Chapter 22 Building a Low Wall: Aunt Xu's Fish Soup Shop is Closing Down
On the afternoon of the second day after the wooden cabinet was placed, Lu Qiong called a stonemason to build a wall.
Previously, without lime, yellow clay was used for masonry. However, by the Song Dynasty, lime, yellow clay, and water could be mixed to form a white-gray clay mortar. Buildings constructed with this mortar were quite sturdy, and adding glutinous rice soup would make them even stronger. But Lu Qiong did not have high requirements for the walls, so he skipped this step.
Her initial idea was to leave the stove against the wall untouched, and build a low wall a few steps away from it, which could later be used to store cooked soup dumplings. The wooden cabinet would also be placed behind the low wall, so that they could pass the dishes out with a simple turn.
Wu the stonemason was introduced to the family by Jin Niang. He was also a neighbor of Tongji Lane, and they all lived together so they could help each other out. He also had a young apprentice with him. The apprentice was thin and wiry with dark skin, but his eyes were bright and piercing, and he looked quite shrewd.
The wall that needed to be built wasn't long, roughly aligned with the wooden cabinet. Lu Qiong only needed half a string of cash to buy all the materials: clay bricks, quicklime, yellow clay... she had them all transported to the gate.
The lime and yellow clay, ground into powder, were piled together. Wu the stonemason hollowed out the middle, and the apprentice poured the water he had brought into it. Then, he boiled gypsum in an iron pot next to him, which, when mixed into the mud, could slow down its solidification.
After mixing the mud, Wu the stonemason used charcoal to draw lines by the stove to ensure the dimensions were accurate. His apprentice handed him clay bricks, which Wu then laid flat in a layer, reinforced with cement, and then laid the bricks in a staggered pattern.
As soon as the first layer was laid, the young apprentice brought over a bowl of water with lines drawn on the inside of the bowl with lacquer. He placed the bowl on the bricks to ensure that the wall was level.
Lu Qiong had covered the stove area with a coarse cloth beforehand, but Wu the stonemason was very careful and didn't splash any mud around. The young apprentice also cleaned up the area after the wall was finished, even washing away the mud left outside with water again and again.
Seeing that they were finishing up, Lu Qiong went to the bakery and bought a few sesame cakes. She always felt that if you hired a craftsman to build a house, you should treat him to a meal. However, her kitchen was still under renovation and she couldn't start a fire immediately.
Recently, flour prices have risen, so the sesame seed cakes are smaller than usual, but they still cost five coins a serving. A serving with pork filling costs ten coins, and a serving with mutton filling costs thirteen coins. The freshly baked sesame seed cakes are still steaming hot, emitting a rich, savory aroma that makes the young apprentice's mouth water.
Lu Qiong handed him the sesame seed cake and greeted him with a smile, "You two have worked hard. This is a sesame seed cake I bought on a whim."
He also paid Wu the stonemason's wages for the day, a total of three hundred coins, while the junior apprentices only received about ten coins. This also shows that Wu the stonemason was honest and kind, since most apprentices did not receive wages. They had to pay a fee to become apprentices, usually ten pieces of dried meat, which not everyone could afford.
After they left, Lu Qiong stayed behind to clean up the stove. She needed to be careful not to bump into the low wall these next few days, so the newly made wooden cabinet had to be placed further away.
Next to it is the new stove that Wu the stonemason helped build, with a steamer set up specifically for steaming pastries. It can also be used to steam steamed buns, but it can't be used now, and we'll have to wait a few more days.
The fish at Ah Feng Fish Shop are expensive, so Lu Qiong wanted to buy fish from Aunt He Liu. She planned to buy some small fish to fry, just like last time. Quite a few customers still like this kind of thing, and they've been asking about it these past few days.
After checking the kitchen, he closed the wooden door and prepared to go back, taking the remaining sesame cakes with him.
As the sun set, a fire had already started burning at Aunt He's house, with wisps of smoke rising from the roof and the yard filled with the aroma of fish mixed with meat.
The kitchen of Aunt He's house was outside the main room, with a thatched shed on top that connected to the eaves of the other houses. It wouldn't get wet when it rained, but it would be a bit windy when it was cold.
Lu Qiong smelled the aroma of fish filling the yard and saw several fish pickling in a basin: "Are you making pickled fish?"
Aunt He had already chopped a plate of minced mutton, sprinkled it with scallions, ginger, and salt, mixed it well, and poured it into the oil pan. It sizzled and bubbled, creating a cloud of smoke: "The pickled fish can't be eaten for several days, but my family can't wait that long. We're making stuffed fish. Stir-fry this minced mutton a few more times, and when it's almost cooked, stuff it into the fish's belly, then put it on the fire to roast. It'll smell delicious!"
The mutton filling smelled especially good, and Lu Qiong suddenly found the sesame seed cake in her hand even more delicious. However, she still got down to business and asked Aunt He to buy the leftover small fish.
Aunt He added some water to the pot, which was quickly absorbed into the minced meat. While stir-frying, she said, "You're unlucky today, they're all sold out. I'll save them all for you tomorrow and have someone deliver them first thing in the morning."
Lu Qiong didn't need it today, so she wasn't in a hurry: "Okay, I'll give you the money when I bring it over tomorrow. Also, I can't finish these sesame seed cakes I just bought, so I'll put them on the stove for you."
Aunt He only had time to glance at it before shouting, "Fine, I saw it all, but don't bring anything next time. Nobody's money grows on trees."
She spoke the second half of her sentence very softly, and Lu Qiong didn't hear it. She strolled leisurely home, since the two families lived in the same alley, just a few steps away.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, she saw Lu Xuan preparing dinner for Xue'er, only glancing up at her when she returned. Their dinner was still unfinished, yet a dog was already eating! Lu Qiong shook her head, feeling that her life was worse than a dog's.
She quickly stopped worrying about it, after all, Aunt He's stuffed fish had whetted her appetite, and filling her stomach was the most important thing in life.
Her kitchen was much bigger than Lu's, so she could show off her skills. Although there was no mutton, there was still a large piece of pork left from the morning's purchase.
Let's make Dongpo pork!
Before the Song Dynasty, ordinary people rarely ate pork. This was because pigsties were usually built under toilets, and the smell was terrible, so they were always disliked. Only the poor were willing to eat pork. Most people preferred mutton, and even if they had to tighten their belts and go for days without eating meat, they would save money to buy mutton once.
It wasn't until the emergence of Dongpo pork that pork became a staple in every household, and the ways to cook pork also increased.
Lu Qiong cut the meat into tofu-sized pieces, put them in a pot of cold water to remove the fishy smell, and then prepared the seasonings.
Put the meat back in the pot, pour in the prepared sauce, add boiling water to cover the meat, cover the pot, and simmer over high heat. She believes the difference from braised pork is that it doesn't need to be fried, and it needs to be simmered for a longer time, resulting in a softer and more tender texture.
Xue'er had eaten dinner early, but she still sat by the stove, drooling over the pot.
Lu Xuan hadn't eaten much for lunch, and now her stomach was empty. The smell of meat made her even hungrier, so she dug out the candied apricots she had dried some time ago, reached into the earthenware jar, took out a piece, chewed it a few times, and became hungrier the more she chewed.
Seeing her eating candied fruit, Lu Qiong also remembered the poetry gathering that was only a few days away. She could also set out some candied fruit and dried fruit, but there wasn't enough time to make them herself, so she had to buy them from a shop. She also didn't have enough cups, saucers, and plates, so she planned to buy some tomorrow.
"Sister is going to buy some items for the poetry gathering tomorrow. You can stay here and watch the shop with Sister Yang."
Lu Xuan's mouth was full of candied fruit, and her cheeks were bulging out. She could only nod like a hamster.
Xue'er's love of food probably came from her...
Lu Qiong was somewhat relieved that she could earn money in Bianjing, otherwise supporting them would have been a bit of a burden.
The Dongpo pork in the pot has been stewed until it's flavorful, all the juices have been absorbed, and the pork skin is a bright red. I can't wait to serve it with a big bowl of rice and eat it together.
Because of the large amount of rock sugar added, the taste was quite sweet, so Lu Xuan poured a lot of sauce on the rice, making it taste incredibly delicious even without eating meat!
It's so good to follow my older sister; I eat delicious food all day long. I took another bite of Dongpo pork, with its thin skin and tender meat, fatty but not greasy, melting in my mouth.
After having dinner, they had to rush back to Lu Ji's restaurant.
The walls still looked wet, but they had solidified and set, so there shouldn't be any major problems unless you deliberately bumped into them. However, Lu Qiong still used two chairs to keep the diners away and remind them to be careful.
Yang Jie'er casually scrubbed the stove again and rinsed the floor tiles with water, making them look even cleaner. She then rearranged the rice, flour, soy sauce, and vinegar, and started kneading the dough in a new basin.
Recently, all the ingredients for the soup noodles at the shop have been ordered in advance, especially the shredded cucumber and radish for the cold noodles. They are delivered before the shop opens, and each order costs 100 coins. Usually, more than half of them are used up by the morning, and the rest is enough, since fewer people eat soup noodles in the evening.
They used six or seven vats of water every day, and it wasn't enough for them to carry the water themselves, so Lu Qiong hired people to help her fetch water. Each time, she would fill two vats, one in the kitchen and one at the back door. She paid the porters twenty coins each time, which added up to fifty or sixty coins a day.
As soon as the porters filled the water tank, Lu Qiong washed the remaining cucumbers at the back door, drained them, and put them in a bamboo basket. Seeing that there was still more than half a water left in the vat, she figured that would be enough for today. Then she carried the bamboo basket to the stove, where it was instantly soaked with water. She picked up a cucumber and prepared to slice it into strips.
Lu Xuan came over and said that a customer wanted a bowl of plum blossom soup dumplings. Since the plum blossom dough that had been made in the morning had been used up, Sister Yang took plum blossom water and added it to the flour to make a new dough. The empty pot next to her was still heating chicken soup, bubbling and wafting with a fragrant aroma.
Roll the dough into a thin sheet, and Sister Yang uses a plum blossom mold to press it onto the dough, creating plum blossom-shaped pieces. Finally, all of them are put into the pot to cook.
"I just heard that Sister Xu is moving out in the next few days." Sister Yang scooped up the plum blossom soup dumplings, which were still steaming hot.
Lu Qiong's hand slowed down as she shredded the fish soup: "The fish soup shop is closed? I saw that her business was doing very well, but I haven't tried it yet. I heard that the fish they use are all freshly killed, and they have a unique recipe."
Sister Yang murmured, "It's because this recipe is so good that I was hired as a cook, earning several dozen strings of cash a month..."
"How did you know? Did Aunt Xu tell you herself?"
Sister Yang said, "The fish at Sister Xu's house are all bought from A-Feng. A-Feng knows better than me. We talked a bit more today when we met, but I guessed the price myself."
How did they meet? One lives on West Street, and the other on East Street. Lu Qiong wondered if they were secretly having an affair right under her nose. How interesting.
However, being a cook has its advantages. You don't have to worry about prices and shop costs, and you have a fixed income every month. The only downside is that you have to be at someone else's beck and call and lose your freedom.
Lu Qiong still felt that running her own shop was better. Although she was more tired every day and didn't have a fixed time to rest, she felt free in spirit.
Yang Jie'er nodded in agreement when she heard what she said: "What you say makes sense, young lady. It's best to make your own decisions."
Lu Qiong didn't reply, her mind preoccupied with something. She wondered when someone would take over Xu Sao's shop, since it was spacious and quite a few people would want it.
The plum blossom dumplings were rinsed in cold water, then topped with a spoonful of chicken broth and served to the diners. The aroma of chicken broth mingled with the fragrance of plum blossoms, filling the room.
Soon after, another customer came in and ordered plum blossom soup dumplings.
The chicken soup flavor became increasingly rich.
A note from the author:
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[Good Luck Lotus]
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