Chapter 53: A Taste That Amazes
After Zhou Sinian left, Liu Dazhu let out a sigh of relief. He took Mingdai’s tea mug and was about to ladle out her serving. Mingdai quickly stopped him, “Uncle Captain, please give me more soup! I love soup!”
Liu Dazhu looked at Mingdai, moved. This child is so honest, he thought. She must have noticed I gave Zhou Sinian a larger helping of meat, and now she’s trying to make up for it!
The people in line behind them, who had been dissatisfied with Zhou Sinian’s brimming mug of mutton broth, now felt a bit embarrassed.
Mingdai: Heaven knows, I truly just love soup.
In the end, Liu Dazhu gave her half a mug of meat and half a mug of broth, plus two extra meatballs. Mingdai asked for a bit of spicy mutton oil as well, then followed the already impatient Zhou Sinian away.
After the two of them left, a lively discussion broke out among the crowd. Everyone was guessing how many old ladies would be driven wild by the aroma of this mutton soup!
With everyone’s eager anticipation, the soup was soon distributed. Some couldn’t help but drink it on the spot, while more frugal folks took it home to add a cabbage and make a whole meal for the family.
Old Liu was one of those who drank his share right there. He brought a small clay jar, filled to the brim—vegetables at the bottom, soup on top, and a dollop of fiery red mutton oil stirred in. The milky white broth instantly blushed red.
He took the rice ladle from home and scooped up a mouthful. The broth was fresh, fragrant, numbing, and spicy, with a punch from the pepper and chilies—but not overwhelming. The aroma of scallions and ginger wafted up. The heat seared down his throat, straight to his stomach, then diffused through his entire body, warming him to his core!
He couldn’t help himself, taking one gulp after another, finishing more than half the soup before he even realized. There, at the bottom, were tender cabbage leaves and vermicelli noodles, snowy white mutton pieces, and rosy meatballs nestled among a few chilies—just looking at it was enough to make one’s mouth water!
He picked up a piece of mutton and put it in his mouth. With just a light bite, it was so tender it fell apart, juicy and bursting with flavor—a unique taste that exploded on his tongue, leaving him wanting more. Unfortunately, each person only got a limited amount of meat, and after three small pieces, it was gone.
He took up the only two meatballs and bit gently. Unlike what he’d expected, they weren’t crumbly but wonderfully springy. The interplay of teeth and tongue brought a new texture, yet the same numbing, spicy freshness!
Before he knew it, the two meatballs were gone. Old Liu hugged his jar, filled with regret—why had he eaten so quickly!
Fortunately, there was still cabbage and vermicelli left, which he scooped up with the hot broth and sent into his mouth.
Oh, the cabbage leaves were meltingly soft, the stalks sweet and crisp, the vermicelli silky smooth—paired with the mutton broth, it was simply perfection.
In a word: delicious!
It was so good! Old Liu was moved to tears. To be able to enjoy such a bowl of mutton soup in his old age—he had no regrets left in life! When he’d scraped out the last drop, he licked his tongue, then went to Sister-in-law Huang for some pickled radish.
He’d only meant to appease his unsatisfied stomach, but the radish was unexpectedly crisp and tangy, not at all bitter. After one bite, he wanted a second. While the others looked down on the radish, he pestered Sister-in-law Huang for more, then ran home with his jar. With those radishes, he could eat another two bowls of rice!
After everyone had left, satisfied, Auntie Huang and Sister-in-law Huang exchanged a smile—what a delight! The soup was so good that even the water used to clean the pot was fought over! Even the radish Mingdai had made was snatched up, leaving only the leftover brine, which Sister-in-law Huang had to shoo several young wives away to keep for herself.
She carefully poured the brine into a bowl, planning to slice up another radish to pickle at home. Auntie Huang, carrying her family’s share of mutton soup, also planned to add a cabbage and simmer it again at home. When the family sat down to eat together, they were nearly intoxicated by the aroma.
Auntie Huang sipped at the reheated mutton soup, unable to imagine how delicious it must be without the extra water and cabbage!
At the educated youths’ quarters, everyone held their bowls, sipping little by little. Though their share was more broth than meat, it was still the most delicious meal they’d had since arriving in the countryside—even Fang Mingyang, who was about to mark his tenth year there.
He began to regret turning down Mingdai’s offer to join their cooking group that day. With skills like hers, even a simple stir-fried cabbage would be delicious. No wonder the backyard was always so fragrant!
But then he thought of Zhou Sinian. That madman was probably drawn to Mingdai by her cooking too. After weighing his options, he decided against letting Mingdai join them—after all, he couldn’t take a beating!
Delicacies are wonderful, but life is more important! What a pity!
Still, Mingdai was young and didn’t know to respect him as team leader. Someday, he’d have to talk to her about it. Such things should be reported to him first, so he could make the decisions, as the rules required. Young comrades skipping ranks—it was a serious matter.
Oh well, he’d let it go this time. The ignorant are blameless, and he wasn’t the petty sort. As long as she didn’t do it again, it was fine.
Slurp. So delicious!
At that moment, Fang Rou sat in her room, sipping her mutton soup. As a native of Beijing, she’d had plenty of mutton soup since childhood, even dined at private kitchens run by descendants of imperial chefs. Yet compared to this rustic, wood-fired mutton soup Mingdai had made in the countryside, those couldn’t quite measure up.
She was now a little curious about Mingdai—could it be that her family also had some imperial chef heritage?
Qi Zhijun squatted outside with the others, eagerly eating but still keeping up appearances. Liu Yan, on the other hand, was wolfing hers down, having abandoned her early plan to share half her portion with Qi Zhijun. Though her family lived in the east of the city, they were ordinary folks who barely scraped by. She’d had mutton soup before, but only at small eateries—nothing like this!
When she finished, she licked her bowl clean, unwilling to wash it right away, and instead poured in some hot water to rinse out and drink the remains slowly. She wasn’t the only one—except for Qi Zhijun and Fang Rou, everyone else drank the bowl-rinse water too.
From that day on, Mingdai became a sensation in Liu Family Bay. The respect and praise for her reached new heights—wherever she went, people greeted her with beaming smiles. Many asked for her mutton soup recipe, and Mingdai shared it freely.
Some of the spices and herbs she mentioned were unfamiliar to them, which made them regretful but all the more grateful for her generosity. No wonder they felt so warm after drinking it—Mingdai had put so many good things into it!
Comrade Ming is truly a good person!
As a compromise, they also asked for her pickled radish recipe, which she happily shared. Apart from the white sugar being a bit expensive, everything else was cheap, so that winter, pickled radish became a favorite dish in every household.
Then there were the mutton spine meatballs. Once people learned that mutton spine could be used to make those springy meatballs, Liu Family Bay cornered the market at the county slaughterhouse—anyone going to town would bring back a few sets. Not only were they cheap, but they were also delicious!
The slaughterhouse managers even began to worry—had Liu Family Bay fallen into such poverty that they’d stopped eating meat and switched to bones?
As for Zhou Sinian, he was very pleased as well. He even took the initiative to feed and clean up after the sheep in the space. Mingdai collected all the sheep manure to ferment and use as fertilizer.
When Zhou Sinian learned that the cucumbers and tomatoes he’d eaten that summer had been grown with manure, he was silent for days—but that’s another story.