Chapter 4, The Fourth Inn: Elm Seed Tofu
Luo Niangzi's restaurant is easy to find, located not far from the entrance of the town. It's a two-story building, a rare sight in the not-so-wealthy town of Pingxi.
It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was bustling with people. Yunyin glanced at it from the doorway and then walked towards the back door.
Yunyin knocked on the door a few times, and someone came to open it. Seeing a beautiful woman standing at the door, the man hesitated for a moment before asking, "What can I do for you, my lady?"
Hearing that Yunyin had come to sell things, she thought for a moment and went to the courtyard to call the shopkeeper over. When Madam Luo came over, she didn't expect that the person who came was the same woman she had just seen by the roadside. She paused for a moment and greeted her, "Madam, come in and talk."
Yunyin glanced around the courtyard, then followed Madam Luo into a room. Before she could speak, Madam Luo asked, "How is this lady addressed? What brings you here?"
Yunyin smiled at Madam Luo, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Madam Luo, just call me Yunyin. I'm not here for anything else, I just want to ask if you buy mountain products."
She took out the three bamboo rats she had brought with her. These bamboo rats had been tied up by Yunyin, but they were still lively and jumping around even though they had been carried around. She then put the basket and crate on the ground and said, "Some wild vegetables and game. I wonder if your restaurant needs them, madam."
Madam Luo didn't want to buy any. The vegetables at their restaurant were all bought from nearby villages. Even if they were a little bad, they could just buy some from the street.
Lady Luo noticed that the woman before her was well-dressed and possessed an air of elegance beyond that of ordinary people. Although the woman seemed somewhat embarrassed, she still wanted to seize the opportunity to remind her of her past self. She instantly changed her mind and said:
“These are good mountain products; our restaurant uses them. If you were selling something else, I really couldn’t help you. But some customers also like wild vegetables, especially these elm seeds, which are great for making porridge.”
"The bamboo rat meat is delicious, and it's also very fragrant and sweet when stewed. I'll give you 50 coins per rat. If you want to sell bamboo rats again in the future, you can send them to me. As for these elm seeds and bamboo shoots, I can give you 100 coins. The remaining wild vegetables are not worth much; there are plenty outside the town. I can only give you 20 coins. How does that price sound?"
Yunyin raised an eyebrow upon hearing the price. She had inquired with Aunt Fang, and the price was much higher than she had been told. It seemed that Madam Luo wanted to take care of her. She smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Madam Luo."
Thinking of Aunt Fang's tofu and wanting to thank Madam Luo, he asked, "Madam Luo, how do you usually eat elm seeds?"
"Use it to steam rice or cook porridge," Madam Luo said with a smile. "However, our restaurant mainly serves stews, so we rarely cook porridge."
Yunyin nodded and said, "Then I wonder if it will be cold?"
"Cold dishes?" Madam Luo shook her head and said, "Our family doesn't sell wine, so we rarely make cold dishes. I wonder what Madam Yun means?"
“Your family doesn’t cook porridge much, and buying my elm seeds is a favor to my business. I can’t let you spend money on this. Here’s what I’ll do, Madam Luo, I’ll teach you a simple recipe so you can have another dish in the future.”
"Do you have tofu in the kitchen? If not, you can go to the vegetable market street and buy a piece of Fang Sao's tofu. Her tofu tastes pretty good."
When Lady Luo heard Yunyin say she wanted to teach her how to make elm seeds, she was slightly surprised as if she understood something. She quickly smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Lady Yun. I'll take you to the kitchen."
Lady Luo led the people to the kitchen, then called a maid to buy tofu, and smilingly introduced the kitchen to Yunyin.
Cut the tofu into small cubes, blanch them, and set aside. Cut the washed elm seeds into small sections and put them in a bowl. Mince the garlic as well. The preliminary preparations are complete. The remaining task is the most important one: making the sauce. The sauce is actually quite simple. Mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and minced garlic. Since chili peppers were not available in this era, Sichuan peppercorn oil was used as a substitute. Add a little salt, and the sauce is ready.
Pour the sauce over the tofu and elm seeds, and a simple cold dish is ready. Yunyin handed the mixed dish to Luo Niangzi, who had been standing beside her, and said, "Try it, what do you think?"
Madam Luo picked up a pair of chopsticks and took a bite. The refreshing taste of the tofu brightened her eyes. The tofu looked a bit firm, but it tasted very tender. A few elm seeds clung to the tofu, giving it a refreshing texture. Paired with the sauce, the flavor was even richer.
"It tastes good." Madam Luo took another bite and nodded. "Thank you for teaching me, Madam Yun. This dish should be very popular among scholars. It has a particularly refreshing taste."
“Actually, toon leaves mixed with tofu is also good, but the toon leaves and tofu need to be blanched in water and then mixed with the sauce we just made. It tastes delicious. Sister Fang’s tofu is very good, and it’s also very tasty when served cold.” Yunyin washed the cutting board clean, put down her sleeves, and said to Madam Luo, “By the way, those bamboo shoots stewed with meat are also very delicious. Madam Luo can try them.”
Actually, stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork is also delicious, but she had just seen that Luo Niangzi's restaurant didn't use iron pots, but large cauldrons, so she only mentioned stewed pork and didn't say anything else.
Madam Luo put down her chopsticks, took Yunyin back to the courtyard, poured her a cup of tea and said, "I was blind and didn't realize that you were such a good cook. I wonder if you would like to work at our restaurant? We need someone like you right now."
Yunyin paused slightly as she drank her tea. She was still a vagrant. She had already asked Fang Sao and found out that as long as she wasn't caught setting up a stall, no one would know she was a vagrant. But if she wanted to work or rent a house, she would have to show her household registration.
Moreover, the town's hangers-on often patrolled the area, and she was almost discovered today. Fortunately, she was poised and generous, and she was with Sister Fang, so even though the hangers-on thought she was a stranger, they didn't think she was a vagrant.
Her most important task now is to earn money to register her household. Once she has registered, she plans to open a small food stall by the official road so that she can settle down.
She didn't choose this place randomly. She had also looked at Pingxi Town, which was not wealthy. It was already the best that it had Luo Niangzi's restaurant. If she came to town to run a restaurant business, she would not only offend Luo Niangzi, but she also wouldn't make much money.
It's not as good as the official road. It's a bit far from the county seat, and it's not convenient to get to the town. There are no other places to eat nearby, so it would be extremely convenient to open a small food stall there.
Moreover, that official road was one of the routes from Chang'an to Mianzhou, and there were frequent caravans traveling there, so it was a better place to open a shop.
Although I can't work for Lady Luo, I can still cooperate with her once or twice.
She put down her teacup and said, "There's no need for any work. Your restaurant is so successful, your skills must be excellent. However, if Madam Luo likes my cooking, I do have a business opportunity that we could collaborate on."
Lady Luo looked at Yun Yin in surprise, and after a long while, she said, "I wonder what kind of cooperation it is?"
"So that Madam Luo may know that I have a skill in making sauce. If you are interested, I can bring it to you tomorrow. If you think the taste is good, I can supply it to your restaurant."
Madam Luo carefully examined Yunyin and, seeing that she was serious, agreed after a moment's thought: "In that case, when you come to town tomorrow, please bring a basket of elm seeds for our restaurant. If you have any toon leaves, we'll take those too. I'll also try the sauce you make. If it tastes good, we can discuss cooperation later."
"Don't call me Lady Luo anymore, call me Sister Aman. From now on, I'll call you Sister Ayin."
Yunyin smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you very much, Sister Aman. I'll be going now and come to see you again tomorrow."
Luo Man urged her to stay for a meal: "Why don't you stay and have some dinner?"
Yunyin thought she still had a lot to do later, so she politely declined, saying, "I'll come have dinner with you again tomorrow. I have some things to do in town today, so I won't trouble you, Sister Aman."
Seeing that Yunyin really had something to do, Luo Man didn't insist on keeping her any longer: "Alright, then I'll treat you to our family's famous stewed mutton tomorrow. You must try it."
"Definitely, definitely. See you tomorrow, Sister Aman."
After saying goodbye to Luo Man, Yun Yin took the empty bamboo basket and the money from selling mountain products and went to the steamed bun stall. She had noticed this steamed bun stall early in the morning and was attracted by its fragrant aroma when she passed by before. If she hadn't been so broke, she would have bought one to try.
The steamed bun stall was far less crowded than in the morning. It was lunchtime, and most people were going home for lunch. Even if they were eating out, they wouldn't choose the steamed bun stall; they would mostly go to Luo Niangzi's restaurant.
When Yunyin arrived, the stall owner hadn't closed up shop yet. She quickly asked him for a meat bun, and just by smelling it, she knew it couldn't be bad. The bun had a thin, soft skin, and the meat filling was fresh, tender, and juicy. It also had scallions inside to remove any fishy smell, and one bite filled her mouth with fragrance.
Yunyin finished a large steamed bun in just a few bites, which only slightly relieved her hunger. She quickly bought two more and ate them before she finally felt full.
Yunyin looked at the still steaming steamer and wanted to buy a few more to eat that evening, but then she remembered that she didn't have many copper coins and there were still many things to buy. Even if each bun only cost 3 coins, she still couldn't afford it. Besides, she also had to take care of Zhang Lin's meals. He was a big young man and would eat even more. She shook her head, put down the buns, and went to the stall next door that sold flatbreads and bought 20 flatbreads.
The flatbread smelled delicious, especially the aroma of the sesame seeds on top, which whetted Yunyin's appetite even though she had just finished eating. She munched on the flatbread as she walked, thinking that she could buy more of these in the future. They were inexpensive and tasty; 20 flatbreads would only cost 20 coins. They could also be kept for several days, and were very convenient as they could be easily heated up. She could even eat them with mushroom sauce.
Yunyin didn't have much capital to spare, so she couldn't afford many kitchen utensils. She also needed to buy a lot of daily necessities, and she couldn't afford to spend money recklessly. After thinking it through, she went into the only general store in town.
She bought household items at the general store, then bought two knives and a cooking pot, followed by a clay pot, a wooden box, and a lock. There wasn't much money left, just enough for her to buy some rice and a pound of pork.
Looking at her empty pockets, Yunyin couldn't help but sigh. She felt she must be among the most miserable transmigrators. Who else would be like her after transmigrating—penniless, homeless, and a homeless vagrant? Even if she possessed martial arts skills and wanted to learn hunting, she lacked the ability. She couldn't even find prey; those few bamboo rats were just lucky finds, and she didn't know if she'd ever catch another one. Fortunately, she had culinary skills, so her current situation was only a little miserable. Things should improve significantly once she reached an agreement with Lady Luo.
Yunyin was full of anticipation for the days to come, carrying her heavy load of things as she walked towards the woods outside the town.
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