Chapter 165: Slow Work
Shang Wan did indeed have this plan, but the restaurant she wanted to open was not an ordinary restaurant, but a medicinal cuisine restaurant specializing in health preservation.
This medicinal cuisine was not traditional medicinal cuisine either, but dishes made with vegetables produced from the spiritual field, with real healing effects, taking the high-end route.
Of course, this was still just a conception, and it was not suitable to bring it out before they had the strength at home to deal with others’ coveting.
Currently, the main energy was still focused on growing herbs, and the profit from buying and selling medicinal herbs was still quite considerable.
After everyone finished eating, Lu Chengjing was responsible for washing the bowls, and the others had to continue working.
For the housewarming banquet, besides needing pork, there also needed to be chicken, duck, and fish.
Shang Wan was responsible for killing the chickens and ducks, scalding and plucking, gutting, and Shi Tou was responsible for killing the fish.
The fish were caught by Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing together with a net, some big and some small. For convenience and speed in cooking tomorrow, after gutting and cleaning them, they all had to be fried once first.
Xiao Huan started another large pot and heated oil. After it started smoking, she shaped the prepared meat filling at her tiger’s mouth and squeezed out meatballs with skillful force.
The oil in the pot rolled, and the meatballs’ surfaces were fried golden yellow one by one, floating up with the fragrance. She scooped them out to drain the oil.
Crispy pork, small fish, and rib racks were coated with seasonings and a layer of starch outside, then fried in the oil pot until the shells were crispy and golden yellow before scooping them out.
After the oil temperature rose, they were double-fried once more.
The steamed dishes also needed to be prepared in advance. Ingredients were arranged in various porcelain bowls and steamed once first. Once steamed through, tomorrow they just needed to be reheated in the steamer, which would make them even more flavorful than freshly made.
These were all time-consuming slow tasks. Doing them tonight meant fewer tomorrow, to avoid being too busy and chaotic.
Chu Xu smelled the aroma and wanted to eat. Xiao Huan took a small bowl and gave two fried meatballs each to him and Yuan Yuan, telling the two to eat on the side and not crowd around the oil pot, to avoid being splashed by oil on their bodies.
The two children sat in a row on the soft cushion, chomping away at the meatballs.
Yuan Yuan gnawed with her millet teeth. Chu Xu thought it was fun and imitated her, only using his front teeth to eat. After a few bites without patience, he chewed and swallowed.
They were destined not to sleep early tonight. After Lu Chengjing helped the two children wash up, he took them to sleep.
Chu Xu was full and satisfied, with a round little belly, sleeping on the kang like a little pig.
On the small bed separated by a wall, Yuan Yuan covered with a small blanket listened to Daddy telling stories. Her eyelids drooped, her eyes getting smaller and smaller, slowly falling asleep.
Lu Chengjing gently patted her, his eyes and brows full of a faint smile, his voice even softer.
Only after the little one was fast asleep did he stop, pulling up the small blanket a bit, blowing out the candle and leaving.
In the kitchen, Xiao Huan was still busy, Shi Tou helped her, and Shang Wan put piles of food into the space.
The weather had entered summer. Although the temperature wasn’t yet high enough to be unbearable, food couldn’t be left out. Shang Wan planned to put it all into the space first and take it out early tomorrow morning.
Lu Chengjing walked into the kitchen, rolled up his wide sleeves, and asked, “What can I do?”
When repairing the kitchen, it was specially made half a size wider than the original kitchen, so even with four people standing, there was plenty of room.
Hearing Lu Chengjing ask, Shang Wan looked around and said, “You just watch the fire. Xiao Huan said to keep it like this now. If the fire gets low, add some firewood.”
“Okay.” Lu Chengjing turned and carried a small bench from the corner, guarding by the stove mouth to watch the fire, his long lashes lowered, expression focused.
The firelight added a layer of warm color to his fair skin, even his contours softened, making his handsome face even more striking.
Shang Wan looked and felt that her fox’s temperament and looks really didn’t match this kitchen place.
She glanced at the night outside the window, considering Lu Chengjing’s body that no matter how much she nurtured him wouldn’t gain two taels of meat, and said, “We’re almost done here too. You should go back to the room and sleep. In case Yuan Yuan wakes up looking for someone, you can comfort her.”
Lu Chengjing turned his head, firelight dancing lightly in his eyes, and said slowly, “Yuan Yuan just fell asleep; she’ll wake up at least two hours later.”
Shang Wan understood; he didn’t want to leave.
Fine, if he wanted to stay, let him stay.
After finishing the kitchen tasks, it was already past midnight.
Everyone was exhausted, especially Xiao Huan, whose legs and waist were sore from standing.
Hot water was ready, everyone took turns washing up and went back to their rooms to sleep.
Staying by the oil pot, her hair was full of oil smoke smell. Shang Wan couldn’t help but wash her hair.
With her hair still wet, she naturally couldn’t sleep. She didn’t have the patience to dry it bit by bit; her movements of wiping her hair gradually became irritable.
“Let me.” Lu Chengjing took the cloth towel and gently wiped the wet soft black hair bit by bit.
Shang Wan yawned and lay on the table, unknowingly falling asleep.
After fully drying her hair, Lu Chengjing carefully smoothed it, leaned down to look at Shang Wan’s quiet sleeping face, a soft smile rippling in his dark eyes.
He bent down and scooped her up horizontally, gently placing her on the kang, removing her shoes and outer garment.
Shang Wan showed no sign of waking. Lu Chengjing held her in his arms, lowered his head, his gaze sweeping inch by inch over her brows and eyes, almost brazenly.
“Niangzi.”
His voice mixed with a sigh, a light kiss landing on Shang Wan’s full forehead.
Shang Wan unconsciously hummed, lifted her hand to habitually wrap around the waist of the person beside her, head leaning on his chest, gently nuzzling.
This kitten-like acting cute action rarely appeared on Shang Wan. Lu Chengjing knew she was sleep-muddled and couldn’t help holding her tighter, a feather seeming to float in his heart, soft as if melting.
His fingers caressed the warm skin on the side of her face, unable to resist lowering his head, a light kiss landing on the corner of her lips.
Shang Wan breathed evenly, sleeping soundly.
·
Early the next morning, Shi Tou carried two strings of firecrackers to the doorway and lit them.
The “crackling” was the signal for welcoming guests.
Once the sun rose, guests arrived one after another.
The earliest to arrive were the women from the village, all coming to help wash vegetables and cook, bringing quite a few bowls and chopsticks themselves.
These bowls and chopsticks all had marks from each family and had to be returned after use.
The men arrived a bit later, but they carried tables and benches, spontaneously setting them up in empty spots.
No family in the village had that many bowls and chopsticks and tables and benches, so whenever someone handled affairs, everyone by default brought some from home and took them back after use.
Shi Tou had asked around in advance, so Shang Wan and the others didn’t prepare extra. Pooling from each family was enough.
Seeing the piles of fried meat in the large basins, everyone’s eyes went straight.
The Xiucai Scholar’s family was too generous; they’d never seen any family prepare this much meat for village events. What family could eat meat like this?
Many couldn’t help swallowing saliva; the gluttony stirred up by the braised meat aroma yesterday seemed to poke its head out from their throats.
The adults still minded their propriety, but the children were more direct, eyes glued to the meat, drooling profusely.
Xiao Huan was prepared and brought out a basin of fried meat strips to distribute to the children.
Not many, two strips each, just to tide over the craving.
For a moment, the courtyard was full of the children’s cheers.
Seeing the children’s smiling faces, the parents’ impression of the Xiucai Scholar’s family improved quite a bit.
This was how to handle affairs properly.
