Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Cool night and open-air barbecue Qixi reservation...
It rained all night in Chang'an. The copper bells under the eaves were tinkling due to the rain. The rain stopped at the end of the fifth watch. Duan Zhiwei was still sleeping wrapped in a thin quilt, but Yuan Shenji had already put on his armor quietly and pushed the door open to go out.
As the Qianqiu Festival approaches, the Jinwu Wei needs to lead the cavalry to prepare for the emperor's visit, and the four armies of the Northern Yamen also need to deploy their troops at the Daming Palace. Yuan Shenji rushes between the Suzaku Gate and the yamen every day, so busy that he sometimes misses the curfew and has to spend the night in the yamen.
Last night was a rare free night for him, so he went home in the rain and ate a bowl of steaming noodles. All the coldness in his body disappeared, along with the fatigue from working around the clock.
When he opened the door this morning, he suddenly saw a bunch of pink roses in full bloom under the wall, covered with raindrops. The raindrops on the petals were crystal clear, sparkling in the morning light.
He suddenly had an idea, so he looked for an earthenware vase, picked a few of the most beautiful flowers, put them in a vase, and then quietly placed them on the pillow of the still sleeping Duan Zhiwei. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then he rode away to his duty refreshed and energetic.
When Duan Zhiwei woke up, sunlight was already filling the window frames. She stretched herself and sat up. She saw the vase of vibrant roses beside the bed. She bent down to smell them, then happily picked the fullest one and pinned it to her hair, then went out to wash up.
The copper bells at the eaves were still dripping, splashing water in the puddles. Chen Guifang was sitting on the Hu bed in the main hall with her legs crossed, drinking a bowl of cold liquorice water happily. When she saw her, she teased, "Mrs. Duan finally got up. I guess she was bothered by the rain last night, so she got up late."
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late."
Chen Guifang spoke in a straightforward and bold way. Duan Zhiwei was choked for a moment, then he quickly walked into the kitchen, brought out a plate of snow cake, and changed the subject:
"Ms. Chen, please stop teasing me. Come and try my new snow cake, and then we can talk about the contract."
Chen Guifang originally worked as a kitchen helper in a Jiuxianlou restaurant in the East Market. She had good cooking skills and was very skilled in wielding a kitchen knife. However, she was too straightforward and other people formed a gang to bully her. The day before yesterday, Tu really couldn't stand it anymore, so he picked up a broom and beat the cook who was bullying her, making the cook run away in panic, saying "I won't serve you anymore!" and then left.
It is said that the cook was so angry that he even threatened to go to Chang'an County to file a complaint. He was bumped into by Li Heng who happened to be having dinner in the restaurant. Li Heng sneered and said, "What's the point of bullying a weak woman? If you continue to make trouble, I will invite you to the Dali Temple for a few days of tea."
Although Duan Zhiwei felt that Chen Guifang was by no means a weak woman.
Ordinary people would not dare to say a word when they met the Chang'an County Lieutenant, let alone the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. The cook was very angry, but he could only let it go.
Duan Zhiwei knew that Chen Guifang had used up all her savings on her brother Chen Wei's lawsuit, and was now penniless and extremely poor.
Although Chen Guifang was grateful for her kindness and was willing to help in the kitchen for free in Duan's restaurant, Duan Zhiwei knew that her wish was to own her own small restaurant, so she simply lent her the unused shop in Tongyifang to run.
Anyway, the small shop in Tongyifang has been hanging in the dental clinic for nearly a year and no one cares about it. It would be better to lend it to Chen Guifang. Her skills are so good that she will definitely attract customers to come.
She told Chen Guifang about her idea: "There's no rush for the rent. You can pay it when you can make ends meet."
The iron-willed Chen Guifang was so moved that she choked up for a long time. Finally, she slapped the food table and said, "Okay! I will definitely be grateful to Madam Duan for her kindness!"
The two were talking about how to write a contract when suddenly someone opened the curtain and came in. A woman wearing a veiled hat approached the counter and asked crisply, "Shopkeeper, can we still order cakes for the Qixi Festival?"
Duan Zhiwei quickly put down his pen and went over to greet him. He pointed to the wooden sign hanging above his head with a smile and said, "Of course you can order it. This year we made three kinds of cakes: passion fruit cake, snow cake, and acacia cake. Which one would you like, madam?"
The lady lifted the veil, revealing a round face with delicate eyebrows and eyes. She looked at the list carefully and said, "In that case, I'll give you two boxes of each to try."
She paused and continued, "I ordered good cakes from you last year, and they are coming again this year. In addition to the cakes that the girls pray to the Weaver Girl for cleverness, my husband also has cakes to pray to the Star of Kui."
Duan Zhiwei took up her pen and wrote, "Okay, you can come and pick it up around 9:00 p.m. on the Qixi Festival." She took the deposit and took out a wooden sign with the number "九" engraved on it from the counter drawer and said, "Please show the sign to pick up the goods."
The lady took the sign, put down the silk scarf and walked away.
Chen Guifang said in amazement, "This method of picking up goods with a badge is quite clever. It saves us from being in a rush when there are too many people."
Duan Zhiwei complained bitterly, "That's right. You just heard it. The cakes for the ladies to pray for dexterity must be shaped like a shuttle and painted with patterns of flowers, birds and magpies. The cakes for the gentlemen to pray to the star Kuixing must be made with a mold of the Big Dipper. The patterns are different. Some diners have to change their minds at the last minute. If they get it mixed up, there will be another round of arguments."
"You should have said so earlier." Chen Guifang patted her chest and said, "I am also good at kneading dough and mixing stuffing. Since I am busy these few days during the Qixi Festival, I will work for you for a few days and learn from you."
Duan Zhiwei was overjoyed, holding her hand and saying, "That's great."
She took Chen Guifang to the kitchen and explained in detail how to make the pastries. Chen Guifang was smart and deft, and she mastered the technique in less than half a cup of tea. Duan Zhiwei was quite confident in leaving the kitchen to her and went into the backyard.
The price of sea bass has been rising these days, but grass carp has a strong earthy smell and many thorns, so not many people buy it. Fishermen are selling it at low prices, so Duan Zhiwei bought a few from the fishermen at a very cheap price.
If you use the five-spice smoked fish method, the earthy smell will be much weaker.
At this moment, several pickled fish bodies were drying on the bamboo poles in the yard. Yesterday, Duan Zhiwei rubbed the fish bodies with fried salt and peppercorns, and then soaked the fish in brine made of soy sauce and rice wine overnight.
Today, dry it half-way in the sun, apply a layer of fennel and coarse salt on it, place the fish on a wire cover, put tea leaves and rice bran in a charcoal stove underneath and steam it for half a day.
Ah Pan was looking for her with a pile of firewood in his arms. Seeing Duan Zhiwei squatting there and fanning the fire slowly, he quickly put down his work and took over: "A customer just came to order Qixi fruit. The other person can't write. Pu Tao was so anxious that he jumped up and down with a brush. I'll do it here. Madam, you should go to the front yard."
Ah Pan took the fan and smiled when he saw the wire mask: "Isn't it used for grilling meat? Now it's also very good for smoking fish."
It was also in the twelfth month of last year that Yuan Shenji hunted a deer in Mount Zhongnan and came in the snow to give it to her to taste. This suddenly gave Duan Zhiwei the inspiration to feast on roasted venison on a snowy night as in Dream of the Red Chamber, so she went to the blacksmith shop to make a long thin iron wire screen.
Everyone gathered around the fire on a snowy day to eat roasted venison. The venison was fat and tender, and wrapped in the spicy aroma of pepper and dogwood sauce. Everyone praised it for being delicious.
Duan Zhiwei glanced at Tiesi Meng and smiled, "It rained all night last night. It's so cool today. Why don't we have a barbecue tonight?"
As they were discussing, Pu Tao poked his head out from behind the window lattice and said, "Come quickly, my lady, another customer has come to order sweet cakes."
Duan Zhiwei hurriedly stuffed the fan into A Pan's hand, turned around and ran into the main hall.
It was the busiest time for lunch. The main hall was clearly full of diners, but there was total silence. More than a dozen eyes were all looking towards the counter. Duan Zhiwei asked Aunt Duan standing nearby in confusion, "What's going on?"
Aunt Duan winked and pointed at the counter.
There was a tall woman standing at the counter.
Duan Zhiwei hurried over to greet him: "Madam, are you here to eat or order cakes?"
The lady was wearing a silver-red skirt embroidered with precious flowers, a grass-green waist belt that showed off her slender waist, a bright red peony flower inserted diagonally in her hair, and a small mole at the corner of her lip, which made her even more charming.
The diners in the room were all glancing at her, but she didn't care. She leaned against the counter, raised her hand and tapped the table lazily, and said in a soft and charming voice, "I'm here to order some Qixi cakes."
Duan Zhiwei picked up the brush and said, "There are three kinds of cakes for the Qixi Festival. The passion cake is refreshing with orange cubes, the snow cake is sweet with sesame crumbs, and the love cake is crispy. Do you want just one kind, or all kinds? Do you want to pray for wisdom or worship the star Kuixing?"
The lady's eyes flickered. "Give them all. You are a beggar, but you don't have a man."
Duan Zhiwei asked as he wrote down the answer: "Please leave an hour for the Qixi Festival to pick it up. What's your name?"
The lady fanned herself a few times, and the emerald rings on her hands jingled: "My surname is Hu."
Duan Zhiwei took out the wooden number plate and handed it to her: "Madam Hu, take this plate."
She responded casually, took the wooden sign but did not move. She sniffed around with her nose pointed, as if looking for something. Duan Zhiwei was very confused and was about to ask a question when the lady from Hu suddenly turned around and walked out the door with her skirt fluttering lightly.
Duan Zhiwei stood at the counter for a while, then suddenly remembered something, and hurried into the kitchen and shouted, "Leave a leg of lamb, and cut a plate of streaky pork for skewers. We'll grill the meat in the yard at dusk."
As dusk approached, the sky turned gray again. I guess they were afraid of rain, so not many customers came to eat the evening meal. Aunt Duan received a lot of deposits for Qixi sweet cakes, and she was not worried about business: "If you don't want to come, don't come. It's no big deal. We can set up the meal ourselves."
Duan Zhiwei was also afraid of rain, so he and A Pan set up a simple tarpaulin shed in the backyard, and then placed a charcoal brazier on it and put a wire mat on it.
Duan Zhiwei was just coming out of the kitchen holding a jar of pickled meat when he happened to meet Yuan Shenji walking in from the front hall, bringing Li Heng with him.
"It's been a while since we last met, Li Shaoqing. How are you these days? We're going to have a barbecue today, and the charcoal fire pit is ready. Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Yuan Shenji strode over and took the jar from her hand and said, "We are discussing the deployment of the Qianqiu Festival, so we invited him to have the evening meal together."
Duan Zhiwei quietly pulled him aside and said, "Where will he sleep? I have invited Madam Chen, and there are no empty rooms in the restaurant. The restaurant will be closed soon."
Yuan Shenji pondered for a moment and said, "Let him live in the hotel next door."
Li Heng gladly accepted this arrangement, clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Very good, very good, I am just envious of Madam Yuan's cooking skills..."
Before he could finish his words, Chen Guifang in the kitchen interrupted him: "If you want to eat, come and help. Last time you complained that my bamboo shoot stew was too salty. Today you cook it yourself, put as much salt as you want."
Li Heng touched his nose and followed Yuan Shenji into the backyard embarrassedly.
There were eight people sitting around the stove in the restaurant eating barbecue together. The red charcoal fire made their faces shine, and it looked quite lively.
Aunt Duan loves the hustle and bustle of life as she gets older, so she went to the warehouse and picked out a bottle of expensive Ba Ling wine.
Because it was for his family to eat, Duan Zhiwei picked out some good parts, cut the lamb legs, chicken legs and pork belly into large chunks, marinated them with pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and dogwood sauce for an afternoon, then threaded the fat and lean meat onto bamboo skewers, spread a thick layer of sauce on them, and grilled them on a wire rack.
At dusk, a gust of wind lifted the fire in the charcoal basin. Duan Zhiwei took an oil brush and brushed oil on the meat. The pork belly gradually changed color to an attractive brown, and oil sizzled out.
In modern times, Duan Zhiwei likes to wear loose short-sleeved shirts and invite a few friends to go to the barbecue stall by the river in the summer breeze to order a bunch of skewers, beer and lobsters.
The wind by the river is cool and refreshing, the sky is clean and clear, the stars are twinkling, and a large glass of draft beer is icy and sweet. The beer rushes into my throat, and I feel that drinking it can relieve the fatigue of the day.
A large pot of lobsters is covered with red oil and various spices. Break open the shrimp heads, and the hot and pungent aroma will keep drilling into your nose. The shrimp meat inside is also fresh and firm. Don’t throw away the remaining soup. Add a plate of plain noodles and eat it as cold noodles. It tastes great.
It’s a pity that I can never eat such delicious lobster again, after all, there is not even any chili here.
Duan Zhiwei thought while grilling the meat with regret. Yuan Shenji seemed to notice that she was in a bad mood. He held her wrist, took the skewers from her hand and said, "Be careful of the heat. You've been busy all day. I'll grill it."
Pu Tao inhaled hissingly because of the spicy dogwood sauce, but he still peeled a plate of shrimps and fed the first piece to Duan Zhiwei to taste. Xiao Lang silently peeled a bowl of plump white garlic for her: "Garlic... fragrant."
Finally, she got the first grilled lamb skewer from Yuan Shenji. As soon as she raised it, the crystal clear fat on the lamb skewer dripped down the bamboo skewer.
Duan Zhiwei felt the delicious taste dancing on his tongue as he bit into the tender and juicy lean meat and the sizzling fat meat, combined with the rich flavors of cumin, pepper and other spices that had been marinated before.
She puffed her cheeks and mumbled, "It would be even better with chili powder."
Yuan Shenji had never heard of chili powder as a condiment, and thought she had heard about it from some ancient book, but he still continued, "Spices, huh? When I have time, I'll go to the West Market and ask the Hu merchants."
She thought it was funny and was touched, so she quickly pulled him away and said, "No need, no need."
Yuan Shenji lowered his head and grilled the meat seriously, with his eyes downcast, looking calm and gentle; Pu Tao and Xiao Lang were eating the skewers crazily and had no time to talk; Aunt Duan on the right was already a little tipsy from drinking, and she was leaning against A Pan and humming a little tune while drunkenly.
Li Heng and Chen Guifang had a heated argument over whether to add sugar to roasted leeks.
Duan Zhiwei looked at the sky again. After the clouds dispersed, a few stars dotted the night sky like broken diamonds. A fragrant breeze blew past the rose beside her ear.
She suddenly felt that the atmosphere was very good and leaned her head on Yuan Shenji's shoulder.
Yuan Shenji paused while grilling the meat, turned his head and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Are you drunk too?"
She shook her head.
Let the warmth in the breeze wrap around your whole body.
"Yuan Shenji."
"Um?"
Then she said: "I just feel happy."
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