Chapter 81 (Mutton Pot)
The next morning
Yan Qiushu woke up. She had a good sleep and felt much more energetic when she had breakfast.
This morning I made fried noodle dumplings and dumpling soup.
Wheat flour dumplings are different from simple dumplings. They are much larger than ordinary dumplings, about the length of a palm. The outer skin is crispy and soft, not hard. There is a lot of stuffing inside, but the outer skin is also very thick.
It looks like a big fat dumpling with pointed ends and a plump middle. You can eat it directly with your hands. If you pinch it, you can feel the stuffing inside the dumpling.
It tastes a bit crispy, but mostly soft.
The dumpling skin itself has a salty taste, but it is a light taste. Once you eat the filling inside, the flavor comes out. The filling is leeks, eggs, some meat and fungus.
Because of the large portion, the dumpling filling naturally cannot be too monotonous.
Yan Qiushu was in a good mood and ate in big mouthfuls. After taking a bite, the tip disappeared, revealing the filling inside. After another bite, the leeks, fungus, eggs and meat were mixed in her mouth. It seemed that some pepper powder was sprinkled on it. In addition to the taste and saltiness of the ingredients themselves, there was also a numbing feeling.
The bite was huge, filling her mouth. After she finally finished it, she felt it was a bit dry. After taking two bites, Yan Qiushu scooped up a spoonful of dumpling soup with a spoon.
With just a sip, the hot soup went down your throat.
The lumps that drip through the colander are not big. You can get a lot of lumps in one mouthful. You don’t need to chew them, just swallow them into your stomach.
Yan Qiushu was sweating while eating, but she was reluctant to stop. The feeling of filling her stomach with big mouthfuls of food was so satisfying.
The main reason is that this night is too long.
From five or six o'clock on the first day to seven or eight o'clock on the second day.
Fourteen hours have passed, and the little food I ate last night has long been digested.
When she was almost done eating, she finished the last mouthful of dumpling soup, swallowed the last bit of dumpling tip, and looked at Shui Yu: "Let's go out for a while!"
She went to ask the young man and then asked Mrs. Xiao to help bear witness. She thought she would not refuse, but she didn't know whether the young man agreed or not. Besides, it would be quite embarrassing for her to go and talk about such a thing.
Shui Yu didn't move immediately, but said, "Mrs. Xiao told you to have breakfast and go to her place. The matter you mentioned has been taken care of."
Yan Qiushu: “???”
Done?!
Yan Qiushu quickly wiped her mouth and went over without delay. However, she almost forgot that there was a problem with her foot, so she stumbled and made the ankle injury worse!
Shui Yan quickly ran over to support her.
When she arrived at Madam Xiao's courtyard, Yan Qiushu hesitated for a moment, fearing that several masters were there, which would be a bit embarrassing. Although this matter had to be made public, it would not be convenient for her to announce it in person.
But when I walked in, I found that there was no one else in the yard.
Nanny Huang had been waiting for a long time, smiling warmly: "Miss, please come quickly, the Madam is waiting."
Noticing her limping gait, he was startled: "What's wrong with the girl?"
"It's okay, it's okay. I just accidentally fell last night." Yan Qiushu smiled and followed her into the house.
Shui Yu and Nanny Huang did not come in.
Madam Xiao was sipping tea. When she saw her coming, she immediately asked about her ankle. After learning that it was nothing serious, she waved to her and said, "Come and sit down."
Yan Qiushu sat down obediently, and the next second she couldn't wait to speak: "Aunt, is it really done? Who is the candidate? Is he easy to control?"
"Don't worry, I'll be obedient." Madam Xiao gave her a kind smile, took out a jade pendant from her sleeve, and said softly, "This is his personal belonging. Most people will recognize it when they see it. If you wear it, everyone will understand."
Yan Qiushu's heart trembled, and something that she had deliberately suppressed began to stir, but she told herself that she must be overthinking it.
How could Madam Xiao do such a thing so casually?
After all, it concerns my son's happiness.
She hesitantly stretched out her hands, but before she could reach out, Madam Xiao had already very straightforwardly pressed the jade pendant into her hands: "Take it!"
Yan Qiushu felt something was wrong the moment she started.
This thing is actually warm!!!
It can't be that it was warmed up in Madam Xiao's hands in such a short time just now, right?
Yan Qiushu's eyes widened as she stared at the thing in her hand. She held it with the back, and the feel alone was excellent. The jade pendant was a light green in color, and it looked very beautiful under natural light.
When she turned it over, she noticed that the front of the jade pendant was not engraved with a pattern, but a word!
But the word looked a bit complicated, and she couldn't figure out what it was.
It just looks familiar.
Of course, no matter what, a man who can have this thing is definitely not a poor scholar!
Yan Qiushu's heart was beating fast and her cheeks were slightly hot, but she didn't dare to really believe it. She whispered, "Auntie, who is the owner of this jade pendant?"
Madam Xiao said calmly, "Didn't you see it? It has the ancient Chinese character 'Xiao' written on it. Keep it. You were the one who wanted it so urgently. I was also very anxious when I asked Old Six. I didn't sleep well last night."
At this moment, Yan Qiushu could clearly feel that her face seemed to have exploded, and it suddenly became so hot that she was at a loss.
It turned out to be Xiao Huaiting!
Mrs. Xiao actually gave up her own son like this?
"Aunt, this... I..." Yan Qiushu was stunned and speechless.
Although she had some extravagant hopes, she was also rational enough. She felt that her relationship with Xiao Huaiting had not reached that level, so she could just find any other man.
Moreover, if things really developed to that point in the future, she believed that given the character of the Xiao family, they would not mind her pretending to be engaged.
But he didn't expect that this pretend candidate was given to him by Madam Xiao.
Yan Qiushu felt something was wrong, as if she was forcing him to get married?
But she couldn't deny that she felt a little happy when she knew it was Xiao Huaiting.
This feeling made her feel more like she was forcing a marriage. Yan Qiushu's face became hotter and hotter. She wanted to explain that she really was not forcing a marriage, but she didn't know where to start. After all, this matter might be ridiculous in the eyes of Mrs. Xiao.
Madam Xiao hadn't expected the girl in front of her to blush so much. Not a trace of her fair and tender appearance could be seen on her face, as if even her fingers were red. Seeing that the girl was so anxious that tears were coming out, she quickly came over to comfort her, "Don't worry, what are you afraid of? If you really don't like Lao Liu, you can break up in two years. He agreed to this on his own anyway. I didn't force him."
Yan Qiushu felt relieved after hearing this, but her face became even hotter instead of subsiding, and her palms began to sweat.
It turned out that he agreed.
She pursed her lips and smiled, trying to calm herself down, then she heard Madam Xiao say:
"But I think that even though this engagement was a bit hasty, the fact that Sixth Brother agreed to it shows that he's somewhat interested in you. I saw that early on. He usually listens to you. You told him not to eat too fast, and then Fifth Brother wrote to me complaining about him eating like a nobleman in the army. If you don't dislike Sixth Brother, why don't you try to get along for a while? If it works out, we can get married next year."
Yan Qiushu pursed her lips and gripped the jade pendant tightly in her hand. Her fingertips turned pale from the force, and her heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out of her throat.
Do you want to agree?
She wanted to, but was also a little worried.
Fortunately, Madam Xiao noticed her concerns, rubbed her head, and said gently, "Okay, let's think about this later. I know you're so anxious, so let's sign the engagement agreement first and register it with the government. Then you can stay at the farm for two days. I'll have someone from the old family bring the betrothal gifts and formally propose marriage."
She handed over a hard-cover red book.
At this time, engagement involves exchanging engagement letters and writing them down. What's more important is sending it to the government for registration. However, before that, a betrothal gift must be given. Of course, the order is reversed now, so it doesn't matter.
But Yan Qiushu was an orphan and lived in the Xiao Mansion. It would be bad for the reputation of a woman and not in accordance with the rules to propose marriage in the Xiao Mansion.
Fortunately, Yan Qiushu had her own house at this time, otherwise she would have to ask the Xiao family to prepare a house for her.
She muttered as she opened the engagement book. There were no page numbers, just a few lines of text written across one page. At the top was the word "Marriage Certificate." Below that were the birth dates of Yan Qiushu (Yan Shu), her current pseudonym, and Xiao Huaiting, along with a sentence: "The two of them are in love and, after consultation with their elders, will be engaged on May 12, the eighteenth year of Jian'an..."
The right side is empty, and the left side is the Xiao family seal, which can replace the signature.
But Yan Qiushu didn't have this, nor did she have any elders, so she could only sign it herself.
Huang Ma Ma smiled and handed over the brush: "Don't worry, young lady, my wife is a good mother-in-law!"
Yan Qiushu's hand holding the pen trembled and she almost dropped the pen. She took a deep breath and carefully wrote her name: Yan Shu.
Yan Qiushu seemed to have spent a long time writing these two short words, stroke by stroke.
After confirming that everything is correct, press your fingerprint.
Madam Xiao blew on the writing, and when it was dry, she handed it to Madam Huang and said, "Take it to the young lady and ask her to take it to the government office."
Nanny Huang replied in a clear voice, "Okay, I'll go right away."
She left with the cardboard in her arms.
Yan Qiushu lowered her eyes and wiped the red off her fingers with a handkerchief. Her fingertips were still trembling slightly. If it were someone else, she would definitely not be like this, but the name written on the engagement certificate was Xiao Huaiting's.
But before she could think about it, a huge sound of firecrackers suddenly rang in her ears, crackling and startling her.
Madam Xiao soothed them, "These are firecrackers. They let everyone know that someone in our Xiao Mansion is engaged. When we get the engagement letter back later, the guests will come up to ask about it. Then tell others, and everyone will know."
Yan Qiushu pursed her lips and smiled: "Aunt, thank you for your concern."
Madam Xiao smiled gently and shook her head: "Don't worry, why should I worry about this? If you two really succeed, it will be much easier for me to have a daughter-in-law here."
Yan Qiushu coughed lightly, feeling uncomfortable all over, and quickly stood up: "Aunt, that's settled, I'll go back first."
"Okay, go ahead." Mrs. Xiao nodded.
Yan Qiushu wiped the sweat from her forehead and, supported by Shui Yu, limped away again. After they left the yard, Shui Yu said in a daze, "Miss, so that's what happened. Are you going to marry the Sixth Young Master?"
"Engagement!" Yan Qiushu corrected with a blushing face.
Shui Yu chuckled: "Almost, almost. No wonder you've been so distracted these past two days. I was wondering if something was wrong."
Yan Qiushu also smiled and said nothing more.
Shui Yu was excited, and if she hadn't been supported by someone, she would have jumped up and down.
God knows how miserable she was when she was first sent here to serve Yan Qiushu, especially the maids like Shulu, who had ulterior motives, laughed at her for following a useless master. Now that she thinks about it, she wonders how their faces would look when they heard the news.
Unfortunately, Shuilü was no longer in the mansion, so she couldn't see him.
"Girl, this is a big happy event, we have to celebrate it properly."
Yan Qiushu frowned, thought for a moment, and shook her head, "Who should I celebrate with?"
Shui Yu was stunned. Although she didn't know Yan Qiushu's true identity, she knew that her parents were both dead, she had no brothers or sisters, and no other relatives. Her heart ached immediately. Although she was a slave, she actually had parents.
They all work as servants in the Xiao family, just not in the same place.
It is precisely because they are loyal enough to the Xiao family that they can come to the Xiao family's inner courtyard to serve people.
The woman in front of her was about the same age as herself, but she had no relatives and no one to talk to about the important things in her life. She mustered up her courage and said softly, "If you don't mind, you can celebrate with me and Aunt Xu."
Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll have to ask you to help me celebrate. I won't cook today."
Shui Yu smiled and nodded: "Okay, you just wait and eat. The Madam will probably be receiving many guests at noon. Your status has changed now, so it will be difficult for you to go over. This servant and Madam Xu will be in charge of the lunch!"
Yan Qiushu accepted it with pleasure.
She was sent to her room to rest, while Shui Yu and Aunt Xu went to think about food. Knowing that Yan Qiushu had just been engaged to the sixth young master of the Xiao family, she specially cooked a red egg for her to eat.
It's called custom.
However, Yan Qiushu only needed to give the eggs to the people in her own yard. After she had given them the eggs, the big kitchen also sent eggs, so that everyone in the mansion had a share. Even people outside the Xiao Mansion, such as those in the food street and the farm, were said to have received some.
So everyone was still wondering what was going on when they heard the sound of firecrackers.
Now everyone knows about this.
Nanny Xu was busy running around when she suddenly said, "The Sixth Young Master is back. Does that girl have to leave the Xiao Mansion? Did Madam say anything about this?"
In this era, according to the rules, engaged couples are not allowed to live under the same roof for a long time.
They are not engaged, the man is in the outer courtyard and the woman is in the inner courtyard, and there is no other relationship between them. The two cannot meet alone at will. The people of the Great Zhou are open-minded, so there is no problem.
After getting engaged, they are an engaged couple. If their relationship is a little ambiguous, it would be unreasonable for them to live under the same roof.
But Yan Qiushu had no elders, and she was afraid that the child didn't know about this matter. It didn't matter to the boy, but it would always be detrimental to the girl's reputation. The Xiao family was a famous family in the Great Zhou, and she was afraid of other people's gossip. People's words were scary.
Shui Yu also remembered this rule and shook her head blankly: "I have been living with the young lady all this time. I haven't heard that you are moving out? The lady probably hasn't said anything. Should I go and remind the young lady?"
Aunt Xu nodded and said, "Then tell the young lady when you help her to sleep at night. But if you move out, I can't go with you."
Although Aunt Xu is a nanny, she is not very old. She returned to the workplace after giving birth to a child, but she did not want to be too far away from the child. If Yan Qiushu did not live in the Xiao family, she would not be able to accompany the child every night if she went there.
Shui Yu nodded in understanding: "I will tell the young lady. It's okay. When the young lady gets married in a while, Aunt Xu will definitely have to go over and serve her."
"Yes, they are engaged and will be married soon. I wonder if the sixth young master's first child will be a boy or a girl? I really hope there will be no war. All the family members will be killed in the war..." As Aunt Xu spoke, her voice choked a little.
Shui Yu's eyes also darkened.
They were all born into the Xiao family and had witnessed the family prosper with great difficulty, but the Xiao family members passed away one after another. Most of those left behind were orphans and widows. As slaves, they felt heartbroken when they saw such a kind-hearted master.
But they can't worry about these things.
When Yan Qiushu was having lunch at noon, many familiar maids and servants came to congratulate her, which made her confused. She had only been resting in the room for half a day, and the weather had changed so much?
Fortunately, Aunt Xu was well prepared. She gave out red envelopes one by one, and everyone was smiling.
Yan Qiushu was stunned: "Madam Xu, you paid for this red envelope out of your own pocket?! Why didn't you tell me? I completely forgot!"
She hadn't expected this, mainly because the shock she had suffered before was too great.
Aunt Xu smiled and said, "Miss, you are young and don't understand these things. As your nanny, I naturally have to take care of you. This is my duty."
Yan Qiushu was actually not young anymore, but she was alone in her previous life and had little exposure to these things, so she didn't know. Now that she knew, she decisively opened her own small treasury. In addition, she reimbursed the red envelope money she had given out before, and left a lot with them as a reserve fund, in case she needed it in the future.
"Thank you, young lady!" The two men accepted the money generously and pulled her to sit in the house. "The main kitchen just sent a leg of lamb. I was planning to make something else, but with this leg of lamb, I was afraid it would go bad, so I made it into a lamb pot. It's a little hot, but there's ice in the house, so it should be fine."
Yan Qiushu sat down obediently, and Shui Yu brought an old Beijing copper hot pot to the table, while Aunt Xu brought some side dishes and a portion of seasoning.
The copper hot pot was filled with mutton chunks cut into square shapes, but the soup was not clear, but semi-turbid. It didn't look special, but it had a faint fragrance.
The stove in the middle of the hot pot was very hot. The water boiled in a short while and the meat pieces were cooked and rolling inside.
After a while, when Yan Qiushu could no longer hold back, the fragrance began to appear.
It was the same fragrance she had smelled before, but it was a little stronger. It was neither strong nor heavy, but it had a light taste that made her salivate.
Yan Qiushu has a strong taste and usually eats mostly Sichuan cuisine or various fried fast foods. She has only eaten this light mutton hotpot once in modern times, but perhaps because of the restaurant's cooking skills, she did not enjoy the meal.
Because mutton has a strong smell, it is easy to become unpalatable if not handled properly.
Usually covered with heavy-flavored seasonings, this kind of light-flavored pot is actually more challenging.
But Aunt Xu is actually a good cook, but Yan Qiushu has always eaten what she likes, which has left Aunt Xu with no room to show her skills. Now, she finally has this.
"Miss, try this." Aunt Xu stood up and used a spoon to serve her a bowl of soup. "At the beginning, before adding anything else, take a sip of this clear soup. It's very delicious!"
Yan Qiushu held the bowl in both hands, blew on the rim, and then took a small sip.
hot!
This soup is really hot, but after it wears off, what remains between your lips and teeth is not the strong spicy flavor, but a light yet very comfortable salty and fresh taste.
It’s not strong, but it makes her want to drink more!
Yan Qiushu quickly said, "Pour me another bowl."
"Okay." Aunt Xu responded with a smile, and served another bowl. Then she added some water to the pot, and after it boiled again, she served her a large bowl of mutton.
Yan Qiushu picked up a piece, blew on it twice, and couldn't wait to put it in her mouth.
But I found that the mutton was unusually tender!
There is no smell of mutton, and the meat is tender. She can easily bite through a large piece of meat with her teeth. It tastes similar to the soup, light and delicious. It does not feel tasteless while chewing. On the contrary, the more she eats, the salty and fresh taste seems to become stronger!
Yan Qiushu finished her meal in one bite and took another sip of the soup. She was already sweating all over. Aunt Xu reminded her, "Please dip some of the sauce. It's specially made for this mutton hotpot."
Yan Qiushu nodded, and let the mutton cubes roll twice in the sauce-colored dipping sauce. After all six sides were dipped in it, she put it into her mouth.
Also, the sauce lowers its temperature.
The umami flavor is a little less, but it still feels as tender and fragrant as the original feeling.
Compared to eating it directly at first, the lamb dipped in sauce is a little saltier, and the tender meat mixed with the dipping sauce makes it less likely to make your tongue tired.
Yan Qiushu ate so much that her legs were swinging happily under the table. She smiled brightly at Aunt Xu and said, "This pot is delicious! When winter comes, we can eat it every few days. It won't be cold at night!"
Aunt Xu also smiled and nodded: "Okay!"
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