Then, Yun the Butcher covered the food with oilcloth and secured it with ropes. Yun Yiyi said goodbye to the pickle girl and continued walking forward.
"Dad, does our family still need to buy dried vegetables?" Yun Yiyi saw many vegetable stalls selling dried vegetables. She looked up and asked Yun the butcher curiously.
"You don't need to buy dried vegetables for now. We have a lot prepared at home. It's enough to last for a while. Let's see if there are other vegetables for sale." Yun the Butcher replied.
Yun Yiyi and the others walked forward thirty meters. "Dad, I seem to smell a very fishy smell. Do you smell it?" Yun Yiyi said, sniffing a few times.
"I smell it too. It should be coming from the stall in front. Let's go check it out." Yun the Butcher said. Yun the Butcher walked forward about five meters and stopped the car in front of a stall.
Yun Yiyi looked over and saw salted fish, kelp, and a basket of dried shrimp on the stall. No wonder she could smell the fishy smell from so far away. Things from the sea really do have a strong fishy smell.
"Dad, I sell salted fish," Yun Yiyi said happily. Since arriving here, Yun Yiyi hadn't eaten sea fish, kelp, or shrimp. This was mainly because Yunjia Village wasn't near the sea, and the small river in front of the village wasn't very big, so you could only catch small fish, shrimp, and crabs. Larger fish needed to be bought in town. This was also mainly because transportation wasn't well developed back then, the distance between the two places was too great, and the roads were not safe.
Those who sell these seafood products are either near the coast or large trading houses with their own caravans, buying and reselling local specialties. So, Yun Yiyi was especially happy to see someone selling seafood. It's not easy to see them, so when she does, she'll definitely want to ask Yun the Butcher to buy some. Clean the salted fish and fry it in oil. It's salty and fragrant, and it's delicious with pancakes or porridge.
There's another reason. The salt Zhang buys isn't the snow-white, iodized salt we used to eat before the apocalypse. Instead, he buys coarse salt, which has larger grains and a slightly yellowish hue. This salt isn't filtered very thoroughly, so it contains impurities. The fine, filtered salt is significantly more expensive than coarse salt, so farmers are reluctant to buy it. They usually buy coarse salt and grind it up at home.
Salt in this era was not specifically iodized. Some people in remote areas suffer from goiter due to iodine deficiency. Iodized salt is used to prevent goiter and related diseases. Iodine is an essential trace element for the human body, primarily playing a role in maintaining energy metabolism, promoting growth, and promoting brain development. Iodine deficiency can be very harmful.
Yun Yiyi thought she could ask Yun the Butcher to buy more kelp, as eating more kelp has many benefits. She just didn't know if kelp would be too expensive.
Behind the stall sat a sturdy young man with a deeply tanned face. He simply watched the pedestrians passing by without calling out to them. Only when someone approached did he stand up and greet them. If they didn't buy, he didn't get angry and continued to sit, waiting for customers to come. It was clear that he had a good temper.
"Young man, what are the prices of your salted fish, kelp, and dried shrimps?" asked Yun the butcher.
"Hello, uncle. The salted fish in my family is made of Spanish mackerel, and one fish weighs about 4 jin. One fish costs 650 wen. The kelp is directly dried, and you need to go home and cut it into strips, boil it in a pot, and then dry it. Therefore, the price is a little cheaper than the directly processed ones, which is 260 wen per jin. The shrimp skin is also 260 wen per jin. This is processed, and you can add a little when cooking or making soup, and the taste will be particularly fresh and fragrant. And it is dried and easy to preserve." The young man behind the stall stood up and answered loudly.
"I remember not many people selling these seafood products here. I see you have quite a bit. Do you have a special channel?" Yun the Butcher stepped forward to examine the kelp. It looked fresh, with a white sheen that made it clear it was sun-dried. Up close, it had a strong fishy smell. Yun the Butcher had heard about this stuff from the elders in the village and later encountered it once in town, sold by a passing merchant.
Many people in the town had never seen kelp before, and because it smelled fishy, they were hesitant to buy it. A merchant, likely familiar with this situation, took some kelp and found a restaurant. He told the chef how to prepare it. The chef then prepared a cold kelp salad, a spicy stir-fry, and a bone soup. He shared the dishes with everyone. Surprisingly, the kelp, though unattractive, tasted delicious. The merchant then explained that eating more kelp could prevent goiter.
The town's inhabitants crowded around the merchant's cart, eager to buy. He brought three carts of kelp, weighing several thousand kilograms. Eventually, they were all sold out. The restaurant that sold the kelp alone ordered an entire cart on the spot. Yun the Butcher was also there, and he bought thirty kilograms. Zhang followed Yun's instructions, first cutting the kelp into thin strips, then blanching it in boiling water, and finally, drying it in the sun.
Just soak it beforehand. Whether you're using it cold, in stir-fries, or in soups, it tastes delicious, and children love it. It's also easy to store. At the time, I dried those 30 kilograms and packed them into several bags, which lasted me almost a year. It was quite a bargain.
Butcher Yun thought for a moment. He'd bought 280 wen per jin (approximately 100 kg) of the meat. He finally shredded it, blanched it, and dried it in the sun. He packed it into several bags and ate it for nearly a year. It was a fantastic bargain. The young man's price wasn't high, so he decided to buy some. Zhang would definitely be pleased if he brought it back.
"Uncle, I work as a bodyguard at the Weiyuan Escort Agency in the prefectural capital. At the end of last year, I accompanied my master on a mission. A major merchant from the prefectural capital was going to a coastal town to purchase goods. That town is right on the coast, and every household goes fishing, so the seafood there is quite affordable. However, on the way there from the prefectural capital, we have to pass through a densely populated mountain village.
The bandits in that mountain stronghold specialize in robbing passing merchants. They won't rob a small group of people passing through. They only rob large businesses. Merchants don't dare to purchase goods without the protection of bodyguards. Even if we follow them, we still have to pay the bandits a portion of the toll. The advantage is that we don't have to fight and there will be no casualties.
"This is my first time on a caravan, so I have no experience. My master is more experienced and he lent me some money so that I could buy more seafood to sell back in the city. This way, I could make more money. I bought hundreds of kilograms of each item. Most of them were sold out during the Chinese New Year last year. Now only these are left on the stall. If the drought wasn't so severe, I would have sold them all long ago. Now everyone has money and wants to store food, so fewer people buy this kind of vegetables. I didn't expect you to know about these seafood." The young man selling seafood said in surprise.
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