Chapter 20 Mid-Autumn Family Feast
After the salted duck eggs were cooked, Qiao Mianmian brought out the rice. Everyone else had already washed their hands and was waiting to eat.
"Mianmian, your father and I have discussed it and decided that we'll start setting up our stall after the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is in a couple of days." Madam Lin said expectantly, "All the pots, pans, and utensils are ready. When you have time, go and take a look; if anything's missing, I'll get it for you right away!"
Qiao Mianmian said she had checked and that everything was enough. "We can just wait for the opening. These next few days, I'll promote the braised food to every customer. Mom, if business is good, you won't have to frown when I'm stir-frying meat anymore."
"Haha, you little rascal, you're always teasing me. If we had money, I wouldn't even bat an eye. Come on, everyone, sit down at the table. Oh dear, you cooked meat again today. How are you going to manage after you get married?" Despite her words, Lin still served meat to her two daughters after her parents-in-law started eating before she herself began to eat.
Speaking of the Mid-Autumn Festival, although the Qiao family had split up, Zhang and his wife were still alive. For major holidays like the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lunar New Year's Eve, the second branch of the Qiao family would come over to celebrate together. The third son of the Qiao family didn't live in Lin'an City; he only came over on Lunar New Year's Eve.
Zhang favored her eldest son but also liked her other two sons. She bought chickens and ducks in advance and went to see her eldest son. "Mancang, save a pork knuckle for us to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow."
Qiao Mancang readily agreed, "Even if Mother hadn't said anything, I'd already thought it through. My second brother works at the cloth shop, so his family's income is definitely not as good as ours. Besides the pork knuckle, I'll keep two extra pounds of meat for him to take home later."
The three Qiao brothers had a good relationship. With their understanding and sensible mother, Madam Zhang, they didn't have any dirty secrets. At most, there might be some minor grudges between the brothers, but it didn't affect their friendship.
Zhang glanced at Lin and, seeing that her daughter-in-law didn't object, hummed in agreement.
The Mid-Autumn Festival arrangements were settled, and after the family finished their meal, they went back to their respective tasks.
Qiao Youfu rinsed his mouth and went back to his room. After Zhang entered the room, he asked her to close the door first.
"Just say what's on your mind, why are you beating around the bush?" Zhang closed the door, looked at her husband, and guessed, "You want to talk about your second son's wife, right?"
Qiao Youfu pursed his lips, looking rather unhappy, and said, "During the Mid-Autumn Festival, you talked about your second son's wife. Your second son doesn't earn money easily, and she keeps giving money to her family. What kind of behavior is that?"
“To be honest, I wouldn’t do something so unpleasant during a holiday,” Zhang disagreed.
"I'm the father-in-law, how can I criticize my daughter-in-law?" Qiao Youfu realized his mistake. "Just say it, Jiacheng told me that his family hasn't eaten meat for half a month. Think about it, Jiacheng is a grown man, how can he live without meat?"
He sighed as he spoke. That day, his grandson came to deliver rice and grain. He noticed that his grandson had lost weight, so he asked him a few more questions. "I heard from Jiacheng that his uncle is dying. It's not that we can't help, but there has to be a limit. We can't let the second son support his own family and his brother-in-law's family all by himself, can we?"
That's the logic, but Zhang still refused to agree. "My second son's wife has her own difficulties. Her parents died early, and she was raised entirely by her eldest brother. Now that her brother is sick, if she doesn't pay for his medical treatment, is she even human?"
“It’ll only be tough for a while, just bear with it and it will pass. Besides, when Jiacheng comes over, won’t you secretly slip the money your second brother gave you back? You’re reluctant to part with your own money, yet you want me to do something against my conscience. You’re quite the schemer.”
"I...where would I have one?"
"Anyway, I'm warning you in advance. It's a rare occasion for the whole family to get together during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Just talk about happy things. If you gossip or say anything else, I'll make you sleep at the front door!" Zhang snorted and got up to open the door.
As a woman herself, she understood her second daughter-in-law's difficulties. According to Jiacheng, his eldest brother-in-law wouldn't last two more months, so the second daughter-in-law had to do her part. If the second daughter-in-law truly ignored the situation, she would then scold her.
"Mother, do you want to wash your face?" Lin asked, carrying a basin. She had been working too hard lately, and she started yawning even before it got dark.
"I've already washed up, you go to sleep, I'll keep an eye on Mianmian," Zhang said. She hadn't done anything during the day and wasn't sleepy yet.
Lin was truly exhausted, so she put down the basin and went back inside.
Before she knew it, it was Mid-Autumn Festival. Qiao Mianmian only made some braised dishes from Chunxilou and had her older brother deliver them to her. Then she prepared breakfast at home.
Her second uncle's family would come over in the morning so they could have an extra meal here, so Qiao Mianmian cooked some extra sweet potato porridge. She also specially saved some braised dishes for her second uncle and his family to try later.
The Qiao family was cooking over a fire when Lu Zhaona from next door, carrying gifts sent from Bianjing, stood reluctantly in the courtyard.
"My lord, these are the old lady's token of her affection, not the master's. If you refuse them, the old lady will be heartbroken." During Qingjiu's time in Lin'an, her daily necessities were far inferior to those in Bianjing. Even her master had visibly lost weight.
"Qingjiu, don't make me say it a second time. Return it the same way you brought it back. If I accept these things, the old man will only think I can't leave the Lu family. This is a letter of reassurance for my grandmother; you should return it as well." Lu Zhao's tone left no room for refusal.
"But……"
"If you say another word, you're going back to Bianjing."
Qingjiu was most afraid that his master would send him back to Bianjing. He and his master had grown up together and shared a deep bond since childhood. No matter what, he would never abandon his master.
Looking at the bundle on the ground, he felt a pang of heartache. Should he secretly keep some for himself?
“If I find out you’re trying to sneak something, you’ll be sent back to Bianjing anyway.” Lu Zhao could tell what Qingjiu was thinking just by looking at her eyes.
There was nothing else he could do but send the wine to the post station with a long face. If the old lady saw it, she would be heartbroken.
His master is too stubborn. It's clearly a conflict with the master, so why drag the old lady into it?
Sigh. Qingjiu sighed inwardly. It was a holiday, and he still had to cook for himself today. Just thinking about it made him feel even worse.
When he returned from the post station, he happened to run into Qiao Jiaxing, who was returning with wine. The two greeted each other and, upon learning that the Qiao family had guests today, he said enviously, "It's so lively."
“Yes, I have a large family, and there’s never enough room for everyone during holidays. What about you, Lord Lu? Don’t you go home?” Qiao Jiaxing asked casually.
Qingjiu shook her head and said she couldn't go back, "My family is too busy, they can't come back." She could only use being busy as an excuse.
"I see." As he spoke, Qiao Jiaxing arrived at his doorstep, glanced thoughtfully at the Lu family's gate, went back to get two five-nut mooncakes, and delivered them to the family.
When he returned home, Madam Lin remarked that he was very generous. However, upon learning that Lu Zhao was the only one in the Lu family who had a holiday, Madam Lin went into the kitchen and brought out two bowls of braised pork offal, asking Qiao Jiaxing to make another trip.
"What's that saying again? 'A son can...can do what'?" Madam Lin thought for a long time but couldn't remember. "Anyway, when the child is away, his parents are the ones who worry the most. Although I don't know anything about the Lu family, Master Lu is quite polite. You take this to the Lu family and the other to Chunsheng's family. When you come back, go to the other households. Since we've started a business, we cook braised dishes in the yard every day, so we should let people have a taste."
In the past, neighbors would only exchange gifts during the Lunar New Year. But this year, the Qiao family sells braised food, and they have to wash and clean every day. They will also have to occupy the alleyway with their pushcarts. So, Mrs. Lin is making a good sale in advance and has her son deliver some things to them.
Qiao Jiaxing was fast; he went to one store after another, and each time he came back empty-handed.
It was either a bunch of green vegetables or fresh chestnuts; only Lu Zhao didn't know how to prepare anything, and instead received food from every family.
Looking at the chestnuts, Qingjiu asked with a headache, "Sir, I don't know how to cook them. Oh right, I'll go next door to learn. You wait here, I'm going to check on the Qiao family."
He was not shy and went to the Qiao family home excitedly. He explained his purpose to the Lin couple, and the Lin couple led him to the kitchen with a smile.
“Indeed, it’s normal for you two men not to be good at cooking,” Lin said. “Mianmian, Qingjiu wants to ask you how to cook. We also need to cook chestnuts and such. Can you teach him?”
As they were talking, they heard a commotion in the front hall and quickly added, "It must be your second uncle and the others. I'll go see them!"
Qiao Mianmian had already cooked sweet potato porridge and asked her second brother to take the porridge and vegetables out. She then taught Qingjiu how to cook chestnuts, "Make a slit in each chestnut with a knife, then you can cook them directly. If you have meat at home, fry it until fragrant, then add the chestnuts to stew. As for the vegetables, just stir-fry them with lard. The Zeng family sent some dried loach, right? Chop some chili peppers and stir-fry them with the dried loach. Remember not to add salt, because the dried loach is already salty; just add a little light soy sauce. And..."
Qiao Mianmian talked for a long time, and when she looked up, she saw Qingjiu's blank look and couldn't help but laugh. "You definitely won't be able to learn just by me talking. Here's what we'll do: my family also wants to stir-fry dried loach. Go and get the dried loach and chestnuts, and I'll make them for you while you learn."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingjiu felt as if she had been granted a pardon, said "okay," and ran back to get her things.
At this moment, Huanhuan from my second uncle's family came in first. The little girl was only eight years old and looked like her mother. Her face was fair and rosy. As soon as she came in, she sweetly called out, "Cousin Mianmian."
Qiao Mianmian inherited the original owner's memories, but she was still stunned for a moment before recognizing the little girl in front of her as her second uncle's youngest daughter. Seeing how cute the little girl was, she squatted down and gave her a kiss, "It's Huanhuan! You're getting cuter and cuter. Why are you in the kitchen all by yourself?"
"My aunt said you're making something delicious. I came to see." The little girl said, swallowing hard, her mind completely on the pot.
Qiao Mianmian laughed and opened the pot lid to show her cousin, "There's chicken soup simmering in the pot, it's not ready yet. Let's go out and eat braised meat first, I specially saved some for you."
Leading Qiao Huanhuan to the front hall, Qiao Mianmian first greeted her second uncle and aunt, then went to see her second uncle's two sons, Qiao Jiacheng and Qiao Jiaxi, who were seventeen and fourteen respectively. Qiao Jiaxi had attended school for two years, making him one of the few in the Qiao family who had received an education, so he looked more refined.
"This must be Mianmian. She's grown into a beautiful young lady. I heard from your parents that you're doing something now!" Qiao Manyu looked at her niece, who had changed the most, and praised her, saying, "Your braised dishes are delicious. You're so lucky to have such a great opportunity. I'll have your second aunt come and learn sometime, so my family can also enjoy them."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Mianmian knew what kind of person her second uncle was. To be able to work as a waiter in a cloth shop, he must be quick-witted and eloquent.
Before she could reply, her grandmother interrupted, "Since you're all here, sit down and eat together. After you've eaten, have Jiaxing take your younger siblings to buy some sugar figurines."
Zhang took out some money from her pocket and handed it to Qiao Jiaxing.
Qiao Jiaxing understood his grandmother's meaning and accepted the money with a smile.
When the family ate, Qiao Manyu tactfully didn't mention learning how to make braised dishes again. Instead, after the meal, he asked his wife, Zhou, to help in the kitchen.
Zhou was a soft-spoken person, and she did whatever Qiao Manyu said. In addition, she had been taking care of her own family these days, and she was afraid that her in-laws would scold her. Feeling guilty, she tried even harder to please them. She smiled slightly at Qiao Mianmian and followed her into the kitchen.
The chicken and duck were killed early in the morning. Qiao Mianmian asked her family to save the chicken and duck blood. She looked at them and saw that they were all in chunks, so she took them out and soaked them in water.
Just then, Qingjiu came over carrying some things. "Miss Qiao, I also brought some rice cakes. They were sent by the yamen to the magistrate. They've already been placed outside. I told them to save one for you."
"Okay, thank you." Qiao Mianmian smiled and taught Qingjiu how to peel chestnuts. She then started chopping duck meat. The chicken was stewed, and the duck was used to make ginger duck.
Transfer the chicken broth from the pot to an earthenware pot and simmer slowly. After cleaning the pot, add the chopped duck meat, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, ginger, and most importantly, honey, and stir-fry everything together.
In the other casserole dish, stir-fry large slices of ginger until fragrant, then add the stir-fried duck meat, pour in a bowl of homemade rice wine, cover the pot and simmer for about forty minutes.
As Qiao Mianmian demonstrated, she explained to Qingjiu and her second aunt, "Actually, the steps are very simple. Once you remember them, it's just a matter of practice makes perfect."
Qingjiu was still confused, unable to remember anything clearly, let alone make it himself.
Zhou did remember it. She didn't expect Qiao Mianmian to teach so seriously. Her gaze towards Qiao Mianmian became more affectionate. "Okay, I've remembered it all. But we rarely eat duck at home, so it'll be hard to get good at it."
“There will always be an opportunity,” Qiao Mianmian said.
“It’s too difficult. Our family is not as well off as yours. You know how hard it is for me, your second aunt.”
As she spoke, Zhou began to wipe away tears, and Qiao Mianmian was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say.
If it were just Qiao Mianmian, that would be fine, but there's also Qingjiu here.
Unfortunately, Qingjiu was oblivious to the situation and kept asking Qiao Mianmian how to cook other dishes.
With no other option, Qiao Mianmian could only use the dried loach. She soaked the dried loach in water for a while, then heated the oil in a pan, added scallions, ginger, garlic, and most importantly, green chili peppers, stir-fried them until fragrant, and then added the dried loach for seasoning.
Qiao Mianmian poured cooking wine and soy sauce along the edge of the pot to release the aroma of the sauce, then added a little hot water and simmered for three minutes before serving.
By this time, the kitchen was filled with various aromas, as well as a pungent spiciness. Zhou coughed up tears, but Qingjiu could bear it.
Just as the stir-fried loach was ready, Qiao Jiaxing arrived. "Qingjiu, Lord Lu wants you to go back quickly. He seems to have something to discuss with you."
"Huh?" Qingjiu was taken aback for a moment, but still ran back. "My lord, you were looking for me?"
Lu Zhao looked at Qingjiu speechlessly, "They just mentioned it, and you actually brought things over? How could you be so shameless?"
"Just mentioning it briefly? I think Miss Qiao is very sincere." Qingjiu didn't think too much about it.
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, after all. Everyone else is having a family reunion. Let's not join in the fun and hurry up and get our things back," Lu Zhao said helplessly.
Qingjiu said "Oh," ran out to get the dishes, and came back with an extra bag of roasted melon seeds. "Sir, please come and eat!"
He immediately forgot what his master had said and now only wanted to eat quickly.
Lu Zhao wanted to say he wasn't hungry, but the aroma of the food made him unable to resist moving closer.
Qingjiu placed a loach on his master's plate, saying, "Please try this. The loach has been dried and smoked, and it's very delicious when stir-fried." Without thinking, he fed it to his master, who ended up blushing from the spiciness.
Lu Zhao couldn't handle spicy food. As soon as he took a bite, the spiciness filled his mouth and brought tears to his eyes.
After downing a cup of tea, the lingering aroma in his mouth, along with the image of him eating heartily with Qingjiu, whetted his appetite again. He had to admit, Miss Qiao's cooking skills were quite good, even better than the head chef of the Lu family. However, there was too much chili in the dried loach; he wanted to eat it but was afraid of the spiciness, so he could only find a compromise: to wash it off with tea.
“The smell will be gone once you wash it,” Qingjiu said.
"Stop talking nonsense and eat." Lu Zhao took a bite of fried loach and then had to eat two big mouthfuls of rice.
"There are also green vegetables and braised chestnuts. Please eat more, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival today." Qingjiu's mouth was stuffed full. Being able to celebrate the festival with his master was his reunion.
Lu Zhao couldn't help but think of his grandmother in Bianjing. His hand holding the chopsticks paused for a moment. His grandmother must have worried a lot about him.
The servants and their master quickly finished their meal, while the Qiao family across the street hadn't even started eating yet.
Qiao Mianmian stewed the vegetables that needed to be stewed, and prepared the remaining stir-fried vegetables in advance, to be stir-fried after three o'clock.
Three o'clock is the ancient Shen time. Qiao Mianmian is still not used to using ancient time. Whenever she hears the night watchman's call, she will automatically convert it into twenty-four hours in her mind.
Just then, her second brother returned with the sugar figurines and handed them to Qiao Mianmian with a smile, saying, "This is the biggest piece; I picked it out especially for you."
"Second brother is the best." Qiao Mianmian had just finished praising him when she heard her second brother ask what they wanted to eat for dinner. "So you were thinking about food, that's why you saved the biggest sugar figurine for me."
"No way, I always dote on you the most. If you say that, your second brother will be sad." Qiao Jiaxing had just finished eating a sugar figurine, and his mouth was still sweet. "If you don't tell me, I'll go to the kitchen and see for myself."
Qiao Mianmian grabbed her second brother, took a bite of the sugar figurine, and found it as sweet as honey. She used to dislike such sweet things, but now, looking at her second brother's expectant eyes, she genuinely thought the sugar figurine was delicious. "I'll tell you. You keep running to the kitchen; Mom will definitely think you're sneaking food."
She licked the sugar figurine. "Today we have stewed chicken soup, ginger duck, stir-fried loach with chili peppers, braised fish, fried eggs with scallions, cold pig's ears, and also green beans and goji leaves. Grandma really went all out for today!"
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