Erhua's mother couldn't help but smack her lips. She had never seen this before, so it must taste delicious.
He Tiantian didn't know what lotus root was called in this era, so she shook her head. "I've never seen it either, but the ingredients that Director Song eats are sometimes transported from faraway places in the capital. I guess it's from the capital."
Erhua's mother was filled with envy and jealousy. "The people in the city really know how to eat!" If one day she could also go to the capital for a feast, she would die happy.
He Tiantian deftly chopped the chicken; she planned to make spicy diced chicken. As for the lotus root, stir-frying was the most common way to eat it, but He Tiantian decided to modify it and make lotus root sandwiches.
The meat used in the lotus root sandwich can be minced from chicken thigh meat.
Surprisingly, Erhua's mother didn't rush to leave after finishing her work. Instead, she sat down in front of the stove to tend the fire.
He Tiantian chopped a lot of bell peppers and stir-fried them with diced chicken over high heat. The prepared lotus root sandwiches were then coated with a layer of white flour batter and deep-fried in oil, instantly releasing an irresistible aroma.
Erhua's mother couldn't help but inhale the aroma in the air. She felt a pang of heartache seeing He Tiantian pour out so much oil. But then she thought, these precious things are probably just commonplace for Director Song.
"Wanzi's mother, how much salary do you think Director Song gets each month? He eats so well every day, he must have saved up a lot of money every month, right?" Erhua's mother stared at the chicken in the pot, thinking that no wonder Director Song specifically asked Wanzi's mother to cook.
She had never seen anything like this before.
He Tiantian focused intently on cooking, thinking that it was no wonder Erhua's mother would say that. While the villagers of Changfeng Village were eating coarse food and wild vegetables, these officials were enjoying chicken, duck, fish, and meat every day.
Oh dear! What a tragedy.
"How would I know?" He Tiantian replied absentmindedly.
After preparing lunch and handing it over to Mozhu, He Tiantian was finally able to go home. There were still some leftovers from the communal meal, so Erhua's mother suggested that she and He Tiantian share some and take them home separately.
He Tiantian didn't refuse, after all, there were so many mouths to feed in the family, and every little bit saved was a good thing.
Mo Zhu carried the food box and followed the aroma all the way to Director Song's residence. He had eaten many strange things since he was a child, but this was the first time he had smelled such a fragrant aroma.
He couldn't help but take a few deep breaths of the aroma along the way.
Song Yun had originally planned to handle some official business, but after smelling the aroma of food, he lost all interest in it.
"What kind of dish is this?" He couldn't even smell it.
Mo Zhu opened the food box and took out the food inside.
"My lord, this is a spiritual root that the old lady sent by fast horse. I also asked someone to buy a chicken in town." Finally seeing what the dishes looked like, Mo Zhu unconsciously swallowed.
"Sister He said this is called lotus root sandwich, with chicken inside and white flour on the outside. And this is spicy stir-fried chicken, which is very good with rice."
There was also a bowl of white rice on the side, which looked crystal clear and was made from this year's new rice.
After taking what he wanted, Mo Zhu lingered, reluctant to leave, and stood watching. Back in the capital, he often served the master his meals, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with him staying, right?
Mo Zhu couldn't help but admire He Shi in her heart; she wondered how she came up with such a novel approach. Even the top chefs in the capital probably hadn't figured it out.
Song Yun ate two large bowls of rice at that meal, thoroughly satisfied. He didn't know why he had become so fond of food after arriving in Quanzhou.
Song Yun gave the remaining food to Mo Zhu and couldn't help but sigh, "This Sister He is really wasting her talent in a place like this. With such skills, there would be many restaurant owners in the capital who would fight over her."
Moreover, the monthly wages were quite high, potentially amounting to tens of taels of silver.
Mo Zhu was too busy eating to answer, only nodding. Delicious, delicious, so delicious! He really wanted to stay in this wretched place forever, so he could always eat Aunt He's cooking.
He Tiantian walked back with the food she had packed from the mine in her arms. She took stock of her current assets and added the one tael of silver that Song Yun had given her.
There was no food left at home, so she opened the online store. White rice was fifteen coins a pound, so she bought twenty pounds. Millet and buckwheat flour were both ten coins a pound, so she bought forty pounds in total.
Prices in the mall are much lower than in the town. Modern white rice is the cheapest, but here it is the most expensive.
Yulan's mother still lives at home, and she doesn't dare to buy all white rice, otherwise she will definitely be suspected.
Even carrying something weighing sixty pounds for just ten meters left He Tiantian exhausted.
"Mother's back!" Zhao Denglong and Liu Yulan, each carrying a bundle of firewood, arrived at the door. The two quickly put the firewood on the ground and ran over to take the grain from He Tiantian's hands.
Yulan's mother, Shuixian, and Wanzi also heard the commotion outside and ran out.
In an instant, He Tiantian's hands were empty.
"Wanzi's mother, you're still pregnant. You can't do such heavy work anymore." Yulan's mother was carrying a bag of white rice and a bag of millet. When she took them inside, she was stunned. "My goodness! Wanzi's mother, this is... this is white rice..."
It's not harvest season, so where would they get white rice? Besides, even if they did harvest white rice during the autumn harvest, they wouldn't be willing to eat it themselves.
They would take the grains to town to exchange for millet and other cereals to eat, and also exchange them for some money to save for emergencies.
He Tiantian had already guessed this reaction, so she explained, "Some time ago, I got back the silver hairpin that was part of my dowry from Granny Zhao. I exchanged it for some money to stock up on some food for the winter."
"Oh..." Yulan's mother exclaimed softly, "It's a good thing you left that Zhao family. You have no idea how wicked that old woman Zhao is. She always berates you in the village."
Anyway, Yulan's mother had heard a lot about it before, but now it seems that all those words were just slander from Old Lady Zhao.
"She can say whatever she wants, it's none of my business," He Tiantian said, appearing indifferent.
In just one morning, Yulan's mother had managed to keep the whole house in perfect order.
A section for piling firewood was specially designated in the corner, and the water vat inside the house was full of water. The entire floor had been swept clean, and even the dilapidated earth god statue had been scrubbed.
All four children had washed their hair and changed their clothes; their faces and hands were clean. In any case, they were better cared for than He Tiantian had done on her own before.
"Sister-in-law, do you know how to embroider?" He Tiantian had another idea to make money.
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