Crossing Over to Yamada Love

It took the Mo family several days of effort to make this noodle dish. They were busy making and selling steamed buns and preparing this dish, and they were exhausted every day.

Now that the ingredients were ready, it was time for the experiment. The lean meat had already been sliced; Mo Lan had Liu slice a lot, just in case she didn't succeed on the first try. Qiu Shi, watching, kept calling her wasteful.

The oil in the pot was heated, and the flour batter was soaked in advance. This batter needed to be soaked beforehand and it had to be thick, otherwise the meat wouldn't stick. Following the instructions, Liu coated the meat with the batter and then fried it in the pot.

Mo Lan was preparing the sauce. For Guo Bao Rou to taste good, two steps are crucial: first, the batter must be properly coated. Only when coated correctly can it fry long enough to puff up, resulting in large, crispy pieces. Second, the sauce is essential; a well-prepared sauce is key to the delicious flavor.

She first added a little bit of flour, diluted it with water, then added a tiny bit of soy sauce, crushed rock sugar, vinegar, a small amount of salt, and some shredded ginger. She stirred it well with chopsticks.

The meat was already fried over there. Mo Lan looked at it; it wasn't good enough, it hadn't risen properly, and it looked shriveled and unappetizing. But she couldn't waste it, so she took the meat over and asked her grandmother to cook it on the small stove.

Add oil to the pan, stir-fry the fried meat for a few seconds, pour in the sauce, add some shredded carrots and scallions, and it's ready to serve.

Mo Lan picked up a piece of meat, hissing as she swallowed it; it was too hot.

"Auntie, Mother, the flour coating isn't enough, wrap it with more." She called out to the two of them, "This dish isn't good, the meat is too tough."

Plate after plate, Qiu's heart trembled. When would this ever end? She thought the meat her sister-in-law had been cutting would last for days, but now it seemed it wouldn't be enough. She wondered what her mother wanted! Why was nothing satisfactory?

Mo Lan frowned as she looked at the seven or eight plates of "Guo Bao Rou" (sweet and sour pork) in front of her. None of the plates were suitable, even though the taste was alright. The meat wasn't tender enough, the pieces weren't large enough, and the presentation was poor.

Mo Lan walked over to the large pot and watched her mother and aunt wrap the flour dough. She was speechless; with such thin flour dough, it was no wonder it wouldn't look good. She went over and drained some of the water from the flour dough, making it sticky, before wrapping it for them.

Sure enough, this time it was much better. The flesh rose nicely, became fluffy, and looked much better.

Looking at the ten plates of sweet and sour pork laid out on the cutting board, everyone gritted their teeth. Ten plates! How could they possibly eat that? And the meat couldn't be kept overnight. With no other option, they had to ask a few close friends to take it home.

Four plates of sweet and sour pork and one plate of vegetables with dipping sauce were laid out on the dinner table. The Mo family had chosen sweet and sour pork as the main dish.

Mo Changhe took a bite and nodded repeatedly, saying, "It tastes good, a little sour and a little sweet, quite to my liking."

"If it tastes good, then it's good. At least it wasn't a waste of time." Qiu looked at the meat and couldn't eat it anymore. In the past, she lacked meat and oil, but today, she was full of the smell of oil.

Thus, the Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork) was considered a success, and it later became a signature dish of the Mo family.

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Time flew by, and the Mo family's house was finally completed. The two-room shop was spacious and bright, with tables and chairs arranged in an orderly manner. Behind the counter for accounting were several jars of liquor, and many bamboo trays with the names of various dishes were hanging on the walls. At the far end of the shop were several small partitions, which served as private rooms.

The courtyard is paved with blue bricks in the middle, clean and flat, with vegetable gardens on both sides. Looking at the green color and the abundant fruits, one feels comfortable and at ease.

The kitchen was right next to the shop, with three large stoves and two small stoves inside. A row of tables in the middle was neatly arranged with various cutting boards. In the corner, there was a cupboard full of grain.

The wells behind were all built with large bluestones and fitted with shovels. A thick rope was used to hang a bucket, and water could be pumped up with a creaking sound.

The cellar is big and deep enough to store as many vegetables as you want.

Beyond the backyard lay the Mo family's own residence. The main house and side rooms were all completed, with red bricks and gray tiles, looking grand and bright. However, the furnishings inside were sparse, mostly moved from the old house. The two hundred taels of silver were almost gone, and they were not yet at the point where they could enjoy comfort and luxury.

After moving into the house, a large pigsty was built to raise a few pigs, in case there was any leftover swill to feed them.

Mo Lan didn't allow us to raise chickens, fearing we wouldn't have the energy to manage them while running the shop.

"Grandma, we're having dinner with everyone in the village tomorrow. We've already invited Grandpa and Dad to their homes. What dishes should we prepare for tomorrow? Have you decided yet?" Mo Lan asked Wang Shi as everyone ate dinner in the courtyard.

"Suggest a few dishes, and let's choose which ones we like," Wang said, taking a sip of soup and asking for everyone's opinions.

“I think Lan’s pork platter and the pig’s ear with cucumber salad are pretty good,” Mo Quan said first.

"The braised chicken is good too, and the sweet and sour pork is delicious as well," Qiu said, mentioning two other dishes.

"Let's have a plate of peanuts to go with the drinks, and a fish too. Our family's fish is delicious," Mo Changhe suggested, still thinking about the fish that Wang and her family had cooked last time.

"I think the fried tofu was pretty good, and the braised pig's trotters you cooked last time were also delicious," Mo Changhai added.

"The pig's trotters are delicious, and the intestines are good too, but it's not appropriate to serve intestines to guests. How about some braised eggplant? Add a plate of vegetables with dipping sauce, and that should be enough," Liu also commented.

"Grandma, should I go to the private school tomorrow?" Erlang asked, frowning. He felt bad that he couldn't help even though the family had been so busy lately and he went to the private school every day.

“Go, of course you’ll go. Come back with Mr. Liu at noon, and remember to invite him over.” Mrs. Wang instructed her grandson.

"Okay, I know," Erlang replied, continuing to eat his rice.

"They're all delicious. San'er likes them all." As San'er ate his meal, he saw his elders talking about so many dishes, and his mouth watered.

"Yes, my grandson loves it. Tomorrow, Grandma will give all the dishes to San'er." Wang Shi smiled happily.

"Eat for the guests first, then for the third child." The little guy is greedy but very sensible.

“Our third son is the best.” Madam Wang patted the head of the youngest son.

"Grandma, will you still be selling steamed buns tomorrow?" Mo Mei asked after thinking for a long time.

“Sell them, we don’t need to entertain guests. Master, you don’t need to go. Let Brother Dajun go with us. It’s also good to tell those people that we won’t be sending steamed buns anymore, and let them come and eat them instead,” Mo Lan said first.

"Okay, then we'll get up early tomorrow to prepare," Wang said, making the decision.

It was already past 4 a.m. the next day when Mo Changhe rode in Old Liu's car into town to buy things.

The remaining members of the Mohist school gradually got up and began preparations.

The menu for today's guests is ready. We've prepared food for five large tables. Originally, two tables would have been enough, but we were worried about too many people, so we prepared an extra table.

The dishes are: braised fish, braised chicken, pig's head meat, pig's ears with cucumber, braised pig's trotters, braised pork, stir-fried shredded pork with chives, sweet and sour pork, vegetables with dipping sauce, braised eggplant, scrambled eggs, stir-fried shredded potatoes with green peppers, and a pork bone, tofu, and spinach soup.

There were twelve dishes in total, a pot of soup, and the rice was supposed to be a mixed rice dish, plus steamed buns and mantou. This food was considered top-notch in the village.

Around 8 a.m., people started arriving one after another. The first to arrive were Qiu's maternal family, Mo Lan's maternal family. Almost the entire family came. How could they not come to help with their daughter's wedding?

After getting off the car and carrying her things, Mo Lan looked at the meat and vegetables in her grandfather's and uncle's hands and thought to herself: Grandma is really generous. So much food must cost two or three taels of silver.

As the Qiu family looked around the shop and the new house, they couldn't stop praising them. Mo Lan's grandmother was all smiles. Her daughter had separated from the second branch of the family and now she had started a food shop. Life was sure to get better and better.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Qiu family members got busy, with the men helping to greet the guests and the women helping to prepare the meal. Looking at the group of women in the kitchen, Mo Lan felt like she was surrounded by a cacophony of ducks, unable to get a word in edgewise, so she had no choice but to escape to find some peace and quiet.

Not long after, the two old ladies of the Mo family arrived, accompanied by their sons, and everyone exchanged pleasantries.

The villagers gradually arrived, drinking tea and chatting, waiting for the Mo family's lunch.

Qiu Dajun and the others didn't let Mo Lan go with them to sell steamed buns. He took his younger brother and Mo Mei with him, while Mo Lan had a rare moment of leisure and watched the excitement.

The food was all laid out, and everyone sat down.

Cheng Juren arrived with Cheng Xiaojing. It was Mo Lan's first time meeting Cheng Juren. He was in his forties, had a beard, and had a strong scholarly air. He wasn't arrogant, and he responded to the villagers' greetings.

Cheng, the scholar, the clan head of the Liu family, the local headman, the village head, Dr. Chen, an elder of the Mo family, several other respected elders, along with some families on good terms with the Mo family, as well as Mo Quan, Mo Jin, and Qiu Shi, all sat down separately.

Mo Changhai, Mo Changhe, Qiu Baosheng, and others sat down with the middle-aged people.

Everyone nodded in satisfaction as they looked at the dishes on the table. They secretly praised the Mo family for their generosity in entertaining guests with such fine food and wine.

Before anyone could even pick up their chopsticks, a few people walked in through the door. The one in the lead chuckled twice and said, "You're all here? Are we going to start eating? Hurry up and start eating!"

Mo Lan felt a headache coming on when she saw the person who came. This old hag is really never quiet. She came as soon as she could.

It turned out that it was Madam Feng who led Madam Cui, Dalang, and Moju into the house, and greeted everyone without any formality. She immediately noticed Madam Wang and complained, "Sister-in-law, you shouldn't have told me you were hosting guests beforehand. You only came to tell me when the banquet was about to start. If you had told us earlier, we could have come and helped us entertain them."