Chapter 75 The first bowl of lotus root soup on Chinese Valentine's Day.
Seeing this, everyone laughed. Lu Qiong also smiled and took the lantern from her: "Okay, but you have to put this lantern away first. Sister Yang just made some new trinkets. Go and try them."
Lu Xuan then said she wanted to hang it under the eaves of Lu Ji's gate, and that passersby should see her unique glass lamp.
"Hang it higher!" Lu Xuan waved her sleeves, constantly giving instructions from below.
Afu stood on a wooden stool, with Wei Pan and the others supporting her, laughing and joking, occasionally looking up. Then, their lanterns were hung under the eaves one by one, with a jade rabbit and a celestial dog accompanying them on either side of the glass lanterns, attracting passersby to stop and watch.
After hanging the lanterns, their attention was drawn to the kitchen, where Sister Yang had just ladled out a serving of dumplings; the broth was clear and the steam rose gently.
After putting down the soup dumplings, she went to the pot to ladle out a second serving, telling everyone, "This time it's the same as last year, with pork and mutton fillings, and some scallions and chives. I also put in a lot of coins, let's see who's lucky enough to get one."
Lu Xuan raised her eyebrows: "Then I'll take this one!"
Sister Yang smiled and agreed, "Sure, you can have as much as you want."
Lu Qiong couldn't help but scold, "Don't spoil her anymore, or I won't be able to control her."
"Xuan-jie is kind-hearted, just playful, but it's not that she's spoiled." Yang-jie extinguished the firewood in the stove, leaving a wisp of smoke, and came over with a bowl, leaving behind the words, "Besides, she suffered a lot in the past few years."
Lu Qiong also thought of the past, sighed in her heart, and then followed them.
A window was opened in one wall of the kitchen, offering a view of the streetlights and bustle. Lu Xuan, Li Jie'er, and Wei Pan sat down around the wooden table, each with a bowl and a corner of food in front of them. As Xuan'er began to eat, her hair, hanging down on both sides, swayed. The cool moonlight shone on her, making her look like a jade rabbit fairy from the Moon Palace.
Xuan-jie covered her chin and exclaimed "Ouch!" Then she took a copper coin out of her mouth and burst into laughter: "I ate a copper coin!"
Ah Yao and Ah Fu, who were in the lobby, were also startled by the commotion and gathered around Xuan Jie'er, making the shop lively.
Ah Yao, with her calm and collected nature, arrived unhurriedly despite her inner joy, not even flinching at the beads in her hair. Ah Fu, on the other hand, immediately grabbed Lu Xuan's hand and said she wanted to see her jackpot: "Yours is mutton-filled; who knows, mutton-filled ones might be easier to get!"
Sister Yang covered her mouth and laughed: "Where did this crooked logic come from? I put copper coins in different fillings, not just the mutton filling."
Afu rested her chin on her hand, stared at the moonlight outside the window, and sighed, "Then I guess I won't be able to eat it. With my luck..."
As night deepened and most of the customers had left, they moved a few wooden chairs to the backyard to cool off. There were also some fried dough sticks, fermented rice wine, and several servings of crispy shaved ice, with a fruit placed on top of the snow-white shaved ice.
Lu Xuan led Li Jie'er and Wei Pan to the well and brought up a bamboo basket containing a bunch of fresh purple grapes. They were small and covered with white frost, and looked even more translucent in the moonlight.
Upon seeing the bunch of grapes, everyone in the courtyard froze, staring at them intently, swallowing hard as if they could already taste their sweet and sour flavor. Afu, in particular, stood there, unable to move.
Lu Xuan didn't even care about the water stains on the bamboo basket. She hugged it tightly to her chest and smiled ingratiatingly at Lu Qiong, "Sister, when can we eat this bunch of grapes?"
Grapes from the Western Regions were mostly tribute items; ordinary people saw raisins more often, and fresh ones were extremely rare. Luoyang was different; it only took three to five days to reach Bianjing by waterway, but the price was high, and during festivals, it was inflated to over a hundred coins.
However, it was precisely because it was the Qixi Festival that Lu Qiong was willing to spend money to buy this bunch of grapes.
Amidst everyone's anticipation, Lu Qiong took the bunch of grapes, tore off the top vines to separate them into smaller bunches, and everyone gathered around like little chicks.
Lu Xuan opened her eyes wide and stared intently at the grapes: "Sister, one is enough for me..."
Wei Pan, Li Jie'er, Afu, and Ayao remained silent, while Yang Jie'er clenched her hands, looking very anxious.
Lu Qiong stopped teasing people and picked out a small bunch of grapes. Just when everyone thought she was going to put the rest of the grapes back into the well, she gave the whole bunch to Lu Xuan.
"These grapes won't last long. Since we bought them, we're sharing them. I've already divided up several bunches, so hurry up and grab a portion!"
Lu Xuan's eyes lit up, and she immediately picked a grape, gently squeezing it so as not to crush it. She put it in her mouth, and as soon as she bit into it, her mouth was filled with juice, which was especially sweet.
She smacked her lips and squinted her eyes: "Sweeter than watermelon!"
Li Jie'er couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly took a bunch of grapes from the side. This bunch had eight or nine grapes in it, but it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds when she held it in her hand.
Afu couldn't hide her smile and reached out to take it, but Yao frowned and tugged at her sleeve, whispering, "No, this is worth a day's wages for us."
Ayao and Afu were not from Bianjing. They were born in nearby villages and had known each other since childhood. Ayao was calm and steady, and Afu often took him to fish in the river or pick fruit from the trees. When they returned home in the evening, they were covered in mud and fallen leaves and were often scolded by their parents.
Upon arriving in Bianjing, Afu was nearly swindled out of several hundred coins. It was thanks to Ayao's prudence that she managed to save her rent for the first month. After that, Afu dared not make decisions on her own and listened to Ayao in everything, big or small.
Even now, Afu can only look longingly at the bunch of grapes.
Lu Qiong watched their little actions from the side. She remembered how Lu Xuan was just as careful when she was young, afraid that if she ate too much, she wouldn't have any left next time. She sighed and handed the grapes to them directly, without giving them a chance to refuse.
Ah Yao and Ah Fu had no choice but to agree, but Ah Yao had a different thought: she would definitely do more for them in the future as a way of repaying them.
The festive atmosphere of the Qixi Festival lasted for several days, and everyone at Lu's was busy. Even Lu Xuan, who was usually playful, rarely went out.
Gradually, the weather turned cooler, and the entire city of Bianjing was tinged with autumn colors. People put on thicker clothes, complaining that it got cold quickly this year, while looking forward to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lu Qiong also visited the Xie residence more often than usual, partly to chat with He Mu about everyday matters, and partly because Song Niang was skilled in cooking, and through these visits, she was able to learn a lot of her skills.
I haven't seen Xie Xun for a long time, but I guess it's because of the kapok business. After all, kapok can be harvested after autumn. If the cotton is harvested before winter, we might be able to wear new cotton clothes this year.
As she was thinking, several figures flashed past the gate of Lu's shop. Jin Niang led Shuang Jie'er over, followed by Pang Qiao Niang, all with smiles on their faces.
"Why are you here? The embroidery workshop should be busy right now." Lu Qiong immediately put down the account book in her hand and walked towards them with a happy expression.
Jinniang smiled and waved her hand: "We've been working hard these past few days, embroidering for three days straight. Perhaps seeing that we were a little tired, the embroidery shop gave us a few days off."
Yang Jie'er, who was busy in the kitchen, also came out carrying something. Her floral skirt, which was wrapped around her waist, was wet in one spot. Perhaps she had washed her hands and wiped the water stains on her clothes. When she got closer, it became clear that she was carrying a bowl of lotus root soup.
This was made with lotus root starch, and it was brought back from Lin'an by Xie Xun's caravan.
In the Lin'an area, lotus roots are grown in large areas. Lotus root powder producers often select old lotus roots, wash them to remove the mud, peel off the skin, cut them into pieces and press them into a paste, or grind them into a paste with a millstone, pour them into a coarse cloth to filter, and squeeze out the lotus root juice.
Lu Qiong had also tried it, but it only yielded one pound of lotus root starch from ten pounds of lotus root, which was a thankless task, so she never did it herself again.
Furthermore, the filtered lotus root juice needs to be left to stand for half a day until the powder settles to the bottom of the vat. Then, the clear water on top is poured off, water is added again, stirred, and allowed to settle. The resulting lotus root powder is even whiter. Subsequently, the lotus root powder blocks are shaved into thin slices, spread on bamboo mats to dry in the sun, crushed, and sieved to obtain fine lotus root powder.
In northern regions, dried lotus root powder can be stored for six months to a year, while in the Jiangnan region, it is available all year round, since there is a large quantity of lotus root, and therefore a large quantity of lotus root powder can be made.
Sun-drying lotus root starch requires protection from rain, especially during the humid plum rain season, otherwise the lotus root starch will become damp. Merchants will also take the lotus root starch out to sun-dry again on sunny days to prevent it from absorbing moisture.
Take lotus root starch in a bowl, pour boiling water over it to make a soup-like consistency, but Sister Yang also sprinkled a small pinch of dried osmanthus flowers on top of the lotus root soup, making it smell even more fragrant, and who knows, she might have even added some sugar.
"When autumn comes, you have to have a bowl of lotus root soup, still warm."
Jinniang also rushed to help. The fragrance of osmanthus made her feel even clearer. She immediately smiled and said, "That's right. Autumn came early this year. Shuangjie covered herself up tightly with the quilt this morning. Normally, she would have kicked the quilt under the bed long ago."
"Girls like Shuang'er at that age are all like this, restless sleepers, they'll grow out of it."
Not wanting to stand idly by the door, Lu Qiong led them into the kitchen, where a fire was still burning, making the whole room warm and more comfortable than outside.
The bowl of lotus root soup was given to Shuang-jie. After all, everyone present was an adult, and it wasn't appropriate to argue with them. Besides, adults can endure hunger, and they would all be having dinner soon.
The group gathered together to chat about everyday things, while Shuangjie ate lotus root soup on the side, not even letting go of the bottom of the bowl, scooping it clean with a spoon before she was finally satisfied. Soon after, she was sent to the backyard to play with Lu Xuan and the others.
Once she left, the adults started chatting freely, talking about the Pei family and the Mid-Autumn Festival a few days later.
When the Mid-Autumn Festival was mentioned, Jinniang remembered something. Peeling garlic in her hand, she nudged Pang Qiaoniang's arm with her elbow: "Your brother is coming back soon too? It's been more than half a year since he came back to Bianjing."
Pang Qiaoniang nodded gently, a slight smile playing on her lips, perhaps thinking of her brother whom she was about to meet: "I received the letter a few days ago, so it should be in the next few days."
Jinniang initially thought being a bodyguard was a good job, as it paid a good amount of money each month. However, she could only see Shuangjie a few times a year, so it wasn't a good job. It was better to stay in Bianjing and work for someone else, where at least she could see Shuangjie every day.
Thinking that Pang Qiaoniang was pitiful living alone in Bianjing, Jinniang couldn't help but take care of her. Now that she was of marriageable age, Jinniang couldn't help but think of ways to help her find a husband...
Seeing Jinniang staring blankly, and considering what had just been said, Lu Qiong knew what Jinniang was thinking. After all, she had been shown such concern not long ago, but she had managed to deflect it.
Despite their high spirits, the group couldn't stay long, and with the days getting dark earlier, they decided to head back after dinner.
Just before leaving, Jinniang pulled Lu Qiong aside to talk, winking at her: "How are things between you and Xie Lang? I saw him sending you this and that... and this lotus root starch, did he ask someone to bring it for him too?"
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