kingnovel Chapter 455: Selling and Baking
Chapter 455: Selling and Baking
Everyone was curious to see her cooking as if no one was around. They had been buying vegetables for so many years, but they had never seen anyone cooking at the market. They all wanted to see how delicious the food was, so they didn't leave for a while, and more and more people gathered around.
Who doesn’t like to watch the fun? I came over to take a look, and when I saw that the food was being cooked, I stayed even longer. In all my years, I have never seen anyone cooking in the vegetable market.
Zhou Guo watched as more and more people gathered around. There were already eighty, nine or ten slices of pine mushrooms, and the charcoal was lit. He put the grill on and placed the mushroom slices on top. He brushed a layer of badger oil on them, and when the charcoal fire was ignited, there was a sizzling sound and the aroma filled the air.
Everyone smelled the scent, took a deep breath, and stared with their eyes wide open in disbelief, not believing that the fragrance came from here.
Sprinkle a few grains of salt on the roasted mushroom slices, Zhou Guo picked them up with chopsticks. Afraid that no one would dare to eat them, the three of them ate one slice each first. Not sure if it was because there were so many people, but why did they feel that today’s mushroom slices tasted better and were more fragrant than those made at home!
Especially Zhou Suli, who ate in small bites with his eyes narrowed into slits, enjoying it very much.
Everyone swallowed involuntarily.
After Zhou Guo finished eating, he smiled and said, "We eat this wild mushroom every year. We didn't think about selling it in previous years. This year, we have a lot of money to spend, so we thought of coming to a place as big as the capital to try it out. The people in the capital are rich, knowledgeable, and generous. They have seen a lot of good things. Although this pine mushroom is just a wild thing in the mountains, I'm afraid it won't catch your eye, but you can buy a pound or two to try it out."
Everyone couldn't help but nod, feeling very comfortable being praised.
When I saw them eating it themselves, I no longer doubted that it was poisonous. How could something so fragrant be poisonous? I saw them eating it themselves and they said they had been eating it for many years.
After Zhou Guo finished speaking, she looked at those who were well-dressed and gave one slice each. In order to avoid people thinking that she was being picky, she gave the last two slices to an old grandfather with a greedy look on his face and a dirty child. The only color left on the child's body was visible in the whites of his eyes and his teeth.
Everyone reached out to take it happily. They were the only ones who had it among so many people. They actually felt inexplicably honored. They thought to themselves that they had never expected this girl to be so knowledgeable. They usually had enough chicken, duck, beef, mutton and pigs and were just looking for something new to eat. They had no shortage of money to buy these mushrooms.
Those who didn’t get any quickly shouted: “Grill a few more slices, grill a few more slices, we don’t have any to eat anymore!”
"Yeah, yeah, they all have to eat it. We haven't had it yet. You have to give us a piece too, right?"
Zhou Guo had no choice but to bake six more. This time he learned his lesson and divided one slice into three. This way more people could eat them and they could even have two portions.
Everyone was dissatisfied. "Why are theirs so big and ours so small? One piece is divided into three pieces. What can we taste? It's not even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth!"
Everyone nodded, and after eating one slice they felt it was not enough so they clamored for another slice. Those who didn’t get to eat any more also clamored for more.
Zhou Su hurriedly said, "No more, no more. This thing is very expensive. You have to buy it if you want to eat it!"
Unfortunately, everyone saw that she was just a little kid and no one paid any attention to her.
Zhou Guo smiled calmly and said, "My dear uncles and aunts, I want to let you know how difficult it is to get this stuff. There are so many of you, and I have roasted nearly a pound of it. If you want to taste it, you will taste it after eating two or three slices. I only have so much in total, I can't roast it all for you to taste, the people behind me also want to taste it. Besides, I have to sell it for money. Winter is coming, and I have to make winter clothes and cotton shoes for my brother, and quilts for the old man. Without these things, we can't survive the severe winter!"
Most people stopped making a fuss after hearing what she said. This was their life-saving money. Without these things in the northern winter, they might really freeze to death. They couldn't just stay on the kang all day long without going out.
Some people did not believe it. They looked at the clothes worn by the three generations of the family. Although they were all made of coarse cloth, they did not have any patches. In those days, every family in the countryside had clothes without patches. Even families like them had patches on the inside of their clothes. They also had a horse-drawn carriage. Could they also be considered a poor family?
Anyway, whether you believe it or not, the food is good and tastes very good.
"How much is this mushroom per pound?"
Zhou Guo gave the old man Zhou Su a look without leaving a trace, and said, "Because this thing grows on the top of the mountain, it is extremely rare, there are not many, and it is not easy to preserve. It will take us several days to transport it here, so it is inevitably more expensive. This amount of money is a sky-high price in our eyes, but in the eyes of you people in the prefecture, it is nothing, just a small amount of money."
At this point he stretched out a finger and said slowly, "This mushroom costs one hundred... forty-nine coins per pound, and it's the best quality!"
She originally wanted to ask for a hundred coins per pound, but when she thought about how she had traveled a long way to transport the goods and how she was so sleepy that she couldn't even open her eyes in the middle of the night, she knew she had to raise the price. She added another fifty coins. That shouldn't be too much, right?
The old man raised his eyebrows. One hundred and fifty cents. In fact, he thought it could be more expensive. People in the provincial capital are much richer than those in the county town, and there are more rich people.
Zhou Su's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly, he just thought his sister was really amazing. She raised the price of Matsutake mushroom to 150 wen per catty with just one word. Didn't she say 80 wen at home before? The best one was only 100 wen. The price had increased too much!
When everyone heard what she said at the beginning, saying that it was a sky-high price, their hearts tightened. Then when they saw her stretch out a finger, they were all shocked, thinking that it would cost one string of money per catty. Finally, when they heard that it was one hundred and forty-nine coins, they finally felt relieved.
Although one hundred and forty-nine coins is very expensive, it is still within reach. Compared with one guan of money per catty, it is very cheap.
When everyone saw her holding up one finger, they laughed and said, "Little girl, why did you only hold up one finger for the 149 coins?"
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "I am a little girl, what do I know? I am sorry to make you laugh. One hundred and forty-nine coins is a lot for us, but for you, it is definitely a drop in the bucket. It's nothing to buy a few kilograms to taste, right?"
How can one hundred and forty-nine cents not be a lot? Meat only costs a pound. But this thing is really delicious, and it tastes no worse than meat when eaten this way.
Someone who likes to eat and whose family is well-off points to the best-looking one and asks, "The best one is 149 coins. What about these two?"
Zhou Guo said: "This one is 129 wen, this one is 99 wen."
Someone said, "Isn't it 150, 130, or 100 coins per pound? How can there be 149 coins? It's just one coin less."
Zhou Guo smiled slightly.
But I have to say, even though it’s only one cent less, it sounds different.
She first pointed to one of the mushrooms that looked the best and said, "I want two... no, four pounds of this!"
What Zhou Guo bakes for them is the best. There’s no need to be picky about that. Of course, if you want to buy something, you should buy the best. It doesn’t make a big difference anyway.
Zhou Guo smiled and let him choose for himself.
We only picked the big ones. When they weighed four pounds, it looked like there weren't many of them. After all, this thing is solid, so the big ones are heavy, and if they are all big ones, they are even heavier.