Chapter 131 (1/2)
Chapter 131
Chapter 131 - Breakfast
First, Xiaocao stir-fried salt, pepper, and anise star . Next, she drained the water and cured the ducks with the stir-fried salt for two hours . During this time, she also heated up the braising sauce, and then marinated the ducks with the old braising sauce for another two hours . The last steps were to cook them and wait for them to cool down . If there was enough time, the time for curing and marinating in old braising sauce should be doubled!
Just as Yu Xiaocao, with the help of her eldest maternal aunt, was busily making the preparations, her eldest granduncle’s little eight year old grandson ran through the door panting and shouted, “Xiaocao! Second Uncle said your maternal uncles didn’t eat breakfast yet, so just make something simple to fill their stomachs first . They can have a more sumptuous meal in the evening!”
“Yu Zhou, how dare you call me ‘Xiaocao’? You should call me ‘older sister’, understand?” Xiaocao knocked on the kid’s forehead . Yu Zhou was the son of her oldest uncle from her eldest granduncle’s family . He had a strong and honest appearance, and looked rather cute .
Yu Zhou made a silly face at her and said reluctantly, “Aren’t you just a little over two months older than me? Look, you’re not even as tall as me . It’s so humiliating to call you ‘older sister’!”
“Even if I’m older than you by a day, you will still have to call me ‘older sister’! Are you going to say it or not? If you don’t, I’ll go tell Eldest Granduncle!” Yu Xiaocao teased him on purpose .
With a bitter expression on his little face, the little fellow glared at Xiaocao and shouted, “Tattletale!”
Xiaocao estimated that the duck liver and intestine being braised in the pot should be about ready, so she went into the kitchen and cut out a piece . As if she was teasing a little puppy, she grinned and said, “Come on, call ‘older sister’ . If you call me ‘older sister’, you can eat this piece of duck liver ah!”
As soon as Yu Zhou entered the door, he had smelled the scent of braised meat . He inhaled deeply and couldn’t s.h.i.+ft his eyes away from the piece of duck liver . He was about to drool as he asked, “Really? If I call you ‘older sister’, this piece of braised meat will be mine?”
Yu Xiaocao was inwardly laughing her head off . She had thought that this kid would have a strong backbone, but it seemed like he was also a little glutton . But, she couldn’t really blame him . It was already very fortunate that the villagers usually had enough to eat . There really weren’t many people who could eat meat dishes when it wasn’t some special holiday . It was no wonder that Yu Zhou longed for meat!
“Of course! When did this Older Sister ever go back on my words?” Yu Xiaocao stopped teasing him and looked at him sincerely .
Yu Zhou had long heard of his second uncle’s family’s braised food . He also often followed his father to the docks, so he had firsthand experience of the popularity of the one copper coin braised dish . In fact, one copper coin wasn’t very expensive, but his father was afraid that Xiaocao and her sister would refuse to accept their money . Thus, they had never bought it before .
He had pestered his father many times, but he had never succeeded . Usually, his father would strictly restrict him and his older brother from visiting Second Uncle’s house because he was afraid that they would arrive while his second uncle’s family was braising food . As a result, he wanted to have a taste of the braised food even in his dreams!
The little fellow was usually a child with a strong backbone, but his heart was slightly wavering in front of delicious food: ‘Wasn’t it just calling her older sister? Xiaocao is originally older than me, so there’s nothing shameful about that . ’
With that thought in mind, he blurted out, “Older Sister, Older Sister Xiaocao! This… Is this your family’s one copper coin braised food? My father said your family doesn’t have it easy, so it’s best to save this to sell at the docks!”
Xiaocao saw that he kept swallowing his saliva and his eyes were reluctant to leave the duck liver in her hands, yet he still tried to resist his desire for tasty food . She sighed with emotion inwardly: ‘The kids in Eldest Granduncle’s family are quite sensible ah!’
“This duck liver was made for us to eat ourselves . Here, taste it for me! How is it?” Yu Xiaocao took a step forward and wanted to stuff the small piece of duck liver into his mouth .
The little fellow covered his mouth, retreated, and shook his head, “Older Sister Xiaocao, your family has guests today . It’s better to leave them for the guests to eat…”
“What a benevolent child!” Eldest Maternal Aunt laughed and praised as she kneaded the dough to make flatbread .
Yu Xiaocao said with a broad smile, “Alright! Don’t retreat anymore, or else you will step on our family’s vegetables! There’s still a lot of duck liver and duck gizzard in the pot, so it’s fine if you eat one!!”
As she spoke, she grabbed Yu Zhou’s arm and shoved the duck liver into his mouth .
Yu Zhou had no choice but to eat the piece of duck liver . The duck liver, which was braised with a special braising sauce, was soft and fragrant . That mellow fragrance lingered on the tip of his tongue for a long time . It was so delicious that he could not help but tremble .
“Older Sister Xiaocao, I heard that you were the one who came up with the idea of braised food! Your culinary skills are amazing!! I have never eaten something so delicious before . ” Yu Zhou immediately became a loyal fan of Xiaocao’s cooking .
Xiaocao smiled . To be subdued with just a small piece of duck liver, he was indeed a little glutton, “Yu Zhou, help older sister with something . Go to the neighboring village’s Old Luo’s family and buy some tofu for me! I’ll treat you to something good later!”
“I can help you go buy the tofu, but you don’t have to treat me to a meal! Our family has already eaten breakfast!” The little foodie Yu Zhou took the two copper coins Xiaocao handed to him and skipped out of the front door .
Due to Xiaocao’s insistence, the Yu Family had changed their eating habits of eating two meals a day to eating three meals a day . She had already eaten breakfast, but she forgot that her maternal uncles still had the habit of eating two meals a day . It was almost nine in the morning now, so it was time to eat their morning meal!
It seemed like they had to save the salted duck for tonight . As a result, there would be more than enough time to salt the ducks, and it would also be more flavorful by then .
For the morning meal, Yu Xiaocao prepared to make ‘duck blood stewed with tofu’, ‘stir-fried mushrooms with greens’, ‘braised eggplant’, and ‘smashed cuc.u.mber salad’ . The staple food was flatbread made with half coa.r.s.e grain and half wheat flour . There was also a pot of tomato and egg soup .