As expected, Liu Haoxuan’s return home this time was likely to submit the recipes for Sour Jujube Drink and Liangmian liaozhi.
Mu Simiao stared at Liu Haoxuan’s retreating figure. When she withdrew her gaze, she inevitably glanced at the counterfeit stall. The stall owner was packing up his belongings, and after meeting her eyes, he sneered coldly, turned around, and pushed his cart onto the street.
Qi Yuze placed the stroller on the cart and followed Mu Simiao’s line of sight, asking curiously, “Mu Niang, what are you looking at?”
“Oh.” Mu Simiao retracted her gaze, not intending to tell him about the counterfeit stall. She merely said lightly, “I suspect Liu Haoxuan must be going home today to report the secret recipes. We should be able to see some clues the day after tomorrow.”
The next day was a rest day, so Mu Simiao planned to cook dinner for Qi Yuze to reward him for his hard work over the past few days.
After closing the stall, Mu Simiao went to the market and bought a piece of pork belly and a small piece of sugar, thinking she would make Hongshao rou for Qi Yuze when they got home.
Qi Yuze looked at the pork in her hand and tugged at her sleeve. “Mu Niang, this pork is too expensive. Let’s not buy it.”
“It’s alright. You’ve been working too hard these past few days, and we haven’t had any meat at home for a while. We need some to replenish our protein,” Mu Simiao said, using a string of words that Qi Yuze didn’t entirely understand, though he grasped her meaning.
Still, he felt it was somewhat wasteful, as meat wasn’t exactly a necessity.
Mu Simiao could understand Qi Yuze’s thoughts. After all, he was a native of ancient times and would naturally disapprove of such extravagant spending.
“Let’s make an exception just this once. We finally have a day off tomorrow, so we should enjoy a good meal tonight,” Mu Simiao patted Qi Yuze’s shoulder, raising four fingers to the sky with a serious expression. “I swear I’ll work hard to earn money in the future. Don’t worry about these few coins.”
As a man, Qi Yuze ultimately held back, even though Mu Simiao’s attitude had changed quite a bit recently. He didn’t dare say too much, afraid of overstepping.
The entire way back, Qi Yuze remained sullen. Mu Simiao didn’t know how to comfort him, so the two walked home in silence.
Watching Qi Yuze carry Yue’er into the house, Mu Simiao became thoughtful. After unloading all their things, she carried the pork belly and the specially purchased pork fat into the kitchen.
After washing and cutting the pork fat into pieces and adding them to the pot, Mu Simiao sat on a small stool and started the fire. As she slowly rendered the fat over low heat, she occasionally stirred the pieces. Once the oil was extracted, she used a ladle to slowly scoop it out and pour it into an iron basin.
Only when the pork fat stopped releasing oil did Mu Simiao remove the cracklings. Then, she began preparing the ingredients for the Hongshao rou.
Thinking that plain Hongshao rou would be too greasy, Mu Simiao took out a potato, peeled it, and cut it into chunks. She also cut the pork belly into evenly sized pieces.
She added the meat and ginger to a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil. Once scum rose to the surface, she scooped out the meat and added it to the pot she had used to render the fat. After frying the pork belly until golden brown, she removed it and added rock sugar to the pot, melting it until it bubbled and turned caramel-colored. She then added a ladle of soy sauce for color, followed by salt, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves for flavor.
After adding enough water to cover the ingredients, Mu Simiao stoked the fire twice more. Once the sauce had thickened, she used a ladle to transfer the Hongshao rou to a bowl.
The braised pork belly was overly sweet and greasy, primarily meant to be eaten with rice. However, their financial situation hadn’t yet reached the point where they could afford rice. Mu Simiao stirred the batter and made two more pans of egg pancakes, setting them aside.
She cracked eggs into a bowl, beat them, added a pinch of salt and a small amount of warm water, then mixed everything evenly and skimmed off the foam. After steaming the egg custard for a quarter of an hour, the entire meal was laid out on the stone table. Mu Simiao walked to the door and knocked.
“Yuze, come out for dinner.”
Light footsteps sounded from inside, and soon Qi Yuze emerged carrying Yue’er, still holding the account book. He handed it over, his lips pressed into a tight line. “Mu Niang, please record today’s expenses yourself. There’s no need to report them to me.”
It was clear he was still sulking. Mu Simiao glanced at him and took Yue’er from his arms. “That won’t do. I’m exhausted from selling all day. Don’t you feel sorry for me?”
She teased him playfully. Qi Yuze, never one with a silver tongue, could only swallow his frustration, his cheeks flushing red with suppressed emotion.
Despite his irritation, the enticing aroma of the food on the stone table was undeniable. He couldn’t help but glance at the bowl of braised pork belly, his expression neutral but his steps quickening as he headed to wash his hands.
Watching him, Mu Simiao settled Yue’er in the baby carriage and followed him to the kitchen. She washed her hands behind him and then returned to sit on the stone stool.
“Try it. It’s my first time making this,” Mu Simiao said, picking up a piece of braised pork belly with her chopsticks and placing it in Qi Yuze’s bowl, smiling as she watched him.
She wasn’t wrong—this was indeed her first attempt at cooking this dish here.
Qi Yuze thanked her, picked up the piece of meat with his chopsticks, but with a slight pressure, it broke apart and fell back into the bowl. Mu Simiao chuckled softly, inwardly proud of her culinary skills.
This outcome confirmed that her method was spot-on—the meat had been stewed to perfect tenderness.
Mu Simiao was undoubtedly a natural talent. In reality, she had only tried making this dish once before by following a tutorial. That first attempt had turned out quite well, except the skin was a bit tough due to insufficient cooking time.
Ignoring her laughter, Qi Yuze, his ears tinged red, continued to pick up another piece. The sweet yet not cloying, perfectly marbled pork belly melted in his mouth, its rich flavor soothing his pent-up emotions. His satisfied expression didn’t escape Mu Simiao’s notice. She raised an eyebrow contentedly and finally began eating herself.
Pairing the braised pork with the egg pancakes created a unique flavor—a combination Mu Simiao was experiencing for the first time. Midway through the meal, Yue’er stretched out her arms, fixated on the braised pork, seemingly captivated by its aroma.
“You can’t have this—it’s full of seasoning,” Mu Simiao said, setting down her chopsticks. She gently pinched Yue’er’s chubby arm, then picked up the bowl of steamed egg custard from the table. Scooping out half a spoonful, she blew on it to cool it down and brought it to Yue’er’s lips. “Open wide—ah—”
Yue’er smacked her lips with relish, clearly enjoying it. Mu Simiao alternated between feeding her and eating her own meal until Yue’er was full and the egg custard was finished.
She wiped the food residue from Yue’er’s mouth with a bib and let her sit nearby to play. By then, Qi Yuze had also finished eating. He stood up, gathered the empty bowls from the table, and reluctantly initiated conversation. “I’ll go wash the dishes.”
“Alright, then I’ll take it easy,” Mu Simiao replied, slumping in her chair. She played with Yue’er’s plump fingers while watching Qi Yuze wash the dishes.
The next morning, after waking up and washing, Mu Simiao first went to the fields to check on the fry. When they were bought, they were still tiny like shrimp, but now they were beginning to take on the shape of fish. Since the growth period of fish typically lasts up to half a year, Mu Simiao sat by the roadside, feeling somewhat anxious.
Although Qi Yuze’s way of thinking was rooted in ancient times, the issues he considered were indeed the most urgent matters at hand.
Relying solely on the Liangmian stall, it was uncertain when they could realize their plan to move to the market. Mu Simiao needed to expand the stall and sell more dishes to earn more.
In addition to the pre-planned Guandong Zhu, Mu Simiao also thought of adding Jidan guanbing. The main ingredients for Jidan guanbing were flour and eggs, and since eggs were relatively expensive, it could potentially bring in a good profit.
Moreover, the girls who could attend private schools were either daughters of nobles and officials or from merchant families—none from impoverished backgrounds. As long as the food was delicious, they would surely be willing to buy.
Once she had settled on the idea, she wasted no time in putting it into action.
The stove for Guandong Zhu, which she had designed a few days earlier, was ready. Mu Simiao pushed a cart to bring the stove home.
After arriving home, she first took out the leftover chicken from the previous day, placed it on the cutting board, and chopped it into mince. She didn’t stop until the mince turned into a paste, then shook her sore arms to relieve the ache.
Qi Yuze brought the washed white radish to the cutting board and, noticing the sweat on her forehead, wiped it clean for her. “Why not let me chop for a while?”
Mu Simiao glanced at his slender frame and smiled, shaking her head. “Better not. If I can’t lift my arms tomorrow, you’ll have to run the stall alone. At least one of us should be in good shape.”
After resting for a moment, Mu Simiao picked up the kitchen knife again and grated the white radish into a pulp. Radish was much easier to chop than meat. Once the radish pulp was ready, she didn’t pause but directly mixed it with the meat paste.
She added an egg, half a spoon of salt, half a spoon of soy sauce, and a bowl of flour to the basin, stirring until the mixture became sticky. Then she used her hands, shaping the mixture into balls with her thumb and forefinger.
Qi Yuze had heated the water in the pot to a warm temperature. Mu Simiao squeezed the meatballs one by one into the pot until it was filled, then covered it with a lid and went to wash her hands.
When steam began to seep out from under the lid, Mu Simiao lifted it, scooped out one meatball with a ladle, and placed it in a bowl. She rinsed the meatball with well water to cool it, then broke it apart with chopsticks. Only after confirming it was fully cooked did she feel assured and asked Qi Yuze to stop stoking the fire.
She ladled out all the remaining chicken meatballs into a basin, soaked them in cold water for five minutes, and then drained them. The firm chicken meatballs piled up in the basin. Mu Simiao prepared the dipping sauce for Guandong Zhu, dipped the broken meatball into the sauce, and held it out with chopsticks to Qi Yuze’s mouth.
“Try it.”
Qi Yuze trusted her cooking skills completely and didn’t hesitate before opening his mouth to eat it. The chicken meatball was chewy, and the dipping sauce had a unique sweet and fragrant flavor.
He hadn’t received much education and didn’t know how to describe the deliciousness of food in words. After a moment’s thought, he could only say, “It’s delicious.”
Mu Simiao didn’t mind his choice of words; she could judge whether it was tasty or not just by looking at his expression.
“As long as it’s delicious, that’s fine. Tomorrow we’ll test it out. This half-basin of chicken meatballs should be enough to sell. Later, we’ll boil some vegetable skewers as well.”
Based on recent experiences, Mu Simiao’s decisions had always been correct and hadn’t resulted in losses, so Qi Yuze naturally supported her.
Fortunately, the pot was still hot from earlier. Mu Simiao and Qi Yuze skewered lotus roots, cabbage, radish chunks, and potato chunks together, boiled them in the pot, then fished them out and rinsed them with cold water.
Once everything was prepared, the two sat on stone stools. Mu Simiao took out tea bags that had been stored in the house for a long time, brewed them with boiling water, poured two cups, and leisurely savored the tea.