The Female Supporting Role Shows Out - Chapter 9
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
As everyone ate, drank, and took a short nap, they felt particularly energetic to continue their journey in the afternoon. The three brawny men had originally planned to overtake the five carriages ahead and return to the capital first. However, since they “were treated with kindness” and enjoyed a good meal, they did not mind protecting them all the way until the next junction and continued the following behind their fleet.
Manager Lin seemed to have not recovered from the illness yet and coughed occasionally. Whenever she coughed, the handsome man frequently took a look at the carriage but could see nothing because of the bamboo curtain. After walking for about two hours, his subordinate Luo Tietou hiccupped and leaned closer towards the man. He whispered, “Boss, when are we stopping? I’m hungry.”
The man glanced at him but did not answer his question. Another subordinate Zhao Liu asked, “We just had lunch not too long ago and you’re hungry again?”
“The hiccups I had smelled so good that it’s making me hungry again. I feel like having more food.” Luo Tietou had another hiccup as soon as he finished speaking, and his mouth was suddenly filled with the smell of cured meat. It was said that food that entered the stomach would stink within a quarter of an hour, which made hiccups smell bad, but the dish made by Manager Lin was completely opposite. It had been four hours but the rich aroma of that dish remained in his mouth and stomach. Things were made worse when his hair and clothes were also covered with the smell of that dish.
In fact, Zhao Liu was also hungry and couldn’t help looking at the handsome man.
“Keep on going, and stop talking nonsense.” The man said with an expressionless face.
The two looked at each other and sighed in unison. After another two hours, seeing that the sun was about to set, they ran to the front of the fleet and suggested loudly, “There is an empty mountain cove ahead that is good for camping and resting. Shall we settle there? There is a huge and dense forest if we continue any further, many wild animals may appear and it can be dangerous.”
“Let’s rest here for a night then.” Xiao-zhu was a discerning servant after all and quickly asked the driver to stop.
“What are you eating tonight?” Luo Tietou hurriedly asked, even before the carriage had come to a full halt.
“That’s none of your business.” Xiao-zhu puffed his cheeks.
“No,” Zhao Liu appeared from behind and jokingly said: “We could have left on our horses, but we have protected you all the way here. It’s not too much to ask for dinner together, right?”
Xiao-zhu was about to take his revenge and mock them, but he heard a hoarse but gentle voice coming from the carriage, “Thank you for protecting us. Of course, we should treat you to a meal. That’s not too much to ask at all. ” When Manager Lin finished speaking, she jumped out of the carriage and carefully tied her hair with the headscarf to keep it from flying everywhere.
“Thank you so much, Manager Lin.” Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou laughed heartily. Manager Lin was extremely polite and made people feel comfortable.
The hand man also cupped his hands and said earnestly, “Thank you, Manager Lin.”
“You’re welcome.” Lin Dan smiled, “It’s not good to have a heavy dinner or it may cause gut discomfort. Shall we have some wraps?”
“Of course, if that’s not too much of a trouble for you.” The handsome man had no objection, but his two subordinates were a little disappointed. They had been eating steamed buns for many days and had long been tired of eating it. As wraps and steamed buns were similar foods made of flour, they would rather eat more cured meat for dinner. They knew their guts were strong and would have no problems having another heavy meal. But seeing that their leader had accepted the menu, they naturally did not dare to raise any objection.
Lin Dan nodded at several people and took two maids with her to pick wild vegetables in the forest. The spring rain fell a few days ago, the soil was still wet, and various wild plants sprouted across the green fields, covering the mountains and plains. Three servants left to fetch water, chop wood, set up stoves, and start a fire. The two brawny men initially wanted to lie down and take a rest. But their leader stared at them and made them get up to give them a hand.
Sometime after, Lin Dan and the two maids came back with a basket on their backs. The basket was full of wild vegetables, including bamboo shoot tips, Chinese mustard, mushrooms, Chinese mahogany, and so on.
The three servants set up two stoves with two large woks on it. The water in the woks was already boiling and bubbling. Lin Dan asked the maids to wash the vegetables while she took out a bag of brown squares from the carriage.
“What is this?” Luo Tietou leaned over to take a look, his face full of curiosity.
“This is smoked bean curd, a specialty of Bashu. This is made by the same method of curing meat. It is salty and fragrant.” Lin Dan explained slowly.
Luo Tietou picked up a small box and gave it a whiff. Indeed, it had a unique smell that was similar to cured meat but also had the smell of beans.
“Have you ever been to Bashu?” The handsome man who had always been taciturn took the initiative to speak, “The journey there is tough.”
“It’s said that ‘the road to Shu is harder than ascending the sky’.” Lin Dan chuckled lightly, “But after the daunting road, you will find that Bashu is a wonderful place. It has wonderful mountains, lakes, people, and its food is even more wonderful.” For Lin Dan, heaven was where good food was found, and Bashu was indeed a food haven.
The handsome man nodded, and a smile seemed to have appeared in his cold eyes. “Food in Bashu is indeed delicious.”
“Looks like you are a food connoisseur too.” Lin Dan rolled up her sleeves to handle the ingredients. She diced the cooked bamboo shoot tips that were squeezed dry, blanched the Chinese mustard, mushrooms, and smoked bean curd, and set them aside for use later. The two maids were in charge of making the batter and asked Lin Dan whether it was wet enough.
“Add a little more water. If the batter is too thick, the wraps will not be thin enough and will affect the taste later.” Lin Dan gave the two maids instructions to perfect the batter before taking out the lard that had been stored for winter. The lard was then used to stir fry the diced vegetables. The lard sizzled as it melted in the wok, producing a crisp sound. A rich and strong fragrance was given out and made everyone’s mouth water.
“What the hell? Why does this lard so smell so good?” Luo Tietou sniffed as he asked.
Lin Dan stirred the melted lard slowly with a spatula and explained, “The lard will definitely smell good if it is made with the right technique. Water is added whenever I make lard to prevent the fat from getting burnt and tasting bitter and makes the lard whiter and thicker. When stored in a jar, adding a spoonful of sugar and a few peppercorns for every catty of oil can effectively prevent it from becoming rancid. This can safely be stored for four or five months.”
As she explained, the oil had been heated up. Lin Dan added the bamboo shoots, diced smoked bean curd, diced mushrooms, diced mustard, and other ingredients one after another, stirring them with a spatula, and sprinkled some sesame seeds and salt.
“Since we had heavy lunch this afternoon, it’s good to have something lighter for dinner.” She continued, “The three treasures usually refer to the ‘three treasures from the earth’, ‘three treasures from the sea’, and ‘three treasures from the plants’. This dish is the ‘three treasures of Spring’. The bamboo shoot tips, Chinese mustard, and mushrooms are all excellent fresh food ingredients. You only need to briefly stir fry them with lard and some salt and it will already taste amazing. Do you know what is the best food to eat in the spring?” She turned around and looked at her two maids named Shaoyao and Dujuan.
They scratched their heads and smiled awkwardly. Their mouths had been watering that their minds were not present anymore.
Lin Dan stirred the diced vegetables and answered, “’Fresh’ food is the best to eat in spring. This is the season when all living things come alive and everything is new and fresh. Smell this air that is filled with the fragrance of flowers, isn’t it fresh?”
“Indeed!” The two maids nodded and beamed. One of them asked, “So, what is the best food to eat in summer?”
“‘Invigorating’ food is the best in summer. We must eat more refreshing food as the weather becomes warmer, so as to avoid gut discomfort. Having a bowl of sweet mung bean porridge with a few pieces of peppermint cake in the morning; a bowl of refreshing cold noodles made with chili oil and topped with shredded cucumber and green onion in the afternoon; a pot of rice wine with a few cold dishes in the evening; and a bowl of sour plum soup before ending the day, isn’t life peaceful and invigorating that way?”
The two maids smacked their lips and asked, “Then, what’s the best in autumn?”
Lin Dan put the fried three fresh diced vegetables into an earthen pot, and continued, “We eat ’Nourishing’ food in autumn. Having a bowl of peanut and barley porridge In the morning to nourish our blood and qi; a pot of stewed old hen with dried chestnuts in the afternoon, where the sweetness of chestnuts seeps into the salty and fresh chicken, creating an aroma that stays for a long time; a bowl of cut old pumpkin steamed with fermented beans at night, it is a sweet dish that lingers in your dream. We eat sweet and nourishing food in autumn so that we can recover from all the energy we have lost from the work we have done in summer and enjoy a good winter.”
“I guess this is what ‘fleshing out in autumn’ means, huh?” The maids had a sudden realization before asking again, “What about winter?”
“’Warm’ food is the best in winter.” Lin Dan put five palm-sized pans over the fire and spread the cut lard on the pan. She slowly poured the batter on the pan and swirled the pan lightly. Soon after, a piece of wrap was done. She turned the pan around on a clean earthen plate and the wrap fell on the plate. One after another, the tender and white wraps were made and stacked on top of each other.
Lin Dan continued swirling the pans, spreading lard on all five pans and continued adding the batter. Within just several minutes, dozens of wraps were made, all with an even size and thickness. While she was making the wraps, she continued talking, “Since it’s freezing in winter, and the food we eat must be warm and comfortable for the stomach. During New Year, families huddle together, talking and laughing, while making dumplings. When the cooked dumplings are removed from the boiling water, take a bite while it is hot, and you can feel that not only your stomach is warm, your heart is warm too. Imagine having steamed and fragrant fried meatballs braised trotters, and steamed shads at the same time, aah……
Lin Dan could not help but smile when she imagined the scene.
The two maids had already run away with their mouths covered, as they did not want their drool to drip into the pans.
Somehow, the three brawny men had already gathered nearby, listening to Lin Dan while watching her cook. They realized that she was not only good at cooking but also very eloquent. She could talk about food literature all day and make the listeners feel as though they have enjoyed a feast, keeping their hearts satisfied but stomachs even hungrier.
The handsome man stared at Lin Dan for a long time with a pair of mysterious yet gleaming eyes. When Lin Dan looked at him, he lowered his head nonchalantly.
It was not long after when the “wrap stall” was ready. Lin Dan washed the wild onions and cut them into sections before taking out the sweet and spicy sauce, garlic sauce, and spicy sauce she had made, and put them on small plates. She called out to the rest, “Alright, dinner is ready.”
Everyone cheered and gathered near the earthenware to get some food. The palm-sized wraps looked soft, but when it was wrapped in diced vegetables and eaten, it filled their mouth with a rich and strong aroma. The diced bamboo shoots were crisp and refreshing; the diced smoked bean curds were soft and chewy, and the juice of Chinese mustard and mushrooms was fused in the sweet wrap to create a rich texture. If one finds the flavor too light for their liking, they can also add some wild onion and sauce, and create a wrap that tasted salty, fresh, sweet, and spicy, before it all melted on the tip of their tongue, as though spring had come.
The three brawny men froze after only one bite before quickly stuffing the rest of the wrap into their mouths. They made one wrap after another… The spoon used to scoop the diced vegetables was always busy and the food was finished in a flash.
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