Chapter 23 Chapter 23 (Three-in-One) The new tenant is actually an acquaintance...
Some people looked at the cold skewers and were eager to try them, thinking that they must be so delicious that this person could not stop eating them.
Having the idea, I bought one to try as well. Every time I tasted it, I would fan my mouth because of the spiciness and ask Baozhu for another one.
The smell is really catchy. When I take a whiff of it, my cheeks feel sour and the fragrance is everywhere.
The onlookers all gulped, their cravings growing stronger the more they watched. Finally, someone couldn't resist and bought a few skewers to try. Everyone who tried it raved about it, and soon, every regular customer who had come to see the fun had bought one. For those who simply couldn't handle spicy food, Baozhu suggested she make two pots of broth tomorrow: one still spicy and the other just for the five-spice cold skewers.
This skewer was so mouth-watering that the diners who couldn't stand spicy food nodded in satisfaction and left after hearing that there would be five-spice food tomorrow, but their noses were still keenly sniffing the aroma from the stall.
The price of food in the city has risen, and ordinary people are having a hard time. Some people can't even afford to eat, while others take this opportunity to fill their pockets.
All the rice and flour in ordinary grain stores were sold out. After the rice was bought up half under threat and half forced, it was immediately poured into the grain shops run by wealthy families.
Later, only a few grain shops remained in Bianjing, and the price of grain became even more difficult to lower. Not only was the price high, but it was also difficult to buy. Madam Xu asked several shops, and they came back cursing, saying that these people had made ill-gotten gains.
It's a pity that ordinary people can't do anything about it. The price of grain is rising rapidly, but the price of vegetables has not increased much. That's why Baozhu came up with the idea of selling meat and vegetable skewers.
The flood had just ended, but it was a holiday after all, and Mid-Autumn Festival was a time for reunions, so the streets were crowded. When one pot of skewers sold out, the other pot was cold, and by mid-afternoon, the food on the stall was completely gone.
Today is the holiday, and I'm planning to go home early. Mid-Autumn Festival is a major festival this year, so I invited my aunt and her family over for dinner tonight. We didn't have much food on hand, so we decided to test the waters.
Judging from the situation today, if there are diners who like to eat it, they will naturally come to buy it from time to time.
Since it sells well here, I think the stalls at the dock will do well too. There are many people coming and going, and their tastes are more diverse, and they are more accepting of spicy food.
It rained a few days ago and the restaurant business was not good. Zhen's father took a leave of absence and privately helped prepare a few banquets for the restaurant. Zhen's father did not ask for any money, and his reputation spread. People often come to invite him these days.
In reality, the chefs working under the kitchen also secretly accepted banquets, but they never brought this to the attention of the shopkeeper, who then turned a blind eye and pretended to be oblivious. When a kitchen chef was invited to a banquet, some would directly ask the shopkeeper, and Zhen's father couldn't refuse such an invitation. However, there were also cases where a familiar customer would privately invite him to a banquet, and whether it was for personal favors or money, it was difficult to refuse.
There is also a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet today. It is the wife of a magistrate named Cui in Kaifeng Prefecture who specially sent someone to the restaurant to ask them to cook a banquet of southern dishes. It was originally a banquet that was arranged privately, but the storekeeper never allows leave on holidays. Zhen's father had to find the storekeeper and put the banquet on the restaurant's account.
The shopkeeper said nothing. This was not a banquet that Zhen's father had arranged privately, and the family was an official. After hearing this, he agreed that Zhen's father did not need to come to the restaurant during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was more appropriate to go to the magistrate's house to prepare the banquet.
This was a feast where the wife of Cui Tuiguan invited several ladies she knew well, and also specially sent an invitation to the wife of the prefect who had just been transferred back from the south. During the feast, several people asked which chef was the one who cooked the dishes. After asking the name, they thought to themselves that they would invite the chef to come when they had a feast next time.
The wife of the prefect didn't seem to care, but she listened to what the ladies at the table said. They only asked a few simple questions, but it made Mrs. Cui feel proud. Whether in the inner house or outside, most people used food, drink and fun to start a conversation. It was natural that food was ranked first.
Zhen's father has been a good cook for decades, and although he has the help of his uncle from the Dong family, if he doesn't have the skills himself, it will be difficult for him to stand out even with the help. After all, diners judge by the food, not by someone's family background.
This time the dishes were cooked brilliantly. Both the hot and cold dishes looked refreshing and clean. When you put them in your mouth, you could tell that the chef was very experienced. This meal would be one of the best in any official family in Bian Jing.
After the meal, the wife of the prefect took a step into the old circle of these ladies. These ladies also felt a little honored because the new wife of the Shangguan family was willing to come to dinner and enter their own circle.
After the meal, Zhen's father naturally received a lot of rewards, and it was not until mid-afternoon that he came back.
Zhen's father was not in the restaurant today, so he naturally didn't know that the chef who cooked northern dishes in the kitchen was very unhappy after hearing about this. Mrs. Cui usually invited him to the banquet, so naturally
——This is also related to the fact that the former prefect was from the north.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a big festival. My aunt asked my cousin Hengzhi to send the festival gifts early, and Dalang also sent a return gift yesterday.
Most of the holiday gifts sent were large crabs weighing four or five taels each, which were tied together with straw and packed into a basket. As soon as they were delivered, they were placed in buckets and kept.
The crabs were well cared for and still in good condition after three or four days of care. I picked some smaller ones and pickled half a jar of crabs with spicy sauce.
Everyone who came back from the festival today was early, and the whole family came back in the afternoon, except Xu, who came back a little later. Baozhu and Zhurong brought a small stool and sat under the eaves to pick the crab meat and crab roe.
The crab roe soup dumplings sold on the street were not very authentic and contained very little crab meat. Zhen's father finally had a break, so since his child wanted to eat them, he naturally tried every possible way to make them for him.
Previously, I thought that if I had more main rooms, I could rent them out at a higher price, so I partitioned off the main rooms to the side. Now I can only move the table to the yard to eat. The table is first placed with pomegranates and grapes newly sold on the street. The fragrance of osmanthus is in the air outside, and the afterglow of the setting sun is sprinkled on the small courtyard paved with bluestone slabs, which is a unique experience.
The second brother hadn't rested for a long time. Today, as the family was reunited, he had returned early to help out. He had just returned from a trip to buy wine. Shopkeepers were all selling new wines for the festive season. Waiters stood at the doorway, bowing and scraping to attract customers, boasting of being drunk to the point of intoxicating immortals. Despite the exaggeration, the aroma of the wine still attracted many people who went in to get a pot or two.
The talent just came back and now he is slaughtering fish and chickens with his elder brother.
Don't underestimate the second brother. Although he has read a lot, he is not the kind of nerd who only knows how to read and talk nonsense. Just look at the Zhen family's family background among all the students in the Imperial College, but few people laugh at the second brother. Instead, he has made many close friends with similar personalities.
Since Baozhu and her eldest brother set up a stall to sell food, many classmates came to the second brother to order food.
Since it was a family gathering, my aunt came in casual clothes. There was no sense of guest-centricity among the family. She tied her apron and sleeves and sat down to pick vegetables with Xu.
"Hengzhi and his father went to buy pickled goose feet and duck gizzards. There's a place that sells delicious braised food. I mentioned it last time, so this time it's just the right time to buy some to add to the dishes."
Xu smiled and said, "Why add more dishes? There's already a table full of food."
Aunt Zhen shook her head. "Coming from Zhouqiao, there are so many people that it's impossible to squeeze in. The restaurant is also full. The seats upstairs have been taken long ago. Everyone is waiting to enjoy the moon today."
The fragrance from the kitchen wafted through the air, and every household in the alley was cooking. The big fish and meat that people usually wouldn't eat were also laid out today. Everyone used their best cooking skills, as if competing to see whose food was more delicious.
He lit a few infuriating lanterns and also lit two lanterns under the eaves. God was understanding today and there were no dark clouds blocking the moon. The full moon in the sky was shining brightly, making the lanterns seem redundant.
My aunt was in great joy today. She only spoke after being asked by Grandma Zhen. It turned out that her cousin Yuanlin was pregnant.
After marrying into the Song family for more than a year, my aunt was worried that her family had no foundation, and there had been no good news from the other side. She was concerned that my cousin Yuanlin was not living well in the Song family. Since my grandmother came to Bian Jing, the two of them had gone to the temple to pray together countless times.
"In terms of official rank, the Song family is not much different from your uncle's. However, he holds a position in the Dali Temple, so he has some power. His ancestors were all from Bianjing, and many of his family members are officials now. As a large family, it is inevitable that they have suffered some bullying in the past." Aunt Zhen clasped her hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer to the moon. "Yuanniang is now safe and sound. I just hope Hengzhi and Erlang can pass the imperial examination next year."
It was because Yuanlin's cousin was pregnant that her aunt didn't want her to come back for the Mid-Autumn Festival. She was afraid that the trip back and forth would be disrupted. That was why the two families sat in the Zhen family courtyard to have a meal.
Baozhu felt a pang of distress. She had known from a young age that this was a different world, and the love and care of her family had made her rarely think about the future. It seemed as if women were born to marry and have children. If the family was harmonious and the couple was loving, that was fine. But if she married into a rotten family, she would probably die before she could find peace.
For example, the Sun family in Suzhou. If Zhen's father and mother had not been so concerned about their children, she would have been targeted by the Sun family and it would have been difficult for her to escape. Given her temperament, she would rather die than surrender.
But if we really went up against the Sun family, I'm afraid we'd die. Baozhu shuddered, not knowing whether it was the cold night or the thought of the other way she'd almost been dragged in.
Uncle Dong and cousin Dong pushed the door open and came in. The food was ready in the kitchen. The bowls and chopsticks were set out and the food and wine were served. In addition to a tray of crab roe soup dumplings, the remaining dough was used to make a tray of egg yolk dumplings. In addition to salted egg yolks, there were also chestnuts left over from the roast chicken.
With these two things, you don’t have to steam rice anymore.
There were two tables in the courtyard. The men's side was served with new wine from Zuixianlou, while Xu's side was served with bayberry wine that Baozhu had previously brewed. Baozhu only touched a few of the hot dishes on the table, but she drank several glasses of wine.
The eldest brother and father were both drunk, and they fell asleep while supporting each other. Because someone from the Dong family was coming, Ah Xiu was embarrassed to go out, so she stayed in her room making shoes the whole afternoon. In the evening, Baozhu brought in a plate of soup dumplings and shaomai for her to fill her stomach.
After the meal, when the leftovers were collected, Uncle Dong took the lead and composed poems facing the moon in the courtyard with Dong Hengzhi and Zhen Erlang.
Baozhu was worried, and Baorong noticed and followed her into the house. Auntie, Xu, and Granny Zhen were talking in the next room, and only laughter could be heard when they were happy.
Baozhu was lying on the bed, Baorong was lying beside her with his arms behind his head, without asking any questions, he just told Baozhu jokes.
"There were two brothers who had so little money that they couldn't even afford boots, so they decided to buy a pair of boots together. The elder brother often went out to visit friends during the day, while the younger brother was a lazy person and often slept at home. He paid for the boots but rarely wore them, so he was very dissatisfied. So every night he would wear the boots and walk around the house in circles. After a few days, the boots were worn out. The elder brother told the younger brother that they should buy another pair. The younger brother turned over in bed and -"
"Forget it. Buying boots will keep me from sleeping."
Baozhu laughed out loud at the joke she told.
Baorong often read these miscellaneous books and had a collection of jokes in her head. Whenever someone in the family had a sullen look, she would pull out one to make them laugh. When she finally laughed, she would turn around and look at Baozhu, giving her a mysterious and evil smile.
"I know what grandma and the others are talking about."
"What did you say?"
"Speaking of your marriage with cousin Hengzhi, my aunt secretly asked my mother, and she wants to arrange a marriage with a relative from our family." Baorong faced the bed curtains, one foot crossed over the other. "Sister, do you like cousin Hengzhi?"
Baozhu tapped her head and said, "How old are you? How do you know what you like or dislike?"
"It's true!" Bao Rong felt that her elder sister didn't believe her, and turned away angrily, "How could I not know whether I like it or not? It's all in the book."
"You secretly went outside Xiangguo Temple to buy some books again?"
Baorong was guilty and didn't answer. Baozhu was overthinking it, so she sighed and said helplessly, "Whether it's true or not, don't tell anyone about it in public. If someone hears it, they might talk about it behind your back."
The younger sister was sulking, and after a long while she turned around and responded through her nose.
In her past and present lives, she had always been dull about love. In her previous life, she traveled a long way and relied on herself. In her extra life, she had more family and sisters. She had lived a stable life for more than ten years and rarely thought about who she could spend her life with. If it weren't for the Sun family incident, she would probably still be trying to make money in Suzhou. Even if she really wanted to get married in the future, her family would always find a suitable match.
Baozhu herself had no idea about the word "marriage". After Baorong said that, she looked outside through the window screen, and her thoughts drifted away.
The Dong family was simple, the uncle was upright, and the aunt had always doted on the Zhen children. The two families were close, and anyone could say this was a good marriage. Dong Hengzhi himself was gentle and polite, often praised by his teachers for his academic achievements, and spoke softly, never once arguing with anyone. He was truly a wonderful person, and anyone who married such a man would likely have a good life.
As for whether she liked him or not, Baozhu couldn't figure out what exactly liked him meant. Baorong's few words made Baozhu think a lot. She couldn't take what happened next for granted, just treating it as a casual joke from the adults.
I drank two glasses of wine in the evening and felt dizzy now. My past and present lives were turning back and forth in my mind. I wanted to talk to Baorong, but when I turned around, I saw that she was already in a daze and fell asleep without knowing when.
Baozhu had forgotten about this matter when she woke up. She just thought that people think too much when they are drunk. She even threw all the messy things away. The most important thing now is to make money.
The weather gradually became cooler after the Mid-Autumn Festival. With the autumn wind blowing, dead leaves and branches fell to the ground.
Although the previous heavy rain was terrible, this is the time when fruits and vegetables are ripe. There are more vendors on the streets, and the price of grain is not falling. Farmers in the countryside cannot just sit and wait for God to rain rice and flour. They all want to take advantage of this time to pick fresh fruits and sell them in the city.
After all, they are just cold skewers and cannot be eaten as a meal. When there are few people at the stall, Baozhu also likes to go shopping in the market. The food in the market at this time of year is the freshest and most varied.
There is a fruit shop on the south side of Zhouqiao Street.
Green dates as big as eggs, fresh water chestnuts, and autumn peaches that only turn red at this time of year. Although the peaches are not big, they are all bursting open, and the inside is bright red, tasting sour and sweet.
Some people also brought their own chestnuts to sell, with baskets of raw and boiled chestnuts for customers to choose from. Further ahead, there were also sugar-roasted chestnuts poured into a large pot and stir-fried with sand and gravel.
The vendors selling candied haws stick the freshest hawthorns of the crop on their straw handles, coated in translucent sugar shells that make your mouth water just from afar. An old man pushing a stove, reluctant to pay his bill, dodges the street officials and hawks roasted sweet potatoes along the street. At this time of year, the streets are filled with a sweet aroma.
Don't underestimate street vendors. During the beginning of autumn this year, there was a vendor selling crabs. Even wealthy families lined up with baskets to buy his crabs because his crabs were famous and the meat was sweet, yellow and plump.
In the past, this peddler's family only had two acres of crab ponds, but he was very cunning and now his family has rented out fifty acres of crab ponds. The crabs are not only sold to Bian Jing, but also to more distant provincial capitals.
This crab seller doesn't open a shop. He runs the stall in Bian Jing by himself, and hires some people to help him sell crabs in other places every year. He makes a fortune every year just by selling crabs during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Baozhu's goal wasn't to open a grand restaurant where only the wealthy and powerful could frequent it. She simply wanted to survive in Bianjing, and ideally, live a better life. Since her family didn't have much of a foundation, she wanted to open a restaurant, similar to the one in Suzhou, offering good, affordable food. She could attract more regular customers, and if the food was good, she could open a few more branches, so the family could still live happily together.
While walking along the street, I saw someone selling hawthorn fruits. I bought a basket of hawthorns to make hawthorn paste. It is good to drink with water or eat when you have no appetite.
When the weather gets cold, cold food doesn’t sell well, so hot food is the most important.
The red oil cold skewers are still on sale, and when it gets colder, we add more hot skewers. After the skewers are cooked, roll them in the soup and then pour two spoonfuls of hot soup on them. The smell makes you drool.
Business is neither good nor bad. At noon, those who work at the dock, although they bring their own food, like to buy a couple of strings of steamed bread to eat when they smell the delicious food here.
Since the flood, the stalls have changed to serving food, and fewer people are ordering meals in advance. Liu Si'er and Wang Da, who used to run errands, can only continue to look for work at the docks.
Food prices have remained high. I had originally planned to restart the clay pot rice business in the fall, but now that is no longer possible, so I can only start selling hot skewers.
As the weather got cooler, old customers often came to ask when clay pot rice would be available again. After asking so many questions, Baozhu began to think about making clay pot rice again. The price of rice had increased, and the price of shredded rice for making clay pot rice had increased several times. If Baozhu also raised the price, no matter how much or how little, the old customers would definitely not be satisfied, so she had to limit the quantity.
The popular dishes, preserved meat rice and minced meat and eggplant rice, are now limited to 20 servings per day. Originally thought of as a way to reward regular customers, it unexpectedly sparked a surge in popularity for clay pot rice.
There are also stalls that imitate the food, but their business is not very good. After all, the capital is high, and the selling price must be high. Zhen's food stall uses its own brewed sauce, and the taste of those imitations is far from the same. They can only fool new diners who have never eaten it. Those who have tried it will never go back a second time.
The sweet osmanthus flowers on the street are more fragrant day by day. The Zhen family food stall often gives away some side dishes. There are pickled sugar garlic in the sauce jar. I gave away a few cloves every time I ate in the past few days. The sour and sweet taste is so appetizing that I can't forget it after eating it.
The wealthy were particular about food and clothing, even their meals were forbidden from strong flavors. Merchants at the docks were less concerned, and the workers who toiled year-round had even less scruples, often coming to the stall just for the pickled garlic.
Somehow, the fame spread, but many young men from restaurants selling spicy vegetables and small dishes came to ask for the price. These men each had their own ways, and some had heard about the Zhen family food stall. The pickled garlic was not expensive, but even a mosquito leg was meat, so Baozhu agreed to sell it to them.
They bought it from Zhen's food stall and then added a markup before selling it to restaurant diners.
All kinds of spices, sweet and sour ingredients used in pickling garlic cost money, and even the water used was purchased from mountain spring water. Three heads of garlic make one portion, and each portion costs ten cents. The price you get when you sell it depends on your ability.
Wang Da and Liu Si'er heard about this from somewhere and also wanted to buy some to sell, because they had been promised that if they did a good job, they would be given the errand running job for a long time. Later, the business of the food stall stopped due to the flood, and the original errand running job was gone.
Now that the two of them came to her on their own initiative, there was no reason for Baozhu not to respond.
"Not many people are here right now, and you two aren't familiar with the restaurants in the city. So instead of going out and trying to sell it to the customers, I suggest you go directly to the restaurants and sell it to the guys who buy spicy dishes, or ask some street vendors to help you sell it."
These two people are reliable in their work, and if they can sell it, Baozhu will have more business to earn in the future. Thinking of this, Baozhu said again,
"Take some and ask people to taste it first. If you know the business, you'll be able to sell it easily. When someone places an order, come back to me to pay and get the garlic."
Wang Da and Liu Si exchanged a look of gratitude. The city was different from the villages outside. Without a farmland, the family would soon run out of food if they couldn't find a job. Now the price of grain in the city had doubled. Even if the government was controlling it, it couldn't stop the people from pretending to obey.
The two honest men had come up with this idea because they were really at a loss. Now Baozhu not only gave them an idea, but also asked them to sell the garlic first and pay the bill later. The two men were extremely grateful and each took some pickled garlic, one going to the inner city and the other to the outer city.
Perhaps because he had no way out, Liu Si'er was fine. There were many people in his family, and if he didn't eat sweet food, he wouldn't even have enough to eat. Although Wang Da had been trying to make a living outside for many years, he mostly did hard labor. He was a little embarrassed to sell pickled garlic at first, but when he thought about the empty rice jar at home, he had to bite the bullet and sell it.
Those guys who often go to restaurants are all very smart. They try everything and basically order something. They run around from morning to night and actually make reservations from several restaurants.
Wang Da knew it clearly, he didn't do anything, just asked the person to try it, but he didn't expect the person to really want it. He thought to himself that he had taken advantage of Baozhu after all. If her pickled garlic hadn't tasted so good, no matter how much he talked her into it, she wouldn't have bothered to try it.
It looks like a small business, but a lot of garlic can be sold in a day. The pickled garlic in the jar is getting less and less, and the copper coins in the box are piling up higher and higher. This is a good business. Baozhu plans to ask A Zhong to set aside an acre of land to grow garlic next spring.
Taking advantage of the rain, Baozhu bought a few more jars and received two large baskets of garlic from an old farmer in the countryside, preparing to pickle more.
Baozhu, Ah Xiu, and Baorong sat under the eaves peeling garlic. The raindrops pattered on the ground. Then they heard something next door. Baozhu was curious, but Baorong was even more curious. She patted the garlic peelings on her apron, still wearing the apron, and went out to see what was going on.
After walking outside for a while, A Niang came back.
"There's a new tenant next door!" Baorong looked surprised.
The house next door has been empty for more than two months since Mr. Zhao moved out, and someone has just moved in. Auntie always says that she must check the character of the tenant. Last time she said someone was going to move in, and I don’t know if she can be sure this time.
As she was speaking, she saw the door of her house was pushed open. There was a tall man standing behind A Niang, with his head sticking out from behind her. Baozhu was originally curious about what kind of tenant he was, but it turned out to be an acquaintance.
Pei Yanqing stood behind Xu with a faint smile on his face. Xu blocked his way, avoiding the gazes from both sides. She took out the broom leaning against the door and went out to close the door.
Xu really wanted to find a reliable person to rent out the house. After searching for a long time, she unexpectedly ran into Mr. Pei who came to the pawnshop to rent a house. Due to the flood in Bianjing, he had no time to move, so he was delayed. She had met this man a few times before. Apart from anything else, he was a good official. He caught those kidnappers so quickly during the last Qiqiao Festival, and he didn't beat around the bush.
It was because I thought he was a good man that I kept the house for so long.
It seemed that Lord Pei was very busy with official duties. He left after signing the lease, and it was not until dusk that his subordinates helped to move the things into the house. Xu had previously inquired and found out that Lord Pei was not a native of Bian Jing. Since he was appointed as an inspector by the government, he has been living in the government office. Now that he has established himself in the yamen, he moved out.
Baozhu and the others were listening attentively, and they didn't know where Xu had found out so much private information.
Zhen's father went to bed early today. He secretly learned a few northern dishes from the master chef. Now that he has some free time today, he plans to come back and ask his family to try it out first. The whole family has not eaten yet and is waiting for him.
The new tenant next door knocked on the door. Dalang opened the door and asked what was going on. Mr. Pei just bowed and said,
"My men helped move after their shift and are starving now. The smell of the stew in your yard has made them so hungry they can't even walk. I heard Uncle Zhen is the cook at Fanlou, so I'd like to ask him to make a table of delicious dishes for my men to eat."
Mrs. Xu seemed to like the new tenant very much. She chased Zhen Dalang away and smiled widely. "We have vegetables at home. Just go back and rest for a while. I'll ask Dalang to bring the meal over later."
Pei Yanqing handed over two pieces of silver, which were about five taels. Xu did not refuse him and only asked him how many people there were.
"There are eight of us, including me."
Xu nodded and told Dalang to go outside and get two more pots of wine. Zhen's father didn't know that Xu had taken over the next table for him and was frying pork elbows in full swing. After hearing what Xu said, he naturally had to step back a little and go to the next table first.
The names of dishes in ordinary restaurants all sound nice, as if they are immortal dishes that exist only in heaven and on earth. But in fact, they are just mortal dishes with strange names.
The pork elbows were fried in oil and then put into the pot to be stewed until they were soft. Quails were being fried on another stove. A pot of mutton bone soup was stewed on a small stove. It had been simmering on low heat since the afternoon. Only some minced meat was left on the mutton bones, and steam was now coming out of it.
Considering that Master Pei was often out and about, the dishes were mostly strong in flavor and filling. In addition to the crystal pork knuckle and pickled quail, there were also pickled lotus root and braised meat with fragrant bamboo shoots. The meat removed from the mutton bones was made into a five-spice mutton dish. Dalang was also asked to help with the chicken that was just bought today. He sliced it up and stir-fried it with yam, and stir-fried the cabbage with chicken fat.
He kept working and was also teaching Dalang.
"Today's meal is urgent, so we can only try our best not to make mistakes. Fortunately, Master Pei has no special requirements." He poured out the mutton soup from the pot and continued,
"Official banquets differ greatly from private banquets. If it's a banquet for a wealthy family, not only must the bowls and chopsticks be complete, but there must also be a set of cups for drinking, fruits to encourage drinking, a set number of cold dishes, hot dishes, soups, and desserts."
"The rules for those wealthy families are even more complicated. Desserts, fruits, cold dishes, and hot soups are all prepared by different cooks. Those wealthy families with long histories usually have their own cooks. Only those with lesser roots or those who have just arrived in Bianjing will look for reliable cooks from outside."
It was only when Father Zhen mentioned the kitchen that he became more talkative. "What kind of banquet should be prepared for a wedding or funeral? There's a lot to learn. I'll just teach you a few restaurant dishes first. When I start preparing banquets for others, you'll have to learn from me."
The Hu pancakes bought in the evening were already cold. A thin layer of oil was poured on the pan and fried until one side was golden brown before being placed in a food basket lined with oil paper. These officials who were handling cases were often on the go and needed some staple food to feel full.
After the meal was ready, they picked up a plate of pickled goose feet and duck gizzards, Baozhu picked up a plate of pickled crisp plums, and because two pots of wine were not enough, they asked their eldest brother to bring two pots of their own bayberry wine.
She still remembered that she owed him a favor that day. If he hadn't had sharp eyes, she would have never found the lost gold hairpin.
After the food from the neighboring families was delivered, their own dishes were finally served. Zhen's father smiled and said, "Next time I learn, I'll make you something better." The family didn't argue with the other families. At least there was still a pork elbow and plenty of mutton left. It had been a while since they had eaten such heavy meats, and the aroma was delicious. Everyone at the table couldn't help but drool. Each of them picked up a crispy fried Hu pancake, peeled it open, and stuffed the mutton into it, eating with big mouthfuls until the corners of their mouths were covered in oil.
The new tenant who moved in next door went out early and came back late, so the Zhen family rarely met. Since they lived next door, Xu often sent some food to their house. But after a few times, when no one was at home, she gave up and stopped sending food.
Baozhu started the pickled garlic business on her own. Since she needed Ah Xiu's help in pickling garlic, she gave her 20% of the profit. At first, she refused to take it, asking him to keep some money for her to live on in the future. Then she took the 10% and quietly returned the rest to Baozhu.
This business made a total of 18 strings of cash. The family also had pickled fruits that were sold outside every day. Baozhu strung the money and exchanged all the copper coins for silver ingots. She didn't realize it at first, but after holding the silver in her hands, she realized that this small business could make quite a lot of money.
At the end of October, A Zhong sent a letter saying that the crops had not been doing well due to the previous floods, but compared to those families whose crops had been flooded, the crops were doing pretty well. In addition, because of the floods this year, the prices of grains had risen a lot, and the price of soybeans had also risen a bit.
Soybean yields are already high. Even though there was a flood this year, one acre of land still yields two to three hundred kilograms. Apart from keeping one thousand kilograms for making soybean sauce and some for grinding soybean milk, there are still three thousand kilograms left for distribution. Even ten percent of the tax money is distributed to the landlord Shi. In addition to the ten percent distribution, he receives wages every month just like Jiang Shi.
What should be paid was paid and what should be divided was divided. The rest of the beans were taken to Xuzhou Prefecture to be sold. Landlord Shi was familiar with the place and he knew a grain merchant in Xuzhou.
I have worked day and night for the past few months and earned 60 strings of cash by selling beans. The land has two crops a year, one for wheat and one for beans, which is really profitable.
After the beans were harvested, the ground needed compost. There had been a lot of rain this year, so the fertilizer couldn't be retained in the ground. If not enough fertilizer was added, there wouldn't be much yield next year. A Zhong hired someone to fertilize the ground and asked Jiang Shi to look after it. He took the silver and beans and took a boat back to Bian Jing.
He handed over the letter before he came back. I estimated the date and knew he would arrive in a few days, but I didn't expect him to come back so soon.
When Ah Zhong came down from the pier, he saw the familiar cloth banner and waved from afar.
"Brothers and sisters!"
Baozhu heard the voice sound familiar. When she looked up and saw it was Ah Zhong, she was also happy. She picked up some hot skewers of meat and vegetables to fill his stomach. "The food on the boat is not good. Come and eat something. I know you will be back in the next two days, so we have prepared some dishes at home!"
Ah Zhong took off his fur hat, took the bowl and drank a mouthful of soup before saying with a smile, "The food on the boat is delicious!"
In order to save money, he took a small boat, and it was not easy to prepare much food and drink on the boat, so when he reached the center of the river, the boatman would cast a net and catch some fresh fish to eat. The hot fish soup was eaten with bread, and it tasted pretty good.
After saying hello, A Zhong called the porters to carry the soybeans back from the boat.
The weather was already cold by the end of October. Xu had to buy four sets of clothes for A Zhong for the four seasons of the year. Although she sent him to Xuzhou and he didn't come back often, she still prepared clothes for him. The winter clothes he had just made were just right for him to take away when he returned home.
Landlord Shi was very knowledgeable about farming. He sent the new crop of beans to a tofu shop to grind into water tofu. At night, he simply mixed it with green onions and poured hot oil on it. The aroma could be smelled and it tasted fresh and sweet, without a trace of bean smell.
Having tasted tofu made from these beans, you will know that these beans are also perfect for making sauce.
Most of the sauces sold at my stall are homemade, and they taste fresher than ordinary sauces. Now that I have good beans, I don’t have to worry about the food not being delicious.
Farming is a long-term livelihood. Although the profit is not much, there is output every year. Even if something happens, the income from the land is enough to support the family.
In addition to beans, A Zhong also brought dried fish when he came back. He steamed it in the evening and the whole family tried it.
"During the flood, the pond was full and the pond mouth was breached. Many fish escaped. The ones that survived were released back. The ones that couldn't survive in the mud were salted and dried."
Since the last time Big Brother Dayu went there, he has not been there again. The two sides only exchanged letters. A Zhong told everyone in the Zhen family everything that happened in Xuzhou.
Whatever vegetables could be salvaged from the fields were sold by Jiang Xiao'er to restaurants he knew, using the proceeds to cover his monthly wages and the workers' salaries. He had originally intended to keep a few acres of land for growing vegetables to send back to Bianjing, but the rain had completely soaked the vegetables, so he simply asked Ah Zhong to take care of them.
The original warehouse was given to Ah Xiu to live in, and the beans had to be stuffed into the back room at the door. It was cold in the back room at night, so Xu lit a charcoal brazier and sent it over, and asked Ah Zhong to leave a crack in the window for ventilation.
Now that I have enough beans at home, I thought about grinding soy milk with the beans and selling it early in the morning. But after trying it once, I found it really difficult. Besides, there are many people selling soy milk in the market, but none of these nameless people would come specially to buy it.
Baozhu sorted out the accounts. Xu was in charge of the household expenses, but she was the one who managed the income and expenditure accounts. Since coming to Bian Jing, the monthly expenses were not small.
Most of the time, the daily necessities of life still accounted for the bulk of the expenses. Fortunately, everyone in the family was trying to find ways to earn money, and the brothers and sisters paid a guan of money each month to the government for expenses. After Baorong became acquainted with Madam Gu from the embroidery workshop, she often drew patterns for her. Madam Gu also helped her find other painting jobs. Now she no longer works at the stall, and she either goes to the bookstore or paints at home.
When Baozhu talked about her, she just smiled - it turned out that she started helping her elder brother and her with work in order to save money to buy paper and pen.
"If you had told me earlier, I would have given it to you. You're so young, yet you've already learned all those tricks."
Hearing Baozhu's joke, Baorong made a face. She still loved painting the most. Now she could earn some money and do what she liked. This month she painted two flower albums and earned eight strings of cash.
The weather was getting colder. When I woke up in the morning, my breath was filled with white mist. In the deep autumn, the dew was heavy, and the north got colder faster than the south. During the first winter in Bian Jing, Xu had some free time to collect cotton and make a few thick quilts, and also made a set of thick clothes for each person.
When the weather gets colder, the original cold skewers are temporarily discontinued and only hot skewers are sold. It is difficult to retain customers with skewers alone. Without staple food, people may buy a few skewers to try, but no one will buy them as a meal.
This month's account was divided into three strings of cash, and after deducting the costs, each person only got a little over three strings of cash. At the end of the month, she had to hand over one string of cash to the government. Baozhu felt sorry for herself, thinking that getting up early and going to bed late and suffering from the cold every day was all in vain.
There wasn't much business at the stall right now, and the eldest brother was busy enough to handle it alone, so Baozhu went to have breakfast first. There was a stall that was famous for its spicy and hot soup, so Baozhu bought two sesame cakes, ordered a bowl, sat at the table, drank a sip of the spicy and hot soup, and took a bite of the meat sesame cake, wondering if there was anything else she could eat.
She had a few ideas in mind, but after thinking about them, she felt that they were not very feasible and rejected them one by one.
Just as I was worrying about this, I saw my father coming home that evening with a lot of duck bones and duck racks. In the winter, duck dishes are very popular in restaurants, and people often order braised and stewed duck. There's not much meat on the duck racks, but they're perfect for making soup; it's delicious and nourishing.
Baozhu slapped her head and immediately thought of duck blood vermicelli soup. In addition to duck blood vermicelli soup, she would also make mutton offal vermicelli soup. These duck offal and mutton offal are much cheaper than ordinary meat, and if you buy a lot, you can negotiate the price. However, this requires finding a reliable supplier.
Baozhu asked her father if there was a regular supplier of duck bones, duck blood, and duck offal to Fanlou. After all, Fanlou was a wealthy family, so the quality of the ingredients they could find was naturally impeccable.
Zhen's father asked about the restaurant's purchases, and learned that the duck farm that often delivers goods comes to the city every day. It not only supplies Fanlou, but also does business with many restaurants. It can slaughter two to three hundred ducks a day, making it truly a large duck farm.
There are always few people who want duck blood and duck offal, and it is difficult to handle. It would be great if someone is willing to buy it. Zhen's father helped to connect the two parties. Baozhu just needs to tell her how much she wants one day in advance and it will be delivered the next day.
At first, I wanted to test the waters, so I ordered two old ducks, ten duck bones, and thirty pounds of duck blood and duck intestines, which cost less than one guan of money in total. Now that I have beans at home, it is convenient to exchange them for tofu bubbles at a tofu shop. There is a tofu shop called Grandma Zhao's at the entrance of the alley, which has been open for many years, so it is the most economical to go there to exchange.
The bean curd is soft to begin with, and after absorbing the duck soup, it tastes even more delicious.
People in this dynasty loved mutton, and fish and fish soup were considered delicious. Once the mutton smell was removed, it was a truly delicious delicacy. The custom of eating mutton was probably initiated by the wealthy families. In any case, mutton was a must-have at any banquet in a wealthy household, though it was expensive. Mutton offal was much cheaper, and making mutton offal soup was even more convenient. One had to get up early every day and buy the freshest mutton offal and bones from the vendors. A whole set cost only three or four hundred wen, and with the bones, the total was only six hundred wen.
Mutton offal soup is different from duck blood soup. It must be served with finely cut bean curd sheets. Whether it is bean curd or bean curd sheets, as long as they are related to beans, you can find them in Grandma Zhao’s Tofu Shop.
The only thing missing now was vermicelli. Vermicelli used for making soup must be thin. After searching for a long time, I finally found suitable vermicelli in a Liuchen shop. The shop owner was originally from Anqing Prefecture. He sold goods to Bianjing in his early years. After making some money, he bought a shop in Bianjing and brought his family to live in Bianjing.
The sweet potato vermicelli sold in this shop is homemade. Every year at this time of year, they steam the sweet potato flour and make vermicelli to sell.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: *1 The joke about brothers buying boots comes from "Xiao Fu", with some changes.
*2 撒踩. Street vendors selling snacks in restaurants usually distribute their goods to customers inside the restaurant, regardless of whether the customers buy or not, and then receive tips from the customers.
●I organized a small lottery, 10 people each won 100 Jinjiang coins, the prize will be drawn on July 9th, thank you for your support [狗头叼玫瑰][狗头叼玫瑰]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
