Chapter 82 - New Taste (2/2)
After all of the braised dishes were finished, the whole family all thought that each type had its own characteristics but they were all considered to be very delicious. When Madam Fang was about to leave, Xiaocao made sure to put some braised pig head, intestines, and tripe all together on one plate to let her bring some back home.
Madam Fang knew that the purpose of making all of this food was to sell it at the docks, so she stubbornly refused. However, Xiaocao told her that the ingredients were all bought by the money she had made from selling the chicken offal. If Madam Fang didn’t want the meat, Xiaocao said that she would give her money instead. It was only after hearing that did Madam Fang take the plate of food back home.
That night, after Zhou Dacang and his son came back from peddling goods all day, the two of them almost ate the entire plate of braised foods. They praised it endlessly and even wished that there was more for them to eat. They repeatedly told Madam Fang, ‘such a delicious set of meat dishes, in the future, you should buy more to eat at home.’
Madam Fang laughed but didn’t let out Xiaocao’s secret. The village wasn’t very big. If Madam Li and Madam Zhang found out Xiaocao’s culinary talents, the two of them would definitely come over to make trouble. Neither of them would ever tolerate the second branch of the family doing well!
The next day, Xiaocao and her brother brought the extremely heavy basket to the docks. When they got there, Foreman Sun, who was directing the flow of workers transporting cargo and goods, spotted them immediately with his eagle eyes. He shouted in a loud voice at the dock workers, “Brothers, work hard! After you guys are done transporting the goods on this boat, you all can rest and eat breakfast!! The brother and sister pair who were selling a portion of a meat dish for one copper coin yesterday are here again!!”
The workers who had tried the braised chicken offal yesterday all felt their spirits rise and their enthusiasm for work increased significantly. In addition, the men who were unable to get a taste of the braised foods yesterday also became more energetic. They wanted to finish transporting the cargo before the other men in order to queue for the food and try the meat that their fellow workers had been praising without end.
The owner of the cargo ship had been shipping goods for decades but he had never seen dock workers work so quickly before. He felt puzzled inside and curiously asked what this ‘one copper coin for a portion of meat’ was.
Foreman Sun was an old acquaintance of this cargo ship master. He knew that if this cargo ship owner put in a good word for him for the merchant who sold the goods, it would help his business a ton.
He quickly invited the owner of the ship to eat at the only shack in the area that sold stir-fried dishes and had Erzi call the two siblings over and said, “Little girl, can you give me ten portions of the braised meat from yesterday, and also give me two copper coins worth of blood tofu…”
“I’m sorry, Foreman Sun! I brought over a different type of braised food, and I don’t have any blood tofu today.” Foreman Sun felt very disappointed when he heard Xiaocao’s reply. He had been counting on this delicious yet cheap braised food to give him some face and reputation!
The owner of the cargo ship was a bit unsatisfied that Foreman Sun had invited him to eat at such a crude and lowly place. He thought a bit and decided that next time he should recommend Old Six to take the job of unloading the goods...
However, at this point, he heard a young child cheerfully reply, “Foreman Uncle, today’s braised foods are even better than yesterday’s! I have some crispy slices of pig ear, tender and fatty pig lips, delicious and savory pig offal, and the chewy and fragrant pig tripe…I guarantee you won’t regret trying these after one bite!”
When the master of the cargo ship saw Little Shitou, who seemed to be almost the same age as his youngest grandson, he naturally started to miss his youngest and most beloved grandson. Although Little Shitou was dressed entirely in patched and ragged looking clothes, his face was washed completely clean and he had an incandescent and sweet smile on his face. The shipowner, who spent most of his time on the sea shipping cargo, looked at Little Shitou and smiled, “Little fellow, you have quite a nimble mouth! After hearing you advertise your wares, the gluttonous monster in me is suddenly quite interested!”
Foreman Sun felt vindicated and interjected strategically, “Little girl, give us two portions of everything your younger brother recommended! If we like what we eat, we will also give you an additional reward.”The braised foods that Xiaocao brought over this time had been packed together in small portion sizes again. Other than that, she had also packed a few individual packets in anticipation of any special requests from those who ate the food and only liked one of the types.
“Okay!” Xiaocao agreed in a ringing voice.
One by one, the braised dishes were set out. First was the pig ear ribbons that were tossed in a mix of scallions, garlic, and chili oil. The dish had a beautiful scarlet color that raised the appetite. In addition, the pig ear meat glistened under the light and was delicious looking. Then there was the pig offal that had a rich, fatty taste without being greasy. Last, there was the pig tripe that had been sliced into thin sheets and seemed savory and delicious. Xiaocao had especially borrowed a couple of plates from the stall’s owner and carefully arranged the food. Although there wasn’t a large portion of food, the smell and appearance of the dishes immediately gave people an appetite.
The owner of the ship had grown up in a rural area by the water, and was the type of man who loved to drink alcohol and eat meat. After traveling extensively all these years, this was the first time he had eaten something that was as delicious and as inexpensive as these meat dishes. As he ate from the food, he felt as if he had entered heaven. Before long, over half of the food had been polished off by the old man.
On the side, Foreman Sun continued to toast with wine but he only ate from the stir-fried vegetable dishes. He didn’t forget to look at Xiaocao in the eye meaningfully to hint——don’t forget to leave me a portion, ok....
“Boss, there’s another boat that’s about to reach the shore. We should head over quickly and not let Old Six take away the business from us…” Erzi shouted loudly as he ran over, panting heavily.
The master of the cargo ship also knew that the goods on his ship would be completely unloaded very soon. He looked at Foreman Sun and said, “Go and do your work, ok? No need to attend to me anymore! Don’t worry, in the future when I have business, I’ll make sure to take care of you…”
After receiving his desired result, Foreman Sun contently jogged towards the docks by the sea. Wherever there were people, there would be vagrants. Similarly, wherever there was business, there would be competition. Since Tanggu’s docks were flourishing and busy, it was natural that there wasn’t only one team of dock workers that worked to unload cargo.