Chapter 296: Meeting Porridge Hotpot Again
Mrs. Pu wanted to come forward to defend herself anxiously, but was frightened by Ah Zhu's look. She shrank her head and clamped her neck together, not daring to move.
Ning Qilang's eyebrows twitched. He was short of money? He looked at the young lady standing in front of him with a half-smile in his eyes.
Feeling like she was being seen through, Yang Si Niang turned her eyes away out of guilt.
For a moment, one could hear a pin drop in the room.
"Do you want to go to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense?"
As Ning Qillang spoke, the oppression brought by the silence of the superior disappeared instantly. Yang Siniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was really scary just now!
She raised her eyes and smiled flatteringly, "Yes, sir, I want to thank you for saving my life."
Ning Qilang knew the young lady's tricks very well, so he deliberately didn't let her succeed. He stood up slowly and said, "Let's go."
Go? Where to?
Yang Si Niang's brain simply couldn't keep up.
Ning Qilang has already left the room, but the young lady is still standing there in a daze. Isn't she a little silly?
Seeing that she was acting foolishly, Ah Zhu quickly walked over and reminded her in a low voice, "Why don't you leave?" His master had no patience to treat the young lady. Being able to accompany her to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense today was like the sun rising from the west.
"Oh!" Wasn't her hint obvious enough? Yang Si Niang raised her foot in annoyance and followed.
After walking a few steps, the person in front suddenly stopped, causing the frustrated Yang Si Niang to almost bump into him. But since they were eating and living together, how could she dare to get angry? She staggered back a step and looked at the other person in confusion, wondering why he stopped?
Ning Qilang looked at Pu Pozi and said, "Change her into some lady's clothes."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Pu's eyes lit up. See, the young master still likes the young lady. She happily pulled her to the bedroom to change clothes and dress up.
Half a minute later, Yang Siniang got on Ning Qilang's carriage.
Until now, she still doesn't know the name of the person who saved her.
Sitting in the carriage together, it was awkward not to speak. Yang Si Niang took the opportunity to burn incense and express gratitude to ask carefully, "I will burn incense and return the wish later. I don't know your name, benefactor."
Ning Qillang closed his eyes and rested, and did not respond to the young lady.
"I will thank Guanyin Bodhisattva later, but I don't know how to tell her the name of my benefactor."
"snort!"
A sneer suddenly sounded in the carriage. Yang Si Niang's face turned red because of the nobleman's laughter. Alas, how could her clumsy little thoughts be seen through in an instant? She pursed her lips and complained secretly, "If you don't want to tell, then don't tell. What's the big deal?"
When Yang Si Niang saw that he closed his eyes, she secretly made a face, but before she could close her grinning face, the young man suddenly opened his eyes and was caught red-handed.
Yang Si Niang: ...He is so socially useless that he can even dig out a carriage.
"Master... Young Master..."
"Did you slip up?"
Yang Si Niang: ...Uh-huh...She doesn’t want to live anymore. She’ll probably die if she jumps off the carriage!
The young lady covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Ning Qilang raised the corners of his mouth and smiled silently.
The little beggar is quite cute.
The carriage had a smooth journey and arrived at Xiangguo Temple after half an hour.
No matter when you come, Xiangguo Temple is always bustling with people coming and going.
After getting off the carriage and seeing vendors selling food, Yang Si Niang's stomach started to growl.
Uh…she made a fool of herself in front of the young master again. It seemed like she had gotten used to picking her hands and feet anytime and anywhere. It was so embarrassing.
If you think about it carefully, is there anything uglier and more embarrassing than being a beggar? It seems not.
Comforting herself in this way, Yang Si Niang stopped wasting her energy. She didn't care about being embarrassed. The most important thing was to have food to eat and to be full. Seeing the young man striding towards Xiangguo Temple, the hungry young lady stopped deliberately because she hadn't had breakfast.
The nobleman didn't dare to shout, and whispered to his follower Ah Zhu, "Brother Guard, I'm a little hungry, can you buy two buns?"
Ah Zhu: ...Looking at the young master in front, and seeing that he didn't stop, he didn't dare to buy things for the young lady casually, and hurriedly raised his feet to catch up.
Hungry and anxious, Yang Si Niangzi had no choice but to follow. She cursed the young master in her heart again, saying that he was so stingy that he couldn't even afford to buy a two-cent bun. She would rather sting you to death.
The group entered the main hall, and the monk came to greet them, "Young General, this way please—"
Little general? Yang Si Niang searched her memory bank. Her maternal grandfather's family was a duke's mansion, and her father was also a third-rank official. Yang Si Niang had contact with all kinds of officials in the capital, and there were not many who could be called generals in the Dayin Dynasty.
Could it be that he is...
Ning Qillang's impatient voice interrupted Yang Siniang's guess: "Why don't you come over to burn incense?" He took three incense sticks from the monk and handed one to her.
When I go out, except my sister and niece, no other young lady has ever enjoyed this experience.
Yang Si Niang didn't know that the meritorious young general had never given incense to other young ladies. She was the eldest in the family, loved by her brothers and sisters, and was used to enjoying it, so she naturally took it, stood before the god, burned incense and prayed devoutly.
One kowtow, two kowtows... until all the incense has been burned.
After lighting the incense, Ning Qilang spoke to the monk for a few words, and the monk finally said, "Sir, please come this way——"
Are you going to the lounge to take a break?
In the past, when Yang Si Niang and her mother came to burn incense, after donating incense money, they would be led by the monks to the guest room to drink tea and eat vegetarian meals.
Yang Si Niang didn't know whether to go to the guest room for tea or stay for lunch. She was busy with her own affairs and just wanted to get some money to buy some things for her sister so that she could celebrate the New Year.
The road to my benefactor is blocked, so do I still have to look for Ajin?
Thinking of this, Yang Si Niang subconsciously looked around. For some reason, she could feel for sure that someone was following her. Who was it?
It was clearly the twelfth lunar month, but Yang Si Niang was frightened out of her wits and broke out in a cold sweat. She subconsciously went to Ning Qilang's side, looking around cautiously.
The young lady leaned against Ning Qi, and a faint fragrance wafted over, making his nose move. He unconsciously turned his head to look at the young lady who was approaching.
Her delicate face, as big as a palm, was not as flawless as that of a girl kept in the boudoir. Because she often begged outside, her skin was a little yellowed by the wind. However, her eyes were clear and her cherry lips had a smile on their faces, which made her look charming and lovely.
Ning Qillang's eyes flashed, and he looked away calmly.
What was following her? Could it be that she really couldn't go find Jin as her mother said?
Feeling that the world was a dangerous place, Yang Si Niang suddenly became depressed. She walked slowly and unconsciously fell behind Ning Qilang.
It seems that I can't help my sister anymore. What should I do? Should I go back to Yulin first? Let my mother come to help my sister?
For a moment, Yang Si Niang thought a lot.
Suddenly a voice sounded, "Ayun——"
Yang Si Niang suddenly looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome man and a beautiful woman walking towards them across the corridor.
That handsome young man was the cousin she had been thinking about day and night. She had seen him once in Xiangguo Temple a few days ago. He also came with the young lady to burn incense that time. The two of them walked together intimately. He looked at the young lady beside him tenderly with his side profile, his eyes full of light.
She had always thought that her cousin had this kind of temper - stern and serious. It turned out that he could also smile gently at a young lady, but that young lady was not her.
Feeling someone was looking at him, Zheng Mingze looked across and saw General Ning. He immediately reached out and took the young lady over to greet her.
The Zheng family is also a duke's family, but Zheng Mingze is not the eldest son and did not inherit the position of crown prince. Moreover, his current official position is not high and he has no real power, which cannot be compared with Ning Qilang, a young general.
As both were descendants of the Duke's Mansion, he had to step forward and salute first: "So it's the young general, what a coincidence."
Ning Qilang had already noticed that the little beggar was in a bad mood, and even saw tears in her eyes as she looked at Zheng across from her. He frowned, nodded coldly, turned to Yang Siniang and said, "You're walking so slowly."
Although he said he disdainfully, he reached out and pulled her, acting familiar and intimate.
Zheng Mingze looked along the young general towards the young lady beside him. Just as he was about to salute, he was startled and recognized the young lady opposite him. Is this... is this the cousin who had married him - Yang Birong?
Why did she return to Beijing?
He felt guilty and wanted to move his fiancée behind him, but when he realized that his action was too obvious, he quietly moved away a step.
All his little movements were seen by Ning Qilang. His gaze moved and scanned between the two of them several times, and his eyes became more and more gloomy.
Yang Si Niang couldn't hold back any longer and cried out, "Cousin..." and tears started to flow down her cheeks.
Even though she saw once that her cousin already had a young lady by his side, her heart still ached. She was clearly the one engaged to him, so why was there another young lady standing by his side?
Zheng Mingze didn't dare to recognize her and quickly denied, "Young lady, you recognized the wrong person." He hurriedly bowed to Ning Qilang and said, "Young General, Yunniang and I have an appointment with the abbot, so I will go first."
After saying that, he took the young lady's hand and turned to walk towards another corridor without looking back once.
Cousin... Cousin...
Yang Si Niang felt so heartbroken that she couldn't breathe.
How could the young lady be like this? She and the young master actually cried for another man. Ah Zhu looked at the master who was getting more and more upset, and hid back and forth. He didn't want to be a fish in the pond that was affected by the disaster!
The cold wind blew through the corridor, and it hurt like a knife when it touched people's faces.
Why? Yang Si Niang wanted to find a place to cry loudly.
Seeing that the master was about to explode, Ah Zhu was about to remind the young lady not to cry, but he saw his young master reach out and pull the young lady to the nearest guest room, then close the door, sit in the main seat, look up, and say, "If you want to cry, then howl as loudly as you want."
"You think I don't dare?"
For the sake of her beloved cousin, a young lady dared to run alone from Yulin, thousands of miles away, to the capital, enduring hardships and sleeping in the open air. It was a miracle that she could survive unscathed.
Thinking of the wandering for several months, Yang Si Niang really burst into tears, "Mom... I miss you... Mom..." She wanted to go home.
Ning Qilang...
Just as Ah Zhu was stunned, Ning Qilang gave him a wink.
Ah Zhu slipped out quietly, and half a minute later, he slipped back quietly.
I didn't expect that the girl could cry so much and she was still howling.
He bared his teeth, leaned close to the young master's ear, and whispered, "Second Master Zheng and the young lady from the Xu family came here to get the wedding date."
marry……
Ning Qilang glanced at Ah Zhu.
He said quickly, "According to what I have heard, Mr. Zheng's ex-fiancée is his aunt's cousin. This aunt's surname is Yang, and he is the legendary Mr. Yang we talked about yesterday."
Ning Qilang frowned deeply. This young lady said to Madam Tang that they were sisters, and she was also with the second son of the Zheng family...
Then who is she? Is her real name Wu Arong? Why is Zhao Lan secretly following her?
Before one mystery is solved, another one arises.
"Mom...sister...brother...I miss you..." The young lady cried so hard that she fell to the ground, her face full of snot and tears. She looked so ugly and dirty that Ning Qilang couldn't bear to look at her. He impulsively wanted to get up and leave several times.
The floor of the temple was clean, making it convenient for guests to sit on it. Unexpectedly, it became the bed of Yang Si Niang, who was tired of crying. She lay on the ground, sniffing, and felt hopeless.
As the Chinese New Year was approaching, Su Yanli arranged the affairs of the government and took his wife and children back to the capital to prepare for the New Year. The family was reunited again and was filled with joy.
A few days ago, Zhao Lan brought a lot of beef, including beef tripe, etc. When Su Ruojin saw the beef, the first thing she thought of was braised beef in soy sauce, as she hadn't eaten it for a long time. She also thought of boiled beef slices, green pepper beef tenderloin, roast beef, beef meatballs, and beef hot pot. In short, she thought of all the homely ways of eating it.
Since I’ve already made braised beef in soy sauce, let’s make beef hotpot.
The frozen beef, cut into thin slices and served in hot pot, tastes the best.
Although freedom of chili has been achieved, Su Ruojin does not use it to make hot pot soup base. Instead, she made a light soup, using pork ribs, chicken racks, etc. to make a broth, then filtered out the bone residue and poured the broth into a copper pot.
Su Ruojin, Qiuyue and others made chewy beef meatballs and put them in a clear soup hotpot. The soup was clear and delicious, so tasty that you could bite your tongue.
Cheng Yingzhen can't eat spicy food, so today's hot pot soup base is just right for her and she ate a lot.
"Ajin, what else can be used to make hot pot?"
“Anything edible can be used to make hot pot soup.”
Su Sanlang was not convinced, "Thin porridge is also OK?"
"Hey, it really works."
"I don't believe it." Su Sanlang ate while feeling unconvinced.
Su Ruojin raised her eyebrows proudly, "Then your sister will make a pot of porridge hotpot for you to try tomorrow to open your eyes."
"Then I'll wait."
The brother and sister joked with each other, making everyone laugh while eating, and they kept eating until dark.
Zhao Lan was like a live-in son-in-law. It was almost New Year, but he was still staying at Su's house.
After finishing her meal, Su Ruojin couldn't help but ask him, "Brother Jin, it's not good to stay at my house every day." Whether it's work or the palace, there must be some opinions, right?
Zhao Lan’s hands were tightly clasped with the young lady’s, and he walked her back to her own yard.
Hearing the young lady's question, Zhao Lan smiled and said, "I will go back after eating porridge and hotpot tomorrow."
"How about mushroom hotpot the day after tomorrow?"
"Then we can go back after eating the day after tomorrow."
Su Ruojin: ...
Is she a foodie or a clingy little goblin?
Wait, what is she thinking? Su Ruojin covered her eyes and looked at Zhao Lan under the dim light. She was beautiful, with a beautiful expression, and the wind blowing her sleeves, like a banished immortal who had come down to earth. She could only be admired from afar and not desecrated.
Su Ruojin shook her head and hugged Zhao Lan's arm, "Okay, Brother Jin, eat if you want to." Who cares if he's a clingy little bastard? She also enjoys the feeling of being clingy.
Lying back in the warm bed, another day has passed.
Congee hotpot is actually the hotpot porridge base of a certain state in the south in later generations. Its preparation consists of three steps: soaking rice, making soup, and boiling porridge.
Soak rice: Wash rice, glutinous rice, etc. separately, take them out and put them in a basin, add clean water to cover the surface, then add oil and salt and soak overnight until the next day.
To make the soup, you can wash pork shanks, chicken, etc. and boil them. Bring to a boil over high heat and keep the soup boiling. Then continue to simmer over low heat until the soup thickens. Then filter out the bones, residue, etc. in the noodles and only keep the most fresh soup.
Put the soaked rice into a casserole, add the soup, cook over high heat first, then change to medium heat, and finally change to low heat until the rice is broken into pieces.
A pot of delicious and tasty porridge hotpot soup is ready. When eating, just pair it with your favorite ingredients. It is guaranteed to be so delicious that it will make your eyebrows drop.
Of course, it is not easy to make a good porridge hotpot. There are some tips, such as adding oil and salt when soaking rice. If you don't add salt first, the porridge water boiled in this way will have complete rice grains, but it is not thick enough, and the aroma of the rice cannot be fully released. There are also some chefs who put the rice into the soup together with oil and salt after soaking it. This method is better than the first one in terms of aroma and taste, but it is easy to get stuck at the bottom when boiling. The rice grains after boiling are very fine and the porridge water looks particularly turbid. The best way is to add oil and salt to the rice soaking water. After the soaked rice is boiled, although the rice grains are blooming, they are full in appearance, and the porridge water tastes smoother, and the quality is obviously better than the first two methods.
The two types of rice must be soaked for more than eight hours, otherwise the cooked rice will not become bloomy (thick).
Porridge hotpot is fresh, fragrant, smooth and nutritious, suitable for all ages. On a cold day, the whole family sits around the copper pot, chatting and laughing, having a great time. It is so cozy.
Zhao Lan just liked the warm atmosphere of the Su family, so he stayed there day after day, just like a live-in son-in-law.
My uncle sent someone to invite Su Ruojin to stay at the princess's mansion for two days, and if there was any delicious food, he could bring some over.
Su Ruojin cooked three pots of porridge hotpot. This pot was originally intended for Zhao Lan to take back as a midnight snack. As a result, the princess wanted to eat some delicious food, so Su Ruojin went to the princess's mansion with Zhao Lan.
When Su Ruojin saw Princess Yuehua, she covered her mouth in surprise, "Your Highness, I haven't seen you for just a few days, and I feel that you are not only not fat, but also a little thinner. Right... It won't affect the baby, right?"
As soon as she got home, Su Ruojin only thought about her own home, thinking about buying New Year's goods and stocking up on ingredients for the New Year. She didn't expect that Yuehua had become thinner after not seeing her for a few days.
Princess Yuehua smiled and said, "I asked the imperial physician to check my pulse. He is fine."
"Then you..." You haven't eaten in the past few days, right?
In the past few days, Yuehua ate small meals frequently, took walks and ate more coarse food. Not only did she feel that walking was less strenuous, but it also seemed that her chest was not pressed as hard. In a word, she felt much more comfortable. So she strictly followed Su Erniang's advice of eating small meals frequently, with millet porridge as the staple food, and eating a little when she felt hungry. Sure enough, she was able to control her weight.
"Don't worry, Ajin. Just eat when you're hungry." Su Yanzu saw that his little niece was frightened and comforted her calmly.
This is a pregnant woman. Su Ruojin herself has never given birth, so she was quite worried. She was afraid that she might mislead Her Royal Highness, which would be a serious sin. She quickly brought out the porridge hot pot and said, "Your Highness can have a small bowl."
There are many ingredients in it, and after cooking, all the nutrients come out.
The porridge hotpot was so delicious that Princess Yuehua almost ate three bowls. Su Ruojin persuaded her, "You've already eaten one bowl. You can only eat half a bowl."
Seeing how happily Su Yanzu was eating, Princess Yuehua felt like a child who was about to act unreasonably.
Su Ruojin could only coax her to wait an hour before eating, while hinting to her uncle to finish everything in the casserole.
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