Chapter 48

Su Miao opened the lid and stirred the ingredients, then asked Li Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan, do you like braised duck necks and feet?"

Li Yuanyuan looked curiously at the reddish-brown broth in the pot and replied, "Usually, my mom buys live ducks and kills them herself. She then boils them and adds soy sauce or sour porridge. There's not much meat from the duck necks and feet; my grandfather used them as a side dish for wine. I've never eaten them much, and my family doesn't know how to braise them."

"This is the braised food I just made. It needs to soak for an hour. When it's ready, please taste it for me and give me your opinion."

Su Miao had already cooked a few eggs and was planning to put them in, but she forgot about them when Li Yuanyuan suddenly came to the house. It should still be in time to put them in now.

The eggs have been rinsed with cold water after being cooked. If you put them in earlier, you don’t need to peel them. Just use chopsticks to crack the shells.

But it’s a little late now, so just peel the shells and put them in so that they can absorb the flavor faster.

Su Miao looked at the color, fried some sugar color and added it in. Even though it had only been braised for less than an hour, the color was much better than last time.

She pushed the remaining small piece of firewood in, and stopped adding more after it burned out, and let it soak and wait for the flavor to slowly enter.

Li Yuanyuan brought White Rabbit milk candy, which was sweet and fragrant in the mouth, making one very happy.

In her previous life, Su Miao was very eager for this when she was a child, but her mother rarely spent money on her, let alone buying snacks.

She would buy some during festivals and put them in the living room to entertain guests, and that was the only time she could eat some.

Later, when she got her first scholarship, she went to the mall and bought half a pound of it immediately.

But I don’t know if it’s because the waiting time was too long, but the satisfaction I had imagined was not as great as it should be, and I even felt it was nothing special.

Li Yuanyuan had a set of chess in her backpack. It was a birthday gift from her parents last month, and she only wanted to play it with her best friend.

Then quickly another hour passed. Su Yuanzheng finished delivering the fried pork offal and went back to the village to get firewood. He also came back at this time.

He parked the car in the yard and unloaded the firewood while saying to the kitchen, "Miao Miao! I think the taste is right this time, very fragrant! Just now, when I came in from the alley, many uncles and aunts along the way were asking whose stew smelled so good!"

Li Yuanyuan came out and greeted him: "Hello, uncle!"

"Is Yuanyuan here? Tell Miaomiao to stop guarding the stove and come out to play with you!"

"It's okay, uncle. Miaomiao and I will play military chess while warming ourselves by the fire."

By this time, the stew was almost done. When she lifted the lid, the rich aroma hit her face. Li Yuanyuan was so greedy that she swallowed her saliva: "Miao Miao! This smells so good! I have never smelled such fragrant meat. I know it must be delicious without trying it!"

Seeing her unable to resist poking her head towards the pot, Su Miao mischievously put the lid back on: "In that case, there's no need to taste it."

"Ah~" Li Yuanyuan sat back on the small stool with a look of regret on her face.

"Hahahaha! Just kidding! Hurry and help me get that big bowl."

Su Miao scooped up some of each braised dish, chopped the long duck neck into small pieces, cut off a piece of the pig heart and tongue to slice, and then soaked the rest back into the brine.

She invited her father and Yuanyuan to the dining room to try it. Both of them were drooling over the fragrant and shiny braised food.

Afraid that Li Yuanyuan would feel restrained, Su Yuanzheng specifically said, "Yuanyuan, try whatever you want. You are the first customer of our braised food."

So Li Yuanyuan picked up the braised duck feet that she had been craving for a long time without hesitation.

Unlike pure meat, duck feet with bones have a different feeling. Even though the meat has been braised to be soft and glutinous, it is chewy because of the bones.

While she was gnawing on the duck feet, Su Yuanzheng tried the pig heart and pig tongue: "Miao Miao! This time it doesn't taste bitter, it feels just right! You should try the pig tongue, it's surprisingly delicious."

Su Miao tasted the pig tongue, which was full of sauce aroma, tender and refreshing, not greasy at all, and even very appetizing.

After trying all the dishes and finding none of them disappointing, Su Miao felt that he was very close to success.

Li Yuanyuan was already gnawing on the second duck foot: "It's so delicious, Miaomiao, I don't know how to describe it, I just can't stop!"

Su Miao asked Li Yuanyuan, who was enjoying her meal, "Yuanyuan, do you think anyone would buy this if it were sold outside?"

"Yes! When my parents are too busy to cook, they either go to the cafeteria or buy cooked food. I have a say!"

As if she had touched upon Li Yuanyuan's knowledge zone, she instantly perked up and spoke coherently: "There are only three prepared food stores in our county. One is run by the meat processing factory's own sales department, one is at the entrance of the gymnasium, and one is at the entrance of the cinema. They sell boiled chicken and duck, roast duck, grilled chicken, and braised pork."

Su Yuanzheng asked, "Prepared food shops sell large cuts of meat, but we mainly make braised leftovers. Do you think you will like them?"

"Uncle, don't worry. The meat from those three places can't compare to the taste here! It's only slightly better than what we make at home, and many people go there for the convenience. Yours is convenient and delicious, and the variety you sell is different from others. Just look at how popular your stir-fried pork offal is!"

Su Miao also felt so, and Li Yuanyuan's words gave her a lot of confidence.

After a while, Li Yuanyuan went back to her relatives' house. She and her parents were going to have dinner there tonight.

"Yuanyuan, wait a minute!"

Su Miao packed the braised food in a disposable lunch box, put a little of each in it, and asked her to take it to her relative's house.

"No, no, no! Miaomiao, I can't eat it and take it away at the same time!" Li Yuanyuan refused to take it. Such delicious meat would be worth a lot of money if sold.

Su Miao stuffed it into her hand without hesitation: "Don't be polite with me! Take it with you to eat and add it to your meal. If your uncle and aunt think it's delicious, you can help us promote it!"

"Okay! Don't worry! If you're too busy to run the stall, just call me. I'm almost bored to death at home all day!"

When Li Yuanyuan returned to her relative's house, the meal was already on the table. Yuanyuan's mother helped set the table and said to her daughter, "Hurry up and eat. I was going to look for you."

"Yeah, mom, I'm going to play with Miaomiao this afternoon. She and her dad are amazing. Not only are their fried pork offal delicious, but their braised dishes are also fantastic!"

Li Yuanyuan's relative is Chef Li, who is in charge of the canteen at the hemp spinning factory. When you hear her say "stir-fried pork offal", you will know which chef it is.

"Yuanyuan, your classmate is the one with the surname Su in the next alley, right? The one that sells self-service porridge in front of the sugar factory?"

"Yes! That's the one, but the self-service porridge place is temporarily closed. They'll reopen when the weather warms up. Now they're going to sell braised food!"

Chef Li was very interested in the food. "Their food is really good. We live nearby and often go there to buy pork offal. It tastes good and the portions are generous. They also make braised food. I'm really looking forward to it. When will they start selling it?"

"I don't know when it will go on sale, but you can eat it now. Miaomiao asked me to pack this up!" Li Yuanyuan took out two boxes of braised food from a red plastic bag and said with a smile.