Chapter 132 The old woman was a good ghost; even on their first meeting, she hadn't frightened He Zhao, and her appearance was...
The old woman was a good ghost; she hadn't frightened He Zhao even on their first meeting, and she looked exactly like him in life. Qiao Yanyu had already discovered the old woman's cause of death—it was old age. But for her to become a ghost, there must be some hidden story.
According to the investigation, the old man had lived a comfortable life in his later years; his children were filial, and his daughter had even visited him and bought him new clothes before he passed away. So why he became a ghost remains a mystery to Qiao Yanyu. However, while she doesn't understand, she knows that many things are completely different from what they appear on the surface.
But the old woman was a good ghost, that much is true. You can tell from the fact that she kept trying to take out money to buy candy for He Zhao. This kind of ghost is also the target of many child ghosts.
As the old woman slowly approached, the child ghost instantly transformed into an adorable angel, obediently joining He Zhao in calling out, "Hello, Grandma." The old woman paused for a moment, then revealed a kind and gentle smile, replying, "Hello."
The little ghost glanced at He Zhao and noticed that she hadn't exposed it like before, probably because it hadn't acted up. Although its mind was still that of a child, the little ghost knew quite a lot and understood what it meant to read people's expressions, so it didn't directly ask the old woman for money for food. Instead, it climbed onto the small chair next to the old woman and sat there obediently without making a sound.
After greeting him, the old woman didn't look at the child ghost again, but smiled at He Zhao and said, "I want a bowl of rice."
"good."
He Zhao glanced at the child ghost and, finding it motionless, went to serve the old woman rice. As usual, the old woman slowly finished a bowl of rice, then carefully took out money from her pocket, unfolded it layer by layer, and counted out ten yuan in ghost money for He Zhao.
Sometimes, the elderly and children are really similar; their pockets are full of loose change, unlike other ghosts who have large bills.
As usual, it trembled as it tried to give He Zhao money to buy candy. This action made the little ghost's eyes light up; it thought that based on the old woman's behavior, she might actually become its ATM.
He Zhao refused, pushing the old woman's hand back: "Keep it for yourself. What are you trying to do with me? I can't buy things with ghost money." Seeing the child ghost eyeing her menacingly, she immediately added: "Don't give money to any shady ghosts. Some ghosts are nice to you only because they want your money."
The old woman nodded repeatedly: "I know, this old woman knows who is truly good to me."
Seeing that He Zhao really didn't want it, the old woman took the money, put it back in her pocket, and said with a smile, "I'll come again tomorrow." She then slowly left the stall and walked outside. The child ghost saw this and wanted to sneak up and follow her. Since she couldn't fool a ghost here with He Zhao, she figured she could fool one outside.
Before it could even step outside, it was grabbed by the arm by Qiao Yanyu's toy soldier. This infuriated the child ghost, which stretched out its legs and kicked and pulled at the toy soldier. However, the patient was insensitive, and the child ghost was no match for the toy soldier's strength, so its attacks were completely ineffective.
Once the old woman was out of sight and Qiao Yanyu was certain that the child ghost couldn't catch up, she recalled her soldier.
He Zhao chuckled and said, "Just stay put. Nobody's going to give you money. You're not their child, so why would they give you money? Do you really think being young is a get-out-of-jail-free card? Dream on."
The little ghost's mouth twitched, looking like it was about to cry again. He Zhao stopped it: "Stop, don't cry. Do you want to eat or not? If you don't want to eat, then leave and don't bother my guests here."
Unable to get any money, but still needing to eat, the child said pitifully, "I want some."
It finished eating, paid the bill obediently, and then reluctantly left, looking back every few steps. Qiao Yanyu saw that He Zhao seemed to be having a headache with the child ghost, so she said, "If you find it troublesome, I'll take it to the countermeasures bureau, so it won't be able to bother you."
"..." He Zhao thought for a moment before waving his hand: "It's not that bad. Apart from being a bit noisy, it hasn't really done anything wrong. It's just that I don't know why, it's particularly stingy. Such a small ghost child, yet it can be so stingy. And when it's making a ruckus, it makes this place a bit more lively."
That's true. A lot of ghosts have left recently, and many of them have been reincarnated with the help of He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu. This has made the stall rather deserted. The mud ghost had been feeling a bit lonely, especially after the stitched-up water ghost was reincarnated.
Although the little ghost was noisy, it did improve the mood of the guests. After recovering from the initial despair of being tricked, the mud ghost would even join He Zhao in advising other ghosts not to be easily fooled.
It also proudly said, "Not only to the regulars at the stall, but also to the ghosts I encounter on my way here, I tell them that some ghosts that look like little children are completely unbelievable; they might be a whole generation older than themselves."
Thanks to the Mud Demon's words, He Zhao understood why the person who tried to freeload from her stall knew about things about her business even though they had never been there. Hey, it was all because these ghosts spread the word as they went.
He Zhao packed up her stall and went home. The next day, she woke up and went to the market to buy ingredients to make handmade spicy strips for Qiao Yanyu. Actually, she had been asking the system to make handmade spicy strips for a long time, but the system told her that her learning progress was stuck and that she should finish learning what she hadn't finished before it would teach her how to make spicy strips.
The system may seem easy to manipulate and talk to normally, but it becomes incredibly stubborn when it comes to this, and you can't easily persuade it. So He Zhao could only obediently follow the system's tutorial, and finally, it was time to learn how to make spicy strips by hand.
The system insisted that making spicy snacks by hand was extremely simple and not worth spending a whole day on, but He Zhao was determined to learn it, so the system had no choice but to teach her. If it were any other host, the system might have taught her from scratch, but since the student was He Zhao, it could only use a simplified version.
The base of these spicy strips is gluten, which can be bought ready-made at the market. As long as you know how to choose them, and you know they're not spoiled or moldy, and the quality is acceptable, then the spicy strips you make won't be bad. Because for spicy strips, the most important thing is the seasoning.
Take the gluten strips out of the packaging and place them directly into the prepared bowl to soak. However, do not soak them for too long, as they will become tough and difficult to chew. After soaking, the dry gluten strips will become soft and chewy.
While the gluten strips are steaming, pour oil over them and spread it evenly with your hands, ensuring each strip is coated with oil. Then, steam the gluten strips in a large pot of boiling water until cooked through. The oil applied earlier prevents the gluten strips from becoming completely soft from the steam, maintaining their chewiness and preventing them from becoming dry and tough again.
After steaming, you need to shake the gluten strips out of the steamer, otherwise they will stick together and be impossible to tear apart. This is probably why some handmade spicy strips sold have several stuck together with a thick, tasteless, and sticky middle section.
Once you've done all that, you can set the gluten strips aside for now, and then you can start making the seasonings.
He Zhao was experienced in this step; she would always make some extra spicy chili powder for her extra spicy rice. Every time she made this special chili powder, she had to wear a mask, otherwise she would be so spicy that she would fly away and sneeze ten or more times at once.
This time, the seasoning for the spicy strips is based on chili powder with added seasonings. He Zhao's chili powder only has two flavors: fragrant and spicy. However, the spiciness of spicy strips cannot be limited to just these two. Sugar is also a very important ingredient. Following the precise proportions provided by the system, white sugar, sesame seeds, cumin, and other ingredients are added. Then, minced garlic is fried in oil and poured in the mixed seasonings. This seasoning for the spicy strips is now ready.
Then pour the seasonings directly into the container holding the gluten strips, stir well, and it's ready to eat.
He Zhao was reluctant to try this stuff. Although she had controlled the amount of chili powder she made, she knew how spicy it was. She didn't like spicy food and would never try it herself. So, once it was time to stir and she was sure it was ready to eat, He Zhao called out to Qiao Yanyu.
"Sister Qiao, this spicy snack is ready. Come and try it."
"good."
Qiao Yanyu wheeled over, first taking out some tissues to carefully wipe her hands clean, and then taking the chopsticks and a plate of spicy strips that He Zhao handed over.
At first, Qiao Yanyu smelled the aroma of spicy strips. She didn't even need to go inside; just opening the kitchen door brought out that mouthwatering, spicy scent. Qiao Yanyu had tasted the chili powder He Zhao made before, and it was truly delicious. Now, after being deep-fried and with so many seasonings added, the sauce had reached a whole new level.
As someone who loves spicy food, Qiao Yanyu's mouth started watering as soon as she smelled the aroma. The closer she got to the stove, the stronger the smell became, and even with the range hood on full blast, she couldn't completely get rid of the fragrance.
For He Zhao, the smell would make her nose itch and want to sneeze, but for Qiao Yanyu, it would only whet her appetite. The moment she got her hands on the spicy strips, Qiao Yanyu thought: They must taste amazing!
It tastes better than those fancy packaged, mass-produced spicy strips, and it tastes even better than the handmade spicy strips sold in shopping malls. Don't ask why, that's just how Qiao Yanyu feels.
The lights in the kitchen were all on, casting a white glow onto the plate in her hand. The spicy strips glistened with oil, each one coated in a tempting red chili oil. The chili oil reflected the light, sparkling in Qiao Yanyu's eyes.
The aroma of the chili oil was even stronger, and Qiao Yanyu couldn't resist picking up a spicy strip with her chopsticks.
A few drops of oil dripped from the oily spicy strips, but it didn't feel greasy at all. It just felt a little wasteful, because those few drops of oil would have been delicious even with rice.
After observing for a while, Qiao Yanyu finally opened her mouth and stuffed the spicy strip into her mouth at He Zhao's urging.
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