Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 361 Chapter 360 Killing the Chicken

The next day, Wednesday, is the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month.

An ordinary day, but there were a few surprises.

When passing by the canteen at noon, Tang Zhitong saw a notice posted on the door that mooncakes would be available from today until supplies last.

The notice did not mention purchase restrictions.

Tang Zhitong, who knew what was going on outside, was attracted and walked into the canteen without his legs.

There are many students shopping there, but few buy mooncakes.

"Comrade, how do you sell mooncakes?" Tang Zhitong walked to the counter and asked.

"There are two kinds, one is 76 cents per catty, and the other is 1.2 cents per catty." The salesperson's attitude is not bad. Many small departments in the college are family members of teachers, and the salesperson is one of them.

"Is there a purchase limit?" Tang Zhitong was a little surprised. There was a long line of people outside to buy mooncakes. He didn't expect that the college could get such a popular material.

Of course, Tang Zhitong’s purchase of mooncakes has nothing to do with these. He can also accept other fillings. The biggest reason is that now mooncakes are not available! want! ! ticket! ! !

Five-nut mooncakes can be said to be the Hermès of the mooncake world. They use exquisite materials, complex workmanship, and are time-consuming and labor-intensive. They are also the most authentic fillings in this era.

Consumers are choosing merchants, so why aren’t merchants training consumers?

After thinking about it, this is also a good thing. Although it is not popular to say "those who can get supplies are capable people" these days, this is the fact.

The so-called five kernels usually refer to the five types of walnut kernels, peanut kernels, melon seed kernels, almonds, and sesame seeds, which are refined by mixing green and red silk, white sugar, and rock sugar.

Although one dollar and two is not cheap, there will be "high-priced dim sum" in the next year, and the price will be even more high and out of touch with the masses. Since he has space, Tang Zhitong wants to buy some and stock up. Buying it will save money.

"The principle is that each person is limited to purchase two kilograms." The salesperson was also a little surprised. The canteen in the college is different from the snack shop outside. Since the customer group they face are students, they don't have much money. Even if they buy something, it only costs one or two pounds. Buying by the individual, by the pound, is always a minority.

At the beginning of the introduction of bills, money could still be said to be important. However, with the issuance and use of various bills, the status of bills has become more and more important. In the near future, it will even surpass currency and become the most indispensable in life. Voucher!
In the afternoon, when Tang Zhitong picked up Wang Jingwen and arrived home, Zhang Guifang was sulking.

As mentioned earlier, the production of dim sum has undergone an "upgrade" of materials. One Yuan Two is the most solid type of material currently used. It is the same as the ones produced by Fu Quan. The name of Qi Mao Liu's dim sum is the original formula. , but it is still somewhat different from the upgraded dim sum.

"Okay! You go ahead and do your work first." Tang Zhitong walked out of the canteen in a hurry, leaving a mooncake aside, stuffing the rest into his bag, opening his mouth and biting it, it was so delicious!
These mooncakes are puff pastry, but the fillings are still five kernels. Other fillings such as coconut paste, date paste, red bean paste, double yolk lotus paste, etc. will take many years to replace the five kernels.

"Then two pounds and one pound." Tang Zhitong immediately paid for it and bought the best one.

Wuren has been used for many years, and the price is relatively stable. Consumers are well aware of this. Once the price increases, they will think it is not worth it and will not buy it. If they change the filling and sell it at a higher price, some consumers may buy it.

As everyone knows, this is exactly what the merchants are looking forward to. Most other types of fillings have a single filling. The so-called puree inside may be made from cheap pumpkin puree, which requires less labor and materials, and can be sold at a higher price.

"Comrade, please ask, are there many mooncakes in this batch?" Tang Zhitong asked after issuing the invoice, paying the money, and receiving the mooncakes.

"It's quite a lot, do you want to buy more?" The salesperson heard the implication of Tang Zhitong's words, and without any subtlety, he directly tore off the window paper.

Children like to eat the rock sugar inside the most. When they bite one, they can hold it in their mouths for a long time without worrying about their teeth, because the rock sugar is the sweetest among the fillings.

The reason why mooncakes were later replaced by mooncakes with other fillings is related to changes in people's tastes and merchants, Tang Zhitong thinks.

"How can I grab moon cakes with my classmates? I'll come over when the Mid-Autumn Festival is over. If there are still some, I'll help digest them." Of course Tang Zhitong wanted to buy them, but he said it very euphemistically and his meaning was very clear. If If the canteen can't sell it, buy it yourself.

If the college has this card, the student's life will be much easier in the next few years.

"Mom, what's going on?" Tang Zhitong asked, sensing Zhang Guifang's strange mood.

"Okay, you can come back after the festival." The salesperson was also happy. Moon cakes are different from other snacks. Some people buy other snacks in bits and pieces. Moon cakes are seasonal snacks, so people buy them these two days. If it can't be sold, it really can't be sold.

"The rooster flies out and eats the cabbage." Fengzhi stood aside and waved her arms carelessly, imitating the example of her brother and sister-in-law.

"Kill the chicken and stew it tonight!" Zhang Guifang was angry that she didn't take care of her home. She turned around and glanced at the roosters in the chicken pen and gave her son an order directly.

"Okay! I'll do it right away! Please soak some hazel mushrooms in hot water, they will bloom faster." Tang Zhitong said nothing. Although he didn't like killing chickens, he didn't dare to offend his mother at this time.

"Ouch! Let's eat chicken!" Fengzhi wasn't so excited just now when she learned how to pounce on a rooster. She frightened Zhang Guifang and successfully received a Wuzhishan from her mother.

"Would you like some for our mother to stew together?" Since there is no place to raise chickens in Chunshu Hutong, two of the little roosters have been raised here. I originally planned to take them over tomorrow morning, but it happened that Zhang Guifang asked to kill the chickens tonight. , Tang Zhitong thought that it would be easier to just stew them together.

"Okay, put as much salt as you can." Xiao Wang naturally had no objection. She had lived with Ye Zhijuan for eighteen years, and she knew her mother's cooking skills very well.

"Okay, I'll sharpen the knife and you boil the water." Tang Zhitong handed the satchel to Xiao Wang, washed the handle himself, took out the kitchen knife, poured half a ladle of water on the whetstone outside the house, and began to sharpen the knife.

The little rooster in the chicken coop has no idea that he is about to receive his lunch.

Since the original "King Chicken" with the best development was replaced by Aunt Qi, the remaining four were vying for the "throne". One of them took advantage of the fighting between the other chickens and ran over to ride the hen and choose It's the same one that hatched them.

Hey, these guys with no ethics deserve to die unjustly!

Tang Zhitong glanced at the chicken coop and sharpened the knife in his hand more diligently.

Tang Zhitong actually doesn't like the work of killing, ironing and plucking chickens, but as he is the only big man in the family, he can only do this work by himself.

In this year and age, killing chickens was obviously a big event. Fengzhi squatted next to Tang Zhitong and watched his brother sharpen the knife with great interest, not showing any signs of impatience.

Even Fengzhen, who didn't speak much, put down the pen in her hand and came out with a bowl, ready to catch the chicken blood.

With four chickens, a pot of water was not enough, so Zhang Guifang took out the stove that had not been used for a long time and lit a fire to boil the water.

True family mobilization.

"Fengzhen, bring our big basket over here." Tang Zhitong sharpened his knife, took a few ropes, and prepared to go to the chicken coop to catch chickens. After standing up, he instructed his sister.

"Okay." Although Fengzhen didn't know what her brother wanted the big basket for, she still went to find it obediently.

As soon as Tang Zhitong entered the chicken pen, there was another burst of chickens and dogs.

Fortunately, the chicken pen was not big, and Tang Zhitong was flexible. After a while, the four little roosters were lying neatly on the ground outside. Only then did they realize that something was seriously wrong. None of the screaming ones or flapping wings were willing to lead their necks to be killed.

However, this kind of thing cannot be decided by a few little roosters. The one who can decide is looking at the soles of his shoes. There is a lot of stinky chicken poop.

Tang Zhitong rubbed the soles of his shoes on the dirt. Not only did his diaphragm hurt, but the smell was also strong. These shoes would not be worn tomorrow and they needed to be cleaned.

"Stop rubbing it. Change it later and I'll brush it for you." Xiao Wang boiled some water and came out to watch the fun.

"Okay. Get me a maza." Tang Zhitong smiled at classmate Xiao Wang. His hands were dirty and he was too lazy to move, so he ordered his wife.

"Okay." Xiao Wang turned around and entered the room.

"Fengzhen, go and bring the washbasin over. Fengzhi, go and bring the garbage basket." Tang Zhitong distributed the small chores to his two sisters in a well-organized manner.

"Okay!" Fengzhi said nothing nonsense and immediately turned around to execute.

Sitting on the horse, lighting up a cigarette, and looking at the vibrant cabbage and onion seedlings in the yard, as well as the four and a half hens that can lay eggs, the days ahead are quite promising.

"Brother, are these dates ready to be picked?" Fengzhen asked from the side.

"Yes, let's pick one and try it." Tang Zhitong looked at the two Langjiayuan jujube saplings he had planted. There were about a dozen jujubes hanging on each sapling. It would cost only two taels to pick them all, so he kept Didn't take it seriously.

"Jingying mentioned it last time, do you want to share half of it?" Fengzhen said and glanced at Wang Jingwen.

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Wang Jingwen felt warm in her heart when her sister-in-law looked at her.

"I will go to Langjiayuan later to see if there are any jujube trees there." After Fengzhen said this, Tang Zhitong remembered this. There might be some surviving jujube trees in Langjiayuan!
The dates on July 15th are red circles, and the dates on August 15th fall off the pole. Now is the date harvest season.

"Stop chatting, the water is about to boil." Zhang Guifang reminded as she lit the fire.

"Okay!" After hearing this, Tang Zhitong stamped out the cigarette butt, stood up, grabbed a small rooster, grabbed the chicken's wings with his right hand, and then pinched the comb with his thumb and index finger to expose the chicken's neck.

Use your left hand to pluck a handful of hair from the chicken's neck to expose the skin for the knife.

Next, pick up the knife with your left hand, aim the chicken neck at the bowl, make a knife on the chicken neck to ensure that the trachea, esophagus and blood vessels are cut off, then put down the knife and grab the chicken leg to control the blood.

When some people kill chickens, these two steps are not done well. Some people are bleeding all over the body, and some chickens are still alive and kicking after controlling the blood...

Tang Zhitong felt the strength of the little cock's struggle. After the blood dripping speed slowed down obviously, he released the chicken's feet with his left hand and pulled off the binding rope. He lifted up the big basket with its back, threw the little cock in, and then kicked it. Step on it and let the little cock struggle inside.

"Fengzhi, come here and step on it." Tang Zhitong saw the enthusiasm of the two sisters and showed no fear at all, so he simply arranged some work for his sisters.

"Okay!" Fengzhi was not afraid at all and stepped on it without hesitation.

Tang Zhitong followed the same example and "sent away" the other three little roosters.

While a few young roosters were flapping their ribs, Tang Zhitong mixed some water and salt into the chicken blood, stirred it evenly, and let it sit for a while. After it solidified, it was ready for stir-frying.

It is a good time to pluck the feathers after the chicken has completely stopped licking its edges.

Throw the chicken into the laundry tub and pour boiling water on it. It is best to water both sides thoroughly.

The next step is to work quickly while it's hot. The best time to pluck the chicken feathers is when it has just been scalded with boiling water.

The thick feathers were processed by Tang Zhitong, and then the fine down was processed by several assistants, big and small, who were watching.

When chicken feathers are thrown into the garbage basket, they are not meant to be thrown away, but to be saved and sold as rags.

Because of Zhang Guifang, the Tang family is still very frugal in this regard, unlike Wu Haiyang's family who kills a chicken and throws away the feathers.

Many vendors go around the streets exchanging sugar, needles and thread for chicken feathers. In fact, Tang Zhitong is a little curious. Besides making feather dusters, what else can these chicken feathers be used for?

After some sincere cooperation, Tang Zhitong successfully removed the chicken from the pressure cooker.

Although the chicken is not big, it takes up a lot of space after being minced, so it can only be stewed two by two.

Fengzhen Fengzhi had no intention of eating at all. She squatted in front of the stove and smelled the smell. She was obviously waiting for the chicken to be cooked. Tang Zhitong didn't stop her. He put a lot of salt in the chicken stew, and he would definitely not be able to finish it tonight. I can still eat some tomorrow.

"Mom, don't be angry. Those cabbages that were ruined are just used to stew chicken. The vacant ground is leveled and green onions are planted. It's just right. We should eat chicken today." Tang Zhitong finished his work and washed the dishes. He held his hand and persuaded Zhang Guifang.

"I'm not angry, I'm just a little distressed. The cabbage is growing well this year. One cabbage can weigh seven or eight pounds. These few cabbages are enough for our family to eat for several days." Zhang Guifang had lost her temper and said to her son calmly. .

"I don't have much money. I will buy a few more during the Chinese New Year and make up for it for you." Tang Zhitong promised cheerfully.

"I still need you to buy it? It's not about money." Zhang Guifang shook her head and said nothing. She turned around and picked up the cabbage. There was no cabbage, but it was quite tender, but not big.

The chicken was put in the pressure cooker and had to stew for about fifteen minutes. Tang Zhitong took advantage of this moment to tell his family and went straight to Lang's home.

Before going out, ask Xiao Wang to look at the watch and bring it down after fifteen minutes. It takes almost half an hour for me to go back and forth.

For others, half an hour is not enough, but for Tang Zhitong, who holds a cheat device, it is enough time.

Although there are no street lights, there is moonlight today.

Tang Zhitong came to the jujube forest in Langjiayuan under the moonlight. Compared with last year, the landscape here has changed. There are a few more dormitories and fewer jujube trees, but some have not been cut down.

There are still dates on the tree, but there are not many anymore, and most of them are concentrated on the treetops. Tang Zhitong guessed that the sweet dates under the date tree were probably knocked down and eaten by nearby children.

It was good to pick up some "leftovers", at least he didn't have to bear the reputation of competing with the people for food. Tang Zhitong laughed at himself, stood under the jujube tree, and dug jujubes into the space.

Langjiayuan dates are delicious, but the yield has always been unsatisfactory, especially for this old tree that has been growing for many years and has not been taken care of.

Tang Zhitong walked around the jujube forest. There were more than fifty jujube trees, and the total harvest was less than thirty kilograms. On average, each tree weighed half a kilogram of jujubes.

Fortunately, the jujubes on the treetops are out of reach of others and have sufficient sunshine. Tang Zhitong is very satisfied with their size, color and sweetness.

(End of this chapter)