Xu He woke up a little late the next day, and when he got up, Zhang Fangyuan had already left. The butcher knew that he would not be setting up his stall in the city today, so he had an excuse to be even more unrestrained and worked for a long time.
This morning, the man got up at the usual time and was still full of energy. Xu He, who thought he was in good physical condition, was slightly discouraged. How could the gap between people be so big?
Thinking that Zhang Fangyuan had already gone out, it wouldn't matter if he got up a moment earlier or later, so he stayed in bed for a while before getting up, feeling very sore all over.
Maybe what Zhang Fangyuan said was right. The two of them hadn't done it for a while, and they were feeling a little awkward, not as smooth as before. Although he shared the same sentiment, he could not agree to Zhang Fangyuan's request, otherwise he would take this opportunity to become even more indulgent.
If you don’t get enough rest at night, it will delay your work the next day, which is fine. But the serious thing is that the things you use are so precious, how can you afford to consume them every day?
Not only will it not cost you anything if you do less work, it may even be beneficial rather than harmful.
Thinking of this, Xu He rubbed his waist, walked to the cabinet, opened the drawer where Zhang Fangyuan kept the things, and directly took out the extra bottles, leaving only the bottle that was opened last night. He found another place to hide the things, making sure that Zhang Fangyuan could not find them. Only then did he go out to work with satisfaction.
Time flies. After the beginning of summer, it is midsummer before we know it, and the scalding water for boiling frogs has turned into boiling water without us noticing. The surrounding mountains and forests are lush with trees. In the early morning, there are cicadas chirping, and at night, there are frogs croaking, making it extremely noisy and bustling.
When Xu He was free, he went to the back mountain with the husband of the neighbor Chen Si family to cut a large basket of mugwort. They poured it into a large winnowing basket in the yard for a day. There was no need to spread it evenly to dry in the sun, as the strong sun in May and June would burn it.
It's the hottest time of the year now, and the air seems to be boiling. Zhang Fangyuan loves to walk around the house with his bare chest. It's okay during the day, but at night the mosquitoes are buzzing like they want to eat people. Zhang Fangyuan looked thick-skinned and attracted mosquitoes, so he spent the whole night listening to him slapping mosquitoes on his body.
Instead of going to the city, he hurried to cut the flowering old wormwood, dried it, twisted it into ropes, and burned it in the brazier at night. The smoke was not much and it could drive away mosquitoes.
At this time, mosquito repellent tinder made of mugwort mixed with wormwood was already being sold in the city.
Xu He also knew how to make them. He knew that the reason why the tinder sold in the city was better than those made by ordinary people was that they contained some realgar. He thought that it would be just as effective if he added the raw materials himself. He had planned to make some and sell them, but then he thought that he would need them at home, and he was afraid that what he made would not be enough for his own use, so he gave up.
After making the mosquito repellent fuse, he hung the mosquito net in the house early and closed the windows shortly after noon. Otherwise, the mosquitoes that took the opportunity to fly into the house would rest in the house and bite people at night.
After just a few steps in and out of the house, he was already sweating profusely. Fortunately, the door to the main hall was open to let in the cool air. Zhang Fangyuan had gone out to check on the livestock in the morning, saying that he was far away and would not be back for lunch.
Xu He ate simply because he was alone. His appetite was poor in the hot summer, so he just picked a handful of water spinach from the field and brought it back to eat.
The young leaves are used for cold dishes. Pinch off the old and hard stems, leaving the crisp and tender ones and cut them into small cylinders. Add two green peppers and chopped pickled cowpeas and stir-fry them together. It is very appetizing and delicious.
Xu He often uses it to go with porridge.
Today he only uses the leaves to make a cold dish, adding a spoonful of pickle juice. It is sour and delicious. Even vinegar is not needed, and the taste is better than the cold dish made with vinegar.
After dinner, when the sun was at its hottest outside, he did not take a nap. Instead, he used thin bamboo strips to weave a chicken coop in the main hall, enjoying the cool breeze. At 3 p.m., when the edges of the vegetables in the fields had curled up due to drying, and even the old trees with lush branches and leaves looked lifeless, Zhang Fangyuan came back wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a bucket.
"how?"
Zhang Fangyuan took off his hat and placed it behind the door. He was steaming all over and Xu He could feel it even from an elbow away. He poured him a bowl of cold tea to cool him down.
"I've taken good care of the pigs, so it's OK. I met two people who wanted to sell sheep, but I didn't agree." Zhang Fangyuan drank the tea in one gulp: "The weather is hot, and eating mutton is even more delicious. Although mutton is cheaper than in winter, it's not easy to sell. And I can't keep it for more than two days, so I just don't want it."
Xu He nodded. The weather was bad now and the pork had to be sold out within two days, otherwise it would go bad and could not be sold. Business was not as good as before. There are more than ten pieces of bacon hanging on their stove. They pickled them themselves because they couldn't sell all of them and were afraid that the taste would go bad. If we pile on mutton, it will be easy to lose money.
"Your braised cold dishes are still the best sellers. The hotter the weather, the more people eat them."
Xu He sighed slightly, and sat back to continue weaving the chicken coop: "It was selling well before, but now that summer has arrived, business is not as good as before."
Business people in the city are not fools. Seeing that his business of selling cold dishes and braised food was so good every few days, within two months he set up a stall next to him selling the same thing. Xu He also used his wits and courage to add some new tricks, such as braised cucumbers, bean curd skin, cowpeas, and lotus root slices. His business was relatively stable, and his old customers also came for the taste of his dishes.
But the vendors followed his lead, and within a few days, they also had these things on their stalls. What's worse, there were also people selling braised chicken and duck, chicken feet and duck feet, chicken offal and duck offal. They also learned from him to make two flavors, mixing them with chili oil and pepper oil. Although the taste was a little worse, people couldn't help but buy them.
Not to mention the customers, even he, who was squatting in front of the stall and was bored and greedy, wanted to buy two to eat. Of course, he was reluctant to spend those few cents.
Zhang Fangyuan said, "It's like this when setting up a stall. If you have a golden signboard, you don't have to worry about others selling the same things and stealing your business. But how many golden signs are there in the world?"
Xu He knew that making money was not easy. He had made some money by selling new things in the first two months, which was considered pretty good. Running a small stall is not stable to begin with, so how can one expect to make a lot of money from it? For this reason, he did not put all his focus on selling braised food. Now, he started making chicken coops, although he could not sell them for much money.
"I know, let's keep selling it. If it really doesn't sell, we'll see."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "I thought so too. Look, I brought you some good things."
At Zhang Fangyuan's signal, Xu He noticed the bucket that Zhang Fangyuan placed at the door. He thought he was carrying an empty bucket back, but when he looked over, he found that it was full of crucian carp.
"Where do all these crucian carps come from? What are they for?"
Zhang Fangyuan fished up a crucian carp with a green back and a white belly, weighing about half a pound. "I bought it from a fisherman on the way back. It was five cents a piece. I paid eighty cents for twenty of them."
He raised his thick eyebrows slightly: "How about it, can you bargain?"
Xu He laughed: "It's a good deal, but how can we finish all of this if we buy so many to make a big pot? Why not just buy two and try them?"
"I'll only eat the four that were given to me for free, and I'll give you the rest to sell." Zhang Fangyuan said, "I ate the delicious cold-mixed crucian carp at a restaurant in the city in the summer. Aren't you worried about what new food to put on the stall? Wouldn't it be appropriate to bring the crucian carp with you?"
Xu He's eyes lit up immediately: "Yes, first steam the crucian carp and let it cool, then pour the sauce on it when you put it on the stall. It will also be a new cold dish. I'll make those four for you tonight."
Zhang Fangyuan exclaimed that it was great and the trip was not in vain.
Crucian carp tastes refreshing when served cold, delicious when cooked into soup, and even more delicious when stewed with green onions. However, in order to ensure the taste of the crucian carp on the stall tomorrow, Xu He decided to make a cold dish tonight and test it with his greedy mouth first.
Remove the scales and cut open the belly of the crucian carp, take out the internal organs and wash them. If the fish is big, just make two cuts on both sides of the body to make it easier to season. If the fish is small, you don’t need to make any cuts. Cut some thick yellow slices of old ginger, tie a knot of green onions and stuff them into the fish's belly. Put it in a pot and steam it. Do not steam it for too long, otherwise the meat will easily fall off the bones and become rotten, and it will not look good.
Whether the cold dish tastes good or not depends on the sauce. He made too much sauce in the summer. In order to make it look better, he used both red pepper and green pepper, chopped them up and mixed them together to make it look better. Then he added the indispensable chopped green onion, ginger and garlic, which were stir-fried, and then soy sauce, fermented black beans and vinegar were poured on the belly of the crucian carp. Then a dish of cold crucian carp with good color, aroma and taste was ready.
The oil used for frying ingredients must be rapeseed oil, otherwise it will be greasy and not tasty even if it is summer lard.
At night, Zhang Fangyuan specially opened a pot of wine to go with the dishes. He ate three crucian carps by himself, and Xu He ate one. Crucian carp has delicious meat, and tastes even sweeter when served cold. However, the fish has many small bones, so you need to chew it slowly, which makes people calm down and appreciate the flavor.
Xu He was satisfied with the crucian carp, so he kept the rest in a cool water tank and waited for Zhang Fangyuan to slaughter the pig, boil and brine it, and then take it to the city to sell.
The sun rises early in summer and everyone gets up even earlier. It's only when the sky is about to dawn and the sun has not yet risen that you can feel a little cool.
Xu He looked at the things he was going to sell today, feeling very confident and thinking about making another big sale.
After entering the city, the two men split up into two groups. Xu He carried a basket and went straight to the place where he used to set up his stall. When he arrived at the familiar place, he was a little dumbfounded.
The stall at the location he often used was rented by someone else today. That was fine, but what made him most angry was that the stall owner sold the same things as himself, also braised meat and cold dishes.
He felt very unhappy, so he went to the stall manager to rent a stall and couldn't help asking, "Has anyone rented the stall I usually use today?"
"Often used? Which one do you usually use? I set up my stall every few days, right? I can't always leave it empty for you."
"That's not what I meant." Seeing that the stall manager had a bad temper, Xu He said lightly, paid the stall fee for today, and found another stall to put his things down.
He rented the stall on a day-to-day basis, and of course he could rent it to someone else when he was not at home. But he was not a fool. It would be fine if he rented the stall to someone else, but why did he just rent it to a person selling braised meat, and the person who rented the stall just happened to know that he would not rent it on a monthly basis.
He didn't believe that the people who came here to sell braised meat had not come here to check out the market before. Otherwise, why would they come here so enthusiastically and use his stall which had the best business before?
Most likely he is an old acquaintance of the stall manager.
Xu He was setting up the stall and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, these people are too cunning. In the end, he suffered the loss of not having a fixed stall or a shop.
After the stall was set up, the flow of people gradually increased. The new stall owner took advantage of him, and the old customers went straight to that place.
Xu He was filled with anger.
"Hey, why does the food on your stall taste exactly the same as the one across the street?" A man who saw the cold-mixed crucian carp for sale came running to Xu He's stall. He loved the taste of Xu He's stall the most and would buy some every time he saw him selling it. But today, when he saw the crucian carp that was not available at other stalls, he temporarily gave up his old taste.
I couldn't wait to sit down at a table nearby and order a cup of tea to taste the fish, but was surprised to find that the taste was the same as the one from the stall I usually buy from.
Xu He sighed: "Brother, I am the stall owner over there. I came late today so I can only stay here."
The man smiled awkwardly and scratched his head: "I saw that the guy opposite was also a young man, and you don't open the stall every day. Now you are a different person, and I didn't recognize you for a while. But the taste of this dish is not right as soon as I tasted it!"
Xu He picked up a few slices of lotus root with sour pepper and gave them to the man to eat: "That's reasonable."
The man thanked him and ordered two more cold-mixed crucian carps, saying he wanted to pack them up and give them to his good friends.
Xu He felt a little relieved. Today, thanks to the popularity of the cold-mixed crucian carp, he did attract customers. Otherwise, if he moved to another stall, he would have to work hard to attract customers.
But in the end, the seller on the other side got a bargain as he sold all his goods at noon. He even gave him a provocative look when he was packing up his goods before leaving.
Xu He was furious, but he didn't plan to go to Zhang Fangyuan to complain. He was afraid that he would come over with a butcher knife to scold him. If that happened, others would see how overbearing he was. Maybe the stall would be saved, but customers would not dare to come to buy food.
After weighing and thinking for a while, he suddenly slid down from the stool, stood still and looked around at the four or five braised food stalls that had popped up in the past few days, especially the one opposite, which he really couldn't stand.
It’s decided! After selling this batch of goods, he will run the shop!
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