051, Eight Years Later——

051, Eight Years Later——

Winter, the 16th year of Yuanqing

Eight years have passed in a flash.

Eight years is neither long nor short. In eight years, more than two thousand days and nights, a small tree grows into a towering tree, a child becomes a teenager, and time is embodied in some things and people.

However, Kyoto's Minami-dori is still the same Minami-dori. The shops are still the same, and many people still come here every day to set up stalls. Only the people are constantly changing. There are old stalls that have been open for decades, some that have been open for a while and then disappeared, and some new stalls that have only recently arrived.

The faces of these stall owners are both new and old.

If we talk about the most famous snack stall on South Street, it must be Lujia Piaoxiang Braised Food. This stall has been open on South Street for eight years and has been popular on South Street for eight years.

There is a saying circulating on South Street that if you come to Kyoto Prefecture and don’t try the braised pork rice at Lujia Piaoxiang Braised Food Restaurant on South Street, you haven’t really been to Kyoto Prefecture.

It can be seen that Lujia Piaoxiang Braised Food now has a very important status in South Street.

The food at this braised food stall is so fragrant and delicious!

Every morning before daybreak, as soon as the stove at this stall is turned on, the whole street is filled with the aroma of their braised meat. Just the smell is enough to make your mouth water. You can't go home without trying a bite. At night, you'll lie in bed thinking about it, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

People living on this street would get up much earlier every day when they smell the aroma of braised pork, just to have a bowl of delicious braised pork rice in the morning.

What’s more, the food at this stall is not only delicious, but also cheap and in large quantities!

In Kyoto, where a meat bun costs only two sen, ten sen can buy a deluxe bowl of refined rice-braised pork rice at this stall! If you're looking to save a bit, opting for a whole-grain braised pork rice will save you another two sen. If you're really short on cash, you can also shell out five sen for a vegetarian braised pork rice, which comes with meaty braised vegetables and tofu, along with half a braised egg. The owner even pours a generous spoonful of the braised pork sauce over it. Just stir with chopsticks and take a bite – it's delicious!

It’s so delicious that once you’ve tasted it, you’ll want to eat it a second time!

Of course, the most delicious thing here is definitely the deluxe version of braised pork rice!

For the past eight years, caravans traveling to and from Kyoto would always come here to buy a bowl of braised pork rice on their first day in the city, and on their last day out, they would also come here to eat a bowl of braised pork rice before leaving. Those with more money would even buy a jar of braised pork to take with them on the road.

The most important point is that if you want to eat the food from this stall, you must arrive early, otherwise you won’t be able to eat it if you come late!

"Young master, our master asked you to deliver a portion of braised meat to Xianglai Pavilion." The servant took out a silver ingot and handed it over.

A slender hand reached out and took the silver.

The owner of this hand smiled brightly and said, "In that case, thank your master for the reward." The owner of this hand was the young man Lu Mingfei. He accepted the silver given by Zhao Lang without any hesitation.

This ingot of silver is definitely more than enough to buy a portion of braised meat. Isn't the extra part the reward from the young master?

Even Lu Mingfei himself didn't know why he'd kept in touch with Zhao Lang all these years... or rather, it was Zhao Lang who'd been in touch with him. Sometimes, on his way home from school, Zhao Lang would send someone to meet him halfway, inviting him to a nearby teahouse for tea, chess, and a chat. These conversations usually involved him talking while the young master listened.

Or, like this time, they sent someone directly to their stall to buy something and specifically asked him to deliver it. Most likely, they asked him to go over and chat with the young master to relieve his boredom.

Ever since his parents had forced him to go to a private school at the age of eight, he would always help out at his stall whenever the school was closed, unless he couldn't come during weekdays. He didn't know how the young master always happened to find him helping out at the stall and send someone to find him to deliver food.

Now their family has two stalls: one is a food stall run by his mother, and the other is a grocery stall run by his father. The two stalls are located next to each other. Sometimes he helps out at the food stall, and sometimes he goes to help his father look after the stall and even helps him make some small things.

Their food stall was still at the entrance of the alley next to his adoptive father and mother's pancake shop, but now it occupied a larger area, extending the entire alley. However, this alley was not long. There was only one backyard door here, which was the back door of his adoptive father and mother's yard.

So they set up a stall here, and although it occupied the alley, it did not affect other people's entry and exit. So a few years ago, they put two rows of tables and chairs in the alley.

However, during the morning rush hour, when many people are eating, these two rows of tables and chairs are not enough. If customers don't want to squat on the street to eat, they will run to the nearby sesame cake shop to order a few sesame cakes, then go to their braised food stall to buy a big bowl of braised pork to eat at the sesame cake shop, or just order a bowl of braised pork rice and the sesame cakes to take home. There are quite a few customers like this.

Because their braised food stall is here, the business of the surrounding food shops and stalls has also improved. Therefore, the surrounding merchants do not mind them setting up a stall at the entrance of the alley. In fact, the surrounding merchants and vendors even subtly protect the existence of their food stall.

These merchants and vendors all know that as long as they set up their braised food stalls here, they will be able to bring them a steady stream of customers and business.

A few years ago, Boss Lu followed his adopted son's suggestion and now offers braised pork and vegetable sesame cakes in addition to the traditional sesame cakes. He orders the braised meat and vegetables directly from Liu Sanniang, as braising them himself would be too much work for them.

Braised pork sesame cakes are made by cutting a hole in the middle of a sesame cake and stuffing it with braised meat; vegetarian sesame cakes are made by stuffing it with various vegetables like shredded cucumber and bean sprouts. The vegetables used in braised vegetables are generally whatever is in season, and there are many varieties.

So as their store has more varieties of sesame cakes, their business has also improved. In the past, their sesame cake shop would close in the afternoon, but now they usually sell out and close the shop after noon.

This topic has gone a bit off track, so let’s get back to Lu Mingfei.

Knowing the young master's taste, Lu Mingfei prepared braised food according to the young master's favorite taste after receiving the money.

For meat, choose pork belly that is neither too fat nor too lean. This way it will not be dry and will taste the best.

As for braised dishes, there are not many fresh vegetables because of the cold weather recently. Fortunately, their family stored a batch of lotus roots in the fall, and lotus roots are included in the braised dishes recently.

Young master likes to eat lotus root, can you give me more?

And bean sprouts. The bean sprouts they've been using for years have been supplied by the village, available year-round. The clan has made some money selling bean sprouts over the years. Although they still live in Shihua Village, they've pooled their money and bought several dozen acres of land farther away. They cultivate it together, leaving some people to tend the land and crops, while the rest of the clan grows the sprouts at home and delivers them to restaurants.

Bean sprouts are sold at normal prices in spring, summer, and autumn, but they tend to go up in winter. However, the village always keeps a relatively low price for the bean sprouts they use for their stall. Taking into account labor and travel expenses, the tribe members don't really make any money from them.

There are two types of bean sprouts: mung bean sprouts and soybean sprouts. The young master likes to eat soybean sprouts but not mung bean sprouts, so he has to have some mung bean sprouts.

You can also have some white radish, the young master likes it.

As for the other vegetarian dishes, since they had been stored in the cellar for a long time and the young master didn't like them very much, he didn't put them in.

Then there's the braised tofu. Young Master likes braised tofu, so you can order more. And the braised eggs, just two. If you have more, Young Master won't be able to finish it.

Adding up all the ingredients, it makes up a big bowl.

I also need to find a food box to put it in and put the lid on to prevent dust from getting in. The young master is a mysophobe, and if the food is brought in without a lid, he will dislike it and refuse to eat it. There is no other way, the young master gave me too much money, so I should prepare it according to his taste and habits.

After preparing everything, Lu Mingfei said to his busy mother, "Mother, I'm going to Xianglai Pavilion to deliver an order."

"Oh, okay, go ahead." When Liu Sanniang heard that it was Xianglai Pavilion, she knew that it must have been booked by a wealthy guest.

They now have three women hired to help with the work at their stall, and two boys responsible for running errands and delivering meals to customers. Occasionally, when their own children are free, they will come over to help, so there are three errand runners.

Because some wealthy customers don’t come to their stall to eat, they ask them to send their food to nearby teahouses or restaurants.

Business is good today. The two delivery boys haven't come back yet, so my own child has to take over.

Liu Sanniang had previously advised her children not to work at their stalls and to focus on their studies. However, every time, the children would argue with her with a sullen face. In their own words, what was shameful about making money through honest business? If a scholar didn't know the basics of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar, how could he become a good official in the future?

She also felt that what her child said made sense, so she stopped saying such things later.

"Okay, mother, I know."

After preparing the braised dishes for the young master, Lu Mingfei also went to his adoptive father's shop and filled a basket with braised pork patties. He brought it to Qingzhu, the servant who came to treat him, and said, "Brother Qingzhu, there are some braised pork biscuits here. Take some."

Qingzhu was Zhao Lang's servant, and he was no stranger to Lu Mingfei. So he accepted Lu Mingfei's kindness without hesitation, "Then I won't be polite."

"You're welcome. Your master is treating us." Lu Mingfei handed the basket of braised meat patties to the servant Qingzhu with a smile on his face. He greeted his father and got on the carriage with the food box to deliver the meal to the young master.

The servant who came to invite people sat outside the shaft of the carriage, took out a braised meat pie and ate it himself, and gave one to the guard driving the carriage.

I will distribute the remaining braised food cakes to other guards when I get back.

The carriage was moving on the bluestone-paved street, the horse's hooves made a clattering sound, and the wheels turned.

Sitting in the carriage, Lu Mingfei could hear all kinds of sounds coming from the street: vendors hawking, customers bargaining, children calling their mothers, people talking... all kinds of sounds intertwined together, this is the sound of South Street. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading