Chapter 24: Pig's Blood and Cabbage - A Business Opportunity Discovered...
This mountain area supports many hunters in the surrounding area, all of whom have spent their lives hunting and are highly experienced. Although Xie Pei is quite skilled, he is still young, and his weapon is just an ordinary axe. Compared to these hunters, he is ultimately inferior.
With the increase in hunters, the animals in the mountains have become much more cunning, slippery and slippery, and without a bit of luck, you can't even catch a glimpse of them.
In such harsh conditions, it was considered good if Xie Pei could hunt any animals at all. In fact, he would often return empty-handed three or four times out of ten when he went up the mountain.
He wouldn't keep any animals he acquired for himself. When his parents were alive, he would have them handed over to the town to exchange for money to buy things for the family. After his parents passed away, he wouldn't eat them either. Half of the money from the sale would be taken by Xie Hong to lower the other party's guard, and most of the remaining half would be secretly replaced with Chinese medicine that could gradually erode Xie Hong's body.
Therefore, he had almost never eaten meat since he could remember. During the New Year, his mother would stew a pot of cabbage with fatty pork. Half a pot of cabbage was mixed with a few pieces of fatty pork. In the end, most of it was given to Xie Hong by his mother. He could only get a little oil from the cabbage.
Ironically, Zhu Mingyue was the first person in his life to hand him meat.
Zhu Mingyue's meat is so delicious! He can't get enough of it. Looking up, he saw Zhu Mingyue slumped in her chair, lost in thought, and for the first time ever, he felt that this sister-in-law wasn't so annoying after all.
Xie Pei ate most of the meal, and even finished off the last bit of cabbage soup.
Zhu Mingyue was astonished. As someone his age, he considered himself to be a big eater, but compared to Xie Pei, he was nothing.
The most amazing thing is that Xie Pei was still able to move after eating so much, and he got up on his own to clean the table and wash the pots and pans.
At night, Zhu Mingyue lay in bed, feeling the happiness brought by her full stomach, and fell into a deep sleep with a smile on her face.
Zhu Mingyue woke up naturally after a good night's sleep. Looking out the window, she saw that the sky was bright and clear. She felt more comfortable than ever before, and even had the energy to stretch.
Last night I had a wonderful dream. There were no wild beasts chasing me, and no Xu Lingguang whipping my bottom. Instead, there was a group of adorable, pink piglets vying to nudge my legs, whimpering and calling out, "Master, eat me first! I'm the tastiest!" "Master, eat me first! I'm the most disciplined, I exercise regularly, and I'm all lean!" "Eat me first! Eat me first!"
Zhu Mingyue was secretly overjoyed, but pretended to be calm and maintain order. He put his hands on his hips and shouted domineeringly, "Don't rush, line up from big to small, I'll do it one by one."
As soon as he finished speaking, a magic wand appeared out of thin air in his hand. He pointed the wand at the pig and shouted, "Gunara, God of Darkness, Transform!"
With a bang, the little pig in front of me turned into a plate of tempting roast suckling pig.
Zhu Mingyue's mouth watered as she devoured the food.
He smacked his lips, savoring the faint taste of meat lingering between his teeth.
After a while, he realized what he had done and laughed at himself. He was so greedy that he even had such absurd dreams. It seems that he should open a pig farm when he has the means.
There was no sound from home, so Xie Pei must have gone out again early this morning.
After washing up, he stepped out of the courtyard gate, and the cold wind made his exposed skin break out in goosebumps. He quickly wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and went back inside.
Zhu Mingyue walked around the room, feeling like there was something she hadn't done, but she just couldn't remember what it was.
He figured if he couldn't remember, it was fine; he wasn't really in a big deal anyway. He went to the kitchen to boil some water, when suddenly he caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye. He slapped his forehead.
Oh no! How could I forget about pig's blood!
I originally planned to let it sit for two hours to solidify before doing anything, but now it's been sitting for a whole night. It has solidified, but a thin layer of ice has formed on the surface.
Unable to pry it off, he simply lit a fire, placed the pig's blood, still in its pot, over boiling water to cook. Once the ice had completely melted, he cut it into pieces and poured them into the boiling water to continue cooking.
The cooked pig's blood has a brownish surface and no longer looks frightening. After skimming off the foam, it doesn't smell fishy. Putting aside the fact that it was left overnight, it can be said to be perfect.
Zhu Mingyue had already decided what to have for lunch: stewed pork blood, cabbage, and a little lard in one pot—simple, easy, and delicious.
He happened to be free at this moment, so he picked out a large cabbage from the corner basket. The cabbage was bigger than an adult's head. It had been sitting for a long time, and the outside was covered with layers of withered yellow leaves, but the inside leaves were still pretty good. He had cooked a big plate of it last night, and it was all eaten.
Don't let its vegetarian appearance fool you; it tastes sweeter than the dishes he bought at the market in his later years. With a little oil and salt, it would be a decent dish even in an ordinary household. If Xie Hong were still alive, they definitely wouldn't have a chance to eat it.
Zhu Mingyue sat on a small stool and peeled away the withered leaves to reveal the fresh cabbage inside. The cabbage stalks released water when gently pinched, which was particularly soothing. In no time, many fingernail marks appeared on the cabbage stalks.
Zhu Mingyue was having a great time when he heard the sound of the front door opening. He immediately put down the cabbage and ran to the front yard.
Xie Pei carried a carrying pole on his shoulder, with a large basket in front and behind him, looking as if he had brought back quite a lot of things.
Zhu Mingyue went up to meet him and together they carried the baskets back into the house.
He glanced at the sun outside and realized it was still quite some time before noon! He looked at Xie Pei apologetically and said, "I forgot to cook breakfast. What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you."
Xie Pei shook his head: "No need to make it, I've already eaten." He then took a cloth bag out of his pocket and threw it to him.
Zhu Mingyue instinctively caught it, squeezed it a couple of times and found it was soft and steaming. When she lifted it up, her pupils widened in shock.
"steamed stuffed bun?"
Xie Pei: "Okay, you eat it."
After buying grain in town, he saw a stall selling steamed buns on his way back. There were quite a few people queuing to buy them. He counted that he had a few coins left, so he bought four. He ate two of them while they were still hot on the way back and left the other two for Zhu Mingyue.
Zhu Mingyue held the steamed buns, wanting to ask why several times, but still didn't ask.
Even if asked, Xie Pei probably couldn't explain it clearly; perhaps he's just not used to eating alone! He couldn't think of any other reason.
Xie Pei bent down to pack the things he had brought back. Zhu Mingyue took a bite of the steamed bun and sighed inwardly as she stared at Xie Pei's thin back. "Xie Pei, how much did you pay for these steamed buns?"
Xie Pei answered in a muffled voice, "Two coins each."
"What about the pound of flour?"
"28 coins."
The steamed buns were made with mixed flour, with at least 20% coarse flour mixed in, which Zhu Mingyue could taste as soon as she took a bite.
One pound of fine flour can make about thirty buns, and adding coarse flour will make even more.
The filling is made of shredded radish, and you can taste the aroma of soybean oil if you taste it carefully, but there should be very little of it, so the filling is basically zero cost.
The cost price of thirty coins can be exchanged for sixty coins, resulting in a net profit of thirty coins. This is quite a profitable deal!
Zhu Mingyue stared thoughtfully at the half-eaten bun, a bold idea suddenly sprouting in her mind.
He also went to sell steamed buns, both cabbage and pork versions.
The cabbage filling is made with lard and priced the same as the ones sold elsewhere, at two coins. The meat filling doesn't contain pure meat; it's made with grated radish and priced a bit higher, at three coins each.
If the sale goes smoothly, it's a sure-fire way to make a profit.
His idea was good, but if he wanted the opportunity to be implemented smoothly, he still needed Xie Pei's approval.
Everything in this house belongs to Xie Pei; the pork was hunted by Xie Pei, and the rice and flour were bought with his own money. If Xie Pei disagrees, there's nothing he can do.
He knew Xie Pei was poor. After buying these things, his pockets would probably be empty. Although he was doing alright for now with vegetables and meat, these things would eventually run out. In a month, it would be spring planting. The crops would just be planted and the family would be out of money to buy more. How would they survive? Were they just supposed to stare at the rice in the fields and wait? Or would they have to rely on Xie Pei to hunt in the mountains to support them?
Zhu Mingyue knew that he was now a member of the family and could not stay at home and rely on Xie Pei to support him; he had to take on some of the responsibilities.
But Xie Pei would probably not agree to such a thing if I were to bring it up rashly.
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to take it one step at a time, and asked, "Do you think this bun is delicious?"
"It's delicious." Xie Pei replied without hesitation, then paused and added, "It's not as good as the meat from last night."
Zhu Mingyue: ...
Okay, I know you still want to eat meat.
He selectively ignored Xie Pei's hint and said, "Well, how about I make you some meat buns for lunch?"
Xie Pei didn't think much of it and took a bag of flour out of the basket: "Make it with fine flour."
That means you agree?
Zhu Mingyue happily took the bag of flour, weighed it in her hand, and estimated it to be about two pounds.
He planned to make ten to test the waters first. If Xie Pei thought they were delicious, he would directly offer his own ideas.
The steamed buns Xie Pei bought were unleavened buns; the dough was quite hard, and it was obvious that no yeast had been added.
If Zhu Mingyue is going to do something, she should do it to the best of her ability with the existing conditions. If there is no yeast, she can use baijiu (Chinese liquor) to ferment the product, and the effect should be quite good.
Zhu Mingyue estimated that she had scooped out about two or three hundred grams of flour and then started adding water to knead the dough.
Normally, when the temperature is high, it only takes a little over an hour for the dough to rise. Now that the weather is cold, that's obviously not feasible. But lunch waits for no one, and just waiting isn't a solution.
Zhu Mingyue came up with a plan: first, she had Xie Pei light a fire to cook pig's blood stew with cabbage, and while the stove was still hot, she would put the dough on the stove opening to let it rise, so that it would rise faster.
Fifteen minutes later, Xie Pei sat upright in front of the stove, with a wooden board on his lap, on which lay the white dough that Zhu Mingyue had kneaded.
While tending the fire, Xie Pei also had to shoo away the drifting ashes to prevent them from soiling the dough.
His serious demeanor combined with his actions made him look particularly comical, and Zhu Mingyue covered her mouth, pretending to cough while secretly laughing several times.
The cabbage was stewed until it was very tender, and the dough had almost risen. Zhu Mingyue chopped the meat and made a cabbage and pork filling. Since it was for her own family, she put in plenty of filling and rolled out ten dough sheets to just cover the filling.
Wrapping the dough isn't the end of the process. To make good steamed buns, the second proofing is crucial. He vaguely remembered failing several times in his previous life because of the second proofing. Fortunately, he learned from his experience and his buns got better each time.
I woke up less than fifteen minutes ago and started steaming buns over high heat.
While the buns were steaming, the two of them kept talking. Zhu Mingyue scooped out two bowls of pig's blood stewed with cabbage and told Xie Pei to eat a bowl while it was still hot.
Xie Peike had never eaten pig's blood before. Encouraged by his eyes, he put it in his mouth. At first, he looked a little disgusted, but as he ate, he realized that something was wrong. The pig's blood was fresh, tender and smooth, and had no bloody smell at all.
Xie Pei had eaten tofu stewed with cabbage a few times when he was a child. The taste was somewhat similar to pig's blood and it was also delicious, but it was not as tolerable to him as pig's blood.
Seeing his expression, Zhu Mingyue felt smug. "Little brat," she thought, "you should be grateful to be able to eat his cooking, and you dare complain? Others would love to eat it!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
