The group hadn't walked far when they arrived at their destination. Aunt Feng'e quickly went up and knocked on the door, "Fengxian, Fengxian, open the door quickly, I've brought Zhaozhao to see the rabbits."
"Coming, coming." Footsteps approached, and a woman opened the courtyard gate. She looked similar to Sister-in-law Feng'e, but their temperaments were completely different. One was bold and outspoken, while the other was shy and introverted.
Aunt Feng'e began to introduce, "Zhao Zhao, this is my younger sister, Liu Fengxian." Then she said to her sister, "Fengxian, this is Zhao Zhao, you should have met her before."
Liu Fengxian quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I was there on Zhaozhao's wedding day."
Hearing her younger sister bring up something she shouldn't have, Aunt Feng'e quickly frowned and nudged her with her elbow.
Liu Fengxian also recalled the outcome of the wedding banquet, which was really inappropriate to mention. Just as she was feeling annoyed, Meng Zhao came to her rescue.
"Auntie, could you please take me to see the rabbits?"
"Okay, come in quickly. The rabbits are in the backyard. These rabbits are very delicate and die easily. I've been raising them for a long time before I figured out how to do it, and I've only managed to keep some of them alive so far."
Meng Zhao followed Liu Fengxian to the backyard. The yard was clean and tidy, with several cages in the corner containing gray rabbits with glossy fur, which looked well cared for. Meng Zhao had a better idea of what was going on, so she asked, "Auntie, where do you usually sell these rabbits?"
"Usually, I sell the game that my husband and I hunt together to restaurants, but the restaurants say that rabbits are tough to eat and sometimes they don't want to buy them. If the restaurants don't buy them, I set up a stall on the street and see if anyone is willing to take them."
Meng Zhao continued, "So how much do these rabbits cost?"
"It's usually priced per rabbit. A three-pound rabbit would cost around thirty coins."
Meng Zhao counted them; there were about forty rabbits in the yard. "Auntie," he said, "how about this? I'll buy all your rabbits, but I only buy the skinned meat. If you have connections, you can sell the skins again. I'll pay you nine coins per pound. Is that alright?"
Liu Fengxian did some mental calculations. They could sell a whole rabbit for thirty coins, and after skinning it, they would have two and a half pounds left. Selling it to Meng Zhao would bring them around 23 coins. She could also process the rabbit skin herself and sell it separately for about thirty coins, but Meng Zhao's business was more stable, saving them the time of setting up a stall in the county.
After thinking for a moment, Aunt Fengxian replied, "Okay, sure. I'll have my husband peel the skin and send it to you. You can decide how to send it to you."
"How about you send over five rabbits every three days?" That way she can cook rabbit meat every three days.
Aunt Fengxian said happily, "Okay, okay, I'll process the rabbit and send it to you on time."
Five rabbits cost about 110 coins. If these rabbits are raised well, they reproduce very quickly, and they eat hay instead of grain. If the business is stable, she can earn more than one tael of silver a month at home, which is almost as much as she could earn working outside.
"Then could you please send me five rabbits the day after tomorrow morning?" I've already bought the meat for tomorrow, so I can cook the rabbits the day after tomorrow.
Liu Fengxian immediately agreed, and after finalizing the business deal, the two sat down and chatted.
Meng Zhao had never raised rabbits before, but in modern times she had seen some breeding techniques on short videos. Those were valuable experiences summarized by others over many years of breeding. Meng Zhao told Aunt Fengxian about them one by one.
For example, rabbits are timid and prefer a quiet environment, especially pregnant female rabbits, who are particularly susceptible to being startled.
Rabbit cages also need to be kept clean. Regularly clean up feces and food scraps, and change the bedding regularly. There aren't many good ways to disinfect them now, so you can only sun them more often.
The stocking density should also be considered; too few stocks will hinder reproduction, while too many will easily spread diseases.
Aunt Fengxian had been raising rabbits for a while and had figured out many things on her own. When she heard Meng Zhao say something that matched what she had discovered, she felt that Meng Zhao was right. She also heard many things that she hadn't noticed before, so she became even more attentive. The two chatted for a long time until it gradually got dark.
Aunt Fengxian looked at Meng Zhao as if she were a gold nugget. Not only did Meng Zhao want to buy rabbits from her, she also taught her many breeding techniques.
You know, these things are like family secrets to many people, things that others keep to themselves, but she told me about them, which really helped her a lot.
Because of this, she was very enthusiastic when she sent Meng Zhao back. To her, Meng Zhao was not only a customer who bought her things, but also a teacher who taught her.
Aunt Feng'e watched with great pleasure. Her younger sister was slow and indecisive, and going out to work with her would drive her crazy. She always had to help her with her own tasks after finishing her own.
But her younger sister also has her strengths. She is meticulous and careful in her work. Although she is slow, she has never made a mistake and is also patient. If she can make money by feeding rabbits in the future, that would be even better.
On the way home, Meng Zhao was delighted, knowing that there would be new dishes to prepare. There are many delicious dishes that can be made with rabbits, such as braised rabbit, dry-fried rabbit, stewed rabbit, and spicy rabbit cubes, all of which are both delicious and nutritious.
On the appointed day, Aunt Fengxian brought over several freshly skinned rabbits early in the morning. Meng Zhao checked them and found they were very clean, with the rabbit hairs around their mouths plucked out.
Meng Zhao cut off the rabbit head, planning to make a spicy rabbit head for them that evening.
Cut the rabbit meat into small pieces, add scallions, ginger, pepper, and salt, mix well, and marinate for 15 minutes.
Pour oil into a pot, add scallions, ginger, and garlic and fry until golden brown. Once the aroma has fully infused the oil, remove the ingredients.
Pour the marinated rabbit meat into a pot and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates and it turns slightly yellow. Then add the prepared star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns and continue to stir-fry until the flavor of the spices permeates the rabbit meat. It is then ready.
This dish can be made in advance, as it will be more flavorful after cooling down; it is also called cold-cooked rabbit.
The stall was still surrounded by people when it opened today.
"Boss Meng, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you."
"That's right, I came all the way from the south of the city just to eat the boxed lunch you made."
“Me too. It’s all over the place among us ship sailors. They say there’s a place at your Qingshi County dock that sells really good boxed lunches. Now we all stop here just to eat your boxed lunches.”
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm, Meng Zhao quickly set up the stall and began to introduce the dishes: "Dear customers, we have a new dish today, which is this spicy rabbit meat. If you like spicy food, you can try it. I guarantee you will like it."
"Rabbit meat? I've never eaten rabbit meat before."
"I've eaten it, I've eaten it, but rabbit meat is very fishy and doesn't taste good."
"Shut up, everything Boss Meng makes is delicious. Boss Meng, serve me some first, I want this spicy rabbit meat."
"I want one too, I want one too."
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