Chapter 508
A song quietly narrowed the distance between the Su family's father and daughter and the hutong, allowing them to blend a little more into this small world of old Beijing.
The next morning, the sun shone gently on the bluestone pavement of the alley, and the air was filled with the unique atmosphere of the daily life of old Beijing.
The Su family father and daughter went out as usual and happened to meet Uncle Li carrying a birdcage.
Uncle Li was in good spirits, with a kind smile on his face, and he took the initiative to greet them:
"Xiao Su, I didn't expect you to have such a bright voice. You can even hit those high notes. Not bad!"
Su Yuanzheng scratched his head a little embarrassedly and replied with a smile: "Uncle Li, you're too kind. I just shouted it out as hard as I could."
"Oh, it's still good to be young. I have energy for everything, even singing like I have a trumpet."
As soon as Uncle Li finished speaking, the bird in the cage flapped its wings happily, like a group of people creating atmosphere.
At this moment, Aunt Qian, who lived across the street, had just returned from buying vegetables. In her right hand was a basket full of fresh vegetables, and in her left hand was her lively grandson.
Seeing the Su family father and daughter, she smiled and said:
"You must be the new neighbors. I haven't been home these few days, so I haven't been able to get to know you. I live diagonally across from you, and my last name is Qian."
"Sister Qian (Aunt Qian), good morning!" The Su family father and daughter hurriedly greeted them.
"Hey! I heard your family is planning to open a restaurant? That's great! Last night, when you were cooking, the aroma spread all over our yard. It really smelled good."
Aunt Qian's words were full of curiosity and affection for her new neighbor.
Su Miao took the opportunity to invite her: "Aunt Qian, we are making special dishes from Yongcheng, and I don't know if they will be popular in Beijing.
We're launching a new dish in a few days and would like to invite a few neighbors to try it. Are you free?"
"I'm free! How can I not be free when there's food to eat? I'll just wait for your notification when the time comes! Hahahaha."
Aunt Qian laughed heartily, and her laughter was so contagious that it made the Su family's father and daughter happy as well.
…
After watching the father and daughter walk away, Aunt Qian whispered to Uncle Li as if sharing a secret:
"Uncle Li, my nephew is in Yongcheng. I asked him about it the other day, and he found out that this family really didn't brag.
Their restaurant is quite famous in Nanning, and they have even opened branches.
I heard that girl is the top scorer in science in Guangxi this year! This is exactly what they said about coming here to study and open a shop."
When Uncle Li heard this, he was delighted: "Comrade Xiao Qian, why are you still so nosy?
It was like this when I was little, and it's still like this now that I'm a grandmother. You can still investigate me thoroughly even though we're halfway across the country."
Aunt Qian said proudly: "Huh! Don't you see what kind of job I used to do?
If a stranger comes, you have to ask around. What if he's a bad guy? It just so happens that my nephew is in Yongcheng. It only takes a phone call to find him."
Grandpa Li teased the bird in the cage and said, "Their family is quite low-key. If my granddaughter were to become the top scorer in the imperial examination, I would hang a flag and shout about it in the street every day."
"People from the South tend to be more reserved. By the way, last time you said you tried their ginger candy and papaya shreds, I also heard about it."
It’s even more famous than their restaurant! You can buy it everywhere in Nanning, even in department stores! They supply it all, it’s almost become a Nanning specialty!”
The old man who was originally sitting in the shade of a tree, fanning himself to cool off, could not help but come over and said happily:
"I don't care whether the restaurant is open or not, I just hope they start selling those gummy candies soon. I've loved ginger candies since I was a kid, but look at my teeth, I can't chew them!
Hey! I actually ate something soft the other day, and it was something I could chew!"
Aunt Qian and Uncle Li looked at his leaky front teeth and laughed together.
Aunt Qian, the "busybody", also invisibly added fuel to the opening of Su Ji, making the surrounding neighbors more looking forward to the Su family's restaurant.
After saying goodbye to their neighbors, the Su family father and daughter were busy preparing for another important matter for opening a store - purchasing pickling vats.
Fortunately, people in Beijing also like to make pickles and accumulate sauerkraut, so jars and pickling vats of all sizes can be bought on the market.
They bought several large, medium and small pickle jars to pickle different things.
Originally, there was no "door-to-door delivery" service. Since the Su family bought so much at once, and Su Miao said a lot of nice things to the store owner, the store owner agreed to help transport a load on his tricycle.
Using a large vat to cover the small vats, two carts still couldn't pull all the pickling vats. In the end, Su Yuanzheng ran again and finally got all the pickling vats back.
There is a storage room in the yard, which was used to store all kinds of junk.
After renting the place, Jiayin asked the landlord to clean it up, and the nanny also cleaned and disinfected it thoroughly. Now it is empty and can be used for storage.
However, the newly bought pickle jar cannot be used immediately. It takes some time to clean it, otherwise the vegetables will easily go bad.
The father and daughter bought two long water pipes, connected them to the faucet, and started cleaning in the yard.
They first carefully rinsed the pickle jar inside and out with clean water to wash away the dust and impurities that were originally attached to the jar.
After rinsing, Su Yuan filled the pickle jar with clean water and added an appropriate amount of white vinegar.
Su Yuanzheng wiped the water off his hands while operating and said to Su Miao:
"Miao Miao, soak this white vinegar for a day to remove the dirt inside. Then the jar will be clean and it will be easier to pickle vegetables later."
After this busy period, both the father and daughter felt a little tired. After all, moving these heavy jars back and starting to wash them was really not easy and tiring.
They returned to the house, rested for a while, and prepared for the more detailed work the next day.
The next day, they poured out the vinegar water in the jar and rinsed it carefully with clean water to completely wash away the remaining smell of white vinegar.
Next, pour boiling water from a large pot into the vat and cover it with the matching wooden lid.
Hot water can further sterilize and disinfect, and it only needs to be simmered for about 10 minutes.
With so many jars and pots, they had to be prepared in batches. I had to boil several pots of water and was sweating profusely before I finished soaking all the pickling pots.
"Dad, should we turn the pickle jar upside down?"
Su Miao asked while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Yes, that's right. You need to turn the pickle jar over, place it in a cool place with the mouth facing downwards, let the water drain out and dry naturally."
Su Yuanzheng found some intact bricks piled in the yard, cleaned them, and said to his daughter:
"Come on, Miaomiao, let's pad the mouth of the tank so that the wind can get in and make it dry faster."
The father and daughter worked together to place the pickle jars one by one, letting them sit quietly in a cool place waiting for the water to drain.
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