Jiayin hugged the duck leg, showing her two rows of small white teeth, and tore off a big piece of meat.
The duck skin is crispy, the duck meat is tender, and the slightly salty aroma suppresses the duck's own gamey smell, making it really delicious.
The only drawback was that the ducks were farm-raised, not the kind of farm-raised ducks from my previous life. They weren't plump enough, and the skin was only a thin layer.
Otherwise, the duck skin, sliced and coated with powdered sugar, would be incredibly crispy, oily, and sweet...
Oh dear, we shouldn't be greedy; this is already quite good.
Jiayin promptly gave a thumbs up, and called out in a clear voice to her mother, whose expression was a mixture of trepidation and anticipation, "Mom, it's so delicious!"
Tao Hongying's face immediately lit up like a flower, "As long as it tastes good, as long as it tastes good!"
The old lady also said, "Duck has a fishy smell, and it always has a certain taste when stewed, which I really don't like. But roasting it like this is a completely different story. It's delicious, so delicious."
Tao Hongying laughed even more heartily and quickly picked out a few pieces of duck meat for Granny He and Shuiyun Shuiling.
The three of them nodded repeatedly, praising, "It really is delicious!"
Granny He came from the palace and considered herself to have seen a lot of things, but she had never seen a duck do this before.
She hesitated before asking, "Fourth Madam, does this duck meat come with a dipping sauce? Like the poached chicken in the south, it tastes even better with a dipping sauce."
Tao Hongying waved her hand and smiled mysteriously, "There are other arrangements, but we're still missing a few ingredients. You'll all know once it's on the table tonight."
Just then, Dongmei and Yeshan, a married couple, drove their carriage and stopped outside the door.
Tao Hongying said, "Oh my, what a coincidence! We were just talking about it when Dongmei and the others came back with some good stuff."
After saying that, she picked up Jiayin and walked out.
Sure enough, Dongmei and Yeshan opened the carriage door and started unloading things.
A basket of fresh scallions, a basket of thorny cucumbers, a basket of bright green bok choy, a basket of long purple eggplants, two jade melons, and even a dozen or so pots of half-open chrysanthemums.
Tao Hongying grabbed a cucumber and was overjoyed. "This cucumber is so fresh, with the flower and prickles still on top!"
Jiayin continued gnawing on the duck leg, her little hands greasy, and she grinned.
In her past life, she always wondered why cucumbers, which are clearly green, were called cucumbers.
Fortunately, this Tianwu also has this vegetable, and it truly lives up to its name, being called cucumber.
She couldn't help but wave her duck leg and call out several times, "Cucumber! Cucumber!"
The old lady found it strange, "I remember this girl doesn't like cucumbers, why is she so happy?"
Everyone hurriedly carried the baskets into the yard. A villager passing by asked with a smile, "Is something being delivered from Fu Niu'er's estate again?"
“Yes,” Tao Hongying quickly replied, “There are greenhouses over there, and the second batch of vegetables has already been harvested.”
The villagers had no doubts and were amazed with envy, saying, "What a wonderful place! It's no less beautiful than our own auspicious land."
"That's right!" the old lady sighed as well. "But they're so clever. They haven't let anyone know all these years, which has saved them a lot of trouble. Look at us, we're famous and have become a piece of fat meat, with everyone wanting to take a bite."
The villagers nodded vigorously, "That's exactly right. It's best for a village like that to make a fortune quietly."
The old lady then added, "So, everyone should help keep things about Fu Niu'er's estate a secret. The first jade melon vines were a gift from someone else. If everyone finds out, we probably won't get our hands on these good things anymore."
"Yes, yes!" Upon hearing this, the villagers almost nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice.
I've always been the type to mind my own business when it doesn't concern me.
These days, keeping the fact that Zhengjiazhuang has good stuff a secret is like leaving the village a way to make money that no one else knows about.
This is no longer just a matter for the Li family; it's a major event for the entire village.
The villagers gave a brief greeting and quickly left, afraid that knowing too much might pop into their heads.
His mouth was tightly shut; not only could he not utter any nonsense, but even a wisp of north wind couldn't get in...
The Li family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance, smiled, closed the courtyard gate, and turned to go back into the house.
When it was completely dark, Li Zhensheng and Jia Huan, along with the village chief, Uncle Zhao and several others, Liu the镖头 (bodyguard), Doctor Zhang, and Li Yong's family of four, were all invited to the Li family to try the new dishes.
As a result, before the new dishes could even be served, Li Laosi actually returned.
He had lived in the military camp for so long, and he had become much thinner and darker, with his beard almost two inches long.
As soon as he entered the door, he picked up his daughter and spun her around, then pricked her with his stubble, making her scream and cry.
"Fu Niu'er, Daddy's back! Did you miss Daddy?"
Before Fu Niu'er could respond, Old Lady Li slapped her son on the back and scolded him.
"You shameless brat! A child's skin is too delicate; it can't withstand your face full of slaps!"
As she spoke, she snatched her granddaughter away, and sure enough, the chubby girl's face was already flushed red.
Even Tao Hongying felt sorry for him and shooed him away, saying, "Go wash up and change your clothes, we're waiting for you to eat roast duck!"
"Roast duck? You're thinking of a new dish again?" Old Li asked with a smile, then quickly went to get ready.
He quickly returned after washing up, and there were many dishes on the table.
Ye Shan put on white cotton gloves and held a dagger. After Tao Hongying discussed it with him for a few words, he started to eat the two roast ducks in front of him.
With each swift stroke of the knife, slices of duck meat, of uniform thickness and with both skin and meat, were arranged on a large white porcelain plate.
After the plate was mostly full, Tao Hongying took out a stack of thin pancakes from the food box.
Shui Ling brought over a plate of shredded scallions and cucumbers, along with a plate of brown sauce, and quickly stepped forward.
Tao Hongying spread out a pancake, placed a slice of duck meat on it, along with a few strips of cucumber and scallions smeared with sauce, and then rolled it up.
The first tortilla was given to the old lady, the second to the village chief, and the third to Doctor Zhang…
In the blink of an eye, everyone had a rolled pancake in hand, unsure of what to do.
Tao Hongying laughed and said, "Everyone, eat up! This is a new dish that's going to be sold to those wealthy people in the city. Help me taste it and see if it's good."
Everyone carefully put the wraps into their mouths, chewed them carefully, and then their eyes lit up!
"Oh, this is delicious! It's so much better than eating roast duck alone. It's not as greasy at all!" The old lady was the first to comment.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Jia Huan, unusually, chimed in, "Fourth Aunt, it's the cucumber and scallion shreds that bring out the aroma of the duck meat and also balance out some of the greasiness. It's really delicious!"
The village chief and the others couldn't quite put their finger on what was so special about it, so they simply said, "With such a refined way of eating, we all feel like we're royalty."
Meanwhile, the food-loving doctor Zhang had already huddled together with Jiayin and reached out his hand to Tao Hongying...
The two roast ducks were devoured by everyone in no time.
Tao Hongying glanced at her daughter's bulging belly and stuffed the last tortilla into Shui Ling's mouth, who was standing to the side.
The little girl beamed with joy, her little mouth puffed out, like a squirrel in autumn.
Although she didn't know when greenhouses for growing vegetables had appeared in Zhengjiazhuang, where she had grown up.
But she hopes that the greenhouse will continue to exist.
In this way, everyone in the family was happy, and she was happy too!
Tao Hongying wiped her hands and said to Li Zhensheng with a smile, "Brother, with this roast duck as the grand finale for the private kitchen the day after tomorrow, it should be a great start, right?"
Sorry, everyone, my baby's teeth are coming in, and the hospital wait was long. I'll only be able to post two chapters now, and there will be another one around 8 PM tonight.
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