After the waiter left, the teapot beside him was still hot. Zhou Chenyu filled his cup with tea, held the cup and slowly sipped it. Perhaps because he was used to drinking wild chrysanthemum herbal tea, he suddenly tasted the pure and fragrant tea leaves, which did not taste bitter as before.
She nodded: "Hmm, this tea is not bad."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Baoyu smugly said, "See? I told you so, wasn't I right?"
With no one to serve her, Li Xiuju felt much more at ease. Looking at the elegant layout of the building, with small screens and windows separating the tables, there was none of the hustle and bustle of the market. She gradually grew to like this place.
“Baoyu, you’ve chosen a good spot. You won’t have to listen to those men playing drinking games and drinking, which will give you peace and quiet. You also won’t have to worry about the dust and grime on the roadside.”
"The food is served!"
The waiter called out, and the whole family turned to look at him, or rather, stared at the dishes in his hands, smelling the aroma from afar.
The first dish served was braised lamb trotters, simmered in an old, aged pot. The waiter lifted the porcelain lid with a handkerchief, and steam carrying the aroma of meat wafted out. The broth was rich in various expensive spices, including star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and fennel.
Fresh lamb trotters are cut in half and thrown into a pot. The long simmering process allows the juices and spices to fully penetrate the lamb trotters, resulting in a meaty and muttony smell without any gamey or fishy odor.
They each scooped a small piece of lamb trotter into their bowls. The piece in Zhou Chenyu's hand was soaked in juicy meat; the skin was chewy and tender. With a gentle bite, the soft and smooth lamb trotter easily separated from the bone, and it was full of collagen.
The mother and her two children exclaimed in unison, "Hmm, not bad, not bad."
Before the aftertaste of the braised lamb trotters had even faded, the second dish arrived: deep-fried spring goose.
Goose meat is the highlight of this dish, made from freshly slaughtered upper-layer goose meat. It is stir-fried in a large wok over high heat, with ginger slices added to remove any fishy smell. Scallions and water celery are then added to enhance the flavor, and the sauce is used to color the dish. Finally, it is served as a large dish full of the aroma of a wok over high heat.
Looking at the dish, Li Xiuju said, "This deep-fried spring goose looks just like duck meat. I wonder how it tastes? Try it while it's hot."
Baoyu started eating immediately without hesitation.
Zhou Chenyu rarely ate goose meat before, and was afraid she wouldn't like the taste, so she picked up a small piece to try first. The moment she tasted it, she was immediately amazed and raised her eyebrows.
If the appeal of lamb trotter stew lies in the tenderness of the meat, then the appeal of goose meat lies in its firmness. With each bite, the meat is incredibly firm and chewy, and strangely enough, the longer you chew the goose meat, the richer and more fragrant the flavor becomes, even infusing the bones with its aroma.
"This goose meat is really different from duck meat; it's much more tender and not dry at all," Li Xiuju praised. Baoyu, gnawing on a bone, looked up and tempted, "Mother, why don't we catch a few geese and raise them at home?"
Zhou Chenyu thought of her shelved weight loss plan, but couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food, "It's not impossible."
"We still have plenty of space in the chicken and duck coop at home, so there's no worry about not having a place to keep the geese. That's a great idea," Li Xiuju nodded with a smile. "I'll catch a few to take home and raise today."
After the braised lamb trotters and deep-fried goose were served, the braised rice with chestnuts and sausage was quickly brought to the table.
Chestnut and sausage rice, as the name suggests, is topped with sliced sausage, plump and round chestnuts, brightly colored carrots and fresh shiitake mushrooms. Regardless of the taste, the appearance is already very tempting.
Scooping in a spoonful of rice reveals glistening grains of rice. Each grain carries the aroma of smoky, roasted meat and the natural fragrance of chestnuts, mushrooms, and vegetables. Finally, scraping away the crispy rice crust at the bottom of the pot reveals a crunchy and delicious flavor that is simply divine!
They ate slowly for more than half an hour. After a satisfying meal, Li Xiuju couldn't bear to look at the food any longer. "The high price really does have its advantages."
Baoyu counted the cost of the meal, feeling as if his own flesh had been ripped out, but when he thought of the delicious food he had eaten, he smiled with satisfaction: "But the taste was really good. No wonder Hu Zi kept thinking about it. Who wouldn't want to eat it again after eating it once? We only tried three dishes this time. I see there are still many dishes on the menu that we haven't tried yet. It would be great if we could try everything."
Li Xiuju laughed and scolded him, "One meal costs several days' wages. It's fine if you just come for the novelty, but how can you come often? If you come every few days, we won't be able to squander the wealth our ancestors accumulated."
"That's not necessarily true. Money can always be earned back." Zhou Chenyu patted his stomach, remembered the name Jixianglou, and raised an eyebrow with a smile: "When we have enough money, we can come whenever we want. Let's strike while the iron is hot and set a small goal to come again before the New Year!"
Baoyu's face lit up with joy, and he immediately felt a surge of energy. "Sister, I think it's a good idea!"
Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu hit it off immediately and became a couple.
"You two, you're full of tricks!" Li Xiuju stopped them just in time and dragged them towards the market. "Didn't we agree to catch a few geese to raise at home? Have you forgotten already?"
Afterwards, they bought geese, seeds, and two brand-new knives. They strolled around to digest their food, but when they saw the sky gradually darkening, they decided to stop walking and hurried home with their bags full of things.
On the way back, the dark clouds rolled in from the sky and grew thicker and thicker, and the sky grew darker and darker. Thinking it was a sign of an approaching storm, the pedestrians like them hurried back as fast as they could.
However, as they walked, a cool breeze suddenly swept through the quiet mountain forest, startling the birds into flight, and causing leaves, withered branches, and sand to dance wildly in the air.
Before anyone could notice, the dark clouds were blown away by the wind, and the thick layer of dark clouds was swept away. Looking at the tail of the dark clouds that was swept away, Zhou Chenyu suddenly felt a chill, and goosebumps rose on his neck and arms that were exposed to the air.
The weather in the Nanling Mountains is strange and unpredictable, with the transition from summer to autumn happening in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Chenyu never expected that even after traveling to ancient times thousands of years ago, the unpredictable weather would remain unchanged.
She pulled her thin clothes tighter around herself, her body beginning to tremble. "When I went out this morning, it was still the height of summer, but by the afternoon, it had turned into autumn. There was absolutely no warning."
"That heartless heaven! It's determined to make us catch a cold, ruining my whole day's good mood!" Baoyu cursed as sand blew into his eyes, rubbing them vigorously while clutching his precious possessions tightly to his chest.
Looking at the paddy fields in the distance, Li Xiuju felt a sudden chill. The men repairing the paddy field ridges abandoned their tools and rushed home barefoot to put on warm clothes. The rice seedlings that had been flooded had just been replanted and had not yet grown. From a distance, the crisscrossing paddy fields looked like thin mirrors, and when the wind blew, ripples spread everywhere.
She sighed, "Yes, time really flies. Autumn is here in the blink of an eye."
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