Chapter 50, The 50th Inn: Barbecue
Fu Wang sat down next to Yun Yin and said, "Madam Luo asked me to tell you that her matter has been resolved." He washed his hands to help and continued, "She also said that she is grateful to you for taking in Luo Tian and giving him a proper job. She thanked you on behalf of Luo Tian's family."
Yunyin: "Since Madam Luo has no objections, we will sign a contract with him tomorrow, and he will stay here to work for me. When will we send Luo San and Luo Si, who want to go to the military camp?"
Fu Wang: "Zhou Chang will be arranging for the new recruits to report to the military camp soon, so they can go with him."
The sun was about to set, and the weather was getting a little cooler and less humid than before. The makeshift barbecue grill that Yunyin had built earlier had also dried out and was ready to use.
She tossed charcoal into the stove to burn, and placed the barbecue seasonings on a nearby table. A group of merchants happened to be passing by and, seeing the crowd, sent someone over to inquire. Upon learning that it was a food stall where one could eat, the leader arranged for someone to watch the goods and then led the group over to ask, "Shopkeeper, what kind of food do you have here?"
Yunyin greeted him, "It's mushroom season right now, and we have fresh mushrooms here. If you'd like some soup, we can make it for you too. Of course, we're having grilled mushrooms tonight, so see if there's anything you'd like to eat."
She gestured for the guests to look at the table next to them, which was already covered with a full array of food, both meat and vegetarian, with everything imaginable.
He asked, "What are the prices of these dishes?"
Yunyin said, "Vegetarian skewers are 3 for 1 coin, pork skewers are 2 coins each, mutton skewers are 3 coins each, and wild game will be more expensive, costing 5 coins each."
He frowned. "This meat is a bit expensive."
Yunyin said, "Meat is expensive to begin with, so my price is very reasonable."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, then give us thirty skewers of pork, twenty skewers of mutton, ten skewers of wild game, and thirty skewers of vegetables."
He pointed at the game and asked, "What kind of meat is this?"
"It's venison," Yunyin replied, taking the dish he had ordered to the barbecue grill.
"So it's roe deer meat, no wonder it's so expensive." He said in surprise, "Then give us ten more skewers of roe deer meat, this meat is quite delicious, and you can't usually get to eat it even if you want to."
Yunyin smiled and agreed, continuing his words, "Indeed, you were lucky today, you just happened to hunt a fresh one."
The glowing charcoal fire was piled high with meat skewers. The marinated skewers were brushed with a little oil, and the oil dripped onto the charcoal, instantly filling the air with a pungent smell of smoke. The meat sizzled as it collided with the flames.
As Yunyin kept turning the meat over, the aroma of roasted meat spread. The manager, who was sitting to the side waiting, smelled the aroma, swallowed hard, and looked at Yunyin, saying, "Manager, your roasted meat smells so good! What did you put in it?"
"I didn't add anything, I just marinated it beforehand." She continued turning the meat over to him. "Fresh meat tastes great when grilled, and the aroma is even stronger after I marinated it with scallions, ginger, garlic and other seasonings."
Seeing that the meat was almost cooked, she asked the guest, "Do you like Sichuan peppercorns? If not, I'll just add some salt."
The man looked at the nearly cooked meat skewers and said, "We'll eat the Sichuan peppercorn ones."
Hearing him mention Sichuan peppercorns, she sprinkled salt and pepper on the meat. As the aroma of the peppercorns seeped into the meat, the numbing spiciness made the customer cough. Even so, he still didn't move, drinking bitter herbal tea and waiting for his meat skewers.
"Alright, here are your twenty skewers of mutton and twenty skewers of venison." Zhang Lin placed the skewers on a plate and brought them over. "The pork will be here soon, please wait a moment."
The customer didn't listen to what Zhang Lin was saying at all. As soon as the meat skewers were served, he picked up a skewer of venison and started eating it. It was lean but not dry, and you could still taste the unique grassy flavor of the venison. A slight numbing sensation masked the wild smell of the venison. Between two slices of venison was a piece of oily pork belly, which prevented it from becoming tough and dry. The little bit of sugar added at the end was the finishing touch. In the aftertaste, all you could remember was the sweetness of the meat.
Roasted mutton has a completely different texture from venison; it's tender, sweet, and you can't taste any of the mutton's gamey smell. He nodded unconsciously and said, "This mutton is really good."
Yunyin smiled and said, "Of course, this is genuine lamb from the Western Regions, so the taste is naturally different."
His companion nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, it's no different from the mutton we eat in the Western Regions."
After they finished their meat skewers, Yunyin's vegetarian dishes were also ready. Eggplant, of course, is a must-have for barbecue. Add a little minced garlic and chopped green onions, and the aroma is irresistible. Other mushrooms are also essential, and of course, cowpeas are indispensable.
After all the dishes were served, the guests at that table ate to their heart's content, patting their bellies and saying, "These grilled dishes are really delicious; I've never had grilled food before."
Another person mocked him, saying, "You're just ignorant. There are similar places in Chang'an, but they're quite expensive. I haven't tried them yet. The prices at this young lady's place are quite reasonable, and the food is delicious too."
Yunyin continued grilling her meat skewers, smiling as she said, "I'm glad you like them."
The man added, "It's a pity there's no wine, otherwise it would be even more pleasant."
Yunyin apologized, "We don't sell alcohol right now, I'm really sorry."
Actually, Yunyin's family does have alcohol, including fruit wine and rice wine. However, she is worried that there might be trouble if there are too many people drinking, so she doesn't plan to sell rice wine. Fruit wine has a much lower alcohol content, so you won't get drunk even if you drink a lot. Therefore, she only plans to sell fruit wine.
Unfortunately, it's not the right time to drink yet, so there's no wine to drink today.
The guest expressed his understanding, saying, "I was just saying. When you're traveling, you can't drink alcohol, it's not good to get drunk. I was just saying."
Yunyin handed the grilled meat skewers to Fu Wang, and then asked the guest, "Are you from Chang'an?"
The guest shook his head and said, "We came from the Western Regions."
Yunyin asked curiously, "Then why didn't you sell your goods in Chang'an, but instead came to Jiannan Road?"
"The goods sent to Chang'an must be the best; the goods we have are of average quality," the customer sighed. "We've heard that the Shu brocade from Jiannan Road is unparalleled in the world. We thought we'd come and see if we could get some Shu brocade to take back to the Western Regions. We're sure we could make a fortune."
While eating the barbecue, Fu Wang said, "Do you have any connections? If not, I still don't recommend that you bring Shu brocade back."
“You know the price of Shu brocade; it can be used as money.” He glanced at the group and said, “To put it bluntly, even if you manage to buy Shu brocade, you might not be able to safely bring it to the Western Regions.”
Seeing Fu Wang's imposing presence, the leader asked curiously, "What do you do, young master? Are you also a merchant?"
Fu Wang shook his head and said, "I'm just a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), I often help people deliver goods, so I know a bit about it." He smiled and said, "Why do you think the caravans that sell Shu brocade are all large caravans?"
The leader pondered for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense. Let's think about it some more."
Yunyin handed Fu Wang a string of green vegetables and said, "Don't just eat meat, eat some vegetables too."
Fu Wang smiled and said, "Yes, I understand. Thank you for your concern."
Yunyin: "You guys continue eating, I'll go and take some over to Qian Si and the others."
Fu Wang: "I'll go with you."
"No need, you can stay here and chat with the guests, why would you come with me?" With that, she grabbed her skewers and dashed off towards the inn.
Zhang Lin passed by Fu Wang, holding a skewer of roasted meat, and said, "This meat is really delicious. Fu Langjun, you want some too? Yun Niangzi's cooking is really good."
Fu Wang nodded and smiled at him, then sat down and began to savor the food.
Zheng Guilan handed her daughter a skewer of lightly seasoned meat: "Mmm, it's really delicious. Ever since I started following Yun Niangzi, I've been eating so well every day. I'm already quite old, but I've even grown taller."
Fang He ate her meat skewers with gusto and nodded, saying, "I've grown taller too."
While everyone was enjoying themselves, they were also having dinner at the inn. When Yunyin arrived, she saw that Qian Si's wife had prepared the meal. She went up to take a look and saw that there was boiled cabbage, boiled radish, and two multigrain steamed buns for each person.
When Qian Si saw Yun Yin coming over, he stood up to greet her and said, "Miss Yun, what brings you here again? No need to be so polite."
Yunyin smiled and said, "I just made some barbecue today, so I brought some over for you to try. There isn't much, just one skewer of meat per person. I prepared a lot of vegetables, so you can eat as much as you like."
Qian Si looked at the steaming meat in the basket and said, "You're too kind. I don't know what to say. Don't worry, I will definitely help you build a sturdy and beautiful room."
Yunyin: "That's great. Please take good care of yourselves. Remember to ask Zhang Lin to bring you some more herbal tea when you run out. It's so hot, you must be working hard." She calculated the days and asked Qian Si, "I wonder how long it will take for the inn to be completed?"
Qian Si calculated for a moment, "If the weather is good afterward, it should be completed by the end of July."
Yunyin's eyes lit up and she said, "That means we can finish before the Mid-Autumn Festival! That's wonderful! Then I'll trouble you, Qian Gong. I hope you'll put in the effort."
Qian Si said, "It's my duty."
Knowing that the inn would be completed in a month, she wanted to plan the opening event carefully so that people in Long'an County and Beijiang County would know that an inn was opening and that they could stay here if they missed their trip to the city.
After delivering the meat, Yunyin sat down to rest. She had been grilling meat all night and hadn't had a single bite yet. Just as she was about to get some skewers, Fu Wang sat down next to her and handed her a plate of meat, saying, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Try it and see how it tastes."
Yunyin raised an eyebrow at the plate of meat and asked, "Did you grill this?"
“Yeah, they eat too much. They’ve already finished all the meat you grilled,” Fu Wang shrugged. “I had to grill some for you. Try it. It might not be as good as yours, but it’s still edible.”
Yunyin took a skewer of meat, tasted it, and her eyes lit up as she said, "Your cooking skills are not bad, it's quite delicious. You're too modest."
Fu Wang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I was worried that you wouldn't be used to the taste. We usually don't put that much seasoning in our barbecue, just salt. I was worried that we might not have gotten the seasoning right. If you think it's good, then that's good. Eat more. Thank you for your hard work today."
Yunyin sat under the tree, eating the meat that Fu Wang had grilled, squinting her eyes to savor it carefully. "It's pretty good. The amount of salt and pepper is just right, not too much or too little. It doesn't overpower the flavor of the seasoning."
Fu Wang smiled and said, "Well, I'm relieved that you like it. In that case, I'll go and grill some more for you. You should rest well." Just as he was about to leave, he remembered something and asked Yunyin, "What else would you like to eat? Do you want some grilled mushrooms? You really like them, and you even went to the mountains to pick them."
Yunyin smiled and said, "Sure, I'm fine with anything. You can do whatever you want." She looked up at Fu Wang's back and fell into deep thought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
