Chapter 60 (Stinky Tofu)
February
The turmoil of the marriage proposal soon passed. After Yan Qiushu clearly refused, no annoying person appeared in front of her again.
She continued to eat and drink with the children. Princess Chang came to see Zhou Zhaoqin every three days, and would also bring Zhou Zhaoheng with her so that the children could play together.
Occasionally I would stay for lunch.
However, most of the time she is very busy and has no time to eat lunch, but this attitude is enough to let the outside world see something.
It’s just that no one has much energy to pay attention.
Because from the first day to the eighth day of February, it is the day of the imperial examination. The imperial examination is held every three years, and the imperial examination is the last hurdle to determine whether students can become officials, so it is highly valued.
There are traffic restrictions in Kyoto these days, and no loud noises are allowed.
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, everything is over. We only need to wait for the results of the imperial examination to come out. Then comes the start of the new school year. This year, Dongdong and his classmates will be promoted to the yellow class. However, they have to go on February 12th, so there are still a few days to play.
Just at this time, Shui Xuan came over and said, "Girl, we made the tofu smell bad earlier!"
Yan Qiushu, who was bored to death, was immediately shocked when she heard this: "Is it really smelly?"
"It stinks!" Shui Yu frowned.
Yan Qiushu walked towards the small storage room and asked, "Do you smell something sour?"
Shui Yu thought about it and shook his head: "No."
Yan Qiushu felt relieved. When she arrived at the storage room, she smelled a bad odor. As soon as she smelled it, Yan Qiushu silently took a step back. She hadn't smelled it for a long time, and she was a little uncomfortable.
After taking several breaths of fresh air, she plunged in, quickly extracted the tofu inside, and then quickly ran to the yard to breathe in as little stench as possible.
Taking into account the acceptance and complexity of other people, Yan Qiushu did not make the stinky tofu black, and the color still looks similar to ordinary tofu.
It's just that it's already ugly!
After such a long time of marinating, the tofu is ready. The next step is simple. Yan Qiushu first stir-fries the sauce. Heat the oil over high heat, add a lot of minced garlic when the oil is hot, and after the aroma comes out, add the pepper, chili oil, salt, sugar and other seasonings that have been prepared in advance.
After the sauce is fried, put it in a bowl, wash the pot and add enough oil again. When the oil is hot, put the stinky tofu in one by one. As soon as they are put in, the tofu starts to sizzle. They sink to the bottom as soon as they enter the oil pan. After frying for a while, they start to expand and float up again.
The stench had largely dissipated during the frying process, and as time went by, the pure stench transformed into a smell that was both stinky and fragrant. Yan Qiushu said without even turning her head, "Shui Yu, smell it again. Doesn't it smell much better?"
After waiting for a while, she found that no one replied. She was stunned and turned around. She didn't know when she was the only one left in the kitchen!
In the past, whenever she cooked, Aunt Xu and Shui Yu would be at the stove, one at the stove and the other helping her. Now they were both gone, desperately trying to breathe fresh air outside.
She took a furtive glance and could see the two men whispering to each other, gesturing with their hands, and with exaggerated expressions on their faces, expressing their fear of the stench.
Yan Qiushu was embarrassed.
Isn’t stinky tofu more unacceptable than pig offal?!
In the main courtyard
The four children were here playing with Madam Xiao. They were too annoying and were driven out by Yan Qiushu.
They had nowhere to go, and the only place they were willing to go that wouldn't bother them was with Madam Xiao in the main courtyard.
Although Mrs. Xiao is serious in daily life, she is soft-hearted and very tolerant of children. Therefore, even if the four of them make a fuss, she can remain calm.
At this time, Dongdong pulled Wan'er and Zhou Zhaoqin to play hopscotch together. Xiao Pingsong, the older child, acted as the referee to ensure that the game could continue and there would be no quarrels due to shoddy playing methods.
For example, right now, Dongdong pointed at the spot where Wan'er had just jumped over and shouted, "You just stepped on the line!"
Wan'er shook her head in disbelief: "No! I danced very steadily."
"He really crossed the line. If you don't believe me, ask him!" Dongdong pointed at Zhou Zhaoqin: "Did he cross the line?"
Zhou Zhaoqin nodded obediently, and Wan'er turned her eyes to Xiao Pingsong with doubt, letting him make the final judgment.
Xiao Pingsong nodded in the affirmative.
Wan'er gave up with regret, picked up the stone and walked aside to wait for the next person to come up. The child's voice was crisp and loud, and it would easily become sharp if it was a little older.
Dongdong alone is a loud speaker. His voice has become much louder with Wan'er during this period. Now there is also Zhou Zhaoqin. Although he looks much quieter, he is not a truly quiet person by nature. Occasionally, when he plays crazy, he will lose his composure.
The combination of these loud voices, coupled with Xiao Pingsong's occasional loud voice to maintain order, was a disaster.
Even Madam Xiao was a little overwhelmed by the noise. Looking at the children, she muttered to Nanny Huang, "No wonder Ah Shu wanted to kick them out. They're getting more and more noisy!"
Nanny Huang smiled and said, "Isn't it? But Wan'er is becoming more and more cheerful, all thanks to Dongdong. It's better to make a fuss than to keep silent. Otherwise, you won't know what to say when you're bullied."
Madam Xiao still remembered the story of her second daughter-in-law, and nodded: "Yes, you can't learn from the second daughter-in-law. I don't know how her mother taught her in her natal family. She didn't say a word when she was bullied."
This was not something Nanny Huang could interrupt. She smiled and was about to change the subject when she suddenly smelled a foul odor and frowned.
Soon, the others also smelled it. Among the four children playing, Wan'er was the first to stop. She had a very sensitive nose and noticed something was wrong. She immediately sniffed and asked, "Do you smell a strange smell?"
Dongdong was about to shake his head when he suddenly said, "I smell it! It stinks..."
Zhou Zhaoqin also frowned, and wanted to find a place without this smell in disgust, but he found that it was everywhere, so his brows furrowed even tighter.
Xiao Pingsong said, "It seems to be... Aunt Yan's side?"
He hesitated and couldn't believe it.
But Dongdong said, "Go and have a look!"
He ran over first, Xiao Pingsong followed behind, Wan'er hesitated for a moment and then followed, Zhou Zhaoqin was a step slower, but still caught up, and Li Ma had no choice but to hurry up and follow.
Madam Xiao looked at the group of children who slipped away and said in silence: "Let's go and see what they are doing."
This stinks too much!
Could it be that the servant pouring the night incense spilled something?
This was one of the few reasons Mrs. Xiao could think of. However, when she followed the child to Yan Qiushu's yard and saw the fried tofu with a stinky and fragrant smell being eaten with relish by the juicy girl, she fell silent.
It’s actually this thing?
"Sister Ashu, this is too smelly, isn't it?!" Dongdong pinched his nose, unable to believe that someone who was always good at cooking not only made something so smelly, but also tasted so delicious.
The remaining three children nodded with lingering fear.
Yan Qiushu was a little embarrassed by being stared at by so many eyes. She hadn't eaten much yet and had just finished the second piece when they came. The fried tofu had bulging sides, and the stinky tofu had a hole in the middle, and she poured the sauce she had prepared into it spoonful by spoonful, making the stinky tofu crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside.
She hadn't finished the second bite yet. The stinky tofu, which was smaller than the palm of her hand, was fried so crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was drizzled with the sauce she made, which had a combination of garlic and spicy flavors. Although it didn't smell very good, it tasted really delicious!
As a result, when this group of people came and looked at her with such eyes, Yan Qiushu felt a little embarrassed. She quickly gobbled up the remaining half into her mouth, and when she took another bite, the juice almost overflowed.
She quickly turned around, covered her mouth, and tried to eat it.
Dongdong came running over and asked sympathetically, "Sister Shu, are you sick?"
Yan Qiushu: "..."
She chewed hard and finally swallowed it before saying, "No! It's really delicious!"
However, when she turned around after she finished speaking, she saw four children and several adults, all of whom were in disbelief. They were all telling her silently: Stop joking!
Yan Qiushu felt a bit suffocated. At least the pig offal smelled bad at first, but after it was processed, the aroma of the braised food overwhelmed everything and was attractive enough. But now, even though her sauce tasted good, it... smelled bad.
These two words seemed to block its path to ascension, making her feel anxious as if she had encountered delicious food but couldn't recommend it to others.
Yan Qiushu held her forehead, picked up a piece of stinky tofu, and looked at Dongdong with a smile: "Come and try it, I promise you will like it!"
The child who has the same strong taste as her is none other than Dongdong, and this is the child she is sure will like stinky tofu.
However, this time... Dongdong shook his head in resistance: "Sister Shu, we have other food to eat. Can we not eat this?"
Yan Qiushu raised a finger: "A cake roll!"
Dongdong was a little tempted and looked tentatively at the stinky tofu on the chopsticks. It was still dripping juice and smelled stinky, but it was spicy in the stinky and fragrant in the spicy. It didn't seem so bad, right?
But he didn't show it immediately. Instead, his eyes rolled around and moved to another place.
Yan Qiushu had no choice but to add: "Two cake rolls, do you want to eat them or not? If not, I'll let Pingsong eat them."
"I'll eat it!" Dongdong nodded quickly, opened his mouth resignedly, closed his eyes, and pinched his nose with his chubby hands.
Yan Qiushu looked at him with both anger and amusement, and stuffed the tofu into his mouth: "Eat it."
Dongdong nodded, loosened his hand that was pinching his nose, and closed his mouth. The salty, spicy, and garlicky soup spread between his lips and teeth. Before he could take a bite, his eyes opened with surprise: "Wow!"
It seems really delicious!
"Crunch, crunch..." The crispy shell is bitten open, and the sauce is more abundant. At this time, you can also taste the tofu inside. Although it has expanded a lot due to frying, it is still tender inside. The whole piece of stinky tofu tastes so delicious!
As Dongdong ate, his expression became strange.
It feels like a surprise and also like distress.
Wan'er was getting anxious, pinching her nose and asking, "Is it delicious?"
Mrs. Xiao also looked at it curiously.
Dongdong swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded vigorously: "Delicious! Very delicious!!"
"real?"
"No?"
"...Then let me try it too?"
Yan Qiushu quickly went to get the chopsticks: "Auntie, Pingsong, try it quickly, Second Prince, this is yours, it's really delicious."
Nanny Li took two steps forward, hesitating whether to stop her, but she saw Yan Qiushu, who had always disliked her, took the initiative to hand her a pair of chopsticks, but she retreated instead. This person had bad intentions!
She can't be fooled!
As for testing poison, Yan Qiushu and Dongdong have both eaten it, so they must have eaten something poisonous.
If she doesn't care, I won't take any risks.
She returned to her seat. Yan Qiushu felt very sorry and turned to stare at Madam Xiao and the others: "Try it? It's really delicious. Look at Dongdong, he's already eating his second piece."
As she spoke, she continued to eat. After a while, the stinky tofu was no longer so hot and she could eat it in one bite.
Mrs. Xiao saw that they were eating so happily. As a lover of strong flavors, although she didn't like to eat smelly things, the taste mixed with the stinky smell was exactly what she liked, so she took a deep breath and picked up a piece.
After eating this, she was stunned.
She sniffed it again and confirmed that it was smelly, but when she tasted the flavor, she found it novel and delicious!
I have to say it’s really delicious!
It even lacks the excessive stimulation of spicy strips that makes her sweat.
There's nothing wrong with it except that it smells a bit.
It’s fried, but not greasy at all, and the taste is not bland. The sauce can fully satisfy the taste. After the tofu expands, there is a lot of space in the tofu, which can hold more sauce, and naturally it is more... pleasing!
Seeing Mrs. Xiao picking up the second piece, Yan Qiushu smiled with satisfaction.
Conquer the second one!
She looked at Xiao Pingsong again. The young man was also eating very contentedly. Wan'er ate delicately with her eyebrows furrowed, but she took one bite after another without hesitation. Zhou Zhaoqin ate much more politely, but also took big mouthfuls, his eyes shining, revealing his satisfaction with the food!
Everyone enjoyed the meal very much, and the happy result was that they finished the whole pot that Yan Qiushu fried!
Madam Xiao wiped her mouth and said with a lingering feeling, "Please, Ah Shu, fry some more for me. I'll go give some to the boss and the others to try."
Yan Qiushu understood and happily went into the kitchen. She didn't even put the oil in the pan anymore, so she just fried it. It couldn't be simpler, and it took only a cup of tea to finish. She took it out and was about to hand it to Nanny Huang when she heard a burst of firecrackers outside, followed by the butler shouting, "Madam! Good news! Victory has arrived! The general has captured three enemy cities in a row!!!"
Madam Xiao was shocked and ran out immediately. She happily grabbed the housekeeper who had not yet entered the yard and asked, "But did you win?"
The butler was also excited, saying repeatedly, "Victory, victory! The victory report just arrived, and the messenger went to see His Majesty. Now the whole city is cheering. The general has won and should be back soon!"
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