Chapter 43 Steamed Sweet Rice Cake
Jiang Zhi, ignoring the flour on her hands, jumped up, strode over, grabbed the little brat by the collar, and roared angrily:
"Zuo Tianyuan, that pot is boiling hot. You could easily get burned if you're not careful. What are you going over there for, you little brat?"
Zuo Tianyuan was grabbed by the scruff of his neck, and his whole body was suddenly frozen, like a cat whose body is stiffened by being grabbed by the scruff of its neck.
Hearing Jiang Zhi's voice, he finally came to his senses. He slowly raised his head, a little embarrassed, and gave a shy smile.
"Sister, are we having this for breakfast?"
He took another deep breath, his smile widened, and his voice became deliberately sweet.
"What is this? It smells so good!"
Jiang Zhi smiled, her eyes crinkling and her lips curving upwards at the compliment.
Despite this, she ignored Zuo Tianyuan's attempt to act innocent, and miraculously picked him up, carried him away from the stove, and then put him down before squatting down to look him in the eye and speaking seriously.
"Listen, Tianyuan, unless it's a special situation, never go near the stove. It's fine if there's no fire underneath, but once there's a fire and something is cooking inside, the pot and stove will be scalding hot. Children shouldn't go there!"
After Zuo Tianyuan nodded in agreement and posed with his big, watery eyes for a long time, Jiang Zhi finally calmed down, her motherly heart at ease.
Instead, she put him down and pointed to the pots and pans, saying to him.
"That's for steaming rice cakes, that's for cooking red bean porridge, and what I'm wrapping over there is a lychee bun!"
"You and Xiaomahua, have some breakfast first. Your mother and I will be selling breakfast at the door. Don't rush. Each of you will get a rice cake, a bowl of porridge, and a steamed bun. That should be enough to fill you up!"
"Why don't you and Little Twist have a competition to see who can eat faster?"
*
Zhang Li was not a native of Shucheng; he was the magistrate of a county in a neighboring region of Shucheng.
He came to visit a superior who was passing through Sichuan. Therefore, although the meeting was scheduled for this morning, he arrived in Sichuan early last night.
Having spent a long time in officialdom, the two naturally possessed exceptional emotional intelligence, and their conversations were always engaging and lively, though occasionally their mouths would become a little dry.
Although he was a minor official, Zhang Li was actually very good at reading people's expressions and noticed this. So, when he realized this, the conversation had just ended, so he subtly asked his superior if they should have breakfast.
The boss was also a bit hungry early in the morning, so the two of them quickly discussed and decided to head straight to whichever house had wisps of smoke lingering in the sky.
*
When the two arrived, they saw a young woman with smiling eyes, greeting customers at her stall, where the smoke from the cooking fire was rising.
In front of her was a small table. On it, from left to right, were: a reddish-brown bean porridge, its color like agate, already cooked until the beans had split open; more like red bean paste than porridge; fragrant rice cakes, their off-white exteriors soft and fluffy, with an unusually sweet aroma; soy milk, rippling with the table's movement as it was moved, its steam rising and releasing its fragrance; and a neatly stacked pile of red steamed buns. Although they appeared to be the most ordinary of the bunch, the proprietress seemed to realize this, as she deliberately broke one open to show the onlookers and passersby. While the exterior was a seemingly ordinary red, the filling inside was the kind that, though initially appearing somewhat dark, revealed a sweet, flowing filling upon closer inspection!
Besides these few items, there was also a large bowl on the table filled with vegetable soup, which smelled particularly comforting to relieve the gloomy mood of waking up in the morning.
When Zhang Li arrived, there was already a large crowd outside. He stood on tiptoe to look left and right before he finally saw the items inside the stall. He then identified each item and told his equally curious superior what they were:
"This young lady is doing a good job! Let me see what she sells inside... red bean porridge, rice cakes, soy milk, and steamed buns that I'm not sure how they're made, as well as a refreshing vegetable soup! Brother Zhou, shall we try some?"
“Alright, neither of us are locals, so let’s try some local specialties. Besides, it smells good.”
The boss surnamed Zhou only paused slightly, smelled the lingering warm fragrance at the tip of his nose, and quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva where Zhang Li was not paying attention.
He smiled and agreed.
After it was confirmed, Zhang Li was not the kind of official who would abuse his power, nor was his superior. Neither of them had any airs of authority, so they didn't act like other officials who liked to show off their power in front of the people. Instead, they simply lined up in the queue and waited quietly for their turn.
*
At the very front of the line, Jiang Zhi had no idea that several officials had arrived behind her; she was too busy to attend to them all.
"Brother, a bowl of vegetable soup costs one coin, a bowl of soy milk costs two coins, a piece of rice cake costs two coins, and red bean porridge is also only two coins, so you can have a taste!"
"These lychee buns are a little pricey, but I just figured out a new way to eat them these past two days! I guarantee they'll be delicious! And you can buy one for only four coins. Try them out!"
Although the prices were displayed on the side, Jiang Zhi, to avoid any trouble, continued to decorate the items that other customers wanted while loudly shouting to the queue.
We strive to make sure every customer hears it.
The guy at the very front of the line obviously heard it.
His eyes lit up when he heard the price. He quickly estimated the amount of his savings in his mind, and then generously declared:
"Give me one of each!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Li saw that the female stall owner's eyes crinkled with laughter, her face filled with a gentle and sweet smile. She responded with a beaming smile.
"Alright! I'll bring you one of each one right away!"
As she spoke, she deftly picked up a small spoon placed to the side, then picked up a long iron spoon placed to the side. With a gentle and gentle expression but with keen insight, she scooped up just the right amount of red bean porridge, filling the bowl to the rim, and handed it over with a smile.
The older brother didn't hesitate either, gulping down a large mouthful in one go.
Perhaps because the red bean porridge had just come out of the pot and was still scalding hot, the older brother was so burned by the large mouthful he was about to take that he kept panting and yawning.
After being burned, the older brother finally learned his lesson. He blew on it twice, then, without much enthusiasm, gulped down a mouthful, finally managing to fully savor the red bean porridge.
*
Savoring it, the older brother's eyes lit up, and he quickly grabbed the so-called "lychee steamed bun" that the smiling female boss handed him, taking another big bite.
He chewed a couple of times, his eyes lit up, and before he could even swallow, he quickly devoured the reddish-brown outer skin of the bun and the slightly runny walnut filling inside, then exclaimed loudly.
"Hey boss, give me one of everything else first, and three more of these steamed buns!"
Seeing how ravenously he was eating, Zhang Li and Lao Zhou, who were standing not far behind him, were also a little envious. They looked at each other and could hear the rumbling of their stomachs. They gave each other an awkward smile.
*
Perhaps because the man in front of us set a good example, the people at the front of the line bought quite a lot, the female boss was also quite organized, and the young girl next to her counting the money was also quite efficient.
In short, Zhang Li and Lao Zhou didn't have to wait long before it was their turn in the queue.
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Author's Note: Actually, Zhang Li is related to a character who appeared earlier. Let's guess who it is! [Cat emoji][Cat emoji][Cat emoji]
The next update should be on Thursday. [Thumbs up!]
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