Chapter 36
White lotus means it is pure and untainted.
It was a sunny day, and the warm sun shone on the sparkling river surface, reflecting the bustling Yanting Bridge in the morning, as if adding a few different colors.
These colors flowed towards Yueting one after another, and there was never a moment of coldness.
In the past few days, Xiao Yue has become accustomed to the rhythm of selling breakfast. All he has to do is wrap the buns with Fang Sanhong, and then put the soaked beans and other ingredients into the soy milk maker. There is nothing else to do.
The rice noodles are prepared with sufficient condiments, and customers can mix their own flavors, and the taste is different every day.
Therefore, after three days, Xiao Yue started to prepare new dishes for lunch.
It will probably be the same in the future, with new dishes added every few days.
After all, now that we have breakfast, the first two days before the new products are released on both sides are very busy, so we can only wait for some time to come.
Halfway through breakfast, Xiao Yue said something to Fang Sanhong and returned to the kitchen to take out the main ingredients that he had prepared last night.
Lotus root and meat.
Xiao Yue is going to make a delicious, crispy and tender home-cooked dish - fried lotus root boxes.
The meat part is naturally pork belly, and the pork belly should be 30% fat and 70% lean, so that it is juicier and more delicious.
Now that Xiao Yue has a food processor, she doesn't have to chop the meat herself. She just needs to put the meat in and press a button, and in a short while she'll have a large bowl of minced meat.
Add salt, pepper, eggs, onion, ginger, garlic water and starch to the minced meat, beat everything until firm and set aside to marinate.
While waiting, Xiao Yue began to cut the lotus root into slices. The first cut did not need to cut all the way through. The next cut should be moved inward about half the thickness of a fingernail, and then completely cut through.
Repeat this process several times until all the prepared lotus root nodes are cut. Xiao Yue picks up the marinated minced meat with chopsticks and stuffs it into the gaps between the lotus root slices.
The minced meat is pink-brown in color and is completely clamped and stuck together. The small holes in the lotus root slices reveal some meat, but it does not fall out at all.
When the lotus root boxes filled the plate, Xiao Yue began to prepare the batter.
A total of four kinds of powders are needed: flour, starch, five-spice powder and pepper powder. Mix them evenly, then add sesame oil and water to dilute them into a thick state. This is the crispy batter.
After all the ingredients were prepared, Xiao Yue brought them to the stove and poured a lot of oil into the pot.
When the oil was 60% hot, she picked up the lotus root box with tongs, coated it with batter and put it into the pot.
When the batter touches the hot oil, small bubbles appear around it and it quickly takes shape.
Because the pot is big and has plenty of oil, Xiao Yue has plenty of time to operate. It is not too late to turn over the lotus root boxes after half of them are put into the pot.
I saw that the side of the lotus root box that touched the hot oil had been fried into a golden color and exuded an attractive fragrance.
Not long after, the other side was fried and they floated up completely.
Xiao Yue scooped them up one by one with a colander and continued to fry the rest in the pot.
After all the lotus root boxes are put into the pot and taken out, they are all fried again to ensure the crispiest taste. The fried lotus root boxes with golden brown on both sides are then ready.
“It smells so good!”
"Ms. Xiao has great skills!"
"It's really fresh meat filling. I feel relieved just by looking at it!"
At this time, a voice came from the window. It was a few customers who were watching as usual who made comments. One of them even asked a question while holding a bowl of rice noodles.
“Are there any new dishes today?”
"Of course." Xiao Yue responded casually and took the cabbage beside him to deal with it.
The second dish is also a home-cooked dish, braised cabbage in vinegar, which goes very well with rice.
When preparing this dish, you need to separate the stalks and leaves. Tear the leaves into half the size of a palm and cut the stalks diagonally to make it easier to flavor.
After everything is cut, a bowl of sauce is essential, which is made of simple salt, sugar, soy sauce and three spoons of balsamic vinegar, and finally add water and starch.
There are also requirements for the oil used in cooking. Xiao Yue chose lard, which naturally has a stronger aroma.
When the white solid melts in the pot and a little smoke starts to rise, pour in the ginger slices, scallion segments and dried chilies. After the aroma comes out, add the white stalks. When they are cooked through, you can add the leaves that are easy to cook.
Xiao Yue did not stir-fry this step for too long. When the leaves were soft and emerald green, he poured in the starch sauce and stir-fried over high heat to keep them crispy before serving.
The vinegar-braised cabbage just out of the pot was steaming, the obliquely cut parts of the stalks had been soaked in the sauce, and the leaves were covered in juice.
Although the smell is not as strong as that of old vinegar peanuts, it still makes people's stomach growl.
It was noon, Fang Sanhong cleaned up the place outside where the rice noodles were placed, and Xiao Yue packed the dishes and pushed them out.
There were a few people following behind her, and they were drooling as they smelled the food.
When Xiao Yue put the dishes away, he saw the man holding the bowl. He still had one or two mouthfuls of rice noodles left in his hand. He couldn't help but remind him, "Uncle, don't eat too much."
"It's okay, don't worry!"
The old man quickly finished his rice noodles, drank the soup, and then went to eat his meal from the casserole bowl.
Xiao Yue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He picked up the small money basket and walked towards the entrance.
…
The day's business ended quickly.
Xiao Yue stretched his muscles and returned to the kitchen. He didn't even need to turn his head to see that the figure was still sitting there.
As she walked into the kitchen, she casually said, "Mr. Fu's tastes have changed over the past few days, and he has also started to bring more things to me."
When Xiao Yue said that Fu Xunzhou came to the store and sat for half a day, he certainly didn't mean it literally.
Who is so stupid?
Fu Xunzhou was not just sitting there doing nothing. He read a book the day before yesterday, fiddled with a small box yesterday, and was grinding ink and drawing on the round table today.
Not to mention the weird feeling of coming here to study, Xiao Yue even felt like - are you working here?
As for the changing tastes, Fu Xunzhou used to eat light food, but today he started to eat spicy and fragrant cumin lamb...
Thinking of this, Xiao Yue saw Fu Xunzhou stop writing and look up at him.
That face was extremely handsome, and his black hair was rarely tied into a ponytail. Instead, it was combed from both sides to the back and tied with a white hairband, just as warm as his dark brown eyes.
But the next second, Fu Xunzhou blinked and opened his lips slightly.
As if by some mysterious force, Xiao Yue seemed to know what he was going to say, and quickly said, "You are most welcome. I won't disturb you. Come back often if you like!"
Fu Xunzhou paused, and the smile on his lips was like a ray of sunlight shining through the gaps between the branches in the yard.
If you don't pay attention to it, it will always exist silently. If you pay attention to it, it seems impossible to forget it deliberately.
"Miss, you know what I am going to say." The smile on Fu Xunzhou's face spread to his eyes and he looked straight at her.
Xiao Yue curled her lips and said, "Has anyone ever told me that you are a bit of a 'white lotus'?"
"White lotus?" Fu Xunzhou was puzzled and tilted his head to ask gently: "What is this?"
More like it.
Xiao Yue couldn't help laughing. Although her meaning was not derogatory, it was not appropriate to explain it directly. Seeing him packing up his paintings and standing up, she said something vaguely.
"White lotus means it is pure and untainted by mud..."
"Miss Bento is complimenting me." Fu Xunzhou came to her, lowered his eyes and unfolded the painting, his fingertips tightened without anyone noticing: "Then I'll give this painting to you, after all, it's such a coincidence."
skillful?
Xiao Yue looked at the painting and was stunned the next second.
I saw a picture of ink lotus on the fine rice paper. From the upper left to the lower right, there were many lotus flowers, and each one was in full bloom. However, the ones near the blank space on the right were half-open.
Because there was a pavilion sketched with just a few strokes, and in the pavilion stood a slender and graceful woman, with a blue dress on her body as the only color...
The composition of the whole painting is so perfect that the highlight is on the woman, but the black lotus around her will never be ignored.
Xiao Yue was almost mesmerized by the painting, but when he came to his senses, he said in surprise, "Is this a painting that Master Fu has visited before and copied now? The painting is so good, are you really giving it to me?"
"Of course." Fu Xunzhou's fingertips loosened a little, his expression gentle: "But we have known each other for a while, it is a bit strange to address each other like this, why don't you call me by my name."
name?
"Fu Xunzhou?" Xiao Yue said calmly, "Alright, since that's what you said, you can just call me by my name from now on!"
Fu Xunzhou's expression slightly changed, the tip of his tongue lightly touched between his teeth, and he called out softly: "Xiao Yue."
Xiao Yue raised an eyebrow, thinking that his voice was quite nice.
Speaking of which, Fu Xunzhou had always called her Miss, and everyone else called her Madam Xiao, Madam Xiao...
Thinking of this, she heard Fu Xunzhou suddenly laugh, and then said: "You just said that my taste has changed recently. In fact, I have no appetite before, and it started after eating the dishes you cooked..."
"Master Fu!"
Xiao Yue was listening attentively when suddenly the familiar voice came again.
It was Duan Lin who walked in from outside. Seeing Fu Xunzhou, he seemed relieved and said, "I'm leaving. I just found out you're still here after asking. Let's go and go back!"
As he spoke, he also greeted Xiao Yue: "I'm really busy today, and I don't have time to come to Madam Xiao's house for dinner, but I will definitely be free tomorrow!"
Xiao Yue was happy: "It's okay, there just happened to be new dishes these two days, but you two... are you really so convenient?"
They also went back together a few days ago, the difference was that Duan Lin left after breakfast, and seemed to be quite busy, so he came at the end of lunch, and every time after eating, he said he was going back on the way.
"Of course I'll do it on my way!" Duan Lin was so eager to put his arm around Fu Xunzhou's shoulder when he heard this, but Fu Xunzhou glanced at him, so he could only cough and say, "Madam Xiao won't believe me, we're just next door to each other!"
Xiao Yue's face suddenly realized and he looked at Fu Xunzhou.
"...It is indeed as he said." Fu Xunzhou seemed helpless: "Because it is far from here, I stay in Yueting for so long every day."
Xiao Yue nodded: "I see, I'll accept the painting, thank you for the gift. You live so far away, so go back soon, I won't send you off."
"Okay." Seeing her roll up the drawing paper, Fu Xunzhou nodded without changing his expression, and then took the lead to walk out of Yueting Self-service.
Looking at the backs of the two people, Xiao Yue's thought of "working here" became stronger.
Look, there are people who pick you up and drop you off.
*
It was not until they crossed Yanting Bridge that Fu Xunzhou's expression suddenly turned cold.
"Sir!" Duan Lin followed up, hesitant to speak: "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation with Miss Xiao, but how can you easily tell others about your illness?"
I had no choice before, but now I can come to Yueting every day to enjoy myself. Isn't it better to maintain the status quo?
Besides...
Fu Xunzhou stopped and looked ahead: "You mean, she will harm me?"
"I am not..."
"Duan Lin." Fu Xunzhou suddenly glanced at him, his temperament suddenly completely different from his gentle clothes: "I didn't know that you brought those bad habits with you."
Duan Lin was stunned and hurriedly explained: "I dare not! That is not what I meant! Miss Xiao is kind and generous, I am just afraid that someone will take advantage of her and harm her!"
Unexpectedly, when these words came out, Fu Xunzhou laughed.
"Afraid?"
"Why would she be afraid?" The oppressive aura around Fu Xunzhou dissipated, and his tone rose: "She is very powerful, not like an ordinary woman. I'm afraid that by then, before you and I take action, she will solve the problem."
Xiao Yue is a beautiful and kind person, she is sincere and generous, but she is also decisive and strict.
Fu Xunzhou would try his best not to let his affairs affect her, but if something really happened, he thought, Xiao Yue would not be a pushover.
The person involved was not afraid, but others were worried first?
Of course, if what happened was really caused by Fu Xunzhou, he would not tolerate any sand in his eyes afterwards.
Duan Lin only understood half of what he heard, but he realized that Fu Xunzhou's anger had disappeared. Just as he was breathing a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard -
"By the way, what does White Lotus mean?"
"ah?"
Fu Xunzhou: "She just praised me."
Duan Lin: “…”
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