Linxia

Chapter 51, Eating Meat

Breakfast was made by Shopkeeper Liu's eldest daughter-in-law. Because Shopkeeper Liu was there, Mrs. Liu Ding at least fried a dish compared to last night, which was the cheapest greens.

While working in the morning, Fang Lin and Chai Yiwei came to restock the goods. Fortunately, there were not many customers so it was relatively easy and there was nothing much to complain about.

At noon, the meal was coarse rice and the dish was fried cabbage.

Fang Lin was fine, but Cheng Shiliang felt empty-handed. He winked at Huang Di, obviously reminding him to fulfill his promise to eat meat. So, taking advantage of the afternoon break, he said something to Manager Liu, and Huang Di asked Fang Lin and the other two to leave.

Out of Xuan Mo Zhai.

"Ogi, do you really want to treat us to meat? It's not too late to regret it now. Just treat me to a bath in the Wengtang."

"of course it's true."

Huang Di smiled and turned his head to Chai Yiwei and Fang Lin, "Yiwei, Linzi, you witnessed what happened last night, so you can't let Cheng Ge cheat. It was agreed that I would treat you to meat, but he invited me to take a bath in the Weng Hall."

"That's great. I'm waiting to eat your meat now." Fang Lin joked.

Chai Yiwei scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. Yesterday, Huang Di ate his sesame seed bun in exchange for a meal of meat, and he felt that he had let the other party suffer a loss.

"Hmph, am I the kind of person who would go back on my word? If you really treat the three of us to meat today, we can go take a bath in the hall in the afternoon!" Cheng Shiliang waved his hand generously.

"Sure, then I'll wait."

Next, Huang Di led Fang Lin and the other two through many twists and turns and finally entered a small alley.

Cheng Shiliang paused, a look of doubt on his face: "Huang Dizi, the meat you are talking about is not that kind of meat, right?"

"What?" Huang Di didn't react for a moment.

Chai Yiwei was also confused.

Fang Lin smiled.

"Tsk, it seems that you are not a simple person either, Linzi." Cheng Shiliang pointed at Fang Lin and said, "Just go find a half-open door. Dizi, let me tell you, this kind of half-open door is not clean, don't go there, otherwise you might get sick..."

"Brother Cheng, you really misunderstood!" Huang Di complained: "When I said eating meat, I really meant eating meat. What did you think? Besides, the meat tastes good, but it requires some skills."

"Oh?"

Fang Lin was curious.

But Huang Di kept his mouth shut and just said that he would know when he got there. He led the three of them through the streets and alleys, and after a while, he finally said, "We're here."

There is a stall here. At this time, a woman who looks to be in her thirties, with a plump figure and faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, which adds to her charm, brought out a big pot. She stirred it with a spoon, and big chunks of meat emerged from the pot, steaming and fragrant, which made people swallow their saliva when they saw and smelled it.

"It's right here." Huang Di said, glancing at the woman.

"Dizi, are we going to eat meat here? Wow, you are so generous today. I see there are no other side dishes in the pot, just big chunks of meat. This meal is not cheap. You are so stingy, but you are taking care of other people's business so much today. Are you attracted by them?" Cheng Shiliang teased.

"Don't talk nonsense. How could Sister Qiu like me?"

Huang Di subconsciously retorted, but his body stiffened slightly, and then he reacted and said as if to cover up: "Come on, come on, we are lucky today, the pot has just been opened."

Only Fang Lin, who was closest to him, noticed Huang Di's abnormality and couldn't help but glance at him.

"Logically speaking, Huang Di has a respectable job and earns a good monthly income, so pursuing this woman is not too high a price to pay, but he seems... a little inferior?"

Among the other three shop assistants, Cheng Shiliang was the most well-off. His family ran a snack bar, selling roast chicken and other dishes. His family was well-off, so he had attended school for a few years. Chai Yiwei's family was said to be from a village outside the city, and it was not so well off. Only because he had a distant uncle like Manager Liu could he enter Xuan Mo Zhai. Huang Di was unknown and had never been heard of, but according to Cheng Shiliang, "he had hardly ever spent any money, and was even more stingy than Chai Yiwei."

These are all things that he gradually learned from getting along with others. Fang Lin thought divergently and followed.

"Sister Qiu, one for each of the four of us." Huang Di handed over four copper coins with a smile.

"Ogiko brought her friends? Great!"

Mrs. Qiu took the money, put one hand on her waist, and knocked the pot with a spoon in the other hand: "My rule here is that one copper coin is used to pick up one chopstick, and you can't stir it or change it. What you pick up depends on luck."

"No, just one chopstick, is this what you call eating meat?" Cheng Shiliang looked at Huang Di with dissatisfaction.

Fang Lin also understood that this was the pattern.

Mrs. Qiu collected some inferior scraps from the market, such as pork bones, chicken and duck wings and buttocks, etc., added some marinade ingredients and mixed them together to cook.

This kind of pure meat is naturally not sold in large bowls per person, because poor people cannot afford it and rich people do not like it. The model here is that you pay one copper coin for one chopstick. If you pick up a large piece of meaty bone or a slightly larger piece of better meat, you will make a profit. If you pick up a chicken wing or duck wing, you will not lose money. If you pick up a chicken butt or a small piece of skin, you will lose money.

"Just tell me if this counts as treating me to meat, right?" Huang Di said with a smug look on his face. "It depends on your ability and luck. As the saying goes, you can eat meat with one chopstick, but you can't even chew the bones with the other chopstick. Isn't this more interesting than having an ordinary meal?"

Cheng Shiliang was speechless. He really was eating meat. Although it was only one piece of meat with chopsticks, he still ate it.

"Okay, I won't argue with you. I was wondering why you were so generous today when you were usually so stingy. Now I understand, this is you!"

He was quite generous and accepted the bet, then said, "I'll go first," rolled up his sleeves, stepped forward, looked at the shadow in the soup, and picked up a long strip with his chopsticks.

"Could it be a large piece of pork belly?" Cheng Shiliang thought so, while Huang Di, Fang Lin, and Chai Yiwei also widened their eyes.

But when he took it out, the joy on his face disappeared immediately. On closer inspection, he found it was a piece of ginger. He cried out "I'm so angry" and wanted to pick up his chopsticks again.

Mrs. Qiu stopped her and knocked the spoon against the edge of the pot: "One chopstick for one copper coin!"

"Two more chopsticks." Cheng Shiliang took out two copper coins and picked up the chopsticks.

This is obviously too much.

The second time, he picked up a piece of chicken butt and ate it; the third time, perhaps he was lucky, he actually picked up a large bone with a lot of meat on it and took it out of the soup, but the bone was big, there was a lot of meat and it was heavy, and his hand shook with excitement, and it fell back into the soup with a plop.

However, this also counted as one of the times that made Cheng Shiliang so angry that he slapped his thigh.

"Alright, Brother Cheng, take a break and watch me!"

Huang Di picked up the chopsticks and walked forward, scanning the bottom of the pot with wide eyes. Obviously he had experience, and he scooped at one of the shadows, like an osprey flying over the water, and picked up a piece of fat pork trough meat with one chopstick: "Great! Brother Cheng, Yiwei, Linzi, do you think I'm lucky?"

He said proudly, holding the meat in one hand and reaching underneath with the other to catch the dripping oil, then he turned his head and ate it in big mouthfuls. He was panting from the burns of the scalding meat, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. When he finished eating the meat, he licked the oil in his other hand clean.

Next, it was Chai Yiwei's turn. He picked up a chicken neck with one chopstick and was satisfied and happy.

The last one was Fang Lin. He glanced at the bottom of the pot, picked up some meat with his chopsticks, and then slowly lifted it up. He saw the big bone with a lot of meat on it that Cheng Shiliang had dropped earlier. It was shining in the sun and was dripping with oil. It floated out of the soup and was picked out of the pot little by little.

Seeing this scene, Cheng Shiliang and Chai Yiwei both widened their eyes.

Huang Di was even more excited, as if he was happier than himself, his face flushed and his neck thickened as he shouted, "Meat is coming out! Meat is coming out! Big chunks of meat! Linzi, you are really good!"

"It's luck, and also thanks to Brother Cheng's previous experience. I estimated the location." Fang Lin said modestly with a smile.

At this time, a large group of people came from the alley, with bare chests and sweating profusely. They were obviously workers from nearby workshops, such as the ship workshop and oil press.

"Wow, what a big piece of meat!"

"Little brother is so lucky!"

"Is there too much meat in this pot? Come on, let's go!"

……

They heard Huang Di's shout and came over to take a look. Each of them had an expression of shock and envy on their faces. Especially when they saw Fang Lin eating meat, their throats moved and they surrounded him greedily.

Many people were busy at the same time. Madam Qiu could see everything in all directions and calculate every penny accurately.

"Eating meat under the envious gaze of others, the taste of the meat seems to be better than usual." Fang Lin sighed, eating the meat and looking at Huang Di again.

"Just now, Huang Di's excitement was probably partly a natural expression, but more likely it was intentional. Was he trying to attract customers for Madam Qiu?" he thought to himself.

The workers gathered in a circle. Cheng Shiliang originally wanted to give it a try, but he couldn't squeeze in. He could only stand outside and watch the fun.

Whenever someone picks out a good piece of meat and obviously makes a profit, there will be a group of people cheering; if it is too small and a loss, the person involved will have a sullen face, and the people around him seem to be infected, feeling sorry for him and sighing.

In short, the atmosphere was extremely warm.

Although eating meat in this way may seem bitter, it is also a kind of fun to find joy in suffering, which is something that respectable people never experience.

"With so many people here now, it's not cost-effective. Let's go!" Huang Di said, and took the three of them back.

For Fang Lin, this was also a rare experience. He ate meat and gained some knowledge, so it was worth the trip.

……

(End of this chapter)