Chapter 6 Preparing Skewers
If You Yi's words just now were just right for the atmosphere, then when he took his first bite, he was deeply glad that he had said something. Otherwise, given the eating speed of the guy next to him who seemed to eat at lightning speed, he probably wouldn't have been left with a single bite.
He was imitating Jiang Zhi's way of eating. He first picked up a pancake, then put a chopstickful of shredded chicken on it, and then grabbed a few peanuts and rolled them together with the shredded chicken in the pancake.
This is a cake that You Yi has never eaten before.
The pancakes that Youyi had eaten before were either made by the cook at home or sold as a special treat by the pancake vendors on the street. There were also some that were made well, such as the meat pancakes that Sun Erniang on the street used to make. The meat was wrapped in the pancake, and when you took a bite, the juice would burst in your mouth.
The aroma spread from my mouth, it was incredibly tempting.
The pancakes made by the girl staying at Pei Er's house were quite different.
The crust is thin, slightly crispy with each bite. Occasionally, crumbs will fall off when you bite into the crispiest part. But even so, it doesn't detract from the sweet aroma that bursts onto your tongue after a few more chews.
When you eat this pancake, at first glance you only feel that it is thin and crispy, but as you savor it, it feels as if all the sweet aroma of other pancakes is hidden in your throat and slowly lingers in your mouth.
Before the sweetness of the pancake could even settle, You Yi had already bitten into the shredded meat inside.
When Jiang Zhi makes cold shredded chicken in modern times, he usually likes to add some chili oil to ensure that it has the perfect balance of sour, spicy and numbing flavors. However, since this dynasty did not have any plans to advance into the Americas at the moment, he had no choice but to give up.
Even so, this dish still amazed Youyi, who had never experienced such a variety of flavors before.
He blinked, and even though he hadn't finished eating, he still grabbed the food with even more effort.
Jiang Zhi paid no attention to the two people; she was focused on Xiao Mahua.
Although Little Twist doesn't look very big, she eats in a quiet and orderly manner, swallowing her food very quickly, unlike her older brother You Yi who is so uncouth.
The moment Jiang Zhi looked at her, she noticed and glanced back. After meeting Jiang Zhi's gaze, she silently lowered her head and continued eating.
Jiang Zhi became increasingly certain of her guess.
After the meal, just as the two had finished eating and drinking, Jiang Zhi quietly took Xiao Mahua outside and then asked her questions in detail.
You Yi was worried about how to repay the favor, so he simply told everyone about Xiao Mahua.
Xiao Mahua's real name is You Ling. She is the youngest daughter of the You family. While she may not be the most pampered daughter, she is certainly loved by the entire family.
The little girl has been beautiful and intelligent since she was a child.
Everything is fine now.
It wasn't until she was four years old and started school that people noticed a problem: Little Twist was becoming increasingly quiet.
At first, everyone thought it was her stubborn and inflexible personality, and they all tried to ignore her to forcefully correct her. Unexpectedly, after that, Little Twist spoke less and less.
After hearing about this, You Yi's cronies gave him a rather amusing nickname, "Little Twist." They thought it was quite fitting and would sometimes jokingly call him that.
In the end, You Yi, the older brother, who was usually unreliable, was unusually serious this time. He stood up and bowed slightly to Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi hurriedly dodged, returned the greeting, and said.
"Young Master You, what brings you here?"
“Miss Jiang, my younger sister rarely goes out and doesn’t like to interact with strangers. Today, her wet nurse was carrying her out for a stroll, but something went wrong. Fortunately, you took her in, Miss Jiang. This greeting is for that!”
"Furthermore, I also want to ask Miss Jiang for a favor!" He paused, gave an embarrassed smile, and continued.
"Miss Jiang, from observing your daily interactions with Little Twist, I sense that Little Twist quite likes you! I wonder if you could look after her sometimes..."
He glanced at Jiang Zhi's expression and carefully changed his words.
"If Miss Jiang can correct Xiao Mahua's taciturn nature, please feel free to ask for anything from the You family. My father is a businessman who travels around all year round, and my elder brother has a post in the capital. Miss Jiang, would you like to buy some cosmetics and dresses from various places..."
Jiang Zhi had been listening half-heartedly; she was someone who judged people by their first impressions. This time, she found the brother and sister quite agreeable, so she let them have a meal there.
But when she heard the conditions that the You family could offer, as listed by You Yi, her eyes lit up instantly.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"You family, you have great energy! Can you bring anything?"
When You Yi heard this, he was startled for a moment and couldn't help but glance in the direction where Pei Ye was standing. Some questions also popped into his mind:
While he was serious about what he said earlier, it was also largely a polite gesture. After all, even if Pei Er were to keep a mistress, he certainly wouldn't skimp on her needs...
But judging from the way this girl acted just now, could it be that she doesn't know something?
Pei Ye coldly turned his head away, completely ignoring the life or death of his own brother.
Jiang Zhi didn't notice the connection between the two; she was busy calculating her gains and losses.
Jiang Zhi has basically confirmed that Xiao Mahua's symptoms are what was diagnosed as autism in later generations, with an IQ so high that his willingness to communicate is extremely low.
Although she didn't know why Xiao Mahua liked to stick to her, Jiang Zhi never let go of anything that could be used.
In ancient times, Sichuan was considered a remote and uncivilized region in the south, but the mountain ranges of Guizhou alone were enough to keep countless people away. As a result, communication between this region and the outside world was extremely limited.
There was actually a ready-made communication channel here, waiting for Jiang Zhi, so naturally Jiang Zhi wouldn't let it go.
So she smiled and spoke.
"Although Little Twist is not very talkative, she is well-behaved and cute. And when I have nothing to do, why shouldn't I take care of her?"
"As for what Brother You mentioned, I don't really care about adorning my skirt. Why don't you have your father and brother inquire around and see if there are any unusual fruits or the like? I love to ponder these things..."
*
When Little Twist was carried into the house again by the older sister who felt so familiar, she clearly sensed the change in the atmosphere of the entire room.
My own unreliable older brother was talking to the man standing on the other side in a very serious manner, and upon closer inspection, his expression seemed to be somewhat clenched teeth.
The older sister who was holding him seemed unusually gentler than before.
She gently poked the older sister's arm with some doubt, and sure enough, she saw the older sister looking down.
"What are you two babbling about again? Go outside first, I want to chat with Little Twist."
Before Little Twist could even make eye contact with her older sister for a few seconds, she saw the instant her older sister's expression change and roared angrily in the direction of her own brother.
The two finally stopped whispering and walked out arm in arm.
only,
Little Twist noticed with some keen insight that her own brother's shoulder, which was being draped over his shoulder, was noticeably pale and bloodless.
"Little Twist, sit still!"
When Little Twist heard the older sister call her that again, she immediately turned around.
At this moment, Jiang Zhi was also carefully examining the little twisted dough stick. After a long while, she sighed and said in a slightly frightening tone.
"Your brother sold you to me. After that, you'll have to learn to read and write from me and help with chores. You'd better be obedient, or no one will want you!"
Little Twist pursed her lips and made a sound for the first time.
"He won't."
It was a slightly dry voice, sounding a bit hoarse.
Jiang Zhi was amused by this sound. She turned around and pinched the little girl's chubby cheeks, teasing her:
"Your brother and your parents are starting to suspect something's wrong with you. Don't you want to talk to them?"
The atmosphere froze the moment those words were spoken, and after a long while, the little girl finally answered in a hoarse voice.
"Whether I say anything or not, they won't come back."
*
"The Three Character Classic?"
"Yes, I've read it!"
"The Thousand Character Classic?"
"I read it!"
"You didn't read all the books your brother left behind, did you?"
"Um."
When the little girl calmly hummed in agreement, Jiang Zhi felt a strange sense of peace.
She had originally intended to use her experience of living for at least 40 years across two lifetimes to teach the young girl some principles and knowledge, but unexpectedly, the young girl gave her a lesson in person.
At first, she was a little skeptical and picked up the book with one hand to test the little girl. Unexpectedly, the little girl, who looked so small, had actually memorized everything that a girl her age should be reading.
Jiang Zhi remained silent on the surface, but in reality, she wished she could silently shed tears: When will God grant her this photographic memory?
So when the two people outside finally came in, they saw the two inside reading books in a rather leisurely and elegant manner.
The eldest son was lounging leisurely in a bamboo chair, carefully flipping through a recipe passed down from the previous dynasty with one hand, muttering something under his breath.
The little one sat upright on a small chair, looking at the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" with a straight back.
"Oh, you've taken a fancy to reading today? Don't you usually have my two books that you never tire of reading? You've found these kinds of books interesting now, haven't you? If you ask me, some books are definitely more enjoyable than those old scholars lecturing..."
Pei Ye didn't know what he had given the man surnamed You outside, but now he no longer had the solemn and tragic feeling of entrusting his son to someone, and was just like a silly husky.
The young girl was too lazy to pay attention to her unreliable older brother, but Jiang Zhi was always one to kill by destroying the spirit!
She held a calligraphy brush in one hand, writing something carefully on the recipe, while pressing down on the recipe with the other hand, speaking without looking up.
“Little Twist has already thoroughly studied all your books. If you don’t believe me, just ask her a few questions and you’ll see.”
"As for why you only held your Four Books and Five Classics, it's probably because these are the only books you kept at home!"
You Yi was clearly stunned by those few words, but otherwise why would he be called a husky? His focus had completely shifted.
"You Ling, you're finally willing to talk to me! Hurry up and call me 'brother,' and I'll book the whole bookstore for you!"
Little Twist was getting annoyed by her older brother's constant nagging, so she gently pushed him aside with her little hand.
But the man surnamed You didn't sense his sister's impatience at all. When he heard his sister's light and hoarse "Brother," he became visibly excited and laughed like a husky that had broken free of its reins!
Over here, Jiang Zhi was too lazy to watch the brother and sister's affectionate moment. She was combining ancient books with modern dishes in her mind, and then, without turning her head, she called out to the people behind her.
How about we try something you've never had before tonight?
"It's up to you."
A male voice came from behind Jiang Zhi. The man leaned forward slightly, pressing his entire weight onto the bamboo chair where Jiang Zhi was sitting, looking at the recipe scroll in her hand at the same time, with a slight smile on his face.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Dear readers, please note that since many of you have added this post to your favorites today, I've decided to release another update around 10:30 PM tonight.
If the number of favorites increases by this much tomorrow, then I will also update twice.
So, dear readers, could you please lend a hand to Zhizhi's culinary business by tapping your little finger?
P.S.: Minor edits on August 12th! [Go for it!][Go for it!][Go for it!]
Additional information:
While writing the later chapters, I did some research and discovered that *Tiangong Kaiwu* (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature) was written during the Ming Dynasty.
Author: Wei Xiang Si!
As readers may have noticed, although this book is described as an adaptation, I actually imitated more of the productivity and production levels of the Song Dynasty!
But now a book from the Ming Dynasty has appeared, and I feel like I'm in despair.
But in my personal opinion, "Tiangong Kaiwu" is actually a book that is more suitable for Xiao Mahua to read.
Compared to other books, this one is more down-to-earth. As a chef born in our socialist country, Zhizhi Baby highly appreciates and loves the book "Tengu's Enlightenment," and is also keen to research many agricultural and industrial production issues. Therefore, Zhizhi Baby will definitely share it with Xiaomahua.
So, the author isn't trying to defend himself here, but rather to say that he's now caught in a huge trap that he can't seem to get out of.
So please, if you're a discerning reader, skip this part.
Or do you have steamed buns? Could you recommend a book similar to *Tiangong Kaiwu* from the Song Dynasty or earlier?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
