Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Complete preparations for the New Year's Eve dinner...
After the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole Chang'an was filled with a stronger festive atmosphere. Duan Zhiwei spent all day in the restaurant preparing spring dishes and Tusu wine. He was so busy that he would trip over the flower pots from time to time. After returning from Yuan's house that day, Duan Zhiwei explained the situation to everyone. Aunt Duan was so angry that she ran to the brothel to settle the score with the owner. The owner was very good and apologized immediately, and even sent a cart of cellared flowers to express his apology.
So when Aunt Duan came back with her head held high, carrying a cart full of colorful peaches, plums and winter jasmines that exuded the spirit of spring, even the neighbors came out to watch.
But the weather was really cold, and these cellar flowers could not be placed in the backyard to be blown by the cold wind, so they had to be placed in the front hall where there was a warm brazier.
The front hall was filled with fragrant and colorful flowers, which had become a special feature of the Duan family restaurant. Duan Zhiwei took the opportunity to launch a variety of herbal teas, such as Jade Peach Blossom Beauty Tea, Wintersweet Flower Fragrance Tea... which dazzled the diners.
The advertisement was also very good, using wintersweet nectar as the base and collecting snow water from peach branches. It was elegant and interesting, and attracted many Chang'an ladies and talented men to come and drink tea.
The only drawback is that there are too many flowers, causing the busy Duan Zhiwei to always trip over the daffodil pots or get her clothes caught on the branches of the forsythia.
Speaking of Tu Su wine, Duan Zhiwei originally thought it was just a kind of wine called "Tu Su" and could be bought directly from the wine shop. However, Aunt Duan told him that this wine needed to be sealed with various Chinese medicinal herbs in a silk bag and soaked in well water overnight. On the second day, a bowl of well water soaked with Chinese medicinal herbs should be drawn and mixed with the wine.
This is what can be called Tu Su wine. I heard that drinking a pot of this wine on New Year's Eve can dispel wind and evil and prolong life.
Therefore, even though the prices of medicinal materials such as Platycodon, Cassia bark, and Saposhnikovia divaricata in the drugstore were rising, Duan Zhiwei had to grit his teeth and buy a bag for the health of his whole family.
Spring plates and New Year plates are much easier to prepare. They are just some spring vegetables such as leeks and moss as the accompaniments, and the more expensive ones are pig's trotters, herring and fruits. It is not complicated, but a bit cumbersome. Many families in Chang'an are unwilling to make them at home, so they rely on ordering them from restaurants. A month in advance, diners would go to Duan's restaurant to request a reservation for pig's trotters. It is said that this item symbolizes "moving more" in the coming year and is very suitable as a gift to relatives and friends.
In the backyard of the fire room, all kinds of pickled fish and meat were almost ready, and clay pots were filled with garlic, winter melon, pickled leeks and various pickled foods.
Remembering the large piece of venison that Yuan Shenji had sent him last time, Duan Zhiwei took it out and prepared to cook it. Duan Zhiwei had never eaten this kind of venison before and was afraid that it would have the same strong smell as mutton, so he chose to smoke it this time.
She deliberately cleared out a small warehouse in the backyard, hung the venison between the beams, and lit white pine branches and some fallen leaves and moss on the ground, slowly fumigating it with smoke.
The method was not complicated but it took a very long time. Because there was fire, they had to be accompanied for safety reasons. Several people from the restaurant took turns waiting in front of the warehouse, resulting in everyone smelling slightly of pine smoke.
After smoking for half a day, Duan Zhiwei finally felt that it was cooked. Under everyone's expectant gaze, he opened the door, and the rich aroma of meat mixed with the smell of smoke suddenly jumped out.
In this dynasty, venison is very popular, but most farmers do not have the conditions to raise venison, so they rely entirely on hunters to hunt and then sell them in the city, so the price is extremely expensive. In addition, Duan Zhiwei's first attempt at smoking venison was very successful.
The surface of the venison is a beautiful brown-red color, exuding a rich meaty and smoky aroma, which makes diners itch. So when Duan Zhiwei just walked to the front hall with the smoked venison, some diners came forward to inquire about it and wanted to buy it at a high price.
Duan Zhiwei took a knife and cut off a large piece for his own restaurant, left another piece for Yuan Shenji, and sold out the rest in the afternoon.
The venison was firm and chewy, with a mellow smoked flavor, and was very delicious. It went well with wine, too, so a large jar of Xinfeng wine was sold out along with it. Some diners arrived late and asked Duan Zhiwei with regret whether the venison would still be sold.
Duan Zhiwei had to say that he was not sure either.
"That depends on when Yuan Shenji goes winter hunting again." She thought happily with a sense of accomplishment.
On the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the streets are still crowded with vendors, and all kinds of New Year goods from the north and south fill the streets. There are fresh fruits and cooked food, paper horses, incense and candles, and the scene is very lively.
In previous years, Aunt Duan had always lived alone in a small shop in Tongyifang to celebrate the New Year. Now she finally has a group of people to celebrate the New Year together. She is so happy that she doesn't know what to do. She always feels that something is not well prepared, so she keeps hanging around in the shops.
Sometimes he went to the paper horse and incense shop to stock up on paper ingots, sometimes he took the knife from the restaurant to ask the craftsman to sharpen it, then went back to the restaurant for a walk, and when he saw the old broom he didn't like it, so he threw it away and bought a new one.
Duan Zhiwei was busy in the restaurant. Seeing Aunt Duan coming in and out with a bunch of useless things in her hands, he decided to give Aunt Duan a task and asked her to go to the East Market to pick up the New Year clothes that had been sewn for everyone.
The restaurant made a lot of money this year. The ladies' clothes were all custom-made from Yunxiang Jiaxi. They went to measure them a month ago and chose their favorite patterns and colors. The ladies all loved beauty. Pu Tao held on to the silver-red Suzaku brocade cloth and refused to let go. A Pan's mouth corners also slightly raised.
Duan Zhiwei gritted his teeth and chose a medium-quality cloth worth four hundred copper coins.
Aunt Duan thought her suggestion was very good, so she put her hair into a high bun again, put a royal peony silk flower in it, and was about to take Duan Zhiwei to the East Market.
The pig's trotters that the customer had ordered were still roasting on the fire. Duan Zhiwei couldn't spare the time and flatly refused. Unexpectedly, Aunt Duan said, "This pig's trotter is not complicated. Let Ah Pan watch the fire. You accompany me to the East Market to see if there is anything else to buy. Otherwise, all the shops will be closed on New Year's Eve, and you won't be able to buy it even if you want."
Duan Zhiwei felt that there was some truth in it.
The East Market was also crowded with people. It seemed that people from ancient times to the present have preferred the color red. The entire East Market was filled with various red lanterns and firecrackers, and it was full of joy.
Aunt Duan thought that Pu Tao was still young, so she bought a New Year's plate and a pair of candles.
Duan Zhiwei saw the crowded East Market and thought that the shop must be surrounded by ladies. However, when he arrived at the shop, it was empty. Esther, a Hu woman stationed in the shop, came listlessly to give them some finished clothes.
Aunt Duan was completely absorbed in the finished clothes, happily picking up each one to admire them. However, Duan Zhiwei felt something was wrong. Every other shop was crowded with people, but how come Yunxiang Jiaxiu was empty?
She looked at Esther, who looked depressed, and said carefully, "Happy New Year's Eve, Esther. How is your business today?"
Esther blinked and looked at Duan Zhiwei, then suddenly opened up as if she had found a soulmate: "My Yunxiang Jiahua has been in the East Market for more than ten years. We moved from a small shop at the end of the market to the most prosperous place in the East Market. What did we rely on?"
Without waiting for Duan Zhiwei to reply, Esther angrily said, "Of course it depends on exquisite fabrics and embroidery. In order to paint the most vivid lion holding a flower, we specially invited a painter from Dunhuang... But the ladies in Chang'an are attracted by the superficial brocade. What's the point of our efforts?"
She was immersed in her own world and couldn't extricate herself, so after Aunt Duan finished checking several sets of clothes, Duan Zhiwei was ready to take her away quickly.
I didn't want to be stopped by Esther again and asked, "The Duan family lady is beautiful and has excellent taste in choosing embroidery. She will definitely not be fooled by the flashy floating brocade, right?"
Duan Zhiwei didn't know what Fuguangjin was, but she knew that it was best to follow Esther's words, so she nodded frantically: "Of course, I also think that Yunxiang paper-cut is the best paper-cut in Chang'an, and there will be no cloth that is better than Yunxiang paper-cut."
Esther finally let her go.
The two of them carried their bags and left the store. Feeling a little thirsty, Duan Zhiwei ordered a portion of sour cheese, while Aunt Duan ordered a pot of pepper and cypress wine.
Doctor Jiu was always talkative, so he started chatting with them: "A new cloth shop opened at the end of the East Market, selling a kind of cloth called Floating Light Brocade. I heard that all the noble ladies went there to order cloth. The Hu girl Esther has been angry for many days. The two guests should not bother with her."
Aunt Duan was curious: "Is there such a thing? I guess the cloth must have come from the Western Regions."
The wine doctor shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I only know that the shop used to sell charcoal and firewood. After the owner married a beautiful woman, he suddenly started selling floating brocade. I heard that when the weather is clear, the brocade will float a layer of light in the sun, which is very beautiful. It seems to be one tael per piece now."
Aunt Duan recited a Buddhist phrase, and her curiosity about the cloth was completely dispelled by the "one string of money".
Not to mention Duan Zhiwei, she had no interest in clothes or jewelry, and would not spend a penny to buy cloth. After drinking the yogurt, she urged Aunt Duan to go home because the work was not finished yet.
Finally it was the morning of New Year's Eve, and everyone in the restaurant was busy cleaning, washing and cooking.
People in this dynasty would put oranges, persimmons and cypress branches on their plates on New Year's Eve, which was called "cypress, persimmon and orange", symbolizing "good luck in everything".
But fruit is expensive to begin with, and oranges were particularly expensive this year due to the frost. Ordinary people chose to embroider cypress branches, oranges and persimmons on silk cloth and hang them on the beams, just to bring good luck.
The restaurant is no longer open today, but thinking of the many scholars in the next-door post station who cannot return home because of the spring imperial examination, Duan Zhiwei decides to open a few more tables for dinner, which moves Zhen Hui to tears.
Thinking that Yuan Shenji would also be coming over tonight, Duan Zhiwei carefully screened the menu for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
First came the cold dishes, with various kinds of dried chicken, duck and fish cut into a plate, and even the smoked venison that people were reluctant to eat had to be taken out from the beams of the warehouse.
The bacon is fried in oil until crispy and fragrant. Don’t pour out the oil after serving it. A neatly stacked spring rolls with cabbage and pork filling are waiting for it.
It's cold today, so hot pot is a must. Duan Zhiwei specially prepared a fragrant sour soup and white meat hot pot, served with various vegetables, frozen tofu vermicelli and thinly sliced beef and mutton rolls.
By the way, although it is illegal to slaughter working oxen in this dynasty, during the Spring Festival, cattle that died of old age or disease quietly appeared in the streets and markets, and the people did not report it and the officials did not investigate it. Otherwise, how could Li Bai write the line "Cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle for fun" which has been passed down for thousands of years?
What's more, when Duan Zhiwei was buying vegetables, he saw Xiaohe from the Chang'an County Wei's family also buying beef in that row, so Duan Zhiwei bought a pound of "old" beef without any psychological burden.
Because of the auspicious saying "abundance every year", fish dishes are also a focus, and A Pan volunteered to make a steamed mandarin fish.
Scallion strips and ginger flowers were used to remove the fishy smell, mushrooms and ham were placed on top of the fish body, and then drizzled with hot oil before being put into the steamer. Hearing that this dish required careful cooking time, Ah Pan squatted in front of the steamer and counted the hours with a serious look on her face, so Duan Zhiwei did not disturb her and went back to the hall.
On the other side, Yuan Shenji made an appointment with several colleagues to play chuiwan for breakfast. In the afternoon, he was going back home to pack up and go to Xuanyangfang, but he saw several exquisite and luxurious ox carts parked in front of the mansion. The old housekeeper did not come in, but waited for him in the cold wind.
Yuan Shenji's face darkened immediately: "Are they really coming?"
The old butler nodded with some embarrassment.
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