As it turned out, Juhua initially lacked the proper seasonings, so what she made was purely "spicy" cabbage.
In truth, there was no way Juhua could make authentic Korean spicy cabbage. However, she knew that pickling spicy cabbage required sothing sweet to aid ferntation and give it a pleasant tartness. Lacking apples or pears, she used white radishes and added white sugar. Last year, money was tight, so she didn’t dare use much sugar, and the flavor naturally suffered for it.
Once carrots beca available in the winter, she could cut sweet carrots and white radishes into fine shreds and mix them into the seasonings, which would likely make the flavor even better. Even if it couldn’t compare to the authentic version, it was still a unique delicacy in this Different Space-Ti.
Manager Mao chuckled, knowing the price of the Zheng Family’s spicy cabbage was about to go up.
’But no matter,’ he thought. ’The kind of people who eat at the restaurant won’t care about a few extra cents.’
So he smiled at Qingmu and said, "I won’t beat around the bush with you. Your family are honest folk, and I can’t have you taking a loss. Otherwise, if you get so other delicacy in the future and don’t sell it to us, that would be my real loss! How about this: eight cents a jin for the spicy cabbage, and we’ll pay for the jars separately. What do you say?"
Qingmu smiled and nodded. The price was close to what he and Juhua had agreed on, so he didn’t say anything more.
Just then, Xiao Er brought over the sausage and cured at.
Slling the unusual aroma, Manager Mao couldn’t help but swallow again. ’The Zheng Family is truly incredible,’ he thought. ’They’re always coming up with sothing new. It’s a good thing they’re not planning to open their own restaurant.’
Without waiting for Qingmu and Zhang Huai, he picked up a piece of the spicy sausage himself. He nodded as he ate, the smile on his face growing wider and wider. Then he tried the savory and sweet varieties. Finally, he casually popped a piece of cured at into his mouth and began to chew, his eyes widening in amazent.
He held back a flood of comnts, finished swallowing the food in his mouth, took a sip of tea, and then set down his cup. His expression turned serious as he said to Qingmu, "The flavor of this sausage is simply incredible, and it’s a dish that has never been seen on the market. Even this cured at has a very unique taste; it can’t be compared to the ordinary kind. I won’t mince words. How do you want to sell these two items, young man?"
Seeing that he was so satisfied and was readily letting them na their price, Qingmu breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had been a little nervous, afraid the manager wouldn’t like the taste. After all, poor people loved at no matter how it was prepared, but the wealthy didn’t necessarily feel the sa way.
He was about to speak when Zhang Huai kicked him under the table. He then heard Zhang Huai ask Manager Mao, "Manager, would you agree the at is both fragrant and tender?"
Manager Mao looked at Zhang Huai, who had been silent until now, and considered his question for a mont. "It is indeed fragrant and tender," he said. "The cured at looks perfectly ordinary, but it tastes far more aromatic than the usual kind. Is there a reason for that?"
Zhang Huai smiled. "Ah, you see, it’s like this. These pigs are fed with acorns from our Little Qing Mountain. Pigs that eat these acorns fatten up exceptionally well, which is why the at is so tender. In the past, pigs would just scrounge for wild vegetables and eat scraps of bran. Their diet was poor, so they took a long ti to grow, and the at wasn’t nearly as tender as the pork from pigs fed this way."
Manager Mao’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. After a long mont, he finally said, "No wonder."
He knew how farrs raised their pigs. They didn’t have good feed to give them. It was just as Zhang Huai had described—scrounging for a bit of this and a bit of that. After a full year of raising one, they’d be lucky if it weighed over a hundred jin.
If the pigs were all fed with acorns, then the at’s tenderness and rich flavor made perfect sense.
He had tried their acorn tofu before, too, but the Zheng Family had said they didn’t have enough to sell publicly at the mont, which was why Qinghui Restaurant hadn’t added it to the nu.
He imdiately saw the business opportunity, and his eyes began to gleam shrewdly.
Zhang Huai added, "Pigs fed this way can only be found in our Qingnan Village. Right now, everyone in the village is raising their pigs like this, and we’re all preparing to use the at to make sausages to sell. Even if others learn how to make sausage, they could never hope to match this flavor. Besides, they don’t even know our thod, and it would be difficult for them to learn anyway."
Manager Mao nodded emphatically. "I understand what you’re saying. These sausages will be the signature product of your Qingnan Village. Excellent! You don’t need to say another word. Just give a price. Our owner enjoys doing business with you country folk. He says you’re upright people and completely reliable."
Zhang Huai laughed. "If you’re asking us to na a price, we don’t really know the market rates. We’ve tested it, and after a jin of at is made into sausage and dried, it only weighs about six or seven taels. You’re the expert here, Manager. Why don’t you do the math and tell us what price you think is appropriate?"
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