Chapter 15 15. Selling Buns
"Grandma Zhao, I want to use the kitchen to steam buns." Shi Liu said this with some embarrassment. She went out to sign in a lot today but couldn't get a big iron pot. She would go to sign in again tomorrow. If there was still no one, she would buy a ceramic basin first.
"It's okay, just use it. Anything in the kitchen can be used." Grandma Zhao smiled kindly. The little girl went out for a walk and came back to bring candy for Xiaojun. She was a generous child. She also believed that the girl really forgot to buy the pot.
Shi Liu smiled and nodded, thinking about giving Xiao Jun something delicious next time.
She skillfully mixed the stuffing, rolled the dough, and pinched the folds. Fist-sized buns quickly took shape in her hands. Since there were jade buns, she made more buns and only made ten. She threw the remaining ingredients directly into the jade buns and spit out 100 buns in a row. The jade-colored silk thread on the jade buns was directly removed.
"Ah!" Shi Liu suddenly realized that this jade bun thing really wasn't something that most people could afford. It was using up jade so quickly. Perhaps it had something to do with the quality of the jade? Should she try a jadeite with better water content next time? Thinking of her beautiful jade collection, Shi Liu felt reluctant to part with any of it. She decided to take some time off to visit Yun Province, where there were so many jade mines that they were worthless.
But traveling far isn't something you can do just because you want to. Not only is transportation difficult, but you also need a letter of introduction. Without one, you can't even find a place to stay, or take a train or bus. It's almost as important as a modern ID card. Shi Liu, a rural student, had no reason to get a letter of introduction.
Shi Liu gathered the old Shi family around and suddenly made a surprising discovery—her third cousin from her uncle's family was currently serving in the army in Yunnan Province. She might be able to visit Yunnan Province under the pretext of visiting him, but only if he was in trouble. Although Shi Liu didn't know this cousin well, she didn't want him to get hurt, so she had to suppress these thoughts for the time being.
After picking up four buns and wrapping them in oil paper, Shi Liu picked up the rest and put them in a basket, and put it in the house: "Grandma Zhao, these are the buns I just steamed. They are made with shepherd's purse. Try them."
Grandma Zhao didn't want to take advantage, but when she heard that it was just shepherd's purse buns and not meat buns, she took them with confidence: "Shiliu, you're very polite. Xiaojun, get some dried sweet potatoes for your sister Shiliu. Shiliu, you must try my dried sweet potatoes. I dare say there's no such delicious dried sweet potatoes in Lin City. This is our family's secret recipe passed down from generation to generation."
Some dried sweet potatoes were inexpensive, so Shi Liu took them without hesitation. She took a bite of an orange-yellow dried sweet potato and her eyes lit up. It tasted truly delicious. No wonder Grandma Zhao said she couldn't find anything better in Lin City. She wasn't exaggerating. The food was sweet and delicious, with a nice chewy texture and a non-sticky texture. It made her want more.
If my wallet wasn't empty, I would really like to stock up on a hundred kilograms of pomegranates and eat them slowly.
"Grandma Zhao, would you like to exchange this dried sweet potato?"
Grandma Zhao was stunned. How could she sell these dried sweet potatoes for money? Even though she had a pension, there were many things she couldn't buy even with money. Of course, her sons must have had ways to buy them, but the old lady didn't want to cause trouble for them. After all, her sons had climbed to their current position with scars all over their bodies, and she couldn't bear to delay their future because of her own affairs.
So, faced with the temptation of pomegranates, she was shamefully tempted: "I can exchange it, but I don't have many sweet potatoes." People in the city who eat commercial grain have a fixed amount of food.
"That's no problem. I'll go back to the village and get a sack. You can help dry it. I'll pay for the labor, how about that?"
"That's no problem." Grandma Zhao smiled immediately. "I heard there will be wild game in the countryside. You can just give us some when the time comes."
Shi Liu had no problem with this. It wasn't always easier for city dwellers to get meat than for villagers, and those without connections or who were slow to act often struggled to buy good meat, often resorting to picking up what others didn't want. For her, getting meat was pretty easy. She could just stand outside the meat processing plant, grab at least 30 or 40 kilograms of it, far more than she could eat herself, so she'd rather save some money.
Taking advantage of the fact that it was almost lunchtime, Shi Liu came to the black market that he had scouted long ago, carrying a large backpack on his back.
Two scoundrels were playing cards outside Dahuaishu Hutong. Seeing Shi Liu in disguise, they raised their eyebrows and asked nonchalantly, "What are you doing?"
Shi Liu did not hide anything and told the truth: "I want to sell some shepherd's purse buns."
"Shepherd's purse buns? Fresh from the pan?" asked a dark and thin young man.
"Yes, fresh out of the pot, still hot. I used the best Fuqiang flour. No tickets required, a shepherd's purse bun is 30 cents."
The skinny monkey sniffed the air, the smell was so good: "Give me three. Fatty, do you want a few too? You can tell the taste is right just by smelling it." After saying that, he handed over the money.
The fat man knew that this person was a foodie just by looking at his body shape: "I want five."
Eating five fist-sized buns in one sitting was truly remarkable, but it was a good thing for Shi Liu. After taking a bite, the two men immediately bought all fifty buns she had brought, saving Shi Liu the ten-cent entry fee from the black market.
The fat man finished a bun in two or three bites, and then took a sip of brown sugar water: "Big sister, will you come over tomorrow? If so, can you make some meat buns for me?" As for meat, they had plenty of it on the black market.
Shi Liu didn't expect there would be such a good thing. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "How many meat buns do you want?" It didn't matter who she sold it to. She naturally didn't mind selling it directly to people on the black market.
There are three bosses in the black market of Lin City. The boss of this black market is called Boss Zhao. He is a loyal man. There has never been any black-on-black incident in his jurisdiction. This is why Shi Liu chose Dahuaishu Hutong as the first place to test the waters.
Fatty ordered 100 meat buns. They definitely couldn't finish them all, so Shi Liu assumed they were trying to buy the stuff from her and then sell it on the black market. While it would be cheaper than if Shi Liu were to sell it herself, it would save time, effort, and risk.
After thinking it through, Shi Liu agreed very readily. In addition, he directly bought 30 kilograms of pork from them and said: I will make green onion and pork buns tomorrow morning.
Fatty: "Okay, wait here and I'll get you some meat."
Soon, the fat man came out carrying a piece of pork belly. Because it was for his own business, he specially picked a piece with beautiful color.
Shi Liu took out the money, put the pork into the backpack, and left quickly.
(End of this chapter)
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