Farm Tough Girl-Chapter 17 - 0 Gourmet Fragrance_1

Chapter 17: Chapter 017 Gourmet Fragrance_1

Chapter 17 -017 Gourmet Fragrance_1

“Sir,” a scout reported, “General Yu encountered an assassination attempt on his way back to the capital. He got separated from the main force with only five elite soldiers. Given his severe injuries, he shouldn’t have been able to get far, yet we can’t find any trace of him. Moreover, we’ve found the bodies of four of the soldiers; one is still missing. I suspect that he may still be with General Yu.”

Sir Xu stroked his beard, lost in thought for a while before speaking, “The Emperor has come to Brocade Clothes City under the pretext of a private visit to inquire about the people’s conditions, but in reality, he is here to find General Yu. At this critical juncture, not only must no information be leaked, but there is also no time to delay. As for the four soldiers we’ve found, see to it that they are buried properly.”

Sir Xu had last seen Yu Ze ten years ago. At that time, Yu Ze had just turned fifteen, at the age of early manhood, with an exceptionally delicate face, but a somewhat cold demeanor. While many officials’ sons in the capital were not serious about their duties, with few achieving anything substantial, he stood out even at a young age, surpassing his father in capability and cunning.

The Yu Family, though not exceedingly prominent at the time, was still a Marquis Mansion, and as the legitimate eldest son, Yu Ze was the undeniable heir to his father’s title. However, for some inexplicable reason, his father was willing to send such a precious son to fight on the frontier, where he remained for a decade.

Sir Xu did not wish to pry into the affairs of others, yet he couldn’t help but lament the loss of such a promising talent, now missing without a trace. The Emperor valued capable men and had ordered him to find Yu Ze at all costs. Still, Sir Xu knew the chances were slim after such a long disappearance.

For some reason, Sir Xu’s thoughts drifted to the fool he had met that morning. On closer consideration, the man’s features did look rather similar, but he then shook his head; the man was clearly a rough, unrefined country fellow, devoid of any semblance of radiance in his eyes, far from the commanding presence expected of someone like Yu Ze, seasoned by warfare.

Er Liang sneezed and rubbed his nose. Who was cursing him?

Mrs. Lin was both shocked and delighted to see Muniang bringing home so many things. Having heard about her daughter making a handsome sum, her frustration over her daughter marrying a fool had almost vanished. Seeing her daughter’s capability, she felt immensely reassured that Muniang would not have to endure hardships like she had.

After Muniang explained the source of the money, Mrs. Lin was astonished that her daughter knew so many novel recipes. Muniang had already prepared an explanation and smiled, “I actually started imagining all sorts of new recipes in my head a long time ago. We just never had the right ingredients at home, and I didn’t dare to experiment recklessly. Now, it all suddenly came back to me, so I took a chance in the city. I didn’t expect it to really work out.”

Mrs. Lin nodded with a smile, “It’s your good fortune indeed.”

Muniang took out the various types of brocade she had bought. “Mother, let’s use these fabrics to make spring shirts for the family. You’re bored lying in bed all day, and getting wet or doing strenuous work is definitely out of the question. Making clothes to pass the time is a good idea.”

Mrs. Lin touched the fine brocade, her smile never leaving her lips. She had lived most of her life and it was the first time she had seen such fine goods; she nodded with joy and excitement.

Muniang took inventory of the things she had bought and then went to the kitchen to put them away. Er Liang had already gone to help with starting the fire. Muniang had bought a lot of meat, considering the large appetite of this meat-eating creature she cared for.

First, Muniang heated the wok, added a spoonful of oil, let the oil heat up, then stir-fried the pork belly to render out the fat. She then seasoned it with some soy sauce. Now that she had a full range of ingredients, she was finally able to cook without constraints, which obviously pleased her. She then added the previously prepared celery, garlic shoots, and green peppers to the wok, stir-fried them for a moment before seasoning with salt. A simple dish of stir-fried pork belly was ready.

But such a small amount of meat probably wouldn’t even suffice to fill the gaps between the teeth of that glutton. Muniang suddenly regretted not buying a chicken to stew instead – it would have been so much easier. Then the idea of boiled pork slices flashed through her mind.

Er Liang, smelling the delicious aroma, wanted to drool. His wife’s cooking was always tastier than anyone else’s. He felt the urge to sneak a taste but remembering Muniang’s fiery temper, he managed to hold back, merely swallowing hard, “Wife, when do we eat?”

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Muniang spoke casually but not without a warning tone, “When it’s time to eat.” Clearly, stealing a taste would have its consequences.

He knew it! Erliang indignantly added another large handful of firewood to the stove.

Muniang curled her lips, suddenly realizing that teasing him always put her in such a good mood.

She poured some oil into the pot, adding dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns, “My husband, use medium heat.”

Erliang, whose mood had been sour, felt his whole body relax at Muniang’s call of “my husband”, and cheerfully replied, “Alright.”

After removing the dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns, placing them in a small dish to one side, she said, “High heat.”

She stir-fried the scallion pieces until fragrant, then added the washed bok choy to cook until half done, and placed it in a large bowl.

Erliang suddenly didn’t understand Muniang’s method anymore, “My wife, aren’t we making boiled pork slices? Where’s the meat?”

“You won’t miss out,” Muniang’s hands moved swiftly as she poured a few more spoonfuls of oil into the pot, added bean paste and ginger, frying until the oil turned red. Then she poured in the stock and waited for it to boil. Meanwhile, Muniang turned to marinate the already-sliced meat with “egg whites”, salt, and a bit of water.

When the stock boiled, she added the marinated meat slices to the pot, stirring to separate them. As soon as the slices changed color, she seasoned them with soy sauce, sugar, and other flavors, then removed the pot from the heat to pour the meat and soup over the bok choy in the large bowl, finally sprinkling the previously fried dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns over the meat.

“Wow, it smells so good!” Erliang was nearly ready to pounce on the bowl of meat like a hungry wolf but was swatted away by Muniang, “It’s not ready yet! Go stand over there!”

Erliang sulkily returned to his small stool, hugging his knees and looking pitifully at the bowl of steaming meat, thinking how fearsome his wife was!

Muniang cleaned the pot, then poured in several more spoonfuls of oil, heating it up just so. She evenly poured the hot oil over the meat, and the sound of “zzzzzzz” filled the air as the garlic’s fragrance was released by the hot oil, instantly filling the entire small kitchen with a delightful aroma. Erliang’s eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Muniang’s fluid movements, his gaze filled with deep admiration.

Finding his eager look amusing, Muniang couldn’t help but say, “You can only taste one piece now. We’ll eat more at dinner.”

Erliang immediately nodded with excitement, picked up his chopsticks, and happily gobbled up the largest piece, as gleeful as a child.