Chapter 89
Because Gu Xinxin needed chicken every day, the chickens from the surrounding villages gradually stopped coming. It wasn't free, but at the market price, even if they didn't make much profit, it didn't matter where they sold them. They had to make a trip to the town to deliver them.
Many families in the village also spontaneously started buying chicks. Chickens grow very fast, at most two months and at most half a year. Except for the old hens that are kept for laying eggs, the rest can be slaughtered.
Some people also came to ask Gu Xinxin if she wanted to buy a duck.
Gu Xinxin thought about it and decided that she could buy it. Duck meat can be used to make sausages. After all, this was pure duck meat, at least it didn't contain anything that was bad for the body.
Yes, she was planning to add grilled sausages to her snack selection. It was cold, and a hot, fragrant sausage was something everyone couldn't resist. Of course, she didn't have an oven, so she'd use a frying pan instead. Rolling it in hot oil was even better than baking it dry.
Gu Xinxin had asked Gu Chen to stockpile a lot of pig intestines before, which now came in handy.
The most important step in making starch sausage is to prepare the filling, which is usually chicken breast.
But now the chicken breasts are all used to make meat floss. Someone happened to send a duck, and the duck necks and duck wings can be used to make braised dishes. As for the rest... I haven't thought of a use for it yet, but it's just right for making stuffing.
Ask Gu Daniu to help chop the duck meat into puree, then add five-spice powder, especially pepper powder, as pepper can maximize the aroma of the meat. Then add sweet potato starch. If there is no sweet potato starch, use potato starch instead. Sometimes cassava flour can also be used as a filler.
Of course, there can’t be too much starch, otherwise the sausage will become stiff.
But it can’t be too little, starchy intestines, starchy intestines, if there is less, you won’t have that feeling.
After making it, let it air dry first. The weather is a bit cool now, and it will become hard after hanging it outside for two days. Then put it in water and boil it for 40 minutes. After it is cooked, put it in cold water and chill it. After chilling, let it dry.
This way, the sausage can be preserved for a longer period of time.
After the starch sausages were dried, she went to the provincial capital again to check the sales of meat floss and to promote the starch sausages.
She went to the first grocery store first. When the owner saw her coming, he hurriedly stood up to greet her: "Boss Gu, you're here? I was just thinking about meeting you. Can you give me five more pounds of pork floss each time?"
Gu Xinxin raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Are they selling well?"
The provincial capital delivers goods every five days. Before the delivery crew returns, the next batch of delivery crews sets out. Before the next batch of delivery crews arrives back at Xiaokaner Village, the first batch sets out again. The two groups arrive at different times, ensuring a five-day gap between them.
Each delivery weighs 30 kilograms, and every grocery store gets 7 or 8 kilograms.
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Isn't it cold out? There are fewer vegetables in the fields, and pickles are expensive. Although meat floss is not cheap either, it is made of meat after all, and it also has salt, so eating it will give you strength."
Besides, it’s cold and people don’t want to get up and cook, so a bowl of white porridge with a spoonful of meat floss in the morning is just right.
If it is pickles, one spoonful may not be enough.
In short, the sales of meat floss are quite good during this period.
Gu Xinxin nodded: "Okay, I'll ask someone to send more later." It just so happened that the village had some extra meat floss made recently. After all, everyone worked hard all day, so they must accumulate some stock.
Of the remaining three, two also need to increase their supply. But the last one is in a dilemma: "Sales aren't very good. With the money we spent on meat floss, we could have bought real meat."
Meat floss is not meat.
Gu Xinxin didn't want to make things difficult for the other person, so she asked, "It's not selling well, right? Why not reduce the supply?" She didn't see any returns.
The shopkeeper quickly said, "Although some of it's not easy to sell, they're still customers after all. If I persuade them a little more, some people will take some away. Most of them buy jars at a time, and they are all regular customers from the surrounding area."
Gu Xinxin understood that he was trying to show off his achievements.
She pondered for a moment and asked, "So what do you mean?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Look, it's quite hard for me to sell here. After all, it's not easy to sell in the cold weather. I'm also a meticulous person and don't want good things to go bad, so it's inevitable that I have to put in a little more effort... Even if there's no credit, it's still hard work. So, do you think the commission should be adjusted?"
Gu Xinxin smiled and said, "I'm not just consigning this meat floss to your store. If I have to adjust the price for you, shouldn't I also adjust the price for the other stores? I don't make much money from this meat floss to begin with. The cost I spent on the trip alone is almost as much as the combined profits of all of your stores."
She paused, then continued, "The shopkeeper is also in business, so he should understand that if this business doesn't make money, what's the point of doing it?"
She sighed, "If it's really not selling well, I don't want to make it difficult for you. It could also be that the people here don't like the taste. Food is always like this. Some people like it, and some don't."
"I'll ask around later and see where people like it, and then sell it to another place." Gu Xinxin smiled and said, "That way, it'll be easier for both of us."
The shopkeeper frowned. That was not what he meant. Although the profit from the meat floss was small, grocery stores were run by accumulating small profits over time. The profit from each item was not high, but the profit was accumulated slowly from selling different products.
To be honest, the meat floss is not the best-selling product in his shop, but it is not the worst either.
As long as someone buys it, it will be profitable.
Just as I was thinking about how to talk to Gu Xinxin about bringing this up, I heard Gu Xinxin say, "Originally, I had some new stuff I wanted to consign to your shop, but now it seems unnecessary."
The shopkeeper was a little cautious: "What's new?"
Gu Xinxin took out some starch sausage. The shopkeeper took one look and said with a smile, "It's sausage?"
Then there's nothing surprising about it.
Gu Xinxin emphasized: "It's not sausage, it's starch sausage. There is meat in it, but it's duck meat. The main ingredient is starch. It tastes soft and is cheaper than sausage. Sausage costs 20 copper coins per pound, but this only costs 10 copper coins per pound."
Pork costs twelve copper coins per pound, the kind with both fat and lean meat. Pure lean meat costs only ten copper coins, while pure fat meat costs eighteen copper coins - fat can be used to extract oil, and every family needs oil. Moreover, fat is soft and melts in your mouth, and is much more delicious than lean meat.
To make Chinese sausage, you have to use the kind that is fat and lean, plus seasonings and labor, twenty copper coins per pound is not a lot.
The shopkeeper was immediately surprised: "Ten copper coins per pound? Even cheaper than lean meat?"
Since Gu Xinxin brought it here, she made sure it was ready for people to taste right away. She took it out for the shopkeeper to try: "Shopkeeper Liu from the front street asked for ten pounds, and Shopkeeper Zheng over there asked for twenty pounds. Shopkeeper Zheng was really bold. After tasting it, he praised it repeatedly and ordered twenty pounds on the spot."
Those shop owners all run grocery stores.
The shopkeeper pursed his lips and opened the paper package handed to him by Gu Xinxin. Although it was a little cold, the fried food, coupled with the fragrant powder on the outside, still had a very rich taste, which made people's mouths water.
The reason why grilled sausages have become so popular is that they must have a unique taste.
The shopkeeper took only one bite, and his eyes lit up: "This taste... although it's not as good as sausage, it has a unique flavor."
It tastes soft and chewy.
Gu Xinxin told him, "You can deep-fry it. If you don't want to use oil, that's fine. You can just carve some patterns on it and grill it."
She won't tell you the details of the recipe. She has already told her eldest and second cousins about it and asked them to sell it when they set up stalls, so it's a trade secret.
The shopkeeper hesitated: "How long can it last?"
"It's cold now, so keeping it for ten or eight days won't be a problem. If the shopkeeper is still willing to cooperate, then we'll stick to the old rules. I'll deliver goods every five days, and you can return any unsold goods to me. I'll still take a commission of one copper coin per pound."
Gu Xinxin said, "If the shopkeeper feels that it's a waste of time and that all the hard work is not profitable, then forget it. Anyway, I'm not shipping much now, so I'm afraid I can't supply this side."
The shopkeeper made a quick decision: "Wait, I didn't say I wouldn't cooperate. Even though the meat floss isn't selling well, I run a grocery store and I'm always there. Isn't it just a few more words?"
When it comes to making money, no matter how you do it, it won't be shameful. How can going back on your word be a big deal?
Gu Xinxin didn't care. It was about making money. If there was profit, they could work together. If there wasn't, forget it. Who in this world couldn't get along with money? As long as there was profit to be made and the money went into their pockets, then nothing mattered.
Today the shopkeeper asked her to bark like a dog... That's impossible, she would never do it.
Gu Xinxin came out of the grocery store and couldn't help but take a deep breath. The weather was cold, and the air she inhaled made her cough.
She tightened her collar and was about to turn around and get on the mule cart when she heard a voice ask, "Miss Gu?"
Turning around, I saw an acquaintance, Cheng Shansong.
She was a little surprised: "Why is Mr. Cheng here? What a coincidence, we met."
Cheng Shansong smiled and said, "You are here to visit a friend. Miss Gu, are you here alone?"
Gu Xinxin smiled and said, "No, I came here with my father. My father is waiting for me at the inn. If Master Cheng has anything to do, just go ahead."
Cheng Shansong nodded, and after a moment, he added, "I heard that the snack cart in the county town is yours? That's quite innovative. I wonder if those foods were all Miss Gu's ideas?"
"Just some unconventional ideas," Gu Xinxin said with a smile, neither admitting nor denying. Cheng Shansong then asked, "It's like this. My friend is a bit of a foodie, especially one who likes novelty. I wonder if Miss Gu could help me out?"
Before Gu Xinxin could speak, he hurriedly added, "Of course, I won't let Miss Gu's work be in vain. Regardless of whether my friend likes it in the end or not, I will give Miss Gu twenty taels of silver."
Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount. Gu Xinxin worked hard for a month, running around every day, and only earned thirty taels.
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