RMCF: Chapter 44

 

Chapter 44

The young Zhang couple was selling spiced meat for the first time. They arrived at the meat market half an hour earlier than usual when selling pork. Even the butchers who lived in town hadn't arrived yet.

Zhang Fangyuan's original idea was for Xu He to set up right next to his pork stall. But Xu He was a particular person who valued cleanliness. The meat market was full of the smell of raw meat. As the weather warmed, it attracted flies and insects. Selling cooked food next to raw meat just looked unappetizing.

Thinking it over, Zhang Fangyuan had to agree. He wouldn't want to buy cooked food from a stall right next to a pork stall with it’s greasy, blood-stained chopping block and bone scraps either.

But this meant they would be separated again.

“Go set up on the side at the entrance to the Tianjie street. There are many food and entertainment stalls with lots of people there. Plus, the yamen patrols often maintain order there. It's the safest place.”

Xu He agreed. He hadn't really been there before, only had a general idea. It would be a good chance to check it out.

He hoisted his basket onto his back and said to Zhang Fangyuan, “You better serve your customers well. Careful, I might sell out before you.”

“You sure you don't want me to come with you?”

If Zhang Fangyuan came with him, he wouldn't have to worry about anything. But he didn't want to rely on Zhang Fangyuan for everything. It wasn't about distrust; as a couple, they both needed to share the responsibility of supporting the family.

“It's fine. I've been coming to town to sell things since I was ten. I can handle it.”

Zhang Fangyuan sighed softly. What could he do, married to such a capable fulang? “Alright. If anything happens, just find someone to send me a message”

Only then did Xu He leave the meat market. Zhang Fangyuan watched until he disappeared from sight before turning to set up his own stall.

Leaving the meat market, Xu He walked along a small street lined with shops on both sides. At this hour, the passersby were mostly shop owners preparing to open or yawning shop assistants with very few customers in sight.

The morning light shone brightly ahead. The sky was a pale blue and the morning breeze whispered through the alleyways, carrying a scent different from what he was used to. Back in the village, it was the smell of green grass, wildflowers, and vegetable plots of the countryside. Here in the city, it was freshly steamed buns, noodles drizzled with chili oil… 

The heavy weight on his back made Xu He feel that someday, he too could casually hold a string of keys, open a door, and run a small business.

Why not?

A few months ago, at this very hour, he'd still been swinging a hoe in the fields, rushing to cut a basket of grass before sunrise to make breakfast… Now he could come to town, sell food made with his own hands, and earn money, with his husband's approval. This was something he hadn't even dared to imagine before.

If the unthinkable could become reality, how much more so for things he actively planned and worked towards? He tightened his grip on the sturdy basket straps, hitched the basket higher on his back, and strode forward.

Tianjie was a main street, flanked by two side streets as wide as a narrow alley. Neatly arranged stalls lined the sides, selling all sorts of things.

Pancakes, fried cakes, sweet pastries and soups, sugar figurines, candied hawthorn… There were also larger stalls with a couple of tables set up behind them, serving bowls of rice noodles or noodles for customers to eat on the spot. These stalls had set up much earlier than he.

Xu He rarely came to this area. It was purely a place for entertainment and spending money. Farming families generally came to town to buy household necessities and had no reason to come here.

He observed and took in his surroundings while paying the stall manager who approached to collect the fee.

“I'll just set up for one day and see,” Xu He said, following what  Zhang Fangyuan had instructed, and handed over the one-day stall fee of ten wen.

The Tianjie stall fees were higher than the meat market's to begin with, and the shorter the rental period, the more expensive it was. If it weren't for testing the waters, he wouldn't have been willing to pay such a high fee.

“Alright, find yourself a spot. Any single stall without a red strip pasted on it is available.” The stall manager, seeing Xu He pay without even asking the price, assumed he was an old hand and didn't try to hassle or inflate the price.

Xu He thanked him. Arriving early meant plenty of choices. He quickly picked a conspicuous spot by the roadside and efficiently set up his stall. Next to him was a wonton stall; their goods wouldn't overlap, avoiding potential trouble.

For his first time selling, Xu He hadn't prepared much. He had marinated half a pig's head, a set of large intestines, and a pig's heart. Additionally, he had also spiced some fiddlehead ferns, bamboo shoots, and some wood ear mushrooms he’d saved earlier. The total amount wasn't large, but the variety was quite rich.

He cut a little of the spiced meat as samples. Soon, the stall was set up—the goods were arranged on a long wooden tray, half covered with a piece of mosquito netting. This kept the spiced meat clean while allowing passersby to see what was being sold.

Tianjie street had a lot of foot traffic, but the flow was different from the meat or vegetable markets. Those places were busiest in the morning, and goods sold best then. Since Tianjie was a leisure and entertainment area, it actually had fewer customers early in the morning. Much of the business came from owners of nearby shops or their employees.

Breakfast items sold well at this hour: noodles, wontons, stuffed pancakes with crisp vegetable filling… The wonton stall next to him had already served three customers in the time it took Xu He to set up his stall.

No wonder many of the rented stalls didn't have their owners present yet; it wasn't the right time yet. Still, Xu He figured since the stall fee was so high, setting up early and earning sooner made the fee feel less costly.

“Little ger, how much for the spiced meat? Cut me a plate.”

Xu He was sitting on a high stool behind his stall, observing how the stalls with steaming white vapor attracted customers, when he heard someone inquire.

He quickly got down from the stool. “Pig head meat is four wen per liang. Pig heart is eight wen per liang.”

Xu He thought on his feet; spiced meat was expensive. Quoting a price of several dozen wen per jin outright would surely scare people off immediately. But quoting per liang, though the price was the same, a few wen sounded much more acceptable.

The man paused, slurping his noodles.

Xu He seized the opportunity. “I also have spiced vegetables, two wen per liang.”

Hearing this, the man put down his chopsticks. Without even bothering to tell the noodle stall owner to hold off on clearing his bowl, he walked straight over to Xu He's stall. Xu He hurriedly lifted the covering cloth completely for the man to see.

The cooled pig head meat and heart had settled into a deep red color. The aroma wasn't strong from a distance, but up close you could smell the fragrance of the spices and brine. Leaning in, you could also see the pig head meat was very cleanly prepared, not a single hair left.

“Try a sample.” The man didn't stand on ceremony. He used a pick to taste a piece of the finely chopped spiced meat. It wasn't a large enough piece to satisfy, but the savory flavor lingered in his mouth, making him crave for more.

“I'll take two liang of the pig head meat. Throw in some of the vegetables too.”

Xu He said, “Elder Brother, this is a small business—if you buy a whole jin of pig head meat, I'll include some spiced vegetables for free.”

“I'm just having it with noodles; can't buy that much. Forget it, just give me a bit of the vegetables make it ten wen total.”

“Alright! Want me to mix in some chili dressing?”

The man dropped the money on the stall and headed back to his seat. "No need."

Hearing this, Xu He was a bit disappointed. His chili mix was specially prepared; he wouldn't even let Zhang Fangyuan have it. This guy didn't know a good thing! But not using it was fine too—saved him some money. For orders like half a jin or a whole jin, he'd use the scale. But for just one or two liang, it was inconvenient to weight it properly. Besides, men weren't as particular as women or ger; once they ordered, they didn't fuss over the exact amount.

Although he had brought a scale, Xu He knew exactly how much one or two liang was. Seeing the man wasn't the type to scrutinize, he cut what he estimated was two liang of pig head meat. It wasn't much, you could count the slices. One liang of meat was about the size of an egg; two liang, two eggs' worth—sliced up was just a few pieces.

Xu He arranged it on a small plate. Since the meat portion was small, he purposely added a couple extra slices of spiced bamboo shoots, making the plate look decent.

The man ate the spiced meat with his noodles—quite a luxurious bowl of breakfast.

By mid morning, Xu He had only sold half a jin of spiced meat. Everyone who came to inquired about the price ended up buying. His prices were quite reasonable; the spiced pig head meat worked out to forty wen per jin. A whole pig's head sold for six wen per jin in the market, and an averages head weighed over twenty jin. After removing the bones, you got about seven or eight jin of meat, which meant the actual cost of the pig's head meat itself cost around fifteen wen per jin.

Ordinary folks didn't like buying pig's head because of the waste, and it wasn't really a proper meal—more for satisfying a craving or served as a specialty dish for entertaining guests. Pig head meat was fatty but not greasy. After spicing, it became very springy with an excellent texture, which is why it became a staple for spiced dishes.

Xu He fanned his stall, keep insects away, and carefully observed the other stalls. Up ahead, a stall selling lamb offal soup was quite interesting. It was also a standalone stall with no seating. When customers ordered, the vendor ladled the soup into round bamboo tubes. The tubes could hold liquid and were portable, so customers could walk and drink. Quite a few people were buying.

Further away, pancake sellers wrapped their pancakes in oil paper so customers could eat on the go. Xu He pondered: everyone who asked the price bought some, indicating his product's taste and price were reasonable. But few people came to ask, likely because there was nowhere to sit here, and his goods weren't easy to eat while walking.

This area wasn't like the vegetable or meat markets, where passersby were women and ger carrying baskets and containers. Here, only the stallholders had to provide the containers themselves.

Xu He quickly grasped the key point. He hurried to a nearby general store and bought a stack of oiled paper that was already glued into small pouch shapes. It had good waterproofing; unless soaked in water for a long time, it wouldn't leak. It was just a bit pricey—one wen for only three pouches.

Still, it was much cheaper than ceramic pots or bowls.

He immediately cut two liang of pig head meat, put it in a mixing bowl, added chili oil, soy sauce, chopped scallions and cilantro, sprinkled some garlic water, tossed it well, and packed it into an oiled paper bag. Holding it up, he called out, “Spiced meat, twelve wen a portion!”

Sure enough, after calling out, passersby saw it was conveniently packaged like the pancakes, and soon came over to inquire.

Xu He promptly handed out samples of the mixed spiced meat. Those who tasted it nodded in approval. “Give me one portion.”

“Two portions.”

Seeing these were mostly finely dressed young ladies and gentlemen, generous spenders, Xu He mixed the meat while promoting his two types of chili sauce and the spiced vegetables. Soon, customers also specifically asked for the spiced vegetables alone, either spicy or numbing flavor, or a mix of vegetables and meat.

He set prices on the spot: spiced vegetables six wen, meat and vegetable mix eight wen. Each portion was a little over two liang, no need to weigh it precisely. He mixed and packed it in oiled paper, providing a bamboo pick to eat with. The oilpaper wouldn't get soaked through by the sauce before the food was finished. It was very convenient.

Though each sale was low, small profits meant quick turnover, and many people bought. The pig head meat was only half a head to begin with, weighing just over four jin. Yesterday, he had cut over half a jin to send to fourth uncle Zhang's family, and Zhang Fangyuan had eaten some himself, leaving only about three jin to sell. The pig's heart was about one jin, and there were three or four jin of large intestines.

He had washed the intestines seven or eight times, cleaning them thoroughly. They were spiced until soft and fragrant, unlike many stir-fried intestines that were tough to chew. Customers who sampled them all bought. One man heading to a riverside tavern for drinks bought the remaining jin of intestines to go with the liquor.

The vegetables totaled three or four jin. They were cheaper than meat, and with the flavorful sauce, even children bought them. They sold well too.

Just as noon arrived, everything was completely sold out.

Xu He packed up his things, thinking to himself—that ten-wen stall fee wasn’t a loss at all.

 

***

 

T/N

all this talk describing food is really making me wish I could try my He baby's cooking and I don't even eat meat x)

 

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