Aman familiarly sat down beside Li Ying and affectionately wrapped her arm around Li Ying's. She smiled and said, "The leaders of the caravan have come several times, but none of them brought me any news from you, sister. I thought you'd forgotten about me!"
"Sister, Father told me to bring you lots of cured meat and hams. And these mushrooms were all picked by Father and me in the mountains. Although they're not as uniformly good - looking as those the caravan buys, they taste extremely fragrant! Sister, cook some quickly! Father only knows how to make a big stew. He throws all kinds of vegetables into the pot without a second thought and boils them together. I've been starving these days!"
She deliberately pouted and acted coquettishly. Her innocent and charming look made Li Ying can't help but burst out laughing.
She lovingly tapped Aman on the nose and said with a smile, "Glutton! I'm afraid you don't miss me. It's the glutton in your stomach that's acting up!"
Aman stuck out her tongue and was beaming with excitement. She seemed as natural as if she was back home.
She was about to roll up her sleeves and help Li Ying in the kitchen as usual when she suddenly caught sight of Ruyi busily working in the kitchen. She couldn't help but let out a soft "Huh".
"Sister, who's this?"
Ruyi had never seen Aman before. Hearing her call Li Ying so affectionately, she thought Aman was Li Ying's blood - related sister. She quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Second Miss."
Aman waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Don't call me Second Miss. Just call me Aman!"
Li Ying introduced them to each other. Ruyi was still a bit reserved, but Aman was very enthusiastic. Maybe because she had suffered a lot when she was a Kunlun slave wandering outside, she took good care of Ruyi.
There were few playmates of her age in the capital. The two hit it off immediately. Aman even took it upon herself and readily asked Ruyi to call her sister.
Li Ying simply pushed the two of them out of the door and asked Granny Sun to take them for a stroll in the capital to buy some fruits and candied snacks.
Among all the cured meats and hams Aman brought, the most eye - catching one was a large piece of cured rib sealed in salt.
"Sister, this cured rib can only be found in Xikang. Father salted it for half a year, preparing it as a special dish to entertain guests during the New Year. I stole half of it. Cook it for lunch! But the bone is very hard. I'm afraid you can't split it. Call Brother - in - law Lu to help!"
Li Ying looked at the salt crystals on the rib. Due to the passage of time, they had taken on a mottled beeswax color. The fat was almost transparent. When she got closer, she could smell a very mellow meaty aroma, just like that of a top - quality ham. She knew Aman was telling the truth.
This girl had indeed stolen her father's best stuff.
Li Ying couldn't help but laugh and wasn't polite either.
Hearing the news, Lu Xunguang wasn't polite either. He picked up the bone - cleaver and started chopping. In a short while, he neatly cut the rib into small pieces.
The rib had been thoroughly salted with well - salt. It needed to be washed and soaked repeatedly to get rid of the extra saltiness before it could be cooked.
The lean meat was bright red, and the fat threads in it were like delicate white clouds. Just after blanching it in boiling water, a strong meaty aroma filled the whole area around the house.
She cut a piece of fresh young ginger. The green onions and chives were planted by Granny Sun in her backyard. They still had a bit of wet soil on them, and even the roots were a bright purple - red, with a very strong fragrance.
Lu Xunguang knew that she liked to use coriander roots and green onion roots to season the soup when making stews. He carefully helped her wash them and put them aside.
Then he broke off a fresh branch of Chinese prickly ash from the tree in front of the door. He put the green onions, ginger, and cured ribs into the pot together. He brought the water to a boil over high heat and pre - stewed them for half an hour. One purpose was to remove the fishy smell, and the other was to make the meat of the ribs softer.
While the ribs were stewing, it was time to prepare the ingredients for the hot pot.
She put a small pot on the clay stove. First, she spread a layer of chive roots at the bottom of the pot, then arranged fresh tomato slices and potato slices on it.
She put Chinese cabbage and fresh mushrooms with cross - cuts on the upper layer. She also added some other kinds of mushrooms. Finally, she arranged the stewed and softened cured ribs.
She poured the thick white rib soup into the pot. There was no need to add any extra seasonings. Just relying on the saltiness and freshness of the ribs and the strange fragrance of the mushrooms, she could cook a pot of extremely fragrant cured rib hot pot.
She paired it with a plate of dipping sauce, sprinkled with coriander leaves and rib soup. This cured rib hot pot was original in flavor, with delicious soup.
Aman also brought back a box of fresh golden ear mushrooms. They were bright yellow and soft and glutinous, very cute. She sliced them into large pieces and cooked them in the hot pot. Or she could cook them and then slice them after they cooled down, and mix them with light soy sauce. The taste was extremely soft and glutinous. It was like meat but not meat, a bit like the salmon sashimi of later generations.
Thinking that most of the people at home were female relatives and didn't like cold food, Li Ying took a cup of milk. She tore the golden ear mushrooms into small pieces, added some fermented glutinous rice and milk, sprinkled with red dates and wolfberries, and steamed them in a double - boiler for two quarters of an hour.
The fermented glutinous rice was sweet, the milk was mellow, and the golden ear mushrooms melted in the mouth. After stewing, they produced a thick gelatinous texture. Even Lu Xunguang could guess that this must be another extremely beauty - enhancing sweet soup.
She quickly stir - fried a few home - style dishes. Just then, Granny Sun came back with Aman and Ruyi. She had bought the latest popular fabrics in the capital for them, planning to make some thick new clothes for the New Year.
Li Ying greeted everyone with a big smile and invited them to have lunch together. During the meal, they chatted and she found out that Aman came to the capital to look for her for two reasons. One was that Xikang was too lonely and she really missed her sister. The other was that the New Year was approaching, and many noble families in the capital were preparing family feasts.
The Hu Xuan Dance was very popular in the capital now, and the dancing girls of each family were vying to imitate it. Among them, the dancers in the music workshop under the Lu family were the most graceful.
Aman was invited by Lu Xunguang this time to come to the capital as a coach to teach the dancers the Hu Xuan Dance.
"Sister, you probably don't know. Brother - in - law Lu sent a message by carrier pigeon. He wished he could grow wings and catch me from Xikang to the capital overnight! I've been traveling day and night these days. I'm so tired!"
"Sister, please teach Brother - in - law Lu a good lesson for me! My bones were almost shaken apart on the horseback!"
Aman was chewing on a piece of cured rib with her cheeks puffed up. She mumbled incoherently as she "complained" to Li Ying.
Li Ying looked at Lu Xunguang with amusement. She knew that he saw her working hard in the capital for days without anyone to share her burden, so he had urgently brought Aman here.
Aman was a Hu girl. Riding a horse was as easy as walking on flat ground for her. How could she be as delicate as she said? She just took the opportunity to scold Lu Xunguang.
Shihu also came with them. Hearing this, he quickly explained, "Boss Li, don't make things difficult for Brother Lu! Brother Lu sent a carriage to pick her up. He made extremely detailed arrangements along the way!"
Aman spat and said, "Hey, you dullard. You only know how to help your Brother Lu out of trouble!"
Ruyi didn't know about the "feud" between Aman and Lu Xunguang before. She didn't know whether to persuade them or not, so she had to obediently lower her head and hold her rice bowl.
Aman filled another bowl of rice and then told Ruyi the funny story about being mistakenly recognized as a man. After Ruyi understood the whole story, she couldn't help but smile with her eyes bent.