The next morning, Meng Zhao groggily opened his eyes, and after waking up, he got up and went outside. He saw Shen Qingyu running around the yard and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
As if she understood what Zhao Zhao was thinking, she smiled faintly and said softly, "Zhao Zhao, now you know why I don't want to sleep with Qing Yu."
Meng Zhao nodded with a wry smile. Despite her small size, Shen Qingyu was surprisingly strong. She would writhe around in bed at night, as if she had just finished a set of military boxing exercises. He wondered how she could be so energetic during the day after working so hard at night.
On the evening of the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky was terribly overcast. As soon as Meng Zhao lay down, fine snowflakes began to fall. Fortunately, the snow was not heavy, and when he woke up in the morning, there was only a thin layer. It melted almost completely after pedestrians walked by a few times.
When Meng Zhao and the others arrived at the shop, they first filled a basin with warm water and carefully wiped every nook and cranny of the counter. When they cut meat, some soup and water would inevitably splash out, and if they weren't careful, it would dry and solidify into oil stains that were difficult to clean.
Some shops, however, had a unique idea: they used these oil stains as a selling point to prove that their shops were doing well and had been in business for a long time. Meng Zhao, however, couldn't stand it at all and insisted that they be wiped clean.
After wiping the counter, the hot braised meat was placed on the shelf, and the stove underneath was lit to keep it hot. The lid was lifted from time to time to let the smell out, and soon customers came in attracted by the aroma.
"Young lady, give me half a piece of pork belly and two sausages. Oh? Are those sausages hanging over there for sale too?"
Meng Zhao nodded. "Yes, these are our shop's secret recipe smoked sausages. If you buy them, you can take them home, slice them, steam them in a pot, or you can slice them directly and put them on top of rice. Once they're steamed, the aroma of the sausage oil will slowly seep into the rice, making it incredibly delicious."
Upon hearing this, the man nodded repeatedly. He had eaten the braised sausages sold by Mengji Braised Pork Offal before, and the rich and mellow aroma was extremely tempting. He never expected to see smoked sausages like these before, so he immediately asked, "How much are your smoked sausages?"
"These smoked sausages are sold by weight, forty coins a pound. A pound is about three small sections. Would you like to try some?"
The middle-aged man frowned. "Forty coins a pound? How can it be so expensive! Even the best pork only costs a dozen coins a pound."
Meng Zhao smiled gently and explained calmly, "Sir, that's not how it's calculated. We use the best meat in these sausages, which isn't cheap. Besides, one pound of meat can only make less than seven ounces of sausage. We also use many of our secret spices, which, as you know, are more expensive than the meat. You can buy some to try; I guarantee it will be the only one of its kind in Qingshi County."
There was another troublesome matter that Meng Zhao didn't mention, which was the sausage casing. Cured meat and smoked meat are not uncommon here, especially for those who hunt wild animals in the mountains. If they can't sell the animals they hunt right away, they often make them into dried meat to keep them for longer. But they had never seen sausage before.
Because people generally consider pig intestines to be filthy, they naturally wouldn't bother to investigate what they're good for.
The casings were made by Meng Zhao from pig small intestines. First, the outer layer of fat was removed from the intestines. Then, the pig small intestines were turned inside out, and salt and starch were added and rubbed back and forth like washing clothes. After rinsing them clean, salt and starch were added again and rubbed and washed several times until the casings were clean.
Then, use a homemade bamboo air pump to inflate the casings, hang the inflated pig intestines to dry, and when needed, take them down, soak them in warm water to soften, and then stuff them with seasoned pork.
The people involved in making sausages were all trusted by Meng Zhao. This method shouldn't spread in a short time, which would allow her to earn some money for the New Year.
Upon hearing how complicated it was to make these sausages and what spices were used, the man figured that perhaps the high price was justified, so he said, "Then give me about two pounds."
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao turned around, took a string of sausages, weighed them, and said, "It's just over two pounds. You can give me eighty coins. If you're not in a hurry to eat these sausages when you get home, just hang them on the rafters of an uninhabited house. As long as it's well-ventilated and cool, they can last for quite a while."
The man was surprised, "Really? Can it be stored until the end of the year?"
Meng Zhao nodded. "As long as the weather isn't too hot, it should be fine to wait until next spring."
The man was even happier. The end of the year is a time for visiting relatives and friends and family reunions. Who wouldn't want their family's feast to be beautiful and make them look good? But not everyone is good at cooking. So, some people who are not very skilled have found a good way to cook.
Just buy a few kinds of braised meat from Mengji Braised Pork, and you can easily put on a grand show. If you can buy a whole pork knuckle, it will be one of the most impressive dishes on the table.
Buy two more of the newly arrived smoked sausages from the shop, slice them, steam them, and you have another winter specialty. Even the broth that the shop gives you can be used to make a delicious vegetarian dish of three delicacies by simply adding some tofu, radish, and cabbage to the broth and stewing it yourself, without needing any seasoning.
In addition, a few days ago, a rumor spread from who knows where that the county magistrate loved her potato noodles so much that many scholars in the county came to try them, and even many wealthy merchants sent their servants to queue up and buy a bowl to take home and taste.
The celebrity effect is immediate. Originally, she sold her potato noodles to workers in nearby shops or residents in the vicinity. But now, once the news spread, many people were willing to walk for more than an hour to come to her shop to eat noodles. Even Meng Zhao herself was surprised.
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