Border Cook

"There are garlic sprouts inside." Xia Mingyue replied with a smile.

"Garlic sprouts?" Fan Jinglan pointed at the tender green growing nearby. "Aren't these garlic sprouts?"

She remembered that she had just helped Xia Mingyue pick some garlic sprouts from here yesterday, picked and washed them, and made them into delicious twice-cooked pork.

The slices of twice-cooked pork are fat and lean. After being cooked to 80% done, they are cut into thin slices and stir-fried in a pan. The garlic sprouts are the side dish fried together with the pork belly. They are oily, spicy and delicious.

The twice-cooked pork slices were stir-fried to the right degree, with almost all the fat being fried out. Not only was it not greasy, but it had a chewy texture and was very delicious.

Fan Jinglan ate most of the plate, even picking up all the garlic sprouts, leaving no trace, so she had a deep impression of the garlic sprouts.

And now, Xia Mingyue said that the things in the bamboo basket were also garlic sprouts?

"Yes, those are also garlic sprouts." Xia Mingyue explained, "These are also garlic sprouts that grow upside down, but they are garlic sprouts that are not exposed to the light. In some places, they are called garlic sprouts."

Garlic sprouts and garlic greens that are not exposed to light?
Fan Jinglan didn't quite understand and couldn't imagine what it was like. "What is that like?"

Xia Mingyue found a bamboo basket closest to the wall, lifted the cloth a little, and looked at the growth of the garlic sprouts inside. "It's a coincidence that Madam Fan asked. The garlic sprouts are almost ripe and can be eaten."

As she spoke, Xia Mingyue lifted up the two bamboo baskets and the cloth on top, revealing the things inside.

It looks a bit like the garlic sprouts outside, with slightly broad and plump leaves, but it is much taller than ordinary garlic sprouts. Both the stems and leaves are longer, and the color is much lighter than the emerald green of garlic sprouts. It is a kind of tender green with a hint of goose yellow.

This tender green color looks a bit like the color of new leaves and tender buds, giving people a feeling that spring is coming, and it makes people feel warm in their hearts.

Use a sickle to cut off the garlic sprouts from both places. There is almost a large handful, enough to stir-fry two or three dishes.

Xia Mingyue was very satisfied with the growth and quantity of the garlic sprouts. Looking at their fresh color, she immediately decided to use half of them for cooking and the other half for making soup.

Scrambled eggs with garlic chives, both are fresh and yellowish in color, and both taste fresh and delicious. Mix them together and stir-fry them into a large dish. Take a bite of them, they are soft, tender, fresh and delicious.

Garlic and Tofu Soup is made with slices of fresh tofu, shreds of fried tofu slices, and tofu balls cooked together with chopped garlic, plus a few tender winter spinach leaves, soy sauce, pepper and balsamic vinegar to enhance the flavor, and a little fragrant sesame oil poured on it when it's served. It's so comfortable to have a bowl of this hot soup on a cold winter day.

The staple food is a large steamed bun made of leavened dough, served with some sliced ​​braised meat, which makes a hearty lunch.

A group of people gathered around the table, eating with gusto.

Fan Jinglan felt awkward holding the pancake in her left hand and chopsticks in her right hand, without an extra hand to hold the spoon to drink the soup, so she simply cut the steamed pancake in half and put the scrambled eggs with garlic and the braised pork slices into the pancake. This way, she could hold the pancake in one hand and the soup spoon in the other, and she could eat the staple food and vegetables while drinking the delicious garlic and tofu soup.

Seeing this, others followed Fan Jinglan's example and also raised a vegetable steamed bun, eating it and drinking the soup at the same time.

Even Xia Mingyue ate it this way, chewing it with big bites and enjoying it very much.

The lunch was delicious and everyone was very satisfied.

Xia Mingyue also burped and took advantage of the bright sunshine to sprinkle some spinach or coriander seeds in the empty spaces where the spinach had been pulled out, to ensure that she could continue to eat fresh food.

While she was busy, someone came to her house. It was someone from the escort agency, who said that someone had sent two boxes of things to Xia Mingyue and asked her to accept them.

"Who asked you to deliver it?" Xia Mingyue asked curiously.

"The person who ordered us to deliver the goods was Madam Shen." The leader answered, "Madam Shen said that there was a letter to Madam Xia in the box. Madam Xia knew it at a glance."

Madam Shen?
Could it be Shen Shujun?
Xia Mingyue had some guesses in her mind, but she still opened the box to look for the letter that the people from the escort agency had mentioned.

The wooden box was opened, and the things inside were wrapped and tied with oil paper, and on top of it, a letter was placed neatly.

And on the envelope, five words were written neatly - From Xia Mingyue herself.

The font is elegant and lively, it is exactly Shen Shujun's handwriting.

Does the fact that he sent people to deliver things and letters mean that Shen Shujun has returned home safely and is doing well?
Xia Mingyue felt relieved, picked it up, opened the envelope, took out the letter inside, and looked at it carefully.

Madam Xia, I have not seen you for several months and I miss you very much. Thanks to your concern, I have returned home safely on September 23rd...

The five sheets of letter paper were densely written with beautiful small characters, describing what happened to Shen Shujun on her way home and after she returned home.

The people from the escort agency hired along the way worked hard, were careful and thoughtful. Although they encountered two dangerous situations on the way, they were both overcome safely and there was no loss of property or life, so it was relatively smooth.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

But when he arrived in Xinzhou, he was homesick. Even though he had already convinced himself in his heart, when he actually stepped into Xinzhou, he did not dare to go to the Shen family.

It was not until he had stayed in the inn for five full days that he mustered up the courage to knock on the door of the Shen family and reunite with his grandfather...

The rest is an introduction to some of Xinzhou’s specialties.

From food to cloth, from celebrity anecdotes to tourist attractions, they were all listed to Xia Mingyue one by one, and Xia Mingyue was invited to visit when she had time. She would definitely prepare the host and entertain Lady Xia well.

Whether from the choice of words or the ease with which the pen was written, Xia Mingyue could imagine how happy and joyful Shen Shujun felt when she wrote this letter.

As expected, for those who are wandering away from home, home is always the place that makes them happiest both physically and mentally.

Xia Mingyue felt Shen Shujun's joy and was genuinely happy for her.

After reading the letter, Xia Mingyue closed it with a smile on her face, asked the escort agency staff to drink a bowl of hot tea, and then sent it off carefully.

Then I sorted out the two boxes of things sent by Shen Shujun.

In one box were the four treasures of the study and some fabrics, all of which were what Shen Shujun had mentioned in her mind. They were some of the local specialties of Xinzhou. Although not as famous as those produced in Yangzhou, they also had a unique local flavor.

The other box was filled with food, all produced in Xinzhou.

Fresh winter bamboo shoots pickled and then dried into bamboo shoots, pickled and air-dried small fish, white chrysanthemums that Shen Shujun personally selected and dried, fresh chestnuts in shells, loquat paste and loquat preserves made from the local abundant loquat fruit... (End of this chapter)