Miao Chu

Chapter 299: Willing to Give Up
Dr. Lin tilted his head to the side, smacked his lips seriously, and then lowered his head with some doubt.

In the white porcelain bowl, the same ingredients lay half-submerged in the soup, resembling finely pointed comb needles or neatly combed vermicelli, but thicker than regular vermicelli and almost transparent.

Through the "fans," you can even see the color of the soup spreading out below and around.

It's actually a golden color, but perhaps because there's almost no oil, the soup looks particularly bland.

If it weren't for the fact that Miss Song had clearly stated it was meat broth, she might have even thought someone had accidentally mixed in the second brew of tea.

At first glance, this bowl of food really doesn't make one's appetite at all.

She composed herself, savored the aftertaste in her mouth, and felt a little confused.

But the hand had its own will and had already sent another spoonful in front of it.

When she took the first sip, she already felt a slight tingling sensation down her spine. Now, with the second sip, for a moment, the hairs on her body practically stood on end.

The soup was slightly too hot to drink, so I took a second sip...

Ok?
Why? !

Oh my god!!!

What is this smell?!?!

Dr. Lin felt as if his mouth had suddenly become a rock on the shore, and he had been hit hard by this mouthful of soup, giving him an inexplicable sense of shock.

It looked so bland, but once you put it in your mouth, it was incredibly fresh and fragrant, with an extremely rich and clear flavor.

The word "rich" refers to the flavor.

The broth, made from old hen and pork shank, was already extremely delicious after the oil was skimmed off. Now, this deliciousness was used as water to stew ham hock and shark fin for four hours, allowing all the flavors to seep into the broth.

It is indescribably fresh, mellow, and fragrant.

"Transparent" refers to a feeling.

Upon tasting, it is smooth and not cloying, with a particularly deep salty and umami flavor, a heavy aroma, and a bright freshness. The taste is surprisingly rich, and everything is so harmonious without being overpowering.

After drinking it, the aftertaste lingers for a long time. Even after repeatedly swallowing saliva, that special sweet and salty feeling still lingers in the mouth, nasal cavity, and even in the mind.

Besides its taste, its texture is also quite unique.

After the soup entered my stomach, I felt a very comfortable gelatinous sensation in my lips, teeth, and throat, and that gelatinous sensation was then carried further down into my intestines.

According to the Pingyang Mountain method, when stewing shark fin and ham hock, people like to add pig's trotters to make a rich broth, in order to increase the gelatinous texture and make it sticky and chewy. They also add rice wine to remove the fishy smell of the shark fin and the off-flavors of the ham hock.

This time, Song Miao didn't add anything else. The gelatinous texture came entirely from the long stewing of shark fin. The whole pot became a platform for it, making the stickiness only slightly sticky. The soup was deep yet clear and fresh, and never greasy.

Dr. Lin's hands were out of control; they wouldn't stop, only slowly feeding soup into his mouth, one spoonful after another. As he drank, he inadvertently swallowed a small spoonful of "vermicelli" along with the soup.

When that mouthful of "vermicelli" coated in rich broth slid into his stomach, to exaggerate a bit, Dr. Lin even felt a kind of euphoric, disoriented feeling, as if his soul had been turned upside down and he had flown off somewhere.

The "vermicelli" itself has no flavor; it's all about the soup. The soup is so flavorful that it glides over the tongue, soft and smooth with a slightly glutinous texture—it goes down the throat in a flash, like an innocent butterfly dancing on the tip of the tongue.

This "butterfly" dances with great effort, salty, fresh, and moist, with a sweet aftertaste, layer upon layer, the flavor melting in your mouth.

It has the complex umami flavor of ham aged for many years, with the aroma of smoke and fermentation, and a hint of indescribable fruitiness. It also has the freshness of chicken and pork broth, and the texture of shark fin stewed for a long time.

All the flavors blend together perfectly: the salty savory taste of the ham, the freshness of the old chicken and pork shank—everything is just right, without any sense of imbalance. It's as if a fish is swimming in a clear pool in the deep mountains, appearing and disappearing in an instant, the fish and water blending together seamlessly.

Before I knew it, the bowl of soup was empty.

Dr. Lin was stunned for a moment.

—Hey, where's my soup?

—Is that all?

That's far too little!

A farewell soup, a farewell soup! If the guests aren't full, how will they have the energy to go home?

She looked up blankly, glancing around, not knowing what she was looking for. She glanced at the group of Songji employees who were measuring in the corner, ignored the clean cups and teapots on the table, and looked at the menu on the wall and the screen next to her, but didn't pay any attention to them. She didn't stop until she turned around and saw the young woman carrying a white porcelain cup.

Dr. Lin's eyes lit up instantly, his gaze almost following the bowl of wine as it approached him.

Only when the white porcelain bowl was placed beside her did she ask expectantly, "Madam, is there soup in this bowl?"

Meeting the expectant look in the other person's eyes, the hired woman's hand trembled slightly. She quickly lifted the lid of the porcelain bowl and said, "No, no, it's pickled cucumber. The lady said everyone seems to like it, so she asked me to come and get some!"

After a few moments, she realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "There's more! My wife said it's best to keep this warm over a fire, so I specially kept it warm on the stove—I'll add some for you?"

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Master Lin's expression.

Previously, the wife had instructed Master Lin that he would not accept a table full of dishes, nor would he allow anyone to leave food for him, and he was not allowed to serve any random or miscellaneous food. Otherwise, he would not come again.

For this reason, she didn't even dare to use a large bowl to serve soup. When serving snacks to her senior sisters and brothers, she carefully selected the smallest plates and bowls.

Just now, Dr. Lin specifically emphasized that she was only going to drink a few sips of water to make it seem like she was in a hurry to leave.

Although Dr. Lin was asking me about the soup, and I didn't get a clear answer, his tone and expression clearly conveyed his intentions.

Surprisingly, this person even dared to have a slightly arrogant thought: Master Lin, no matter how much you want to leave, once you've tasted our wife's cooking, you'll be thinking about it and won't be willing to take a step!

She hurried to the backyard.

Seeing that the other party was leaving so abruptly, Doctor Lin quickly feigned hesitation. After a long while, he finally opened his mouth to stop them, saying, "This...no...oh!oh!"

Although she was old, she was still sharp-minded and hadn't lost a single tooth. Always quick-witted, this time, the woman had already walked quite a distance before the word "no" finally escaped her lips. As if afraid the other woman would overhear and misunderstand, thinking she didn't like it and wouldn't get any more soup, she quickly added, "Thank you for your help, don't give me too much, that's enough!"

Upon hearing this, the woman ran even faster.

Before long, another white porcelain bowl, even larger than the soup bowl in Dr. Lin's hand, was brought over.

She opened the lid, intending to help ladle the soup, but Doctor Lin had already sat up, moved his chair back a bit, waved his hand, and said, "You go about your business, we'll make ourselves at home here!"

The person on the other end didn't say much, just agreed and tentatively said, "My wife is making some snacks, several kinds. I'll go and bring them over for you to try."

This time, Dr. Lin couldn't bring himself to say no.

She chuckled and said, "If there is—how come I've never heard of this soup before!"

As soon as the hired woman left, the group of people gathered around a table began to whisper to each other almost simultaneously.

"Oh dear, I always heard Xiaolian say that Sister Song at the restaurant cooks the 'best food in the world,' and I used to laugh at her, saying that everyone has different tastes and there are always dishes she doesn't like—turns out I was just ignorant!"

"Saying it's the best in the world is a bit of an exaggeration, but it really is delicious!"

"That little brat Xiaolian is just too lucky!"

"No wonder that twice when I asked her if she wanted to go out to the market and eat at the stalls during her time off, she always said no. There's so much good food at home. I wouldn't go either—only a fool would go!"

—This sentence is actually wrong.

When Xiaolian was resting, she refused to go out to eat and shop with her senior sisters. Instead, she wanted to give her time to Zhu Jie'er so that the two sisters could play together. It really didn't have much to do with eating at the restaurants.

As they talked, they made soft "clucking" sounds, one after another, grabbing bamboo skewers and eagerly stabbing them into the white porcelain bowls that had been served earlier.

The ones tied up are pickled cucumbers.

Cut the cucumber into very thin slices, marinate with salt for a while, squeeze out the water, add white vinegar and sugar, and marinate with dogwood.

It's called pickled cucumber, but it's actually sweet and sour, with more sour than sweet, about 70% sour and 30% sweet. After chewing it haphazardly in your mouth, your mouth is filled with a refreshing sour taste.

The fresh juice of the tender cucumber and the tangy sourness of the vinegar had barely entered your throat when your mouth would almost immediately start watering again—from the sourness.

This bowl of pickled cucumbers was even kept in ice at the bottom of the well before, and it was placed on the ice outside. It was so cool and refreshing that on such a hot afternoon, everyone would scramble to eat a bowl of it. It was an almost cheating way to be loved.

My mouth is still watering, and then the spiciness comes back up. It's a lingering spiciness that whets my appetite, making me crave a big chunk of meat right away—preferably rich, dark, and incredibly fragrant—to nourish my mouth.

After finishing the meal, since it's a large piece of meat, if you feel greasy, you'll inevitably have to eat another bite of rice, a pancake or steamed bun, and grab a few more bites of pickled cucumber to cut through the grease, and so on.

Everyone was scrambling to eat the pickled cucumbers, and someone hurriedly called out, "Master, why aren't you eating any? There won't be any left soon!"

As he spoke, the man hurriedly took a bowl, filled it with soup for Doctor Lin, and presented it to his master. At the same time, he asked curiously, "Master, what kind of soup is this? Is it delicious?"

Old Doctor Lin had just finished serving himself some soup and was about to enjoy it when his apprentice asked him this question. He immediately became alert and said sternly, "Children should eat lighter food for their health. I can taste the saltiness of pickled ham in this soup. It's too salty. Although it's not too salty overall, it's not suitable for you children, but more suitable for an old man like me. If you want some, I'll give you a bite to taste!"

Sure enough, they took their bowls and chopsticks cleanly and efficiently, giving each person a tiny, tiny, tiny bite.

Before the soup was even served, someone brought out snacks.

"what is this?"

"So many leaves?"

"smell good!"

The apprentices all lowered their voices and sighed, then looked expectantly at Doctor Lin, waiting for her to start eating.

Both plates of snacks were fried. One plate was bright green, uncoated, and dry-fried until shiny with oil; it was mint leaves. The other plate was coated in batter and made with large, tender perilla leaves, which were fried until the batter formed a crispy crust.

Dr. Lin thought to himself that there was nothing good about grass, but he still took a bite of each and ate it casually.

As soon as it entered my mouth, I felt like I was being blown away by the aroma.

Mint leaves have a thin, crisp texture, so light in the mouth that they're almost imperceptible, yet they offer a refreshing coolness. Battered and fried perilla leaves offer a completely different texture; the outside is fluffy and crispy, savory and crunchy, while the inside has a unique and rich perilla aroma…

After chewing only two pieces, Dr. Lin couldn't help but apologize for his hasty judgment.

There are still delicious grasses in the world!

These perilla leaves are practically made for coating things in batter and frying; they're perfect and so delicious!
Even a few leaves can be made into a flower!

***
Dr. Lin said not to entertain too much, and not to prepare a meal, so Song Ji served small snacks one by one.

When Song Miao cooked, the snacks she served each had their own unique flavor.

Four disciples and a teacher sat around the table. The water clock was right next to them, and they could see it with just a turn of their heads, but everyone had learned to pretend to be blind and stupid.

Seeing that it was well past the time she was supposed to leave, and that Dr. Lin had emphasized several times that she should leave after seeing the patients, she seemed to have forgotten about it and was only focused on enjoying the small plate of food that had just been served.

—And what is this?
It's sweet with a hint of salt, and has a very rich ham flavor.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed thinly sliced ​​ham. The slice in her chopsticks was a perfect mix of lean and fat. The lean part wasn't tough at all; it was very fresh and fragrant, with a satisfyingly meaty texture. The fatty part was oily but not greasy, melting in your mouth completely. It was many times more fragrant than cured meat, and not too salty at all—just the right amount of saltiness. It also had a honey aroma, and the outer layer was coated with batter before frying. It was so delicious that it made your hair stand on end.

Another snack I've never tried before!

There are so many delicious foods here that I've never tried before!
Ugh……

Ugh!
She really still needs to check on the medicinal herbs! Miss Song keeps munching on snacks, making it hard for her to leave—she wants to eat, she wants to eat, yet she doesn't want to leave at all—how can anyone go like this?!

(End of this chapter)