Since the beginning of summer, the temperature in the capital has been getting hotter day by day, and mosquitoes have gradually bred more and more. During dinner, the two maids of Tingyuxuan cleaned up Zhu Ping'an's bedroom, burned wormwood and lit incense to prevent mosquito bites from disturbing his sleep.
Little Loli Niuniu and the naughty boy Li Yangong stayed at Zhu Ping'an's house for dinner. They liked the pickled cucumbers that Zhu Ping'an brought from home and drank one more bowl of porridge than usual, which made Zijuan, who came to pick up the two children, open her eyes wide in surprise.
But she knew how difficult these two little ancestors were. If there was no old ancestor watching over them, getting them to eat would be like fighting a war. Every time, they would be tortured to the point of losing their weapons and sweating profusely, and only then would the two little ancestors barely eat their food. Moreover, their appetites were very small, and they mostly relied on snacks to fill their stomachs.
But now, these two picky and troublesome little ancestors actually ate two bowls of porridge without anyone supervising them, especially Master Gong, who ate two large oil cakes by himself. This is unimaginable under normal circumstances.
Zijuan knew that the reason why these two little ancestors had such a good appetite was because of the small jar of inconspicuous pickled cucumbers on the table.
At this moment, she looked at the pickled cucumbers on the table with eager eyes.
The reason is simple.
Since the beginning of summer, the weather has been getting hotter, and the old lady of Linhuai Marquis's mansion has also lost a lot of appetite, eating almost half less than usual. The old lady is old, and she can't have crushed ice porridge to cool down, which makes Zijuan and other maids who take care of the old lady also worry about it.
Now seeing that the little Lolita and Master Gong, who were famous for not loving to eat, had eaten an extra bowl of porridge after eating the pickled cucumbers, Zijuan looked at the pickled cucumbers as if they had seen a panacea.
"Master, can you let me taste this delicacy..."
Zijuan pointed at the lovely green pickled cucumbers on the table with her little hand and looked at Zhu Ping'an with eager eyes. If you didn't know, you would think that this girl was in love.
Delicacy? Haha, if my mother knew that someone said her pickled country vegetables were delicacies, she would definitely smile "modestly" and then show off her pickled cucumbers to the whole village...
"certainly."
Zhu Ping'an nodded and made a gesture of invitation. He was happy that someone could appreciate the pickled cucumbers made by his mother.
Zijuan thanked him repeatedly in excitement, then took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a cucumber strip, slowly put it into her mouth, and chewed it gently...
Crunchy
Then her body trembled instantly, and her face flushed...
The taste is incredible. It is the first time I have tasted this kind of taste. This dish is the best I have ever eaten. It is crispy and delicious. The cucumber is sour and sweet, sweet and spicy, with a rich sauce flavor. It is sour and sweet, icy and delicious, and it is appetizing and helps digestion.
The taste seems to be magical, making people want to eat it one bite after another and can't stop at all.
After eating just one cucumber strip, Zijuan was so jealous of the porridge on the table that she couldn't help wanting to drink a bowl, and then another bowl...
Therefore, Zijuan couldn't help imagining the old lady eating pickled cucumbers and drinking porridge without stopping. When she thought of this, her eyes couldn't help but glow green...
"Master, these delicacies are so delicious, sweet and sour, and good for digestion. It's summer now, and the old lady's appetite is getting worse day by day. I've been worried day by day. Today, after tasting your delicacies, I feel like I've found a savior. I have a humble request. Could you tell me where you bought this delicacy?" Zijuan looked at Zhu Ping'an with her beautiful eyes and asked eagerly.
Zhu Pingan shook his head.
Zijuan was stunned. She didn't expect her son-in-law would reject her.
Seeing Zijuan's stunned look, Zhu Ping'an smiled softly and explained, "It's not that I won't tell you where to buy it, but even if I tell you, you can't buy it, because it's not bought, it's pickled by my mother at home."
"So it was pickled by the Madam at home..." Zijuan felt lost. She thought she had found a delicacy that would whet the old Madam's appetite, but it turned out that this dish was pickled by her brother-in-law's mother at home.
A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen! Besides, my son-in-law is a scholar, why would he care about such a trivial matter as pickling cucumbers? He definitely doesn't know how to pickle them.
The panacea is right in front of you, but you just can't get it. This feeling is the most disappointing. Zijuan has a deep understanding of this at this moment.
"Although I know how to do it, I have learned a lot from my mother, so I know the general method and steps. You can try to pickle it yourself..." When Zijuan was feeling lost, a voice like the sound of nature rang in her ears.
"Oh, really?" Zijuan's face was full of joy and she smiled.
"If you see it more, you will naturally remember it. Pay attention to a few places, they are actually very simple." Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Then I'd like to ask for your advice, my lord. Please don't think I'm dull." Zijuan giggled, then placed her hands on her left waist, bent her knees and bowed.
The naughty kid next to him saw this scene. He pulled the little girl next to him with his hand, lowered his head and said in a low voice with disdain, "Your smile is like when my aunt saw my dad last night..."
Although the sound was small, the room was not big, so it could still be heard.
Zijuan, who was standing by, couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard this. "My young master, please don't say anything nonsense. I don't have the guts to do that."
As expected of a maidservant by the old lady's side, her ability to cope with situations is worthy of praise. With a smile and talking it over, the matter is over. Even if outsiders knew about it, they would think it was just the innocent words of a child.
"As for the ingredients, there are cucumbers, carrots, soy sauce, white wine, rock sugar, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, and chili peppers. As for the quantities, you have to decide for yourself. Ask the experienced cook in the kitchen to try a few times and it should be fine."
"Choose fresh cucumbers and carrots, cut them into strips, sprinkle with salt and mix well, press them with a heavy object to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the cucumbers..."
Zhu Pingan patted the kid's head, smiled softly, and then recalled his mother's method of pickling cucumbers. Zijuan, who was standing by, listened attentively. She often listened to the old lady's instructions, and her ability to remember things was also improved. She carefully memorized the method of pickling cucumbers.
"Oh, there is one thing you must remember. No matter whether it is the utensils or the pickling process, they must not come into contact with raw water. Use cold boiled water, otherwise it will easily breed bacteria." After saying this, Zhu Pingan emphasized again.
"Breeding bacteria?" Zijuan was stunned and confused. What are bacteria
"Oh, it's the dialect of our hometown. It's very simple. Drinking cold water can easily make you sick, but drinking boiled water won't. Pickled vegetables will eventually be eaten, so you have to use boiled water." Zhu Ping'an explained casually.
Are bacteria a disease
Bacteria, illness, well, that seems to be the case. Zijuan thought about it and nodded.
"Son-in-law, what is the name of this delicacy?" Zijuan asked after trying hard to write down the pickling process.
"Pickled cucumbers." Zhu Ping'an replied without thinking.
"Pickled cucumbers..." Zijuan repeated after hearing it and pouted her lips. She felt that it was unfair to call such a delicious dish by such a name. Besides, with this name, the old lady might lose her appetite after hearing it.
"Oh?" Zhu Pingan knew what was going on after just one glance, and curled his lips, "Or you can also call it Jade Cucumber, or Jade Plate Pickled Cucumber, or Green Dragon Lying in the Snow, or Dragon and Phoenix Playing..."