Chapter 128 Chapter 128 Update.
Because it was still raining last night, Huai City must be full of puddles. It will take a day or two to dry the water before we can set up a stall there. So today the whole family went to the store to sell braised food.
The braised offal was placed in different categories on a large double-handled earthenware plate and covered during the journey. As for the large pot of brine used to braise the offal, Ji Xu also skimmed off the foam and kept it tightly covered on the stove.
At first, Ji Feng lamented, "The broth made from these large bones will become foul-smelling by tomorrow in weather like this. Eating it will give me diarrhea, so it's useless."
Ji Xu said: "If you boil it once in the morning and evening during the dog days of summer, it will be preserved for a long time."
"Really? Is there such a good idea?"
"Don't lie. If it's winter, you can just cook it every other day. Every time you want to stew the offal, add some spices in moderation. The longer the stew is used, the more fragrant the food will be." Ji Xu said, this is how the old stew was made.
She prepared a yellow pine board in advance and wrote:
Ji's braised food.
Duck feet, four grams.
Duck head, eight cents.
Ten cents of pork liver.
Sixteen coins of pig ears.
Twenty coins for pig's trotter.
Duck feet and duck heads are sold individually, while the latter are sold in portions.
She bought a whole pig liver and cut it into four slices for stewing. If the customer wanted one, he could buy one slice. She bought half an ear with some pork cheek meat as a portion. She also bought half a pig's trotter as a portion.
The price was agreed upon with Tian in advance. As for her calligraphy, Ji Xu said that she was taught by a kind-hearted eunuch in the palace for a while. Later, when her sisters were in elementary school, she also studied and practiced calligraphy at home, which is how she became able to write like this.
Fortunately, Tian was not good at writing, so he was convinced and even said:
"That's all secondary. Even those Imperial College students who have studied hard for years wouldn't hesitate to praise the wooden sign in front of the stall. This proves my daughter's talent. She's already achieved such talent in such a short time. If she can become a scholar and an official, she'll at least be a high-ranking official!"
Ji Xu felt guilty after hearing this, but at least it was good that Tian was convinced.
She claimed that her current cooking skills were learned secretly when she was a slave in the palace, and everyone in the Tian family believed her.
She even told others that her daughter could hold a kitchen spatula in her mother's womb, and that she had received guidance from a god. She had a talent for this since she was young. Now, this "braised stew" was all figured out by her daughter herself. The more others praised her daughter's ability, the more she enjoyed it.
The whole family wore water-proof wooden clogs and went to the market.
Tian was driving the car, Ji Xu was sitting in the front, and a covered pottery plate with two handles was placed in the back.
Their children were not able to sit comfortably, so they followed the car and walked along, all the way in high spirits, shouting:
"Braised food, selling braised food——"
The children in the alley came over after hearing the noise, shouting along the way, causing passersby to ask:
"Braised food? What is braised food?"
"The Ji family's unique marinade is used to simmer the meat. It is fragrant and has a salty, fresh and sweet taste. It also has duck feet and duck heads, pig liver, pig ears and pig trotters. My sister bought some and it goes well with wine and rice. My children also love it and keep asking for more."
The woman that Tian mentioned was interested and said in the street that she wanted to take a look.
"My husband loves pork liver. Every year he makes about ten pounds of cured liver. I don't know how much cut liver he has bought from outside, but he has never eaten braised liver."
Tian looked around and stopped the car on the side of the road.
Ji Xu used a dagger to slice some braised pork liver for the woman to taste.
The woman chewed it carefully and felt that it melted in her mouth. She felt savored before she swallowed it. She nodded and said:
"This braised liver is delicious, give me one!"
Ji Xu's hands were clean. He brought the knife and the chopping board, cut a portion, and put it in the woman's food basket.
When the people in the vicinity went to the Jiaomen Market to buy cooked food, they would bring their own food baskets. Even if they met someone who came empty-handed, Ji Xu also prepared some jute paper bought from Baqiao in the eastern suburbs, but this paper was rough and not resistant to juice, so it was not easy for those who brought food baskets to use it.
“Who told you to sell it on the roadside?”
They saw a market official in black clothes coming to chase them. Fortunately, they also sold this share. Tian said some nice words while driving away, shouting as she entered the market.
This is a long corridor-style tunnel with a total of forty layers, and there are hundreds of tunnels in the tunnel.
Jiaomenshi is characterized by its lack of large restaurants and its preponderance of local snacks, such as fried fish and liver, roasted pork with leeks and roe, and sweet wine and cheese...
The wealthy merchants who owned large shops, or warehouses, were mostly traders from all corners of the country. They stockpiled goods like mountains, buying low and selling high. They had grains and vegetables, gold, silver, and bronze utensils, silks, and cloths...
At this time, the drum was beaten to signal the market to open, and people gradually came in. They and their family arrived in the city.
I saw that the Zheng and Qian families were already standing near the stall, waiting and watching.
They placed these double-handled plates on the table and put up the sign in front of the stall.
The Zheng family's business is slow and there is no hope of renting this location. Someone who came here to join in the fun asked:
"What does it say on it?"
"Braised food, my family sells braised food!"
Tian said, without waiting for further questions, she started shouting with all her might,
"Braised food! Braised pig ears, pig liver, pig trotters - duck feet, duck heads - just passing by, take a look -
The price is fair, the taste is wonderful, children eat it without crying or making a fuss, adults drink it to the brim with wine, can the elderly also eat it? The elderly can eat it too, and after eating seven dou of rice! They are as strong as an ox!
Everyone around laughed, but even if they didn't buy it, they still stood there and listened for a while.
While Tian was telling jokes to attract the audience, Ji Xu took some braised food slices and divided them into small portions, and distributed them to the audience with skewers to taste.
"Why are you giving us cold food?"
Qian Gu also reached out and got a piece of pig ear, deliberately singing a different tune.
"This braised food is meant to be eaten hot and then cooled. Even if it is braised hot, it still needs to be cooled before being cut and served on a plate." Ji Xu said.
"Oh, it's like cutting a liver!"
Some people in the crowd responded, and they took the braised food, which was bright red in color, and put it into their mouths to chew.
"Mmm! The taste goes deep into your bones!"
“Not bad, not bad!”
"Roasted duck, fried fish, rotten lamb stomach, roasted rabbit and chicken, turtle soup, there's nothing fresh I haven't tried."
An old man with silver-white beard, holding a folding fan and wearing a half-worn robe passed by here and said nonchalantly.
"It's Mr. Cheng who has returned."
Mr. Cheng, who was over 60 years old, was also from Anling. He once served as the Minister of the Chancellery, but he voluntarily resigned because he had no interest in staying in office and traveled around the world.
"Have you returned from your wanderings in Qi and Lu? How was the scenery there?"
Although this old man is a scholar, he does not follow the principle of "sons of wealthy families should not enter the market". Fortunately, he visits some bustling places in the market, so many people nearby know Mr. Cheng and can talk to him.
"This Cheng Gong has traveled extensively and tasted thousands of kinds of food. Even if he were blindfolded, he would know what condiments are added to a dish."
"Have you ever seen this braised food outside of your hometown?"
Cheng Gongdao said: "Although I have never seen it, I can guess that it is just soaked and boiled."
This Cheng Gong's gaze did not sway, which caused everyone to talk about it. Ji Xu heard about it and took the initiative to say:
"Mr. Cheng is right, but soaking and boiling is only one of the options."
Cheng Gong stopped talking, and just listened to her say:
"The second is my unique marinade. This secret recipe contains twenty-eight ingredients. Mr. Cheng, please come and try it. If you can tell me all the ingredients, I will make the recipe public. If you can't, that's fine too. For each ingredient you mention, I will give you a day's worth of marinated food for free. You can choose whatever you want."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding area became excited. The news spread more and more, and more and more people stopped to watch.
"The recipe for Ji's Braised Food will be announced on the first day of opening!"
"Braised? What's that new recipe? Let's go learn it!"
"Go check it out!"
Cheng Gong found it interesting and nodded in approval. After tasting the one Ji Xu handed over, he twirled his beard and nodded in appreciation, and said two things:
"Salt and sauce."
Everyone spread their hands when they heard this, "It's useless to say that salt and sauce are the most important of all flavors. Mr. Cheng, please taste it carefully. Are there any other seasonings?"
They found the braised food to have a unique flavor, so naturally they all wanted to get the recipe so they could braise it themselves and sell it.
"Yes, we have salt and sauce." Ji Xu said.
Mr. Cheng has already mentioned the onions, ginger, garlic, and malt sugar, so there is no need to worry about them.
He gradually tasted it and began to talk about some unusual seasonings:
"fennel.
clove.
Cinnamon.
Bay leaves.
Sichuan peppercorn.
Shannai. "
Every time someone said something, Ji Xu nodded, and the crowd applauded.
"good!"
"good!"
They were amazed to hear that some medicinal substances could actually be used as spices. If it weren't for Mr. Cheng, they would never have known this.
Tian was anxious, so she pulled Ji Xu aside and whispered:
"You're being honest now. What's the point of admitting it? If he's right, just shake your head. If you really ask him to tell you everything, that would be terrible."
In fact, as long as Cheng Gong said it, no matter whether Ji Xu admitted it or not, those who believed Cheng Gong would try it. Her bet was that Cheng Gong could not name all the 28 flavors, but instead gathered these spectators and earned enough people and fame.
"Orange peel."
Mr. Cheng tasted the flavor of orange peel only after tasting several pieces of pig ears.
"Orange peel? It can actually be used as flavor?"
"Thirteen ingredients! Mr. Cheng! What else is in here?"
The people around said excitedly.
Children like Feng and Zhu were so nervous that their hearts were in their throats. "Stop talking, stop talking..." they prayed in their hearts.
"Now that we're talking about orange peel, Mr. Cheng, rinse your mouth with some water before trying this braised liver."
Ji Xu was not in a hurry and even poured water and cut liver for people.
Mr. Cheng chewed it carefully, pondered for a while, and shook his head:
"My skills are not good enough. I can't put my finger on the mixed feelings here."
"Your words have already frightened my family. As agreed, I will provide you with 13 days of braised food for free. You can choose whatever you want. I won't charge you any money." Ji Xu said with a smile.
Mr. Cheng had plenty of money to buy cooked food, and what was good was the pleasure of enjoying it. He twirled his beard and nodded, saying:
"Okay! Okay! I'll go back and savor them carefully, and I'll definitely try all twenty-eight flavors!"
They each picked some and went to fan themselves.
As soon as Cheng Gong left, spectators flocked to buy. Some thought the food tasted good and wanted to eat it, while others selfishly wanted to taste the remaining dozen or so flavors and take their own place.
For a while, the cars in front of Ji Xu's stall could not turn around and no one could pay attention to them. Later, a queue formed and the queue reached the city gate. In less than half a day, all the food was sold out.
The Qian family's aunt and daughter-in-law were so upset by what they saw that they almost gritted their teeth. They thought that Ji Xu's cart of things would earn at least two taels of silver, which was much more than what they earned from selling meat sauce, and they still had a lot of things they hadn't bought yet.
Those who returned empty-handed said:
"Will you come back tomorrow?"
"Is this stall yours yet to be rented?"
Ji Xu said that the final decision would depend on which of the three businesses sold the most. The buyers all hoped that she would win, and the vendors nearby naturally hoped that she would stay away from stealing their business.
Ji Xu and his companions counted the money and reported the amount to the supervising clerk, who also counted it.
"How is it? My family sells the most, right?"
Ji Feng said anxiously that she had come to see it two days ago and found that the business of Zheng and Qian's families was not as good as her own, so she was looking forward to it.
The two clerks looked at each other, and one of them said:
"Your family has the most, but there's another family that's also interested in this location and wants to sell it tomorrow. Yours is just a temporary position."
"Whose? You didn't tell me before. Is there anyone else who wants to sell it?" Tian asked.
"Look, that's the one that sells rice and meat soup."
The place the market official pointed to was Jin's in the corner. She had been watching the place selling braised food for a long time. The business was so good that she wanted to get that spot even more.
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