Chapter 694: Speak of the Devil (1/2)
Therefore, in order to make his little wife happy, on the exact evening they arrived at the boundary of Cangzhou Prefecture, Zhu Junyang gave the order to have the ship dock. The two people...no, that’s not right, plus Su Ran, so it should be three people, changed into ordinary people’s clothing and came off of the ship without a single servant along with them.
The docks had a seafaring ship docked there. Although the harbor in Cangzhou was a bit more simple and crude compared the newly constructed one in Tanggu, it still had a decent amount of lodging and eateries in the area.
That night, there were a lot of vendors of snacks open. Although many of them were located in crude looking shacks, they could smell delicious aromas wafting out of them.
“Donkey burger! This is the authentic donkey burger from Hejian County!!” One particular shack had someone bawling out an advertisement in a thick dialect accent and Xiaocao’s attention was immediately caught by it. She followed the direction of the voice and was instantly mesmerized by the savory fragrance that came out of the eatery.
“Uncle, give us three donkey burgers and make sure to add extra meat please!!” Xiaocao ordered from the forty year old man who was selling the food.
“Alrighty ah! Three donkey burgers coming right up! Please wait for a moment!” The man skillfully grabbed and portioned out some dough before pulling each portion into a long strip. After brushing on some oil and sandwiching them together, he placed it on a hot, flat bottomed pan. After the griddled bread was cooked, he then placed them into the stove to make the outsides crispy and flaky.
“Miss, please choose a piece of meat! I’ll give you whichever one you want!” The man pointed at the donkey meat inside the pot.
Xiaocao picked out a piece of meat that had equal proportions of fat and lean parts alternating through it. The man sliced it into thin pieces and then seasoned it with some green chili peppers before adding some seasoned savory sauce to it. The most important ingredient was the sauce and that often determined whether the donkey burger would be tasty or not!
“Miss, eat it while it's hot as that’s when it tastes best! This one will now make some for your two older brothers!” The man had clearly misunderstood the relationship between the three people. However, Xiaocao wasn’t in the mood to correct him because——the donkey burger was seriously too delicious!!
As the proverb said, ‘In the Heavens there is dragon meat, while on earth there is donkey meat’, the donkey meat within the donkey burger was tender and soft. It was a bit more delicate compared to beef, wasn’t as fatty as pork, and didn’t have a strong odor like mutton. It was very unique and incredibly tasty!
Xiaocao ate the crispy and flaky donkey burger in large bites. The luscious donkey meat filled her mouth with flavor and a satisfied expression surfaced on her face. When she saw that the two burgers for the men had also been cooked, Xiaocao asked what the bill was and gave the vendor thirty copper coins. The three of them strolled along the docks as they ate.
After they made a big circle around the harbor, the three of them then tasted the famous mutton intestines from Cangzhou Prefecture. The broth that came with the intestines was milky white and glistened brightly. The mutton intestines were fatty without being greasy and had an aroma that mesmerized people. It didn’t have a bit of fishiness to it and instead seemed to have a slight sweet taste instead. The more a person ate, the more addicted they would become and the more they loved the dish.
From the vendor’s description, the mutton intestines soup had a warm character so it was able to dispel asthma and stomach colds. Furthermore, sheep’s head soup had the effect of nourishing the brain and eyes and it was suitable for the elderly with dementia symptoms to drink. Sheep’s tongue soup could strengthen and nourish the body as well. It was a suitable food for those recovering from a serious illness. Then there was mutton tripe soup…
Yu Xiaocao tried a few bites of everything and made sure to remember the taste and properties of these dishes. She was planning on writing them all down when she got back to the ship and send a letter back to the Medicinal Cuisine House in the capital. That way, Yangliu could develop these dishes into new ones for the restaurant and increase the variety of foods offered there.
Xiaocao, who had eaten and drunk to her fill, also bought some local bacon to bring back to the ship. She was planning on adding it to the noon meal tomorrow. She also bought a few jars of Cangzhou’s preserved dried vegetables.
Cangzhou’s preserved dried vegetables had a distinctive flavor and unique style. The vegetables were golden yellow and had a fragrant odor to it. It had a sweet, salty and slightly spicy taste and the combined flavors delighted the palate with all four major flavors. It could be used as a side dish for the meal or it could be stir-fried or added to soup to add flavor. It could also be cooked together with winter bamboo shoots and make a famous dish in Cangzhou called ‘two winter stir-fry’. This dish was crisp and tender with a fresh and sweet aroma...
After they got back to the ship, the maids, servants and imperial bodyguards, who had alternated coming and going, except for Wutong and Hou Xiaoliang, had all come back. Another quarter of an hour passed and the two of them finally came back, joking along the way. Hou Xiaoliang’s two hands were full of bags as he was carrying snacks and curiosities that couldn’t be found in the capital.
The ship rested at the dock for one night and, the next day at dawn, set sail again. The next area they were going to pass by was Dezhou Prefecture. When Xiaocao thought of Dezhou’s pulled chicken, she felt her saliva pool in her mouth again.
However, Official Wu risked death to have the ship only briefly pass by. Xiaocao could only sigh and think of the pulled chicken.
Official Wu almost wanted to cry at this point, ‘Great Imperial Envoy, you’re not here to sightsee and taste food, so can’t you take your official duties seriously? Farming doesn’t wait for anyone!! The several hundred mu of experimental fields in Jinling are waiting for you! Can’t we just travel all day and night to get there faster? The local delicacies won’t run away. On the return trip, you and the two important imperial guards can eat and relax as much as you want then! Alright ah??’
When Wutong gave Official Wu’s proposal to her mistress, Xiaocao finally remembered that she was an imperial envoy now and couldn't fool around too much. Thus, she didn’t try to make things difficult for the old official who only worried about the empire and its people.
Following that, other than docking to resupply itself, the ship didn’t stop temporarily anymore. As they left the border of Cangzhou, the canal became more narrow and the speed of the water increased. There were towering mountains and cliffs on both sides of the canal and they were now in an uninhabited region of land. It looked like a good place for murderous bandits and pirates to hang out.
When Xiaocao told her thoughts to her husband as a joke, Zhu Junyang had a solemn look on his face as he stated, “You’re right! There are often pirates who prowl around this area. The ships that pass through here either have to pay up a protection fee to avoid getting attacked or they end up losing some goods. However, as long as the ships don’t resist, these pirates will only take goods and not hurt any people.”