Miao Chu

Chapter 160 Nonsense
The barley cakes, which had been lightly oiled and fried, were now being baked over a fire. The surface, which originally had only a few golden spots, became increasingly charred as Lu Wenming baked them for a long time.

The belly of the pancake bulges slightly, like a pufferfish that has just gotten a little angry, but whose anger hasn't had a chance to grow.

The roasted grains naturally have a caramelized aroma. Song Miao brushed on mutton fat, and the flaky pastry also had mutton fat as its base. Mutton fat is different from lard and vegetable oil. When it is cold, it has a slightly muttony smell, but when it is roasted and heated, it leaves only a rich muttony aroma, which is succulent and sweet.

Lu Wenming only ate one meal in the train carriage in the afternoon, and then kept traveling. It was already midnight, and he was extremely hungry.

While baking the flatbread, this person only had eyes for the flatbread. As it swelled up and the aroma grew stronger, he felt a sense of harvest joy. He quickly poured it onto a dry lotus leaf in his hand, waving it back and forth to cool it down. Before long, he took a bite.

The pan-fried thin pancakes are piping hot. When you bite into one, there's a "crunch" sound, followed by the crispy outer crust being happily greeted repeatedly by your upper and lower teeth, making a "chachachacha" sound in response.

Lamb fat, barley, and glutinous rice are fried and then roasted. Although there is no meat in the dish, the taste is a blend of lamb flavor and grain aroma, with a subtle nutty fragrance. As you chew, the barley develops a fresh, sweet wheat flavor, unlike ordinary flour. It may smell mild, but once you taste it, the rich and robust flavor fills your mouth.

Barley flour cannot be ground that finely, so it always retains a bit of its roughness, giving it a different kind of rugged flavor.

Because it's not made with leavened dough, it's soft and chewy inside. Add a little salt and a few peppercorns to enhance the sweetness of the barley and glutinous rice, and use mutton fat as a binder.

This kind of thing, especially in the middle of the night, paired with a cup of tea, is simply the perfect comfort food!

Lu Wenming was overjoyed to see his old friend and to have hope for the things he had to do. He ate one pancake after another, finding them even more delicious than the three pancakes with duck he had eaten that afternoon.

Just as they were having a great time, they heard a cough from the side, followed by a series of coughs.

He kept talking, then turned his head to look and saw Li Huaiduan staring at his hand.

The latter suddenly asked, "This is barley cake? What does it taste like?"

Lu Wenming subconsciously reached out his hand, but stopped halfway, pulled it back a bit, gritted his teeth, and finally handed it out, saying, "Would you like to try a bite? But you've had a full dinner, so this kind of coarse grain might not suit your taste."

As she spoke, she tore off a corner of it for him.

Li Huaiduan took a corner of the pancake, popped it into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and said, "I can't quite put my finger on it. It's a little different from the usual flatbread. It's just too little; I can't really taste anything. Give me another bite?"

Lu Wenming was startled and quickly said, "Huai Duan! Don't force yourself if you're not used to it!"

Li Huaiduan chuckled and said, "No, no, share some with me. I've been busy all night and I'm a little hungry. We'll find something else to eat later."

How can your "find some other things" be the same as the barley cakes that I, Lady Song, made myself?!

Lu Wenming glared at him, but still managed to divide the food into two pieces, instructing him, "Eat carefully, this is good stuff!"

"A few pieces of bread, and you're already out of breath!"

As Li Huaiduan spoke, he put down what he was holding and sat down by the stove. Sometimes, when the cakes weren't crispy enough, he would bake them again. While baking and eating, he would take the map and explain the ship arrangements for the next day to Lu Wenming.

He pointed at the map, finished his two portions, and then went to get the lotus leaf package that Lu Wenming had placed on the other side, to bake and eat it again.

Lu Wenming, unaware of the man's sinister intentions, took the map and was slowly examining it. After finishing, he looked down again and felt something was amiss. Suddenly, he exclaimed in surprise, "Damn it! Where are my pancakes? How come there are only a few left???"

Li Huaiduan chuckled, his old face revealing the sly gleam of his teenage years, and shouted, "You used to refuse my things, and now you have the nerve to refuse them? I'll have the nerve to take yours!"

As they talked, they darted out like birds flying across the grass. After a while, they returned with some dry food they had somehow managed to gather. The two of them sat down by the stove to make tea and slowly shared the food.

When old friends meet, they naturally have a deep connection and can talk endlessly.

Seeing that it was getting late, the two finished their meal and were about to tidy up and rest when Li Huaiduan, after thinking about all the food they had eaten that evening, could only think of those few pancakes. After a long time of restraint, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Does your Miss Song make and sell pancakes?"

Lu Wenming glared at his old friend, annoyed, and said, "You looked down on my barley cakes before—if you can settle this matter, I'll go back and swallow my pride to beg you a whole bag of cakes, how about that?" He added, "This young lady isn't just good at making barley cakes; her other cakes and dishes are also extremely delicious!"

As they talked, they recounted what they had eaten for lunch, yesterday, and the past few days. They had intended to pick out three or five particularly outstanding dishes to talk about, but the more they talked and described, the more their mouths watered. Even though they were already full, the two of them still swallowed their saliva and went to sleep.

The next morning, Li Huaiduan took the official documents to see the county magistrate.

The magistrate of Ji County glanced at the words on the paper and his expression turned rather unpleasant. He said, "The flood control efforts in Huazhou are a good thing. We are close by, and if they can be of even a little bit effective and reduce the damage to the fields along the river, it would be nice to lend a hand. But why are they asking for so many boats this time? Isn't that a bit of an exorbitant demand?"

"It's one thing to lend a hand, but if we do this, we'll be doing all the work for him. What about our own jobs?"

Li Huaiduan then said, "Indeed, there are quite a few requests. But this time, I have an old friend who came all the way from the capital. Knowing that I am serving here, he wanted to take care of me and came all the way here. Magistrate, right now, the roads around Huazhou City are blocked and the rain is incessant. It will probably take at least ten days to half a month to get the roads open!"

“But the people of Linghe Town know there is a road that, though it is a longer route, leads to Huazhou.”

“Repairing dikes and digging canals will require an unknown amount of manpower and resources. I heard that Huazhou is now even having to come from outside to get grain, so there must be many other shortages as well.”

“My old friend suggested that we make a big fuss about this. They have already sent people out to spread the word that they want to buy all sorts of things.”

"The Linghe Town wharf is small, so in the end we'll still have to depart from our Jixian wharf, won't we?"

"If we can attract many caravans, no number of ships will be enough. With more people, there will be more goods. People will know that the road here is passable. First, we can collect more dock and ship fees. Second, many people will need to solve their food, clothing, and shelter problems locally. Purchasing, lodging, food and water are all expenses. We can also subsidize the people in the county!"

The magistrate wasn't deaf to what others said. After thinking it over, he was somewhat tempted, but asked, "Can you handle it?"

Li Huaiduan then mentioned that the money had already been given, and added, "Consider it an effort by the government. I'll talk to my subordinates and ask them to work hard for two days to earn some money for the people. The floodwaters were high recently, and we restricted boats from going out of the river easily. Many people were worried because they had no work and no pay. Fortunately, the rain stopped upstream these past few days, and the water receded a bit, so boats can go. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to try."

The magistrate nodded in agreement.

Having just received permission from his superiors, Li Huaiduan immediately summoned his subordinates upon leaving the house, instructing them to gather all the officials and prepare to assign tasks. He also briefly explained the tasks to them.

The subordinate couldn't help but say, "Time is too tight, and there's so much to do; I'm afraid they'll complain..."

Li Huaiduan, however, spoke to his subordinates differently than he had to his superiors, saying, "This time, one of my brothers has come to seek refuge, saying he wants to lend a hand. This man is a life-or-death friend of mine. You keep a close eye on this matter and make sure they handle it well. If things go smoothly, I will remember it. Do not delay or be negligent. If any trouble arises, report it to me immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the subordinate's expression immediately changed. Without another word, he said obsequiously, "Rest assured, Magistrate, leave this matter to me!"

***
Ji County was bustling with activity, with boats and boatmen being drawn from various towns and villages and arrangements being made. However, Li Huaiduan remained more suspicious than trusting.

—Is there really that much grain that laborers need to transport?

Where can we find the resources to recruit people in just two short days?

However, seeing that Lu Wenming had gone to the dock early in the morning to find a suitable warehouse and was busy asking about the progress of various parties, as if he was afraid that something would go wrong, he didn't say anything and just sighed in his heart.

After a busy day, the two went to bed hastily that night. Upon waking, they spent another round of checking and filling in the gaps. By noon, with half a day still to go and progress proceeding steadily, Li Huaiduan comforted them, saying, "Old Lu, don't rush. There's still half a day left. Besides, Han Li might not be able to gather all the manpower and supplies by tomorrow. Getting three or four tenths complete would be good enough. It's better to take it slow..."

Before the word "slow" could be finished, a minor official rushed in and shouted, "County Magistrate! County Magistrate! Many young men have come from the neighboring Linghe Town, asking around for directions to the dock. Chief Huang is worried something might be wrong, so he sent me to come back right away!"

Li Huaiduan was taken aback, then asked, "No one is leading the group, are they scattered here? Could there actually be three or five hundred of them?"

"There are teams led by people, with each team consisting of anywhere from thirty or forty people to as few as seven or eight. They come in waves, one after another, without stopping!"

Li Huaiduan's expression changed, and he angrily said, "This is utter nonsense! This is such a mess, and they didn't even give any prior instructions. How am I supposed to provide backup for him!"

(End of this chapter)