108 Vegetarian Mushroom Soup
"The boss doesn't like these, so you should just accept them."
At first, Ye Yunzhao pinched the note in his hand, a look of doubt on his face, and repeatedly asked, "Just this piece of paper, is it enough?" "Are you sure?"
When the two arrived at the fruit and vegetable market, it happened to be the busiest time of year. Merchants of all stripes gathered in the lobby, and from time to time, a few dissatisfied voices would be heard from the crowd:
"Why is she in such a state? We've been waiting here for two days! And she still hasn't shown up. She's really too arrogant!"
"Hey, Brother Feng, don't worry. I heard that Xingtou has a bad temper. If she finds out, I'm afraid the things you worked so hard to bring back..."
"I've waited for two days", forget it, just wait a little longer.
When the green-clothed servant saw more people coming, he simply arranged for them to sit down and drink tea, without mentioning the purchase of vegetables and fruits.
Ye Yunzhao gathered her precious bamboo basket and, while the servant was serving tea, slipped the note and a small ingot of silver into his hand. She whispered, "We were recommended by the head of the sauce business. Please, little brother, move us to the front row. This little payment will be considered a treat for you."
The green-clad servant must have encountered many such situations. He took it without a word and said, "Tea, please."
After saying this, he left in a hurry.
Ye Yunzhao's expression changed slightly, and she couldn't help feeling anxious. She was afraid that the note she had obtained with so much difficulty would be of no use, and she was even more afraid that the little money she had squeezed out of her teeth would be wasted.
Chen Jingshan noticed her nervousness. He was much more nervous than she was when he first came to the capital to make purchases. But he did his best and left the rest to fate. Now that things had come to this, he asked her to taste the tea: "Don't worry, try it."
His mind was not focused on the tea, so drinking tea had no taste. Ye Yunzhao picked up the teacup and drank it down roughly, not noticing the strange looks from others.
After about an incense stick of time, a girl in purple came out. As soon as she opened the curtain, a group of merchants swarmed in. Seeing everyone like this, Ye Yunzhao also stood up and looked over, muttering to himself, "What's going on? Could it be that the clothes are coming out?"
Chen Jingshan didn't know either. Next to him was the merchant who had just complained, known as Brother Feng. Merchant Feng said, "Are you new here? This isn't a suit, this is the suit's maid."
"Maid?" Ye Yunzhao was stunned. Seeing everyone surrounding the purple-robed maid with smiles on their faces and flattering her, she couldn't believe it. "How could a maid be treated like this?"
Merchant Feng snorted coldly at the sight of the huge crowd and kindly explained to her, "I suppose the green-clothed servant asked you to write on a piece of paper when you came in. Look, the papers are all in the box in this maid's hand. She'll pick you, and then you can go in. Tell me, who dares to let her have her way..."
"This is the method..." Ye Yunzhao looked at Chen Jingshan, secretly feeling relieved, but also a little confused, as she had never written anything on paper before.
Seeing her strange expression, Chen Jingshan probably guessed what she was thinking and asked curiously, "Brother Feng, what kind of paper are you writing on? I came here to accompany my wife, and the servant didn't even let me write on one..."
Before he could finish his words, Merchant Feng spoke up, "You didn't have any goods with you, so he certainly wouldn't let you write it. The paper only states your household registration, whether you're purchasing or selling. Most importantly, it states the goods you're selling. I've heard some people not only write it down, but also draw pictures of fruits and vegetables to make it easier to choose your goods. Why is your wife hiding even this from you?"
Seeing the puzzled look on his face, Ye Yunzhao quickly raised his hand to hit Chen Jingshan, scolding him: "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself, Brother Feng. This is my mother's family's private business, and I naturally don't want him to know..."
Before she could finish her words, she heard the purple-robed maid ask, "Where is Chen Jingshan in Yuezhou City?"
She reacted quickly, remembering that the fat guy had written Chen Jingshan's name on the paper. Ye Yunzhao immediately stepped forward and replied, "Here! Here!"
The two squeezed through the crowd and found that a total of ten merchants had been selected. Amid the envy of the crowd, the purple-clothed maid led them to the backyard.
Merchant Feng said bitterly to the others, "Look at how lucky he is. He's only been here for one day and he's already been chosen..."
*
The chosen ones were all in high spirits, and some even promised the purple-robed maid that if the girl could say a few good words in front of the official, their vegetables and fruits could be sold in the capital, and they would give her countless silver coins.
However, the purple-clothed maid seemed to be accustomed to this and did not say a word. She went to the backyard and directed several servants to divide everyone into different rooms. She then personally took Ye Yunzhao and Chen Jingshan and continued to move forward.
When they reached a deserted place, the purple-robed maid took out a small ingot of silver from her bosom and handed it to Ye Yunzhao, saying softly, "Just now the servant said that you had slipped this in when you delivered the letter. Now that he has handed it over, I will return it to you."
Ye Yunzhao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "No, no, please have some tea, young lady."
Unexpectedly, she turned a deaf ear to him and stuffed the silver into Ye Yunzhao's hand. She said calmly, "If the boss doesn't like these, you should just accept them."
She said it so clearly, Ye Yunzhao had no reason to refuse. She slowed down her pace and stuffed the silver into her arms very carefully. Don't underestimate the small amount of silver, but if you put it in Lingnan County, you can buy a lot of things!
The three of them walked around like this for a long time. There were no exotic flowers or plants planted in the yard, but there were many common vegetables. When Ye Yunzhao was looking around furtively, a kitchen-style room appeared in front of him. The purple-clothed maid said:
"The luggage is inside, please go in."
After saying that, he left in a hurry, leaving the two of them staring at each other, feeling helpless.
"This..." Chen Jingshan had never seen such a situation before and didn't know what to do for a moment.
Just as the two were struggling, a burst of scolding came from the kitchen: "What are you doing! How many times have I told you to put the minced garlic first!"
"And you! You acted recklessly without even seeing it! Is this how peonies are carved?!"
"Can you all, please give me some peace of mind!"
With a "bang", the kitchen door was suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman dressed as a cook walked out. She angrily took off the cloth bag from her waist, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the wooden bench. Only then did she notice the two people standing stupidly outside the door.
The two of them saluted quickly. Chen Jingshan said, "I wonder if Auntie knows that the luggage is still in there?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Yunzhao quickly raised his hand and secretly tugged at his sleeve, and said with a smile: "Hello, Master."
He looked at her in disbelief. Seeing Ye Yunzhao winking at him, Chen Jingshan also said hurriedly, "Meet the host."
The head of the outfit became interested, shook off his coarse clothes, and asked Ye Yunzhao with a smile: "How do you know I am the head of the outfit? Have you seen me?"
Ye Yunzhao lowered his eyes and shook his head. "I've only been in the capital for two or three days, and I've never seen the Xingtou before. But in the past two days, in order to sell the things I brought, I've been walking the streets every morning, even shamelessly going to major restaurants to introduce myself. As I met so many people, I heard that the vegetable and fruit Xingtou is an outstanding person. All the vegetables and fruits selected by the vegetable and fruit shop are excellent. The people all call her a heroine. Seeing her today, I can see that her reputation is well-deserved."
The person in front of him was unlike anyone Ye Yunzhao had met before. She flattered him silently, but she didn't show any joy. She asked, "What did you bring?"
Ye Yunzhao stepped forward quickly and quickly opened the coarse cloth in the bamboo basket, revealing the wrinkled woven mushrooms underneath. Fearing a repeat of the incident at Liu's Restaurant, she hurriedly explained, "Don't be fooled by its appearance, it tastes truly delicious. I'd like to use it to make a delicious dish for you. What do you think?"
The businessman looked up at her. She rarely saw such merchants. In the past, most of the merchants who asked others to find them were full of confidence, as if they would never refuse even if they got the wrong thing; those merchants who lined up obediently always wanted to give her some gold, silver and jewelry to make things convenient for her.
She hadn't seen someone like Ye Yunzhao for a long, long time.
Xingtou had an idea and nodded at her. He turned slightly sideways and made a "please" gesture with his right hand. The kitchen door was right in front of him.
Seeing this, Ye Yunzhao carried her small bamboo basket and entered the kitchen. There wasn't anything new to see from the outside, but once inside, she was shocked to see seven or eight stoves alone, not to mention the counters and water tanks. The counters were full of ingredients, and the kitchen knives were sharp. She found an unused stove, put down the bamboo basket, and decided to get to work!
I wonder if this is the place where the chefs from the convenient fruit and vegetable store test the dishes. Refined rice and flour, things that ordinary people cannot afford, are piled up like a mountain on the table.
Ye Yunzhao first poured out the woven mushrooms in the bamboo basket and quickly pulled out the thread. Dried woven mushrooms need to be soaked before eating. In fact, many people don’t know that the water for soaking is also very particular and can only be soaked with warm water.
She bent down and was about to light a fire when she was surprised to find a small flame burning in the stove. She lifted the wooden lid of the big iron pot and found a pot of boiling water inside.
This made it convenient for her. Ye Yunzhao added a large bowl of warm water and poured all the washed dried mushrooms into the bowl.
While soaking and braiding the mushrooms, she was not idle either. She picked up a kitchen knife and quickly prepared a small piece of pork, some green onions, ginger, garlic, a piece of old tofu, and half a cabbage.
When she washed the rice, she deliberately poured the water into an empty ceramic jar. When she was almost ready, the mushroom had returned to its previous chubby appearance.
With a "sizzle", the milky white lard was put into the pot, and soon she could smell the unique aroma of lard. After the oil was slightly heated, she first used green onions and ginger to stir-fry the pot, and then carefully put the cut tofu and chubby mushrooms into the pot. Ye Yunzhao waited for a moment, and when she saw the tofu gradually taking shape, she carefully turned them over.
The golden tofu looked crispy and delicious, and the mushrooms became oily. She estimated the time and added two bowls of water to the pot.
Because it was the hot water in the pot just now, it boiled quickly and the soup was light white. When Ye Yunzhao put the cabbage into the pot, he sprinkled a little salt into it and simmered it for a while. When he opened the wooden lid again, the whole kitchen was filled with fresh fragrance.
This was not the end. She quickly cut the remaining mushrooms into shreds, added some firewood to the stove, and poured the chopped mushrooms and pork into the pot. Ye Yunzhao added some sauces on the table to the pot based on her memory. After stir-frying for a few times, she poured the washed rice into the pot and the warm water used to soak the mushrooms into the pot. Only then did she bring out the bowl of mushroom and vegetarian soup with peace of mind.
"Hang-hee, this brown one is the shiitake mushroom I brought." She scooped out a small bowl and handed it to her, "Please try it, Han-hee."
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