Miao Chu

Chapter 300 Slower
Seeing that it was getting late, Doctor Lin almost made up his mind to take his leave.

When she said she was leaving, the older disciples on the table were fine, but the younger ones, who were only around eight years old, couldn't hide their disappointment and kept looking at the leftover food on the table.

Actually, we had already eaten most of it. There were a few pieces of fried perilla leaves, a small bunch of mint leaves, and only one ham slice, slightly larger than a quail egg, left.

Teenagers can't resist food at all.

The four of them were all staring at the ham slices on their plates, while also glancing at each other.

One person asked, "How do we divide this last bit?"

The smallest one is the most clever.

This person thought to himself: There's only one piece left. If I try to grab it, it will look really bad. I'm the youngest in terms of seniority, so I should give way to my senior sisters. Otherwise, even if I get to eat it, even if they don't mind, I'll still feel ashamed!
But I really want to eat it!

My master said it should be cured ham slices. Is cured ham really this fragrant? It's sweet and salty. I used to think that sweet and salty things weren't tasty, but it turns out they can be so, so, so delicious!

Hey!
Why not?
It would be better to!
Her eyes darted around, and an idea suddenly popped into her head. She reached for the slice of ham with her chopsticks—it was too small to hold steadily, and she dropped it twice in the process—and finally slowly presented it to Doctor Lin, saying, "Master, please have this last slice!"

Oh dear, Master always dotes on the younger generation, she'll definitely say—no need, you eat it yourself.

Then I'll let my senior sisters and brothers have a turn—since Master has said so, they definitely won't fight me for it!
It was a bit unfair, but next time! Next time I encounter something so delicious, and there's only one piece left, I'll definitely share it with Kong Rong! Definitely!
With her right hand offering a slice of ham, she had already placed her left hand on her own bowl, ready to scoop the last slice into her bowl with lightning speed the moment her master said "No need," and after asking her senior brothers and sisters—she would definitely cherish this last slice very much!
"I haven't noticed for a few days, but Xiao Wu has become as sensible as his senior sisters and brothers—good, good! All my disciples are good students!"

Dr. Lin was deeply moved, praised him, and offered his own bowl to him.

The small piece of pickled ham was quickly put into her mouth.

Let alone a slice, even a whole plate wouldn't be enough for her.

How can you achieve this texture?!
The outer shell is about the thickness of two grains of rice, coated with an unknown batter. When fried, it becomes a dense and crispy treat, with a slightly firm texture when bitten, but it's effortless.

As long as it has teeth, or even if it doesn't, it will break off on its own with a flick of the lips. It's incredibly delicious. If you hold it in your mouth and bite into it, it's crunchy and full of egg, flour, and milk flavors, with a very refreshing citrus aroma. If you don't bite into it, your saliva will dissolve it, leaving it powdery and fragrant.

It clearly contained slices of cured ham, but the saltiness was just right, unlike any of the cured hams that Chef Lin had ever eaten, which were excessively salty even after long steaming or stewing, if not handled properly.

The saltiness of this pickled ham slice is masked by its sweet flavor, and as you chew, the aroma of the aged and fermented pickled ham occasionally pops up, serving to make you recognize it—I am a pickled ham from Wuzhou! Top-notch! Eat it carefully, I've been pickled for five years!

The meat smells so good!
The marinated ham slices are so delicious!

It's good to have apprentices!
This home visit was really worth it!

How come I never knew about such a great restaurant before!

While Dr. Lin was still savoring the last slice of pickled ham, indulging in self-admiration and self-pity, Song Miao came out upon hearing the news.

She was holding a small plate of mung bean cakes, which she casually placed on the table. With some regret, she advised, "We're also steaming buns later. They're a new flavor, and we haven't started selling them yet. I was thinking of asking Doctor Lin and a few of my senior brothers and sisters to help us taste them—are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Upon hearing this, the children at the table couldn't help but let out a regretful sigh.

In the blink of an eye, Dr. Lin's buttocks seemed to have sprouted roots, embedding themselves deeply into the chair she was sitting in, making it difficult for her to move. It was as if she needed someone else's help to pull her out like a radish.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Song Miao added, "Because I was thinking of helping everyone try the steamed buns later, I only made small portions of the previous snacks, just in case they filled your stomachs and you wouldn't be able to eat them later."

Upon hearing this, the youngest apprentice, who had just missed out on the last piece of pickled ham, finally couldn't hold back any longer and let out a miserable "Ugh—\\//" sound from his nose. The tone went down and then up again, making him look extremely pitiful.

Dr. Lin was already feeling quite unwell, and hearing this made it even harder for him to bear. He could only force himself to encourage himself and said, "I really have an appointment, and I'm already a little late. I'm afraid I'll be late..."

As they were talking, they heard voices coming from the doorway.

Song Miao looked up and saw Zhang Si Niang, Da Bing, and the others walking in with happy faces.

As soon as everyone entered, they saw Song Miao and hurriedly greeted her. However, seeing that there were other guests, they swallowed back what they wanted to say, but kept smiling.

The fact that everyone went there to sell "Songji Paper" suggests that things went very smoothly.

At this moment, with guests present, Song Miao didn't ask any further questions. She simply thanked them for their hard work and told them to rest for a while before going to take measurements. Then she asked, "Has Sanlang returned as well?"

Wang Sanlang was tidying up the carriage outside when he heard the commotion. He quickly dusted himself off and came in, saying, "Wife, I'm here!"

Song Miao asked him if he was tired and if he could still drive the train.

Wang Sanlang hurriedly said, "What are you saying, my lady? Let alone running and resting along the way, even if we ran continuously, I am still in my prime. We've only gone this far, how could I be unable to run anymore!"

He then asked, "But was there any explanation?"

Song Miao then turned to Doctor Lin and said, "The steamed buns will be ready in a little while. Why don't you wait a bit, and once they're out of the steamer, pack them in food boxes for everyone to eat in the carriage? It would be a troublesome task for Sanlang to deliver them. Otherwise, once we're outside, there might not be a carriage right away, and we'll have to search around, which will waste even more time—we're already running late!"

The root of Dr. Lin's buttocks immediately grew as if it had grown another ten feet long, wrapping around the chair leg tightly.

"This……"

Where is the herbal medicine shop you're looking for?

Dr. Lin gave his name and then his location.

Wang Sanlang immediately said, "I know! I know!! It's at the end of Shenshan Street, isn't it!"

He added, "Perfect timing! On my way back, I can deliver a few more fares—why don't you come with me? How many people are in total?"

Song Miao pointed them out to him and said, "Besides Doctor Lin, there are four other junior doctors, all of whom are Xiao Lian's senior sisters and brothers!"

Wang Sanlang immediately made his promise, saying enthusiastically, "So you're all from Xiaolian's school! So young, you'll all become miracle doctors after learning medicine from Doctor Lin—call me for the carriage! I'll get the carriage! Show me what I'm capable of! I'm a very reliable driver!"

Everyone around burst into laughter.

Seeing this, Doctor Lin laughed and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony! Today, I've come to this young lady's restaurant and have both food and drink, and someone even drove me there. What good fortune I have today!"

Song Miao smiled and pointed to Granny Shen and the others who were still measuring in the corner, saying, "Sanlang, go cut in line first, so you won't be late and miss your turn!"

Once it was confirmed that they could eat the steamed buns before leaving, everyone at the table beamed with joy again.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Doctor Lin asked, "Miss Song, how did you make these pickled ham slices? They're so delicious! Are you selling them?"

Song Miao laughed and said, "You really have a good palate, choosing the most difficult snack to make today to ask about!"

He added, “The most important thing is to choose good shanks. Yunnan shanks and Wuzhou shanks are both fine, but Wuzhou shanks are the best. There are specific requirements for the pigs; it’s best to choose two-headed black pigs. Even if you can’t use the top shank, you should choose the one near the top shank, with a good balance of fat and lean meat. This time, we’re using extremely good shanks, which are five-year-old shanks that Madam Shen and Granny Shen sent over. If you don’t know someone, you won’t be able to buy them even with money.” “Once you’ve chosen the shanks, cooking and washing them is especially important. If they’re not cooked thoroughly or washed properly, they’ll have an off-flavor.”

"First, you have to cut it into pieces about the length of a finger and the width of two fingers. After all that preparation, you have to marinate it in syrup. The syrup is made by boiling maltose, granulated sugar, and honey. Ideally, it should be marinated for three days, but this time we were in a rush and only marinated it for one day. As a result, it's not sweet enough or fragrant enough, and it's barely edible."

This isn't fragrant enough??

"It smells so good, isn't it good enough?!"

Dr. Lin was taken aback—she hadn't said anything! Who had read her mind?
She turned her head and saw that her usually calm and taciturn eldest disciple was shocked and had already blurted out the question.

Another apprentice quickly chimed in, "Sister Song! The outer shell of those pickled ham slices is especially delicious, so fragrant and sweet! Can you buy it? I want to take some back as a snack!"

"I want some too! Sister Song! Buy me some too!"

"I want me too!"

One by one, they stopped calling her "Madam" and "Young Madam," and even though Xiao Lian wasn't there, they sweetly joined in calling her "Sister Song." Some even pulled out their purses and hurriedly offered them to Song Miao, saying, "I have money! I have money! Sister Song, can you buy all this?"

Song Miao laughed uncontrollably, pushed the purse back into her hand, and said, "The outer shell is made with a batter of eggs and milk, and it's slowly fried over low heat. A little bit is naturally sweet, but too much will be greasy. Without the pickled ham inside, it's even more monotonous. But you can't leave it too long, or it will lose its aroma and become soggy and not good as a snack. I'll bring you something else."

"It's pickled ham and fried food, it's not good to eat too much of it. I have some left over, I'll take some back with me later."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Dr. Lin and said, "You can see who will take care of it, and it would be best if it were all eaten by tomorrow night."

"Do we even need to wait until tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Sister Song! It won't even be tomorrow; we can finish it all tonight!"

"I'm only worried about not having enough to eat, not about it keeping for too long!"

Hearing his apprentice howling and wailing below, Doctor Lin shook his head inwardly.

He was still too young and inexperienced. He was only focused on eating. Although he had learned some medical principles and could talk about patients and their conditions fluently, he didn't care about the consequences when it came to his own treatment.

She's not even as good as this young lady Song. She knows that you shouldn't eat too much salt or fried food, and that everything should be done in moderation, otherwise it's bad for your health!

She didn't trust even the youngest among them, those pickled ham slices.

She wants to manage it herself! She wants to keep track of the distribution, and not let them get hurt!
After agreeing on the follow-up treatment with Shen Xingniang, Dr. Lin asked Song Miao Song Ji what food was sold there, how much it cost, and whether delivery was available. Dr. Lin immediately decided to buy breakfast there.

Hearing Song Miao introduce the types of food at Song Ji's restaurant, and mention the different fillings in the steamed buns (both meat and vegetarian), just reciting the names of the dishes made Dr. Lin, who was already half full, drool again.

She hurriedly said, "Let's take turns, let's take turns, let's have different flavors every day, let's try everything first, and then we'll see what to order in the long term!"

He then complained, half-jokingly, "That little brat, Xiao Lian, you're eating so well at home, why didn't you tell me sooner! Otherwise, I would have come much earlier!"

Because Xiao Lian acted as a bridge, even though she wasn't there, she brought everyone closer together. And now that they had eaten this table of snacks, a group of apprentices wished they could shrink their legs and whisper their voices tonight and come to Song's to pretend to be Xiao Lian so they could get some free food. So the hall was filled with laughter and chatter, and the atmosphere was excellent.

After a while, when the steamed buns were ready, she picked out about ten from the food box, and also packed some pickled ham slices, fried perilla leaves, fried mint, mung bean cakes, egg rolls, etc., and put them on Wang Sanlang's cart.

Seeing all this, Doctor Lin hurriedly asked his apprentice to get the money, saying, "I've seen this soup before, and I've never seen those pickled ham slices before either. I'd like to come here often to eat good food. If you give me so much and refuse to accept the money, I'll be too embarrassed to come back."

He added, "Young lady, it's alright if you're not the problem, but at least you'll lose one guest. If you can't enjoy all the good things I have here, you'll be at a huge loss!"

Song Miao pushed the money away, saying, "You can pay me later. I really didn't come to invite you today. I just did my part and got something in return!"

She recounted how Shen Xingniang had sent her restaurant an embroidered screen and two Wuzhou pickled hams, and then pointed to the person still measuring in the corner, saying, "Right now, I also need to help make clothes for the restaurant. This time, I'm doing this on someone's behalf, not for nothing. Next time you come, I'll cook you another good meal—I've heard from Xiaolian that you've come back to learn, and I know many of your deeds. I truly admire you!"

Dr. Lin turned around.

Not far away, Shen Xingniang had just come out of the backyard and changed her clothes, but she didn't get very close. She just peeked over and listened carefully to the conversation. When she saw her turn her head, Shen Xingniang quickly smiled and whispered, "I don't know how to pay you for the consultation yet."

Dr. Lin sighed inwardly, smiled, reached out and picked up the food box in front of him, held it up, and said, "Isn't this your consultation fee?"

Not long after Dr. Lin and his party left, having finished taking the measurements, Shen Xingniang and Granny Shen also bid farewell to Song Miao.

Before leaving, Granny Shen went outside to call a car. Seeing that Shen Xingniang seemed distracted, Song Miao saw her out the door and handed her a food box.

Shen Xingniang reached out and took it, saying "Thank you." For some reason, her eyes suddenly reddened, and she choked out, "If I still can't get better this time, how can I ever get better..."

Her words were less of a question and more of an emotional outpouring and catharsis, making one's heart ache upon hearing them.

Song Miao knew that there was no use in comforting her at this point, so she said softly, "Dr. Lin never makes empty promises. She travels around practicing medicine and her medical ethics and skills are second to none. Madam Shen, just listen to her. Even if you have a lot of thoughts, you should wait until the medicine is finished and it really doesn't work before you start thinking about it."

He added, "When will you have time to come again? I'll make some soup early—Dr. Lin specifically instructed me to eat and drink more to keep my body healthy so that my illness can heal faster. Everything else is trivial!"

***
After seeing off the two groups of people, Song Miao returned to the backyard.

It was getting late. She packed up the soup, thought for a moment, and then packed some of the remaining pickled ham slices separately. She put them all into the food box, and as she was about to go back to the house to get the letter, she saw on the way that a lotus flower on the water vat was drooping its head.

—There's one branch that just won't grow.

She went forward and took out the pitiful, withered lotus. Just as she was about to tidy up the others and put them in a vase when she had time, she noticed that the stem of the lotus she had taken out was chewed up and jagged. Looking down, she saw that sure enough, a group of fish were gathered around the other lotus stems, taking a bite, then darting away, then coming back to take another bite, then darting away again, swaying their heads and tails, each one looking very pleased with itself.

Seeing the fish so brazenly gnawing on the lotus stems, Song Miao quickly took out all the flowers. Just as she was about to wash them with water, she noticed several broken stems lying at the bottom of the tank. They weren't necessarily all from the fish; they might have been accidentally dropped in by her yesterday.

She looked around, found a pair of fire tongs, and stood on tiptoe to try to remove the broken stem so that it wouldn't rot and spoil inside.

The water vat was too high and too deep, making it difficult to reach the bottom. She tried several times but couldn't get to the bottom. She quickly found a chair to stand on, and just as she stood on it, she heard someone talking at the second gate.

“My lady is inside. I’ll come in with you, young master.”

A short while later, footsteps sounded from behind. First, Cheng Erniang called out, "Madam," but before she could say anything, another person asked, "What are you looking for? Slow down, let me see?"

　Happy New Year, fellow foodies!

　　This is a very long chapter. Wishing all my friends a prosperous and successful New Year.

　　Thank you all for your love and support for Xiaomiao last year, and for your understanding of me personally :)

　　Thank you everyone for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, all kinds of votes, and comments, thank you all!!

　　I wanted to thank everyone for their donations, but I didn't have time to organize it today. I'll thank you all separately tomorrow—no, next year!
　　(End of this chapter)