99 Coral Crystal Sashimi

◎Are those unruly people in Xixiang too greedy and maliciously raising the price◎

Suddenly, the shopkeeper's voice rang out from outside the private room: "Master, Master, I'm coming in."

Seeing that he seemed to be holding an account book in his hand, Chen Jingshan asked, "Is there something wrong with the account? Or something else?"

The shopkeeper did not answer, and instead stole a glance at Chen Yuechuan who was sitting nearby eating noodles. He looked embarrassed, not knowing whether to speak or not.

"We're all good friends." Chen Jingshan saw his embarrassment and raised the corner of his mouth slightly. "If there's anything going on in the shop, it won't make any difference whether you tell him or me. Go ahead."

The shopkeeper quickly explained, "I know that, but what happened today was a bit absurd, and I was afraid the boss would laugh at me."

"Why would I laugh at you?" Chen Yuechuan gulped down the chicken soup and said politely, "If there's anything you need me to do, just tell me."

"Okay." The shopkeeper handed the "account book" to Chen Jingshan. "Boss, please take a look."

Chen Jingshan then realized that this wasn't an account book at all, but a storybook. Confused, he looked up at the shopkeeper, who was in his forties and had a wife and children, and said in disbelief, "Is this... a storybook you recommended to me?"

Chen Yuechuan, standing by, chuckled. He pointed at the name and laughed, "The Secret History of Flowers and Moon, Chen Jingshan. I didn't expect you to like this?"

The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly and hurriedly explained, "Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding!"

He quickly snatched the storybook, flipped to a page, and spread it out on the table. Pointing to one side, he said, "Master, Master, this storybook was bought by my maid. I brought it here today just for you to read."

Chen Yuechuan tilted his head and looked over, carefully reading two sentences, and asked curiously: "Is there anything special here?"

The shopkeeper looked at Chen Jingshan on the other side. He raised his hand and pointed at a few small words, saying, "Are you talking about the coral crystal sashimi mentioned here?"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up: "Exactly! This dish is often mentioned in storybooks. If our restaurant can make it, and then find a few storytellers to talk about it, there's no need to worry about business being bad!"

"Do you know what to do?" Chen Jingshan was not as optimistic as him.

The shopkeeper was stunned and slowly shook his head.

"Or are you planning to make a new dish and deliberately call it Coral Crystal Sashimi?" Chen Jingshan asked again.

Before the shopkeeper could answer, Chen Yuechuan, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "Coral crystal sashimi? I've had this dish before."

"Have you eaten it?" The two turned to look at him at the same time, their faces full of disbelief.

"What's wrong? After all, I've seen the world. Do you two really need to be so surprised?"

Chen Yuechuan admitted, "Back when I was in the military camp, I received a reward from my superiors. This dish was served at the celebration banquet that day. I heard it's a popular dish in the capital, so I tried it carefully and it was indeed delicious."

Chen Jingshan couldn't help but ask, "Do you remember what ingredients you used to make it?"

Chen Yuechuan was choked by his words, and laughed angrily: "Are you crazy? Who can taste what ingredients are there..."

"I can."

"I can."

The two said in unison.

"You guys..." Chen Yuechuan was speechless for a moment, "Anyway, I can't!"

Chen Jingshan picked up the storybook on the table and said with some surprise, "I didn't expect there would be such a dish..."

He turned to look at Chen Jingshan and said, "Today, go to all the bookstores in the city and ask how the "Secret History of Flowers and Moon" is selling. If it's good, then we really need to go to the capital."

Chen Yuechuan was stunned and looked at him: "Who's going?"

The shopkeeper said bluntly: "Anyway, I can't let you go. You won't be able to taste it even if you go..."

"You--" Chen Yuechuan deliberately gritted his teeth to scare him.

"Alright." Chen Jingshan said seriously, "Although the words are harsh, which word was wrong?"

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at the shopkeeper and said, "Since you proposed this matter, I'll leave it to you to do it. When you succeed, I'll give you a monthly salary increase."

"Oh right," Chen Jingshan continued, "I remember that at the end of this month we're going to the capital to purchase spices. It's a good opportunity for you to go with us so we can look after each other on the way."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper was naturally delighted and quickly responded, and the matter was settled.

*

Aunt Wang didn't know until she saw that 30% of the mushrooms stored by families had become moldy, causing great suffering to every household.

It was already dusk when she told Ye Yunzhao about this: "County Magistrate Ye, what should we do?"

Ye Yunzhao thought about it for the whole afternoon and came up with an idea, but it sounded absurd. She didn't dare to say it out loud because it hadn't been tested yet.

"Auntie Wang, you've worked hard today. I have an idea in mind, but it still needs some refinement. Don't worry, I'll let everyone know immediately if there's a turnaround. But I'm sorry, I have to go back with you later to cut some spores for experiments."

Aunt Wang didn't understand what was said. She only knew that the always omnipotent County Magistrate Ye had found a solution. After days of worry, a smile finally appeared on her face. She nodded hurriedly:

"Okay! Okay! I have as many weaving mushrooms as you want! Let's go! Let's go now!"

Time waits for no one, Ye Yunzhao did not refuse, picked up his backpack and followed.

About half an hour later, she returned to the county government office with a basket full of woven mushrooms, and happened to bump into County Magistrate Han who had just returned from outside.

"Hey? County Magistrate Ye, what are you doing?" County Magistrate Han asked curiously, "Why are there so many weaving mushrooms? Did the people of Xixiang give them to you?"

He laughed easily, but Ye Yunzhao couldn't laugh and told him everything about the moldy hat fungus.

County Magistrate Han, who had hoped to use mushroom cultivation to secure a promotion, was stunned. He exclaimed in disbelief, "What nonsense are you talking about! Moldy? How is that even possible? Braided mushrooms are considered the most delicious wild mushrooms in the mountains, how could they not sell? Are those unruly people in Xixiang too greedy and maliciously driving up the price? Are they selling inferior goods as good ones?"

Looking at Ye Yunzhao walking in front of him with his head down, his voice became weaker and weaker, and suddenly he rushed forward like crazy:

"How could this be! How could this be! Ye Yunzhao! Didn't you solemnly assure me that growing the weaving fungus would bring only benefits and no harm? How could such a catastrophic disaster have occurred now! You! You! How can I explain this to the ancestors of Lingnan County..."

Facing his powerful questioning, Ye Yunzhao, who had endured it all day, covered his face and burst into tears: "I was inconsiderate. I should have considered the problem of the small market. It's my fault. It's all my fault... When Aunt Wang told me today, my heart was like it was frying in oil..."

"You--" County Magistrate Han threw off his sleeves, turned around and walked angrily towards his yard.

Ye Yunzhao was left standing there sadly. She wiped away her tears and returned to her yard with half a basket full of woven mushrooms.

She had no time to be sad right now. She had to find a way to make dried mushrooms as quickly as possible so as to minimize the damage to the people in Xixiang.

Ye Yunzhao vaguely remembered that when she received her salary, the government office gave her a lot of things, including seven or eight long needles and cotton thread. They had been stored for a long time, and she searched through boxes and cabinets for a long time before she found them in a corner.

As it gradually darkened, she first lit two candles and an oil lamp.

Under the dim candlelight, Ye Yunzhao was holding a pair of scissors, starting from the hole in the mushroom stem and cutting along the folds of the cap on the side, to ensure that they could all be transformed from round mushrooms into thin mushroom slices.

After cutting about seven or eight, she found some tricks, and soon she had a whole table full of them.

Then Ye Yunzhao lay beside the candlelight and threaded the needle. The firelight was dim, and it was too difficult for her, a modern person who couldn't embroider.

After much effort, she managed to thread the frizzy thread through the tiny eye of the needle. She quickly pulled out three or four meters of cotton thread and quickly strung the cut mushroom slices together one by one. Soon, the off-white cotton thread was covered with brown braided mushrooms.

The temperature dropped sharply in the second half of the night. Ye Yunzhao rubbed his stiff hands and finally a smile appeared on his face. He was finally done.

This method was what she came up with today. She planned to smoke the mushrooms in the same way as smoking bacon. She wondered if it could be turned into dried mushrooms that were easy to preserve.

These fresh shimeji mushrooms can't be smoked directly in the kitchen; they need to evaporate some of the moisture first. If smoked directly, the fragrant shimeji mushrooms will likely be stained with soot, which would alter their flavor and make them look gray and unappealing.

However, there are no conditions for exposing it to the sun at the moment, so Ye Yunzhao thought of a compromise. He first hung the strung woven mushrooms in the house, and finally opened the windows on all sides and let the cold wind blow hard all night. I believe the effect will be good.

The braided hat fungus that I had just put on in one go to save trouble was now a bit difficult to put on. It was inconvenient to hang the three or four meter long rope anywhere.

Ye Yunzhao, exhausted from all this, sighed deeply, feeling somewhat powerless. She should have thought of the slow sales of the braided mushrooms long ago! She should have thought of it!

Although Yuezhou City can be considered a wealthy place, it is located deep in the mountains after all; plus there are very few powerful people, so it is natural that the woven mushrooms will not last long at the previous price.

Ye Yunzhao was making amends for her mistakes in her heart. She really didn't expect that so many people would be willing to grow the fungus, and she didn't expect that this thing could grow one after another.

Thinking of this, she had no time to think about anything else. It would be best to quickly turn this fresh tricholoma into dried mushrooms, and then sell it to the mountains!

Ye Yunzhao's eyes were sharp as he carefully searched the furnishings in the room. Only his bunk bed looked good.

Not only was the bunk bed placed against the wall, but it was also very far away from the window next to the desk. With a quick glance, she went over and grabbed the side of the bed, dragging it towards the window with all her might.

Perhaps the previous county magistrate had never lived here before, so the bunk bed wasn't made of the finest wood. Ye Yunzhao was a little surprised by its weight, but it did facilitate her plan of "drying and weaving fungi."

Panting, she dragged the bunk bed to the window, climbed onto it nimbly, and after moving left and right, she finally managed to put the three or four meter long cotton thread on the bunk bed.

The cold wind blew wildly through the house. Ye Yunzhao, who had sweat on his back, couldn't help but shiver at the cold wind.

She looked up at the woven mushrooms swaying on the shelf, then looked out the window at the twinkling stars in the night sky and smiled optimistically:

"carefree!"