Meal Sweet Home: Farm Lady

Chapter 19 Meals from Local Materials

On the second day, it was slightly bright and there was still a little chill in the air. Nanyan called Xiangmei, the youngest daughter of Aunt Zhang’s family next door, and took a hatchet and some dry food to go to the back hillside of Xihu Village to chop. firewood.

There are no mountains around Yangzhou city, it's just a big, not so steep slope, and the villagers habitually call it a mountain.

Nan Yan does what she says, and she will definitely not cook without firewood.

She and Xiangmei laughed and played and went up the tree-lined hillside, stopping to rest from time to time.

When Qi Yuhao woke up early in the morning, he found that the house was unusually quiet.He dressed and came to the door of the house where Nan Yan and Yu Ranyue were. The door was ajar, and Yu Ranyue was still soundly asleep.

It seems that Yu Ranyue was on the road again yesterday, and tried to make things difficult for others, consuming a lot of mental and physical energy.It was because she was too tired, that's why Nan Yan slept soundly on the temporary wooden plank last night, and was not tortured by the general's daughter in the middle of the night.

Qi Yuhao didn't wake Yu Ranyue up, but closed the half-hidden door more tightly, fearing that the noise outside would disturb her.

When he came to the kitchen, he found that all the firewood that had been wet last night had been removed and dried in the sun.Although the stagnant water in the kitchen has been swept away, the ground is still somewhat damp after a night.

There was half a bowl of washed rice on the stove, Qi Yuhao's stern face raised the corners of his mouth slightly, he picked up the cleaned rice, and went to Aunt Zhang's house next door.

Qi Yuhao is a smart person, and he knew what Nan Yan was thinking when he saw the washed rice.He took the rice to Aunt Zhang and asked her to cook some breakfast for Yu Ranyue.

"Brother Yuhao, you went out without having some breakfast?" Aunt Zhang asked enthusiastically.

"Don't eat, I have something urgent to go to the market." Qi Yuhao responded with a smile.

"Bring a big pancake with you, eat it when you're hungry!"

"Auntie, I really don't need it. When Ranyue wakes up, please take care of me." Qi Yuhao said politely.

Aunt Zhang wanted to answer immediately, but her face was a little troubled.After all, she is the general's youngest daughter who is not easy to mess with, I'm afraid she will dislike this and that.But now that he has agreed, he has no choice but to work hard.

Qi Yuhao bid farewell to Aunt Zhang and strode out of the village.With Yu Ranyue's sudden arrival, General Yu Lianxiang must have been furious at the barracks.Whatever you say, you have to send a letter to Feige and report to General Yu that Yu Ranyue is safe.

On the hillside behind the village, Nanyan and Xiangmei had already reached the place where firewood was densely packed while they were laughing and playing.The two took off the large baskets they were carrying on their shoulders, took out their hatchets, and carefully chopped off the slender branches.

The two chatted while chopping, which was more leisurely than busying with a day's work in the village.The most important thing is that Nan Yan doesn't have to wake up early in the morning to face the picky face of that unreasonable and unreasonable Yu Ranyue.

"Sister Yan, do you like Brother Yuhao?" For some reason, while chatting, the villain Jing Xiangmei asked such a question.

Nan Yan was at a loss for words, her head was a little blank, and then she responded: "How is it possible, I'm just the one who works for him to pay off his debts, and I don't think about anything else. Besides, that guy has a cold expression all day long. Not flattering."

Nanyan's chopping wood is not as proficient as Xiangmei's, but it has improved a lot from the beginning.

"I don't think so!" Xiangmei puffed her tender lips, "Brother Yuhao is the most handsome and kind-hearted man I've ever met."

Seeing Xiangmei adoring her while talking, three black lines came out of Nan Yan's head.

Xiangmei is only 12 years old, and her body has not yet developed, but she has unknowingly started to fall in love.

Seeing her nympho look, Nan Yan couldn't help shaking her head and smiling.It's normal to fall in love with someone at a young age. Nan Yan remembers that when she was still in kindergarten, she fell in love with a little boy who looked like a star in her class.

The so-called love between men and women is always possible when you think about it.

"I have decided that when I grow up, I will marry Brother Yuhao." Xiangmei patted her chest confidently, looking extremely cute.

Nan Yan let out a "puchi" laugh, "Silly girl, how old are you. When you grow up, that guy doesn't even know how many young wives he has in his family."

Qi Yuhao is six years older than Nan Yan, and Nan Yan is four years older than Xiangmei.In this way, it means that Xiangmei is ten years younger than Qi Yuhao.

"What does it matter, I don't care. The emperor can still marry his own granddaughter's concubine, so what's the difference between me and brother Yuhao by ten years? It's normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, so I don't care."

Sure enough, she is an ancient woman, her thoughts are still so humble, she would rather share a man with many women.

This is also the fundamental reason why women often intrigue with each other and kill each other by unscrupulous means in palaces, mansions, and mansions from ancient times to the present.

As a modern person, Nan Yan has long been accustomed to monogamy, and she finds it difficult to accept such an ancient era where one husband can have multiple wives.

"Sister Yan, you are so beautiful, Brother Yuhao will definitely like you. You marry him first, and when I grow up, I will marry him too! Our little daughter-in-law, I will serve him well in the future." It's time for Mei to fantasize, and the smile on the corner of her mouth is extremely charming.

Nan Yan was speechless to the extreme, not knowing how to answer Xiangmei's words.

She doesn't want to share a man with others, let alone a woman with whom she has a good relationship.In modern times, if a girlfriend seduces a friend's man, she will be drowned in spit.

What's more, there is another big Buddha named Yu Ranyue at home now, who looks like the kind of woman who is so infatuated with Qi Yuhao that she wants to die.Coupled with her extraordinary background, her unreasonable and domineering personality, anyone who shares Qi Yuhao with her will be eaten alive by her!
"I've never thought about any man. I just want to live my life in peace and stability. It would be even better if I can fulfill my wish." Nan Yan said sweetly.

Nan Yan, who lived to be 28 years old in her previous life, lost confidence in love after two failed relationships.What's more, she is still living in ancient times when polygamy is allowed, which makes her no longer desire for it.

"Sister Yan, what is your wish?" Xiangmei asked curiously.

Nan Yan scratched her ears and scratched her cheeks for a while, then pouted and said, "Actually, I don't have any specific wish, I just want to open a store of my own. As for what kind of store it is..." Nan Yan thought for a while, and looked down at her left wrist "It would be great if I could have my own restaurant." Suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Open a restaurant?" Xiangmei became even more energetic, "Great, great, this is a great idea! People depend on food, and the restaurant opened by Sister Yan will definitely have a prosperous business. I will help when the time comes." Miscellaneous, Sister Yan wants to give me more wages!"

This horoscope has not been written yet!

Xiangmei's enthusiasm suddenly jumped from marrying Qi Yuhao when she grew up, to doing odd jobs in the restaurant that Nan Yan imagined.

Children are children, so innocent.

Nan Yan smiled awkwardly to herself, the idea is nothing but the idea, if it is really going to be implemented, it will still be very difficult.

The first is the problem of capital operation. How can I find a place to open a restaurant without money?The second is the geographical location. If the geographical location is not good, how can ordinary people touch it?Besides, even if the geographical location is not so good, the dishes of this restaurant must be quite unique, right?
As the saying goes, the aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys.If the restaurant business doesn't prepare the dishes well, how can it attract customers?So how can you make money?

So if you want to open a restaurant, the first thing you need to do is to have superb cooking skills.Nan Yan touched her bracelet and swore secretly.

"Speaking of eating, I'm so hungry!"

It was already noon, Xiangmei chatted while chopping firewood, her stomach was already empty.She just took out a thick pancake from the cloth bag, but she couldn't arouse her appetite.

"Oh! It's not that I'm tired of my mouth, it's just that my mother only cooks those few dishes after tossing and turning, and I often eat flatbread. I'm tired of eating it." Xiangmei pouted dissatisfiedly.

It's true, it's no wonder that Aunt Zhang only knows those few dishes. After all, the ancient times lacked too much in terms of ingredients, ingredients, and condiments compared to modern times.

People are progressing through exploration. What can be eaten and what can't be eaten has been passed down after thousands of years of experimentation.

"Mei'er, what else is in the cloth pocket?" Nan Yan asked after hearing the sound.

Xiangmei spread out the cloth pocket, which also contained a bowl for drinking water and salt sprinkled on the flatbread to add flavor.

Nan Yan looked around, and suddenly her eyes lit up, and she found a bush growing densely with small granular fruits not far away.

"No wonder I smell this familiar smell from time to time, so it's it!" Nan Yan said to herself with a smile.

She trotted over, picked a bunch of peppercorns from a tree within reach, and handed them to Xiangmei.

"What is this?" Xiangmei, who had never cared about this thing before, held it in her hands curiously, put it up to her nose and smelled it, "Ah, it smells so bad, what exactly is this?"

"It's called Zanthoxylum bungeanum, and it's a good helper for cooking." Nan Yan replied with a smile.

"It smells so bad, but is it a good helper for cooking?" Xiangmei questioned.

Nan Yan casually picked more than a dozen dogwoods from her side, put them in her palm and smelled them, "Great, the ingredients are complete for now."

Cornel was used as pepper in ancient times.

She asked Xiangmei to use a bowl to fetch some water from the stream on the mountain, squatted on the ground, surrounded a circle with a dozen stones, and lit the freshly cut branches in the center of the circle to make a fire.

Put the bowl filled with water on the circle surrounded by stones, and when the water boiled, Nan Yan put the dogwood and peppercorns she had just picked into it.

A Zanthoxylum bungeanum, a dogwood, just played a spicy role.

"Hey, I don't think the smell is strange now, it's quite fragrant." Xiangmei curiously took a deep breath of the air in the bowl, savoring it.

Nan Yan smiled, and when the fragrance rose, she tore the thick pancake into pieces and put them into the bowl.

The noodles are put in too early and are easy to rot, so they should be put in last.After all the pancakes in her hand went into the bowl, Nan Yan waited for the torn pancakes to taste thoroughly.

The heat was getting low, Nan Yan just crushed the salt and put it into it in an appropriate amount.

"Mei'er, try it!" Nan Yan handed a pair of chopsticks to Xiangmei's hand.

Xiangmei took the chopsticks, a little hesitant, after all, there was pepper in them which she just smelled very uncomfortable.But the spicy aroma from this bowl increased her appetite greatly.

She picked up a pair of chopsticks and carefully placed the dough near her mouth to cool it down, before taking a bite.

I saw her eyes light up, and her spirits suddenly revived, "This, this... I have never eaten such delicious food. It is spicy and spicy, and it is very fragrant. It is really delicious."

Hearing Xiangmei's evaluation, Nan Yan smiled gratifiedly.

(End of this chapter)