Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 129

"You see it too?"

The master's wife smiled and said, "Of course I know about this, but I haven't mentioned it to them."

"Master's wife, ask Xiangcao for her opinion."

"Alright, I'll take care of this."

The teacher's wife had seen it all before but hadn't said much. She thought Dayong was just shy and wanted to get together with Xiangcao.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to work, I called Xiangcao aside and we started chatting casually.

He said with a smile, "A couple of days ago, an older woman came to buy pig's head meat."

"What's wrong?" Vanilla asked.

“That older woman took a liking to Dayong at first sight. She came to me wanting to introduce her niece to Dayong for a blind date.”

"What? Setting up a blind date for Dayong?" Xiangcao's face turned pale with fright, and her body swayed.

The master's wife saw Xiangcao's reaction and it seemed that Xiangcao had gained great courage.

"Yes, Dayong doesn't have a girlfriend, and he's reached the age to get married, so it's normal for someone to be interested in him."

"Why are you objecting?"

"No, but I...I..." Vanilla didn't know what to say for a moment.

The teacher's wife smiled and asked, "Xiangcao, tell me the truth, have you fallen for Dayong?"

"No way." Vanilla's first reaction was to deny it, but after denying it, she was a little confused. Should she just push Dayong out like this too?

The teacher's wife asked, "There's no one else around at this time. What are you thinking? Are you too embarrassed to tell me? I've noticed you and Dayong are getting quite close. Are you dating?"

"this..."

"If you don't admit it, I'll introduce Dayong to some girls on blind dates!"

"How...how do I know if he even has feelings for me?"

"Silly girl, you're still shy."

The master's wife put her arm around Xiangcao and said, "Who wouldn't like such a pretty young girl? Leave this to me. I'll be your matchmaker, and I'll be there to celebrate your wedding."

"Auntie, I..."

With Xiangcao having no objections, things became much easier. Of course, Dayong was willing. When Xiangcao worked at Taifenglou, she was the prettiest of all the waitresses.

Dayong was naturally overjoyed to be able to marry her.

By evening, He Yuzhu had come up with a plan. He called Da Yong in and said, "Later, have your brother tell Jia Dongxu that there are two recipes. The one for 300 yuan is the common recipe used by other companies, but for 500 yuan, you can buy my exclusive recipe."

"There are two more? Pillar, are you really going to sell the formula?"

"Of course it's not real. This is something I made up. Although I didn't use it, the braised version is still pretty much the same as the ones sold on the street."

He Yuzhu's seasoning skills have now reached level 9, the maximum level. When tasting other people's dishes and braised meats, he can deduce their recipes with a little analysis.

After all, the seasonings used are generally similar, with only minor differences. He Yuzhu could deduce the difference based solely on the taste.

Then he handed the two pieces of paper to Dayong.

Dayong took it and glanced at it subconsciously, then said in surprise, "Zhuzi, why are there opium poppy shells on it?"

Opium poppies, also known as poppy shells, can indeed enhance the flavor when cooking meat or fish by adding a small amount of them.

Many braised food shops use poppies as an ingredient.

Of course, He Yuzhu had never used this opium shell before. With the system's enhanced flavoring skills, he didn't need to resort to such underhanded methods.

Right now, after liberation, the government is cracking down on drugs like never before. In the past two years, all the opium dens on the market have been shut down, and all addicts have been brought together for rehabilitation.

He also warned all restaurants that they were not allowed to use opium as a flavoring agent.

He Yuzhu set a trap for Jia Dongxu here. One plan was to sell the two recipes for a good price, and the other was to report Jia Dongxu for using the recipes to open a shop after a while and send him to jail.

Who told him to try and steal my recipe!

"Tell him about the importance of opium; that's how you make it taste good."

"understood."

After saying that, Dayong asked again, "Does our store really not have it?"

"Don't worry, I've never used this before."

The next day, Dayong brought 500 yuan and handed it all over to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu said, "Since Xiangcao has feelings for you, you should hurry up and get the marriage arranged. I'll give you a set of furniture and cover the wedding banquet."

"How could I possibly accept this!"

"We, as fellow disciples, don't care about these things. We'll make sure the wedding is beautiful and grand."

In principle, you should give him a commission for selling the formula, even if it's only 20%, which is only 100 yuan.

He Yuzhu stopped giving him cash and instead made him some furniture and covered the expenses of the banquet.

You know, a double bed costs more than 40 yuan, and a whole set of furniture costs more than 200 yuan. Many people are lucky if they can have a wardrobe when they get married.

The items in the house will be added gradually as I earn more money in the future.

Otherwise, if a family has three or five fewer children, or seven or eight more, the parents simply won't have the resources to buy them too many things.

Jia Dongxu presented Yi Zhonghai with a formula worth 500 yuan, boasting of his achievement.

“Master, look, my brother is really capable. He actually managed to get his hands on Sha Zhu’s formula.”

Yi Zhonghai frowned when he saw the poppies behind him: "Why are there still these opium poppy shells?"

"Master, you mean this? I specifically asked him about it. All these braised food shops secretly use this. It makes the braised food taste the best and is very popular."

"Really? Let's try it at home first. If it works, you can make it at home and then sell it outside."

Although there are many restaurants, taverns, and braised meat stalls in Beijing, the number of shops is still relatively small compared to the vast city.

This gave rise to an ancient industry.

Older people may have seen peddlers carrying goods on shoulder poles.

Especially those born in the 70s and 80s, should have seen it when they were young.

At that time, they mainly sold various daily necessities.

At this time, there are more items available for sale.

Hairdressers, pedicurists, knife sharpeners, vegetable vendors, fruit vendors, coal vendors, water vendors, pastry vendors—anything commonly used in daily life could be sold by people carrying loads on shoulder poles and hawking their wares through the streets and alleys.

There are also vendors selling braised meat, which can be further divided into vendors selling pig's head meat, sheep's head meat, donkey meat, horse meat, and dog meat.

Each of them has a dedicated procurement outlet, and most of them are located in residents' homes and are engaged in this industry.

The most common product sold was pig's head meat, which was divided into two factions: the city faction and the suburbs faction. The city faction would definitely carry a red cabinet and cut the meat as thin as mutton. The suburbs faction, located in the suburbs in the southeast and west, mostly used white cabinets and specialized in cutting the meat into chunks.

When Er Yong gave him the recipe, he told him that it was the most suitable for pork head meat and also the one that sold the most.

After discussing it, the next morning Yi Zhonghai went to buy a raw pig's head and half a hanging of offal. When he returned, Aunt Yi and Qin Huairu got busy preparing it.

Jia Dongxu bought a large quantity of spices and also obtained a few poppies through acquaintances.

In the afternoon, the braising process began, and soon the aroma of meat wafted out of the kitchen.

"It smells delicious, so this recipe must be real."

Jia Dongxu had been a little uneasy, worried that he had been deceived by his sworn brother, but now he felt relieved.

Several people couldn't resist drinking the hot beverage and eating some minced meat to savor the taste.

"It's quite delicious, but not as good as the ones Sha Zhu sells," Aunt Yi said after trying them.

Jia Dongxu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because we don't have a stock. I heard them say that they simmer it in a stock for a long time. Besides, we don't have good control over the heat and we don't have any experience."

"makes sense."

After Yi Zhonghai returned from get off work, the group eagerly reported the good news, like treasures, and after tasting it, they said:

"This tastes really good. I'll try setting up a stall in the alley tonight and selling it. Tomorrow I'll wander around the alley selling it."

Jia Dongxu was counting on making money from this braised pig's head, so he took it very seriously and set it up at the entrance of the alley before it got dark.

Nanluoguxiang is a hutong (alleyway) that is 8 meters wide and more than 700 meters long from north to south.

Located north of Gulou East Street and south of Di'anmen East Street, these two street intersections are naturally bustling places with many people coming and going.

Jia Dongxu set up his stall at the corner of Di'anmen Street and Nanluoguxiang. And sure enough, with the stall at the intersection, business gradually picked up.

After selling the formula, He Yuzhu returned to the courtyard house a few days later.

“Zhu Zi, Zhu Zi, I have something to tell you, something terrible has happened.” Yan Bugui always managed to stop He Yuzhu and report the latest news.

"What's wrong, Uncle Yan?" He Yuzhu handed over the two carp he was carrying.

"That's incredible! Jia Dongxu somehow got hold of a braised meat recipe, and the braised meat he makes is so fragrant. His business is booming every day, and he sells a lot of meat. Even his mother has gained weight from eating so much of it."

"Really? Tell me what happened." He Yuzhu acted as if this was the first time he had heard this.

Yan Bugui patiently recounted how Jia Dongxu experimented and then began to braise pig's head meat.

“Now it’s incredible. In the afternoon they carry their boxes out to walk through the streets and alleys, and in the evening they set up stalls at the south and north entrances of the alleys. They can make a lot of money every day.”