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Chapter 44: Jin of Wine and Jin of Water

The next day, the four people from the steamed bun stall got up earlier than usual, but when they drove their donkey cart to the market, they found that the wonton stall had still arrived early and still occupied the two best stalls!

But today, the young man named Hu Sanr was not seen. There was only the young widow and the big stupid man who was making the fire and cleaning the dishes.

However, today there was a strong smell of stewed meat wafting from the wonton stall, which made the four people sniff from a distance. They took advantage of the gap after unloading the car to look in the direction of the wonton stall, and found that today the wonton stall had set up a large iron pot without a lid. At this moment, a large pot of fragrant pork offal was cooking in the pot, and in the most conspicuous position on it, there was a piece of Fangzi meat that weighed at least two pounds and was fat and thick.

"Xiao Han, why are you selling stewed meat instead of wontons?" This time the middle-aged man did not come over, but stood in front of his stall and asked loudly.

Han Hongzhen pointed at the baked buns in the pot and said, "We'll sell them as the team arranges. I'm responsible for selling food. As for what kind of food it is, the team leader has the final say."

"Why didn't I see that little brother Hu San'er today?"

Han Hongzhen didn't say anything. But after Lao Meng put a few benches in place, he stood up with a confused look on his face and looked at the middle-aged man who asked the question: "Are you stupid? Xie Siling scolded you so much yesterday, and you still miss him?"

"I..." The middle-aged man did not continue to argue with Lao Meng. Instead, a young man next to him smiled and looked fierce:

"I will miss him even more tomorrow. Tomorrow is the market day at Lijiazhai. Tell him that he can reserve a spot at Lijiazhai tomorrow if he has the guts!"

Lao Meng stared at the other person blankly, then shook his head speechlessly and continued to work, saying:
"You are just stupid. You took advantage of it yesterday and today. You definitely don't need to worry about him tomorrow. Even if you do worry about him, Xie Siling will scold you!"

Seeing that all the stalls in the market were already set up, the members who had gotten up early to go to the market were walking towards the market in twos and threes, but there was no sign of Xie Hushan. Instead, many people smelled the aroma of meat as soon as they approached the market and walked over following the scent.

The first thing people saw was the piece of plump and thick Fangzi meat at the top of the pot. Then they looked carefully and saw that the pot was filled with worthless offal. A man who was going to the market early came over with his four or five-year-old son on his neck and asked in a timid tone:
"Big sister, what kind of food is this? It smells so appetizing. How do you sell it?"

Han Hongzhen smiled at him and said, "This is stewed pork and steamed buns. A large bowl of stewed pork and steamed buns costs only 35 cents. Big brother, would you like to have a bowl to try?"

Hearing the price, the man looked relieved. He patted his son's legs, put him down, took money out of his pocket, and said, "One bowl, please!"

Everyone else was waiting for the first person to ask the price. When they heard that it was 35 cents a bowl, the people watching nearby immediately moved closer. Han Hongzhen took the money, quickly took out a piece of fire-baked bread from the soup pot, chopped it up and put it in the bowl. Then she cut up a lot of lungs, small intestines, pig hearts, and pig blood, filled a bowl, and finally poured a spoonful of soup and sprinkled chopped coriander on it, motioning for the other party to take it away:

"The peppers and garlic paste are on the table, add them yourself. If you want to soak your dry food after eating, just let me know if there is not enough soup~"

"Great! The food sold by this girl is really good!" The man happily took a big bowl of stewed food and sat down at the low table, then used chopsticks to pick up the offal and feed it to his son.

A big bowl costs 35 cents, and the offal is so much that it's sticking out of the bowl...

This was what the other onlookers thought after seeing the bowl of stewed meat in the man's hand. Add to that the tempting aroma of meat, and then the second person came over, and the third...

After the first wave of people who came to the early market had sold out, the number of customers gradually decreased, and Han Hongzhen was busy adding water and other ingredients with Lao Meng and cleaning up the dishes.

Generally, there are two main meal times when people sell food at the market, one in the morning and one at noon. After the people who have finished their morning meal have gone there, the next meal time is supposed to be from 11 to 1 in the afternoon. However, just after 9 o'clock, Xie Hushan arrived on a tricycle from the tofu shop, sweating profusely. The tricycle was loaded with a large barrel of white wine and a dozen small bowls that were obviously used to hold the wine.

"What are you doing..." "Pour the wine for the person who is coming later, and I will cut it myself!" Without waiting for Han Hongzhen to ask a question, Xie Hushan unloaded the wine and squeezed towards the livestock market in the market.

About ten minutes later, several elderly men in ragged clothes, who were obviously cart drivers or animal drivers, came over with Xie Hushan. Xie Hushan shouted to Han Hongzhen from a distance:
"Pour some wine for the uncles first!"

"Wow! There's still wine?" An old rickshaw driver was stunned, then said in surprise.

"That's right! How dare I let my fifth uncle and sixth uncle greet those uncles without wine? I don't have any good wine, but as long as you all come, each person should have at least half a pound of wine, and it will be on my treat! No charge!" Xie Hushan asked Han Hongzhen to ask the old men to sit down and pour wine for them with a wine grape.

He walked to the chopping board, swiftly scooped a few bowls of stewed meat, and brought them to the crowd: "Gentlemen, please try it and see how it tastes. My sixth uncle, Xie Laoliu, learned this from Beijing. He said that the emperor used to eat this every day."

Several old men picked up chopsticks and picked up offal, drinking wine with relish. They sat at the stall for more than an hour, drinking and chatting, before they stood up and left with smiles on their faces. Before leaving, one old man patted Xie Hushan on the shoulder:

"It's a good thing you didn't learn to be a beast from your sixth master, otherwise, with your brain, we old guys would have been left without food because of you... The Xie family is great, there are capable people in every generation!"

"Are these the livestock handlers who help each team pick livestock in the livestock market?" Han Hongzhen asked Xie Hushan after seeing the old man walking away.

Xie Hushan nodded and said, "When they bring people to eat in the future, give them a few more pieces of lung and a bowl of wine. I asked Er Mianfei to bring my Sixth Master over this morning to greet these people. After helping each team find livestock, they will bring people to our stall to negotiate the price. We can sell at least a dozen more bowls in each episode."

"Where did the wine come from?"

"The team bought it from other teams. Our team doesn't make wine."

"This barrel of wine must weigh 50 kilograms, right? The cheapest one sold on the roadside in our commune cooperative is 28 cents per kilogram."

"Ma Laowu bought 20 kilograms of wine from the brigade at 2.6 yuan a kilogram, and I added 30 kilograms of water to fill the bucket."

"Twenty kilograms of wine, mixed with thirty kilograms of water..." Han Hongzhen was stunned, then reacted:
"I said that several old men had been sitting for an hour, and some of them had to get up to go to the toilet. I was worried that it was because our food was too oily and the old men's stomachs couldn't handle it."

"It's OK if it has a little bit of alcohol. It's free, no one would be picky." Xie Hushan looked indifferent:
"Besides, this wine made from sugarcane peel and rotten sweet potatoes is so bad to drink. I feel thirsty, have a headache, and faint easily. I add some water to it for their health. Otherwise, at their age, what can I do if they really drink themselves to death?"

"Tomorrow is the market in Lijiazhai. When the people at the steamed bun stall come, they will call out and say they are waiting for you to take a seat tomorrow." Han Hongzhen whispered to Xie Hushan:

"Then they must have arranged someone to deliberately cause trouble. Otherwise, don't set up the stall tomorrow..."

Xie Hushan looked in the direction of the bun stall, took out a cigarette, lit it and took a puff, then said leisurely:

"I know these good-for-nothings only dare to pick quarrels at the doorstep and bully people from other villages. Don't worry, we are right and we have nothing to fear. I will go and get reinforcements after the meeting. I will defeat them if I can."

(End of this chapter)