Chapter 31 Chicken Porridge: Recalling the Days in Shangyuan Village
Not long after Lu Qiong left, Sister Yang began washing rice, intending to cook a pot of chicken porridge.
The newly built stove is used for steaming cakes, stewing vegetables and meat, and now it can also be used to cook porridge. Just pour rice and water into the pot, add a few pieces of firewood, and you don't need to watch the fire much; just smell the aroma and it's ready.
Especially at night, when the crystal-clear rice is bubbling and gurgling in the water, the chopped chicken is poured in, and the boiling porridge cooks the chicken from a reddish-brown color to pure white.
The aroma of chicken gradually spread, making passersby on the street drool and swallow their saliva. Even after having dinner, they still had to come to Lu Ji to try a bowl of chicken congee. Only after the warm congee was it truly comforting.
Lu Xuan has just arrived from Tongjifang and is serving tea to the diners: "A bowl of thin porridge costs five coins, and a bowl of chicken porridge costs fifteen coins."
The diner originally intended to order a bowl of congee and two extra servings of mung bean cakes.
But the rich aroma of chicken wafting from the next table made his stomach rumble. Since he was already there, he couldn't let himself suffer, so he changed what he was about to say.
"Then I'll have a bowl of chicken congee!"
"Okay, just a moment." Lu Xuan wrote down the bill, casually stuffed the ledger into the drawer, closed it, and then turned around to take out new tea leaves from the cabinet, preparing to serve the diners new tea.
Next to the stove was a small stove with a kettle of water boiling on it, which was now steaming. She covered the handle with a coarse cloth and lifted it to the side in one go.
There's still a lot of Longxi tea left from the last poetry gathering, so I've been using it ever since.
Lu Xuan first rinsed the teacup with boiling water, then added the tea leaves. The tea leaves were dark in color, and when the boiling water was poured in, they all floated gently to the surface, and a faint tea aroma wafted out.
Just as the tea was served, Sister Yang also finished cooking the chicken porridge, adding pepper, scallions, and ginger slices according to the diners' tastes to mask the chicken's fishy smell.
The diners, drawn by the aroma, stared intently at the bowl of chicken porridge, and as soon as Sister Yang put it down, they eagerly picked up their spoons.
He scooped up a spoonful, it was hot and still steaming, and carefully sucked on it. His eyes lit up.
This porridge is salty and has a meaty aroma. Besides, a bowl contains quite a lot of food and is very filling!
Lu Qiong had been traveling for half a day, and had long since run out of food. She was now exhausted, both physically and mentally. When she returned to Lu Ji's restaurant, she found it brightly lit, with smiling customers and even Lu Xuan diligently serving them.
If only time could stand still at this moment.
"Sister!" Lu Xuan only knew that she had gone out to take care of something and did not know what had happened today. Now that she saw her, she ran over with great strides.
The aroma of porridge wafted out from the stove. Lu Qiong sniffed and suddenly felt a little hungry. She craned her neck to look into the pot, and it smelled even better.
However, the thought that this stove would soon be gone from her made her feel a lump in her throat.
"Xuan'er, I'm going to..."
Before she could finish speaking, new diners came in, and Lu Xuan turned around to get busy again, only reminding her, "Sister, you didn't eat much just now, there's still a lot of porridge in the pot, please serve some while it's hot."
Yang Jie'er was kneading the dough a little distance from the stove where the porridge was being cooked, so she pulled Lu Qiong over and whispered in her ear, "Young lady, what did Yun Jie'er say? Can this shop still be rented out?"
"I haven't asked anyone yet, it's too dark and inconvenient."
Lu Qiong didn't tell Yang Jie'er the whole story in detail, thinking that the matter could be resolved tomorrow.
Sister Yang smiled and comforted her, "Then ask someone else later."
Seeing Lu Qiong agree with a smile, Sister Yang was completely relieved.
After sitting down, Lu Qiong served herself a bowl of porridge, which was still steaming hot. She felt much better after eating it.
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. The streets were shrouded in mist, and vendors pushed their wheelbarrows as they passed by. Lu Qiongtian was already waiting in front of the pharmacy before dawn.
She stood up at first, and only squatted down when her back got tired. After squatting for a short while, her legs started to go numb.
Why hasn't anyone arrived yet?
I've often seen Sister Yun collecting medicine in this area before. Could it be that she has something to do and can't come today?
Seeing that no one was coming, Lu Qiong simply stood up. Unexpectedly, Yun Jie'er was rushing over from afar, her eyes red and her face anxious, she must have been crying.
Before Lu Qiong could call for help, Yun Jie'er brushed past her and almost tripped on the threshold, then hurriedly called the doctor away.
Lu Qiong didn't want to stop her, so she asked the apprentice in the pharmacy and learned that Yun Jie'er's mother's condition had worsened last night, and if they called the doctor again today, it would probably be too late to save her.
This was hard for her to believe; the person was alive and well just yesterday...
Not wanting to push people too hard, I didn't rush to find Sister Yun, but I didn't expect that Sister Yun would come to me on her own initiative soon after.
“I saw you the day I went to find the doctor, but I was only thinking about my mother at the time, so I didn’t talk to you.”
Yun Jie'er's voice was weaker than usual, her body had become thin, and her cheeks were sunken, making her look frightening.
Lu Qiong pursed her lips and remained silent.
Yun Jie'er continued, "I'm also sorry to my mother. I couldn't even keep the shop. It was given to someone else a long time ago."
Lu Qiong then pressed for details about who the buyer was, and it turned out to be Shi San Niang, the owner of San Niang's Soup and Cake Shop.
What should we do?
It's obvious they're going to merge the shops and expand the storefront.
Because Sister Yun was in a hurry to sell, the shop, which was originally worth over a hundred strings of cash, was sold for eighty strings of cash. However, for Lu Qiong, it was still a huge sum of money, since she could only come up with seven or eight strings of cash at most.
Although the money didn't cure Yun Jie'er's mother, it allowed her to have a dignified burial, which made Yun Jie'er feel a little better.
Now Lu Qiong was completely at a loss. She reminded herself that she couldn't blame Yun Jie'er, but the thought that there were only ten days left before the shop would be sold to someone else made her very anxious.
"Is Third Sister Shi planning to combine the two shops? I heard that the current shops were bought, not rented." Sister Yang was also worried when she heard this.
As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Xuan, who was clearing the table beside her, and said in a low voice, "Sister Xuan doesn't know about this yet."
Lu Xuan was unaware that she had been pondering how to make crispy mountain dessert these past few days. With a new batch of ice arriving at the shop, she couldn't resist trying out other drinks.
The crispy mountain is exquisitely presented, with a layer of shaved ice at the bottom, slowly piled up into a small mountain, and topped with bayberry pulp, lychee pulp, or plum pulp, making it sweet and sour.
Those who enjoy fine wine can add some rice wine, which, along with the aroma of the wine, makes for a refreshing and cool drink that helps to beat the summer heat.
Before the shop even opened, Lu Xuan started washing the fruit in the dark, peeling it, mashing it into a puree, and arranging it on a plate for later use. Every time she made a serving for a customer, she couldn't help but secretly make some for herself.
Lu Qiong thought it tasted like fruit shaved ice, but unfortunately the shaved ice couldn't be any smoother and the ice pieces were a bit too big.
But for the people of Bianjing, this was an extremely luxurious drink, costing twenty coins per serving. Even if Lu Ji was open all day, he could only sell about twenty servings.
As they were talking, a customer ordered a lychee puff pastry, and Lu Xuan immediately went to prepare the ice.
Seeing her busy figure, Sister Yang couldn't help but feel envious: "It's better not to know."
"However, Yun'er is also a pitiful person. She rented out this shop to someone to treat her mother's illness. Now... alas, fate is cruel."
Everyone who knows Yun Jie says she's a worry-free child, and her mother is a blessed person. But unfortunately, her mother's health suddenly deteriorated in recent years. They thought seeing a doctor would cure her, but who would have thought it would cost her her life?
Yun Jie was already upset, and Lu Qiong didn't want to push her too hard, so she could only seek advice from Shen Erniang, who was a lawyer.
Shen Erniang said that the lease agreement with Yun Jie'er was only for one month. After that month, whether or not to continue renting would be entirely up to Yun Jie'er. Therefore, Lu Qiong had no choice but to find a new shop in advance, or else she would have to go back to her old trade and set up a stall at Zhouqiao.
Lu Qiong was out all day again, only returning at dusk.
Sister Yang had been keeping it a secret from Lu Xuan for three days, but she was really starting to feel the pressure: "Young lady, have the brokers found out where the new shop is?"
"Not yet," Lu Qiong shook her head. "I asked A Ge, but there aren't any suitable shops available lately. The ones that are available are either too small or have high rents, costing at least six or seven taels of silver a month."
She only has less than ten taels of silver left. If she were to use it to open a shop, the remaining money would barely be enough to buy ingredients. If she were to mismanage the business one day, she would not only lose a large sum of money, but also have to destroy the shop's signboard.
Sister Yang was also worried, but she didn't know how to comfort her. She could only focus on the work in her hands, kneading and rolling the dough... Even the clanging sound of the dough being slapped could temporarily calm her down.
In the remaining days, Lu Qiong made many moves around, but the news she received was always the same: it seemed that there really was no way out.
Even Jinniang noticed that something was wrong with her.
Today she came to borrow vinegar from Lu Qiong so she could wash the bamboo sieve at home. Last time, she forgot to wash the gauze she used to dry tofu, and it got moldy in the house.
I needed it urgently, but we were out of vinegar at home, so I had to bring a bamboo sieve and run over to ask for some more to wash it.
Where do you keep your vinegar?
Lu Qiong was making final plans, so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Jin Niang's arrival. It wasn't until Jin Niang stood right in front of her and waved her hand that she came back to her senses.
Jinniang exclaimed in surprise, "What's been going on with you these past few days? I heard from Xuan'er that you've been running around outside several times and rarely stay in the shop. That's quite unusual."
Perhaps lacking a solution, Lu Qiong finally voiced what had been weighing on her mind for a long time, frowning as she said, "I don't know what to do now. Setting up a stall isn't stable, and we can't just move out of the city like this."
Thinking back to my days in Shangyuan Village, although I couldn't make a lot of money, it was a relaxed and carefree time.
I would feed the chickens in the morning, and after making breakfast, I would go to collect herbs. In the afternoon, I would rest, weave bamboo crafts at home, and sometimes I would go to the stream to fish, pick wild fruits, and dig for wild vegetables.
"What's going on?" Jinniang took a deep breath. "Since the shop has been pawned to someone else, we should go and ask the buyer if we can get some more time. Otherwise, we can set up a stall at Zhouqiao and still make a living. We won't have to move out of the city."
Jin Niang's words of advice made Lu Qiong realize that she had been indecisive these past few days. Suddenly, she felt that the road ahead was clearer, after all, it couldn't be worse than it is now.
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