Chapter 52 Zhang Da Guanren
When Miss Wang took a bite, the first thing she tasted was the crispy crust on the outside of the rice ball.
Her father was at least good at cooking, so she naturally had a decent eye for food.
The moment I put that so-called "rice ball" in my mouth, I could tell that it had been brushed with a layer of brown sauce, with a slightly sweet and savory flavor, and had been grilled in oil until it was charred and slightly hard, but this did not affect the taste buds that were already exploding on my tongue.
As your tongue continues its downward journey, you'll discover the filling inside.
The first thing I tasted was the small fish, which was fried until crispy and crunchy. You could hardly taste the tiny bones inside; it was almost completely fried until crispy!
Next came the fried pork cracklings. After chewing them a couple of times, Ms. Wang knew that they must have been fried first, then brushed with sauce, and then broken into small pieces. They were neither bland like the others nor too salty!
After we'd almost finished those two dishes, the pickled cucumber made its grand entrance. This is something everyone's used to eating with rice, but eating it alone doesn't really whet my appetite.
But eating this pickled cucumber right after finishing fried small fish and fried pork cracklings is a perfect way to cleanse your palate of the unique saltiness of the pickled cucumber while also relieving the greasiness of the previous meal.
Ms. Wang doesn't have a big appetite, but she was already half full after eating this rice ball.
She licked her lips again, glanced at the remaining rice ball in her hand that she had intended to give to her father, and decided to go all in.
I took the first step toward making the second rice ball.
He was still secretly thinking to himself:
Dad, I'm sorry! (chewing) The rice ball is so delicious! (chewing) If we can't beat them in the ring, so be it. (chewing) This is really delicious!
If all else fails, should we join them if we can't win?
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. And then she couldn't let it go!
*
Jiang Zhi knew nothing and was still there, focused on filling the dumplings, brushing on the sauce, frying them in the pan, and then handing them to the customers.
Today we finally served a serving to all the customers who were in line.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief. She brought so much today so as not to disappoint those in line!
But before she knew it, someone was already standing in front of her, watching her for a long time.
At this point, Jiang Zhi was finally able to catch her breath and looked back with great curiosity.
The servant was dressed in a long robe. Seeing her looking over, he smiled warmly and said:
"Mr. Jiang, would you mind if we spoke privately for a moment?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow, grabbed Pei Ye, who was idly falling asleep, and tossed him the servant. After a few quick taps, she followed the servant to a secluded spot.
The servant naturally recognized the second young master of the Pei family. After seeing Jiang Zhi's smooth and unpretentious movements, he became even shorter.
But he still spoke to Jiang Zhi in a friendly yet neither humble nor arrogant manner:
"Mr. Jiang, have you ever heard of the esteemed Master Zhang of this city?"
Jiang Zhi had naturally heard of it. In fact, when she opened her restaurant, she knew all the powerful and influential people in the city by heart. She even considered whether she should pay her respects to one of them.
After all, even though you're in the catering industry, which isn't particularly valued by the upper echelons in this era, if those powerful figures don't like you, a single word can decide your fate.
This saying holds true in modern times, let alone in ancient times.
However, she later realized that she didn't need to. From the first day she met Pei Ye after transmigrating, she had already been marked by the Pei family.
Because she didn't pay, the Pei family wouldn't stand up for her, but as long as Pei Ye didn't break off their relationship, other families wouldn't interfere.
She's always been very clear about these things, so she's currently a bit particularly troubled, but it all boils down to one problem:
What does Master Zhang want with her?
*
The servant acted mysteriously for a while, watching Jiang Zhi's brows furrow more and more, but he didn't give her a way out.
He had no choice but to find a way to save face.
"Mr. Jiang, please don't overthink it. Master Zhang didn't mean anything bad."
"It's because I've seen your business booming these past few days, and you're always coming up with new and different dishes. I think you have the skill to prepare banquets. When the time comes, you can work with the chefs at each table to prepare a few dishes for each table!"
"As for the price, Master Zhang never shortchanges you," the servant said, pointing to a number that was almost a week's worth of Jiang Zhi's total. However, this did not excite Jiang Zhi; instead, it made her frown.
She asked calmly.
Is there some problem?
There was no way around it; Jiang Zhi was all too familiar with this tactic. First, she would intimidate you with her formidable reputation, then she would feign praise, and finally, she would lay out all her advantages.
Is there some major problem?
If Jiang Zhi could solve this problem, she wouldn't mind taking it as a side job. If she couldn't, she'd better refuse now that she had the Pei family's backing and avoid retaliation.
The servant knew that Jiang Zhi had picked up on his subtext, and considering that his master hadn't taught him what to say next, he simply gave up and sighed for a while before covering his mouth and whispering to her:
"Since you know Master Zhang, you must also know that the Zhang family has a young lady who is the most favored! Her coming-of-age ceremony is in five days, and we had already made preparations, inviting the most famous tutors from all over the country. But the young lady is not happy about it, saying that she wants everything at her birthday banquet to be new and interesting!"
"Only then can she truly express her intention to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. This requirement seems simple, but even the master knows that time is too tight. He just told us to ask around to see if there are any new styles. Mr. Jiang, I've heard that you've been making some new dishes outside these past few days, which is why I came here to inquire..."
Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up upon hearing these words.
This is difficult for others, because creativity itself requires a lot of chance and luck. No one can guarantee that they will be able to create a new dish.
But Jiang Zhi can! She has a ton of fresh recipes in her head.
However, even though Jiang Zhi was tempted, she didn't immediately sign it. She only gave the servant a vague answer, telling him to come to her at the same time the next day, and then she would decide!
She decided that she would first ask Pei Ye, You Yi, and Gu Yuan through different channels to confirm whether this was the only matter or if there were even more bizarre requests.
*
When Jiang Zhi returned to the stall, she saw that Pei Ye was working even faster and faster, with a smooth and fluid hand speed.
She couldn't help but admire it for a moment:
The man usually had a lazy and carefree demeanor, but at this moment, he seemed a little hot, so he pulled his round-necked robe open a bit, revealing half of his collarbone. His straight-leg trousers were also worn very loosely and casually.
For a moment, looking at him, the man's eyes were empty, focused solely on the rice ball. He no longer resembled the dashing young master, but rather a househusband who cooked meals at home.
Jiang Zhi blinked gently, momentarily stunned.
When she came to her senses, she strode over with a smile, patted the man on the shoulder, and smiled so much that she almost told him to leave.
At this moment, Jiang Zhi did not notice that the man's eyes were no longer just on the food, but also reflected her!
*
After all that fuss and rearranging, the rice balls were almost sold out.
The rice was almost all wrapped up, and there were still some leftover toppings. Jiang Zhi simply pressed them together with the remaining rice on the stall, then pan-fried them on the griddle in thin slices, searing them from both sides. Jiang Zhi then borrowed a spatula from a nearby vendor and pressed it down further.
It turned into crispy rice crust!
She set aside a piece for herself, Zuo Tianyuan, and Pei Ye, and then generously shared a small piece with each of the customers behind her, so they could taste it and not waste their fatigue from waiting!
Then I prepared to push the cart home.
While pushing the cart, she chatted casually with Pei Ye.
When they talked about that official Zhang, Pei Ye indeed knew many things that Jiang Zhi was completely unaware of.
Once Jiang Zhi started talking, he also spoke frankly and openly:
"The Zhang family heard that their daughter was born late in life, which dispelled their reputation for being impotent, and they spoiled her rotten. That alone wouldn't have been so bad! But her mother's demands were so high; she wanted her to be well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and also to be number one in her class. They only realized this when they were almost driven mad, and then they doted on her even more, but it was all in vain."
"I can only make small requests each day to make myself feel loved..."
Pei Ye criticized mercilessly, but there was a hint of pity in his eyes. Jiang Zhi knew where his heart was troubled, so she forcefully brought the topic back.
"So you're saying this is the requirement?"
"I'll ask around for you tomorrow morning. I can't be sure about this without asking around in detail."
Jiang Zhi glanced at him, mocking his earlier boast of knowing everything, but after thinking about it, she ultimately gave up on the idea.
*
By the time I got home, it was already dark.
The sky was a deep blue, with stars dotting the silent night. Only the candlelight in front of each shop testified that someone was here.
Jiang Zhi felt a rare sense of loneliness.
Pei Ye went home to sleep, Xiao Mahua went home first because she had to go to school, and Zuo Tianyuan, needless to say, his mother had been waiting for him for a long time...
She lay on her back on the bamboo bed, covered with a small quilt, slightly reminiscing about the bright light bulb of her past life, while counting on her fingers, thinking about what delicious food she could still make in the future.
Sausage? Meatballs? Pumpkin pancakes? Chive dumplings? Duck blood hot pot? ...
As she pondered this, she also compared it with the court situation she had asked You Yi about, and wondered if one day she might be able to wait for the arrival of overseas crops.
She really wants to eat chili peppers!
Stir-fried green peppers with eggs, stir-fried green peppers with pork ribs, minced duck, spicy braised beef...
Jiang Zhi's eyelids slowly drooped as she thought of something, and her breathing became more and more steady.
She drifted off to sleep.
Then, I had a good night's sleep.
-----------------------
Author's note: Once the female lead's business ventures continue to flourish, I'm going to use a time-travel technique to get overseas crops here quickly, please.
God knows how I, a Hunan native, managed to write a 200,000-word food article without ever mentioning chili peppers.
I'll update as soon as I finish writing tomorrow or the day after, because I don't have any drafts saved up and I have a full schedule of classes, so I can't set a fixed time. But if I post it after 9 pm, I'll let you know. If you don't see it, just go to sleep and check back the next day.
11.4 Update: Posted later (after 9 PM), no need to wait.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
