Chapter 67 A Gentleman Like a Peach Blossom Mandarin Fish...
Shangyuan Village gradually awoke in the rain, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys of several houses, and even the mountains were shrouded in mist.
The foot of the mountain was quiet, except for sounds coming from Uncle Zhou's house.
As Lu Qiong approached the thatched hut, he heard a series of knocking sounds. There was a loud thud, then the sound stopped, and the hammer landed softly on the wooden plank.
The yard was damp, and there were still small wood chips on the ground, which were kept from flying everywhere thanks to the rain.
The woodcutter Zhou wore a straw hat, with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms. As he struck the wood, the muscles in his forearms throbbed, and a few drops of rain happened to patter onto his skin.
Seeing them arrive, the woodcutter Zhou put down his work: "Why did you come out in the rain? Why didn't you wear a raincoat..."
Lu Qiong wore a bamboo hat, but the rain was light and hardly posed any problem. However, the food box in her hand was covered with a coarse cloth.
Woodcutter Zhou quickly called the two men into the house. Since the stove was next to the main room, he went to the stove and lit a fire, intending to boil a pot of water.
"What was Uncle Zhou fighting just now?" Lu Qiong held the teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and felt a warm current flow through her body, even her hands, which had been frozen by the rain, warmed up.
When the woodcutter Zhou saw that their hands were frozen, he frowned but didn't say anything, only casually replying, "It's just a wooden box."
Lu Qiong knew that Uncle Zhou and the original owner's father were both skilled in woodworking, so there was nothing to be puzzled about.
As she spoke, she opened the food box, and the aroma of pastries wafted out. There was a lotus flower pastry, two pieces of jujube paste cake, and four pieces of osmanthus cake. Lifting the second layer revealed candied fruit and green rice dumplings. Finally, Lu Xuan smiled and brought out a pot of wine.
The woodcutter Zhou frowned upon seeing this: "How much money are you going to spend? Did you pick up something bad in Bianjing...?"
Lu Qiong immediately interrupted him: "Uncle Zhou! Do you think I'm such a frivolous person?"
Seeing that Uncle Zhou was still frowning, as if he didn't trust her, Lu Qiong sat up straight and cleared her throat: "Things are different now. I also have a shop in Bianjing. Apart from these candied fruits and wine, everything else is made in my shop!"
The woodcutter Zhou put the matter aside and was not curious about how her shop was doing.
He turned and walked to the wooden cabinet against the wall. The handle was worn but it did not affect its use at all. He took out an oil paper bag from inside, which contained sesame brittle.
"I don't like to eat food given to me by others."
Seeing that he was forcing himself to act naturally, Lu Qiong realized it was just an excuse, so she smiled and said, "Okay, if you don't like it, then give it to us."
The woodcutter Zhou also asked about the tomb sweeping, and Lu Xuan eagerly answered, even mentioning the wine served at the grave.
But Uncle Zhou frowned even more deeply: "I went there at night, later than you."
Who could this person be?
Lu Qiong did have someone in mind, but since Cheng Niang didn't meet with them, she must not want anyone to know.
After finishing their tea, they should leave, as Uncle Zhou still had things to do.
Before leaving, Lu Qiong called out to Uncle Zhou, "Uncle Zhou, you should also visit Bianjing if you have the chance."
The woodcutter Zhou sat on the stool, still appearing tall and imposing, and nodded slightly, though it was unclear whether he had taken it all in.
Finally, they even managed to snag a big fish from Uncle Zhou, which they tied to its mouth with hemp rope and carried back home.
The rain stopped on the road, and the dark clouds dispersed, as if the sun was about to shine. At the foot of the mountain, there were many fields, filled with the croaking of frogs, and a few people were working, draining water, inspecting waterways with hoes, and replanting seedlings.
But why does this person look so familiar?
Xie Xun changed into short clothes, his body covered in mud, and he was just short of wearing a farmer's coarse cloth on his head.
He met Lu Qiong's gaze and froze for a moment. Seeing him like a block of wood, Lu Qiong couldn't help but laugh.
She tossed the fish to Lu Xuan, who was still somewhat dissatisfied. She could only resort to threats and inducements: "I'll give you all the spare change I have this month when we get back to Bianjing."
Lu Xuan finally accepted the gift. In her left hand was a sesame biscuit given to her by Uncle Zhou, and in her right hand she was carrying a fish. She sighed.
But my sister gave me so much.
Lu Qiong stepped forward and realized there was another person there, Zhou Jingzong, whom she had met once in Bianjing. He looked even more like a farmer than Xie Xun, with all his farming tools on display.
Seeing her approach, Xie Xun blushed as well. However, what made her jealous was that this person hadn't gotten a tan even after being in the sun for most of the day.
Perhaps sensing her "ardent" gaze, Xie Xun feigned composure: "I never expected to run into Manager Lu here, especially under such circumstances..."
Lu Qiong insisted on taking a step forward, tilting her head and smiling at him: "What's the scene like?"
Lu Xuan, still carrying the things behind her, felt her hands go weak and muttered to herself, "What's wrong with my sister? She's chatting with someone unimportant. We agreed to make braised fish when we got back..."
Unfortunately, her mutterings didn't reach Lu Qiong, who was now staring at Xie Xun's evasive gaze.
Xie Xun coughed: "That is..."
Unable to articulate the reason, he tried to speak by pointing to the old ox working in the distance, but he lost his footing and slipped on the wet mud.
The water in the ditch hadn't been drained yet, and he was already covered in mud, looking quite disheveled.
Xie Xun looked down at his soaked clothes, wondering if he should be glad that he was wearing short clothes today, otherwise he would have had to drag his wet robe all the way.
Lu Qiong didn't intend to laugh at him, but seeing him so unlucky was rare, and she couldn't help but laugh, unable to hide it.
Only Zhou Jingzong was worried about Xie Xun and rushed to help him up: "Xie Lang, what happened? Did you fall?"
This is obvious.
Xie Xun was strong; he managed to stand up on his own, and then he had to go to Zhou Jingzong's house to change his clothes.
Lu Qiong and the others went along, and only then did they realize that they had met Lin Niang a few times.
Lin Niang didn't need to farm, and apart from going to the market, she rarely went anywhere outside her home. Besides, there were quite a few families in the village, so she had never been to Zhou Jingzong's house.
On the contrary, I had bought mulberry and hemp from her before, and used it to make several sets of clothes. We were old acquaintances.
The courtyard was very clean, the road was tidy, and some vegetables were planted in the open spaces on both sides. There was a peach tree and a pear tree next to the house. The peach tree was sprouting tender leaves, and the pear tree was full of flowers.
Yao Yao was shy and hid behind Lin Niang. Lu Xuan also winked and teased her, so Yao Yao couldn't help but peek out.
Just then, Lu Qiong had the sesame brittle that Uncle Zhou had given her, so she unwrapped the oil paper and waved with a smile, "There's sesame brittle here, would you like to try a piece?"
Yao Yao looked at the pastry, which was as firm as mung bean cake, with a delicate powder texture, and the aroma of sesame kept wafting into her nose, which she couldn't resist. She then looked up at Lin Niang.
Lin Niang smiled, still giving face in front of outsiders: "You are only allowed to try one serving!"
After brewing tea, they sat around the courtyard. The two young men were changing clothes in the back of the courtyard and wouldn't be able to come over for a while.
A few pear blossoms were added to each cup of tea. The pale white tea complemented the translucent green tea, and the aroma of the tea filled the air. Even Lu Xuan, who didn't like tea, drank it all.
Lin Niang had heard about Lu Qiong's affairs, so she asked about Bianjing. Although Zhou Jingzong had been to Bianjing, he only knew how to bury himself in his work and would never think of taking a proper look.
Every time she asked, she only received answers like "the house is big," "there are many people," and "there are many shops."
Lu Qiong smiled knowingly and put down her teacup: "Bianjing is much bigger and easier to make money in, but the expenses are also higher."
Lin Niang knew all this, but thinking of Lu Qiong's deeds in Bianjing, she had even more expectations for going to the city.
Without realizing it, she spoke up as well.
Lu Qiong comforted and encouraged her: "If you want to go, why not tell Zhou Lang? Knowing his personality, he will definitely ask you to go."
After listening to her story, Lin Niang's eyes shone brightly, as if she had already captured the lights of Bianjing. But then she thought about it and realized that the fields were still there and she couldn't leave.
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Qiong heard Zhou Jingzong and the others come out. Xie Xun had also changed into new clothes, which reminded her of when she was pretending to be a "failed scholar" in Bianjing.
Unexpectedly, they were just passing by, but ended up staying for a meal together.
Under the pear tree was a swing, clearly made by Zhou Jingzong, while the flower vines on the hemp rope were tied by Lin Niang.
Yao Yao took Lu Xuan to the swings, while the adults prepared food. Zhou Jingzong, ever observant, immediately took the large fish that Lu Qiong had brought and slaughtered it.
The kitchen was occupied by the daughters, so Xie Xun couldn't go in. He just wandered around the courtyard until Zhou Jingzong finally called him in before he left.
Lin Niang took the loofah sponge off and scrubbed it against the pot wall with water. She was chatting and laughing with Lu Qiong when she saw someone suddenly come in.
The room became quiet as soon as Xie Xun entered, as if he had ruined the atmosphere.
Another person was also out of sorts, and Lin Niang immediately understood. She smiled and told the two of them to go outside and pick vegetables: "If you stay here, you'll probably delay my work."
Just in time for the Qingming Festival, the garlic scapes have sprouted, so it's the perfect time to make a stir-fried garlic scapes with cured pork.
Lu Qiong bent over and struggled to pull out a green garlic scape, staggering slightly from the force.
Xie Xun instinctively reached out, but she quickly regained her balance and missed.
After Lu Qiong finished picking garlic scapes and wiped away her sweat, she turned around and saw that Xie Xun also had a handful in his hand, enough for the group to eat for two meals.
Lin Niang wanted to make stir-fried meat, so Lu Qiong took over the task of cooking fish.
This fish is called the Peach Blossom Mandarin Fish. It is at its fattest and most delicious around the time of Qingming Festival when peach blossoms are in full bloom. And it is indeed fat; Lu Qiong could not hold it in both hands.
She prepared to start a fire, and Xie Xun insisted on helping. He busied himself with the task, and the fire was finally started thanks to his tireless efforts. He also prepared the oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Lin Niang was chopping garlic scapes when she looked at them, unable to hide her smile: "I didn't realize Xie Lang knew so much about kitchen matters."
Over the past few days, she has also learned about Xie Xun's identity and has admired his down-to-earth nature and his lack of arrogance due to his family background.
Xie Xun reached out to add firewood, and the fire immediately blazed up. He regained his usual dignified demeanor and smiled reservedly: "I've been to many places with merchant caravans before. The journeys were inconvenient, and we often had to live and cook on the boats, so I learned a lot from them."
As Lu Qiong sighed at how hard he worked even though he was a young master, Lin Niang chimed in.
"A gentleman like Xie Lang is truly suitable to be a husband."
Lu Qiong sighed again at how quickly Lin Niang changed her tone, and then heard Lin Niang ask her with a smile, "Is that what you think, Madam Lu?"
However, she could only nod, amidst Lin Niang's snickering and Xie Xun's unease.
Smoke rose from the chimney in the courtyard, and the aroma of meat filled the air.
They first stir-fried garlic sprouts and cured pork before steaming the mandarin fish. They added ginger slices and wine to remove the fishy smell, then rubbed it with salt and soy sauce, and finally sprinkled it with chopped green onions. Only then did the freshness and tenderness of the mandarin fish come out. The cured pork was also well-marinated, and its saltiness and aroma were brought out during the stir-frying.
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