39 A full fifty kilograms of pork
◎ County Magistrate Ye, why did you leave Jingshan's house?◎
The light mauve "flour balls" sat obediently in the steamer. Chen Jingshan looked at the "water chestnut flour cake" in the porcelain bowl, and then looked at Ye Yunzhao beside him.
"Eat it, try it quickly." Ye Yunzhao said impatiently.
Chen Jingshan gently picked up the water chestnut flour cake and put it into his mouth. The fragrance of water chestnuts burst out in his mouth. Although there was no filling, it did not taste greasy at all.
"How about it?"
He took another bite. It was soft, glutinous and fragrant. Unlike the solid texture of the white flour steamed buns he had expected, it was smooth and dense, sweet but not greasy.
"tasty."
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao finally felt relieved: "Then this water chestnut flour cake can be considered the first recipe."
Chen Jingshan took out two pieces of water chestnut flour cake from the steamer, put one to his own mouth, and handed the other to her: "Good, very delicious, try it."
Ye Yunzhao took it without hesitation and put it into his mouth. It was indeed good: "It would be better if you add some stuffing."
She turned her head and saw Chen Jingshan turning around and about to leave, so she hurriedly stopped him: "Manager Chen, where are you going?"
Chen Jingshan was stunned: "I'll have someone clean up the things. Come back when you come up with the next recipe."
"Who said I only brought one prescription?"
Water chestnut powder is not easy to obtain. It would be a waste to just change the recipe after making so much of it. Ye Yunzhao plans to try again using the method of making crystal cake.
Chen Jingshan stood aside and saw her flying left and right like a butterfly among flowers. In a short while, she had mixed the dried water chestnut powder into a bowl of water chestnut paste.
Isn't this a throwback to when water chestnuts were first ground into pulp? Chen Jingshan didn't understand, and he waited curiously for her to reveal the secret.
Ye Yunzhao not only mixed all these, but also mixed a bowl of honey syrup. The previous water chestnut paste was cold water, but now the honey syrup was boiling hot water.
"Hurry, hand me the spoon." Ye Yunzhao said anxiously.
Chen Jingshan reacted quickly. After taking the spoon, she quickly stirred the water chestnut pulp a few times, scooped out two large spoonfuls and poured them into the hot honey water.
"Shopkeeper Chen, you should be able to tell that when the white starch is added to the hot sugar water, its color quickly becomes lighter. This is called cooked starch, and the white water chestnut starch is raw starch."
Chen Jingshan saw it clearly and was a little curious: "Do the teachers in Yongzhou still teach these things? How come County Magistrate Ye can make so many cakes?"
"Well, I was just figuring it out." Ye Yunzhao quickly changed the subject, "Look carefully, the next step is very important."
Ye Yunzhao poured the cooked pulp into a large ceramic basin, and then quickly poured the raw pulp in. During this time, her right hand was stirring the pulp in the basin all the time.
She gestured to Chen Jingshan to put another clean ceramic basin into the small iron pot with half a pot of boiling hot water. Only then was the preparation work completely completed.
The ceramic basin swayed slightly on the water surface. Ye Yunzhao scooped up a spoonful of slurry and poured it into it. He shook the ceramic basin again, and the slurry rolled rapidly, covering the bottom of the basin.
The following operation did not require much technical skills. She watched as the beige paste gradually turned into a golden transparent layer of cake due to the temperature. She followed the same method, scooped in a spoonful of paste for the second time, shook the ceramic basin, and the beige paste quickly filled the cake.
Ye Yunzhao explained as he taught: "This process looks simple, but there are two places where it's easy to make mistakes. First, the amount of water scooped up for each layer must be small, a thin layer is enough; second, the water must be stirred constantly, and the water must not be allowed to sink to the bottom."
"Remember?"
Chen Jingshan nodded: "I remember."
Ye Yunzhao shook his aching right arm and said with a grin, "Then you do it. Let me check it out."
Chen Jingshan chuckled softly. He could obviously see that she was tired, but she was just a little girl and she didn't say it directly. Instead, she beat around the bush and assigned him tasks. Was she afraid that he would refuse?
Chen Jingshan kept stirring with his hands. He thought for a moment and said with concern, "If you're tired, just tell me. I can do any job."
The kind and caring words sounded like a mockery to Ye Yunzhao's ears. She frowned and stood behind Chen Jingshan, glaring at him and said unhappily:
"You should have been the one doing it. I just provided the recipe. I'm just demonstrating it to you out of kindness. Besides, I'm checking to see how you've learned it."
Chen Jingshan felt that her words were somewhat thorny. He turned around at a loss and said stupidly, "Are you angry?"
Ye Yunzhao put his hands on his hips and said, "Why should I be angry? Hurry up and concentrate!"
Chen Jingshan seldom interacted with women. He lost his father when he was young and his mother was in poor health. He went to the mountains with his elder brother to hunt rabbits since he was a child. Later, his elder brother joined the army and he became a peddler. Logically, he should have been a shrewd and smooth person, but he had been the same for more than ten years, speaking quite bluntly, and was also good at calculating.
Because of this skill, he became the accountant specially hired by the brother-in-law of the Yuezhou prefect, the owner of Qianweilou. After saving some money, he transformed himself into the current owner of Ruyilou.
Chen Jingshan was used to talking casually with the waiters in the restaurant. Now that he was in the same room with Ye Yunzhao, he was bound to say a few words that could be misunderstood. Moreover, he had thought about it for a long time. If she really liked him, he should not make her angry easily. The doctor said that anger would affect one's health.
After thinking this through, Chen Jingshan turned around and explained, "I'm sorry, maybe something I said upset you. I really shouldn't have done that, otherwise..."
Ye Yunzhao was confused by what he said. Wasn't it just that he was secretly scolding himself for being lazy and someone heard it? Was there any need to apologize so formally?
not to mention……
There's something in the pot!
Ye Yunzhao slapped him on the shoulder: "What are you thinking! Hurry up and watch the pot!"
Chen Jingshan quickly poured the last spoonful of syrup into the ceramic basin, and soon the honey and water chestnut rice cakes were ready.
Ye Yunzhao found a kitchen knife, washed it, and then cut the contents of the ceramic basin bit by bit. She wrapped the edge of the basin with coarse cloth, picked it up and shook it vigorously, and the honey and water chestnut rice cakes that had been neatly arranged just now came out crookedly.
She raised her hand and took a piece, then pointed at the ceramic basin with her little finger. Chen Jingshan understood what she meant and picked up a piece and put it into his mouth.
The fragrance and light sweetness of the water chestnuts are perfectly blended, making them soft, chewy and extremely delicious.
"I'll give you two recipes first. Then ask the chef at Ruyi Tower to work on the appearance of the pastries, and it should be ready."
Ye Yunzhao placed the honey candy jar in his backpack with great care, not forgetting his own plan: "These two cakes require a lot of water chestnuts. If Ruyi Tower is short of manpower, why not ask the people of Lingnan County to help?"
Water chestnuts mostly grow in small lakes in the mountains. If the people from Ruyi Tower were asked to pick them, it would take who knows how many days. Although it would cost some money to let the people of Lingnan County pick the water chestnuts, the more they could pick, the more they could make, and the more they could sell, the more money they could make. His Ruyi Tower would have a booming business, and the people of Lingnan County would have a way to make money. He could also do her a favor, so why not do it?
She said it so bluntly that Chen Jingshan still had something to understand: "Don't worry about this."
After getting his promise, Ye Yunzhao contentedly picked up her backpack and left. She had originally wanted to go to Dongxiang to see how the silkworm manure issue was resolved.
Who would have thought that as soon as she walked out of the Chen Mansion, she met Aunt Hu carrying a basket full of pork.
"County Magistrate Ye, why did you leave Jingshan's house?"
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "The county government needs Manager Chen's help with something. Aunt Hu, are you going to the butcher shop?"
"Well, we're going to Xixiang," Aunt Hu explained with a smile. "Maybe you've been busy these past few days and didn't realize that the mud house in Xixiang will be finished today. We need to make a good meal before we put up the last beam."
Ye Yunzhao was stunned when he saw the huge piece of pork in her backpack. He said in disbelief, "Is this meat sent to Xixiang?"
Aunt Hu smiled and said, "That's right! Yesterday evening, County Magistrate Han came to my house and ordered fifty kilograms of pork. County Magistrate Ye, I still have to deliver the meat. We can talk about it another day."
Ye Yunzhao watched her figure getting farther and farther away, her mind like a bowl of paste, she even wondered if she had heard it wrongly:
County Magistrate Han ordered fifty kilograms of pork?
County Magistrate Han who spends money like his life?
Ordered a full fifty kilograms of pork?
She hurried back to the county government office and happened to meet County Magistrate Han who was knocking on the door.
Han County Magistrate was the first to speak: "Where have you been, County Magistrate Ye? I've been looking for you for a long time. It's a good opportunity for us to go to Xixiang together."
Before Ye Yunzhao could answer, he hurriedly asked what he was curious about: "Han County Magistrate, did you buy fifty kilograms of pork?"
"Oh, you knew about this even though you weren't at the county office?" County Magistrate Han was a little surprised. He was afraid that County Magistrate Ye would misunderstand him as a waste of money, so he hurriedly said, "Let's talk as we go. I'll explain it to you."
Ye Yunzhao did not refuse and said, "Wait a moment, I'll put the backpack back first."
She quickly put the honey back into the kitchen and walked to the county government gate with ease.
The two walked side by side. County Magistrate Han rolled up his sleeves and said unceremoniously, "I didn't tell you about this in advance, County Magistrate Ye, because I was afraid you wouldn't agree..."
"Why don't you agree?" Ye Yunzhao had long wanted to get money from the county government to buy meat for the laborers, but the money was in the hands of the stingy Han County Magistrate, and she couldn't take it out.
Hearing this, County Magistrate Han said embarrassedly, "I have judged you by my own standards."
Fifty kilograms of pork belly cost eight or nine hundred coins, which was just under one tael of silver. Ye Yunzhao had earned a few taels of silver from the Yuezhou prefect for taking in refugees. County Magistrate Han was afraid that Ye Yunzhao would be angry if he knew that he had spent one tael of silver on just one meal, but he couldn't ignore the custom, so he had to hide it from Ye Yunzhao for the time being.
"This is a long story, Magistrate Ye, there is a custom in Lingnan County."
"What custom?"
Although Ye Yunzhao didn't mind spending money, he still asked out of curiosity. Could it be that it was a custom to eat fifty kilograms of pork after building a house?
"On the day the last beam is laid, the workers are invited to a celebratory meal. One is to celebrate the completion of the new house for the owner, the second is to celebrate the smooth construction of the house without any accidents, and the third is to seek good luck."
Ye Yunzhao nodded in understanding: "This is a good thing! But with so many refugees and laborers, will fifty kilograms of pork be enough?"
Han County Magistrate scratched his head and said helplessly: "Fifty kilograms is already a lot, any more... The county government really doesn't have that much silver..."
Well, this was the stingy Han County Magistrate that Ye Yunzhao was familiar with.
When the two of them walked quickly to Xixiang, they found that the original large piece of wasteland was now occupied by dozens of small mud houses. Although they were not big, the more than 200 people had a place to stay and a home.
As we got closer, we could see that the only roofless mud house was surrounded by people. Dozens of strong men were using thick hemp ropes to hold up the thick beams on the roof. The others were shouting in unison:
"Auspicious day, today is the day to raise the beam!"
"The new house is completed, safe and smooth!"
There was a small wooden table in the middle of the wasteland, with an incense burner and three plates of wild fruits on it. Lu Dayuan, the son of the Xixiang village head, stood in front of the table, lit three incense sticks, and kowtowed three times to the God of Land and the Goddess of Land, praying for good health.
Ye Yunzhao still remembers this lively and peaceful scene vividly decades later.
*
"County Magistrate Ye, why are you here?" Aunt Xiangyun asked in surprise as she had just come out of the kitchen carrying a wooden basin of wild leeks.
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "I just got some free time today, so I came to help you cook."
"Hey, come in quickly! We have 50 kilograms of pork today. How are we going to cut it into small pieces for stewing? Otherwise, how are we going to divide it?"
Ye Yunzhao thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's make a big bowl of braised pork belly. Then everyone can have a piece."
Braised pork belly is a dish that’s only prepared once during the Chinese New Year! You can sip on a piece of it with great pleasure all day long, only finally eating it at night.
Aunt Xiangyun and the other aunts said, "Okay! Listen to County Magistrate Ye and make a big bowl of braised pork!"
Several aunts were cutting meat, chopping vegetables, and preparing ingredients. Even Ye Yunzhao, who came later, was busy washing ceramic bowls.
Fifty kilograms of fatty pork belly were cut into strips and put into an iron pot filled with water. A handful of wild onions and a few pieces of wild ginger were thrown in. After about two incense sticks of time, Ye Yunzhao scooped all the pork in the pot into a wooden basin.
After washing the big iron pot, I poured some oil into it carefully and put the pig skin face down into the pot. With a "sizzling" sound, the tender pig skin turned crispy in a short while.
Aunt Xiangyun and her aunt quickly cut the pork into thin slices, spread the prepared sauce on it, and carefully and neatly arranged it in small ceramic bowls.
At that time, Ye Yunzhao was not idle either. She stir-fried the chopped mustard greens in the pan for a few times, while Zhuang Xue put the vegetables into a small ceramic bowl.
In this way, bowls of braised pork with snow red sauce are ready. Put them in the steamer and wait patiently for nearly an hour, and the big bowls of braised pork with the aroma of meat will be successfully served.
Aunt Xiangyun went to the yard to check on the bean rice on the other stove. When she came back, she said loudly:
"The house should be finished. I see someone coming this way!"
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