Chapter 55 Chinese New Year Cakes: Fried, Pan-fried, Steamed…
The lamb legs served at the inn are from a cross between Mongolian and Huzhou sheep. An adult lamb leg weighs four or five pounds and is as long as an adult's forearm.
The butcher slammed the lamb leg, which had been gutted, into the large wooden basin with a clang, and the firm lamb meat bounced slightly. Then he grabbed a small pinch of pale yellow powder and slowly sprinkled it over the lamb leg, spreading a spicy aroma around it.
"Wine!" Butcher Ding stretched out his hand.
Amu agreed and hurriedly went to the side to take out the yellow wine from the wine jar, mixed it with coarse salt, and rubbed it on the lamb leg along with the butcher. He had specifically instructed that it was for the child, so he used much less wine, just to enhance the flavor.
Finally, poke holes with a silver skewer, add the scallion paste and honey water unique to Bianjing (Kaifeng), and marinate for half an hour.
Together, the two men lifted the marinated lamb leg, now a deep brown color, onto the rotating frame. The butcher, sweating profusely from the heat, frowned as he poured a spoonful of braising liquid over the lamb. The fire below shot straight up, sizzling as oil began to seep from the charred parts of the lamb leg, releasing a fragrant aroma that filled their nostrils.
The butcher was already used to this scene. He removed the cooked lamb leg, while Amu kept swallowing his saliva.
Serving the butcher a plate was no easy task. Amu had to suppress his ravenous appetite and carefully carry the steaming, greasy lamb leg to the third floor.
"Gentlemen! The roasted lamb leg is here!"
The door was flung open with a bang, and the bodyguard stretched out a hand with prominent veins, took the large plate, and then the door closed.
Before Amu could call for help, he stared at the closed door and muttered, "I thought I'd get a bigger reward..."
Inside, there was not only a whole roasted lamb leg, but also some fruit platters, perilla tea, and plum drinks.
Pei Ya had been hungry all day and had only eaten a few pieces of candy melon, which was not enough to fill her up. However, she did not dare to speak, so she had not uttered a single word since being picked up by Duanba.
Seeing that she could only open her big eyes and blink, everyone thought Pei Ya was mute and pitied her, giving her all the good food and fun things.
Duanba even took out his favorite carving knife, pointing the sharp tip at Pei Ya, almost scaring her into tears again. Fortunately, the roasted lamb leg was served at the right time, which calmed her down.
The bodyguards had all sorts of iron knives, but they still had to use bamboo knives to cut the lamb leg, so as to retain the flavor and not ruin the freshness of the meat.
Thinking of Pei Ya's presence, Duanba, unusually, refrained from ordering alcohol and instead drank a perilla beverage. He gulped down a few mouthfuls, slammed the bottle on the table, and scoffed, "This drink is too weak, it's not good!"
Liu Shan glanced at him, then looked back at the lamb leg, cut off a small piece with a bamboo knife and put it in his bowl, saying unhurriedly, "If you want to drink, you can skip this lamb leg."
After saying that, he handed the bowl containing the lamb leg slices to Pei Ya, and also filled a bowl with boiled water.
Pei Ya nodded obediently and ate it with her hands. The outer skin was crispy, the meat was tender and juicy, and the aroma filled her mouth. She couldn't help but shake her head slightly as she ate.
Seeing that she was eating happily, Duanba swallowed back the words he was about to say, but secretly made up his mind that he would definitely get revenge on Liu Shan next time!
After satisfying their appetites, they remembered a problem.
Where will Pei Ya sleep tonight?
They originally intended to report it to the authorities, but it was inconvenient at night, and their identities would need to be verified, which would take a lot of time, so they decided to wait until tomorrow.
Finally, Duanba stepped forward, smiling and patting his chest: "I was the one who put Qiao'er to sleep when she was little... It's my turn to take care of her."
Liu Shan crossed his arms, seemingly not trusting him much, and the others shared the same attitude.
Duanba got anxious and kept shouting, which made Pei Ya cover her ears and unconsciously move away from him, leaning towards Liu Shan.
In the end, Liu Shan found Pei Ya a new guest room, but he didn't sleep a wink all night, staying by her bedside the whole time.
...
Lu Qiong searched everywhere in Bianjing for people, but he couldn't stay awake any longer until late at night. It started snowing heavily and it got dark, so he couldn't see the road ahead and had no choice but to go home.
As soon as it was light, I dragged my tired body to fry a pancake and then hurriedly went out again.
Yang San Niang caught a cold and was advised by them to rest at home for a while, so Jin Niang took on the responsibility of taking care of her.
The two had initially harbored some resentment, but after a night, the things they disliked had faded, and the hatred had subsided, leaving only a lingering affection in their hearts. Fearing she might do something rash, Jinniang kept comforting her and even talked to her about Yaya's past, how well-behaved and lovable she had been.
With the Lunar New Year just five or six days away, only Yang Jie'er and Lu Xuan were keeping watch over Lu Ji's place. However, they managed to keep up with the workload and even had time to worry about Pei Ya.
Yang Jie'er had met Ya Ya a few times, and now she was also a little sad: "It's freezing cold outside, even adults can't withstand this kind of torment..."
As they were talking, Lu Qiong rushed back to the shop, her light blue cotton coat soaked with sweat and bringing with it a chill.
"How are you?" Sister Yang brought over a bowl of hot drink with some ginger slices to ward off the cold and warm you up.
Lu Xuan looked at her expectantly, but Lu Qiong shook her head silently. The shop fell silent, save for a few barely audible sighs. Reporting to the authorities was useless; the government was busy before the festival and had no time to handle the matter.
"Manager Lu!"
Looking in the direction of the sound, Scarface led a group of people to Lu's restaurant, carrying... it was Pei Ya.
Lu Qiong blinked. She was right; it was Pei Ya! Ignoring everything else, she immediately stepped forward to confirm the child's face again.
"How did Ya Ya end up with you?"
Duanba was initially happy, thinking about having a hot meal, but upon arrival he was questioned, and his expression immediately turned sour.
Sensing something amiss in her tone, Lu Qiong calmed herself down and inquired about the whole story. Only after learning that Pei Ya was safe and sound yesterday did she feel relieved.
Then she asked Sister Yang to heat up a pot of porridge, and served her pastries and rice milk. Lu Xuan also went to find Yang San Niang.
Perhaps because she saw someone familiar, Pei Ya finally smiled and was willing to speak when Lu Qiong asked her a question.
Lu Qiong brought over a plate of roasted chestnuts and peeled them open. With a "snap," the amber-colored chestnut kernels were revealed, and the aroma made Duanba, who was standing next to her, drool.
She handed it to Pei Ya: "Ya Ya, why did you run away from home yesterday?"
Pei Ya held the chestnut in her hand; it wasn't too hot, still warm from the charcoal fire. Her eyes curved into crescents: "Looking for my brother..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Duanba stared in disbelief, pacing back and forth, before finally sitting down in front of Pei Ya: "You're not mute, are you?"
Upon seeing him arrive, Pei Ya returned to her silent state and buried her head in eating chestnut kernels.
Lu Qiong glanced at Duanba with annoyance: "You're the one who's mute. She just doesn't speak well in front of strangers."
“Okay,” Scarface was speechless, standing aside with a mournful expression, muttering, “Who ate almost half a month’s worth of my dividends…”
After they had lunch, Yang San Niang arrived, looking much better. Upon seeing Pei Ya, she immediately rushed over, nearly tripping in the process. Fortunately, both of them were unharmed, and she held onto Pei Ya tightly.
Feeling the warmth in her arms, Yang Sanniang finally panicked and kept thanking everyone, saying, "Thank goodness God protected us..."
Duanba scoffed, "We didn't keep a good eye on them... Besides, we were the ones who hired them, what does it have to do with that damned fate?"
These words were spoken in front of everyone, and the volume was not controlled. Everyone present could hear them. Liu Shan frowned slightly, but still said nothing.
Yang San Niang paused, perhaps because she was not used to it. She did not speak to them until she left, but left all the remaining money on the table.
...
During the Spring Festival, every household is filled with a festive atmosphere.
The sound of pounding came from the courtyard. Lu Xuan held a wooden mallet in both hands and asked in a clear voice, "When will this rice cake be ready?"
Lu Qiong also held the same wooden mallet in her hand, bent down and pressed it with her fingertips. There were still quite a few grains of rice: "Pound it a few more times, until it's smooth and sticky, so it's good for making rice cakes."
Besides offering wine to the gods on New Year's Day, the most time-consuming activity is making rice cakes. In order to eat rice cakes made by their own hands, they specially bought a stone mortar, which is much larger and heavier than the one used by Lu Ji to press yam paste.
Lu Xuan pounded the rice cake a few times, then Lu Qiong took over. After a short break, they continued pounding. The rice cake wasn't exactly smooth, but it was elastic, and the two tacitly decided to stop there.
The freshly made rice cakes were still steaming hot. Lu Qiong endured the heat, took them out, rolled them into long strips, and cut them into pieces. Rice cakes taste great whether fried, pan-fried, or steamed.
When the leaves cooled down, they moved stools to the jujube tree next to them and hung a few lanterns, just in time to light them at night.
"Xue'er, don't run away... I'll put this on you." Lu Xuan even forced Xue'er to wear the "scarf" she made, and the two of them chased each other in the yard.
Lu Qiong brushed oil into the pot, then placed the sliced rice cakes on it. They sizzled, and when she pressed them down with a wooden spatula, the sound became even louder, and smoke began to rise.
She flipped it over, and the rice cake turned a golden brown. After it steamed a few more times and made a few more sizzling sounds, she scooped it onto a plate.
Upon exiting, one would see Lu Xuan with red ribbons tied in her hair on both sides, a red dot drawn between her eyebrows, and wearing a light pink cotton coat, looking like a delicate little person.
"Don't get your new clothes dirty!" Lu Qiong's brow twitched when she saw Lu Xuan go to pick up the freshly made Dongpo pork.
Lu Xuan was in a hurry, and as soon as she put down the plate, she rushed into the kitchen: "I also made an appointment with Wei Pan, there's a lantern festival at Zhouqiao later..."
Perhaps sensing the festive atmosphere, Xue'er also barked twice: "Woof woof woof..."
Lu Qiong smiled and patted its back.
The two couldn't finish too many dishes, so they only made Dongpo pork, roasted mutton, fried rice cakes, and a few vegetarian dishes. There was also a pot of wine, a few dates, and a small plate of chestnuts on the table.
The Tusu wine had a strong medicinal flavor, so Lu Qiong poured two small cups and shared them with Lu Xuan. Perhaps because sugar had been added, it also had a sweet taste, which perfectly balanced the spiciness of the herbs. After drinking it, they felt warm.
However, Lu Xuan wasn't used to drinking alcohol, and when she gulped it down, she choked: "This liquor is so strong..."
Lu Qiong quickly poured her a glass of water, told her to calm down, and then picked up a piece of rice cake, dipped it in sugar, and ate it. The rice cake was chewier and had a fragrant aroma of glutinous rice. It was soft and sticky and didn't stick to her teeth.
After having dinner, Lu Xuan stuffed the purse Jin Niang had made into her belt and hurriedly went out.
Lu Qiong, having nothing else to do, took a candle and lit the lanterns on the trees one by one. The pale yellow light illuminated her delicate face.
"Sister Qiong!"
It's Jinniang's voice. What brings you here at this hour?
Lu Qiong responded from across the courtyard, grabbed the candle, and went to open the door. She saw Jin Niang and Shuang Jie standing outside, smiling at her.
"...I heard there will be fireworks at Xiangguo Temple and Bianhe River tonight. Qiong-jie, are you going?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
