Chapter Twelve: A Lack of Vegetables

After returning home, Mrs. Sun told Xiao Dashí about the upcoming banquet at the registrar’s house.

Xiao Dashí had been weeding the fields all day and looked even darker from the sun. He grinned widely, his teeth gleaming whiter than before. “That’s great! When is it? I’ll come along to help.”

Lín Qiūrán replied, “The twenty-seventh, but we need to go a day early to prepare. We also have to spend a day deciding on the menu. It’s better to start sooner rather than later. I’ll go there the day after tomorrow.”

For the past two days, Lín Qiūrán had been thinking about the menu. If the registrar’s family was satisfied with the banquet dishes and both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves, there would be plenty of business going forward. After all, he was an official—perhaps he could rise to county magistrate or county prefect, and have wealthy families from Yúan County as clients.

Xiao Dashí asked, “Qiūrán, are we still making fish tomorrow? I caught a few.”

It was quite a coincidence. He hadn’t caught any yesterday and hadn’t planned to go to the riverbank. But returning from the fields during the hottest time of the day, he felt overheated and wanted to wash his face. That’s when he spotted fish in the river.

Since there was no one around, he hurried home to get some tools and caught eight large carp.

Lín Qiūrán’s eyes brightened. “Let’s do it!”

There was still one carp left from yesterday, but since they had meat for lunch and she didn’t feel like cooking in the evening, they would prepare all the fish together tomorrow and sell them.

Night was falling, and Lín Qiūrán had Mrs. Sun prepare dinner. She found a stone mortar to grind spices into powder, mixing thirteen spices and mushroom seasoning according to the proportions she had memorized. She sealed them in jars with cloth.

From now on, whenever she cooked for others, besides dried hawthorn, she would bring these two jars along in her cloth bag.

Mrs. Sun watched Lín Qiūrán working meticulously, wondering what use these preparations had, especially packed in a bag to be taken out. Usually, when cooking for others, one just brought ready-made ingredients or asked the host to prepare what was needed. Why spend money buying these spices instead of just buying food to eat?

Mrs. Sun couldn’t help but ask, “Qiūrán, the Wang family is preparing everything. Why go to all this trouble?”

Lín Qiūrán, reading her expression, patiently explained, “Mother, these are just spices to enhance the taste of dishes. When cooking at someone else’s house, it’s possible to make it fresh, but they also have cooks. I’m worried those cooks might see and copy my recipes, so I’d rather prepare these myself.”

After all, cooking is a craft where the better-tasting dishes win favor in banquets. The techniques of boiling, steaming, and frying are similar for everyone. To make food tastier, every detail counts—knife skills, heat control, and seasoning.

Lín Qiūrán had practiced knife work and heat control for years. Large pots are harder to manage than small ones, so there's little room for improvement there. As for knives, she needed money to buy a proper set, which couldn’t be rushed.

So, she decided to focus on seasoning first. Everything requires investment; this was her initial outlay as a banquet chef. If anyone asked, she’d say these were family secret recipes.

Mrs. Sun found her reasoning sound. No wonder her cooking was so delicious—maybe it was a family tradition or something she had discovered on her own.

The next morning, Lín Qiūrán finished preparing the fish and sent Mrs. Sun and Xiao Dashí to sell them. She took some charcoal and leftover paper from wrapping snacks and stayed inside, sketching and thinking about the menu.

Four cold dishes were best—preferably two meat and two vegetable, or one meat and three vegetable. They must not be all vegetarian.

Vegetable dishes were easy: smashed cucumber, spinach with nuts—and if time was tight, spinach with nuts and vermicelli, lightly sour and spicy, which was refreshing.

For the meat dishes, she planned to make braised delicacies, sliced and served cold. If the flavor was strong enough, dipping sauces wouldn’t be needed, and the presentation looked good. Preparing the braised dishes the day before would save much time.

As for what to braise, pig’s ears were an option. In autumn or winter, pork jelly could be made, but it likely wouldn’t work in summer. The pig’s ears looked good on the plate, but she wasn’t sure if so many could be procured. A butcher usually only slaughtered one pig a day, so she’d probably have to ask all the meat stalls in town.

Sixteen tables meant sixteen plates of pig’s ears—requiring eight pigs. Lín Qiūrán worried the supply might be insufficient, so if needed, she would mix in some braised pig liver, half and half.

Braised beef, common today, wasn’t possible in this era because slaughtering draft oxen was forbidden. Anything related to oxen was off the menu.

The last dish could be spicy pepper preserved egg—delicious and simple.

That settled the cold dishes. She then pondered the hot dishes: “fortune bags” (stuffed tofu pouches) and red-braised pork were two of them, leaving nine dishes and one soup.

Fish was a must. This time, she planned to make Squirrel Mandarin Fish, as always having braised fish wouldn’t showcase her skills. If the Wang family wanted two fish dishes, she could also prepare steamed perch.

For the rest, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, lotus leaf-wrapped rice or eight-treasure rice would do. The soup would depend—fish soup if there was fish, chicken soup if there was chicken.

She intended to visit the Wang household the next day to finalize the menu and have them prepare necessary ingredients in advance.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Sun and Xiao Dashí returned, having bought some meat. Though Mrs. Sun didn’t understand much, she knew Lín Qiūrán worked hard and believed eating more meat would be beneficial.

Lín Qiūrán helped unload and said, “Mother, the menu is set. After making the fish tomorrow, I’ll take the ox cart over.”

That morning, Xiao Dashí had caught some crucian carp, which could be sold the next day. She planned to go ahead to the Wang family, then return with Mrs. Sun and Xiao Dashí in the afternoon. They wouldn’t take the ox cart but would walk part of the way, letting Mrs. Sun and Xiao Dashí push the cart when tired.

Mrs. Sun said, “Alright. Can you go alone, or should I come with you?”

Lín Qiūrán replied, “It’s just to finalize the menu. I can manage alone.”

Mrs. Sun hesitated, “Maybe don’t sell fish tomorrow. You still need to go into town.”

Lín Qiūrán shook her head, “It’s fine. I’ll prepare what’s needed for tomorrow. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of myself.”

Just as Lín Qiūrán was about to head out to the garden, Mrs. Sun stopped her. “Don’t move. I’ll get whatever you need for tomorrow.”

Most were just scallions, ginger, garlic, sauces, and seasonings. Mrs. Sun peeled garlic but didn’t have much left at home. For more, she’d buy from Aunt Yú's place, as she didn’t want to go to Aunt Lǐ’s.

The next day, after preparing the crucian carp, Lín Qiūrán hurried to catch the ox cart. They didn’t see Aunt Lǐ, and with only four people, Lín Qiūrán was allowed to ride inside, which made conversation easier.

Arriving in the county town, Lín Qiūrán found the Wang residence based on her previous visit. She knocked and stated her purpose, then was led inside by a servant.

This time, she wasn’t received by Lady Yú but by the senior mistress of the household, surnamed Zhào. She appeared older than Lady Yú, dressed plainly without embroidery, exuding a dignified and simple air.

She rarely smiled and got straight to the point: “You must be the banquet chef.”

Lín Qiūrán nodded. “Yes, I spoke with Lady Yú the other day, and today I’m here to finalize the menu.”

Madam Zhào said, “I’m in charge of the birthday banquet. Just tell me.”

Lín Qiūrán wasn’t sure why the contact had changed—perhaps the eldest daughter-in-law managed household affairs, while Lady Yú only handled cooking. She listed the dishes, explaining ingredients, quantities the household needed to prepare, and general flavors. She couldn’t write, but Madam Zhào took notes.

Sometimes Madam Zhào wrote slowly, so Lín Qiūrán paused until she caught up.

When finished, Madam Zhào reviewed the list aloud: “Sixteen dishes—four cold and twelve hot. Cold dishes: smashed cucumber, spinach with nuts, mixed braised meats, and spicy preserved egg. Hot dishes: red-braised pork, fortune bags, lotus leaf chicken, squirrel mandarin fish, garlic crucian carp, eight-treasure rice… fried tofu puffs, minced pork tofu, stir-fried mixed vegetables. One hot soup: crucian carp tofu soup. Madam, please check if anything is amiss or if you want to substitute any.”

Madam Zhào said, “My sister-in-law supports you. Let’s go with your menu. I’ll do my best to prepare the dishes.”

Lín Qiūrán bowed slightly. “Yes, it’s getting late. I’ll take my leave.”

Madam Zhào maintained a neutral expression throughout. Lín Qiūrán exited the main hall, and Lady Yú came to see her off.

Lady Yú asked, “Is the menu finalized?”

Lín Qiūrán repeated the menu. “These are set. Madam Zhào has agreed.”

Lady Yú said, “Thank you for coming early.”

Lín Qiūrán replied, “It’s my duty. I’ll come again on the twenty-sixth. I might not be able to return that night. Is there a spare room in the house?”

Living in the village was inconvenient. If she lived in town, the distance wouldn’t be so great, and she could go home the same day.

Lady Yú said, “That won’t be a problem.”

She knew Lín Qiūrán was pregnant and a widow, probably still in the early months, so it wasn’t obvious yet. Since she lived in Xiāo’s village, quite far away, she needed to be cautious. They couldn’t let anything happen to the child while preparing the mother-in-law’s birthday banquet.

After leaving the Wang residence, Lín Qiūrán found Mrs. Sun and Xiao Dashí, who were almost sold out of fish. After selling the rest, they ate in town before returning home.

It was the twenty-third, three days to go. For the next few days, they would sell fish as usual. The daily catch was enough to sell out and make a trip to town.

On the twenty-sixth, Lín Qiūrán took Mrs. Sun to town early, without Xiao Dashí.

Her plan was to stay at the Wang house, as they only had one spare room and it would be inconvenient for Xiao Dashí, being a man. She and Mrs. Sun came today, and Xiao Dashí would come the next day.

They arrived at the Wang residence by ox cart just before the third watch.

Lín Qiūrán greeted the household and went straight to the kitchen, where the cook was present.

“Madam Lín, just tell me what you need me to do.”

Lín Qiūrán wanted to survey the ingredients. She had told Madam Zhào that items that wouldn’t keep should be purchased the next day, like tofu and minced meat for stir-fried dishes, as they would spoil overnight in this season.

But for what had to be done today, it had to be delivered today. For example, pig’s ears and liver required braising that took most of the day. She planned to do that in the afternoon so it would be ready by evening. The process took too long, and there were other dishes for tomorrow, so cooking everything fresh then was impossible.

Lín Qiūrán mentally checked: eggplant, scallions, ginger, garlic, seasonings, green peppers, preserved eggs, vermicelli—all were sufficient.

However, when she reached the pig liver and pig ears, she only saw one set.

She asked the cook, “Madam, why is there only one set of pig liver and ears?”