Chapter 74 Summer Arrives (Revised) The fragrance of osmanthus blossoms floats in the air, lanterns cast shadows on the celestial streets…
As summer arrived, Bianjing became even more bustling.
People could often be seen lingering on the Zhou Bridge, chatting over the Bian River or exchanging glances with those on the pleasure boats below. But they didn't stay long; after a short while, they would seek shade to cool off.
Walk a few more steps and you'll see Lu Ji's signboard. The aroma wafting from the shop is irresistible, making you want to go in and take a look.
The shopkeeper also had someone deliver a large cartload of goods: four or five bags of new flour, six or seven jars of sugar, fruit, and newly ordered pastry molds.
After the things were put away, Sister Yang gave the servant a few copper coins and a bowl of iced bean water, saying, "Young master, you've worked hard."
The servant smiled, brought the bowl to his lips, drank it all in one gulp, and sighed, "So refreshing!"
After everyone left, the shop fell into a period of quiet again.
The kitchen was spacious, so Lu Qiong set up a table and chairs by the window, where she would rest when she had nothing to do. But today, she was staring blankly out the window.
Not far away, a pot was bubbling away, indicating that the porridge was ready. Afu immediately stood up from the low stool in front of the stove, lifted the lid of the pot, and stirred it a few times with a wooden dagger.
Yang Jie'er brought over a plate of sliced watermelon and smiled as she pushed the plate away from Lu Qiong: "Young lady, what are you so worried about? Are you tired from being so busy? But since the opening banquet, the shop has been really busy. It's been almost a month now, and the Qixi Festival is just around the corner."
The watermelon was still cool, its pale red flesh juicy and full of flavor. Sister Yang held a small piece in her hand, took a bite, and it made a crisp sound.
Lu Qiong sighed again. She wasn't worried about the busy shop, but she couldn't find the source of her troubles.
Lu Xuan went with Shen Erniang to handle a case and has not returned yet. Since she left, the shop has become deserted.
Wei Pan and Sister Li each found something to do: wiping tables, changing tea for diners, serving drinks, cleaning up broken plates, and even planting flowers in the backyard, which they said were jasmine, but they never saw them bloom.
The newcomers, Ah Yao and Ah Fu, were also simple and honest. Apart from chatting and laughing with everyone when they were free, they spent the rest of their time busy. Sister Yang was even more so, as the kitchen was her territory, so she naturally paid more attention to it.
After finishing the accounts, Lu Qiong would occasionally help out, but otherwise she couldn't find any other way to relieve her boredom.
Just as she sighed again, Lu Xuan's voice came from the street: "Eight coins a bowl! It's not as good as what my sister makes!"
Shen Erniang laughed too: "Who is it that's so thirsty..."
As they talked, they went into the kitchen, their bodies radiating heat that dispelled the coolness of the room.
Upon hearing the noise, Lu Qiong made two servings of crispy mountain cakes, one topped with goat milk and the other with watermelon juice.
Lu Xuan's face was flushed from the heat, and she kept fanning her face with her hands. When she saw the pastries laid out on the table, she rushed over without caring about anything else: "Should we have goat milk or watermelon today?"
Lu Qiong slapped down her restless hand and said irritably, "Let Second Madam choose first!"
Compared to Lu Xuan's disheveled appearance, Shen Erniang looked refreshed and stood by the window, smiling at them: "I won't choose, let Sister Xuan choose first."
Once Shen Erniang spoke, Lu Xuan felt more confident. She chose a serving with a stronger frankincense aroma and immediately sat down, eager to start eating.
The crispy mountain was so cold that she shivered and even closed her eyes, but after eating it, the heat dissipated considerably.
Seeing that Shen Erniang had also sat down, Lu Qiong smiled and asked, "Was today successful?"
With ice in her mouth, Lu Xuan blurted out, "The interrogator was a beast! As soon as Sister Zhu Le stopped talking, he started banging the paddle..."
Shen Erniang also shook her head: "Although I cannot appear in court, I did draft the complaint for Zhule and taught him the testimony beforehand, but still..."
Zhu Le was a courtesan in the city. After signing a contract, she played music for people in restaurants. In recent years, her life had improved and she had saved up some money. She wanted to redeem herself, but the restaurant refused to let her go. With nowhere else to turn, she sought out Shen Erniang.
Lu Xuan somehow found out about this and insisted on going with Shen Erniang.
After saying this, Shen Erniang laughed again: "But they couldn't do anything to Zhu Le, and they'll have to release him soon."
Seeing that the pastry in her bowl was about to melt, Lu Qiong smiled and changed the subject: "If you don't eat it now, it won't taste good once it melts..."
Shen Erniang also came to her senses, scooped up a spoonful of crispy mountain, still carrying the sweetness of watermelon, and wiped away the dryness from before.
Not long after moving the shop, Lu Qiong, with the help of the broker, went to the liquor office to obtain a certificate for selling liquor. In this way, the shop could supply its own liquor and would not need to sell any more.
Lu Ji also took this opportunity to purchase a lot of wine makers and fruits. He then went to the government-run winery to buy wine yeast. Each pound cost 160 coins and could produce nearly ten jars of fruit and flower wine.
As the Qixi Festival approached, the summer heat intensified. Lu Qiong then instructed people to place the new wine vat in the backyard of Lu's shop and let it dry in the sun for a few days to remove the kiln fire smell; otherwise, brewing wine directly from there would result in an earthy taste.
Seeing that there were few customers today, Sister Yang said she wanted to brew wine, so she placed several wooden basins in the back alley courtyard and filled them with peaches, osmanthus flowers and glutinous rice.
Sister Yang also moved a low stool and sat under the shade of the tree. Afu and Ayao went to the well to draw water. Although it was hot, the well water was cool, which was just right to relieve the heat.
When well water is poured into a wooden basin, some osmanthus flowers float to the surface, creating ripples.
On the other side, the wooden basin of glutinous rice in front of Sister Yang immediately turned murky white. She casually rolled up her sleeves and rinsed it again and again until the water was clear.
"This rice needs to soak for another hour or two, and I'll slice the peaches while I'm at it..."
The peaches had a layer of fine fuzz on their skin, so A Yao first used a bamboo knife to gently peel off the skin and piled it all on the floor tiles.
After peeling, the peaches need to be cut into pieces. Because peaches have a mild flavor, Sister Yang also uses a wooden stick to flatten them and squeeze out some juice, so that the peaches will have a stronger aroma.
The aroma of rice, fruit, and osmanthus filled the air, and even Lu Xuan, who was dozing in the main hall, raised her head. Her drowsiness gradually dissipated, and when she saw Wei Pan and Li Jie'er enter the kitchen, she followed them in.
A vat full of ice was placed against the wall, which made the whole kitchen much cooler.
Lu Qiong was making fermented rice wine in the kitchen. On the wooden octagonal table were fermented glutinous rice, dried osmanthus flowers, and a piece of fresh tofu, which she was about to cut: "You've come at the right time. Go and knock a basin of ice from the vat."
Lu Xuan, being playful, readily agreed. With each step she took, her hair, hanging down on either side, swayed gracefully, looking incredibly lively.
She scooped a spoonful of fermented rice into the plate, and the aroma of the wine wafted around. Following the fragrance, Lu Qiong added small pieces of tofu and finally poured in some milk.
The fermented vegetable broth was sweet and sour, and it made the tofu even more tender. As soon as Lu Xuan brought over the crushed ice, she couldn't help but crane her neck to look: "Sister, when can we eat this fermented vegetable broth?"
Wei Pan and Li Jie'er didn't speak, but they were also looking in this direction with longing eyes. However, they didn't neglect their work and even knocked off quite a few blocks of ice.
It was already a finished product; adding ice would make it ready to eat. Lu Qiong smiled and nodded, "Go get a bowl; you can eat it now."
Lu Xuan slammed the ice on the table and ran to fetch the washed bowl.
Seeing her laughing happily, Lu Qiong also smiled and picked up the dried osmanthus flowers next to her, placing a small pinch on the surface of each serving of soup to garnish it and make the aroma stronger.
Adding crushed ice creates a crisp sound as the bowl and spoon collide, making the summer even cooler.
Ayao and Afu, who were in the courtyard, were also called in. They were given a small bowl of fermented rice water, and carefully added crushed ice. They stirred it gently with a spoon, and when they brought it to their noses, they could smell the aroma of wine mixed with a faint fragrance of osmanthus.
The drink was icy cold, and Ah Yao shivered from the sudden chill, which drew teasing from others. However, she didn't care and quickly got used to the coolness, savoring the icy syrup.
The slanting sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the glazed tiles of the kitchen. Lu Qiong closed the window and took out a bowl of fermented vegetable soup.
Sister Yang was still brewing wine, and she had already sealed many small wine jars around her, leaving only a few empty wine jars.
After the steamed glutinous rice has cooled, yeast needs to be added. After stirring well, it is poured into a small wine jar. She flattens it with her hand and leaves a small pit in the center, otherwise the wine jar will easily crack after fermentation.
Stepping across the threshold, Lu Qiong carried the fermented water to Yang Jie'er's side and shielded her from the setting sun: "Why rush like this? Take a rest first."
Sister Yang didn't stop working: "The Qixi Festival is coming soon, so we have to hurry."
Seeing her furrowed brows, Lu Qiong recalled the scene when they first met, when she was just a timid person, but now she could stand on her own, so she nodded.
"Alright, wait until you finish sealing this jar of wine."
The wine jar wasn't big; it fit perfectly in one's arms. There were more than twenty jars in the yard. After finishing their rice water, Afu and the others came to help. The group made several trips and carried the wine jars into the house, where they were piled up in the kitchen.
By the time the wine has fermented, the Qixi Festival will have arrived.
Before dawn, candlelight shone through the gate of Lu's restaurant, and the gauze window reflected the figures of several people moving about.
Over the past year, Lu Xuan has also gotten used to getting up early like this. She puts on a light yellow short-sleeved shirt and prepares the dough for the Qiaoguo (a type of pastry), helps watch the fire and add firewood, and is so busy that she has nowhere to rest.
"The osmanthus cake in the pot is ready..."
"Someone come help with the meat dough..."
Lu Qiong also had to check on the progress of the winemaking. He uncovered the sealed jar, and the aroma of the wine wafted out. This jar contained rice wine, which smelled sweet and refreshing.
She then opened a jar of osmanthus wine, which attracted Sister Yang, who, like Lu Qiong, squatted down next to the wine maker and exclaimed, "This wine is even better for the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
With a smile on her face, Lu Qiong picked up a bowl, held the end of the wine jug, and scooped out the clear wine from the wine jar: "We can brew a new batch then. There's still some time before Mid-Autumn Festival!"
The two shared a few sips, finding it exceptionally sweet, with the fragrance of osmanthus wafting over them. Before long, the wine was all gone.
Sister Yang was satisfied. The wine she brewed herself was different from the wine she bought elsewhere. She quickly poured the remaining wine into the wine pot to entertain the guests.
This year, for the Qixi Festival, we also made many Qiaoguo (巧果), Qiaosu (巧酥), and Jiaozi (角子), and bought a lot of mutton and pork to make fried meat and braised meat.
The meat was prepared, and Lu Qiong picked up a piece of mutton, sliced it thinly with a bamboo knife. Yang Jie'er watched the heat, waiting for the pan to heat up before frying the meat.
Just then, more diners arrived in the lobby, so Lu Xuan called on people to help serve them, and Lu's Restaurant suddenly became lively again.
With the recent heat, more and more people are ordering shaved ice and ice cream, and a large chunk of ice in the kitchen has been used up in no time. Yang Jie'er looked at the vat and fanned the stove: "Luckily there's an ice shop right next door, otherwise, like before, we'd have to close down the shop if we ran out of ice..."
The fire in the stove was burning, and the water in the pot had dried up. Lu Qiong then brushed on a layer of oil, and the pot sizzled and smoked. She smiled and said, "That's right, it's good that we changed shops."
Yang Jie patted the sawdust off her hands, took a spoonful of water to wash them, and water droplets dripped from her fingertips onto the ground: "Are you going to start frying the meat? Then I'll go and bring the meat over."
The key to making fried pork lies in marinating the meat slices. First, put salt, soy sauce, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger juice into a bowl. Lu Qiong then stirs the sauce with wooden chopsticks and pours it over the sliced meat.
To make the meat more tender, she asked Sister Yang to bring over a cup of wine, which she added to the meat to remove any fishy smell.
The marinated meat also emits a faint aroma of wine. It is quickly flipped in the pan and fried until slightly browned. Then, a rich aroma of meat wafts out, attracting Lu Xuan, who is serving diners in the lobby.
"The meat in this pan smells so good!" Lu Xuan wrinkled her nose and leaned closer to the pan to smell it.
The fried meat was tender and juicy. Lu Qiong smiled and picked up a piece for her, catching it with her free hand under her chin: "Then you can try it first."
Lu Xuan couldn't wait to take a bite, exhaling hot breath as she chewed: "The meat my sister makes is so delicious!"
When Yang Jie'er saw the fine sweat on the tip of her nose, she thought she must have been burned by the flesh. She was both amused and exasperated, and worried that she might actually be burned, so she went to fetch a bowl of water.
This scene made Lu Qiong, who was frying meat nearby, laugh as well. Suddenly remembering the ice in the kitchen, he quickly scooped a few pieces of ice into the bowl with a wooden spoon, making a loud clanging sound.
"Let me 'cool you down' too, otherwise when you get anxious, I always feel that the kitchen gets much hotter."
Lu Xuan gave her a reproachful look, then wiped the water from the corner of her mouth, swung her sleeves and walked out, muttering, "This ice is the best way to beat the summer heat!"
This sight naturally made Lu Qiong laugh, and Sister Yang was used to it. With a smile on her face, she tidied up the odds and ends in the kitchen and took the fried pork out with her.
The Qixi Festival atmosphere becomes even stronger at night, with lanterns and decorations adorning the streets, a constant stream of pedestrians crossing the bridges, and a steady flow of boats on the bridges.
The main hall gradually became lively, and one wine jar after another was opened in the kitchen, with the fragrance of osmanthus or peaches wafting everywhere, making people feel intoxicated.
One diner, caught up in the moment, staggered to his feet, poured a cup of wine on the ground, pointed to the moonlight outside the window, and a faint blush appeared on his face: "The fragrance of osmanthus wine floats on the air, the lanterns cast shadows on the celestial street, and this vast expanse of clear moonlight... When will we be able to appreciate such a beautiful scene again?"
His companions pulled him back to his seat: "Brother Huan, please don't drink anymore, drinking is bad for your health!"
Unable to dissuade them, they could only order someone to remove the wine pot from the table and serve some soup noodles and pastries.
This scene played out several times at Lu's restaurant. Lu Qiong also tried to persuade them to drink a few times. Just as they took the wine away and hadn't even entered the kitchen, the group who had gone to the night market to buy lanterns returned.
“Sister! There are so many lanterns on the bridge, Li’er and I can’t even take them all in.” Lu Xuan lifted her skirt with one hand and held a lantern in the other. The smile between her brows was hard to hide, and her eyes reflected the lantern light, making it impossible to look away.
Wei Pan and Li Jie'er also ran in, each carrying a lantern, and their gauze dresses were shimmering with light.
Before Lu Qiong could get a word in edgewise, Lu Xuan held out the lantern to her again, saying proudly, "This is the last glass lantern I found. I paid an extra ten coins to buy it."
Compared to other lanterns, this one lets in far more light, and the scales on the glass can rotate in the wind, causing the light to flow accordingly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
