After finishing her shopping, Xu Jiang returned the same way she had come. The tofu seller was packing up her stall. Seeing Xu Jiang passing by with a rabbit in her hand, she waved to her, "Little sister, come here."
Xu Jiang approached and heard her ask, "How do you eat rabbit?"
Xu Jiang replied, "Ginger-thread rabbit."
"I guess so." She picked up the stall she had closed and said to Xu Jiang, "How can we make ginger-shredded rabbit without the salt and beans from Gongjing?"
Youshu, also known as soy sauce, is originally beans. It is mixed with salt and sealed in a jar, so it is called Youshu.
"Sister, can you make Youshu?"
"Every household in Gongjing knows how to make it." He then asked Xu Jiang, "Do you want it? I'm a fellow villager, and I also make and sell sauce in this market. I've left my beans with him on consignment. If you want, I'll give you some."
Did she just let something slip?
Xu Jiang narrowed her eyes and smiled, "My sister and I will go take a look. If it tastes good, I will buy some. I happen to know someone from Shuzhou who can cook Shuzhou dishes. I think it will be useful."
"Then wouldn't it be like I'm blocking the way?"
"Nonsense, this is called fate."
The woman laughed so hard that she almost knocked over her stall. "Oh my, girl, you have such a lovely mouth. Come on, I'll take you there right away."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked through the streets, finally arriving at a secluded sauce shop. Xu Jiang had been to the West Market many times, but never here. Just like Kyoto, with its many people, few could find her shop.
We all need people to lead the way.
The sauce shop is not big, but it is neatly kept clean. Large and small sauce jars are placed high and low, all covered with bamboo sieves. Before you get close, you can smell the strong aroma of sauce emanating from under the sieve.
The man guarding the shop looked younger than the woman, tall and thin, with an ordinary appearance and a somewhat dull expression. But when he saw the woman carrying the load over, his eyes immediately lit up, and he took a few steps forward and took the load from her shoulders.
The woman said to him, "I brought my little sister to buy some sauce."
Xu Jiang greeted him, "Hello, brother."
The man put away his burden, nodded towards Xu Jiang, and replied stiffly, "Hello, my lady."
"He's a bit slow-witted and rude, and doesn't know how to greet people. Don't be offended, little sister." The woman took the things from Xu Jiang's hand and put them aside, then took her to see the sauce. "But even though he's a bit stupid, he makes good sauce."
As the bamboo sieves were opened one by one, the aroma became stronger and stronger. There was soybean paste, red bean paste, bran paste, sesame paste, mugwort paste, etc. Xu Jiang's throat tightened and he kept swallowing his saliva.
It’s really good.
The woman then pulled her to see the Youshu she had been making. It was in a medium-sized yellow clay jar. The moment she opened it, a salty aroma filled her nose. The Youshu inside wasn't a sauce, but a mixture of jute broth and a decoction of hot pepper, sweet wormwood, patchouli, perilla, perilla leaves, and lotus leaves. Soybeans were soaked in it, cooked, and then salted and fermented in a closed container to create the fermented black beans. This was Youshu.
"Try it." The woman handed her a pair of chopsticks.
Xu Jiang picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and tasted it. She wished that a bowl of rice would appear in front of her so that she could eat it together.
The woman's eyes lit up when she saw her, and she smiled and said, "It smells good."
Xu Jiang nodded her head, "It smells good, it's delicious!" Then she asked, "Sister, how much are these beans?"
"Originally it was twenty cents a can, but since we're on good terms, we'll make it fifteen."
"Okay, fill a can for me first."
The man heard the conversation between the two and found a small clay pot and a wooden spoon and handed them to the woman.
The woman dug out the beans and filled the bag, sealed it with oil paper, and then tied a hemp rope around it. She handed it to Xu Jiang and said, "Remember to seal it after you eat it, otherwise it will spoil the taste."
"Well, that's a relief." Xu Jiang paid, took the can of Youshu, and said with a smile, "I'll come back to buy more from my sister after I finish eating."
The woman pinched her face and said lovingly, "I really miss you. Even if you don't buy me any sauce, I'd be happy if you came to talk to me often."
Xu Jiang said goodbye to the two men and went to look for the donkey with her things. After walking a short distance, she found the woman interesting again and looked back. She saw her holding the man's hand and entering the shop. She couldn't help but smile.
They are indeed lovers.
Seeing her coming back with her hands full, Zhao Zhang hurried forward to help her.
"Buy so much?"
"I haven't been shopping for a long time, and I couldn't stop myself, so I bought a lot." In addition to rabbits, ducks, and shrimps, she also bought some vegetables and fruits.
"I'll get you a bamboo basket to put the things in. Otherwise it will be difficult to carry so many things." After saying that, Zhao Zhang took out a bamboo basket from the shed and put it on the donkey.
Xu Jiang quickly took his hand and said, "Thank you very much, thank you very much."
Together they loaded the items into the bamboo basket and chatted for a while before Xu Jiang said goodbye and led the donkey back. Along the way, the two ducks quacked non-stop, but Xu Jiang didn't get annoyed. The donkey, however, couldn't stand it and kicked its hind legs.
"Are you annoyed now? Why weren't you annoyed when you were moaning and groaning?"
Seeing it was about to kick, he quickly slapped it and said, "If you throw the food away, I'll use you as a drink."
Only then did the donkey calm down.
When they reached the gate of Yonghefang, a voice came from behind, "Is that Madam Xu?"
Xu Jiang stopped and turned around, only to see Feng Miao, who had come to the inn that day. "Mr. Feng?"
"It's really you." Feng Miaochao bowed and said with a smile, "I thought I was seeing things."
Xu Jiang asked, "What's the matter, Master Feng?"
Feng Miao's face flashed with embarrassment when he heard this. After a long while, he stammered, "I was sincere when I said that I wanted to make friends with you. It was only because Zhou Huai forced me to come to your shop to inquire for them."
How could we know this wasn't just a pretense of a heart-to-heart? Xu Jiang played dumb, "I don't understand what Master Zhou is referring to. What do you mean by prying?"
Feng Miao choked and laughed dryly, "Nothing."
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