The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

24. Trading Hens for Noodles

Translator: Lao Xinxian

Proofread by Peter Gong

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin are somewhat unlucky these days because there is a gang of people coming from nowhere who prevents them from making money. Someone may give the gang orders to occupy the ship, hinder people, and grab fresh goods as soon as the cargo ship docks at Mudu Port. Even though others precede them, the gang will pick a quarrel and make trouble so that eventually all the fresh goods are taken away by them.
At first, Cai Renxin also persisted in trying to fight with them, but he was stopped by Zhu Shengpeng. Seeing others were badly battered and injured, Cai couldn’t help congratulating himself privately for not rushing to the fore. However, he and Zhu could only pick a few low-spirited chickens and ducks left by the gang — that’s already quite good since many other purchasers got nothing.
But every coin has two sides. Those who got nothing can’t make any money, but if they two fail to sell these low-spirited fowls, they will even lose money. Honesty is Zhu and Cai’s best policy, so they have to talk with great difficulty some small shops into buying their fowls at a low price.
After the purchase, the two quickly classify these chickens and ducks, then find a way to sell them respectively: Zhu Shengpeng is responsible for delivering fowls that look relatively good to some average restaurants and their regulars. He is a steady and honest man whom people trust most, so it is not a big problem for him to sell them.
Cai Renxin is responsible for peddling the rest of the fowls to small shops, stalls, or even communities. He is relatively experienced in selling inferior goods. Besides, he is tolerant and patient enough to persuade those shopkeepers and vendors into buying one or two fowls. But even so, there are always a few chickens and ducks left, which must be bled as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will die soon and become nothing but rubbish.
The chickens or ducks bled timely can be made into dry chickens or ducks. Zhu Shengpeng used to make unsold seafood into dry seafood, so he is acquainted with this process. But those stiff fowls must be defeathered and bled right away, since with the clotting blood, these finished dry fowls will be unpalatable. Therefore, Zhu and Cai often often eat chickens or ducks recently. Sometimes, their daily income is equivalent to a fowl or two, so eating the unsold fowls means they have to trade their earning for stale fowls.
It is another late afternoon. When the sun seems to be as low as the reeds, Cai Renxin is shouldering a stick with a bamboo cage, running along the street. He runs so fast that wind is blowing his hair back— the man does feel anxious because he still has two trembling old hens to sell.
Cai Renxin makes up his mind to sell these hens out! Those dying fowls they have eaten recently are so stomach-churning that he feels sick every time he thinks about them. Therefore, he will sell them out anyhow, otherwise, he would rather give them away or throw them into the trash can.
But considering the time and the condition of these hens, he knows that few shops will be willing to buy them. It is near closing time, and they should have already prepared food ingredients for next day. Cai Renxin considers over and over again, feeling that the only possibility is to sell these hens to an eatery named Cui’s Noodles in Chicken Soup at Xiaodongmen.
“Bloke, don’t you see my eatery is quiet and empty? My business is so bad that I haven’t finished the yesterday’s chicken soup. Your hens can’t live till tomorrow, so I will definitely lose money if I buy them. Do you want to help my eatery go bankrupt?” Boss Cui, the eatery’s owner, sounds really upset. The current business worsens as if his customers are all attracted by the steamed bun shop diagonally opposite his eatery.
The two hens in the cage are cringing, and quivering with their eyes closed, which also makes Cai Renxin think that it is awkward for Boss Cui to buy them. However, their income today is merely equivalent to two chickens, since none of the fowls they obtained today look good. If he takes these hens back, he and Zhu will have to eat them in the next two days. It is totally suffering. If it goes on like this, they may have a phobia about chicken!
“Boss Cui, if you bleed and defeather them right away, the soup won’t taste bad. I’m selling them at less than half of the market price. The cheapest price in Shanghai!” Cai Renxin decides to try it again.
Boss Cui simply shakes his head without saying anything. Cai Renxin curls his lip and talks to him for a long time in vain, then he scratches his head, clenches his teeth, and makes the final concession, “What about this? Now that your business is bad, I will be your customer, but I will trade these two hens for your noodles instead of paying for them.” He would rather eat noodles than eat hens, so he decides to be flexible.
His solution works. Boss Cui looks at the hens and asks, “How to trade?”
“I trade my hens for twenty bowls of noodles. My brother and I may come at any time. You keep the accounts. When we finish the twentieth bowl, the deal will be over.”
“Ten bowls of noodles.”
“Eighteen.”
“Fifteen bowls. I can’t give you more.” Cui bids stoutly.
“Then it’s a deal.” Cai Renxin holds his rattail firmly.
Boss Cui brisks up immediately. He comes out with a pair of scissors, grabs the two hens from the cage skillfully, cuts their throats open, and bleeds them in a wooden barrel. No sound comes from the barrel, for the two dying hens are too weak to struggle.
“Come on! Give me a bowl of Noodles in Chicken Soup, with a little chive, cilantro and pepper.” Cai Renxin flicks his sleeves and sits at the table casually.
The hens have been killed and the deal is done, so Cai Renxin possesses fifteen bowls of noodles in this eatery. With a growling stomach, he is going to push the boat out while venting his depression by making Boss Cui at his beckon.
“Give me a bowl of Noodles in Chicken Soup. Please don’t put cilantro but put chive, not pepper but salt.” At this moment, a man comes in, ordering a bowl of noodles before sitting down, with an order that seems to be just contrary to Cai’s.
“Okay. Please sits inside the eatery. The seats are cleaner.” Boss Cui ignores Cai Renxin and walks over to the new customer with a cleaning rag in hand.
“Ah, it’s you!” Surprisingly, the coming man calls softly when he sees Boss Cui.
“Yes, it’s me. Bro, do you know me? I am sorry, there have been so many customers that I didn’t remember you.” Boss Cui greets him hurriedly — he has no idea about the man; but Cai Renxin jumps up immediately, “You are the uncle that saved the steamed buns for the shop opposite! It is you! You are marvelous! The steamed buns you saved were so delicious!”
Cai’s words make Boss Cui slightly changes his countenance. The shopkeeper ducks his head and goes inside to cook noodles. The news of the saved steamed buns is talked about everywhere at Xiaodongmen, but Boss Cui acts as if he has never heard of it.
The man is none other than Xu Zhiwei. He sits at a table and ignores Cai Renxin. So many people recognize him and greet him recently, among whom the youngsters are the most talkative and curious. They all worship legends and admire miracles, so no wonder they can’t help asking Xu Zhiwei continuously while meeting him. Actually, it is somewhat similar to the case of pursuing a star, but Xu Zhiwei doesn’t adapt to this trend and feels somewhat annoyed. The enthusiasm and excitement of Cai Renxin seem a bit rash, so he doesn’t respond.
Meanwhile, Xu is paying attention to Boss Cui. When he met Boss Cui just now, Xu felt that his pale face resembles that of the man who messed about the stove that morning.
Much as he tends to coax and pester in business, Cai Renxin knows how to get along with people politely at usual times. Therefore, he doesn’t make a detailed inquiry but sits down again, observing Xu Zhiwei curiously, wondering what sort of a man he is.
Boss Cui quickly cooks two bowls of noodles. Different from his peers, after scooping the noodles out, he doesn’t put them into the bowl immediately but tosses them a few times with the spider strainer. His movement seems so skillful and natural that no single noodle is thrown out during the whole process. After that, Cui puts the noodles in a big porcelain bowl, then he scoops the chicken soup out from the jar, soaking the noodles with the oily soup slowly. Then Cui grabs a handful of chive, and puts it in the bowl, meanwhile the oil just floats on the soup — so golden oil shimmers on the soup with green chive floating on it.
Cui puts a bowl of noodles on the outward platform of the stove, and lets Cai Renxin take it by himself. Then he puts the other bowl on a tray in front of Xu Zhiwei.
The bowl is so hot that Cai Renxin bares his teeth while bringing it to his table hurriedly. As soon as his hands leave the bowl, he starts rubbing his earlobes hastily. Suddenly, he stops moving and looks back at Xu Zhiwei, then resolutely picks up the hot bowl once again, walking to the table where Xu Zhiwei is seated.
“Hey, let’s eat together!” He scratches his head and sits across Xu Zhiwei with a grin, picking up a pair of chopsticks. However, he doesn’t begin to eat, but tilts his head and stares at Xu Zhiwei, as if he were learning how to eat noodles from him.
Xu Zhiwei nodded slightly when he saw Boss Cui’s cooking process. When he sniffs at the noodles in front of him, he can’t help praising sincerely, “Great. Great. This is the most delicate and dainty cuisine at Xiaodongmen.”
“Gee, is that wrong? Boss Cui, did you swindle me out of my hens? This uncle says that your noodles are the best at Xiaodongmen, how can your business be bad?” Cai Renxin reacts quickly and feels immediately that he has suffered a loss.