Chapter 53 Braised Lamb Noodles
Generally speaking, the closer to autumn, the later it gets light.
When Jiang Zhi regained consciousness and quickly opened her eyes, after a night's sleep, she felt much more relaxed, and the fatigue from yesterday's busy day quickly dissipated.
*
She straightened her clothes slightly, sat up, glanced out the window, and looked at the sky outside. Hmm, the sky was still pitch black, as black as ink splashed freely on a scholar's inkstone.
After a quick mental estimate, I confirmed the time: Hmm, it's not yet the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).
*
At this time, when most people are still asleep, Jiang Zhi says: It's the perfect time.
She quickly tidied herself up, washed her face, changed her clothes, and then rushed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
She's selling the same old dishes for breakfast today, with no plans to create anything new. She falls asleep instantly every night after lying down, so how could she possibly be in the mood for innovative recipes?
Fortunately, she had already made nearly a hundred of each item last time, so she was already quite skilled at it and didn't need to think too much before getting busy.
I don't know when Dahuang came back from its walk outside in the middle of the night. It was probably woken up by the lights and noise. It opened its eyes sleepily, walked around Jiang Zhi, rubbed its furry body against her, and then collapsed on the ground and closed its eyes to go back to sleep.
Seeing its behavior, Jiang Zhi finally forgave the big yellow dog that had been missing for an afternoon. After finishing her work, she washed her hands, carried the big yellow dog to the newly bought doghouse, and made some extra bedding for it.
Big Yellow seemed to realize that it was no longer sleeping on the cold ground, so it happily turned over and continued to sleep.
*
When everything was ready and we were ready to open the stall,
To everyone's surprise, a light rain began to fall outside.
Autumn rain is always the coldest. With the lingering rain, a cold wind blew, freezing Jiang Zhi, who was working hard in a single layer of clothing, and she shivered and hurriedly took out her coat from the house.
Yan Mo frowned slightly, muttering to herself in a very low voice, which Jiang Zhi, who had just arrived, heard.
She said:
"I'm afraid not many people will go out today!"
Hearing this, Jiang Zhi frowned, a rare occurrence for her. "Tsk, this is difficult!"
There's no way around it; this kind of business is somewhat dependent on the weather. Luckily, it rained in the morning, so Jiang Zhi was still able to sell her wares in the storefront. If it had been at night, the large raindrops would probably have left her and her customers with nowhere to hide.
Unfortunately, medical care in ancient times was really poor. Getting caught in the rain, developing a fever, and eventually dying were all quite common occurrences.
Therefore, for all the reasons mentioned above, people should avoid going out on rainy days unless absolutely necessary.
— That's too little!
*
Just as the two of them were looking rather worried, the first person suddenly stood in front of the stall.
It was that young scholar who had been a loyal customer of Jiang Zhi for a long time. As always, he was a little shy and bashful, standing at the first spot. He held an oil-paper umbrella, carried a book bag, handed over the money, and said in a slightly embarrassed and stammering tone.
"Give me one of each—one of each!"
It seemed that he had just made eye contact with the two pretty girls, Jiang Zhi and Jiang Zhi, and he became even more embarrassed. After handing over the money, he hurriedly withdrew his hand.
Then, feeling embarrassed, they let the target drift around freely.
"Um, where's your little sister?"
After his gaze swept around for a moment, the scholar couldn't help but ask again.
"Ahem! My little sister has gone to the academy now! Brother Su, I remember you're at the academy too, right?"
The scholar surnamed Su was first taken aback, then overjoyed, and he stammered even more as he spoke:
"Is it that academy in the city? I'm there too. I'll try to visit my little sister sometime!"
"Then thank you, Brother Su!"
"Not only do I thank Brother Xie for gracing us on this special day, but I also want to express my gratitude on behalf of my younger sister!"
As Jiang Zhi finished speaking, she hurriedly handed the breakfast she had bought to Su Shusheng, and also gave him an extra lychee bun that he had been eyeing.
She was also looking at him sincerely, which made him scratch his head in embarrassment.
Even the way he walked had a slightly languid air about him.
*
Distracted by this familiar customer, Jiang Zhi had already come up with a solution.
She first had Yan Mo hold the table outside, while she herself rushed back into the house, rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, and pulled out a roll of parchment that had somehow ended up there. She then lightly ground some ink and wrote in a flowing, elegant style: -
"It's raining today, so to thank our customers, if you buy three breakfast items, the last one will be free!"
After finishing writing and waiting for the ink to dry slightly, Jiang Zhi admired her handwriting with satisfaction and even whistled softly.
People from Sichuan, come and experience this modern marketing technique!
*
In Sichuan, most people still have to work, even when it rains.
Not to mention that the rain is still quite persistent, even if it were to fall more heavily...
Even students had to rush to the academy to prepare for their lessons. Not to mention the small merchants and other people who did business everywhere. They often only wore a bamboo raincoat and a hat, and hurried to their workplaces.
On the way there, it was inevitable that I would have some leisure to look around.
Unfortunately, they spotted the sign that Jiang Zhi had put up outside.
The "buy three get one free" offer is indeed novel, at least for many people who have some spare cash but not a lot. Plus, Jiang Zhi's face has become quite recognizable after all these days.
Almost everyone knows that what she makes is delicious.
Previously, either the queues were so long that you couldn't wait, or you felt that if you didn't eat there, you could save a meal.
But once this sign is put up, even passersby feel like they've missed out on a bargain because they didn't buy anything! They'll have to spend more money to buy it later, so they might as well buy it today!
As I thought this, more and more people started to line up in front of Jiang Zhi’s shop.
*
After selling out all the breakfast she had made that morning, Jiang Zhi, still relatively awake and seeing that business had been pretty good, decided to make some braised noodles for the two hungry people and Xiao Tianyuan, who hadn't gotten up yet.
The noodles were ready-made. Jiang Zhi didn't really like making them by hand, but she liked the taste of hand-pulled noodles, so she had bought extra from the market to stock up.
She made noodle soup this time, and first stir-fried the ingredients.
With a few tendons still attached, Jiang Zhi held down the mutton with one hand and used a knife in the other to cut it evenly into pieces about the size of a finger joint.
Then stir-fry it in a pan with soybean oil, add a series of seasonings such as soybean paste, soy sauce, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and minced garlic, and pour in two bowls of still steaming hot water.
Simmer it for a while; lamb needs to be cooked for a while to become tender and delicious!
Once the mutton was easily pierced with chopsticks and a little broth remained, Jiang Zhi used both hands on the cutting board to quickly pour in the chopped green beans.
Then the pot was covered and simmered for a while longer. This was mainly to ensure the green beans were cooked through. Jiang Zhi had tested undercooked green beans for poison more than once or twice.
When she could faintly smell the rich aroma that even the pot lid couldn't block out, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but look over and saw the pot bubbling away.
She knew that was about right!
Then, the unprocessed hand-pulled noodles were gently placed on top of the vegetables, stir-fried a couple of times with a spatula, and then another layer of vegetables was placed on top.
Then, while using a spatula to continuously pour broth over the noodles, he kept observing whether they were cooked through.
And you also need to pay attention to adding water from time to time.
Unfortunately, the most difficult part of making braised noodles is that undercooked noodles and sticking to the pot are often not separate issues.
But there was no way around it; Jiang Zhi was craving this right now: the noodles that had soaked up all the broth, chewed gently in her mouth, and then occasionally paired with the slightly fatty mutton—it was simply delicious!
*
This dish was quick to prepare for Jiang Zhi, but when Yan Mo went to urge Zuo Tianyuan and brought him out,
Three bowls of noodles, topped with a sauce and soaked in broth, were already placed on the table.
Jiang Zhi went back to her room to wash up, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She then saw that the two people were already sitting at the dining table.
He picked up his chopsticks and waited for her.
She smiled and quickly ran a few steps, then sat down at the dining table, ready to start eating.
*
As soon as the noodles entered her mouth, Jiang Zhi also found them quite enjoyable!
The rich aroma of mutton explodes in your mouth first, followed by the sweetness of the green beans softened by simmering, and finally the savory aroma of soy sauce and minced garlic. The moment you take a bite, you feel your throat bobbing slightly!
A properly cooked braised noodle will always have each strand distinct. Jiang Zhi's was naturally quite good as well. She chewed her bite while picking up the next one, and saw:
The glistening noodles were coated in a dark brown, slightly translucent broth; the green beans, simmered until tender yet firm, had a deep green hue, indicating they were perfectly cooked. The mutton with ginger and scallions was lean meat with a slight amount of tendon, firm but not dry, yet with a satisfying chewiness!
Ginger. He ate it bite after bite, and as the hot noodles slid down his throat, he felt as if the chill brought by the continuous autumn rain outside was being driven away, and his whole body was even a little warm and sweaty.
Yan Mo and Zuo Tianyuan naturally noticed this as well, but they both thought it was because the soup was too hot and was dispelling the cold.
*
Only Jiang Zhi knew the answer. When she stewed the mutton, she specially added some ginger and Sichuan peppercorns to sauté it in advance. Before leaving the country, she also sprinkled some white pepper, which not only made it taste better, but was also especially suitable for eating on this rainy morning, as it was particularly good for dispelling cold and dampness!
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Author's note: November 5th update: I'll post this a little later today. I sprained my leg a bit and didn't finish writing.
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