Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Pounded Eggplant and Preserved Eggs.
That little boy was carrying tiles on his back. They were domestic servants who were provided with food and clothing, unlike the servants hired from outside who were paid daily.
They were paid monthly, and he only got forty cents a month. He loved eating eggplant in his hometown. In the spring, he asked the old woman who tended the vegetable garden in the Gan family for a handful of eggplant seedlings, planted them on a small plot of land, and steamed them in the summer and mixed them with ant meat sauce. Now was the last crop, and the seeds were smaller. In a while, they would not bear fruit, and when the frost came, even the seedlings would be pulled out.
Ah Xiao had a good summer holiday and could pick up a few coins at the end of the harvest, so he was happy to do it. He got five cents and happily tucked it into his shoes. He also asked Chen Che'er to thank the man who bought the eggplants.
When Ji Xu had the eggplant, he asked Wang Dianji, "I have another fresh dish. Would you like to prepare it and send it to the Gan family?"
"That's great, you should do it quickly." Wang Dianji was delighted when he heard it.
The lady ordered one dish, and he tactfully sent two. Isn't the reward more than in the morning?
Ji Xu took out five round objects covered in mud from her basket. A strong smell of grass ash wafted over her. She said:
"Here, preserved eggs, three cents each."
This morning, the earliest jar of preserved eggs that Ji Xu had made had been sealed for about twenty days. She knocked off the yellow mud that sealed the jar and picked some to sell.
However, meat patties sell well, but the black preserved eggs are rarely in demand.
She cut it into small pieces and split bamboo sticks to taste it, but she dared not eat much.
Moreover, many people in later generations could not accept the taste of raw preserved eggs, but they were more widely accepted when made into dishes.
As there were no eggplants at home that morning, I couldn't make this dish yet and brought it to Shengchang for trial, so I only sold five or six this time.
Now that I have the eggplant, I want to make it.
Firstly, she could sell some of it right now, and secondly, if the Gan family enjoyed the food, there would be no worries about the long-term market, and she would be able to make money. Otherwise, she would not have asked Wang Dian for advice in vain.
Wang Dianji said, "Don't worry about the preserved eggs or the meat eggs. Just make something delicious and I'll buy it."
After saying that, he took out fifteen coins from his sleeve and gave them to her.
Ji Xu said, "Twenty coins, and five coins is for me to buy the eggplant."
Wang Dianji: ...
I touched the cuffs and found that they were finally patched up.
Ji Xu then started to work. She broke the ugly preserved egg covered with mud into pieces and peeled it open.
When Wang Dianji first saw the darkness inside, he hid his nose in disgust.
"Hey, Ji Zhengbing, why don't you pick up some good eggs to sell? How long have these been going bad?"
“This preserved egg is just like that.”
Ji Xu continued to peel his own.
Wang Dianji did not come any closer, for he was afraid of smelling the extremely foul odor that the bad guy would create when he opened the door.
Looking outside at Ji Xu still peeling the egg, and his hand touching the black egg, he was feeling lucky that he had cooked the water chestnuts and vegetables first, otherwise his hands would have been soaked and stinked.
Thinking of this, he quickly took out the food box and said:
"Stop it now! If you dare to make this rotten black egg, I wouldn't dare put it on the princess's desk even if I had a hundred leopards' courage."
"It's still a while before lunch, and the accountant's fee has been spent. Why not wait for me to cook it and then try it and decide whether it's good or not?" Ji Xu said.
Wang Dianji shook his head. "I won't try it. It's something that makes my stomach upset."
Chen Che'er was not intimidated and washed the dusty stone mortar as he was told. He said, "Dianji, this doesn't smell bad."
Wang Dianji still didn't believe it and stayed outside and refused to come in.
Ji Xu placed the purple eggplants in a tightly heated iron cauldron and roasted them until they wilted and the outer purple layer turned gray and wrinkled.
She then took it out and tore the clothes off, tearing them into large pieces and long strips, leaving only the soft green flesh inside.
Put five preserved eggs into the stone mortar, add the cornel sauce, and pound it with the stone pestle.
The egg and eggplant were mixed together, and even Chen Cheer frowned and couldn't help wondering:
"Sister Xu, is this still edible?"
"Would you like to try it?"
Ji Xu scooped a spoonful for him. Although Chen Che'er was nervous, he thought that everything Ji Xu made was always good, so he plucked up the courage to put it into his mouth.
Wang Dianji watched from outside the house. He tried to vomit out the mushy, black, and blue thing he had eaten. Where was Chen Che'er's usual cleverness? He was really stupid.
"Mmm! So delicious! It's so good that I can't describe it!"
Chen Che'er was so surprised that she even slipped the spoon in her mouth.
Seeing this, Ji Xu smiled and said, "Could Dianji try it too?"
Wang Dianji shook his head and said while holding the food box:
"I won't eat it. I don't know what dead fish or stinky frog this Chen Che'er's tongue is made of. He even thinks a rotten black egg tastes good."
Seeing that the sun was at its zenith, he went outside to deliver food to the Gan family residence.
Chen Che'er's cleverness came to his head, so he chased after him and pulled him back.
"It's really delicious. After eating one bite, I feel like I can finish half a bowl of rice.
The eggplant tastes so good alone, but when mixed with the unique flavor of the preserved egg, it's incredibly fragrant."
When Wang Dianji was dragged into the kitchen, he couldn't hold his breath. He sniffed, sniffed again, and sniffed again. There was no foul smell. Instead, there was a fresh smell of tomato and soy sauce.
He pointed at Chen Che'er and said, "If you lie to me, you will never be my disciple in this life." Chen Che'er smiled and said, "I will never lie to Master."
Wang Dianji put some of the liquid into his mouth, then suddenly raised his eyebrows, and the wrinkles on his forehead squeezed together.
Although the taste of this preserved egg is strange, it makes people want to try it again, as it seems to have a pine scent.
He sipped the spoonful of water cleanly and then touched the bowl in front of him.
"Leave the rest for me to drink."
Ji Xu specially served them small bowls of food for them to taste, and the remaining food in the stone mortar was kept to be sent to the Gan family.
"This dish is called pounded eggplant and preserved eggs," she said.
Wang Dianji took the two dishes and walked towards Gan's house.
"It smelled so good just now, who is cooking something delicious in the kitchen?"
"Yes, I smelled it too."
At noon, the workers in the kiln could take a short break, and the servants of the Gan family, covered in dust, swarmed towards the back rooms.
Ji Xu was packing up to leave when he suddenly heard a commotion and went to ask what was going on.
She explained, "I just made two dishes for Wang Dianji, and he's now sending them to the Gan family."
When they heard that the master of the Gan family actually enjoyed her cooking, some people asked:
"What kind of vegetables are you using? Do you have any left? I want some too."
They save some money every month and buy wine and meat to have a feast. They only eat two meals a day and have a short break at noon, so many of them want to buy something to try.
Ji Xu took advantage of the situation and stayed here to start a preserved egg business. Chen Che'er, who had always been neglected in the kiln, also came to talk to him.
Some of them asked Ah Xiao to borrow some eggplants and return them to him someday, while others paid two coins to buy one. Ah Xiao was also happy to have some extra money.
Ji Xu then helped them one by one, "Smashed eggplant and preserved eggs are simple. Watch me make it once, and it will be convenient for you to make it yourself in the future."
She naturally hoped that others could learn this method so that people would buy her preserved eggs, so she taught it in great detail.
The young men, some bought one, while those with more money bought two or three. They all held their own bowls and gathered in front of the stove outside the house, waiting with their necks stretched out, their eyes shining with joy as they looked at the gray noodles.
"Look, there are snowflakes inside this preserved egg! It's not one of those rotten eggs that comes out as a puddle of black water when you open it."
"I'll save it for dinner and make a dish to eat with rice."
"This smell, hit the spot!"
As they left with their bowls, they each had their own words.
"Go away, what are you still blocking here for? Get back to work or I'll tell Madam to give you a good beating!"
Wang Dianji came back and opened his hands, herding them like chickens and ducks.
Wang Dianji usually took good care of the Gan family. He carried less bricks and tiles than the hired workers. For example, in the summer, when they had to burn the kiln and sweated profusely, he let the hired workers do it.
Firework in the kiln was a good job in winter, so they picked the Gan family's servants to do it. Because they all respected and feared Wang Dianji, they all dispersed and went to work.
Wang Dianji whispered to Ji Xu, "How many preserved eggs do you have left?"
"Fifteen." Ji Xu counted.
Wang Dianji scratched his beard and said, "These are too few. I mean, how many are left at the girl's home?"
Ji Xu's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "These are all I have left today. I can make fifty a day. How many does Wang Dianji want?"
In the past, I bought duck eggs every day to make preserved eggs. I started opening them today and can open a can of fifty eggs a day.
Of course, sometimes there are no duck eggs for sale in the local market or rural market, so I don’t make them if I can’t buy them.
She counted them this morning and found that there were fifteen cans in the house. She placed them in order at the foot of the wall and wrote the sealing date on the yellow mud with charcoal so that she could open them one by one later.
Ji Xu thought for a moment and then said, "Although this dish tastes good, you can't eat it every day. Eating too much every day is bad for your health.
Also, these preserved eggs can only be kept for two months at most."
"Don't worry, Madam knows all about these dietary rules."
Wang Dianji shook his head. The masters of the Gan family used the preserved eggs with eggplant very well. He praised the preserved eggs highly, saying that they were the best in the world and had a unique taste. Then the lady rewarded him with a silver cake.
Thinking of this, Wang Dianji waved his hand and said, "I want all the things that my daughter's family makes every day.
However, since I want them all, I can't make another one and sell it to others, especially those boys.
This preserved egg is the color of black jade, with crystal snow inside and a pine fragrance. How can an ordinary boy be so lucky as to have it?"
Wang Dianji had to buy more to present to his wife. He could not consume so much at home, but the rich families in the village needed these rare things as gifts and entertainment.
He spent some money to buy it now. Madam, this gift is very respectable. Why don’t you give him more money as a reward?
So he added, "This is just what you're selling me, and we'll sign a written contract."
"No." Ji Xu said.
Wang Dianji was stunned by what he heard.
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