Chapter 63 Boiling Jade Mushrooms: What did she miss?
Steam rose from the edge of the pot, swirling around it, and as soon as you got close, you felt as if you were being immersed in the steam.
Sister Yang gripped the handle of the wooden lid, and as soon as she lifted it, the heat spread out, forcing her upper body to lean back.
The porridge in the pot was bubbling away, the glistening, plump rice grains gleaming under the oil lamplight on the wall. It contained shiitake mushrooms, as well as some small shrimp and fish, and was full of fresh aroma.
Meanwhile, another pot was being brushed with oil, and it sizzled as the fire on the stove burned.
Wei Pan wrapped up a sticky rice cake and handed it to Lu Xuan to flatten into a pancake shape. Lu Qiong was responsible for putting it in the pan to fry, pressing it down, browning it, flipping it over, and pressing it down again...
Sister Yang carried the steaming hot porridge out of the stove, the clinking of cups and bowls growing louder, along with the chatter of the guests, making it somewhat noisy.
The diner seemed to put down his teacup with a clatter, and after a moment of pause, he said, "Add another serving of sticky rice cakes."
Sister Yang smiled and agreed, then took the tray away. Just as she turned around, she heard a burst of laughter from outside.
Jinniang led Shuangjie in, followed by Pang Qiaoniang, and the group was all smiling.
Someone remarked, "Manager Lu is such a busy man!"
Lu Qiong scooped out the last sticky sesame seed cake, placed it on a plate, its outside crispy and still steaming, and brought it to the table, greeting them with a smile: "What brings you here?"
Jinniang rubbed her wrist and sighed, "It's all because the embroidery shop suddenly made us rush to finish our work. We've been busy until night and haven't had dinner. I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd ask you for a meal."
Lu Qiong patted Shuang'er's head, looked down at her and smiled: "Shuang'er didn't eat either?"
Shuang nodded, smiling ingratiatingly. She had grown taller and slimmer recently, with less fat on her face and more defined features.
"Then you just wait, we'll serve you the restaurant's signature dishes!"
Lu Qiong asked someone to sit in an empty seat, poured a cup of tea, and then remembered to ask, "Didn't you say your eyes hurt last time? I still have some goji berries here, I'll brew some for you."
Jinniang rubbed her aching back to ease it before saying, "Today was even worse; I embroidered all day long. But Qiaoniang is much better than me. She can embroider all day without getting any pain or making any mistakes. She was even praised by the embroidery shop just now."
I wasn't saying this out of jealousy, but rather out of a sense of awe. It's good to be younger, and I thought back to a few years ago when her eyesight was just as good.
Lu Qiong didn't take it seriously, casually said "Hey" and went to the stove to make tea.
Put a handful of chrysanthemums into a teapot, add goji berries and longan, pour in boiling water, and the unique astringent fragrance of chrysanthemums will gently spread, refreshing the mind and body.
She used to dislike large jars because they tasted a bit strange, but now she finds the fragrance of chrysanthemums special, and upon closer inspection, they have a unique charm.
During this break, Sister Yang also prepared a bowl of plum blossom soup noodles, two bowls of dragon beard noodles, and finally served a plate of sticky fire-baked bread, piled up in three pieces.
"Ladies, the soup dumplings are here!"
Jinniang was adept at providing emotional support, and as soon as the soup dumplings were served, she showered them with praise: "The noodles are so thin, and the soup dumplings are so small, they look delicious!"
Sister Yang responded with a smile, and the two went back and forth.
As Shuangjie listened to the adults' conversation, she awkwardly picked up a noodle with her chopsticks, but just as it reached her mouth, it fell into the bowl. She sighed, continued struggling, and this time she finally managed to bite into the noodle, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
Pang Qiaoniang sat upright, smiling as she watched Yang Jie'er and the others chat.
Lu Qiong then brought out the chrysanthemum tea and poured it into three teacups: "Next time you can bring some snacks, so that even if it's late, you can still have a little something to eat."
Then I joined their conversation and we talked about how strict the embroidery workshop was; even a single wrong thread was unacceptable, and the entire piece had to be unraveled and redone…
However, when customers come to the shop, she has to go out and attract them. She's busy for a while and then idle for a while, and the stacks of sticky rice cakes are all sold out.
Seeing that it was still early, Lu Qiong thought of making another batch. Just as she was kneading the dough and pinching the red bean paste filling, a familiar customer she hadn't seen in a long time arrived.
It is Shen Qing from Yingtian Academy.
Apart from meeting him during the winter solstice, Lu Qiong hadn't seen him for some time.
Perhaps he was busy with the imperial examinations, just like everyone else in the academy; he was indeed very diligent.
Lu Qiong also had a better impression of scholars, so she asked him with a smile, "Young master, have you been busy with your studies lately?"
Shen Qing smiled and said, "Manager Lu is right."
His eyes crinkle into crescent shapes when he smiles, making him exceptionally handsome. Lu Qiong was also in a good mood when she saw him: "Would you like a serving of jujube paste cake? I remember you always order one whenever you come here."
She didn't remember it on purpose; it's just that he used to pack up and take away the leftovers, which left a deep impression on her.
But Shen Qing was unaware that her smile had deepened: "Then give me the rest as well."
These words deepened the misunderstanding, and the two of them smiled at each other.
After seeing Shen Qing off, Lu Qiong noticed that several people behind her were peeking out and looking in her direction, except for Shuang Jie'er.
Jinniang beckoned and whispered to her, "Qiong-jie'er..."
"It's mysterious," Lu Qiong thought to herself.
As soon as they arrived, they were pulled to sit in the middle. Jin Niang was on the left, Pang Qiao Niang was on the right, and Yang Jie'er was standing diagonally opposite. Wei Pan and Lu Xuan were also paying close attention.
Lu Qiong was curious about this format and raised an eyebrow: "What, a joint trial by three judges?"
It wasn't appropriate to discuss matters between men and women in public, so Jinniang lowered her voice: "What were you and Mr. Shen talking about just now? Is it...?"
"But what?" Lu Qiong picked up a cup of tea with her right hand, blew on it to cool it down, and then drank it.
Jinniang looked anxious and gently tapped the table: "It's about discussing marriage!"
Lu Qiong nearly spat out the tea she hadn't swallowed, her face filled with shock: "How did we get to talking about marriage?"
What did she miss?
Wait a minute, what could she possibly miss? Every day she just goes to the street, manages the shop... and then stays home to do some gardening, cook, and maybe pet the dog. It seems like she has nothing else to do.
Who exactly is spreading rumors about her?
Lu Qiong also became serious and looked around.
Pang Qiaoniang looked serious and ruled it out. Wei Pan was even less likely. Jin Niang was still in disbelief, so it wasn't her either. Yang Jie'er was also completely confused.
Only one person remained... Lu Xuan was about to slip away!
Lu Qiong grabbed her collar and smiled gently, "Where are you going? I'll pour you some tea, let's chat slowly!"
Lu Xuan found her sister's smile truly unsettling, but she could only force a smile and explain the situation: "Every time he came, my sister would greet him with a smile, and since that young man was extremely handsome and also smiled at my sister, I assumed... Later, when Jin Niang asked, that's what I said."
Rumors are truly terrifying. Lu Qiong shook her head: "Fortunately, Mr. Shen doesn't know. Otherwise, if he found out, how could I face him?"
Since it was a misunderstanding, I let it go, but I was still angry, so I reduced her allowance for the month.
Lu Xuan gave up resisting. She had already had her change reduced many times in the past six months, so she sighed and sat down in front of the stove to watch the fire.
Seeing that Lu Qiong's expression was not good, Jin Niang did not dare to mention it again, but in her heart, she felt that the two were quite a good match.
As night fell, Lu Qiong removed her hairpin in front of the bronze mirror, and then she thought about what had just happened...
He then suffered from insomnia all night.
...
Like bamboo shoots sprouting quickly after a spring rain, mushrooms are not far behind.
However, "jade fungus" usually refers to silver ear fungus or high-quality fungi, while what is commonly found in markets nowadays are ordinary fungi.
The shiitake mushrooms were delivered to Lu's shop early in the morning. Lu Qiong soaked them in water, intending to make a broth first.
The broth for cooking mushrooms is usually made with chicken, chicken carcass bones, or pork or pork bones, just like other mushrooms. After washing and cutting them into pieces, they are poured into water, and Wei Pan helps watch the fire.
While the soup was simmering, Lu Xuan helped wash the shiitake mushrooms and tear them into small pieces so they would absorb the flavor better. After a short while, she smelled the aroma of the soup base: "It smells so good..."
Hearing this, Lu Qiong knew that the soup base was almost ready. Sure enough, the soup in the pot was clear and started to simmer. She then added ginger slices and shiitake mushrooms and asked Wei Pan to take away some firewood.
Finally, pour in the rice wine made from millet, and the water will stop simmering. Continue cooking until the shiitake mushrooms are soft and flavorful. I also added some red dates and goji berries, which will give the flavor more layers.
Before taking it out of the pot, Lu Qiong scooped it into a bowl with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and then tasted it: "It's a little bland."
She added some salt, stirred it a few times, and simmered it for a short while before taking it out of the pot.
Stewed mushrooms in wine are not only delicious and nutritious, but also a favorite dish of literati and scholars. However, when they came to Lu Ji's restaurant, they all became common street food.
With its approachable appearance and affordable price, it attracted many scholars to come and taste it.
However, whenever Lu Qiong saw them, he would think of Du Xianren's stories, but unfortunately he had never heard of anything similar in the vicinity.
It's a bit of a pity.
These students are from a private school in the south of the city. They rarely wander around here, and today's visit was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Hao Xiaoren was one of them. He was small and thin, and didn't stand out among the others. When they chatted, he didn't say anything and just kept his head down eating his soup noodles.
He paid no attention to the story they were talking about. It wasn't until laughter came from the stove that a familiar figure caught his attention.
Is that Wei Rong's sister?
Hao Xiaoren squinted, but he remembered Wei Rong saying that his sister had run away from home...
He kept this in mind, quickly finished the remaining soup noodles, told the others, and left in a hurry.
...
Although it is early spring, the temperature at night is still low, and there is sometimes frost.
Upon waking up that day, Lu Qiong planned to take two assistants to plant the vegetable seeds before going to the shop, so as to improve the survival rate.
Perhaps because they got up early, and because they had stayed up late the night before, they kept yawning, and their bruises were quite pronounced.
Lu Qiong dug a small hole in the ground, and Wei Pan sowed the seeds. Lu Xuan carried a small bamboo basket and followed behind listlessly, even dozing off while standing.
Xue'er also started running around in the field, even imitating Lu Qiong by digging up the newly sown seeds, and Lu Xuan joined in the fun.
Lu Qiong kept digging with her head down. When she turned around, she saw a mess in front of her, and the two people and the dog were all staring at her innocently.
Lu Xuan, covered in mud, asked, puzzled, "Why did you stop, sister?"
Oh well, it's just starting over...
Then, Lu Xuan was asked to hold Xue'er down, which improved efficiency considerably. After sowing the seeds, Lu Qiong drilled a few holes in the bottom of the bamboo tube to make a simple watering can.
Water drips down the hole, so it won't damage the seeds.
However, it still made us late; by the time we got to Lu Ji's, the sun was already high in the sky.
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