Glug.
Glug glug.
Meng Chijian glanced at the person who was looking down at the necklace, and used tongs to lift the lid of the casserole.
"It smells so good!" A-Mian immediately came over and saw that the pot contained a perfect blend of salty and savory flavors, with a milky white broth that made her mouth water.
This soup is called Snow Cabbage and Fish Roe with Tofu.
In fact, every ingredient was extremely cheap. Fish offal was something most locals didn't like to eat; it wasn't filling, wasn't considered meat, and was troublesome to prepare. So, a basket of bright yellow fish roe emerging from the belly of a freshly gutted fish was bought cheaply for only three coins. Meng Chijian also bought two large blocks of tofu, which cost only four coins here, and a small jar of pickled mustard greens from the stall, spending a total of ten coins in total.
"Go get your bowl and chopsticks, eat before you go home."
"This..." Ah Mian's eyes were fixed on the pot. "Is it wrong for us to cook separately like this?"
Seeing that she was being disingenuous, Meng Chijian was both amused and annoyed. "Now that you're awake and hungry, can you walk home?"
Ah Mian couldn't keep up the act any longer, so she chuckled and held out her bowl.
Using a spoon (the iron spoon used to sell vegetables at noon, which has now been washed clean), Ah Mian scooped out a few pieces of soft, white tofu, along with two fish roe pieces. She then ladled in a spoonful of white broth, sprinkled on some chopped green onions, and with a quick chopstick, put the trembling tofu into her mouth.
"So delicious! Tender and fragrant...not fishy at all, how did you make it?"
Fish roe is also delicious; it's soft and fluffy but has a unique texture, like eating tofu with more chewiness and flavor.
“It’s not difficult to make. On marches, soldiers’ rations are often rationed, so we have to find ways to make do with what we have. Wash the fish roe and cut it into pieces; wash the pickled mustard greens and chop them into small pieces; cut the tofu into pieces about the same size as the fish roe. Use any pot… put some water in, bring it to a boil, then put everything in the pot and cook over high heat until the fish roe is tender, then add some salt,” Meng Chijian said. “However, only wounded soldiers can eat this; many have survived thanks to it… They can’t eat the rest of the cold bread.”
Ah Mian listened half-heartedly, but in reality, she was piling food into her bowl with lightning speed.
Her eating manners are endlessly fascinating. Steaming white tofu is placed into her cherry-colored mouth, her cheeks slightly puffed out, reminiscent of a fledgling bird under the eaves, constantly opening its mouth wide, waiting to be fed.
Meng Chijian took a plate, put a piece of fish roe on it, and then used a small spoon to put it near A-Mian's mouth. A-Mian didn't suspect anything and took a big gulp from his hand.
Meng Chijian then withdrew his hand and started eating as well. On the one hand, he felt that this emotion was extremely strange and unusual, and on the other hand, he was glad that A-Mian was dull-witted and unaware of the danger.
"Eating more fish roe will make you smarter."
"oh."
After Ah Mian finished eating, she packed her things, and the two closed the shop and strolled leisurely home.
—Of course, a proper dinner awaits them as well.
Yuan Hua was sent to water her second brother's fields in the afternoon, and is now wolfing down her food at the dinner table.
He looked suspiciously at A-Mian, who wasn't eating much, and then at Meng Chijian, who was eating normally. "Did you eat something delicious in the city before you came back?"
“A-Mian has to go to the city to sell food at noon now, it’s very hard work,” Meng Chijian said calmly.
Yuan Hua: What am I supposed to do, not only sell food but also carry water?!
There was no way around it; Yuan Hua had a big appetite, and with two strong men at the table, they could only satisfy everyone's hunger at best, let alone make sure everyone ate well.
Meng's mother agreed wholeheartedly, "Yes, like our little Jing, a round face is so lovely. Ah Mian, I touched her face last time, such a small face, so narrow, her wrists so thin, so pitiful. Third, you must raise Ah Mian's face to be round too, and don't skimp on her food."
"I know."
Yuan Hua was speechless, muttering to herself, "Is this family raising a wife or raising pigs?"
Amian suddenly said, "It's been two months. Wuqian doesn't need to be tied with straw rope anymore, so he shouldn't run away. Even if you try to run, it's no use. If the villagers see you, they'll just think you're going to steal again and beat you up."
Yuan Hua rolled her eyes silently; there was really no point in talking to these barbaric natives.
It's just one chicken, how long have you been talking about it!
And so, Ah Mian persisted in going to the city to sell food every day, but she was able to cook special meals for others every afternoon.
Sometimes it was a rare fruit worth a hundred coins, with a golden-yellow surface, said to be called pineapple, something people would buy to offer to gods and Buddhas. Meng Chijian saw it and brought one back with him.
After peeling and cutting it into small pieces, Ah Mian dipped it in salt water and ate it. The juice and the sweet and sour taste of the fruit were both very good.
My tongue hurts a little after eating too much.
Sometimes, even with a bag of meat buns, A-Mian would be surprised to find that she only ate two and was already full, not wanting to eat anymore. You see, she used to feel like she could endlessly stuff herself with anything!
However, the good times didn't last long. In just five or six days, several small stalls selling noodles and meals sprang up near the dock.
The laborers, on the contrary, were no longer willing to buy food outside; only a few of them still did.
Ah Mian prepared less and less ingredients each day, and by the sixth day, she still couldn't sell them.
"How shameless these people are! And those who came to argue the other day, they're even trying to sell food here!" Yuan Hua had been hawking his wares at the dock for ages without attracting a single customer. To show that he hadn't been slacking off, he started yelling at his fellow vendors.
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