Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 5: Soy Sauce

After the iron pan is heated, put the pork belly in and stir-fry until the oil comes out. Add half a pound of dried chilies and stir-fry for a while. Then add a few spoonfuls of salt and shovel it into the clay pot.

Use tongs to pick up charcoal from the kitchen and put it into the small stove, then put the clay pot on it and fill it with water to boil.

By the time Chen Gu had taken out the tripe, the water in the earthenware jar had boiled.

"What's so delicious about beef tripe?" Liu Er said with disdain as he looked at a large bowl full of tripe slices.

"That's because you don't know how to eat it!" Chen picked up a piece of tripe and put it into the earthenware pot for a few seconds, then took it out and tried it, chewing it a few times and swallowing it, smiling, "Well, it's very good, crispy and tender, this is how you should eat tripe, you guys eat it first, I'll go and pick up the vegetables."

The tripe must be brushed a few times before eating to make it crispy and tender. If it is cooked too long, it will shrink into a ball and the taste is similar to eating cotton cloth.

The two old men sat down doubtfully, each picked up a piece of tripe, and after blanching it in the clay pot for a few seconds, they started eating, just like Chen Kui did.

The sound of "click, click, click" sounded.

It is indeed very crispy and tender, and can be easily chewed. The tripe is coated with the caramelized aroma of fried peppers and the oily aroma of pork belly, and it tastes very good.

Chen Gu used twenty of his last thirty coins to buy tofu, but he only bought two kilograms of old tofu. Although it was called old tofu, its water content was not low.

It is still very cold in early spring. It is very comfortable to eat hot pot by the fire and drink some white wine.

By the time Chen Gu sat down, the two old men were already a little dizzy from drinking, but they were in very good spirits and their voices became louder as they chatted.

He is still growing and consumes a lot of energy every day. Although he eats two kilograms of rice a day, he always feels not full. Naturally, he tries his best to eat the pork belly.

In fact, the two old men were not hungry. After eating and drinking for a while, they were full and seldom moved their chopsticks. Even the frequency of raising their glasses was very slow. It was better to say that they enjoyed the atmosphere rather than eating.

Chen Gu brought the tofu to the table and said, "If you have bad teeth, just eat slowly. Anyway, you just had breakfast and you're not hungry. Okay, if you're hungry, you can eat two more pieces of tofu first!"

The sour scholar waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it's the same as drinking the soup after it's boiled. Anyway, it can't escape once it's in the pot. Just eat your own food and don't worry about us!"

The sour scholar also nodded and said, "It's really good, but unfortunately my teeth are not as good as yours, so it's hard for me to eat it."

Chen Gu prepared all the vegetables, and went to chop some small pieces of firewood to add to the small stove later. Then he sat at the table and ate with the two of them.

The two old men refused to eat, but Chen Gu was not polite. He had been craving for meat for a long time. He had only eaten meat once in the six or seven days he had been there.

Chen Gu picked up a piece of pork belly for each of them and said, "Pick out the meat and eat it first. If you don't eat it, it will melt in the soup."

Tofu was relatively expensive during that era, firstly because grinding tofu was very laborious, and secondly because the yield of soybeans was not high.

It's a pity that there's only one pound of meat in total, and some fat has been produced, so there's not much left.

"Hey, not bad!" Liu Er smiled rarely, took the wine gourd and poured a glass of wine for himself and the sour scholar.

After eating the pork belly, Chen Gu slowed down and began to consciously participate in the conversation between the two old men.

Chen Gu only gave them some guidance, and the two old men revealed all their secrets.

Liu Er was also an orphan. Forty years ago, when he was about ten years old, he was adopted by the previous executioner of the county. Then when he was eighteen, he sent his master away to take over. Liu Er also planned to start a family. The other party was a widow with a pair of children. In the end, the widow lived with him for a month and ran away with the 100 taels of silver that Liu Er had saved.

After that, Liu Er gave up the idea of ​​starting a family, and until now, he accepted Chen Gu as his master.

The sour scholar's real name was Chen Minghua. He was once a scholar and his family was well-off. Unfortunately, he offended someone later. Although he saved his life, his family property was lost, and his reputation as a scholar was naturally lost.

After Chen Gu inquired in detail, he realized that the position of scholar was not a lifelong tenure and was actually divided into different levels.

Those who have just passed the examination and become scholars are called "fu sheng", which means they are dependent on various colleges. After that, they need to take annual examinations.

After the annual examination, those with excellent results were called government academy students. The number of government academy students generally varied according to the size of the prefecture, state, or county.

For example, Jiangjin County, where Chen Jue is now, is a large county with a registered population of 200,000, so there are 40 students on government stipend.

Not only do students on government stipends have all the privileges of scholars, but they also receive six dou of government rice every month. According to the sour scholar, the dou in Jiangjin County is relatively large, weighing fifteen catties, and six dou is ninety catties. In addition to the monthly government rice, they can also receive a subsidy of four taels of silver every year.

Apart from the students on government stipend, the rest are ordinary students.

“Hey, in fact, whether you are a student on government stipend or a student on additional scholarship is not just based on your academic knowledge, but also depends on whether you can behave yourself, or whether there is someone in your family to support you.” The sour scholar said angrily.

Chen Gu understood this without any explanation; it was the ways of the world.

The meal lasted from morning to afternoon, and ended at around four o'clock when the family of Suan Xiucai came over.

The two old men were already very drunk. The two sons of the sour scholar first helped Chen the assassin to carry Liu Er back to the room, and then they carried their own old men back.

After Chen Gu took care of Liu Er and put him to sleep, he went to the kitchen and started working again.

First, the unburned charcoal fire in the small stove was transferred into the bathhouse. After cleaning up, the temperature of the large iron pot had risen.

Chen Gu first put the dried mushrooms into the pan and fried them, then added the dried shrimps, and finally cut the dried kelp into shreds and put them in to stir-fry.

After all the moisture of the three ingredients is dried and fried until they are crispy and can be crushed into crumbs when pinched, put the three ingredients together and pound them into fine powder using a stone mortar.

Chen Gu dipped his finger in a little yellow powder and tasted it. A fresh flavor instantly spread in his mouth, making Chen Gu nod with satisfaction. It was just a little sandy, probably because the kelp was not washed.

However, in this era, salt and grain would be mixed with sand. A little sand might not be a big deal. Eating some soil is good for people as it can supplement trace elements.

Chen Kui learned the production method of this cheap MSG from a short video.

The special profession of executioner makes ordinary people unwilling to get involved, and even stay away from it. In this case, don't even think about doing any business.

But it should be okay to make some homemade MSG and sell it, right?
Of course, to be on the safe side, Chen Gu did not plan to sell it himself, but to find an agent to sell it.

However, as he had just arrived, Chen Gu didn’t know anyone, let alone anyone he could trust.

Fortunately, Chen Gu is not in a hurry. After all, he is still young. He doesn't know his exact age. Anyway, he is not very old, so he can take it slowly.

(End of this chapter)