Chapter 9 Braised Pig Offal, Braised Pig Intestines, Braised Pig Stomach, Braised Pig's Ladder...
"Young Lady Lin, what's in this bucket? It smells so good." Aunt Li said, wiping the table while looking at the wooden bucket that Lin Yao had placed on the ground.
"These are some braised dishes I made, braised pork offal. Would you like to try some, ma'am?" Lin Yao replied.
When Aunt Li heard it was pig offal, her face immediately changed. "Oh dear, what kind of food is this? Your business has just started, don't ruin your reputation."
Aunt Li knew that pig offal was cheap and some poor families would buy it to supplement their diet, but it always tasted strange. She worried that Lin Yao and the others were too young to understand that the food business depended on its reputation.
Lin Yao understood that Aunt Li meant well. "Auntie, don't worry, my braised pig offal is different from others. I use our family's ancestral spice recipe, which has long since removed that strange smell. Would you like to try some?" As she spoke, she took a piece of braised pig intestine out of the wooden bucket, placed it on a clean plate, and handed it to Aunt Li.
Hearing this, Aunt Li couldn't refuse, so she took it with some skepticism and took a small bite. Her intention was to save face for Lin Yao; the young girl was so confident, it wouldn't be good to offend her right away and make her look bad. But to her surprise, the moment the braised pork offal entered her mouth, the aroma of the braising sauce spread out. Chewing it carefully, the texture was soft and chewy yet still had a good bite, completely without the strange taste of pork offal she remembered.
Aunt Li's eyes suddenly lit up, and she nodded repeatedly, "Incredible, Miss Lin, your family's ancestral recipe is truly miraculous! It really doesn't have any strange taste at all! If you pair it with a pot of wine, eating this braised pork offal while sipping the wine, the taste is simply indescribable!"
Although Lin Yao was very confident in the taste of her braised pork offal, she couldn't help but worry that customers might have a prejudice against pork offal and be unwilling to try it. Now, seeing how much Aunt Li liked it, she felt more confident and took some more braised pork offal from the bucket, cut it into small pieces, and put it on a plate for tasting.
After I finished doing all that, people started to come to my stall.
"Young lady, one chive and egg pancake and one scallion and egg pancake, please." A dockworker in his early twenties stood in front of the stall, took out a few copper coins from his pocket, handed them to Lin Yao, and glanced at the braised pig offal on the stall. "What is this?"
Lin Yao replied with a smile, "Big brother, this is a new dish in my family, braised pork offal."
"Pig offal? Pig offal always has a strange smell, how can you sell this kind of stuff?" The dockworker was very puzzled.
Lin Yao had anticipated that someone would ask such a question. "Brother, the offal from my family is different. It is carefully processed and slowly braised. There is no strange smell at all. Brother, you can try it. This plate is for tasting. Please try it. It's free."
Most of the dockworkers came from poor families and rarely had the opportunity to eat meat. Although pig offal had a strange smell, it was still meat. Upon hearing that he could eat it for free, the farmhand felt he had gotten a great deal and was overjoyed.
He took the plate Lin Yao handed him, picked up a piece of braised pork offal with a bamboo skewer, put it in his mouth and chewed. A look of surprise flashed across his face. "Hey, it really doesn't have any strange taste at all, it's delicious! How much is it?"
"Twelve coins per pound," Lin Yao replied.
"So expensive! Fresh pork in town is only eighteen coins a pound, and this braised pork offal is even more expensive than pork." The dockworker hesitated.
Lin Yao smiled and said, "Brother, look at my braised pig offal. It's been cleaned so thoroughly, and we used only wheat flour to wash it! We also added my family's secret spices during the braising process, along with many precious medicinal herbs. This dish can be eaten with rice or as a snack with wine, and it's good for your health. You work at the docks every day, which must take a lot of physical exertion. Eating this will definitely keep you full and give you the energy to work!"
Lin Yao subtly employed the mental accounting effect here. If one simply views braised pork offal as an ordinary dish, the customer's budget would be extremely limited, given that twelve coins a serving is undeniably expensive. However, people are usually more lenient with their budgets when it comes to matters of health. Therefore, Lin Yao emphasized to the customer that precious medicinal herbs were added to the braised pork offal, closely linking it to health. In this way, the customer's acceptable price range naturally widened.
Sure enough, when the farmhand heard that there were also precious medicinal herbs inside, he no longer hesitated, "Okay, give me half a pound, and help me wrap this cake up, I'll have it for lunch while I'm working hard."
An old man standing nearby listened for a while, and seeing that someone was actually buying, he came over and asked, "Young lady, are you eating for free?"
“Yes, sir, please try it.” Lin Yao quickly stepped forward to recommend it.
The old man took the bamboo skewer with braised pork offal that Lin Yao handed him, put it in his mouth, and chewed it carefully. "Young lady, this tastes really good! It really gets rid of the stench of pork offal completely!" The old man subconsciously picked up another piece, then paused, realized his mistake, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.
Seeing the old man's actions, Lin Yao didn't stop him. With a smile on her face, she pressed on, "Grandpa, you'll know once you try it. My braised pork offal uses only fresh ingredients bought that day, and it's cleaned so there's no strange smell at all. Plus, it's braised slowly over low heat to infuse the flavor. Whether you eat it with rice or enjoy it with a little wine, it's perfect!"
The old man nodded eagerly, "Young lady, give me a pound. I'll go home today, enjoy it slowly with some wine, and that will be pure bliss!"
No sooner had those words been spoken than a woman carrying a vegetable basket walked over. "I could smell it from far away. Turns out you're selling braised pig offal. Young lady, is your pig offal clean?"
Lin Yao quickly explained, "Don't worry, Madam, this is fresh pork offal, and it's been thoroughly cleaned since we got back." As she spoke, she handed over a piece to try, "Please try it, and if you like it, you can buy more later."
After tasting it, the woman nodded in satisfaction: "Give me a pound, my husband loves this."
The stall became increasingly lively, and Lin Cheng was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground as he continuously cut braised food, packed it up, and collected money.
Just past noon, everything on the stall was sold out.
As the three siblings were packing up their stall, several dockworkers strode toward them. The leader was a burly man with a full beard named Yu Da, who had been working at the docks for five years. He shouted from afar, "Young lady, you've finally made it!"
Lin Yao looked up at the sound, looking at them with a puzzled expression. Yu Da walked over to the stall in a few steps, smiling as he said, "Young lady, one of my brothers bought a portion of braised pork offal from you. He shared a small piece with us at noon, and it tasted so good! We were so craving it that we rushed over as soon as we finished work."
Another younger worker chimed in, "Yeah, they only gave each of us a piece the size of a fingernail. How is that enough to eat?"
Lin Yao pointed somewhat awkwardly to the empty braising pot and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, gentlemen, we've sold out of braised pork offal for today."
Upon hearing this, Yu Da looked somewhat disappointed. "The young lady's business is really booming. We rushed over as soon as we finished work, but we didn't expect it to be sold out already. It sold out too quickly."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao's eyes flickered. After a moment's thought, she said, "Brothers, you flatter me. Today is our first time selling braised pork offal, so we weren't well-prepared and the quantity we made is limited. But don't worry, I will definitely prepare more ingredients tomorrow. If you are really worried about not being able to buy any, you can pre-order from me. I will reserve the appropriate amount for each of you, ensuring that everyone can enjoy a hot meal."
The big man's eyes lit up. He discussed it with his companions and said, "Give us five catties! We workers love to eat this kind of stuff that's filling and satisfying."
Lin Yao readily agreed: "Sure, big brother! Come tomorrow, I guarantee you'll get some."
After packing their things, the three siblings hurried home. After closing the door, Lin Cheng took out all the copper coins he had hidden in his chest.
Today, I prepared the same number of egg pancakes as yesterday, thirty of each, which sold for a total of 180 coins. The braised pork offal sold for 150 or 160 coins, for a total of 336 coins.
After counting the money, Lin Cheng was very excited.
However, after doing some mental calculations, Lin Yao said, "After deducting costs, we only made eight coins today."
Lin Cheng's joyful expression suddenly froze.
Lin Yao patiently explained, "Brother, today is our first time making braised pork offal, and the braising spices are all newly purchased, which cost a lot of money. But it will be different in the future, as the braising spices can be reused, and the cost will naturally decrease."
Lin Cheng was relieved. "I'll go buy the pig offal first, or it will be gone."
“Brother, let’s buy thirty catties this time, make more, and our family can eat some too,” Lin Yao said.
After Lin Cheng left, Lin Yao took Lin Song up the mountain.
Nowadays, the stalls have meat and pancakes, but they lack drinks. However, most people who work at the docks bring their own tea. If you can't make a special and affordable drink, no one will be willing to pay for it.
Lin Yao went up the mountain this time specifically for the perilla leaves. She had previously made a video about Song Dynasty drinks, so she had a lot of information in her head.
The first thing that came to her mind was the perilla drink that was all the rage in the Song Dynasty. In modern times, making perilla drink is a piece of cake; ingredients like lemons and licorice are readily available. However, in this current dynasty, the situation is vastly different. Even lemons are hard to find on the market, and licorice is an expensive medicinal herb, difficult to obtain. As a result, the cost of making perilla drink would be incredibly high, unsuitable for her current small-scale business.
Lin Yao thought for a moment and realized that perilla wasn't just for making perilla drinks; it could also be combined with other ingredients to create different beverages. She considered making perilla and hawthorn tea and perilla and chrysanthemum tea. Fortunately, there were perilla, hawthorn, and wild chrysanthemums growing on the mountain. Although picking them would require some effort and time, it would solve the material problem and keep costs under control.
Having made up her mind, Lin Yao went a little deeper than before. The forest became denser and the path underfoot became more difficult. Layers of fallen leaves covered the ground, concealing many potholes and sharp stones, and one could easily trip over them if not careful.
Lin Song held Lin Yao's hand tightly. "Second Sister, what are we looking for?"
As Lin Yao carefully explored the path, she replied, "We need to find perilla, hawthorn, and wild chrysanthemum. Perilla leaves have a unique fragrance that will make the drink smell especially enticing. Hawthorn is sour, and adding it to the drink will make the flavor richer. Wild chrysanthemum tea is sweet and refreshing, and it can also clear heat and reduce internal fire. On this hot day, a sip of it would be incredibly comforting. Once we find all of these, the drink we make will definitely attract a lot of people to buy it."
Lin Song nodded as if he understood, his eyes full of curiosity: "Really? What do perilla and hawthorn look like?" He had lived in the village since he was a child and had seen many wild chrysanthemums, but he had never seen perilla or hawthorn before.
"The leaves of the perilla are purple and have a bit of fuzz on the back. The hawthorns look like little red lanterns hanging on the tree, they're so pretty. You'll see when you get there," Lin Yao said with a smile.
The two continued their arduous journey through the mountains and forests, with mosquitoes buzzing around them and occasionally biting their hands and feet.
Lin Yao waved the branch in her hand to shoo away mosquitoes while keeping an eye on her surroundings. Suddenly, Lin Yao stopped, her eyes lighting up as she pointed to a spot not far ahead: "Song'er, look! That's perilla!"
Clumps of perilla leaves swayed gently in the breeze, their broad, unfurled leaves releasing a rich fragrance. Lin Yao hurried over, squatted down, and carefully selected the tenderest leaves, placing them in her basket. Lin Song quickly followed, imitating Lin Yao, and carefully picked the leaves as well.
"Second sister, this smells so good!" Lin Song said excitedly.
“It will taste even better when we make it into a drink,” Lin Yao replied with a smile.
After picking the perilla leaves, they headed towards where hawthorn trees might grow. Hawthorn trees usually grow in hillside forests or thickets. Lin Yao led Lin Song forward, and the mountain path became increasingly rugged, overgrown with thorns. Lin Yao had to use branches to clear away the thorns while protecting Lin Song. As they walked, Lin Yao's arm was accidentally cut by a thorn, and blood seeped out.
"Second sister, you're injured!" Lin Song cried out anxiously.
Lin Yao casually wiped her wound: "It's nothing, just a small injury, it's fine. The hawthorn tree is just ahead."
Finally, they saw several hawthorn trees laden with bright red fruit on a steep hillside. Lin Yao found a long branch and forcefully knocked down the hawthorns, while Lin Song picked them up from the ground. In no time, they had filled a basket.
Wild chrysanthemums are everywhere, so there's no need to go out of your way to find them. On their way home, Lin Yao and Lin Song picked wild chrysanthemums along the roadside. They filled their clothes with the picked wild chrysanthemums, making them bulge.
A note from the author:
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I have 100,000 words in reserve, updating 3,000 words daily. I'm asking for a favorite from any handsome guy or beautiful girl! [Sprinkling flowers][Starry eyes]
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