68 Coated Tofu
◎The new governor who came from afar◎
When Sun Ning suddenly heard Ye Yunzhao mention this, her face suddenly turned red, and she remembered the man she met in the mountains last time.
At that time, she stammered and told the man that the pit was used to kill people, but the man seemed not to hear her and pulled her out.
But the giant wolf next to the man had its eyes flashing, and Sun Ning was so scared that he didn't dare to move. The man said nothing, lowered his head and patted the giant wolf's neck, and howled softly. The giant wolf actually left quite smartly.
The man said coldly: "I'll take you down the mountain."
Sun Ning didn't want to have anything to do with him and refused, "No... no need, I know how to get down the mountain."
"Let's go." The man pulled her arm without question.
Now it is late autumn and there is less food in the mountains. There is no guarantee that wild animals will roam around even in the daytime.
Sun Ning walked slowly, falling behind the man. She bravely said to him, "Can you pretend you never saw that big pit just now?"
Sun Ning waited patiently for a long time, but the man said nothing. She secretly grinned at his back, and the two of them walked down the mountain in silence.
But before they had walked far, Sun Ning felt a sharp pain in her left ankle. There were so many weeds and shrubs in the mountains, so she didn't say anything.
When she fell on the man due to dizziness, her lips turned black and she felt dizzy and dazed.
The man exclaimed in surprise, "You were bitten by a snake! Don't you know it?"
His words were filled with accusations, but his actions were quick. He quickly helped her to a big tree and took off her shoes and socks. Her left foot was now faintly black and purple.
It was not until this moment that Sun Ning realized that the stinging pain he had just felt was caused by a snake.
She had heard that after being bitten by a poisonous snake, one could either cut off the bitten area or wait for death.
The more Sun Ning thought about it, the more scared he became. Adding to his dizziness, he thought he was going to die soon: "Am I... am I... going to die..."
But before she could finish her words, the man lifted her left foot with both hands and lowered his head.
Immediately afterwards, Sun Ning felt a slightly wet touch on her left ankle. At that time, the snake venom surged up, and she was already dizzy and dazed. In her daze, she realized belatedly: The man is inhaling snake venom.
Although ordinary people rarely have strict rules about sex, the action of him lifting and sucking bare feet is really ridiculous. Fortunately, it is in the deep mountains and no one else can see it.
The man sucked out the purple-red snake venom bit by bit and spat it all out to the side. Sun Ning leaned drowsily against a big tree. After the man sucked out the poisonous blood, he found some herbs that could cure snake venom from the bushes.
The man stuffed the herbs into his mouth and chewed them hard for a few times. The bitter taste spread in his mouth, and then he gently applied the herbs in his mouth to the wound.
With a "swish", the man tore off a strip of cloth from the hem of his clothes. After the wound was properly treated, he turned his back, bent down and carried Sun Ning on his back.
Perhaps it was because the snake venom had been sucked away, or because of the herbs, but Sun Ning gradually regained consciousness and was shocked to find himself lying on a broad, hard back.
"Are you awake?" the man noticed.
“Yes…I…”
"Where is your home?" The man had been carrying her on his back and walking for a long time in the direction they had just left.
Sun Ning looked up and said, "My home is in Lingnan County. Just follow this road and you'll find it..."
"Lingnan County..." the man muttered.
"What did you say?" Sun Ning only vaguely heard what he said.
"Nothing."
After waking up, Sun Ning lay on him awkwardly for a long time before whispering, "Thank you..."
Ye Yunzhao, who was sitting opposite him, raised his hand and waved it in front of Sun Ning's eyes a few times, then suddenly said, "What are you thinking about? You are so absent-minded..."
Hearing this, Sun Ning suddenly came back to her senses and realized that she was actually recalling the previous events in front of County Magistrate Ye. Her face flushed slightly and she lowered her eyes and said, "Nothing... Nothing..."
"I'm asking you how you got this injury? It's not serious now, right?" Ye Yunzhao was only concerned with looking at her injuries.
Seeing that she didn't notice anything wrong with him, Sun Ning felt relieved and explained, "It was my own carelessness... but now there's nothing else going on, don't worry."
Ye Yunzhao tapped her forehead: "You said it so lightly, how can I not be worried?"
Sun Ning looked up and smiled, but did not mention the mysterious man he met in the mountains a few days ago.
Ye Yunzhao then left only after confirming that she was really fine.
*
The next morning.
Ye Yunzhao took the dried dogwood he had previously dried and walked towards Xixiang.
Cornus officinalis has a strange taste and can be considered a substitute for chili peppers. Tofu coated with chili peppers is the most delicious.
Ye Yunzhao entered Cuihua's house with great anticipation. It was still early and Cuihua was busy wrapping the freshly made crystal cake with bamboo leaves.
The crystal cakes wrapped in green leaves were neatly stacked in bamboo baskets, and then the baskets were sent to Ruyilou's ox carts.
All I could hear was Madam Cuihua saying to the boy who had received the goods, "Young man, please tell your boss when you go back today that the season is over and they will no longer be producing crystal cakes. If you want more, you'll have to wait until May of next year."
After she sent the people from Ruyi Tower away, she finally had time to greet Ye Yunzhao with a smile: "Master, come into the house quickly."
But Ye Yunzhao's mind was full of tofu. She raised her eyebrows and nodded her chin towards the kitchen in the backyard.
Madam Cuihua blinked in confusion, then quickly reacted, slapping her forehead with her hand: "I almost forgot! The tofu is still soaking in the water!"
The two of them walked quickly towards the kitchen in the backyard. Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "It won't be a problem if you soak it."
The thin tofu slices that have been soaked overnight are still a light cream-colored color and still have a faint bean fragrance.
After washing his hands, Ye Yunzhao spread the clean gauze he brought with him on the wooden lid. He used his hands to pick out the soft and tender tofu slices from the water and placed them neatly on the gauze.
Then, she took out a piece of clean gauze from her arms, spread it on the tofu, and wiped it gently until there was no moisture on the surface of the tofu. Finally, she placed it in a ventilated place to dry for about an incense stick of time.
Ye Yunzhao looked up at the curious Cuihua and said, "This food needs to be fried."
Deep-frying is too troublesome and wastes a lot of lard.
Madam Cuihua took a look at the "strange-tasting tofu" placed aside, gritted her teeth, and hardened her heart before she was willing to take out the lard.
Ye Yunzhao poured lard into the pot and waited until the oil was hot before she put the tofu slices in one by one.
Because of the heat of the oil, the tofu quickly connected to each other, as if they were stuck together. Cuihua, standing nearby, felt a little anxious, afraid that half the pot of lard would be wasted, and hurriedly tried to dip her chopsticks into the wok.
"Eh? Absolutely not." Ye Yunzhao was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He picked up the chopsticks and blocked the other pair of chopsticks that were about to be put into the pot.
Madam Cuihua looked at her in confusion and said anxiously, "Master, take a look! They are all stuck together."
Ye Yunzhao, however, looked confident: "Don't worry, take a closer look."
After a short while, the tofu that was so hard to separate just now was fried until golden and crispy, and there was no sign of it sticking to the pan at all.
Ye Yunzhao scooped it up with a bamboo colander, drained the oil, and poured it all into a ceramic plate. After doing all this, she did not actively call Madam Cuihua to taste it, but instead sprinkled some salt grains and ground dogwood powder on one side of the ceramic plate.
"Try it."
Madam Cuihua looked at the golden tofu slices on the plate and couldn't see anything new about them, especially since they were fried in lard!
How can fried food not be delicious?
Although she thought so, she still picked up a piece and put it into her mouth out of courtesy.
"Ah... um..." Madam Cuihua's eyes lit up and she exclaimed in surprise. The tofu in her mouth almost slipped out. She quickly closed her mouth and chewed it with great enjoyment.
After the tofu was completely swallowed, she exclaimed in surprise, "Master! What a delicious thing! How come the outside is crispy, yet the inside is even more tender than tofu pudding! I wish I could just slide it down my throat!"
Seeing her reaction, Ye Yunzhao naturally knew that it had succeeded, and said with a smile: "What else can it be? It's just tofu."
"It's so delicious! It's so delicious!" Madam Cuihua couldn't wait to pick up another piece and put it in her mouth.
Ye Yunzhao pointed to the salt grains and cornel powder beside him and reminded him, "Try it and see how it tastes."
The first bite was a perfect blend of crispness and smoothness. The previous alkaline taste was gone, leaving only a faint bean fragrance. Now, the tofu, coated with salt and cornel powder, had a perfect balance of salty and spicy flavors, complemented by a crisp and smooth texture. The mouth was filled with such rich flavors that she was speechless.
"How?" Ye Yunzhao asked.
"Delicious!" Madam Cuihua exclaimed in surprise. "Master is truly brilliant! I finally have a way to sell this pile of weird-smelling tofu that I can't sell! I just wonder if this good thing has a name?"
"Tofu coated with starch."
"Breaded-bean curd"
Madam Cuihua savored these four words over and over again. The tofu was so smooth and tender that it was comparable to soy milk. The crispy shell wrapped around the smooth tofu milk inside, wasn't that the "patina"?
"What a great name! Tofu coated with starch...it's really delicious..."
Ye Yunzhao watched her put it into her mouth again with a slight smile on his face. In fact, when talking about the real patina tofu, one must mention Yunnan, where he had visited in his previous life. It was heard that Yunnan has a special "sour water", and the patina tofu made there is considered to be the best in the world.
What she is doing now is really insignificant compared to what she has done before, and can only fool the ancients.
*
Ye Yunzhao had a rare few days of free time. He had planted the mushroom seeds and solved the tofu problem. The students in the county school were happy to study every day. One or two smart girls also made some food for their families to sell... The temperature in Lingnan County dropped a little in early winter, but the scene was prosperous.
However, since that day, Ye Yunzhao never saw Chen Jingshan again.
As usual today, she was warming herself by the clay brazier in the yard, but she learned from County Magistrate Han that a new prefect had arrived in Yuezhou City.
It was said that this prefect entered the government at a young age and, like the original, was transferred to a distant county magistrate. However, unlike the original, this prefect was transferred to a distant place in Jiangnan.
The magistrate of the wealthy Jiangnan County.
This was the meaning of a high position. Jiangnan was a land of abundant fish and rice, with talented people and outstanding people. It was a good place to pursue a career and achieve political achievements. As Ye Yunzhao had expected, after just four years in Jiangnan County, the prefect had already risen to the position of a seventh-rank inspector.
He was suddenly transferred to Yuezhou City. In Ye Yunzhao's opinion, firstly, it was not easy to send officials at the end of the year, so he was made a temporary prefect; secondly, he was asked to secretly investigate the murder of a court official. If the real murderer was found, he would probably be promoted to a Beijing official next year.
Ye Yunzhao didn't take this matter to heart and just treated it as a joke.
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