Chapter 355 Plum Blossom Cake (2)

The plum blossom cake pot had been delivered two days ago. When Wen Mingtang received it, he was once again impressed by the many skilled craftsmen in Dairong. Lin Fei had a unique eye and wanted to make the plum blossom cake that he had been thinking about for a long time.

Just because I had to use some vegetables that were difficult to store early, I delayed it for two days and made porridge and noodles as a traditional breakfast for two days, so that I could use them with the vegetables.

Today, I finally don't have to worry about the inventory in the warehouse, so I can let Wen Mingtang do his best.

Plum blossom cake is a popular snack in the Jiangnan area. Special fermented batter is poured into a pot, and various fillings such as bean paste, fresh meat, sesame, etc. are then poured into the batter, sprinkled with white sugar, red and green winter melon shreds, and roasted. Serve.

The plum blossom cake made in this way is the most traditional plum blossom cake. Wen Mingtang also prepared some auxiliary ingredients such as fermented dumplings, pine nuts, raisins, etc. for those who came to eat the morning meal to choose whether to add them to it.

They were colleagues who had worked together for several years, and Bai Zhu, who was already familiar with Liu Yuan's taboos and hobbies, didn't need to make an extra trip back to ask Liu Yuan, so he chose "add them all."

After pouring himself a cup of tea, he took the oil-paper bag from Bai Zhu's hand and glanced at the plum blossom cake inside. Liu Yuan let out an "ah" sound.

Bai Zhu took a bite of the plum blossom cake and tasted the delicate and sweet bean paste filling. He raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and asked, "What's wrong?"

While I was asking, the tip of my tongue was pushing against the bean paste stuffing. I don't know if it was his misunderstanding, but he always felt that there seemed to be a faint fragrance of roses in the bean paste filling today. The sweetness of the red beans had a hint of rose fragrance, but it was unexpectedly not obtrusive. Not only that, the beans The aroma and floral aroma are perfectly blended, more fragrant than ordinary bean paste fillings, and the taste is extremely rich.

Looking at the pastry that was baked into golden brown and shaped like plum blossoms in his hand, Liu Yuandao said, "You mean plum blossom cake. I thought it was an ordinary pastry, made only by adding plum blossom silk to the flour. I didn't expect that the word plum blossom actually stood out." On top of its shape.”

After saying that, without waiting for Bai Zhu to answer, he blew on the plum blossom cake which was still a little hot and took a bite.

What matters is whether it is intangible or not. Whether it tastes good or not is the key.

The outer skin of the plum blossom cake has been baked slightly to a crispy texture, but the inside is still soft. When you take a bite, it is charred on the outside and tender on the inside. But what is different from ordinary cakes that are burnt on the outside and tender on the inside is that the texture of this plum blossom cake is burnt on the outside and tender on the inside. It also has some indescribable toughness. The tough cake skin tastes sweet, and there is a hint of fine sugar after it melts. Unique caramel aroma.

The cake crust alone is extremely sweet and delicious, and there is nothing wrong with the fillings inside: the bean paste is delicate and soft with the aroma of roses, and the sesame paste has a smooth texture. You can bite through the cake crust, and it is thick and smooth. The smooth filling flows out from it, which greatly stimulates people's taste buds.

Not to mention the sweet fillings, from the crust to the filling, plus the toppings such as fermented glutinous rice dumplings, pine nuts and other toppings, once you take a bite, the aroma of wheat is mixed with the concentrated sweet aroma, and then mixed with the warm fillings, it is really filling. Extremely delicious.

After eagerly finishing two sweet plum blossom cakes and taking two sips of tea to clear his mouth, Liu Yuan couldn't wait to reach out for the plum blossom cake stuffed with fresh meat. The cake crust, which is also tough and caramel-flavored, is paired with a salty-sweet meat filling. It is not inferior to the deliciousness of the sweet filling, and the salty-sweet addition has a different kind of umami.

Bai Zhu watched from the side. Liu Yuan, who said before eating that he wanted to read while eating, finished three plum blossom cakes without even glancing at the opened file. He shook his head without feeling strange.

With Liu Yuan's temperament, it's strange that he can bear to eat and watch at the same time. It's better to just finish eating the morning meal, completely calm down, and then look at the case.

After finishing the last bite of plum blossom cake in his hand, Bai Zhu took a few sips of tea to clear the sweet aroma in his mouth, and then began to sort out the clues he had found in the past few days.

The Spring Festival is getting closer and closer, and Lin Shaoqing has more and more things to do. Although he knows the temperament of Feng above, he must have some plans. But the progress of this case was really slow in the hands of him and Liu Yuan.

In this way...it is even more important to work hard to make up for your shortcomings and not to neglect it.

While taking notes and sorting out clues, he glanced at the empty seat on the other side of Liu Yuan: After finding out that the source of diarrhea in the city was the cattle steward of the Internal Affairs Yamen, Old Wei Neng originally came to the Yamen to report, but it turned out that early the next morning , I heard that Lao Wei fell from the roof and broke his leg while repairing the roof at night.

It's better now. I have taken sick leave continuously. Looking at the way Old Wei is hanging his legs, I guess he won't be able to come to the Yamen until after the Spring Festival.

He was looking at Wei Fu's seat. Liu Yuan, who had finished eating the plum blossom cake and wiped his mouth, also glanced at Wei Fu's empty seat. He piled the clutter on Wei Fu's desk and said, "Old Wei. People are really...I don’t know if it’s intentional or not.”

"Why did he do this on purpose?" Bai Zhu shook his head and asked, "His broken leg was caused by repairing the roof of his house, and it was not official business. He was deducting his monthly salary and annual leave. Everyone in the family was talking. Waiting for him, even if he is pretending to be sick, he will not joke about such things. When I went to Lao Wei's house to ask about the matter a few days ago, I saw Lao Wei looking at his legs and feet and worrying, wishing he could get better earlier and report to the Yamen! "

At present, there are three temple ministers in Dali Temple. Old Wei has a family to support. Liu Yuan also has to worry about buying a house. When he marries a wife and has children in the future, he will inevitably have to bear some debts for the house. He is the only one in his family who has some debts. Assets helped him buy a house in Chang'an City, and his life was a little better.

They are not ordinary people, and their lives are much better than those of ordinary ordinary people, but they still have to worry about their livelihood.

But some people have a large amount of money on hand that they cannot explain. If they buy a house in Chang'an City, that money is enough to buy a dozen houses. If it is used to support the expenses of ordinary people and their families, it will last for dozens of lifetimes. That's enough.

"It's not that merchants are not allowed to get rich through business. My old Bai family is engaged in business," Bai Zhu said, looking down at the clues he had compiled in the past few days. "Su Fuhai and Lu Yuanlin are a tea merchant and an antique merchant." The monetary accounts really don’t add up.”

"This Su Fuhai claims to have opened a tea house, but the scale of the tea house is really small and pitiful. Before opening the tea house, Su Fuhai was just an ordinary villager and not considered wealthy; Lu Yuanlin, a businessman who played and played with goods, was even more popular in his shop and in his home. They all sold some imitations, and what he brought on board was also an imitation painting. The shop was small and pitiful, and his family made a living by hunting before he became rich. It's okay to call him a 'businessman', but it's not worthy of his name to call him a 'rich businessman'. ." Bai Zhu said, "I also specially brought the account books of Su and Lu home to look at my old accountants. Jiedao is just a small business. How can I make a profit in less than twenty years? A golden mountain?"

As for Qian Chengli, he was not like Su and Lu who had a large amount of money hidden in their family. Like Zhang Wulin, the flower and tree business was passed down from his ancestors, and the money accounts were consistent.

Qian Chengli's problem is his brother Qian Chengyi, who helps take care of the garden.

"There are four brothers in this generation of the Qian family. Two of them died in infancy. The only ones who grew up are Qian Chengli and Qian Chengyi." Bai Zhu said, "According to neighbors and flower farmers in his family, Qian Chengyi is a practicing My family always fights fiercely, and will kill people if they say something that is out of character. There have been several injuries to people before, and it was Qian Chengli who came forward and used money for personal gain."

"Qian Chengyi made trouble every day. He ran away from home several times with his brother Qian Chengli. Every time he left home, he relied on his fists to find a guard job to survive for a period of time." Liu Yuan continued, "According to Liu Sanqing's manager According to the guard, Qian Chengyi was hired by Liu Sanqing as a guard and went to the mines several times with him, so Qian Chengyi got to know Liu Sanqing. Not only did he know Liu Sanqing, he also got to know Zhang Wulin, and he also helped deliver the goods as a guard. The four precious treasures of the study."

Qian Chengyi is also the biggest gain they have found these days: this person can not only connect Liu Sanqing and Zhang Wulin, but also...

"In the days between Feng Tong's disappearance and the accident, he happened to have a conflict with Qian Chengli and ran away from home." Liu Yuan said, "The day after Feng Tong's body was found, he went home. , it’s just too much of a coincidence.”

Of course, targeting Qian Chengyi was not done on a whim. Bai Zhuqing said: "Although Old Wei took a leave of absence, he does know a lot about flowers and plants. He clearly remembers the records of the boat rental office on the Weishui River. Qian The pot of hydrangea brought aboard as a gift is..."

Before he finished speaking, a servant hurriedly came in from outside the hall, walked up to the two of them, and said: "Bai Sicheng, Liu Sicheng, a man named Qian Chengli came outside. I want to see the two temple ministers." Cheng."

Bai Zhu, who had not yet finished speaking, did not continue what he had just said, but turned to look at Liu Yuan. The two looked at each other, with a smile flashing in their eyes: Isn't this... someone here?

Wei Fu understands flowers and plants. Qian Chengli, a flower and tree merchant, doesn't care about the gardens and has a lot of dealings with flowers and plants. How could he not understand?

When he walked into the hall where the message was being delivered, Qian Chengli's face turned pale and his eyes were black. It was obvious that he had not had a good rest in the past few days. It seemed that Qian Chengli had already guessed something since the two of them left that day.

After seeing the two people walking in, Qian Chengli quickly stood up, stepped forward and saluted "Master", and before he could speak, Liu Yuan spoke: "You are here today because of the pot of hydrangea flowers." ?”

Qian Chengli's face froze obviously, but then he smiled bitterly and said: "The flowers are blooming there, and the flower farmers can see them every day, but now they are gone, how can they be fake? I didn't expect that I planted these flowers on a whim. , the secret that my brother had hidden was revealed to the public without any trace of it."

It is true that the Qian family is a flower and tree dealer, but what they buy and sell are peonies and some pine bonsai, which are highly sought after by the people at that time. This hydrangea was accidentally obtained by him when he went south, and he brought it back because it looked good.

Chang'an is not suitable for growing this flower, and it is quite difficult to grow it. Even with all the effort, he only planted a small piece. Because of the effort and rarity, he took it on a cruise ship for people to enjoy on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This flower... soon after the Mid-Autumn Festival, it disappeared due to the cold weather. It only took a few months to plant it back and forth, but it "said" nothing.

Qian Chengli sighed and said, "This flower is interesting. Not only is it beautiful, it also changes color."