Remove the head and tail of the chicken, then add scallions, ginger, star anise, bay leaves, pepper powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, salt, and soy sauce.
Use these seasonings to coat the chicken evenly, making sure to coat the inside of the cavity as well.
Making beggar's chicken is really simple. Just marinate the chicken overnight, wrap it in lotus leaves and yellow mud the next day, and then roast it until cooked.
Pei Yuezhi still found it a bit difficult to know how to bake it, since she had never done it before and didn't know what temperature to use or how long to bake it.
Let's look into these things tomorrow; first, let's put the chicken in a cooler place.
I'm just waiting to bake it tomorrow.
The next day, Pei Yuezhi went to the shop first as usual. She had to make six dishes, so she went a little earlier than before.
Not long after we arrived, both of my sisters-in-law came.
"Yuezhi, you come this early every day." My cousin-in-law starts cleaning and sweeping as soon as she arrives.
Pei Yuezhi smiled and said to her, "Yes, come early and pack up the ordered goods."
"By the way, there's something I wanted to tell you. I took advantage of my day off yesterday to book a large shop, the one that used to be Zhou's Teahouse. We'll be working there for a while longer before moving there."
My cousin's wife was overjoyed when she heard this: "That's wonderful! Yuezhi, you're amazing!"
Zhang Hongying also praised Pei Yuezhi highly: "This Yuezhi is not only capable, but also so resourceful. My brother-in-law told me the other day that Manager Pei has a long-term vision, and looking at it now, it's really true."
The two of them were praising her so much that Pei Yuezhi felt embarrassed.
“After the shop expands, there won’t be enough people for us, right? I remember Zhou’s Tea House has two floors, right?” Zhang Hongying said with a slight worry.
My cousin's wife wasn't so worried: "Don't worry about it so much. Yuezhi must already have a plan. Let's just do our job well and set an example for the people who come later."
"That's true."
Pei Yuezhi took this opportunity to talk about Liang Zhenzhen. Anyway, she planned to have her come and work in the future. Although she didn't need to come for the next couple of days, it was only a matter of time.
Let's just get straight to the point today.
"My dear sisters-in-law, there's actually another matter. Yesterday, I was off work and went for a walk. Guess what I encountered? Someone was directly abducting a young woman on the street."
"That girl was only fifteen years old, and her parents were no longer alive. Her second uncle wanted to marry her off to a man in his thirties as a concubine, and he even beat her up in the street."
Both of these sisters-in-law are kind-hearted and straightforward, and upon hearing this, they both started cursing.
One person after another started cursing and swearing at the behavior.
Pei Yuezhi looked at the two of them with a bit of amusement. Because they had a lot of work to do, the two of them cursed at each other while working, and the scene was rather funny no matter how you looked at it.
Zhang Hongying was the first to think of it: "What happened next? Can taking a concubine be considered abducting a woman?"
"Right, I almost forgot if Hongying hadn't mentioned it. If he insists it's a normal marriage, what can we do?"
Pei Yuezhi began to tell them what happened next, including Luo Wei's words and actions, Qiao Zixun's help, and Granny Liu's investigation into Liang Zhenzhen's situation.
She told them everything in detail, and after listening, the two of them were both angry and heartbroken about what the girl had gone through.
Especially her cousin's wife, who was not only angry about Liang Zhenzhen's matter, but also very angry about Luo Wei's ill intentions towards Pei Yuezhi.
After all, she was a close relative, and having spent so much time together, she had come to regard Pei Yuezhi as her own younger sister.
Hearing that she almost got hurt, I couldn't help but feel a little angry, even though I thought she had done nothing wrong.
"Yuezhi, your sister-in-law isn't a cold person, but since you're in a situation where you lack the ability to protect yourself, your kindness will bring you trouble."
Pei Yuezhi was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to say that, but since it was indeed for her own good, she was still a little touched.
"You're right. I didn't think that much at the time. I just thought that since it was in public, I wouldn't go too far. It was my oversight, and I will definitely pay attention in the future."
The three of them chatted and worked at the same time, and they finished quite quickly.
Before long, it was noon, and the guests started arriving, marking the start of another busy day.
Finally, it was time for the afternoon break. Everyone had a simple lunch, and Pei Yuezhi went home to rest.
After arriving home, Pei Yuezhi first soaked the lotus leaves in water and added a little salt. The lotus leaves she usually used were dried and not very resilient. Soaking them in water made them easier to wrap the chicken.
After soaking it in water, I'm going to rest for a bit.
I haven't been to a physical shopping mall for two days, so I'm going to invite Liu Yuanyuan along today.
The two lay on the long-missed soft bed and chatted happily.
Why do we say it's been a long time?
Such a comfortable environment, a day without it feels like three autumns have passed.
“Yuanyuan, beggar’s chicken takes more than two hours to roast, and we can’t take it to the shop to get it. After all, we only prepared two chickens, which isn’t enough for so many people. Can you finish roasting it?” Pei Yuezhi turned around and asked her.
Liu Yuanyuan decisively refused: "It's unlikely. You've never baked it before, so I have no idea how to do it. Even if you tell me, I still won't know how."
Pei Yuezhi thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll roast the beggar's chicken before I start working, and then have Granny Liu take it out when it's almost done."
After resting for an hour, the two were teleported out and Pei Yuezhi began preparing the ingredients for beggar's chicken.
This chicken was taken out and placed in the storage room this morning, since it's still a bit warm during the day and we were afraid it would spoil.
There's still some yellow clay left from the last time we made the kiln, so this time we can use it to wrap beggar's chicken.
Add a little high-proof liquor to the mud, and the roasted chicken will not have a muddy taste, but will also have a faint aroma of liquor.
Spread a little oil on the lotus leaf, then wrap the marinated chicken tightly in the lotus leaf, coat it with a layer of yellow mud, and it's ready to be roasted.
I dug a shallow pit in the yard, laid some large pieces of firewood on it, and burned the firewood until it started to char. Then I put the chicken on top of it and laid some finer pieces of firewood on top of that.
"Auntie, take the chicken out in about an hour, or a little longer is fine. Don't break the mud yet, just do it when I get back."
While Pei Yuezhi was mixing the mud, she asked Liu Yuanyuan to go back and fetch Granny Liu so she could tell her when to bring the chicken out.
After arranging everything, Pei Yuezhi and Liu Yuanyuan went to work diligently without complaint.
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