After Zhao Dagen’s matter was resolved, Gu Lin’s tense nerves relaxed a great deal. He specially hired someone to slaughter the live chickens he had bought earlier to make shredded chicken, then blanched them along with the purchased pig ears before packing them into bamboo tubes.
Gu Lin looked at the bamboo baskets arranged in a row on the ground. Because he had added new foods, there were two more bamboo baskets. Uncle Zhang’s ox cart was already crowded, and now with a few more bamboo baskets, there certainly would not be enough room on the cart.
Therefore, after thinking of a solution, Gu Lin personally went to Uncle Zhang’s house to rent his ox cart to drive him and Zheng Hao back and forth from the county town.
Of course, considering that other villagers also needed to use the cart, when Gu Lin and Zheng Hao were not using the ox cart, Uncle Zhang was free to travel back and forth from Lower River Village to pick up and drop off the villagers.
Zheng Hao followed Gu Lin into town and arrived at the stall, first taking out the items from the bamboo baskets and arranging them neatly.
Watching the boy gradually tidy up the small stall, Gu Lin walked over to a neighboring stall, bought two steamed buns, and returned to hand them to Zheng Hao, saying, “Leave the rest to me. Go to the school academy to study. If you get hungry, eat some steamed buns to line your stomach.”
Taking the steamed buns, Zheng Hao said nothing more. He hoisted his book trunk onto his back, turned around, and left the stall.
Gu Lin had already grown accustomed to the boy’s reticence and did not mind it, turning around to continue working on his tasks.
An elderly woman who had inquired about Sister-in-law Zhao with Gu Lin just yesterday watched the tender scene between father and son, sighing to Gu Lin, “Lin ge’er, you will enjoy good fortune in the future.”
Gu Lin had heard such words many times since setting up his stall. When he first encountered Zheng Hao, he was afraid of him due to the influence of the original plot. But after spending time with Zheng Hao, he discovered that apart from being a bit mature and reticent, the boy was no different from other children.
Therefore, he was no longer as overly cautious as in the beginning. Facing such topics, he could handle them with ease, saying, “Who could surpass your good fortune? I have seen your grandson; at such a young age, he already knows how to show filial respect to you. You can look forward to enjoying a peaceful life in the future.”
Hearing Gu Lin praise her little grandson, Auntie Sun felt as immensely refreshed as if she had consumed an elixir. “Isn’t that the truth? My little grandson is extraordinarily filial! A few days ago, I accidentally sprained my lower back while carrying water, and my little grandson spent the whole day hovering around my bed asking, ‘Grandma, does it hurt?’ My heart nearly melted!”
As Gu Lin poured out the mixed shredded chicken and pig ears, he said, “So it is grandmother and grandson living in complete harmony and joy. No wonder you dote on your grandson so much.”
Feeling increasingly refreshed by his words, Auntie Sun found the ge’er before her more and more pleasing to the eye. Watching him pour out dishes she had never seen before, her tone turned unusually pleasant as she asked, “Lin ge’er, what is this?”
Gu Lin explained, “These are shredded chicken and cold pig ears. The former is spicy and appetizing, while the latter is chewy and refreshing. Not only are they delicious, but they also offer many health benefits for children and adults alike. You can buy some to try.”
Looking at the pig ears, Auntie Sun’s expression showed a mix of hesitation and disgust. Then she turned her eyes toward the chicken shredded into thin strips, seeing that the snow-white surface of the chicken meat was drizzled with wild pepper and minced garlic, turning a pale, alluring red and garnished with a few peanuts. A single glance stimulated one’s appetite. Auntie Sun pointed at them and asked, “How much are these two foods?”
Gu Lin replied without batting an eye, “Shredded chicken is seven copper coins per tube, and pig ears are ten copper coins per tube.”
Gu Lin was certainly not asking an exorbitant price. The reason pig ears were sold at a higher price than shredded chicken was simply because pigs were not as plentiful in ancient times as in modern times. The butcher shops in the county town had a limited supply of pig ears, and even though Gu Lin had reserved them in advance, he only managed to buy three or four sets. Additionally, cleaning the pig ears required considerable labor, so Gu Lin priced them a bit higher, whereas the shredded chicken was sold at a normal price.
But upon hearing the price, Auntie Sun gasped in surprise and exclaimed, “So expensive?!”
One must know that a whole chicken in the county town cost only forty copper coins, which could yield goodness knows how many portions of shredded chicken. As for pig ears, they were hardly a rare commodity; normally no one even wanted them, and an entire set could be bought for just a few copper coins. How could they command such a high price?
Facing Auntie Sun’s doubt, Gu Lin showed no displeasure. He patiently explained to her, “Auntie, one chicken at our stall makes ten portions of shredded chicken at most. After deducting the forty copper coins to buy the chicken and the cost of spices, we only earn a dozen coins or so. Furthermore, although pig ears are not expensive to buy, we have to spend a great deal of time cleaning them, and we use considerably more spices than for the shredded chicken. For these two foods, we are merely earning a modest sum for our hard labor.”
In fact, as long as one calculated carefully, they would realize Gu Lin was not telling tall tales. Shredded chicken and cold pig ears appeared to sell for more than vegetarian dishes, but the labor cost involved was also substantial, so Gu Lin actually earned less selling these two items than he did selling vegetarian dishes.
However, Gu Lin had never intended to rely on these two dishes to make money; he merely wanted to try something new to see the level of customer acceptance. If everyone could accept these foods, then he would not have to worry about customers finding future new dishes hard to accept.
Gu Lin used a bamboo skewer to pierce a piece of pig ear and handed it to Auntie Sun, saying, “You can taste it first. If you think it tastes good, you can buy some then.”
Auntie Sun hesitated slightly, but still took it and began to eat. It was not her first time eating pig ears. When she was young, her family was impoverished and could not afford meat even at the end of the year, so her parents would buy a set of pig ears to boil in a pot to eat as meat. Auntie Sun still remembered that gamey, bitter, and harsh taste to this day.
Suddenly, her chewing motion paused.
Seeing this, Gu Lin asked, “How is it?”
Swallowing the pig ear in her mouth, Auntie Sun looked at Gu Lin with a rather peculiar gaze and asked, “Are you sure this is pig ear?”
She had never eaten pig ear this delicious before.
Seeing Auntie Sun’s expression, Gu Lin knew she was satisfied, so he smiled and said, “What you ate just now was indeed pig ear. We also have shredded chicken here. Would you like to try some?”
Without waiting for Gu Lin to help her, Auntie Sun automatically pierced a piece of shredded chicken and ate it. The more she ate, the more novel she found it. The taste of this chicken was different from the stewed chicken at her home, nor did it resemble the taste of cold vegetarian dishes. Beneath the sour and spicy notes lay a refreshing sweetness and meaty fragrance. Auntie Sun pointed at the shredded chicken and cold pig ears and said, “Lin ge’er, give me one portion each of cold vegetarian dishes, cold pig ears, and shredded chicken.”
Among those queuing behind her was a ge’er who knew Auntie Sun; he lived right next door to her and knew full well that she was an utterly stingy miser.
Although Auntie Sun’s husband’s family was well-off, she was extraordinarily stingy when spending money outside. Ordinarily, she could bargain down a five-copper dish to two coppers. Yet now, in front of this cold dish stall, she spent over twenty copper coins without a single moment of hesitation.
He had also eaten cold dishes from this stall many times, but he still found pig ears hard to accept. Looking at Auntie Sun with a suspicious expression, he asked, “You are not talking nonsense, are you? Is this pig ear really that delicious?”
Since childhood, this ge’er could not stand the foul parts of animals. Regarding organs on a pig other than its meat, he always felt that either they were not cleaned properly or their gamey odor could not be suppressed no matter what. Just thinking about it made him feel nauseous.
Naturally, he was not the only one with such thoughts. Many people looked at Gu Lin and Auntie Sun with doubt on their faces, wondering if the two were intentionally colluding to deceive them.
Facing the crowd’s doubts, Auntie Sun did not possess Gu Lin’s good temper. Lifting her chin slightly, she said, “The owner has set everything out nicely. Whether it is delicious or not, won’t you know once you try it? What is more, would I, Sun Jingxiang, deceive you?”
Not letting slip the free promotion she had just done for him, Gu Lin took out a handful of bamboo skewers, inserted them into the sample portions of pig ears and shredded chicken, and said, “Everyone is welcome to try them. Although this stall is small, the food is treated with absolute cleanliness.”
Although everyone was still somewhat skeptical, thinking of how the cold dishes they had been eating had never caused any issues, and looking at the alluringly colored shredded chicken and pig ears, they ultimately could not resist stepping forward one after another.
Of course, most people still could not overcome the mental hurdle in their hearts and chose to pick up the shredded chicken to eat. A small portion of people, remembering Auntie Sun’s satisfied expression when eating the pig ears, boldly decided to try something new and picked up the pig ears.
But when it was actually about to enter their mouths, they regretted it again. After all, no one could tolerate eating something that filled their mouth with a disgusting taste. Yet when they lowered their heads wanting to choose shredded chicken instead, they discovered that only a platter of pig ears, virtually untouched by anyone, remained on the counter.
Facing the young ge’er who wore a gentle smile on his lips, they were too embarrassed to put down the pig ears and walk away. They could only steel their hearts, close their eyes, and stuff the food in their hands into their mouths.
Huh?
The few people chewing the pig ears opened their eyes. Their previously expectationless eyes gradually filled with brightness. They had thought an unclean cut like pig ears would have a pungent and disgusting odor in their mouths, but unexpectedly, not only was there no foul odor whatsoever, but it was also intensely fragrant, crispy, and refreshing. It was a crispy, tender, savory flavor completely different from pork meat or other organ meats.
Glancing at the remaining pig ears, the few people tacitly sped up their chewing.
Seeing these few people eating pig ears without saying a word, the others thought they were thoroughly disgusted. But as time passed and they saw them continuing to chew, though their expressions were strange, they did not look like people who had eaten something terrible. They could not help asking, “What on earth is wrong with you? Is this pig ear delicious or not?”
The few people did not answer. After swallowing the pig ears in their mouths, they looked at each other, synchronously raised the bamboo skewers in their hands, and pierced the remaining pig ears on the platter. Their speed was so fast that the crowd could not even react in time.
Seeing this, someone gasped, “No way! Is this pig ear really that delicious?”
Those few people did not answer, but very soon they offered their response. One after another, they said to Gu Lin, “Boss, your cold pig ears are truly excellent! Quickly mix a tube for me so I can bring it home to add a dish to our meal.”
“Boss, I want two tubes of cold pig ears. Since your family can make pig ears taste this good, the shredded chicken is probably not bad either. Mix a tube for me as well while you are at it.”
The last man called out loudly, “Boss, how many pig ears are left? I will take them all!”
At this point, how could the crowd fail to understand? Not only were these pig ears not bad at all, but they were exceptionally delicious.
Therefore, the others who had not tasted pig ears immediately grew anxious, “Third Brother Li, you cannot do this! There are only so many pig ears. If you buy them all, what are we going to buy?!”
“That is right, that is right! Third Brother Li, follow the rules! How can you hog everything for yourself?!”
Third Brother Li turned around and glared at them, saying, “Just now, the young boss asked you to try samples, and every single one of you complained and refused. Now that I am buying, you all jump out!”
Seeing that the crowd was about to start arguing, Gu Lin hurriedly spoke up to mediate, “Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth. Because the quantity of pig ears is limited, each person may only purchase one tube. However, to thank a few customers for their full support of our little stall, I will additionally gift a portion of shredded chicken and cold vegetarian dishes as a token of gratitude.”
Regarding the crowd’s squabble, Gu Lin did not take sides. To him, customers buying shredded chicken and customers buying pig ears were all his guests; he would not offend one party just to win over another.
However, to the customers on both sides, Gu Lin seemed to be taking their side.
To the customers sampling shredded chicken, Gu Lin proposing a limit on pig ear purchases favored them. But to the customers sampling pig ears, Gu Lin gifting shredded chicken and cold dishes meant he was closer to them.
Thus, customers on both sides were satisfied and queued up once more to buy cold dishes.
However, because the farce earlier had wasted a lot of time, by the time Zheng Hao finished school at noon and came over, Gu Lin had not yet sold out his cold dishes, with a dozen or so bamboo tubes remaining at the stall.
Gu Lin’s face was flushed red with heat as he asked, “How did you get here so quickly?”
Placing his book trunk behind the stall, Zheng Hao walked over to take Gu Lin’s place and began mixing cold dishes, saying, “I have already memorized the rules of the school academy, so Master Xu allowed me to leave school early. In the future, I will not need to go in the afternoon either. Master Xu runs an elementary class and a scholar class; he teaches the elementary class in the morning and the scholar class in the afternoon. I only need to go for the morning session.”
Gu Lin was pleasantly surprised. “Then that is much more convenient for you.”
Previously, Gu Lin had been worrying about where he should go after selling out his cold dishes if Zheng Hao had to study at the academy the whole day. Gu Lin had even considered hiring Uncle Zhang’s ox cart to help pick the boy up. Now hearing the other say he did not need to attend classes in the afternoon, Gu Lin, who had once attended primary school himself, did not know whether to feel envious or to celebrate that he no longer had to worry.