The next day, when Meng Zhao got up, Madam Gu had already prepared breakfast, and Shen Qinghe also got up early to help.
One reason Meng Zhao was willing to stay with the Shen family was that everyone in the family was hardworking. Even Shen Qinghe, a scholar, would do as much work as possible whenever he was at home.
If the Shen family were all lazy and good-for-nothing, she probably wouldn't be thinking about making money, but rather about finding a way to run away as soon as possible.
After so many days of getting to know each other, Meng Zhao and Gu Shi have become quite compatible. Since Shen Qing couldn't help with cooking, she took the initiative to go to the back mountain to chop firewood.
At first, the firewood used to sell boxed lunches was all cut by Shen Qing and Xiu during their breaks, but it ran out in no time. Later, Meng Zhao and Gu Shi went to the back mountain to cut firewood together.
It's enough to get by for a few days, but it's too time-consuming and tiring to keep chopping firewood myself, so it's better to find a place to buy some firewood.
Today I made steamed pork with rice flour, chicken and potato stir-fry, garlic ribs, home-style tofu, sweet and sour poached eggs, and stir-fried mixed vegetables.
The rice flour used to make steamed pork was prepared yesterday in advance.
Take two catties of fine rice and two taels of glutinous rice, add an appropriate amount of star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon and peppercorns, put them in a dry and oil-free pot and stir-fry until they turn slightly yellow. Since there is no stone mill at home, Meng Zhao can only take it to Aunt Feng'e's house to grind it. As before, he did not pay her and brought some food with him.
Aunt Feng'e's idea was to have more of Meng Zhao's cooking. Ever since she ate Meng Zhao's food, Aunt Feng'e had grown to like Meng Zhao very much and kept talking about finding a daughter-in-law just like Meng Zhao.
Cut the pork belly into thick slices, add scallions, ginger, and a little wine to remove the fishy smell, then add salt, bean paste, pepper, and a suitable amount of sugar for seasoning. Mix well, then add ground rice flour and coat the pork slices evenly.
Place the diced sweet potatoes at the bottom of a bowl, then spread the sliced pork belly on top. Cover the bowl with washed lotus leaves and steam it in a pot for an hour. The soft, tender, and fragrant steamed pork belly is ready.
He left a portion of food for Shen Qinghe, and then went to town with Gu Shi and the others.
When I arrived at the stall, some regular customers were already waiting. Even before the stall was set up, some of them started asking questions.
"Boss Meng, what new dishes do you have today? Hurry up and open them so we can smell them."
"That's right, Boss Meng. I was thinking about your boxed lunches while I was carrying the goods. Please serve me one quickly."
"Serve me first, serve me first, I'm starving."
Looking at the eager customers in front of him, Meng Zhao felt a great sense of accomplishment and quickly set up his stall.
"Today's new dish is steamed pork with rice flour. This dish took quite a bit of effort to make. Please give it a try."
With Meng Zhao's recommendation, the steamed pork with rice flour sold extremely well, and Meng Zhao also received the first wave of feedback.
"Delicious, delicious! Boss Meng's steamed pork is so fragrant and tender, it's so good I almost bit my tongue off."
"Boss Meng is very generous. Why is the pork cut so tender and thick? He's even more generous with the cuts than we are when we cook at home."
"It smells so good! I've never eaten such delicious meat before!"
"Not only is the pork belly delicious, but the sweet potatoes soaked in the broth underneath are also delicious, fragrant and sweet."
One customer, who liked the taste of sweet and sour poached eggs, asked, "Boss, how do you make these eggs? They're so delicious!"
"I fried these eggs in lard. After frying them, I put sugar, vinegar, and soybean paste in a pot and brought it to a boil. Then I put the fried eggs in and cooked them for a bit," Meng Zhao answered without holding anything back.
During the days of setting up a stall, some people have asked Meng Zhao how she makes her food. Meng Zhao will give a brief explanation. In fact, even if Meng Zhao doesn't explain, some people who know how to cook can roughly guess how she makes it.
But when it comes to food, the key lies in the preparation of sauces, the use of spices, and the control of heat. Meng Zhao wouldn't say much about these things, and most people knew that these were his special skills, which he wouldn't casually reveal, and no one really bothered to ask.
Today, they sold out nearly 100 boxed meals within an hour, which is the maximum they can produce each day. The group packed up and went to buy ingredients for tomorrow.
Today I bought a whole pig foreleg from Meng's butcher shop, weighing over ten pounds. I've decided to make one of my signature dishes when I get home: braised lion's head meatballs.
The reason they didn't do it before was because there were no meat grinders in ancient times. It would have been exhausting for her and Madam Gu to chop more than ten kilograms of meat into minced meat.
But today a strong laborer came home. Although he is still young, Meng Zhao has seen Shen Qing and Pi Chai before. He has some strength, so why not use him? Besides, if he doesn't take this opportunity to mess with the future prime minister, he may never have the chance again.
At this moment, Shen Qinghe was sitting upright with his back to the courtyard gate, quietly looking at the book in his hands. He was wearing a coarse cloth short jacket that he had changed into when chopping firewood. It was patched in several places and did not fit properly, which made his back look even thinner. His hair was tied back with a cloth strip. His shoulders and back were straight, revealing a hint of toughness.
Although most of the men he had met along the way were dressed like this, when Shen Qinghe wore it, it gave off an air of otherworldly elegance.
Hearing the door open, Shen Qinghe got up from his seat, took a few quick steps, took the stroller from Meng Zhao, and parked it safely in the yard.
"Mother, sister-in-law, you must be tired after a long day. I'll take care of the rest. You all should rest." Seeing that they had a few beads of sweat on their foreheads after they returned, Shen Qinghe took the heavy items from the car and asked with concern.
Meng Zhao replied, "I'm not tired. It's not hot today either. We just walked a bit faster on the way back."
"Mother is fine, you go and study, don't delay." In Madam Gu's eyes, her son's studies were the most important thing.
Hearing this, Shen Qinghe shook his head with a smile and said helplessly, "Mother, I study all day long at the academy. I finally have a day off, so I might as well move around more. Didn't my sister-in-law also say that doing one thing for a long time is actually bad for your health?"
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