Chapter 65, Inn No. 65: Steamed Duck with Fermented Rice Wine
Yunyin asked curiously, "What's wrong with you lately? Is it about Lady Luo?"
Song Shi shook his head and said, "I haven't gone to see Madam Luo for a long time. I really don't know how to tell her. Xie Yan said before that I don't have the ability to support my family. I thought you liked the paintings I painted for you, so I went back to paint some paintings to sell, but no one bought them."
“My father scolded me, saying I had no manners of a scholar at all, getting involved in business, and told me to stop doing such things.” He said dejectedly, “But my mother also runs a shop, and my father is a registrar, yet they wouldn’t allow me to sell paintings.”
After finishing a chestnut, Yunyin asked curiously, "What kind of paintings do you sell?"
During the Song Dynasty, landscape paintings and flower-and-bird paintings were not sold.
After pondering for a moment, Yunyin said, "Young Master Song, I have an idea. I wonder if you would be willing to accept it."
Song Shi looked at Yun Yin in surprise, “Miss Yun, just say what you need to say. There’s no need for us to beat around the bush. As long as it’s within my power, I’m definitely willing to help. It’s just that my abilities are limited, and there are many things I can’t do.”
Yunyin pointed to the wall and said, "Young Master Song, do you see? This wall has no decoration at all. It looks clean and plain, but it's also very simple. I'd like you to paint a few pictures on it. How about that? You can paint whatever you want. Just paint the restaurant's signature dishes, and the price is negotiable."
After thinking for a moment, Song Shi said, "I've never painted murals before, but I can give it a try. We have a day off for the Double Ninth Festival, so I can come and take a look. The rest of the time, I can only come over on my next day off."
When the Double Ninth Festival was mentioned, Yunyin asked, "Aren't you going to climb mountains with your family on the Double Ninth Festival?"
Song Shi shook his head and said, "No, let them go by themselves. If they want to climb mountains, they can do it here at Yun Niangzi's place. Let my older brother go with them. If I go, they'll start nagging me again, and I don't want to argue with them."
After making an appointment with Song Shi, Yunyin planned to return to the kitchen. As she passed the counter, Cheng Yong asked curiously, "What does Lady Yun want with Young Master Song? You've been talking for so long."
"Oh, have him draw some pictures for me. Has Brother Cheng finished checking the accounts?"
Cheng Yong put the ledger down, coughed, and said, "Well, there's nothing to check. I'm looking at the guest registration book right now. We'll have to take it to the village head for verification later, so we need to be careful."
Yunyin asked, completely bewildered, "Isn't no one staying here yet?"
"Isn't Young Master Song going to stay overnight?" Cheng Yong stared at Yun Yin and said, "Let's make a note of it."
After thinking for a moment, Yunyin said, "Make a note of it, whether they are regular customers or not."
Cheng Yong smiled and said, "Then I understand. Don't worry, Lady Yun, go ahead and get busy."
A few days later, Yunyin's fermented rice wine was ready. It tasted sweet but wasn't very strong. As she looked at the recipe for steamed duck with fermented rice wine in the booklet, she heard Zheng Guilan mutter, "Why haven't Old Master Huo and the others come lately? Didn't they come back every other day before?"
Mentioning Huo Yu, Yunyin also felt a little worried. She put down her book and frowned, saying, "Yes, he also said he was going to bring his wife over, but I don't know what happened that delayed things."
Not long after, she couldn't send anyone to inquire, so she could only focus on her own work and wait for them to arrive so she could make even more delicious food.
Clean the duck, remove the head and tail, and put it in a pot. Add hot water, scallions, ginger, and salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and remove the duck after it is cooked.
Deboning should be done while the duck is still hot. Yunyin quickly removed the bones with a knife. The bones could be used to make soup, and the remaining meat would be marinated in fermented rice wine. Because the wine flavor needed to penetrate the duck meat, the marinating time needed to be longer. She put the bowl containing the fermented rice wine duck into a basket, placed it in the well to chill, and then took some grapes from the well. The grapes were very sweet at this time, each one round, purple, and crystal clear, with droplets of water clinging to them, making them even more mouthwatering.
She picked up a grape and ate it. The sweet and sour juice melted in her mouth. She squinted her eyes and said, "These grapes taste really good. I think I should ask Zheng Dong to buy some more and make some raisins to preserve them."
She carried the grapes into the hall and saw Zheng Guilan cleaning. She called out, "Guilan, tell Zheng Dong tonight that I need some more grapes. Have him bring them over tomorrow so I can make some raisins."
“Yun Niangzi wants to make raisins too?” Zheng Guilan nodded. “I will talk to Zheng Dong. Our village used to make raisins every year, but maybe not as many people will do it this year.”
Yunyin raised an eyebrow and looked over. Zheng Guilan continued, "This is all thanks to Yunniangzi. This year, the village's fruit has been sold to wealthy families in the county. In previous years, no one wanted the fruit, so it was dried. This year, they probably can't bear to part with it."
Yunyin understood and asked Zheng Guilan, "I remember that only a few people in your village were willing to pay to rent a boat before, right? Didn't that cause any trouble?"
Zheng Guilan said excitedly, "How could it not have caused a commotion? Some people even wanted to come looking for my wife, but Zheng Dong stopped them. In the end, it was he who decided to make those people pay more money and lend them the boat. However, the wealthy families in the county don't want so much fruit, so they can only sell it from street to street."
"Even so, it's still much better than in previous years. They wanted to sell the fruit to wealthy families, but Zheng Dong had already established good relationships with their purchasing departments. No one else could sell to them without him, so they couldn't do anything about it. That's how it is now. They can't make a fuss even if they want to."
Yunyin nodded and said, "Have you ever thought about growing some fruit to sell?"
Zheng Guilan shook her head and said, "I just wanted to save more money before, so I thought about selling fruit. Actually, I'm not good at growing fruit. And now that Ahe is with my wife, she can learn a lot. The wages my wife gives me are enough to support her. In the future, when she learns a skill, she will have to rely on herself for everything."
She pursed her lips, considered for a moment, and then said, "Madam Yun, you said before that you wouldn't take on any disciples, but you've taught Ahe so much, so she should still perform the apprenticeship ceremony for you and call you Master."
Master? She had never thought of taking on a disciple before. Yunyin looked at Fang He practicing her horse stance in the courtyard and saw a reflection of her past self in her. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Alright, then let's take her on. She has worked very hard these past few days and has never complained. She has mastered what I taught her very well. I am lucky to have such an obedient and well-behaved disciple like her."
Zheng Guilan said excitedly, "Not at all, Ahe is lucky to have a master like you. I will prepare a proper apprenticeship ceremony. Thanks to Yun Niangzi these days, I will definitely have Ahe take care of you in the future."
As she spoke, she ran outside, and Yunyin didn't have time to say that it didn't need to be too formal.
Fang He, who was struggling to stay afloat, collapsed to the ground upon hearing the news from her mother. She looked at her mother expectantly and asked, "Mother, is it true? Lady Yun has taken me as her apprentice?"
Zheng Guilan pulled her up, wiped her sweat, and nodded, saying, "Yes, Lady Yun has already agreed. You must listen to her even more in the future and take care of her in her old age, understand?"
Fang He nodded vigorously and said, "I know, I'll go find my master."
When Ma Hao returned, he heard that Yunyin had taken Fang He as her apprentice. He put the horse in the stable, took out a toy from his purse and handed it to Fang He, saying, "I didn't prepare in advance. This is a toy I brought from Mianzhou. Consider it a gift for your apprenticeship."
Fang He held the exquisitely crafted ceramic doll and said with a smile, "Thank you, Uncle Hao, I like it very much."
When Yunyin heard Ma Hao's voice, the first thing she saw when she came out was two extra horses in the stable. She asked in surprise, "You've finished your business? Why did you bring back two horses?"
Ma Hao took out a slip of paper from his pocket and said, "Miss Yun, this is for you. Before our boss left, he contacted a shop in Mianzhou. They need mushroom sauce. Can you make some here?"
Yunyin looked at the contract, which listed the quantity and selling price. It was ten coins more expensive than what she sold, and the quantity was as much as two hundred jars, one hundred jars of vegetarian mushrooms and one hundred jars of meat mushrooms.
She murmured, "Fu Wang didn't forget about my mushrooms before he left. I really don't know how to thank him." She put away the contract and saw several people coming in from outside. Their clothes and appearance were similar to Ma Hao's. She said to Ma Hao, "How about this? I'll make the mushroom sauce as soon as possible, but I'll still pay you the same price I sold it to you before. The profit will be considered as your transportation cost, how about that?"
Cheng Yong came out from behind the counter and said to Yun Yin, "Then thank you very much, Madam Yun. This price is more expensive than our usual trip. The distance from Long'an County to Mianzhou is not far. I thank you on behalf of my brothers."
Yunyin waved her hand and said, "I should be thanking you."
"By the way, where's your escort agency's sign? I didn't see it displayed."
Ma Hao took out a flag from his pocket and said, "It's here with me. I brought it from Mianzhou. You can hang it outside."
The unfurled flag bore the words "Weiyuan" in bold, flowing strokes, while the other side read "Escort." She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Weiyuan Escort Agency? Who wrote these characters? They're very imposing."
Cheng Yong helped Ma Hao hang the flag and said with a smile, "It's a friend of Fu Wang's, and I also think it's written with great momentum."
Looking at the escort flag fluttering in the wind, Yunyin said with satisfaction, "This can be considered as setting up a signboard. Let's see if anyone comes to inquire about it. You can also recommend the escort agency to your customers on a regular basis."
"By the way, which route does your escort agency take these days?"
Cheng Yong: "I discussed it with Fu Wang before. For now, we will only go from Long'an County to Mianzhou. We will pick them up and take them to Chang'an and the Western Regions when Fu Wang and the others return."
Yunyin said she understood, and then called to Ma Hao, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go make you something to eat."
Feng Hai came out of the kitchen carrying the dishes. "Miss Yun, no need to trouble yourself. I just grabbed some leftovers and it's already cooked."
He invited Ma Hao and the others to sit down in a corner of the hall. As they ate the dishes Feng Hai had prepared, Ma Hao exclaimed, "Old Hai, your cooking skills have improved so much in just a few days!"
Feng Hai glanced at him and said, "Eat your food and don't talk."
Seeing that they were eating, Yunyin went to the well to take out the marinated duck and continued to make steamed duck with fermented rice wine.
Cut the marinated duck meat into cubes, put them in a dish, pour in the remaining fermented rice wine, and steam until cooked. When you open the steamer, a fragrant aroma wafts out, and a faint smell of wine lingers around. After the wine aroma dissipates, a sweet taste remains.
Yunyin sprinkled goji berries on the dish, then took the bowl of steamed duck with fermented rice wine to the main hall, saying to everyone, "Come and try this dish."
Cheng Yong took the lead and sat down, picking up a piece of duck meat with his chopsticks to eat. The others were not to be outdone and immediately began to taste it. Yun Yin also sat down and picked up a piece of duck meat to put in her mouth.
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