Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 161: Add sugar-roasted chestnuts to complete the three ways to eat chestnuts

Shen Yu thought this was a good idea. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, wasn't Lu Lang going to buy sugar-roasted chestnuts? Why not just make some and give them to him?

Shen Yu clapped his hands and praised: "Excellent, this is a good idea, Aunt Jiang, you are really amazing."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, checked the fire in the kitchen, and left.

Shen Yu told Li about Jiang's suggestion and said, "Mother, my third sister's home is not far from the county government office. I want to give her the deed of the shop tomorrow."

"I said at the time that I would borrow her money and leave the house deed with her as collateral. I also wanted to ask Third Sister about the situation of the school in the county town."

Li nodded and said, "It's only right. If it weren't for Madam He lending us the money, we might not have been able to buy the shop today."

As he said that, he went to get the house deed he had just obtained today.

Li carefully wrapped the deed with a piece of cloth and handed it to Shen Yu, saying, "Be careful when you go there tomorrow, don't lose it. Bring some chestnut cakes and sugar-roasted chestnuts to Qiqi as well. Children love sweet things."

After a pause, he said, "Find out about the school first, and we'll discuss this matter when we get back."

Shen Yu agreed, then turned off the lights and went to bed.

On the next morning, Shen Yu helped his family pack up the utensils and sent them out to set up the stall, leaving Yu Cheng behind to help with the fire.

Yucheng sat in front of the stove with sleepy eyes, adding firewood into the stove with his eyes closed.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Hold on for a few more days. When we open a restaurant, we will switch to using charcoal instead of firewood. This way, you won't have to sit in the kitchen and light the fire all the time."

Yu Cheng hummed, obviously still sleepy.

Shen Yu continued: "However, even if you don't have to light the fire, you won't be able to play for a few days."

"I'm keeping you here today, firstly to light the fire, and secondly, when I go to deliver something later, you can come with me, and we can go and find out which school in the county town has good teachers. In September, you will go to school."

When Yu Cheng heard about reading, he immediately became excited.

He quickly sat up straight and said with a smile: "Big sister, just tell me, I will do whatever you want me to do to add firewood, and I guarantee that you will be satisfied."

Shen Yu held a small basket full of chestnuts, raised his chin and smiled, "You're not sleepy anymore, are you? Let's light the fire."

The sugar-roasted chestnuts in snack shops are fried with small stones. A large pot is used for frying, and the food has to be stirred continuously for a long time.

Shen Yu's method is half-boiling and half-frying, which is suitable for frying a small amount of chestnuts at home. Not only does it take less time, it also saves effort, and the fried chestnuts are just as delicious.

The chestnuts had been cut, washed and drained yesterday. Shen Yu poured a small basket of chestnuts into the large iron pot, about half the pot, added a suitable amount of water to cover the chestnuts, and asked Yu Cheng to boil the water over medium and low heat.

While waiting for the water to boil, Shen Yu took out the osmanthus chestnut cake that he had made yesterday and packed it into four boxes using the remaining boxes of small reunion cakes.

The clay pot containing chestnut stewed chicken had been simmering by the stove all night. I opened the lid of the pot and poked it with chopsticks. The bones were loose and the meat was tender. It smelled even more fragrant than the one stewed in the iron pot yesterday.

Shen Yu added some salt and pepper into it, stirred it evenly with bamboo chopsticks, then covered the lid again and let the clay pot continue to simmer by the stove.

After finishing all these, the water in the pot started to boil. Shen Yu asked Yu Cheng to turn up the fire. Steam kept coming out from the edge of the pot lid.

Shen Yu used a basin to quickly knead out a small ball of dough, pulled out some thin noodles and scattered them on the dough board, then washed some vegetables and drained them.

When I turned around, I saw that the steam around the pot had become much smaller.

Shen Yu hurriedly asked Yu Cheng to remove some firewood.

After wiping the water off his hands, Shen Yu took the spatula and quickly started to stir the half pot of chestnuts. The chestnuts made a sizzling sound and crackling sounds could be heard from time to time.

After frying for a while, all the chestnuts in the pot had opened and the moisture was gone.

Shen Yu scooped up one with a spatula, carefully blew it to cool it down, and then peeled it with his hands, and the chestnut shell came off easily.

Shen Yu broke it into two halves, ate half himself and stuffed the other half into Yu Cheng's mouth.

Yu Cheng chewed it twice and said with a smile: "It's really sweet and soft, better than the ones in the snack shop. I like what my elder sister stir-fries."

Shen Yu asked Yu Cheng to turn off the fire, and used the remaining heat to stir the food a few more times. He smiled and said, "I have to thank Master Lu for this. The chestnuts he sent are better than those in the roasted food shop, so they taste better when fried."

Yu Cheng seemed to understand, and said "Oh", and asked: "Sister, are you going to give this half pot of fried chestnuts to Mr. Lu? Can he finish so much by himself?"

After saying that, he said shyly, "Can you leave some for me? I think it tastes good, and mom and the others haven't had any yet."

Shen Yu burst out laughing: "Of course I have to save some for myself. Although chestnuts are delicious, eating too much will cause indigestion. It's okay to eat them as a snack occasionally."

"If I really give all this to him alone and he gets sick, I can't afford the consequences if the county magistrate blames me."

After Shen Yu finished speaking, he pretended to be scared and grinned, which made Yu Cheng laugh out loud.

Shen Yu scooped up the chestnuts and put them in a bamboo basket to cool, then cleaned the pot and cooked two bowls of pork ribs and vegetable noodles.

She called Yu Cheng and said, "Let's eat first. After dinner, the sugar-roasted chestnuts will be cold. Come with me and give them to Master Lu and Third Sister."

After finishing the meal, Li and his friends had not yet returned from closing their stall.

Shen Yu and Yu Cheng washed the dishes and put the still warm sugar-roasted chestnuts at the bottom of two lunch boxes.

There was still a small half left hanging there for our own consumption.

Shen Yu placed four boxes of osmanthus chestnut cakes on the top layer of the food box, and put the earthenware jar in a bamboo basket and covered it with a thick cloth to keep it warm.

Shen Yu asked Yu Cheng to carry a food box, while she held the food box in one hand and a bamboo basket in the other, and they went out of the yard together.

After walking to the street and hailing a mule cart, Shen Yu asked the driver to drive steadily and went straight to the county government office.

After a short while, Shen Yu and Yu Cheng were already standing at the small gate of the county government office.

As soon as Shen Yu reported her name, the gatekeeper immediately smiled and said, "It's Miss Shen. Our Fourth Master told us yesterday that Miss Shen is here and asked us to report it directly. He will ask Qi Xi to pick her up."

Having said that, he politely invited Shen Yu and Yu Cheng to the gatehouse next door, pulled a bench over for them to sit and wait for a while, and then called another messenger into the inner court to report.

Not long after, Qixi was seen running towards us quickly.

Qi Xi quickly bowed to Shen Yu and said with a smile: "Miss Shen, how are you? The young master hasn't finished his morning class yet. I'll take you to the study to wait."

Shen Yu smiled and nodded. Qi Xi took the basket from Shen Yu's hand with great insight, and called the servant who was waiting nearby to take the food boxes for both of them.

Qi Xi led the way, leading Shen Yu and his sister, through the small door next to the ceremonial gate, and walked through two courtyards to a wing room.

Qi Xi pushed open the door and said, "This is the study where the young master reads every day. The young master asked you to wait for him here."

Qi Xi placed the food boxes and bamboo baskets on the square table under the window, asked Shen Yu and his sister to sit on the high-backed chairs beside the table, then bowed and left.