Merchant ships usually provide food and accommodation, but the food is not good, just some naan and the like. The weather has been abnormal recently, and it snowed so heavily in early winter. The merchant ship had to dock at the pier, but there was no food on the ship. The owner gave each person 20 cents a day for food. The extra money could be kept by the person, and if it was not enough, they had to make up for it themselves.
On this merchant ship, the most frugal people are Zhuanzi and Heidan. They often eat vegetarian wontons at the stalls at the dock, or buy a couple of steamed buns and vegetarian dumplings to make do.
Unlike them, they can go to the nearby restaurant to have a meal every day. Even if they ask Pianzi Heidan to go with them, they will not go. In fact, if several people go together, they can have wine and meat by paying a few dozen coins each. Therefore, the people on the boat don't get along with Pianzi Heidan. They think the two are stubborn and why are they so harsh on them.
After a few people got off the boat, the aroma of the roujiamo that Zhuanzi Heidan was eating became even stronger, and it was a pure meat aroma. No, it was more fragrant than any meat they had ever eaten, and it was so fragrant that people were drooling.
They also saw at a glance the young lady that Zhuanzi Heidan mentioned. Her face was red from the cold and she was thin. She was followed by a man who looked very much like the noble young men they had seen in the capital. His face was as white as jade, handsome and noble. They had originally planned to go to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, but the aroma was so tempting that they couldn't help but walk towards the young lady's stall as if their feet had grown roots.
Since they were already here, they could only ask, "Young lady, are the pork buns made from your pig offal really that delicious? How much is one?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Eight cents each, the cakes are big and the dishes are generous, and the taste is good. I hope you all will try them first."
Just now, Zhuanzi Heidan did not tell them the price of the pork buns made from offal. They thought that offal was cheap, so the pork buns were sold cheaply. Zhuanzi Heidan bought cheap food and pretended that it was delicious.
Now when I hear the price, I am a little surprised.
Zhuanzi and Heidan are stingy when it comes to food, and there is no way they would spend eight cents to buy a pork bun that tastes bad.
Besides, the smell can’t deceive.
One of them was so tempted by the aroma that he couldn't help but say, "Girl, give me a pork bun."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "This is roujiamo."
"Okay, give me a roujiamo. If it doesn't taste good, don't blame me for being rude."
After this man finished speaking, he felt that the cold man next to the young lady looked at them expressionlessly. They also lived on the edge of a knife, and when they were looked at by the cold man like that, they subconsciously felt a little afraid.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "If it doesn't taste good, I can return the money to you."
She quickly made a roujiamo, wrapped it in oil paper and handed it to the man.
This man got the roujiamo and took a bite. His expression was similar to that of Zhuanzi and Heidan. He widened his eyes and without saying a word, he ate the roujiamo in three or four big mouthfuls. After he finished eating, he wiped his mouth and said, "My dear lady, give me two more. No, give me three more!" If he wants to eat, he will eat it all in one go.
The others couldn't help but ask, "Seventh Brother, this pig offal is really delicious?"
Lao Qi nodded. "It's delicious, even better than the braised meat at the most famous braised meat stall in Beijing. This braised pig intestines doesn't have any fishy smell at all, just a little bit smelly, but very, very fragrant and chewy, oily but not greasy. I don't know how to put it to you, but it's better than anything I've ever eaten. I want more after eating it, and the vegetables are also very generous. It's much more cost-effective than the pork buns that cost five cents each."
"Is it really that delicious? But it's made from pig's offal after all. Even with a fried egg on it, it can't be worth eight cents."
Most of them come from poor families and know about prices. They know that pig offal is only one cent per pound when it is cheap, which means there is no cost. Only the bread and eggs cost a little, and the other two dishes are also very cheap.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Brothers, I won't hide it from you guys. I don't make much money from this roujiamo. I added spices to this pot of broth. Otherwise, how do you think such smelly offal can taste so delicious?"
"spices?"
It was the first time they knew that spices could be added to dishes as seasonings.
If it really has spices added, it wouldn't be expensive, because spices are really expensive.
"Young lady, give me one first." The others were also tempted by the way Lao Qi ate, and decided to have one to try first.
Xu Qinyu said no more and concentrated on cutting the pork intestines and side dishes.
Soon, four roujiamo were ready and handed to the customers. The person who ordered one immediately took a big bite, his eyes widening. "Mmm, delicious, really delicious, ma'am, give me three more!"
The tongue can’t lie, if it tastes good, it tastes good.
When the others heard this, they knew it must be really delicious.
They all asked for one to try immediately.
After tasting it, they did the same as the two friends before them and immediately ordered two or three more. Some of them who had a bigger appetite even ordered five more. In total, they bought twenty-one roujiamo.
A few people returned to the boat, still holding roujiamo in their hands, and their mouths were full.
Zhuanzi and Heidan had finished their roujiamo and were now sitting there savoring the taste of the roujiamo.
Seeing the roujiamo in these people's hands, the two grinned.
Those people scratched their heads embarrassedly, and then began to persuade other people on the merchant ship how delicious the roujiamo was.
Some people even took the pain to give a bite to their good friends. Without saying a word, the brothers got off the boat and bought it.
After a few rounds of this, it didn't take long for Xu Qinyu's roujiamo to be sold out.
The portions she made were just right, with no leftovers, not even the broth base, which she poured as a topping on the roujiamo.
This is not the old-fashioned stew she made, the recipe is different. That kind of soup is basically inedible, but the old-fashioned stew can be reused. Hers is a sauce stew, and the soup can be used to mix with rice. There are not many spices in it. In order to save spices, she stir-fries the spices until dry and grinds them into powder, so that only a small amount is needed to bring out the flavor. Although she spent several taels of silver to buy spices, these spices are enough for her to use for more than two months.
This time, fifty-five roujiamo were prepared. Eleven were eaten by my family and the Xia family, leaving forty-four, which were all sold to the merchant ship. Some people hadn't bought any yet, but they tasted one from their friends and were amazed. They were so greedy that they asked Xu Qinyu if she could come over to sell them in the evening and asked her to prepare more.
Xu Qinyu shook her head and said, "I don't plan to do this tonight."
She wanted to do something else in the evening and had some plans of her own.
The merchant ship's crew felt very sorry and asked again, "Will the young lady set up a stall tomorrow morning?"
"Of course." Xu Qinyu smiled, "I'll be coming here to sell breakfast lately."
When everyone heard that the young lady would be back tomorrow, they felt relieved.
When the people on the other two official ships saw them snatching roujiamo, and heard that it was made from pig offal, they all looked down on them and laughed at the people on these merchant ships for having never eaten good food.
The people on the official ships were all officials, transporting iron ore and coal. They had plenty of money and no shortage of food or drink. Even though they were blocked here in the canal, they would go to the better restaurants on East Street and West Street to eat and drink every day, and would not even glance at the stalls on the dock.
…
After selling all the things, the two planned to return to Guihuaxiang. When leaving, Pei Weixuan glanced at the two official ships with a slightly cold look.
Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan pushed the cart back. When they passed by the small market on South Street, she planned to buy some vegetables to take back.
There are many small markets like this in the town, all located in wider alleys. Most of them sell vegetables, and there are not many stalls, only about ten. The weather is too cold, so only four or five stalls are left selling vegetables.
I need the ingredients to make Roujiamo tomorrow, so I went to the butcher to buy some offal.
The butcher obviously still remembered Xu Qinyu. There were not many people on South Street who could buy several pounds of pork ribs and pork belly at one time. When he learned that Xu Qinyu was still buying pig offal, he gave her the same price of thirty cents as before, which was less than two cents per pound. Xu Qinyu made an appointment with the butcher to continue buying at this time tomorrow, and said that she would come to buy every day thereafter.
The butcher was very happy. Although the offal was priced at two cents per pound, in reality, few people were willing to buy it at one cent per pound, and most of the time it could not be sold.
Although it is only sold for a little over a cent now, it is still a bit profitable.
After buying the fish and going into the water, Xu Qinyu saw a fish stall in front of her. There were grass carps, each weighing about two to three kilograms, and there were about ten of them.
The fish seller was an old man who looked to be in his fifties with somewhat gray hair. He squatted there, his face a little stiff from the cold. He kept rubbing his hands and staring at the customers passing by.
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu stopped and asked about the price of the fish.
When the old man heard someone asking about the price, he immediately said, "If you want it, it's one penny per pound."
The price of fish was low, and it was cold, so few people wanted to eat it. He set up his stall for the whole morning but didn't sell a single fish.
Xu Qinyu said, "Okay, weigh all of these for me."
These fish are quite fresh. Although they are not jumping around, they died just this morning.
Hearing that the young lady in front of him actually wanted them all, the old man was stunned for a moment, "Young lady, you want them all?"
Xu Qinyu nodded. "If the old man still has fish at home, you can send them all here at this time tomorrow morning. I will continue to order them tomorrow."
The old man was surprised. He didn't expect someone to buy so many fish. He nodded immediately and said, "Okay, don't worry, young lady. I'll come again tomorrow."
There were a total of 40 pounds of fish, 18 in total, which were all placed in a wooden basin by the two men and stuffed under the cart. In the end, they paid the old man 40 cents.
I bought a lot of radish, cabbage and eggs before, so I don’t need to buy more for now.
When we returned to Guihua Lane, the snow had lessened a bit.
Xu Qinyu was a little worried, feeling that the weather was very abnormal.
It's still early winter, why is there such heavy snow? I hope there won't be any disaster.
If there had been a natural disaster in ancient times, there would have been corpses everywhere.
Wen was not at home. Pei Jianing stayed in the main room with her two children. She was teaching Feng'er and Yan'er to read.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Sister Ning, where is mother?"
Pei Jianing said listlessly, "Mother said she would go to the east and west of the city to look for laundry work, or embroidery workshops or something."
Xu Qinyu didn't say anything. She didn't support Wen doing laundry and embroidery for others. Wen had lost her eldest son, grandson and daughter-in-law, and she cried almost every day during her exile. Embroidery was also harmful to the eyes. She had seen Wen getting closer to see things several times. If she went to embroider again, would she still have eyes?
There is also the job of washing clothes for others, which is the dirtiest and most tiring job. Unless the family is really unable to make ends meet and is about to starve to death, most people will not help others wash clothes.
Wen has to clean the house every day, help wash the kitchen utensils, and do the laundry for the whole family.
She felt that it would be better for the Wen family to be the head of the household. If she really wanted to find some work, she could find something easier.
Forget it, I’ll tell her when Wen comes back.
It's only noon now.
Xu Qinyu did not waste any time and began to clean up the black carp she had bought by the well.
Pei Weixuan also went over to help. There was only one kitchen knife, which was used by Xu Qinyu, so he picked up a few thin tiles and started to help scrape the fish scales.
Xu Qinyu turned around and called out, "Sister Ning, come and help too."
Pei Jianing hesitated, "Fourth sister-in-law, but I can't."
"It's okay, I'll teach you."
Pei Jianing bit her lip and told Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er to stay in the main room and not move, while she went to the well.
Xu Qinyu picked up a tile and handed it to her. "Just help me scrape the scales. Grab the tail of the fish and start scraping from the tail to the head."
Pei Jianing had no choice but to try it. After working for a while, she found that this job was not difficult.
Xu Qinyu prepared these fishes with the intention of braising them and then selling them in Guihua Lane. Those skinny little children looked quite pitiful.
So she didn't plan to sell these fish very expensively. One weighing about two pounds was five cents, and one weighing about three pounds was eight cents. She could still make some profit, but it would definitely not be much.
It can also attract customers. Don’t underestimate low-income customers. If done well, it can also be an industrial chain.
Furthermore, it is also important to maintain good relations with neighbors.
After cleaning all the fish, cut them into pieces, sprinkle a little salt and ginger slices on them and marinate them lightly.
The pot is a bit small, so I have to make it in three pots.
When I make money in the future, I will buy a big iron pot.
…
It was not yet time for dinner, but bursts of fragrance wafted from Osmanthus Lane, making every household a little worried. It was not that they disliked the people preparing delicious food all day long, but they were so greedy all day long. The adults could still resist it, but the children could not. At this moment, the children started to make trouble with them again.
Just as everyone was about to coax their children, a young woman's voice came from the alley, "Delicious and cheap braised herring, small ones are five cents each, and large ones are eight cents each. The quantity is limited and the price is affordable. First come, first served, and they will be gone when they are sold out."
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