Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 9: Chef 8

The group ate their fill, rested briefly, and felt especially energized when they set off again in the afternoon. The three strong men had originally intended to bypass the five carriages in front and return to the capital first, but they were after all indebted, and thought that since they had eaten a meal from the people, it would be no harm to protect them along the way, and they would go their separate ways at the next intersection, so they continued to trail behind the convoy.

Shopkeeper Lin seemed to still be sick, occasionally coughing twice, causing the handsome man to frequently look at the carriage, but he couldn’t see anything because of the bamboo curtain. After walking for about an hour or so, the subordinate named Luo Laotou, while burping, leaned to the man’s side and lowered his voice, saying, “Boss, when will we stop and set up camp? I’m hungry.”

The man only gave him a casual glance and didn’t answer. The subordinate named Zhao Liu then teased, “You just finished lunch not long ago, how come you’re hungry again?”

“The burp I just let out was too fragrant, and I started to feel hungry again after smelling it, and I want to eat again.” As soon as Luo Laotou finished speaking, he burped, and his mouth was immediately filled with the taste of cured meat. It is said that the food eaten in the stomach will stink within an hour, so the burp is also stinky, but the dish made by Shopkeeper Lin was completely different. After two hours, the rich fragrance still lingered in the mouth and abdomen, and even the hair and clothes were filled with the smell of the food, making people unable to bear it.

Actually, Zhao Liu was also hungry, and couldn’t help but look at the handsome man.

“Keep going, don’t talk nonsense.” The man said with a blank expression.

The two of them looked at each other, sighed in unison, and after another hour, seeing that the sun was about to set, they ran to the front of the convoy and loudly suggested: “There is an open mountain valley here that can be used for us to camp and rest, why don’t we settle down there? Going forward is all dense forest, with many wild beasts in the forest, which is quite dangerous.”

“Then let’s rest here for a night.” The young servant named Xiao Zhu was not a person who didn’t know what was good for him, and quickly told the carmen to stop the carriage.

“What are we eating tonight?” Before the carriage stopped, Luo Laotou had already asked urgently.

“What we eat has nothing to do with you?” Xiao Zhu puffed up his cheeks.

“No,” Zhao Liu came out from behind, and said with a smile: “We could have ridden ahead, but now we have protected you all the way, it’s not too much to have a dinner with you, right?”

Xiao Zhu was about to retort and take revenge for the previous grudge, when he heard a hoarse but gentle voice from the carriage: “Thank you, several big brothers, for protecting us along the way, it’s only right that we should treat you to a meal, how can it be too much?” After the words, Lin the shopkeeper jumped out of the car, carefully wrapped the headscarf, not allowing her long hair to flutter casually.

“Then thank you, Shopkeeper Lin.” Zhao Liu and Luo Laotou immediately burst out laughing. This Shopkeeper Lin was very polite to others, making people feel comfortable to look at.

The handsome man also cupped his hands and said seriously: “Thank you, Shopkeeper Lin.”

“You’re welcome.” Lin Dan smiled gently, “It’s not advisable to eat too much for dinner, and the taste can’t be too strong, otherwise it will cause gastrointestinal discomfort, shall we just eat some pancakes?”

“Of course, thank you, Shopkeeper Lin.” The handsome man had no objection, but his two subordinates were somewhat disappointed. They had eaten mo-mo for many days in a row, and they had already gotten tired of it. Pancakes and mo-mo were both wheat-based food, and the taste was about the same. It would be better to continue eating cured meat. They had good stomachs and wouldn’t be uncomfortable. But thinking about it, seeing that the leader had agreed, the two naturally did not dare to voice any objections.

Lin Dan nodded slightly to them, and then took the two little maids to the forest to pick wild vegetables. It had just rained a few days ago, and the soil was still wet, and all kinds of wild vegetables were sprouting green, all over the mountains and plains. The three servants stayed behind to fetch water, chop firewood, build a stove, and light a fire. The two strong men had originally planned to lie down and rest for a while, and be the hands-off boss, but they were glared at by their own leader, and had to get up and help with the work.

A few minutes later, Lin Dan and the two little maids returned, each carrying a basket, and the baskets were filled with wild vegetables, such as bamboo shoot tips, mustard greens, mushrooms, toon, and so on.

The three servants built two stoves, each with two large pots, and the water in the pots was already boiling and bubbling. Lin Dan asked the little maids to wash the vegetables, and she took out a bag of brown squares from the carriage.

“What is this?” Luo Laotou leaned over to peek, his face full of curiosity.

“This is dried fragrant tofu, a specialty of the Bashu region, smoked using the method of smoking cured meat, and the taste is salty and fragrant.” Lin Dan explained slowly.

Luo Laotou picked up a small square and smelled it, and indeed had the taste of cured meat, and also the fragrance of beans, the taste was very unique.

“You’ve also been to Bashu?” The always silent handsome man actually took the initiative to speak: “The roads there are very difficult to walk.”

“The roads of Shu are difficult, as difficult as ascending to the sky.” Lin Dan chuckled, “But if you’ve walked the difficult roads, you’ll find that Bashu is a wonderful place, with beautiful mountains, beautiful water, beautiful people, and even more beautiful food.” For her, a place with delicious food is a blessed land, so Bashu is a truly blessed kingdom.

The handsome man nodded, and a hint of a smile appeared in his clear eyes, “The food of Bashu is indeed delicious.”

“It seems you’re also a foodie.” Lin Dan rolled up her sleeves to process the ingredients, and cut the boiled and squeezed dry bamboo shoot tips, the blanched mustard greens, together with the mushrooms and dried fragrant tofu, all into pieces, and set them aside. The two little maids were in charge of making the dough, and from time to time asked Lin Dan if there was enough water.

“Add more, the dough is too thick, the pancakes will not be thin enough, not fine enough, and it will affect the taste.” Lin Dan directed the two little maids to mix the dough, and then took out the lard sealed for the winter, to stir-fry the vegetable dices. The lard melted in the pot, making a sizzling sound, and another rich aroma came, causing everyone to swallow their saliva.

“Damn, why is this lard so fragrant?” Luo Laotou sniffed his nose and asked.

Lin Dan stirred the slowly melting lard with a spatula, and said gently: “If it’s made properly, the lard will naturally be fragrant. When I make lard, I will add clear water, which can prevent the fat from scorching and becoming bitter, and also make the lard that is cooked more white and brighter and more thick. When storing in jars, one jin of oil and then one spoonful of sugar and a few peppercorns can effectively prevent rancidity, and it will not be a problem to eat it for four or five months.”

While speaking, the oil was already hot, and Lin Dan first put in the bamboo shoot dices, dried fragrant tofu dices, mushroom dices, mustard green dices, and other ingredients, and stirred them evenly with a spatula, and then sprinkled in sesame seeds and salt.

“The taste was too strong at noon, so we’ll have something lighter tonight.” She said slowly: “The three fresh ingredients are divided into three fresh ingredients of the earth, three fresh ingredients of the water, and three fresh ingredients of the trees, and our dish is spring three fresh ingredients. The bamboo shoot tips, mustard greens, and mushrooms, are all top-grade fresh ingredients, just need to be stir-fried with lard and flying salt, and it’s enough to be palatable. Do you know what you eat in spring?” She turned to look at the two little maids named Shao Yao and Dujuan.

Shao Yao and Dujuan scratched their heads and smiled foolishly. They didn’t have time to drool, how could they have time to think about other things.

Lin Dan stirred the vegetable dices, and said softly, “In spring, what you eat is a ‘fresh’ word. This is the season of recovery of all things, everything is new, and everything is fresh, you smell this fragrant air, is it also fresh?”

“Fresh!” The two little maids nodded with bright smiles, and then asked, “What do we eat in summer?”

“In summer, what you eat is a ‘refreshing’ word. The hotter the weather, the more refreshing the food, so that the stomach will be comfortable. A bowl of sweet mung bean porridge with a few pieces of mint jelly in the morning; a bowl of cold noodles mixed with bright red chili oil and emerald green cucumber slices and scallion slices at noon; a pot of light wine and a few cold dishes in the evening, and then a bowl of plum soup at night, and the day is so fresh and refreshing, how comfortable?”

The two little maids licked their lips and followed up with questions, “What do we eat in autumn?”

Lin Dan put the stir-fried three fresh ingredients into a clay pot, and continued, “In autumn, what you eat is a ‘supplementing’ word, a bowl of peanut and barley porridge in the morning, which replenishes bl00d and benefits qi; a pot of well-cooked old hen stewed with dried chestnuts at noon, the sweet glutinousness of the chestnuts penetrates the salty freshness of the chicken, the cheeks and tongue are fragrant and lingering; at night, the old pumpkin is cut into pieces and steamed with fermented black beans, and the sweet taste can spread into dreams. In autumn, you eat sweet, you eat nourishing, to bring back all the energy lost in the summer’s labor, so you can have a good winter.”

“This is what it means to paste autumn fat, right?” The two little maids suddenly realized, and then asked, “Then what do we eat in winter?”

“In winter, what you eat is a ‘warm’ word.” Lin Dan placed five palm-sized flat-bottomed pans on the fire, wiped the bottom of the pans with the diced fat pork, slowly poured in the batter, turned her wrist lightly, and in less than two seconds, she flattened a pancake, and then turned the pan upside down on a clean clay pot, and the thin cake fell down on its own, tender and white, stacked one on top of the other.

Lin Dan’s wrist flew up and down, and five pans were oiled one after another, and pancakes were spread one after another, and in a matter of moments, she had made dozens of pancakes, almost exactly the same size and thickness. At the same time, she was also speaking slowly, “Winter is very cold, and the food you eat must be warm, so that it’s comfortable. When the New Year comes, the whole family gathers together to make dumplings, talking and laughing, bustling, and then the cooked dumplings are scooped out of the boiling water, and eaten hot, the stomach is warm, and the heart is also warm. The fried meatballs, the braised pork trotters, the steamed shad, hula la steaming, so fragrant…”

Lin Dan couldn’t help but laugh when she thought of the scene.

The two little maids had already covered their mouths and ran away, for fear of their saliva dripping into the pot.

The three strong men didn’t know when they had gathered around, listening to Lin Dan talking and watching her cook. This Shopkeeper Lin was not only skilled in cooking, but also spoke very pleasant words, and her mouth was full of delicious food, making people feel as if they had enjoyed a feast when they heard it, and their hearts were extraordinarily satisfied, and of course their stomachs were even hungrier.

The handsome man stared at Lin Dan for a long time, his eyes flashing with complex light. When Lin Dan looked over, he lowered his head as if nothing had happened.

In a moment, the pancakes were ready. Lin Dan washed the wild green onions and sliced them, and then took out her own pickled sweet and spicy sauce, garlic sauce, and spicy sauce, and put them in small dishes one by one, and called out, “Alright, let’s eat.”

Everyone cheered and squeezed to the side of the earthenware pot to grab the food. The palm-sized pancakes were white and glistening. Wrapping the vegetable dices in the pancake and stuffing it in their mouths, their taste buds were immediately filled with the rich fragrance. The bamboo shoot dices were crisp and refreshing, the dried tofu dices were soft and savory, and the juices of the mustard greens and mushrooms blended into the sweet pancake skin, converging into a thick, fresh flavor. If they felt the flavor was a little bland, they could also wrap in a bit of the wild green onion segments and the sauces—salty, fresh, sweet, spicy… all dissolved on the tip of the tongue, as if the entire spring day was contained in their mouths.

The three strong men were stunned after just one bite, and then quickly stuffed the remaining rolled-up pancakes into their mouths, followed by rolling another one, and another one… The spoon scooping the vegetable dices didn’t stop for a moment, which could be described as sweeping away like a whirlwind.