Miao Chu

Chapter 232 Enough
The man stared at the many large bowls filled with various fillings, each a different color, a different shape, and a different aroma, each without interfering with the others. Just looking at them and smelling them was enough to make one's mouth water.

His mind raced, and he immediately cursed himself.

You idiot! You've gone stupid from reading too much!

What's there to choose!
I certainly can't finish it all, but there are so many animals in the school, all of them are looking forward to it day and night, dreaming of eating Song Ji. It's rare that I'm first in line today. If I take it back, people will be howling and fighting to take it. I can just ask them to come back later. I don't know if I'll be so early in line next time, and if it's my turn, there won't be any left!
Without further hesitation, he shouted, "I want them all! One of each! No! Two of each!"

Song Miao hurriedly said, "I'll make one for you first, young master. Take a look at the portion size—two rolls are enough for one person, any more would be too much. Let's see before deciding whether to buy so many?"

The student immediately said, "Don't worry! No need to look! I'm going to help everyone bring back some of Song Xiaoniangzi's new dishes to share—two rolls of each kind, I'm even worried it won't be enough!"

He said this, but his eyes were fixed on Song Miao's hand movements.

The white, round rice noodle sheets, about four or five inches in size, are laid flat on a tray. A large spoonful of filling is scooped up, which is stir-fried green beans with minced meat. With a tilt of the spoon and a gentle scoop, the filling is spread evenly and thinly over one-third of the rice noodle sheet, forming a strip about three fingers wide.

That's a lot of material, will it even be able to be rolled up?

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant, and he saw that Miss Song used her long chopsticks to pick up a short corner, holding the edge of the rice noodle sheet, and rolled it around two, three, four, or countless times, as if she had only blinked her eyes, and a long, round so-called "rice noodle roll" was lying on the tray.

It's plump and white, lying there quite steadily and obediently—no wonder it's called "rolled rice noodles," it truly lives up to its name!
The rice noodle sheet wasn't noticeable when it was flat on the tray, but now that it's rolled up, it's filled with so much filling that it looks like it's about to burst. It's so thin that it's almost translucent, and the filling is faintly visible inside.

Through the thin rice noodle skin, the color of the stir-fried green beans and minced meat has become lighter. The green beans are cut into individual pieces, and the scattered bits of fragrant minced meat are hidden inside, yet they bulge out, looking as if they are eager to jump into one's mouth.

Ah!
Ahh!

He can't wait any longer!
***
Song Miao moved extremely quickly. She rolled up twelve rice noodle rolls of six different flavors in no time, laid them flat between two lotus leaves, poured the sauce over them, and then looked up to ask, "Young master, can you eat fried garlic?"

"Eat! Eat! Eat, eat!!" The student practically stammered as he answered.

With a deft flick of his wrist, Song sprinkled a small spoonful of toppings onto the rice noodle roll.

He wasn't ready yet when someone behind him called out urgently, "Miss Song, what should I do if I don't like garlic!"

"Is it okay to eat it without garlic, with roasted walnuts and fried chopped scallions, or without scallions at all?"

"Yes!!! It absolutely can!!!!"

By the time Song Miao finished preparing the rice noodle rolls for the first customer, brought out a few more drinks, and collected the money, the glutinous rice at the pancake stall had only just been made for the third time. As she worked, she was so anxious that sweat was pouring down her forehead.

Song Miao smiled and said to the students in line, "I've brought a helper. Although he's smart, it's his first day working here, so please wait a little while. Otherwise, if I'm the only one working, it will be even slower."

As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone started talking at once.

"What a diligent helper—what should I call him!"

"Sigh, I also want to work at Miss Song's stall. Wouldn't that mean I could eat my fill every day?"

"Don't worry about going slow, as long as your hands are steady!"

Finally, Da Bing finished wrapping the last sticky rice, wiped the sweat from his brow with the towel tied around his waist, scooped water to wash his hands, and raised his head to answer loudly, "My name is Liu Bing, just call me Da Bing! Please forgive me for one day, scholars, I'm very diligent, and I'll definitely be faster tomorrow!"

The people in line behind immediately burst into good-natured laughter.

"Don't rush me! We won't hurry you! It's still a long way from ringing the bell!"

"That name makes my mouth water! You're so lucky to have come to Miss Song's place!"

The crowd chatted and laughed, some holding books and reciting as they lined up, while others looked at the various fillings on the signs and discussed with their companions what they and their partners should buy and how to share them when they got home.

But there were people further back in line, some of whom peeked out to listen to what was happening in front, while others couldn't resist running forward to see for themselves.

One of them, seeing that almost everyone in front of him was buying two of each type of rice noodle roll, was anxious the first time he ran ahead, and became flustered the second time. Finally, on the third run, he couldn't help but ask, "Miss Song, shouldn't you also sell these rice noodle rolls in fixed quantities? Otherwise, if everyone in front buys them all, what will we do? After queuing for so long, won't we end up with nothing to eat?"

Upon hearing this, those in front glared at him angrily, while those behind cheered him on.

"It is! It is!"

"If one person buys so much, what will we do later?"

"Set a limit! Just like with the sticky rice and shumai before, each person can only buy three rolls!"

Those at the front of the line turned around angrily and retorted, "Hey! Hey! You're just being selfish! You'll get your turn at the front eventually, won't you?"

"Exactly, we don't resell them, we only bring a little for those in the same dorm or room—don't you have classmates or roommates?? I don't believe you've never brought any before!"

"Stop babbling! With my build and size, I'm still growing. You're telling me to only eat three rolls of food—I'd rather starve to death!"

The speaker was indeed tall and strong, but he had a thick beard, a large face, and a deep voice. Judging from his appearance, he was at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old!

Sure enough, someone behind him called out, shouting, "Hao Laoliu, Laoliu-ge! Didn't you just celebrate your 29th birthday? Who's still growing at 29? Don't buy too much, I'm 18 this year, I really need to grow, let me have a bite!!"

They were all classmates, and they saw each other all the time. They were cursing at each other when they noticed that there were acquaintances opposite them. They dared not say anything too harsh, and for a moment the line was buzzing with noise.

Everyone chimed in with their own comments, proving they were indeed students. Their insults were varied and their use of profanity was minimal. Song Miao laughed so hard her hand holding the spoon trembled. She quickly rolled up the last roll for the customer in front of her, then walked to the center and said with a smile, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time we've sold these rice noodle rolls. Please don't rush to buy too many, just in case you don't like the taste."

He added, "Since this is the first time we're selling, we won't limit it to too many. Right now, each person in the team has only ordered twelve volumes. Let's see how things go first, and then we'll decide whether we need to make any more."

As she spoke, she walked to the end of the line and said to the student, "Starting from here, if you line up behind, there might not be any rice rolls, steamed snow cakes, or drinks left—if anyone else comes, please ask them to let us know!"

The whole group was overjoyed. They stopped arguing and making a fuss, and started to act like brothers, showing brotherly respect and affection.

Not only that, but even those who were reciting their lessons earlier lost their will to continue. Instead, they suppressed their laughter and watched as one by one, heads emerged from the back gate of the Imperial Academy and the dog hole at the foot of the south wall.

The newcomers followed the queue, glanced around with practiced ease, and then stood at the back of the line, asking the person in front of them in turn, "Brother, I heard that Miss Song has set up her stall. Is this the right queue?"

"Is this where the queue is for Song Ji?"

"What time did the stall open today? Did it mention what kind of soup it was?"

The person standing at the back, along with several others in front of him, heard the questions and, as Song Miao had requested, eagerly and "kindly" offered their advice.

"It's Song's stall!"

"You didn't queue in the wrong line!" "Today we have pork rib soup and dried vegetable pork rib soup—but having them is practically the same as not having them..."

Those who heard this were all bewildered: "What do you mean by 'it's the same as nothing'?"

"Pass this on, Miss Song is setting up her stall today. She's introduced a new food called 'rolled rice noodles.' She said that after me, 'rolled rice noodles,' 'steamed snow cake,' and 'drinks' will all be gone. Only glutinous rice will be available. Think about whether you want to line up!"

Upon hearing this, more and more people who had followed behind him showed expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

"what?"

"I rushed out as soon as I heard the news this morning!"

"Are you crazy? What time is it?! It's just breakfast! Don't you have any classmate spirit? Can't you even share some with us who came later?!"

"Exactly! Exactly!! Shouldn't you buy less and make some room for us?"

"No way, they couldn't even buy them on the first day!"

"What new food? What kind of rice noodle roll is this? What does it look like? Is it good? What flavor does it taste like? Ahh! Leave one for me to try!"

Seeing the people behind them shouting and yelling, the group in front couldn't help but chuckle at each other. Although that's not a perfect description, their laughter was truly wicked, like weasels who had successfully stolen a chicken.

Hey, hey hey, as expected, heaven has eyes and hard work pays off—you still have to get up early and persevere in waiting, otherwise you won't get to eat the new rice noodle rolls!
***
While Song Miaotong was busy setting up her pancake stall, someone had already entered the Imperial Academy's study room carrying several large lotus leaf packages.

As soon as he entered the house, he looked around and, not seeing the person he was looking for, called out to the person closest to him, "Where's Xiao Qi? Wasn't he supposed to be here today? Why isn't he here?"

"I didn't see him. If he were teaching, he would have arrived by now. I guess something must have happened again. I heard that his older brother went back to Beijing recently, and the whole He family is quite busy."

The person carrying the lotus leaf bundles, who had been excited, immediately looked dejected upon hearing this. He casually tossed the bundles onto the table, pulled out a chair, and plopped down, sighing, "What a waste of time!"

Upon hearing this, the same person asked again, "What's wrong?"

"What do you want with Xiao Qi? Do you really need to talk to him? Tell us, we might be able to help!"

"Oh, it's nothing!" The man pointed to several lotus leaf buns in front of him. "Didn't I accidentally eat Xiao Qi's shumai once? After Xiao Qi went back to his hometown, I never found a chance to return it. By the time he came back, the shumai vendor had gone to Huazhou..."

"When I finally came back this time, I was surprised to see a long queue outside. I didn't even realize it until I heard people talking about it, and then I rushed to join the queue. All my friends had gone home, so I had to queue by myself. I queued for ages. I wanted to apologize to Xiao Qi, but who would have thought that there was no shumai today, only some kind of rice noodle roll... Oh well, Xiao Qi wasn't here either."

As soon as these words were spoken, a man who had just entered through the door heard them and rushed forward, shouting, "Wang Geng, did you manage to buy food from Song Ji?"

"Yes, what for?" asked the student known as Wang Geng.

It turns out that the person holding several lotus leaf packages to apologize to He Qi was none other than Wang Geng, the Imperial Academy student who had given a nonsensical description that day, asking his family cook to imitate Song Ji's shumai, but ultimately failed.

The person who came towards us was extremely excited and said, "Xiao Qi isn't here, but I am! I also love Song Ji's food. I only ate there for a few days before she went to Huazhou. I've been missing it for a long time. In the past month or so, I asked the cook at home to learn how to make glutinous rice and shumai. We've made it seven or eight times, but it's still not the same taste."

"I just heard that she's back and set up her stall again. I was thinking that I didn't have time to ask someone to help, so I just lined up myself. But as soon as I got there, someone said that I didn't need to line up anymore because the stall ahead of me was sold out. They also said that there was a new food called something like rice noodle rolls."

"Wang Geng, since Xiao Qi isn't coming, can you finish all this food? If not, could you give me a portion?"

Wang Geng was easy to talk to. He waved his hand and said, "No need to ask, take it! I bought two of each according to my taste. Xiao Qi isn't here, so I was going to share it with everyone anyway—eat as much as you like!"

Then he called to the remaining people in the room.

Everyone gathered around.

"You know what, I saw how much Xiaoqi liked Song's, and I went there a few times afterward. The food was really good—no wonder Xiaoqi missed it so much."

"What is rice noodle roll? I'll just have a taste. My family will bring me breakfast later, and we can all share it."

Seeing a group of people gathered around the table, Wang Geng opened several lotus leaf packages, tore off a piece of dried lotus leaf, and used the long bamboo skewer that came with the package to randomly pick a so-called rice noodle roll into the lotus leaf. He then said, "Take it yourselves, just leave one for me."

As he spoke, he used two bamboo skewers to pick up a piece of the rice noodle roll and took a bite.

He took a bite, and after just one chew, he realized something was wrong.

This sauce outside smells so good!

The aroma was so strong it felt like he'd been punched in the mouth, his tongue felt dizzy inside, and he was completely disoriented!

If He Qi were here, with his discerning palate, he would immediately recognize that the fragrance came from the outer layer of crumbs.

Sesame seeds, walnuts, and a tiny bit of pine nuts—the ingredients are very small in quantity due to their high cost, but they are very noticeable.

All three ingredients were roasted until they were extremely thoroughly roasted, fragrant, and crispy. As soon as they entered the mouth, before they even touched the tongue, they eagerly and desperately released their overly rich nutty aroma.

The sesame seeds are crushed, while the walnuts and pine nuts are cut into different sizes with a knife. All three of these contain oil, and after being roasted thoroughly, when you bite into the small pieces, they are fragrant and crispy, while when you bite into the larger pieces, they have a very rich and mellow aroma with the oiliness of dried fruit, which is completely different from ordinary vegetable oil or lard. There is also a touch of crispy fried shallots added to it...

Before I could even recover from the aroma, I tasted the sauce.

This sauce is extremely appetizing, savory and fresh, but with a sour aftertaste. The sourness is a rich fruity acidity, with a hint of sweetness. After the sweetness, there is a very subtle and playful spiciness that makes you wonder – is it really spicy?
After tasting the sauce, the rice noodle sheets come next.

Unlike the rice noodle sheets you usually eat, this rice noodle roll is exceptionally smooth. It feels like it will peel off your teeth if you don't try hard enough.

It's very thin, but surprisingly chewy, slightly firm, not mushy at all, yet soft.

Despite the generous amount of filling inside, it didn't break at all; it was wrapped perfectly and easily, and the aroma of rice was exceptionally strong.

Biting through this layer of skin requires force, but after you do, your teeth will feel a sense of relief, like, "Wow, it's so easy!" Then, you'll discover that the filling inside this rice noodle roll is stir-fried minced pork with pickled cowpeas.

The pickled green beans are especially crisp, sour and refreshing, with a hint of spiciness. The minced meat is naturally made from minced pork, with more fat than lean meat from the foreleg, stir-fried until fragrant and crispy, with all the greasiness being dried out by the hot oil and seeping into the pickled green beans.

So this bite of pickled cowpeas soaked up the rich aroma of lard, and the stir-fried minced meat was infused with the tangy fragrance of the pickled cowpeas. It was crunchy and satisfying to bite into, and as you chewed, the rice skin became smooth, tender, and refreshing, bursting with the aroma of rice. The filling was tangy and rich, and the outside was coated with sauce...

They are so appetizing and delicious that you have to eat at least three or five of them to feel satisfied!

Thinking of this, Wang Geng froze...

Wait, didn't he just ask me to keep a few for myself?

(End of this chapter)