BXBX NOVEL Chapter 183 - 183: Submission
Lu Qianling really liked this little jade rabbit, but after knowing its price, she wanted to persuade Meng Chuyuan not to buy it, but she couldn’t.
Now when she saw this little thing, over her fondness for it she felt her heart ache more.
Grandma Lu did not have much of a reaction. She lowered her eyes and looked at the jade in her hand again.
A few seconds later, Grandma Lu’s deep and ancient voice sounded in the quiet hall. “Seven million is indeed a little expensive.”
“I also think it’s too expensive.” It was rare for someone to be on the same side as her, so Lu Qianling’s sense of superiority rose.
Meng Chuyuan appeared very calm. Her emotions were not affected at all. She even sat beside Grandma Lu and listened attentively.
She saw that Grandma Lu was very serious. She must have done a lot of research on jade. She might be able to learn something from Grandma Lu.
Grandma Lu weighed the weight of the jade with her hand and said indifferently, “This jade is indeed not bad, but its weight is still a little lacking.” “Grandma, how much do you think this piece of jade is worth?” Out of curiosity, Lu Qianling helped Meng Chuyuan ask in advance.
“About six million yuan.” Grandma Lu paused for two seconds and added, “But you said that this is the treasure of the shop. It’s already very kind of them to sell it to you for seven million yuan.”
Grandma Lu had been staying here for two days, and Meng Chuyuan cooked almost every meal herself.
She knew that the teeth of elderly were not good, so she specially stewed the meat until it was soft and chose some relatively tender dishes to make.
That day, Meng Chuyuan heard from Grandma Lu that she wanted to eat braised pork knuckle. Then, the next day, she woke up early and went to the market to buy fresh pork knuckle. She also bought ingredients for a few other dishes that everybody liked to eat.
The pig trotters were especially hairy. Meng Chuyuan had spent a lot of time removing the fur on the surface of the pig skin.
Lu Qianling’s happy weekend was about to end today. After finishing the homework she had left behind last week, she came to the kitchen because she was bored.
Looking at Meng Chuyuan’s busy figure, Lu Qianling stood at the side, unable to help at all.
“Did you buy pork trotters?”
Meng Chuyuan hummed softly. “Grandma said she wants to eat it.”
Grandma Lu was going back after lunch, so Meng Chuyuan wanted to make this braised pork knuckle for her to try.
Lu Qianling raised her head and looked at her in surprise. She asked in confusion, “Grandma said she wanted to eat it and you’re making it already? Why do you know how to make all kinds of dishes?”
“It’s not a difficult dish.”
After Meng Chuyuan cleaned the last piece of pork knuckle, she used clear water to wash pork knuckles and cut them on both sides. She put them in the pot and added some seasoning wine. When they were almost done cooking, she fished out the pork knuckles and drained the water from them.
Then, she heated the oil in the pot and placed the pork knuckles in, frying them till their skin turned golden before fishing them out.
Immediately after, Meng Chuyuan scooped a pot of clear water. She added various seasonings to it and left it to boil before putting the pork knuckles in to stew. After the bones were removed from the pork knuckles, she fished them out. Finally, she boiled a portion of sauce made from the remaining juices left behind from cooking the pork knuckles and its ingredients…
Lu Qianling watched as Meng Chuyuan went back and forth several times before finally completing this braised pork knuckle dish.
Looking at the entire process, Lu Qianling became a little dumbfounded. ” This is considered easy? The pork knuckle has to be cooked several times again and again.”
Because stewing meat took a long time, Meng Chuyuan took nearly three hours to cook this dish alone.
Meng Chuyuan glanced at Lu Qianling and said with a faint smile, “If you want to cook delicious dishes, of course you have to put in some effort.”
She enjoyed the process of cooking. Meng Chuyuan was willing to invest more time.
Meng Chuyuan washed the pot clean and looked back at Lu Qianling. “Shall I make you tiger skin chicken feet?”
When Lu Qianling heard this, she nodded excitedly. “Okay, show me.”
In fact, Lu Qianling did not really like places with heavy oil and smoke. Usually, when dishes were being cooked at home, she would not come to the kitchen.
For some reason, she liked to come over and watch Meng Chuyuan cook seriously.
Meng Chuyuan poured the bag of chicken feet into clear water. She cleaned
them with salt water before cutting off the sharp toenails of the chicken feet. Then, she blanched them in a pot. She added ginger slices, chopped green onions, and cooking wine to the pot.
Then, she grabbed a handful of rock sugar and placed it in a clean pot. She added some water and stir-fried the sugar until it was the color of caramel and placed it aside to use for later. Then, she washed the pot and poured in a suitable amount of oil. She poured the plate of chicken feet into it and fried them for a while. When the surface of the chicken feet turned golden yellow, she scooped them out.
She turned her head to look at Lu Qianling and said, “Get me a bag of ice and a few bottles of ice water. I’ll need them later.”
“Oh.” Lu Qianling turned around and ran to open the refrigerator. She found a bag of ice and two bottles of cold mineral water.
Meng Chuyuan told her, “Pour these on the chicken feet and let it soak for a while. Then the chicken feet will have the texture like that of a tiger skin.”
“I see.” After Lu Qianling understood, she immediately poured the ice cubes in and added the two bottles of mineral water to the chicken feet.
While Meng Chuyuan was preparing the next seasoning, Lu Qianling was observing the soaked chicken feet in the basin. She was a little curious. “Will it really start to look like a tiger’s skin from this?”
“Wait a little longer. It’s still too soon.”
About 20 minutes later, the chicken feet really slowly had the texture of a tiger’s skin.
Meng Chuyuan poured the ice water out of the basin. After draining the chicken feet of water, she poured them into the pot and stir-fried them. She added some seasoning and the ice-sugar water that she had just stir-fried, as well as a suitable amount of bean paste.
Lu Qianling stood at the side and smelled the fragrance coming from the pot. She could not help but lick her lips. “It smells so good.”
Meng Chuyuan smiled and said lightly, “It’ll be done soon after I collect the remaining juices for sauce.”
After the tiger skin chicken feet were out of the pot, Lu Qianling secretly tasted one in the kitchen. The taste of the chicken feet was very good, and the meat was unbelievably soft. Once it entered her mouth, the meat could easily be removed from the bones.
“You think too highly ot me.”
Lu Qianling looked at her sincerely and said, “It’s true. It’s much better than the food outside.”
She had always thought that the chefs hired by her family were already the best. As a result, when they went out to eat, they would always complain that it was not as delicious as the food at home.
However, today, Lu Qianling felt that Meng Chuyuan’s culinary skills were not inferior to that of a well-paid chef.
Meng Chuyuan smiled. “If you want to learn how to cook this dish, I can teach you.”
“Is there a 100% guarantee that I will be able to cook it after I learn from you?”
She raised her eyebrows and looked at Lu Qianling. Without thinking, she said,
“Of course.”
Grandma Lu basked in the sun outside the courtyard for a while and slowly walked into the living room. She smelled a strong fragrance and took the initiative to come to the dining room.
Seeing that Meng Chuyuan and Lu Qianling were both in the kitchen, Grandma Lu walked over curiously and asked softly, “Is it time to eat?”
Meng Chuyuan said, “Grandma, we can eat soon.”
She had chatted with Lu Qianling for a while just now and that wasted some time. At this moment, Meng Chuyuan was making fried tofu. There was still one last stir-fried Dutch beans left.
When Lu Qianling saw her grandma walking over, she suddenly moved to the side and helped her grandma over. “Grandma, she even made your favorite braised pork knuckle..”