3 Vegetarian Meal
◎Conquered by her stew◎
Xie Linchuan took off his red headband, threw it aside, and splashed cold water on his face.
The servant Pinglin was holding clothes in the outer room and said cautiously, "Young Master, please bring some hot water. We played football and then took a cold shower. If the old ancestor knew..."
"Shut up!"
Xie Linchuan was feeling annoyed. He hadn't had a great time playing football. The other players were running slowly and passing the ball poorly, clearly letting him down. So what if they scored five goals? It was pointless.
He took a deep breath and dived into the pool.
Pinglin couldn't hear any breathing for a long time, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, and his heart was pounding. After a long time, he finally heard the sound of water splashing, and Pinglin breathed a sigh of relief.
"What time is it?"
"My Lord, it's almost noon."
Xie Linchuan wiped himself roughly with a towel, put on his clothes, and put on his headgear. "Let's go to Jianlong Temple."
…
Buddhism was highly valued during the Song Dynasty. In Lin'an and its surrounding areas, there were over fifty temples, as well as over twenty nunneries and Taoist temples. Among them, Jianlong Temple outside Jiahui Gate was the most popular.
On Buddha's birthday, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, Jianlong Temple would host a three-day free banquet to entertain pilgrims. Rich families, eager to show their devotion to Buddhism, and poor people and beggars, struggling to make ends meet, would share in the feast.
Mrs. Xie of the Prince of Dongping's Mansion was a devout believer in Buddhism. Not only did she have a Buddhist shrine and incense table at home, but she also went to Jianlong Temple to pray every year on Buddha's birthday.
Early this morning, she took a few maids and stayed at Jianlong Temple.
Xie Linchuan dismounted and ran towards the Mingyin Zen Temple in the back: "Grandma!"
Old Madam Xie was beating a wooden fish. Seeing him approaching with a smile, she feigned anger and said, "You said you wanted to send Grandma to the Cuju field?"
Xie Linchuan did not deny it: "I was thinking about my grandmother, but I only kicked for a while and didn't even break a sweat, and I rushed over here."
Mrs. Xie knew he was lying, but she didn't expose him.
This morning she was going to the temple, and her son said he would take her there, and her grandson also wanted to take her there, so she knew there was something fishy going on. As soon as she left the gate of the Prince of Dongping's mansion, he disappeared, and it took him only now to come back.
This little grandson was good-looking and lively since he was young. He liked playing Cuju and competing for the flag[1]. Every year, he was very popular in the palace for playing Cuju and surfing in the Qiantang River.
But his father forced him to take the imperial examination and become a civil servant.
Both of Xie family's two sons-in-law passed the imperial examinations twice, but Sanlang took the exam for three years but didn't even get the title of scholar. His father thought it was shameful and didn't allow him to take the exam again.
Thinking of this, Old Lady Xie asked, "The other day I heard your father say that you were going to work in the Taxation Department of the Lin'an Prefecture Governor. You haven't even reported for duty yet?"
"Oh, grandma--" Xie Linchuan jumped down from the chair, broke into a smile, revealing his snow-white teeth and two deep dimples at the corners of his mouth.
"I have to listen to my father nagging about these things at home. Now that I am here, please let your grandson have some peace and quiet." As he said this, he stuffed a vegetable roll into Mrs. Xie's mouth.
"The vegetarian food at Jianlong Temple is the worst. I know it won't suit your taste, so I brought some spring rolls from Fengle Tower. Would you like to try it?"
Mrs. Xie was a Buddhist. She also loved food, especially meat. She always felt relaxed after a feast of fish and meat, but she worried about the Buddha's wrath.
Therefore, she was very conflicted. The more meat she ate, the more diligently she worshipped Buddha, and the more money she donated for incense.
The vegetarian food here is a bit unpalatable, but it's only for three days, so you can just bear with it. Who would have thought that the child would brazenly say this in front of the Buddha?
After chewing it for a few times, she found it was a vegetable roll and swallowed it in two hasty bites.
The vegetables are fresh and the dough is thin and soft. It is indeed much more delicious than vegetarian food.
But she kept a stern face and slapped Xie Linchuan's hand: "Nonsense! What's the point of eating vegetarian food? It's all about sincerity!"
Xie Linchuan chuckled and said nothing.
After a while, Mrs. Xie smacked her lips, turned her back to the Buddha statue, and asked in a low voice, "Anything else?"
…
In the northeast of Jianlong Temple, in the yard outside the Xiangji Kitchen, there is a row of sheds, which were specially built for today's vegetarian meal.
Under three large, immovable earthen stoves, firewood was piled high, a blazing flame blazing, and on top sat a massive iron pot. Two of the pots were filled with water, emitting billowing white smoke, while one pot was empty, with only half a pot of rapeseed oil poured into it.
Of the five cooks Wang Huiniang hired, two claimed they had never cooked before, so they were forced to chop vegetables. The remaining three, including Jiang Qinglan, each took charge of a pot, and all made the same dish: a hodgepodge of cabbage, radish, vermicelli noodles, tofu, and mushrooms.
Wang Huiniang looked over and saw that the wok Jiang Qinglan was in charge of was full of oil. She felt a little worried.
This morning, at the market outside Houchao Gate, I had been soft-hearted and invited this woman over. Now it seemed she really couldn't cook. Other cooks would add water first, but she didn't pour in as much oil as she did.
She also had an idea. She would first see the woman's craftsmanship. If there was really no other way, she could take over herself.
In her previous life, Jiang Qinglan had eaten vegetarian food at a temple while hiking. She discovered then that people had a misunderstanding that vegetarian food was light and low in oil.
In fact, this was not the case. The vegetarian chef told her that vegetarian food did not contain any meat, so it had to be cooked with plenty of hot oil and even a little more salt. Otherwise, the food would be tasteless, and her stomach would be full but her mouth would feel like she had not eaten anything.
She waited for the oil in the pot to heat up, added a spoonful of salt, stirred it in the oil, and then gently slid the large, thick blocks of tofu into the pot.
The tofu cubes were put into the wok, and the oil started to bubble up, making a sizzling sound, and the aroma began to spread. They were fried on both sides until golden brown and firm. They were scooped out with a large iron spatula and placed in a large bamboo dustpan. They were then drained and set aside.
There was still a lot of oil left, so Jiang Qinglan scooped up half of it, added some ginger slices and stir-fried them until fragrant, added a little bean paste, and then poured in the white radish pieces, cabbage stems, and mushroom slices and stir-fried them all.
The last step is to pour water. After the water boils and simmers for a long time, add the soaked vermicelli.
This is not the end yet.
There was still some oil left from frying the tofu, so it was heated on the stove. Jiang Qinglan had a steady wrist and used a large iron spoon to pour the hot oil onto the stew.
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle-the hot oil is poured into the pot, making continuous sounds.
Oh, the stew contains radish and cabbage, which are fragrant; there are oyster mushrooms, which are fresh and fragrant; and there is also golden fried tofu, which is full of bean aroma.
Now, the dishes were fried in hot oil again, and the aroma of the oil spread all over the yard, adding another layer to the rich fragrance.
Jiang Qinglan scooped up a bowl and handed it over: "Madam, would you like to try it?"
At first, Wang Huiniang was a little worried, but when she smelled the fragrance and her mouth was watering, she no longer thought about anything else and just wanted to scoop up a bowl and eat it.
The first bite was of tofu. Deep-fried, it was soft, with a charred crust on the outside. When you bite into it, you'll find a web of tofu flossing wrapped in a rich, savory broth. It's fresh, salty, fragrant, and rich. Even this small piece of tofu tastes like braised pork!
Then I ate the cabbage and radish. It was amazing! They were the same two dishes, but they weren't bland at all. The vermicelli was soft and juicy, and it had absorbed all the flavor, melting in my mouth and leaving a lingering fragrance.
Jiang Qinglan scooped another small bowl of rice from the steamer: "Madam, how about using the stewed vegetable soup to soak the rice?"
The stewed vegetable soup is brown-yellow in color, and is slightly sticky because the gelatin from vermicelli has been boiled into it. Once the rice is put in, it is covered with the soup.
Wang Huiniang took a small sip, her eyes lit up, and she quickly scooped up all the rice in the bowl. She whispered, "My God, even the emperor and the queen have never tasted such delicious vegetarian food."
Jiang Qinglan hurriedly asked, "What about my wages?"
Wang Huiniang went to scoop up some rice and stewed vegetables again: "Get married! Get married today!"
Seeing the other cooks standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment, she added, "Don't worry, everyone will be paid the same for today. Everyone, eat first. If these stews aren't enough, we'll have to make more later."
Seeing that Wang Huiniang was enjoying the meal, the other cooks all went to scoop up the food made by Jiang Qinglan, except for Madam Qian who scooped up the food from her own pot.
Someone kindly said, "Try Madam Jiang's. It's really delicious."
Madam Qian used to work at the famous Song Wusao Fish Soup Shop and had some ambitions to stand out.
Being compared to Jiang Qinglan, she was unhappy in her heart, but she still smiled: "I just like to eat what I cook."
——
It was four o'clock in the afternoon and the vegetarian meal began. The pilgrims lined up in the yard. Some of the monks served the food, some served the dishes, and some maintained order. Everything was in an orderly manner.
Mrs. Xie was an honored guest, and to show her sincerity to Buddhism, she shared a pot of vegetarian food with common people and beggars.
However, she didn't have to queue up herself. The little monk brought two meals and respectfully delivered them to Mingyin Temple.
The young monk often brought food to the distinguished guests and was very clever.
Everyone knew that free vegetarian food was hard to swallow for distinguished guests, but out of sincerity, they couldn't not eat or leave any leftovers. So every time he served the distinguished guests, he only filled a small half bowl.
Old Madam Xie secretly ate the spring dish and vegetable rolls. She was a little full, but she had to eat the vegetarian meal anyway.
Xie Linchuan was still in the Zen courtyard, kicking a small stone like a ball, sometimes hitting overhead kicks, sometimes volleying shots, moving swiftly and gracefully. The stone seemed to be stuck to him, doing whatever he was told.
Madam Xie called him, "Sanlang, your feet don't hurt, come in and have your vegetarian meal."
Xie Linchuan knew he had to eat a few mouthfuls. Just as he sat down and picked up the bowl, he heard his grandmother exclaim, "Hey, today's vegetarian meal is a little different!"
Xie Linchuan took two bites and found it was a little different.
He was a picky eater, and he looked down upon some of the food at Fengle Tower. In previous years, he would eat vegetarian food without even tasting it, just dumping it in his stomach. But how come this year, he could taste the delicious flavors of stewed fish and roasted lamb?
Mrs. Xie finished her meal and felt a little embarrassed. She said to the young monk waiting outside the door, "Young Master, is there any more vegetarian food? I want to eat some more."
This is indeed embarrassing, because ordinary people can only eat one portion of vegetarian food per person.
However, Mrs. Xie was not an ordinary person, but the one who donated the most money to Jianlong Temple.
The young monk scooped out two more portions, filled them up, and added some more to Xie Linchuan's portion.
This was exactly what Xie Linchuan wanted.
The bowl was almost empty, and although Mrs. Xie still wanted to eat more, her stomach couldn't hold any more. She was so angry that she hit her grandson's hand again: "It's all your fault! There's no room for spring rolls!"
Xie Linchuan: ...
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