Chapter 71 Summer Solstice: Cakes and Water Before the Heat
As dawn broke and the thin mist gradually dissipated, everything in the courtyard fell silent, except for wisps of smoke rising from the kitchen chimney.
The wooden door was open, revealing a busy figure. He lifted the lid of the pot, brushed on a layer of oil, and made a sizzling sound.
Lu Qiong held the bamboo chopsticks and stirred the batter in the bowl. When the pan was hot, she pressed down with her wrist and poured the batter into the bottom of the pan. It sizzled and made a sound. After it set, she flipped it over and sprinkled a layer of egg liquid on the golden side. The dough was also very fragrant!
Li Jie'er walked in at this moment. Perhaps she hadn't slept well last night, as she had dark circles under her eyes, though they were less severe than those of Lu Xuan who had suddenly attacked in the middle of the night.
"They're not up yet?"
Lu Qiong scooped up the cooked pancakes, brushed them with oil again, and poured in the batter.
Li Jie shook her head, then stayed to watch the fire. When the fire got too small, she added firewood, and soon her face turned red from the heat.
Lu Qiong glanced at her out of the corner of her eye for a while. Apart from a slight reaction in her eyes when adding firewood, Li Jie'er was in a daze the rest of the time. However, she was more able to endure loneliness than Lu Xuan.
There was also some movement in the courtyard outside. Someone brought water and used tooth powder. Lu Xuan and Xue'er started arguing.
After a while, the pancakes were all fried, and Li Jie'er helped carry them out. The millet porridge in the earthenware pot next to them was also cooked. Lu Qiong covered both ears with a coarse cloth and carried it out while keeping it warm.
As summer approached, the sky brightened earlier and earlier, and the morning breeze was cool. So they set up a small wooden table in the middle of the courtyard and laid out the cakes, porridge, bowls, and chopsticks.
Lu Xuan ran into the main room and brought out a few small stools. Fortunately, they were made of bamboo, so she could carry two stools in one hand without any problem.
The clothes on the clothesline next to them fluttered up and then fell back down, carrying a faint scent of soapberry. However, the aroma of the crispy pancakes was still the most appealing, as Lu Qiong, fearing it would be too bland, had prepared a dipping sauce.
It also imitated the method of making savory pancakes, using savory sauce, minced garlic, scallions, sugar, flour, and several spices that were available in the Song Dynasty. It was sprinkled with sesame seeds and finally poured with hot lard, which was then brushed onto the pancake for extra fragrance.
Lu Xuan squinted, dipped a piece of pancake in the sauce, and then took a sip of porridge: "The pancake is so delicious! It would be even better if it were a little saltier!"
The millet she ate was what is commonly known as foxtail millet. When cooked into porridge, it had a sweet and savory flavor. After eating the pancake, she would drink the light porridge, which would neutralize the saltiness and prevent it from being too greasy.
Li Jie'er also ate with relish. Unlike Lu Xuan, who liked to dip the bread in sauce before taking a bite, she preferred to tear off a piece of bread first, revealing several layers of flaky crust, then dip it in sauce, and finally stuff it all into her mouth.
"Hurry up! We're about to leave!" After finishing her meal, Lu Qiong sat on the swing, waiting for them to clear the table.
Lu Xuan put away the small stools, carrying two in each hand. Wei Pan went to collect the bowls and put them in soapberry water. Li Jie'er then washed the plates clean.
Watching them run up and down, Lu Qiong felt that having a few little helpers was really nice.
Even Sister Yang enjoyed the benefits. Wei Pan had kneaded dough hundreds of times, and everything was done subconsciously. At this moment, she had just taken out the flour, added salt, poured in water, mixed it into dough flakes, and kneaded it into a smooth dough.
Yang Jie'er was then able to rest for a while and discuss the new shop with Lu Qiong: "We'll need to hire people! We're probably too busy to handle everything..."
Lu Qiong opened the ledger and saw that this year's income was more than in previous years, and she had indeed earned quite a bit. Hearing her say this, she nodded in agreement.
"Let's put the hiring on hold for now, but we need to add a cook, that's the most important thing!"
"What kind of people should we hire?"
Du Zai, whom we haven't seen for a long time, came, followed by his elder brother Du Yan. The two brothers are really quite different in temperament!
Lu Qiong closed the ledger, asked Sister Yang to brew some new tea, and then greeted them with a smile: "We were talking about the new shop. The shop has expanded, and we are really short-handed."
Du Yan bowed to her, full of praise: "Manager Lu is not only exceptionally talented, but also adept at managing a food shop!"
Lu Qiong smiled and nodded in response to his praise.
Du Zai found their small talk insincere and quickly interrupted, "It's too hot by the door, let's go inside and talk!"
As soon as the topic of heat came up, Yang Jie'er's freshly brewed tea was taken away and replaced with cooled Xiangru drink, which had a slightly bitter taste but a sweet aftertaste. Du Zai took a small sip and refused to touch it again.
Lu Xuan, who was helping out, saw this and was secretly laughing to herself. She suppressed her laughter before serving the cold noodles.
These two were regular guests, so there was no need to treat them specially. Lu Xuan had some free time, so she took out the storybook she hadn't finished reading last time, and Wei Pan and Li Jie'er gathered on either side of her.
"Last time I saw the scholar regret it and went to find Lady Shen overnight..."
The group was completely absorbed, sometimes frowning, sometimes gritting their teeth, then suddenly bursting into laughter, and finally wiping away tears.
Lu Xuan sobbed, "The scholar has gone to find her, why is Madam Shen still insisting on marrying someone else..."
Wei Pan's eyes were also moist, but not as obviously as hers: "Perhaps she was deeply hurt by the scholar."
Lu Xuan closed the storybook, somewhat indignant: "Du Xian, the author of this storybook, is the one who deserves the most criticism. He actually made them separate at the end!"
Upon hearing the name "Du Xianren," Du Zai, who was eating cold noodles, choked violently, his face turning red as he patted his chest repeatedly. Du Yan, hearing this, also became nervous.
"Is my little brother choking?"
Du Zai nodded vigorously, but he was speechless. He could only finish the bowl of Xiangru drink that he no longer wanted to touch, and his throat was still sore.
Lu Qiong also brought a bowl of water, soaked dried pears and sugar, which floated on top: "Is Du Lang angered by that storybook? But this storybook is really well written, it makes people anxious and restless, and it just so happens to end at the part where Madam Chen is about to get married."
"Do you think there's going to be a sequel?"
The people chatting about stories nearby also suddenly turned their heads and looked at Du Zai.
Du Yan, however, remained detached from this, puzzled: "This should be asked of the person who wrote this story."
Du Zai coughed lightly and nodded in agreement, indicating that he did not know.
Lu Qiong chuckled, "Just asking casually, would you like another serving of soup noodles? Or some other pastries?"
Du Zai dared not order another dish and immediately shook his head, fearing she would actually continue serving. This also aroused Du Yan's suspicion; normally, his younger brother would have eagerly nodded in agreement...
The people reading the storybook also turned around, discussing how tragic the story of the lady and the scholar was, and constantly cursing the author, Du Xianren.
In the following days, Li Jie'er and Lu Xuan shared a bed, but every night when it got hot, Lu Xuan would quietly climb into Lu Qiong's bed.
Lu Qiong was also awakened several times. Unable to bear it any longer, she spent a fortune to have Pei Yu make a new bed. Fortunately, Lu Xuan's bedroom could still accommodate another bed, but all the furniture in the room had to be rearranged.
Pei Yu was also living a good life. Ever since Pei Ya lost her child, Yang San Niang's personality had changed. Perhaps after experiencing so much, she had become gentler towards people, although she could still be impatient at times.
Lu Qiong was chatting with San Niang when Pei Yu, who was next to her, was preparing to make a wooden bed according to her request. Suddenly, an unfamiliar person entered the shop.
Third Sister said that was someone Pei Yu knew.
As soon as the young master arrived, he listed many demands, which made Lu Qiong frown. However, Pei Yu was a man of few words, or perhaps he was confident in his skills, so he didn't care about these difficult demands.
As the young master kept lowering the price, Yang San Niang couldn't help but speak up: "Xu San! What do you take Pei Yu for? Whose money grows on trees? Don't think I don't know that last time you lost money gambling, you even borrowed money from Pei Yu! I haven't told your mother about this yet. If I do, she might break your legs!"
Xu San was verbally abused by Yang San Niang, but he didn't dare to talk back. Everyone knew how fierce Pei Yu's stepmother was, but this was the first time he had encountered her. He didn't dare to say goodbye to Pei Yu and ran away as fast as he could.
Pei Yu didn't even frown, he just glanced at Third Sister, and then continued to make the wooden bed.
Lu Qiong, who witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but admire him. She finally understood why Pei Yu hadn't spoken. He knew that Third Sister would take action. However, she also felt relieved after seeing it: "Third Sister, remember to keep an eye on that wooden bed for me!"
Yang San Niang immediately agreed.
The bed was indeed delivered the next day, and Lu Xuan became the most precious person in the family as she wished. Every day, she was like an emperor choosing his concubines, deciding whether to sleep with Wei Pan or share a bed with Li Jie'er.
Even after the lights were turned off at night, rustling sounds still came from the bedroom. Lu Qiong knew they wouldn't stay still, so she came over to take a look. Hearing laughter coming from inside, she inexplicably started laughing too.
Now that I was wide awake, I took a bamboo basket and went to the field to pick peas. Perhaps it was because of the good weather this year, the peas planted after the New Year ripened in March or April, and the harvest was quite good.
Passing by the courtyard, Xue'er was sleeping on the floor tiles in front of the main room, and even dozed off. It used to sleep in its nest in the main room, but in the summer it insisted on sleeping outside, perhaps to keep cool.
Lu Qiong went into the kitchen and, by the bright moonlight, took out flour and glutinous rice. She also prepared mushrooms and cured meat in advance so that she could make glutinous rice shumai the next day.
As the rising sun climbed over the horizon, its rays gradually seeped into the kitchen and fell upon the steaming stove.
Lu Qiong steamed the glutinous rice filling in advance, and asked Lu Xuan and the others to make the rest together. The savory glutinous rice filling was wrapped in the dough, and finally a small opening was closed, revealing a little bit of the filling.
The aroma of the glutinous rice became even stronger as it was steamed. Wei Pan took out the firewood when the water was almost gone, and Lu Xuan also brought water. With a hiss, the firewood went out, leaving a thin wisp of black smoke.
They ate several of them, and packed the rest into a food box to take to the shop so they could eat them whenever they got hungry.
Summer Solstice arrived amidst playful antics, and the shop's renovations finally came to an end.
Seeing that there were few people in the shop that day, Lu Qiong also had the idea of going to look at the shop.
Not far away, an old lady had set up a tent and was calling out energetically, "Mung bean water... three coins a bowl!"
As she passed Longjin Bridge, she remembered that at this time last year, she was still setting up a small stall by the bridge, using a simple bamboo tube to hold boiled water. There was nowhere for customers to sit, which is how she met Jinniang and the others.
The shops near Longjin Bridge were also different. Several clothing shops had been converted into food shops, some selling fruit and others selling fish soup. One shop only had a signboard that read... "Ice Shop?"
Is she planning to open an ice cream shop next to her new shop? It looks like it's under renovation too; there's only a sign up, and the door isn't even open yet.
However, this way, the ice supply for the shop will no longer be a problem.
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