Miao Chu

Chapter 14 Urging
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zijian became even more excited.

Remember, if you give me a peach, I will repay you with a plum.

He hurriedly pushed the food box forward again, took a few steps back, bowed deeply, and asked, "Brother, you have been so kind to me, are you unwilling to accept even this little bit of food?"

Seeing his actions, the man didn't hesitate and simply reached out to take the food box.

Cheng Zijian was afraid that he wouldn't eat, so he stood for a while longer, waiting for him to open the food box lid. Then he bowed again, went to sit down in front, and carefully looked at the title that the man had written on the paper.

It's about oxen used for plowing.

The Great Wei Dynasty prohibited the slaughter of oxen for plowing. Oxen could not be slaughtered or sold unless they were old, sick, or injured and unable to work. Only oxen that had been verified by officials and granted permission could be slaughtered. However, as long as one had money, beef was not hard to find in the market.

Not only that, there are also shops that specialize in beef buns, beef pancakes, beef soup and other foods, but they often just use other meats like mutton or chicken as their signs.

They say you're just putting up a sheep's head while selling dog meat, but here it's more like you're putting up a sheep's head while selling beef.

A few years ago, an official was bribed to issue cattle slaughter permits privately, which was investigated and punished by the court. However, not long after a new official took office, he was reported for accepting bribes and condoning butchers to slaughter cattle at will.

The theft and slaughter of cattle by civilians are commonplace.

The question is, why is the ban on slaughtering draft cattle still in effect?

The topic didn't seem difficult at first glance, but as soon as Cheng Zijian started writing, he felt that no matter where he approached it, it would be hard to write anything interesting. It seemed that no matter how he wrote, he could only start with strict punishments and coercion, and then issue more notices to the people. All these measures were what was being done at the moment.

But after doing this for so long, it still hasn't worked!
He racked his brains and came up with several ideas, but none of them satisfied him. Just as he was worrying, he smelled a fragrant aroma wafting over from behind.

The scent is so familiar.

He had smelled it when Miss Song lifted the lid of the steamer in the food alley earlier.

It's a mutton steamed bun!
The plump, white mutton buns were neatly pleated and looked very appealing. When Miss Song picked one up with her chopsticks, a reddish-brown sheen of oil seeped out from the bottom...

Is it meat gravy?

The meat juices smell so good, and the color is so beautiful. The filling must be so delicious!

Cheng Zijian dared not recall it.

He had rushed here in the morning and hadn't had time to eat breakfast. He had been carrying the food box all the way here and was already starving. Now, smelling this aroma, he couldn't control his mouth from drooling.

Besides that, his stomach kept growling, "Gurgle..." "Gurgle~~~~" "Gurgle!!!" with different tones, one after another, just like drumming.

There were only two people in the study, which was already quiet, with only the slightest sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering and pages turning. In an instant, Cheng Zijian's rumbling stomach could not be concealed at all.

He tried to concentrate, but his mouth and mind wouldn't cooperate. Just as he was feeling awkward, the person behind him walked over, placed the food box on the table, and said, "Let's eat breakfast first."

Cheng Zijian felt a little embarrassed and quickly said, "No need, let me write..."

Before he could finish speaking, his stomach let out another extremely long growl.

The man didn't try to persuade him; he simply used a bamboo skewer from the food box to stick a mutton bun into it and handed it over.

Cheng Zijian swallowed hard, unable to utter a word of refusal. He was so hungry that he took the bamboo skewer and immediately bit into the steamed bun.

These steamed buns are piping hot and softer than ordinary steamed buns. The outer layer of dough is not thin, so you can taste the aroma of the dough itself. Unlike the layered dough of old dough, which lacks chewiness, these buns are very soft, fluffy, and light, making it easy to bite into the filling.

As soon as he bit into the filling, Cheng Zijian hissed – the meat juice inside had leaked out and burned his tongue.

It's so hot! But it smells so good too!

Lamb and pork are pan-fried in lard over high heat. The crispy skin is mixed with the meat juices inside, the sweetness of carrots and scallions, and the aroma of wild onions. The wild onions are specially preserved with long white sections. Once you bite into a slightly larger white section, you can taste a bit of the pungent onion flavor.

The pungent aroma of scallions is very refreshing and goes perfectly with the mutton. It cuts through the greasiness and enhances the flavor. As you chew, you can also bite into a crunchy texture that appears and disappears. Upon closer inspection, you'll find it's chopped wood ear mushrooms.

Cheng Zijian opened his mouth and breathed out several times to cool the food in his mouth. While blowing on it, he couldn't resist the temptation of the aroma and swallowed it whole.

When you're hungry, everything tastes good, and this hot mutton bun is so delicious that he wants to stomp his feet on the ground.

The filling was also well-seasoned, with a fresh and fragrant aroma and a subtle hint of Sichuan peppercorns, but not at all numbing; it was just the right amount of flavor.

The meat inside is in chunks, which are extremely fragrant and burst with juice with every bite. The minced meat is mixed with the sweetness of carrots and scallions and the broth, each with its own unique flavor. It's so delicious that your mouth is full of oil and aroma.

Cheng Zijian ate the fist-sized mutton bun in just five or six bites. After swallowing, he subconsciously looked at the food box again—the lid was still open.

Looking up again, "Zhengyan" was also eating a mutton bun.

He ate in silence, no longer reading, but staring at the meat filling in the steamed bun as he ate. His face seemed expressionless, but Cheng Zijian felt that he chewed with unusual care, and his expression as he looked at the meat filling was even somewhat focused. Compared to when he was testing him earlier, his expression seemed different, quite relaxed.

The other person seemed to notice Cheng Zijian's gaze, looked up, and then used a bamboo skewer to stick out a yellow steamed bun and handed it to him.

Compared to yellow steamed buns, Cheng Zijian actually preferred mutton steamed buns—he felt he could easily eat ten or eight more, but since they were being served to him, how could he refuse?

Yellow steamed buns are delicious, of course. If they weren't, he wouldn't have gone back to ask that Miss Song to order them yesterday. They are filled with fragrant red bean and jujube paste, with a sandy texture and a soft dough, but they still retain a bit of roughness. This roughness makes the unique aroma of the grains even stronger.

Fragrant and slightly sweet.

The red bean paste was somewhere between coarse and fine. Knowing that it contained jujube paste, he tasted it carefully and indeed tasted the sweetness of jujubes. As he chewed, the flavors of beans, grains, and jujubes blended together perfectly, making even the slightly rough texture of the millet flour a unique flavor.

Even though Cheng Zijian wasn't from Guanzhong, he still thought the yellow steamed buns were well worth trying.

But after finishing the yellow steamed bun in a few bites, he couldn't resist looking at the mutton bun again.

This time, the man took a lotus leaf package out of the food box, placed it on the table, and then, with a "click," closed the food box and hid it behind his back.

"It's getting late," he urged.

Cheng Zijian quickly composed himself, finished his glutinous rice in a few bites, and then began to diligently write the beginning of his article.

Perhaps it was the delicious breakfast that gave him a boost. After eating, although his thoughts didn't flow like a spring, they flowed much more smoothly. He quickly finished the beginning and the framework, only the ending was a bit rushed. He put down his pen, blew on the half-dry ink, and respectfully handed it to the other party.

(End of this chapter)