing her running, he laughed angrily: "Xiao Huaiya, are you going to keep hiding from me like this?!"
Xiao Huaiya stopped and pretended to pick up something. He then returned to Yan Qiushu with a sullen face, carrying his hoe. "Who's hiding from you? I'm so annoyed!"
When Zhuo Ning saw her coming back, he grinned and stopped talking to her. He looked at Yan Qiushu and said, "Xiang Jun, what are you doing?"
Yan Qiushu gestured for him to look at what the person behind him was holding. "I'm going to make beggar's chicken. There's a portion for you. Do you want some? If you do, I'll be able to help you out."
"Okay! No problem!" Zhuo Ning happily joined the group: "I'll do whatever you want. Can you give me this?"
He wanted to take the hoe from Xiao Huaiya's shoulder, but was dodged and glared at. He didn't get angry, but just smiled and walked away.
Yan Qiushu thought this person had a good temper. It was a pity that Xiao Huaiya was probably still struggling with her emotional issues. She shook her head, found an open space, and pointed there: "Dig it."
Xiao Huaiya stepped forward decisively and dug with the hoe. The hoe sank deeply into the soil. With another force, the soil was lifted up.
There was more than one person holding a hoe, there were also two little girls. Seeing this, Zhuo Ning also picked up a hoe and started digging together, but...
Yan Qiushu turned around, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing so hard that she was almost twitching. It was so cruel. Zhuo Ning was a grown man, but he couldn't dig a hole as hard as Xiao Huaiya. Seeing him working harder and harder, his face getting redder and redder, it was Xiao Huaiya who began to smile.
In the end, Xiao Huaiya took care of two by himself, Zhuo Ning only took care of one and a half, and the remaining one and a half were taken care of by the other two strong maids.
Yan Qiushu, Shui Yu and Zhao Shuhong went to collect firewood. There was a lot of dry firewood nearby. Since it was Yan Qiushu's territory, the nearby farmers would not come over and no one wanted the dry firewood. It was particularly convenient to burn firewood at this time.
Soon the fire was lit, and the five piles of firewood burned fiercely. It was the middle of summer, and it was noon, so the sun was strong and several people were getting too sunburned. They ran to the straw shed nearby to eat watermelon and wait for the fire to die down. When it got smaller, they put the beggar chicken on it, covered it with some firewood, and waited for it to simmer slowly.
The watermelon is chilled and cold, and tastes like smoothie, but it has a sweet texture. It is not the greasy sweetness from adding sugar, but a natural sweetness.
Yan Qiushu ate several pieces in a row without feeling sick, but her stomach was full.
The others were similar. Zhuo Ning ate half a watermelon directly, fanned Xiao Huaiya comfortably, and said with a smile: "It's quite comfortable here. No wonder everyone who has been here praises it."
Xiao Huaiya worked hard, and after eating and drinking, he was in a good mood. He answered in a rare lively tone: "That is, it doesn't depend on who did it."
"My dear country gentleman, you are awesome!" Zhuo Ning said.
Xiao Huaiya gave him a look that showed he was very knowledgeable, and said disdainfully: "Try harder, there is no wind."
"Yes, I will increase my strength right away." Zhuo Ning smiled good-temperedly and really used a lot more strength.
Yan Qiushu covered her teeth and tilted her head silently. Why couldn't she avoid dog food wherever she went? It was rare. Yan Qiushu almost wished that Xiao Huaiting would appear here.
"Is it about time?" Zhao Shuhong couldn't bear to watch it anymore and asked.
Yan Qiushu looked at the sky and nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look."
Suddenly, several people rushed out to get the things.
The last bit of firewood in the fire was burned out, and the originally soft mud was burned hard, hot and scalding. Yan Qiushu didn't dare to touch it, so Zhuo Ning found a frame and took it back.
So the five beggar chickens returned to the farm and lay in the large living room in the outer courtyard, surrounded by plenty of ice to cool them down.
Yan Qiushu took chopsticks and knocked them one by one. Zhuo Ning was not afraid of the heat, so he directly pulled the mud off, revealing layers of lotus leaves inside. As soon as the hole was opened, the fragrance of the lotus leaves spread out.
Then, with a pick of chopsticks, the layers of lotus leaves were broken open, revealing the fragrant, smooth and tender chicken inside. The aroma that followed made people salivate.
"Wow! This smells so good!" Zhao Shuhong took a deep breath. The aromas of lotus leaves and chicken in the air blended perfectly, without any smell of greasiness.
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