Chapter 14 Crispy Meat: It's crispy at first bite, then crunchy, and finally melts in your mouth.
These two storage rooms have probably not been cleaned for years. Broken tables and rickety chairs are stacked with chipped bowls and cups, moldy pickle jars are next to insect-eaten curtains, and all sorts of things are piled up high, making it hard to know where to start when you stand inside.
Yao Ruyi first pulled out all the junk that she would never use in her lifetime and piled it all onto the dirt cart, but she couldn't just throw it away.
In the original owner's memory, Bianjing City also implemented garbage sorting! No household could dump their garbage at will. The Song Dynasty had explicit laws stipulating that filth could not be disposed of indiscriminately. If someone reported it, the person would be punished with seventy strokes of the cane, enough to kill half of their life.
The residents of the Guozijian area had to wait for the "street office" to collect their waste on a daily basis. On odd-numbered days, they would collect manure, urine, withered branches and fallen leaves that could be used for composting, while leftover food would be collected at specific times each day. This kind of waste would be transported to the suburbs and sold at a low price to pig farmers in the suburbs.
The rotten wood and broken pottery that Yao Ruyi sorted out weren't actually considered filth; they were "scrap goods," or waste products, collected on even-numbered days. Today happened to be an even-numbered day, so as it got later, just keep an eye out for the laborers driving long carts through the streets and alleys, loudly shouting, "Scrap goods for sale! Scrap goods!"
She poured the moldy, smelly pickled vegetables into the sludge bucket. Because they were so smelly, she was afraid that washing them at home would make them stink for days. So she covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, drew water, and went to the drain by the door to wash them.
A draft occasionally swept in from outside, but she was still nauseated by the fumes and kept gagging. Even if she cleaned the earthenware jar, she could no longer use it to pickle vegetables. But the jar was still in good condition, and it would be a waste to throw it away. After cleaning it, she could use it to plant some green onions and garlic sprouts.
In the afternoon, before the students have finished their studies, the alley is always quiet. It is also a good time for neighbors to bring out their folding chairs and sit together at their doorsteps to chat and do embroidery.
Yao Ruyi's stubborn, stingy voice, as she gagged, as she insisted on washing the jars, quickly drew the attention of the women gathered at the entrance of Cheng's tailor shop.
The Cheng family and the Yao family were separated by more than half an alley. The Cheng family was near the alley entrance guarded by local militia, while the Yao family was at the end of the alley, next to the wall of the Imperial College.
Neither side could really hear the other clearly, but the sight of Yao Ruyi's eyes watering from the fumes still amused a plump auntie who laughed, saying, "Dr. Yao's granddaughter is really spoiled; she can vomit like this just from washing a pickle jar."
As Madam Cheng was mending her son's outer garment, she glanced up and quickly spoke up for Yao Ruyi: "Aunt Yu, you just returned from Luoyang today, so you may not know, but Ruyi has become quite successful. These past two days, she's been preparing all of Dr. Yao's meals herself. This morning, she even swallowed her pride and sold tea-braised chicken and soup dumplings, the aroma filling the entire alley. Soup dumplings are nothing special, but my son Ajun just bought some tea-braised chicken yesterday and tried it; it was delicious. I don't know how this young girl, who has never done any housework, managed to braise it so well."
Before Aunt Yu could reply, Sister You, who was holding two girls with pigtails, chimed in, "Is it really that good? I smelled it today too, and it does smell quite fragrant, but I've made it at home before. But my daughter Jasmine always says it's not good. She'll eat the chicken, but she won't touch the yellow meat, saying it's too dry and makes her choke. Isn't that right, Jasmine?"
Jasmine was only four years old, but unlike other children her age, she was not round and plump. Her cheeks were thin, and her big head was on her slender neck, making her look top-heavy.
She sat next to Xiaosong, the niece of Liu the Registrar, and the two of them fiddled with the silk dolls in their hands, braiding their hair and changing their clothes into little clothes pieced together from scraps of cloth. When her mother asked her questions, she nodded.
"I'm choking, I won't eat it."
Sister-in-law You stroked Xiaosong's fine yellow hair with a mixture of helplessness and affection. Looking at Xiaosong's chubby, fair face, she became even more worried: "Yinzhu has such an easy time raising Xiaosong. She eats whatever you cook. My child doesn't like to eat anything and is getting thinner and thinner. It's really worrying me to death."
Liu Yinzhu was sewing shoe soles when she bit through a thread and suggested, "Just go hungry for a couple of meals and it will be fine."
Madam Cheng nodded, "It's alright, all children are like this when they're little. When my Ajun was little, I would stuff food in his mouth and he wouldn't even open his mouth. His little face would scrunch up as if I were trying to poison him. After a couple of times of hunger, he won't dare to be picky about food anymore."
Sister-in-law You sighed, "You don't know, my child is naturally rebellious. I don't know how many times I've let her go hungry, but she really won't eat a single bite. She's so hungry that she staggers and falls down the steps, but she still won't eat another bite."
"You're so resilient!" Aunt Yu chuckled, reaching out her plump hand to ruffle the little tuft of hair on Jasmine's head. "You've got guts! Well done! Our Jasmine is destined for great things!"
Jasmine knew she had been praised, so she tilted her head back and smiled with her eyes crinkled.
Xiao Song had just pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out. Upon hearing this, she exclaimed anxiously, "Auntie, I can be successful too!"
Aunt Yu laughed heartily, picked her up and rubbed her hands repeatedly: "Good, you see, you've got potential!"
Xiao Song sat contentedly in Aunt Yu's lap and continued eating candy, using her tongue to move the candy from her left cheek to her right cheek, so that both sides were sweet and fair.
Only Jasmine's mother sighed and shook her head: "What's the point of her being successful? As a girl, it's enough if she can marry a good husband and live a peaceful and smooth life."
"What are you saying? What's wrong with daughters? General Xi Yun, who is still stationed in Youzhou, isn't she a renowned female general? The Jin dogs were beaten to a pulp by her. And look at Madam Shen from Shen Ji. She was penniless and had to raise three younger siblings. In just a few years, she has built such a large fortune and is now dealing with officials. Who says girls can't be successful and make a lot of money?"
"Oh dear, just hearing about going to the battlefield makes my legs tremble. I'd rather Jasmine marry into a good family. As for Madam Chen, how many people can come along like that? Besides, she didn't marry well, did she? Her husband's family is the Xie family! They own thousands of acres of fertile land and are a wealthy and powerful clan. Isn't her family's success due to their hard work?"
Aunt Yu couldn't agree with her, so she turned away and stopped talking.
While they were chatting, Yao Ruyi had already rinsed the earthenware pot clean and was preparing to go back. But as soon as she stood up, she couldn't help but vomit again, clearly feeling quite nauseous from the stench.
"That girl is so stubborn. Those two broken pots are so smelly, just throw them away, why make her suffer like this?" Aunt Yu clicked her tongue again as she looked at the staggering figure, and leaned over to whisper to Madam Cheng, "I think she's still the same as before, I don't know how long she can hold on."
Madam Cheng laughed: "I think Ruyi has figured things out. Good days are ahead!"
Aunt Yu pursed her lips, disbelieving.
The group chatted for another half day, and seeing that it was getting late and time to go home and cook, they each took their winnowing baskets and dispersed.
Aunt Yu's house was actually right next to Yao's. The Yu family had lived in this alley for over ten years, earlier than the Yao family. Her husband was Yu Shouzheng, a sixth-rank gatekeeper at the Imperial Academy. He used to have some acquaintance with Yao Qizhao, the head of the academy, but Yu Shouzheng was a coward. After Yao Qizhao was demoted and ostracized, he was afraid of offending the new head of the academy and the vice-director, so he gradually distanced himself from the Yao family.
The Yao family had no capable woman to manage the household, Yao Ruyi was aloof, and Aunt Yu was often away from home in Luoyang, so the two families had even less contact.
But they were neighbors after all, and she knew the Yao family's situation perfectly well.
After Aunt Yu entered the house, she began to prepare dinner.
She had two sons and a daughter. Her sons had all entered officialdom; the younger one worked at the Dali Temple, so busy that he slept in the yamen eight out of ten days. The elder son and his family served as local officials in other places and were not allowed to leave their posts without permission. Her daughter married and moved to Luoyang. After a difficult childbirth, she was weak, and she and Yu Shouzheng would visit her every year, partly because they were worried about her health and partly because they were afraid that her husband's family was not treating her well enough.
The Yu family residence in Guozijian Alley is mostly occupied by the elderly couple.
It's not really deserted, though.
Yu Shouzheng loved flowers, birds, insects and fish. After his children got married, he raised more than a dozen birds, two tanks of fish, six tanks of turtles, and planted orchids all over the yard.
Aunt Yu often says that as soon as she opens her eyes, she has hundreds of ancestors to serve, so the house is never quiet.
With their children away, the couple preferred simple meals, just enough to keep them from starving. Yu Shouzhen would sit in the courtyard with his rice bowl, sometimes playing with the birds, sometimes with the fish, sometimes with the turtles, and sometimes admiring the flowers. Any good meat in his bowl would be fed to the turtles and birds, so he couldn't taste anything in it.
Just as Aunt Yu returned, he sat on a bamboo chair in the yard, holding his newly trained colorful little parrot. On his thin, long face, he affectionately pouted his lips and kept kissing the parrot's fluffy little round head: "Dad's good bird, so smart, its mouth is really great!"
As soon as he praised it, the bird cursed, "You scoundrel!"
"Okay, okay!"
"You brat! What a murderer!"
"Oh, my precious little darling! Scold me louder! Daddy loves to hear it! *kissing sounds*"
Aunt Yu in the kitchen rolled her eyes as she listened.
That's why they say you get the bird that suits you. The great writer Su Shi's parrot could not only recite poems, but also respond to others' verses at literary gatherings—how amazing! And this one of theirs? It only knows how to curse people in different ways, and it seems to enjoy it more the more it curses him.
It's like someone is sick.
She was just about to cook some millet porridge and stir-fry some of her own pickled mustard greens for a quick and easy meal when she suddenly smelled an irresistible, savory aroma of meat wafting over from next door.
Yao Ruyi was cutting the pork belly into large, fatty chunks, brushing them with honey, placing them skin-side down in the pot, pouring in cold oil, and slowly frying them over low heat. As tiny, golden bubbles gradually appeared on the surface of the oil, she used a small spoon to continuously pour hot oil over the meat. The oil droplets bounced on the skin, and after a short while, the skin developed a fine honeycomb texture and deepened in color; then she could carefully flip it over.
Once flipped and cooked, the aroma has already been released.
Perhaps it was because the meat was soaked in barley wine and fried thoroughly in hot oil, or perhaps the oil used for frying the meat was infused with Sichuan peppercorns, but the uncooked pork didn't have any gamey smell. It was all fragrant with meat and oil after frying.
Once the meat is fried until golden brown all over, cut it into small pieces. The cracking sound of the crispy skin as the knife falls is crisp and clear. Drain the oil on a bamboo strainer and arrange the pieces on a delicate white ceramic dish. The crispy skin is still sizzling with tiny oil bubbles, making the crispy pork belly look even more glossy.
Yao Ruyi couldn't resist the craving while standing by the stove. She washed her hands and picked up a piece, tilting her head back to stuff it into her mouth—ah, it's so hot! Her tongue went numb from the heat!
Once you calm down, it's crisp at first, then crunchy, and finally melts in your mouth.
The moment your teeth break through the charred crust, there's a crisp sound like biting into a melting ice cube. Then, the fat melts in your mouth, and the lean meat fibers unfold on your tongue, releasing juices without getting stuck in your teeth. After swallowing, there's a faint aroma of wine in your mouth.
Yao Ruyi was surprised herself. She didn't expect her to be so talented at cooking. She succeeded on her first try by following her grandmother's method from memory!
Not only was she astonished, but even Yu Shouzhen from the Yu family next door, who wasn't much of a foodie and had a foul-mouthed bird perched on his forehead, was so enraged by the aroma that he stood up and sniffed around like a dog: "It smells so good! Who's made something delicious...?"
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The dog will come back. [Sunglasses]
Ruyi: Dear all-knowing netizens, I have a question: how can I kidnap... oh wait, I mean, adopt the puppy Mimi right under the dog's mother's nose? I'm waiting online, it's urgent.
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