Border Cook

Chapter 68: Self-knowledge (asking for monthly ticket)

The rainy season is approaching and she has not had time to repair her roof.

Moreover, the original plan to build the courtyard wall and renovate the kitchen was never put on the agenda. Seeing that the money in hand was gradually sufficient, Xia Mingyue decided to build two and a half western wing rooms at the foot of the west wall.

One room is for Jiang Zhuguo to live in, the other one is kept as a reserve, and the remaining half can be used to store sundries and food in winter.

After much thought, Xia Mingyue felt that this matter could not be delayed any longer and had to be completed before the rainy season arrived. So she found a chance and went to find Liu Caisheng to explain her idea.

Seeing that Xia Mingyue wanted to build a house and repair the courtyard wall, Liu Caisheng was very concerned. He went to Xia Mingyue's house to check the layout of the original house, measured the size of the courtyard, and even drew a simple sketch on paper with charcoal sticks for Xia Mingyue to see.

Xia Mingyue didn't know much about construction, but she had great faith in Liu Caisheng's craftsmanship, so she simply entrusted these matters to Liu Caisheng and let him decide.

But the only thing was that he had to build a proper-looking shack for Wu Jin.

Although Xia Mingyue also built a shack for Wu Jin, which had basic functions of sheltering him from wind and rain, it looked too simple and not very presentable.

Since Wu Jin is a member of the family, he should have his own house.

Liu Caisheng agreed readily, feeling warm in his heart that Xia Mingyue trusted him so much. He secretly told himself that he must do this matter beautifully and live up to Xia Mingyue's trust.

After hearing this, Wu Jin was also relieved. He felt that the master was worthy of being chosen by him personally, and he cared about him so much. He would definitely take good care of the house in the future!
Wu Jin's final shack was located at the corner of the west wing and the courtyard wall. It could avoid the western sun and was located in the center of the entire courtyard, making it convenient for patrolling.

Xia Mingyue quite agreed with this.

After finalizing all the preliminary matters, Liu Caisheng started to get busy.

Help Xia Mingyue buy bricks and tiles, find quicklime and soil needed to build a house, and wood for making beams, rafters and windows.

In addition, Liu Caisheng needs help.

The work of repairing the roof, building the house, and repairing the courtyard wall added up to a lot, and Liu Caisheng could not complete it alone, so he needed to find a skilled worker and a laborer to help.

There are quite a few people doing this kind of work in Taipei City, and there are also a few who have good skills and good character. Liu Caisheng visited them one by one, decided on two people to do the work together, and gave them a suitable wage.

Everything is ready, people are in place, and it's time to start working.

The first thing to do is to repair the roof of the old house.

The roof could not be repaired in one day, and the kitchen had to be renovated next. Eating and living became a little inconvenient, so Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo simply moved to Lu's house first, squeezed in for a few days.

Mrs. Lu welcomed Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo to stay at her house for a while. She was even very happy about it. She didn't care whether Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu were willing or not. She just threw all their bedding into the west wing and cleaned up the original west room for Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo to live in.

The west room was cleaned again, the kang was swept spotlessly clean, and even the window paper was replaced with new ones. Mrs. Lu was very considerate and laid out mattresses and sheets for Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo.

On the other hand, Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu...

The west wing had not been occupied for a long time, and only a lot of sundries were placed there. First of all, all the sundries needed to be put in the corner. Secondly, a broom had to be tied to a long wooden stick to clean the spider webs on the roof and corners. Next, the thick dust accumulated on the kang, windows, and floor had to be cleaned out...

It took the two brothers a whole day to finish all this. When they took a shower at night, they even blew two black globs of liquid out of their nostrils.

Even though they cleaned the house like this, when they went to bed at night, Zhao Erhu touched Zhao Dahu's arm and said, "Brother, there are mice in the house."

"How many?"

"Three." "It's okay. Rats don't eat people."

"Oh." Zhao Erhu continued to lie down, and after a short while, he got up again, "Brother, there is a centipede crawling."

"Stomp him to death!"

"Brother, there are ants."

"Count them and see how many there are."

"..."

"Brother, I miss my own bed."

"That's a good thought. Don't think about it next time." Zhao Dahu patted Zhao Erhu's arm earnestly.

The most important thing for a person is to know himself.

Zhao Erhu pursed his lips and closed his eyes with a sense of grievance.

The feeling of grievance lasted all night, and even until noon of the next day, and was quickly transformed by Zhao Erhu into... appetite!
The host hired people to do the work and provided meals, and to compensate for disturbing the Lu family over the past few days, Xia Mingyue cooked at noon.

Cut off some fat white meat from the pork belly, chop it into dices, and put it in a pan with fried onions, ginger, garlic, star anise, and bay leaves to thoroughly fry out the fat. When the surface of the white meat cubes is browned, add the chopped pork belly cubes, then add rice wine, blanched diced mushrooms, sweet bean sauce, soybean paste, chopped green onions, and boiling water...

When serving, add a little bit of sugar to enhance the flavor.

Boil the noodles until they are 90% done, then rinse them with cold water. Pour them into a bowl, top it with a spoonful of the rich and fragrant fried mushroom meat sauce and a handful of finely chopped cucumber.

After mixing evenly, eat immediately.

The noodles were specially made by Xia Mingyue and then rinsed with cold water. They had a very round and chewy texture. Each noodle was coated with enough meat sauce, and tasted extremely fragrant and had a long aftertaste.

Moreover, the meat sauce is full of meat particles and is quite satisfying to eat. The white meat has been fully stir-fried to release the fat, so it does not feel greasy at all. On the contrary, because of the crispy skin, it is full of meaty aroma and very satisfying.

The presence of refreshing cucumber shreds alleviates the taste fatigue caused by the overly rich meat sauce. The crisp texture and fragrant taste make the mixed sauce noodles never tiring to eat, and you just want to have another bowl.

As the saying goes, if you don't eat garlic when eating noodles, the flavor will be half gone.

After having the delicious mixed noodles, Xia Mingyue remembered the pickled garlic she had made earlier, so she took out a can, opened it and fished out a few.

This can contains white pickled garlic, which exudes a rich sweet and sour flavor as soon as it is opened, making people salivate rapidly.

When eating pickled garlic, it is not necessary to completely peel off the skin of each pickled garlic. You only need to peel off a garlic and bite it directly. The garlic cloves wrapped in the skin will be bitten off crisply. Once they are separated from the skin and enter the mouth, the crisp, sour, sweet and spicy taste of garlic will begin to hit every part of the mouth...

This time the pickled garlic was quite successful. Xia Mingyue praised it highly and couldn't help but eat a few more when she ate it.

When eating pickled garlic, you have to have something with it, so I ate half a bowl of mixed noodles without realizing it.

Others have the same ideas and practices as Xia Mingyue.

　感谢书友20221120182311504、1983102605、可亞、书友20181022105351131、贱指江山.、xu31341、曾韵、张小姐、书友20220602192538744、洁曦、我想知道、天上小宝、yuyangjian、coye、杨意柳、mingliu2056、书友20221102004540362、日下部麻呂、猪may、jenny7027、书友20181103193250269、书友20220422015143501、刘大神的小迷妹、书友140307225923186、书友20221120182311504、书友20221024114150249、木若淼、书友202205072235020254、linlin655、安忆2005、书友140307225923186、天一生水晶、毛毛蟲Mary T、心舞720、酸梅大婶、夜绫、不能忘却的记忆、河畔春晓、yuyangjian、瑾玉格格、jerrysheng、自由的老鼠、CHENZHI、夏洛克taz、lainela、linxj、书友20210916141341342333、LanLanChoco投出的月票，谢谢支持
　　
　
(End of this chapter)