Miao Chu

Chapter 168 Understanding
That evening, Song Miao packed up the lettuce with Dabing before finally resting.

The next day, she got up at cockcrow. She had just finished breakfast when Aunt Ma arrived with a large group of more than twenty people. She told them to wait at the door while she went in to talk to Song Miao.

"The times are tough right now, and like me, they don't have any skills and rely entirely on physical labor to make a living. When they heard about this rare job, they all wanted to take it."

"These are all honest and reliable people I've known for years in the laundry. I can guarantee they're all clean and hardworking. But since they're going to work in the kitchen, there are bound to be other requirements, so I specially found a few extra to bring for you to choose from."

Aunt Ma gave a brief introduction. There were a total of 26 people. Except for Zhang Si Niang and Song Miao, whose agreed time was Mao Shi (5-7 AM), the rest were all 22 years old, with the oldest being 46.

"...Although she is a bit older, she is very calm and steady, and she does things properly and carefully. I was thinking of bringing her here to show the young lady."

At this point, Aunt Ma added, "Young lady, just wait and see. After the trial work is over today, just tell me tonight. Even if none of them are suitable, it doesn't matter. I'll pass on the message—failing the trial work is perfectly normal, and they won't say a word!"

Seeing how quickly Aunt Ma worked and how she gave instructions, how could Song Miao not be satisfied?

She thanked them and asked them to bring the people in. When she saw them, they were indeed all bound head and leg, with narrow sleeves and armholes, and their nails were neatly trimmed.

Song Miao then led the people to the drying ground and asked them to line up in five rows according to their height.

Despite their different heights and builds, the people lined up were reasonably neat.

Let me first introduce myself. Song Miaocai said, "I'm sure Aunt Ma has already told you all that this job is in the canal kitchen. Because it's a communal meal, there are hundreds of people eating at times, and thousands at times. You can imagine how busy and tiring it is. From morning till night, there's no stopping. Everything has to be done according to the rules. If you make a mistake or miss something, it won't just ruin your own job, but it will ruin everyone else's job."

"Think about it, if you were given the job of chopping wood, and you chopped too little or too slowly, the fire-tender would wait for you, the cook would wait for you, and if you were late, the food wouldn't be cooked properly, and the person distributing the food would also wait for you. People outside would be queuing up, and if there was no food, how could they work in the afternoon on an empty stomach? If they ate undercooked food and got sick, who could take responsibility for that?"

She briefly explained the key and crucial aspects of each step in the kitchen process to everyone, and concluded by saying, "Although this job provides some compensation, it's not much. The work is complicated and demanding. If any lady or aunt is unable to take care of her family, you can withdraw now without being forced. Once you're in, you might be able to leave other jobs at any time, but in our kitchen, unless there's a critical reason, you can't leave easily."

After he finished speaking, the five rows of people all became extremely quiet, not daring to make a sound, as if they were afraid that if they made a sound, Song Miao would think that they intended to withdraw.

After waiting a few moments and seeing that no one spoke, Song Miao went forward and asked each person their name and background.

Having asked this question once, she had a clear look at the person's face. Then she called over Dabing, who was standing to the side, and introduced him to everyone. She also repeated the fifty-two rules and instructions she had given to the twelve cooks last time. Finally, she said, "Today you must remember all the rules. If you don't understand anything, just ask this little chef Liu Bing."

He then instructed everyone that in addition to following the rules, they also had to peel the lettuce. Pointing to Aunt Ma, he said, "Aunt Ma will temporarily take charge and help assign the amount of lettuce each person is responsible for peeling. Tomorrow, we will form groups and elect group leaders."

Only after everything was properly explained did Song Miao leave.

She had only taken a few steps when everyone behind her either surrounded Aunt Ma or huddled around Dabing. One of them said, "Young man, I just memorized a lot of these fifty-two rules, but I'm a little confused about whether the vegetables need to be washed three or five times! Can you teach me?"

The man asked, "Master Liu, is the cutting board red for raw meat and the original color for cooked meat and vegetables? If I remember correctly, is the knife handle the same? Is that right?"

Others urged Aunt Ma, saying, "Sister, hurry up and divide it up. Don't delay us from peeling. The sooner we finish peeling, the more time we'll have to memorize the rules. Oh, I'd rather peel 52 more pounds than have to memorize so many rules!"

Before Aunt Ma could answer, someone nearby said, "Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, don't let that young lady Song hear us and think we're being disrespectful!"

The person who had previously refused to follow the rules felt a chill run down their spine and quickly tiptoed over the crowd to take a look. Although they couldn't see Song Miao, they could see the big pancake next to them.

The man was startled and quickly exclaimed, "Oh dear, although there are fifty-two rules, that sounds like a lot, but each one is actually very useful, not too many at all! Once I've memorized them, I'll use them when cooking at home, and it will definitely be clean! Clean is good, clean is good!"

There was a large scale nearby. Aunt Ma led everyone to distribute the lettuce. Then, Da Bing finally took the opportunity of this important matter to get away, saying that he would explain all 52 rules again in a while. At this moment, he came over to teach everyone how to peel the lettuce.

Hearing that the outer skin should be kept and only the thick white stem in the middle removed, everyone reacted very differently from the cooks last time. They all responded loudly, and someone even asked, "Chef Liu, what are you going to do with the lettuce skin? At home, we usually remove all the skin except for the tender tip. If you have any good recipes, please let us know so we won't waste it when we make this in the future!"

Dabing then said, "Miss Song said she wants to use it to make pickled vegetables."

She added, "This time, we've peeled the lettuce. Half of it will be used to pickle in the jar, and the other half will be used to dry. Madam Song instructed us to be quick and get it done as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we leave it for a couple of days, it will take up too much space on the drying ground, and the lettuce won't be fresh anymore."

A group of newly arrived women and aunties all responded in unison.

They were all used to doing manual labor. Da Bing explained the process briefly once, then demonstrated how to make it. Everyone learned it at a glance. While peeling the pancake, they muttered to themselves, asking each other questions about the fifty-two rules. They all wanted to call him "Little Master Liu," "Little Master," "Master." Later, some even started calling him Brother Liu, vying to have him come to them and ask if they had made any mistakes in memorizing this or that rule.

The group was actually sitting quite close together, in an area of ​​only about ten feet square. However, in just half a day, Da Bing had made it feel like he was traversing mountains and rivers as he moved through this small world.

He finally caught his breath, but his mouth was dry and his legs were sore. Not to mention, he was constantly being called "brother" and "master" by a group of aunts and sisters, which made him touch his chin as if he had grown a very long and solid beard.

While Liu Bing was busy at work, Song Miao had just come out of the front hall when Zhang Si Niang came in carrying a basket.

Upon seeing Song Miao, she quickly stepped forward to greet her, then stepped aside and said, "Madam Song, I brought some prawns with me. Please take them to the kitchen first."

Song Miao was somewhat surprised and asked, "Where did the shrimp come from?"

Zhang Si Niang was also very proud and said, "That's why I said you're lucky, young lady! There's a man who raises shrimp in Erliba. Today is his birthday, and a neighbor of mine happened to be taking his daughter and son-in-law back to celebrate. He didn't charge them extra."

"As luck would have it, we ran into these two on the road today. They were delivering goods, but two taverns said business was bad these days and refused to take them, leaving us with only two barrels."

"I saw it, it was quite plump and big, so I said I wanted to buy it. But the two of them said that it would die if I took it back, and it wouldn't fetch a good price in the market. Besides, it would delay my trip back to celebrate my elders' birthday today, so they sold it to me for half the price, or even gave it to me for free!"

"Young lady, you taught me a lot yesterday, but it's inconvenient for you to take me on as your apprentice. I also can't bring chickens and meat to your door to formally acknowledge you as my teacher. How about I bring you a few shrimp? They're not expensive. They're just a token of my appreciation, right?"

When Song Miao stepped forward to take a look, although they weren't as pretty as the ones He Qi had sent last time, each shrimp was still very lively and was jumping out eagerly.

Calculating the time, she felt that Han Li and the others would be back in a few days. Since she didn't know the exact time, she planned to prepare some convenient food in advance. Originally, she wanted to make some braised dishes, but if everyone came back in the middle of the night, the saltiness of the braised dishes would inevitably be too strong, and they would have to drink more water after eating them, which would affect their rest. Seeing these shrimp was like a pillow when one is sleepy, and it was perfect to make another convenient dish.

However, it's easy to imagine that shrimp like these won't be cheap.

She smiled and said, "You don't need to quote a price. Go to the market later and ask about the market price. I'll pay you the exact amount. This isn't just for me. I cook for everyone in the Water Conservancy Bureau. We're all eating together. How much wealth do you have to support so many people?"

He added, "You came to help me yesterday, and I haven't even had a chance to calculate your wages yet. Why are you already asking for a gift in return?"

At this point, she helped Zhang Si Niang unload the basket from his shoulder, saying, "After a while, when you've really learned something, prepare a thank-you feast, and I'll definitely come to eat!"

Zhang Si Niang blushed and hurriedly stepped forward to grab the bamboo basket, saying, "I'll take it! I'll take it, young lady, don't take my job!"

But in my heart I thought: Sure enough, I was right to sincerely burn incense and offer sacrifices every year, and I was right to always have good intentions and do good deeds. Now my ancestors are blessing me and God is taking pity on me, allowing me to meet such a wonderful young lady. If I can get a good future because of this, I will thank her no matter what, not just with a big thank-you banquet, but in any way I can thank her!
The two arrived at the kitchen shortly afterward. Song Miao had already discussed with the cook, Zhang, that she could use any of the common ingredients to cook for the people of the Water Conservancy Bureau. However, she could not use too much of the good meats and poultry, such as mutton, chicken, and duck, so as not to make it difficult for him to arrange the meals for the others.

At this point, she looked through the shrimp again, took out a large piece of pork fat, and picked out a large bunch of celery and placed it aside before carefully examining the shrimp.

Contrary to Song Miao's expectations, the two buckets of shrimp turned out to be two different varieties.

They have thin shells and thick meat, and the shrimp are a light bluish-gray in color.

The other one was black with a hint of red, and its shell was extremely hard. Even Song Miao had never seen it before, so she couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Si Niang then said, "That person said it's a local variety, rarely seen elsewhere. It's quite strange; its shell is hard and thick. Every year around the beginning of summer, it produces shrimp roe. Although the meat isn't as tender and sweet as other river shrimp, the shrimp roe is delicious!"

He added, “I ate it once when I was a child. It’s not very good for the flavor to penetrate if you don’t open the shell. Once you open the shell, the meat is coarse and loose. It’s not as good as another kind. But this shrimp is very lively. It can be kept alive for two or three days without dying.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the relatively bluish-gray shrimp on the other side.

Upon hearing this, Song Miao pondered for a moment and quickly devised a plan for the two types of shrimp.

She first heated a pot of oil, then had Zhang Si Niang wash the bluish-gray shrimp and celery, removing the shrimp shells. She then selected the best cuts of pork fat and diced them, mincing them finely. After peeling the shrimp, she mashed half of it into a paste, and separated the other half from the celery stalks, chopping them into small pieces. She then minced the pork fat and shrimp paste into a paste, mixed it with the celery pieces, shrimp pieces, egg white, salt, a very small amount of ground Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings, and stirred it well.

By this time, the oil was already half-heated. She called Zhang Si Niang over and said, "What we're making this time is called shrimp balls. Actually, it's best to make them in winter. Firstly, there are water chestnuts available then. Secondly, there's another way to make them: chop the water chestnuts and mix them in. With water chestnuts, the shrimp balls will be especially sweet. Some people also coat them with tofu skin and fry them, which makes them even more fragrant. But we can't find tofu skin today, so for convenience, we'll make them this way for now."

"This dish is perfect for hot pot in winter. Now that the weather is hot, it's not good to have hot pot. Just add some celery to make a soup. It has both meat and vegetables, and it's quick to make. Because the soup is clear, it's also easy on the stomach. It's a pretty good quick dish."

After she finished speaking, she mentioned a few more points to note. While the oil was at the right temperature, she put the minced shrimp into a funnel and pressed out shrimp balls that looked like very large dates.

The oil is clear oil. As the shrimp balls are put into the oil one by one, bubbles quickly appear around them. Before long, the whole pot of oil is bubbling and sizzling.

The first frying is done at a relatively low oil temperature; just enough to make small bubbles when you stick chopsticks in, to help the shrimp balls set their shape. At this point, the aroma of the shrimp balls gradually spreads out.

When the shrimp balls were fried this time, they had turned a light golden yellow. Then, more firewood was added, the fire was turned up, and the oil temperature was raised so that they could be fried again in hot oil.

This time, the aroma of deep-frying became intense. Shrimp meat and pork fat were minced and deep-fried over high heat. The aroma of pork fat and shrimp meat was brought out together, with a hint of Sichuan peppercorn spiciness.

If the aroma of the first fried shrimp balls is gentle, like a babbling brook, making you want to take a bite, then the aroma of the second frying is like a raging tide crashing against the shore, so powerful that your nose has nowhere to hide.

The fried shrimp balls have a golden-red hue, the red being the pale red of the shrimp meat, making them look exceptionally tempting.

Song Miao took a bamboo skewer, stuck one on a stick, and handed it to Zhang Si Niang, saying, "Try it first."

Zhang Si Niang quickly took it.

The shrimp balls smelled delicious, but after she blew on them a few times and took a bite, she first heard a slight cracking sound from the outer shell. The shell was extremely thin, and immediately, the sweetness of the shrimp meat, the last bit of rich fat from the pork fat, and the fresh aroma of the celery seemed to burst forth as if they had been imprisoned for many years and had been granted a pardon.

As a result, it was completely enveloped by her mouth.

This bite made Zhang Si Niang finally understand what true crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and juicy, meant. She was both eager to swallow it and reluctant to swallow it.

A whole bucket of shrimp, and one pot of frying is naturally not enough.

After Song Miao finished eating, she made way for her and said, "You can try this pot."

The most important thing when frying food is controlling the heat, and also knowing when to fry and when to turn it over.

Zhang Si Niang learned very quickly, but even so, by the time the shrimp balls were fried, half the morning had already passed.

After everything was tidied up, she quickly washed her hands, poured Song Miao a cup of tea, and encouraged herself before saying, "Young lady, there's something I'd like to ask you about, even though it might sound a bit shameless..."

She told him that Wang Sanlang also wanted to find work on the construction site, and then said awkwardly, "I'm really sorry, but many people can't find work lately. We discussed that if you need any help here, young lady, we'd like to give it a try, even if it's just a little extra."

Song Miao quickly grasped the key point and asked, "Besides Wang Sanlang, are there many other people who want this kind of work? Do you know them too? Can you organize them into a group?"

Zhang Si Niang was delighted upon hearing this and said, "San Lang is capable, I'll have him go find someone! How much more can you take from here, young lady?"

(End of this chapter)