Jiang Yanyi asked Qiu Kui to put enough rice for two meals into the pot, so that they could just heat up the cold rice in the evening without having to go through all the trouble.
She picked up a large yellow pumpkin from the corner and peeled off the skin with a kitchen knife.
Because the pumpkin was relatively old, Jiang Yanyi deliberately peeled the skin thicker. Whether the pumpkin is delicious or not can be judged by the feel of the knife when peeling and the color of the pumpkin flesh after peeling.
As Jiang Yanyi handled the pumpkin in his hand, he smiled: "This pumpkin must be sweet."
Qiu Kui was squatting on the side cleaning the pumpkin seeds. When she heard this, she looked up with a greedy look on her face. Her face was stained with orange juice from the pumpkin flesh. She looked like a little cat: "Sweet?"
Sugar was outrageously expensive in that era. It was difficult for an ordinary family to buy even a little throughout the year. Only wealthy families could eat sugar cakes and sweets regularly.
Jiang Yanyi nodded, washed the peeled pumpkin, cut it into small pieces, prepared a quarter for pumpkin rice, and the remaining three quarters for pumpkin pancakes. She said, "Light a fire on the stove next to it, and I will steam the remaining half of the pumpkin to make pumpkin pancakes."
When Qiu Kui heard that they were going to make pumpkin pancakes, he hurried back to the stove to light the fire.
There are three pots on the stove, and Jiang Yanyi is very satisfied. A big pot can be used to place the steamer to make steamed dishes; the medium pot is used for stewing, and the remaining small pots are used for frying and stir-frying.
There is also a top pot for boiling water placed between the middle pot and the small pot. It is connected to the stove from below. When cooking, when a fire is lit, the water in the top pot will be heated, which can save a lot of firewood.
Jiang Yanyi put the chopped pumpkin pieces in a steamer and stirred the rice in the pot with a large iron spoon. The rice soup was thick, white and sticky, and the rising steam was mixed with a strong rice aroma.
Jiang Yanyi had only seen rice cooked in a firewood pot when she was a child at her grandmother's house. The rice cooked in this way seemed to be more fragrant than that cooked in an electric rice cooker.
Seeing that the rice still needed to be cooked for a while, she picked the pumpkin seeds from the half-peeled okra, washed off the orange pumpkin juice with clean water, filtered it into a colander, spread it flat, and took it to the yard to dry.
The pumpkin seeds were not dry yet, but Jiang Yanyi had already thought about how to fry them and eat them as a snack. Well, I have to save some pumpkin seeds and plant them in the yard in the spring of next year. Then I will have pumpkin buds and flowers to eat.
Jiang Yanyi sighed and felt that the pumpkin was full of treasures.
When she returned to the kitchen again, the rice was already 70% cooked. Jiang Yanyi found a clean basin to put underneath it, put the colander on it, and used a wooden ladle to scoop the rice from the pot into the colander one scoop at a time. The rice was drained out, and the basin was filled with thick, white rice soup.
Okra was so greedy that he couldn't wait for the meal to start, so he drank two large bowls of rice soup.
Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You drank too much rice soup now, so you won't be able to eat much later."
Qiu Kui held the bowl and shook his head: "I think I can eat three more bowls."
Jiang Yanyi was amused by this silly girl.
Maybe it was because he had regained his freedom, but even though he was cooking, Jiang Yanyi felt much more relaxed here than in Huotouying. He was happy and had energy to do anything.
She cleaned the pot, drained the water and added oil. When the oil was hot, she smashed some garlic and put it in to stir-fry until fragrant. Then she poured the quarter of pumpkin that she had reserved into the pot and stir-fried it. She only added salt and no other seasonings. The smell coming from the pot was already very fragrant.
She used a spatula to scoop the pumpkin from the pot into a pile, and the pumpkin pieces were covered with oil and looked shiny and beautiful. Jiang Yanyi then used chopsticks to carefully spread the drained rice on top of the pumpkin, covering it tightly so that the sweetness of the pumpkin would be locked into the rice.
Jiang Yanyi walked around the pot and added water while saying to Qiu Kui, "Turn the heat to medium-low. If the heat is too high, the pumpkin will get mushy before it's cooked through."
Qiu Kui nodded vigorously and obediently.
After doing all this, Jiang Yanyi covered the pot. When the pumpkin in the pot was cooked, the rice on top would also be cooked. She didn't need to keep track of the time, just looking at the steam coming out of the pot, she knew when to turn off the fire.
The pumpkin pieces in the steamer were also steamed by now. Jiang Yanyi took out the steamed pumpkin pieces, mashed them into a paste, added glutinous rice flour, and kneaded them until they were no longer sticky to the bottom of the pot. He then covered them with a clean wet towel and let them rise for a while.
At this time, the white steam coming out of the pot lid of the pumpkin stewed rice in the pot had become smaller. If you listen closely, you can still hear a faint "crackling" sound. It is because the rice grains attached to the pot have begun to turn into rice crust. Jiang Yanyi hurriedly asked Qiu Kui to put out the fire in this pot and transfer the firewood to the stove under the small pot.
She rolled the dough into long strips, pinched it into small pieces with extremely fast hands, rolled it into a small ball, and pressed it on the chopping board to make a flat pumpkin pie.
When the pan is hot, add oil and put the pumpkin pie in and fry until both sides are browned. Under the effect of the heat, the browned outer shell of the pumpkin pie will bulge up, which looks very beautiful.
After the pumpkin pancakes were out of the pan, Jiang Yanyi asked Okra to taste them. Okra took them directly with her hands, but got burned so she changed to chopsticks to pick them up. But it was still hot when she put it in her mouth. She ate it in a hurry and stuck out her tongue and panted because of the burn.
"Eat slowly, there's so much." Jiang Yanyi was afraid that she would burn her tongue.
"It's good to eat. I'm not afraid of being hot." Qiu Kui's tongue was really thick when she spoke again. She took a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Jiang Yanyi: "Eat it, guagua (huahua)."
Jiang Yanyi picked up a piece and tasted it. The pumpkin pie was fried crispy on the outside, but soft and sticky on the inside. It tasted sweet, not the greasy sweet, but the sweetness of the pumpkin itself.
When Jiang Yanyi was mixing the glutinous rice flour, she didn't add sugar because there was no sugar at home. She thought the taste might be a bit bland, but unexpectedly the finished product was very much to her liking.
She nodded with satisfaction and turned to lift the lid of the pot: "Let's eat."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Okra went to open it holding a piece of pumpkin pie in his mouth.
Jiang Yanyi had just served the pumpkin rice when Okra came back with the pumpkin cake in its mouth, like a little mouse that had seen a cat.
Jiang Yanyi asked her: "What's wrong?"
Qiu Kui trembled and said, "There's someone outside."
Jiang Yanyi thought to himself, he is just a person, how could he scare the child like this.
She wiped her hands on the apron around her waist, walked across the yard to the shop in front, and when she saw the man standing at the door, she was not surprised why Okra was so scared.
But... why is this great general holding a pot of chili peppers
Jiang Yanyi couldn't help but glance at the pepper in his hand for a few more times, then raised his eyes to look at him: "General, what are you doing..."
Feng Shuo handed the potted plant to her and said, "I heard that you opened a shop here."
Their eyes met and he looked away uncomfortably, but his voice was as clear as usual.
Jiang Yanyi was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that the Protectorate was right next to her, and they were now neighbors. Was this general coming over with a plate of chili peppers to congratulate her on opening a store
Apart from anything else, it is really good that this general is friendly with his neighbors and does not have any official airs at all.
Because of his action, Jiang Yanyi's favorability towards him increased significantly.
But although sending a flower basket for the opening of a business is a good idea, her store hasn't opened yet. Jiang Yanyi felt a little embarrassed, but she didn't want to refuse other people's kindness. What's more, what he gave her was not something else, but chili peppers!
Jiang Yanyi took the potted peppers he handed over, thinking that given the general's cold personality, he was simply here to give her a gift.
But after a few polite words, he obviously had no intention of leaving. It would not be good to keep standing at the door like this. They were both good-looking, and there were many people coming and going on the street. Everyone who passed by could not help but take a few glances at them.
Jiang Yanyi felt a little embarrassed by being looked at, but since the other party had given her a gift, it would be inappropriate to turn the guest away, so she could only say tactfully, "We just moved here today, and haven't had time to clean up the house yet. If the general doesn't mind, please come in and have a seat."
"Come in and have a seat" was just a polite remark. She had already said that the place was not cleaned up yet. When ordinary people heard this, they would definitely know that it was not convenient to entertain guests.
But Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether this great general didn't understand the ways of the world or what, after she finished speaking, he just replied with one word: "Yeah."
If it weren't for his cold face, Jiang Yanyi would have suspected that he had been standing at the door for a long time just waiting for her to say this.
She gritted her teeth and welcomed the man in. There was no table in the shop yet, so it was empty. There was only a counter where the cashier used to be. Jiang Yanyi put the pot of peppers on the counter.
I went to the back yard, found a foldable wooden table, moved it over, put a chair on it and asked him to sit down.
The shop door was closed before, but now he was invited in. In order to avoid suspicion, Jiang Yanyi simply left the shop door open.
She searched for a long time but couldn't find the tea left by the original owner. She didn't have time to buy some, so she didn't want to let him sit there. She went back to the kitchen and brought out a plate of pumpkin cakes. "I'm really sorry for not entertaining you well. I just made some cakes. General, please use some of them."
Feng Shuo nodded coldly, picked up a piece with his hand and started eating.
Jiang Yanyi felt that his cold expression and the way he was eating pumpkin pie were really inconsistent.
He ate one piece without any intention of stopping, and ate the second piece with a noble and cold face. Jiang Yanyi couldn't help but look at the sky. It was noon. Could it be that he came back from the army, but the chef of the Protectorate thought he would have lunch in the army at noon and didn't cook for him
She asked tentatively, "There is pumpkin stew in the kitchen. Would you like to try it, General?"
Feng Shuo uttered one word in a noble and cold manner: "Hmm."
He had come to Huotouying's private kitchen to eat before, and Jiang Yan knew how much he ate, so he found a large bowl to serve the rice. With one shovel, the golden rice crust at the bottom of the pot was scooped up along with the rice and pumpkin.
When Jiang Yanyi carried the big bowl out, she found that most of the pumpkin cakes on the plate were gone. She was quite surprised. Although pumpkin cakes were delicious, most of the powerful and wealthy did not like them very much. They preferred those exquisite pastries with careful preparation. This general was not picky.
Jiang Yanyi thought to himself that he was worthy of being a military man.
She respectfully presented the pumpkin stewed rice to him, "Enjoy your meal, General."
When Feng Shuo saw that the bowl she used to serve rice was comparable to a soup bowl, his expression froze for a moment, and the corners of his delicate mouth tightened instantly. But seeing that her expression was extremely sincere, he still reached out to take it.
Although he had a big appetite, he always ate from a small bowl, thanks to the royal rules and upbringing, even if he added rice to the bowl ten times, he was still polite and elegant when eating.
Feng Shuo was suddenly handed such a big bowl and felt as if he was being disliked for his big appetite.
But this bowl of rice smells really good and looks very appetizing.
The rice grains are distinct, the rice aroma is rich, and the texture is just the right amount of hardness. The fried pumpkin is shiny and golden, but not greasy at all, and has a light sweetness in the saltiness. The golden rice crust is probably the most delicious part, and it is crispy and fragrant when chewed.
It was the first time that Feng Shuo knew that rice and pumpkin could be so delicious.
Jiang Yan didn't want him to pick up his chopsticks. He had been hungry since morning and his stomach had already gone through the empty city plan several times, so he went back to the yard behind to get his own bowl of rice.
Afraid of being summoned by Feng Shuo, she moved a small stool and sat under the eaves at the back door of the shop to eat.
Feng Shuo looked up inadvertently and saw her sitting there, holding a half-sized porcelain bowl in her hand, her mouth stuffed with food, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster, her eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Behind her was a courtyard wall covered with green vines, and lavender bougainvillea was blooming brightly in the sun.
He suddenly felt that this little cook was very pretty.
A secret and absurd thought arose in his heart. He didn't want to know her true identity, nor did he want to know who her fiancé was, or what her relationship with Lu Linyuan was...
After Jiang Yanyi finished his meal, he found Feng Shuo was looking at him.
She looked over and saw that his big bowl was empty.
She thought Feng Shuo was staring at her and was embarrassed to ask her to add more rice, so she walked over and asked considerately, "General, do you want more rice?"
She spoke suddenly, and Feng Shuo came back to his senses and nodded expressionlessly.
Jiang Yanyi took a large bowl and scooped rice from the pot. Qiu Kui was planning to eat one more bowl, but when he saw Jiang Yanyi came in with only a bowl in his hand but no chopsticks, he knew that the general outside wanted more rice.
She stared at the only bowl of rice left in the pot and put down the shovel pitifully.
Jiang Yanyi comforted her: "I will make you something delicious tonight."
Qiu Kui's eyes lit up again: "Is it still pumpkin stewed with rice?"
Jiang Yanyi said, "You can make whatever you want to eat."
Qiu Kura immediately said: "Pumpkin stewed with rice!"
Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This silly girl was too easily satisfied. A pumpkin stewed with rice made her so happy.
When Jiang Yanyi brought out the meal, Feng Shuo saw that the bowl was not full, and he probably guessed something. He finished eating without saying a word, and left two taels of silver on the table when he left.
This meal was originally a return gift for the pot of peppers he had given, so Jiang Yanyi could not accept money from him. He quickly chased after him and returned it to him: "General, this meal is very crude, how can I accept money from you."
Feng Shuo asked her back, "If it doesn't taste good, you won't charge me?"
Jiang Yanyi felt a little embarrassed by his question, thinking that this general was really a chat killer. Did he really not understand the ways of the world at all
She gritted her teeth and handed the change to him, maintaining a smile on her face as she said, "General, you always took care of me when I was in the Fire Camp. Now that our shop is next to the Protectorate, I hope you will come and take care of our business more often in the future. I really can't accept the money for today's meal."
Feng Shuo was much taller than her. From his perspective, the young cook nodded slightly, lowered her brows, and smiled, as if she was a young wife seeing her husband off.
He stared at her for a long moment without speaking.
He gave him the silver because he felt bad that he had come here without saying anything and had eaten up all the rice in the pot, leaving them both with nothing to eat. But now the young cook was determined to return it to him.
Feng Shuo frowned unconsciously. In his opinion, it was just two taels of silver. There was no reason to take it back since he had already given it away.
But when she said she would come often, he was moved again.
Then he asked, "When do you plan to open this store?"
Jiang Yanyi is actually still unsure. After all, she is planning to open a hot pot restaurant. If there are no chili peppers, she will sell clear soup pots first. As the weather gets colder, there will definitely be a market for hot pot. There are many powerful people on this street, so naturally, the wealthy families have no shortage of money to spend on a hot pot.
The trouble is that she still has to find someone to decorate the store, customize tables, chairs, benches, special pots for hot pot, and plates and bowls.
She thought for a moment and said, "Probably until the next military holiday."
The army only has one day off every ten days, and it means work can be resumed after about ten days.
Feng Shuo glanced at her still empty store and nodded in understanding.
Jiang Yanyi said, "Please take back the silver."
Feng Shuo's gaze fell on her palm. Her hand was small, with slender fingers that were incredibly white and tender. The small piece of silver she was dragging looked like a rock protruding from the snow.
When he reached out to take the silver, his fingertips inadvertently brushed across her palm, which felt soft and delicate, as if he was touching a piece of warm, slightly solidified milk.
Feng Shuo only felt as if something like a tentacle was spreading from his fingers to his heart, causing a slight itch and numbness in his fingertips.
He quickly withdrew his hand and put it behind his back, "I will come again next time."
He walked out of the shop and turned a corner to his own mansion. Xing Yao was standing there with a food box in his hand. "Master, Nanny Song heard that you will be returning to the barracks soon. I'm afraid you won't have time to eat, so I asked the kitchen to prepare some food for you."
Feng Shuo's hands behind his back were unconsciously rubbing his fingertips, which seemed to still retain the warm and delicate touch. Hearing this, he only said lightly: "I have already eaten, and I will give it to you as a reward."
***
Jiang Yanyi had no idea that someone was eating for free. She was holding the pot of chili peppers and her whole body was smiling like a flower.
Qiu Kui was puzzled: "Hua Hua, why do you keep smiling foolishly while holding this potted plant?"
Jiang Yanyi said with longing: "With it, I can make many of the most delicious foods in the world!"
When Qiu Kui heard that it could be made into delicious food, he immediately treated the potted plant as a treasure and took care of it diligently even more than Jiang Yanyi.
In order to open the store quickly, Jiang Yanyi made a list in the afternoon, wrote down everything he wanted to buy, and planned to purchase them in batches.
As for tables, chairs, benches, pots, pans, and other things, she planned to go to the market to ask around to see which craftsman has better skills, and then discuss the details later.
She has now settled down, but she doesn't know what the situation is in the capital. After thinking about it, she decided to write a letter and send it to the Chu family in the capital.
She had originally planned to write to her original body's younger brother, asking about his and Madam Jiang's current situation, and to let them know that she was safe. She didn't dare to return to the capital now, so she could only find another opportunity to meet them in the future.
But Jiang Yanyi was afraid of something unexpected happening. If the letter didn't reach his younger brother Jiang Yangui, it would be troublesome. After all, his stupid and cheap father was absolutely unreliable.
In her original memory, her grandparents loved her very much, especially her uncle who also joined the military camp.
After writing the letter, Jiang Yanyi took Qiu Kui out for a walk, intending to see if there were any peppers for sale in the market, and to stop by the post station to mail the letter. The letters at the post station were all sent out early in the morning.
Neither she nor Qiu Kui realized that someone had been following them stealthily since they left the house.
After Jiang Yanyi came out of the post station, the man quickly went back into the post station and came out with a letter in his hand.
The author has something to say: Pumpkin: My life is clearly arranged!
Xing Yao: I hope my master will go to the next door for dinner every day, and then give me the portion that the chef at home prepares for him.
Feng Shuo (pondering): It’s still early for her shop to open, what excuse can I use to go there and have a free meal tomorrow
Qiu Kui (desperate): Don't come here qaq
Updates will be made at 6am every day~ Babies, no need to wait at other times, muah~
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-11-03 05:59:37~2020-11-04 05:22:58~
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Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!