Butcher Fulang’s Noodle Shop - Chapter 3
Song Shi’an had been awakened early by the crowing of roosters. Groggily, he opened one eye, feeling the soreness in his body from all the hard work. He buried his head in the pillow, trying to drown out the incessant cawing.
Over the past two days, two hens and five chicks had found temporary shelter in his kitchen. Fearing the chicks might not survive the continuous rain, Song Shi’an had moved the chicken nest to the kitchen stove.
He had spent a whole day cleaning the kitchen after he saw how clean and spacious Butcher Xu’s kitchen was, the floor was made of fine, stain-resistant gray bricks, reflecting the care that had been put into constructing the house.
Fortunately, the chickens were considerate and, after being taught twice, remembered to run into the yard to relieve themselves on the freshly plowed ground, where Song Shi’an had planted cabbage, eggplants, potatoes, and other seeds. The kitchen remained clean.
Song Shi’an discovered three wooden basins with copper hoops in the west wing. They hadn’t been used in a long time, and two of them had leaks. He used the one that was still useful for washing the pig intestines.
In the past, Song Shi’an wouldn’t have put so much effort into cleaning and washing pig intestines. Modern society offered easy solutions, where pig intestines were processed and available pre-packaged. Even when washing by hand, many tricks existed to make the task easier, like dry rubbing with flour and salt, or soaking in vinegar for a quick clean.
But in this era, these tricks were off the table. Official salt was scarce and controlled by the government. Selling salt privately could lead to severe punishment, and Song Shi’an had paid fifty cents for a small jar of official salt. The price was expensive, equivalent to the cost of a laying hen.
He also lacked the white vinegar he was familiar with from modern cooking, which meant he had to adapt to this situation. Cleaning and preparing food were a reminder of how he missed the convenience of a modern supermarket.
After all the cleaning and preparation was done, it was time to start stewing.
Song Shi’an had dozens of braised cooking recipes stored in his mind, and he had tasted the most famous local dishes from various restaurants. In his hometown, Zhou Hei Ya, Liao Ji, Juewei, and Wang Ji were the most popular braised food restaurants. Song Shi’an bought food from these establishments to taste and analyze their recipes, striving to replicate their flavors.
Spices were a significant issue in this time period. While it was possible to make braised dishes without spices, it wouldn’t be as flavorful. Song Shi’an needed to adapt to this challenge.
This new culinary adventure was made possible thanks to Aunt Liu. She had spent her own money to hire a doctor for the previous occupant of the house. Song Shi’an had followed the doctor’s advice and drank the remaining medicine. The doctor noted that his body had been weakened over many years, plagued by internal dampness and blood deficiency, and would require slow nourishment to recover.
Song Shi’an was surprised to find that the medicinal materials contained ingredients such as grass fruits, star anise, cinnamon, green and red pepper. This discovery led him to run to the drug store to further investigate.
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Inside the drug store, Song Shi’an stared at the thousands of small drawers containing medicinal materials. From dried ginger, betel nut, cloves, licorice, to nutmeg, geranium… he seemed fascinated by the assortment.
The drug store boy looked at him strangely, thinking that the young man seemed to be a bit eccentric, maybe even a little crazy. “Little shuanger, are you sick?” he asked.
Song Shi’an, who couldn’t directly explain his intentions, decided to go along with it and nodded, saying, “Yes, I am sick, very sick!”
The young man considered this strange response and offered to have their old doctor examine him after lunch. However, Song Shi’an declined, stating that he knew what medicine he needed and requested a prescription. Despite finding the prescription unusual, the boy prepared the medicinal materials and included an extra hundred gauze medicine bags as requested by Song Shi’an.
Returning home with the medicinal materials, Song Shi’an began preparing the ingredients for his cooking. He skillfully lit a fire and cooked the pig meat along with a gauze bag filled with marinade, onions, ginger, and garlic. The slow simmering process was necessary to make the ingredients tender and flavorful, so Song Shi’an adjusted the heat and added more firewood.
Before going to bed, Song Shi’an felt a strong connection to the chickens in the yard. They were warm and fluffy, with golden feathers, and he couldn’t resist gently petting their heads.
The chickens, sensing his gentleness, cooed and promised to lay eggs the next morning.
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The next day, Song Shi’an woke up reluctantly. He could hear the voices of pecking on his door. He couldn’t ignore it anymore and walked outside with his hair hung loosely on his back.
He saw the two chickens were pecking on the door, “Are you a woodpecker?”
The chickens chuckled at him and led him into the chicken coop, Song Shi’an looked around and found three eggs. Huh, these chickens performed really well!
“Good job.” He raised his thumbs at them and rewarded them with bran.
He couldn’t resist the mouthwatering aroma of the stew as he opened the lid of the pot. The flavors of the brine and marinated meat filled the air, making his mouth water.
He scooped a spoonful of brine, finding it slightly bland, but he knew that a great marinade couldn’t be made overnight. He adjusted the flavor with some spices, marinating the meat until it was fragrant and delicious.
In this era, he realized that this pot of marinade would be the key to preparing numerous dishes. It could be used to enhance the flavors of chicken, duck, goose, beef, and a variety of other ingredients. The marinade would make the food delicious without the need for added salt, leaving a delightful taste that could make anyone’s mouth water.
Song Shi’an was eating breakfast with gusto, when a head popped out of the wall from his neighbor’s courtyard. The neighbor’s shuanger was two years younger than him and he couldn’t control himself when he smelled a delicious smell from Song Shi’an house.
“What are you eating?”
Song Shi’an wanted to test people reaction about pig intestines, “It’s a pig intestine.”
The neighbor family had heard some noises in the past few days, they only guessed some things and sympathized with little shuanger who live alone next door.
This poor person even eats pig intestines??
“Ah? Isn’t it where the poo stored?”
“Yes, but it tastes better after cleaning up.” Song Shi’an sucked his noodle and raised his head, “I think this taste good; do you want to try it?”
The neighbor shuanger wanted to say no but his mouth refused to obey, “Okay!”
After that he came down from his ladder and ran to Song Shi’an’s house.
However, after one meal, Yun ge’er was convinced. He took a bite from the pancakes he brought and a mouthful of the braised food. In no time, he finished half of his bowl.
“Here, I still have some.” Song Shi’an couldn’t bear his reluctant expression and pulled another whole bowl from his kitchen, “You can’t eat too much, it will be easy to be stuffed later.”
It didn’t take long after Yun ge’er went home, another knock was coming over his door. Standing outside was a middle-aged man dressed neatly in short clothes. He was holding a bowl filled with four white-flour steamed buns, it was the same bowl he had given for Yun ge’er family to taste his braised food.
“My child isn’t sensible. He eats and drink in your house for free. Here, we only have these for you., “My surname is Sun. My wife hasn’t come back home yet. If you need help or anything, just call us, uncle Sun and aunt Huang.”
As he pushed the bowl into Song Shi’an he looked inside and noticed some broken things, “What a coincidence, your uncle is a carpenter. I will help you!” with that the man rolled up his sleeves and began to work.
Song Shi’an treated the two for another meal, during the rest time Song Shi’an asked uncle Sun to make him some furniture, wooden basin, trolly and tables plus chairs.
“If you need help, just call me. I will do it for you, I could repaint things too.” Uncle Sun said while looking at the renovated houses with satisfaction, “I guarantee that you will live comfortably here.”
Song Shi’an smiled sweetly, “Thank to uncle Sun for his good craftmanship. Otherwise, I really don’t know what to do.”
Uncle Sun happily picked his gift before leaving. The braised food was very delicious.
Song Shi’an had spent fifity cents on the medicinal materials, he couldn’t sit back and do nothing. So, he asked uncle Sun before he left about the rental shop.
The was young and the marriage hadn’t decide, but this child wanted to rent something? Uncle Sun was very confused but still showed him the way.
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Early in the morning, Song Shi’an wen to inquire about renting shop. The result surprised him a bit.
Although Qingjiang Town wasn’t big but it was located in the important waterway and transportation rutes. If the war hadn’t happen for many years, the price of rent might sky-rocketing.
“The shop couldn’t be rented too long, at most it’s for one year.” The agent looked at Song Shi’an and knew he couldn’t afford it, “it is much more expensive than hiring a shuanger for marriage.”
Song Shi’an “….”
Whatever, the agent looked down on him. He didn’t have much money anyway.
After leaving, Song Shi’an followed the road to the dock. It turned out the wharf in Qingjiang Town was opened. When the wind picked up, the sea-like surface was rippled like covered with scales. Many ships docked and went to the from north and south.
There was a large group of porters and trackers waiting for work at the pier. Whenever a businessman shouted, they flocked at them.
He walked into the crowd and listened carefully. These porters and trackers made a lot of money and they were moving orderly. They would never lower the prices easily, if a merchant offered less money, they would disperse without hesitation.
For one job, they could earn around 20 to 30 cents. They could work for two or three times a day. In fact, these people were quite rich.
Song Shi’an’s eyes lit up, he put aside the shop matter and came up with another way of making money.
He had always been a non-procrastinator, so he went home and started working quickly. By the dusk, he had begun to see the result of his works.
He fed the chickens with grass and strechted out to open the courtyard door. He wanted to get familiar with his home and its surrounding.
He saw a tall figure standing under the shadow of the trees, with his hands behind his back, there was a ticking sound behind him.
Uh… it was blood dripping.