They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 39 That's a must
Since they were having a dinner party that evening, Xu Zhichun and the others decided to make the most of the afternoon by digging up konjac to make konjac tofu and konjac knots.

After digging up the konjac, washing it clean, peeling it, and dicing it, Xu Zhichun started a fire and stewed the whole pork hock and the chopped pork trotters.

After stewing the pork hock until tender, reduce the sauce in a separate pot with soy sauce and a little brown sugar to make a tender and delicious braised pork hock. Alternatively, stew pork trotters with diced white radish to make a soup, and sprinkle with chopped scallions and cilantro before serving for added aroma.

The rooster should also be killed, plucked, and disposed of as soon as possible.

Xu Zhichun dared not kill the chicken, but Aunt Zhu'er, despite her gentle demeanor, was quite adept at killing chickens. With a swift stroke of her knife, chicken blood dripped into the bowl, and the rooster soon breathed its last.

Braised rooster with potato chunks, plus some dried bamboo shoots that were dried recently.

Add a hot and sour shredded potato, and we're all set.

After harvesting the agar seeds, we started making dinner.

The pig's feet and radish, simmered over low heat, are already very tender. The braised pork hock is also tender enough. Take them out and wait for the braised chicken with potatoes to be ready. Then, empty the pot to reduce the sauce.

The hot and sour shredded potatoes are cooked last; stir-fry them quickly over high heat and they'll be ready to serve in no time.

With guidance from Xu Zhichun, Aunt Zhu'er took the lead in cooking, Zeng Xiaoyan assisted, and Uncle Qi Tian was still at home working on his carpentry before it got dark.

According to Aunt Zhu'er, her son Qi has been obsessed these past two days, working on his woodworking from morning till night without stopping. She's never seen him so engrossed before. She'll call him when it's time to eat.

As for Liang Mingliang, when he saw the little prodigy holding a machete and preparing to chop wood in the backyard, he was so frightened that he quickly snatched it away, saying, "I'll do it, I'll do it. Um, Mingxuan, why don't you go read your book, or take a break? I can handle this kind of heavy work, hehe."

Just kidding, if his father knew that he was resting while the little prodigy was chopping wood, he would definitely chop him up. The little prodigy is the hope of the whole village.

Dinner was ready, with four dishes—three meat and one vegetable—laid on the table. It looked incredibly tempting. Although the radish stew with pig's feet and the chicken were also tempting, we had eaten them before. The braised pork knuckle was just too tempting, its bright red color emitting a fragrant aroma. Everyone instinctively reached for it first.

The chopsticks pierced the meat so easily that it was almost impossible to pick it up. I carefully took a bite, and the skin was tender and the meat was juicy, rich but not greasy.

"good to eat!"

Another bite of the hot and sour shredded potatoes was amazing.

Zeng Xiaoyan: "Sister-in-law Zhichun, are the potatoes in your family different from the ones we have? Ours are also delicious, but they don't taste like this. They're crisp and refreshing. These are much better!"

It also has a sour and spicy flavor, it's so good with rice! Once you take a bite, you can't stop eating it.

Aunt Pearl nodded hurriedly: Yes, yes, that's it.

“It’s all the same,” Xu Zhichun knew perfectly well why, but because one lie requires countless others to cover it up, he could only feign doubt. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, “Right, could it be because we washed the potato shreds again after cutting them? I noticed that the potato shreds seemed a bit sticky and not very clean, so I washed them again with water. After washing, each shred was separate and clean. Could that be the reason? Oh, and we added vinegar when it was almost done cooking.”

It's hard to say, it's possible.

Zeng Xiaoyan laughed and said, "Then I'll try it at home tomorrow!"

A bite of tender, juicy braised pork knuckle, followed by a bite of tangy, spicy, and crunchy shredded potatoes—it's the perfect accompaniment to rice, delicious and satisfying. And the stewed chicken with potatoes—the chicken is undeniably tasty, and the potatoes, soaked in the broth, are soft, tender, and delicious too.

Potatoes really are a great food!

There aren't many dishes that are this delicious whether stir-fried with vegetables or meat.

Everyone was still enjoying the meal, and the duck for the next meal has already been arranged. They decided to continue in a few days.

After dinner, Xu Zhichun helped tidy up and changed the water in the konjac tofu before Zeng Xiaoyan and the others left. After seeing them off, Xu Zhichun smiled and urged Liang Mingxuan to wash up and go to bed so she could make her own aspic.

The pork skin was already stewed in a pot with ginger, scallions, and Shaoxing wine before the meal. It was then taken out, chopped, and put back into the pot to simmer until melted. After simmering, it was poured into a large bowl and allowed to solidify.

In winter, it would only need to be left to stand overnight. Since the weather wasn't so cold now, Xu Zhichun filled a basin with cool water and put the bowl in it to speed up the freezing process. Just to be on the safe side, she also took some ice from the harbor warehouse and put it in the basin.

The next morning, seeing the crystal-clear, formed aspic, Xu Zhichun was overjoyed. She held up a large bowl and showed it off to Liang Mingxuan: "Mingxuan, look, the aspic is done!"

Liang Mingxuan was surprised: "Is this made from the pork skin that was boiled last night?"

"Yes! I'll cut some pieces for you to try, it's delicious."

Xu Zhichun neatly sliced ​​the aspic into thin pieces, placing the scraps on a plate. He arranged the neatly arranged rectangular pieces of the same size together for his own consumption, intending to take them to the Lotus Restaurant for Manager Tang to admire.

She then made a sauce with minced garlic, soy sauce, and salt, and added a little vinegar. "It's delicious to dip in this. Try it!"

Liang Mingxuan obliged and did as instructed, exclaiming, "Delicious!"

"right!"

Xu Zhichun tried it himself and nodded with satisfaction.

"Don't eat too much first thing in the morning, save it for dinner."

"Ah."

Today's breakfast was sweet potato porridge and boiled eggs.

The sweet potatoes were diced and cooked perfectly with rice until thick, sweet, and fragrant. The boiled eggs were soft and delicious after peeling.

After breakfast, Liang Mingxuan went to school in the neighboring village. When Zeng Xiaoyan arrived, she tasted the aspic and was once again opened up a whole new world for herself, praising it highly.

Both of them knew perfectly well that it was made of pigskin and were very surprised, but neither of them mentioned the word "pigskin" in a tacit manner.

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "I've made quite a lot. When you come back at noon, each of you can take some home to eat."

Once in the city, when delivering goods to the Lotus Restaurant, Xu Zhichun went to discuss matters with Manager Tang again.

The success of the cold fish skin salad gave Manager Tang confidence in Xu Zhichun. When he heard that she had made another new dish inspired by the cold fish skin salad, Manager Tang became very interested.

Who cares about the type of leather? As long as it makes money, it's a good leather!
In the past, their Lotus Restaurant and the Zeng family's Sifang Restaurant had a close relationship, with both sides winning and losing, but since they acquired exclusive ice jelly and cold fish skin, they have gradually gained the upper hand.

After all, developing a wildly popular new dish is no easy feat. Developing a wildly popular new dish that leaves competitors completely baffled and unable to even try to imitate it is even more difficult.

The manager of the Sifang Restaurant, Fang, was the younger brother of Madam Zeng's family. He usually looked down on Fang with arrogance, his eyes clearly showing that he was just a poor laborer while Fang was the proper boss, as if he were a superior to Fang.

Knowing that he had thoroughly crushed Tang's arrogance and that Tang was secretly furious and desperately trying to find out the secret recipe for his new dish but to no avail, Manager Tang felt incredibly pleased.

If a new dish is introduced at this point and it is still very popular, it would be like rubbing the entire Sifang Restaurant in the dirt, giving that arrogant Manager Fang a good slap in the face. Manager Tang would be as happy as if it were New Year's Day.

(End of this chapter)