Chapter 31 Cookies These are called… cricket… cricket cookies? Why are they called…
The Xie family servant had barely exchanged two words with the Shen family when Miss Shen invited him inside. She then slammed the gate shut, startling the onlookers who were peering out.
Shen Miao had explained several times before that she was favored by the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family, which was why she was able to bake the red bean buns at the Xie family's residence, and that it had nothing to do with the so-called Zheng Neizhi. But no one believed her.
The Xie family is of such high social standing, with servants at their doorstep and nobles enjoying the finest delicacies. They eat incredibly expensive food every day, so how could they possibly look down on the coarse snacks at the market? And yet, they stayed for three days straight, even sending people and carriages to pick them up and drop them off in wind and rain.
Now, hearing what Zheng Neizhi said, it turns out that the nobles of the Xie family really love Sister Shen's cooking so much that they keep coming to her door for it. What Sister Shen said is true!
Is Sister Shen's cooking really that good? Although they're all neighbors and live close by, no one has ever actually gone to the market to support Shen Miao's stall. After all, Sister Shen's red bean buns and pancakes aren't cheap; I heard they cost eight coins each! That's eight coins—almost enough to buy a bushel of coarse flour!
In the past, when Shen Ji Tangbing Shop was open, they would patronize it once or twice. Firstly, because Sister Shen's father's skills were already very good, and secondly, the soup dumplings that Shen's father sold were plentiful, filling, and affordable. But... it wasn't good enough to make the nobles linger!
Then, when he heard the servant vaguely mention the name of Xie's Ninth Brother, he became even more apprehensive: Could he be a noble young master of the Xie family?
This Miss Shen is only good-looking and knows how to cook, but her reputation is tainted. What merit does she have? It must be that steward surnamed Zheng's polite words!
Several neighbors with daughters in their families couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Some nosy neighbors, seeing the door was closed, were unwilling to go inside. They brought their rice bowls from home and sat by the door, eating and watching. Although they couldn't hear anything, they still wanted to see when the person left.
Shen Miao didn't care about those stares from the bottom of her heart. Because of her sensitive nature, she could easily read unspoken words and see through the emotions in other people's eyes in her previous life. Moreover, as a business owner, she had seen all kinds of people in the restaurant, and she knew that human nature was like that. Now, most of the people living in this alley were also business owners, and they would see each other all the time. They truly pitied the Shen family when they were in such a state of decline; but seeing her earn some money in a short period of time and gain a big customer, they felt uneasy.
They couldn't see the hard work she put in, kneading dough and making pancakes from dawn till dusk, nor the heavy burden she bore supporting her family alone. They only thought it was because she was born well-off that the Xie family and the diners at Qiaoshi kept coming back. All her sweat and effort seemed destined to be defeated by prejudice and jealousy. There's a saying: "I'm more afraid of my brother suffering than of him driving a Land Rover." I sincerely hope you're doing well, but not better than me.
Moreover, she wasn't even considered a "brother" to them.
Keep a calm and ordinary mindset.
After all, the you that others see is less than one ten-thousandth of the real you. In her previous life, Shen Miao grew up surrounded and nurtured by the love of her family. She never doubted that there was anything wrong with herself. If someone didn't like her, it was clearly that person who had the problem! She also believed that there was a natural fate between people. When fate brings people together, they meet, and when fate ends, they part ways. There was no need to force anything.
Of course, those are minor details. The most important thing is... Shen Miao smiled and pushed the tea that Ji Ge'er brought towards Zheng Neizhi, and then asked Zheng Neizhi to try the biscuits: "Zheng Neizhi, try these. These are my newly baked pastries. They are made with lard, sugar and eggs."
Zheng Neizhi thanked him gently, picked up a small golden cake, and looked around.
The yard was very clean. There was a kiln in the corner that was still emitting smoke, and at the other end was a chicken coop made of broken tiles and bricks. Three chicks were running around the yard looking for insects.
The small courtyard was alright; although somewhat empty, it was at least tidy. However, apart from that, the south-facing corridor and three rooms were burned down to their frames, with only a half-new, half-old kitchen remaining intact. Further ahead, there was another burned-out door, which should have led to the shop at the front. Looking around, apart from the courtyard wall, all the walls remaining in this small house were blackened by smoke.
Just now, I saw that the walls, doors and windows of the Shen family's house were brand new, and there were even a few pots of flowers planted in front of the door. I never expected that it would look like this when I came in.
The emptiness and dilapidation of the Shen family home surprised him, but he quickly regained his composure. He tried to hide the pity in his eyes by eating the pancake, but he was so amazed by the crispy and delicious pancake that he almost bit his tongue.
"These...these little cakes are so delicious! What did you say just now, Madam Shen? These are called...cricket cakes? Why are they called cricket cakes?" Zheng Neizhi nodded repeatedly, both puzzled and certain. "They are truly crispy and delicious. Madam Shen, how did you make them?"
"These are cookies. Look at the spiral pattern on them, doesn't it resemble a winding path leading to a secluded spot? Or a treacherous mountain trail?" Shen Miao smiled, her mind racing. She finally managed to find a Chinese explanation for the Western name of the cookies, and quickly changed the subject to get down to business: "They're easy to make, and there are several ways to make them! The flavors are quite different. Such desserts are extremely rare. Since Zheng Neizhi is here to buy dessert recipes, why don't you buy the cookie recipe as well?"
The milky aroma of cookies comes from butter, which is actually made from milk. But milk is too expensive, so Shen Miao used animal fat instead. First, she added white sugar to the fat and stirred it by hand until the sugar dissolved. Then she added eggs and continued stirring until emulsified. After that, she added sifted flour and mixed it evenly. Finally, she used parchment paper to wrap folded and cut a piping bag to pipe out the shapes.
The method was very simple, the only difficulty was not having an egg beater. After Shen Miao finished mixing, she felt like her arm was about to break. This was originally baked for Ji Ge'er as a snack, since studying was hard, but now Ji Ge'er didn't get to eat any, and Shen Miao fed it all to the God of Wealth in front of her.
The Xie family wasn't as impoverished as she was, so they could afford milk. If they bought the recipe, they could make butter first, then add milk, and the resulting cookies would taste even better—crispy and crumbly, with a wonderfully milky aroma. Of course, cookies could be upgraded even further—adding raisins, chopped nuts, matcha, and other ingredients, along with various shaped molds, would create even more flavors and textures.
It is small and easy to carry. If different flavors are put together in an exquisite and expensive mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer food box, it will be not only beautiful and delicious, but also appear to be very valuable. It can easily become a high-end souvenir given between nobles.
With a beaming smile, Shen Miao explained in detail, putting on a very enthusiastic sales pitch.
If she were to make cookies and egg yolk pastries and sell them at the market, she could certainly make money, but not much. Both require too many eggs, oil, and sugar, and both require finely sifted flour to achieve the right texture and flavor, making the costs too high for her. Even if she did make them, she would have to sell them at a high price. Selling high-end pastries at a small stall is simply not a good way to make money, and even if she were to open a shop later, these two items wouldn't be a good source of income.
It was a coincidence that I was only making this for my family, and since it wasn't a large quantity, I didn't worry about the cost.
However, it's different if you sell food directly.
Zheng Neizhi's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Why did the eldest daughter-in-law want to buy the recipe for egg yolk pastries? Firstly, both Ninth Brother and the Grand Madam liked them, so having them made them whenever they wanted was very convenient. Secondly, several young ladies from the Xie family's third branch were already fifteen or sixteen years old, and even if they were to stay for a couple more years, they would need to start looking for suitable husbands. After finishing the Buddhist ceremony, the eldest daughter-in-law immediately began preparing for the late-blooming banquet in May. The most important thing was to prepare for the Xie family's ladies to make their mark in front of the matriarchs of various noble families, so that they could find suitable husbands in the future.
Of course, Madam also wanted to find another marriage for Ninth Brother. Although the engagement was called off, it wasn't because Ninth Brother was bad that the engagement was called off. In particular, marriage is something that can't be rushed; some marriages can take a year or two to find a match. So Madam thought she would quietly look at a few families and keep a close eye on things. Ninth Brother's luck was different from the other boys in the family, so she couldn't be hasty.
In that case, the banquet must have a few novelties that the dignitaries have never tasted before, but which are delicious.
So it seems that these cookies are more suitable for banquets than egg yolk pastries. How can young ladies easily eat egg yolk pastries at the table? They would end up with crumbs all over their mouths and clothes, which would be too unrefined! But these cookies are small, exquisite and cute. As Madam Shen said, they come in many flavors. When they are neatly arranged in an elegant food box, they will surely be more attractive to the ladies.
"How much do you want for these two recipes, Madam Shen?" Zheng Neizhi asked Shen Miao earnestly. His pity for her vanished at that moment. With such innovative ideas, solid skills, and a pragmatic and shrewd nature, this young lady was sure to never fall on hard times!
Shen Miao had never thought about selling her son before, so she didn't know the market price. But with the opportunity in front of her, she couldn't turn it away. If the other party didn't want it, she would never have the chance again!
Is it really impossible for Chef Fang from the Xie family to recreate egg yolk pastries? No, this isn't technically difficult. If the Xie family buys from her a few more times, and Chef Fang eats them a few more times and then tries again, a perfect replica is just a matter of time. The Xie family must need some novel and delicious pastry in a short period of time to send someone out to buy it, saving them time and effort.
Shen Miao, unaware that she had guessed most of it, pondered for a moment before sincerely saying, "Zheng Neizhi is my benefactor. If he hadn't happened to come to buy roasted buns that day, I wouldn't have had this opportunity. Therefore, to repay Zheng Neizhi's kindness and not to put him in a difficult position, I thought, how about one recipe for forty strings of cash? There are actually two ways to make egg yolk pastries, so I won't add a price and will include both methods! One is the one made at the Xie family's, which only adds red beans and salted egg yolks; the other is even more exquisite, adding pork floss, taro paste, salted egg yolks, and red beans, making it even more delicious! I will naturally teach you in detail how to make pork floss and taro paste, so these forty strings of cash actually include four recipes! Cookies have even more variations and countless methods, and I will definitely teach you everything I know. Rest assured, the Xie family will definitely get more than their money's worth by buying my recipes."
She wasn't greedy, nor did she make exorbitant demands, treating this as a one-off deal. Firstly, the Xie family and Ninth Brother had previously helped her greatly, especially with Ji-ge's entrance exam for the Imperial Academy, which was a real lifesaver; she should repay that kindness. Secondly, she also wanted to further strengthen her goodwill with the Xie family… in modern terms, she wanted to establish a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with this valuable client.
Zheng Neizhi paused slightly upon hearing the offer.
One prescription costs forty strings of cash, so two would cost a total of eighty strings. This is not a small amount, but it is not too much for the Xie family. Zheng Neizhi narrowed his eyes. Besides, this Madam Shen was not asking for an exorbitant price. If she had kept the other method a secret, they would not have known. But her choice to tell them everything showed her sincerity.
Many of the recipes kept by Fanlou are said to be priceless.
"Madam Shen, could you please give me these cookies to take back to the Xie family so I can decide with Madam?" Zheng Neizhi did not immediately agree. He smiled and said, "Madam only asked me to inquire about the recipe for egg yolk pastries. I dare not make any other decisions on my own."
“Of course, of course.” Shen Miao also thought of this, her smile unchanged, and wrapped up all the cookies.
Besides the food, Zheng Neizhi also wanted to order fifty egg yolk pastries. So Shen Miao thought for a moment and said that each one would cost ten coins. They agreed on a time for him to come and pick them up. Then she smiled and escorted Zheng Neizhi all the way to the alley entrance. Only after seeing him get into his carriage and leave did she happily turn around and go back.
As she turned around, she heard the sounds of people hurriedly closing their windows and doors.
It's strange. When she first came back, everyone seemed more friendly, but now I can vaguely sense a bit of malice. Shen Miao stroked her chin, thinking, "Tomorrow is market day, there's a big market in the outer city, maybe I should buy a dog to guard the house."
Judging from Zheng Neizhi's expression, she was actually quite confident. With these eighty strings of cash, she would start repairing the house. The commotion wouldn't be hidden from the neighbors, and they would soon know that she had made a lot of money.
It wasn't that she was paranoid; it's just that one can't be too careful. The Shen family only had her and two children, making them easy targets for thieves. She had planned to buy a dog beforehand, not entirely to protect herself from anyone.
After pondering for a while, Shen Miao hurriedly went back to work on the upgraded version of the egg yolk pastry.
Today there's more time, and the kiln is dry, so Shen Miao plans to make pork floss and taro paste, wrap them in egg yolk pastries, and send them to the Xie family. This way, Madam Xie and Zheng Neizhi will know that what she said is true, and that she really has a variety of ways to make egg yolk pastries.
Making meat floss at home is not difficult. She asked Ji Ge'er to watch over Xiang Jie'er, and went out to buy a pound of pork tenderloin and a few large taro. After washing them, she removed all the fat and tendons from the meat. Not a single tendon could be left, otherwise it would not be fluffy. She then cut it into large pieces, soaked it to remove the blood, blanched it, and boiled it for 15 minutes with scallion, ginger, water, and cooking wine.
Next, use a rolling pin to pound the meat into smaller pieces, making it easier to tear. Then, shred it into thin strips by hand, add seasonings such as salt, oil, sugar, and soy sauce, mix well, stir-fry in a pan until fragrant and dry, and then grind it into powder using a grinding stone mortar.
Shen Miao also added some toasted white sesame seeds, which made the pork floss even more fragrant.
When the meat floss came out of the oven, the whole house was filled with a blissful aroma of meat. After she tasted it herself, she gave Xiangjie and Jige a small bowl each, and gave them a handful to eat as snacks.
Xiangjie'er, her mouth full of sesame seeds, smacked her lips, still not satisfied. She then sneakily went to Jige'er's side, hid behind Jige'er's desk, and tiptoed to steal Jige'er's portion.
Ji-ge pretended to be engrossed in reading, closing his eyes and shaking his head, suppressing his laughter, while letting his sister steal food.
Shen Miao had just tasted it herself. The meat floss was salty, fragrant, crispy, and fluffy like cotton. She nodded in satisfaction. She could also try making chicken meat floss in the future. Chicken breast meat floss would be even more fragrant, crispy, and chewy.
The pound of pork she bought made a large earthenware jar of pork floss, more than enough to wrap egg yolk pastries. The remaining pork floss... could be used to make pork floss cakes or pork floss buns, which would be quite nice.
Shen Miao had already planned out tomorrow's breakfast: homemade pork floss cakes paired with peanut and tofu soup from Liu's tofu shop in the alley—it would be delicious!
Next, we made taro paste.
People in the Song Dynasty loved taro. Large taro was called "Tuzhi," while small taro was called "Tuli." Every autumn and winter, the traditional way for Song people to eat taro was to sit around the stove with their families and put the taro in the stove to simmer until cooked, then eat it directly. Alternatively, they would warm a pot of wine, spread the cooked rice wine on the outside of the taro, and then simmer it slowly over a low fire. They would eat it while it was hot, which was not only fragrant but also allowed them to taste the sweet and warm wine flavor.
When Shen Miao was little, her favorite food was taro. They were tiny, with smooth, tender flesh, and she'd simmer them in an earthenware pot with pickled vegetables to make a thick soup—it was incredibly fragrant. As a child, taro, no matter how it was prepared, was mostly salty. It seems that taro paste, paired with milk tea and desserts, only became popular after she grew up. Strictly speaking, making taro paste requires milk and purple sweet potatoes, but Shen Miao… she didn't have the money to buy milk.
If milk is added, she would have to charge Zheng Neizhi twenty or thirty coins for each egg yolk pastry, otherwise she would lose money.
Of course, purple sweet potatoes could not be found in the Song Dynasty.
Adding purple sweet potato isn't a problem, as it's mainly for its appealing color and also reduces the cost of the taro paste. But how can the taro paste be made sweet, fragrant, and smooth without milk? Shen Miao stood in front of the stove for a moment, pondering, and then smiled.
She boiled rock sugar into syrup, ground glutinous rice into powder, steamed and mashed taro, then added both ingredients, stirring until it became a smooth, resistant yogurt-like consistency. She then steamed it for a short while longer. The glutinous rice flour gave the taro paste a soft, chewy, and stringy texture, while the syrup made it smoother than granulated sugar. After steaming, she tasted it; she was a little disappointed that it lacked a milky flavor, but the texture was quite good—soft, chewy, and slightly springy.
Next came the usual egg yolk pastry making process. She usually prepared plenty of red bean paste the night before for her stall, so she always had more than enough for making red bean buns. Now she had some on hand. Shen Miao pulled up a stool, laid out all the ingredients in front of her, rolled up her sleeves, and started wrapping. She listened to Xiang Jie'er imitating chicks chirping in the yard as she wrapped.
The chirping of people and chickens created a symphony, and Xiang Jie'er seemed to be trying to learn chicken language to communicate with them.
Sixty were wrapped up quickly.
Fifty were boxed and sent to the Xie family, while the other ten were kept for our own consumption.
The next morning, Shen Miao asked Ji Ge'er to take some pork floss, taro paste, and egg yolk pastries to Lanxin Bookstore to study, and also to bring a few for Manager Zhou to try. Speaking of Manager Zhou, he was considered an elderly person left behind in the village, and he had always been quite good to Ji Ge'er, so Shen Miao thought she should take care of him as much as possible.
Since Ji-ge'er had gone to school, she also carried a basket and a carrying pole on her back after the morning market today, and took the earliest bus with Xiang-jie'er to the outer city to go to the big market, thinking of buying some daily necessities and a dog.
In the Song Dynasty, markets were not only divided into morning and evening sessions, but also included "town markets," "grass markets," and temple markets. The markets in front of famous temples and Taoist monasteries were particularly extravagant. For example, at the Xiangguo Temple, monks not only engaged in lending money, selling incense, talismans, interpreting divination slips, and fortune-telling, but also made and sold candied fruits and pastries. They even produced a special type of cloth called "temple silk." While monks and Taoist priests were indeed quiet and inactive during their daily chanting of scriptures, they would argue fiercely over a few hundred coins, showing no shame whatsoever for engaging in these worldly economic activities.
This is a microcosm of the nationwide commerce in the Song Dynasty.
Today, Shen Miao is going to the "Grass Market". This market is located in the outer suburbs of the city, on both sides of the post road that leads directly from the outer city gate to the rural county town. It is a very lively market.
It was already late when Shen Miao arrived, and people from all around had already flocked to the area. The post road was lined with stalls selling goods, and people were coming and going in droves. Like her, there were so many people carrying baskets and hampers, driving oxen and pulling carts that they were shoulder to shoulder.
There were also many farmers dressed simply, carrying fruits and vegetables on their backs, loudly hawking their wares amidst the crowded streets. Shen Miao walked around twice and bought some fresh rice, noodles, meat, and vegetables. Passing by a stall selling cloth and brocade, she bought two sets of embroidered clothes and a pair of shoes for herself, Xiang Jie'er, and Ji Ge'er. Spring was finally coming to an end, and the weather was getting warmer, so she bought two sets of summer clothes to prepare.
Besides clothes, I also bought some oil paper, bamboo baskets, soapberries, vegetable seeds, and other daily necessities.
I also bought Ji Ge'er some pens, some reams of paper, and two ink sticks.
He earned four strings of cash by baking red bean buns at the Xie family's shop for three days. After the weather cleared up, he returned to set up his stall and earned more than eight hundred coins a day. Over this long period of time, Chen Miao has saved more than eight strings of cash. Now, when he buys things, although he is still used to picking and bargaining and living frugally, he is much more relaxed than before.
The goods at the outer city market were much cheaper than those in Bianjing city, and Shen Miao quickly returned laden with purchases. Finally, she found the livestock market selling chickens, ducks, cats, dogs, cattle, and sheep. She bypassed the cattle and horse merchants neighing and cattle mooing, the large pig and sheep merchants bleating and pigs snorting, and the chicken vendors pecking at chickens that had broken free of their tethers and were about to take flight. Just as she squatted down in front of a dog vendor to choose a dog, a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Big sister?"
I instinctively turned my head to look and saw the chubby Uncle Shen wearing a silk long gown and a scholar's cap, fanning himself with a folding fan in the mild weather, seemingly unconcerned about the cold. Beside him were also chubby Mrs. Ding and chubby Hai-ge, both wrapped in silk.
Ding was looking at her with a rather unfriendly expression.
Hai Ge'er held a fried meat pancake, his face covered in oil from eating, but he looked at her with curiosity and surprise in his eyes.
He hadn't seen Shen Dajie since she got married. He had only heard Ding Shi complain about her, so Hai Ge'er assumed that his cousin must be haggard and disheveled after suffering so much at her husband's house.
But unexpectedly, three years later, although Sister Shen's clothes are not as nice as before, she looks much better than she did three years ago, radiating a vibrant energy.
Her eyes were large and round, with naturally upturned corners, and in the spring sunshine, they looked like translucent amber.
Shen Miao hadn't expected to run into her uncle's family so coincidentally, so she got up and pulled Xiang Jie'er to greet them.
"Uncle, are you also at the market? What brings you to my niece?"
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