Miao Chu

Chapter 360 Unfortunate
Because Zhu Jie'er was right there, Yu He couldn't say it outright, so she just mumbled, "I was thinking that when Yao Niangzi went to Young Master He to ask for lotus seeds, he sent over the two old gardens and all sorts of flower seeds without saying a word—our household hasn't had a chance to reciprocate yet!"

"Although he brought back a lot of food just now, it was definitely not enough in such a hurry. Besides, the young master is a foodie. He has been locked up for so many days, and he must be craving something. Why don't I send some more snacks to the young master?"

"In this way, Young Master Qi will have something to eat, and the many people in the Sifang Pavilion where Young Master works can also share some..."

Before Madam He could reply, Zhu'er poked her head out of her arms and hurriedly said, "Grandmother! Please ask Sister Song to make more of that new candy! Give more to Seventh Brother! And that meat pie from today, Seventh Brother didn't get to eat it, he's so pitiful!"

"Alright! Alright!" Old Madam He quickly pressed her granddaughter's head back down. "The carriage is bumpy, so be careful when you kowtow!"

Once they returned to the manor, she summoned Yuhe for questioning.

This time, the latter didn't care about being embarrassed and honestly said, "I think Guizhi, who is by the young master's side, is very perceptive and considerate. I heard that she is not yet married, but I don't know what her preferences are..."

The He and He families were close friends, and the old lady of the He family naturally had many memories of the people who often accompanied the younger generation on both sides.

Upon hearing the name Guizhi, the smile on her face froze slightly. After a few moments of hesitation, she said, "You've taken a liking to him..."

He added, "This person is good at doing things, but not necessarily good at living together. You should think it through carefully. If you really get together, you might only see each other for two out of three days. Are you willing to do that?"

Yuhe hurriedly said, "I know you mean well, but who in this world is good at everything? Even if someone is good at everything, how could I possibly have a chance? If I want this, I can't have that. The old lady once said, 'You have to give up something to gain something.' I think Guizhi is very ambitious. As long as we both work hard together, I'm sure we'll have a good life!"

Having been by Madam He's side for so long, she had more experience than the young masters and ladies of ordinary wealthy families. She naturally understood what Madam He meant: she should find a man with a good temperament so she could live a comfortable life.

But if given a choice, who in the world would willingly spend their entire life as a slave, subservient to others?
If you want to find a way out, you have to work for it yourself; it won't fall from the sky.

A good temperament makes a person easygoing.

What you do well for others often does well for yourself, and even better. But when climbing upwards, only by being able to endure hardship and being tough on yourself can you climb higher.

She's a tough person who can endure hardship. She really doesn't want to work hard all day just to marry someone who's good for nothing; that would be such a waste!
Madam He sighed and said, "Marriage is like being reborn; if you don't choose well, your whole life will be ruined. Take a closer look at the man. While you're at it, go and deliver some snacks to He Ying."

Yuhe knew this was an opportunity for her, so she didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.

She was usually a capable assistant to Madam He, very meticulous. Once she was assigned a task, she wanted to do it well in everything. Especially since this matter involved both public and private matters, in addition to arranging for the He family kitchen to prepare in advance, she made a special trip to Suanzao Lane early the next morning.

In the backyard, Song Miao was preparing vegetables.

Lately, there have been too many customers buying steamed buns, keeping everyone busy. Even the small dining tables for the teachers at the Imperial Academy at noon have to be temporarily closed. In the end, Wang Sanlang and others have to pack the buns in bowls and food boxes and deliver them over. In the evening, there is hardly any time to entertain guests.

However, steamed buns are cheap and have low profit margins. In the long run, once the house across the street is renovated, it should be sold off as soon as possible so that a proper restaurant business can be started. Otherwise, if you do a lot of work but don't make more money, it will be a huge loss.

But no matter how well the house is being renovated, it doesn't really matter if it's a little off in the end—a restaurant is all about selling skills. As long as the food is clean and delicious, even if it's a run-down place, customers will still come.

At this critical moment, Song Miao was most worried about the restaurant's kitchen.

She had already considered this matter. After training Zhang Si Niang and Da Bing for two months, she saw that Zhang Si Niang's cooking skills had greatly improved. So she selected six more long-term employees and four short-term employees. Both sides signed new contracts, and Zhang and Liu began to train them as apprentices. They were to work as part-time cooks after the business opened, so as not to be too busy.

On one hand, they are training new people; on the other hand, they also need to consider new dishes.

To make a dish exceptionally delicious, a chef's talent is highly valued. However, if one simply wants a dish that is generally tasty, one can standardize the cooking methods, minimizing the need for skill and ensuring the flavor of the final product.

She was studying a fish dish today, considering how to reduce the preparation and cooking time, reduce the use of seasonings, and still maintain the flavor, when she received a message from the front.

When she met the people, she learned that the He family wanted to order another batch of food, which was to be given to the He family. Song Miao was a little surprised and asked, "Last night, Mr. He took a lot of snacks with him. Was it not enough?"

"Yesterday, the eldest young master brought some for the seventh young master. This time, the old lady wants to give it to the eldest young master. I thought that the madam's place has a variety of snacks, and the taste is different from the ones in the manor. So I came to buy some. Besides the ones in the manor, I also want to buy some for myself to give as gifts."

Song Miao then asked what they needed for the separation and when they needed it.

The manor made a good decision, and we should follow the proper etiquette. However, when asked what she wanted, Yuhe felt a little hesitant.

Across the mansion, she was good at inquiring about other people's actions and temperaments, but not good at inquiring about their tastes.

But she always accompanied Madam He and Zhu'er to their home. She had a lot of dealings with Song Ji and knew Song Miao's character. She also knew that Song Miao was not the kind of person who liked to gossip, so she simply said directly, "These are for the servants of the eldest young master of the He family. They have a lot of dealings with people inside and outside the mansion, and we often need to trouble them. Madam, could you help me see what would be a good gift?"

“I’m more familiar with Young Master He, but I only met Master He yesterday, so I can’t offer any advice.” Song Miao turned and called over a maid, “Bring some snacks for Miss Yuhe to try.”

Soon, a collection box was delivered.

Song Miao invited Yuhe to taste each dish, quoted prices, and explained which types of food were more popular.

She pointed to a small compartment on the far right and said, "These are all dried pork. Although they don't look very appealing and are hard to chew, they are very filling. Since you are following Master He, there must be times when it's inconvenient to eat or there isn't time to eat. These can fill your stomach. They don't smell very strong, so they should be easy to carry."

Upon hearing this, Yuhe immediately said, "This is good! I want more of this—I work here myself, so it's perfect for me!"

The maids usually carried some pastries and dried fruits with them, but pastries were easy to crumble into, and dried fruits were too sweet, which would cause phlegm and make them want to cough.

When she saw the dried meat and heard Song Miao talk about it, she was really tempted. As she listened to each item and tried them one by one, she almost forgot why she had come here in the first place. She found everything delicious and could be eaten at any time, so she simply bought two portions of everything.

After ordering the snacks, she asked, "Last night, Madam wanted to invite Young Master He to try the steamed meatloaf. However, it's inconvenient to deliver things by order. If you have any other dishes, could you please include one of them? Once they're ready, I'll bring them over. Is that convenient for you, Madam?"

Hearing that it was Zhu Jie'er who wanted to send it to He Qi, and having already learned from Madam He how miserable he was, Song Miao said, "Young Master He Qi loves to eat meat, so I'll prepare an extra piece of meat for him."

There's no time like the present, so the two agreed on a time, and that afternoon, Yuhe took a carriage and went to the shop again. By this time, Song's shop had already put up a "sold out" sign, and unlike the bustling and noisy place outside when she came in the morning, it had suddenly become quiet.

Zhang Si Niang invited her to sit down, and then said, "Madam is roasting meat for Young Master He, it will be ready in a moment, Miss Yuhe, please sit down and have some drinks!"

"Roasted pigeon?" Yuhe couldn't help but ask. "Won't it be a bit dry after being cooped up in the food box all the way over?"

Zhang Si Niang then said, "It's not roasted pigeon—it's roasted braised chicken, a whole chicken!"

As they were talking, Song Miao and several hired women each brought out a food box, a bundle, and a basket.

Yuhe was literate and saw that all the items were labeled, with paper pasted on them to indicate which one was for whom.

The food boxes and baskets given to the He family were made of excellent materials and were crafted with high quality, clearly intended as gifts. The ones given to oneself, though exquisitely wrapped, were made of ordinary cloth.

Song Miao explained each item to her one by one, and then said, "If it's a basket with a box, I'm afraid it will be too conspicuous for you to take back, and it will be difficult to find a place to put it. It's better to use these ordinary bundles, which are less conspicuous."

—The guests really don't need to worry about anything.

Aside from the main dishes, Song Miao handed her a small food box and said, "This is a new dish I tried today: roasted pigeon breast. I paired it with perilla leaves. Actually, it tastes best right after it comes off the grill, but I don't have any other choice right now—please give this to Young Master He."

He then gave her a small lotus leaf bag and said, "This is for you. We tried several ways to cook it in our restaurant, but no one could really tell the difference. Try it out and see how it suits your taste. Is the flavor too strong or too weak? Does the seasoning mask the gamey smell of the pigeon? If there's anything you don't like, tell me quickly so I can give you some feedback!"

Yuhe had no reason to refuse, so she took everything, said goodbye, and got back into the carriage.

As soon as she got into the carriage and closed the door, she was about to put down what she was holding and open the curtains when she suddenly stopped.

—He was also holding something in his left hand, which was the lotus leaf wrapped food box.

Both items were separated by something, but even with something in between, you could still smell the wonderful fragrance.

It has the aroma of perilla leaves, mixed with the oily aroma of roasted pigeon.

Yuhe went out early in the morning, only ate a few bites, and rode a bumpy carriage all the way here. When she smelled this aroma, she couldn't help but sit down. She first put He Qi's food box aside, and then started to unpack the lotus leaf package that Song Xiaoniangzi had given her earlier.

The lotus leaves were wrapped in three layers, each layer rolled two or three times, yet even with such thick and numerous barriers, the fragrance still gently and delicately wafted out.

When the lotus leaf package was finally opened, the food inside was revealed—two skewers of pigeon meat on bamboo sticks.

The meat was very thick. Just now, Miss Song said it was pigeon breast meat. It was cut into long squares, and then pierced through both ends and skewered into a shape with two very thick vertical lines, forming a "凵" shape. The two vertical lines were close together, and the close part was sandwiched with fresh perilla leaf rolls about the thickness of a little finger.

There are only two pieces of meat in each skewer. The meat is small, just the size of a bite. The outer layer is roasted until it is charred and fragrant, but the charred color is not uniform. It is light yellow, golden yellow, dark brown, and even a few spots are almost burnt, but they are obviously not burnt. The two ends of the perilla leaves in the middle are obviously roasted very carefully, with curled edges, very crispy, and even a little transparent. Everything has a very thin sheen of oil.

Yuhe involuntarily swallowed.

With no one around, she picked up a bamboo skewer and tore off a whole piece of meat in one bite.

As soon as she put the meat in her mouth and took a bite, she couldn't help but exhale first, so as not to burn her teeth with the hot meat. Then she took another breath, not wanting to waste the aroma of the meat. At this moment, she didn't want to give up a single bit; all she wanted was to have it.

When you bite into it, the skin is very fragrant, but it's not particularly crispy. Instead, it has a slightly chewy and resilient crispness. This pigeon is obviously fatter, bigger, and older than the whole squab that Song Ji roasts. The breast meat of the pigeon is naturally more delicious, with a very rich flavor and plenty of juice. How can they make it so juicy inside the cut meat?

The juices burst forth instantly. With each bite, the perilla leaves release a refreshing, spicy aroma, perfectly seasoned. The intensely rich flavor of the pigeon breast meat blends seamlessly with the juices, creating a warm, juicy, and flavorful experience that is not greasy.

—So it turns out that perilla and pigeons are a perfect match!

Two bamboo skewers of meat, only four pieces in total, were eaten in a few bites. After finishing, Yuhe sat in the carriage, feeling a little lost and empty—what did Miss Song ask me to do again?

Oh, you said you'd let me try it, what's wrong with that...?

But how could I possibly taste the difference!

Perhaps Young Master He could tell the difference, but even if the food box was kept warm with charcoal at the bottom, it would never taste as good as it does now.

Yuhe suddenly felt a sense of urgency.

Such good meat, don't delay going for too long!
When they arrived at their destination, the others took baskets and other food boxes.

Yuhe quickly moved her hand away, saying, "I'll take this!"

After waiting for a while, someone came out to lead the way.

She followed them inside and soon arrived at a side room.

There were peach branches, willow branches, and cassia branches inside, as well as a northern branch on the side.

Yuhe stepped forward first and explained her purpose, then said, "If the eldest young master has time, I will go and give him a reply. If he doesn't have time, I will just put the things down and leave. The two food boxes inside are filled with hot dishes. If you can deliver them, it would be best to help deliver them to the seventh young master as soon as possible."

The others went to see the cassia branches.

The latter shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, my lord is currently discussing matters with foreign envoys. I'm afraid he won't be out until the afternoon, and there's a banquet tonight. How could he possibly find the time to deliver this?"

(End of this chapter)