80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 101 - 97: The Sunflower Has Bloomed

On the ninth day of the month, Lin Lan was just crossing Shiqiao with a basket of paper mulberry leaves on her back when Grandma Yang came over. The moment she saw her, she said, "Ding Bang sent back some meat, vegetables, a big spotted carp weighing five or six pounds, and half a pound of beef."

"I had him slaughter a large rooster and a small hen. Xiangyang, Dongzi, and the others are coming this afternoon, so come over early to start cooking."

Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Leave it to me."

Grandma Yang beamed, her face crinkling with joy. "Alright! I’ll be waiting for Chef Lin, then." With that, she walked off, chuckling happily.

When Lin Lan reached her courtyard gate, Little Douzi ran over happily, holding a pinwheel. "Mom, look what Auntie made for me."

Lin Yuezhen had made the pinwheel from kraft paper and stuck it in a thin bamboo tube. The yellowish toy brought the little boy a lot of joy.

"It’s beautiful!" Lin Lan set down her back-basket and spread the paper mulberry leaves in the courtyard to dry. She took the pinwheel, admired it for a moment, then handed it back to him. "Run slowly, don’t fall."

"Okay!" Little Douzi took it and ran off.

Lin Yuezhen emerged from the backyard carrying some sturdy greens. She gestured to Lin Lan, signing that she had picked the tender leaves and planned to boil them to make a dish with pickled vegetables.

Lin Lan nodded. "Okay. I’ll go cut some chives for scrambled eggs."

The two little hens laid two eggs every day. Lin Lan had placed a bottomless basket lined with thick straw in the bamboo grove, and every afternoon, Little Douzi would go there to collect the eggs.

The sturdy greens in the backyard had grown large. The tough outer stalks were broken off, boiled, and fed to the pigs. The tender inner stalks were boiled, rinsed, and then braised with pickled vegetables, pickled peppers, and a yuxiang sauce. The dish was both appetizing with rice and refreshingly crisp.

Lin Lan went into the vegetable patch. Seeing that the crimson radishes in the garden had also grown big, she pulled out a few of the larger ones.

Spinach! It grew old fast, and some plants had already started to bolt. She picked the tender ones to take back for soup, leaving the sturdier ones to go to seed.

The potato plants on the ridges were a vibrant green, and the taro in the furrows was already over a foot tall.

The vines on the trellises grew wild, and the eggplant and chili pepper plants were now more than a foot high.

The early-blooming chili peppers, green beans, and pumpkins had blossomed with white, golden, and pale purple flowers.

She washed the celery and radishes and left them to air-dry in a wide basket. Once the moisture was gone, she would put them in the pickling jar.

After lunch, Lin Lan rushed to prepare the goods for her afternoon stall. She said to Lin Yuezhen, "Sister, when Liying gets here, you go set up the stall. I’m going to Grand-Aunt’s house to help."

Lin Yuezhen nodded and waved her hand, gesturing for her to hurry on over.

Lin Lan picked up her apron and said to Little Douzi, who was sitting on the steps reading a picture book, "Mommy’s going to Grandma Yang’s to help. Later, you go with Auntie to the Eucalyptus Forest and help hawk the wares."

Without looking up, Little Douzi nodded. "Mhm!"

’Sometimes I wonder how he can sit still for so long at such a young age,’ Lin Lan thought.

She took a few steps, then turned back to ruffle his hair. "Sweetie, make sure you play for a little while after you read. You’ll ruin your eyes otherwise!"

Only then did Little Douzi look up. "I know!"

Lin Lan went to Grandma Yang’s house. The old woman pointed to the pork ribs, stomach, and kidneys laid out in bamboo baskets and basins on the table.

She chuckled as she counted on her fingers. "Ding Bang’s girlfriend, Dongzi and his wife Little Yao, Xiangyang, and the three of you from your house. That’s everyone. You can plan the menu accordingly."

Lin Lan had already washed the scallions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings and placed them in a basket. The vegetables were also prepped and washed. She smiled and nodded. "Alright! Let’s get the time-consuming dishes out of the way first, then we can do the stir-fries."

Grandma Yang smiled and nodded. "You’re the head chef, so you’re in charge. I’ll be your assistant."

Lin Lan nodded and ladled a bowl of fermented broad bean paste from a jar. She chopped the pork ribs into roughly inch-long pieces, peeled and diced a sweet potato, and minced some scallions and garlic, setting them aside.

She added a moderate amount of broad bean paste, a little soy sauce, the minced garlic, some sugar, a bit of salt, and a large spoonful of rapeseed oil to the ribs. After mixing them well, she tossed in steamed-meat rice flour until each rib was evenly coated.

She lined the bottom of an earthenware bowl with the diced sweet potato, arranged the ribs on top, placed the bowl in a wooden steamer, and set it over high heat to steam.

She chopped the hen into pieces and blanched them. She heated oil in a pot and stir-fried slices of ginger, cassia bark, dried chili peppers, and star anise until fragrant. Then, she added the chicken pieces and stir-fried them until golden brown. She poured in water, brought it to a boil, added rehydrated mushrooms, brought it to a boil again, then lowered the heat to a simmer.

She cut the rooster in half. One half went into a pot of cold water and was cooked until a chopstick inserted into the thickest part came out with clear juices. She turned off the heat and let it sit for over half an hour. Then, she removed the chicken and plunged it into cooled boiled water until it was thoroughly chilled and the skin was crisp. Finally, she chopped it into small pieces and arranged them in a porcelain bowl.

She julienned the white part of a large scallion, chopped some cilantro, minced ginger and garlic, and crushed some peanuts. She mixed them with Sichuan peppercorn powder, a bowl of chili oil, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, a bowl of the fatty chicken broth, and a bit of salt. She poured this dressing over the chicken pieces, tossed them well, and transferred them to a serving plate.

The other half of the rooster was chopped, blanched, and braised with taro. The large spotted carp was filleted to make fish with pickled greens.

Next, she sliced the pork kidneys in half, removed the white membrane, and scored them in a decorative pattern. She rinsed them in cold water until the water ran clear, then marinated them with shredded ginger, soy sauce, white pepper, and a pinch of starch.

After that, she sliced celtuce to be braised with strips of pork stomach, and prepared to stir-fry celery and pickled peppers with tender-chopped beef.

Li Xiangyang, Xu Dong, and Little Yao arrived at the back door on their bikes, greeted by a fragrant, spicy aroma.

Xu Dong, carrying gifts in both hands, poked his head in and grinned. "Grandma Yang, you’ve still got it! The smell from outside was making our mouths water!"

Grandma Yang got up from in front of the stove, beaming at them. "I’m old and not as spry as I used to be, so I asked Ding Bang’s sister-in-law to help. It’s smoky in here, go on and sit in the main hall."

Xu Dong looked at the busy figure of Lin Lan by the stove and realized he knew her.

Lin Lan looked at the lanky man and smiled. "Hello, Captain Xu!" Then she saw the female officer. "Officer Little Yao, hello!"

Xu Dong clasped his hands together in a formal gesture and smiled. "I was just doing my duty back then. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble."

Lin Lan thought of the spiced fava beans Li Xiangyang had brought back and laughed. "Not at all. In fact, thank you for being lenient."

’It’s a small world,’ she thought. ’Everyone seems to know each other.’

Seeing them all, Grandma Yang couldn’t stop smiling. "Lin Lan has had such a hard time on her own. Now that you all know each other, please help me look out for her."

Xu Dong stood at attention and gave a mock salute. "Yes, ma’am! As you command!"

Yao Xiuyun looked at Lin Lan, recognizing her as well. She smiled. "It’s you! The brave woman who fought off that hoodlum."

"Fought off a hoodlum? When did this happen?" Li Xiangyang glanced at Lin Lan, who was busy at the stove. Seeing her focused expression, he quickly looked away.

"It was that delinquent, Liu Jinbao..." Yao Xiuyun briefly recounted the incident where Liu Jinbao had tried to kick her door down.

Xu Dong turned his head and saw Li Xiangyang’s face had darkened, the veins on his neck bulging. He remembered how Li Xiangyang had eagerly spent money to buy those spiced fava beans last time, and his heart skipped a beat. ’This slow-to-bloom sunflower... don’t tell me he’s finally developed feelings for Ding Bang’s widowed sister-in-law!’

"Come, come!" Grandma Yang happily took Yao Xiuyun’s hand. "It’s too smoky in here. Let’s go sit in the courtyard, have some tea, and eat some melon seeds."

"Okay, Grandma!" Yao Xiuyun replied with a smile.

Li Xiangyang and Xu Dong put down the things they were carrying and followed Grandma Yang into the main hall.

Lin Lan washed her hands, brought out glass cups, and brewed some floral tea. She placed them on a tray and carried it out to the large square table in the courtyard, saying with a smile, "Have some tea. The food will be ready soon."

Li Xiangyang quickly stood up to take the tray from her. "Lin Lan, don’t rush. Ding Bang isn’t back yet!"

Lin Lan smiled. "He should be here any minute." With that, she headed back to the kitchen.

Yao Xiuyun stood up and followed Lin Lan toward the kitchen. "Sister Lin, I want to learn how to cook from you!"