58 Qingming Vegetable Pancake
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Every spring rain brings warmth. The rain on March 15th officially announced the arrival of spring.
Overnight, the rape flowers in the fields blossomed into a dazzling golden color.
The peach branches stretching across the clear sky are dotted with crimson flowers, which are gorgeous and eye-catching.
Birds, bees and butterflies flutter freely in the fields, back alleys and courtyards.
For the past five months, the three Xueji auction houses in Lin'an City have been doing brisk business. Their slogan, "For afternoon snacks, you must go to Xueji," has become a catchphrase among the people in Lin'an City.
Jiang Qinglan's success is not limited to this.
Ever since she learned about the existence of Zong Wang, Zong Han, and the others, her previous plans had been completely overturned. Without the skin, where would the hair be attached? With the country in ruins, where could she go to live a comfortable life?
After Jiang Qinglan calmed down, he didn't quite believe what Xie Linchuan said that day.
Famous generals in Song Dynasty history included Yang Ye, Yang Yanzhao, Di Qing, Yue Fei, and Han Shizhong, but none had the surname Xie. And how could Xie Linchuan, a pampered young man, possibly turn the tide?
As for herself, she didn't get the script of the heroine, who had to plan and win the battle from afar.
She had done everything she could to prevent the war, and the rest could only be left to nature.
In addition, she had a plan. If the worst happened - the Jingkang Shame was repeated, she would take her whole family away in advance.
It is best to go to Chengdu Prefecture, where there are natural barriers and the enemy cannot invade.
Migrating thousands of miles requires not only sufficient funds, but also connections and a plan. It's best to plan your retreat early on.
She has two plans.
First, we need to replicate Xueji Paihu’s model in other cities.
Using the franchise model, we will first expand into Suzhou, Mingzhou, and Yangzhou near Lin'an, and then gradually expand outward. It would be best if we could also have a franchise in Chengdu.
In addition to the snacks and drinks currently sold at Xue Ji Pai Hu, she also wants to try the buffet.
There are two types of buffets, one is the affordable route.
The affordable route is Mr. Rice's business model. It provides dozens of stir-fried hot dishes, and customers can choose and weigh their dishes by themselves.
Some of the hot dishes served by Mr. Rice are pre-prepared dishes or semi-finished products processed by the central kitchen, such as vegetables washed in advance and meat marinated in advance, but some dishes are also fried on the spot.
In this way, we can not only reduce costs and improve the efficiency of serving dishes, but also retain the aroma and flavor of freshly fried food to a certain extent.
Another thing is that Mr. Rice adopts the model of self-service food selection and self-service weighing, which greatly reduces labor costs.
Personalized configuration is also very important. The Sichuan and Chongqing regions should focus on spicy stir-fries, while the Guangdong region should have clay pot rice, and seasonal dishes should be updated every month.
However, it is hard to say whether these later marketing concepts can be implemented at this time.
Firstly, if the cold chain technology is not good enough, a central kitchen cannot be established and centralized supply cannot be achieved.
Secondly, there are no electronic scales now, so how can we weigh ourselves?
In addition, logistics are not convenient now and information transmission is not smooth. How can we ensure the reputation and quality of the franchise store far away in Chengdu?
These were all big questions. She needed to discuss them carefully with Xue Qi. After all, one can't become fat in one bite.
Fortunately, Xue Ji's income has become the bulk of the business now, and Xinghua Restaurant is just run for fun.
Wang Huiniang is at the front desk, Zheng Wang is in the kitchen, Yingtao does odd jobs, and Hu Zi and Tuan Tuan also help out occasionally. Jiang Qinglan's own work is much easier.
That day, she was looking through a map when Zheng Wang came out from the kitchen, holding a plate in each hand with a few yellow and green pancakes on it.
He smiled and said, "Boss, there are some Qingming vegetables growing in the garlic patch in the backyard, so I made some pancakes for you to try. You can only eat this at this time."
Zheng Wang is good at making noodles. He has been making noodles, pancakes, steamed buns, and dumplings in different ways these days. They are really delicious and they never get tired of them. Jiang Qinglan took the plate with a smile.
Qingmingcai is also called cudweed, because its small leaves are covered with white hairs. It is most tender when eaten around the Qingming Festival.
At this time, the Qingming vegetable cakes made by people in the Jiangnan region should be called "balls" rather than "cakes".
Chopped cotton leaves are mixed into glutinous rice flour and kneaded into shape. Then, a filling of bamboo shoots, dried tofu, and meat is fried, wrapped in rice paper, and steamed.
In fact, this method is exactly the same as Qingtuan, except that mugwort is replaced with cotton vegetables.
Because he didn't like the sticky texture of glutinous rice flour, Jiang Qinglan saw some sold at the market and bought some for Tuantuan and Huzi. He only took one bite himself and didn't touch it again.
Zheng Wang's Qingming cake is made differently, and it is probably popular in Bianliang.
It does not contain glutinous rice flour, but flour, with more water and less flour, making it dilute.
Because of the eggs, the green and white of the Qingming vegetable shreds have more bright yellow.
At this time, the finished Qingming vegetable pancake is also green with yellow, which looks very refreshing.
Because a lot of chopped Qingming vegetables are added, when you take a sip, you first have a fresh taste like grass after rain, with a light sweet aftertaste.
The lace-like burnt edges are crispy and delicious, with a fragrant aroma, while the center, where the batter is thicker, is still soft and chewy.
When you chew it, it tastes crispy, soft and tender, fragrant and sweet, with a myriad of flavors and an endless aftertaste.
It was not yet night time and Hu Zi was doing his homework.
Tuantuan also asked for some paper and used a thin brush to draw circles, crosses, cats and dogs on them, just like ghost painting peach charms.
Zheng Wang gave Jiang Qinglan the plate and walked towards them again: "Brother Hu, Sister Tuan, you must be hungry from doing your homework, try this."
Tuan Tuan's eyes immediately lit up. He threw away the brush, stuffed a piece of it into his mouth, and chewed it like a calf.
"Delicious, delicious! Thank you, Uncle Zheng!" she said sweetly.
Hu Zi, however, was indifferent. He glanced at him, said "hmm," and continued writing as usual. Zheng Wang didn't care at all. He scratched his apron and went back to the kitchen.
Tuan Tuan was grinning, standing on the bench with his butt sticking out, and passed a pancake to Hu Zi's mouth: "Brother Hu Zi, don't hold it in anymore, I see you're drooling."
"Nonsense!" Hu Zi glared, "No...no way!" He still showed his timidity, raised his left hand and wiped the corner of his mouth.
Tuantuan took advantage of his unpreparedness, pinched his face with his chubby hand, and stuffed half a cake into his mouth. He patted the residue off his hands and grinned:
"You've eaten Uncle Zheng's cake, so you can't be so indifferent to him anymore!"
You can't spit it out, it's shameful to waste food!
Hu Zi stared with his cow eyes, chewed a few times, and swallowed the cake.
He ignored the chatter and lowered his head, gripping the brush tightly but not writing a single word.
Just at this moment, a carriage stopped in front of the Xinghua Restaurant, and a dark-faced man jumped off the carriage: "Manager Jiang, the spring vegetables you ordered are here!" He carried down two baskets.
Spring vegetables are seasonal vegetables produced in spring. In addition to the Qingming vegetables that Zheng Wang just mentioned, the most popular ones are green rapeseed, spring bamboo shoots, and shepherd's purse.
As for Chinese toon, water spinach, young mulberry leaves, and houttuynia cordata, they are more picky. Some people love them like their life, while others avoid them.
If you go to buy these things yourself, it will take a lot of time. However, Liangji Vegetable Stall on Houshi Street has a unique idea. They send people to the countryside to buy them and sell these seasonal vegetables.
The vegetable vendor took the money from Jiang Qinglan, left two baskets and left.
Hu Zi heard their conversation, put down his brush, and went to the backyard to get a carrying pole.
Although Hu Zi is only in his teens, he is tall and strong. He has always been responsible for doing the rough work such as picking vegetables and fetching water.
But these two baskets of green rapeseed sprouts and shepherd's purse are just the top layer, with spring bamboo shoots piled underneath, making them heavy.
Hu Zi tried to lift the bamboo shoots on a shoulder pole, but couldn't. Jiang Qinglan then took a winnowing basket and picked out some bamboo shoots. Tuan Tuan followed suit, scooping up two in a handkerchief.
When Zheng Wang came from the kitchen, he saw the whole family working together.
He took long strides and approached in three or two steps. He snatched the shoulder pole from Hu Zi's hand and smiled innocently: "How can you be the one to pick the vegetables?"
He threw the winnowing basket in Jiang Qinglan's hand, the bamboo shoots wrapped in cloth in Tuantuan's arms, and the few jars of rice wine that the vegetable vendor had just brought into the basket.
He put the pole on his shoulder, stood in a horse stance, and easily picked it up. Without even blinking, he went into the kitchen.
Tuan Tuan's eyes widened as he watched: "Uncle Zheng is even stronger than the black bear from the Zhongwa Acrobatic Troupe!"
The day before yesterday, Hui Niang took Tuantuan and Hu Zi to Zhongwa to play, and Zheng Wang seemed to be there too.
Jiang Qinglan was also a little surprised, and thought to himself: He is indeed from the military camp and cannot be compared with ordinary people.
Hu Zi was stunned for a moment when he looked at the tall and broad figure.
…
Jiang Qinglan wants to eat pickled pork with preserved vegetables as soon as spring comes.
She had a penchant for spicy and sour foods and couldn't get used to the lighter flavors of Jiangnan cuisine. She also found the sweet and savory dishes like crab roe noodles cloying.
This is the only dish she likes best.
At first, she didn't know the origin of the name. A classmate from Zhejiang explained that in Wu dialect, "Du" means slow cooking over low heat, and Yan Du Xian is pickled meat slow-cooked with tender bamboo shoots.
"Du" and "du" have the same pronunciation. When the soup is simmered over low heat, it boils and churns, making the sound of "du du du".
Among cooking methods, stewing, steaming, and roasting are much easier than frying, deep-frying, and stir-frying. The recipe for pickled pork with preserved vegetables is also very simple. Simply prepare all the ingredients and stew them in a pot.
Because this dish relies on the salty and fresh taste of the ingredients themselves, there is no need to add too much seasoning. However, in order to enrich the taste, you can also add some fresh ribs, lettuce and other side dishes.
The secret to a rich, milky-white broth is to fry the spareribs and bacon first. This also helps by frying the excess fat from the spareribs, creating a nice, burnt aroma.
By the time it’s out of the pot, the salt in the bacon is taken away by the other vegetables and the soup base.
The crisp, tender spring bamboo shoots, imbued with the fat and salty aroma of the bacon, retain a sweetness and a hint of bitterness. Taking a bite is like swallowing spring rain infused with the fragrance of flowers.
As a result, this spring limited edition dish at Xinghua Restaurant is sold out every day.
The most popular pasta these days is shepherd's purse wontons.
Zheng Wang is busy in the kitchen every day. In the afternoon when there are fewer customers, he sits in the restaurant and makes shepherd's purse wontons.
Although his hands were thick, he was very deft at wrapping them, and could make one with just a bend of his fingers. Each one had a thin skin and a large filling, and through the skin, you could even see the green shepherd's purse inside.
Just a few days after the pickled pork with preserved vegetables and shepherd's purse wontons were sold, Princess Baoqing and Yang Song came over attracted by the smell.
Princess Baoqing seemed a little angry. She picked up the spring bamboo shoots one by one and swallowed the shepherd's purse wontons one bite after another.
However, in between chewing and swallowing, her little mouth was still pouting.
Although Cherry came from a poor family, she was a very brave person and never got nervous in front of princesses or high officials.
She approached Princess Baoqing, looking like she was chatting about gossip: "Your Highness, is the story between Princess Fu'an and Lord Lu true?"
Princess Baoqing thought to herself: "It's true. That time, by the corner tower, they both entered the palace together. Who knows, Princess Fu'an might have already fallen for Lu Fei at that time."
That's what made her unhappy.
Although Lu Fei is not as good as Xie Linchuan, he is also a handsome and elegant man, and speaks gently - unlike Xie Linchuan, who always hits people in the heart.
Looking at it this way, Yang Song's face was no longer pleasing to the eye.
She and Princess Fu'an have been competing with each other since they were young, competing in rouge and powder, gold ornaments and flower crowns, and competing for the favor of their father.
When she arrived at Fu'an's home in Suzhou, she thought she had won. Little did she know that Fu'an was getting married for the second time and that he could find Lu Fei!
She said sourly, "Isn't it true?"
"My sister has lost her appetite and sleep because of Lu Shaojian. She often asks the women in her family to attend banquets. I think she is almost living in the Lu family herself."
Yang Song acted like a scoundrel, picked up the vinegar pot on the table and shook it: "Your Highness, you ate so many shepherd's purse wontons, aren't you sick of them? Would you like some vinegar?"
Princess Baoqing glared at him fiercely.
Cherry showed a look of longing and said softly:
"I have met Lord Xie. They say Lu Shaoqing is like the moon and the breeze. What does he look like? I wonder when I can meet him."
She had never been to school, and the talk about the moon and bamboo was just something the girl who came to eat in the restaurant said, and she just overheard it.
Jiang Qinglan at the counter knew: the breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains - the breeze and the bright moon, clear and noble.
When she heard about him and Princess Fu'an, she felt a little upset.
It’s not that she is a green tea bitch, not wanting to agree but wanting to keep the other person hanging, but she is putting herself in the other person’s shoes and remembering her original self.
She...will feel uncomfortable, right?
Wang Huiniang noticed her expression change, but she misunderstood. Princess Baoqing was chattering enthusiastically with Yingtao over there. She couldn't just kick her out, could she?
She took Jiang Qinglan's arm and said:
"Jinchunji has just received some Shu brocade material. Let's go take a look and make you two sets of clothes."
Jiang Qinglan has never been interested in these things:
"What kind of clothes are you making? I still run a shop. Besides, I have so many clothes..."
Wang Hui Niang dragged her out tightly:
"With Cherry here, what are you afraid of? Those things in your closet are clothes? They're just rags! As a young woman, you should make something bright and fresh."
…
In the afternoon, when Xie Linchuan came, the two people who went to buy clothes had not returned yet.
He came to buy food for Mrs. Xie.
Ever since she heard that pickled pork with preserved vegetables and shepherd's purse wontons were for sale, she had been drooling at night and had asked Xia Yin to go out and buy them several times.
But Xia Yin said that the prince had ordered that shepherd's purse was cold in nature and that pickled pork with preserved vegetables contained too much salt, so it should not be eaten too much.
Every time she bought only three or five wontons and a small bowl of vegetables.
That little bit of stuff wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth! In the entire Dongping Palace, the only person who was on her side was Xie Linchuan, who bought it for her.
The room was quiet.
Cherry, that lazy maid, was snoring on the table.
Tuantuan was standing on a bench in front of a painting in front of the counter, looking at it attentively.
Mo Shan went to the kitchen and asked Zheng Wang to make the wontons.
Xie Linchuan walked towards Tuan Tuan.
This little girl is a bit like him when he was a child. She would yawn when she saw things like music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Why is she looking at a painting so seriously today?
When I walked over, I saw that it was a painting of "Apricot Blossoms and Spring Rain in the South of the Yangtze River". It was elegant and timeless, as if it was created by a famous artist.
He had never been interested in these books and paintings, and had never noticed when this picture was hung up.
A grasshopper is jumping around on the painting.
Tuantuan grabbed a small stick and tried to shoo it away, but the painting was too big, and the grasshopper hopped around on it for a while, unable to find its way out of the maze.
Xie Linchuan thought to himself: This girl has always been impatient and irritable, completely different from her sister. How come she is so calm today?
He also looked at it for a while, and finally lost his patience, so he said: "I'm too lazy to rush, brother will help you to kill it with one palm." He rolled up his sleeves and was about to start.
Tuantuan shouted, "That won't do!" and pulled his sleeve.
"My sister treasures this painting and always looks at it before going to bed. What if she kills a grasshopper on the painting?"
What? She has to look at it twice before going to bed? What's so rare about this treasure? If I had known she liked painting, Zhang Xuan and Han would have paintings at home. I could have just hung them up.
Xie Linchuan is not good at calligraphy and painting, but he has a unique skill——
Whose calligraphy, whose painting, whether solemn and rigorous or free and vivid, elegant and beautiful or lively and vivid, all kinds of writing styles, once he sees them, he will never forget them.
She loved this painting so much that he couldn't help but take a closer look at it.
Who would have thought that upon seeing this, I would be stunned. This painting, "Apricot Blossoms and Spring Rain in Jiangnan," was unsigned, but with its fine center-stroked outlines and layered colors, it was clearly...
Tuantuan had no idea what he was thinking. With her eyes wide open like black grapes, she immediately added fuel to the fire: "Xie, Brother Xie, what does 'zhiyin' mean?"
"What soulmate?" Xie Linchuan frowned, having a bad feeling in his heart.
"My sister said that this painter is her soulmate."
Xie Linchuan was stunned, and his whole body felt as if he was trapped in an ice cellar.
…
Zheng Wang was cooking wontons in the kitchen.
Thinking that it was for the distinguished guest, he deliberately did not use the ones he had packed that morning, but cooked them fresh, using less shepherd's purse and more pork.
The wontons, thin-skinned and generously stuffed, floated in the pot a few times before being scooped up with a bamboo basket. With a gentle flick over the edge of the pot, the soup drained away and the wontons were placed on a plate.
The wontons delivered are always made dry, without soup, and cooked a little harder.
This way, when the customer eats it, it will be just the right texture, without the skin being too soft and the filling collapsing.
After the wontons were packed, Jiang Qinglan’s secret recipe of cornus and Sichuan pepper sauce was added with vinegar to make a spicy vinegar sauce, which was then packed in a food box along with the pickled pork with preserved vegetables.
When he hurried out, the person was gone.
Didn’t you say you wanted to buy shepherd’s purse wontons and pickled pork with preserved vegetables? You were here just now. When did you leave?
Yingtao was still snoring, so he asked Tuantuan, "Where's the guest from before?"
Tuan Tuan was also confused: "I don't know, he was fine just now, but Brother Xie suddenly turned grim-faced and left."
At this moment, Pinglin ran back, panting with exhaustion, and pointed at the box in Zheng Wang's hand and said, "Wontons... wontons..."
Zheng Wang quickly delivered the goods, and Pinglin did not forget to pay.
After picking up the box, Pinglin was worried that he would be back too late and the wonton skins would be clumped together and not taste good, and he would be scolded again, so he got on the horse and rushed off at lightning speed.
The cold wind was blowing in his ears, and Pinglin sighed: It's not easy to be a clerk in Lingquanyuan!
At the same time, Tuantuan saw Pinglin walking away, so he signaled Zheng Wang to bend down.
"Although Brother Xie is handsome and his family is rich, he's a bit fierce and I don't like him. I... still like Brother Lu."
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