Chapter 150 Goji Berry Leaf and Pork Liver Soup, Winter's End and Spring's Arrival (Part Two...)
Goji berry and pork liver soup – many people think it's a healthy dish but tastes terrible just from the name.
Once it was on the table, I realized I had been too hasty.
The pork liver was tender and smooth, cooked to perfection, with a pinkish interior. Perhaps due to the careful preparation of the ingredients, it wasn't fishy at all, only possessing a unique aroma characteristic of offal. The goji leaves were vibrant green and tender, carrying a fresh, herbal fragrance, and the broth was also delicious and light. Wen Fan added some lean meat to the soup, and occasionally chewing on a firm strand of lean meat brought a pleasant surprise.
Many people smacked their lips, indicating they could have another bowl.
"Take a closer look, and this soup is surprisingly delicious."
After drinking two large bowls, not only were my taste buds soothed, but I also felt that I was eating very healthily. With such a healthy diet, my blood pressure will definitely be stable tomorrow!
Some people said they were already full.
"I guess there won't be much food left, so I'll just eat less."
Mi Xiao was carrying a large clay pot, and everyone was staring at it.
At any other time, Mi Xiao would definitely be nervous, but at this moment, she couldn't care less about anything else. She carefully placed the casserole on one of the tables and lifted the lid.
"The last dish is the meal for winter's departure and spring's arrival."
The person who had just said they were full couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
If I had known... if I had known, I wouldn't have drunk that second bowl!
This "Winter's End and Spring's Arrival" dish is incredibly tempting, especially when you lift the lid. It's as if a fragrant cloud floats up out of thin air, a white mist disperses, and the aroma spreads to every corner.
Its rustic yet assertive aroma immediately identifies it as lard.
"It smells so good."
If you close your eyes, you might vaguely imagine yourself at home, frying a plate of home-style dishes with lard and vegetable oil, and mixing the fragrant dish into rice...
The hunger from the depths of one's soul makes it impossible to wait. Each table has a spatula, and everyone scoops out their own portion and starts eating voraciously.
The casserole was large enough that there was one for each of the three tables. Inside, one could vaguely see bamboo shoots, potato chunks, green beans, broad beans, spring leeks, morel mushrooms, as well as sausages and salted meat.
This bowl of rice truly lives up to its name of winter turning into spring, with a variety of ingredients and a rich aroma.
The sausages were the same ones Wen Fan had sun-dried, and the salted pork was also made by Wen Fan a while ago, specifically for making a traditional Sichuan dish called "Yan Du Xian" in the spring.
Before I even got to try the traditional "Yan Du Xian" (a type of stew), I got to eat rice made with salted pork.
Blanch the bamboo shoots, boil the potatoes, peel and dice them, and dice the cured pork and sausage. Sauté the cured pork and sausage in lard until fragrant. When the sausage releases some oil, add the other vegetables and stir-fry. Finally, pile everything into the rice and mix well once the rice is cooked. The rice grains are glossy. Wen Fan drizzled oil around the edge of the clay pot while cooking the rice, creating a layer of crispy rice crust at the bottom. Occasionally, you can taste the crispy rice crust in the well-stirred rice.
"These broad beans are delicious!"
Fresh broad beans, when cooked briefly, develop a sandy texture inside. The crispy rice crust and the sandy, glutinous texture of the broad beans complement each other perfectly.
The bamboo shoots are fresh, the spring chives are tender, and the morel mushrooms contribute a layer of mushroom aroma.
Chinese sausage and salted pork are undoubtedly the highlights. The salted pork is a perfect balance of lean and fat, while the Chinese sausage is a delightful mix of salty and sweet. The stir-fried Chinese sausage is very dry and chewy, and when paired with diced salted pork, even rice dishes won't taste bland.
Wen Fan left a portion of food in the kitchen; she had been busy all night and was quite hungry. She divided it into a bowl for herself and a bowl for Mi Xiao.
Wen Fan chewed on a grain of rice, still muttering that time was too tight.
"Otherwise, we should use pork from the south."
Unfortunately, locals don't have the habit of eating salted meat, and it's even harder to find Nanfeng meat for sale.
Mi Xiao was already enjoying the delicious food, and upon hearing this, she asked what "Nanfeng meat" was.
Wen Fan: "Salted pork is made from pork belly or leg meat, which is salted and then air-dried. Nanfeng pork is made from the front leg of a pig, which is salted, air-dried, and then fermented... It also depends on the weather."
This stuff is only good in the South because the pickling and fermentation process takes a long time. If it's pickled in winter, it won't be ready to eat until summer. That's why Wen Fan can only use salted pork to make it.
The two ate a small bowl in the kitchen, but the customers outside were going crazy for the dish.
To say that tonight's dishes used a lot of heavy seasoning would be an understatement.
From river shrimp to spring pancakes, from wolfberry leaf and pork liver soup to this final bowl of rice, there is a sense of simplicity that goes beyond the ordinary.
Wen Ji is truly astute. Spring dishes should be served unadorned to best highlight the deliciousness of spring.
Winter has passed and spring has arrived. The meal successfully ate everyone until they were stuffed and full. Only now did they realize that they hadn't drunk any alcohol during the meal.
Wenji allows customers to bring their own drinks, but the drinks were placed on the floor and no one mentioned opening them.
As winter fades and spring arrives, the aroma of the rice, fresh and tender, seems to truly bridge the gap between winter and spring. After the meal, a group of people stand at the door, a gentle breeze blowing across their faces, softly announcing the arrival of spring to everyone.
Spring has truly arrived.
Although there was no alcohol, the client didn't mind at all; on the contrary, he was extremely satisfied and patted the person who hosted the dinner on the shoulder.
"That was a great meal! Shall we meet up again sometime?"
If there's a follow-up invitation, that's practically the best outcome the dinner party can achieve.
Grandpa Duan ate his fill and was finally satisfied.
He's been enjoying Xiao Ge's cooking lately, but compared to tonight...
Grandpa Duan sighed, suddenly looking forward to the holiday even more than Wen Fan.
"Won't the Wen family's little girl finish her college entrance exams in a little over a year?"
Qu Qingqing nodded: "Yes, Qu Xiaoyu is two years ahead of her."
Grandpa Duan: "Then I'll ask Ji Baiyi and the others later if they can tutor this girl when they have time."
Hurry up and finish your college entrance exams; college is much easier than high school.
Of course, there's also more free time.
...
After seeing the guests off, Wen Fan left the pot of soup and rice behind and went next door to tell his mother.
"There's soup and rice in the kitchen. You can all go and eat when you're changing shifts."
There are many guests in the evening, and eating too late is not good for your health, while eating too early will leave you hungry.
Therefore, Wen Fan also figured out the pattern: lunch was usually eaten together after everyone had finished eating, and dinner was eaten by whoever was free first.
After Wen Fan left, Du Min went to eat first, and after she finished eating, she looked completely dazed.
Xiao Ge stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
Du Min: ...
She glanced at Xiao Ge with a somewhat complicated expression, and finally understood the reason that had been bothering her for the past few days.
In the past week or so, Wen Fan hadn't cooked much himself, so after eating Xiao Ge's cooking, Du Min always thought that Wen Fan was only slightly better than Xiao Ge.
But tonight...
This is hardly what you call "a little stronger"!
No wonder, no wonder Xiao Ge, with such excellent skills, is still working in a small restaurant. He's clearly here to become an apprentice.
Thinking of this, Du Min had an idea.
Xiao Ge looked puzzled: "What's wrong with you?"
Du Min: "It's nothing, I just feel... that our little boss is really doing charity work now."
With this level of skill, a private kitchen restaurant only costs 100 yuan per person?
Selling it for a thousand would be excellent value for money!
Xiao Ge was confused, and then Du Min pushed him to go eat.
After finishing his meal, Xiao Ge remained silent. Later that evening, seeing that there was still a lot of food left, he told Wen's mother and packed two boxes to take away.
The rest were divided up between Mi Xiao and Du Min. Mi Xiao took some for her family, while Du Min took the food and went into her aunt's hardware store.
"Auntie, the door's still open?"
Du Min's aunt said cheerfully, "It'll be here soon... How was your day at Wen's?"
Du Min smiled and put down the lunchbox in her hand: "When I get my first month's salary, I'll treat you to a meal."
Such a nice place, it's all thanks to my aunt for thinking of her.
Du Min's aunt felt comforted. She had always liked Du Min's sweet talk, and now that Du Min had arrived, she chatted for a few minutes before giving her some advice.
"Old Wen and his wife are nice people. If you work hard, you can end up like Yao Qingqin, running a stall or something, and earning more than a waiter, right?"
Du Min: "Qingqin, you used to work as a waitress?"
"That's right!" Du Min's aunt slapped her thigh in regret as she spoke.
"When Xia Yingzhi said she was hiring, who on our street doesn't have relatives and friends? I was thinking of you back then, and I was planning to talk to you the next day. But before I could even say anything, I asked Song Hui to introduce Yao Qingqin to you first."
Speaking of Yao Qingqin, Du Min's aunt first recounted Yao Qingqin's divorce from her husband. Then she sighed deeply, "You have to say Yao Qingqin is lucky; she found a good boss. Her salary kept increasing. This year, they even let her work for herself."
“We’ve all done the math. Don’t let the small size of Wen’s Snack Shop fool you; it’s packed with people every morning and evening. Just from a simple pancake roll with tofu, they make at least tens of thousands a month. I heard Yao Qingqin earns that much a month…”
He gestured with one hand, then with five.
Du Min was also surprised: "So many!"
Then I thought, "How did you know?"
She simply didn't believe Yao Qingqin would tell others how much she earned.
Du Min's aunt curled her lip: "Who else could it be? It must have been her ex-husband who said it."
It was also cathartic; many people could empathize with Yao Qingqin's experience. After all, in a life where everyone has to work, no matter how long it takes, as long as there's a period like this, everyone will realize how important work is. Therefore, the neighbors on the street all stood by Yao Qingqin's side.
Although Yao Qingqin's ex-husband agreed to the divorce, he regretted it after getting the marriage certificate. He subtly inquired about Yao Qingqin's salary and eventually went to the kindergarten to see his daughter with his household registration book that he hadn't had time to change yet. The kindergarten teacher didn't dare let him take her away, so he tried to get information from her through the fence.
Although he didn't get much information out of him in the end, he still managed to guess the general idea.
For example, Yao Huang said she didn't know how much her mother earned because her mother's income was not fixed. Her maternal grandmother said that this was called dividends.
Yao Qingqin's ex-husband's heart was pounding. Dividends?
His vision went black.
He initially thought Yao Qingqin's monthly salary was only a few thousand yuan, but what about the bonuses...?
Even at the lowest rate, it's still over ten thousand a month!
At this moment, he felt regret crawling all over his body like ants.
He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He was in a daze when he got home.
In the following days, he began to approach Yao Qingqin, but Yao Qingqin had no interest in paying attention to him and was angry whenever she saw him.
The two of them almost stopped arguing in the street, but their conversation was overheard by others.
Du Min's aunt told Du Min all this, and Du Min's first reaction after hearing it was, "How can Yao Qingqin's ex-husband be so shameless!"
Du Min's aunt said, "That's right, I've never seen such a disgraceful man."
If you're really capable, don't just focus on your ex-wife's money. You have hands and feet; can't you earn your own?
After reminiscing about other people's affairs, Du Min's aunt got back to the main topic and urged Du Min to work hard.
Du Min changed her mind and decided not to say anything now, just saying "okay, okay, okay" repeatedly.
"Auntie, try this food, it's delicious!"
Even when the food is still warm, it tastes delicious.
Du Min's aunt took a few bites and then closed the container, saying, "Let the whole family try it when we get home."
Although they can still go to Wenji Restaurant for meals, they can't get a reservation for their private dining on weekends.
"We've benefited from your success too."
Otherwise, you couldn't buy dishes like this even if you paid money.
...
Mi Xiao did something similar. She divided the packed meal into two portions and sent one to her uncle. Her uncle asked her how it was.
Mi Xiao nodded: "Very good."
Everything was fine. Wen's parents were not harsh bosses, and Xiao Ge and Yao Qingqin in the shop were both warm and kind people. Du Min took her along in everything and would take the initiative to greet customers who were a little difficult to talk to, so as not to make her feel scared.
The foreman smiled and said, "That's good. Do a good job."
Mi Xiao nodded emphatically: "Okay!"
****
Winter passed and spring arrived, and the meal was served in just one night. The next day, it went viral because of the meal preparation video that Wenji posted on his account.
Suddenly, the internet was filled with traces of winter turning into spring and the arrival of meals.
Although Wenji didn't post the steps, this combination is sure to be delicious!
The name is truly evocative; you can almost smell the rich aroma of sausages and cured meat, the fragrance of lard, and the aroma of rice grains just by closing your eyes...
[Ugh! I strongly demand that the store stock this!]
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