Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Preparations for the Autumn Festival The fox delivers...
Watching Axue running away, Duan Zhiwei felt relieved that he didn't have to negotiate with him about his resignation.
Yuan Shenji was puzzled: "What happened?"
She came closer and raised her hands to rub his face: "You have a cold face all day long, and now you have scared away my new hired Yue Zuoren."
Yuan Shenji touched his face and felt very depressed. Is he that scary?
He decided to change himself, so when the children from Xuanyangfang came to him to tell stories again in the afternoon, Yuan Shenji showed a self-conscious and friendly smile.
Scared all the children away.
So he became depressed again, and walked over to ask Duan Zhiwei: "Do I really look scary?"
This year, the Autumn Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival were close together, and she was busy preparing moon soup and Autumn Festival cake. She was so busy that this huge tail of Xiu Mu followed her in and out.
She felt a little troubled, so she walked over and purred his hair: "Not scary, not scary, as cute as a big puppy."
He was not satisfied: "Why do you say I am a dog?"
"Big dog doesn't mean dog. Hey, I can't explain it to you clearly." She was about to explain when Ah Pan called her from the backyard and the waiter from the vegetable restaurant brought over a large basket of lotus roots and taro.
Taro in early autumn is not as delicious as that in late autumn, but the cold came early this year, so the taro is of good quality and tastes soft and smooth, so Duan Zhiwei asked the restaurant to keep a basket.
It was rare that Yuan Shenji was at home, so he had to help rub a large basket of lotus roots into crumbs and then filter them to make lotus root powder. This was a time-consuming and laborious task, and was very suitable for the strong Wu Jiang to do.
But now he was sitting alone on a stone bench under a locust tree outside the restaurant, sulking with his back to her.
So Duan Zhiwei had to go over and coax him: "Why are you still angry? I've already told you, you're not scary at all, big dog."
He hesitated for a moment, then immediately held her to his chest and looked up at her: "Who do you say is the big dog?"
“Not a big dog, a big dog,” she added.
Yuan Shenji approached her and said, "If you say that to me again, I'll bite you, believe it or not?"
Duan Zhiwei generously leaned over and let him bite her face.
"Are you really going to bite me? If I bite you hard, don't beg for mercy."
"No, no." She put her cheek close to his mouth.
He pretended to look fierce and approached her, but he only bit her cheek lightly when he got close.
Duan Zhiwei covered her face and said, "Ouch, it really hurts."
He looked slightly flustered and raised his hand to rub the place where she had just "bitten" him: "Does it hurt? I didn't use much force." Then he blew on her gently.
She covered her face and bared her teeth: "No need to blow, go to the backyard and rub the basket of lotus roots, and I won't feel any pain."
Yuan Shenji: "......"
She looked at him with a fooled expression: "Don't show that expression, I'll give you the first bowl of mooncake soup this autumn."
The high-spirited general on the battlefield had no choice but to move a small Huchuang and sit by the well in the backyard. He rolled up his sleeves and rubbed a few lotus roots vigorously. The veins on his arms bulged and the lotus root juice splashed between his fingers.
Duan Zhiwei stood by and watched for a while. The white, tender and crisp lotus root looked inexplicably pitiful under his big hands.
She didn't know why she suddenly felt empathy with the lotus roots. She just felt a little uncomfortable, so she opened the curtain and went to the front yard.
He happened to meet Mrs. Hu and A Li who came in with bamboo baskets.
This fox is a model of repaying kindness with kindness and revenge with hatred. The owner of the roast pork elbow shop is now busy dealing with the Uighur moneylenders all day long and has even closed the shop.
Mrs. Hu would come to the Duan family restaurant from time to time to bring some specialties from Mount Zhongnan, such as burdock and mushrooms.
She brought some precious brown matsutake mushrooms today, which were still covered with mud and looked very fresh.
These matsutake mushrooms are basically hidden in the deep mountains of the Qinling Mountains at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. They are more valuable than gold, and Duan Zhiwei was really embarrassed to accept them.
Madam Hu leaned back in her chair and drank the cold tea on the table. "Madam Duan, you don't have to be polite. This is what the wild boar spirit sent to me. I didn't do anything. Just take it."
It was not yet time for dinner, but when a few scholars from the restaurant next door saw Madam Hu coming, they all came in and sat down in the restaurant.
Duan Zhiwei said: "You gentlemen have arrived early, and the fire has not yet been opened."
They glanced at Mrs. Hu and said, "It's okay. We can just drink buttermilk. If there's no buttermilk, plain water will do."
Duan Zhiwei: “…” Is this the power of beauty?
Ah Li blinked at her and said, "Madam Duan, my sister is taking me to sell mushrooms at the Autumn Society temple fair. Do you want to go?"
"What temple fair?" Duan Zhiwei asked curiously.
This year, all kinds of crops have a bumper harvest, and the government is preparing to hold a grand temple fair to worship the god of the land and give thanks for the good harvest.
There will be not only community operas, community dances, community banquets and other activities, but also various stalls in front of the community temple at the foot of Mount Zhongnan selling autumn fruits, glutinous rice cakes or flowers and other items.
"It sounds interesting." Duan Zhiwei said.
"That's settled then." Madam Hu was annoyed by the stares from the group of men, so she said "tsk" loudly and left with Ali.
Duan Zhiwei originally wanted to sell the basket of matsutake mushrooms, but then she thought that it would be inappropriate to sell it since it was sent from far away. She also wanted to eat the delicious matsutake mushrooms, so she finally decided to leave it for everyone in the restaurant for dinner.
Wipe the matsutake mushrooms clean with a wet towel, then scrape off the mud on them with a ceramic piece. Cut the matsutake mushrooms into grains and fry them with rice. Pour the grains into the pot, mix in the diced sausage, and then place the fried matsutake slices on top of the rice.
When everyone in the restaurant heard that there would be Matsutake rice available tonight, they all worked much harder.
When Duan Zhiwei brought the casserole to the table, everyone's necks stretched out.
She opened the lid of the pot, and hot steam wafted into her nose with the rich aroma of the matsutake mushrooms. The rice had absorbed the essence of the matsutake mushrooms and looked shiny and plump. The bowl of rice contained the oily aroma of the diced sausage and the mellow mushroom aroma of the matsutake mushrooms, and it tasted extremely delicious.
Duan Zhiwei asked tentatively: "How does it taste?"
Everyone nodded as they ate.
"How about making chicken stewed with matsutake mushrooms tomorrow?"
For the fatter local chicken, first stir-fry to extract the chicken oil, then add Matsutake mushrooms to make soup. The rich aroma of the meat is so strong that the kitchen doors and windows have to be opened for ventilation.
Everyone still nodded.
She felt that the time was right: "In that case, on the day of the Autumn Festival, we will go to the temple at the foot of Mount Zhongnan to sell taro cakes. I think everyone has no objection."
Everyone didn't react and still nodded.
"That's settled then." She made the final decision.
Everyone was a little full tonight, so Duan Zhiwei took Yuan Shenji to the backyard to bask in the moonlight to help digest the food. He finished kneading a basket of lotus root powder in the afternoon. It only needed to be left to stand overnight, and it would become clear and tender lotus root powder.
Duan Zhiwei massaged his shoulders and said, "You've worked hard today."
He wielded a heavy Mo Dao all day long, so this job was easy for him. He just pretended that his arm was sore and asked her to rub it.
Duan Zhiwei sat behind him and massaged his back. The scent of jasmine from her sleeves wafted into his nose.
The corners of his mouth curled slightly, enjoying Duan Zhiwei's back massage service: "Do you know how to please me now?"
"I want the wise and brave Captain Yuan to go and ask for a good position for me on the day of the Autumn Festival."
He suddenly turned around and held her horizontally in his arms: "Then I have to collect some payment."
The moonlight poured into the room through the cracks in the window lattice. Duan Zhiwei turned his head and saw his rough hands pressing on his wrists. He suddenly understood why he could empathize with the poor lotus root.
The Autumn Festival arrived soon. Duan Zhiwei specially hired a large ox cart to load the various prepared ingredients. The ox cart rolled over the golden ginkgo leaves on the ground, absorbed a lot of autumn dew from the puddles, and meandered all the way to the community temple at the foot of Mount Zhongnan.
There were already various stalls there, selling all kinds of goods. The old woman selling dogwood was skillful. She strung the dogwood into wreaths and decorated the wreaths with some maple red. They looked very lovely and many Chang'an ladies liked them very much.
Duan Zhiwei was paid a lot that night, so Yuan Shenji brought a team of warriors to stand guard in front of the community temple early this morning and gave her a good position.
She only prepared a small charcoal stove today. She peeled the taro and mashed it into a paste, mixed it with glutinous rice flour, and fried it on low heat until both sides were colored and the fat was fried out. She then put it on a wire cover and baked it until crispy. She sprinkled sugar on it and it was ready to eat.
The taro cake has a crispy outer shell and a soft and glutinous interior. Every bite is filled with the aroma of taro and a full flavor of autumn, and it tastes very sweet.
Madam Hu came over with a bamboo basket of mushrooms to sell. They were freshly picked from the mountains and looked very fresh. She was wearing a maple-red skirt today, which made her look even more charming than usual.
She quickly sold a basket of mushrooms, then ran to Duan Zhiwei's stall to buy a few taro cakes, and then took A Li to watch the community opera.
Pu Tao and Xiao Lang were so distracted by the loud sounds of gongs and drums from the distant opera that they could not work properly. As for Aunt Duan, she was also attracted by the stall selling silk flowers.
Duan Zhiwei simply asked them all to go for a walk. The taro cakes were almost sold out anyway, with only a few left, so she could go alone.
A Pan had no interest in the sacrificial activities of the Autumn Society, so she did not go, but just helped out. When the two of them were tired, they leaned against the stone lions in front of the community temple to rest.
Usually there are two stone lions standing in front of the temple, but this community temple is interesting. There is only one stone lion at the door, which is weathered, covered with moss and has a broken left ear.
They found it interesting and chatted for a while. Then a kind-looking temple priest came out and said, "These were originally two stone lions. They were here in the previous dynasty. I heard that during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the whole country was in chaos and everyone was trying to escape. One of them was stolen by the Hu people, and since then only this one is left."
The two men hurriedly stood up and saluted the temple priest.
The people of Chang'an have always respected the temple keeper. Duan Zhiwei took out some freshly baked taro cakes and gave them to the temple keeper. The temple keeper declined for a while but then accepted it with a smile: "Thank you, ladies. The community opera is about to start. It will surely be lively. You should go and have a look."
The taro cakes on the stall were almost sold out, and the tourists all flocked to the community opera stage. Duan Zhiwei discussed with A Pan and decided to bake the remaining ingredients for themselves and then clean up the stall.
The two of them were busy for a while, loading the small charcoal stove and various pots and pans onto the donkey cart. Duan Zhiwei turned around to get a few taro cakes that had just been baked, intending to share them with Pu Tao and the others.
The bowl containing the taro cakes was empty.
"Hey? Where's the taro cake?" She searched everywhere but still couldn't find it. She said in annoyance, "Could it be stolen by a thief?"
"You mortal, you are here to rest for half a day. What's wrong with eating two of your cakes? Do you think I'm a thief?"
who? Who is speaking?
The community opera had already begun, and even the vendors had all run away. There were not many people here. Duan Zhiwei and A Pan looked around, and it was empty. There was no one there.
Ah Pan quietly pulled her sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Do you think... this lion is a little weird?"
Duan Zhiwei looked the stone lion up and down and asked in confusion, "What's so strange about it?"
Ah Pan looked at her in shock:
"The stone lion's front paw was clearly stepping on a hydrangea just now, how... how did it change to holding chopsticks!"
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