Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 8
Tled by Serena Love
Edited by and unsaltedfish
Chapter 8: Savory Crepe
While she was thinking, Xie Xun picked up a shrimp, put it in the bowl, and frowned.
Jiang Shuyao had removed the shrimp vein, but all the shrimp Xie Xun had ever eaten were thoroughly processed. So when he encountered a shrimp with its head and tail still attached, he didn't know how to eat it.
Xie Xun didn't like having servants by his side when he ate, but now there was no one to peel his shrimps.
Jiang Shuyao didn't know what to say, so she picked up a shrimp and said to him, "Watch how I eat it."
"Bite off the head... bite off the tail... the skin’s crispy and comes off as soon as you touch it…" She demonstrated as she spoke. "Look, it’s peeled now."
Xie Xun's eyebrows rose wildly in protest. This gesture was too ungraceful!
Jiang Shuyao didn't care what he thought and continued to eat enthusiastically. Xie Xun hesitated but eventually decided to follow her example. Despite his rigid and serious nature, he’d never been picky when he traveled abroad anyway.
After he figured it out, he imitated Jiang Shuyao’s motions and peeled the shrimp with his teeth. The first one was difficult to peel, the second one was somewhat better, and the third one was done smoothly... He didn't know how many he peeled, but shrimp shells were already piled up on his plate.
Jiang Shuyao concentrated on eating, but after a while, she noticed something was wrong. How did the shrimps disappear from the pot?!
She looked at Xie Xun. Oh my god, it’s all in his stomach!
With the resolve of a hungry foodie, she increased her eating pace. Xie Xun, who was influenced by her, also began eating faster. The two of them were so immersed in eating that sweat droplets formed profusely.
Eventually, Jiang Shuyao could no longer muster another bite. She set down her chopsticks and glanced inside the pot, only to see the bottom. When she first brought the pot in, she worried she had cooked too much, expecting that they’d only eat half of it. She didn't expect him to eat so much.
After the meal, Jiang Shuyao took a walk around the yard to help with digestion. Xie Xun returned to the study to read, but after she left the yard, he quietly sneaked out of the study.
In reality, he was more panicked than Jiang Shuyao. He’d already eaten generously at Lord Xiangyang’s Mansion, and then had another hearty meal just now, altogether accumulating to about two days’ worth of food.
Xie Xun stepped out of the courtyard and strolled around the outer grounds. Just as he began to feel a little better, his eldest and second brothers, moon-gazing in the pavilion by the small bamboo forest, pulled him over for a game of chess. Both being hopeless players, one round dragged on for two full hours, leaving Xie Xun sitting stiffly until his stomach twisted in pain.
He returned to the study, washed up and went to bed, but was unable to sleep no matter how much he tossed and turned. Feeling defeated, he got up and went outside to practice his swordsmanship, the night breeze made him more refreshed.
He was only able to fall asleep after four in the morning, and woke up late even though he was on duty the next day.
"Master, take a snack to eat on the road!" his personal servant, Zhi Yan, shouted as he followed after him.
Xie Xun adjusted his cuffs as he walked and replied, "No need."
"Master, eat something to fill your stomach."
"No need." Xie Xun walked out the door and then returned, almost colliding with Zhi Yan and asked, "Where’s my jade pendant?"
"It’s here." Zhi Mo came from behind the screen and handed Xie Xun the jade pendant.
Xie Xun put it on and hurried out.
Zhi Yan continued to follow while whispering, "Then on the way, you can take a detour and buy a sesame pancake."
Xie Xun, impatiently said, "I know."
As the master and servant hurried off, a curious voice called out nearby, "Huh, did you wake up late too?"
Xie Xun hurriedly stopped and looked back.
Jiang Shuyao held a roll in each hand, with sauce smeared on the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks bulged like a hamster as she chewed.
Behind her were four maids, each one happily eating.
"I'm not late," Xie Xun weakly explained.
Jiang Shuyao’s eyes had a look as if saying: "I understand", and like an aunt out on an early morning walk, she said, "Hey, I haven't eaten this yet. Do you want to have some?"
Xie Xun was about to refuse, but Jiang Shuyao had already handed him the crepe in her left hand, "Here."
Xie Xun was forced to accept the crepe roll. The oiled paper was cut and wrapped around a roll, which fit into his sleeve.
He didn’t have time, so he thanked her and left in a hurry.
Jiang Shuyao looked at his leaving back, and sighed, "It's nice not having to go to work."
She took a bite of the crepe, and um... it was almost perfect. It would be better to wrap it with spicy strips.
She thought of the crepe stands at her school’s entrance in her previous life. She could smell the scent from a mile away. The crust was spread thin and soft, when an egg was added, it smelled fragrant. It was brushed with sauce, sprinkled with chopped green onion, and filled with spicy strips, ham, lettuce and crisp. After one bite, hot steam would swirl in her mouth, and she would rush to school while gasping for air. She made a mental note to ask for more crisps next time.
"How is it?" She turned to ask the maids.
"Well, it's delicious. It tastes really fresh."
"The sauce tastes good. It would be better if you added a little more sauce."
"I like the crisp inside. It’s crunchy when you bite it."
Jiang Shuyao was amused, "If it's delicious, we can make a few more when you're done."
...
Seeing that it was still early, Xie Xun sighed in relief. He slowed his horse down and turned at the end of the street.
He loosened the reins, letting the horse find its way to the imperial city, and then took out the hot crepe in his sleeve.
Someone behind him called, "Boyuan!"
After eating, the man rode over on his horse, saw that Xie Xun was holding food in his hand, and smiled, "You didn’t have breakfast either?"
This person was the prime minister's grandson and they were both on duty at Teacher Zhan's Mansion. The two of them had played together since childhood and could be considered cousins.
"Me too. I just bought the mutton sesame seed pancake at the end of the lane." He shook the sesame seed cake in his hand and took a bite. "What did you buy?"
Xie Xun shook his head, "I didn't buy this. I brought it from home."
Lin Cheng envied him, "Ah, I'm also tired of those pastries at the end of the lane. It would be nice if the kitchen at my home also made pancakes for me. Unfortunately, my mother always tells me to get up early and eat at home rather than buy food outside."
Xie Xun knew that he misunderstood, and couldn't explain that Jiang Shuyao had forced him to take it, so he just laughed awkwardly.
Lin Cheng didn't ask much, closed his mouth and began to eat the pancake.
Xie Xun also started eating with him, and took a bite of the crepe. It tasted strange, especially the crispy fried outer layer, which made a crispy sound when he bit it.
The sauce was rich, and the outer layer of the meat that was wrapped in the innermost layer was grilled until it was brown. The inside of the meat was fresh and tender. After a bite, the fragrant gravy burst in the mouth, making the tip of his tongue feel slightly tingly.
He seemed to understand why Lin Cheng liked to eat breakfast while riding a horse.
The imperial city in the early morning wasn’t very lively. There were only a few pedestrians on the road. The sound of small conversations drowned in the sound of shouts and birds. The cooking smoke mingled in the air, but couldn’t hide the green forest in the distance. The horse under him moved leisurely. With one bite of the steaming crepe, his chest seemed to burst alight like fireworks.
Lin Cheng ate the last bite of the sesame cake, crushed the wrapper and complained, "They put in less and less mutton." After he finished speaking, he looked at the crepe in Xie Xun's hand, "Boyuan, you... this pancake... What's in it?"
Xie Xun replied, "Eggs, meat, vegetable leaves."
"I heard you bite something crunchy. What is that?"
"It must be fried dough or something."
"Oh~ Will you have it at your house tomorrow? Can you give me some?"
Xie Xun hesitated, "I don't know, probably not."
"Well, if you do, give me some."
The two chatted and rode side by side towards the imperial city.
Sure enough, Jiang Shuyao didn't wake up early the next day, which made Xie Xun feel an odd sense of relief. He wouldn't know how to ask for two crepes if she decided to make them again.
Jiang Shuyao lived in the Bamboo Courtyard. Her comfortable life consisted of eating, drinking, and sleeping. Apart from visiting her dowry shop, her life was boring.
When she was free, she liked to make fun and delicious food. After the milk and butter that Bai Zhi had bought were delivered, she started thinking about making pastries.
Although there was a lack of tools in ancient times, there was never a lack of people. The four maids took turns, and two hours later, they had finally finished whipping a large pot of egg whites. The bread kiln built earlier came in handy. The cake batter was put in the kiln and baked, and after a while, the whole yard was filled with a sweet aroma.
Everyone in the yard inhaled the aroma greedily. When the cake came out, Jiang Shuyao divided a small piece for each of them and also had someone send some to her two little nephews from the first branch.
Xu-shi's life had been quite comfortable recently. After the twins were brought back from Jiang Shuyao’s place, the two obediently agreed not to look for her again. Jiang Shuyao also stayed quietly in her yard and didn’t make a fuss. Several days passed in the house as if that person was never there.
To call it hatred was an exaggeration—she merely found Jiang Shuyao distasteful. Yet now, the whole capital waited to laugh at Duke Xie’s household, wagering on when Xie Xun would cast off his wife. Her eldest son had also come of age to talk about marriage, but because of the laughingstock Jiang Shuyao, whenever people mentioned him, the first thing that came to mind wasn’t his talent or demeanor, but instead: "Xie Ye is the nephew of Xie Xun who married Jiang Shuyao right?"
When she thought about it, she became livid again, and beckoned to the maid, "Has anything happened over there recently?"
The maid hadn't answered yet. Someone ran in from outside to report, "Madam, there is someone in the yard from the Third Madam, saying that they’re bringing some snacks to the two young masters."
"Snacks?" Xu-shi sneered inwardly. They, the first branch, didn’t really need snacks. Xie Ye loved his two younger brothers and always brought back new snacks for them every time he went out. She, too, had a fondness for sweet snacks. There were different pastries on the table every day, but the two children didn’t like them very much.
"Yes, Madam, look..."
Xu-shi waved her hand indifferently, "Just send it over, you can't return it to her. But don't say too much. If Ah Zhao and Ah Yao don't want to taste it, don't force them."
So the maid led the Bamboo Courtyard's maid to Xie Zhao and Xie Yao's room, where they were practicing calligraphy. They put the cake on the tea table and withdrew.
Xu-shi heard about this and continued to work on the accounts. After two sticks of incense, Xie Zhao ran over and jumped into her arms.
Xu-shi pushed him away and said with a straight face, “Have you forgotten the rules and your manners? You’ve been enlightened and are no longer a child."
Xie Zhao was still smiling. He approached her again, raised his hand, and said coquettishly, "Mother, eat this snack."
Xu-shi's face was still strict, but her heart had melted into a pool of water. Without seeing what he brought to her mouth, she took a bite and realized that the taste wasn’t right. What kind of snack was it?
Different from the thick and dense texture of pastries that she had eaten before, this pastry was extremely fluffy and soft, delicate and pleasant, with a slight milky fragrance.
She looked down at the pastry in Xie Zhao's hand, which she had never seen before. The color was light yellow, the bottom was brown, and it looked very fluffy.
"Is it delicious?"
There was still a faint sweet fragrance in her mouth, and the cake had a fine taste. It didn’t need to be swallowed like the usual solid cakes.
Xu-shi replied, "It's delicious."
Xie Zhao's eyes were like crescents, and he smiled, "Mother, take another bite."
The maids were all amused by his appearance, and cheered, "The young master is really filial. When there’s delicious food, he thinks about Madam."
Xu-shi liked hearing these words. She smiled and took another bite, tasting the pastry. The presentation was unique and the taste was special. Is it a new cake from Babaofang? No, maybe it's Zhenguolou...
Xu-shi was thinking and heard Xie Zhao say, "This was sent from Third Aunt. I just took a bite and brought it to Mother right away."
Wait.
Third Aunt?
"Cough!" Xu-shi coughed suddenly, and her face was flushed red, "Cough… water...cough...water..."
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