Chapter 32: Delicious, but Too Spicy

Hu Zhaodi said, “Alright, please help me prepare some scallions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns.”

“Got it,” Old Madam Ji replied.

Hu Zhaodi chopped the rabbit meat into pieces slightly larger than peanuts, then rinsed it in clean water to remove the blood.

She placed the scallions and ginger into a small bowl and secretly took out some cooking wine and pepper powder from her space.

Adding a little pepper powder, salt, and cooking wine to the bowl, she mixed in a small half bowl of water with her hands to extract the scallion and ginger juice.

Pouring the scallion and ginger juice over the rabbit meat, she mixed it thoroughly, allowing the meat to absorb the marinade.

Once the meat was sticky, she added a bit of egg white and starch, continuing to mix until everything was well combined, then added a little vegetable oil and let it marinate for a while.

After putting the cooking wine and pepper powder back into her space, Hu Zhaodi began to prepare the other dishes.

In the courtyard, there were chili peppers, cabbage, eggplants, and some other vegetables. Hu Zhaodi grabbed a basket and went out to pick some chili peppers, cilantro, three eggplants, and a head of cabbage.

After washing the cabbage, cilantro, and some of the chili peppers, Hu Zhaodi took the three eggplants and a few chili peppers to the stove, placing them directly over the fire to roast.

Once the chili peppers and eggplants were cooked, she peeled off their skins and cleaned them.

She said to Old Madam Ji, “Auntie, leave the rest of the vegetables to me. You go wash the Artemisia selengensis; if you soak it overnight, it will grow quite a bit by tomorrow.”

Old Madam Ji’s eyes widened. “Really? Then I’ll go wash it!”

“Of course it’s true! Hurry up! I’m about to start frying; it’ll be very pungent.”

After Old Madam Ji left, Hu Zhaodi took out the necessary seasonings from her space again.

Tearing the roasted eggplants and chili peppers into strips, she chopped some garlic and cilantro, adding salt, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, and a little sugar to mix everything together. In no time, a delicious and appetizing cold dish of roasted eggplant was ready.

Next, she chopped a bit of green and red chili, scallions, ginger, and garlic as supplementary ingredients.

Meanwhile, the rabbit meat had marinated for about the right amount of time.

She heated up some oil in a wok. Once the oil reached about 50% heat, she added the rabbit meat to fry.

Keeping the oil temperature steady, she fried the meat for five to eight minutes until cooked through.

Once the meat pieces were slightly golden on the surface, she took them out and allowed the oil temperature to rise to about 70% before refrying.

After frying until the surface turned golden brown, she removed the rabbit meat, leaving a bit of oil in the wok.

She then added a little doubanjiang (spicy bean paste) to stir-fry until it released a fragrant red oil, followed by dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and scallions, ginger, and garlic to enhance the aroma. She then added the green and red chili peppers.

Once the green and red peppers were cooked just right, she seasoned the dish with a little salt, sugar, chicken essence, and soy sauce, stirring evenly before adding the fried rabbit meat and mixing everything together before serving.

Finally, Hu Zhaodi boiled a cabbage soup and stored the seasonings back in her space.

She scooped the rice and called out, “Mr. Ji, Mrs. Ji, dinner is ready!”

Old Man Ji, who had been smelling the delicious aroma for a while, hurried to wash his hands, while Old Madam Ji brought the washed Artemisia selengensis into the house.

Looking at the colorful and fragrant dishes, Old Man Ji couldn’t believe his eyes.

Hu Zhaodi picked up her chopsticks and served Old Man Ji and Old Madam Ji some rabbit meat, saying, “Mr. Ji, Mrs. Ji, please try taste it!”

After tasting a piece of the spicy rabbit meat, Old Man Ji gave a thumbs up. “I didn’t expect Zhaodi to cook so well! I think it tastes even better than what the chef at Fumanlou makes.”

Old Madam Ji took a bite and gasped, “It’s delicious, but it’s too spicy! Yet, after one bite, you can’t stop eating. Oh, it’s so spicy…”

Hu Zhaodi served them some of the cold roasted eggplant, saying, “Mr. Ji, Mrs. Ji, how does my eggplant taste?”

“It’s good! You should eat too,” Old Man Ji replied, picking up the cold roasted eggplant and sending it to his mouth.

 The Next Moment—

“It’s delicious! So delicious! It’s tangy and spicy. I didn’t expect eggplant could be made this way—it’s so appetizing and goes perfectly with rice!”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and said, “If you like it, eat more! I’ll make it for you again next time.”

Old Man Ji sighed sincerely, “With your cooking skills, girl, you could definitely open a restaurant in the county that would do just as well as Fumanlou.”

“Really? Then once I earn some money and have the capital, I’ll go open a restaurant in the county and compete with Boss Han from Fumanlou. Haha…”

“Achoo! Achoo!” Han Dongsheng, who was far away in the county, suddenly sneezed twice.

He rubbed his nose and said, “Who’s talking about me?”

The shopkeeper stepped forward, smiling, and said, “Boss, it’s probably Miss Hu mentioning you. She hasn’t come by in over ten days, and we’re running low on seasonings.”

Han Dongsheng nodded. “Hmm. If Old Man Ji comes by tomorrow, tell him to have my sister bring some over.”

“If she comes in person, be sure to let me know.”

“Of course.”

During this time, Fumanlou’s business had improved significantly since they started using the chicken essence Hu Zhaodi sent.

However, Han Dongsheng had been thinking about her a lot, especially since she hadn’t appeared at Fumanlou for over ten days. He was worried she might be selling her chicken essence to other restaurants in the county. For the past couple of days, he had been considering whether he should have her sign a contract or something.

After finishing their meal, Hu Zhaodi and Old Madam Ji washed the dishes together. Then she instructed, “Auntie, please prepare some cornmeal, soak some rice and glutinous rice, and wash the steamer and stone mortar. When Mr. Ji and I get back from the county, we’ll make Artemisia selengensis cakes.”

“Alright, don’t worry; I’ll get everything ready.”

“And for the Artemisia selengensis cakes we’ll make tomorrow, since there will be quite a few, ask your brother and sister-in-law to come and help out, so we can all make and eat together.”

“Sure, I’ll go tell them first thing in the morning.”

Old Madam Ji agreed wholeheartedly, her hands busy preparing a big pot of hot water for Hu Zhaodi to wash up.

Old Man Ji approached Hu Zhaodi and said, “I talked to the village head about that piece of land you’re interested in. He said it’ll cost at least 120 taels of silver.”

Hu Zhaodi nodded. “120 taels is fine. For such a big piece of land, I think it’s worth it.”

“Girl, are you sure you don’t want to think it over? Buying land is 120 taels, and who knows how much it’ll cost to build a house?”

“I’m not reconsidering; I want to buy that piece of land. Mr. Ji, while it’s still light out, why don’t we go to the village head’s house right now to finalize this?”

Old Man Ji nodded. “Alright, as long as you’ve thought it through, let’s go now.”

“Let’s go!”

Hu Zhaodi and Old Man Ji walked together toward the village head’s house.

The village head’s house wasn’t far from Old Man Ji’s home; it was only a four or five-minute walk.

When they arrived, the village head and his wife were sitting under the eaves, enjoying the cool breeze.

Old Man Ji spoke up, “Uncle, I brought Zhaodi here to finalize the land we discussed earlier.”

The village head looked at Old Man Ji in disbelief and asked, “Old Brother Ji, what do you mean? Are you saying Zhaodi wants to buy the land next to the small pine forest?”

Old Man Ji nodded. “Yes, she wants to buy it. Did you think it was me? I don’t have that much silver!”

“Didn’t Zhaodi just cut ties with the Hu family a little over half a month ago? Where is she getting so much silver?”

Old Man Ji proudly replied, “This girl is impressive! During this time, she’s been hunting and gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains every day. All her silver comes from selling her meat and herbs.”