Cooking among green mountains and clear waters seems to be quite interesting. Jiang Miao remembers that when he was in primary school, the school organized a spring outing and the teacher took them on a picnic.
At that time, the students brought their own cooking utensils and tableware, used the class fees they paid to buy a lot of vegetables, found a place by the stream, and started working enthusiastically. Jiang Miao's talent in cooking was probably already revealed at that time. Among a group of clumsy students, the dishes he cooked were comparable to those of the young female teacher.
Now I think back, it's been so many years. The pure joy of childhood can no longer be felt after adulthood. However, it's also good to leave some good memories for Xiao Shitou and his friends.
Jiang Miao counted the vegetables they bought and found that in addition to chicken, duck, fish and meat, there were also all kinds of side dishes and seasonings, and they were all cleanly prepared. Jiang Miao always felt that they bought these vegetables from other people's kitchens, otherwise, which stall owner would help others prepare the vegetables
Since they were eating outdoors, they naturally wanted to have more wild flavor. Jiang Miao wrapped the chicken and duck in oil paper, covered them with mud, and threw them into the pit dug by the guards. He then lit a charcoal fire outside. It would not take long for the beggar's chicken and duck to be ready.
The fish was quite big, with thick meat and few bones. Jiang Miao thought about it and decided to shave off the meat and chop it into meatballs. Then he would put some meatballs on them with chopsticks and pour some sauce on them. It would taste so delicious.
While he was chopping fish balls, Pei Che led the two children to fly the eagle kite into the sky. Little Stone was running around with the kite in high spirits. Pei Mu held the handle in his hand, looked up, and slowly started to move the kite.
"Do you want my help?" Pei Che asked someone to watch them while he slowly walked to Jiang Miao's side.
"No. I can do it." Jiang Miao refused outright. This guy seemed to love cleanliness so much that a bucket of water could cause him to do several disasters. He didn't want to use lake water. Although he knew there was less pollution in ancient times, there must be some small bugs in it.
Pei Che didn't leave even though he was rejected. He just stood beside him, watching his every move and saying something casually. Jiang Miao squeezed the meatball while listening to him, replying from time to time.
Soon, the meatballs were cooked. Jiang Miao skewered a few of them with chopsticks, dipped one of them in some sauce and handed it to Pei Che. Pei Che paused, looked at Jiang Miao deeply, then bent down slightly and bit off a meatball from Jiang Miao's hand.
Uh… You’re such a germaphobe, can’t you even use chopsticks? Jiang Miao’s original intention was to let him take the food and eat it, but who knew he would eat it like this? Jiang Miao bit off one of his own skewers with resentment. The rich brown sauce was wrapped around the white fish balls, which were soft and chewy, and extremely tender. They were much better than the ones sold in the store! The delicious food in his mouth made Jiang Miao feel happy. He and Pei Che ate one bite at a time, and they were very happy.
"Brother, what are you eating? Why didn't you call us?" A voice came from behind. Xiao Shitou held Pei Mu's hand and looked at them curiously.
Pei Che was embarrassed to be discovered hiding and eating something as an elder. He was about to explain when Jiang Miao spoke.
"We are eating fish balls, do you want some?" His attitude was very calm, without any embarrassment at all.
Little Stone blinked his eyes and asked, "Is it delicious?"
"You'll know after you try it." Jiang Miao handed the two strings of fish balls in his hand to Pei Che, then scooped a few more from the pot, skewered them with chopsticks, poured sauce on them and handed them to the two children.
Little Stone took a light bite, and then his eyes lit up, and he bit off the fish ball in its entirety, making his cheeks bulge out like a little hamster. Pei Mu ate better, but at a very fast pace, which probably meant he thought it tasted good.
"Hey! Did you steal one of mine?" Jiang Miao turned to look for Pei Che, but found that the two strings had become the same size. He clearly remembered that he wanted one more.
Facing his suspicious look, Pei Che acted innocent, so Jiang Miao had to give up, snatched a string from him, and ate it viciously.
After eating a few fish balls, the two little ones went over to play with kites. Jiang Miao served the fish balls, cleaned the iron pan, poured some oil, and then cut the pork into pieces and stir-fried them. He poured some water into the pan to cover the meat, then covered it with the lid and turned around to go back to the small slope where he had just picked wild vegetables.
"Didn't you pick a lot? You should have asked someone to leave some behind." Pei Che was a little puzzled.
"I'm here now, so it'll be more convenient for me to pick more. As for the good ones, I'll have to eat them later!" Jiang Miao looked at him with a look that said, "You don't know how to live." After saying that, he started picking vegetables with swift hands and feet.
Pei Che saw that it was almost noon and there were fewer tourists coming and going. No one was paying attention to this side, so he squatted down and picked the same vegetables that Jiang Miao was holding.
"How about these?" Pei Che asked when he saw Jiang Miao staring at the small pile of wild vegetables next to him.
In order not to discourage Pei Che's enthusiasm, Jiang Miao praised him a few times against his conscience, and then put the "old, weak and disabled soldiers" he picked into his own pile. When walking back, Jiang Miao quietly threw away the ones Pei Che had just picked. Those old and thin wild vegetables tasted bitter, how could they compare to the ones he picked
After washing the wild vegetables, the braised pork in the pot was already bubbling. When he opened the lid, the rich aroma hit him, and Jiang Miao couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He quickly seasoned the meat, then took it out of the pot and put it aside. He cut the wild vegetables and poured them into the pot, stir-fried them until they were cooked, and then scooped them up. The green wild vegetables were shining with oil, and Jiang Miao held them, as if he was holding the whole spring in his hands.
Seeing that Jiang Miao didn't seem to be doing anything, Pei Che went to call the two children and took them to wash their hands. After washing their hands, in addition to the vegetables, there were two more lumps of earth on the ground with burnt skin.
Little Stone poked it curiously with his finger, and Pei Mu also reached out and touched the still warm lump of earth.
Jiang Miao laughed: "This thing is not for eating the outer layer." After that, he took a wooden stick and tapped it lightly, then peeled off the dirt to reveal the oil paper inside. The outermost layer of oil paper was also baked crispy and broke at the touch. Fortunately, Jiang Miao wrapped it in several layers. When he peeled off the innermost layer, a fragrance he had never smelled before rushed into his nose. The meat inside looked golden, shiny and oily, and it was baked very successfully. He took another bite, the skin was crispy and crispy, but the inside was full of juice and tender.
Several people sat on the ground, enjoying the beautiful scenery and delicious food. It was not an exaggeration to say that they lived a heavenly life. Every dish was delicious, but Jiang Miao's favorite was the wild vegetables. He ate most of it with the steamed buns bought by the people.
While they were eating, several guards from the mansion also gathered together to eat. Jiang Miao gave some of each dish and asked them to taste it as well.
After eating, they sat on the cloth mat to rest. Little Shitou ate a lot, so his belly was bulging. Jiang Miao was afraid that he would have indigestion, so he reached out and rubbed it carefully. Pei Mu saw this and inadvertently moved closer to Jiang Miao, letting his round beard face him. Jiang Miao also rubbed it for him.
Pei Che looked at the harmonious way the few people got along and made a decision in his heart. After Xiao Shitou took Pei Mu out to play, he said, "A Miao, I have an unreasonable request."
Jiang Miao laid lazily on the mat with his hands behind his head and asked casually, "What's the matter?"
"Can you help me look after Mu'er? He has changed a lot in the past month. He is much more lively than when he was in the mansion. I don't want him to go back to his old appearance."
Jiang Miao quickly sat up and looked at Pei Che with a frown: "Where are you going?"
"In two days, I will be going back to the Imperial Academy to study. There will be an autumn examination this year, and I want to take the test. I will be busy with my studies and may not have time to take care of Mu'er."
"But, don't you have a lot of people in your house?" It was one thing to have Pei Che take care of the child, but it was another to take care of the child alone. What if he didn't take good care of the Duke's Mansion's precious baby
"Because of my parents' affairs, my grandmother has never liked Mu'er. People in the mansion are used to flattering the weak and stepping down on the powerful. Although there are many people in his yard, few of them are truly kind to him. Rather than letting him stay in the mansion, it would be better to let him stay with you. I will feel more at ease." Pei Che was telling the truth. While he was moved by Pei Mu's changes during this period, he also had doubts in his heart. If Xing'er and the people who took care of Mu'er treated Mu'er like they did, why did Mu'er become more and more silent at home
"I'm just an ordinary citizen. If you're not afraid that I will teach your brother bad things, just leave him to me." Jiang Miao was relieved. Pei Mu was a very worry-free child, and it wasn't a hassle to have him around.
"A Miao, why should you be so modest? You have taken such a good care of Xiao Shitou. If Mu'er can be half as good as Xiao Shitou, I will be satisfied." Pei Che was very grateful to Jiang Miao for his help.
"We have to make it clear first. I can take him with me, but there won't be any special treatment. You have to treat Xiao Shitou the same way I treat him. If he acts naughty, I will teach him a lesson." Although Jiang Miao didn't think Pei Mu would act naughty, it was always right to say it out loud.
Pei Che smiled and said, "I will send someone to take care of all your expenses. As for teaching him a lesson, there is an old saying that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. We are already engaged, and you are his sister-in-law, so you can naturally discipline him."
Jiang Miao glared at her: "Don't take advantage of me! What sister-in-law? You should call me brother-in-law, do you hear me? If you dare to call me that again, I will let Xiao Shitou call you sister-in-law."
Pei Che looked at him with a half-smile: "Why do I remember that Xiao Shitou has called me like this before?"
"…" Jiang Miao was embarrassed and took the initiative to change the subject, "You said you were going to study, right? You are going to live there and can't come back?"
"The Imperial College stipulates that everyone must live in it, so that they can study without distraction. If there is something at home, you can ask the teacher for leave. For example, this time, I asked for a month's leave." If it were not for this, Pei Che would not ask Jiang Miao to help him take care of Mu'er. In addition to him, Mu'er would be closer to Jiang Miao.
Studying is so pathetic. Jiang Miao was glad that he was not a scholar. The books read by the ancients were more difficult than those studied by modern people. He couldn't even handle modern books, let alone ancient books.
While the two were talking, Jiang Miao suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that the two children's kites were floating away into the distance, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared from a small black dot.
"Oh, why did the kite fly away!" Jiang Miao felt very sorry. Such a kite should be very expensive.
“If you want to get rid of the bad luck, you should let it go. Let the kite carry the illness and bad luck on your body. There are two more over there. Shall we let them go too?” Pei Che said. He stood up and stretched out a hand to Jiang Miao who was sitting on the ground.
Jiang Miao held his hand, used the force to stand up, and went to fly the kite. Watching the colorful big butterfly rise into the sky, Jiang Miao reached over with a pair of scissors and cut the string. The kite flew away, and Jiang Miao thought to himself, if only the kite could really take away the bad luck, otherwise the money would be wasted.
(End of this chapter)