Chapter 6: A Promising Idea
Besides selling vegetables, Xu An had another reason for going to the early morning market today: to see if he could find another line of work.
The vegetable garden’s daily yield was limited. Today’s harvest was actually considered a big one. On a slow day, he might only get a few tomatoes, just enough for his own family to eat in one meal.
Even if he had a yield like today’s every day, it would still amount to less than sixty in income. At the absolute most, that was eighteen hundred a month. He might as well be a temp worker on a construction site. At eighty a day, he could make two thousand four hundred a month—six hundred more than selling vegetables.
He looked at every stall, idea after idea popping into his head only to be swiftly rejected.
The main problem was his start-up capital—less than a hundred. Things like grilled sausages, egg-filled crepes, and egg waffles, which were popular with students but required electrical equipment, were all out of the question.
The only remaining options were things like sandwiches and braised meats, which could be prepared at home and sold as ready-to-eat food at the market.
But in a small town like this, fancy snacks like sandwiches weren’t popular. For people who had to work in the fields or at a job, two slices of bread with some vegetables and meat in between would be digested in a flash. It wasn’t filling at all.
Braised meats were a possibility. They were fragrant and tasted great. You could just slice them up, put them on a plate, and it was a dish for the dinner table.
But one look at the prices of frozen goods and Xu An quickly abandoned the idea.
Frozen chicken feet were fifteen a pound, frozen chicken wings were eighteen a pound, and frozen drumsticks were a bit cheaper at eight a pound. Pork offal and other miscellaneous parts were even more expensive than regular pork, and beef was something he couldn’t even dream of.
After factoring in the cost of spices, he would have only enough money left to buy three or four pounds of meat at most. That little amount would be gone after a few people had a taste.
’Looks like getting a temp job at a construction site is the most reliable option after all,’ he thought. ’My strength has increased since my rebirth. I can lift over a hundred pounds with ease. The construction site is my true calling.’
He decided he’d find some time in the next couple of days to wander over to a site in the city and see what the pay and conditions were like for temporary laborers. The wages couldn’t be lower than an apprentice’s, at least.
After a lap around the market, he returned to his spot to find that Xu Guoqiang’s stall was already more than half sold out.
Seeing that there weren’t many vegetables left, Xu An went back to help hawk the produce. After explaining a few different ways to cook the remaining vegetables to customers, they sold out in no time.
Several people even asked Xu An to bring some different vegetables next time and share a few more recipes.
In this era, everyone knew how to cook, but most people’s cooking was just to fill their stomachs; you couldn’t really call it delicious. In the past, being able to eat your fill and have meat with every meal—regardless of the taste—was considered the good life.
But as the economy developed and people had more spare cash in their pockets, their pursuit of flavor grew.
The internet wasn’t as developed as it would be in the future, where a quick search for any dish would yield countless different recipes from all over the country. Even in that highly-connected future, it was mostly young people who were adept at using their phones.
The recipes Xu An described, which would seem commonplace in the future, were a novelty to people now. The methods he described just sounded delicious.
With Xu An’s help, Xu Guoqiang got home nearly an hour earlier than usual.
Seeing that Xu Guoqiang had sold all the vegetables so quickly, his wife was overjoyed. "The cabbage and green beans were that popular today?" she asked happily, handing him a change of clothes. "You should pick more tomorrow. Sell as much as you can while the selling is good."
Xu Guoqiang’s child was already off at university, leaving just the two of them at home. He changed into clean clothes right there in the courtyard and placed his mud-splattered ones by the well.
"It’s not that the vegetables were popular today. It’s that Anzi has a real silver tongue."
"What about Anzi?" his wife asked, sitting by the well and starting to pump some water to wash the clothes.
"He was also at the market selling vegetables today, right next to me. He’s such a smooth talker. The moment he opened his mouth, he coaxed a whole crowd of people into buying up everything at his stall. I was just riding his coattails, which is why I sold out early and got home."
"He’s that good? Granny Qi was always the one who went to the stall before. I never knew he had that kind of skill."
"He’s a good kid. I’m going to get up earlier tomorrow, pick more, and sell them at the market."
"Didn’t you just say you were riding Anzi’s coattails today?"
"We’ll set up next to each other again tomorrow," Xu Guoqiang said smugly.
When Xu An got home, he could hear the deafening cries of the two little ones from a long way off, completely drowning out Granny Xu’s voice.
"Why are there two little crybabies in the house? You’re crying so loud, you’re going to make your big brother’s ears go deaf."
"Big Brother!"
"WAAAAH, Big Brother!"
The moment they heard Xu An’s voice, the two of them stopped crying, wriggled free from Granny Xu’s grasp, and ran toward the courtyard gate.
As soon as Xu An opened the gate, they latched onto his calves, one on the left and one on the right, smearing tears and snot all over his legs.
Luckily, he was wearing shorts; otherwise, he would have had to change his pants.
"Sit tight. Time for takeoff!"
Hearing this, the two of them plopped down on Xu An’s mud-dotted feet and hugged his calves tightly. ’Well, now I’ll have to wash two pairs of pants,’ he thought.
After giving a little shake to make sure they were settled, Xu An strode forward. Xu Kang and Xu Le let out joyous squeals.
After playing for a while, he sent the two of them to play in the sand under the tree.
He looked at the sky. It was clear and cloudless, and still relatively cool at this time of the morning.
Xu An carried Granny Xu out and settled her into the rocking chair under the longan tree, then went to prepare lunch.
He lifted the stone slab covering the well and pulled up a rope. Tied to the end was a plastic bag containing the half-pound of pork left over from yesterday.
’There’s still this much meat,’ he thought. ’I’ll make Hakka-style stuffed bitter melon, a simple stir-fried bok choy, and a tomato and egg drop soup. Two dishes and a soup. Perfect.’
Just as Xu An was prepping the ingredients, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. He opened it to find Xu Heping, holding two bass.
With a cheeky grin, Heping shoved the two fish into Xu An’s hands and dashed over to squat beside Granny Xu. "Hi, Granny Qi! Are your legs feeling any better?"
"Heping, is that you? Why did you bring fish over when you came to see Anzi? Don’t do that again. Next time you show up with fish, I’ll have Anzi kick you out."
"Granny Qi, my parents are out on business, so I came to mooch a meal. These two fish are my contribution to the food supply."
After saying that, Xu Heping ran over to where Xu Kang and Xu Le were and started playing in the sand with them.
Since the fish had been delivered to his doorstep, Xu An didn’t stand on ceremony. He began to think about what dishes he could make with them.
The fish heads weren’t big, but there were two of them. ’Fish head and tofu soup it is,’ he decided. ’And I’ll fillet the rest for stir-fried bass.’
"Heping, go to Ma Family Village and buy a block of tofu. We’re having fish head soup for lunch."
"You got it!"
Without taking the money from Xu An’s hand, Xu Heping shot out of the house with a SWOOSH.
There were five people to feed: two young men and two little gluttons who could eat two big bowls of rice if there was meat. He’d need to cook at least half a pound of rice to have enough.
He opened the rice container and saw it was nearly empty; the raised bottom of the crock was clearly visible.
There was only a little over a pound of rice left. He’d have to buy more tomorrow. But then he remembered his aunt was coming over tomorrow. If there was too much rice in the house, it would be hard to plead poverty. ’Better to buy it the day after tomorrow.’
Stuffed bitter melon is a common Hakka homestyle dish. Xu An cut the bitter melon into three-finger-thick rounds, blanched them in boiling water for one minute, then removed and set them aside.
He minced the pork, added an egg, and seasoned it with a little light soy sauce and salt, mixing it well.
Normally, you would add starch to bind it together, but there was no starch in the kitchen, so Xu An skipped that step. It would affect the texture slightly, but overall, it wasn’t a big deal.
He stuffed the seasoned meat into the hollowed-out bitter melon rounds, heated some oil in a wok, and pan-fried both sides of the melon until they were golden brown.
He drizzled a secret sauce over the bitter melon and let it simmer until the sauce reduced. Then he plated it. Mission accomplished.
The aroma made Xu Heping’s mouth water, but with Xu Kang and Xu Le right there, he was too embarrassed to sneak a piece. He could only swallow his saliva desperately.
Next up was the fish head and tofu soup.
He pan-fried the fish heads, which had been marinated with ginger and salt, until both sides were golden brown and slightly crispy. Then he added an appropriate amount of water and simmered it until the soup turned a rich, milky white. He added the tofu and cooked for another five minutes, seasoned with salt, and finally sprinkled chopped scallions and cilantro on top before taking it off the heat.
He blanched the bass fillets in boiling water until they were semi-cooked and had firmed up. He stir-fried some minced garlic and millet peppers until fragrant, then tossed in the fish fillets and stir-fried them until cooked through. He seasoned them with salt and finished with a sprinkle of scallions and cilantro.
The last dish, stir-fried bok choy, was even simpler. Sauté minced garlic until fragrant, add the bok choy and stir-fry until tender, then season with salt.
Making three dishes, one soup, and the rice took an hour and a half. It was now eleven in the morning, perfect timing for lunch.
Everyone except Xu An had been driven mad by the delicious smells. As he brought the dishes out, he could clearly see a look of anticipation in Granny Xu’s eyes.
When life allows, who wouldn’t want to eat a good meal?
The five of them devoured the food on the table in a flash. The half-pound of rice was just barely enough for them all. Xu Heping stared at the empty pot, muttering that he could have eaten another big bowl.
"Anzi, when did you learn to cook like this?"
"When I was selling at the stall, I often heard people talking about how they cook the vegetables they buy. I just picked it up from listening."
Xu Heping was just expressing his admiration and didn’t press the issue. A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on his face. "You know Uncle Dongliang from Fifth Grandma’s family?"
"Xu Dongliang?"
"Yeah, that’s him." Xu Heping nodded. "He went to work at a construction site with some other guys from the village. He came back after two days and wouldn’t stop complaining.
"Everyone knows construction work is tiring, but what’s even worse than the work is the food.
"The vegetables are all just boiled in water, all green and yellow. It looks disgusting. When they finally get a meat dish, there are like three pieces of meat in the whole pot, and they’re all fatty.
"If there are leftovers from one meal, they just add other stuff to it and keep boiling it for the next meal. It’s just a big hodgepodge stew.
"And the rice they cook is either too watery, like congee, or it’s undercooked and still crunchy when you bite into it.
"According to Uncle Dongliang, the pigs in the village eat better than that. He got so fed up he started bringing two big steamed buns to work. At lunchtime, he eats them with some pickled mustard greens and dried fish, and it’s still better than their food."
"Aren’t there any restaurants nearby? The wages for construction work aren’t low. They should be able to afford a meal for eight or ten, right?"
Xu Heping scoffed.
"There are, but those restaurants look down on them. They complain that the construction workers are dirty and won’t let them eat inside. You pay the same money but have to squat outside the shop to eat. Who can stand that? You might as well eat the free food at the site. At least there’s a chair to sit on there."
"That’s true."
Xu An’s hands, busy washing the dishes, suddenly paused. He remembered seeing videos on his phone in his past life. The videos were mainly about people who made boxed lunches at home and sold them at construction sites.
’That... could actually work.’