Chicken blood noodles are considered one of Ningcheng's specialty foods. Fresh chicken blood is mixed into flour while it's still hot, without adding a drop of water. The resulting dough is firm and reddish in color, giving it a different texture compared to chicken blood cubes.
Similar practices exist in many parts of China. Some places like to cut chicken blood noodles into noodles to make stewed noodles, while others prefer to cut them into slices and stir-fry them with mung bean jelly. Every household has its own way of doing things. Obviously, Tian Wen's family prefers to cut chicken blood noodles into strips and stir-fry them with braised chicken.
"Try it and see how it tastes. This is all rooster blood from a rooster that was just killed today. It's good for you girls!"
Tian Wen's wife, Niu Fangling, brought out several more dishes: stir-fried pork slices with pickled cabbage, stir-fried eggs with wood ear mushrooms and onions, stewed beef brisket with tomatoes, cucumber salad, and preserved egg tofu. All the dishes were served in large platters, piled high as if they were going to reach the sky.
Niu Fangling smiled demurely:
"Mr. Xu, we've been meaning to invite you to dinner for a while, but we haven't had the chance until now. I'm so glad we finally have the chance today. I only know how to cook some simple home-style dishes, and I don't know if they'll suit your taste, but they certainly can't compare to your cooking—"
"Home-style dishes are the best test of a person's cooking skills. I only learned from my master for a few more days. If we're talking about cooking time, I can't compare to my sister-in-law."
Xu Milu smiled politely, picked up a piece of chicken, and tasted it:
The chicken was stewed until very tender; the meat practically fell off the bone with the slightest touch. The multiple spices blended together harmoniously without sounding cloying, instead creating a wonderfully rich and complex flavor.
No water was added to the chicken blood noodles, resulting in a firm dough. The stir-fried chicken blood noodles had a rather peculiar texture. When you bite into them, you can see the air bubbles that were created during the kneading process in the cross-section, giving them a subtle texture similar to frozen tofu.
— Dried chili peppers are the main source of spiciness in this dish. Removing the chili seeds and leaving only the skins prevents the seeds from turning bitter due to the high temperature. The starchy potato chunks become sticky and gooey under the high temperature. The sandy potatoes stick to the chicken. When you take a bite, you first feel the softness of the potatoes and the richness of the sauce, followed by the wonderful flavor of the spices and the tenderness of the chicken.
"Wow, you cultured people are really something! You can even come up with a few profound principles from just eating a big plate of chicken!"
Niu Fangling's eyes narrowed to slits. Hearing Xu Milu's high praise for the dish, she was overjoyed, as if she had met a kindred spirit. No one could dissuade her, and she insisted on going back to the kitchen to stir-fry some shredded potatoes and serve them.
"Come on, let's eat first. Your sister-in-law is so happy. Our village is developing better and better. My eldest son said that he won't go out to work next year. He'll bring his wife and grandson back home to open a farmhouse restaurant or something."
Tian Wen sighed:
“In the past, all the young people in the village would go out to work, but now they’ve all come back. Mr. Xu, you don’t know, parents worry all day about whether their children have enough to eat or wear when they go out to work. Now that they’re back, at least they can stay with us and take care of them, right?”
Cui Qingli was quite perceptive; she kept her head down and ate her food the whole time without saying a word.
"Yes, our village is developing better and better. There will be more places to make money in the future, so the young people in the village will naturally come back. Moreover, with the strong support of national policies, there will definitely be more job opportunities in the village in the future."
Xu Milu put down her chopsticks and continued:
"Village chief, I'd like to ask if anyone has contracted out the mountain behind the village? Generally, forest land contracts are for 30 to 70 years, but I'm not sure about the contract period in our village."
Upon hearing that Xu Milu wanted to contract the mountain land, Tian Wen subconsciously asked:
"You mean the mountainous area around Qidaozigou? Mr. Xu, to be honest, leasing forest land is really not worthwhile. First, you can't farm on this forest land, and you'll have to spend a lot of money just to maintain it. Second, even if you manage to lease it and clean up the forest land, the government will still take it back once the contract expires!"
He seemed genuinely concerned for Xu Milu, and earnestly advised her:
"Moreover, behind Qidaozi Gully lies a deep mountain that has been deserted for many years. The mountain paths are overgrown with grass. A few years ago, someone went into the mountains to gather pig feed and was eaten by wolves. When they were found, all that was left was a tattered sleeve."
“I know, I’ve been looking around these past few days. Farming in the woodlands is definitely not an option, but I don’t plan to clear land on the mountain. Didn’t I run a restaurant in Nanqiao before? Now I have too much to do every day, so I can’t go to work every day. I plan to turn the restaurant into a specialty food store, selling only the ingredients I grow.”
Xu Milu patiently explained:
“I still have so many acres of land, and I’ll definitely build a cold storage here in the future. So I thought I might as well build a villa here and move here. It’s a big place, and I’ve raised some ‘small animals’ so they can move around a lot.”
It is indeed a "small" animal. Ah Chou's current size is comparable to that of an elephant. Wouldn't it cause a sensation if it were released?
Therefore, the more desolate the place, the better when she builds a mountain villa. If it weren't for the fact that Ah Chou doesn't like the desert, she would have liked to build a nest for it in the Sahara Desert.
"What? You're moving to the village?"
Tian Wen, having served as a village cadre for half his life, originally intended to persuade Xu Milu again, but upon hearing that Xu Milu planned to build a mountain villa in the woodland, his mind immediately became active.
This is truly a living god of wealth!
Previously, he only contracted land in the village, and the entire Xingning Village benefited from it. If he keeps the people here, the village will definitely prosper in the future!
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