The one who pays is the boss.
With these ten taels of silver, the Lin family’s marriage proposal can be dropped.
Song Zhaodi was in a good mood, and she even found Song Yaozu more agreeable, and her tone became much gentler.
Seeing how quickly she changed her mind, Song Yaozu couldn’t help but sarcastically remark, “She really is greedy for money.”
Song Zhaodi didn’t argue with him. She quickly found a secluded place to put the basket, covered it with some grass, and then went to cook with peace of mind.
Dinner consisted of cold shepherd’s purse salad, stir-fried water celery, and brown rice porridge.
Having eaten meat every meal for the past two days, Song Dachuan had gotten addicted, and when he went back to eating vegetarian food, he found it bland.
“Zhao Di, why didn’t you make that green dish you made at noon for dinner?”
The taste was fresh, tender, and crisp, even better than pork, and Song Dachuan couldn’t forget it.
Song Zhaodi opened her big eyes innocently and said, “We finished eating at noon, and then we found these wild vegetables in the afternoon.”
Looking at the table full of greens, Song Dachuan sighed with some disappointment, but he also knew that his family’s circumstances didn’t allow them to be picky about food.
However, Song Yaozu was not satisfied. After drinking a bowl of brown rice porridge, he slammed down his chopsticks and gave instructions to Song Zhaodi.
“Buy plenty of meat tomorrow, don’t skimp on my friends.”
Song Zhaodi nodded repeatedly, but Song Dachuan frowned and glanced displeasedly at the silent Sun Xiuhe.
Seeing that he was cowering and silent, he finally couldn’t help but speak up and advised, “Yaozu, it’s one thing for you to treat your classmates to meals and drinks outside, but why did you bring them home?”
Eating out once is expensive, but if it were to come to your house, it would take all day to eat, and that would cost a lot of money.
Song Dachuan was reluctant to part with it.
Seeing his father’s stingy attitude, Song Yaozu snorted and said, “How can I not reciprocate when someone invites me to their home?”
“Father, don’t worry, I’ve already given the money to Zhaodi, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Before Song Dachuan could even react, Sun Xiuhe blurted out her reply.
“What? Why are you giving her money? I’ll buy whatever she wants. What would a little girl like her buy?”
Then he turned to Song Zhaodi and said, “How much money did your uncle give you? Take it out.”
Seeing that the focus had shifted to his own daughter, Song Yaodong spoke up.
“Mother, Yaozu giving money to treat his classmate shows that Yaozu has become sensible.”
Upon hearing this, Song Yaozu nodded repeatedly as if he had been acknowledged. He grabbed Sun Xiuhe and said, “Mother, don’t worry about this. I think Zhaodi is indeed a better cook than you. Let her cook tomorrow’s meals.”
“You can’t let me lose face like you did the other day!”
The day before yesterday, Sun Xiuhe was reluctant to kill the chicken, which made him lose face in front of his classmates. He has to make up for it tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Song Yaozu gave his mother a disapproving look, as a warning.
Sun Xiuhe was surprised that her son didn’t speak up for her, and angrily cursed, “You’re siding with outsiders!” before going back inside.
Nothing happened that night. Before dawn the next day, Song Zhaodi and her daughter had cut two large bundles of water celery. Then, under the pretext of going to town to buy vegetables, they hitched a ride on Wang Tiezhu’s oxcart.
The arrangement to ride in Wang Tiezhu’s oxcart was made the night before, and it was Song Yaozu who made the suggestion, all so that Song Zhaodi could buy the groceries and come back early so as not to delay things.
Wang Tiezhu smiled and asked Song Zhaodi, “Is your family having some kind of happy occasion? Why go to such lengths to buy supplies in town?”
I don’t know what Song Yaozu said to Wang Tiezhu, but judging from the tone of his words, Song Yaozu must have made some boastful remarks again.
Song Zhaodi told the truth, “There’s no happy occasion. My uncle wants to invite his classmates to our house as guests, and he asked me to go to town to buy some wine and meat.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiezhu glanced discreetly at the two large bundles of water celery behind the oxcart, and was surprised. The Song family had even eaten wild vegetables, yet they still had money to buy wine and meat.
Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem strange at all. The Song family was dirt poor, but they still managed to support a scholar.
The difference between boys and girls is that big.
That’s fate.
Wang Tiezhu felt some sympathy for Song Zhaodi and didn’t ask any more questions, assuming that her two large bundles of water celery were for selling to people to feed livestock.
Upon arriving in town, Song Zhaodi successfully sold the water celery to the tavern owner, Tiechui, and taught him how to stir-fry it.
Iron Hammer tasted it and praised it highly, even saying he would introduce her to business.
“Today’s water celery weighs 150 catties, and here is 150 coins. Count them.”
“Here’s the thing, I have a brother who owns a restaurant. He was very satisfied with the cold water celery salad he tried last time. If you have any extra water celery, you can send some to him tomorrow.”
Song Zhaodi agreed and took out the mushrooms.
“Uncle Hammer, this is a new kind of wild game. It’s fresh, tender, and delicious. I guarantee it will become your signature dish.”
Iron Hammer glanced at what she was holding, frowned and looked at it again and again, and finally retreated as if avoiding poison.
“Zhaodi, is that a poisonous lump in your hand? You can’t eat it, throw it away right away.”
This reaction was expected. Song Zhaodi reassured her by putting away the Bodhi seed and patting her chest repeatedly to assure her that it was not poisonous. Only then did Tiechui allow her to cook the dish with some skepticism.
Song Zhaodi quickly picked and washed the mushrooms, chopped the seasonings, heated the oil, and stir-fried the mushrooms. While stir-frying, she silently recited the song “Above the Moon” three times before adding the chili peppers. She also picked off the mushrooms stuck to the spatula and stir-fried them for a while before taking them out of the pan.
“Uncle, please try some.”
The freshly cooked bok choy was incredibly fragrant and mouthwatering, but Tiechui, fearing for his life, dared not try it.
Seeing this, Song Zhaodi took the lead and ate a bite, even making a look of intoxication, closing her eyes and praising repeatedly, “Delicious, really delicious.”
“Uncle, I’ve eaten them all. Look, I’m not poisoned.” Song Zhaodi encouraged Tiechui to try. “Actually, this is called ‘Jianshouqing’. It’s a kind of wild mushroom. As long as it’s properly processed, it’s not poisonous. I eat it at home too.”
Seeing that she was indeed not poisoned, and hearing that she ate it at home, the skeptical Iron Hammer mustered up his courage, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
One chew, and surprise appears in your eyes; two chews, and disbelief appears in your eyes; three chews, and your face is full of joy.
He quickly picked up another bite; it was smooth, tender, and crisp. Tiechui exclaimed that he had never eaten such food before.
“Zhao Di, what did you just call this? How many do you have? I’ll take them all.”
“This is called ‘Jianshouqing,’ and it’s not cheap. Uncle, do you really want them all?”
Iron Hammer wasn’t satisfied with just eating it alone, so he asked the waiter to serve him a bowl of rice. He ate it with the pickled mustard greens while laughing heartily.
“Zhao Di, don’t look down on your uncle. My tavern makes a lot of money. Just give me your price.”
This pickled bok choy is much tastier than radishes and cabbage, and even better than the pork he cooks.
The last time the cold water celery salad was served, the customers raved about it, and many people even came specifically to try it, which made the restaurant’s business even better.
The taste of Boletus edulis is even better than that of water celery. If it is sold, it can help him attract a lot of business and make a lot of money.
“Thirty coins a pound.”