Miao Chu

Chapter 165 While it's hot
Song Miao stood up, smiled, and went forward to greet her, calling out, "Aunt Ma."

The other party chuckled, "It's perfect that the young lady is here—where should we send these shrimp?"

Song Miao was about to take it when Aunt Ma stepped back two paces and said with a smile, "I've been carrying this bucket all the way, and the handles smell of fish. Don't let the young lady get her hands dirty!"

He added, "It's only a few steps, I'll take it inside."

Since the other party was so kind and attentive, Song Miao led the way to the back kitchen. Once there, she waited for the person to put down the bucket and then asked about the price.

Aunt Ma wiped the water off her hands on her apron, looking flustered, and said, "What money? These are just river shrimp. They're so small, with little meat. They need to be fried in oil before they're ready to eat. Rich people want big shrimp, and poor people are even less willing to spend that little bit of oil. Usually, few people buy them. It's rare for you to want them, so I'll just bring them over. Otherwise, they'll die and I'll have to eat them myself when I get home!"

Song Miao said, "How can you say that? There's no reason in the world to buy something and not pay for it!"

Aunt Ma, however, absolutely refused and kept making excuses.

Seeing this, Song Miao, just then, saw the flatbread come in and told the latter to get the scale.

Aunt Ma said anxiously, "Don't rush! Don't rush!"

He added, "To be honest, I didn't mean to say this so soon—actually, I have something I'd like to ask of Miss Song!"

“My sister-in-law is sixteen this year. She is not outstanding in any other way, but she is diligent and hardworking. She used to work in the laundry. I raised her after I married into the family and treated her like my own daughter.”

"Two years ago, I arranged a marriage for her. The man was also a fisherman, and his family situation was similar to ours. They didn't have an easy life either."

“But now that the laundry shop is in this state, all I know is how to use a washing stick. I don’t have any other skills. I’m old, so I can only try to make a living by finding something to eat. I don’t want my sister-in-law to go down the same path and suffer the same hardships in the future.”

"Being a sister-in-law doesn't mean much. Now that I've saved up some money, I'd like to find her a master to learn a trade. Young lady, right now you only have one apprentice, Brother Dabing, who is smart, but he's still young and a boy, so there are many things that are inconvenient for him. I don't know if you'd still be willing to take on someone else?"

Song Miao knew that she wanted something from her, but she didn't expect it to be like this. She said, "It's not that I'm willing to accept it or not. I'm only here in Huazhou temporarily. After a month or two, when things are settled, I will still have to go back to the capital. Does your sister-in-law not want to go home and come to the capital with me?"

He added, "Besides, I've just taken on the job of the Water Conservancy Supervisor, so I don't have much time to teach in detail. Later, I'll also have to take care of the construction site kitchen, which is all about cooking in large batches, so there's not much to learn—and even if I did learn it, there would be few places where I could use it!"

Aunt Ma hurriedly said, "I dare not really ask for a master. If I can help the young lady for a while and learn a move or two, whether it's setting up a stall or finding a job in a restaurant in the future, it would be thanks to the good fortune of the Zhang family in burning paper money for Qingming Festival every year and the great blessings of their ancestors that they were able to meet such a kind-hearted person as the young lady!"

He added, “Wife, there’s no need to go to the trouble of teaching her. She’s a grown woman, surely she can see and learn on her own? If she doesn’t learn well or can’t learn, that’s her own fault for being slow, what does it have to do with you? Where do you have so much time to teach her everything one by one!”

Song Miao had a strong impression of this Aunt Ma.

When this man was carrying the money to Xie's grain store that day, he learned that Xiang Yuanqiang had thrown away the money, turning the reward money into a share investment. He was very indignant and ran around doing all the work. He not only worked hard himself, but also helped others carry the load. When they arrived at the store, he took the initiative to speak and spread rumors without being prompted.

Such a straightforward person, if she could lend a hand, she would naturally want to.

But after thinking it over carefully, Song Miao did not agree. Instead, she said, "To be honest, Auntie, I have other duties to attend to right now, so it's really inconvenient for me to cause any more trouble."

Aunt Ma was visibly disappointed, but she still forced a smile and said, "It's my fault for coming here so abruptly, causing the young lady some trouble! It's alright, we'll find her some other work."

He then pointed to the two wooden buckets and said, "They're really worthless. Even if that girl hadn't wanted to learn cooking, I wouldn't have charged her any money. But now that this isn't going to happen, I'm going to be even more assertive—if you keep refusing to give me a little bit of river shrimp, I'll get angry!"

After saying that, he immediately tried to run outside.

Song Miao quickly stopped him and said, "Although it's not convenient for me to have a young lady working for me here, I have another job."

She told us about the need to set up kitchens for digging canals and building dikes outside the city, and then said, "Originally, we needed to hire laborers, but after looking around, none of them were satisfactory. I wanted to find them myself, but I am unfamiliar with the area and it is difficult to find suitable ones."

“I know that Aunt Ma is a local, and her family has lived in Huazhou for generations. She wants to find twenty clean, nimble, and strong women first, and then she needs more. I wonder if you could help her ask around and screen them?”

After saying that, Song Miao also mentioned the payment.

The allowance wasn't much, but they provided a meal every day, and since it was for the government, Song Miao personally took care of the employee.

Aunt Ma was so excited her eyes almost popped out. She quickly raised her hand and said, "Wife, wife! Do you think this style is okay?"

She could hardly contain her emotions. As she spoke, she hurriedly took off her apron and lifted her cuffs and collar to show Song Miao. She added, "I've been selling things in the market for half a day, so I'm a little dirty, but look, young lady, I'm all clean!"

He then asked Song Miao to examine his fingernails and even untied his headband to let her examine his hair.

Song Miao didn't stop her; she let him see whatever she wanted. After he finished looking at the things, she said, "Auntie is excellent in every way. I just hope that everyone we recruit will be as good as you."

She added, "Auntie, any young ladies from your household are welcome to come. I don't have any other requirements for people, just a few points: first, they should preferably have experience in housework, have been in the kitchen, and know how to start a fire, wash, sweep, etc.; second, they should..."

She mentioned a few simple restrictions, such as age.

Hearing that her sister-in-law could also come, Aunt Ma was overjoyed. When she learned about the strict requirements, she practically patted her chest and said, "Times have changed. Making a living is hard now. It has been raining for so long, and we don't know when the summer floods will come again. I don't know how many people are worried about making a living. This is such a good thing, young lady, don't worry. I'm afraid that once the word is out, many people will beg to come!"

He added, “This matter has been entrusted to me. The first time, there are only twenty people. My laundry sisters alone are more than enough. There are still good people left over. Let me go and screen them out. I will pick out those who are hardworking, have clean and efficient hands and feet, and have good temperaments. Then I will call them over for my wife to select one by one. I can bring them over in no time!”

After saying that, she curtsied, not even bothering to make sure the cloth bag on her head wasn't completely wrapped up. She turned around, revealing a cloth tail flapping behind her head like a rabbit's short tail, and ran away.

Song Miao wanted to pay her, but couldn't stop her. So she waited for the flatbread to arrive and asked them to take the small river shrimp out of the two wooden buckets and weigh them. Since she didn't know the market price, the cook just happened to come in and casually asked him.

When Chef Zhang learned that it was Aunt Ma who sent it, he said, "She wanted to give it to you, so just accept it. It's not worth much!"

After learning the whole story, he looked a little embarrassed and said, "I'm afraid Miss Song will blame me, but it's not good to hide it from her—it was actually me who instigated Madam Ma to come to our door to ask her sister-in-law to become her apprentice!"

After he explained, Song Miaocai realized that Aunt Ma's husband's family, the Zhang family, and the Zhang cook's family were related by blood, and were distant relatives.

“She wanted to find a place for her sister-in-law to learn cooking, so I advised her that instead of going out and looking for places that look good but are useless, just because they have a big name, she should find a place where she can learn real skills. I recommended you to her.”

At this point, Chef Zhang's fat ears turned a little red. He said, "Others may not know, but I've been watching this young lady cook here every day for many days. Her skills are impeccable. Although she's a niece from two hundred miles away, I couldn't bear to see her family struggling everywhere, with such a perfect example right here, not even bothering to use it, could I?" Song Miao laughed and said, "Why are you talking about how strange it is? I should thank Chef Zhang. If it weren't for your introduction, I wouldn't have been able to find so many helpers!"

He brought up the events of the morning again, apologized to him, and concluded by saying, "There was chaos at noon, and I originally wanted to apologize."

Chef Zhang quickly said, "It's nothing serious, let's not make a fuss about it!"

Song Miaojian knew it was almost time to prepare dinner, so she didn't block his way. She smiled and replied, then left with the flatbread.

The two arrived at the drying ground behind the house. With the sun shining brightly overhead, a rare sight these days, they sat down and chatted while peeling lettuce.

Song Miao told the other party about Aunt Ma's matter, and then said, "I'm afraid we'll be able to get twenty new cooks to help us in the next two days—the ones coming this time aren't the same cooks we had this morning. Let's choose carefully, and once we've decided, we'll bring them to you again."

Dabing readily agreed, looking like he had nothing to lose, and said earnestly, "This time, my wife, watch closely! I promise I won't make such a big mistake again!"

The two worked and talked, and before long, the cook outside brought over a young woman and introduced them to each other.

—It turns out that Aunt Ma's sister-in-law, Zhang Si Niang, has already arrived.

She seemed a little nervous when she saw Song Miao, and greeted her repeatedly, saying, "Sister-in-law said that my wife bought a lot of lettuce this morning and wanted to help out here, so she asked me to come and lend a hand!"

Song Miao saw that although she was only of medium height, she had thick arms and broad shoulders, so she was a hard worker. After a few questions and answers, although she was not as quick-witted and agile as Aunt Ma, she was very serious and down-to-earth. Song Miao was satisfied and did not stand on ceremony. After she washed her hands and came over, she taught her how to peel the lettuce.

Suddenly, the two people on the drying ground became three.

Of the three, Song Miao was the fastest, followed by Da Bing. Zhang Si Niang was very anxious because she found herself to be the slowest. Although she didn't say anything, sweat was seeping from her forehead, and she even increased the range of motion when peeling the pancake.

Seeing this, Song Miao didn't say anything like "Don't rush," but instead called out "Zhang Si Niangzi" and said, "It's almost lunchtime. Let's finish up the pancakes here. Can you help me wash some vegetables?"

Zhang Si Niangzi hurriedly agreed, but before leaving, she whispered to Dabing, "Wait a moment, I'll come and help you pack up in a bit!"

After saying that, he hurriedly followed Song Miao away.

Song Miao led her people into the kitchen—sure enough, the head chef had already prepared dinner, and the rest of the dishes were mostly ready.

After exchanging greetings with both sides, Song Miao didn't waste any time and first asked Zhang Si Niang to help wash the chives and rinse the river shrimp.

After all the ingredients were prepared, seeing that there was still some time, he said to her, "I'm not a proper cook, I only know how to make some home-style dishes, so I may not be able to teach you anything. Fortunately, I have a big appetite and have eaten a lot of things, so it's no problem for me to let you try the dishes. How about you make some stir-fried river shrimp with chives with these ingredients and I'll taste it?"

Zhang Si Niangzi readily agreed, and sure enough, she used the fire to stir-fry a plate of food.

Song Miao tasted the flavor with her chopsticks, then told her to try it herself, and finally said, "Don't rush, I'll make one for you to try too."

He took it from him as he spoke.

Zhang Si Niang stood to the side. Because she came from a fishing family and was used to eating river food, even though her sister-in-law and Chef Zhang had told her that the young lady in front of her was a good cook, she couldn't help but think to herself: No matter how good she is, with the same chives and river shrimp, can this young lady really cook something special?

Once Song Miao took the pancake, she ignored everything else. Since the pancake wouldn't be back for a while, she stoked the fire herself before washing the pan and putting it back.

While the pot was still boiling, she carefully wrung out the remaining water from the chives, cut them into sections about half an inch long, separated the chive roots and leaves, and then drained the river shrimp again, wiping the water off the shrimp with a clean cloth.

Once the wok was hot, she added plenty of oil. When the oil started to smoke slightly, she added minced ginger and garlic. As soon as she smelled the aroma, Song Miao immediately poured in the river shrimp.

With extremely high heat and rapid stir-frying, it seems like only a blink of an eye, the small, bluish-gray river shrimp turn into a bright, tempting red color, bringing out the rich aroma unique to the shrimp shells bursting with oil.

Zhang Si Niang, watching from the side, had already sensed that something was amiss.

Both are stir-fried shrimp, but why doesn't hers smell as good?
It's clear that the amount of shrimp that Miss Song cooked was about the same as the amount I cooked, so why did her shrimp seem to cook much faster than mine?

Song Miao had no idea what the person next to her was thinking.

She poured a small circle of cloudy wine around the edge of the pot.

The liquor rolled down to the shrimp, and as soon as it touched the hot bottom of the pot, the shrimp were instantly scalded and hurriedly fled, clutching only the fishy smell of the shrimp.

Song Miao then scooped out the bright red river shrimp, leaving the oil at the bottom—she had used plenty of oil the first time, so there was no need to add more now. This time, she only added the white parts of the leek roots, stir-fried them over high heat for seven or eight seconds, added a little salt, and as soon as the white parts of the leek roots softened slightly, she immediately added the leek leaves along with the already stir-fried river shrimp.

At this point, the ingredients are stir-fried together to allow them to absorb each other's flavors. Naturally, a high flame is still used. Add a little salt, a little soy sauce, and a tiny bit of Sichuan peppercorns—to enhance the aroma—stir-fry very gently, and then it's ready to serve.

Knowing that river shrimp die quickly out of water, Song Miao moved extremely fast, draining, stir-frying, flipping, and mixing them together. From the moment the shrimp went into the pan to the moment they were taken out, Zhang Si Niangzi barely had time to react.

When she saw the plate placed in front of her, the chives were emerald green with white roots and the river shrimp were bright red. All three were glistening with oil, which was only a thin layer and had a beautiful color. It also had a fresh and spicy aroma. Even though she had just made it in front of her and seen it with her own eyes, she was still a little dazed. This was clearly the same dish that she had just made, but why did it look like it wasn't?
Song Miao handed over the chopsticks and said with a smile, "This dish should be eaten while it's hot. Why don't you try a bite first?"

Zhang Si Niangzi was powerless to resist and immediately picked up a piece with her chopsticks.

She went straight for the shrimp.

Upon tasting, the small river shrimp that had been picked out separately made a "rustling" sound in the mouth instead of a "crunching" sound.

It's the sound of extremely thin shrimp shells becoming incredibly crispy and crunchy after being deep-fried. This is because the temperature and timing of the frying are perfectly controlled, just enough to fry them thoroughly without making them too dry or burnt, resulting in a crispy but not hard, fragrant but not bitter texture.

The shrimp shells are the most flavorful part, with a rich but not overpowering soy sauce aroma, a refreshing and sweet chive fragrance, and a hint of Sichuan peppercorn numbing aroma. All these are very subtle, but when combined with the aroma of shrimp oil, especially after biting into the shell, because the small river shrimp were stir-fried separately beforehand, there is a slight separation between the shell and the shrimp meat. It is in that tiny gap that a thin layer of shrimp shell oil seeps in, making it incredibly fresh.

Although the river shrimp meat is small, it has a firm, springy, and tender texture, with shrimp juice and rich shrimp oil. There is not much of either, just a little bit, but it is this little bit that makes it taste even purer and sweeter on the tongue.

For some inexplicable reason, Zhang Si Niangzi used her free left hand to touch her eyebrows and then her hair.

　I've gone back on my word from the beginning of the month, and now I'm shamelessly asking everyone for monthly votes again!!!
　　I'm aiming for 3000 votes, and I've noticed that many people also want nicknames/titles, even more than the monthly vote reward event. I really want to get more titles, so if anyone has extra monthly votes and likes Xiao Miao, I hope you can spare some for her. Thank you everyone QAQ
　　(End of this chapter)