Chapter 91 Ginger and Meat
Qian was stunned and didn't speak for a long time.
Manbao threw himself into her arms, raised his little head, and looked at her with sparkling eyes, "I'll ask Fifth Brother to buy some meat. I'll chop it up and make soup for Third Brother. It's just delicious with steamed buns."
The worried Qian couldn't help but laugh. She patted her little head and said, "If you really want to do that, you might as well just give the money to your third brother to do the labor. He'll have to eat meat every day, and you'll have to hire another laborer to cook it. Not to mention the expense, the laborers who will serve with you will be dissatisfied, and then your third brother will be isolated. It's not worth it."
But he is her own son after all, how could Qian not feel sorry for him?
Since my daughter had to go there to write her essay anyway, Qian thought for a moment and said, "It's getting cold now. Even the hottest water will get cold over there. Tomorrow, ask your eldest sister-in-law to make you two large pancakes and take them with you. Take the pot with you as well. Don't even think about buying meat. Just boil some water for them. Don't just give it to your third brother. Share it with the other laborers in the same village and hometown."
After thinking about it, Qian realized that a can of water wasn't much, so she said, "Bring a wooden barrel from home, boil water and pour it in. Cover the lid tightly with a cloth. Pour one can of water in after boiling. The boiled water may not be hot, but it won't be ice cold either. It should at least warm your stomach."
Manbao was stunned when he heard this. He pointed with his fingers and asked, "Mom, did you give money to Third Brother?"
Qian looked at her suspiciously, not knowing how the topic had turned to this. She nodded and said, "Poor family, rich road. I gave him a hundred coins, thinking that if he was hungry or sick, he could use the money to buy some food or buy peace of mind. What's wrong with that?"
Manbao said with sparkling eyes: "Since mother brought money to the third brother, then other families must have brought money to Lao Ding as well. Mother, let's go and earn their money."
Qian leaned back in his chair and asked, "How are you going to make money from them?"
Manbao said, "I sell them meat soup, one penny a bowl!"
Qian felt that this child was a spendthrift not only to his own family but also to those outside. She asked, "Do you know how much a pound of meat costs? How much meat is needed to make broth for so many people? Besides, making broth is different from boiling water. A clay pot definitely won't work. You'd have to move your cauldron from home, and it's such a large cauldron, and you'd have to borrow a cart to carry it back and forth. It would be a huge effort. Not only would we not make any money, we might even lose money."
Manbao scratched his head and asked Keke uncertainly, "Will I lose money?"
After calculating the cost, the system asked, "Host, how many pounds of meat do you think is appropriate for a pot of soup?"
Manbao, how did Manbao know?
She went into the kitchen to look at her pot. Oh, Koko called it a pot, but actually it was not called a pot, it was called a cauldron. It was quite big and was used to boil water and make soup at home.
Because they have a large family, they prepared two.
As for the pot that Koko mentioned, Manbao had only seen it in Koko's images. At least she had never seen a pot in her life, especially the iron pot that Koko mentioned.
Manbao squatted in front of her family's large cauldron, at a loss as to what to do. She had no idea how to make soup or cook rice, so she went to ask Xiao Qianshi, "Sister-in-law, if I want to make a pot of broth, how much meat do I need?"
Xiao Qian asked, "Auntie, have you made a fortune?"
Manbao touched his belly and smiled awkwardly.
Mrs. Qian said, "That depends on how you want to eat it. If you put a piece of meat in a pot of water, it will be broth. If you put a pound of meat in it, it will also be broth. It can also be broth with two or three pounds. After all, the soup is all about the taste and the fat. If you add enough salt, half a pound or eight ounces of meat in a pot of water is enough."
Yes, it seems that salt is needed.
Manbao looked at their salt shaker and became sad.
Koko stopped talking. Manbao hung his head and went back to the house to think, what kind of soup can contain less salt and meat and still drive away the cold?
Koko said without thinking: "Ginger soup."
Manbao asked, "What is ginger?"
Koko searched for a while and found the entry for Jiang and gave it to her, and showed her the image.
Manbao recognized it immediately and said, "I've seen this before. We bought it during the Chinese New Year."
Keke said: "Ginger has the effect of dispelling cold and warming the body. If the host is reluctant to buy meat, you can buy ginger. It should not be expensive."
Manbao was happy. She took out all her money and counted it. She decided to go to the market early the next morning to buy ginger and then go find her third brother.
Of course, Manbao didn't keep her idea to herself. She told her fifth brother first, because she didn't know how to make soup, but her fifth brother did.
Zhou Wulang was delighted. He had great faith in his sister's idea. "Manbao, you're amazing! You figured out a way to make money just by going out. If you go out every day, won't you have an idea every day?"
Manbao thought what he said made sense and laughed, "I can't help it, I'm just that smart."
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang also laughed foolishly when they saw her.
Zhou Silang had finished his meal and was lying in bed. He was still building a house for the Bai family and was exhausted every day. He pulled the quilt over himself, yawned, and said, "Don't be so silly. Ginger is more expensive than meat, you three little fools."
Manbao was unhappy and said, "You are the fool. In our family, our village, our township, and even our county, I am the smartest."
This is what Koko said!
And how can ginger be expensive? Keke said that it is very easy to grow. As long as the soil is fertile enough, you can grow a lot of ginger in one piece. It is very easy to grow.
Zhou Silang's eyes were almost closed as he murmured, "It's expensive, but it's medicine..."
Manbao couldn't hear clearly and was still discussing tomorrow's itinerary with Zhou Wulang.
They are lucky, as there is a big market tomorrow and they can go to the early market. At that time, there will be all kinds of things sold on the street, and ginger should not be difficult to find.
Manbao got up before dawn for his third brother, while Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang got up before dawn for their third brother and to make money. Today, Zhou Erlang went to the market as usual and didn't mind taking his three troublesome brothers and sisters with him.
Anyway, it's winter now and there's nothing to do at home. A bunch of children are just playing with cats and walking dogs at home. It's better to go out for a walk to kill some energy.
The family had collected enough firewood for the winter, and now Xiao Qian's three sisters-in-law mended shoes and socks for them at home every day. There was no work even in the vegetable garden, so naturally they did not restrict the children from running outside.
After Zhou Erlang had taken his brothers and sisters away, Zhou Silang finally looked up and said to his parents, "Manbao said she wanted to buy some ginger to make soup instead of meat broth. Mom, why don't you try to persuade her?"
"What's the point of trying to persuade her? Once she goes to the market and asks about the price, she'll hit a wall and turn back."
Zhou Silang said "Oh" and sat down to wait for the time to come.
Finally, Qian ordered him, "Go and fill the water jar."
Zhou Dalang, who was about to fetch water, stopped in his tracks. Qian said, "Yesterday it was your eldest brother who fetched the water. Today it's your turn. From now on, you will follow your three brothers and take turns."
Zhou Silang wanted to cry.
He got up reluctantly, picked up the wooden barrel and went out.
(End of this chapter)
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