Chapter 147: Eating a meal and urging marriage and childbirth
The three of them chatted for a while, with Wang Jiandang basically talking all the time, Zhao Xiaojing listening on the side, and Chen Huiping interjecting a word or two from time to time.
The dishes to be ordered began to arrive on the table one by one. Chen Huiping and Zhao Xiaojing started chatting about family matters. Only then did Wang Jiandang stop talking, listen quietly, and pour water for the two of them.
"This restaurant has been open for more than ten years. It specializes in Cantonese cuisine, but it's not authentic Cantonese style. The owner is the chef herself. She was born and raised in Sichuan and married into our area.
Whenever your uncle drinks too much and wants to eat something light but flavorful, we come here to eat.
Although this isn't authentic Cantonese cuisine, it's more to our taste. It's stronger than Cantonese cuisine, but lighter than other dishes, so it's a good balance," Chen Huiping explained.
"Sichuan chefs can actually resist the temptation of red oil and peppercorns. Can they give up Sichuan cuisine and make Cantonese cuisine? It's unscientific." Zhao Xiaojing asked curiously.
"The boss said that there are too many Sichuan restaurants here, and many of them serve delicious food. It's not easy to make something unique, so he changed his thinking and decided to make Sichuan-style Cantonese dishes that no one else has made, haha.
Let's eat! We're not strangers here, are we? "Chen Huiping waved her hand and took the lead, taking a spoon and scooping a spoonful of freshly served raw sausage into Zhao Xiaojing's bowl. "Our daughter-in-law loves this the most. Try it."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie." Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, the two cuisines sounded completely unrelated. Zhao Xiaojing exclaimed that it was outrageous when she heard it. She laughed while tasting the juicy raw intestines that Chen Huiping had strongly recommended when she ordered the dishes.
This dish looks a bit like it is made with small intestines. It is cut into fancy pieces that can be broken after five or six cuts. It tastes crispy and chewy, without the greasiness of intestines, but very fragrant and has a very special flavor.
"It's delicious and fragrant, and the texture is unique. It doesn't look like large intestine or small intestine. Which part of the pig does it belong to?" Zhao Xiaojing asked curiously.
Chen Huiping smiled mysteriously as she ate. "Xiao Zhao, in our country, when we eat something, we don't ask what part of the food it's from. We just eat it and it smells good!"
Wang Jiandang next to him also laughed twice and scooped another spoonful for Chen Huiping. Zhao Xiaojing smiled and didn't think much about it when she saw this.
The three of them ordered four dishes. After the sizzling raw sausage was served, the pan-fried Hakka stuffed tofu, pineapple sweet and sour pork, and cold cabbage were also quickly served.
Among them, Zhao Xiaojing was particularly interested in the pan-fried Hakka stuffed tofu.
When they were in Yangcheng, Master Sun had talked to her about it in detail, saying that Dongjiang stuffed tofu was rich in oil and flavor, and was the Cantonese dish that tasted closest to Central Plains cuisine.
Dongjiang stuffed tofu is also known as Hakka stuffed tofu. Hakka cuisine is actually a more popular name for Dongjiang cuisine.
In Hakka cuisine, stuffing is a very common cooking method. There are not only stuffed tofu, but also stuffed eggplant, stuffed bitter melon, stuffed pepper, stuffed cabbage, etc. Among them, stuffed tofu, stuffed eggplant, and stuffed bitter melon are also known as the three treasures of fried stuffing. Stuffed tofu has even been selected as a provincial intangible cultural heritage and is a typical representative of stuffed dishes.
The stuffing method is actually a cooking method that puts pork or shrimp filling into, stuffs it into, or spreads it into another ingredient, and then heats it to make a dish.
The stuffed tofu just out of the pot was full of steam. Zhao Xiaojing was amazed after taking a bite.
The tofu is tender, the meaty side is fried to a nice golden color, while the other side is still tender, and it is topped with very flavorful and soft soybeans.
When you put it in your mouth, the tofu is dry and fragrant on one side and tender and smooth on the other. The meat filling is also tender and delicious. Coupled with the salty and fragrant sauce, the whole dish is full of rich flavor, and the taste of meat and vegetables, crispy and tender is perfectly blended.
Only then did Zhao Xiaojing have a direct understanding of stuffed vegetables.
"This cold cabbage salad is your uncle's go-to hangover sobering dish. He eats enough cabbage here to fill up the entire restaurant." Chen Huiping picked up a piece of cabbage with her chopsticks and chatted with Zhao Xiaojing while eating. "Once, he came back after midnight, drunk and still insisting on eating. He dragged me over to see that they had already cleaned up and were just about to close the shop.
I said I was leaving, but he insisted on eating, so he sat in the shop and waited. They had no choice but to make two servings. I quickly asked them to pack it up, and I took it home.
"Haha, this dish is really refreshing and good for sobering up. No wonder Uncle is so concerned about it." Zhao Xiaojing said as she tasted it carefully. "It's not difficult to make. I'll try it when I get home. If it works, I'll serve this as a side dish for pork trotter rice next time."
"Okay, Xiao Zhao, if you can do it, then your uncle will really have to eat five meals a day!" Chen Huiping said with a smile. "I'm afraid that by then, you and Xiao Su won't be enough to keep you busy!"
"Don't worry, when the time comes, Xiao Zhao and Xiao Su will each find a boyfriend, and we'll have some hard labor!" Wang Jiandang smiled helplessly, glanced at Chen Huiping, and took over the conversation.
"What do you mean by 'when'? It's time to find someone now! Xiao Zhao, have you and Xiao Su found someone? You are not young anymore. You should get married and start a family. In two years, you should have a baby." Chen Huiping asked.
Zhao Xiaojing never expected that there would be a part of urging marriage and childbirth during a meal, and she couldn't follow the two people's train of thought for a while.
"We haven't yet. We just arrived in Jiangcheng not long ago. Our jobs are not stable yet. We will consider it after we settle down."
"Oh, that's true. It's hard to find a partner now that you've just arrived. I'm afraid you don't even know many boys." Chen Huiping nodded, thought for a moment, and put down her chopsticks. "It's too late to look for a partner after you've settled down! Your job isn't stable, but you're probably not going to meet many boys of the right age with your stall."
Lao Wang, do you have anyone suitable? Please introduce her to Xiao Zhao and Xiao Su as well.
Chen Huiping turned and asked Wang Jiandang.
Zhao Xiaojing was shocked. What was going on? Why were they suddenly introducing people to each other again? The Chinese were truly obsessed with marriage urging and matchmaking!
Before Zhao Xiaojing could even think of a polite refusal, Wang Jiandang waved her off. "No, I don't know Xiao Su because I've never met her. But after meeting Xiao Zhao today, I know she's a simple, kind-hearted girl. If you really introduce her to our place, I'm afraid you'll end up cheating her out!"
"Xiao Zhao, it's not that I don't want to introduce you to someone, but there are some things you don't know. I advise you to look for someone on your own in the future, and don't look for someone in the engineering field. This is what I say from the bottom of my heart."
Chen Huiping paused, frowned, and nodded, "Yes, you're right. Who should I ask to find one? I only have a bunch of tenants here, and there's nothing suitable..."
Zhao Xiaojing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Aunt Chen, I'm not in a hurry, and you don't have to be in a hurry either.
But uncle, why did you say we shouldn't look for someone in engineering?"
Zhao Xiaojing asked Wang Jiandang curiously. Wang Jiandang put down his chopsticks and considered for a moment before continuing. "Xiao Zhao, I won't hide it from you. Engineering is lucrative, but it's also incredibly hard work.
This hardship isn't just for the engineers themselves; it's also for their wives and children. Most engineers are rarely home year-round, leaving them to raise their children and do all the housework on their own.
That’s fine, life is hard for many people, but…”
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