Since it was Yan Xia's first time eating at a restaurant, she didn't know what to eat, so she ordered a few of their signature dishes.
Four-in-one duck, stir-fried green sprouts with vinegar, boiled pork, and a bowl of rice.
The food was alright, and the three of us finished it all.
But Yan Xia was dumbfounded when she went to pay the bill.
It was just three dishes and a bowl of rice, yet it cost a full three taels of silver.
Even robbing money wouldn't be this fast.
Since she had already eaten, what could she do? Yan Xia had no choice but to pay.
After leaving the restaurant, the three of them were heartbroken.
Three taels of silver could buy so much meat.
If it were brown rice instead, it would probably last for two years.
"Mom, we're never coming to this awful place again. The food here isn't as good as yours, and it's so expensive."
"Yes, Mom's cooking is even better."
The brother and sister complained.
"Alright, we've already eaten, let's just consider it an opportunity to broaden our horizons. Come on, let's go buy some mutton and make mutton skewers. Before Mother left today, she specifically told Jinlu to make plenty of bamboo skewers."
After saying that, the mother and her two children went to the butcher shop.
Lamb is consumed more often here, even surpassing pork. Many farmers raise sheep, but only Baihua Village raises fewer. This is because they are backed by two mountains, and the village has little land, mostly fields except for wasteland. There is no place for grazing, and the high mountains are dangerous, so the villagers prefer to raise pigs.
In other villages not located near mountains, almost every household raises some sheep.
No need to feed them; just let them out every morning and bring them back in the evening, and they can be sold within a year.
Not only is it free, but it also saves effort; you only need to send one child from your family to herd sheep.
Therefore, the price of mutton is the same as that of pork.
It is exactly the opposite of modern times.
Because of its strong, gamey taste, many wealthy families do not like to eat this stuff.
If sheep could grow as fat as pigs, they would probably be even cheaper.
By this time, there wasn't much meat left in the shop.
As soon as Yan Xia stepped inside, the shop owner began to introduce the shop.
"Sir, buy some meat! It's all top-quality, freshly slaughtered today. Would you like pork or mutton?"
"mutton."
"Alright, please come this way, sir. This is a freshly slaughtered sheep, it's still very fresh."
The shopkeeper took out a piece of meat that had been cut in half and placed it in front of Yan Xia.
It had lost its head and hooves, leaving only half a body.
That's strange.
Who would buy a sheep's head and trotters? People here don't eat that stuff.
Yan Xia touched the meat and found that it was dark red and had more muscle than the tender mutton. She then smelled her hands that had just touched the mutton.
There was absolutely no gamey smell.
Yan Xia chuckled.
"Shopkeeper, you're just putting up a false front."
The 'sheep' in front of me is actually dog meat.
The two have very similar textures, and you can't tell them apart without careful observation.
In the original owner's memory, eating dog meat was very common in this era. Many villagers who kept dogs would sell them to butcher shops when they grew up to exchange for some copper coins to buy food. In addition, there were many people who stole chickens and dogs in every village.
Therefore, losing a dog is common.
Dog meat is very cheap, much cheaper than mutton and pork.
Some unscrupulous merchants will sell dog meat as mutton.
I never expected to encounter this kind of person on my first try.
Yan Xia took her two children and turned to leave the shop.
They completely ignored the shop owner's calls.
She found another butcher shop. The owner seemed honest and down-to-earth, probably a straightforward businessman.
"Boss, do you have mutton?"
"Yes, yes, sir, please come in."
The three of them entered the shop.
When he came out, Jin Fu was carrying a large string of meat.
It was strung together with hemp rope.
"Mom will make you lamb skewers when we get back."
Yan Xia was really craving this.
"Mom, what does mutton taste like?"
I've never eaten Jin Fu or Gui Hua.
Because the Chen family had never bought it.
Lamb has a strong gamey smell, less oil, and more lean meat than fat; for the same price, you could buy a large piece of pork.
"It tastes delicious, haha. You'll see when we get back. Come on, let's go buy some more flour. We won't cook dinner tonight. Lamb skewers with wraps, that's what you call a real treat!"
Yan Xia kept everyone in suspense, and then the mother and her two children headed to the grain shop again.
They didn't head home until they had bought everything.
"Children, come out and get your things!"
The voice arrived before the person.
With a shout, Lamei, Jinlu, and Xiaohe all came out.
Yan Xia not only bought the dishes for tonight's meal, but also some brown sugar, rice, flour, seasonings, and other items.
There are three girls in the family, including herself.
Drinking some brown sugar during menstruation is good for your health. Ancient brown sugar was all handmade, which is worlds apart from the additives in modern brown sugar.
After the children had carried all their things back, Yan Xia paid for the day's transportation.
After seeing Zhao Dali off.
She started preparing dinner, first having her son take the mutton to the river to wash it, then having her daughter cut the mutton into small pieces and skewer them onto bamboo sticks, while she herself prepared the seasonings, set up the stove, and kneaded the dough.
After frying the small pancakes in oil, they were all put into a bowl, and then a plate of chopped red peppers, a plate of cucumbers, and a plate of peeled garlic were placed on the dining table in the yard.
Finally, we started grilling lamb skewers.
The skewers she made herself were all quite substantial. Yan Xia held ten skewers in her left hand and placed them on the shelf, while she started brushing them with oil with her right hand.
Soon the lamb skewers were sizzling and dripping oil onto the firewood.
'bass--'
The fire suddenly intensified, drying out the oil stains, and then returned to normal.
In this state, the baking technique is particularly important.
Yan Xia did everything herself to prevent the kids from burning the lamb.
The rack and bamboo skewers were soaked in water beforehand, so they didn't get burnt or deformed even after being roasted for so long.
When the lamb skewers were half-cooked, Yan Xia pinched off a handful of chili powder and cumin powder and sprinkled them on top.
Sprinkle the sauce three times, and then sprinkle it one last time when the lamb skewers are almost fully cooked. This time, add salt.
Otherwise, the lamb skewers will have no flavor.
Because we ate in a hurry, the lamb would taste even better if it were marinated for a day beforehand.
"Alright, two skewers each. Add whatever side dishes you want, then put the lamb skewers and vegetables in the flatbread and eat them."
Fearing they wouldn't understand, Yan Xia simply made one herself and demonstrated it to her children.
This flatbread was stuffed with a skewer of mutton, two pieces of cucumber, a chili pepper, and a clove of garlic.
Fold it left and right, then wrap it up from top to bottom.
It turned into a square little roll.
Yan Xia stuffed the pancake into her daughter-in-law's mouth.
"Eat up, see how your mother's cooking tastes."
Shi Xiaohe never expected that the first wrap her mother-in-law made would be for her.
She felt a burning sensation in her heart at that moment.
The aroma spread as soon as you bite into the biscuit.
This was her first time eating mutton. She had heard that mutton was very gamey and had a strong, unpleasant smell, but her mother's mutton was so delicious that she wished she could eat ten more.
"mother--"
"The lamb smells so good! Mom, your cooking is amazing! Everything you make tastes delicious!"
"Eat more if you like it. There's more, Mom will bake some more."
Hearing her daughter-in-law's praise, Yan Xia went back to continue baking with satisfaction.
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