On the north street of Luoshui County stands a large mansion, said to be the residence of a high-ranking official who had retired from the imperial court and returned to his hometown. The plaque bears the two characters "Zheng Mansion" in gold lettering.

In the study of the Zheng family mansion, Master Zheng sat upright, holding a piece of paper in his hand and reading it carefully: "Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees bloom. This poem is extremely well written."

The attendant beside him quickly said, "The poem was passed down from the Pear Blossom Fairy Contest. According to my investigation, it came from the Beauty Pavilion, and the second mistress of the Beauty Pavilion is the wife of Lu Yanzhao, a scholar from this county."

Master Zheng put down the paper in his hand, a hint of interest flashing across his slightly plump face: "Oh? I heard that Lu Yanzhao has been invited to study at Nanxiang Academy."

The attendant replied, "Yes."

"Well, as the current headmaster of Nanxiang Academy, I believe I will meet him soon. I really want to meet this young man and see how he can write such evocative poems."

In Master Zheng's eyes, it was impossible for a young woman like Gu Nanjiao to write such brilliant and exquisite poems. There must be Lu Yanzhao's help behind the scenes.

...

The rainy season in April and May has been in full swing, with rain drizzling for half a month.

Early in the morning, Lu's mother kicked away an unidentified object, muttering to herself, "The big toad has appeared again. That thing is so big and ugly, it's so annoying."

"Mother, what big toad?" Upon hearing this, Gu Nanjiao couldn't help but recall the origin of the name Toad Village. It was said that toads were rampant and could not be stopped despite repeated bans, which greatly troubled the villagers.

"It's a big, ugly thing, it looks terrible. Every year around this time, there are so many of them clustered together," said Lu's mother with a look of disgust.

Gu Nanjiao didn't take it seriously. She was very curious and walked up to the toad that Lu's mother had kicked away. She observed it carefully for a while, and her eyes lit up. It was actually her favorite bullfrog!

These wild, all-natural bullfrogs are quite large and have a better texture. They can be used to make pickled pepper bullfrog, spicy bullfrog, garlic bullfrog, and dry-pot bullfrog. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

"Mom, this is a good thing. Although it looks ugly, it tastes delicious."

Lu's mother was very curious: "You mean this ugly thing is edible?"

"Of course, I can make very delicious food."

Without further ado, Gu Nanjiao cleaned the bullfrogs, marinated them with salt and cooking wine for half an hour, drained the excess water, and then added the secret seasoning and marinated them for another hour.

Finally, heat oil in a wok, add scallions, ginger slices, and minced garlic to sauté until fragrant, then add a little chili. It's absolutely delicious!

Lu Xiaomei was drawn there, and squatted down next to her sister-in-law, staring longingly at the pot.

She didn't know what delicious food her sister-in-law had prepared this time, but her sister-in-law always managed to make something delicious and surprising.

"Wipe your drool off, it's dripping into the pot." Seeing how greedy Lu Xiaomei looked, Gu Nanjiao couldn't help but tease her.

Lu Xiaomei wiped her mouth; it was dry. Where did the drool come from? Her sister-in-law was clearly teasing her.

"Sister-in-law, you're teasing me again. I'm ignoring you."

Gu Nanjiao playfully pinched Lu Xiaomei's nose and laughed, "You'll be the first to try it later, so don't ignore me."

"Yay! Yay!"

When the garlic-flavored bullfrog was served, Lu Xiaomei couldn't wait to pick up a piece with her chopsticks.

Mother Lu looked at it again and again, hesitant. She really couldn't believe that this big, ugly toad could make such fragrant food.

Gu Nanjiao handed a pair of chopsticks to Lu's mother and said, "Mother, please try some!"

"It's tender and smooth, with a great texture. I never expected that food made from this would be so delicious."

After tasting it, Lu's mother praised it highly.

Gu Nanjiao smiled and said, "Mom, we've discovered a new business opportunity. Bullfrogs are so big and ugly that no one dares to eat them. Many people don't know how delicious they are. Why don't we catch more and sell them with braised meat and spicy strips, and see how well they sell?"

Lu's mother agreed with her point of view, and in the afternoon, the group took several wooden buckets to catch bullfrogs.

That evening, the mother and her two daughters worked together to clean the bullfrogs, prepare the seasonings, and cook two pots of spicy bullfrog and garlic bullfrog. Gu Nanjiao really wanted to eat pickled pepper bullfrog. Unfortunately, there were no pickled peppers in ancient times, so she had to postpone that for the time being.

I'll find a chance to research how to make pickled peppers sometime. Bullfrogs only have soul when paired with pickled peppers.

The next day, the group got up early and went to the county town to set up a stall.

The mornings in the county town are the busiest time, with vendors selling steamed buns, fried dough sticks, mantou (steamed bread), and soup, and people coming and going in an endless stream to buy vegetables, scallions, and soy sauce.

Few people came from the county town and weren't very familiar with the area, so they could only set up their stall at a relatively remote end of the road, next to shops selling shoes and fabrics, and few people came to buy food.

Mrs. Lu worried, "How can it be sold if it's placed in this position? I wish I had come sooner."

Gu Nanjiao quickly comforted her, "Mom, don't worry. If we can't sell them, we'll just change locations. Next time, we'll rent better spots."

Lu's mother was still somewhat worried.

Gu Nanjiao calmly opened the lid and laid out the braised offal, the spicy strips she had made, and the newly invented bullfrog.

Instantly, all sorts of novel and delicious aromas wafted out and spread in all directions. Before long, people on half the street could smell this unique fragrance.

It gradually attracted many people to come.

"What delicious food is this? It smells so good!"

"Never seen it before, never eaten it before."

The people around them were talking amongst themselves. Gu Nanjiao smiled smugly at her mother, "Mother, what's this called? Good wine needs no bush. As long as ours tastes good, the aroma will travel for miles."

Mother Lu rubbed her hands together with joy, feeling a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

Gu Nanjiao lowered her head, used a toothpick to pick up a small piece of bullfrog meat, and handed it to the gourmand at the front, saying, "Garlic bullfrog, fifteen coins a pound, free to sample, no charge if you don't like it."

The bullfrogs were caught for free in my own village. They're free. After deducting the labor costs, I could sell them for fifteen coins without losing money.

The gourmet took a bite and was immediately amazed. "What kind of meat is this? It's so smooth, delicious, and flavorful. Is it venison? No way! You can't possibly sell venison for such a low price."

Gu Nanjiao smiled and said, "This is a local delicacy in our village, garlic bullfrog. It's very delicious and a seasonal dish. You should try it."

"Give me three jin."

"Okay, all done!"

One person bought it, and soon many others followed suit. The two large basins of bullfrogs sold out in less than an hour. The braised offal and spicy strips also sold a sparse amount. Today, Gu Nanjiao's main focus was on bullfrogs, and she didn't pay much attention to how much of the other items sold.

Mother Lu weighed the copper coins in her hand, her mouth agape. She couldn't believe that the giant toad she'd picked up for free could fetch so much money.

"Mom, we're sold out. Let's go home." Gu Nanjiao grabbed Lu's mother's hand.

"Okay, let's go home, let's go home and keep catching big toads." Mother Lu said, while her hands kept tidying up the large basin that held the vegetables.

The group packed up their stall and were about to leave when a young man suddenly called out to them, "Do you still have any bullfrogs? Give me another three jin."