Chapter 8 Chapter 8 The chef did a good job and made the Yu family look good...
The next morning, Sun killed the crucian carp and cleaned the black film inside the fish's belly as Lin Qiuran had instructed.
Lin Qiuran peeled garlic and ginger and chopped some chili peppers. He didn't need to coat the garlic-flavored crucian carp with batter; instead, he could just deep-fry it in a small amount of oil. This way, the fish wouldn't fall apart. He then sautéed a little minced garlic and chili peppers in a generous amount of oil, adjusting the flavor without making it too salty. Once the fish was cooked, he served it directly. Lin Qiuran then sautéed the minced garlic in the remaining broth. If serving it on a plate, he'd simply drizzle the garlic oil over it. By the time they arrived in the county, the broth had marinated the fish, making it more flavorful.
Sun and Xiao Dashi loaded the fish into the car. Before leaving, Sun asked, "Qiuran, how much do you want for this fish?"
Crucian carp is cheap, only two or three cents per pound. If it suddenly becomes four cents more expensive, I'm afraid no one will buy it.
Lin Qiuran said, "See how much crucian carp costs on the street. Just double the price."
Sun nodded. Lin Qiuran looked at the cart again. It looked different from the previous days. Both sides were wrapped up and covered with a quilt. "Mom, what's wrong with this cart..."
Sun said, "Let's go to Yujiazhuang tomorrow. Your father and I will push you there."
It turned out to be prepared for her. Lin Qiuran smiled and said, "Thank you, Dad and Mom."
Walking is indeed tiring, and I still have to cook, so it would be nice to save some energy. I didn't expect Sun to be so thoughtful and even prepare a car.
Sun grinned, "Then your father and I will go."
Lin Qiuran nodded slightly, "Well, if you can't sell all, come back early."
Sun had sold fish three times before, so she wasn't as nervous as she was the first time. However, she wasn't sure whether the crucian carp she was selling today would sell well.
The two of them left at 9:00 PM. Lin Qiuran stayed home to pack her belongings for the day ahead: a sweat towel and a small bag of dried hawthorns she'd found at home. The former was because it was hot, and since she was near the stove, she'd inevitably sweat. Clean cooking was essential, so this was a must. The latter would be useful for stewing the meat; she'd already eaten all the grapes, so the dried hawthorns would work just as well.
He also had to bring some food with him. He had been working all morning and was afraid of being hungry. The cook could taste the food but was not allowed to eat it secretly. In addition, there was a shortage of food in the village, so he had to bring his own food.
It was hot, and things usually couldn't be kept well. Lin Qiuran planned to make some salty steamed buns when Sun came back from buying meat in the evening, then dry them into slices and put them in a bag to eat slowly.
If there is more lean meat, you can also make some jerky, which is convenient to eat.
Lin Qiuran thought that there were too many fish today and sales were slow, but Sun came back earlier than usual today. Lin Qiuran looked at the bucket and found that they were all sold out.
Lin Qiuran smiled and asked, "Why are the products selling so fast today?"
Sun said, "I was worried it would be hard to sell, but when customers saw the small size of the fish, they found it cheaper than carp, and they tried it and it tasted good, so they bought a lot of them. We sold out quickly, one per person, and some even bought three or four at a time."
Even the crucian carp aren't that heavy, a large one weighing a pound and a half, a small one just over a pound. Even though I sold a lot, I made less money than I did the previous two days. Today I sold 198 wen. I spent 10 wen on the meat and 6 wen on the food, leaving me with 182 wen.
Sun gave the money to Lin Qiuran, "Take it."
"Thank you for your hard work, mother." Lin Qiuran gave the two cents left to Sun and kept the rest for herself. The money she earned from selling fish these days plus the deposit she received for going to Yujiazhuang totaled to nine hundred and fifty cents.
Fishing is good. It doesn't cost much to catch fish in the river. But the quantity is not enough. I only sell a few fish a day, so the profit is still not much.
But if he caught too many, others would be envious. Instead of a group of people guarding the river and fishing, Xiao Dashi would be better off just catching a few and returning quickly. Until he found a better way to make money, this was a pretty good way to earn some money.
Sun smiled and said, "It's not that hard. It's just a few steps. Look at how good the meat is today."
Lin Qiuran took the meat. Sun had bought pork belly, which looked nice, but wasn't very good for making jerky. So she mixed some flour and minced the meat into stuffing, planning to make some meat dragon balls that night. She would bake the leftovers into steamed buns and take them over tomorrow.
Originally, Sun also wanted to prepare some for Lin Qiuran, but seeing that Lin Qiuran had prepared it himself, she did not interfere. She found two bamboo water bottles so that she could bring water tomorrow, and wiped the car clean.
Before dinner, Sun looked at the car but was still not satisfied. Finally, she spread a bamboo mat on the mattress and said, "Dad, go gather some lotus leaves. If he comes back tomorrow afternoon, it will be a bit hot to cover him."
Lin Qiuran came out of the kitchen after hearing this and said, "Dad, let's go after dinner. The meal is ready."
Sun cooked some porridge, but Lin Qiuran insisted on giving each of them a meat dragon. This was easy to make. After the dough had risen, it was rolled out, then wrapped with stuffing, rolled up, cut into small pieces, and then steamed.
The Xiao family used old dough, but it was the first time that Lin Qiuran used it, so he was not very skilled and it did not rise very well. However, the filling was delicious. It was a braised meat filling made with homemade sauce, and half of the filling was fried so that it could be spread evenly on the dough. It was a bit like the Tujia pancakes he had eaten before, but not so greasy.
Sun couldn't resist and kept muttering, "The meat is bought for you, just cook it and eat it."
Xiao Dashi held it in his hand, not knowing whether to eat it or not.
Lin Qiuran said, "Hurry up and eat. We've made some money at home, so we don't need a bite. Eat and go to bed early. We have to go out at 3:00 AM tomorrow."
This is because the banquet is not big. If it is bigger, we have to prepare things a day or two in advance, such as making broth and stewing meat. Some meat dishes need to be stewed for several hours, and half a day is not enough.
However, the banquet and dishes in the village have been ordered, which is enough for half a day and is quite simple for Lin Qiuran.
As night fell, Lin Qiuran toasted some steamed bread and went to sleep. The next morning, at daybreak, she was woken by Sun. It was summer, and in modern times, it would only be four o'clock.
Lin Qiuran got up and washed up. Sun made breakfast, and she made breakfast for Lin Qiuran separately. She took out the steamed buns from yesterday and steamed some egg custard. There were not many eggs left at home, so she went to other people's homes to exchange some when she came back today.
After breakfast, Sun and Xiao Dashi pushed Lin Qiuran to Yujiazhuang.
This family also had the surname Yu, and there was a funeral today. Many people were sitting at the door, and some were keeping vigil inside. Lin Qiuran greeted the host family and went to the kitchen.
She told Sun and Xiao Dashi to wash and cut the vegetables. Some eggplants were sliced, some were cut into dice, and some were steamed without cutting. She demonstrated to them how much to cut for a plate.
Once the vegetables are washed, they fill a large basin. When they are making this, Lin Qiuran soaks the glutinous rice and various beans first so that he can steam the eight-treasure rice later.
Chop the meat filling and grind the tofu. Making meatballs with only meat filling will waste the meat and won’t taste that good. But adding tofu and starch will make it different and more glutinous.
Next, they cooked the main dish, braised pork. This time, Lin Qiuran didn't add grapes, but instead used dried hawthorns he had brought from the Xiao family. Just two or three worked wonders, and the stewed meat was very soft and glutinous.
By the time it was past noon, the braised pork was already cooked and the dishes that needed to be prepared were almost ready.
Lin Qiuran took the time to eat a piece of steamed bread. After drying out the moisture, it tasted crispy. The meat filling had also become dried. He drank a few sips of water and his stomach felt full again.
Mrs. Zhao from this family came over to check. Seeing that everything was almost ready, she nodded with satisfaction and said, "The funeral will be held soon, and dinner will be served at noon, which is still an hour away."
Lin Qiuran calculated the time and started steaming the rice. There were eighty people, so the rice was steamed directly in a wooden barrel. It had to be enough to eat, otherwise if there was not enough rice, it would be a loss of face for the host family.
At three quarters past four, the cold dishes were already on the table.
Lin Qiuran first steamed the eight-treasure rice, spread a layer of lard in a round bowl, then put glutinous rice and various beans in it, sprinkled brown sugar on the rim of the bowl, and put it on a plate when taking it out of the pot.
This dish looks the best. The glutinous rice is shiny and glossy, the brown sugar turns into juice and fills every tiny gap, and the lard enhances the flavor. Compared to the salty lotus leaf rice, Lin Qiuran prefers the eight-treasure rice.
Then he fried the meatballs and fish. First, fry the meatballs. Mix the tofu and meat filling together, and use the tiger's mouth to form meatballs that are half the size of a fist. Fry the fish later to prevent the meatballs from being tainted with fishy smell. Sun can also help with frying the fish. Looking at the time, Lin Qiuran started to stir-fry the hot dishes.
Lin Qiuran methodically stir-fried eggplant, garlic-flavored crucian carp, and grilled meatballs, all in one pot, so he had to pay more attention to the heat, otherwise the taste would easily be ruined.
After these four dishes were ready, Madam Zhao came over and said that we could eat.
The braised pork had been stewed long ago, and Lin Qiuran served it himself, alternating between fat and lean. Otherwise, one table would have all the fat and the other all the lean, and it wouldn't have been very satisfying. The meat was served in a pot, and the soup was poured over it. In the sunlight, the fat shone through.
The last dish is braised carp. She cooks this dish well. Heat oil and sauce in a pan, put the fried fish in and stew it, then serve it on a long plate.
The last dish of braised carp was served on the table, and today's dishes were finished.
Lin Qiuran breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his sore arms. Most of the dishes for banquets were cooked in one pot. The pot was big and the spatula was heavy, so his hands were a little tired. But it would get better as he cooked more and more, and he would have more strength.
There was still some rice left, so Sun served it over, and Madam Zhao also came over.
She was still in mourning and came over to hand Lin Qiuran a small purse. "Madam Lin, here are two taels of silver. Thank you for your hard work today."
Lin Qiuran was stunned for a moment and said, "Isn't it one penny?"
I have already paid the deposit, and the agreed amount was two cents of silver. I hope I remembered it wrongly.
Madam Zhao said, "Madam Lin is a good cook. She prepared this feast without any trouble for us. The guests enjoyed the meal very much. However, we don't have many seats, so it's inconvenient for us to keep you for dinner."
We enjoyed the meal very much. Every dish was praised, especially the braised pork, braised fish and eight-treasure rice. The portions were generous and the taste was good. It was said that they were as good as the banquets in the county town.
The job was done well and it brought honor to the Yu family, so it was only right to reward him more. Besides, hiring another master would have cost him three or four cents of silver.
Lin Qiuran accepted it with a smile, "If there's a wedding banquet at home, and they don't mind my husband dying, you can still come to me."
Madam Zhao thought that Lin Qiuran had good skills and would consider it if there was a happy event. She sent the three of them out, and Lin Qiuran got in the car, which was pushed back by Sun's Xiao Dashi.
Sun gave her two large lotus leaves and said, "You must be exhausted. Lie down and take a nap."
There was still sweat on Lin Qiuran's forehead, and his face was still a little greasy because he had been cooking for the whole morning. Sun felt sorry for him, but Lin Qiuran had been busy all morning. He took a break to eat a few bites of steamed bread and drink a few sips of water. She and Xiao Dashi were busy washing and chopping vegetables, and did nothing else.
Lin Qiuran nodded and lay on the cart. With a mattress as a cushion, it was not that bumpy. The lotus leaves could block the sun, so it was quite comfortable.
She fell asleep while lying there, and when Sun called her, they had already arrived home.
Lin Qiuran was still sleepy, so she went back to her room to sleep. Sun quickly went to cook, and after it was done, she brought the meal to Lin Qiuran's room. In the past, Xiao Dashi was the most conservative person, and he thought it was okay for a pregnant woman to work, but today he didn't say anything.
Not only did he not say anything, he also went fishing.
Lin Qiuran felt a sore arm after waking up, but other than that he didn't feel anything. When he went out, he saw that Sun had already cooked dinner and there was a rooster crowing at home.
Sun said, "I went to exchange eggs with someone this afternoon. I made fried eggs for you tonight and also exchanged a few chickens."
There were few chicks at this time of year, but there were still some, so Sun exchanged for eight.
The Xiao family used to raise three chickens, but back then they didn't eat eggs much, so they saved them. Now that Lin Qiuran eats eggs, it's not a big deal to raise more, and they can save them and sell them for money, so Sun brought in a few more.
Before the chicks grow up, they are exchanged for eggs to eat. Ten cents for twelve eggs is a reasonable price.
Lin Qiuran went to take a look at the chicks. They had just hatched and were kept in a cage. They had pointed beaks and were covered in fur. They looked quite cute.
She reached out and touched the chicken, then asked, "Mom, how much did it cost in total?"
Sun doesn't have much money, so these should not be cheap.
Sun rubbed her sleeves. "Eggs cost twenty cents, and I bought twenty-four. The chicks cost fourteen cents each, so I spent one hundred and twelve cents, a total of one hundred and thirty-two cents."
Lin Qiuran: "Mom, your calculation is really good, but next time just tell me the amount directly. I won't check the accounts."
A few smile lines appeared at the corners of Sun's eyes. "Oh, I see. It's almost time for dinner. Your father even caught some fish. But I see you're too tired today. Why don't you just not do it tomorrow?"
Lin Qiuran said, "It will be fine after a night's sleep. Continue working on it tomorrow. And by the way, help me find out who's hosting the banquet."
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Asking for nutrient solution~啾咪啾咪[Let me eat][Spread flowers]
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