Chapter 118 Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili
Lu Zhao was unaware that Qingjiu had mentioned the pearl earrings, but upon seeing Qiao Mianmian, he felt somewhat shy and timidly greeted her, "Good morning, Miss Qiao."
Qingjiu chuckled and popped out from behind Lu Zhao. "Good morning, Miss Qiao. Are you going to the food shop? We're going to pay our respects to the old lady. We've come a distance together, so let's go together?"
When Qingjiu invited her, Qiao Mianmian wanted to say that she could walk by herself, but Qingjiu had already changed the subject, so she had no choice but to follow.
"Miss Qiao, do you know that Chunsheng is engaged?" Qingjiu asked again.
Qiao Mianmian really didn't know, "When did this happen?"
"It was yesterday afternoon. Aunt Meng probably didn't have a chance to tell us, but she should be here today," Qingjiu said. "That's great, we can have a feast again. Miss Qiao, if Chunsheng gets married, you'll be in charge of the cooking, right?"
Qiao Mianmian thought for a moment, "It should be."
The two families have a good relationship, and Qiao Mianmian will definitely help the Meng family if they ask.
"That's wonderful! I've been wanting to eat the feast you make." Qingjiu smiled and didn't notice that her master and Miss Qiao Wu were both being a little reserved today.
Even after his master told him to go to the new house first, he still asked in confusion, "Why?"
Lu Zhao glared at her and said, "I have something to say to Miss Qiao Wu."
"Oh, okay, then I'll wait for you over there?" Qingjiu was oblivious, so Lu Zhao had no choice but to let him go a little further away.
As Qingjiu walked away, Qiao Mianmian's heart pounded. She felt nervous whenever Lu Zhaoruo mentioned their relationship.
The two looked at each other, smiled, and then simultaneously turned their heads away.
After a while, Lu Zhao brought up the pearl earrings, "Grandmother said that you are fair-skinned and that those pearl earrings suit you very well. I wonder if you like them?"
“Lord Lu, the pearl earrings are beautiful, indeed very pretty, but they are far too expensive. My family will feel pressured if you give such an expensive gift.” Qiao Mianmian felt it was more awkward to stand there, so she took a few steps forward.
Lu Zhao followed, "Don't feel pressured, this is what my grandmother and I mean. I... I'm not good at expressing myself."
Lu Zhao suddenly said something out of the blue, and Qiao Mianmian blushed instantly.
Even if Qiao Mianmian has a modern mindset and likes to look at handsome men and men who are close to the truth, she can look at them, but she has never actually done it herself!
Now, a really handsome guy blushed and told her that he was actually not good at expressing himself. Good heavens, is he testing her rationality with his good looks?
Qiao Mianmian could only hum in response, not daring to move her eyes even slightly, proving that she was a giant in words but a dwarf in deeds.
"Um... so... can you accept it?" Lu Zhao asked, then quickly added, "You don't need to feel any pressure, just treat it as a gift from an ordinary neighbor."
What ordinary neighbor would give such an expensive gift?
Qiao Mianmian glanced at Lu Zhao, and the two of them walked up to Qingjiu.
"Hey, your faces are all so red." Qingjiu looked around. "What's wrong? What did you say, sir?"
"Ah, Lord Lu, my mother is urgently looking for me, I have to go now." Qiao Mianmian turned and ran away. This Qingjiu has no sense of propriety at all.
She ran all the way to the food stall, and when she rushed inside, Lin thought someone was chasing her.
"What happened to you? Did you run into a dog on the road?" Lin asked.
"No, Mother, I met Lord Lu."
"What...what did he say to you?" Lin's heart jumped into her throat.
"It was nothing, they just asked if I liked pearl earrings. How could I not like something so expensive?" Qiao Mianmian said. "Of course, that's not what I said. We chatted for a bit, and then I left."
Qiao Mianmian didn't know what Lu Zhao meant. He was indeed thin-skinned and didn't talk much, unlike Qing Jiu who was very talkative. But his face was so handsome that Qiao Mianmian could overlook his dullness when they were together.
Hearing this, Madam Lin became even more convinced that Lord Lu was interested in her daughter, and quickly pulled her daughter upstairs to ask her in detail, "What exactly are you thinking?"
"What can I think? It's not like I've known for a long time. I was also surprised by the Lu family's sudden change of heart. If you ask me to refuse, I can't bear to offend Lord Lu. But if you ask me to agree, there's nothing that can make me make that decision."
Qiao Mianmian isn't entirely from ancient times; in her mind, love should come before marriage. Right now, she and Lu Zhao have absolutely no emotional foundation; at most, she's a little attracted to his good looks. But she's still rational and won't marry Lu Zhao just because of lust.
Getting married is a big deal, and divorce in ancient times was not as easy as it is now.
"Oh dear, how shallow you are!" Lin retorted, exasperated. "The fact that you don't want to refuse means you're somewhat interested. Since you have such thoughts, don't you know that good marriages don't wait for anyone?"
"Mother, do you think it's a good match now?" Qiao Mianmian asked.
"No, it's just that after picking and choosing, your father asked me if there was a better choice than Lord Lu in his memory. I never thought anyone could surpass Lord Lu, so if there isn't, then he must be the best."
Just like her father-in-law said, no one is perfect, and there's no such thing as a perfect marriage. It's already quite good if it's seven or eight out of ten good. Looking at her daughter, Lin couldn't help but sigh, "Don't just look at faces, look at the person. Since the Lu family hasn't made their decision yet, they want to see our attitude. You like the person's face, so we'll keep the pearl earrings for now. If it doesn't work out in the end, we'll return them. I really don't know how I gave birth to such a looks-obsessed daughter. I wonder who she takes after?"
"Just like my dad, right? Didn't he fall in love with you at first sight?" Qiao Mianmian chuckled and leaned closer.
Mrs. Lin shoved her daughter away, "Get out of here! You're such a big girl now, and you still don't behave!"
"No, I'm only being affectionate with my own mother, not with anyone else. I just love holding you; you smell so good, it makes me feel safe." Qiao Mianmian kept holding her mother as they went downstairs, and they only separated when the Meng family came to deliver the wedding invitations.
Knowing about the Meng family's happy occasion, Madam Lin congratulated Chun Sheng's mother, saying, "I heard about it a few days ago and have been waiting for you to send the wedding invitation. What date have you set?"
"The end of next month." Chun Sheng's mother was looking forward to holding her grandson, so it was a bit early. "Knowing you're at the food shop, I specially brought the wedding invitation. Oh, Mianmian is here too. Auntie wants to tell you in advance that you must help Auntie with the cooking."
Qiao Mianmian said with certainty, "Don't worry, your family's happy event is my family's happy event, and I will definitely do my best to help."
"Oh, Mianmian, you're the best! Auntie has been waiting for you." Chun Sheng's mother smiled at Qiao Mianmian and then went aside to whisper with Lin Shi, "We've chosen the second daughter of the Qi family. Her family has tailoring skills, and all the girls can make clothes. Once we have a new daughter-in-law, we won't have to worry about clothes anymore."
"You've finally waited for this day." Madam Lin was genuinely happy for the Meng family. "Since what happened last time, I've noticed that Chunsheng has become much more sensible. Several times, your Dayong has praised his improved cooking skills."
The two women were chatting like friends, while Qiao Mianmian went to the kitchen to prepare the food.
Upon seeing a large silver carp weighing about 20 pounds, Qiao Mianmian asked in surprise where it came from.
"Grandfather caught it. He said it's rare to see such a big silver carp." Qiao Jiaxing asked how to cook it.
Qiao Mianmian thought for a moment, "Since it's a rare treat, let's keep the fish head for ourselves and make a spicy fish head dish so everyone can enjoy it at noon. We can make fish balls with the rest of the fish meat. A fish this big is easy to remove the bones, which is perfect for making fish balls."
Qiao Jiaxing asked how to do it, and Qiao Mianmian told them to watch and learn.
With one cut, the fish head and body separated. Qiao Mianmian pulled out the fish bones one by one along the spine, and then let her brothers carefully remove the bones.
"Look, first cut the fish meat into slices, then pound it into a paste with a pestle. You guys do this step." Qiao Mianmian went to prepare the fish head.
After cleaning the fish head, marinate it with ginger and cooking wine. Prepare pickled peppers and minced garlic in advance, sauté them in hot oil to release their aroma, and then spread them evenly on the fish head.
Once there aren't many customers left, we can steam them.
After Qiao Mianmian prepared the dishes, customers arrived one after another, and the family business was getting better and better. They set up six tables in front of the shop, which were also full every day.
Qiao Mianmian couldn't manage all the work by herself, so her second brother cooked some of the dishes, but they were still very busy.
"Second sister-in-law, watch this. The ribs need to be fried twice. The first time, the oil shouldn't be too hot; it should be over a low flame." Qiao Mianmian put the marinated ribs into the pot one by one. "Take them out and drain the oil after they're fried until golden brown."
She asked her second sister-in-law to fry the leftover ribs, and then she brought over some fish pieces to fry.
There weren't many fresh vegetables available at the moment, so they mostly ate bean sprouts and wild greens. Qiao Jiaxing grabbed a large handful of bean sprouts, intending to make sauerkraut fish.
As soon as the jar was opened, a tangy aroma wafted out, making Qiao Jiaxing swallow hard. He grabbed a handful of pickled cabbage and started washing it.
Soon, various aromas wafted from the kitchen.
When Qiao Mancang arrived with Lu Zhao's list, Qiao Mianmian was quite surprised. "Grandma Lu is here, so why is Lord Lu eating at the restaurant?"
"It's packed to go," Qiao Mancang said.
Qiao Mianmian said "Oh," and as soon as she turned her head, she saw Lu Zhao and Qingjiu chopping wood in the backyard.
Qiao Jiaxing looked at his younger sister meaningfully, "Fifth sister, have you noticed that Lord Lu has been very diligent these past two months? He never helped with chores like this before?"
Cao Yuan said, "It's been recently that Lord Lu has stopped sitting in the main hall and prefers to eat in the backyard, and he comes to help out every day."
"I know!" Qiao Jiaxing looked out the window at Lu Zhao's residence and suddenly realized, "From Lord Lu's angle, he can see the fifth sister in front of the stove. He is..." He paused deliberately and then laughed.
Qiao Jiawang told his younger brother to stop talking, "If you keep doing this, Mianmian will feel embarrassed."
Qiao Mianmian wasn't actually shy. But when she looked out the wooden window, she saw Lu Zhao roll up his sleeves, revealing half of his arm, and she thought to herself that the man's muscles were really well-defined.
She wasn't embarrassed at all; thinking about the changes in Lu Zhao over the past few days, she finally realized some things.
"Mianmian!" Cao Yuan came over and patted her sister-in-law.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
"Is the fish in the pot cooked yet? It's been steaming for quite a while," Cao Yuan reminded her.
Qiao Mianmian then remembered the chopped chili fish head in the pot and quickly opened the pot, saying, "It's cooked, it's cooked."
It was such a close call! If it had been steamed a little longer, the fish would have become tough and unpalatable. It's true what they say, male beauty can be a downfall.
After sprinkling chopped green onions on the fish head and pouring hot oil over it, the bright red chopped chili peppers glistened temptingly, and Qiao Mianmian's attention was once again drawn to the chopped chili pepper fish head.
"Second brother, take the chopped chili fish head out. The dishes that Lord Lu ordered are ready too. Eldest brother, can you pack them up? We can eat now." After saying that, Qiao Mianmian took off her apron and went out, she met Lu Zhao. The two of them smiled at each other at the same time.
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