Chapter 59 Glutinous Rice Cake: Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
After drinking and having dinner, seeing that it wasn't snowing outside, they went to the yard to warm themselves by the fire. They set up a stove, put in a few sweet potatoes, and sat around the fire, chatting and daydreaming.
It was a bit cold, but also warm. The roasted sweet potatoes were especially sweet and sticky. Lu Xuan and Cheng Niang ate from the same sweet potato, breaking it in half for each other. In the end, they both fought over the biggest piece, while Lu Qiong enjoyed a whole sweet potato by herself.
Later, light snow began to fall, landing on the stove with a hissing sound, and then the snow melted, and the fire weakened.
Lu Qiong exclaimed how beautiful it was, while Cheng Niang grumbled and kept adding charcoal to the stove: "The snow just stopped and it's snowing again..."
Fortunately, Lu Xuan was still admiring the snow, so Lu Qiong wanted to chat with her, but then she noticed that Lu Xuan had half a sweet potato left in her hand and was dozing off...
It snowed again for a while after nightfall, and when I woke up the ground was still wet, while the fish lantern hanging on the door had long since gone out.
Cheng Niang also stayed at their house overnight because it got dark. Lu Qiong resolutely refused to sleep with anyone, so Lu Xuan, who was asleep, had to sleep with Cheng Niang.
Perhaps she had drunk too much, because when Cheng Niang woke up, her head was throbbing terribly. She also found herself squeezed to the edge of the bed by Lu Xuan, almost falling off with a single turn. Rubbing her temples, she said, "This girl, she sleeps 'better' than me..."
He pushed Lu Xuan to the middle of the bed, covered her tightly with the blankets, and then leisurely went out.
It's so cold; it's not as warm as having a stove in the bedroom.
She breathed out cold air and smelled a delicious aroma. The kitchen door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a crack, and she could vaguely see steam rushing out.
Lu Qiong stood by the stove, her knife never stopping as she chopped the meat. When she saw Cheng Niang arrive, she pulled her over to help.
"The dough is all ready, bring it to me, and also the scallion and ginger water on the table..."
Cheng Niang couldn't figure it out either, so she simply followed her instructions and added scallion and ginger water to the chopped minced meat. After the water was absorbed little by little, she sprinkled in a few pinches of coarse salt and soy sauce, and finally scooped out half a spoonful of snow-white, fat-like lard.
Lu Qiong kept stirring the filling, while the firewood on the stove was still burning, making her sweat profusely.
Finally, he asked Cheng Niang to roll the dough into thin sheets and cut them into small pieces, because the wonton wrappers need to be very thin so that they can have a smooth and tender texture.
Following her instructions, Cheng Niang cut the meat into small pieces and then wrapped them with meat filling. She had just finished wrapping one when Lu Qiong had already pinched off four or five. Her movements were so fast that it made Cheng Niang's eyes dizzy.
Lu Qiong smiled smugly: "I've been doing this for years, I can do it this fast even with my eyes closed."
Cheng Niang didn't refute it, which was unusual, since it was the truth.
The pot was simmering with chicken soup, which had just come to a boil. Lu Qiong put the wrapped wontons into the pot, and with a few "plop" sounds, they all went into the water.
Wontons in the Song Dynasty were different from those in later generations. They contained less meat filling and focused more on the deliciousness of the soup base. They were usually made with chicken broth or pork bone broth. I happened to have some leftover chicken broth from yesterday, so it was perfect for making the soup base.
However, Lu Qiong likes to eat meat, so in addition to making soup, she also made plenty of fillings.
She stirred the wontons in the pot with a wooden dagger, and steam billowed out, carrying the aroma of chicken soup, along with a hint of scallions and pepper.
Lu Xuan also got up and went to the yard to fetch water to wash up, and also fed Xue'er, Ah Huang, and Xiao Huang.
They also built a coop for the chickens and a small shed with bamboo and straw, piled with straw all around, leaving only a small opening so that they wouldn't get cold.
In the kitchen, Cheng Niang also helped carry the earthenware bowl containing wontons to the table, being very careful as to avoid breaking it. Breaking the bowl was a minor matter, but the soup could burn a person's skin.
Lu Xuan, on the other hand, picked up an egg from the henhouse and ran in excitedly, smiling: "Little Yellow laid an egg!"
Xiao Huang is a hen. They bought her mainly to lay eggs, and they will slaughter her to eat her when she stops working.
Lu Qiong was delighted to hear this and rushed over to see. It was the first egg laid since they moved in, so she cooked it and ate it today.
Seeing that their attention was focused on that ordinary egg, Cheng Niang tapped her bowl with her chopsticks: "If you don't come and eat soon, the soup will get cold."
The wontons were steaming hot. Lu Xuan sat at the table, blew on them to cool them down before putting them in her mouth. She took a big bite of meat, which was not only salty and fragrant, but also had a spicy pepper flavor. She squinted her eyes as she ate.
The wonton wrappers are almost transparent, revealing the tender pink meat filling inside; the wrappers are thin yet chewy.
Cheng Niang also enjoyed her meal. After taking a sip of soup, she sighed, "The chicken soup is still delicious. Luckily, it wasn't thrown away last night."
Because it was the Lantern Festival last night, the people of Bianjing stayed up until midnight, so apart from the people who were breaking ice and drawing water along the Bian River, there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.
Lu Ji didn't have many customers, so Cheng Niang, having nothing to do, went with the porters to fetch water from the Bian River.
In January, the air along the Bian River was still filled with a biting chill. The ice had not yet melted, and the porters, holding iron chisels, would hammer down with a "heave-ho" sound, breaking a small opening, but not yet breaking through the ice.
When they got tired, they stopped to chat: "Are you Manager Lu's new helper?"
Before Cheng Niang could reply, he swung the iron chisel again and said to himself, "But you are really lucky. Manager Lu is kind and generous. Last time I forgot to fetch water, she didn't blame me and even told me to be careful in the snow."
"Sister Yang is lucky to have met such a good manager, but it's something we can only envy." The porter sighed and threw the load down again, creating a small dent.
Cheng Niang couldn't wait any longer. She snatched the iron chisel away, told him to go away, gripped the wooden handle with both hands, held her breath, and chopped it into the ice. "Crack!" The ice broke.
The porter was stunned, then burst into laughter and gave a thumbs up: "I never expected the young lady to be so strong."
Cheng Niang ignored him, huffing and puffing as she tossed the wooden bucket down, then pulled on the straw rope to lift the bucket full of water.
Once the buckets were full of water, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Back in the day, I was a master fish catcher in the village!"
The two carried the full load of water back, and despite their carefulness, some water inevitably spilled out.
As soon as Cheng Niang stepped inside, she heard laughter coming from inside the room, along with a man's voice.
Lu Qiong was steaming glutinous rice when Duanba brought in a young woman. He initially thought she was his wife, but it turned out to be his sister.
It's no wonder she misunderstood; they were just too different. One was broad-shouldered and burly, while the other was slender. Duanba spoke in a rough voice, while Qiao'er spoke with extreme gentleness.
Pang Qiaoniang smiled, pursing her lips: "Brother is just a little impatient."
After they finished laughing, they started talking about serious matters, though nothing important. It was just that Pang Qiaoniang had moved from outside the city to Bianjing. After all, it was inconvenient for her to live alone in the countryside, and she wanted to find a job in Bianjing to earn a living, instead of always relying on her broken skin to support herself.
Duanba straightened his back as he spoke, praising Qiaoniang several times with different words, making Qiaoniang blush.
Then, changing the subject, Duanba scratched his head and said, "However, the ice on the Bian River will melt next month. I need to go out of the city with the escort agency and can't stay in the city to take care of Qiao'er. I'd like to ask you to help keep an eye on her."
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly suited to handle Qiaoniang."
Yang Jie'er was also very happy. The more people there were, the more lively it would be, especially since Xuan Jie'er had been going out a lot lately and Pan Jie'er hadn't had time to come over. She had no one to chat with.
The scarred man chuckled, "That's settled then..."
Later, he had something to do and left first, while Qiaoniang stayed behind to help make glutinous rice cakes.
Several strips of cloth were stuffed around the edge of the pot to seal the gaps and prevent the steam inside from escaping.
Although Pang Qiaoniang looked thin and weak, she was quite strong, even stronger than Yang Jie'er.
Lu Qiong clicked her tongue and sighed, "You really can't judge a book by its cover."
However, Pang Qiaoniang and Yang Jie'er have one thing in common: they can't be praised. They will blush as soon as they are praised, as if they have triggered some kind of button.
When the pot was lifted, a plume of hot steam rose from it, then quickly dissipated, leaving only residual heat around it.
The whole pot is full of glutinous rice, glistening and plump, with a layer of water droplets on the surface, it looks absolutely beautiful.
Pang Qiaoniang and Yang Jie poured all the rice from the pot into the wooden bucket. Lu Qiong sprinkled a whole earthenware jar of sugar on top while it was still hot, while Lu Xuan stood to the side, stirring with a long wooden dagger, straining so hard that her face turned red.
Glutinous rice cakes can be made with either glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour cakes have a finer texture and are easier to make; simply knead the dough, roll it into small portions, and fill them with the desired filling.
The glutinous rice used makes it softer and more chewy, and also has more layers of texture, but it is also more complicated. This glutinous rice was soaked for several hours and then steamed for half an hour.
Before they even started adding the filling, Lu Xuan wrinkled her nose, as if her mouth was about to water: "It smells so good! They put in so much sugar, it must be incredibly sweet..."
This made everyone laugh, and they all watched her happily. Meanwhile, Cheng Niang warmed herself by the fire and brewed tea for everyone.
The fillings include red bean paste, red dates, and sesame paste. If you prefer a firmer texture, you can also add peach kernels for a richer flavor.
The glutinous rice is already cooked, so you can just wrap the filling and press it down; there's no need to cook it again.
When it cooled down a bit, Lu Qiong used a bamboo knife to cut it into pieces, stuffed a small piece into her mouth, and found it to be extremely soft and chewy, with a granular texture of sugar.
Lu Xuan also crawled out from behind and reached out to take several pieces, but because she was not prepared, she was burned and screamed.
Lu Qiong slapped her hand and laughed, "Now you've been caught stealing food. Let's see if you dare to do it again next time..."
I divided it into several pieces and put them in a food container. I put the rest back in the pot, and it will taste better if it is heated up.
Pang Qiaoniang wanted to find work, so Lu Qiong told her to check out the embroidery shop. Lu's shop wasn't short-staffed for the time being, but other places would be more suitable. Plus, Jinniang was also at the embroidery shop, so they could help each other out.
Pang Qiaoniang had no objections, but she was still somewhat worried: "What kind of person is Jinniang...?"
If she has a bad temper, she might not be able to get along with her. In that case, she might as well go somewhere else and work as an assistant.
Thinking of Jinniang, Lu Qiong covered her mouth and laughed: "You can rest assured about that. Jinniang is enthusiastic towards everyone. I'm just afraid you won't be able to handle her."
Knowing that Jinniang was kind, Pang Qiaoniang felt relieved and ate several pieces of glutinous rice cake, which eventually got on the tip of her nose.
Another round of teasing ensued...
After Pang Qiaoniang left, Lu Qiong immediately went to Jinniang's house and told her about it.
As she expected, Jinniang was overjoyed and grabbed her hand, saying, "This is wonderful! I don't have anyone I can get along with at the embroidery shop, and I can't talk to anyone. Now I can finally relieve my boredom."
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