Chapter 51 Mutton Soup: The First Signs of Cold in Bianjing
On the day of Minor Snow, the first chill of winter set in on Bianjing, and a thin layer of ice formed on both banks of the Bian River. However, navigation was still possible in the middle of the river, so it was not a problem for the time being.
With a large knife clasped to his chest, Duanba hadn't slept for a long time and was now exhausted: "These little thieves are really hard to deal with. They insisted on taking the waterway, which prevented me from getting a good night's sleep the whole way."
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) Liu Shan sat in the cabin, drinking the freshly heated tea. The rising steam obscured his face, but when it dissipated, his gaze settled on the scarred face. Though he did not speak, his presence was intimidating.
Duanba was still unconvinced, but his voice was even weaker: "That's right. The government stopped transporting grain a few days ago. Who would still travel by water? If they encounter an ice storm, someone who doesn't know any better could run into it and lose both people and goods."
Fortunately, the ship docked, and the bodyguards unloaded the cargo as quickly as possible. Liu Shan didn't pursue the matter further, but only urged the men to move the goods off the ship quickly.
As soon as Duanba let go, he smelled the aroma of meat. He closed his eyes and followed the scent, realizing that it was coming from the young man next to him, so he stared straight at him.
Meng Sheng also felt an undeniable gaze, clutched the meat pie he had hidden in his clothes, and snorted, "What are you going to do!"
Both men were burly and imposing, and sparks flew as their eyes met. Liu Shan, who was standing nearby, quickly noticed something was amiss and pulled Duanba back, saying, "Don't cause trouble!"
The scarred man deflated, but his stomach was still growling, and the smell of the meat pie on the man's body made him even more hungry: "I just think this young man has a certain fragrance on him..."
Meng Sheng then took out the half-cold meat pie. The crust was still shiny with oil, and the inside was filled with braised mutton. Although it was a bit cold, it still smelled delicious.
"You want it?"
Duanba swallowed hard and nodded hurriedly, a gesture that, combined with his appearance, made him look somewhat comical.
Meng Sheng laughed out loud, and finally pointed the way: "Go in and you'll reach Zhouqiao. There's plenty of hot food there. What use is my dry food?"
This was made by Madam Xu; it's unique in the world, so no one else has it.
Without any hesitation, he shooed the person away: "Get out of my way!"
In the past, Duanba would have been furious to be treated like this, but right now, filling his stomach was the priority. After eating dry rations on the ship for more than a month, he was suffering.
It wasn't that they didn't have hot food, but even the best ingredients were inedible in their hands, so it would be better to buy more dry rations. Thinking of the hot food that person had mentioned, Broken Scar couldn't help but swallow hard again…
The aroma of Lu Ji's cooking wafted around, revealing a pot of mutton being simmered in the kitchen. As soon as the lid was lifted, the steam dissipated, obscuring Lu Qiong's vision. She had to fan the steam away with her hand to clear the air.
The mutton all comes from the north, and the meat is tender and juicy with a mild gamey smell. In addition, the Song Dynasty promoted "castrated rams," which are castrated male rams, so the mutton nowadays has no gamey smell at all.
Interestingly, different people in the Song Dynasty had different opinions on the matter of the muttony smell.
Scholars and literati considered it vulgar, while northern nomadic peoples regarded it as a delicacy. The wealthy used expensive spices to thoroughly remove the gamey smell, while ordinary people often used heavy salt and spicy seasonings to accompany their food.
Regardless, Lu Qiong insisted on washing away the blood to remove the muttony smell.
Just as he finished serving a bowl of mutton soup to the new customer, he heard some noise outside. The noise grew louder as it approached, and then the true identities of the people from the escort agency were revealed!
Lu Qiong remembered that the leader was the bodyguard with the scar on his eyebrow from Longjin Bridge half a year ago, and the last one was the taciturn but intimidating head bodyguard... How did she end up in her shop out of so many?
Furthermore, the journey of the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) was fraught with danger, but seeing that they only had rougher faces, it seemed that their journey had been smooth.
Duanba frowned at first, but when Lu Qiong came into view, he exclaimed, "I feel like I've seen you before!"
Although he met many people on the way, the meal at Longjin Bridge was his last before leaving Bianjing, and he just can't forget it!
Recalling this connection, Scarface laughed heartily: "Young lady, you've transformed yourself into a shopkeeper, quite remarkable!"
Lu Qiong smiled and asked him where he came from and how long he planned to stay in Bianjing.
"I came from Hangzhou, and I won't be leaving until next year. The waterways are almost closed now, but I'll occasionally travel along the surrounding trails..."
Lu Qiong knew they had traveled a long way and were looking forward to a good meal, so she didn't delay and asked Sister Yang to bring over a pot of mutton.
The scarred man, inhaling the aroma, couldn't help but take another deep breath. His eyes even welled up with tears. He slammed his hand on the table with a flourish: "A scene like this wouldn't be complete without wine!"
Lu Qiong understood his meaning, so she brought over the rice wine that was still warming, and fearing it wouldn't be enough, she asked Lu Xuan to warm up a few more pots of wine.
They filled everyone's cups, but the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) Liu Shan waved his hand and said, "Tea is fine."
Lu Qiong then poured him a new pot of tea. She understood that bodyguards had to be vigilant; if they all drank themselves into unconsciousness, they would be kidnapped.
Duanba would drink a glass of wine, then take a bite of mutton. He ate heartily, enjoying the warmth and the delicious food. When he started talking to others, his voice became a little louder.
Even in the kitchen, Sister Yang couldn't relax. Frowning, she leaned close to Lu Qiong and whispered, "They won't dine and dash, will they?"
Lu Qiong took out the wooden dagger from the mutton soup, shook off the soup, and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "No way, they're not like that."
Duanba slammed the wine glass down with a bang, startling Sister Yang.
Lu Qiong wanted to laugh, but then she remembered that she had been just as afraid six months ago...
After the镖局 (escort agency) people left, Lu Ji became much quieter. It was cold outside and cold inside, so they added a stove to the wall to make it a little warmer.
Taking advantage of the absence of others, Lu Xuan moved a low stool, added a few pieces of charcoal with tongs, breathed on it, and started burning it.
She was a little hungry before noon, so she washed a few pieces of taro and put them on the stove to roast. Before long, the taro skin was blackened by the smoke, and when she pierced it with chopsticks, it was already cooked.
Stewed taro is similar to roasted sweet potato in that it has a delicate texture, but it's not as sweet. Lu Xuan broke it in half, but before she could even taste it, the other half was snatched away from her.
I could also hear Lu Qiong's smug laughter.
Lu Xuan could only sigh and resignedly finish the remaining half of the taro in her hand.
......
The colder the weather, the longer one stays in bed, and the less one wants to get up. Lu Qiong lingered in bed for a while until the commotion from the neighbors spread, before she finally got out of bed reluctantly.
He put on a light blue coat and hurried to the kitchen to start a fire.
Glancing at the pickling jar next to her, she remembered the radishes in the yard, wondering when they would grow.
Lu Qiong hurriedly ran to the field with the hot water bottle in her arms. She saw that the leaves were lush and many radishes were peeking out. They would be ready to be harvested in a few days!
The taste of pickled radishes—crisp and sweet—made her mouth water just thinking about it…
“Sister,” Lu Xuan returned from outside, bringing back a plate of roasted chestnuts. She closed the door and squeezed into the kitchen. “This was given to me by Wei Pan.”
Lu Qiong didn't reply; she was still fiddling with the pickled vegetables. The first jar of pickled vegetables had been pickled for nearly twenty days and should have been ready long ago.
Although she had a lot of experience in pickling, she was still nervous when opening the jar, and Lu Xuan held her breath beside her.
Fortunately, the pickling jar only had a sour aroma, not a pungent stench. The cabbage still looked crisp, with no soft or rotten parts. The liquid was clear and without a white film. It was ready.
Lu Qiong breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the vegetable jar with a smile: "We're having pickled vegetables tonight!"
Lu Xuan had been craving these pickled vegetables for a long time, waiting for almost a month. Now that she could finally taste them, she was overjoyed and busied herself with the task, forgetting about what had happened on the street earlier.
Therefore, it took Lu Qiong several days to find out that Pei Yu had opened a shop on East Street.
She usually doesn't pass through East Street and goes directly to Zhouqiao. But one time, when she went to the market to buy things, she discovered that a new shop had opened, with a sign that read "Woodworking Workshop".
Surrounded by pharmacies, restaurants, and antique shops, this woodworking workshop stands out conspicuously, though it's a clever and opportunistic tactic that draws attention to the shop.
Before I could get a good look, Pei Ya, dressed like a little dumpling, came out from inside, carrying a wooden tool in her hand.
Upon seeing Lu Qiong, he smiled and held onto her clothes tightly.
Just as he was wondering why no one was taking care of Pei Ya, he saw Yang San Niang come out from the inner room and say to the apprentice beside her, "Don't break it... it's expensive."
As soon as Pei Yu came out, Yang San Niang changed her attitude again, calling him "Yu'er" repeatedly, as if they were very close.
"Where did Ya Ya go?" Pei Yu asked anxiously. She had intended to tell Yang San Niang to mind her own business in the shop, but then she realized that Pei Ya was gone.
Yang San Niang noticed it too, and stamped her feet anxiously: "It was just here a moment ago..."
Lu Qiong spoke up at the opportune moment: "Yaya is here."
Seeing that Pei Ya was alright outside, Pei Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Yang San Niang quickly ran forward to pick Pei Ya up and bring her back, patting her back and repeatedly saying, "She's alright now."
"Third Aunt, you'd better keep a close eye on Ya Ya. She can't just go with whoever comes along. She might not be so lucky next time. It's cold outside, she might freeze to death on the street any day..."
Yang San Niang was even more frightened, clinging to Pei Ya tightly, afraid to let go: "Don't scare me, I can't take a fright..."
Whether out of fright or something else, Pei Ya also hugged Yang San Niang tightly.
But Lu Qiong wasn't bluffing. In the past few days, people had frozen to death in the city, and many had starved to death at home. There would only be more after the snow.
With the autumn harvest's grain reserves depleted and grain prices soaring, Lu's business has been struggling. Fortunately, the government quickly opened its granaries to provide relief, which helped stabilize grain prices.
In addition, the government distributed "monk robes" to the refugees; though they offered no protection from the cold, they provided some shelter. Xiangguo Temple also did its best to distribute cotton-padded clothes to the city's residents, but it was a drop in the ocean…
Back at the shop, he told Lu Xuan about it. It turned out Lu Xuan already knew, but when she heard that Yang San Niang was also there, her mouth dropped open in surprise, her eyes wide with astonishment: "San Niang actually came along too..."
"But it's good that Yaya is always with her mother."
Every time a new bowl of mutton soup is served to a customer, a few casual words are inevitably exchanged: "Manager Lu, we're all tired of eating mutton. When can we have some pickled crab?"
Lu Qiong picked up the tray, wiped away the soup stains that had just appeared, and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "We'll be able to eat it when the first snow falls in Bianjing."
Unexpectedly, the snow started falling right away...
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