Chapter 63: Pretending to be a ghost and cooking fish maw
Lin Fufei left and came back, taking out the broken Flower God statue from her arms with trembling hands.
While patting his chest, he said with lingering fear: "My heart almost jumped out of my throat. Fortunately, no one questioned me along the way, otherwise I would definitely have to reveal my secret."
Xue Hengzhao took the flower god statue and took a look at it. He knew that it was wrapped in cloth and smashed with something, and it was done intentionally.
"Sister Xue, do you have any idea?" Lin Fufei was about to cry.
The entire lower left side of the statue was smashed and shattered into pieces.
But she finally remembered Xue Hengzhao's words not to allow her to cry, so she didn't cry even though she felt uncomfortable.
"It's not too badly broken. The fractures are relatively neat and can be repaired." Xue Hengzhao said lightly, rewrapped the statue and put it under the bed.
Lin Fufei couldn't help but feel happy when she heard that there was still hope, and asked her: "What should we do next?"
"You often interact with people in the imperial kitchen, right? Find someone you can talk to and ask him for two pieces of dried fish maw.
If he asks you what you are doing, just say stew it and eat it." Xue Hengzhao told her, "Don't ask about the rest yet, just go! It will get dark soon and you won't be allowed to move around."
Lin Fufei didn't dare to neglect and hurried out.
She is in the Xinxi Department, and now she is considered a minor manager, so naturally she has to deal with the imperial kitchen.
The fish maw is worthless and has a strong fishy smell, so the owners won’t eat it.
However, people at Yushanfang often take this stuff and dry it in the sun, which can be stewed, eaten, or made into folk remedies. It is better than leaving it empty.
Lin Fufei is usually a good person, especially he doesn’t flatter others and disdain others.
So although the people above her don't think highly of her, the people below her treat her well.
Besides, this dried fish maw was not a rare thing. She told an old palace maid who was cleaning the stove and gave her several pieces.
Lin Fufei brought back the dried fish maw, and Xue Hengzhao took one look at it and asked her to tuck it under his pillow.
As soon as they put it away, the two people who lived with them came back.
He also said to the two of them: "Why don't you go out and play? It's so nice to sweat all over."
Lin Fufei said a few perfunctory words, but Xue Hengzhao said nothing.
The two people also knew that she had such a temper, so they ignored her and went to wash up and prepare to sleep.
Before going to bed, Xue Hengzhao quietly whispered a few words to Lin Fufei.
In the middle of the night, the palace maids who lived in the same room with them were sleeping soundly. They only felt someone talking in their ears, and someone was wiping their faces with a handkerchief.
When the two men woke up and lit the lamp, they saw Lin Fufei kneeling straight beside the bed!
His eyes were half open and half closed, and he was muttering something in his mouth, as if he was praying. He was holding a veil in his hand, wiping it here and there.
"What is she doing? Why is she so scary!" The two palace maids were so frightened that they sat up.
Lin Fufei, however, still knelt there motionless and continued to mumble.
"She must be sleepwalking." Xue Hengzhao yawned, rubbed his eyes and sat up, "She is now in charge of enshrining the flower god statue, and she is somewhat crazy.
When we first entered the palace, we lived together, and she also sleepwalked.
Because I was always working during the day, and I was still working in my dreams at night, so I took a basin of water and poured it all over the bed.
But don’t be afraid, she’s just kneeling there mumbling, it’s okay.”
"What's the big deal? It's so scary!" The two palace maids stood close together, looking at Lin Fufei as if they were monsters. "Besides, she worships us two as flower gods. That's not to hurt us."
Longevity?"
"That's right!" Xue Hengzhao smiled slightly awkwardly, "I have read a book about supernatural beings before. It was also during the Flower Festival. The maid accompanied the young lady on an outing and joked that the young lady looked like the God of Flowers.
Say goodbye in a decent manner.
Sure enough, within a few days, the young lady, who was perfectly fine, suddenly died.
People say that the maid worshiped the young lady as the God of Flowers, and the young lady was really invited to heaven to be the God of Flowers.
The theory of gods and ghosts has been around since ancient times, so it’s better to be careful.”
In the middle of the night, Lin Fufei was kneeling there as if possessed by a demon.
The two palace maids didn't even dare to lie down, let alone sleeping.
Plus what Xue Hengzhao said made them even more scared.
He spat at Lin Fufei several times and said: "What a bad luck! With her kind of virtue, how can we live here?!"
Another said: "Anyway, there are two empty beds in the room next door, so let's go over there!"
Then he asked Xue Hengzhao: "Are you going?"
"I'll forget it! Firstly, there are no extra beds over there, and secondly, I don't feel at ease leaving her here alone.
After all, we entered the palace together, so we need to show some loyalty. You two can just go over and leave me alone."
When the two people heard what she said, they didn't force her, so they picked up the quilt and went out.
Xue Hengzhao closed the door tightly from the inside, and Lin Fufei also got up from the ground, rubbing his knees and said: "Oh my god! They are finally gone, it hurts me so much!"
"Cover the tea stove." Xue Hengzhao said, "Put a bowl on top."
"Sister Xue, what are you doing?" Lin Fufei asked in a low voice while working.
"Boil the fish maw gel," Xue Hengzhao said, taking out the dried fish maw she wanted from under Lin Fufei's pillow. "This thing is a bit troublesome. It usually needs to be cut and soaked until soft, then steamed and boiled, and beaten and filtered. Finally,
It can only be made by simmering it over low heat.
We have limited time, but fortunately we don’t have much glue to use, so let’s use the boiling method. Boil first and then boil, stirring constantly, and the glue will come out.”
"Are you going to use this thing to stick the flower statue together?" Lin Fufei asked.
"That's natural, otherwise what can we do?" Xue Hengzhao said as he cut the dried fish bladder into small pieces with scissors. "This glue is the best and is transparent, making it difficult to see flaws."
"Sister Xue, you are really a capable person, you know so much!" Lin Fufei admired her from the bottom of her heart.
"Quickly lower the fire first and fill the water to 70% full." Xue Hengzhao didn't care about her compliments and only urged her to work quickly.
It takes slow work to boil the glue. If the heat is too high, it will become mushy, and all the efforts will be wasted.
After cooking it once, the fish maw will turn white and become soft.
After changing the water once, Xue Hengzhao told Lin Fufei to keep the heat as high as it was for an hour before calling her, and then he went to bed.
Lin Fufei didn't dare to slack off at all. This was a major event that affected her life. She stared at the fire with her eyes fixedly and didn't dare to doze off.
After staying up for an hour, I woke up Xue Hengzhao.
Xue Heng looked at it and said: "Lower the fire, add some water, and cook it for another hour and it will be almost done."
By the time the glue is ready, it will be almost dawn.
Xue Hengzhao stood up, tied up his hair, washed his hands, and lit the lamp.
Use a clean bamboo stick dipped in the prepared glue to glue together the large pieces of porcelain on the statue.
This is meticulous work and there is no room for error.
Lin Fufei noticed that Xue Hengzhao's incredibly slender hands were extremely steady.