Chapter 4

Xu Qinyu was taken aback and didn’t understand why Ma Liu asked that. She replied, “These mushrooms are naturally edible. They can be made into mushroom soup. You don’t need to add any meat, just some salt and finally some egg, and it will taste delicious.” She planned to make mushroom egg soup and stir-fry winter bamboo shoots with cured meat, to be eaten with their white flour biscuits, which would be warm and filling.

“What are you talking about, young lady?” Ma Liu said with a strange expression. “These mushrooms can’t be eaten; they’re poisonous and can kill people. Also, young lady, you’re from the capital, where there are few wild mushrooms. You probably don’t know that people in the southwest don’t pick these wild mushrooms because many have died from eating them. So over the years, except during famines, people don’t eat wild mushrooms from the mountains.”

Xu Qinyu fell silent. No wonder the wild mushrooms in the mountains were so abundant. She knew that in ancient times, people had always eaten wild mushrooms, but there were also cases of people dying from eating poisonous ones. She remembered that this wasn’t the ancient dynasty from her original time. At least, none of the historical records she had seen mentioned a dynasty called Sheng. So, it was different from the dynasties she was familiar with.

She also remembered that when she was in the Dechang Marquis Mansion, most of the food was steamed or boiled, with some stir-frying, but stir-frying didn’t seem to be popular yet. The taste of stir-fried dishes was also quite ordinary, and the cooking methods were somewhat lacking. Unlike her time, when there were dozens of cooking methods, even for simple stir-frying, there were techniques like quick-frying, sliding-frying, braising, dry-frying, and raw-frying.

In an era where food and cooking methods were still very limited, it was normal not to be able to distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous wild mushrooms.

After all, the first person to eat a ‘crab’ might have been poisoned by it, so later, people didn’t dare to eat ‘crabs’ anymore.

She remembered that no wild mushrooms were sold in the capital, but there were some dried mushrooms.

According to Ma Liu, they seemed to call these wild mushrooms “junzi,” while the dried mushrooms were called “gu.”

“Gu” were edible and cultivated, while “junzi” were wild, and many were poisonous, so they were not edible. But how could she convince these soldiers that the mushrooms she picked were edible?

Xu Qinyu knew that even if she told the soldiers that wild mushrooms could be poisonous or non-poisonous and that the ones she picked were non-poisonous, their deeply ingrained beliefs would still make them hesitant.

Xu Qinyu had an idea. She said to Ma Liu and Deputy Officer Chen, “I once read in a miscellaneous record that some wild mushrooms are non-poisonous and can be eaten. If the soldiers are uncomfortable, I can cook the cured meat with winter bamboo shoots for you, and I’ll cook these mushrooms myself. If you see they are non-poisonous, I can make them for you tomorrow.”

Ma Liu frowned and said, “Young lady, it’s better not to try. You said you only read about it in a miscellaneous record. If you pick poisonous mushrooms, it could be fatal.”

“Thank you for your concern, sir,” Xu Qinyu replied with a slight smile. “I have always had an exceptional ability to distinguish ingredients and often cooked. When I was in the capital, I also picked wild mushrooms from the mountains outside the city. They were delicious and not poisonous.”

This wasn’t entirely untrue. The original owner of this body wasn’t favored in the second branch of the family, and her uncle had some culinary skills, so she did learn a bit of cooking.

Moreover, wild mushrooms were everywhere. They were rare in the capital but not nonexistent. However, the southwestern region had abundant rainfall, and there were countless varieties of mushrooms, almost hundreds of types. Over two hundred of these mushrooms were poisonous, so without knowledge, it was easy to pick poisonous ones. Some mushrooms looked similar but were different species, with one being poisonous and the other non-poisonous, making them hard to distinguish.

Deputy Officer Chen glanced at her and said, “Since you can distinguish them, you can cook and eat these mushrooms yourself.” He wouldn’t let his soldiers eat the mushrooms; it was better to be safe than sorry.

Xu Qinyu thanked him and took the winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms to the stream to clean them.

The winter bamboo shoots were particularly thick. Xu Qinyu tasted one and found it tender, crisp, and slightly sweet, not bitter. They didn’t need to be blanched and could be stewed directly with the cured meat to be delicious. She only cleaned a small portion of the mushrooms, intending to cook them for herself and the Pei family.

The winter bamboo shoots were just enough for one meal. She had also asked the soldiers to continue digging for winter bamboo shoots, wild ginger, and onions in the mountains. As for the mushrooms, they couldn’t distinguish them, so she wouldn’t ask them to help pick them.

She cleaned the winter bamboo shoots and cut them into large pieces. She had tasted the cured meat before; it wasn’t smoked well, slightly salty, and unevenly smoked, but the meat quality was good. She had soaked the cured meat in water for a while, scraped off the smoky parts, cleaned it, and cut it into pieces slightly smaller than the bamboo shoots. She also cleaned and minced the wild ginger. The wild mushrooms only needed a simple cleaning to remove the dirt and tear them into strips.

With all the ingredients ready, the fire and the large pot were set up, and a pot of hot water was boiling. Ma Liu even filled a pot of hot water for the Pei family.

The Pei family and Madam Wen finally realized that Xu Qinyu was going to cook for the soldiers. Madam Wen was very worried. She didn’t know how Yuniang dared to offer to cook for the soldiers, as she had never revealed her culinary skills during the journey. Fearing that her daughter-in-law might offend someone, she hesitated for a while before approaching Xu Qinyu and quietly asking, “Yuniang, what are you doing? How can a noble daughter of the Marquis’s family cook? Be careful not to bring trouble upon yourself.”

Xu Qinyu replied softly, “Although I am a noble daughter of the Marquis’s family, I am not favored. Don’t worry, Mother. I can indeed cook. Please go and rest.”

Madam Wen was stunned. Yes, if the Dechang Marquis Mansion truly valued Yuniang, they wouldn’t have replaced the third daughter with the second daughter and sent her to the border to suffer.

As Xu Qinyu spoke, she had already heated the large pot, melted two spoonfuls of lard in it, and waited for the oil to heat up. She then added the chopped cured meat, which sizzled as it hit the hot oil. After stir-frying for a while, the cured meat became translucent, and some of the fat was rendered out. She then added the chopped ginger and stir-fried it a few times to release the aroma of the cured meat. She poured in a large bucket of hot water she had prepared earlier. Once the water boiled, she let the cured meat simmer for a while before adding the chopped winter bamboo shoots. She let everything stew together for over a quarter of an hour.

Initially, she had planned to slice the cured meat and stir-fry it with the winter bamboo shoots, but since she wasn’t making the mushroom egg soup, she decided to make a stew instead. The cured meat was already quite salty, so there was no need to add salt or other seasonings, which they didn’t have anyway.

In the past, to perfect her cooking, she had even gone to the countryside to learn banquet dishes. So making this large pot dish was second nature to her.

There were still white flour and eggs among the ingredients, but Xu Qinyu didn’t plan to use them today. The cured meat stew with winter bamboo shoots and white flour biscuits would be perfect. The remaining ingredients could be used the next day.

Ma Liu stayed by Xu Qinyu’s side the whole time while Deputy Officer Chen sent the other soldiers to the mountains to dig for more winter bamboo shoots, wild onions, and wild ginger. This was also Xu Qinyu’s idea, as she mentioned they had a cart and could bring some of these ingredients along.

Ma Liu could smell the aroma when Xu Qinyu started stir-frying the cured meat. The fragrance became even more intense when she added the winter bamboo shoots to the stew. The mix of meat and a fresh, sweet aroma made people salivate. Even the other exiled prisoners frequently glanced over.

Madam Wen hadn’t expected her daughter-in-law to actually know how to cook.

The aroma awakened Pei Jianing, murmuring, “It smells so good.” She had never smelled such a fragrant aroma, not even in the imperial kitchen of the palace.

On the other side, the Wen family couldn’t help but salivate. Wen Yunling swallowed and rolled her eyes, saying, “As a noble daughter of the Marquis’s family, she willingly does such lowly work.”

Ma Liu finally believed that the young lady could indeed cook and kept asking Xu Qinyu, “Young lady, when will the food be ready? It should be done by now, right?”

Xu Qinyu replied, “It needs a bit more time. Just wait for another quarter of an hour, and it should be ready.”

Cooking isn’t just about the ratio of seasonings and ingredients; the most important thing is controlling the heat. Some people, even if they follow a recipe and get the proportions right, still can’t make the food taste good because they can’t control the heat properly.

She seemed to have a natural talent for this. Even as a child in the welfare home, she would cook with whatever ingredients she could find, and the food always tasted good.

Soon, the soldiers who had gone to the mountains to dig for winter bamboo shoots and wild vegetables returned, many of them drawn back by the enticing aroma.

“It smells so good. What is it? It’s too fragrant.”

“Exactly, I could smell it even in the mountains. I couldn’t resist the aroma and came back.”

“Young lady, when can we eat?”

The food was almost ready. Xu Qinyu removed the firewood from the stove, lifted the lid of the pot, and sprinkled a large handful of chopped green onions into the pot, smiling, “It’s ready. Everyone, bring your bowls.”

The soldiers hurried to get their bowls and lined up.

The first bowl was naturally served to Deputy Officer Chen. He took the bowl and looked at the cured meat stewed with winter bamboo shoots. The cured meat was a mix of lean and fatty parts, with the fatty parts glistening. The bamboo shoots and broth were a milky white color, garnished with green onions. Even without tasting it, the appearance alone was very appealing. As their leader, he couldn’t help himself. Despite the food being freshly cooked, he picked up a piece of cured meat and put it in his mouth.

He was stunned as the cured meat burst with juice in his mouth. It had absorbed the flavors of the winter bamboo shoots, the broth, and its own fat. After a few bites, the meat melted in his mouth, perfectly seasoned, with a rich meat flavor complemented by the slight sweetness of the bamboo shoots. He wondered if this was really the cured meat they had bought earlier. Previously, when they cooked the cured meat, it was very salty, dry, tough, and barely chewable, and they had to swallow it quickly.

“Boss, is it good?” Ma Liu couldn’t help but shout while waiting in line.

Deputy Officer Chen didn’t answer him. Instead, he picked up a piece of winter bamboo shoot. Despite being stewed for so long, the bamboo shoot remained intact, full of flavor, and absorbed the fat and broth from the cured meat. One bite released a fresh, sweet, and savory taste that was even better than the cured meat, making him want to swallow his tongue.

Deputy Officer Chen had eaten cured meat dishes before but had never imagined they could taste this good.

The other soldiers also got their bowls and started eating nearby.

“This is too delicious.”

“Yeah, I’ve never had such tasty stewed food.”

“Even the restaurants in the capital can’t make something this good.”

Finally, it was Ma Liu’s turn. After Xu Qinyu filled his bowl, he eagerly took a bite of the cured meat. He paused for a moment and then started devouring it.

Around them, others could be heard swallowing their saliva. Everyone felt the aroma was torturing them. The Pei family could still hold back, and although the two children were also tempted and kept swallowing, they stayed quietly in Pei Jianing’s arms.

The adults in the Anping Duke’s family were fine, but the two younger children kept fussing and asking their family to get some food. However, the Wen family would never go to Xu Qinyu to ask for food. Besides, they could see that the pot was already empty.

The large pot of cured meat stewed with winter bamboo shoots was just enough for each soldier to have a bowl. Xu Qinyu tasted the remaining broth at the bottom of the pot. It was perfectly seasoned, with the bamboo shoots’ sweetness balancing the cured meat’s richness. Although it wasn’t as good as what she usually made, given the limited conditions, it was still quite decent.

Deputy Officer Chen had already finished his bowl of cured meat stewed with winter bamboo shoots, along with a cold, hard white flour biscuit. His stomach and body felt warm and comfortable. He was convinced of Xu Qinyu’s culinary skills and believed she could distinguish wild mushrooms’ toxicity. Knowing she planned to make mushroom egg soup, he went to the cart and brought back seven or eight eggs for her. “Take these. You can cook them for yourselves.”

“Thank you, Deputy Officer Chen.”

Xu Qinyu smiled and thanked him, taking the eggs.