036, Lu Ji Piao Xiang Braised Food
036, Lu Ji Piao Xiang Braised Food
Lu Mingfei replied "OK" and watched his mother go into the house. He then stood up, tiptoed to look at the big pot above, and found that he couldn't reach it, so he sat back on the stool and continued to watch the fire.
After a while, Liu Sanniang came out of the house and washed the dirty dishes. She asked the child if he was hungry, "Do you want me to pack you some food so you can eat before you go out?"
"No need, Mom. I'll go eat outside. Let's take the food outside and set up the stall first. If we're late, the space will be taken by others." Lu Mingfei didn't know the exact time, but he thought that it would take some time for them to take the food from here to South Street, and they would have to set up the stall there. Naturally, the sooner they went, the better.
At this hour, many people would rush to the city gate to queue up to leave the city. Maybe they could do some business early.
"Okay, then we'll eat later. You wait here for a while, and I'll take your father's medicine in for him to drink." Liu Sanniang touched the child's head, poured the medicine her husband was going to drink into a bowl, took the medicine into the house and fed it to her husband before she came out.
This time when she came out, she was carrying two large baskets. These were the large baskets that her husband used to carry things for his business, and she had recently borrowed them.
Then she poured the meat from the stove into another clay pot, put the braised eggs and vegetables into a bowl, and two separate bowls of rice. She also put the unused bone soup in the pot into a large pot. Finally, she put all these things layer by layer into two large baskets, threaded the ropes at both ends of the baskets with a shoulder pole, and started carrying the load.
"Is it serious, Mom?" Lu Mingfei closed the stove door to prevent the wind from blowing out the sparks inside and setting their house on fire when they were not at home.
Land in Kyoto is incredibly expensive, and the surrounding areas are densely populated. If a fire breaks out in one area, it wouldn't just burn down one house, but an entire neighborhood, along with countless lives. Putting aside the potential penalties for arson in this era, simply carrying the weight of so many lives is a heavy burden.
"It's not heavy, it's lighter than your father's old burden." Liu Sanniang carried the burden on her shoulders, but a relaxed smile appeared on her face. No matter how heavy the burden on her shoulders was, it was only for their small family of three, not as heavy as the burden of supporting the twenty-odd people in the Lu family and paying for her eldest nephew's education.
Even if it was just to support her own son's education, she wouldn't complain if it was a little bit hard. But supporting her eldest nephew's education? Why?
Liu Sanniang looked at her son who was following her, and she was thinking that when they made money in the future, she would definitely send her son to school! Thinking about going out to do business and making money to support her child's education, she was filled with enthusiasm at the moment.
"Go tell your father that we are leaving."
"Okay, Mom, wait for me." Lu Mingfei ran into the house with his short legs, said something to his father, and went out, closing the door of the main courtyard. He went out with his mother.
When they left, they closed and locked the gate outside the yard.
Although his father was at home, he was lying in bed and couldn't get up. Even if a thief came in to steal things, his father couldn't get up and chase them away, so it would be safer to lock the door.
So even though his father was the only one at home, Lu Mingfei felt somewhat uneasy. He hoped that business would be better today, so that they could finish selling out their stalls earlier and come back to take care of his father earlier.
After coming out, Lu Mingfei walked beside his mother and said to her, "Mom, let's buy some tofu and dried tofu to stew together tomorrow. Tofu and dried tofu taste good when stewed." He was thinking that soy products are cheaper than meat, but more expensive than vegetables, and they taste good too. He believed that no one would dislike soy products with a meaty taste.
"Oh, okay. Then after we close the stall today, let's go to the tofu shop to buy some." Liu Sanniang replied.
The figures of mother and son walked farther and farther away, walked out of the alley, and disappeared at the entrance of the alley. They turned a corner and continued walking along another road.
At this time, Lu Youtian was lying on the bed in the room. He heard the sound of the door opening and closing outside. He knew that his wife had taken the children out to do business. He touched his injured leg with his hand and felt very regretful that he almost lost his life in order to save his brother.
Thinking of his former family, he was filled with disappointment. From now on, he was Lu Youtian, his wife's husband, and his child's biological father... As for his parents and brothers and family in the countryside, let it be considered that their fate in this life had ended!
***
The beginning of the Yin hour is the dark moment before dawn, when night and day alternate.
It was still dark at this time, and the clear moonlight filled the entire street. However, a few vendors had already set up stalls here. The stall selling buns at the intersection had already piled up tall steamers. White mist was overflowing from all sides and the top of the steamers, and the fragrance was everywhere... Busy figures, either to support their families or to make a living, these ordinary vendors were also the most indispensable part of the people in Kyoto City.
Today there is a new stall on South Street, which sells food.
A beautiful woman in blue cloth was setting up a stall at the entrance of the alley next to the pancake shop with a child of four or five years old.
Together, mother and son moved tables and benches. Liu Sanniang also brought out the small stove, lit the charcoal fire, and placed the large earthenware pot filled with meat in the basket on top to keep it warm. The child beside them, with his short legs, helped the adults carry out some of the lighter items.
At this time in the morning, people started walking on the streets. Most of them were caravans heading out, or families who wanted to leave the city. Those who wanted to leave early would gather at the city gate early to line up to leave the city.
At this time, a caravan of merchants transporting goods out of the city happened to arrive at South Street. Someone with a keen nose in the caravan was the first to smell a fragrance and asked the person next to him, "Do you smell it?"
"What do you smell?" asked the person being questioned.
"A fragrance, a very fragrant smell... It's the smell of meat! Very fragrant, especially fragrant!" The person who spoke sniffed and said affirmatively.
“…”People who didn’t smell anything.
As the distance got closer, more and more people smelled the fragrance. The aroma of meat was so overpowering that they couldn't ignore it even if they wanted to.
The vendors setting up stalls nearby could also smell the fragrance.
The mother and son, the culprits, had no idea that the pot of meat on their stall had made many people's stomachs growl with hunger.
An oil lamp was placed on the table, like a guiding light, leading people who followed the smell to find this stall.
A banner hung in front of the stall's table, bearing the words "Lu Ji Piao Xiang Braised Food" (Lu Ji Piao Xiang Braised Food). Lu Mingfei had asked Boss Lu to write the sign for them. It wasn't that he couldn't write, but rather that this uneducated "him" in this world couldn't write either. So, if he were to reveal his literacy at this point, he wouldn't be able to explain it clearly.
The mother and son had just managed to set up their stall when customers came to their stall.
"What kind of food are you selling here? It smells so good." The person who came was a manager in the caravan. His surname was Zhang. He was a little fat and it was obvious that he loved to eat.
Just as he placed the bamboo tube containing the chopsticks on the table, he heard someone talking. Lu Mingfei looked up at the uncle in front of him, a standard service smile on his face, and replied: "Hello, uncle, we sell braised meat here, as well as rice and vegetables. Would you like some?"
"Master, would you like something to eat?" Liu Sanniang asked nervously when she saw a guest coming.
"Open it and let me see." Manager Zhang's eyes fell on the jar that was emitting a fragrant smell and asked, "How much is your braised meat?" He had eaten a lot of braised meat, but this was the first time he had smelled such a fragrant smell.
"If you want fine rice, the braised pork rice is ten cents a bowl, which contains rice, meat, vegetables, and a braised egg. Adding meat is six cents a portion, and adding an egg, rice, and vegetables is two cents a portion, and it comes with a bowl of clear soup." As Liu Sanniang spoke, she picked up a cloth towel and covered the lid, then opened it.
She had originally thought of just cooking a pot of whole-grain rice, but then her child's words enlightened her. There were many wealthy lords in Kyoto, and perhaps these wealthy lords preferred refined rice over whole-grain rice. So they prepared two pots of rice at their stall: one refined rice and one whole-grain rice. If you wanted refined rice, you could get braised pork rice for ten cents a bowl, while if you wanted whole-grain rice, it would be eight cents a bowl, a two-cent saving.
These two cents are nothing to someone with money in their pocket, but to someone who is short of money, saving two cents is two cents.
As soon as the lid was opened, a burst of hot steam came out and the fragrance became stronger.
"It smells good! Give me a portion first, I want some rice." Manager Zhang saw that there were tables and long benches here. He didn't mind the simple appearance of such a small stall. He walked around one end of the bench, walked inside, and sat down. He also called out to the two people following behind him: "You two, sit down and eat together."
"I want two more for them, the same ones."
The two young men following Manager Zhang thanked him and sat down on another long bench nearby.
"Okay, you guys take a seat first, I'll be there soon." Liu Sanniang didn't expect business to come so quickly. She was surprised and nervous at the same time.
Lu Mingfei held his mother's hand and comforted her, "Don't panic, mother. Just do it one step at a time. You go get the rice and I'll get the soup."
"Hey, good." Liu Sanniang saw that the children younger than her were so calm, and when she saw the encouraging look on their faces, she also calmed down and took three large bowls to get the rice.
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