While eating at home, Grandma Liu said wearily, "Yuezhi, your shop is doing really well. There have been so many customers for the past three days. Luckily, I only work for one morning, or I would be exhausted."
Pei Yuezhi picked up a large slice of meat with her chopsticks and said, "Auntie, you're very tired every day, running around all the time. Eat more."
After lunch and seeing Grandma Liu off, the three children rushed to clean up the dishes and wash the utensils. Pei Yuezhi quickly washed her face and went back to her room to start her favorite afternoon nap.
"Yueyue, how much did you earn today?" Liu Yuanyuan insisted on sharing a bed with Pei Yuezhi, and instead of sleeping properly, she started chatting.
But Pei Yuezhi is the kind of person who, once you start talking to her, forgets what she was supposed to be doing and starts chatting.
"I calculated today's output, and it's more than the previous two days, 1,360 coins. I wonder if anyone will come over for a bite tonight."
The two chatted for a while before realizing they should go to sleep, otherwise they would have to get up and work soon.
After resting for a while, Pei Yuezhi thought of the unused food package and decided to exchange it for sixty catties of fine rice and forty catties of wheat flour to keep for her family to eat.
I haven't eaten white rice in a long time. Although brown rice tastes alright and whole grains are healthier, I still crave white rice.
Looking at the pile of grain and so much meat in the space, Pei Yuezhi was very satisfied.
When it was almost time, I went to the store first, pretending to pick up the meat and vegetables I had ordered.
Liu Yuanyuan was told to bring the three children over shortly. This was their routine every day, so the two worked together very well.
As planned yesterday, I'll prepare tomorrow's materials at the shop and greet any customers who come in.
Pei Yuezhi didn't expect that, despite thinking there would be no one at night, guests would be coming in one after another over the past few days.
We sold eight servings of fried noodles and three servings of fried rice during dinner time.
Pei Yuezhi plans to make braised pork tomorrow, as well as stir-fried pork slices, stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers, and braised green peppers.
Both braised pork slices and stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers require deep-frying, so I made them all in one day.
Just as she was about to go to the mall to buy groceries, she noticed that the special offers section had been refreshed again. Pei Yuezhi opened it to take a look, and sure enough, there was no difference.
Brown rice is two coins per pound, coarse noodles are two coins per pound, pork is five coins per pound, vegetables are two coins per pound, free-range chickens are ten coins each (each weighing four pounds), and mutton is six coins per pound.
"System, you might as well not refresh this special offers shop. There's never anything new or interesting to offer," Pei Yuezhi complained.
However, the system remained silent.
Pei Yuezhi was too lazy to argue. She bought all the necessary groceries, as these were things she needed frequently and it was better not to change them.
The dishes I'm going to make tomorrow will all use a lot of oil. Luckily, the seasoning packet has become a permanent version. It contains almost all the seasonings, even things that Pei Yue rarely used in her previous life, like Zhuhou sauce and Korean chili sauce.
While Pei Yuezhi was cooking for the guests, she had already handed the ingredients to Liu Yuanyuan. By then, Liu Yuanyuan and the children had finished washing all the vegetables.
The pork belly for the braised pork has also been cut into small pieces, or rather, small strips. This time, I'm aiming to make something similar to Taiwanese braised pork rice, which can be poured over rice and is very delicious.
"Yueyue, is your braised meat authentic?" Liu Yuanyuan asked while cutting the meat.
Pei Yuezhi replied helplessly, "It's definitely not that authentic. Although I'm a chef, I can't always make local dishes authentically. I mainly borrow some local methods."
"Like the dishes I made before, strictly speaking, they were all a little different from the most authentic ones. When I was learning, the chefs all said there was no problem, but since none of them were locals, there were bound to be some issues."
"But the taste is absolutely perfect!"
Liu Yuanyuan also seemed to understand, but after thinking about it, it made sense. She went to a restaurant that claimed to be an authentic Northeastern Chinese restaurant, but even the braised pork slices were long strips.
While Liu Yuanyuan was cutting the pork belly, Pei Yuezhi also prepared to process the pork slices.
Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces about the size of your thumb joint. Once you've cut them all, set them aside for later use.
Today, the meat doesn't need to be blanched, and the vegetables don't need much processing. As for frying, just come over a little earlier to prepare them.
I was mainly hungry and didn't want to work.
Let's make some scallion oil noodles for dinner!
Having decided what to eat for dinner, Pei Yuezhi was very excited to take everyone home to cook.
Tell Liu Yuanyuan to go back and wash the scallions and some cilantro first, and then tidy up the kitchen before going back.
Just as Pei Yuezhi was locking the door, a slightly puzzled female voice came from behind her: "Xiuyuan's wife?"
Pei Yuezhi almost didn't realize that someone was calling her. She was stunned for a moment, then quickly turned around and saw that it was her deceased husband's cousin-in-law whom she had met when she was traveling into town.
“It’s you, cousin-in-law. Haven’t you returned to the village yet? It’s so late.” Pei Yuezhi greeted him with her standard smile.
“I’ve moved to town, it’s nearby. Your nephew is coming to study here, and your cousin found a new job around here, so we rented a place to live here,” the cousin’s wife replied, then, as if remembering something, added, “Why haven’t you come back to the village so late?”
Pei Yuezhi smiled and said to her, "I'm selling things in town, and I've saved up some money. I thought I should strike while the iron is hot, so my friend and I rented a shop together. Now that we've done this, we won't be able to catch the oxcart home, so we might as well rent a house to live in."
"That's wonderful! Now that your family is doing well, Xiuyuan can rest easy in heaven. My sister-in-law lives nearby, so come visit sometime."
"Okay, you can come and sit here sometime."
I hadn't planned to tell anyone that my family had rented a shop in town, but this just happened to happen, and since my cousin's family is very kind, I told them anyway.
When Pei Yuezhi returned home, Liu Yuanyuan had already prepared everything she needed, so she started cooking!
She even separated the white and green parts of the scallions; Yuanyuan is so thoughtful.
"Yueyue, why don't you teach me how to do it? I feel a little bad letting you do everything," Liu Yuanyuan offered.
"Alright, since you're so kind to me, I'll teach you my secret techniques!"
Use a little more oil in the pan. First, cut the cilantro into two pieces and put them into the hot oil to fry. After two or three minutes, they will be almost dry. Once they are dry, you can take them out.
Then fry the white parts of the scallions for about two or three minutes until they turn dark and charred. Then you can take them out.
Next, fry the scallion leaves for two or three minutes, until they are black and dry, then take them out.
As Liu Yuanyuan scooped the food out of the water, she said, "Yuanyue, I think this is really easy."
What do you mean by that?
"Frying until golden brown is a bit difficult, but frying until dry or burnt is easy, isn't it?"
"...I was speechless."
Pei Yuezhi chopped some onions and garlic and threw them into the pot to fry.
After about two minutes, take them out and then pour the sauce into the oil.
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