For chefs, the quality of an ingredient has never been determined by its price.
Take, for example, the "Li Yun" that Wang Zhanrui fished out from the paddy fields. In terms of price, they could be considered as so of the most worthless things. These creatures feed on reeds in sumr and grain sprouts in autumn, moving brazenly through the fields every day, and for those who cultivate crops, they are nothing but a major pest.
It was only after asking ng’s old mother that Hua Xiaomai learned that in autumn, whenever the people of Fire Knife Village found Li Yun in the fields, they would often grind their teeth in frustration, quickly eliminating them and crushing the pests to be used as fertilizer; the crops would then grow especially lush and robust. No one had ever thought of eating them. Yet now, they sat on the tables of Daoxiang Garden, transford into a rare and supre delicacy.
The natural flavor of ingredients is both the most common and the most precious – that kind of pure, unadulterated freshness, which even the most skilled chefs in the world could hardly achieve in their cooking.
The small bowl of Li Yun eggs before her was certainly hard-earned by Wang Zhanrui but was even more a gift from nature. Since they had fallen into her hands, she was determined to make good use of them.
That night, after tasting the indescribable delicacy of the "Li Yun eggs," Hua Xiaomai was excited. When she got ho, she kept talking nonstop to ng Yuhuai, saying that the tiny crab roe had a natural sweetness and that anything cooked with it would surely be extraordinary. She was already planning to go back to the village the next day to gather more.
However, when she arrived at Daoxiang Garden early the next day, she was in for a real shock.
The people of Fire Knife Village had probably never thought that these infuriating little crabs, which made their skin crawl with hatred, could actually be exchanged for money – twenty copper coins each. Although not much, a mosquito’s leg is still at, after all. Thus, even on the second day, many were still willing to spend so effort ticulously searching through the paddy fields, then carrying a large basket of Li Yun to Daoxiang Garden.
The spacious hall was now filled with various bamboo baskets and large hampers, all packed with thumb-sized crabs, performing little bows, looking very amusing. As one stepped into the restaurant, a pungent fishy sll hit straight in the face, leaving nearly no place to set foot.
"Are all these from the villagers?" asked Hua Xiaomai sowhat dumbfounded, turning her head to look around, but Wang Zhanrui was nowhere to be seen.
Chun Xi was busy directing Ji Xiang and others to move the baskets and baskets to the backyard. She was also incessantly occupied, walking back and forth with no ti to stand still. Hearing Hua Xiaomai inquire, she turned around and sighed.
"Exactly," she exclaid, slapping her thigh dramatically, "this is really going to be the death of ! Just now, La i went out for a stroll and said that there are still people busy in the paddy fields. Mark my words, it won’t be long before even more of these troubleso crabs are brought here! What was Wang the cook thinking? Even if these ’Li Yun’ are indeed marvelous, we don’t need so many! For now, it’s still manageable, but what if by lunchti, when the custors arrive, our hall is still in this jumbled ss, how will that look?"
Hua Xiaomai was also caught between laughter and tears. She thought for a mont, then gestured for Qing You to co over.
"Run to the village," she instructed, "and let everyone pass the word around. Tell them that from now on, we will buy the little crabs every day, giving twenty copper coins per person, but they must be delivered before the hour of Si; after that ti, they’ll have to wait until the following day to bring them in, to avoid interfering with business."
Qing You agreed and dashed out the door in a flash, quickly disappearing from sight.
Chun Xi, on the other hand, continued to mutter incessantly, "You’re going to buy these things every day? How many are we going to accumulate? Even if it is a fine item, one can’t stand eating so much, right?"
"You don’t understand," Hua Xiaomai said with a smile, "the essence of Li Yun lies in the crab roe. To prepare a dish, you’ll need no small amount, and this is the only ti of year it’s available – how can we miss out?"
Chun Xi glanced at her face, nodded, turned away, and then muttered under her breath, "Wang the cook is still shelling Li Yun eggs in the kitchen. He’s been busy for quite a while and has only managed a small bowl thus far. There are just so many of us in the inn. If you really plan to cook with these, I reckon we should forget about organizing anything else and just keep dealing with these crabs until we are skinned!"
Hua Xiaomai truly took note of these words. Without responding to Chun Xi, she walked into the kitchen and, indeed, with one look, she saw Wang Zhanrui seated by a large basin, intently shelling crabs.
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