Chapter 109 Beer-braised Duck + Stir-fried King Oyster Mushrooms with Bell Peppers...
Yu Miaoyin thought that Lu Jingming was practically her boss, and it wasn't right to let him go hungry. Wait a minute! She was a shareholder with her technology; Lu Jingming needed her formula. She knew her formula was good, and every factory wanted it. Thinking about it that way, Lu Jingming should call her "Big Boss."
That's right, that's exactly it, she's the big boss. But since she's a decent person, I'll make one more.
Yu Miaoyin borrowed Aunt Zheng's electric scooter and went to the market. The aunt at the duck stall was efficiently killing a duck and helping to pluck its feathers. The ducks next to her were quacking loudly. Yu Miaoyin chose a duck and asked the owner to kill it for her.
Before she could get her duck, the girl in front of her anxiously answered a phone call. After hanging up, she said in a hurried and apologetic tone, "I have work to do. Auntie, I don't want this duck anymore. I'm so sorry, Auntie."
The aunt understood that the child had a hard time, and waved her away, saying, "Okay, it's alright, it's alright."
Yu Miaoyin looked at the duck in the aunt's hand. It was fresh and ready to eat. She said, "Auntie, I'll take this duck."
After buying the duck, she also bought green and red peppers, bell peppers, king oyster mushrooms, and a can of beer.
When she returned and saw that Xiaoyin had bought beer, Aunt Zheng asked, "Drinking beer today?"
"I won't drink it, I'll make beer-braised duck."
Aunt Zheng said, "Then I'll go wash the dishes first, and you can go cook, boss."
Lu Jingming stood up. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
He had lived abroad for nearly nine years and had some cooking skills. Although he couldn't make anything particularly delicious, he could still help out in the kitchen.
Yu Miaoyin handed him the bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms: "Then could you please help me cut them into strips?"
“Okay.” Lu Jingming took the bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms into the kitchen and started cutting them into strips. Although the kitchen wasn’t big, it was usually enough for the three of them. However, because Lu Jingming was taller than most boys in Yuncheng, he looked particularly cramped in the kitchen.
He deftly and efficiently cut the bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms into strips and placed them on a plate for later use. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"That's all." Yu Miaoyin told him to leave, saying that he was standing in the kitchen and affecting the operation. For the first time, Lu Jingming felt that being tall was a mistake.
The duck vendor plucked the feathers very cleanly, so Yu Miaoyin didn't need much processing. She cut the duck meat into pieces and separated the duck legs, intending to save them for the children. She blanched the duck meat to remove any gamey smell, then sautéed ginger slices in hot oil before adding the duck meat to render the duck fat. At this point, the duck skin turned golden and glossy, with the edges slightly charred. She added soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and other seasonings, then poured in a can of beer and began to simmer.
White smoke was already rising from the pot. Yu Miaoyin picked up the lid and let the smoke and aroma simmer inside.
Lu Jingming messaged Wyatt, mocking him for not being able to eat such delicious beer duck. Wyatt then sent Lu Jingming a picture of the scrambled eggs and rice he was eating, and the two started bickering like elementary school kids.
Lu Jingming asked him when he was going back to China, and Wyatt said that he loved Boss Yu's food so much that he was reluctant to go back for a while. Lu Jingming expressed his understanding.
The beer-braised duck was almost ready, so Yu Miaoyin started making stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms. She sautéed minced garlic until fragrant, then quickly added the king oyster mushrooms after a few stirs of the bell peppers and stir-fried them over high heat until cooked through.
In less than half an hour, both dishes were ready. Lu Jingming got up to help serve the dishes and rice.
These are simple home-style dishes, but they are visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious. The stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms are particularly striking; the bell peppers and mushrooms are cut to the same size, and the red and yellow bell pepper strips are arranged horizontally and vertically on top of the light brown mushrooms, creating a vibrant effect. The beer-braised duck is equally eye-catching, with a rich, glossy sauce and brightly colored green and red chili pepper pieces. However, the beer-braised duck itself has a sufficiently rich sauce, so the contrast isn't as pronounced as with the stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms.
However, bell peppers and green and red peppers are not the same thing.
"It smells so good! I'm really enjoying life with Xiaoyin. So many people want to replace me, but I refuse. Some people even went so far as to try to bribe me to let her come and work for them for a month or two." For the first time, Aunt Zheng regarded money as dirt and refused to leave her boss no matter what anyone said.
Lu Jingming nodded and joked, "I'm even thinking of taking your job."
Yu Miaoyin handed the chopsticks to the two of them, saying, "Thank you, Boss Yu."
"Thank you, Xiaoyin."
"Don't call me Boss Yu next time, call me..." She was about to say, "How about you call me Xiaoyin?" but seeing that Lu Jingming seemed to be the same age as her, she asked, "How old are you?"
“I’m 26 this year,” Lu Jingming said.
Aunt Zheng blurted out, "26 is a good age! Are you married yet?"
Yu Miaoyin laughed, "Aunt Zheng is perfect for matchmaking in the park." Lu Jingming shook his head: "I've been studying abroad and only returned to China in the last two years. I've been busy with work ever since."
The implication is that he is not married.
Aunt Zheng agreed, "It's good to be busy with work. Boss Lu is young and promising, so work must be important to him. Don't young people nowadays say that marriage is a matter of personal freedom? I also think that there are advantages to marriage and advantages to not getting married. There is no standard answer. You young people should just do what you feel is right."
"Happiness is all that matters, right? I see that's what all the young people say," Aunt Zheng said with a smile.
Lu Jingming and Yu Miaoyin both agreed with this view on marriage and relationships; they hadn't expected Aunt Zheng to be so open-minded. Unexpectedly, the next second, Aunt Zheng casually said, "But you could try dating. After all, Mr. Lu is such a good catch, right? And so young. You'll only know if it's right after you try."
"And Xiaoyin too, she's beautiful and capable," Aunt Zheng sighed. She's married, her marriage is simple but happy, and her daughter is sensible. She supports freedom of marriage, but she also subconsciously tries to persuade those around her based on her own experience.
"I'll consider it," Lu Jingming nodded.
"Let's talk about it when we meet the right person." Yu Miaoyin looked at Lu Jingming: "You're the same age as me..."
The topic finally came back to Yu Miaoyin, who is only 26 years old. The two are about the same age, so it would be inappropriate to call her Xiaoyin. She said, "Just call me Miaoyin, or call me by my full name."
"If you're not used to it, you can call me Boss Yu." She quite likes hearing people call her boss.
Lu Jingming hummed in agreement. "Miaoyin, okay."
"Let's eat," Yu Miaoyin said.
Aunt Zheng went there specifically for the beer-braised duck. She quickly picked up a piece of duck meat and started gnawing on it. First, she removed the duck meat from the bone. It was stir-fried with chili peppers, and the subtle spiciness lingered in her mouth. The duck meat was very fragrant. Aunt Zheng liked to eat the top piece of duck skin, which was like it had been grilled, crispy and firm, and very chewy.
Although it's made with beer, it doesn't have a strong beer flavor. The beer and soy sauce flavors have seeped into the duck meat, making it mellow and fragrant.
"It's delicious. I would pay for this meal even if Xiaoyin charged me. This staff meal is really worth it," said Aunt Zheng. She even gnawed the bones until they were crumbs, squeezing out every last bit of flavor.
"It's incredibly delicious. My mom is now a huge fan of yours," Lu Jingming said. After returning home, Ms. Lu kept talking about the food Yu Miaoyin cooked. Normally, she's always busy finding fault, but when she met Boss Yu, she couldn't say a single bad word.
No wonder her mother kept saying, who wouldn't like this? The duck meat is tender and flavorful, yet chewy, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes.
“I can let her come over to eat more often, and I’ll keep running the restaurant. Cooking is quite fun,” Yu Miaoyin said. She enjoys cooking and seeing the happy expressions on people’s faces when they eat her food. What’s even more precious is that some people have told her that they found hope in life after eating her cooking.
For example, Chen Xi, Liu Yi, and some other senior high school students said that Yu's Little Restaurant was a ray of light in their gloomy senior year. Some, like Xiao Ming, even considered applying to the No. 1 High School because of the delicious food she cooked.
"Will it be open during winter break too?" Lu Jingming asked.
"It's open during winter break, but it'll be five days on, two days off," Yu Miaoyin said, picking up a piece of duck meat. The duck meat was really fragrant; the rendered duck fat added an extra meaty aroma to the sauce, making it increasingly delicious with each bite. The sauce on top, mixed with rice, was also very flavorful. Luckily, she had specially saved a large duck leg for Xiaotangbao; the child would definitely be very happy when she came back.
Just as I was thinking about someone, a message from Xiaotangbao came through. It was a messy selfie, showing her little face and big eyes, with her hair all tangled up.
The next second, a soft voice message came through: "Sister, I'm going to sleep now."
The background noise was the teacher's hissing. Yu Miaoyin replied, "Okay, go take a nap."
Lu Jingming was actually quite curious as to why she was so young and had a younger sister, but since it was a private matter, he didn't ask any further questions.
"This stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms smell delicious too, Xiaoyin, eat it while it's hot." Aunt Zheng picked up a piece of stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms for her with her chopsticks, and then said to Lu Jingming, "Xiao Lu, help yourself, don't be shy."
Lu Jingming immediately picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks. "Okay."
As expected of the bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms he cut; they tasted surprisingly delicious. The bell peppers weren't spicy, but rather naturally sweet. Yu Miaoyin cooked this dish quickly enough that the bell peppers were still crisp and tender, with flavorful juices inside. The king oyster mushrooms absorbed the savory sauce, their outer layer chewy while the inside was exceptionally soft and tender. The crisp bell peppers and chewy yet tender king oyster mushrooms together were truly a perfect accompaniment to rice.
"This is the first time I've ever had such delicious stir-fried bell peppers and king oyster mushrooms," Lu Jingming said, not exaggerating, but stating the truth.
Aunt Zheng didn't think it was an exaggeration. "Xiao Yin can make everyone drool with her fried rice noodles. After watching the show 'Yuncheng Fireworks' last time, my daughter asked me to make fried rice with eggs. I even felt drooling myself and thought I could make it as good as Xiao Yin's..."
After the meal, Lu Jingming offered to help clear the table and wash the dishes.
Yu Miaoyin sat down to digest her food and check her WeChat messages. Yang Fang told her that she needed to shoot promotional videos and photos because she was going to be a tourism ambassador.
Yu Miaoyin was familiar with the process, so she told Yang Fang to come over at a certain time. She was happy to be able to contribute to Yuncheng.
Yang Fang replied: "How about this afternoon? Are you free? The shoot will probably take one to two hours."
Yang Fang seemed impatient. Yu Miaoyin was still making scrambled eggs with rice in the afternoon. When asked if she had time, she replied, "Sure."
After washing the dishes, Lu Jingming wiped the countertop, said goodbye to the two, and went back to the factory to continue working. When Aunt Zheng entered the kitchen, she sighed, "Little Lu is quite thoughtful, but he's still not as good as Xiao Yin."
In the afternoon, Yang Fang arrived with her filming crew, and the scene looked just like a movie shoot. Inside the school, students crowded around the windows to watch. Jiajia, standing on tiptoe, asked, "Sister Ayin, are we filming an advertisement?"
"An advertisement? What did Sister Ayin endorse? Was it that mushroom sauce?"
"I've been thinking about this for a long time. We've partnered with a factory to make mushroom sauce, and I'll be the first to buy it when it comes out," the students said excitedly.
Upon seeing Yang Fang, Yi Ling remarked, "Isn't that the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau?"
"It seems like Sister Ayin is going to be a tourism ambassador."
Everyone discussed these things one after another until the teacher arrived, at which point they hurriedly returned to their seats.
However, students who were having physical education classes outside the playground, as well as those playing basketball, badminton, or wandering around the convenience store, all rushed over to watch.
Yu Miaoyin finished filming the promotional video amidst everyone's attention. The students were a little worried, "The small restaurant is so popular, will it close down?"
"Probably not?" Of course, they wanted the owner to make money, but they didn't want him to close the shop. If the owner wanted to leave because of money, could they pool their money and beg him not to leave?
That evening, Xiaotangbao took the safety responsibility agreement home. "The teacher said parents need to sign it here, then put it in my schoolbag and give it to the teacher tomorrow."
Yu Miaoyin reheated the duck leg she had left over from lunch and handed it to her to eat.
The child stood there and started gnawing on a large duck leg, mumbling as he ate, "It smells so good, it tastes so good."
The responsibility agreement was about the winter vacation. She thought that only kindergartens had an early vacation, but Yiling and Jiajia told her that they had their final exams next week. The students who came were discussing the vacation arrangements, from high school students to junior high school students and kindergarten students.
Even parents have joined the discussion, considering whether or not to enroll their children in a tutoring class.
Yu Miaoyin flipped through the calendar and found that time was passing faster than she had imagined.
Days flowed by like water, uneventfully. One day, Yu Miaoyin flipped through the calendar again and was surprised to find that it was almost Chinese New Year.
With the Chinese New Year approaching, she's even busier than usual, and the Bureau of Culture and Tourism is just as busy.
"I've seen the finished promotional video, and it's well-edited. It can be posted online now," Yang Fang said.
"OK."
This promotional video was something everyone had been working on for a long time, and everyone was really looking forward to it. As soon as it was uploaded, Yang Fang started watching the number of likes.
After a minute, Yang Fang patted the comrade on the shoulder: "What's wrong? Did I pat him badly?"
The comrade moved the mouse, saying, "Let me refresh; it might be lagging."
As soon as the page was refreshed, a flood of comments and likes poured in, with the number of likes soaring.
[It's Boss Yu again! Long time no see! I really miss Boss Yu's chicken biscuits and red bean paste.]
Yuncheng, a city with delicious food, I will definitely come back!
[I remember now, I remember now! I finally remember the taste of Boss Yu's cooking! I'm so hungry!]
Lingyu Mountain is truly beautiful; I highly recommend everyone visit!
"You've worked hard." Yang Fang felt relieved after seeing these comments. She patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's go to a small restaurant for a meal this afternoon."
He was also from Yuncheng, and seeing Yuncheng become popular naturally made him proud, and all his hard work over the past few days was worthwhile.
...
When Xiaotangbao saw her older sister on TV, she excitedly pointed at the TV and showed it to her grandmother, saying, "Older sister, older sister, older sister is here."
Today is the eve of the Lunar New Year, and Yu Miaoyin is making glutinous rice balls in the kitchen.
Hearing Xiaotangbao laugh so happily made her feel very happy. Yiling helped out in the kitchen, but since she wasn't good at it, she mostly praised Sister Ayin.
"Usually when I celebrate the Lunar New Year with my grandma, we buy glutinous rice balls from the supermarket and cook them. We've never made glutinous rice balls ourselves before," Yiling said. However, if her grandma hadn't cooked frozen glutinous rice balls, she really wouldn't know when the Lunar New Year's Eve was, and she really didn't find the holiday fun at all.
But now she finds it very interesting to make tangyuan (sweet rice balls) with Sister Ayin.
“You can buy it from outside, but it definitely won’t taste as good as what I make,” Yu Miaoyin said.
Yi-ling relayed this message to Jia-jia, who was eating frozen glutinous rice balls she bought at the supermarket. Jia-jia felt hurt and said she really wanted to eat the glutinous rice balls that Sister A-yin made.
"Come on, try the peanuts." Yu Miaoyin took out the black sesame seeds and peanuts that had been roasted in the oven. The raw peanuts and sesame seeds didn't smell very good, but after roasting, they were so fragrant that people couldn't resist them.
Especially the red skin of the peanuts, which came off with a gentle rub. Grandma and Xiaotangbao peeked out from behind the door, sniffing and exclaiming in unison, "It smells so good!"
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