The next day, Lin Yan woke up late. Zhao Shiyun packed up his things and, figuring it was almost time, went to his room to call him. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Lin Yan let Zhao Shiyun help him get dressed. He raised his sore hands and glared at Zhao Shiyun, who was helping him put on his shoes. Zhao Shiyun grinned.
Arriving at the shop, he pulled a stool and sat at the door, next to Zhao Shiyun selling leek cakes. Zhao Shiyun would occasionally use his greasy hands to rub his hair, and Lin Yan would slap it away, "You're disgusting! I just washed my hair the day before yesterday."
"I'll help you wash tonight." Zhao Shiyun was unrepentant, and Lin Yan had no choice but to let him go.
Before they knew it, it was noon. Business was pretty normal today. After Lin Yan had his lunch, he took the time to talk to Widow Liu about hiring someone. Widow Liu nodded and said, "I'll teach her how to cook when she comes."
"Well, thank you for your concern, auntie."
"It's not a big deal. You should just get more rest."
Seeing that she was sweating profusely from the heat, Lin Yan poured her a cup of mung bean soup and said, "Auntie, if you feel hot, go get some to drink. You don't have to save it for me."
The fire was on in the kitchen and it was hotter than outside. Lin Yan had told them several times to do as they pleased and to drink some water if they were thirsty or hot. The mother and son were too polite. Unless Lin Yan took action, they would just drink the water they brought with them.
Widow Liu took the mung bean soup, took a big sip, and relieved the heat. She wiped her mouth and said, "I understand."
Lin Yan knew that she was just talking and would not actually drink at all, so he could only sigh helplessly and decided to pour it for them himself.
After all the ingredients were sold out, Lin Yan wanted to go to the pastry shop to see if the mooncakes were available. He took Zhao Shiyun by the hand, and the two of them slowly walked all the way to the pastry shop.
There were not many people in the pastry shop. It was so hot that no one wanted to go out, so why would they come to buy pastries?
The waiter saw someone coming in and immediately came over to greet him: "Sir, what would you like to order?"
"Do you have mooncakes for sale?" Lin Yan looked around but didn't see any mooncakes.
"Sir, we'll start selling them seven days before the Mid-Autumn Festival. If we sell them too early, we won't be able to keep them and no one will buy them."
"Oh, okay, I'll come back then." Lin Yan asked the waiter to weigh some sour plums and then went back.
*
"Brother Yan, I found the person for you. She is your cousin's wife. Is that okay with you?" Li Yuemei spoke only after seeing Lin Yan come back and pulling him to sit down.
"Cousin's wife? Why would she want to work for me?" Lin Yan asked in confusion.
"Hi, I was planning to go to Aunt Yang's house today to ask, and I met your cousin on the way. She asked me where I was going. I didn't want to tell a lie, so I chatted with her briefly, and she asked if I could go." Li Yuemei knew that Lin Yan didn't like relatives to be involved in conflicts of interest, so she chose her words carefully, fearing that Lin Yan would mind.
"Sure, my cousin's wife is a good cook. The dishes she made during the Ghost Festival were delicious." Lin Yan didn't care whether they were relatives or not, as long as he worked hard. Besides, he knew his cousin's wife a little bit. She was kind and hardworking, and not the kind of person who would take advantage of small opportunities.
"Well, as long as you agree, should I let her go over tomorrow?"
"It's all right. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll go inform her." Li Yuemei said, then stood up and went to her cousin's house.
Lin Yan rubbed his eyebrows, held his cheek and was stunned for a while, then got up and prepared to prepare dinner.
The hot weather had left him with little appetite. Lin Yan remembered the sour bamboo shoot and duck soup he'd had before, but unfortunately he didn't have any duck meat today, so he'd have to make it tomorrow. Today he could make a cold bean curd and cucumber salad, and a braised poached egg with tomatoes.
Lin Yan went to the fields to pick some cucumbers and tomatoes, and soaked the dried bean curd sheets in warm water.
Wash the cucumbers and tomatoes, cut the cucumbers into sections, crush them, and place them on a plate. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and mince the green onions and garlic. Then take five eggs.
Pour oil into a pan, heat it, crack an egg in, and fry until both sides are golden brown. Lin Yan fried five eggs in turn. Leave some oil in the pan, sauté minced garlic, add the chopped tomatoes, and stir-fry evenly until the tomatoes are sandy. Add a suitable amount of soy sauce and a pinch of sugar, and continue to stir-fry evenly.
Finally, pour in an appropriate amount of water, cover the pot, bring to a boil, add the fried eggs, add an appropriate amount of salt, and simmer for a little longer to allow the eggs to absorb the juice and be flavorful.
Cook over high heat until the sauce thickens, and a bowl of fragrant braised tomatoes and eggs is ready. It smells sour and sweet and tastes delicious.
By now the bean curd sheets were soaked. Lin Yan took them out and cut them into small pieces. He boiled water in a pot and poured the bean curd sheets in to blanch them. After they were cooked, he took them out and drained the water. He then put them in the plate where the cucumbers had been placed before. He added minced garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and sugar, stirred them well, and they were ready to eat.
There was a lot of porridge left at home from the daytime cooking, so Lin Yan didn't cook any rice separately. He just wanted to eat porridge tonight. He heated it up a little, not too hot.
The porridge and dishes were brought to the main room, and everyone washed their hands and came over to prepare to eat.
"I cooked five poached eggs, one for each of you. Here." Lin Yan picked up a poached egg for Yu Ge'er and Li Yuemei, and picked up one for himself and started eating.
"I just don't have much of an appetite, so this cold dish tastes delicious." When the weather gets hot, Zhao Qiming loses his taste in his mouth, and he hasn't eaten much in the past few days.
"I'll make some sour bamboo shoot and duck soup tomorrow. It's appetizing. Dad, please drink more."
"Oh, good, you're thoughtful."
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