Chapter 84 (Spicy Mix)
After dinner
Xiao Huaiting and Xiao Huaiwu had just returned from the battle and had been marching all the way, so after eating and drinking their fill, they went to rest.
Yan Qiushu had a full stomach, plus a bowl of nutritious chicken soup, and her belt was a little tight. However, given the situation at the time, she could only calm herself down by eating hard.
She walked slowly into the yard.
When there was almost no one around, she glared at Shui Yu with a fierce look.
Shui Yu begged for mercy obediently, whispering, "I'm sorry, young lady. I remember that you did so much for the Sixth Young Master before, but it was inconvenient to tell him because of your status. Now that you are an engaged couple, I can't help but tell him. So I'm telling him that I won't do it again in the future."
Under normal circumstances, women should tell what they have done, otherwise it is easy for men to ignore it.
This was given to her by Aunt Xu. In fact, Shui Yu was one year older than Yan Qiushu. She thought that the girl had no relatives. They had been together for so long, and the other party had always treated her like a friend. She became a little bolder and subconsciously thought about her.
But I didn't expect that the girl didn't need it, and I ended up making things worse.
She was a little scared, lowered her head and slumped her shoulders, not daring to look at anyone.
Yan Qiushu wasn't actually angry, she was more panicked at that moment. Seeing her like this, Shui Yu was the first person of her age she got along so well with since she came here, so she said, "It's okay, I don't blame you."
Shui Yu finally felt relieved, but he kept his head down on the way back.
Until the person in front of me suddenly stopped.
She continued walking forward without noticing. After two steps, she found that Yan Qiushu had not moved behind her. She was wondering, and when she looked up, she saw that they had already reached the entrance of the yard, and a young man was standing in the yard.
He was dressed in black, with a straight but thin figure. He had his hands behind his back and was looking at them with a smile on his face.
wrong.
Shui Yu silently glanced back, then decisively left the yard and ran out with light steps.
Not looking at them.
It’s just to see the girl!
Shui Yu had left, and there was no one else in the yard. Yan Qiushu came back to her senses, coughed lightly, and called out, "General Xiao."
Xiao Huaiting nodded slightly: "Before leaving, I said I would bring you a gift. The gift is ready, why don't you come and take a look?"
Yan Qiushu moved slowly, her eyes still flicking to his face. Is this normal? Does this really mean this engagement is just a simple agreement?
She pursed her lips, suppressed the sudden sense of loss in her heart, and smiled: "Thank you, General Xiao."
She followed Xiao Huaiting.
When I turned the corner, I saw several pots of 'red lanterns' placed on the stone table near the kitchen!
After being stunned for a moment, Yan Qiushu quickly ran over to take a look. Her face flushed with excitement as she almost jumped for joy. "General Xiao! This, did you find this?! This is amazing!!"
chili!
It’s not just one variety, but several varieties of peppers!
Red chili peppers, colorful lantern peppers, slender erjingtiao peppers, sheep horn peppers, etc.
Each plant grows in a pot, and next to the green leaves are peppers of different colors.
At this time, this type of pepper was probably more for ornamental purposes, and it would definitely be cultivated for ornamental purposes. The various varieties cultivated were the different types of peppers in later generations.
But since it looks so familiar, it must be spicy.
Seeing her so happy, Xiao Huaiting's bright eyes curved at this moment, and he opened another box on the stone table: "There are also dried chilies here, which I collected from the road."
When Yan Qiushu opened it, she saw that it really was a collection of various dried peppers, neatly arranged, and there were quite a few of them.
You can tell at a glance that the person who posted it put a lot of thought into it.
Only no bell peppers.
Maybe the bell peppers were too fleshy and went bad.
Yan Qiushu thought with amusement, but she couldn't suppress the smile on the corner of her lips. In addition to the joy of having Chili, she also felt the pleasure of having her words valued.
She looked at the peppers, then at the young man beside her, her soft voice trembling slightly: "Thank you, General Xiao, this dried pepper is so well made."
With just a simple sentence, Xiao Huaiting felt that all his efforts on this chili were worth it. His chest was also full, and he couldn't say anything extra at this moment. He just covered his lips with his fist and said, "You're welcome. As long as you like it."
She naturally likes it.
Yan Qiushu looked at these peppers and couldn't let go. Suddenly, she found a tooth mark on one of the peppers, so she picked it up and took a look.
Xiao Huaiting said hurriedly, "This is what Fourth Sister took a bite of out of curiosity. I didn't want to waste it, so I left it for her."
Yan Qiushu chuckled. She said that this pepper was very important and if found, it must be preserved well. Unexpectedly, he didn't even let go of the pepper that had been bitten.
Xiao Huaiting blushed a little because of the laughter, but he was too dark now and it was hard to tell that he was blushing, so he just stood there with a straight face.
Yan Qiushu had laughed enough, and the unfamiliarity she had felt towards him after nearly half a year had faded. Her tone became much more intimate, and she said, "Thank you, General Xiao. Is this all the peppers you have?"
"No, I brought back a lot. If you want, I'll send them all over." Xiao Huaiting said.
Yan Qiushu nodded. "Okay, but I'll have someone send some of the seeds to Manager Yao and ask him to find an old farmer to cultivate them. Oh, right? Chili seeds love water. Soak them in water for three hours, then wrap them in a wet towel and place them in a warm place, but not too hot. Once they sprout, you can pick them..."
One good thing about chili peppers is that you can leave the seeds and eat the skin.
The whole seed of a potato is what you eat.
So we can’t eat too much now, we have to use it all as seeds.
Yan Qiushu became happier and happier as she spoke. Hey, soon there will be lots of chili peppers. She can eat as much as she wants, she can make chili powder, she can upgrade the spicy strips, and she can even make hot pot!
This is the most important thing!
She was so happy that her eyebrows were dancing with joy, and her face seemed to be glowing.
As Xiao Huaiting listened, his eyes unconsciously fell on her face. Occasionally, when she was lost in thought, he came back to his senses and realized that staring at her like that was not a good idea. He lowered his eyes and saw the familiar jade pendant on her waist, his eyes curved.
As she was talking, Yan Qiushu suddenly realized that she was performing a one-man show by herself. She tilted her head and saw that he was staring at her waist.
waist?
When she realized what was here, she quickly covered the jade pendant with her hands, her cheeks slightly red, and looked at him in a panic.
She feels guilty in front of the person involved!
Apart from anything else, his mother was probably concerned about her and was afraid that her reputation would be damaged if she got engaged to a random man. In addition to the many speculations made by the Xiao family before, she simply used her own son as a tool fiancé. Yan Qiushu was very afraid that Xiao Huaiting would be unhappy about this, even though he agreed to it.
"Ahem!" Xiao Huaiting coughed lightly, retracted his gaze, and said softly, "Miss Shu, I have already delivered the gift. I have other matters to attend to in the army, so I will leave first."
Yan Qiushu nodded quickly.
But when she saw the young man turn and leave, she suddenly thought and called him back: "General Xiao, about that...engagement matter..."
Xiao Huaiting stopped and said in a low voice without looking back, "That's what I agreed to. You don't have to be embarrassed."
Yan Qiushu's face became even hotter. She rubbed her cheeks, which were terribly hot. She said blankly, "Oh."
After hearing the response, Xiao Huaiting pursed his lips and strode away.
Yan Qiushu breathed a sigh of relief, but before her mind could calm down, the man who had just left suddenly returned and said hurriedly, "Oh, by the way, I passed by Wucheng this time and bought some local specialties. Fourth Sister said she was afraid you would miss home, so she asked me to bring them back. I also ran into Zhao Shuhong. Do you remember her? She divorced her husband's family because of some things, and she had nowhere to go, so I brought her back and settled her in the farm in the suburbs. You can go and see her when you have time."
This time, after saying this, Xiao Huaiting really left.
The young man in black who had walked away raised his hand and knocked his head. He didn't know what he was thinking about just now. He almost forgot to mention this matter.
After everyone left, Yan Qiushu went to the kitchen.
The kitchen door was unusually closed. Aunt Xu was sitting inside, eyes half closed, as if dozing off. When the door was pushed open, she opened her eyes and saw Yan Qiushu. She smiled and said, "Sixth Young Master is gone?"
"Let's go." Yan Qiushu said, her eyes fell on the shelves, looking at what food she could make.
Aunt Xu glanced outside again and muttered, "Why are you walking so fast?"
"Madam Xu, what are you talking about?" Yan Qiushu asked, not hearing clearly.
Aunt Xu quickly shook her head: "Nothing, what are you planning to do, young lady?"
Yan Qiushu actually didn't know either. When she saw the chili peppers just now, she wanted to eat a lot of things, but now she didn't know what to do. Her cheeks were still hot and her mind seemed to be still confused. She was barely able to think about Zhao Shuhong.
I have to go and see her tomorrow. Zhao Shuhong is the first person who has shown kindness to her since she came into this world, like a kind older sister.
She thought that since she came to Kyoto and he was in Wucheng, they would never have any intersection in the future, but she didn't expect that they would have the chance to meet again.
I just don't know why she came here?
Yan Qiushu thought about it and recalled what Xiao Huaiting had just said. It was just a simple sentence, but it calmed her uneasy heart. And she seemed to have seen this man's red ears just now?
She picked five peppers and tasted the spiciness with the tip of her tongue. After confirming that they were similar to the peppers of later generations, she washed them, took a few dried peppers and soaked them in water, and asked Shui Xuan, who had returned, to go to the kitchen to get some sesame paste.
Soon, the sound of "dong dong dong" was heard in the kitchen. Aunt Xu helped on the side and watched Yan Qiushu chop fresh and dried chilies together, add minced garlic, sugar, chopped green onions, pepper powder and other seasonings, then pour a layer of hot oil on them, stir evenly and add soy sauce and vinegar.
Aunt Xu felt a spicy smell that was even more pungent than the previous one after the peppercorns and dogwood were mixed with chili peppers.
"A-choo!" A sneeze sounded.
Aunt Xu hid outside the kitchen.
Yan Qiushu also wiped her nose with a handkerchief. The smell was a bit overbearing, making her a little overwhelmed. She ran to the kitchen door to breathe some fresh air, and waited until the smell inside dissipated a lot before going back.
After pouring the sesame paste in, she put the prepared sauce aside and began to prepare the vegetables, meat, and the beef balls that were now always available in the kitchen.
Aunt Xu came over to help wash the vegetables and said with a smile, "Miss, you just told me about it. The sauce is ready now, come and wash the vegetables."
Yan Qiushu's eyes wandered: "Ah, I forgot."
After all the vegetables are processed, put them directly into hot water and heat them until boiling. Put the vegetables first, then the meat dishes, making sure that each dish is cooked through. Finally, put them into a large bowl with the sauce prepared in advance, stirring constantly to ensure that each dish is coated with the sauce.
The sauce is added with sesame paste, soy sauce and other condiments that are easy to remember in color. The brown-red color is mixed with a little gray, and a lot of sesame seeds are added later. When stirred, the lotus root slices, green vegetables, cucumbers, and beef balls are covered with red oil sauce and white sesame seeds.
The sauce is thick, and you can see the juice slowly flowing on any piece of food you pick up. Of course, apart from this, the best thing to look at is the red chili pieces chopped by Yan Qiushu attached to it.
Just looking at it like this is as if telling the person who eats it.
This taste will be very spicy!
Yan Qiushu changed her chopsticks and picked up a beef ball to eat.
As expected, as soon as the tip of her tongue touched the chili oil, it subconsciously retracted due to the spiciness. As everyone knows, spiciness is painful. Her tongue had never tasted such a spicy taste, and the pain was unbearable!
Five peppers!
The spiciness is indeed quite high!
Yan Qiushu was so spicy that she lost her soul. She stared at the meatball in front of her and was a little afraid to put it in her mouth.
It’s so spicy. If she eats it, will her anus be healthy?
It's just chili peppers!
Her favorite!
Yan Qiushu took a deep breath and took a bite. Immediately, her whole mouth was filled with the spicy taste, and she seemed to be unable to feel the fragrance of sesame paste.
Yan Qiushu chewed it twice in a hurry, biting through the firm and chewy beef meatball. As she chewed, her tongue gradually became uncontrollable.
It's too spicy!
She had given it five peppers, but the peppers were already spicy enough, and the hot oil made the spiciness even stronger. There was also Sichuan peppercorns to add some spice, but the key point was...
Hey, why is there almost no saltiness???
The only thing you can taste on your tongue is a hint of saltiness added when making the beef balls, which is almost indistinguishable under the overbearing spiciness.
Yan Qiushu stared at the beautifully colored food and frowned.
She clearly remembered adding salt!
"Miss, is it very spicy? Why don't you not eat it?" Aunt Xu asked with concern. When she smelled the smell, she felt it was terribly spicy. How could she eat it?
Yan Qiushu looked strange: "Mammy, did I put salt in it?"
Aunt Xu thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Didn't the young lady add salt?"
Yan Qiushu: "I didn't even add salt?!"
As a cook, it’s okay to forget to put anything in, but she actually forgot to put salt, which is a must-have for almost every dish???
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