Chapter 355 - Free Food Tasting (2/2)
With a flushed face, the student quickly shook his hands and said, “I didn’t come for the free tasting. In the past, my father had brought back your family’s braised food from the docks for me. It’s very tasty, and my whole family really likes to eat it! It’s a pity that we haven’t been able to buy it anymore since last autumn. I’m going home early tomorrow morning, so I wanted to bring some braised food back…”
“We have many different varieties of braised food. I don’t know which one will suit your taste, so why don’t you try all of them?” Yu Xiaocao understood why he didn’t want to taste it. He was afraid that his classmates would ridicule him by saying that he liked to take advantage of others, so she tried to persuade him to try the taste.
The blue-robed student looked at the prices of the different braised food through the window and picked two of the cheaper ones to taste. He probably didn’t even have a proper taste of the food before he swiftly weighed the half catty of pig’s head meat, paid for it, and left.
“I heard that there’s free food here? Give me some of each!!” A fat, old woman with drooping, triangular shaped eyes came up to the door of The Yu’s Braised Food Shop and arrogantly instructed Yu Xiaocao to weigh the meat.
“Aiyo! Isn’t that Cripple Wang’s wife? This old lady really likes to take advantage of others. Moreover, she was extremely stingy and unreasonable. We’re going to have a good show to watch ah!” The onlookers saw that the people who had tasted the food had more or less brought some back, so they were still uncertain if the food tasting was free or not. They continued to watch from afar but slowly came over when they saw the fat matron come over.
Looking at her attitude, Yu Xiaocao felt that she was the same type of person as Madam Zhang. However, judging from her clothes, she probably wasn’t so poor that she couldn’t afford to buy food. No matter how stingy one was, there must be times when they have to entertain guests. Also, during the New Year and special holidays, they would still have to prepare some meat dishes for their families. In Yu Xiaocao’s opinion, as long as they weren’t beggars on the street, they were her potential patrons.
With a warm smile, she explained in a sweet voice, “Auntie, it’s free to taste! You can try a piece of the dish that you like!”
“One piece? How would I know what it tastes like with just one piece? Since it’s free, don’t be so stingy.” As she said that, she took a toothpick with her plump hands and pierced fiercely at the plate, bringing up four or five pieces of braised meat.
Yu Xiaocao stopped her hands, pointed at the bulletin-like poster on the wall, and loudly said, “Auntie, you’re welcome to participate in the free food tasting event, but please abide by the rules of the event! It’s written very clearly that you can only try one piece of each dish. Our purpose is to give everyone who is interested in ‘The Yu’s Braised Food Shop’ a chance to taste the food. It’s not to let you eat to your heart’s content!!”
“I have a big mouth, so I can’t tell what it tastes like with one piece!! Do you guys want to do business or not? You say that it’s free food tasting, yet you’re not letting people taste the food. Do you think that we’re fools? If you can’t afford it, then don’t use these insincere tricks!!” Cripple Wang’s wife smelled the tempting fragrance of the braised food, and she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. She tried hard to free her hand that was holding the toothpick from Xiaocao’s grasp.
With a firm gaze and attitude, Yu Xiaocao said, “My answer is still the same. If you want to participate in the event, then please follow the rules!! Otherwise… we will have to invite the prefectural magistrate to help us judge whether we’re deceiving the consumers or you’re causing trouble without reason!!”
A voice sounded among the crowd, “Cripple Wang, you’re also here? Hurry up and take your wife home. Don’t let her continue making a fool out of herself here. The little girl has already said it and it’s also posted on the notice. Each person can only try a piece. Look at what your greedy wife has done.”
Cripple Wang’s wife’s hand, which Xiaocao was holding, trembled and the expression on her face instantly changed. She hastily put down the toothpick and lowered her head, acting like a quail. Cripple Wang was considered quite a good person, but he had two problems—he was sensitive about his reputation and he beat his wife. However, most of the time, it was his wife who did something to provoke him.
“What are you doing?” Cripple Wang squeezed out of the crowd and looked at her with a sinister gaze, as if he was an injured old wolf staring at his enemy.
The fat matron’s entire body shivered for a moment, and she replied in a trembling voice, “No…nothing…I heard…that a braised food shop opened here, so I wanted to buy some novel food for you to eat with your drinks…”
The fat matron knew that her husband was very concerned about his reputation. If he found out that she was fighting with them in order to eat a couple more pieces of meat, she would definitely receive a beating when she got home!
Seeing this, Yu Xiaocao pointed at the promotional poster on the wall and said, “Uncle, our braised food shop is having a soft opening today. We’re doing a free tasting and half-price sale event. Please have a taste and give us some advice!”
When he was younger, Cripple Wang’s family had decent living conditions and he had gone to school for a few years. After he carefully read the rules on the wall twice, he went up to the window and carefully tried each of the dishes. He looked at the price again, and then said, “The crispy skin roasted chicken, roasted chicken, roasted duck, and salted duck taste about the same as Zhenxiu Restaurant. The price is also slightly cheaper. However, it’s still not something that commoners, like us, can afford. The braised meat and smoked meat taste quite unique… Give me two catties of braised pork knuckle.”
“Okay! One catty of braised pork knuckle cost two hundred sixty copper coins, so the total for two catties is five hundred twenty copper coins. With a fifty percent discount, it will only be two hundred sixty copper coins…” After Yu Xiaocao signaled her oldest aunt with her eyes, Yu Caifeng quickly weighted the meat, packed it up, and waited to collect the money.
Cripple Wang looked at his wife and said with a frown, “What are you still waiting for? Quickly pay up…”
The fat matron touched her money pouch and said with a sad face, “I… I didn’t bring money when I came out…” She said that she wanted to buy braised food for him to eat with his drinks earlier, but now she claimed that she didn't have money. How was she going to buy food without money? The onlookers burst out in laughter.
Cripple Wang looked at his wife with even more gloomy eyes. He glared fiercely at her, and then said to Yu Xiaocao, “Little girl, keep the two catties of braised pork knuckles on the side for me. We’ll go back to get the money. Don’t worry, my house isn’t very far from here. I’ll give you the money in a moment.”