Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Water-induced steamed buns.
Of course, building a house is a big deal and cannot be done overnight. Ji Xu kept this plan in mind for the time being.
I've been busy for half the afternoon and I'm very hungry. It's raining outside, so I need to make a hot meal to warm myself up.
She took out a bag of front leg meat that was three parts fat and seven parts lean from the willow basket, cut off half a piece of pure lean meat, and chopped the meat into minced meat on a wooden chopping board made of firewood.
Ji Feng saw that she had chopped the meat very finely, added onion and ginger water into it, held the ceramic basin, and stirred it in one direction with her hands.
The minced meat after beating seems to have a certain chewiness, sticking together when grabbed, and presents a light pink color with tender texture.
This was different from the meat filling used in the steamed buns made in the morning. Ji Feng remembered that the meat filling at that time was mixed with fat and was chopped into cubes, not so fine that you could see the grains.
She couldn't help but wonder, "Sister, what are you going to cook this time?"
"Make Shuiyin steamed buns, eat them hot and warm your body."
Ji Xu had prepared the meat filling and was already cooking the noodles.
Shuiyin glutinous rice dumplings? Ji Feng had heard about it from the girls in Shengchang Village before. Only restaurants selling Shuiyin glutinous rice dumplings were found in the county town, and not many people had eaten it. Ji Feng had only heard about it and had never seen it in person.
His appetite was aroused at this moment, and he stood by the stove, watching Ji Xu cook.
She only saw him put the kneaded dough on the upside-down stove surface sprinkled with dry flour, and use a round wooden stick that he had cut from the mountains at some point to roll the dough.
The dough became bigger and thinner with even force, and it was only peeled off after being wrapped around the rolling pin several times.
Repeat this process for five large sheets, stack the dough sheets, use a hatchet, measure with your fingertips, and then cut out square shapes.
All of this was done with such skill that Feng and Zhu watched it with such rapt attention that they forgot to blink.
Ji Zhu picked up a piece of dough. The dough was so thin that she could even see her sister's figure through it!
"I can see my sister."
Ji Xu was amused by her naive and adorable appearance and explained:
"This is the dough for the dumplings. Look, spread the meat like this and pinch it."
Her fingers were nimble, and she used the tip of her chopsticks to pick up the minced meat on the dough. In a blink of an eye, she had a meat-wrapped dough in her hand.
"This is how a steamed bun is wrapped."
"Sister, I want to make them too!" Ji Feng looked at them curiously and wanted to try learning, so she washed her hands.
Jizhu was young and eager to learn, so she also said enthusiastically:
"I want one too."
Ji Xu taught them carefully and patiently.
The dumplings made by two people are, to be honest, in a weird shape, but it’s not a big deal if you eat them at home, as long as the stuffing doesn’t leak out.
"Yes, that's it, very well done."
Ji Xu praised his sister for her enthusiasm, and her hands did not slow down. In a short time, dozens of steamed buns were wrapped.
Place three bowls, put a small spoonful of lard, a little salt sauce, and a pinch of chopped green onion at the bottom of the bowl, add a spoonful of boiling water, and make half a bowl of soup.
Then put the steamed buns into boiling water and cook until they float up, then take them out and catch them in a bowl.
In a bowl of light brown soup, the thin skin is half immersed and half floating, with some swaying oil flowers floating on the surface. The fresh and fragrant water-infused steamed bun is ready.
Although Ji Feng was hungry, he did not rush to eat. Although he was a little hesitant, he still asked the question he had been wanting to ask.
"Sister, can you send a bowl to Mother Lu and the others?"
You know, this time it was thanks to Mrs. Lu and Mr. Chen who helped to clean the roof, otherwise the house would still be leaking.
Ji Xu was thinking exactly this, and half of the pottery basin was still uncooked, so he sent the first half to the Chen family.
There was no big earthenware bowl at home, and it was impossible to use a straight bamboo bowl to hold the boiling water to make steamed buns, so I took the only three earthenware bowls with cracks in them to hold more.
"Mother Lu has a large family, so one bowl might not be enough. Let's send all three bowls to her family."
"Um!"
Although Ji Feng felt a little pain in her heart because this was meat, very precious, she listened to her sister.
The rain outside the house, which had been drizzling for half a day, finally stopped, and the sky turned dark blue.
The three sisters, Ji Xu held two bowls on each side, Ji Feng held one, and Ji Zhu went to Chen's house together.
The muddy road after the heavy rain is not easy to walk on. Benguli is not like Shengchangli, where sand and gravel can be used to pave the road. Therefore, this road is full of muddy puddles.
Ji Xu and his companions chose the side that was closer to the roots of the weeds and was a slightly better path to walk on. Fortunately, it was only about half a mile away, and they arrived after a short walk.
"Mother Lu, Aunt Zhuang."
Ji Feng shouted from under the earthen courtyard wall.
The entire Chen family was sitting around a wooden table in the main hall, having their afternoon meal. On the table was a single plate of pickled vegetables taken from an urn, served with bean porridge. There was still steam coming out of the bowl, as they had just sat down.
Because of the sudden rain today, the road was difficult to travel, and Chen Che'er came back from work at the kiln later than usual. His family was waiting for him to have dinner, and they had waited until now.
Now Chen Che'er was kneeling at the dining table. He had just returned home in the rain and had just taken a hot bath. He changed into a dry old jacket and looked thin and dark.
Also sitting at the west table were his younger brother and sister, Chen Gou'er and Chen Sui'er.
Kneeling at the upper seat in the north were the elderly couple, Lü Ai and Chen Laobo, and sitting at the lower seat in the south were the lame Chen Dabing and his wife, Zhuang.
"Who is outside at this hour?" Zhuang asked in confusion.
"It sounds like Sister Feng's voice. Maybe Xiaozhu is here too." Chen Gou'er and his sister also followed. Their eldest brother Chen Che'er had already stood up to greet them and open the gate.
"I'm Erfeng. My elder sister made some food and asked me and my younger sister to send some to your family."
Ji Fengnian has a loud voice despite being small, and people can hear him clearly even through the courtyard wall.
The wooden door creaked open, and Ji Xu recognized that it was Chen Che'er who opened the door. He smiled, revealing his white teeth on his dark face.
"Sister Xu."
Because Chen Che'er was one year younger than Ji Xu, she was called that.
"I was having my afternoon snack when I happened to hear someone calling outside. I said the voice sounded familiar, and it turned out to be Erfeng."
Following the sound, Lu Ai, who was in the main room, came out right after him. Ji Xu's face naturally turned into a smile, which was bright in the twilight.
"I made some hot pot dumplings and sent some to you while they're still hot."
While handing over the things in his hand.
Shuiyin tang? Lü Ai had never heard of it before, but Ji Xu's cooking must be good.
She looked again and saw three bowls. She waved her hands.
"You don't need so much. Just give me a small bowl to try. The rest is for you three sisters."
Lu Ai refused to take it no matter what, especially after she smelled the aroma of meat. It was made of meat, how much money would it cost?
She wanted to push it away, but was afraid of spilling it, so she kept pulling away, putting her hands behind her back, and saying "No, no, no."
"There's still some at home. If it weren't for you and Uncle Chen helping to repair the roof, the three of us would have been left with nothing.
I think these Shuiyin steamed buns are too little, please accept them quickly, otherwise I won’t be able to ask you for help if I need it in the future.”
She treated Lu Ai with the same intimacy as a granddaughter treated her grandmother in her previous life,
"Oh, my wrist is sore. It would be a shame if it spilled on the ground."
Aunt Lu came hurriedly to take them. When each of them had a bowl, she realized that she had been tricked. She smiled helplessly and handed the two hot bowls to Chen Che'er beside her. Chen Gou'er took Ji Feng's bowl.
The two brothers went to the kitchen, filled their own clay bowls with food, and emptied the bowls.
When they were about to leave with their empty bowls, Lady Lu saw that the sky was getting dark, so she called Chen Che'er to light a torch and send them back.
"Che'er, please take care of your little sister. Be careful, the road is slippery, don't fall."
"Why!"
Chen Che'er responded quickly.
The torches lit up the road, and Ji Xu held Ji Zhu's hand, carefully avoiding the mud.
She glanced at the young man beside her and said, "I heard from Fengmei that Che'er is working in the kiln in Shengchangli?"
"Yes." Chen Che'er said, "I've been doing it for about half a year."
"What's the price of the pottery tiles from the kiln now?" Ji Xu was thinking about saving money to build a house.
"It costs four cents per piece." Chen Che'er said.
"If we want to build a building with one hall and two inner rooms, do you know approximately how many tiles we will need?"
"I estimate that it will take a thousand pieces." Chen Che'er thought about it. Villagers would buy tiles at the kiln when building houses. He had seen a lot and knew it well.
That is four thousand coins.
"Where are the blue bricks?"
"A blue brick costs eight cents a piece, which is quite expensive. According to the style of our hall and two rooms, it would take at least three thousand bricks."
Few villagers could afford those blue bricks, so most people came from the county town to buy them and have them fired according to the required quantity.
When Ji Xu calculated, she found the price to be shockingly high and it would be impossible for her to save up enough before winter.
Forget it, the wall will still be a rammed mud wall. The mud can be dug from Niupi Mountain, which is cheap and can be mixed with rice husks. Nowadays, every household has a rammed mud wall made in this way, and the rammed wall is still strong.
As for the roof, she thought, it should be tiled. Firstly, it is strong and durable, and the tiles can be picked up once a year;
Secondly, there was no farmland and no straw at home. If I bought straw to cover the roof, it would be expensive but not last long. So I decided to just buy a thousand tiles.
The cost of buying the tiles was four thousand coins, plus the commission for hiring people and some miscellaneous expenses. She had to save up at least four thousand five hundred coins, or four or five taels of silver.
Speaking of this bowl of steamed buns, the Chen family loves it very much.
The aroma of fresh meat made the stomachs of those who were used to eating pickled vegetables and bland soups growl, especially the little twins. They swallowed countless liters of saliva, but they were still very well-behaved and waited for their elders to start eating first.
The lame Chen Daxian served half a bowl to the two elders, and then the whole family started eating.
"No, the skin is too thin. It will be broken if you pinch it with a pair of tongs. I'll go get a small spoon." Zhuang said, and went to the kitchen to get some wooden spoons.
Chen Gou'er couldn't wait any longer and took one with his chopsticks. The slightly chewy meat, wrapped in a thin skin, was slippery in his mouth and smelled delicious. It was the first time he had eaten something so delicious.
"It's delicious! Grandpa and Grandma, grandpa and grandma, please try it!"
Everyone who tasted it was surprised and reluctant to swallow it.
Zhuang smacked her lips, savoring the meaty aroma. She asked curiously, "What's this called? It tastes this good. Only a woman who's lived in Chang'an could make it."
"Sister Xu said this is water-induced steamed bun!" Chen Sui'er said, and put another one in her mouth. It smelled so good.
Mr. Chen, who is usually quiet and honest, said, "I've only seen restaurants selling this kind of food in the county before."
It was last spring. He went to the county to buy an iron hoe. In the city, there was a restaurant with a grand facade. A young man was shouting in front of the restaurant to attract customers. He was holding a bowl of Shuiyin steamed buns in his hand, saying that it was a fresh delicacy from Chang'an. A bowl cost twenty coins. How could he afford it? He just wanted to look at it and fill his stomach.
"So, we can also eat food that is only sold in the county?" Chen Che'er said with a contented smile.
"The skin of the dumplings made by Ms. Xu is even thinner than the ones sold in restaurants," said Mr. Chen.
He looked at the food served in the restaurant. The skin was thick, and it was nothing like Ji Xu's craftsmanship. The skin was too thin, and the wrinkles of the meat were visible. It was spread in the bowl, and it was so tempting.
"It must be because she stayed in Chang'an for three years." said Old Man Chen.
There was still some left in the bowl, so Chen Da naturally took the two elders' bowls to scoop it up. Both Lu Ai and Chen Laobo held their bowls in their hands.
"Your father-in-law and I ate too much of this soup for dinner, and it's inconvenient for us to get up at night," said Aunt Lu Yin. "Let's give it to Gou'er and Sui'er."
The last few went into Gou'er and Sui'er's stomachs, even the broken skin in the soup was not spared, not a drop of soup was left. After all, the soup had a meaty aroma, which was very delicious.
After returning home, the three Ji Xu sisters boiled the remaining water to make steamed buns to eat. They felt warm after eating them, which temporarily drove away the autumn chill.
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Pre-collect "Making a Living by Trade in the Western Han Dynasty", if you are interested, you can click to collect it~
Zhu Sui was born into a military-civilian family at the northern border of the Western Han Dynasty. His father was a soldier guarding the border, his mother mended clothes for the soldiers at home and earned some money for the family, and he had a younger brother and sister who were still children.
At home, there are empty rice jars and jingling money bags...
My sister-in-law is craving for meat, and she also wants to buy some new fashionable clothes and skirts to wear.
For this reason, Zhu Sui decided to return to his old career - doing trade.
Relying on his old talents, the market gradually expanded.
Spices and fruits from the Western Regions, celestial horses from Dayuan, leather banners from the West Sea, red pomegranates from Tashkent, and halberd cloth from Rome... She has everything here, and even the wealthy merchants in Chang'an compete to buy from her.
The green-eyed, bearded foreigner kept asking her when the gold and silk from Guanzhong would arrive, as he wanted to buy more!
Life at home is getting better and better.
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