Qi Xinlan got up early in the morning. She took out the braised meat she had made last night and prepared to cut it into slices. After a night of braising, the meat became more and more fragrant.
"Lan Zi, what are you doing? It smells so good!" Li Tao thought that today was her first day of marriage, so she had to get up early to make breakfast, and then she smelled an enticing fragrance.
"This is braised meat. Come, sister-in-law, try it and see how it tastes." Qi Xinlan put a piece of the cut braised meat into Li Tao's mouth.
"This is so delicious! I have never eaten such delicious meat." Li Tao took a bite and his eyes lit up. The meat was soft and tender, with a rich taste, moist but not greasy. You can eat it over and over again without getting tired of it. You will want to eat more.
"What do you think if I take this to the town to sell it?" Qi Xinlan took the opportunity to ask.
"Lan Zi, I feel if we sell this, it will definitely be popular because it's so delicious." After eating, Li Tao smacked her lips to savor the taste.
"Haha, sister-in-law, then you should eat more." Qi Xinlan chuckled and put another piece of braised meat into the other's mouth.
Li Tao made breakfast again. The new daughter-in-law wanted to show off, but Qi Xinlan did not stop her.
Breakfast was very simple. Li Tao cooked some porridge, baked a few pancakes, and added Qi Xinlan's braised meat.
Thanks to the braised meat, they ate breakfast very quickly because they found that the braised meat could be eaten in pancakes or in porridge, which instantly made the bland porridge delicious.
After dinner, Qi Xinlan talked about her plan to go to town to sell braised meat.
"Lan Zi, this is delicious, but don't people eat in state-owned restaurants? Will they buy this braised meat?" Zhao Lan was a little worried. Her thinking was still stuck in the past. She was afraid that people would subconsciously go to state-owned restaurants to eat, and no one would buy their braised meat. She was afraid of losing money and also afraid of undermining her daughter's self-confidence.
"Lan Zi, although the Gang of Four has been crushed, we don't know when the national policy will change again. Should we be cautious?" Qi Guohui said while smoking his pipe.
"Mom and Dad, the last time I went to the city to send Minghao off, did you know? Has the city changed a lot? There are cement roads everywhere, blue brick and tile houses, and large trade markets with many small vendors selling all kinds of food, drink, housing and transportation. After the national policy was relaxed, land was distributed to individual businesses. Now every household can have enough food to eat, and individuals are allowed to do business. What does this mean? It means that the country is engaged in economic construction, and we must catch up with the country." Qi Xinlan knew what they were worried about and explained patiently.
"Dad, I support what Lan Zi said. My good friend Zheng Chao came back a while ago and told me a lot about the development in South City. Everyone there can sell things, and it's normal to sell things!" Qi Xinwei also agreed. Zheng Chao came to see him before, dressed very fashionably, and asked him if he wanted to go to South City with him, but his father had just broken his leg at that time, and he really couldn't leave, so he refused.
"Mom and Dad, I also support Lan Zi. Although I don't have much education, Lan Zi has graduated from high school after all, so he can definitely see further than us." Li Tao also interrupted at the right time.
Seeing that the three of them said this, Qi Xinhui and Zhao Lan didn't say anything else. They just nodded silently and reminded them to be careful.
"Sister-in-law, please come with me to the town. I didn't do much today. I just made more than 20 kilograms to test the waters." Qi Xinlan said to Li Tao.
"Okay, Lan Zi, I'll go find a big jar to put the braised meat in." Li Tao replied.
It was still early, around 7 o'clock, and Li Tao and Qi Xinlan arrived in the town on a shaky ox cart.
When they arrived at the market, they saw that there were still many people setting up stalls.
Last time, when she and Li Meng came, they saw few people. It was probably because it was noon. Now it’s morning, and the uncles and aunts may think that the ingredients they buy early are fresher.
Qi Xinlan found a random seat and was about to take out the braised meat when she saw the old man selling buns across from her smiling and saying, "Little girl, your seat is taken. Please move to another place."
Qi Xinlan looked around and saw no one, but she thought that the person in this position should be familiar with the old man, so it might not be necessary to ask the old man to help hold the seat.
Qi Xinlan didn't want to argue with the old man, so she and Li Tao walked away quietly and found a corner where there was an aunt selling vegetables. She asked if there was anyone nearby.
"You sell it. This location is too remote, so they don't like to set up their goods here," the aunt replied.
"Thank you, Auntie." Qi Xinlan thanked.
The aunt saw the little girl take out a jar from her backpack and asked curiously, "What are you selling?"
"Auntie, we want to sell braised meat." Li Tao answered while busying herself.
"Auntie, would you like to try our braised meat?" Qi Xinlan took out a basin and poured out some braised meat. She lowered her head and stirred the braised meat in the basin.
"No, no, you're selling this, what's the harm if I eat it?" The aunt smelled the fragrance, couldn't help swallowing, and waved her hand to refuse.
"Don't worry, auntie, you are helping us to taste it." After hearing what the other party said, and the smell was so delicious, the auntie did not delay any longer.
"Well, it's delicious. The braised meat you made is soft and tasty, and it smells fragrant. Little girl, how did you make it? It's so delicious." The aunt said with shining eyes. She had never tasted anything like this before. It was really unforgettable!
"This is quite complicated to make. We need to add a lot of different seasonings, plus our ancestral secret sauce. It's hard to imagine it not being delicious." Qi Xinlan said with a smile.
"Inherited from ancestors? Then your ancestors must have been famous chefs, otherwise they couldn't have made such a delicious dish." The auntie mused.
Qi Xinlan smiled and didn't say anything.
"Auntie Sun, is it really that delicious?" said the old man selling farm tools nearby.
"Hmm, it's delicious, this is it!" Aunt Sun gave a thumbs up.
"Little girl, how much is this braised meat?" asked the old man.
"Uncle, pork belly is one dollar and eighty cents per pound, and pork offal is one dollar per pound." Qi Xinlan immediately replied with a smile.
"This is too expensive. Pork is only one yuan per pound, and pork offal is not worth much. Little girl, I guess no one will buy it at this price." The old man was shocked by the price. He thought it could be sold for one yuan and twenty or three yuan at most, and he lost the desire to try it.
"Uncle, it's not expensive. We use enough ingredients and it takes a lot of time to make the marinade, otherwise I wouldn't sell it at this price." Qi Xinlan explained.
The old man curled his lips and said nothing. He thought the girl was too young. The best way to sell this kind of cooked food was to sell it to state-owned restaurants. Otherwise, it would be difficult to sell it by herself. If she sold it cheaply, she would not make much money. If she sold it expensively, people would rather eat at state-owned restaurants.
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