11. Braised skewers (Part 2)
◎Zhongwa stall◎
Zhongwa, the sky is full of fireworks and silver flowers.
Yang Song stood on the side of the street, waved to a few people in green official uniforms opposite him, turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
Tonight is the day when the government's Finance Department and Street Department work together to enforce the law.
The Street Department is responsible for checking whether vendors are occupying the road, whether there are fire hazards, etc.
The Ministry of Finance and Taxation will check the Yat-Tai to see if there are any businesses without a Yat-Tai or operating with a fake Yat-Tai.
Their Finance Department had undergone major personnel changes due to the arrival of the sleepy Mr. Yan.
Nowadays, except for him, the other people on duty are all old, married and have children, so it is inconvenient for them to go out at night.
Yang Song was alone and naked, and had nothing to do at home, so he took the initiative to take on this job and earn a few extra cents as street fees.
He was a very friendly person. As he walked along, many familiar vendors greeted him and he smiled back.
As they were approaching the puppet stage, Yang Song suddenly smelled a special fragrance.
It is not a light or rich floral scent, nor is it the greasy aroma of meat, but a rather stimulating and somewhat spicy scent.
Looking up, I saw a slim girl busy in a luxurious stall decorated with big red lanterns.
There was a little girl standing outside the stall.
Hey, that's——
Jiang Qinglan was very happy. In just a short while, half of the skewers were sold!
Especially the braised vegetarian skewers, many customers originally bought one to try, but after they walked away, they came back to look for it.
Her braised skewers were selling for three cents each, and the price of fruit skewers had also gone up, now at least two cents a piece.
Now, there are probably three or four coins of silver in my purse!
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw a man in blue official uniform walking towards me.
He has a friendly face, but his brows are slightly furrowed.
Jiang Qinglan remembered that it was the friendly "tax bureau official" and said with a smile, "It's Mr. Yang who has arrived."
Tuantuan also called out sweetly: "Brother Yang——"
How could they know how bitter Yang Langjun felt at this moment.
Yang Song nodded to them and looked around the stall: bright red lanterns, spacious space, tables, chairs, benches, steamer stoves...
The luxury stalls earned a compact amount of money, and they paid for the rest!
He paid the most, a full one or two taels of silver!
How long would he have to patrol the streets to earn that much?
This matter concerns Mr. Yan, and I can't speak up for myself. I have no choice but to swallow my anger...
Just as I was thinking about it, Mrs. Jiang came out holding two oil-paper bags:
"Mr. Yang, it's all thanks to you that I was able to open this stall. Here are two packets of food that I made myself. Take them home and try them."
Yang Song hurriedly declined: "I dare not, I dare not. The government has regulations that prohibit privately accepting offerings from merchants."
Jiang Qinglan was truly grateful to him and never thought of the word bribe.
"Young Master Yang, you're welcome. What's the point of offering? These skewers are only a few cents, I'm giving them as a gift to a friend. If you like them, don't forget to introduce some guests to me."
In fact, Yang Song and his colleagues who work at the grassroots level often receive local specialties from small vendors, which are not worth much.
Since it doesn't involve money, the government won't interfere. Just consider it as a thank you for a job well done.
Thinking of this, the skewers looked truly tempting—one had a spicy aroma that made your mouth water, and the other was brightly colored red and green, as if coated in sugar?—and I took them.
Seeing this, Jiang Qinglan introduced:
"This is a pack of braised vegetarian skewers. They're fragrant with a hint of spiciness and numbness. They're perfect with wine or rice."
"The other bag is fruit skewers. They're made of fresh fruit coated in rock sugar. They're sour and sweet. Mr. Yang's children will definitely like them."
Yang Songben was smiling, but when he heard the last sentence, his face turned red:
"Madam Jiang, you're joking. I'm not even married yet, so how can I have a child?"
Jiang Qinglan's heart also skipped a beat.
Oops, I said the wrong thing! But... the truth is, this civil servant looks a little... a little mature.
Jiang Qinglan was feeling awkward and was wondering what to say when someone said, "Hey, it's you!"
A man and a woman were walking towards us, and it was obvious that they were from noble families.
The young man wore a black, narrow-sleeved, round-necked robe, and a jade crown tied up his hair. His handsome and smooth face looked even more beautiful against the backdrop of the fireworks.
The girl was wearing a honey-colored jacket and a lilac folded skirt. She had round almond eyes and a small nose, and was very delicate and cute.
Oh, it’s that handsome guy who has connections in the government office. Jiang Qinglan nodded and smiled.
Tuantuan was sitting there playing cat's tangle, but when he saw Xie Linchuan coming, he was stunned again.
Jiang Qinglan hurriedly stood in front of her to block this embarrassing little nymphomaniac.
Seeing Yang Song was there, Xie Linchuan said, "You are here too."
Yang Song was startled, and no longer cared about the embarrassment of having a child or not. He was in high spirits and bowed with his hands crossed.
Princess Baoqing asked, "How do you know them?" There was surprise in her tone, but also a hint of contempt.
The two girls, one big and one small, were wearing coarse clothes and looked like ordinary people.
Although the man was wearing official uniform, it was blue and of very low rank.
But the older girl's eyes were so beautiful, like a clear spring, that she couldn't help but take another look.
Knowing someone is often associated with the word "friend." Only after knowing someone can we become friends.
In Princess Baoqing's mind, only people of the same level can be "known" and become "friends".
Therefore, she was surprised to see that Xie Linchuan was familiar with these people.
In fact, Xie Linchuan's thoughts were not as focused on Jiang Qinglan, Yang Song and others as Princess Baoqing's.
Along the way, the princess chatted with him non-stop, talking about which color of lipstick goes with which skirt, and which style of hairpin goes with a peony flower... His head was buzzing with her.
When I walked to the front of the puppet stage, I saw that the three people looked familiar.
He suddenly remembered that the stall with the red lanterns was the one he had personally made, so he wanted to take this opportunity to change the princess's topic.
He looked around the stall:
Festive big red lanterns, clean tables and chairs, neatly arranged snacks... Hey, candied cherry skewers?
The red cherries, as red as agate, were arranged in an exquisite box. Coated with sugar, they shone brightly in the light of the red lanterns.
A clever idea.
He picked up a bunch and looked at the woman with unusually clear eyes: "Did you make this candied cherry?"
Naturally, Jiang Qinglan could hear the dissatisfaction in Princess Baoqing's tone. But she didn't care. Seeing Xie Linchuan's interest, she smiled and said:
"I made it myself. It only costs ten cents a piece."
Xie Linchuan originally wanted her to go back to his house with him so that he could cook it specially for his grandmother, but he felt that it would be inconvenient with Princess Baoqing around.
He thought, since the stall was here, she couldn't run away. When he returned home later, he would ask Pinglin to invite her.
"Pack these up. I want them all."
Jiang Qinglan's eyes lit up: "Okay!" He quickly pulled the crazy girl back to the stall and went to wrap cherries together.
Seeing this, Princess Baoqing frowned and said, "You...you eat this?"
She had been brought up in a pampered environment and was very particular about food. Not only would she not eat anything from a street stall, but even if it was cooked by a royal chef, she would not eat it.
Xie Linchuan picked one up and showed it to her: "Palace..."
Thinking that there were many people here and they didn't bring many guards, he changed his address and said, "Sister, try it. It must be better than anything you've tasted before."
Princess Baoqing was about to refuse, but when she heard the word "Amei", she felt sweet in her heart.
"Amei" does not only refer to a blood relative's sister. Sometimes, a man would call a woman "Amei" to show his affection to her.
She took the cherry and carefully examined it to make sure it was free of dust and dirt before slowly putting it into her mouth.
First, you'll feel the crispness of the rock sugar coating. Then, as you chew it, the cherry juice bursts out, the sour and sweet taste mixed with the sweetness of the rock sugar, it's really delicious!
Even the best cherries in the palace don’t taste like this!
Princess Baoqing stretched her neck and began to look at the stall carefully.
Jiang Qinglan kept Tuan Tuan inside, not wanting this flower-crazy person to come out and embarrass herself, and he packed the cherries out in a wooden box:
"Sir, there are twenty-five of them, which cost two hundred and fifty coins. This box costs fifty coins, making a total of three hundred coins."
Xie Linchuan casually took out a silver ingot and handed it over to Jiang Qinglan.
Jiang Qinglan's eyes widened when he saw it. "This...this is too much silver. I can't find the change."
The horseshoe-shaped silver ingot lay in the palm of his hand, shining with silver light and exuding the fragrance of money that represents huge wealth.
A full fifty taels!
Xie Linchuan waved his hand and said, "No need to look for her anymore." Then he was ready to leave with Princess Baoqing.
Jiang Qinglan's heart was pounding, and he felt like the stars in the sky were about to fall.
Giving away 50,000 yuan for something worth 300 yuan is like winning the lottery!
She decided to try to win over these two distinguished guests.
She quickly packed some braised skewers and caught up with them:
"My dear, my dear, fifty taels is far too much. How about you consider it an advance? For the next year, you two won't have to pay for anything you buy."
Princess Baoqing glanced at her and thought to herself: You are so confident, how do you know that I will come again in the future?
But then she added, "This is the new braised skewers that the stall has introduced. I'm giving them to you two to try."
A few strings of lotus root slices, a few strings of tofu, a few strings of bean curd skin, and some mushrooms and fungus.
They were all gray and black, not very nice looking, so they didn’t buy them.
But when she got closer, a unique and strong fragrance hit her nose, and Princess Baoqing actually swallowed her saliva.
Xie Linchuan also smelled it. It was hard to tell what kind of fragrance it was, but it was even more tempting than the roasted lamb breast at Fengle Tower.
He couldn't help but think of these words again and glanced at the girl.
Jiang Qinglan smiled and said, "This is made with secret spices. Although it doesn't look good, it tastes very good. But..."
She deliberately glanced at Princess Baoqing.
"It's just that the taste is a bit strong, numb and spicy. If you prefer a light palate, you should eat a small amount each time. It's best to rinse it in water before eating."
"After eating the braised skewers and some sweet cherries, the spiciness won't be too much."
Princess Baoqing listened to her sweet and charming words and nodded unconsciously.
After parting with her, he naturally took out a piece of wood ear mushroom from the oil-paper package. It was a bunch of wood ear mushrooms, with three or four pieces, all of which were black.
There is some marinade hidden in the curled holes of the wood ear slices, which is very fragrant and tempting.
At that moment, she couldn't even think about being a princess. She also forgot what the man had said about rinsing it in clean water. With a single gulp, she swallowed a piece of wood ear mushroom.
“Hiss—so spicy—”
…
Seeing that the person had returned, Princess Liang of Dongping came out to greet him.
Xie Linchuan looked like he couldn't help laughing.
Princess Baoqing, wearing a curtain, was anxious to leave and ordered her maid, "Quick, quick, pack up your things and return to the palace!"
The maid replied: "We said it would be later, we haven't even..."
Princess Baoqing stamped her feet anxiously: "Return to the palace! Now! Immediately!"
Liang was deeply worried that her son had upset the princess again, so she chased after the sedan chair and said, "Your Highness, has Linchuan done something stupid again? Don't be angry, I'll go back and talk to him."
Princess Baoqing didn't even stop the sedan chair. She took a breath and said:
"My...Princess, it's none of his business. It's me...me. Hiss...go faster!"
The sedan bearer exerted force on his feet and quickly turned onto the street and walked away.
Princess Dongping looked at the group's backs, frowning and saying nothing.
Xie Linchuan was about to head to his grandmother's courtyard, carrying his food box, when the princess stopped him: "What did you do? Why did Your Highness just walk away?"
Xie Linchuan smiled brightly: "Why doesn't she leave? Is she going to let everyone see her sausage mouth?"
"Sweet... sausage mouth?" The princess was puzzled.
Xie Linchuan laughed out loud:
"We bought some braised skewers on the way."
"I told you to go back to the palace and eat. The female stall owner also said that people with light tastes should rinse them in water before eating, and after eating the skewers, you should eat something sweet to relieve the spiciness."
"But she couldn't help herself. She ate six or seven skewers while watching the puppet show, and then she wanted more on the way."
"I originally brought some for my grandmother, but she ate it all. Now her mouth is red and swollen from the spiciness, and she is too embarrassed to see anyone."
"Mother, can you blame me for this?"
Liang was stunned:
Is this... is this still the Princess Baoqing who was the most spoiled, the one who cared the most about her appearance, the one who refused to drink anything but clean water and the one who refused to eat anything but kosher food?
【Author’s words】
Sisters, this week I will update with the list. I will update 3,000 words on Friday, Sunday, and next Tuesday. No update at other times. Collect one [Let me see][Explode and cry]
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