Dragon Boat Festival
Yuchi Gong never came again, and there was one less lonely guest sitting by the window in the evening, but this had no effect on "welcoming the spring". The party continued to welcome and see off guests, and there were too many guests to rest.
He Yingchun looked at the shop and said, "It's still a little small." If a large group of students who had just finished school came in, even sharing tables would not be enough.
Madam Wang put the bowls in order. "That's right. I even made the kitchen smaller, but as more and more people come, it feels like there isn't enough room anymore."
Mom, carrying a bowl of soaked glutinous rice and eating red dates, also said, "There's not enough room outside at noon today."
It seems that it really needs to be put on the agenda. He Yingchun counted the money she had and found that she was still quite wealthy. Most of the restaurants were in the West Market, and she was still reluctant to give up the market in the East Market.
Forget it, don't think about it for now. She touched the soaked rice dumpling leaves and said, "That's enough."
Madam Wang brought out the other prepared ingredients, rolled up her sleeves, and opened the packages!
Eating rice dumplings on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival, is a long-standing custom.
He Yingchun loves these festivals. She still looks forward to holidays when she was a student. When she was a child, she would go home on holidays and buy some rice dumplings and tea eggs on the street with a few friends. Then she would find a place to have fun, jump rope, play sandbags, and even chat about gossip. She felt happy.
He Yingchun ate a red date. The rice dumplings she had eaten since she was a child were sweet ones made with glutinous rice and dates. Occasionally, some red beans would be added to them, making them sweet, fragrant and soft.
Once when she was traveling, she tried a salty egg yolk and meat rice dumpling, which opened the door to a new world. It had meat and salty egg yolk, and was sticky and glutinous, which was exactly what she wanted!
Soak the rice dumplings, dried shrimps, chestnuts, peanuts, and mushrooms overnight, remove the chestnut skins, cut the pork belly into pieces, and cut the salted egg yolks, which have been marinated long ago, in half.
"Wow, this salted egg yolk is pickled so well that it's oozing with oil." Madam Wang said with a smile.
Mom smiled and couldn't help saying, "It tastes okay."
“It’s savory and salty, and incredibly delicious!”
The arrival of Lady Wang and Mum also made the life much more lively. They were of similar age and could chat until three in the morning.
The salted egg yolks were pickled by my mother, who was an expert at making pasta and pickled side dishes. Madam Wang was good at making toppings and stir-frying dishes, and He Yingchun was good at making meat, including pork, chicken, mutton, and beef. The three of them each had their own duties and a clear division of labor.
Add lard to the pot, add chestnuts and mushrooms, fry the chestnuts until golden brown, then add pork belly, fry out the fat, add water, and add the soaked peanuts into the pot.
"Why does it smell so good!" Madam Wang looked into the pot, the aroma almost reaching her head.
He Yingchun added soy sauce, salt and other seasonings to the pot. "Okay, cook for 25 minutes and it'll be almost done."
It is not ready after cooking, it needs to be soaked for a while to absorb the flavor. He Yingchun took out the pork belly and mushrooms, put the washed glutinous rice into the pot, and soaked it for half an hour.
While waiting for the salty filling, they would wrap the sweet rice dumplings first. He Yingchun's wrapping method was a little different from the other two people. "Your technique is quite interesting."
Hers was better looking, but Mum and Lady Wang were faster. They tied the dumplings with bamboo leaves, making them solid, large dumplings that looked particularly affordable.
"Ding ding, one serving of rice dumplings, +5 points, your total points are 923!" It's a pity that no matter whether it's a meat rice dumpling or a red date rice dumpling, they are all just counted as rice dumplings and given an extra five points. If it were based on the quantity, He Yingchun imagined, she would be a points tycoon now.
He Yingchun made a few wooden boxes, filled them with small and exquisite rice dumplings, tied them up with red thread, and made them into gift boxes for customers to buy and give as gifts.
Madam Wang wasn't too optimistic about the gift boxes. "People here are not very sophisticated and can't afford such fancy things. Nobles usually go to restaurants to order them."
The custom-made wooden box was somewhat similar to the rice dumpling boxes of later generations, with a handle on it for easy carrying. The box surface was painted by Wen Jingzhao. The young master still had his craftsmanship, so he wrote a sign "Welcome the Spring" on it, and on it were either landscape paintings or patterns of blooming flowers, with blessings written on them.
Madam Wang took the wooden box and looked around. "It would be nice to put it at home as a decoration."
"I think so too. If there are really no customers interested, then we can give it to relatives and friends." Having said that, He Yingchun still put it in front of the store with the idea of selling it in big quantities.
There was a small table at the door with folded wooden boxes on it. "Happy Dragon Boat Festival! Buy gifts and get a colored rope for free!" The big words were pasted on the wooden board, simple and clear.
The colored ropes were bought at a stall in the East Market. He Yingchun bought a lot, two ropes for one penny, and bought a large bunch. The price was not expensive, and the patterns were beautiful, so she bought them for good luck.
The customer tasted the rice dumplings and thought they were delicious. When he came out and saw that they were in a gift box, he asked, "How many rice dumplings are in this gift box?"
"Ten, for a perfect start. How about giving one to your family to taste?" Lady Wang said with a smile.
The customer asked the price and smacked his lips, thinking it was a bit expensive. "Can I have some loose? I don't want the gift boxes. Ten is a bit too much."
"Of course we have some. How many do you want? I'll pack them for you!"
…
The rice dumplings sold well, but the shop became noisy.
He Yingchun walked out of the kitchen, confused. Although there were many guests, they were usually reasonable and ate their own food. How could they start arguing with each other over a few words?
Madam Wang was mediating in the middle, and the guests on both sides did not argue to the point of getting red in the face or getting angry, but each side had its own reasons.
"Red dates and red beans are the soul of zongzi. Meat zongzi tastes okay, but in the end, it's just for the novelty of eating."
"Look, you think it's fresh too. The egg yolk and meat dumplings are full of meat, the egg yolk is salty and delicious, and the meat is fresh and tasty, fat but not greasy. In my opinion, your taste is monotonous and you can't enjoy delicious food!"
"You're just making excuses..." He looked at He Yingchun and said hurriedly, "So you're saying that Boss He's sweet rice dumplings aren't delicious!"
…
The debate over sweet and salty is truly an eternal one. He Yingchun thought, fortunately, she didn't make meat when she was selling glutinous rice balls, otherwise there would be another round of arguments. Speaking of which, tofu pudding seems to be...
This is getting off topic. He Yingchun coughed twice and said, "Thank you both for your support. Everyone has their own preferences, and sweet and salty rice dumplings also vary from person to person. If you like them, we have a big pot cooked in the kitchen! As much as you want!"
Just then, Madam Wang tactfully went to the kitchen and brought back some rice dumplings. "Don't worry, sir! Fresh rice dumplings are here!" "Which guest's rice dumplings?"
"It's me! It's me! Come up quickly!"
"This way!"
…
The dispute over the sweet and salty taste was resolved in a muddled way. After cleaning up the noodle shop in the evening, a few people gathered together to eat rice dumplings.
"I like sweet rice dumplings, they are delicious." Mrs. Wang thought the red dates were not sweet enough, so she just dipped them in sugar and ate them.
My mother prefers to eat meat, but she didn't express her opinion. She took a bite of salted egg yolk and a bite of pork belly. I don't know how much she ate today.
He Yingchun wanted to try something a little different, so she fried the rice dumplings directly in the hot oil at the bottom of the pan. The outside was a little crispy, and she added some osmanthus honey sauce. The glutinous rice dumplings dipped in the sweet sauce had a unique flavor and were deeply loved by Lady Wang.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, "Xiyingchun" took half a day off. The last group of customers left at noon and the restaurant closed.
Originally, He Yingchun wanted to go for an outing and a picnic with a few people, but then she thought that she had finally got half a day off, and who would want to hang out with the boss? So she decided to just make her own arrangements and do whatever she wanted.
Mum and Lady Wang planned to go shopping first. "I heard that several stores have summer clothes. Let's go shopping."
After the two left, the noodle shop seemed a little empty. He Yingchun sat on the bench in a daze, her mind empty, and she enjoyed the breeze for a while. It was not until Wen Jingzhao came to find her that she woke up from a dream and said, "Here you are!"
The two of them made an appointment to go on a boat trip in the afternoon. It was the Dragon Boat Festival, and although there was no dragon boat race, they could ride on a small boat, see the scenery, and chat. It was a rare date for the two of them.
After locking the door, Wen Jingzhao didn't ride a horse, so the two of them walked slowly towards the lake hand in hand. Naturally, they were not the only two who could think of such a good idea.
When they got to the lake, there was actually a group of people waiting for the boat. The boatman was a little busy. There were families traveling together, boys and girls playing together, and some people just enjoying their own time like them. It was lively and a bit like the holidays in their previous life.
The two looked at each other and walked slowly along the lakeside together. The lake water was clear and blue like jade, and the willows on the bank complemented each other. Occasionally, a breeze blew, and the willows swayed gracefully. The boat was floating in the lake, and there was laughter and joy.
The sky was a clear blue, dotted with white clouds. The shimmering waters of the lake sparkled before her eyes. He Yingchun took a deep breath and opened her arms. She wanted to say something like, "I love walking along the east side of the lake, where the white sandbanks are shaded by green willows." Or, "If I were to compare West Lake to Xi Shi, she would be equally beautiful with either heavy or light makeup."
After thinking about it, I felt that it was not suitable. China has a history of 5,000 years, but not much ink has been left in its belly. Thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence, "It's so beautiful!"
"Well, the water and the sky are the same color." Wen Jingzhao, who usually complained about the weather in Zhuyi, nodded in agreement.
The two of them strolled around for a while when Zhang Chao suddenly rode up on horseback, "Wen Jingzhao! Quick! Urgent news!"
He didn't even have time to greet He Yingchun. He only allowed Wen Jingzhao to say a few words before he sped away.
The pleasure he had felt when he came here completely disappeared. He Yingchun only stayed by the lake for a while before going home. What can one do alone in the afternoon? Sleep!
He Yingchun originally thought that she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about Zhang Chao's urgent news, but she pulled the curtains and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, it was almost dark.
Wen Jingzhao had not returned yet, and she was alone, but she didn't want to make do with just any meal, so she decided to just eat spicy hotpot.
He Yingchun prepared some mushrooms, corn, potatoes, lotus root slices, and green vegetables. She had tried to make beef balls some time ago, and some of the failed ones were cooked this time. She added some beef slices, and except for the green vegetables, she cooked everything else together and then tore up some noodles.
Sauté the onion, ginger and garlic with lard, add the sweet pepper and small red pepper and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant, add chopped tomatoes, add salt and soy sauce and simmer for a while, then add some onion and celery, add the hot pot base produced by the system, add the freshly cooked ingredients and mix them, the spicy taste made her cough a few times.
"Ahem, are you making fried chili peppers?" Wen Jingzhao pushed the door open, waved his hand, and his eyes were so choked that he could hardly open them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
