Chapter 75 Wounded Soldiers Return Home "Officer, is my father on the roster?"...
As Xu Zhiheng entered the inner hall carrying a basket of snacks, Jin Yu was wiping her spear. Seeing him come in, Jin Yu rushed forward and took the basket from him. "This must be from Miss Lin, right? She prepared so much food on the first day; we're sure we'll have more snacks than we can eat!" Jin Yu said happily.
He didn't reply, but asked a completely unrelated question: "Do you know my tastes?"
Jin Yu paused in her hand as she broke off the white rice cake. Although she didn't understand why her husband would suddenly ask such a question, she replied, "Of course I know. My lord, I grew up with you, how could I not know your tastes? Back in the capital, you preferred strong flavors, especially spicy ones. You loved sour and spicy, fragrant and spicy dishes the most. But now that we're in Jiangnan, you've developed a liking for sweet and sour flavors. Every time we go to a restaurant, you order a sweet and sour dish. I suppose it's because Lin Xiaoniangzi's sweet and sour pork and sweet and sour spare ribs are so delicious that they've changed your tastes."
Xu Zhiheng suddenly realized that he hadn't noticed the change in his taste, while the person next to him had seen it clearly. No wonder Lin Yao thought he preferred sweet and sour; he had been ordering it too frequently, which had caught on. Although the matter was clear, he felt a strange emptiness in his heart; it turned out he had been overthinking things.
Jin Yu had no time to care about her husband's little thoughts; her eyes were now only on the basket of snacks: "My lord, this white cake has a very peculiar taste; it looks like it's made of rice."
"This is white glutinous rice, made from glutinous rice." Xu Zhiheng snapped out of his thoughts, picked up a preserved plum candy, and put it in his mouth. Just as she said, it was perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, just to his liking.
In the training ground, Lin Song looked at the senior brothers and sisters who were much taller than him and felt a little flustered. But remembering what his older sister had said at home, he mustered up his courage and said, "My name is Lin Song, I am four years old, and it's nice to meet you all." After he finished speaking, the training ground fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, seemingly not expecting Lin Song to suddenly introduce himself.
Just as Lin Song was blushing with embarrassment, Qian Lan patted him on the shoulder and said, "My name is Qian Lan, and I'm the oldest among this group."
At this moment, in Lin Song's eyes, Qian Lan was like a savior, and he promptly called out, "Senior Brother!"
Qian Lan laughed, revealing two large dimples. He teased, "Don't call me that. You're the only disciple of the master here. Although you're the youngest, you're probably the most senior."
Lin Song scratched his head, not quite understanding what Qian Lan was saying. Just as he was about to ask her, Lü Dazhi walked onto the training ground. He cleared his throat and said, "Everyone stand at attention! Now start practicing your horse stance."
Meanwhile, after dropping Lin Song off at school, Lin Yao rushed back to the restaurant. Seeing that it was still early, she planned to set up a grill at the entrance of the shop. Grilled fish balls are of course most tempting when they are freshly grilled! But it would be a waste to only grill fish balls in this grill, so after a moment's thought, she also prepared pork belly, oysters and chives.
Speaking of grilled oysters, she thought of modern steamed oysters with garlic and vermicelli, only to realize that vermicelli wasn't available back then. Once the thought came to her, she couldn't shake it off.
Vermicelli is a wonderful ingredient; it creates different flavors when paired with different foods. She thought about it, and realized vermicelli isn't difficult to make. Vermicelli is also called mung bean vermicelli, and as the name suggests, the main ingredient is mung beans, and the preparation method is similar to that of crystal noodles.
Lin Yao dug out the leftover mung beans from making mung bean soup and soaked them in water. The weather was cold now, and the mung beans needed to be soaked for six hours to make mung bean vermicelli. She wouldn't be able to make garlic vermicelli today, but luckily, garlic-roasted oysters were a delicious treat.
By the time all the ingredients were ready, it was nearly lunchtime. The charcoal fire in the stove was burning brightly, and Lin Yao placed the ingredients one by one on the grill. The steaming barbecue was especially tempting in the winter, and many passersby who originally had no intention of entering the store were lured in by the aroma and stopped to linger.
Although these fish balls are made from ordinary fish meat, they require a lot of tedious processes such as pounding and stirring, so Lin Yao's prices are not low, seven coins a skewer with three fish balls on it. Some passersby were tempted by the aroma and were hungry, but were deterred by the price.
After a moment's thought, Lin Yao changed the sales method: one fish ball cost three coins, two cost five coins, and three cost seven coins. This flexible pricing made the fish balls sell out quickly.
"What are these meatballs? They smell so good." Chen Qianyuan had nothing to do today, so he left his apprentice at the clinic and went out for a stroll. Before he even reached the eatery, he could smell an enticing aroma mixed with the scent of charcoal. He guessed that Lin Yao had come up with another new dish, and upon closer inspection, he was right. He had seen meatballs in soups and stews many times before, but this was the first time he had seen them grilled.
Upon seeing that it was Chen Qianyuan, Lin Yao greeted him warmly, "These are grilled fish balls. They taste fresh, fragrant, and bouncy. Would you like a skewer, Dr. Chen?"
Chen Qianyuan had no reason to refuse: "Give me a skewer of fish balls and three skewers of grilled pork belly, and please add extra chili sauce to all of them."
There were quite a few fish balls grilling on the grill. Lin Yao casually picked up a skewer and handed it over: "Here you go! Be careful when you're hot."
Chen Qianyuan took the fish balls and saw that they were still steaming hot from the oven, cleverly skewered with bamboo sticks to resemble candied hawthorns. The fish balls were golden brown, and after blowing on them, he took a bite. The slightly charred skin added to the texture, giving them both a caramelized aroma and the fresh taste of fish. He devoured the remaining fish balls one by one, and even the freshly grilled pork belly disappeared in an instant. "Give me five more skewers of fish balls, to take back for my apprentice to try, so he won't always say I'm eating alone."
The grilled fish balls at the entrance were selling like hotcakes, and the business inside the shop was equally booming. These fish balls were not only delicious grilled, but also incredibly flavorful when used in soup. Thirty pounds of fish balls were sold out before dinner time. After packing up his stall, Lin Cheng returned from the dock. Lin Yao stretched her limbs and then went with her brother to the grain shop in town.
Although she doesn't lack money now, Lin Yao doesn't want to blindly hoard grain. If the war doesn't break out in the end, her family will be left with a pile of old grain. She needs to think things through carefully.
Lin Yao browsed around the grain shop. While refined grains tasted delicious, they were expensive, so she decided to buy a mix of refined and coarse grains. In the end, she bought two shi (a unit of dry measure) of white rice and two shi of soybeans. Soybeans are resilient and were a common coarse grain in ancient times. Many farmers would add soybeans to their rice to make soybean rice, which saved grain and increased satiety. Besides, if there was no war in the future, these soybeans could be used to make soy milk, tofu, and bean curd sheets, or to feed livestock.
"Manager Lin's restaurant is now the most popular in town, even surpassing the Zhenxiu Restaurant." The grain shop manager assumed that Lin Yao's large purchase of grain was due to high consumption in the shop.
Lin Yao quickly replied politely, "Shopkeeper, you flatter me. My small business is nothing compared to Zhenxiu Restaurant. We only serve the neighborhood and rely entirely on everyone's support. With the New Year approaching, we need to prepare some food and gifts for the holiday."
After packing the food, the brother and sister went to the clinic. When they arrived, Chen Sui was enjoying the fish balls her master had brought back. When she saw Lin Yao come in, her eyes lit up: "Manager Lin, your fish balls are so delicious! I just ate a whole skewer, and I still haven't had enough."
Chen Qianyuan, who was standing to the side, had obviously finished eating and gestured for the siblings to sit down: "Are you feeling unwell?"
Lin Yao shook her head: "I'm not feeling unwell, I just want to prepare some commonly used medicines, such as those for typhoid fever, fever reducers, and indigestion. I would appreciate it if you could prepare a few doses of any common ailments, Dr. Chen. The weather is getting colder now, and I have a younger brother at home, so it's always good to have more medicine on hand. Also, please prescribe some wound medicine and medicine for sprains and bruises."
Chen Qianyuan looked at her suspiciously: "This medicine needs to be prescribed according to the symptoms. How can you prepare it haphazardly?"
Knowing her request was abrupt, Lin Yao could only plead, "Please prescribe whatever you can think of, anything that can relieve common symptoms. Also, do you have any medicine to repel snakes, insects, rodents, or ants? If so, we'd like some too."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qianyuan guessed what was going on. This was clearly a plan to seek refuge in the deep mountains! Who told her this? Was it Ah Heng who informed her, or did she realize it herself? Regardless of the reason, Chen Qianyuan had no reason not to help. He had often eaten and drunk at the Lin family's restaurant, so it was always a good thing that she could plan ahead.
Chen Qianyuan immediately packed a large basket of medicine as she requested, and also gave her an extra bottle of a secret medicine. "This is an extremely potent poison. Whether it's a burly man or a bear, anyone who touches it will not survive. I'm giving this medicine to you as a thank you for your hospitality these past few days." He placed the bottle in Lin Yao's hand, his usually smiling face now showing a hint of seriousness. "Please take care, Miss Lin."
After seeing Lin Yao and her brother off, Chen Sui dared to speak. The way his master and Manager Lin had acted just now seemed like they were giving each other parting words: "Master, why did you give the Bone-Corroding Powder to Manager Lin?"
Chen Qianyuan gazed at the deepening twilight outside the window, and after a long while sighed, "This world is probably not going to be peaceful."
After leaving the clinic, the brother and sister went to the butcher shop and bought fifty catties of pork. When it comes to meat that keeps well, cured meat is the best. Lin Yao planned to make some sausages and cured pork, both for the New Year and for storing as needed.
She deliberately chose pork with a good balance of fat and lean, practically buying up all the good cuts at the butcher shop, much to the butcher's delight who rounded down the price. Just as the two were about to return to the restaurant, they saw a group of people hurrying past, men, women, and children. Lin Yao and Lin Cheng exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
"These are all the wounded who went to the government office to wait for this batch to return." The butcher placed his knife on the chopping board and sighed. "Who cares about the lives of us ordinary people? I wonder how many more people will perish outside this time."
Upon hearing this, Lin Cheng's expression instantly changed. He shoved the meat into the donkey cart's basket, grabbed his sister, and drove towards the government office. Lin Yao sat in the cart, looking at her brother's tense profile, unable to utter a single word. They had experienced too many false hopes already, but this was their biological father, and they could not give up even if there was only a sliver of hope.
Lin Cheng drove the donkey cart very fast. Fortunately, the butcher shop was not far from the government office, and they arrived in no time. When the brother and sister arrived, the yamen runners were distributing pensions at the gate. Among these people were soldiers who had died in battle and laborers who had died while repairing the palace.
Many people came to the government office hoping to reunite with their families, only to be met with the news of their eternal separation, their faces filled with deathly silence. Some even fainted on the spot upon hearing the news of their family's death.
Some were lucky enough to see their families return. Even if those people were released because they were missing limbs or no longer of use, it was still a great joy for their families. Looking at the chaotic scene before her, Lin Yao felt a deep sorrow in her heart; this was the plight of ordinary people under the rule of tyranny.
Qu Zhong read out names and comforted the families until his throat was dry. People from all around gathered in town to receive their pensions, and the list was long. Some people didn't know the pensions were being distributed today, so he had to register them and then go back to the villages to distribute them one by one. This was his most dreaded task; the thought of facing so many broken families made him feel terrible.
Lin Yao and Lin Cheng stood to the side, listening to the names being read aloud during the music. From high sunrise to sunset, Lin Cheng had initially been anxiously searching for Lin Changkang in the crowd, but as he watched one wounded soldier after another leave, supported by their families, and still saw no sign of his father, his anxiety gradually subsided. They then joined the rest of the group, quietly listening to the names being read one by one during the music.
Even as Qu Zhong packed up the scroll and prepared to return to the county office, he still hadn't called out Lin Changkang's name. Seeing him about to leave, Lin Yao hurriedly stepped forward: "Officer, please wait!"
Qu Zhong stopped and turned around to see the owner of the grilled fish restaurant: "Manager Lin?"
Lin Yao asked, "Officer, my father's name is Lin Changkang. Is he among the wounded who returned this time?"
Qu Zhong looked at the expectant eyes of the brother and sister, carefully flipped through the roster in his hand, and after a long while shook his head, "No."
Although the two were not surprised by the result, they were still disappointed. After thanking Qu Zhong, Lin Cheng silently started driving the donkey cart. The eagerness he had shown when he came was nowhere to be seen; he drove the cart listlessly, looking utterly dejected.
Seeing this, Lin Yao quickly comforted him: "Brother, no news is good news. Our father is a lucky man, and I think he must still be alive. Maybe he can even get an official position! Then we can live in a bigger house!"
Hearing his sister's words, Lin Cheng composed himself: "You're right, I also feel that Dad is still alive. When he comes back, we must let him taste our cooking."
Not far away, a dark shadow flashed by.
Wang Zhi looked at the man before him, whose face was completely covered except for his eyes, and stroked his beard, saying, "Now you believe me, right? I told you long ago, your daughter is incredibly capable. Not only did she drive your elder brother's family far away, but she also made her business thrive. It's a pity that today is Song'er's first day of school, so you didn't see him. He's gotten so chubby now, like a little lucky baby." After saying that, he took out an oil paper package, "These are snacks your daughter made, something like white rice cakes and preserved plum candy. Take them and try them. Focus on serving your master, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to rise to prominence in the future."
The dark figure took the oil paper package from Wang Zhi and carefully placed it in his bundle. He watched the donkey cart drive further and further away until it disappeared from sight and gradually faded into the darkness.
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Author's Note: Jin Yu: [Question mark] Why is my lord acting so strangely today?
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