Chapter 52 Mountain Home Hearth 52

Chapter 52: Hearth Fires in the Mountain Home

First, they ascended the mountain to gather mushrooms and snap off bamboo shoots. Upon returning home, they collected a fresh batch of bamboo tubes. By now, it was indeed quite late, with cooking smoke already curling from the chimneys of several kitchens.

It was time for dinner.

Liu Guyu and Qin Banban each carried a back-basket—one laden with fresh wild mushrooms, the other with tender bamboo shoots. Liu Guyu also clutched a handful of wild fern fronds.

The wild mushrooms were plump and fresh, with small caps and stems still clinging to damp earth.

There were also plenty of bamboo shoots, still encased in their prickly sheaths.

Xiao Liu Mountain boasted a variety of bamboo shoots. Today, they had unearthed slender ones, just slightly thicker than a finger, long and thin, brimming with moisture and exquisitely tender. They would be excellent stir-fried or blanched and served cold.

Since they had no plans to eat the bamboo shoots today, Liu Guyu left them unpeeled. Keeping the husks on would preserve their freshness, and peeling them tomorrow would be perfectly fine.

He called Banban to help wash the mushrooms, while Cui Lanfang brought out a large basin to thoroughly scrub the collected bamboo tubes, skewers, and spoons.

After washing, the mushrooms were placed in a colander to drain. Meanwhile, Liu Guyu selected a piece of meat, minced it, and seasoned it with a mixture of scallion-ginger water, pepper powder, and salt. He then drizzled in some soy sauce, mixed everything well, and set it aside to marinate.

The mushrooms in the colander had now drained. They were transferred to a cutting board and finely chopped.

Heating oil in a wok until it sizzled and smoked, he then added the prepared minced scallions, ginger, and garlic, stir-frying them briefly before scooping in a spoonful of chili bean paste for color and aroma.

The chili bean paste was also Liu Guyu's own creation. Though store-bought sauces were available in town, he had sampled them all and found them lacking, preferring to make his own.

Once the red oil emerged and the aroma intensified, he added the ground meat. The mixture of fatty and lean meat slid into the wok, changing color after just a few stirs. Sensing the perfect moment, Liu Guyu quickly added the minced mushrooms, stir-frying them together with the meat.

The savory aroma of the meat's fat mingled with the fresh scent of the mushrooms, all coated in the rich red sauce, making one's mouth water.

Liu Guyu tasted it with chopsticks, then tossed in a handful of green and white scallions, stir-frying briefly before spooning the mixture into a coarse clay bowl.

The meat sauce glistened with oil, a deep brown hue. The minced meat and diced mushrooms were so thoroughly intertwined they were indistinguishable.

After serving the meat sauce, Liu Guyu used a large bamboo ladle to add water to the wok, then went to the stove to pull out the still-burning firewood and extinguish it in the ash pit.

Only then did he turn to Qin Banban and ask, "Banban, are the noodles cooked?"

Liu Guyu had kneaded the dough earlier, before washing the mushrooms. The rested dough could be directly cut into strips and boiled.

While Liu Guyu stir-fried the mushroom meat sauce at the main stove, Qin Banban had set up a small brazier with a pot to boil noodles.

"Done! Done!" Qin Banban answered loudly, stirring the noodles in the pot with her chopsticks as she spoke. She scooped noodles into three large bowls, added two blanched leafy greens to each, and brought them to the stove.

"Wow! This meat sauce smells amazing!"

Liu Guyu didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he used a small spoon to skim off some oil and offered a spoonful of the meat sauce to Banban. "Want to try it?"

Banban took the spoon into her mouth, quickly savoring the sauce.

After tasting it, she exclaimed in delight, "It's so delicious! It would be great with rice or noodles, and it would definitely be amazing with steamed buns too!"

Liu Guyu puffed out his chest with pride. "Of course it's delicious! Just look who made it!"

He was quite pleased with himself, scooping several spoonfuls of the meat sauce onto the noodles before turning to Banban and saying, "Go call Mother to eat. She can stop working for now."

Banban nodded, and soon the three of them were seated around the small table.

The noodles were springy, and the meat sauce was savory and flavorful.

Halfway through the meal, Liu Guyu asked, "Mother, what do you think about me selling this at the stall?"

Cui Lanfang paused her noodle-eating and seriously considered the idea. After a moment, she said, "Your cooking skills are excellent; you could sell anything. But isn’t your stall for sweets? Would selling mushroom meat sauce be a mismatch?"

Liu Guyu shrugged nonchalantly, twirling noodles laden with meat sauce into his mouth as he replied, "What does it matter if it matches? As long as it makes money!"

That was true—who would complain about making more money?

Cui Lanfang thought it sounded like a good idea, and Qin Banban nodded in agreement, saying that Brother Liu’s cooking was so delicious it would surely sell well!

The young girl had long since become Liu Guyu’s little fan—everything he made, Banban praised!

And so, the matter was settled.

***

"Selling meat sauce! Selling meat sauce!"

After setting up the stall for a few days, Qin Banban had learned from Luo Maier and was now able to stand at the stall and call out loudly to attract customers.

A customer waiting in line for sweets was surprised. He had caught the scent of meat earlier, but since Boss Liu’s stall sold sweet balls and sweet soup, he thought he must have been mistaken!

The man asked curiously, "Meat sauce? What kind of meat sauce? Doesn’t Boss Liu sell sweets?"

Liu Guyu didn’t respond immediately but looked down at Qin Banban beside him.

Banban used to be introverted and shy, speaking slowly and never raising her voice. Now, she had grown bolder, and Liu Guyu wanted her to speak up more.

Banban nodded to the customer and said, "We still sell sweet balls, sweet soup, and sweet drinks! We’ve just added mushroom meat sauce."

"Just smell it—it’s so fragrant! It’s made with fresh wild-foraged mushrooms from the mountains, lots of meat, and plenty of oil. It’s great with noodles, rice, or even steamed buns!"

She handed the bamboo tube filled with meat sauce to the customer to see. The ground meat and diced mushrooms were mixed together, coated in fragrant sauce, glistening with oil. The aroma of the meat and the freshness of the wild mushrooms made one’s mouth water.

The smell was irresistible, and several passersby were drawn over by the scent, asking what was being sold.

Banban repeated what she had told the first customer, adding, "The mushrooms are fresh these days, and the weather is cooler, so the meat sauce can last four or five days. We’re only making it while it’s fresh—we won’t be selling it next month. There aren’t many of us at home, so we can’t make too much. We’re only selling ten tubes a day!"

"Each tube is twenty copper coins. Look, these bamboo containers are deep—for a family of four, one tube would be enough for two meals with noodles! It’s definitely worth it!"

Some people had been hesitant at first, but upon hearing that it would only be sold for a month and that there were only ten tubes available per day, they felt it was in high demand.

The first man to ask completely forgot his original purchase intention. He produced his copper coins and exclaimed, "I’ll take it! I want two tubes!"

The man was generous, buying two tubes at once, and happily carried the two bamboo tubes home.

The customers behind immediately crowded forward, calling out, "One tube for me!" and "I’ll take one too!" Within minutes, all ten tubes of mushroom meat sauce were sold out.

Customers who arrived too late, hearing that it was sold out, lamented at the stall, swearing they'd come earlier the next day!

Niu Dawei, the man who had bought the meat sauce first, happily carried the bamboo tubes filled with meat sauce back home.

He lived in a residential lane near Luo Dai River. As soon as he entered the alley, he caught the rich aroma of sesame oil coming from his courtyard.

Niu Dawei’s family was well-off. They held a formula for sesame oil that had been handed down through several generations to him. The Niu family had bought a courtyard and a small shop in town thanks to this formula.

Their sesame oil was famous in town—it was a time-honored craft, with a great flavor. Even restaurants and taverns sourced their sesame oil from the Niu family’s shop.

Being financially comfortable, they often ate at restaurants.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a little girl wearing a tiger-head hat and a floral-patterned jacket and skirt running out, shouting as she ran, "Dad! Where are my red bean glutinous rice balls?"

*Oh no! I forgot!*

Niu Dawei suddenly remembered that he had gone out to buy red bean glutinous rice balls for his daughter!

The little girl was picky—she didn’t like the noodles cooked at home and insisted on eating food sold outside. The day before yesterday, it was chicken wontons; yesterday, it was date paste buns; and today, she wanted red bean glutinous rice balls.

She was the only child in the family, and Niu Dawei doted on her as if she were the apple of his eye, always indulging her. So, early in the morning, he had gone out to buy red bean glutinous rice balls for his daughter.

Unfortunately, he had been so captivated by the fragrant meat sauce that he got distracted and completely forgot everything else.

He crouched down, held his daughter with one arm, and said guiltily, "Bao Er, I’m sorry, Dad forgot. How about we have noodles tossed with meat sauce today? We’ll have red bean glutinous rice balls tomorrow—I’ll definitely remember tomorrow!"

The little girl, only four or five years old, her face fell at these words, her eyes misting over. Her voice quivered tearfully as she said pitifully, "Bao Er doesn’t like noodles. Bao Er wants to eat sweet red bean balls."

Niu Dawei was at his wits' end and hurriedly coaxed her, "Oh, my little ancestor, don’t cry! Look, this meat sauce was bought outside too. Smell it—isn’t it really fragrant? It’ll be delicious with noodles!"

...It smelled good, really good.

The little girl sniffled, blowing a transparent snot bubble, and said between sobs, "It really smells good, but the red bean balls..."

Niu Dawei wiped his daughter’s runny nose with a handkerchief and coaxed her again, "Then let’s try noodles with meat sauce today, okay? If it’s not good, I’ll go buy red bean glutinous rice balls for you."

The little girl was obedient and easy to coax. She immediately stopped crying and smiled, saying in a sweet, childish voice, "Okay. Mom is cooking noodles. Bao Er will take this to her!"

Holding a bamboo tube, she walked steadily toward the kitchen, small but sure-footed, calling out for her mother as she went.

Just then, his mother, an elderly woman, walked out of the house. She had clearly overheard the conversation between father and daughter, as well as her granddaughter’s crying. She said to Niu Dawei, "Why did you say so much to Bao Er? Little children are easy to coax. You could’ve just said the red bean glutinous rice balls were sold out to avoid making her cry."

Niu Dawei first greeted his mother, then said, "That wouldn’t do! As her father, how could I teach my child to lie!"

The elderly woman paused for a moment and said, "You’re right..."

As the mother and son were talking, a young woman holding the little girl peeked out from the kitchen and called out, "Mom, Dawei, the noodles are ready! Come inside and get ready to eat!"

The family gathered around the table. The noodles, tossed with meat sauce, glistened with oil. The sauce was dark, thick, and fragrant, with minced meat and diced mushrooms clinging to each strand, leaving a rich taste in the mouth.

"Bao Er never liked noodles before, but today she’s eating them with such relish!" The elderly woman patted her granddaughter’s head, chuckling happily.

The daughter-in-law said, "This meat sauce is delicious! Hey, Dawei, where did you buy it? The flavor is really good. I wonder what ingredients they used."

Niu Dawei: "It’s from that shop that sells sweet balls. They were selling meat sauce today too. It’s so popular—they only sell ten tubes a day. Luckily, I went early, or I wouldn’t have gotten any!"

The little girl slurped her noodles and said softly, "It’s delicious! I don’t want sweet balls tomorrow. I want noodles again!"

...

Similar scenes played out in other households that morning, all praising how well the meat sauce was made!

Liu Guyu’s stall in the East Market became even more popular, attracting even customers who didn’t usually like sweets, all coming just to buy the meat sauce.