Miao Chu

Chapter 175 Urgent Call
Compared to other parts of the pig, the pig's head is cheaper, but if you know how to cook it, it can be quite delicious.

Because it is cut into many parts, such as pig ears, pig face, pig tongue, pig head skin, as well as pig brain, pig lips and neck meat, each with its own texture and taste.

Aunt Ma was very lucky. Not only was her voice loud and strong, but her mouth was also bigger than normal. The first thing she ate was a handful of random hands.

The phrase "grabbing everything indiscriminately" means having everything.

But even if you have everything, the flavors in your mouth will come in different order.

With her first bite, she tasted pork cheek meat.

The pig's face is a living part of its body. The pig is greedy and has no other entertainment besides eating. From morning to night, as long as there is food in the trough, it will never stop moving, which makes the flesh on its face the most active part of its body.

But since it's the face, it only moves and doesn't bear weight, so the flesh here is also nourished to be both plump and full.

Meat that is too lean is dry, and meat that is too fatty is greasy. Pork cheek meat is right in between. It is one of the most tender parts of a pig, yet it still has a chewy texture. The two cheeks of a pig together weigh only about six ounces. Some connoisseurs even call it "golden six ounces".

The six taels of gold, after being marinated and soaked by Song Miao, have a clear texture when you bite into them, yet they are surprisingly tender, with a slight, bouncy bounce. It's like a prime minister who has been impeached and is forced to resign due to illness, but in reality, he is reluctant to leave and is eagerly waiting for the emperor to keep him.

At this moment, Aunt Ma's teeth finally got their moment in the spotlight. She would take a bite and leave some meat, then take another and leave none. With a gentle press of her teeth, the meat juices mixed with the braising sauce—especially the pork cheek meat, which was incredibly juicy. The braising sauce was now just an accompaniment, its aroma enhancing the rich and delicious flavor of the meat.

After taking two bites of the pig's face, the next bite was of the pig's ear.

The cartilage of the pig's ear is slightly chewy, the meat is soft and tender, and the fatty parts are sticky because of the fat. The cartilage and skin are crisp and chewy, and the meat is salty and not greasy.

Chewing further, you'll find the pig's tongue, firm yet tender; the thicker back of the neck, which absorbs the most braising liquid; the arched lips, chewy and crisp; and finally, a tiny bite of pig brain, which is smooth, soft, and sweet—it's simply indescribable.

But all of this, interspersed with the refreshing spiciness of scallions and green onions, slightly spicy yet with a sweet aftertaste, completely cuts through the greasiness, blending with the crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside pancake that absorbs everything, carrying the aroma of the dough, swirling and turning in your mouth.

Two sandwiches are enough to make an adult feel very full.

Aunt Ma has a big mouth and chews the biscuits quickly. She was hungry and the biscuits were too delicious. She was completely absorbed in chewing them. After eating one, she would take a rough porcelain bowl, fill it with well water, and gulp it down. Then she would eat another one, drink another bowl of water, and her hands would become empty.

The water was cool and sweet. The fatigue from working all morning seemed to be washed away by the well water along with the meat sandwich I had just eaten, and digested by the acid in my stomach.

She ate quickly, but someone else in the room ate even faster. After swallowing the last bite, that person was a little dazed, looking around at the others who were still eating. Although their stomach was full, their mouth was hungry. Seeing a bowl of pickled lettuce in the middle, they took a bamboo skewer and poked a piece at it.

The lettuce, cut into sections about the thickness of a little finger, was thoroughly marinated in white vinegar and maltose. When you eat it, the first thing you taste is an intensely sour and bright flavor that hits your tongue. Then comes the sweetness of the lettuce flesh mixed with maltose, followed by a lingering hint of malt spice. It's incredibly sour, refreshing, and appetizing. Unfortunately, the pancakes were all gone, so even this appetizing flavor was useless. I could only use it to relieve fatigue and satisfy my cravings.

The pickled lettuce with meat makes a particularly loud "croaking" sound when you chew it. The juice, which is a mix of five sour, three sweet and two spicy flavors, is overwhelming in your mouth. To others, it just sounds crisp, but to you, it sounds like the croaking of frogs in a summer pond.

As Aunt Ma listened, she couldn't help but stick a bamboo skewer in and join in the "quack quack quack" chorus.

Soon, everyone in the room had almost finished eating, and they were all starting to eat pickled lettuce.

Then someone tasted the lettuce peel and was surprised, exclaiming, "How can this peel be so delicious! It's chewy, firm, and crunchy. If I had known this, I wouldn't have wasted it!"

"I helped carry this pot onto the car this morning. I asked about it then, and Miss Song said that this method requires a lot of white vinegar and maltose. This time, because it was our first day working here, we wanted everyone to eat something light, so we gritted our teeth and added it. If we were to make it ourselves, we might as well learn another method: pickling it in a rough jar. Once it has fermented and turned sour, we can just pour the liquid into it. It will taste just as good. When it's pickled, let us try it too!"

So, using this as a starting point, the whole room was filled with discussion.

This cook from the capital is truly exceptional—how can she braise pig's head so deliciously?! Whoever learns her technique and sets up a stall in the future, I think the business will definitely be booming!

The man said, "Just now, Miss Song said that she was short on time and didn't have time to make it in detail, so this pancake is just something to eat. Actually, it should be crispier. I can't even imagine how it could be crispier. If I could learn the recipe for this pancake along with the recipe for the sauce, would Miss Song need any apprentices?"

Aunt Ma immediately became alert. She first turned to look at her sister-in-law not far away, and seeing that the other was still laughing, she wanted nothing more than to drag her out and give her a good scolding. But she said, "What apprentices? Are you here to work or to become apprentices? With Song Xiaoniangzi's skills, countless people in the capital would line up to become her apprentices. Look at that Chef Liu, how clever and quick-witted he is! I heard that he's not even a real apprentice yet! How could it be a chance for some reckless people from a village like Huazhou?"

The crowd was unaware of Aunt Ma's sinister intentions in protecting her sister-in-law's food. They simply exclaimed "Oh!" and "Wow!" and remarked that a great teacher produces a great student. Since the topic of Little Liu the cook had been brought up, no one was in the mood to discuss anything else and began asking questions one after another.

It's nothing more than questions like, "Have you finished memorizing?", "Oh no, I heard there's going to be a test soon, and I still have more than a dozen things I haven't memorized!", "What kinds of firewood are there? I can't remember!" and so on.

The one who spoke the most anxiously was Sister Xia. She said, "Everyone memorized it so well. I'm old and not very bright. If I'm the one who gets eliminated in the end, please put in a good word for me!"

Everyone was busy exposing their own shortcomings, but when they saw that Sister Xia was begging everyone to speak up for her, looking extremely anxious, they all went up to her to comfort her and poured out their hearts.

So everyone kept talking, and the whole room was buzzing. Eventually, everyone was reciting the rules.

When Song Miaotong and Dabing entered, everyone fell silent, as if ducks had been strangled.

Song Miao then explained the matter of testing the teacher and asked, "Who will be the first to recite?"

He added, "There are fifty-two in total. If you can remember forty-six, you've passed. If not, you'll have to leave."

No one in the room dared to speak; almost everyone kept their heads down, not daring to lift their eyelids, for fear of making eye contact with Song Miao.

Only Aunt Ma, though not young, gritted her teeth and was the first to step forward, saying, "I'll go first!"

He actually recited it from beginning to end right in front of everyone.

Although there were a few parts that weren't very smooth, she only made three mistakes out of fifty-two, which was a good start.

Before long, Zhang Si Niang also stepped forward. Being a young woman, she had a good memory and only made one mistake.

This made everyone tense.

This kind of test takes a lot of time to memorize, so we can't wait up for everyone.

So Song Miao arranged the work into groups, while Da Bing called people aside one by one to recite. After Song Miao had arranged everything properly, she went to the side and stood listening to everyone recite for a while. She saw that everyone called on had remembered the rules well. Few people got stuck on the forty-sixth rule; almost everyone got forty-eight or forty-nine. There was even one person, Sister Xia, who had been the most vocal and the oldest, who actually got fifty-two rules right!
Dabing was stunned. He clapped his hands and couldn't help but praise, "Auntie is really amazing. She didn't make a single mistake!"

Xia Jiezi breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "It's not impressive at all. I even dreamt last night that I had to wash the vegetables several times because I was afraid of making a mistake. Please sift them for Chef Liu!"

Dabing blushed immediately, but didn't say anything, only telling her to go back to work.

However, because Sister Xia had cried out the most pitifully and kept saying that if she didn't pass, she would ask everyone to speak up for her, when she came over to recite, everyone couldn't help but hold their breath for her and prick up their ears to listen. When they saw that she had passed, before they could even be happy for her, they heard that Da Bing had said one thing correctly, and they all changed color.

When Xia Jiezi returned and continued sweeping and washing, everyone around her had something to say.

"Aunt Xia, who said they couldn't remember! And who said they wanted us to put in a good word for them? Turns out you're all talk and no action!"

"I got four of them wrong!"

"I got three of them wrong too!"

"It's true that older actors tend to have more impressive performances, isn't it?"

Aunt Xia just grinned and pretended to be stupid, stammering for a while. When she really couldn't deny it, she finally said, "Oh dear, oh dear, how was I supposed to know that one of them was correct? I was so nervous—I guessed several of them!"

For a moment, people around her whispered and booed her.

Seeing that three or four out of ten people had already left, Song Miao thought for a moment, then called Aunt Ma out and said, "Almost everyone who came this time is fine. I'd like you to help me continue searching for another eighty people, with the same conditions. Can you find them, Aunt Ma?"

He added, "They pay laborers outside, but since this is the kitchen, we don't have the money to pay them."

Aunt Ma hurriedly said, "We can find it! We can find it!"

He added, “Why would I need money! If I go to your door for such a good thing, everyone else will owe me a favor. Besides, my sister-in-law is following my wife and has benefited from it so much and learned so much. Since my wife doesn’t take on apprentices, it’s not appropriate for her to come over with meat and gifts. It’s rare for her to be able to do something for me, and as her sister-in-law, I’m really happy!”

He then asked, "When do you need it?"

Song Miao then said, "The sooner the better. You should go back to the city first. If you need anyone to help you, bring them back with you. Consider today as your work."

Aunt Ma thought carefully for a moment, then named four people, adding, "They are all straightforward people with a wide network of contacts. Since the young lady needs them urgently, I thought having more people would help us recruit them faster. Ideally, we could gather them all tonight, so we can still have some leeway to choose from."

Song Miaoyi should be right.

She only felt a little relieved after watching the person return to the city.

When she led the group out in the morning, there were already nearly forty people registered outside the official post station. The number would decrease in the afternoon, but two or three hundred people a day should not be difficult. If things continue like this, and nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to get at least seven or eight hundred people in a few days.

Judging from the time that Young Master Han Li went to Linghe Town, he should be back in the next day or two. If he brings back seven or eight hundred people, our twenty-six men might not be able to keep up.

Besides, just memorizing the many rules she required would take almost a whole day, and she would need some time to adapt. Since there were suitable ones available, she didn't want to gamble on the conscience of the clerk in the government office, who might not even have one.

***
While Song Miao was thinking about Qian Kongmu, Qian Zhongming was also asking her questions in the yamen.

Kong Fuyang and his group of students had been guarding the government office's recruitment booth the day before, but the next morning, they all made excuses and left everything to the other village heads and patrolmen. Anyone could tell there was something wrong.

Upon receiving the report, Qian Zhongming immediately sent people out to inquire.

With such a large recruitment display at the entrance of the official post station, even without asking anyone, you can tell what's going on just by looking at the sign and listening to the gongs and drums.

Soon, a subordinate came to report back.

"Look at that queue, they can probably recruit three or four hundred people a day. If we don't stop them, word will spread and they might fill the quota in one go! Chief Kong, if we let this go, there are many candidates already chosen in the villages and counties below, and that will be hard to explain!"

Qian Zhongming, however, was much calmer than his subordinate and asked, "You didn't use the name of the Water Conservancy Bureau, but recruited someone under the name of a young lady?"

“Exactly. If it were the Water Conservancy Bureau that came forward, it would be official business, and they could find an excuse to get the roster and have the village head issue a warning to those people to withdraw. But right now, it's just a young woman recruiting people herself, which is more troublesome.”

The man paused, then asked, "Clerk Kong, should we ask the village heads to collect the numbers and ask who has signed up? It'll be a bit of a hassle, but it'll serve as a warning..."

Qian Zhongming shook his head and said, "You said it yourself, most of the people that woman recruited came from Liyujing, Mashuiwei, and a few other places like Dahebei. Nine out of ten of them are lowly people who make a living by fishing in the water and on the shore. Some of them haven't had any work for a month or two. If we ask the village head to inquire now, it will definitely cause trouble. The higher-ups already have a lot of complaints about our actions this time, and they are also pressuring us with the Water Conservancy Bureau. Once they find a handle against us, I will have to deal with it myself."

"Then... what should we do? We can't just let them recruit people like this, can we? Even if we don't have to recruit everyone, we can at least have them take over the jobs we originally arranged. Besides, we haven't seen that guy surnamed Han for a few days. I heard he went to Weizhou to collect grain. Judging by the time, he should have run into trouble and come back by now. The prefect listens to him a lot. What can we do if we really insist on using the people they recruit themselves?"

Qian Zhongming remained silent.

After a moment's thought, he said, "The water management official is not in the city right now. Have Xiao Ding arrange for a few people to bring that woman surnamed Song here."

Upon hearing this, the subordinate hesitated and said, "I heard that woman is a cook brought from the capital by the Water Conservancy Bureau. If we arrest her, what will happen when Wu Gongshi and Han Li return?"

Qian Zhongming's "idiot!" was practically spitting into the other person's face.

The subordinate dared not reach out to wipe it, and could only lower his head.

"If we don't arrest him now, will he cause trouble when he gets back? Let Xiao Ding find a pretext—it'll be easy. What kind of shed is this young woman from out of town setting up? Where is she setting it up? Does she have any official permits or land deeds? Arrest her and see if she has any—she definitely doesn't. Then we can put that woman in jail for a few days, and we can clear out the people queuing up here. We'll say this place is just a scam, and spread the word everywhere. By the time Wu and Han get back, it will be too late. Recruiting again won't be easy."

"If we're going to investigate—it's because they didn't inform their superiors beforehand. The police just think that woman used the name of the Water Conservancy Bureau to deceive people!"

(End of this chapter)