Chapter 9 Xiangguo Temple Sour Plum Drink
Lu Qiong was surprised that she had blurted it out, and quickly tried to make amends: "Sister is talking about Mohele. It's almost Qiqiao Festival, so we should prepare some Qiqiao items."
Lu Xuan blinked: "The Qixi Festival is still more than two months away. Even if we want to buy Mohele, it will be more suitable in early July. It's only mid-May now."
"Sister, you've been too busy to think straight. Oh, this stuffed bread must be getting cold. Eat it quickly," Lu Qiong said with an embarrassed smile. "Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow we'll be going to the Xiangguo Temple market for a long time."
Lu Xuan was also looking forward to it, and nodded happily when she heard this, no longer bothering to find out whether it was "Cola" or "Mohele".
As dawn broke, Lu Qiong finished washing up and began preparing the food for her food stall.
The eight-immortal table was laden with ingredients: dried plums, hawthorns, dried tangerine peel, mulberries, licorice root, and rock sugar. The rising sun shone through the window, and the stove fire burned continuously, filling the air with the aroma of cooking.
Lu Xuan was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night and could barely keep her eyes open. In her drowsy state, she almost put the firewood on the dry straw. Lu Qiong, who was kneading dough on the table, caught sight of this terrifying moment and rushed over: "Are you going to burn the house down?!"
Hearing Lu Qiong's anxious tone, Lu Xuan suddenly woke up, all sleepiness gone, and dared not doze off again.
The water in the pot was constantly boiling and bubbling. Lu Qiong poured in the medicinal herbs for the plum juice, boiled it over high heat for a while, then reduced the firewood to a simmer and cooked it for a few quarters of an hour.
Compared to perilla drink, sour plum drink has a richer flavor. She could smell the aroma even before it was boiled. The aroma of dried plum and tangerine peel is the most unique, and it continues to emit a sour fragrance.
Sourness can stimulate the appetite. Lu Qiong had been busy all morning and hadn't made breakfast yet, so she counted out fifteen coins for Lu Xuan: "Xuan'er, go to Yunji's flatbread stall and buy two flatbreads, with meat filling."
Lu Xuan agreed, clutched the copper coin tightly, and went out with Xue'er.
Afterwards, Lu Qiong made osmanthus cake and mung bean cake. She had mastered these two cakes and was able to steam them in no time.
Lu Xuan arranged Xue'er's meals. After buying sesame cakes, she steamed some pumpkin and tore off small pieces of sesame cakes to put in Xue'er's bowl.
Lu Qiong squatted at the entrance of the main room, taking a big bite of a flatbread, the juice dripping from it: "Xue'er is eating better than me, I haven't even had any pumpkin yet."
The flatbread was filled with minced mutton. Although it contained a lot of flour, she still enjoyed it. The filling was thin in the middle and surrounded by fluffy dough. It was savory and delicious.
Lu Xuan held a sesame seed cake in one hand and stroked Xue'er's back with the other, squinting her eyes in enjoyment: "Would you like to eat pumpkin, sister? Xue'er doesn't seem to like it much."
Pumpkins were only introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty, but Lu Qiong had eaten them a few years ago. She took another bite of a flatbread, which must have been due to some senior figure who made a great contribution to the court's diplomacy, thus benefiting her.
After having breakfast, the two hurried to Xiangguo Temple.
Tongjifang is close to Zhouqiao Bridge. After crossing the bridge, you can see Xiangguo Temple. The temple is magnificent in appearance, with most of the buildings in the shape of pagodas. There is a bottle-shaped glazed pagoda on each side of the main gate, and there are also four small pagodas inside the temple.
The surrounding area was crowded with people heading to Xiangguo Temple. Lu Qiong and his companion stayed close together to prevent the plum juice from being spilled.
At the entrance to the mountain, there are many pets for sale, including birds, cats, and dogs, as well as rare and exotic animals. There is even a large white goose that stretches its neck and cries out, its voice melodious and lively, attracting many people to stop and watch.
"This is a parrot that can mimic human speech..." The peddler picked up the birdcage and teased the parrot inside with one hand.
To his surprise, the parrot wouldn't have it, dodging his hand and adding, "This is a parrot that can mimic human speech..."
The passersby were amused and laughed. Someone went up to ask the price, and it turned out to be five taels of silver. Exclamations of surprise rang out one after another. In the end, it was bought by a servant of an official, and the rest could only shake their heads and leave.
Passing through the first gate, you'll find various stalls selling miscellaneous goods. Inside the courtyard, there are also many people setting up sheds of different colors, each selling a different item: fruits, candied fruit, screens, and antiques. Now, Lu Qiong's sour plum drink has also been added to the list.
"Hold on tight, sir," Lu Qiong said, bringing over a bowl of clear plum juice, sprinkled with osmanthus blossoms as a garnish. "It would be even better with Guanghan cake or mung bean cake, no less delicious than palace pastries."
The diner, dressed in a blue robe and white shirt, thanked the customer and drank the entire bowl down, still wanting more after finishing it: "It tastes good, but did you add sugar?"
Lu Qiong nodded and smiled, "Sir, you have a good eye. These plums of mine are carefully selected. If they are too dry, they will be bitter, and adding sugar will not remove the bitterness."
She wasn't afraid to reveal the secret recipe. The recipe for sour plum drink was known to everyone, but not everyone had the ability to identify the quality of the herbs. Even if someone could cook a bowl of sour plum drink well, they couldn't control the proportions, let alone cook a large batch to sell.
The sour plum drink whets the appetite and makes people hungrier the more they drink. The food boxes placed to the side also emit a fragrant aroma, so the customers bought several more pastries. By the end of the morning, the food was almost sold out.
Seeing the constant stream of people coming and going in the courtyard, Lu Qiong sighed to Lu Xuan, "If only every day were an open day."
The woman selling candied fruit was also making a fortune, her face beaming. Hearing this, she laughed and said, "Young lady, if you're interested, you can come next month. If it's open every day, the religious ceremonies will be very busy. Speaking of which, the temple also holds vegetarian feasts on weekdays, preparing tea, snacks, fruits, and food for hundreds of people. The religious ceremonies are quite impressive."
Lu Qiong was also amazed. She really couldn't prepare so much food. She didn't expect the people in the temple to be so capable. She wondered if there would be a chance to cooperate with them. She was like a contractor in the future.
After all, the most profitable business in the catering industry is large-scale business. For example, in the past, even if the food in a school cafeteria was just average, it could still sell for more than ten yuan a serving. With a fixed customer base, the income could be stable.
The more she thought about it, the more it itched to do it. She planned that once her business grew and she had a shop and manpower, she would go and talk to the monks at Xiangguo Temple.
The two packed up their stall around noon and then wandered around another part of the temple. To the left and right of the main hall were the areas where the nuns regularly set up their stalls, displaying embroidery, velvet flowers, headdresses, hats, wigs, etc.
Lu Qiong took a fancy to a hairpin with a white magnolia carved on the head and adorned with slender beads that sparkled under her gaze.
Seeing that her eyes were fixed on something, the nun handed the hairpin to her: "If you like it, you may try it on."
After thanking her, Lu Xuan took the hairpin and put it on Lu Qiong's small bun, making her look even more beautiful: "Sister looks so good in it."
The nun brought out another bronze mirror, which Lu Qiong was delighted with and bought. She also picked out a few headdresses for Lu Xuan, and then went to the clothing stall.
With her savings dwindling, Lu Qiong donned a pale yellow floral bodice, a light blue shirt, and an amber cross-collar blouse. Carrying large and small bags, she bought books and writing materials in front of the Zisheng Gate behind the Buddhist temple, while Lu Xuan followed behind, also carrying packages.
Having finished the flatbreads they ate in the morning, they left the backyard and went to the front hall to find something to eat.
The nearby sesame seed cake stalls were packed with people. The stall owner took a small ball of dough from a basin, rolled it into a flatbread shape, brushed it with oil, and then put it on the stove to bake. The hot oil sizzled, and when he flipped it over, the flatbread turned golden brown. It was filled with preserved mustard greens and emitted a rich aroma that attracted customers.
Lu Qiong had just eaten pancakes that morning. After exchanging a glance with Lu Xuan, she shook her head and left.
There were also some light and refreshing dishes. Various kinds of fermented rice balls were displayed in front of the courtyard. A couple was busy at their stall. The husband served the balls to customers, while the wife collected money and attracted customers: "Would you like some Luoshen wine balls, sir?"
There were four or five kinds of meatballs in the distance. It wasn't easy for them to transport these here. Compared to them, Lu Qiong felt that she had been living a rather comfortable life lately.
She asked the woman and learned that there were osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls, as well as mung bean sweet rice balls, roselle sweet rice balls, and brown sugar sweet rice balls. Lu Qiong ordered the mung bean sweet rice balls, while Lu Xuan, who couldn't drink alcohol, went elsewhere to buy meat buns.
They called them steamed buns, but they were actually baozi, which are called steamed buns in later times. There were meat steamed buns and vegetarian steamed buns. Meat steamed buns were also divided into mutton filling, pork filling, and crab roe filling. Lu Xuan bought pork filling meat steamed buns.
Lu Qiong sat on the low stool provided by the young lady, holding a bowl in one hand, scooping up a spoonful of glutinous rice balls to eat. The mung beans, infused with the aroma of wine, became even more fragrant and mellow.
She knew how to do it: first, soak the mung beans in water until they were soft, remove the skins, steam them until they became soft and glutinous, then mix them with glutinous rice flour and water to form a dough. Divide the dough into small portions and roll them into balls. It wasn't difficult, but rolling so many balls was tiring, much more tiring than making plum juice.
Lu Xuan was munching on a steamed bun, her words muffled as she said, "Sister, I just saw someone helping to deliver steamed buns, saying they were being delivered to some mansion."
Lu Qiong laughed and said, "That's an idler who buys things for others."
In this context, errand runners are called "idle men." Since the rapid development of commerce in the Song Dynasty and the enrichment of people's lives, there have been more and more idle men running errands. Since their stalls have only been open for a few days and their customer base is not fixed, naturally no one would want to hire an idle man to come and buy from them.
The shops on the street are different; their signs are eye-catching, and customers can easily remember which shop sells steamed buns or which sells fragrant drinks. She needs to work harder to take over the shop. Since setting up her stall, she has earned more than a string of cash. After deducting costs and daily expenses, she still has half a string of cash left.
Making a living in Bianjing was harder than she had imagined. There were property taxes and housing taxes at the end of the year, and everything required money. Even charcoal in the winter cost half a string of cash.
Lu Qiong channeled her energy into her appetite and ate all the remaining dumplings.
………
"Young master, let's go back. The longer we drag this out, the angrier Madam will become."
Qingxian paced anxiously behind him. For some reason, her young master insisted on coming to Xiangguo Temple to see the excitement.
Although commerce is booming now, the traditional Chinese social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants remains deeply ingrained. The young man studied the Four Books and Five Classics from a young age and was also very intelligent. He passed the provincial examination at a young age and thought he would win the top spot, but unexpectedly, he failed the exam.
His wife felt sorry for him and was afraid that he would do something rash, so she dared not mention the imperial examination again. The young man, however, took advantage of the situation and went on a trip to see the sights and rivers. His footprints can be found everywhere from south to north.
Even now, his wife is still paving the way for him, selecting beautiful women in the capital, all for the sake of her young master's career.
But what a foolish thing the young man did.
Xie Xun was unaware that Qingxian was plotting against him. He continued to observe and discovered that the most crowded area in the market was the courtyard, especially the area selling spices, tea, and rare calligraphy and paintings.
I wanted to walk around a bit more, but then my gaze shifted and I seemed to see someone I knew.
A note from the author:
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[Word count deadline set by next Thursday, updates every other day, so no update tomorrow] [Let me see]
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