Tangli Fried Snow

Since transmigrating, Sherry has had many identities.

First she was a prostitute named Lin Jiaojiao, then she became a military officer's bodyguard named Su Mu, and later she had a clean identity and became a refined young lady named Jin Xueli.

Now her name is Zhang Jun, an ordinary person, and the key point is that she is a man.

She experienced the lives of many different people, haha, that's really interesting!

Being a free man, and still a man, is great!

The girls settled down in an inconspicuous little courtyard in the south of the city. Every day, they would tidy up the courtyard, buy some food and supplies, feed the big black horse at the gate, bask in the sun, and think about what delicious food to make that day.

No need to farm, no need to work, no need to serve others—life is simply too comfortable!

These past few days, she's been making all the delicious food and recipes she can remember with the two girls, some successful and some not, and she's written them all down on a few sheets of paper.

Qiu Ling was from the capital. Her younger brother had attended school for a few years, so he taught her to recognize many characters. Fu Ling's father was a poor schoolteacher, so she also recognized some characters. Although not many, they both recognized common everyday characters.

The first thing they made was liangpi (cold skin noodles), which is a secret recipe that no one else can imitate. Add roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and they've won over the stomachs of Chinese people throughout history.

Liangpi (cold skin noodles) is made by washing the gluten in the kneaded dough, steaming the gluten, and then using the water from the dough to steam the liangpi. The difficulty lies in finding molds. In modern times, stainless steel basins are available, but in ancient times, bamboo utensils could only be used. By lining them with a steaming cloth, a few sheets could be made. With the addition of secret seasonings and seasonal vegetables, the noodles were so delicious that several people ate them without even seeing their eyes. Xue Li taught the two of them the method of making the noodles without reservation.

The secret to roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) lies in the method of making the bread, the spices for stewing the meat, and the pork hind leg meat simmered over low heat for an hour. After being chopped up, it is sandwiched on the bread. When you take a bite, the oil sizzles and bursts out. Who wouldn't be overwhelmed by its deliciousness?

There are also mung bean cakes and red bean cakes. These two desserts require a special technique for simmering the beans. The beans need to be cooked until very soft. The secret is to add sugar and oil after simmering and stir-fry them in a pan to dry out the moisture. This makes the filling fragrant, and the crust needs to be flaky so that it crumbles in your mouth. Once you learn this, you can unlock all kinds of filled pastries—sweet, sesame, peanut, chestnut, hawthorn, rose petals—they're all pretty much the same.

Steamed sponge cake, steamed bread, and flatbread all require yeast. But what did people do in ancient times without yeast? They could cultivate their own starter culture. Find a clean container, boil it in hot water, put in a yogurt-like flour paste, and let it ferment in a warm place for two days. Then add more flour paste to cultivate the starter culture, providing a continuous supply of yeast. The secret is cleanliness; there can be no contamination from other bacteria.

Cakes, bread, peach shortbread, and mooncakes all require an oven. You can write them down first and make them when you have a suitable oven. You also need a tool like an egg beater to succeed, so put them aside for now.

Layered pancakes and egg pancakes are both delicious and easy-to-make pasta dishes. The secret is to add hot water to the dough and then add oil to make a flaky pastry. Qiu Ling and Fu Ling can learn to make these simple dishes in no time, and they taste even better than those made by Xue Li.

The girls were so happy that they kept busy every day. No matter how well they made the food, they would happily eat it all.

Qiu Ling fell ill within two days. It was unclear whether it was because she had been so badly abused before, and the sudden reduction in psychological pressure after escaping caused her anger to surface. Or perhaps it was due to a cold she had caught earlier, which manifested in the past few days: her voice was hoarse, she couldn't speak, her forehead was burning hot, and her nose was congested and runny—she looked quite pitiful.

Sherry told her not to work and to rest, but she nervously said in a hoarse voice, "Miss, I can work even when I'm sick, please don't kick me out."

Shirley smiled and comforted her, saying, "Qiuling, call me Second Brother. I won't send you away. I just want you to get better soon so you can help me with the work. Don't infect Sister Fuling; she's pregnant."

Qiu Ling was very obedient and rested for three days. She took several doses of extremely bitter medicine and slowly recovered. Her injuries healed, and she gained some weight, making her look even prettier.

Fuling was due to give birth in a few days, and Xueli handed her twenty taels of silver. Fuling was so frightened that she waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "I dare not take so much money, Uncle, you take it." Uh, in ancient times, a younger brother-in-law was called "uncle," which Xueli also found hard to accept.

Xue Li said to her seriously, "Sister Fuling, this money was swindled from Brother Shan. It's all your hard-earned money. I dare not spend this money. I'll return it to you. Keep it safe and keep it as your personal money. When you have time, go to the market to buy some things for the baby. Prepare some small clothes, small shoes, small blankets, diapers, and also some things that can be used during postpartum confinement. I'm afraid I won't buy these things well, so you should go and buy them yourself."

Fuling burst into tears upon hearing this. She took the silver and cried for a while before wiping away her tears. Then, she took the two of them to the street and bought a large amount of food and household items. She was skillful with needlework and made some clothes and quilts herself from fine cotton fabric.

This little courtyard is becoming more and more like home, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney every day. The three women are all hardworking, and they live a very comfortable life.

In the middle of the night, Qiu Ling suddenly cried out, "Second Brother! Something terrible has happened! Sister-in-law is going into labor!"

It turns out that Fuling's amniotic sac ruptured in the middle of the night.

Xue Li jumped up, got dressed, and went over to check. She saw Fu Ling lying in bed, amniotic fluid gushing from her lower body, as if she had wet the bed. Fu Ling, having given birth before, remained relatively calm, but Qiu Ling panicked terribly.

Shirley comforted Qiu Ling, saying, "Little sister, don't panic. Giving birth takes a long time for the cervix to dilate, so the baby won't be born immediately. I'll go find the midwife in the village. You change your sister's blanket to a clean one, put a menstrual pad in her pants, and take good care of her. Don't be afraid."

Qiu Ling tried to calm herself down and replied with a soft "Mm." As if to encourage herself, she nodded heavily.

Shirley dressed in men's clothes and put on a hat, then went to the village midwife's house. She had already inquired with the neighbors and learned that the midwife, Aunt Zhao, was a very kind, experienced, and reasonably priced woman who had delivered hundreds of babies.

Sherry had come to greet her in advance and even brought her a dozen eggs and some freshly made food.

She called out to Aunt Zhao a few times, and the person inside the house responded with a "Yes."

She peeked through the crack in the door and saw that candles were lit inside. After a while, Aunt Zhao dressed herself and opened the front door. When she saw Zhang Jun from the street ahead, she knew that his sister-in-law was about to give birth. She said to him, "Young man Zhang, is your sister-in-law about to give birth?"

Sherry said anxiously, "Yes, Auntie, you should go quickly!"