Xu Qinyu was not afraid of this kind of street shrew. To be honest, people like Old Lady Luo were not that scary, but they were as annoying as bedbugs.
When she was in junior high and high school, she set up a stall. Because her food was delicious and her business was booming, she was always squeezed by the small vendors nearby. One stall owner even found an excuse to fight with her and overturned her stall. She was not afraid and rushed up to him like a firecracker and started fighting. She was thin and nimble, and the man didn't get any benefit. Instead, he was beaten by her and couldn't fight back. In the end, even if the matter was taken to the police station, she was not the one who started the trouble. She was just lectured by the police comrades, who also said that the man was bullying an orphan and asked him to compensate for her stall money.
After that, no stall owner dared to bother her anymore, knowing that she was not someone to be trifled with.
He is an orphan to begin with. If he were timid and weak, he would be bullied to death.
Even if she came here, Xu Qinyu would not allow herself to be bullied.
Of course, she also knew that in ancient times, the powerful and wealthy could oppress people to death. If she really met someone with a certain status, she would only suffer losses.
If she really had any other identity, she really wouldn't dare to do this. She had previously thought of setting up a stall on East Street and West Street, just to see if she could make friends with some minor officials in the county. In this way, if she had a minor official to know, she would not be afraid of meeting people like Old Lady Luo in the future. Even if there were other powerful people to oppress her, the minor officials still had some weight in the county.
In fact, Yuanbao Town is called a town, but its size is about the same as a county. It is quite large. It seems that it was a county before, and then the jurisdiction in the southwest was re-planned, and it was changed into a town, which is also a county system.
There is a government office, and the highest official is the county magistrate.
Next are the minor officials working in government offices. There are also some Yuwenlang in the county town and some branch families of powerful people from other places, but there are no higher-ranking officials.
That's why she wanted to make friends with some officials or the daughters of officials by setting up stalls on East Street and West Street. It is always helpful to have some connections.
Even though it's a bit tiring to set up a snack stall on East Street and West Street, I have to make it a priority. Otherwise, if I really meet someone who is more prestigious and more difficult to deal with than Old Lady Luo in the future, I won't be helpless.
The women around didn't think there was anything wrong with Miss Xu's behavior. Some of their relatives also had such fierce daughters-in-law. As long as they didn't bully their own family members, who wouldn't like them?
What's more, Miss Xu can cook and earn money, and they hope to have a daughter-in-law like her in the future.
Xu Qinyu glanced at the old woman Luo who ran away in shame, raised the kitchen knife in her hand, and smiled brightly at Wen and Pei Jianing, "Don't be afraid, mother and Ning Jie'er, I'm here."
When Pei Jianing saw his fourth sister-in-law like this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. For some reason, the last bit of depression in his heart almost disappeared.
She always thought of herself as a princess, and she always blamed others for ending up in such a situation.
But the fourth sister-in-law is even worse off than her. She has nothing to do with their family, but was pushed out as a scapegoat by the family. Isn't that more unfair?
The fourth sister-in-law has become stronger and stronger, unlike the second daughter of the Marquis of Dechang’s Mansion. She still wants to act like a princess and can’t even deal with an old woman who comes to her house.
She had never been bullied like this when she was a princess.
She should learn from her fourth sister-in-law in the future. If someone comes to cause trouble again, she should also learn from her fourth sister-in-law and pick up a kitchen knife.
Xu Qinyu carried the kitchen knife and returned to the courtyard with the Pei family. After dinner, the family helped in the kitchen. Those who didn't know how to cook helped with some work within their ability.
After finishing their work, the whole family went to bed.
The next morning, Xu Qinyu first made glutinous rice stuffed with pig intestines.
Pour away the excess water from the soaked glutinous rice, chop the soaked mushrooms, and mince the pork belly into a paste and pour it into the glutinous rice together with the mushrooms. Add salt, a little soy sauce, pepper powder and star anise powder to enhance the flavor, and no other seasonings. Add ginger and shallot water and mix well. Pour the ginger and shallot water in three small amounts.
The next step is to stuff the glutinous rice filling into the pig intestines. Don’t fill it too full, about 70% full is enough, otherwise the glutinous rice will expand when it is cooked, and it will burst the casing, which is not only unsightly but also smells bad.
Don’t add too much pork belly and mushrooms, otherwise they will steal the glutinous taste of the glutinous rice.
This glutinous rice stuffed pig intestines tastes delicious and sticky.
This is just the simplest recipe. Some places can add some seafood, while others add peanuts, fish, etc. Each has its own method and taste.
The pig intestines were cut into lengths of about one foot. She stuffed glutinous rice into them without any tools, just using her hands. It was quite skillful, and not too much fat was removed from the pig intestines, making them taste more fragrant. After stuffing them with glutinous rice, she tied the two sides of the casing tightly with a thin hemp rope.
A lot of seven or eight pounds of pig intestines were also stuffed out.
The cost is similar to that of Roujiamo. Although it does not require eggs and white flour, it does require pork belly and glutinous rice. However, it does not require braised pork intestines, and the cost of spices is also saved a lot, so the cost is similar.
A glutinous rice-stuffed pork intestine that is about one foot long can be cut into three pieces, each piece also selling for eight cents, so a whole piece costs twenty-four cents.
After stuffing the glutinous rice and pork intestines, just put them in the pot and cook them.
Glutinous rice stuffed intestines are also called glutinous rice intestines.
She cooked in a casserole on a large stove and started frying eggs and pancakes in an iron pan on the stove.
I will continue to make Roujiamo and see whether everyone likes Roujiamo or glutinous rice sausage.
The glutinous rice sausage in the casserole filled the house with fragrance. After cooking, she kept two pieces, which could be cut into six pieces, just enough for each person to taste.
She also left two for the Xia family. Since they were fresh food, she would give some to Sister Xia's family to try.
Today, the person who came to serve food to the Xia family was not Zhuzi, but Xia's sister-in-law Wu.
Mrs. Wu came alone. Xiao Cui stayed at home with Shao Ge'er. Mrs. Wu also brought two thick jackets for children, which were specially made for Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er. The material was the leftover scraps from selling other fabrics, but they were all the same material. Although they were pieced together, you couldn't tell what the difference was. They were made a little bigger, long jackets, so even if Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er grew to be seven or eight years old, they could still be worn as short jackets by lengthening the sleeves.
The coat is lined with animal fur, making it warmer to wear.
Xu Qinyu had already finished preparing the meal. Wu happened to come to her house and saw the two coats. She naturally thanked her.
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "I also want to thank Miss Xu. Shao'er has been eating the breakfast and evening meals you made for more than half a month. He has gained more than a pound, and his face has gained some flesh, and his complexion is much better." So when she saw Feng'er and Yan'er were silent and afraid of people all day long, she thought the two children were pitiful, so she made two small jackets for the children.
Xu Qinyu accepted the jacket and asked Ning Jie'er to take the two children into the house to try them on. Then she cut a piece of glutinous rice stuffed with pig intestines for Wu to try. "Sister Xia, please try my new dish, glutinous rice sausage. I was worried that the guests would get tired of eating roujiamo, so I made something new."
The glutinous rice sausage was fragrant and sticky when she put it in her mouth. It tasted so good and fragrant that Wu liked it immediately.
"It's delicious. I'll buy some with my wife later. My child's father will definitely like it too."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "I don't need you to buy it. I'll give some to you later."
There were only two people left in the kitchen. Xu Qinyu was packing the food boxes. Wu was in no hurry to leave. She chatted with Xu Qinyu and told her, "Mrs. Xu's braised black fish is delicious. Every time we cook fish at home, the neighbors come to ask what we're cooking. I tell them I bought it from you. Many families in my alley also want to buy fish from you. I tell them that you only have enough fish for the people in Guihua Lane, so they give up. Will you make more fish?"
What she said was true. Not only did her neighbors on both sides ask about it, but people in Guihua Lane also ate such delicious fish every day and chatted with other neighbors when they walked around the streets. Some people in Guihua Lane would also buy two fish from Xu Qinyu when they entertained guests, or buy two fish to take back to their parents' home when the women went back. Everyone said that the fish was delicious.
The reputation of Miss Xu's delicious and cheap fish spread.
Other people also wanted to come to Guihua Lane to buy fish, but just as Mrs. Wu said, she only caught about ten fish a day, which was only enough for the people in Guihua Lane. Others couldn't buy any fish even if they wanted to.
Xu Qinyu said, "The large iron pot we ordered will be back in a few days. We will indeed increase the portion size, so others can buy it when they want. We will also sell fish balls and fish head stewed with tofu."
Although the fish business doesn't make as much money as the roujiamo business, small amounts add up to a lot and can make your business famous. Look, there are people who are thinking about it and want to buy it.
Mrs. Wu thought for a moment and then said, "Why did I hear that the young lady got into trouble while selling fish?"
The two alleys are not far from each other, and any trivial matter can basically spread throughout South Street.
Xu Qinyu was a little helpless. She didn't expect that the news would spread so she told Mrs. Wu about how Old Lady Luo ate for free, how she later came to her house to make trouble under the pretext of returning the money for the fish and to peek at the recipe for cooking the fish, and how she came to apologize last night and they had a falling out again.
Mrs. Wu agreed with what she heard. She believed that when dealing with people with bad character, one should be careful.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but say, "This is just a street shrew. I'm not afraid of her, but I'm afraid of meeting some other powerful ruffians." Asking for the recipe is a small matter. If I give her the recipe and she can't make the taste she makes, who knows what will happen.
You might not really encounter it, but just in case.
Wu's heart moved, and she leaned over to whisper a few words into Xu Qinyu's ear.
Xu Qinyu's eyes sparkled. "Can it really work? If it does, I'll thank Sister Xia."
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "Let's not be so polite. You can save a fish, some glutinous rice and pork intestines for dinner, and make some other food. I'll have Zhuzi come to get them tonight."
"OK."
After Wu left, Xu Qinyu also went to the dock with Pei Weixuan to set up a stall.
As usual, the people on the Shenhan merchant ships lined up, and the two official ships sneered at the food made from pig intestines. In fact, these officers and soldiers saw that the people on the merchant ships had eaten pig intestines and roujiamo for more than half a month, and they smelled the fragrance every day, so they knew that the food must be really delicious. But because they had said before that it was something that even dogs would not eat, they were embarrassed to line up behind these people to buy it, otherwise they might be laughed at by these people in secret.
When they learned that there was a new food today, also 8 cents per portion, most people couldn't help but order one to try.
I was amazed as soon as I entered.
When it comes to Roujiamo, it is filling, satisfying, oily and delicious.
This glutinous rice sausage is so fragrant that it makes you dizzy. It is both fragrant and sticky.
Many people immediately exclaimed, "Young lady, your cooking skills are really amazing. This glutinous rice and pork intestines is very fragrant and delicious. Young lady, can I just have the glutinous rice and pork intestines instead of the roujiamo tomorrow?"
Although the glutinous rice pig intestines seemed smaller than the roujiamo, with a length less than the length of a palm, the new food made me feel a bit tired of eating roujiamo after eating it for half a month. My stomach was full of fat and the glutinous rice pig intestines were so fragrant and sticky that I naturally preferred the new food.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Of course."
Even though there are new foods, each person can only buy one roujiamo and one serving of glutinous rice and pork intestines today.
Those who have tried the new food said that they only want glutinous rice and pork intestines tomorrow.
By the end of the sale, almost everyone chose glutinous rice and pork intestines for breakfast the next morning.
Because it’s just a small portion and not enough to eat, you’ll naturally be thinking about it. If you’re thinking about it, you’ll definitely want to eat more the next day.
After closing the stall, Xu Qinyu bought some extra ingredients today, three pounds of spare ribs, two pounds of pork belly, a tender chicken, some winter bamboo shoots, a few pieces of lotus root and yam. Lotus root and yam are quite expensive, about ten cents per pound. Ordinary people certainly don't eat them often, and they are willing to buy some only when entertaining guests.
After buying it, Xu Qinyu started to get busy.
Pei Jianing and Pei Weixuan both came over to help wash and pick the vegetables. Pei Jianing couldn't help but ask, "Fourth sister-in-law, why did you buy so many ingredients today? Are you going to cook them all tonight? It seems like we can't finish them all."
Xu Qinyu smiled mysteriously, "Sister Ning will know later."
…
After Wu returned home in the morning, Miss Xu gave Shao Ge'er a lunch box filled with bean porridge, a portion of fried tofu, and a portion of steamed meat with soda.
In fact, Wu had never eaten steamed meat with soda, and had never even heard of this dish. It was not even available in restaurants.
I heard from Miss Xu that it is steamed with lean meat and eggs. Meat steamed with soda is more suitable for children to eat because it is easy to digest and nutritious. It is specially made for three children.
As expected, Shao Ge'er ate up all the food in the lunch box, even the simplest fried tofu, and said that the steamed meat in soda was delicious.
The two pieces of glutinous rice and pork intestines that Mrs. Wu brought back were still hot when she got home, so there was no need to steam them again. Mrs. Wu simply cut a plate of them. After Shao Ge'er finished his meal, he ate a few pieces of glutinous rice and pork intestines. In the end, Mrs. Wu saw that his stomach was so full and was afraid that he would get sick, so she stopped giving him any more food.
Not long after, the head of the family, Xia Yuanzhi, also woke up. He was busy with his business in the shop every day, and sometimes he came home very late. Mrs. Wu would let him sleep a little longer in the morning. Seeing the fresh food on the table, Xia Yuanzhi couldn't help but smile and said, "Mrs. Xu has made something new again? What is this?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but take a piece and eat it. It was fragrant and sticky. He said quickly, "Delicious, delicious."
"It's delicious, isn't it?" Mrs. Wu brought the porridge cooked by Xiao Cui to the table. "Hurry up and eat. I have something to discuss with you after dinner."
Xiao Cui cooked bean porridge and some bean sprouts in the morning, but the taste was bland.
Xia Yuanzhi didn't eat the bean sprouts, but ate half of his glutinous rice intestines with bean porridge. After finishing, he wiped his mouth, sighed, and said to his wife, "It would be great if Miss Xu owned a restaurant. She could sell breakfast and dinner. We wouldn't have to cook at home and could eat there every day. Miss Xu is really good at cooking fish and intestines, but I'm not sure about other dishes."
Only his son could eat some of the other food. He couldn't snatch the food from his son, so he never tried it. He always thought that Miss Xu was good at cooking fish and pig intestines.
Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Mrs. Wu walked over and whispered a few words in Xia Yuanzhi's ear.
Xia Yuanzhi hesitated. "Can this work? After all, we're inviting Xu Kongmu to dinner. We usually go to Donglaiju on East Street. Wouldn't it be a bit sloppy to have a banquet at our house this time? And how are Miss Xu's other dishes? We can't offend Xu Kongmu. If Miss Xu's other dishes are just average..."
"What are you thinking?" Wu said angrily, "Mrs. Xu can even make smelly offal and earthy river fish taste this good, so what are you worried about? Do you really think the food at Donglaiju is as delicious as what Mistress Xu cooks? Besides, although Xu Kongmu and Mistress Xu don't have the same character Xu, they sound the same. Maybe they were from the same family five hundred years ago. Xu Kongmu might really admire Mistress Xu. I've already made an appointment with Mistress Xu to prepare a few more dishes, so please invite Xu Kongmu to our house for dinner tonight."
She had no doubts about Miss Xu's cooking skills and was very confident in them.
Xia Yuanzhi was finally persuaded by his wife and decided to invite Xu Kongmu to his home for dinner.
After a busy day in the shop, Xia Yuanzhi went to the yamen at a certain time to invite Xu Kongmu.
Xu Kongmu is about forty years old. He is tall and strong, with a dignified look without even getting angry. He is serious and never smiles. He is in charge of the yamen's workshop, household affairs office, official office, criminal justice office, ritual office, and military office. He is very busy with official duties on weekdays. Today, he had dinner with Xia Yuanzhi because of a case.
There is a theft case under investigation in the town recently. Several valuable jewelries were stolen from Jinyinzhai, a jewelery shop. This Jinyinzhai is very close to Xia Yuanzhi's cloth shop. That night, Xia Yuanzhi was busy in the cloth shop until midnight before leaving. When he came out, he saw a man running out of Jinyinzhai next door. Then he heard the owner of Jinyinzhai shouting that he had met a thief who stole several jewelries from Jinyinzhai and ran away.
Xia Yuanzhi first helped the shopkeeper next door up. He saw that the shopkeeper had a bleeding head and was probably attacked by a thief. When he went out to look for the thief, he had already run away without a trace.
He helped the shopkeeper next door to report the case to the authorities, and the government began to investigate the case.
Xia Yuanzhi was a witness to the case. Having seen the thief's back, he would naturally help with the investigation.
Xia Yuanzhi wanted to invite Xu Kongmu to dinner in the evening, which was also a way to improve their relationship.
For those who make a living, it is definitely beneficial to have close relationships with officials.
Xia Yuanzhi was not yet thirty, and Xu Kongmu was already forty, but the two had known each other for several years and had a good relationship privately. Xu Kongmu was also an open-minded person, and they often dined together, with both paying and interacting with each other.
In fact, Kongmu was not an official, but a clerk without any rank. However, Kongmu had the highest position in the town except for the county magistrate.
In the eyes of ordinary people, he is also an official.
Even though the two of them were friends, Xia Yuanzhi also respected Xu Kongmu very much.
This was the first time that Xia Yuanzhi invited Xu Kongmu to his home for dinner, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
He briefly explained to Xu Kongmu, "My wife said there's a young lady who's a great cook. She specially asked her to prepare a feast for Xu Kongmu at home. She said it's even better than the food at Donglaiju. I usually eat the braised herring and roujiamo she makes, and they're really good. I thought maybe she could make other dishes too, so I invited Xu Kongmu to come and try them."
Xu Kongmu didn't really care where to eat dinner. He nodded and said, "Then I'll go to Brother Xia's house to bother you today."
“No, no.”
The two soon arrived at the Xia family's house.
A table full of delicious dishes was already placed in the main hall of the front yard. Xia Yuanzhi couldn't help swallowing his saliva just by smelling the food. The food was indeed much more fragrant than the food at Donglaiju, but he didn't know how it would taste.
Even Xu Kongmu couldn't help but pause for a moment on the dishes on the table.
As soon as Mrs. Wu asked Zhuzi and Xiaocui to bring the dishes over from Miss Xu, she picked up some food that Shao Ge'er could eat and brought it to the back to feed Shao Ge. Then she quickly asked Zhuzi to send the dishes to the front yard and set them up in the main hall. She also bought the best Huadiao wine in town and prepared it. This was to make Xu Kongmu enjoy his meal and drink to his heart's content, so that he would look at Miss Xu with new eyes and would go to Miss Xu to buy and order food in the future and establish a relationship with her.
Xia Yuanzhi invited Xu Kongmu to sit down, and Zhuzi served beside him, filling their glasses with wine.
I saw Xu Kongmu pick up the dish in the middle of the table. It was red in color and sprinkled with sesame seeds, peppercorns and dogwood, which looked very appetizing.
After removing the scallions, peppercorns and other things on top, you will find fish pieces and large intestine underneath.
Xu Kongmu raised his eyebrows and took a piece of pig intestine into his mouth. He couldn't help but hissing as he took a bite. The pig intestine was cut into large pieces and tasted very satisfying. It was chewy and fragrant, oily, and spicy.
He had no shortage of food at home, and even had a cook, but he had never eaten anything so delicious.
Xu Kongmu couldn't help but nodded and praised, "Delicious."
He usually ate at Donglaiju but never said that the food was delicious. Xia Yuanzhi knew it was good and followed suit, picking up a piece of pig intestines with chopsticks.
Xia Yuanzhi was shocked as soon as he took a bite. It was obviously the same pig intestines and black carp that he ate every day, but they were cooked in a different way and tasted completely different. It was spicy and numb, and his tongue was jumping in his mouth. It was very satisfying.
Zhuzi followed up by saying, "This is a fish with fat intestines."
I just got home on such a cold day, and it is so comfortable to eat such a dish, which warms my body and stomach.
Whenever Xu Kongmu ordered a dish, Zhuzi would tell him the name.
"Steamed spareribs with rice flour."
"Braised pork trotters with soybeans."
"Glutinous rice and pork intestines."
"Braised chicken with winter bamboo shoots."
"Stir-fried shredded pork with wild mushrooms."
"Candied yam."
“Stir-fried lotus root slices.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
