Little Ideas

Zhou Erlang's preparations were much more comprehensive than Zhou Wulang's. When Manbao went to flip the basket brought by Erge, he found a basin containing chopped pork bones with meat in it. There were two pieces of pork belly of almost the same size, and a piece of fatty meat. Manbao drooled at them. Zhou Erlang was concerned that Manbao's saliva might drip onto the meat, so he promptly moved her away and reassured her, "Wait until Erge gives you meat to eat at noon." Manbao nodded, with saliva dripping. When she thought about eating, she was not willing to leave. Instead, she squatted in front of the stove to help with the fire, but in reality, she was just gazing at the flames. When she saw the fire getting smaller, she would tell her brothers, and then someone would come to add firewood.

Bai Shanbao squatted with her for a while, but she felt that watching the fire was not enjoyable, so she went to play with Bai Erlang. They went to play in the ditch they had dug. Daji followed them closely, and Zhou Erlang was no longer worried after taking a glance at them. He also placed the cleaned pork bones with meat into the pot. Since he knew that stewing soup could be profitable and quite lucrative, he had to enhance the soup, perhaps by adding more oil and water, right? Zhou Erlang covered the pot, then chopped the Chinese cabbage and radish. Today, they also brought a smaller pot and a large jar. Estimating that it was almost time, he placed the fatty meat and radish into the large pot. After stewing for less than two quarters of an hour, he started a fire on the stove to cook the radish and meat. He served the soup from the pot. This way, even the oil was saved. After cooking the radish and meat, he poured the vegetables into the jar and placed it by the fire to keep warm. Then, he started cooking the cabbage and meat. When the bailiffs rang the gong for lunch, the food delivery staff couldn't help but repeatedly glance over. They then asked their colleagues, "Why does it smell even more fragrant than yesterday?" Two bailiffs had come over earlier and knew that the Zhou brothers had brought a lot of meat that day and were planning to make meat dishes. They just glanced at each other and smiled indifferently. "They used a lot of meat, and the whole family is working hard on this, but they are making some money." The two of them were also afraid that the bailiffs would drive people away because Zhou Erlang had hinted this morning that if this business could continue, they would not be short of filial piety. What does this mean? It meant that they could eat and drink for free. The bailiff who delivered the food took a look at the group of people around the pot. He noticed there were both young and old individuals. Without dwelling on it, he handed the food to them and said, "Alright, lunch is all here." "I'll go back first." "Okay." Everyone grabbed their own steamed buns and instinctively headed towards the Zhou family's stove. Smelling the fragrance, everyone had become a little more familiar with Zhou Wulang from the previous day and asked with a smile, "What's that delightful smell today?" Zhou Wulang smiled and replied, "My second brother bought some more meat today and mentioned that he wanted to prepare a dish to add some flavor for everyone. Five wen for a spoonful, if you want to eat, just tell my brother, and he'll serve you." Zhou Erlang took over the conversation and smiled at them, "Thank you, brothers, for your support yesterday." It's just that it's so cold these days. Just drinking soup without eating vegetables makes it easy to get sick. My sister mentioned that when she arrived home yesterday, she felt sorry for our youngest brother, who had to eat only dry food in the fields without any vegetables. Today, we prepared a small amount of vegetables, not an excessive quantity. If you want to change the taste, you can buy some. "By the way," Zhou Erlang smiled, "we will also boil hot water in the afternoon for everyone to soak their steamed buns, just like yesterday." As Zhou Erlang spoke, he opened the lid of the pot containing the radish and meat, and then uncovered the pot with cabbage and meat, heated by charcoal. Everyone could clearly see the meat slices wrapped in the radish and cabbage, and many laborers subconsciously swallowed their saliva. It had been a very long time since they had eaten vegetables. The fragrance was delightful. Zhou Erlang's cooking skills might be average, but he elevated the dish by using bone broth, adding a suitable amount of salt to the vegetables, and incorporating pork belly into the mix. Even with mediocre skills, good ingredients can elevate the quality of the food, and his skills were not that poor either. But the price was quite high, five wen. Although they knew that five wen was not expensive when there were vegetables and meat, those who had been to the county town for a meal knew that such vegetables in the county town would cost at least ten wen. Many people gazed longingly at the vegetables but hesitated to spend money on them. Most people still lined up to buy soup. Then they discovered that the soup today contained a lot of oil and water, even better than yesterday, so they were pleased. The first dozen or so people all wanted soup, and no one wanted vegetables. Zhou Erlang was not in a hurry. He had already calculated the worst-case scenario. If he couldn't sell a single portion, he would leave some for his third brother and take the rest back home for his family to eat. With so many people in their family, they would definitely eat it later. Zhou Erlang did not cook much because he had anticipated this situation. There were only about ten portions of cabbage and radish. Manbao was responsible for collecting the money on the side. Zhou Erlang brought an extra-large spoon today, and with Lao Wu, the work was much faster. Zhou Sanlang quickly brought the steamed buns over, and Zhou Erlang asked him to wait for a moment. Then, he found a large bowl on the side and filled it with two types of vegetables. He squatted down and began to eat. Many laborers looked at the vegetables in his bowl. Those with a slightly better family background negotiated with Zhou Erlang, "I don't want to buy just one type, but spending ten wen is too much." How about this, I'll give you five wen, and you give me half a spoonful of each?" Zhou Erlang nodded after a moment of thought, "Okay." The man immediately took out five wen and happened to be standing in front of Manbao, so he handed the money to Manbao. The people behind him observed him buying vegetables and began to use their wits, negotiating with Zhou Erlang, "Brother, what if I only take half a spoonful, and you give me a little less? Can we make it two wen?" Zhou Erlang: "...This, this doesn't seem right to calculate, does it?" This would violate the rules; how could they conduct business in the future? And it was easy to calculate with one spoonful. Whether there was more radish and meat or more cabbage and meat, adding one piece would make one spoonful. The customers would not have any objections. But what if he felt that half a spoonful was not enough? Zhou Erlang was contemplating how to respond, but Manbao thought it was a good idea. However, she changed the concept to, "Yes, yes, this way everyone saves money." Big brother, why don't we find a partner? Each of us can contribute half of the money to buy a spoonful of radish, a spoonful of meat, and a spoonful of cabbage. "This way, we can enjoy two types of vegetables while splitting the cost." This suggestion piqued the other person's interest, prompting them to ask, "But how do we split two and a half when?" "Isn't it simple?" My brothers come here every day. "If you find someone you get along with, this time you pay three wen, and next time when you want to buy vegetables, it's his turn to pay three wen, right?" The laborer thought it was a good idea, so he turned around to find his cousin. The two of them quickly crowded around, each bought a bowl of soup, and then shared a spoonful of vegetables together. With their example, others also started to do the same. Now the laborers were all gathered together, village by village, to take care of each other and manage themselves effectively. It was also easy to find familiar people. Either they were relatives, cousins, or neighbors from the same village. So, it was quite easy to find a partner, and the vegetables were visibly decreasing.