Chapter 51 Roasted Whole Lamb: So Delicious
The mutton fat dripped down the browned skin, and in the places where the skin was roasted and puffed up, you could even see the fat under the skin trembling gently. Some parts of the edges were charred, so you cut off a little bit with a knife, leaving some browned meat, which tasted even better.
The lamb leg was thick, so Yu Erlang made several diagonal cuts, then brushed it with a specially prepared cumin sauce made with dogwood, which seeped into the cuts. The fresh and spicy flavor mixed with the aroma of lamb was indescribable; just smelling it made one's mouth water.
The huge grill was initially set up in the center of the Yu family's yard. In order to accommodate the grill, all of Yu Shouzhen's precious flowers and plants were sent inside by Aunt Yu, making the whole yard seem much more spacious.
Two tables were set up in a warm, sheltered spot next to the grill, perfect for grilling and cutting meat as you go. The charcoal fire crackled and popped, sparks flying upwards, making everyone's faces glow red.
There were many people from the Yu family today. Aunt Yu not only invited Yao Ruyi's family, but also Cheng Niangzi and her son, Meng Qingyuan and his brother, Yinzhu's sister-in-law and Xiaosong, Xue Apo and Moli, and Aunt Ying also came with Lin Weiming and Xiaoshitou.
Since Aunt Yu was inviting people to eat and drink, she naturally planned to invite the whole family. However, everyone knew that it was fine if there were only a few people in the family, but if the whole family came, it would be too much trouble for them.
Yao Ruyi didn't dare bring all the cats and dogs either. She called Grandpa Yao, but he wouldn't come. He said he was busy and couldn't leave the study. This old man, who loves to eat, wouldn't even eat mutton, preferring to eat instant noodles with the students inside. Not to mention Uncle Cong, Sancunding, and Cong Xin, they would never come. One said the tea room couldn't be empty, and the other said the shop's goods were unacceptable.
Yao Ruyi had no choice but to bring Lin Wen'an, an "elder" who rarely returned early today, to the banquet. She also brought along Wangwang, who had become even fatter from being fed by the students. It had eaten too much, and Yao Ruyi didn't want it to go to the teahouse to "attract customers" tomorrow. She had to give it a break to lose weight.
She specifically brought Wangwang to the Yu family because she was afraid that those horrible cat-loving students might not be able to find Wangwang and might even come to the general store looking for the cat. It was better to hide it at the Yu family's house so that it could live in peace.
Neither Master Meng nor Madam Guan liked to take advantage of their neighbors, so they used the excuse of being busy at the woodblock printing workshop to send only their two sons with gifts. Not to mention the Lin family, with so many children that the whole family could easily fill a table. Madam Ying, however, wasn't so shameless. So when Aunt Yu came to call her, she declined. Later, unable to refuse any longer, she specially took out some money and asked Lin Si Cao to take the other children to Shen Ji Restaurant for a good meal, so as not to mistreat them.
Yao Ruyi thought that Aunt Yu's decision to host such a banquet was not only to thank her for helping to take care of Bao'er and look after the house, but also to clear Jiu Wan's name. Aunt Yu must want everyone to know that Jiu Wan's divorce was not her fault, so as to prevent uninformed people from saying that she was a jinx.
She can now live peacefully at home.
Of course, it's also to wash away the dust of the past and welcome a new life for her.
It wouldn't be polite to go empty-handed when invited to dinner, so Yao Ruyi naturally prepared a gift. She picked out two boxes of fine Yangxian tea from her shop, and thinking that since her sister Jiuwan loved reading, she must be quite literate, she also chose two fine Huzhou writing brushes carved with "Joyful Companionship" and "Springtime Every Year" on bamboo. She then wrapped the gift in a pretty cloth with a date-red background and white plum blossom dots.
Although she had only heard of Sister Jiuwan from Aunt Yu and had no interaction with her, Yao Ruyi sincerely hoped that she could live a good life in the future, just like the words engraved on the pen, as if it were spring all year round.
Yao Ruyi picked up a round, solid fat cat and dragged Lin Wen'an, who seemed reluctant to participate in the scene, towards the Yu family.
Men and women sat separately in the courtyard. The men sat around a table with wine already opened. Yu Erlang and Aunt Yu were exactly the same in their hearty and generous nature. Despite the cold weather, they took off their thick coats and draped them over the back of their chairs. They then lifted the wine jar and poured it into the rough porcelain bowls in front of everyone.
Besides Lin Wen'an, who sat silently, there was also Meng Qingyuan, who seemed to have lost his soul since entering the Yu family and kept stealing glances at the women's table. Meng Boyuan, Lin Weiming, Cheng Shujun, and the other teenagers all stared wide-eyed at the wine jars, feeling uneasy. "Oh no," they thought, "will we come in upright and leave horizontal?"
Yu Shouzhen also helped fill everyone's glasses with wine, and personally went to the kitchen to serve dishes, bringing out several other dishes that had been steamed in the large steamer on the stove: pork strips, eight-treasure rice, braised pork hock, sour soup pork skin soup, lotus root soup, etc.
Today, there's more than just roasted whole lamb; the feast is incredibly lavish. It seems Aunt Yu is trying to make up for the regret of not being able to properly celebrate the New Year before. She's prepared the "four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes"—a traditional eight-course meal passed down for thousands of years. The meal is substantial, hot, and elaborate, which really broadened Yao Ruyi's horizons.
Yao Ruyi's table, which was further inside, was mostly occupied by women, and was therefore quieter.
She tossed the dog to the ground and let it play by itself. To her left sat Madam Cheng, to her right sat Jiu Wan, and diagonally opposite sat Aunt Yu, Aunt Ying, and Sister-in-law Yin Zhu. In the middle sat Little Stone, who had been dragged to the girl's table by her own mother, pouting and sulking.
Seeing that all the dishes were ready, Aunt Yu picked up her cup and stood up, saying, "When I gave birth to Jiuwan, I was already in my late thirties. I had two sons in a row before. The eldest son took after his father, and his face was longer than a loofah! The second son took after me, and he was so ugly that I didn't want to hold him much. Only Jiuwan was so beautiful and delicate when she was born. If I hadn't given birth to her myself, I really wouldn't have believed that she was my daughter. At that time, I felt that the most precious thing in the world was this little one in my arms, and I wanted to give her my heart."
Everyone was amused by Aunt Yu, especially Yu Erlang, who was at the next table. When he heard her say that he was ugly, he stood up and shouted indignantly, "Mother! If you want to say that my sister is good, then say that. Is it right to drag me into this?"
Aunt Yu was too lazy to pay him any attention.
Yu Jiuwan sat next to Yao Ruyi, looking at her mother, her eyes slightly reddening.
"I thought she would be as beautiful as the moon in the sky, and as her mother, I had no objections, only hoping that everything would go smoothly for her. It's a pity that her marriage didn't go well, and I saw it all, it pained me to see it all, I wished I could take her place and suffer those hardships. Now my daughter has finally jumped out of that hellhole, this is a happy event, something to celebrate!" Aunt Yu raised her glass and looked around, "That's why I invited all the neighbors here today to get together and have some fun! Come on, drink! Eat meat! Don't be shy!"
Happy divorce! Yao Ruyi quickly raised her glass, and the wine bowls clinked together. Soon, Aunt Yu stopped talking about those unhappy things and started laughing and talking loudly with the other aunts and sisters-in-law. The men's table even started making a ruckus, wanting to play some kind of drinking game.
Yao Ruyi glanced at Lin Wen'an and saw that although he looked indifferent and didn't eat much, he was really good at drinking games. She listened quietly. After two rounds of drinking games, he answered fluently without thinking and didn't drink a drop of alcohol. On the contrary, the young men opposite him who hadn't even grown up yet were being forced to drink more and more, and their tongues were swollen.
She smiled, pursing her lips.
Yao Ruyi felt that Lin Wen'an always had a sense of detachment from the world. Sometimes she hoped to bring him back, but she was also afraid that doing so would make people unhappy. So when she saw him in the crowd, she did not feel forced and felt relieved.
The courtyard was filled with the aroma of steaming meat. Yao Ruyi looked away, feeling inexplicably happy. She picked up a piece of meat and took a bite. She noticed a gaze on her side and looked to her right while still eating meat.
Yu Jiuwan rested his chin on his hand, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at her with amusement.
She had just drunk two glasses of wine, and her pale cheeks were flushed with a rosy glow. The sickness from the long journey over the past few days was gradually fading, making her look even more beautiful, like spring flowers in full bloom.
Yao Ruyi, unaware of what was happening, stuffed a whole piece of meat into her mouth, her cheeks bulging out. She chewed the meat diligently, swallowed it, and then asked, "Why are you looking at me, elder sister?"
Yu Jiuwan's eyes flickered, and she pointed her chopsticks at the opposite table in a half-hearted manner: "It wasn't me who saw it, someone else saw it first." Before Yao Ruyi could look up, she smiled and said, "Of course, you can't blame others, you saw it first too."
Yao Ruyi then realized that Lin Wen'an had seen her stealing glances at him. Her ears burned slightly, and she protested, "I was just... checking if Uncle was drunk."
Yu Jiuwan smiled without saying a word, only nodding.
But her actions only made Yao Ruyi feel more guilty for trying to cover up her mistake. It was at this moment that she began to realize that Sister Jiuwan and Aunt Yu were quite similar, especially the mischievous look in her eyes that she had just seen, which was exactly the same as how Aunt Yu usually gossiped!
Having teased her enough, Yu Jiuwan wisely restrained himself. Seeing that Yu Erlang had already gone to cut the mutton, he changed the subject, asking her whether she preferred ribs or leg meat, immediately drawing Yao Ruyi's attention to the meat.
Seeing that she was practically drooling, Yu Jiuwan couldn't help but shake his head.
This girl is clearly still a bit slow on the uptake!
Because Ruyi's marriage was also fraught with difficulties and she had broken off her engagement, Yu Jiuwan felt a sense of pity for her, and became close to her, hoping that she would not end up like her... He secretly thought of helping her make a decision, and his gaze also swept over Lin Wen'an.
She was a bit older than Lin Wen'an and had married young. She had never interacted with him, but she had heard of his reputation. In his younger days, everyone in Bianjing should have known Lin Wen'an's name, but things had changed drastically. He seemed to have a handsome appearance and a composed demeanor, but she wondered what his true character was like.
She glanced at him quickly, then casually looked away. Meng Qingyuan, who was watching her closely, saw her gaze sweep over him and assumed she had noticed him looking at her. He was about to look away in a panic when Jiu Wan's gaze passed right past him; she was looking at Lord Lin beside her...
Meng Qingyuan felt a chill run down his spine. He lost all appetite and became absent-minded throughout the meal because of that one look.
At this moment, Yu Erlang had already cut up a large plate of lamb ribs and roasted lamb for them to share. As soon as Yao Ruyi saw the lamb, she immediately forgot everything else, and all she could see was the fragrant meat.
The sheep that the Yu family bought today is top-quality Tan sheep, with a good balance of fat and lean meat. It's tender and fragrant when roasted, and the skin is crispy. Yao Ruyi likes to break open the ribs to eat them. The meat near the bone is the best part. She pinches the tip of the bone and breaks it open with force, and the meat splits open along the grain, revealing the tender meat inside that has been roasted to perfection.
Take another big bite!
When you bite into it, the first thing you taste is the crispy skin. The aroma of mutton fat immediately bursts out with the heat. Then comes the piping hot meat, which is even more fragrant when chewed with the tendons. The meat is marinated with sand onions before grilling, and the meat is also mixed with the numbing and fragrant aroma of scallions and Sichuan peppercorns. It would be even better if you paired it with some pickled garlic cloves and ate it with a grilled bun!
Yao Ruyi ate with great satisfaction, her eyes squinting shut, oblivious to everyone else. She hadn't had a proper New Year's Eve dinner, eating porridge for several days in a row, and today she finally made up for it.
She even sucked on the bits of meat clinging to the bone, and tore off and ate the tendon attached to the bone. The tendon was roasted until it was translucent, chewy, and the gelatinous substance was still sticky on her lips. She licked it off with her tongue before swallowing it.
Across from them, Aunt Yu, along with Madam Cheng and Sister-in-law Yinzhu, were cursing Jiuwan's mother-in-law and her cowardly husband who only cared about his mother. The aunties were so indignant that they forgot to eat. Only Yao Ruyi listened while munching on her food.
She ate two lamb ribs, along with two baked buns, a bowl of soup, and several other dishes before slowly putting down her chopsticks. At the whole table, only Xiao Shitou and Xiao Song, who were engrossed in eating meat, could rival Yao Ruyi, but the two children were too small to eat as much or as fast as her.
Beside her, Yu Jiuwan stared in astonishment, holding a half-eaten lamb rib. She blinked, then burst out laughing. Watching Ruyi eat with such relish, she felt a surge of appetite herself and, no longer concerned with maintaining decorum, began to eat heartily, just like Ruyi.
Well, don't even mention it, eating meat like this is really satisfying.
At this point, Aunt Yu had finished her tirade: "...Do you know what that tigress said? Jiu Wan was nearly dying from exhaustion, and she said that women are strong when they become mothers, and what can't they endure for their children? Which mother in the world doesn't go through this? She even boasted that she went to the fields to cook for the whole family the day she gave birth! That's fine, but that tigress's crude and vulgar views are not worth mentioning."
But Jiu Wan's husband is a scholar; when he proposed, he swore an oath to the heavens, tears streaming down his face. Now he complains that Jiu Wan doesn't understand his difficult mother, saying he's already exhausted from working outside, and now he has to mediate between his mother and daughter-in-law, blaming Jiu Wan for being a poor homemaker. Listen to that! He even feels wronged! Instead of mediating between his mother and daughter-in-law, he says Jiu Wan should be understanding of his mother, that she's an elder, and that her admonitions should be heeded. I was so angry I slapped him several times. Erlang even drew his knife and charged at him, scaring him so much he ran away, wetting himself and spinning around a pillar.
"They deserve to be hit! That's exactly how they should be hit!"
"And then what?"
"And then? Should we still be polite to people like them?" Aunt Yu sneered. "There were many of us, and they were in the wrong. My daughter was nearly killed in their hands. We were being kind by just smashing their house to pieces! Back then, I took even the spittoon from Jiu Wan's dowry, not to mention the whole set of furniture we brought as part of our dowry. I even took the glass beads from the curtains one by one. The dowry also included a horse and a cow, and I took even their offspring. I didn't leave them a single piece of paper or a single piece of cloth. From now on, we'll go our separate ways and never have anything to do with each other again!"
"That was great! Auntie was so decisive. Otherwise, if they had kept messing around like that, I would have been dead!"
Yu Jiuwan listened to the discussion, and surprisingly, his expression remained calm.
From the day she wrote to her parents, she had already severed all ties with that heartless lover. Having grown up under the care of her parents and brothers, she had always been the type to rather break than bend; once she made a decision, she would not hesitate, much less linger or harbor any nostalgia.
As her second brother carried her away, she heard her husband calling her from behind, saying, "Our child is still so young, how can you bear to do this to him, my wife?" But even with tears streaming down her face, she never turned back.
On the way back to the capital, she discussed with Chen, the lawyer hired by her second brother, about trying to win back her child by using the "compassion for the young and weak" clause in the Song law.
The Song Dynasty law explicitly stated that after a divorce, if the husband committed a serious crime, he could award custody of a child under three years old who still needed his mother's care to the biological mother to raise until adulthood. However, this was not easy. If the husband's family was powerful, they could use clan adoption to fight for the right to raise the child.
Lawyer Chen said that the Kaifeng government had indeed adjudicated several cases in which husbands committed adultery and murder, and after divorce, the infant daughters were awarded to the mothers. However, Jiu Wan's husband's family has not committed any adultery or other crimes. Even if there were such a legal provision, it would be extremely difficult for Jiu Wan to get her son back.
But she still wanted to give it a try.
Yu Jiuwan knew some of her father-in-law and husband's embezzlement and bribery, but she was troubled by the lack of evidence. Lawyer Chen advised her not to be impatient, but to have people secretly investigate and record all the clues. When the evidence was conclusive, she could crush them with one blow, and perhaps there was still a chance of winning the case.
Yao Ruyi admired Jiuwan for her resolute expression and lack of sorrow when she heard others talk about her experiences. She gently called out to Jiuwan, and when Jiuwan came to her senses, she said, "Jiuwan, my aunt said yesterday that you wanted to come to the study to read and that she was willing to donate books to Zhixingzhai. If you want to come, you can come anytime, but... I actually have another idea."
Yu Jiuwan asked curiously, "What is it?"
“Sister, would you be willing to come and manage the books and catalogs here? Most of the books that students borrow these days come from my grandfather, but he is so focused on teaching that he often lends them out without registering them. Zhixingzhai has only just opened, so there haven't been any thefts yet, but I'm afraid that problems will arise in the long run. If you were willing to come, you would be a great help to me.” Yao Ruyi suggested with a smile, “I have already reserved the side room next to the study for storing books. You can sit in the study and organize old books and proofread newly copied books. In the future, you can also help with compiling workbooks.”
Yu Jiuwan exclaimed with delight, "Of course I'd love to! I couldn't be happier!"
After she returned home, although her mother always said that she could take care of her for life and that she didn't need to worry, she still felt that life was long and she didn't know where to go. Now, with this opportunity, she could be accompanied by poetry and books, which felt like a rebirth to her.
Ruyi even asked her if she would be willing to help compile a book! She was naturally willing. When she was still a young lady in her boudoir, she had compiled poetry collections for several talented young women and kept a copy of "Huanhua Collection" for herself. However, those precious words were only her own treasure and were not made public.
Yao Ruyi was delighted that Jiu Wan readily agreed, as she no longer needed to hire anyone from outside! This was perfect, since everyone knew each other well, saving her from all the trouble.
“Sister, how about I give you a monthly allowance of three strings of cash? That’s one hundred coins a day. You just need to focus on your studies. You’ll also receive clothes and rice during the New Year.” Yao Ruyi wanted to finalize the monthly allowance as well, wishing she could have her sister, Mi Ming’er, come to work at the office as soon as possible.
To everyone's surprise, Yu Jiuwan shook his head upon hearing this: "No, if you're concerned about money, I absolutely won't come. I don't need a monthly allowance. Just think of me as someone who's here to eat, drink, and read for free. Provide me with a meal and a snack during the day. I have my own place to go, so why should I care about a monthly allowance?"
"That won't do!" Yao Ruyi couldn't let people work for free.
She's not that kind of person.
Before she could speak, Jiuwan covered her mouth with her hand and held her hand, saying frankly, "Ruyi, you need capital to do business. Don't spend money on your older sister. It's enough for your older sister to have a place to stay and be able to do what she loves. Besides..."
Jiuwan lowered her voice and whispered in her ear, “I’m not short of money. Before… my mother gave me a shop in Luoyang and a hundred strings of cash as part of my dowry. My eldest brother added several acres of paddy fields in the suburbs as part of my dowry, and my second brother also gave me a shop. After I got married, the government happened to expand the inner city of Luoyang, and it just so happened that my dowry shop was demolished. So I received a hundred strings of cash in compensation from the government and exchanged it for three shops in the outer city. Now I can earn several dozen strings of cash in rent every month. I can’t even spend it all. I have to worry about investing the rest in a money shop to collect interest. Sigh! The interest is compounding, and I have to manage it every month. It’s already very troublesome. If you still give me money, won’t that make me even more troubled?”
Yao Ruyi: "..."
Indeed, the most profitable things in the world are demolition and rent collection.
The demolition compensation reached their own home, and the money kept accumulating interest...
She longs to have those kinds of troubles too.
The next day, without needing Yao Ruyi to call her, Yu Jiuwan dressed herself neatly and efficiently at dawn, and instructed her second brother, Yu Erlang, to move all the boxes of books that were part of her dowry to Zhixingzhai. She also brought her own tables and chairs, including a rosewood desk with cloud patterns and a bamboo rocking chair, and even picked a few sprigs of winter plum blossoms to place in a vase.
After settling in, I naturally took a stroll around Zhixingzhai and even went to the tea room to buy milk tea and snacks from Uncle Cong.
She sat gracefully amidst the plum blossoms and the sea of books, sipping milk tea and reading idly. Occasionally, she would catch a glimpse of a student peeking out the window and greet them casually.
Zhixingzhai's business gradually improved. A few days later, after the Imperial College officially started classes, the reading room became much quieter during the day. However, in the afternoon, many students would still sneak out to rest and drink tea in the tea room or read books, always whiling away the time there.
In the evenings, the scene was quite different. The reading room was almost always packed, with students lining up to ask Grandpa Yao questions. Even the tea room was overflowing with people.
Yao Ruyi later discovered that quite a few officials with fish-shaped pouches were coming in to drink tea. On one occasion, more than a dozen people came together and gathered at the long table in the tea room to reminisce about the past and sigh repeatedly, as if they were having a class reunion. She didn't know why.
This is good too. Although Grandpa Yao and Uncle Cong get busy in the evening, they are free during the day, which is a good time to rest and balance work and rest. In addition, Meng Boyuan comes to help out as soon as school is over, which makes her study room run very smoothly.
Yao Ruyi now goes there every day to check the inventory and replenish stock as needed, but spends most of her time in the general store.
Such days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the imperial examination was less than thirty days away. A tense and anxious atmosphere enveloped the Imperial College, and even more students came to Zhixingzhai. Everyone was in a hurry, and some were even muttering to themselves while walking.
Even a young master like Geng Hao booked a private room at Zhixingzhai and studied diligently every night. Last time, Yao Ruyi was quite surprised to see him politely asking Grandpa Yao for help with his exercises.
And her long-prepared collection of exam practice questions was finally published, with purple-covered volumes of "Three Years to Become a Jinshi and Five Years to Become a Zhuangyuan" displayed at the entrance of Zhixingzhai.
Yao Ruyi made another eye-catching notice for publicity, and sure enough, it attracted students to stop and watch as soon as it was posted.
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Ruyi: I questioned my grandfather for three days after I got home, but he just wouldn't admit that our house was going to be demolished [crying emoji]
Thank you, my darlings! You saved my eyes! I bought levofloxacin yesterday, and I'm feeling much better today! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers] Love you all!!
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