Chapter 350 A Successful Start to the Business
With the opening of Old Zhao's business, Cheng Wanwan, as a member of the Zhao family, naturally had to patronize it.
However, they only serve lunch and dinner there, so you still have to take care of your own breakfast. Luckily, I can use the small shrimp that Aunt Wang brought yesterday.
The shrimp that had been kept overnight were even more translucent and looked very tempting.
Use one-third of the dried shrimp to cook porridge. These shrimp are incredibly flavorful and can elevate the taste of the porridge to a whole new level.
She plans to make crispy golden dried shrimp with the remaining two-thirds of the shrimp, a delicious snack she used to buy from roadside stalls.
Wu Huiniang and Chunhua both went to work at the restaurant, and there was no one at home to help out, so Cheng Wanwan had to do everything herself.
After the porridge is simmering in the pot, take four eggs out of the cupboard, crack them into a large bowl and stir. Add some flour and continue stirring. Then pour the washed dried shrimp into the egg mixture and let the two blend thoroughly.
Heat oil in a wok, then pour in all the dried shrimp. Sizzle, the dried shrimp and oil make a popping sound as soon as they come into contact.
Stir-fry repeatedly with a spatula until the shrimp turn golden and more translucent, indicating they are cooked.
"Mmm! It smells so good!"
Zhao Sidan, carrying a book, followed the aroma into the kitchen.
Behind him followed Big Black, Little Black, and Little Dot, along with a three-headed wolf and a dog with their tongues lolling out, drool dripping onto the ground.
Cheng Wanwan chuckled. She reached out and grabbed a handful of small shrimp, blew on them, fed one to Si Dan, and then fed one to each of the three wolfhounds. But the four of them weren't satisfied and kept asking Cheng Wanwan for more.
"Four Eggs, go call the older brothers to have breakfast."
Cheng Wanwan sent her youngest son away, then secretly bought some beef jerky from the mall. She fed a wolfhound a big bite of meat, and the three little ones ate to their hearts' content before finally leaving.
Today's breakfast was simple: a bowl of porridge and an egg for each person, along with a dish of dried golden shrimp as a side dish.
"Eat more." Shen Zheng put a large chopstick of dried shrimp into Zhao Sidan's bowl. "Tomorrow is the third session of the county examination, so don't slack off."
Zhao Sidan's mouth was stuffed full, and he mumbled, "I can definitely do it."
The family was eating when a little head peeked in through the door.
"Auntie, my mother asked me to bring this."
It was Wang Xiaoya, the youngest daughter of Aunt Wang, who came over carrying a basket of wild fruits.
These wild berries are red with a granular outer skin. Cheng Wanwan recognizes them; they're commonly known as wild strawberries, but their scientific name is raspberry. They taste sweet and sour and are especially delicious.
She wanted to refuse, but when she thought about the taste, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
The main reason is that since arriving in this era, she hasn't properly eaten fruit. The mountains are full of wild dates, plums, and prickly pears, and she really misses the taste of fruit.
"Xiaoya, thank you so much." Cheng Wanwan took the basket and then took out three eggs from the cupboard. "Take these back and have your mother cook them."
Wang Xiaoya quickly waved her hand: "My mother said that my aunt has already helped our family a lot, and we can't take any more advantage of her family. I'm going back now."
The little girl turned and ran away.
Cheng Wanwan was quite helpless. She guessed that the Wang family would send some strange things to her house every now and then.
She soaked and washed the wild strawberries in clean water, ate one, and found it to be very sour and sweet, delicious, and the taste of the fruit was truly addictive.
However, wild strawberries are never as sweet as homegrown ones, so she suddenly thought of planting some fruit trees.
These days, there probably aren't many varieties of fruit. If she wants to get some rare seeds, she'll have to go to a bigger place, which is another hassle.
After breakfast, the children went about their own business.
Cheng Wanwan dressed in a neat outfit and went to help out at Old Zhao's house. It was always Old Zhao's family who helped her, and finally, it was her turn to lend a hand.
The ingredients were prepared last night. The pork was bought by Zhao Youcai in the city early this morning. Now it's ready to be stir-fried, then packed separately in wooden trays, and then pushed to the center of the village to be sold.
Ms. Wen was wearing an apron around her waist and was preparing to cook the first dish, which was stir-fried wild vegetables, the cheapest dish available.
Cheng Wanwan took a few slices of fatty pork from the cutting board and threw them into the pot: "Although this dish is the cheapest, it still needs to be made to taste better than usual. That way, people will be willing to spend their money. Three slices of pork will add a rich, oily flavor, and the taste will be several times better. Don't be stingy; you have to sacrifice a little to make a lot of money."
Grandma Zhao nodded: "What the eldest daughter-in-law said is right. Even if it's a business that only costs a penny, we can't be careless."
Although Sun felt a little pained, she knew that her sister-in-law was good at business, so since her sister-in-law had given her advice, they would just listen to it.
After the pork is rendered, the aroma of the oil fills the air. A large basket of wild vegetables is poured into an iron wok, sizzling and slowly releasing their juices. A large bowl of bright green wild vegetables looks incredibly tempting.
After wild vegetables, it's time for boiled tofu. Tofu is cheap; just cut it into small cubes, boil it in water, and that's a dish.
Another dish is bean sprouts, which are also stir-fried with lard.
There are only three vegetarian dishes, and two meat dishes have been prepared: one is braised pig's head meat bought from the Wang family, and the other is braised pork with bamboo shoots. The Zhao family spent a lot of money on these two dishes.
I also picked some chives, fried some eggs, cut them into small square pieces, and you could get an egg pancake for one cent.
Besides that, there's today's free soup: pork bone and radish soup, one bone, two radishes, and a whole big pot of fresh broth.
After finishing all that, it was just lunchtime, which is usually the time in the village.
Zhao Youyin pushed the cart toward the big locust tree, where four tables had already been set up. All the dishes were laid out on the tables, and some empty bowls were also prepared. However, it would cost an extra coin to use the bowls here, and it was encouraged to bring your own bowls from home.
"Come and see if you haven't eaten yet!"
"Don't miss out! For just one penny, you can eat and drink your fill!"
Sun, with her pregnant belly showing, started calling out to customers in the village.
Right now, the men are all working, and the women have just come out of the fields to go home and grab a quick bite to eat. They are on their way home from the fields, passing by the big locust tree in the middle of the village.
Rice porridge and rice, as well as many kinds of dishes, were laid out under the tree. When the wind blew, it carried the aroma of the dishes, making the mouths of the hungry people water.
"Oh, Grandma Zhao, are you selling food here?"
"It smells delicious and looks very tasty. How much is it?"
Grandma Zhao said with a smile, "A bowl of millet porridge costs one copper coin, and rice porridge costs two copper coins, with a spoonful of wild vegetables and pickles, and you can drink bone broth for free."
The villagers have been drinking wild vegetable porridge every day lately because it's the cheapest and easiest thing to make, and even the children in the family can make it. Therefore, they don't have much interest in other porridge dishes.
All eyes were on the meat.
The braised pork with bamboo shoots has a bright red, thick broth with a rich aroma that makes your mouth water.
"Grandma, I'm here!"
Zhao Sidan rushed over like a small cannonball and placed the bowl in his hand on the cutting board.
He pointed to the braised pork and said, "I want to eat this, and I also want an egg pancake. Grandma, hurry up, I'm so hungry."
Grandma Zhao chuckled, "Don't worry, you won't go hungry."
The old lady picked up the bowl, filled it with two-thirds rice, and then used a wooden spoon to scoop a full spoonful of braised pork with bamboo shoots onto the rice. Although this dish had more bamboo shoots than meat, there was plenty of broth. The bright broth poured over the white rice grains made them look even more tempting.
Zhao Sidan took out ten copper coins from his sleeve, placed them on the chopping board with a clatter, then took the bowl and started eating while standing to the side.
"The bamboo shoots are so tender, the meat is so soft, tender, and fragrant, it's so delicious...it's so delicious, oh my, my aunt's cooking is amazing..."
As he ate, he kept making sounds of praise, which made the onlookers' mouths water.
He finished a bowl of rice in an instant, and then Grandma Zhao took the bowl and ladled him a bowl of bone broth.
"Slurp..." Zhao Sidan squinted his eyes in enjoyment, "The bone broth is so delicious... burp... I'm full."
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