When Su Qingluan first started preparing the offal soup, she preferred a spicy and fragrant flavor - dogwood, pepper, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves... all the spices were added in as if they were free.
In fact, this kind of heavy use of spices was definitely considered "luxury" in that era. However, such a heavy-flavored and "unpresentable" diet was completely out of line with the refined style of the wealthy who pursued "color, fragrance and taste".
Not to mention the rich and powerful, even Mr. Xu Kekuan, who always calls himself a "gourmet", once lamented with some regret that the offal soup was "too strong in flavor and lost the authenticity of the ingredients" and he did not like it very much.
Although Su Qingluan once silently complained that "the original taste of offal is just that [beep beep] taste", she also admitted that offal soup is not for those customers who have too many demands on "taste and appearance".
Although the thing called "sinking water" was a "hot-selling item" in Su Qingluan's previous life, that was only a few decades ago. In the early years, it was also not popular.
Su Qingluan used all kinds of methods to make this unpopular scraps taste good, but it was just a compromise and a substitute for the embarrassing situation of low-income consumers who "want to eat meat but don't have much spare money to buy meat."
Since they are low-end consumers, they must be doing manual labor. They are either farmers working in the fields, or bricklayers hammering bricks under the sun, and so on.
The more such a person is, the more he prefers salty food.
Moreover, the fresh, fragrant and spicy spices can also stimulate appetite - even though the capacity of a spoonful at the Su family stall is not large, everyone can eat three steamed buns even if they are dry and soaked in the hot and spicy soup base!
As expected, Madam Xi only took a cautious sip of the soup before her eyes lit up: "No wonder your stall is always so busy, this soup is really something you'll want to drink more of!" She turned her head and looked at Madam Yang, "Sister, you're a great cook!"
Yang shook her head and said, "This is the craftsmanship of my eldest daughter."
Su Qingluan met Mrs. Xi's gaze and said with a smile, "If you like it, there's more here!"
A customer in the queue behind joked, "Hey, young lady, we waited in line so hard to buy soup, and you just give it away. Isn't that a bit rude?"
Su Qingluan half-jokingly said, "Uncle, if you can help me catch the pickpocket and save my family from financial ruin, I would be happy to give you a whole pot of soup, not to mention a bowl or two!"
The guests queuing around laughed. Madam Xi took another sip of the soup and said, "I finally understand why people who come to your house for soup go to my house to buy pancakes. This soup goes really well with pancakes!"
The diners in the queue teased, "I say, Pancake Xishi, your business is booming, thanks to the Su family's offal soup!"
"That's not the way to say it," Su Qingluan said with a smile, "Drinking this offal soup alone won't satisfy your hunger. It can only be considered a meal if it's paired with some solid food! My wife and I own a house across the street, so it's mutually beneficial and we can achieve mutual success!"
Madam Xi smiled and said, "This little girl from the Su family is so sweet! Hey, by the way, my steamed buns should taste great with this soup! I'll go have some for lunch now!"
As he said this, he strode towards the other side, saying loudly as he walked: "I'll return your bowl after I finish eating!"
When Madam Xi walked to the other side, Su Qingluan ran to her parents and asked, "Father, Mother, I see that Madam Xi is very skilled. That pickpocket is also a wandering warrior, so he should have some skills, but Madam Xi is holding him there and he can't move!"
Although Madam Xi is a little plump and the pickpocket is relatively thin, the pickpocket is actually quite tall and is not much different from Madam Xi in terms of physique.
But Su Qingluan could see clearly that the pickpocket had clearly used all his strength, but in the end he couldn't even escape from Madam Xi, let alone resist her.
At this time, Aunt Yang next to her interrupted and said, "Young ladies, you have only come to the town to do business in the last three or two months, so you don't know - this pancake beauty was much more powerful a few years ago!"
It turned out that it was not Su Qingluan's illusion. This pancake-making lady Xi Shi really had some skills.
A few years ago, Madam Xi and her husband were jugglers in this town, performing for a living. Every day they walked on a mountain of knives, broke rocks, and practiced their martial arts.
In an era when there was a lack of entertainment, this kind of performance combined with juggling was something that not only ordinary people but even wealthy people were willing to pay to watch.
Madam Xi and the head of his family were very agile and worked in perfect harmony, so there were even quite a few wealthy families who spent money specifically to have them practice juggling moves.
It is also because of this that a few years ago, Madam Xi lived a more comfortable life than she does now - at least she didn't have to haggle over a bowl of offal soup that cost a few cents.
But as the saying goes, "He who is good at swimming is prone to drowning." Although Madam Xi and her head of the family were skilled in martial arts, juggling and performing was a dangerous job after all. As time went by, the two of them studied hard and practiced martial arts all day long, and they accumulated injuries of varying degrees.
Finally, half a month ago, the head of Xi Niangzi's family accidentally fell from a height of several meters during a "stepping on a knife mountain" acrobatics. Although he survived, his leg was broken and his waist was paralyzed, so he had to lie paralyzed in bed all day.
Without a tacit partner, Mrs. Xi could no longer perform acrobatics and could only run a small business to supplement the family income and earn money for the head of the family's medical expenses.
But she can be considered a latecomer, and although she can make pancakes, the pancakes she makes are far inferior to those old friends and masters who have been in the business for several years, dozens of years, or even decades, in terms of appearance and taste.
The price was very affordable: three pancakes for two wen was much cheaper than other pancakes that cost two or even three wen each. For the poor people who couldn't wait to spend every penny, even a small amount of money accumulated over the years would add up to a considerable amount.
But even so, because the pancakes made by Mrs. Xi's family are rather dry and difficult to swallow, the business has always been lukewarm and can only barely make ends meet.
But ever since the Su family opened the "offal soup" stall, perhaps many people who bought offal were too lazy to go to other pancake stalls farther away, or perhaps the dry Xi family pancakes were just able to absorb the juice from the offal soup, anyway, the business of "Pancake Xishi" actually gradually became better.
Hearing this, Su Qingluan sighed: If her stall had not happened to be opposite the home of the Pancake Xishi, her business might not have improved much; and if the Pancake Xishi was not opposite her home, no one would have seen the pickpocket stealing today, and her family would have to "lose money to avoid disaster."
Fate is really mysterious.
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