Chapter 53: The Meat Dragon is Full of Meaty Delight!
After dinner, Afu and Azhu quickly cleared away the dishes, and Wang Zhi also said goodbye and left.
Lin Yao pulled Su Niang and Zhao Niangzi aside and pointed to the backyard: "Starting tonight, you will live in the backyard. Those two rooms were originally prepared for our own use, but right now each room only has one bed. Please bear with it for the day. Tomorrow I will find a carpenter to make new beds for you."
"No, no, no!" Zhao Niangzi shook her head, while Xiaoman in her arms stared timidly at the backyard. "I'm not that delicate. Ever since we fled the famine, I've slept in temples and wastelands. Being able to sleep on a bed is a blessing. Before, at the brokerage firm, more than a dozen people were crammed into a large dormitory. Now, having a bed is already a great blessing. Madam, don't waste money."
Su Niang nodded in agreement, "It is already an immense kindness that you are willing to take us in, Madam."
Lin Yao didn't try to persuade her further, but she had her own plans. These people were her first batch of employees, and would become veterans in the future. Only with good enough conditions and benefits could she ensure their loyalty. She decided that tomorrow she would find a carpenter to convert the current bed into a bunk bed, and also find some coarse cloth to make bedding. Her trusted confidants couldn't be left without a decent place to stay.
As night deepened, the candlelight cast a warm yellow glow on the counter. Lin Cheng held the ledger, the twelve taels of silver invoices glistening with the scent of ink in the candlelight. "Little sister! We actually made so much money?!"
This is way more profitable than setting up a stall at the dock! If we open a restaurant in the future... Lin Cheng was stunned when this thought came to mind. When A Yao mentioned opening a restaurant before, he thought his little sister was thinking too far ahead. Such a goal was a pipe dream for small-time vendors like them. He never expected that he would have such thoughts now. Perhaps his little sister had given him too many surprises, and he began to look forward to that day.
"Don't rush." Lin Yao dipped her teacup in the tea and scribbled on the table. "Today we used three taels of ingredients, the complimentary fried skewers cost six hundred coins, and after deducting labor costs, we netted about eight taels today. Also, the opening promotions attracted many customers looking for something new, but the customer flow will likely drop in a few days, and our income will probably be reduced." She looked at Lin Cheng, and surprisingly, she didn't see any disappointment on his face. It seemed that after running the stall alone for a while, Lin Cheng had matured quite a bit, which was good.
After Lin Cheng and Lin Yao finished settling the accounts, they took the drowsy Lin Song and drove the donkey cart home. The late autumn night wind blew against their faces, making them shiver. Lin Yao shrank her neck and pulled her coarse cloth cloak tighter around her. Lin Song in her arms had already fallen into a deep sleep, his little head unconsciously burrowing into the crook of her neck.
After being exposed to the cold wind for half an hour, the three of them finally returned home. Pushing open the door, she gently placed Lin Song on the bed, covered him with a quilt, and walked out of the house. Looking at Lin Cheng, who was tidying up the donkey's hay, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother, why don't we rent a courtyard in town? It'll be more convenient to live in town."
Lin Cheng paused, the moonlight casting a lonely glow on his face. "This house... is our root." He reached out and touched the earthen wall, his voice hoarse. They had only lived in this newly built house for a short time.
Lin Yao walked to his side: "The shop is in the town, and we live in the village. It's too exhausting to travel back and forth every day. We travel from dawn till dusk and are exhausted when we get home at night. How can our bodies take it in the long run? Besides, it's getting colder and colder, and the donkey cart has no shelter. If we catch a cold, it will cost a lot of money to see a doctor and get medicine."
She paused, then continued, "Moreover, the teachers at the town's school are very knowledgeable. When Song'er begins his education, he will learn even more there. Brother, we should look to the future."
Lin Cheng remained silent for a long time before saying, "I know you're right." He turned his face away, not wanting his sister to see his reddened eyes. "Let me think about it some more. It's too late, let's rest first."
Lin Yao hadn't expected Lin Cheng to agree immediately. After all, people in ancient times were attached to their homeland, and given the Lin family's special circumstances, it was understandable that Lin Cheng would be reluctant to part with the old house. However, it seemed that Lin Cheng hadn't flatly refused, which meant there was room for negotiation. She couldn't stay in this small village forever; she wanted to open shops in the prefectural city and the capital, preferably a chain, to make a fortune. She wanted to live a life of abundance, free from worries about food and clothing.
~
The next morning, as soon as Lin Yao opened the door, she saw Lin Cheng squatting in the courtyard, carefully wiping the donkey cart. The morning light slanted down on him, giving him a soft glow.
"Brother, so early?" Lin Yao stepped forward and noticed an extra burlap sack on the donkey cart, bulging with something inside.
Lin Cheng straightened up and put down the rag in his hand: "I thought about it all night, and you're right. If we want to expand our business, we really should move to town." He paused, then reached out and touched the sack beside him. "I've prepared a blanket in the car so I won't have to worry about catching a cold if I need to use the car at night."
Lin Yao hadn't expected Lin Cheng to understand so quickly. She'd tossed and turned all night, wondering if she'd been pushing him too hard. Lin Cheng was just a teenager, and in the past six months, he'd experienced his father's disappearance, his mother's death, and the burden of caring for his younger siblings. She should understand his attachment to the old house. "Brother, no matter where we go, this will always be our home. We'll come back whenever we have time." She looked up at the familiar eaves. "When we make a lot of money, we'll renovate the old house into a big mansion so Dad can come back and live there."
After they reached an agreement, they each got busy with their own tasks.
As soon as Lin Yao entered the shop, A-Zhu and A-Fu were wiping the signboard on a ladder, while Wang Xiaoyu, Su Niang, and Zhao Niangzi were busy in the kitchen. Xiao Man was sitting by the stove, carefully drawing something on the ground with a twig, with a worn-out cloth tiger beside her.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Lin Yao asked with a smile.
"Very good!" Zhao Niangzi wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I haven't slept so soundly in a long time." Xiaoman chimed in in her childish voice, "The bed is so soft, like a cloud!"
Lin Yao nodded. "That's good then." She tied on her apron, clapped her hands, and said, "Today I'm going to make a new dish: Meat Roll!"
Upon hearing this, Su Niang and Zhao Niangzi exchanged a glance, and Zhao Niangzi quickly picked up Xiaoman: "The shopkeeper wants to teach us a new dish, let's go out first."
Lin Yao quickly stopped them: "No need to avoid us, stay and learn together! We're going to work together to expand our business in the future. If you learn this skill, you can help us do more in the future."
Su Niang was puzzled: "My lady, this is a secret recipe!" In their hometown, each family's food recipes were the foundation of their livelihood, passed down only to men and never easily revealed to others.
"No matter how good the recipe is, it only tastes good when someone makes it. Meat rolls are made by wrapping meat filling in flour and steaming it. They are fragrant and filling." Lin Yao picked up a dough ball and demonstrated and explained how to make meat rolls.
She poured the yeast, which had been dissolved in warm water beforehand, into the flour and gently kneaded it with her fingertips. "Kneading dough requires 'three smooths': smooth hands, a smooth bowl, and smooth dough." As she spoke, she flipped her wrist, rolling and flattening the dough on the work surface until it became a smooth ball. She then covered it with a damp cloth. "Now let the dough rise for half an hour. It will be soft and fluffy when steamed, once it has doubled in size."
While the dough was resting, Lin Yao began preparing the meat filling. She finely chopped the fresh pork, explaining, "You should choose pork that's three parts fat and seven parts lean, so it won't be dry." Before she finished speaking, she poured scallion and ginger water into the filling and stirred it quickly clockwise. The meat paste gradually became sticky. "Adding scallion and ginger water is to remove the fishy smell, enhance the aroma, and make the filling more moist." Next, she sprinkled on some Sichuan peppercorn powder and salt, then drizzled a large spoonful of boiling hot sesame oil. With a sizzling sound, the rich aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen.
Wang Xiaoyu leaned closer to smell it and couldn't help but swallow hard: "Master, the aroma of this minced meat is making my stomach rumble!" Xiaoman also stood on tiptoe, her little hands gripping the stove, gazing longingly: "I can smell the meat too!"
Once the dough had risen, Lin Yao rolled it into a thin, even rectangular sheet. "The dough can't be too thin, or it will tear easily when you roll it up; it also can't be too thick, or the texture will be tough." She spread the seasoned meat filling evenly on the dough, leaving the edges unrolled. "Roll it up tightly." With that, she used both hands to slowly roll up the dough from one end, gently pressing it as she rolled, and finally pinched the ends to seal it. A plump meat roll was thus formed.
Zhao Niangzi stared in disbelief: "There's actually such a way to do it! Why didn't I think of using the leftover dough and meat filling from making dumplings?"
Lin Yao placed the meat roll into an oiled steamer and covered it with the steamer basket. "The heat is very important when steaming the meat roll. After the water boils, put it in the steamer and steam it over medium heat for 15 minutes, then let it sit for 3 minutes. This will prevent the meat roll from shrinking."
As the fire in the stove burned brighter and brighter, white smoke gradually rose from the steamer, the aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of steamed buns, making everyone's mouths water. Ah Zhu wiped the sweat from his forehead and ran into the kitchen from outside: "The smell is so good that many people have asked us what new food we're selling today!"
Wang Xiaoyu replied, "It's a new dish made by the master, meat roll!"
Ah Zhu scratched his head and asked curiously, "Meat dragon? What kind of food is that?"
Lin Yao smiled and pointed to the steamer with her flour-covered hands: "Look, this dough is wrapped with meat filling, rolled into a long strip and steamed. It looks like a little dragon, so it's called Meat Dragon." As she spoke, she turned her head and instructed, "Take this menu out and have Mr. Wang add some words to it and hang it up so that everyone knows we have a new dish."
The menu featured a simple sketch drawn in advance by Lin Yao: a coiled "meat dragon" lying on the plate, so lifelike that Wang Zhi only needed to add two more words to make it usable.
Finally, the time came. Lin Yao lifted the lid of the steamer, and as the steam dissipated, a glistening, golden-brown meat roll was revealed to everyone. She cut it into small pieces with a knife, revealing the firm and tender meat filling inside. "Try it!" she said, cutting off another piece and handing it to Xiaoman.
Xiaoman looked at her mother, and seeing Zhao Niangzi nod, she reached out her little hand, took the meat roll, and took a big bite, her cheeks puffing out like a little hamster.
Wang Xiaoyu also took a bite. The soft dough and the savory meat filling intertwined in her mouth, and she praised repeatedly: "Master, this meat roll will definitely become our shop's signature dish!"
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Author's note: ①②③ are quoted from Baidu.
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