Ch 20: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

Eight Treasures Buddha Porridge

When Qin Xia learned that Yu Jiuque was plagued by nightmares every night, he took advantage of a less busy day to first deliver a few sets of Jianbing Guozi to Ganyuan Zhai and then made a trip to Chengyi Hall. There, he consulted with Old Doctor Xu, seeking advice on medicinal dishes that could calm the mind and reduce nightmares.

Old Doctor Xu remembered Yu Jiuque’s condition well; after all, this young Ge’er’s pulse was peculiar—he seemed to have practiced martial arts but had his internal strength crippled. Such a person must have had an extraordinary background. Now, with no memory, married to a common man, it truly showed how unpredictable life could be.

“If you want to approach this through diet, have the patient consume more sour jujube seeds, lotus seeds, longan, and lily bulbs. You can also stew some black-bone chicken soup—these are all suitable and won’t conflict with his current medication.”

Qin Xia took note of all this and bought two liang (about 100 grams) of sour jujube seeds at the clinic. He then went to a dried goods store to buy some lotus seeds and longan.

As soon as he stepped into the store, the shop assistant greeted him with a wide smile.

“Welcome! Please come in, sir. Our store has all kinds of dried goods and nuts, and we also have pre-mixed Eight Treasures rice if you’d like to take a look?”

It was then that Qin Xia realized he had been so busy that he had forgotten that the Laba Festival was just two days away.

This was perfect timing; the lotus seeds and longan could be cooked into porridge.

Even so, he didn’t want the pre-mixed Eight Treasures rice that the shop offered, as mixing them together might result in some old stock being included.

Qin Xia carefully selected good-quality lotus seeds, longan, and lily bulbs. He noticed that the store also had dried black fungus and dried white fungus for sale. After examining their quality, he had the shop assistant weigh two liang of each.

These items weren’t cheap, and together they cost a bit over 200 wen.

The tradition of “Laba Porridge” had been a set practice since the previous dynasty, though the name varied. It originated from the porridge distributed in temples to commemorate the Buddha’s enlightenment, so it was often referred to as “Buddha Porridge” among the common folk.

Originally, it consisted of Seven Treasures with five flavors, but over time, more ingredients were added, and it eventually became known as Eight Treasures Porridge.

As for which ingredients made up the “Eight Treasures,” this varied from household to household.

Qin Xia’s version included white rice, glutinous rice, barley, red dates, red beans, longan, lotus seeds, and peanuts.

Other families might use more types of rice or beans, add rock sugar, or use brown sugar.

To make the porridge the next morning, all the grains and beans, except for the red dates, were soaked in water on the night of the seventh day.

This way, they would cook up soft and tender the next day.

As the saying goes, “After Laba, it’s the New Year.” With the anticipation of the New Year ahead, everything seemed more manageable.

After finding a clay pot in the cupboard and cleaning it, Qin Xia lit the fire and first boiled a pot of water.

Boiling the grains in hot water would save time and effort.

Sweet porridge was perfect for breakfast, but he needed to consider what else to pair it with.

A table full of sweet dishes might be too cloying, so after some thought, Qin Xia decided to make a few simple hand-grab pancakes.

He mixed flour with water and vegetable oil, kneaded it into dough, and set it aside to rest.

Next, he took out a bowl and prepared the oil pastry.

This involved mixing flour with a small amount of salt and five-spice powder, then stirring in hot oil, creating a paste.

Just as the water in the clay pot began to boil, Qin Xia was about to add the grains when he heard Yu Jiuque call from outside.

“Husband!”

The tone of his voice suggested something good had happened.

Qin Xia put the grains and beans back in place, shook the water from his hands, and stepped out of the kitchen. He saw Yu Jiuque, smiling as he came quickly toward him from the backyard, where he had just finished feeding the chickens.

“Husband, look!”

In his pale palm was a perfectly round egg.

Qin Xia was equally delighted.

“They’ve started laying eggs? Do you know which one?”

Yu Jiuque’s smile deepened.

“It’s the one with a few white spots on its body. I figured it was braver, so it might start laying eggs first, and sure enough, it did.”

Qin Xia took the egg, rolled it in his hand, and smiled broadly. “This is a good sign.”

The two of them exchanged a smile.

Back in the kitchen, Qin Xia set the grains to cook while Yu Jiuque watched over the fire, his hands busy peeling garlic.

Aside from eating porridge on Laba, they also needed to pickle garlic. By soaking the peeled garlic in vinegar, it would turn a bright jade green by New Year’s Eve, just in time to serve with dumplings.

They couldn’t eat too much, so Qin Xia suggested they pickle only a small jar to keep with tradition.

Da Fu had already been let out early and, after wandering around the yard, seemed to have gotten cold. It climbed up to the kitchen doorstep, curiously pecking at everything before finally settling by Yu Jiuque’s feet to peck at the garlic skins.

Qin Xia glanced at it and pointed to a small dish on the stove.

“I saved some of the Eight Treasures rice and beans for Da Fu as well. When we have our porridge, it can eat this too, so it can also enjoy the holiday.”

Yu Jiuque smiled and agreed, letting Da Fu hop into the pile of garlic skins and flutter its wings.

A little over two quarters of an hour later, the beans in the clay pot started to bloom.

Qin Xia spread out the large cutting board and took out a rolling pin to start making the hand-grab pancakes.

He divided the dough into ten small portions, oiled them thoroughly, rolled them out into large, thin pancakes, and brushed them with a layer of the oil paste.

With the oil paste facing up, he rolled the pancakes into thin strips, coiled them into circles, and then rolled them out again to form the pancake base.

By the time a stack of pancakes was cooked, the fragrant aroma of the Laba porridge had filled the entire room.

The single precious egg was fried in the leftover oil from the pancakes, along with a few other fried eggs, and placed in a bowl to be served in the main room.

“Both lotus seeds and longan are good for calming the mind, so you should eat more of them.”

Each of them had a bowl of porridge, and Qin Xia handed Yu Jiuque a spoon while showing him how to eat the hand-grab pancake.

He suggested brushing the pancake with a bit of sauce, adding a fried egg, one of their homemade sausages, and a couple of clean vegetable leaves, then rolling it all up. Taking a bite was immensely satisfying.

Yu Jiuque, however, started by drinking a few sips of porridge.

The porridge was thick and rich, with the spoon standing upright in it. Each spoonful seemed to melt in his mouth, the rice and beans dissolving into a fragrant, sweet flavor.

Seeing that he enjoyed it, Qin Xia said, “I made plenty, so we can have more tonight.”

Yu Jiuque nodded, thinking that such a delicious porridge could be eaten for several more days without getting tired of it.

After finishing the porridge, with the sweetness lingering in his mouth, Yu Jiuque felt like having something savory.

Following Qin Xia’s example, he rolled up a pancake, using the fresh egg laid by their backyard chicken.

Not wanting to keep it all to himself, Yu Jiuque insisted on giving half of it to Qin Xia.

Though an egg is just an egg, they both felt that the one laid by their own chicken tasted better.

Before leaving, Qin Xia didn’t forget to soak the peeled garlic in aged vinegar, adding a good amount of sugar.

Finally, he sealed the jar and placed it in the kitchen cabinet, leaving it to be opened later.

…

Liubao Street was bustling with activity.

On both sides of the road, stalls had started selling peach wood charms, pictures of door gods, and handwritten couplets for the Spring Festival. Qin Xia even spotted molds for making decorative steamed buns, shaped like peaches, fish, ingots, fortune bags, and silver locks, all intricately carved.

An old man, carrying a load on his shoulders like a peddler, was selling these items along the street, calling out that one cost eight wen, or two for fifteen wen.

Qin Xia asked Yu Jiuque to pick two that he liked, so they could make some decorative buns for the New Year to give as auspicious gifts.

After some hesitation, Yu Jiuque chose the ingot and the fortune bag, favoring the symbolism for good luck in business.

The old man took the money and cheerfully wished them “prosperity and wealth.”

You ge’er, the seller of sugar cakes, had brought his youngest son along today. It was clear that he cherished this child, paying close attention despite him being a ge’er.

To amuse the child, You ge’er also stopped the old man and bought a fish-shaped mold and a silver lock.

His two children were named Yu and Suo, so the fish mold and silver lock matched their names perfectly.

Now that he had benefited from Qin Xia’s food stall, not only could he sell more sugar cakes, but Qin Xia had also given him the job of frying the dough sticks for the jianbing guozi.

Qin Xia had reasoned that You ge’er had experience with frying food and already had an oil pot.

As a result, You ge’er now fried a batch of dough sticks every day and brought them to Qin Xia, earning an additional income of several dozen wen. This allowed him to afford a few extra things for his children during the New Year.

Little Suo was eager to compare his wooden mold with the ones Yu Jiuque had chosen.

While there were no customers at the stall, Yu Jiuque squatted down to play with him.

As the two families chatted happily, the atmosphere around Qin Xia’s food stall contrasted sharply with the quiet and deserted pickle stall nearby.

You ge’er, with his hands in his sleeves, stood on tiptoe to glance in that direction, then quietly said to Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque, “Their business is getting worse and worse. The other day, when you weren’t here, someone came back to complain that the pickles they bought had gone moldy! If they hadn’t quickly compensated the customer, it might have caused a scene with the street management.”

Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque exchanged looks.

They couldn’t help but think that it took a certain level of skill to make pickles go moldy in winter.

“I thought they had been selling there for quite a while.”

The implication was that such a mistake shouldn’t have been made.

You ge’er shook his head and said, “You probably don’t know, but it was this guy’s mother who used to sell here. Later, she hurt her back, and since then, her son took over.”

It seemed that the younger generation had ruined the good reputation that the older generation had established. Qin Xia sighed inwardly, feeling a bit sorry for the woman who used to run the stall.

You ge’er then advised them, “In any case, there’s no need to deal with him. I’ve always thought he was up to no good, and he might even be a bit envious of how well your business is doing.”

This was puzzling since the two stalls catered to completely different customers.

It just goes to show that some people blame everything else when they can’t succeed themselves.

“Boss, one order of grilled cold noodles with a sausage!”

Before they had time to rest, another customer came to place an order.

Qin Xia responded with a “coming right up,” while Yu Jiuque patted Little Suo’s head and returned to the stall to manage the accounts.

In a short while, they had sold several servings of grilled cold noodles and jianbing guozi.

Then, an elderly man, looking somewhat greasy and worn, led a small boy around three or four years old to the stall. They bought just one sausage.

Yu Jiuque noticed that the boy’s fingernails were filled with dirt, and he kept putting them in his mouth, which made Yu Jiuque feel uneasy.

“Be careful not to burn your mouth,” Yu Jiuque said as he handed over the non-spicy sausage. The old man took it and led the boy away.

With a constant stream of customers at the stall, they had seen all sorts of people, so they didn’t give much thought to who they sold the food to.

At that moment, no one could have anticipated that the very sausage they had just handed out would soon cause trouble.

By the end of the hour, most of the ingredients they had prepared were sold out.

Seeing that there wasn’t enough left for another full meal, Qin Xia called for Yu Jiuque to pack up early.

As they were gathering their things, they heard a few low gasps from the nearby vendors.

Qin Xia looked up in confusion and saw several officers, dressed in the distinctive uniforms of the street patrol, with black hats tied in knots, walking straight toward them.

Qin Xia’s expression grew serious; he knew this was not something to take lightly.

The magistrate of Qinan County was known for being diligent and honest, and under his strict governance, the city’s officers rarely abused their power or caused trouble without reason.

So, for the street patrol officers to appear in such a manner, something serious must have happened.

He put down what he was holding and stepped out from behind the stall to greet the officers who had stopped in front of him.

“Qin Xia, a commoner, greets the officers.”

The leading officer glanced at Qin Xia and his food stall before questioning him.

“Are you the owner of the Qin’s Food Stall?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Do you sell a food item called ‘sausage’ at your stall?”

Qin Xia’s heart skipped a beat, but he lowered his head and replied, “Yes, we do, sir.”

“Do you have any available right now? Let us take a look.”

On the other side, Yu Jiuque didn’t dare to delay. There was one sausage left on the griddle that hadn’t been sold yet, so he carefully wrapped it in oil paper and presented it to one of the officers who stepped forward.

“Officers, this is the sausage we sell at the stall.”

“Good, you’re being cooperative. It seems you’re unaware of what’s happened.”

The lead officer glanced at the stall before turning back to Qin Xia and saying, “Pack up your things. The two of you need to come with us to the street patrol office.”

Qin Xia was taken aback and couldn’t help but straighten up as he asked, “May I ask, sir, what law we might have broken?”

The officer gave him a sidelong glance and said, “Do you even need to ask? The street patrol office is questioning you because there’s an issue with the food you sold! To be clear, half an hour ago, an old man bought a sausage from your stall for his grandson. After eating it, the boy experienced severe stomach pain and vomiting, with sausage pieces clearly visible in the vomit. He’s already been taken to the nearest clinic for treatment. Until this matter is resolved, you are not allowed to operate your stall. Your license, cart, and cooking equipment are to be confiscated!”

With that, the officer waved his hand, and the other officers rushed forward, confiscating everything at the stall in a flash!