When she woke up early the next day, she could hear the rustling sound of snowflakes hitting the window panes outside, accompanied by the whistling of the wind. Xu Qinyu lay on the bed and rolled around contentedly.
Since coming here, she rarely had a good night's sleep. Needless to say, she was worried every day during her exile. Now that she has come to the border town, she knows that her cooking skills can be put to good use in such a place. She has a foundation to settle down and her heart is at ease.
Pei Jianing and Yan Jie'er were both awake and not in bed.
Xu Qinyu stretched, slowly sat up, and pulled the jacket off the rack and put it on.
She got out of bed, put on her cloth shoes, walked to the window, quietly opened a window and looked out. The outside was covered in snow, and the roofs and treetops were all white.
The snow was not heavy, just a thin layer.
Xu Qinyu went to bed early last night, so she didn't make dinner. It was Chef Zhou who made dinner, and she ate some with the Pei family.
There was a patient in the room, and the window could not be opened for long. Xu Qinyu looked at the snow scene for a few seconds and then closed it.
Everyone else in the room woke up. Xu Qinyu said hello to them and went to the kitchen.
The big bone soup was prepared last night and was kept warm on the stove. Xu Qinyu began to chop the meat and prepare the filling for making wontons.
In fact, if you want to make delicious wontons, the ratio of fat to lean meat filling, as well as the method of chopping the meat filling are also important. A good wonton filling tastes juicy and full of meaty aroma.
These are not difficult for Xu Qinyu.
After the meat filling is prepared, start kneading the dough.
The wonton wrapper is also very important. The dough should be thin and a little chewy so that it is chewy when eaten.
Mix the dough, knead it, let it rest, and finally form it into small balls and start rolling out wonton wrappers.
She rolled out the dough quickly and skillfully. She first pressed a few small doughs into small pancakes, and then rolled out ten small pancakes together.
Chef Zhou was stunned as he watched from the side. How could the wonton wrappers be rolled out like this? He rolled out a handful of dough together, yet the wonton wrappers were as thin as a cicada's wing.
The technique of wrapping wontons was as fast as an afterimage, and Chef Zhou's mouth never closed from beginning to end.
He was completely in awe of the young lady and thought that Miss Xu was too amazing. She was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but her knife skills and craftsmanship were so superb, and her cooking skills were even more amazing. Perhaps only the imperial chefs in the palace had such skills.
The wonton skin was so thin that the texture of the meat filling inside could be seen clearly. Chef Zhou was even worried that the skin would be boiled when blanching.
It was already past noon, and most of the guests in the inn had already gotten up and started washing up.
Xu Qinyu started to cook wontons. To cook wontons, you need to use another big pot, add water and bring it to a boil before you can start blanching the wontons.
The heat for boiling wontons is also crucial. The bottom of the bowl needs to be prepared with some seaweed, dried shrimp and a little bit of salt. A spoonful of hot bone soup from another pot is poured into the bowl. The aroma spreads, attracting diners to come out and start looking for food.
Nori and dried shrimp are not cheap either. Other wonton stalls do not have nori and dried shrimp, but only add chopped green onions and lard.
In the pot of clear water, wontons swirled and floated up. Xu Qinyu moved her wrist lightly, and a large slotted spoon scooped up a dozen wontons, poured them into the bowl of seasoned bone soup, and finally sprinkled them with chopped green onions for garnish.
A bowl of delicious wontons is ready.
Xu Qinyu naturally ate with the Pei family first.
She cooked six bowls of wontons, all with bone broth, without adding any oil, chili or vinegar. They hadn't had a proper meal on the whole journey, and their stomachs certainly couldn't handle the heavy food, so they would need to recuperate for a while.
She made her own chili oil dish by stir-frying dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns in an iron pan until fragrant and dry, then crushing them, pouring hot oil and sesame seeds on them. The simplified version of chili oil dish was ready.
Xu Qinyu also tasted it and found it very good, spicy and a little numbing, very appetizing.
Carrying the wontons back to the room, Xu Qinyu called the Pei family to have breakfast.
Pei Jianing came over to help her carry the food tray to the square table, and brought Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er over, "Fourth sister-in-law, you eat first, I'll feed them." She knew that Fourth sister-in-law would have to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the diners later.
Wen also came over to take Yan Jie'er and helped Pei Jianing feed the child.
Xu Qinyu was not polite and nodded, then brought a bowl of wontons to Pei Weixuan, "Fourth brother, you eat too."
"Okay." Pei Weixuan responded, but his eyes fell on the wrist that the girl stretched out. The mark on her wrist where he had gripped it deepened instead of disappearing. He paused slightly as he took the bowl.
After Xu Qinyu handed the bowl over, she did not go to the square table, but sat on the small stool where Wen had just sat and started eating.
As she ate, her cheeks puffed out, her eyes slightly squinted, and she looked very satisfied and enjoying herself.
Pei Weixuan didn't have much of an appetite, but seeing her like this, he couldn't help but scoop a wonton into his mouth.
I was amazed as soon as I took a bite. The skin was thin but not broken at all. It was chewy and springy. The meat filling burst with juice when I bit into it. Every bite was meaty and fragrant. The soup was fresh and the meat was tender.
He ate one bite after another and finished the whole bowl of wontons.
He had just finished eating, and Xu Qinyu had also finished eating. She naturally took the bowl from his hand and was about to take it away when she heard her cheap husband suddenly say, "Yu Niang, can you lend me a coin?"
Xu Qinyu was stunned for a moment, and said "Oh" twice, "Fourth brother, wait for me." Then she ran over, took out a string of coins from her wooden box and handed it to Pei Weixuan. She didn't ask him what he wanted the money for.
She gave the previous fifty taels to Wen, who paid the settlement fee, and kept the remaining ninety taels. This was the almost three strings of cash she earned yesterday.
After paying, Xu Qinyu returned to the kitchen with the empty bowl.
There were already quite a few diners in the inn's guest hall, all of whom were old customers from yesterday, and Liang Yi was also there.
Xu Qinyu returned to the kitchen and started to cook wontons. After a while, the whole inn was filled with the aroma of meat in the wontons, attracting more diners.
The front living room was filled with diners' praises.
"These wontons are really delicious. I've never eaten wontons so delicious before."
"That's right, the young lady's cooking skills are really good. How do you make it? They are all made with white flour and meat filling, so why does the taste differ?"
“It’s just a little expensive, and I can’t eat here every day.”
Liang Yi couldn't help but nod his head after hearing this. He had a big appetite and one bowl of wontons was not enough to fill him up. He had to eat seven or eight bowls and bring two portions back for his wife and daughter, which cost him two hundred coins. Although his monthly salary was several taels of silver, he didn't want to spend it like this. He also had to save money to buy a big house for his wife and daughter.
Liang Yi decided to come back to eat in a few days, and definitely not come these days.
Chef Zhou felt depressed listening to the diners chatting. He also wanted Miss Xu and her family to stay in Raozhou City for a few more days, but he knew that Miss Xu seemed to be the family of a criminal demoted from the capital, and her household registration was in Yuanbao Town. She could stay there for at most ten days. People who did not have household registration in Raozhou City could only stay in the city for half a month, or they could stay longer with written proof of their household registration, otherwise they would violate the law and be punished with a stick.
So in a few days, Miss Xu will have to go back.
Miss Xu is kind-hearted and has been teaching him how to cook. He is a little reluctant to leave her and wants to recognize her as his master.
Xu Qinyu was not busy for long, only about an hour. After she finished making the wontons and making the bone soup yesterday, she closed the stall.
Making wontons was easy, so she planned to continue making them for breakfast tomorrow. However, she hadn't waited to go to the market to buy the large bone sticks and ingredients for tomorrow's meal. Just as she was about to return to her room to count the copper coins she had earned, she saw Pei Weixuan come in with a bag of medicinal herbs. His face was solemn as he said, "We'll set off for Yuanbao Town today. Once we get there, we'll settle down as soon as possible."
Everyone was stunned when they heard him say this. Wen came over and said, "But Xuan'er, your fever has just improved. How can your body handle such a hurried journey? We can still stay in the city for several days. You should rest for a few more days to get better." She had originally planned to ask a famous doctor to help check the poison in her son's body and had no intention of going to Yuanbao Town so soon.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Fourth brother, why don't you wait a few days?"
She could still stay in Raozhou City for several days. She wanted to earn more money. If it weren't for the household registration system, she would have wanted to stay in Raozhou City and rent a house to do business. Business in the city must be easier than business in the town. However, the city also has its own troubles. Doing business is definitely more complicated and troublesome than in the town. The only way she can make money now is through the inn run by Manager Zhou.
Pei Weixuan looked out the door and said, "It's going to snow heavily. If we don't hurry back today, the road will be closed tomorrow."
He had been planning to go out and buy some herbs to make a bleeding-stopping, blood-stasis-removing and pain-relieving ointment for Yu Niang. Halfway through his journey, he observed the sky and saw that a heavy snow was going to fall. This heavy snow would last for at least ten days or half a month, and if he didn't leave the city, he would probably be trapped inside.
"Fourth brother, can you observe the celestial phenomena?" Xu Qinyu exclaimed in amazement. She didn't expect that her cheap husband had such a skill.
Wen and Pei Jianing were both stunned. It was obvious that they didn't know that their son and brother had such abilities.
Since it was going to snow heavily, everyone had no choice but to pack up and leave the city. Xu Qinyu carried her wooden box to say goodbye to Shopkeeper Zhou and Chef Zhou, and exchanged all the copper coins she had earned in the past two days for small change. Shopkeeper Zhou was naturally willing to do so. After giving the silver to Xu Qinyu, Shopkeeper Zhou learned that they were going to Yuanbao Town and said, "Madam Xu, are you going back now?"
Xu Qinyu did not reveal her cheap husband's ability to observe celestial phenomena to anyone. She only said that her husband had woken up and planned to go to his registered residence early.
Shopkeeper Zhou nodded. "It would be better to go back and settle in early. Daqing happens to be able to drive a carriage, so why not have him take you back to Yuanbao Town? And thank you, young lady, for teaching him how to cook these past two days."
Daqing is the son of Manager Zhou, Zhou Daqing.
Nowadays, craftsmen keep their recipes tightly in their own hands. Once a teacher, always a teacher. Moreover, cooking skills are passed down from generation to generation, and they are not willing to teach outsiders at all. Chef Zhou's cooking skills were taught by Shopkeeper Zhou, but his cooking skills are just as good.
Xu Qinyu was naturally happy about it. She actually had some other plans in mind. Yuanbao Town was not far from Raozhou City. It was the closest town to Raozhou City. In the future, she might be able to continue to cooperate with Manager Zhou. However, she had to go back and think carefully about how to cooperate.
When Zhou Daqing heard this, he was very happy. He hitched a carriage and took the young lady and her family to Yuanbao Town.
Raozhou City is only half a day's journey from Yuanbao Town. Xu Qinyu has nothing else to pack except this little bit of silver.
The family squeezed into the carriage, which swayed towards Yuanbao Town.
On the way, Xu Qinyu saw her cheap husband still holding the bag of medicine in his hand, and couldn't help asking, "Fourth brother, what medicine did you get? Do you still know how to diagnose illnesses?" She could smell the medicine. Medicine and food have the same origin, and many ingredients are medicinal materials. However, she had never come into contact with most of the medicinal materials. Even if she had a sensitive nose, she couldn't tell what medicinal materials they were.
"I know a little bit." Pei Weixuan glanced at her wrist. "Your wrist needs some medicine. I was planning to use the stove in the inn's kitchen to make some ointment, but now I can only wait until we get back to Yuanbao Town to make it for you."
He usually doesn't talk much, but today he was forced to say a lot. After replying to Xu Qinyu, he lowered his eyes slightly.
Xu Qinyu immediately thanked him happily, "Thank you, Fourth Brother."
In fact, her wrist still hurt a lot, but she could bear it. She was often injured in the orphanage, but she endured it all by herself.
Wen and Pei Jianing were stunned for a moment, obviously not knowing that he could use medicine.
Pei Weixuan naturally never told them that if he didn't know how to use medicine, he would have died in that cannibalistic harem long ago.
It’s just that his abilities have never been shown in front of others, and they cannot be shown in front of others.
Two hours later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of Yuanbao Town.
The entrance of Yuanbao Town is not much different from other towns. There is a large stone tablet with three big characters on it: Yuanbao Town.
Arriving at the town entrance, Xu Qinyu and the Pei family got off the carriage. Xu Qinyu told Chef Zhou to hurry back to the city, as Raozhou City had a late curfew, so it was just in time for him to return. She then thanked him and said, "Once we're settled, I'll send someone to the city to deliver a letter to Chef Zhou."
Zhou Daqing was delighted when he heard that this meant they would continue to interact in the future. He scratched his head and said, "Then Miss Xu, you should hurry up and find a place to live in town."
After saying goodbye to Chef Zhou, Xu Qinyu and his group entered the town. They found that the town was quite lively. Even though it was snowing lightly, there were pedestrians coming and going, and there were also many small vendors on both sides of the street.
The group had to report to the yamen first and have the county magistrate stamp the registration document before the document would be officially effective and they would truly be considered people of Yuanbao Town.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
