Chapter 73 Stuffed Mushrooms
Qiao Jiaxing and his brother carried the braised food onto the handcart. "Brother, I can do it. You go with your sister-in-law."
Hu Qianqian patted Qiao Jiawang, signaling him to push the cart.
Zhang and her granddaughter-in-law walked behind, and everyone went to the shop together.
April passed in the blink of an eye, and May arrived in the blink of an eye, with the weather getting hotter.
When Qiao Mianmian got up, she was only wearing a long dress, which made Zhang Shi frown.
"Put on another jacket, and take it off when you get warm in the shop." Zhang insisted that Qiao Mianmian wear a jacket, otherwise she wouldn't let Qiao Mianmian go out.
"Grandma, it's not cold at all," Qiao Mianmian said as she went out. The sun was high in the sky, and she wasn't cold at all.
But she couldn't go against her grandmother's wishes, so she had no choice but to put on the jacket and go out.
Walking out of the alley, the door of the Lu family across the street was tightly closed, presumably Lu Zhao and Qingjiu had already gone to work.
When they arrived at Chunsheng's house, Qiao Mianmian greeted Chunsheng's mother. When they arrived at the Xu family's house, only Dahu and Erlong were home.
"Sister Mianmian, wait a minute." Da Hu went back into the house and got two candied fruits. "Here, have these. Can you take Erlong with you?"
Why?
"He's so annoying, he follows me everywhere I go. You like him the most, right? I can lend him to you as your little brother for a day." Da Hu pushed his little brother forward, but Er Long wasn't sad at all. He stood on tiptoe, drooling over the candied fruit.
Qiao Mianmian laughed and patted the two children's faces. "Then I won't have time to help you take care of your younger brother. You two play at home by yourselves. You're not allowed to go out of the alley, and you can't talk to strangers, understand?"
Jin and Xu Zhongyi leave early every morning, leaving Da Hu and Er Long at home alone. Every time Qiao Mianmian sees the two brothers, she gives them a few more words of advice, reminding them that even with the city's good security, there are still kidnappers.
Da Hu looked at Qiao Mianmian with disappointment, "You really don't want it?"
"No need." Qiao Mianmian said goodbye to the two brothers. When she reached the alley entrance, she met Xu Kuan, who was on his way to set up his stall. "Uncle Xu, why are you so late today?"
Xu Kuan used to arrive early to avoid running into his neighbors, but now that his son knows, he's no longer worried about being seen. However, he wouldn't say that to outsiders, "As people get older, they get tired and don't have as much energy."
"Then you should rest more. Making money is good, but your health is the most important. By the way, has your family bought any land?" Qiao Mianmian was thinking that she would persuade her mother to buy some when the family had some money. Now the two of them were going to walk together for a while and chat casually.
Xu Kuan had no intention of staying in Lin'an for long, nor had he considered buying land. He shook his head.
“I heard that land prices are rising so fast these days, changing every year. If I had money, I would definitely buy more land. Not only would the price increase, but I could also make a profit renting it out to tenant farmers every year. Lord Lu bought several acres of land, and he rented it all out.” As Qiao Mianmian spoke, she saw her family’s meat stall and ran over with a smile, “Dad, how’s business? Is it good?”
"Well enough."
Qiao Mancang handed over the basket, "Are you sure you can manage? Do you want me to carry it for you?"
The basket contained meat needed for the shop. The Lin family had already taken the lean meat and pork belly that morning, and now it contained ribs and pig's trotters.
"I can manage, it's not far. I'll go now, please come over for lunch after you've closed up shop, don't wait until the afternoon." Qiao Mianmian headed towards the shop.
When she arrived, the lobby was full of people eating noodles. After greeting her family, she carried the meat to the kitchen.
A short while later, Qiao Jiaxing came in with the chopped minced meat. "Fifth Sister, the minced meat you asked for yesterday, with a 4:6 ratio of fat to lean meat, I've chopped it all for you. Are you making dumplings?"
"No, that's not it." Qiao Mianmian took out the pig's feet and then looked at the meat filling. "Today I'm making stuffed mushrooms for our own consumption. You go and do your work, I'll take care of things in the kitchen."
Sometimes, she would crave certain dishes. Yesterday, she saw mushrooms for sale at the market and had a craving for them, so she asked her second brother to chop half a pound of pork belly.
Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms, marinate the minced meat with seasonings for a while, and then stuff it into the shiitake mushrooms along with the chopped mushroom stems.
During this time, she first washes the pig's feet clean, then braises them in an iron pot. At the same time, she also braises pork belly, something she does every day.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Qiao Mianmian stuffed the minced meat into the shiitake mushrooms and pan-fried them to set their shape. Then she added a spoonful of braised pork broth, and after it boiled, she put it in a clay pot and simmered it over low heat for 15 minutes before it was ready to eat.
Noon is the busiest time, so they eat lunch early.
When Qiao Mianmian brought the casserole to the table, the whole family looked over. After opening the lid, she poured in the chopped green onions, and the umami flavor of the mushrooms mixed with the rich aroma of meat wafted out.
"I figured everyone must be tired of eating braised pork, so I made it differently. The shiitake mushrooms can absorb some of the oil, making it more flavorful and satisfying." Qiao Mianmian picked up a piece of stuffed shiitake mushroom and ate half of it in one bite. The meat filling was soaked in sauce, and the savory flavor permeated the shiitake mushroom, making it especially delicious with rice.
Qiao Jiaxing ate them one after another, saying, "These are much tastier than regular shiitake mushrooms. The flavor is somewhat similar to braised pork, but with the addition of shiitake mushrooms, they are much more refreshing."
He had barely finished speaking when he saw a guest arrive, so he immediately stood up to greet him, "Would you like some rice or noodles?"
"What are you eating? It smells delicious."
"It's stuffed mushrooms with meat. I made it at home for a treat, and it's not sold yet." As he spoke, Qiao Jiaxing introduced his family's signature dish, "The broth for stuffed mushrooms with meat is made from braised pork broth. I see you're a new face, is this your first time here? Our braised pork is very delicious, and all the customers who have been here say it's great. Would you like a bowl?"
"Okay, one bowl, please!"
"Please wait a moment, I'll go prepare your food right away." Qiao Jiaxing jogged to the kitchen. That's how it is when you're in the food business; you might have only just eaten a couple of bites yourself, but when guests arrive, you have to serve them first.
Qiao Mianmian quickly ate a couple of bites and went to the kitchen to get busy.
Once customers started coming in, the food stall became busy, and things didn't get better until late afternoon.
Finally able to sit down, Qiao Mianmian saw her mother rubbing her arms and went over to help massage them. "Mom, I'll cook noodles tomorrow. You can rest at home for a day."
“That won’t do!” Madam Lin disagreed. “There are so many things to do inside and outside. If one person is missing, you won’t be able to handle it all.”
"How could we not be busy?" Qiao Mianmian sat down and said, "There are more than 300 days a year, we can't work non-stop, can we?"
She felt sorry for me. "You love me and don't want me to get up early every day. But I also worry about your health. Before, when we were repairing the shop, and then when it opened, you were out early and back late every day. Even a body of iron can't take it. Don't tell me you're not tired; I've seen you pound your back several times. And we're the same. Think about it, even the maids in the Luo family get two days off a month. We run our own business and we work like oxen and horses. What's the point?"
Qiao Mancang came over and said, "Yes, Guilan, you've lost weight from exhaustion. Listen to Mianmian, rest at home tomorrow. I'm not selling meat tomorrow, so I can come and help out."
"But……"
“Mother, listen to Father and Fifth Sister, we’ll be fine with the shop here,” Qiao Jiaxing chimed in.
Looking at her second son, Madam Lin suddenly thought of something. "Alright, I'll find a matchmaker now and arrange for you to meet the Li family girl. I'll take you to see her tomorrow afternoon."
"Mother, what Li family?" Qiao Jiaxing was bewildered.
“I told you, you’ll know when you meet them tomorrow. The head of the Li family is a doctor, and they have a small pharmacy. They’re a perfect match for our family.” Madam Lin wouldn’t let any spare moment pass by; keeping her at home in bed would only make her feel worse.
Qiao Mancang also said, "I've met Doctor Li; he speaks very kindly. Tomorrow, put on the new clothes made before the New Year and go with your mother to have a proper look at the clothes. Don't be picky anymore."
Hearing this, Qiao Mianmian was also curious, "Dad, Mom, can I go with you tomorrow?"
Lin asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I want to see what it's like when my second brother is looking at people for a fortune telling. Anyway, there aren't many customers this afternoon, so I'm just killing time." Qiao Mianmian wanted to join in the fun.
After thinking about it, Mrs. Lin decided that it would be fine to bring her youngest daughter along, so she agreed.
After the matchmaking was agreed upon, only Qiao Jiaxing wasn't very happy. When he returned home in the evening, he looked listless and showed no signs of joy.
Qiao Mianmian followed behind, pulling Qiao Jiaxing to slow down, "Second brother, don't you want to get married?"
"No, it's not that. I just feel that it won't work this time either," Qiao Jiaxing said.
Qiao Mianmian didn't understand. "We haven't even met him yet, how can you think like that? You're tall and handsome. Our family is different now. Like Mother said, we're a perfect match for the Li family. Or are you saying you want to marry someone of a higher social standing?"
"No, I... well... anyway, that's it, I'm not going to say anything more." Qiao Jiaxing didn't want to say more, so he quickened his pace.
Qiao Mianmian followed at the back. When they passed the Wang family's house, she heard a small dog whimpering at the door. Turning around, she saw a small brown mongrel lying at the door, chubby and especially cute.
She squatted down to touch it, but the little guy was very fierce and opened his mouth to bite her.
"careful!"
Qiao Mianmian looked up at the sound and saw Chen Shi limping for a couple of steps. She then realized that Chen Shi had legs of different lengths.
Seeing that Chen's cheeks were flushed, Qiao Mianmian pretended not to notice and smiled as she held up the puppy, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, it's just a tiny puppy, its teeth haven't even all grown in yet. Where did it come from? It's so cute!"
The chubby dog whimpered and waved its paws in Qiao Mianmian's hands, seemingly quite resentful.
Chen stood there, unsure whether to move forward or backward, and said stiffly, "Dazhu said that since everyone else in the family was out working and I was the only one at home, he wanted to keep a dog to guard the house, so he went and got one. But it's a bit fierce, aren't you afraid?"
She was too afraid to hold him; the little chubby dog would only stop barking at her when she gave him food.
"What's there to be afraid of with a little puppy like this?" Qiao Mianmian said with a smile. "It's new here and not familiar with the place yet. Once you feed it for a few more days, it will wag its tail and cling to you. Sister-in-law, you speak so gently, it's so comforting to listen to you. Come visit my house sometime, my sister-in-law is home too, you'll have lots to talk about."
She now understood why Chen Shi never went out; it was probably due to a congenital disability and an inferiority complex. But now that they were in the marketplace, she wondered why Scholar Chen had married into the Wang family. However, every time she saw Chen Shi, Chen Shi was timid; they were neighbors, and she was willing to take the initiative to interact with her.
Chen knew that Hu was pregnant, but she was afraid of being disliked. Even though Qiao Mianmian kept praising her, she only said that she would go when she had time.
Qiao Mianmian understood what the other person meant. Just then, her mother called her from the doorway. She got up and said goodbye to Chen Shi, "My mother is calling me. I'll come and play with the puppy another day." After turning around, she ran back and asked, "Sister-in-law, can I come?"
"ah?"
Ms. Chen was slightly taken aback, then nodded. Seeing the little girl's bright smile, she suddenly felt that Qiao Mianmian was very radiant.
After Qiao Mianmian left, she squatted down to look at the little dog at the door.
"Why are you squatting?" Wang Dazhu frowned as he came over. "Sit down quickly, be careful with the child."
“I want to tease it,” Chen said, pointing to the chubby little dog.
"What's so fun about it? Besides eating, it just yells at people in a fierce way." Wang Dazhu had just returned from fetching water and casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Hearing his wife talk about Qiao Mianmian next door, he nodded in agreement, "That girl Qiao Mianmian is quite likable. She's the youngest daughter of the Qiao family, and the whole family dotes on her. She's always smiling and has a sweet tongue to everyone she meets."
Ms. Chen smiled faintly, "I feel that she is so nice, that it makes people want to get closer to her."
Few people praised her. Her parents often sighed for her, and her sister-in-law even said in private that it was a pity about her looks and background, otherwise she could have married into a better family. Gradually, she began to despise herself.
“Then you can go talk to her. The Qiao family lives next door, it’s just a few steps away.” Wang Dazhu looked down at Chen’s feet. He knew this before the marriage, but he didn’t know Chen was so reserved. He still hoped that Chen could go out more often and at least get to know the neighbors.
Speaking of this, Chen sighed again, lowered her head, and remained silent.
Qiao Mianmian didn't tell anyone about Chen's matter. The next day, when she passed by the Wang family's house and saw the widow Wang washing brooms at the door, she squatted down and said, "Auntie, you've washed them so clean that you've polished the doors and windows of the house to a shine."
"Haha, you're quite the talker, girl." Widow Wang used to dislike cleaning. With four sons in the house, it would get dirty again as soon as she finished cleaning, so she eventually gave up. It was only after her daughter-in-law came into the family that she became more diligent, afraid that her daughter-in-law wouldn't be able to handle it. "Hey Mianmian, isn't your birthday coming up soon?"
"Yes, I was born in autumn." After her birthday, Qiao Mianmian was considered an adult in ancient times. A couple of days ago, she overheard her mother struggling with what jewelry to buy for her.
Widow Wang sighed, "Time flies! In the blink of an eye, you're a grown woman. Why have you been going so late lately? Don't you go to the shop with Jiaxing and the others?"
"Nobody eats stir-fried dishes in the morning, so I have nothing to do if I go so early. I can just prepare lunch when it's time." Qiao Mianmian originally wanted to go with her brothers today, but her second brother said that she didn't need to, and that the three of them could handle the morning work, so she could do what she did before.
Since her second brother said so, Qiao Mianmian didn't go with him, but she arrived half an hour early.
To Widow Wang, these words implied that the Qiao family's business was so-so that they didn't need so many people. Seeing that Qiao Mianmian wasn't in a hurry, she asked a few more questions, "Speaking of which, your shop has been open for a while now. Is there anything new that you can tell your aunt?"
"There's too much to cover here. My mother isn't going to the shop today, so I need to get there early. I'll explain in detail another day."
Qiao Mianmian patted her trouser legs and stood up, then looked at Widow Wang, "But there's something quite interesting. There was a customer selling insoles, and it's the first time I've ever heard of someone ordering insoles of different thicknesses. He said everyone's legs and feet are different, and some people need different thicknesses to walk straight. He also said some people have flatter feet, and some have more bent feet. Indeed, every profession has its own expertise. Oh dear, I can't chat anymore, I'm leaving now!"
Qiao Mianmian said this intentionally; otherwise, she and Widow Wang wouldn't usually have talked so much.
Hopefully, Widow Wang will listen to this. She has a good impression of Chen. Not to mention now, even in the future, some classmates will laugh at Chen's situation. But it's not Chen's fault. It's her birth, and it's not like she did anything wrong.
After Qiao Mianmian left, Widow Wang kept Qiao Mianmian's words in mind. When she returned home and saw her daughter-in-law sitting and sewing clothes again, she felt like sighing.
She went inside and tidied up, hiding her daughter-in-law's shoes at the bottom of the laundry tub. "I'm going to the river to wash clothes. You stay home and watch over things. Dazhu and the others won't be back for lunch. When you're cooking, steam some egg custard for yourself."
Carrying a washbasin, Widow Wang deliberately took a long detour to the tailor shop furthest from her home to avoid being recognized by acquaintances.
However, the round trip took a long time, and by the time she finished washing the clothes and returned home, it was past noon, and her stomach was growling with hunger. She thought that Chen would eat first, but when she got home, Chen was still waiting for her. Seeing the rice warming in the pot, she thought that her journey of so far had not been in vain.
Meanwhile, Lin took Qiao Mianmian and her brother to the teahouse they had arranged to meet with the Li family.
Since it was a mutual visit between the two families, Mrs. Lin specially ordered three plates of pastries, hoping to leave a good impression on the Li family.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
