Chapter 21 Go to her house for dinner
After buying what everyone wanted, we went to the butcher stall to buy meat.
There were several butcher stalls in the county town, both in the East Market and the West Market. They sold their wares at the East Market and bought their meat there.
The best part of making meat oil is pork lard, which is also the most sought-after part. By the time they arrived, it was already sold out. So they had to buy some that were both fat and lean, then remove the fat and make the oil.
Pigs in ancient times ate healthily and did not have much fat, so it was difficult to buy fatter meat.
Xu Zhichun didn't care much. She didn't know if there was any lard in the harbor warehouse, but there was plenty of vegetable oil. She would buy five pounds of soybean oil later and take it back, then mix it with the one in the warehouse. It wouldn't matter if the amount became more than ten pounds.
Xu Zhichun bought a large bone, two pounds of pork belly, and more than three pounds of ribs. In late March, the weather was good enough to last him two days. He would buy more after finishing all the meat.
Zeng Xiaoyan bought four pounds of front leg meat and two pounds of ribs.
Aunt Zhu'er calculated the days and her husband would be home the next day. In addition to buying meat, she also bought a big pig's trotter to make soup the next day.
As soon as they left the pork stall, Zeng Xiaoyan looked at Xu Zhichun eagerly and said, "Sister-in-law Zhichun, take these two pounds of ribs. Once they're cooked, we can go to your house and eat them, okay? We don't like to cook ribs at home."
Zeng Xiaoyan was born into a wealthy family. Even though she suffered from the abuse of her stepmother, her food and clothing were still much better than those of peasant families. She loved pork ribs.
When farmers buy meat, who would be willing to buy something like spare ribs? Of course, they would buy pure meat, preferably with more fat and less lean meat.
Zeng Xiaoyan had bought some spareribs before, and Zhao had ridiculed and lectured her, saying she was wasting money and didn't know how to live. She asked, "Why would you buy something so lean and boneless? It's barely enough to fill your stomach. You can tell she's a spendthrift!" Zeng Xiaoyan was so angry that she had a very unpleasant argument with her.
If she bought some spare ribs and brought them back, Zhao would probably quarrel with her again because of her bad mouth.
She didn't want to affect her good mood of making money, so she asked Xu Zhichun to help her with the speculation.
Sister Zhichun’s cooking is even more delicious.
Xu Zhichun hesitated, and Liang Mingliang hurriedly said with a smile, "Sister-in-law Zhichun, our family really doesn't like to make these spareribs. Especially my second sister-in-law, she always nags us about wasting money and not knowing how to live. Why bother arguing with her? Sorry to bother Sister-in-law Zhichun."
Xu Zhichun understood and said with a smile, "Okay, tell your family you're having dinner and then come to my place. I'm going to buy some soy sauce later, so why not buy half a pound of vinegar and make one braised pork ribs and one sweet and sour pork ribs?"
Zeng Xiaoyan's eyes lit up and she nodded happily: "Okay, okay, do you want to buy some brown sugar? I'll buy two more kilograms of brown sugar."
Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "I still have some of what you gave me last time. I don't need it anymore. Aunt Zhu'er, please come to my house for dinner. I also bought a lot of spare ribs."
Aunt Zhu'er has had braised and stewed spare ribs before, but she has no idea what braised spare ribs taste like or how they're made red. She's also completely uninformed about sweet and sour spare ribs. Can sugar be used to braise meat? It's a mystery. Zeng Xiaoyan's cooking must be delicious, and I'm tempted.
"Okay, I'll go too. I'll stew some pig's feet tomorrow and send you a bowl."
"OK!"
Passing by a tofu stall, Xu Zhichun simply bought three pieces of tender tofu, fried the roast pork until golden brown, and sprinkled a handful of chopped garlic sprouts on it, which was also delicious.
After buying some good things, I stopped by the Lotus Restaurant.
Shopkeeper Tang said with a chuckle, "These gray tofu and gray bean shreds are selling well. From now on, whenever you come, please order ten pounds. If ice jelly is okay, how about twenty pounds tomorrow? If you need a larger quantity someday, we'll let you know in advance."
This was equivalent to a regular customer, with stable income and a few hundred coins in hand. The four of them were very happy, and Xu Zhichun quickly agreed.
Shopkeeper Tang did not ask them not to sell to other families. As for the ingredients, each family has its own way of preparing them, and it all depends on the chef's skills.
If the Lotus Restaurant wants to monopolize these fresh ingredients, it will have to pay a considerable price. It must buy all the goods from Xu Zhichun and others. Although their restaurant is doing good business, it is impossible for them to sell so much gray tofu and gray bean shreds in one day.
Everything was settled, and after another bowl of hot meat noodle soup, they stopped by the blacksmith shop on their way back. Xu Zhichun asked for a custom-made large iron wok. He measured it, and it was about 70 centimeters in diameter, twice as big as the wok they were using.
Blacksmith shops also make such big pots, and wealthy families, winemakers, and tofu makers also need to use big pots.
It can be done, but it's expensive.
It costs a full tael of silver, and the full amount must be paid in advance.
After all, a small pot can be sold even if it is pre-ordered but not bought in the end. But if such a large pot is pre-ordered but not bought, who knows when it can be sold?
Wow, Xu Zhichun really didn’t expect it to be so expensive!
Zeng Xiaoyan and others were also surprised.
Xu Zhichun only brought 500 coins with her, but fortunately she had made a lot of money from today's business. After discussing with them, she counted out 500 coins and paid them. When she returned to settle the accounts, she deducted her share and took the contract for the agreed delivery.
Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er both felt a little guilty. Who needed such a large pot for daily necessities? They also had their share of konjac tofu.
"How about we consider this big iron pot as a joint purchase for the three of us?"
"Yes, that's what I said."
How could Xu Zhichun ask them to pool money to buy a pot?
"No, really. I really want to buy a big pot. It will be more convenient to boil water, cook rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival, make pig-killing dishes for Chinese New Year, and make fried meatballs. Really."
Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er: "."
Who cooks rice dumplings and fries meatballs in such a big pot?
After returning to the village, Liang Mingliang drove the ox cart to Xu Zhichun's house as usual.
Passing by the village's locust tree, many women gathered there, gossiping and chatting as they took a break from work after lunch. Seeing them return, they all looked over, their eyes examining the items on the oxcart.
All the things Xu Zhichun and his companions bought were placed in buckets and large clay pots and covered with lids. They were tightly covered so that no one could see what was inside.
"Brother and sister Zhu'er, are you really going to the city to sell taro? Is that stuff really that good? Don't cause any trouble or people will give you trouble."
"My God, they are so brave!"
"Everyone wants to make money, but you can't do it without following the right path. You can't do something that harms others."
"Xiaoyan, Zhichun, did you really make any money? How much did you make?"
Zeng Xiaoyan was furious and wanted to retort, but she held back and looked at Xu Zhichun. Aunt Zhu'er, fearing she might say something wrong, remained silent, only pretending to smile and fooling around.
Xu Zhichun had no choice but to give some response. After all, they were in business for a long time, and someone would know about it in the future. It would not be auspicious to say that they had not made any money at this time.
(End of this chapter)
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