Border Cook

Chapter 71 Lotus Leaf Pork Ribs Steamed Rice
Just a few days after he presented rice dumplings to his filial piety last time, He Shunzi successfully took over the job of supplying vegetables and eggs from Manager Fu. Every day he was busy collecting vegetables and eggs from farmers and delivering them.

The reason why he came to the county town today was because Manager Fu had been requesting a lot of vegetables recently, and the kitchen had not used them up yet. Since there was no need to deliver the goods today, He Shunzi came to the county town to buy some new cloth for his family to make clothes.

I happened to see that Xia Mingyue's Xia Ji had new food, so I bought some and gave it to Manager Fu to take back.

Once you take on the job, you have to show your filial piety so that the relationship can last.

"Madam Xia, what does you want to buy? I want to see if I can find it?" He Shunzi asked.

He Shunzi felt that the reason he was able to take on this job was closely related to the rice dumplings he had bought last time. He had persuaded Madam Xia to sell him the rice dumplings after much persuasion, and it was only because she saw his sincerity that she was willing to sell him the rice dumplings.

It can be said that this job was obtained thanks to Madam Xia.

Now that Madam Zixia wanted something, He Shunzi naturally didn't want to refuse.

"Now is the time when lotus leaves are growing vigorously. I want some fresh lotus leaves. I wonder if it is convenient for you to find them?" Xia Mingyue said, "If it is not convenient, it is okay..."

She looked elsewhere.

After all, He Shunzi has taken on important work now, and he probably can't focus on these small businesses like before.

"There is a lotus pond to the east of my house where people grow lotus roots and feed fish. There are a lot of lotus leaves there. I will send them to Madam Xia tomorrow after I finish delivering the goods." He Shunzi agreed readily.

In order to deliver goods to Zhuangzi, he specially raised money to buy an ox-drawn cart so that it would be convenient to travel back and forth.

The lotus pond is near the village, so it is convenient for traveling.

"Thank you very much." When Xia Mingyue was cutting jelly for He Shunzi, she cut off half an extra piece.

"Ms. Xia, you're welcome."

After Xia Mingyue had cut the jelly and poured the sauce into it, He Shunzi paid the money and caught up with the ox cart nearby and left.

He walked out of the county town and went straight to the farm. He delivered the jelly to the servant at the corner gate, and then went to the nearby lotus pond to see who was picking lotus leaves.

The lotus pond here is quite large, with large lotus leaves growing on it. Looking around, you can see a lush green that covers the sky and blocks out the sun.

The owner of the lotus pond was a wealthy family who made a living by raising fish, feeding ducks and selling lotus roots. He didn't care about picking lotus leaves and just told He Shunzi to pick any.

He Shunzi thanked him repeatedly.

After delivering the goods to Dexin Garden the next day, He Shunzi picked some lotus leaves that looked green, thick and wide and gave them to Xia Mingyue.

Xia Mingyue saw that the lotus leaves were of excellent quality and accepted them with a smile. "How much?"

"It's just a few lotus leaves. I don't need to pay for them." He Shunzi waved his hand. "The lotus pond let me pick whatever I wanted. I didn't ask for money, so I can't ask Madam Xia for money either."

This isn't something valuable, but it's a good thing to establish a good relationship with. We may be able to interact again in the future for other things.

This is He Shunzi's usual style, and this time is no exception.

Seeing He Shunzi say this, Xia Mingyue no longer insisted on giving him money. She just cut a small piece of jelly for He Shunzi and asked him to take it home and mix it with vegetables in the evening.

He Shunzi did not refuse as it was customary to reciprocate.

With the lotus leaves, Xia Mingyue washed one and cooked lotus leaf porridge that night.

The lotus leaves are fragrant, the rice grains are soft and glutinous, and the taste is sweet with rock sugar. On such a hot day, people can't help but drink an extra bowl.

On the second day, Xia Mingyue made lotus leaf pork ribs rice. Chop the ribs into small pieces and put them in a cold water pot to remove the blood, foam and fishy smell, then put them in a frying pan to stir-fry until the skin is browned and the fat is slightly released, then put them in a sauce made with soy sauce, pepper, sesame oil, salt, etc. and marinate for half an hour.

Wash the rice clean, pour it into a large coarse porcelain basin lined with lotus leaves, then pour in the soaked pork ribs and the broth, and start steaming.

A quarter of an hour later, a rich aroma emanated from the steamer.

The aroma of pork ribs, the fragrance of lotus leaves, the aroma of rice...

The smell is going to make your nose go off!
"Brother, let me light the fire." Zhao Erhu went into the kitchen.

"No, I can burn it myself." Zhao Dahu refused.

The lotus leaf pork ribs rice smells so good, it’s good to smell it more often.

"Then let's cook it together." Zhao Erhu moved a small stool and sat next to him.

Just saying that he wanted to light the fire with Zhao Dahu, his nose twitched and his eyes were staring at the steamer without even blinking.

After a short while, Wu Jin also came over.

It was just that Xia Mingyue didn't allow it to enter the kitchen on normal days, so it just stayed outside, but it didn't forget to bring the clay pots and bowls for eating.

It wants to eat such delicious food as soon as possible!

The fire was heated enough, Xia Mingyue asked Zhao Dahu to put out the fire in the stove and open the steamer.

A large amount of rich aroma suddenly came out along with the hot air, causing Liu Caisheng and the other two who were working next door to sniff.

"I wonder what delicious food Madam Xia made for lunch today." The worker asked, poking his head out at the same time.

"When I was moving bricks here earlier, I saw Madam Xia washing pork ribs and rice. I guess there will be rice and pork ribs for lunch."

A man who worked as a laborer like Liu Caisheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "We are going to have a feast this afternoon."

"Who doesn't enjoy a good meal at noon?" Liu Caisheng asked with a smile, "Mrs. Xia is a good cook. Working for her, let alone the wages, is really good for satisfying the glutton in my stomach."

Although you can usually eat good noodles when working for other people, you may not get meat. What's more, Madam Xia is a good cook, and the food she cooks is even more delicious than that of Yueran Restaurant. Isn't this a huge bargain?
"Brother Caisheng, what you said is very good." The worker chuckled, but did not stop his hands. He just placed the blue bricks in front of the skilled worker one by one.

The skilled worker held the blue brick in one hand and the trowel in the other. He skillfully scooped mud from the mud bucket and spread it on the top. He carefully placed the brick down and tapped it twice with the trowel to make it firm. He wiped off the excess mud, ensuring that the seams in the wall were smooth and even, and then took down another blue brick.

After building the wall like this for a while, he looked up at Xia Mingyue's courtyard.

The courtyard wall was already half built, and even if the remaining work, including the gatehouse and the final cleaning work, was completed in three days if the three of them worked together.

Three days later, when the work was done, they were ready to leave.

I won’t be able to eat such delicious meals cooked by Madam Xia.

The worker felt very sorry and became somewhat dejected.

But this dejected look disappeared completely when the meal was served.

At first they thought that lunch would be rice with a spoonful of stewed pork ribs poured on top, but now there was indeed rice and pork ribs in the bowl, but they were not poured on top.

　Recommendation tickets, collections, subscriptions, monthly tickets, the greedy Cha Nuan wants everything, hahahaha~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)