Chapter 37: Frame-up
The yam and lean meat porridge in my home is almost ready. The villagers who went up the mountain to dig yams have also returned. Everyone has put a lot of yams in their backpacks. My neighbor Aunt Liu also brought back five or six yams.
Seeing that everyone had picked so many yams, Aunt Sun and Chen Chunhe looked even more proud. They raised their heads and looked at the Wu family, as if to say: Look, everyone still listens to us.
Wu Yuetang was amused and ignored her. Instead, he opened the casserole and stirred the porridge inside.
At this time, Aunt Liu and two or three villagers came over with yams and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.
"Tang girl, this thing is like a tree root, can it really be eaten?"
"Yes, I already cook porridge at home. This thing can be used not only to cook porridge but also to make soup. It can be eaten roasted or steamed."
Wu Yuetang showed everyone the porridge she was making at home. Aunt Liu came closer and smelled the fragrance, feeling refreshed all over.
"Oh, this smells really good. So, how do we prepare this? Grandma Sun said to just peel it, but I don't quite believe her, so I came to ask you."
Aunt Liu touched the yam in her hand and asked tentatively.
"There are two things to pay attention to when handling this yam."
At this point, Wu Yuetang's voice suddenly lowered, and she moved closer to Aunt Liu and the two villagers behind her and spoke quietly.
"First, when peeling the yam, don't let it touch your bare skin, otherwise it will itch unbearably. These days, there's not enough water to shower, so it's difficult to handle. Second, the flesh will produce a sticky juice, so it's best to peel it under running water or with gloves, otherwise it's easy to hurt your hands."
After hearing this, several people nodded quickly. Seeing that they were about to leave, Wu Yuetang added another sentence.
"It's possible to leave the skin on, but you can only eat it by steaming or roasting. If you're going to stir-fry or make soup, you need to clean it."
"Oh, okay, thank you, girl Tang. I knew you knew a lot."
Aunt Liu was really happy and left with the yam in her arms.
The porridge in the pot was bubbling, and it was time to serve it. Wu Yuetang took out a few large bowls and filled them up. She took out some salt-baked quail eggs from the space, put them in a basket, and walked towards Qi Yu's team.
Qi Yu and his family looked at the steaming porridge and found it a bit incredible. Most of the wolf meat on the market is made into jerky, but wolf meat is relatively tough and not very tasty, so many restaurants do not cook wolf meat.
This little girl actually marinated the wolf meat with salt before cooking it in porridge. This way, the wolf meat was not only not dry but also very appetizing to rice.
"Miss Wu, you really have a brilliant idea. Our Qi family has been running the restaurant for so many years, and we have only used wolf meat to make jerky and as snacks. We have never thought of using it in cooking."
After Qi Yu's father took a bite, he was really impressed and started praising Wu Yuetang.
"Hehe, I only discovered this after trying it many times. As long as you think it tastes good, that's fine."
Then he took out a plate of quail eggs from the basket and said, "Try this and see how it tastes."
Wu Yuetang realized that the Qi family had industries not only in the provincial capital, but also in the capital. If he could reach a cooperation with them, there would be hope for his own business empire in the future.
Father Qi looked at the slightly yellowed eggs on the plate, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.
"This is a salt-baked quail egg. The yellowing of the skin is due to the salting, so don't worry."
Wu Yuetang carefully watched Qi's father's expression, and only felt relieved when she saw him finally pick up one and put it in his mouth.
"Hey! Delicious! How is this made? Why is this egg so small? What kind of egg is this? How much does it cost?"
Father Qi had already started estimating in his mind how much this snack could sell for, and Wu Yuetang's lips curled up.
"This egg is called a quail egg. It's laid by a type of poultry called quail. This type of poultry looks like a chicken, but is much smaller and can be farmed in large quantities."
Qi's father immediately understood what she meant. If he wanted quail eggs, he had to buy them from her. If he wanted the recipe for salt-baked quail eggs, he had to buy a house from her.
"Okay, when we get to the capital, let's talk about this snack."
Qi's father agreed immediately.
After delivering the food, Wu Yuetang walked back to his own camp. Before his butt even touched the ground, he heard a lot of noise and cursing coming from not far away.
"Grandma Sun! What's going on? I'm itching all over from peeling the skin! Is this the food the Wu family dug up? Did you trick us into digging up tree roots?"
"Damn it! I cut my finger while peeling it! This thing is so slippery, even slipperier than a loach! This can't be food! How can food be so irritating?"
"Grandma Sun! We followed your advice and dug up so much, and now we're all hurt and itchy. What do you think we should do?"
"Yes, if your lies delay our escape from the famine, I will make you pay for it!"
Wu Yuetang sat in front of her tent, drinking porridge from her bowl and watching the wonderful show happening opposite with a smile on her face.
Oh, isn't this much more enjoyable than those ancient idol dramas on TV? How wonderful!
"Girl, what has this old lady Sun done again?"
Wu Shoutian sat next to her with a bowl in his hand. Seeing her smile, he knew that she must know the whole story.
"It's okay, Dad. My third brother and I went to dig yams. Aunt Sun and the Chen family insisted on snatching them away, so we let them. But they don't seem to know how to handle the yams, and now something's wrong."
"Oh, nothing serious will happen, right?"
"Oh, it's okay. It's not a big deal. Drink your porridge quickly, Dad."
Wu Yuetang comforted her father with her mouth, but in her heart she was thinking, let’s quarrel louder, louder!
He really enjoys watching a show.
There seemed to be a quarrel on the other side for a while, and then I saw Aunt Sun and Chen Chunhe being beaten by the villagers and sent to the door of Wu's house.
"It was this bitch. She said this thing was edible, so we let everyone dig it up! But it turns out it's not edible, so don't blame me! Blame her if you want to blame someone!"
Aunt Sun cried and pointed at Wu Yuetang.
"Hmm? What does that have to do with me?"
Wu Yuetang pretended to be innocent and asked her back.
"It's all your fault! You were the one who said this could be made into food! We started digging because we saw you guys digging!"
Chen Chunhe was also pushed out by the crowd and yelled at Wu Yuetang in frustration.
"I'm not lying to you. This thing is edible. I even made porridge with it at home."
As he said this, he showed everyone the yam and lean meat porridge he had cooked at home.
"My third brother and I dug two baskets and ate one each. We were fine. What happened to you?"
Seeing this, the villagers behind came up to check the porridge in the pot. After confirming that there was indeed yam in it, they became even more noisy and their anger immediately turned towards Chen Chunhe and Aunt Sun.
"You lied to us, telling us we could eat it after peeling it! And now we're hurt and itchy!"
"It really wasn't us! We only realized she peeled the skin and ate it after we heard her tell Wu Lao San that she would go home and cook it! You're injured and itchy because she didn't tell us how to deal with it. You should go find Wu Yuetang!"
Even at this time, Aunt Sun was still arguing, and Wu Yuetang became a little impatient.
"This yam can indeed be eaten after peeling the skin."
Then he turned around and called Aunt Liu from the other side, as well as the two or three villagers who had come with him at that time.
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