Chapter 596
The stall owner lifted the wooden lid, and a white mist wrapped in the delicious aroma of wontons filled the table. He tapped the edge of the pot with a wooden spoon:
"He's not wrong. The quality of state-owned factories is at least guaranteed. They use black pigs instead of hybrid pigs to increase production. The process is also acceptable.
But, he didn't recommend any other stores to you?"
Su Miao thought for a moment and said, "He also mentioned a place called Chiffon... He said it's a time-honored brand recognized by the locals."
The stall owner nodded with satisfaction. "Then Old Chen's introduction is pretty comprehensive. Jinhua ham comes from Dongyang, and Dongyang ham comes from Shangjiang. There are eighteen Jinhua ham shops, and the Xuefang Jiang ham shop is the best. Hahahaha!!! There are so many catchy sayings."
If you really want to taste the most authentic ones, I suggest you go to Jiang's shop. It's on the old street in the west of the city. It's not big, but it's a real century-old craft."
Su Miao took a bite of the fried dough stick, and the crispy crust made a "crackling" sound: "Section Chief Chen said that the ham in the factory is already very good..."
"Of course!"
The stall owner wiped his hands on his apron and said:
"There's really nothing wrong with the ham from the state-owned factories, but each factory has its own flavor. Just like my wontons, we use the same flour and the same meat filling, but why do all the neighbors in these streets love mine? The cooking method of the old broth has been passed down for three generations!"
Su Miao nodded thoughtfully.
At this moment, an old man wearing glasses at the next table suddenly interrupted: "Young comrade, if you ask me, this one you bought is very good."
He pushed up his glasses and continued, "Xuefang Jiang's ham is authentic and a time-honored brand, but it's also expensive. For ordinary people, the ham from the factory is more affordable."
The stall owner said unconvincedly, "Tsk, what you said..."
"I'm telling the truth! If we want to develop our ham, we shouldn't be so particular. As long as it tastes good and meets the standards, it's good ham." Teacher Zhang turned to the father and daughter with a smile.
"Little girl, this is a regional delicacy. How can it be absolutely authentic? But you can also buy some and compare the taste with the ones from the state-owned factories. As far as I'm concerned, everyone has their own taste preferences.
Especially since you outsiders have different tastes than us, what you think is delicious may not necessarily be what we think is the most authentic. After all, you have to put food in your mouth to know whether you like it or not."
Su Miao and Su Yuanzheng never expected that there would be so many details involved in simply buying a ham.
This time they really couldn't figure out whose was authentic and whose was just passing.
In that case, just buy them all. There are so many people in the family, so we won’t have to worry about not having enough to eat.
They just came here on Section Chief Chen's tricycle. Section Chief Chen offered to take them back first, but they refused, saying they wanted to walk back slowly and have breakfast.
Now if I want to buy another ham, I have to go back and get the car.
They followed the address the old man gave them, found the old store, and bought a Grade A Chen leg. The price was indeed a bit higher than that of the state-owned factory, but they couldn't tell whether they were of the same grade.
I left home early and came back early too. When I got back to the guesthouse at 11 o'clock, the original one ham had become three. The girl at the front desk smiled with her eyes curved:
"You guys are back? Didn't you go to the bullfight?"
Su Miao asked curiously, "Bullfighting? Where can I find bullfighting?"
"So you didn't know! It's the village west of the city. Originally, the fight was supposed to take place during the Little New Year, but their application wasn't approved, so they moved it up."
"It sounds like an interesting thing, but unfortunately we are about to set off, so we probably won't be able to watch it." Su Miao said with some regret.
"Where is your next stop?" asked the girl at the front desk.
"The next stop is Changcheng."
"Hey! That's perfect! You'll pass by that village on your way out of town, so why not just stop in and take a look? It's a village event anyway, and there's no entrance fee!"
After that, she picked up the pencil and drew the route on the letter paper, the tip of the pencil making a rustling sound.
"Everyone riding their bikes over there is going to see the bullfight. Just follow the bells!"
"Great! Dad! Then let's stop by and take a look later. Thank you, sister!"
The father and daughter packed their luggage and put it in the car. After checking out, they drove to the west of the city according to the simple route map drawn by the girl at the front desk.
Less than ten minutes after driving out of the city, they saw some people riding bicycles going in the same direction as them.
"Dad, did you say they were going to the bullfight?"
"Maybe. There are quite a lot of people. Let me ask."
Su Yuanzheng slowed down his car, lowered the window, and asked a fellow villager riding a tricycle:
"Fellow countryman! Are you going to see a bullfight?"
The fellow villager said with great energy, "Yes! It's just at the next intersection, turn right and you'll arrive. Do you want to go?"
"We just heard about this event today and wanted to go and see it."
"That's fine! Just follow our car, we'll be there soon!"
In order to make it easier for the car to follow, he stepped on the pedals a little faster. The two children sitting in the truck bed smiled at Su Miao.
After turning right, the asphalt road gradually turned into a gravel road, and the car bumped through a harvested field.
"We're here! We're here! Do you see it? It's right in front!"
The fellow villager in front shouted, there were more than a dozen colorful flags on the ridge of the field ahead, and hundreds of people formed a circle, and shouting could be faintly heard.
Su Yuan parked the car in an open space and got out with his daughter.
"What a lively scene, fellow villager! Is this a fight in the fields?"
The fellow villager took the two children by the hand and led them forward:
"In the past, bullfighting took place in paddy fields. A few years ago, the authorities said it was dangerous because the bulls' red eyes could easily charge into people, so a bullfighting arena was built in this village.
This village is the only one that has bullfighting, and the others are still in the paddy fields. Now, bullfighting activities require approval from higher authorities. Since there is a venue here, more people can get approval, so people from the surrounding villages also bring their bulls here to fight.
Let's go quickly, or we'll be running out of space."
The bullring is located in a large mud area, surrounded by a one-meter-high wall made of bricks and a one-meter-high railing. Hundreds of people are now crowded here to watch excitedly.
As soon as they walked into the crowd, they heard thunderous cheers.
Leaning over the railings from an empty spot and looking inside, I saw two shiny black buffaloes fighting each other.
Amidst the splashing mud and water, the horns collided with each other, making a dull "cracking" sound.
A man in work clothes nearby enthusiastically explained, "You've arrived just in time! Today's second team has just started! That black whirlwind on the left has already won two games in a row, and everyone is waiting to see if it can win three games in a row!"
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