Chapter 44
It's normal for children to be greedy.
My aunt sat aside and asked, "Xiang Rong didn't come?"
Grandma had also been curious for a long time. She sat on the side rubbing the edamame, eagerly waiting for Gu Xinxin's answer.
"Xiangrong is in school. My dad made some money, so my stepmother urged him to send Gu Wenshu to school. So of course I had to push Xiangrong over there too. Now Xiangrong is going with him anyway," Gu Xinxin said, praising her aunt's cooking: "It's so delicious. There's almost no fishy smell, it's all fresh flavor."
My aunt was very proud: "Of course, I dare say that in the whole Wangjiazhuang, the fish I cook is the most delicious."
No one else can make this taste.
"Then, aunt, can you make fish? You can stir-fry them with spicy ingredients or deep-fry them. They are delicious whether you eat them directly or with rice." Gu Xinxin asked. Her aunt hesitated for a moment and said, "I can deep-fry them, but it uses a lot of oil, and you get tired of them after eating a little."
As for the spicy ingredients, she didn't miss any. In the past, she just added a little salt. If she was feeling extravagant, she would add some eggs and flour to coat the fish.
Gu Xinxin was very excited: "Then let's go to town tomorrow and buy some seasonings. We'll make some for grandma and grandpa to try first. If we think this stuff can sell, we'll set up this stall. We can't say we'll become rich, but at least we can send Xiaobao to school."
Wang Fengshou originally wanted to refuse, but when he heard about sending Xiaobaoer to school, he hesitated - as a parent, if it is good for their children, they will definitely give it a try.
He turned to look at Xiaobaoer, who was also looking at him eagerly.
"Okay, niece, just give it a try. If it doesn't work, we'll just consider it an improvement in our lives." Wang Fengshou smiled and said, "If it works, I'll consider it thanks to your help. Don't worry, I'll give you a commission too."
He turned to his grandparents and said, "Gu Daniu's business requires him to give his niece ten copper coins as a commission for every ounce of silver he earns. Let's do the same."
He then asked Gu Xinxin, "Are ten enough? Or how about more, twenty?"
Gu Xinxin waved her hand: "That's enough."
In the past, she might have felt that it was not enough, but now she has received commissions from several companies, and the commissions will increase in the future, so she can sit at home and collect the money.
Of course, there will be those who refuse to give it. If they don’t give it... then she will no longer interfere in his business, and can even give similar ideas to other families. After all, doing business does not only rely on secret recipes, but also on means, experience, vision, etc.
Gu Xinxin pursed her lips and continued, "Fish balls can be fried or grilled. Let's try both and see which method tastes better. We're going to run a food business anyway, so we can make a few pennies by doing this."
My aunt nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
If it wasn't so late today, she would have dragged Gu Xinxin to town to buy things. If she could earn money earlier, she could send Xiao Baoer to school earlier.
Dabaoer came over and said, "Cousin, do you want to tell me another ghost story? I want to hear it."
Little Baoer also came over. He wasn't as brave as Da Baoer, but he was afraid and wanted to listen. He covered his ears with his hands, his eyes shining, "Cousin, can you tell me another one?"
Come on, tell me. Who hasn't heard a few classic ghost stories in school? If I don't teach you two brats a lesson today, it would be a waste of you calling me cousin.
The next day, Gu Xinxin went to town with her aunt to buy seasonings, such as Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers, which are the most commonly used seasonings for snacks. Of course, they are not cheap. Sichuan peppercorns are especially popular. Most of them grow in Shu, and the most authentic ones are from there. When they are transported here and sold, the price is definitely higher than ordinary things.
Chili peppers also come in different varieties.
The ones they grow locally are a slightly spicy kind, also called vegetable peppers, which are usually used as vegetables. The spicier ones are long and called long strip peppers, also called sharp peppers because of their pointed ends, which are also used as vegetables.
But if you want to make snacks, you need to use chili peppers, or the kind of red chili peppers, which are mostly produced in Hunan. Since they come from other places, the price must be expensive.
My aunt's cheeks were twitching when she bought it. Although their life in Wangjiazhuang was better than that in Xiaokaner Village, to be honest, compared to having money, Xiaokaner Village was still better off - the better life was not being hungry, which was better in another sense and was quite different.
Let me put it this way, my aunt's house may have hundreds of kilograms of grain stored. Throughout the year, they eat dry meals much more often than the Gu family, and they don't often feel hungry and unable to sleep.
But the silver they had saved at home might be only two taels.
The Gu family did not have that much food. Out of the 360 days in a year, they only had two meals a day for 160 days, and sometimes they even had to sleep hungry. However, the Gu family had about 4 taels of silver saved.
As for why the Gu family didn't use silver to buy food, you're kidding! Do you know how expensive food is? The extra two taels of silver the Gu family had definitely couldn't buy enough food to keep the Wang family from starving. Food and silver can be equated, but sometimes they can't be.
But even if it hurts, you still have to buy it. My aunt won't be unable to understand this.
After returning home with the seasoning, her aunt helped Gu Xinxin light a fire while showing her the small fish Wang Fengshou and his men had brought back today. "Isn't it a little too small? Do you want to get a bigger one?"
"No, this small one is better. The bones and muscles are not fully grown, so it is crispy. If it is bigger, it will have fish bones." Gu Xinxin said with a smile. She planned to make two flavors, one five-spice and the other spicy.
Fried fish is not a rare dish. Almost all families living near a river can make fried fish. Some are fried with vegetables, which means just washing the fish and frying them in a pan. Others are fried with flour wrapped in it, and if they are more luxurious, they can add some eggs.
The reason why Gu Xinxin was confident that this business could succeed was because of her secret recipe for seasoning. No matter whether it was five-spice or spicy, if the recipe was slightly wrong, the taste of the resulting fish would not be right.
The most important thing about snacks is the taste. If they can’t make people want to stop eating, then you have failed.
Wang Fengshou had already done the cleaning and spitting of the fish beforehand, so Gu Xinxin only had to fry and season them. The small fish were also fried first to set the fish in shape and control the oil while setting.
The flavor of chili and Sichuan peppercorns is the most dominant. Once the oil is boiling, the aroma is immediately released. Then pour the small fish into the pan and stir-fry together. The stir-frying action must be very fast to prevent the small fish from sticking to the pan. Only by stirring quickly can the fish be more flavorful.
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