Chapter 36: Uncle and Niece Eat Flatbreads
When she woke up, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
A good night’s sleep had temporarily pushed the matter of the Qin family to the back of Lin Shuang’s mind. She was busy washing up, then mixing the water and flour in the right proportions, letting Jiang Huaizhen knead the dough while she started to make breakfast.
For breakfast, she made dough drop soup. While the water was still coming to a boil, she went out to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables.
When she returned from the vegetable garden and had just entered the house, she saw Jiang Huaizhen looking over, her face seeming a little unhappy.
She knew what was going on and said, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Huaizhen asked in return, “How many catties of flour and water did you put in?”
Lin Shuang smiled guiltily. “Thirty-seven or thirty-eight catties, right? Did my hand slip and I put in too much?”
Jiang Huaizhen stopped what she was doing and looked at her. “Your hand didn’t slip. You did it on purpose.”
Yesterday, they had clearly agreed that seventy catties of dough would be enough for today. She had agreed to it at the time, but it turned out to be just a perfunctory answer.
Thinking of this, she turned her head, said no more, and bent down to continue kneading the dough.
Lin Shuang looked at her stiff back and knew that the other was angry. Her guilt turned into remorse. She put down the vegetables in her hand, walked over, wrapped her arms around her waist, and pressed her head against the other’s back, trying to please her. “It’s almost the new year. While there are still people, let’s work a little harder and earn some more silver. After the new year, there will be fewer people on the road, and the next time we can earn money will be next autumn when the business is good.”
With that, she said with conviction, “I’m not tired at all. You’ve done everything. I’m just making a flatbread. It doesn’t take much effort.”
Her intimate gesture made Jiang Huaizhen’s slightly stiff body from her displeasure instantly tense up.
She was getting more and more used to Lin Shuang’s unconscious closeness, but usually, it was at most linking arms, or when they were sleeping, she would move closer, their arms touching, and that was it.
Like now, with her arms around her waist, her whole warm and soft body pressed against her, so intimate, it was the first time.
Her hands were covered in dough, so she couldn’t push her away. After a long moment, she replied stiffly, “I’ll weigh the flour tomorrow.”
Lin Shuang, thinking that she could deal with it one day at a time, smiled. “Alright, I’ll let you weigh it tomorrow.”
Only then did she let go of her hand and turn to wash the vegetables.
After breakfast, they tidied up the house, and Old Hu the Third’s ox-cart arrived.
The two of them loaded their things onto the cart and set off for the official road.
Perhaps because it was close to the new year, and these merchants were busy with their last batch of goods, there were even more people on the road today than yesterday. Most of them appeared in twos and threes. They would either pass by without stopping, but if they did stop, and they smelled the fragrance of the sauce flatbreads, they would inevitably be drawn over and would buy a whole one.
By noon, they had sold more than half.
Seeing that business was good, Lin Shuang was happy, and she smiled more. But she was afraid that Jiang Huaizhen would think she was tired, so she didn’t even touch her back all morning.
Seeing that there was no one around, Jiang Huaizhen went to the tea shed to get some tea.
Lin Shuang drank a large bowl and then sat down to rest.
Jiang Huaizhen said, “I’ve seen you make flatbreads for five or six days now. I probably know how to do it. Let me try in a while.”
Lin Shuang looked up at her. “Aren’t you not good at cooking? Are you sure you can do it?”
“The dough is already kneaded, and the sauce is all prepared. All that’s left is to make the flatbreads. The main thing is to pay attention to the heat, and I can do that,” Jiang Huaizhen said.
Lin Shuang asked, “Then why is your cooking at home not so… delicious?”
She had wanted to say “bad,” but she was afraid of hurting the other’s self-esteem, so she changed her words at the last minute.
Jiang Huaizhen was not annoyed and replied, “I really don’t have any talent for cooking. Before, when Grandma was still well, she was the one who cooked, and I rarely went into the kitchen. Later, when she suddenly fell ill, I started to cook. No one taught me how much oil and salt to put in, how to pair and season the dishes, and when to take them off the heat. I didn’t know any of this and just figured it out as I went. I thought what I made was already pretty good.”
“This flatbread, I’ve seen you make it so many times. As long as I don’t make any mistakes in each step, it should be fine.”
Hearing her say this, Lin Shuang quickly understood. For someone who was not sensitive to taste and not good at cooking, to be in charge of the kitchen without any guidance was indeed difficult.
So she smiled and moved to the side. “Then you try it.”
Jiang Huaizhen quickly switched places with her, put the frying pan on, heated the pot, and began to roll out the dough, spread the oil pastry, and then put the dough sheet in the pot, following Lin Shuang’s usual movements and steps.
The whole set of movements was basically done in one go.
Lin Shuang looked at her fluid movements and chuckled. “You’re clearly better at it than I am.”
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t look up. “I learned by watching you.”
Thirty or forty flatbreads a day, however many Lin Shuang made, she had watched the process that many times. These movements were already deeply imprinted in her mind, and now she was just replicating them. She was good at handicrafts herself, so naturally, she wouldn’t be bad at this.
She even had a good grasp of how long Lin Shuang would fry them.
Lin Shuang said, “You also have to pay attention to the fire below. When the fire is strong, the frying time should be a little shorter. When the edges of the flatbread are this golden brown and the fragrance comes up, you can flip it over.”
This had to be flexible. It wasn’t about frying it for as long as she had seen her do it.
After a little detailed guidance, Jiang Huaizhen took it to heart. She quickly flipped the flatbread and, after frying it for a little while longer, it was ready to be taken out of the pot.
Lin Shuang smiled and took over the task of spreading the sauce.
The brush scraped against the crispy surface, making a crackling sound.
She couldn’t help but praise, “Excellent, so crispy.”
With that, she cut off a small piece, tried it herself, and gave a thumbs-up. Then she brought it to Jiang Huaizhen’s lips.
Jiang Huaizhen opened her mouth and took a bite. After chewing it carefully, her eyebrows also relaxed.
“It’s delicious.”
“It’s even crispier than mine. Then you can make them for a while.”
As they were talking, they heard the sound of horse hooves. The two of them turned and saw two horses galloping toward them from the direction of Changping County, one after the other. When they got closer, they saw that it was two familiar faces in constable uniforms.
Hu Guiying dismounted, threw the reins over a tree branch, and ran toward them.
“It smells so good. I could smell it from a distance.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “Come on, Huaizhen just made her first flatbread. You have to try it.”
Hearing this, Hu Guiying’s expression instantly changed, and she said with a mournful face, “I’ve come all this way to eat a flatbread. Can I not eat the one she made?”
Jiang Huaizhen glanced at her. “Take it or leave it.”
With that, she called out to Lu Qing behind her, “Uncle Qing.”
Lu Qing, who had just tied the reins, walked over and, looking at the golden and crispy sauce flatbread, smiled. “It’s Huaizhen’s skill. It looks delicious. What are you complaining about?”
With that, he took the flatbread that Lin Shuang handed him and eagerly put it in his mouth.
After just two chews, his eyes lit up.
“Delicious, so delicious. I’ve never eaten such a delicious flatbread before.”
Hearing this, Hu Guiying couldn’t resist anymore. She quickly took a piece with her hand and took a large bite.
Her expression was the same as Lu Qing’s.
It was only after she had swallowed that she cried out, “Is this really a flatbread made by Huaizhen? I don’t believe it, unless you make another one in front of me.”
Jiang Huaizhen raised an eyebrow, took another dough ball, and began to roll it out.
She spread the oil pastry and put it in the hot pot.
As the oil splattered, she nimbly flipped the already heated iron lid and covered the dough sheet.
The charcoal fire licked the bottom of the pot, and for a moment, the whole pot sizzled, a sound that promised a delicious taste.
“Oh my, you’re really amazing. I take back what I said. Our Huaizhen’s flatbreads are delicious after all,” Hu Guiying said fawningly.
Jiang Huaizhen ignored her, her head lowered, paying attention to the heat. Seeing that it was almost done, she opened the lid and flipped the flatbread.
The bottom of the flatbread was golden brown and crispy, soaked in oil, and looked delicious.
The lid was pressed down again, and there was another sizzle.
The fragrance also came out at this time, making one’s mouth water.
After personally watching her spread the sauce and then cut it, the uncle and niece were now certain that such a delicious flatbread was indeed made by Jiang Huaizhen.
Lu Qing had a good appetite and ate more than half of the flatbread in one go. Hu Guiying finished the other half and was still wanting more.
Just then, a few more merchants came by on the road, drawn by the smell. But seeing the two of them in constable uniforms, they hesitated for a moment.
Lu Qing pulled Hu Guiying to the side and greeted the men. “Are you having a flatbread? We were just passing by and smelled the fragrance, so we came to try it.”
The common people had always been afraid to provoke officials and yamen runners. The men had originally wanted to leave, but seeing him greet them, they led their horses over with a smile.
“We’ve been running for half a day and are starving. We just smelled the fragrance, and our legs couldn’t move. We hope we’re not disturbing you, sir.”
Lu Qing said, “Sigh, what’s there to disturb? We’re all just trying to fill our stomachs, whether we’re on duty or doing business. Go on, try it. This flatbread is delicious.”
So the men each ordered a portion.
After eating, as expected, their eyes were full of astonishment. Two of them asked for the price and each packed one to go before leaving.
Lu Qing looked at their retreating figures and said to Jiang Huaizhen, “You really did the right thing by coming here. These travelers don’t care about your background or profession. As long as it’s delicious, there will be no shortage of buyers.”
Hu Guiying pouted. “That’s true. But in the city, with a line of people, you could sell all these flatbreads in half a day. Here, only a few people come every now and then. It’s cold, and the waiting is also hard.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “There’s no business without hardship. You win some, you lose some. No one is gossiping here, and it’s peaceful.”
The uncle and niece were on duty and couldn’t stay long. After eating, they packed two more to take with them.
But when they gave her the money, Jiang Huaizhen refused to take it.
But she was always cold and aloof and couldn’t bring herself to argue with them. It was Lin Shuang who went forward and stuffed the money into Hu Guiying’s hand.
“Huaizhen said that Uncle Qing helped with Grandma’s treatment. Two flatbreads are really nothing. Please don’t be so polite with us.”
Lu Qing said, “How can we do that? The flour, oil, charcoal, and sauce all cost money. We can’t take advantage of you.”
Lin Shuang said, “Consider this a token of our filial piety. When you come next time, we’ll settle it then.”
Lu Qing had no choice but to give up.
The two of them left on their horses with the hot flatbreads.
Lin Shuang walked back to the stall and sat down, looking at the busy Jiang Huaizhen, who was bent over. “Although some people don’t want to see us do well, there are still good people. Doctor Xue and his family, and Head Constable Lu and Guiying are all good people.”
Jiang Huaizhen replied without looking up, “The Qin family is not good. If they come again next time, I’ll deal with them.”
Lin Shuang remembered how she had complained to her last night, and this person had taken it to heart. Then she thought of how she had deliberately reduced the amount of dough today and had even insisted on making the flatbreads herself, even though she wasn’t good at cooking, all because she didn’t want her to be tired. She bit her lip and said softly, “Alright.”
