Chapter 50 Double Ninth Festival Lion Cake...May you have peace and safety every year.
The Bian River was an important canal connecting Jiangnan (southern China) with Bianjing (Kaifeng). Coastal seafood was also transported to the capital via this canal, mainly dried goods such as scallops, dried shrimp, salted fish, and jellyfish.
The cost of transporting live seafood was extremely high, and it was often transported short distances by "live water boats" filled with water or chilled with ice. Only the royal court or wealthy merchants could afford it.
There weren't many vendors selling seafood in Bianjing, but a seafood street had formed, with several shops specializing in seafood. Lu Qiong would often go there to buy inexpensive dried goods.
The fishmonger took out strips of dried kelp: "Look, sir! This is freshly arrived dried kelp! It's delicious and authentic!"
The stall was full of dried shrimp, or seaweed, nori... it was rather shabby.
Lu Qiong shook her head, picking and choosing, and only found some dried shrimp after visiting several shops. Perhaps because of the cold weather, she couldn't find any live seafood transported from the coast, but there were small jars of clams in soy sauce, which were commonly used in restaurants and she didn't need them right now.
Another fishmonger, whose face was rough and cracked from years of sun exposure, put the dried scallops he had just taken out back and said regretfully, "If you want fresh ones, you'll have to wait until next year. In a while, the Bian River will be completely frozen, and boats won't be able to move. Right now, the docks are full of fish that have arrived at the shore; no one has left."
Previously, Lu Qiong had stayed in Shangyuan Village, so she was unaware of this. In her previous life, she lived on the coast and had no shortage of seafood. Now, she was really craving it.
People in Bianjing usually eat freshwater fish and shrimp, such as carp and crucian carp. They also use slices of black carp to imitate clam meat, which can be considered "fake fresh fish".
Unable to get any, Lu Qiong could only nod regretfully, "Then we really missed the right time."
However, the fishmonger added, "Many restaurants have cellars, where they probably store a lot of dried goods, and their selection might be more complete than mine."
Afterwards, some other dried goods were recommended. In the end, Lu Qiong returned with a full load, carrying a small bag of dried shrimp, a few salted fish, and some seafood ginger and fermented black beans, which could be used as seasonings or as side dishes.
Of all these seafood items, dried shrimp is the easiest to prepare. It's great for making soup bases or porridge, as it not only enhances the flavor but also has a rich seafood taste, which makes Lu Qiong feel more comfortable.
Yang Jie'er's family was of modest means, and she usually only ate soup made with dried shrimp during festivals. She had never smelled such a salty and fragrant soup before. While kneading the dough, she stretched her neck and watched Lu Qiong sprinkle dried shrimp into the soup base without moving her eyes, and even swallowed her saliva.
Lu Qiong divided the soup base into two pots, one without any ingredients and the other with dried shrimp, after all, she also had to consider people who were not used to eating seafood.
Knowing that Yang Jie'er had a sweet tooth, Lu Qiong first ladled a bowl of the cooked porridge for her, saying, "Be careful, it's hot!"
However, today is the Double Ninth Festival, and Lu Xuan dragged Wei Pan to climb mountains and insert dogwood early in the morning. It is unknown when they will return.
As she ate her porridge, Sister Yang smiled and said, "Sister Xuan is probably coming back soon. The aroma of this seafood has probably spread far and wide."
That's true, Lu Xuan always manages to catch some good food.
Lu Qiong also filled a bowl for herself. As soon as she brought it to her nose, the salty aroma became even stronger. Coupled with the cold weather, a bowl of hot porridge gave her even more energy.
The first customer ordered a bowl of scallion pancakes with seafood in the broth. Before even tasting it, they couldn't help but exclaim, "The aroma is so rich..."
Lu Qiong smiled as she served a cup of chrysanthemum wine, still warm from the stove: "If you find it delicious, please don't forget to recommend our restaurant to others..."
She was the only one in all of Bianjing who was so honest, and she made the customer laugh as she served him food: "It must be made according to Manager Lu's instructions."
"Chrysanthemum wine is also extremely fragrant..."
Lu Qiong nodded with a smile, after all, this was chrysanthemum wine bought from Dai Lou.
Because of the Double Ninth Festival, every household was buying wine, and the winery in Dailou even raised prices, with a jar of wine costing ten coins more than usual, which broke her heart. If it weren't for the government's prohibition against brewing wine privately, she wouldn't have had to spend so much money to buy it.
Seeing that she was quite angry, Sister Yang smiled and said, "It will be fine when the New Year comes. No one can stop you from brewing wine during those days."
The New Year celebrations only last for a few days, around the Winter Solstice and the Spring Festival. If it weren't for the folk custom of drinking alcohol, the officials might not have allowed it!
Lu Qiong pouted and said, "I'll definitely brew a hundred jars!"
Lu Xuan and Wei Pan didn't return until it was time to make Chongyang cakes. Both of their skirts were damp, and they had a tender yellow chrysanthemum in their hair, and a faint chrysanthemum fragrance emanated from them.
Lu Qiong quickly pulled them inside, but was stunned to find that Wei Pan was only wearing two layers of thin clothing. She then told the two to go to the stove to warm themselves by the fire.
Compared to Chongyang cake, people in Bianjing prefer to call it Lion Barbarian cake, which also originates from the unique decorative customs of the Song Dynasty.
Colorful flags are inserted and icing is sprinkled on the pastries. Then, wooden molds are used to press lion or chrysanthemum patterns. The fillings are made of chestnuts, pine nuts, and pomegranate seeds, and the shapes are also similar to lions.
Sister Yang mixes glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour together, making the cakes soft, chewy, and not sticky. The rice flour must not be too dry, otherwise it will easily crack after steaming. She also adds sugar and various nuts, all of which must be steamed in advance.
After it came out of the pot, a cloud of steam spread outwards, and everyone could smell a sticky, fragrant aroma.
After it cooled down a bit, Lu Xuan pressed the mold, Wei Pan helped sprinkle icing sugar, and finally put it on a plate. The "Lion's Cake" was then complete.
The Lion Cake at the Xie Mansion was even more elaborate, with the finest ingredients used for the colorful flags, lion patterns, and nuts. The first batch fresh from the oven was sent to the Zhao family's courtyard.
It was cold inside, so Huanzhu told someone to close the doors and windows. She then presented the pastries with a smile: "Since Madam Song was worried that she might have dietary restrictions, she specially reduced the amount of glutinous rice flour. This way, it won't stick to her teeth or make her sick."
The food looked really good, and Zhao couldn't resist. After finishing it, she realized there wasn't much left on the plate: "Did Song Niang only make this much?"
Huanzhu put away the plates and nodded: "In previous years, neither of the two gentlemen ate, so Songniang didn't make it."
Hearing this, Zhao was lost in thought, recalling the past: "...They pestered me to make Lion Cakes, I don't know where they learned it from, and they asked me to stick a piece of Lion Cake on their foreheads."
However, she did not agree at that time.
......
By noon, Lu Ji's restaurant was packed. Every customer ordered a Lion's Cake and a pot of chrysanthemum wine. Since there wasn't time to heat it up, they ordered the raw wine directly.
A woman borrowed a bamboo knife from Lu Qiong, cut a small piece of the Lion's Barbarian Cake from the bottom, and stuck it on her daughter's forehead. To prevent it from falling off, she pressed it down firmly with her palm.
The little girl remained motionless, as if frozen in place. The wife found this amusing, and simply murmured, "May you have peace and safety every year..."
Seeing the woman smile, the little girl, for some reason, also smiled.
Wei Pan had something to do at home, so she went home early, leaving Lu Xuan alone sitting on a low stool in the kitchen, staring blankly at the mother and daughter.
Lu Qiong suddenly walked up to her, stuck a piece of Lion's Cake on her forehead, and smiled without saying a word.
Lu Xuan was stunned, then slowly broke into a smile...
Lu Qiong would think it's normal for others to buy wine, but she would find it strange that Du Zai came to buy wine.
"Du Yanzhun, are you buying wine?"
Du Zai just laughed: "That's called acting first and reporting later!"
Lu Qiong clicked her tongue, but still took out the wine: "Only one serving!"
Du Zai has been extremely busy lately, and Lu Qiong couldn't get him to cooperate or get any information from him, so he gave up. However, he heard from Du Yan that Du Zai was going to take the children's examination next year, so he was probably busy preparing for it.
Watching Du Zai's departing figure, Lu Qiong always felt that he wasn't the kind of person who would settle down so easily...
Speaking of which, Lu Ji is quite a special place in Bianjing. Elsewhere, the diners are all ordinary people, but Lu Ji has attracted literati to compose poems and essays.
So they kept adding pot after pot of chrysanthemum wine, and Lu Qiong didn't know what poems they wrote. He only knew that they didn't leave until night.
Lu Qiong put away the wine pot, his hands aching, and shook his head, commenting, "This isn't a scholar, he's a drunkard!"
However, looking back at the great poets of the past, quite a few of them did indeed compose poems while drinking...
When Lu Qiong turned around, she realized that Yang Jie'er was gone. She had gone to the fish shop and was carrying the pastries that she had just given her. Fortunately, A Feng returned the favor, but these two were getting more and more presumptuous.
Lu Qiong sighed and followed the wine pot and wine cup in his hand to the deserted back door.
"Manager Lu!"
She looked up and saw that it was Shi San Niang calling her. Recently, her relationship with San Niang had become more and more frequent, but she didn't know when it started.
Shi San Niang told her to wait where she was, and then took out a food box and a pot of wine tied with hemp rope from the house.
By the moonlight, Lu Qiong could finally see her face clearly. She heard her smile and say, "The Double Ninth Festival is a day for family reunion, but I... well, consider this a Double Ninth Festival gift for you."
When San Niang smiled, there was always a sense of warmth in her. Lu Qiong didn't know why, but she just smiled and accepted the gift.
Seeing that she accepted the gift, Shi Sanniang's smile deepened: "The chrysanthemum wine inside is brewed by me personally, and it tastes better than what you can find outside!"
There are plenty of people brewing wine privately in the countryside, as long as they are not discovered by the authorities. But Lu Qiong was still surprised that she dared to tell her such an important matter.
...
After the Double Ninth Festival, Bianjing seemed to be enveloped in a layer of cold air, and people would shiver from the cold when walking on the street.
Lu Qiong's cabbage in the yard has grown quite a bit, and some of it has already been harvested once. She has stored it all away, and since she has nothing to do today, she'll pickle it!
She was supposed to pickle vegetables on the day of Xiaoxue, but she was worried that she wouldn't have enough time, so she figured she might as well finish processing the vegetables during her free time.
The kitchen doors and windows were tightly closed, but Lu Qiong didn't feel cold sitting next to the stove; in fact, it was warm.
The door creaked open, and Lu Xuan came in carrying a bucket of water. A lot of cold air also took the opportunity to sneak in, and Lu Qiong, who was still warm, shivered.
Lu Xuan kept saying, "It's so cold!" and "It's almost frozen outside..." But it's still a long way from freezing; we'll have to wait until after the first snowfall.
Nowadays, there are many kinds of seasonings used for pickling vegetables, not just salt, but also soy sauce, vinegar, and wine lees. For those who want to be more extravagant, spices are added. Lu Qiong most often uses salt for pickling, firstly because it is convenient, and secondly because it has a pure flavor and she is used to it.
She picked a cabbage that had been dried to a semi-dry state, rubbed it with salt layer by layer, and placed it in an earthenware jar.
Lu Xuan followed suit: "But when will the radishes in the field be ready?"
Lu Qiong placed the earthenware urn against the wall and weighed it down with a heavy stone: "It should be almost healed in another month."
Radishes are more troublesome than cabbage; they not only need to be washed, but also peeled, cut into pieces, and finally pickled.
After moving the last earthenware jar, Lu Qiong's back was so sore she could barely straighten it. Thinking of the radishes in the field, she suddenly regretted planting too many...
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