Miao Chu

Chapter 51 Generous Gift
The rice noodles, stir-fried over high heat, were still steaming hot even after only a short while.

He Qi took two breaths and quickly ate a bite.

Fragrant.

It's the aroma of lard mixed with the fragrance of rice flour, with just the right amount of caramelized flavor. It's incredibly fragrant, and when you chew it, the wok hei (wok aroma) and fragrance relentlessly fill your mouth and nose.

It smells so good that even if someone died next to you, they wouldn't know.

With enough lard, the rice noodles were stir-fried until they were oily enough, but for some reason, they also had a very dry feel to them, clean and refreshing, not sticky at all.

The rice noodles that Song Miao specially selected were round and thin. They softened very evenly when boiled and soaked. Because they were thinner than ordinary flat rice noodles, they could coat the lard and seasonings better when stir-fried, and they were less likely to stick together.

She rinsed the rice noodles repeatedly until they were very clean, then shook them dry before stir-frying them over high heat. This gave the rice noodles a slightly "dry" texture, but they also had a rich, oily flavor.

He Qi chewed a few times, and miraculously, the fried noodles slid down his throat on their own.

When you swallow, the wok hei (wok aroma) and fragrance become even stronger, as if they are lost in your mouth and throat, unable to escape.

Before he could even say a word or lift his eyelids, he immediately picked up another large mouthful of rice noodles.

Song Miao has her own methods when preparing side dishes. Although almost all of them are shredded, they are of different sizes and are put into the pot in a certain order to ensure they are cooked through.

The shredded pork was stir-fried thoroughly, with a slightly charred outer layer that made the meat flavor more pronounced. The shredded carrots and scallions were just cooked through and still a bit firm. The cabbage hearts were also stir-fried until very tender.

The meat has a meaty aroma, while the vegetables are very refreshing.

Stir-fry quickly and frequently enough to ensure the rice noodles and side dishes are mixed evenly.

He Qi ate a large mouthful of rice noodles, intending to chew them carefully and savor them slowly. However, before he could chew more than a few times, the rice noodles seemed to grow legs and slide into his stomach.

The rice noodles have a rich rice aroma, are crispy and oily, the pork ribbons have a meaty aroma and are very chewy with a slight chewiness, the carrots are sweet and slightly crunchy, the scallions are sweet, and occasionally you will taste the pickled mustard greens, which are salty and crunchy. When you chew the cabbage heart, it is soft and tender with the natural sweetness of the tender cabbage leaves.

But these are just embellishments, only to enrich the layers of flavor. The main flavor is still the aroma of rice and the charred aroma of the fried noodles. Nothing can overpower it.

When He Qi took the first bite, he was so focused on the aroma of the fried noodles that he felt the flavor of this plate was particularly strong and the aroma was special. Before he could figure out what was so special about it, when he swallowed the second bite, his mouth suddenly exploded with a burning sensation.

The abundance of dogwood makes this plate of stir-fried noodles incredibly spicy, with a lingering spiciness.

Spicy flavors enhance aroma, cut through greasiness, and stimulate appetite.

He Qi was raised by his grandmother and ate steamed or boiled food from a young age. Even when eating big fish and meat, the seasoning was light, so he was not particularly good at eating spicy food.

But it's spicy.

The spiciness hit his tongue perfectly, making him incredibly hungry. He was slurping and felt that the fried noodles were even more delicious with the spiciness. But the spiciness mixed with the aroma brought tears to his eyes, yet he couldn't help but quickly take another bite.

The spiciness of the dogwood was just right for him, allowing his tongue to taste the flavors of rice noodles, shredded pork, shredded carrots, cabbage hearts, and so on, yet its presence was undeniably strong.

While He Qi couldn't stop eating, only one thought remained in his mind—it smells so good, it tastes so good, but why is it so spicy?

Then another thought came to mind.

Why am I so weak? I can't handle spicy food at all!

He was so dizzy from the spiciness that he quickly picked up a goji berry sprout with his chopsticks, blew on it, and ate it in one bite.

Goji berry sprouts have a slightly bitter taste. Each sprout tip has only a few very tender leaves. They taste slightly bitter and slightly cool, but after the bitterness comes a slightly sweet aftertaste, which is particularly refreshing.

The spiciness on my tongue was washed away in an instant.

Seeing that he was suffering from the spiciness, Song Miao pushed the plate of fried eggs with bamboo shoots over to him and said, "Eat this to relieve the spiciness."

He Qi quickly picked up a piece.

Fried eggs with bamboo shoot pieces are especially delicious!
The eggs were fried to a golden brown, especially the outermost layer and the edges, which were almost crispy and still warm. Even the inside wasn't a very tender egg, but rather had a chewy texture. Because they were fried thoroughly, the slight fishy smell of the eggs was completely removed, leaving only a rich aroma of fried eggs.

With one bite, you can taste the tiny bamboo shoot pieces.

There are many small bamboo shoot pieces, which are not evenly distributed in the fried egg. They are almost concentrated in one clump on one side and loose in another side, but you can eat them no matter where you bite.

The small bamboo shoot that He Qi bit into was very crisp, exceptionally fresh, slightly sweet, and carried the fragrance of bamboo leaves from the mountains. It had both a tender and crunchy texture.

Because it's mixed in with fried eggs, you can taste the sweetness of bamboo shoots, the richness of fried eggs, and the aroma of lard. The combination of these elements, with the lard and the fried flavor, is anything but bland. However, the bamboo shoots also bring a refreshing taste.

Bamboo shoots always stand out for their freshness—fresh, tender, and subtly sweet, with a lingering sweetness. No matter what ingredients they're paired with, they absorb the flavors of the other ingredients while retaining their own.

The bamboo shoots are crisp and sweet, and the eggs are caramelized and fragrant.

He Qi was busy eating a small piece of bamboo shoot with an egg, a few bites of stir-fried noodles, and two chopsticks of goji berry sprouts.

When he finally came to his senses, he found that he had devoured the fried noodles in front of him, finished the bowl of wolfberry sprout soup, and only had a small piece of bamboo shoot fried egg left.

Turning my head to look again, I saw that the small plate of fried noodles that had just been separated was also empty. Only then did I vaguely remember that while I was busy eating, it seemed that the stall owner, Mr. Song, had put that plate back into his own bowl.

He was momentarily embarrassed, his face turning red, and he said, "How...how could you have eaten it all!"

Song Miao smiled and said, "I'm a cook, isn't it good if people like what I make? I would be sad if there were leftovers and no one ate them."

He Qi was easy to please and immediately cheered up, saying, "It's delicious! It's really delicious!"

They praised the aroma of the stir-fried rice noodles, the clarity of the soup, the tenderness of the goji berry sprouts, and the freshness of the bamboo shoot and egg omelet.

After praising her for a while, his eyes involuntarily fell on the small piece of bamboo shoot and fried egg left on the plate in front of him. Although he was full, he could still eat more. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out with his chopsticks. He looked at Song Miao again, and was about to ask her a question when he heard the sound of horses' hooves outside, followed by the sound of reining in horses. After a while, a person came in carrying a large basket in each hand.

He Qi hurriedly explained to Song Miao, "It's Bei Zhi, she's been with me since I was little."

Bei Zhi was also quick-witted. Because he was carrying things, he couldn't perform a proper bow, so he simply bowed to Song Miao and said, "Shopkeeper Song, my young master instructed me to bring some things over. This is my first time visiting, so I wasn't prepared. If the things aren't good, it's my fault for not being thorough enough, not because my young master is not thoughtful enough!"

Song Miao hadn't expected this turn of events. She looked helplessly at He Qi and said, "Young Master He is just here for a casual meal. If there's anything lacking, it's my fault for not being a good host. Besides, I haven't even thanked you for coming to help me today..."

He Qi chuckled and said, "I'm not giving it away for free—I'm hoping to come back here often to steal some delicious food!"

He looked around, wanting to direct Beizhi to find a table to put the two bamboo baskets down, but after looking around, he found that there were no tables or chairs in the hall.

Song Miao then brought over a bench and asked Bei Zhi to put it there for the time being.

He Qi asked, "What kind of things?"

Beizhi lifted the cloth covering the two baskets. One of them was full of dried fruit, with the largest pears being the most abundant. The rest included plums, crabapples, a few sour papayas, as well as walnuts, lotus seeds, torreya nuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts, which were half-wrapped in cloth bags and left exposed inside.

The other basket contained a whole ham, not very big, but with a beautiful shape.

Besides the ham, there was also a large bamboo tube in the basket.

Many things were thanks to him bringing them back. Beizhi took out the bamboo tube and put it down, explaining, "I saw someone outside selling cow and sheep milk, so I brought a tube back."

This gift is incredibly generous.

Song Miao sighed and said, "How can I accept such a generous gift from Young Master He?"

She genuinely felt it was too much and wasn't entirely at ease.

He Qi saw that they bought food, and initially thought it was quite nice. However, he was very perceptive and, after only hearing one sentence from Song Miao, immediately realized that this was not just feigned politeness.

The He family was born into wealth, and for a moment he couldn't figure out where the problem lay, so he could only laugh and say, "It's not heavy! I'll come over for a meal every now and then, and I'll have already paid for it!"

The gifts have already been delivered to my home, so I can't just return them. Besides, they were bought with the help of someone from my subordinates. If I refuse them, I'm afraid I'll cause trouble for others.

Song Miao thanked her, accepted the gift, and said, "Please don't do this next time, otherwise how will I return the favor?"

He Qi hurriedly agreed.

Then Beizhi laughed and said, "There's one more thing."

As he spoke, he turned and went out, returning with a bunch of flowers.

It's jasmine.

The flower branches looked freshly picked; the leaves and stems were very lush, and most of them were still buds, with a few already slightly open. As soon as I brought them into the house, they brought a faint fragrance that was refreshing and delightful.

He brought it in, but instead of giving it to Song Miao first, he handed it to He Qi.

He Qi immediately took it, smiled, and presented it to Song Miao, saying, "How fitting! Perfect for fumigating Song's house!"

People loved flowers at the time, and it was not unusual for everyone to wear flowers in their hair and give flowers as gifts in spring.

Song Miao didn't think much about the season at the moment, assuming that jasmine was common, so she took it without thinking and exclaimed, "What fragrant jasmine!"

She smiled and thanked him. Since she didn't have any decent vases at home, she took a bamboo tube from the side and prepared to fill it with water to put the flowers in.

However, before she could fetch water, she heard the sound of carriages and people blocking her way outside, as if in a chaotic battle. In the blink of an eye, a small head peeked in from the right doorway.

She was a little girl of five or six years old, with two small buns on each side of her head, and two strings of pearls encircled the buns. The pearls were small, but not ordinary white pearls; they were light pink and of uniform size.

Her hair was thin and sparse, with a yellowish tinge. Her face was also a bit thin, and her complexion wasn't very good, but her eyes were bright and lively, making her look very clever.

The little girl carefully scanned the room with her eyes. When she saw Bei Zhi, her eyes lit up. When she saw He Qi, she immediately smiled and called out, "Brother Qi!"

She called out as she ran in.

Fortunately, the Song family's threshold was not high, and it did not trip her up.

He Qi was still startled and rushed over to stop the person, asking, "Why are you here? Is anyone with you?"

The little girl chuckled, clutching He Qi's robe, ignoring everything else, but then poked her head out from beside his legs to look at Song Miao.

She glanced at Song Miao, seemed a little shy, and pulled her head back. After a while, she peeked out again, smiling shyly as if hiding behind something.

He Qi laughed at her, saying, "You're such a bully at home. You always interrupt when everyone's talking, but you're not saying a word right now."

He then turned to Song Miao and introduced her, "Shopkeeper Song, this is my aunt's younger sister."

The little girl immediately poked her head out again and interjected, "Shopkeeper Song, my surname is He, and I am Sister Zhu!"

They're just too cute.

As long as you don't have to take care of them yourself, such well-behaved kids from other people's families are really lovable.

Song Miao couldn't help but smile at her and greeted her in return, "Hello, Sister Zhu, I'm Song Miao."

Zhu Jie'er smiled so hard her eyes narrowed, and called out, "Sister Miao!"

He Qi gently patted her head and said, "Don't call me by my sister's name."

Zhu Jie'er exclaimed "Oh!" and immediately changed her address, calling out, "Shopkeeper Song, sister!"

As he spoke, he kept staring at the jasmine flower in Song Miao's hand.

What little girl wouldn't love flowers?

Seeing her longing look, Song Miao picked out the best-blooming branch and sent it over.

Zhu Jie'er didn't dare to answer at first.

Song Miao then half-squatted down and pinned the hairpin to her ear.

Zhu Jie thanked him, then immediately touched her head and smiled. With that, she let go of He Qi's robe, took a few steps forward, and spun around in the open space, wanting Song Miao to see the flowers in her hair and the circles her little skirt made as she spun.

However, she stopped abruptly after only two laps, her eyes drawn to the small piece of fried egg with bamboo shoots left on the plate beside her. She walked over to the plate, and without saying a word, looked up at Song Miao and asked, "The egg isn't finished. Is it from your family, sister? Are you going to throw it away?"

He Qi laughed and scolded, "Is there anything wrong with what you eat at home?"

In front of outsiders, Zhu Jie'er was a little embarrassed, but after a while, she said again, "Everyone says they can't digest it, so they won't let me eat anything!"

She retorted, "Seventh Brother's family isn't short of food either, yet you run out to eat whatever you want every day. Last time, Third Aunt even said that you don't eat at home and sneak out to eat delicious food in the morning!"

The brother and sister teased each other for a while, and He Qi, unable to do anything else, said, "These eggs were made by stall owner Song. I was eating them and hadn't finished them yet, so they're a bit cold. Don't be greedy."

But it was too late for that last sentence.

Hearing that he was eating, Zhu Jie'er immediately picked up the chopsticks and even turned them around to pick up the remaining fried egg.

Not long after it was left out, the fried egg with bamboo shoot pieces was still warm and had a strong aroma.

Despite her young age, Zhu Jie'er ate very quickly, perhaps to save time. By the time He Qi ran to stop her, she had already finished the fried egg in a few bites, her cheeks stuffed full. She chewed and chewed, then looked at Song Miao with shining eyes.

As soon as she finished eating, she strode over to Song Miao and exclaimed, "Sister's fried eggs are so delicious! They smell so good! They're really tasty! Have you had any, sister? Do you want some more?"

As she was acting coquettishly, two people rushed in from outside the door—an old woman and a maid.

Upon seeing Zhu Jie'er and He Qi, the two men breathed a sigh of relief. However, seeing that there were outsiders present, they hesitated to speak and instead hurriedly stepped forward to offer their greetings.

When He Qi asked her question, the old woman replied, "The young lady was originally going to find Miss Tian to play with, but halfway there she saw Bei Zhi and insisted on following her..."

Many thanks to the Yellow Scorpio Palace for the sachet for Xiaoqi, and to the beautiful and wealthy lady for the amulet :)
Thank you to my cat, Egg, for the four little gifts from the bookstore! Sweetie*, thank you for your thoughtful gift! ^_^
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(End of this chapter)