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墨書 Inktalez
Zhou and Ziying hurriedly made their way to the Yard Entrance after hearing the news from the kitchen.
Of course, Ziyan didn't dare to lag behind either. She quickly put down the mountain chicken she was holding and followed her mother and sister's figures.
Thinking about how she hadn't greeted her grandparents last time and had suddenly disappeared with Ling Yuxuan, she felt a bit embarrassed.
So, Ziyan quickened her pace and soon overtook her mother and sister, successfully reaching the Ox Cart. Without a care in the world, she cheered and called out, "Grandma!"
She reached out to help Grandma Zhou down from the cart, who was still a bit dazed.
Right behind her, Zhou couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle, "This girl, last time she slipped away without a word, and now she's here trying to curry favor with Grandma. Is she afraid Grandma will scold her?"
Seeing that her little scheme had been seen through by her mother, Ziyan was momentarily speechless. She shot her mother a glare and playfully called out, "Mom—"
Then she turned to Grandma and pouted, "Grandma, look, my mom loves to bully me. You have to keep an eye on your daughter."
"Alright, alright! Who has the guts to bully our Xiaoyan? They must be blind! Now our Xiaoyan has a family backing her up."
After saying this, Grandma Zhou threw a glance at Zhou and Ziying.
"Uh? Grandma, you... you’re just mocking me, aren’t you?"
Ziyan sulkily lowered her head in frustration.
Seeing Ziyan's defeated expression, everyone burst into laughter.
A group of people walked into the Yard, and Ling Yuxuan, slightly shy, put down the work in his hands, stood up from the stone bench, and nodded to greet everyone.
Meeting his gaze, Ziyan felt a rush of heat to her face, turning as red as a sunset. She quickly turned her face away in another direction.
As soon as Grandma Zhou saw Ling Yuxuan, she began to tease him again.
"Oh dear—Young Master Gu! The last time we had a gathering, you ran off with my Xiaoyan before it even ended. You’re not planning to repeat that today, are you?"
Listening to Grandma Zhou's teasing, the usually calm and composed Ling Yuxuan suddenly felt extremely embarrassed and froze for a moment, a faint blush appearing on his face.
At this point, Ziyan could no longer hold back and shook her grandmother's arm.
"Grandma, you can't play like this."
"Oh, they aren't even married yet! Already turning your elbow outward—starting to protect your future husband now?"
Grandma Zhou's words were sharp as she playfully mocked the two young people in front of her.
Ling Yuxuan quickly regained his composure and furrowed his brows.
With a gentle smile, he approached Grandma Zhou and said flatteringly, "Grandma, I apologize for making you laugh. By the way, you must be tired from such a long journey. Let me help you sit down and rest for a moment."
"Yes, what a polite young man."
As Grandma Zhou spoke, she looked Ling Yuxuan up and down and couldn't help but nod in praise toward everyone present.
However, in just a moment, she seemed to remember something.
So she said sternly, "Since you and my family’s Xiaoyan are so fond of each other, you must never let her down or bully her in the future. Otherwise, I, this old woman, won't let you off."
"Hehe, that's true. Don't worry, Grandma."
Ling Yuxuan rarely smiled sheepishly and even took the cup of cool tea that Ziyan had just poured and handed it to Grandma Zhou. In an instant, a loving smile appeared on Grandma Zhou's face again.
Ling Yuxuan blinked his beautiful eyes at Ziyan and tilted his chin slightly, as if to tell Ziyan: Look, I’ve won Grandma over!
Ziyan pouted and internally scoffed before sweetly saying to Grandma Zhou, "Grandma, since you’ve come from afar, please rest well. My sister and I, along with Brother Yuxuan, will hurry to prepare some delicious food for you."
Grandma Zhou took a sip of the cool tea and smiled as she nodded. "Hmm, good. You all go ahead and be busy; you don't need to serve me here."
So aside from Zi Lao Er chatting with the three guests, everyone else returned to their tasks.
Ziyan quickly chopped up the mountain chicken and finely sliced the Shiitake mushrooms that had already been soaked, then packed them together and sent them to the kitchen.
Next, she retreated to the Earthen Stove outside the courtyard, opened the winnowing basket, and took out a string of smoked yellow and dried Fool intestines along with a piece of golden yellow bacon that was a mix of fat and lean meat.
Just as she was about to return to the courtyard, she saw Qin Ming appear in front of her. Ziyan quickly nodded and greeted him: "Uncle Gu, you've arrived. Please come in."
After saying that, she called out into the courtyard, "Dad, Uncle Gu is here."
Hearing his daughter's call, Zi Lao Er and Zhou Laoda both stood up almost simultaneously and quickly walked to the door to welcome Qin Ming.
Ling Yuxuan remained calm and unhurried, continuing to sit on the stool while roasting the suckling pig, occasionally turning it with both hands.
Ziyan approached with smoked sausages and cured meat, taking a close look at the roast pig. At this moment, the pig was a light yellow both inside and out, continuously dripping oil onto the charcoal below. Meanwhile, a small amount of smoke rose from the coals, accompanied by the occasional sizzling sound, indicating that the fire was still not quite hot enough.
Gently patting Ling Yuxuan's shoulder, Ziyan said, "Very good, just keep turning it like that. It should be ready in about half an hour. Keep it up!"
"Yeah, you too! Make sure to prepare some delicious dishes," Ling Yuxuan replied happily, raising his thick and attractive eyebrows in response to Ziyan's praise.
Ziyan didn't say anything further and headed straight into the kitchen.
Upon entering the kitchen, she saw Zhou had already washed the rice and put it on the stove. She instructed Zhou to continue adding firewood while Ziying was still responsible for miscellaneous tasks like chopping ingredients.
Thus, Ziyan began making Braised Chicken in Yellow Sauce first. This dish was relatively simple; she first sautéed the chopped wild chicken in oil until fragrant, added some Rice Wine, ginger slices, and Soy Sauce to turn it a golden color. After stir-frying until the chicken pieces were colored, she poured in enough water to submerge them and covered the pot to let it simmer slowly.
Since it was wild chicken, the meat was lean and very firm. In this ancient era without pressure cookers, it had to be simmered over high heat for a considerable time.
While waiting, Ziyan kept busy preparing cold dishes and quickly completed three: Candied Sophora Flowers, Vinegar-Seasoned Wild Onion Bulbs, and Spicy Mushroom Sauce with Water Shield Vegetables.
Once the three cold dishes were ready, Ziyan opened the pot to check on the wild chicken. Seeing that it was gradually becoming tender and that there was very little broth left, she added pre-sliced Shiitake mushrooms along with the water they had soaked in. After covering the pot again, she instructed Zhou to add more firewood and let it simmer vigorously.
Before long, the pot began to boil again, and as the broth reduced significantly, Ziyan added salt and a small amount of sugar. After quickly stir-frying to ensure even seasoning, she took it out of the pot and placed it in a shallow earthenware dish. She garnished it with a few sprigs of cilantro, officially completing the dish of Huangmen Mountain Chicken.
After finishing Huangmen Mountain Chicken, the next dish was naturally Poached Fish with Sour Bamboo Shoots, which also required considerable time to prepare.
Ziyan cleaned the Iron Wok thoroughly, poured in some oil, and sautéed the homemade chopped chili sauce and spicy sauce from earlier days, adding minced ginger and salt, then poured in half a pot of water.
After simmering until the soup bubbled and turned a vibrant red, Ziyan used a bamboo skimmer to remove all the debris from the pot.
Once this was done, Ziyan scooped out half of the red broth with a ladle, then added fish heads, fish bones, fish intestines, fish roe, and Sour Bamboo Shoots into the remaining red broth. The pot was covered to let it simmer quickly over high heat.
When the fish heads, fish bones, and everything else were fully cooked, Ziyan took it out and placed it in a large ceramic basin that was about the size of a washbasin.
Next, more red broth was poured into the pot. Once it boiled, the fish slices were gently added to the red broth. After boiling for a short while, it was poured into the basin that held the fish heads. A handful of chopped dried chili peppers, scallions, and minced garlic were sprinkled on top.
Then Ziyan cleaned the pot again, wiped off any moisture, and added more oil. Once the oil was smoking hot, some fresh Sichuan Pepper was sprinkled in. Ziyan then lifted the pot and drizzled the hot oil over the fish in the basin, completing the dish "Poached Fish with Sour Bamboo Shoots."
Afterward, several stir-fried dishes were quickly prepared: Stir-Fried Spicy Smoked Intestines and Stir-Fried Fresh Bamboo Shoots with Roe Deer Cured Meat, along with a serving of Superior Broth Goji Leaf. A total of eight dishes were ready.
At this moment, Qiaoqiao could already smell the delicious aroma of roasted suckling pig wafting into the kitchen. Ziyan guessed that the suckling pig must be done by now and took several empty plates out of the kitchen.
Of course, arranging the bowls and dishes was left to her mother and sister.
As she approached Ling Yuxuan, she inadvertently spotted her uncle Zhou Laoda eagerly squatting in front of the glistening rose-gold roasted suckling pig, sniffing excitedly.
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