"I'll come with my uncle in a horse-drawn carriage tomorrow."
During this period, the Pei family frequently delivered goods to the county, so they rented a horse-drawn cart from a horse trading company.
The horse that they bought from Old Zhang has recently recovered from its leg injury, but Pei Yao is still worried and dares not let it go too far.
Su Xue'er didn't say much upon hearing this, but simply shrugged helplessly at Lin Shaoqing's forlorn gaze.
Seeing that Pei Yao was still busy, the two siblings walked away, so as not to be of no help and delay her work.
As soon as they left, Pei Dalang, ever the gossip, came up to them and asked, "Yao'er, what did those two want with you? They've been whispering to each other for ages."
Pei Yao looked up at him and then told him about her plans to help out at the Su residence the next day.
Although the other members of the Pei family were pretending to be busy with other things, their minds were actually on Pei Dalang and Pei Yao.
Upon hearing Pei Yao say that she would be going to the Su residence to help out the next day, everyone perked up their ears to listen.
Pei Yao looked at her family with amusement. After listening, Yunniang asked with some concern, "Yao'er, there's so much to do. Can you manage it all by yourself? Let me come and help you tomorrow."
Pei Yao thought for a moment, then shook her head. She didn't want her family to have any connection with these wealthy families.
Even the gentle and kind Miss Su or Lin Shaoqing, who always appeared gentle and kind in public.
Although Pei Yao didn't believe in the distinction between noble and lowly people, she had to admit that it was best to avoid getting involved with these people before her family became powerful.
Pei Yao said, "Mother, no need. I'll make it myself tomorrow and take it with me. It won't take long to mix it."
......
"Oh dear, don't be upset. Miss Pei has her own carriage, there's nothing I can do about it." After walking a distance, Su Xue'er comforted Lin Shaoqing, who still looked unhappy.
Lin Shaoqing's face was indifferent, seemingly without any expression. After hearing Su Xue'er's words, he didn't look at her, but said in a muffled tone, "I'm not unhappy."
Su Xue'er looked at Lin Shaoqing walking beside her. She wasn't stupid; she could clearly sense that Lin Shaoqing's mood wasn't as enthusiastic as when they came to the Pei family's stall earlier.
They even said they weren't unhappy...
You practically have "I'm unhappy" written all over your face.
Su Xue'er sighed. It seemed that the Lin family was about to produce another romantic.
The last one was his uncle, Lin Shaoqing's father...
After packing up, Pei Yao went to the market to buy some things to take home. Today was the last day that the two repairmen were working on the house.
She watched the craftsmen work hard day by day to repair these two warehouses. The two buildings were repaired very well, so Pei Yao planned to take advantage of the last day of work to buy some good ingredients to reward the two master craftsmen.
They've been working so hard lately, they deserve a treat.
Pei Yao bought some high-quality pork belly and a duck at the market.
I'm planning to go back and make some soft and fluffy braised pork and blood duck.
It just so happens that she herself hasn't had blood duck in a long time, and she's been thinking for the past few days that she must make a meal of it when she has time.
When she returned, the two craftsmen had already finished the final work. Pei Yao greeted them with a smile, "Uncle Li, Uncle Wang, are you almost done?"
Master Li nodded, a sincere smile on his dark face: "Miss Xiao Yao, it'll be done soon. It will definitely be finished today."
"Oh, that's great! I can put my things in my room tomorrow," Pei Yao said with a smile.
Pei Yao is the head chef today, so Yun Niang is here to help her.
The pork belly that Pei Yao bought for making braised pork was on the fatty side. People in this era like to eat meat that is a bit fatty because fatty meat has more oil and water.
However, Pei Yao herself prefers to eat leaner meat; she doesn't particularly like fatty meat.
However, when making braised pork, a little fattier pork makes it softer and more delicious.
Because she wanted to make blood duck, Pei Yao bought live ducks, but she was still a little afraid of killing them.
She had tried to overcome it before, but it didn't work.
So the task of killing the ducks was left to Pei Dalang.
Pei Yao also specifically instructed Pei Dalang to save the duck blood when killing the duck, and to stir it with salt while it was still hot.
Adding salt to duck blood will prevent it from coagulating as quickly, which will be useful when making blood duck later.
There were still many sea urchins and scallops that the Shen family had sent over yesterday in the yard.
Pei Yao then asked Yunniang to wash some more, which would be placed on the oven she had made earlier in front of the stove to bake later.
Grilled scallops and sea urchins—this is a dish they make from time to time.
Therefore, Yunniang was no stranger to the dish, so Pei Yao entrusted Yunniang with the entire responsibility of preparing it.
After the braised pork and blood duck were cooked, Yunniang's barbecue was almost done.
Pei Yao then stir-fried a simple dish of stir-fried mixed vegetables with lard, and that was about it.
Pei Yao went to call the two master chefs for dinner, and also called her family members who were still busy in the yard.
Pei Dalang washed his hands and came over, asking as he walked, "What delicious food are you eating? I've been smelling it the whole time, it smells so good."
Chen Fang was carrying dishes out when she casually replied, "Yao made braised pork today."
The two experienced workers at the Pei family's house were supposed to be provided with two meals a day, but they usually ate simple food.
This is the first time I've had such a lavish meal today, so I felt a little awkward looking at all the dishes in front of me.
"Miss Yao, this..." Uncle Wang looked at the dishes and thought that they were too much for them to handle.
Uncle Li rubbed his hands together, a little embarrassed.
Pei Yao smiled at the two honest old craftsmen and served them rice: "Uncle Wang, Uncle Li, don't be so polite. Thank you for your hard work these past few days. If it weren't for your dedication, this house probably wouldn't have been repaired so quickly."
"Miss Pei, you're too kind. You've already paid us, so this is what we should do." Uncle Li scratched his head sheepishly.
Little Xuan'er, however, was delighted to see Pei Yao had prepared duck meat. She took Pei Yao's hand and asked, "Sister, can Xuan'er eat duck legs today?"
Pei Yao turned her head and affectionately rubbed the little girl's cheek: "Of course you can."
After being persuaded by Pei Yao, Uncle Wang and Uncle Li finally sat down to have dinner together.
During the meal, the two were still a little embarrassed to eat too much meat, and mostly chose to eat vegetables. However, even the ordinary vegetables were better than what they made at home by the Pei family, and they even had the aroma of meat in them.
Pei Yao had been craving blood duck for the past few days, and when she finally got it today, she even ate a few extra bites of rice.
After finishing her meal, Pei Yao remembered that she had promised Aunt Niu Er to teach her how to make jujube cake. Fortunately, the family had already run out of jujube cake.
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