A Man and the others excitedly started packing their luggage for the trip back to the village, while Li Ying secretly felt troubled.
She and Lu Xunguang were deeply in love and inseparable. How could she bring up the topic that she planned to leave him alone and go back to the fishing village to celebrate the New Year this year?
Li Ying thought it over and over again but just couldn't find the right words to say. Lu Xunguang also seemed extremely busy. For several consecutive days, he didn't even have the time to meet her.
When he occasionally came to visit, he looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and some stubble had grown on his face.
Li Ying guessed that as the New Year was approaching, the tea - house business must be booming, whether for visiting relatives and friends or for currying favor with the Lu family, the once - dormant lion that had awakened. The bank was also seizing this opportunity to reorganize and welcome customers. Lu Xunguang took care of everything personally, which was both mentally and physically taxing, and he was visibly thinner.
Li Ying felt sorry for him. Seeing his tired expression, she couldn't bear to mention her plan to return to the fishing village.
So she shut herself in the kitchen. After much thought, she started preparing some convenient snacks for him to eat on the go.
As the old saying goes, "Pickle vegetables on Minor Snow, cure meat on Major Snow." The cured meat and sausage that had been dried a few days ago were now half - dry. She picked them off, washed them, steamed them, and sliced them. The marbled pork was fragrant but not greasy. The sausage had a sweet and mellow wine flavor and was great for cooking with rice. The spicy sausage became more and more savory the more you chewed it and was perfect for accompanying wine.
Li Ying also cut two beef shanks. She took the best beef tendons, paired them with pig ears, pig trotters, chicken wings, and chicken feet, and soaked them in the old brine for twelve hours. The aroma was rich.
The front - leg beef had a uniform distribution of muscles. After soaking out the blood, she simply seasoned it with salt and added more than a dozen spices such as angelica dahurica, kaempferia galanga, tsaoko cardamom, villous amomum fruit, and tsaoko fruit. She dyed it red with red yeast rice and stewed it. This cured beef was more storable. Compared with the strongly - flavored beef tendon, it had a bit more chewiness and a purer beef aroma.
The remaining lean beef shank was cut into strips. After removing the fishy smell with scallions, ginger, Chinese prickly ash, and cooking wine, it was marinated in four different flavors: thirteen - spice, yellow curry, black pepper, and cumin.
Then the marinated beef shanks were slowly dried over a low flame, and honey sauce was constantly brushed on them during the process.
The self - made beef jerky had the sweet flavor of honey deeply infused into every shred of meat. When chewing the dry and savory beef, you could also taste the long - lasting aftertaste of the spices.
If Lu Xunguang was busy with official business in the bank and had no time to eat, chewing a couple of pieces of beef jerky could at least fill his stomach.
Still not satisfied, after much thought, she pulled A Man and the others to shell a lot of nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pine nuts.
She cut the oil paper into small pieces, weighed the nuts, dried dates, longans, raisins, and hawthorns, calculated the number of days, and packed them one by one. Then she attached a loving note to each package, creating a "daily nut" set.
The remaining fruits were mixed with the self - made biscuit crumbs, milk skin, and cheese. Using maltose boiled to an amber color and adding milk powder, she stirred them into a thick paste. Then she mixed in the fruits. After it cooled, it became a large, solid square.
She cut it into small pieces with a sharp knife. This snowflake butter cookie was very solid in ingredients and had a rich - layered taste. The oily aroma of nuts, the richness of dairy products, and the crispness of biscuits alternated in the mouth, making it hard to stop eating.
Making this snowflake butter cookie was not difficult at all. Li Ying simply left the recipe to Ru Yi and asked her to lead the female workers in the pastry shop to make them for sale during the New Year.
Finally, Li Ying boiled a large pot of minced - meat sauce, sealed it with a thick layer of lard, and prepared several jars of fried mushrooms soaked in oil. As long as they were stored in a cool place, they could remain unspoiled for several months.
Looking at the table full of "rations", she finally showed a satisfied smile on her face.
Coincidentally, Lu Xunguang also got some free time and came to see her in a hurry.
Li Ying quickly grabbed his hand and introduced the food to him one by one as if she were showing off her treasures.
"This minced - meat sauce and oil - soaked mushrooms are very fragrant and convenient for making stuffed buns, noodles, or rice noodles. Remember to blanch a couple of green vegetables. You should pay attention to a balanced diet in winter."
"The beef jerky and snowflake butter cookies can be carried with you. If you're too busy to have a proper meal, they can at least fill your stomach a little. If you find the snowflake butter cookies too sweet, you can have a pot of strong tea with them."
"And this marinated beef is your favorite. This time I also made some cured beef that can be stored for a long time. I don't know if it suits your taste..."
"You must remember to eat on time. You already have a weak and cold spleen and stomach. If you skip a few meals and then drink some strong alcohol, and your stomach aches, there will be no one to take care of you!"
She babbled on and on, feeling as if she had become a nagging old woman. She couldn't help but find it a bit funny.
But since they had known each other, this was the first time they were going to be separated for so many days. Thinking of this, Li Ying couldn't help but feel a bit sad.
"A Ying."
Lu Xunguang raised his hand and held her petite face. Seeing the glint of tears in the corners of her eyes, he gently kissed her.
Li Ying felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him back. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably like broken beads.
"Lu Lang, Lu Lang."
She even had a strange impulse in her heart. She just wanted to indulge in the warmth of his embrace. The words "I won't go back to the fishing village. Can I stay and celebrate the festival with you?" kept swirling in her throat, eager to come out.
After a long time, Lu Xunguang let go of her and said softly, "A Ying, don't you always say, 'Let not lovers shed tears at the fork - road like women and children'?"
"Wait for me at home."
His simple four words were like an anchor that instantly calmed Li Ying's slightly confused heart.
"I guessed a few days ago that you wanted to go back to the village. I've prepared a carriage and asked the caravan brothers to escort you all the way. This way, I can be more at ease."
"A Ying, although I was born in the capital, I don't really feel a sense of belonging here. Like you, I yearn for the peaceful and harmonious life in the fishing village."
"I'd rather not be the head of the Lu family. I just want to be an unambitious fisherman, living with you in a house, for three meals a day, through the four seasons."
"A Ying, wait for me. After this matter is over, I will surely return to the countryside with you and live a simple life."
He spoke sincerely and passionately. Li Ying blushed and scolded playfully, "What an unambitious head of the Lu family! If the entire Lu family knew you had such thoughts, they'd probably be disappointed!"
But Lu Xunguang looked calm and asked in return, "Why be disappointed? As long as there is another capable leader for the Lu family and the family prospers, isn't that enough?"
After a pause, he leaned over and whispered in Li Ying's ear, "Mianmian is a girl. She should be pampered from birth and keep her fingers away from the cold water. I can't bear to see her as tired as you. She just needs to enjoy the glory of being the eldest miss of the Lu family."
"This kind of life full of intrigue, constant struggle, and deception is meant for men to deal with."
"So, A Ying, when are you going to give me a little head of the Lu family?"