Chapter 65 Braised Lamb Chops
After seeing Lu Zhao and his servant off, Qiao Mianmian went to chop lamb chops. After lighting a fire in the stove, she put the lamb chops into a pot of cold water to blanch them.
After skimming off the foam, caramelize the sugar, then add the mutton and star anise to stew.
Nowadays, sheep are all free-range, raised without any technology or harsh treatment, so they don't have any unpleasant smell and are delicious in soups. However, Qiao Mianmian wanted to braise the lamb today, so she added a handful of dried chili peppers. After the lamb in the pot boiled, she transferred it to a clay pot to simmer slowly.
The aroma of mutton fat wafted from the kitchen, making Qiao Youfu and his wife, who were in the front room, drool.
Qiao Youfu patted his belly, "I've gained quite a bit of weight these past few months from Mianmian's cooking."
"Me too, everyone looks much better." Zhang finished mending the fishing net, rubbed her lower back, and took a deep breath as she stood up, which Qiao Mianmian happened to see.
"Grandma, let me give you a massage." Qiao Mianmian helped her grandmother sit down and gradually increased the pressure of her massage. "Is this okay? Should I apply more pressure?"
"Yes, yes, that's good."
“You don’t need to mend the fishing net every day. You can mend it every other day,” Qiao Mianmian said. “Also, you can rest a little longer in the morning. Breakfast is simple. Just have one person get up and cook porridge. Once everyone is up, you won’t have anything to do.”
Mrs. Zhang was very pleased. She loved hearing her granddaughter's words of comfort. "I'm getting old, I can't sleep that long anymore. I've always been getting up before dawn, can I change that at this age?"
Qiao Mianmian's hands ached from massaging, so she sat down next to her grandmother and leaned in. "Anyway, you need to rest well. I hope you live to be a hundred years old and I'll celebrate your birthday."
"Haha, good, good, I'm waiting for you to celebrate my birthday." Zhang was overjoyed, thinking that she hadn't spoiled her daughter for nothing; she was indeed the most considerate daughter.
Qiao Youfu, sitting opposite him, snorted, "You only think about your grandmother, what about me?"
"You will also live to be a hundred years old. I will cook for you every day and make sure you eat and drink well," Qiao Mianmian said loudly.
Qiao Youfu then smiled, "You're the only one in the family who has a sweet tongue, no wonder your grandmother dotes on you."
The three generations of the family were enjoying themselves. When the mutton stew was almost done, it was time to prepare dinner, and the Lin family finally packed up and returned home.
"There weren't many people around on a rainy day, and we barely sold out. I had Jiawang take the rest to Xiahe's house before we came back," Lin said as she carried the bowls and chopsticks down.
Qiao Mianmian went over to lend a hand, "Mom, how about we rent a shop? It'll be raining more often from now on, and the roads will be slippery when it rains. Normally, it takes three people—my older brother, my second brother, and my dad—to push the cart full of things, let alone when it rains. Although renting a shop costs money, with a shop we can also do dinner business and earn more money. Don't you want to earn more money?"
“I’m afraid the Luo family will think that we have money to open shops but don’t pay them back.” Madam Lin is thoughtful and always tends to overthink things.
Qiao Mianmian said, "Let's pay them back part of the money first, and tell the Luo family that we remember the debt. At the same time, let them know that we rented the shop to earn money faster so we can pay them back, not that we have the money but don't want to. If we put on a humble front, do you think the Luo family is the kind of people who don't care about feelings?"
Lin said no.
The continuous rain for several days made Lin's heart flutter.
Setting up her stall every day is indeed troublesome. She doesn't mind being tired normally, but on rainy days, her cart almost tipped over twice, which scared her to death.
Qiao Jiaxing chimed in, "Yes, Mother, renting a shop would save us a lot of trouble. Just like Fifth Sister said, we can earn more money by cooking dinner."
"Mancang, what do you think?" Madam Lin looked at Qiao Mancang, then at her parents-in-law.
Qiao Mancang pondered, “The children are right. We’ve already paid back some of the money, and if we want to pay it back quickly, opening a shop would be much better. And as you can see, we have no shelter when it rains, so customers can’t sit down to eat. We already have few customers, and it took us all day to sell out our braised food.”
Qiao Youfu said he was too old, "I'm only in charge of fishing. The food shop belongs to your eldest son's family, so you can make your own decisions."
Zhang agreed, "Yes, you can make your own decision. Having a shop is indeed a good thing."
Qiao Mianmian continued to persuade, "Oh, Mom, please listen to me. I'm so smart, my ideas can't be wrong!"
Looking at her daughter's pretty face, Madam Lin burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. You're the smartest person in our family. I was short-sighted. I was thinking of saving on rent to pay off the debt, but I didn't realize that renting a shop would actually make more money. Tomorrow, your father and I will go find a real estate agent. We don't need to go anywhere else; we can stay in the current market."
"Yay! I knew you were the best mother in the world!" Qiao Mianmian cheered and hugged Lin Shi.
Feeling a little embarrassed by the hug, Mrs. Lin patted her daughter's arm and said, "Oh dear, you're all grown up now, everyone's watching. What delicious food did you cook today? It smells so good!"
She sniffed it carefully; it smelled like mutton. "You bought mutton?"
"It wasn't bought, it was delivered for Lord Lu and Qingjiu. We'll just join in and have a bowl of braised lamb chops." Qiao Mianmian thought it was about time and hurriedly went to check on the kitchen.
The mutton was stewed until it fell off the bone, and there wasn't much broth left, but it was thick and flavorful. Qiao Mianmian tried a piece first; the meat was tender and had the unique aroma of mutton. Because of the added spice, the flavor became more layered.
Qiao Mianmian added potatoes and continued to stew. During this time, Qiao Mianmian stir-fried a plate of water celery for her sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law still preferred light food, so to supplement her nutrition, she also made a bowl of meatball soup with no oil and only a little salt.
"Second brother, have Lord Lu and the others returned?" Qiao Mianmian ladled out half of the mutton.
"Do you think Qingjiu will go home first and not come over?" Qiao Jiaxing joked. "If he comes back, he'll definitely rush in immediately and shout, 'Miss Qiao Wu, I'm here!'"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qingjiu's voice came from the front yard, calling out without missing a single word, "Miss Qiao, I'm here!"
Qiao Mianmian and Qiao Jiaxing exchanged a smile and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Qingjiu entered the kitchen, puzzled, and asked, "What are you all laughing about?"
"It's nothing. I was just thinking of having my second brother go and check on you all." Qiao Mianmian pointed to the stewed mutton on the table. "Second brother, could you help take the food out and call everyone to start eating?"
Looking at the braised mutton, Qingjiu's stomach rumbled. "Miss Qiao, it's so nice to be your neighbor. I can eat your cooking every day."
He carried the mutton out and saw his master still talking to the elders of the Qiao family. He went over to greet them.
Lu Zhao respectfully stood up and took the food from Qiao Jiaxing's hand. "Then we'll go back first and bring you the bowl later."
"Take care, Lord Lu." Qiao Jiaxing and Lu Zhao waved and called to their families to have dinner.
When the braised lamb chops were served, Qiao Jiaxing took a bite and his eyes widened instantly. "So delicious! The lamb is tender and falls off the bone, and the aroma of chili and star anise blends together perfectly. Even the potatoes smell of lamb. I'm going to eat three bowls of rice today!"
Qiao Mianmian was used to her second brother's praise, and looked at her sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, can you eat today?"
"I can eat it, you cooked it very well." Hu Qianqian had a good appetite today. "Mianmian, it's so good to have you at home."
Everyone praised Qiao Mianmian, and Qiao Mianmian was delighted to hear it. "If it's delicious, I'll eat it all up and leave nothing behind. That makes me even happier."
In fact, because the food was delicious every day, the family always ate everything and there were never any leftovers.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone went to wash up and rest. The next day, Wang Chuang brought Lin Xiahe back to visit relatives.
Since it stopped raining, the Qiao family went to set up their stall and ate lunch there.
As soon as Lin Xiahe arrived at the stall, she immediately started helping out. Lin's mother tried to stop her, but she insisted on working. "Please don't stop me. I've been so bored lately. There's only so much to do at home. After cleaning the house every day, the days feel so long. At first, I went to help out next door, but you know, my sister-in-law doesn't like to take advantage of others. She doesn't want me to do much work, so I can only play with the kids."
Day after day, and with herself all alone, time seemed to drag on endlessly. When the family property was divided, her mother-in-law asked the couple if they wanted a share of the family business's profits. They considered it and realized that getting involved in the business, without actively managing it themselves, would inevitably lead to future conflicts. Both disliked the hassle, so they declined the profits. Their mother-in-law then gave them farmland outside the city and a shop. The farmland and shop were rented out; she only needed to collect the rent each month, requiring no management from her.
Lin Xiahe has a much more relaxed life at her husband's family home than at her parents' home.
Lin said, "You don't have children yet. Once you have children, you'll be so busy every day." As she spoke, she leaned close to her daughter's ear and whispered, "How's it going? Any news?"
Lin Xiahe blushed and shook her head, "No, as you know, not long after the wedding, Wang Chuang went to the academy."
"That's true." Madam Lin looked around. "Take advantage of these few days to nourish your son-in-law, okay? Don't be shy. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. You young people should be like dry wood and burning brightly!" "Mother!" Lin Xiahe called out quickly when she saw her younger sister coming over.
"Fourth Sister, why are you shouting so loudly?" Qiao Mianmian saw her sister's face turn red and knew without guessing what they were talking about, so she deliberately asked, "Did Mother and you whisper something to each other?"
"No, why are you looking at me with that smile?" Lin Xiahe turned around to wipe the tables and chairs. "Oh, stop smiling, we really didn't say anything."
"Alright, alright, you didn't say anything." Qiao Mianmian laughed and said, "It's so good to have you here, I feel much more relaxed. Fourth Sister, it's good to have a leisurely life, you should take advantage of this time to enjoy your free time and stop thinking about doing things."
She knew that her fourth sister couldn't stay idle. If it were her, she would easily get bored if she stayed idle for too long. But while she was doing things, she would definitely enjoy life at the same time.
The family ate their meal at the stall, and Lin Xiahe and Wang Chuang helped pack up before heading home.
Lin and Qiao Mancang went to the real estate agent to look for a shop. Qiao Mianmian was a little worried, so she went with them. However, it was too late today, so the agent first noted down their needs and would take them to see the shop the next day after the Qiao family had finished their business.
"This shop is just what you need. It has two floors and is spacious enough!" the broker enthusiastically introduced. "It's also on this street, not far from your previous stall. It's just a few steps away."
Qiao Mancang said, "You really know how to talk. From the west end to the east end, isn't that far?"
"Well, at least it's on this street, isn't it?" The broker led the three members of the Qiao family on a tour of the place. "If you're not satisfied, that's alright. There are two more shops. Let's take a look so we can make a comparison. Don't you think so?"
Qiao Mianmian nodded in agreement. They then looked at two more shops. By this time, they actually had a preference in mind, but in order to negotiate the price, Lin still pretended to hesitate. "Let me see, they seem okay, but they don't seem as good as I imagined. Are there any others?"
"Based on the rent and conditions you mentioned, these are the only three available. The others aren't on this street. But if you move too far, your regular customers will have trouble finding you, which will affect your business, won't it?" the broker said earnestly. "Actually, finding a satisfactory shop is already very good. If you have any concerns, tell me, and I'll help you look around more."
"Thank you for your hard work today. Let's leave it at that for now." Qiao Mianmian met her mother's gaze and immediately understood. "Let's go home and discuss it, okay?"
"sure."
After the Qiao family returned home, Lin immediately asked them which shop they wanted to choose. The father and daughter unanimously chose the first shop they had looked at.
Qiao Mianmian analyzed, "The first shop is the largest. Although it's a bit far from our previous stall, it's not too bad. The main thing is that the shop is at the intersection. Just around the corner is a more bustling area. Maybe if our business is good here, it can attract more customers. Also, it has a backyard. When we run a restaurant, we always need to raise live chickens and ducks. If we raise them in the shop, there won't be any unpleasant smells in the house."
Qiao Mancang's idea was, "This shop is close to Lao Hu, and Lao Hu has good connections in this area, so we can bring in new customers. Just like Mianmian said, the shop is big enough. I looked at the first floor alone, and it should be able to accommodate more than fifteen tables."
The more tables you set up, the more water you generate, and the more profits you make.
"It's big, but the rent is also much higher, four taels of silver," Lin said hesitantly.
"Mom, don't worry about the rent. We can't keep changing shops. I believe business will get better and better. Let's move to a bigger one now, so we don't have to move again later." Qiao Mianmian looked at the other family members. "Eldest brother and sister-in-law, second brother, what do you all think?"
Qiao Jiaxing said he believed in his sister's cooking skills, "The business will definitely be very good!"
Hu Qianqian thought that since it was close to her father's stall, she could greet him every day, so she was willing to choose this one. However, she looked at Qiao Jiawang and didn't express her opinion.
Qiao Jiawang always listened to his family, saying, "I'll listen to you all."
"Since you all say so, then this one it is. When I negotiate the price tomorrow, don't interrupt!" Lin was ready to haggle hard and get as much of a discount as possible.
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