CH 6

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Chang’an City was still bustling at night, and the roadside restaurants and taverns were full of customers.

But these… had nothing to do with Zhao Ji Restaurant.

A few scattered diners in the lobby were absent-mindedly picking up the vegetables in the bowls. After pulling for a long time, the vegetables didn’t move much, but the small plate of sauerkraut that was given as a gift went down a lot.

Zhao Dalang can entertain these few guests by himself.

Liu Shi gave Zhao Dalang a blank look, threw the rag back into his hand, and went into the kitchen. And not long after entering, she carried a large bag of things wrapped in oil paper to the backyard.

In the backyard, Zhao Lian was grooming the black dog Ah Mao with a brush. Seeing Liu Shi approaching, one person and one dog retreated subconsciously.

This action and reaction naturally fell into Liu Shi’s eyes. Liu Shi, who couldn’t do anything to Zhao Lian, immediately glared at the black dog, Mao, and scolded as something shameless.

The black dog Amao bowed his head and whined a few times, causing Zhao Lian to feel distressed again, and couldn’t help complaining to Liu Shi: “Mother, what are you doing?”

Liu Shi opened the oiled paper bag in her arms and took out an egg. She handed it to Zhao Lian, and said, “Go! Change her egg!”

Zhao Lian looked at the egg in Liu’s hand, which was not much bigger than a quail egg, and was speechless: “Mother, how could you do such a shameless and faceless thing?”

Zhaolian was not a pampered young lady who had never experienced the hardships of life. She was knowledgeable about buying groceries and cooking and frequently visited the market. From a glance, it was obvious that the egg Liu Shi held, which was only slightly larger than quail eggs, was of low quality and likely something purchased from the market as an extra. It wasn’t worth much money.

But the eggs Sister Wen used to make fried noodles were almost the size of a palm, and they were the best in the market.

Not to mention, in terms of size alone, two or three of Liu Shi’s eggs were probably as big as one of Sister Wen’s.

Zhao Lian felt that Liu Shi would lose all face. She really didn’t know how her mother can always come up with such dirty things?

Liu Shi, who was called “faceless and skinless” by Zhao Lian, slashed at her fiercely, stretched out her hand and grabbed Zhao Lian’s ear, and did not let go until Zhao Lian cried out in pain. Then she started to scold her “What do you, a little girl, understand? You really have no idea how valuable household management is! How much money do you earn working in a restaurant for a whole month? If I don’t come up with a solution, should I rely on your useless father to figure it out, or should I rely on you, this little girl?”

“Zhao Lian: “…”

“But even so, we shouldn’t stoop to such actions!” Zhaolian exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment. “To even consider swapping someone else’s eggs, how can we face others if this gets out?”

Liu sneered when she heard the words, rolled her eyes, and said: “Who said that egg is hers? An egg is an egg. Does it have a name written on it?” As long as they stubbornly denied it, they could go ahead with the swap. Liu Shi pointed at the quail-sized egg and claimed it belonged to Wen Mingtang. What could that girl possibly do to her in return?

After Zhao Lian heard this, she glanced at Liu Shi. She was silent for a moment and then said: “…there is really a name.”

After saying that, she went back to the house and brought out an egg.

The palm-sized egg was placed next to Liu’s quail eggs, which was even more eye-catching.

Liu Shi looked at the “^-^” painted on the egg, which was like slapping her face. Her face was extremely ugly, and she cursed: “I really haven’t seen such a person! You have to make a mark when you buy an egg, lest someone steal her eggs!”

She didn’t know why this inexplicable mark looked like Wen Mingtang’s smiling face, looking from the egg as if mocking her.

Hearing this, Zhao Lian glanced at the quail eggs in Liu Shi’s hand, and said, “Mother, are you so brave to say so? Didn’t you just want to exchange Sister Wen’s eggs?”

You haven’t seen someone like that before… Aren’t you such a person?

Liu Shi gave her a hard look, feeling aggrieved in her heart. Although Zhao Lian was the daughter who crawled out of her stomach, she didn’t know who she resembled with her sincere temperament.

Unable to swap the eggs, Liushi looked at Wen Mingtang with an unpleasant expression. Seeing Wen Mingtang crossing her arms and leaning casually against the doorframe, she let out a cold laugh. “Among the neighbors on this street, it has always been me, Liusu’e, taking advantage of others. Today, it seems that this little girl has managed to turn the tables on me for the first time!”

Just wait and see! Liu Shi gave Wen Mingtang a hard look, then turned and left.

…

Early the next morning, after getting up and washing up, Wen Mingtang talked to Zhao Lian and went out.

When it was time to eat breakfast, Liu Shi looked behind Zhao Lian with a big pot of watery porridge: “What about the criminal officer named Wen?”

“Mother, what did you say?” Zhao Lian glanced at Liu Shi dissatisfied, and when she saw the pot of porridge she was carrying, she felt a sense of powerlessness. She sighed, sat down, and said, “Sister Wen went out. She doesn’t want to eat your breakfast!”

When she heard that Wen Mingtang had gone out and refused to eat her breakfast, Liu’s face became even uglier. It’s all green: “Why didn’t you say it earlier, then why did I make this pot of porridge?”

She made this pot of porridge deliberately to force that shrewd girl surnamed Wen to leave early! Who knew that she didn’t come to eat breakfast at all, what should She do now? Who will eat this big pot of watery porridge?

…

Wen Mingtang didn’t know that Liu Shi had come up with such a moth in the early morning, but she just went out of Zhao Ji Restaurant to find a nearby breakfast stall for breakfast.

After sitting down, the owner brought out the breakfast.

It was not really a special breakfast food. Steamed dumplings were served with a bowl of clear mung bean porridge and a side dish of side dishes.

Wen Mingtang saw the side dish at a glance and paused for a moment when her eyes fell on the side dish.

The owner who brought the breakfast food and was about to leave saw Wen Mingtang looking at the dish, so he introduced it: “This is sauerkraut, and it is delicious with porridge!” The boss pointed to the dish of sauerkraut and introduced, “I made it myself. Yes, the taste is mostly similar to that of the sauerkraut in Zhao Ji restaurant!”

The couple in Zhao Ji restaurant was so poor at cooking that if they didn’t rely on this dish of sauerkraut, they would have closed the shop early.

Nowadays, the old customers who occasionally came to Zhao Ji Restaurant came to eat not due to loyalty, but for this mouthful of pickled sauerkraut. But that couple was very greedy, and they refused to sell sauerkraut alone, and made a rule that they only gave it away and not sell it. It was only when they ordered three big dishes could they get a plate of sauerkraut.

This sour, salty, spicy food was really appetizing, but even with such a “signature”, it could not halt the gradual decline of the couple’s business.

Looking at the sauerkraut made with vinegar and salt brought by the owner, Wen Mingtang raised her eyebrows.

She was the one who taught Zhao Sishan how to pickle the sauerkraut, and Zhao Sishan taught it to Zhao Dalang and his wife. Originally it was just an addition, but unexpectedly it was used by the couple.

“Although the taste is quite similar, they are ultimately different,” the owner said, looking at the small dish of sauerkraut with a sigh. He continued in a low voice, “The couple from Zhao Ji Restaurant guards the recipe for these sauerkraut as if it were their own eyes. Once, a curious customer ventured into the kitchen to see how the sauerkraut were made. It nearly led to the couple reporting him to the authorities, claiming that their signature recipe was worth a fortune. Stealing something so valuable would at least result in a ten or eight-year sentence!”

Is that so? Wen Mingtang, who was holding up the porridge bowl, paused for a moment, and couldn’t help laughing when she thought of how Liu Shi secretly stuffed a jar under her and Zhao Lian’s bed when it was dawn.

She had seen people who were tossing around, but it was really rare to see someone who can do it like Liu Shi!

She suffered from her “losing battle” yesterday, and it was getting worse today!

Wen Mingtang shook her head, Zhao Sishan really saw through people, her brother and sister-in-law were really top-notch! She was going to see Zhang Caimai in a while so that she can find a place to move out quickly.

As for Zhao Dalang and Liu Shi… she knew Zhao Sishan would be more willing to take care of it herself.

T/N That Liu Shi is some character!!! And I plan to make this pickled cabbage this winter. For last two winters I made Kimchi at home and it was great. Will try making picked Chinese vegetables this winter.