Chapter 43 Zhang Family's Braised Pork
Now, let's return to the market at the dock.
"Ugh! What is this thing?! It stinks so bad!"
The stall owner, who had just eaten a piece of fatty intestine, was now vomiting profusely under a large tree not far from Zhang's house, clutching his throat and bending over. He was gasping for breath.
Seeing the first customer's reaction, Zhang felt somewhat embarrassed. Meanwhile, the other customers eager to buy the boiled offal hesitated upon seeing the stall owner vomiting like that.
Seeing the reactions of those around her, Zhang's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She angrily yelled at the stall owner under the tree, "Hey! Old Li! You heartless bastard! Vomiting like this! Are you perhaps sent by the Fan family to deliberately sabotage my business?! What! You eat their food, but you vomit like this about mine! Are you deliberately trying to ruin my business?!"
Old Li, who was vomiting, had an indescribable, fishy stench in his mouth. The smell was so strong that it forced his throat down and caused spasms in his stomach.
Before Old Li could catch his breath, he heard that shrew Zhang dare to say that he was deliberately causing trouble. A surge of anger rose within him, and he wiped his mouth, rushing over to Zhang in a few strides. He threw the bowl of dark, murky offal in front of her and cursed:
"What do you mean I'm deliberately trying to prevent you from doing business! Not only is the portion small, but it's also so awful! It's smelly and tough! The intestines taste like chewing on skin! You eat it yourself! Is this food for humans?!"
"How can this not be edible for humans! The Fan family also used my family's offal! You've all eaten it! It's all thanks to the good quality of my pigs!"
Upon hearing Zhang's shameless remarks, Old Li immediately spat.
"Pah! What nonsense are you spouting! This stuff of yours is so awful that even a dog wouldn't eat it! Come on! Everyone, try this bowl of offal! Come and be the judge! See if your cooking skills are lacking! And you're still throwing a tantrum and cursing me!"
The onlookers looked at each other, and finally a young man came up, picked up a piece of braised pork from Old Li's bowl and put it in his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, the young man rushed to the tree and spat it out.
"Ugh! Ptooey! What is this?! It tastes awful!"
The young man's actions completely dampened the onlookers' desire to buy, and someone in the crowd sighed.
"Ugh! I thought it would be something similar to the Fan family's craftsmanship! Ha, I didn't expect it to be a case of false advertising! Let's go!"
"Hai, didn't you hear? This is boiled offal! Not braised pork offal!"
"Yeah! Looks like we're really not going to get to eat the kind of braised pork offal the Fan family makes. Let's call it a day."
Zhang's face flushed red with anger, and she gripped the ladle tightly in her hand, gritting her teeth as she watched the departing people.
"You...you all!"
"What do you mean, 'you'? Humph! You don't have their skills and you're out here setting up a stall! Bah! Give me back my two coins!"
Upon hearing that they were to repay the money, Zhang's eyes widened immediately. She stepped out of her stall and stood guard over it like a mother hen.
"Refund my ass! You've already eaten my food! How can you expect a refund?!"
"You! This stuff is awful! And you still want two coins from me! I wouldn't even take it for free! Give me my money back!"
Zhang spat angrily, put her hands on her hips, and looked at Old Li with a disdainful expression, saying, "Anyway, my family doesn't accept refunds for anything we sell! What can you do about it!"
"you!!"
Old Li was so angry that his eyes turned red. He pointed at Zhang's nose and stabbed her for a long time. Finally, he angrily flung his hand away, cursing and leaving Zhang's stall with his hands behind his back.
The onlookers, having witnessed the spectacle, saw Old Li driven away by Zhang's wife and began pointing and whispering about Zhang's family.
But who was Zhang? When she saw that the people around her dared to point and whisper like that, her eyebrows shot up instantly, and she yelled at the crowd, "What are you looking at! Get out!"
"Who cares about looking at it! Everyone, let's go!"
Someone shouted this, and the crowd dispersed instantly. Zhang snorted, clapped her hands, and turned to go back to her stall.
Then he saw the offal that Old Li hadn't finished eating, thought for a moment, and took it and placed it in front of his husband.
"Try it."
Butcher Zhang seemed unable to believe his ears, pointing to his own nose and asking uncertainly, "Huh...huh? I eat?"
"Tsk, who else could it be but you! Stop babbling! Just eat what I tell you to eat!"
After being scolded, Butcher Zhang pursed his lips, picked up the chopsticks beside him, and reached for the bowl of offal that did not look very appetizing. He picked out a small piece of fatty intestine.
He first picked it up and smelled it under his nose. His expression immediately changed, and he looked at Zhang Shi hesitantly: "Wife, how can I not eat this?"
"What? You're also complaining about what I make!?"
"No...no! How could I dare!"
"Then you eat it!"
Knowing that he had no choice but to eat it and there was no room for negotiation, Zhang the butcher steeled himself, closed his eyes, and put the piece of overcooked, slightly blackened fatty intestine into his mouth.
The moment the large intestine entered his mouth, Zhang the butcher was overwhelmed by its stench and fishiness, along with a strong, salty, and sour taste. The odor assaulted his very senses, and his body instinctively bent over.
"vomit!"
Seeing Zhang the butcher's expression, Zhang's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She gritted her teeth and asked Zhang the butcher, "Is it really that bad?"
The only response she received was a sound like Zhang the butcher was about to vomit.
Zhang frowned, glancing at the pot of offal she had cooked, unsure of what had gone wrong.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she put down the ladle she was holding and walked outside.
"Hey! Honey! Where are you going!"
Butcher Zhang hurriedly chased after her, asking what was wrong, fearing that the woman might do something rash and argue with the merchants. But Zhang's feet moved like the wind, and from afar, all that could be heard was the woman's angry roar.
"I'm going to find my daughter!"
...
"You've got it all, right?"
Fan Xiaoxiao washed her hands and asked the chefs in front of her, who were much taller than her.
"Your Majesty! We have all understood!"
Fan Xiaoxiao nodded. These chefs must have been carefully selected by the Ji family. They all learned quite quickly and didn't waste any time.
"Then you all practice diligently, because we'll be opening for business tomorrow."
"yes!"
Outside the kitchen, Ji Yushu was chatting with the Wang couple about the town's customs and traditions. When they saw Fan Xiaoxiao step out of the kitchen, the three of them immediately stood up to greet her.
"Miss Fan, you've had a hard day."
"You flatter me, my lord."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, just as Fan Xiaoxiao was packing up to leave, a waiter dressed as a waiter stumbled in from outside the restaurant.
"Young Master! Young Master! Something terrible has happened! The Zhang family went to the Huang family to complain, saying that the Fan family put something addictive in their braised pork and it's harming people! Zhu Er is leading his men to the Fan family right now!"
(End of this chapter)
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