Food: Random stalls, customers chase me all over the country

Chapter 559-Northeastern lunch box is about to arrive at the battlefield
Wang Fan’s RV couldn’t drive into the vegetable market, but it was no problem to move some pots and pans in.

His stall is at the very back of the vegetable market, in an extremely inconspicuous corner.

Park your car in a nearby parking lot, use a camper van to move some large items, and buy the rest in the market.

There were quite a lot of people in the vegetable market at this time. Prices in the Fog City were very high, and the vegetables in the major supermarkets were also not cheap. The vegetables grown by these grandparents were not only fresh but also relatively cheap, so many people were willing to come and buy some.

Many people were surprised by Wang Fan's arrival, mainly because the pots and pans looked like they were used for cooking. But this was a vegetable market, and the food street was not far away. Who would come here to sell food for no reason?
"Young man, have you come to the wrong place? This is the vegetable market, and the delicious street is on the next street."

A kind-hearted elder sister reminded Wang Fandao.

Wang Fan put the things in order and said with a smile: "I'm not wrong, this is it."

The older sister was also kindhearted. She said with some concern, "Most people who come here have already eaten. They definitely won't buy breakfast. After they buy breakfast, there will be no one around 10 o'clock. Aren't you afraid of losing money selling here?"

Wang Fan said, "It's okay. If it doesn't work, just make it for the grandparents."

The eldest sister laughed and said, "Then I guess you're really going to lose money. Those grandparents all came with dry food, but they were reluctant to buy your meal."

Wang Fan didn't care either. He had never intended to make money from those grandparents.

Seeing that Wang Fan looked indifferent, the elder sister shook her head and walked away. When Wang Fan set up the stall, it was almost 9 o'clock.

I took out my phone, took a picture of my stall, and shared it directly in the group and on Weibo.

"Starting today, I'll be setting up a stall in Guanyinqiao Market for five consecutive days. It's right at the innermost part of the market. Friends who live nearby are welcome to come and try it."

Then a location was sent.

This news made the fans of Fog City very happy. Compared with the restaurant recommended by Wang Fan, they still wanted to try the delicious food made by this food boss.

"I finally waited for you. Fortunately, I didn't give up."

"Finally we're here. I wonder what delicious food Boss Wang is going to make? I'm really looking forward to it."

"I've only heard about how delicious Boss Wang's food is. Today, it's finally our turn, the people of Fog City. Go ahead, brothers!"

"I work near Guanyin Bridge, hahaha. I can go over there at noon to try Boss Wang's delicious food."

After sending the message, Wang Fan no longer cared about his stall, but started strolling around the vegetable market.

It was already past 9 o'clock, and the housewives and house cooks who got up early to buy groceries had already bought their favorite dishes and started to go home.

The grandparents’ vegetable stalls have basically consumed half of their produce, but the other half is still left.

The golden time for selling vegetables is generally from 7 to 9 o'clock in the morning. After 9 o'clock, there will be fewer and fewer people, and after 10 o'clock there will be basically no people. If you want to sell again, you have to wait until after 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

It is inevitable that the vegetables will wilt after being left like this for a day, and the price of the vegetables for my grandparents will also drop. In order to sell more, they usually carry the remaining vegetables to another vegetable market after 10 o'clock to sell them. Although it is more difficult, the more money they can make, the better.

What Wang Fan has to do is to buy up all the vegetables that his grandparents haven’t sold.

"What? You want all of them? Young man, won't all the food go bad if you want it? Can you finish it?"

Grandpa Jiang, who had met Wang Fan once in the morning, asked in surprise.

Wang Fan smiled and pointed at his stall and said, "Look, Grandpa Jiang, I've set up a stall over there to cook. I can buy the vegetables you guys and cook them directly into dishes, and then sell them to people nearby."

Uncle Jiang shook his head repeatedly: "Young man, let me tell you, not many people come here after 9 o'clock. If you want to sell food, you have to go to the food court in the back. You will definitely lose money if you sell it here."

Wang Fan said, "No, the food I make is quite delicious and many people will buy it. You can sell it to me without worrying about it. It will definitely not be wasted."

Uncle Jiang still shook his head: "You don't want to suffer the consequences yourself to help us clean up the mess, do you? There's no need. It's not easy for you young people to make money."

Facing the stubborn Uncle Jiang, Wang Fan felt a warm feeling in his heart.

"Don't worry, Grandpa Jiang. It won't be long before someone comes to buy food from me. My dishes are quite famous. Don't leave. Come eat here later. Uncles and aunts over 60 years old can eat at half price, and grandparents over 70 years old can eat for free."

"What? Free food? What do you mean, young man?"

Uncle Jiang was stunned, and the other grandparents around him were also very surprised.

Is there any free lunch in this world?

This is what Wang Fan thought at the beginning.

As the elderly get older, even if they are in good health, their body functions decline a lot and their appetite decreases accordingly. Even if they are allowed to eat as much as they want, they actually can't eat much.

During the chat, I heard Grandpa Jiang say that many of these vegetable vendors had participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan. After all, most of them were 80 years old and above. They were young during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Some of them were not even as tall as their guns, but they were already carrying guns and killing the enemy.

This is also a way for me, as a younger generation, to do something for these elderly people to the best of my ability.

Grandpa Jiang was about to say something, but Wang Fan checked the time and said, "Grandpa Jiang and all the grandparents, please hurry up and sell me the vegetables. It's getting late, and I still have to wash, cut, and cook. Otherwise, there won't be anything to eat when my guests arrive."

Grandpa Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Well, since you're ordering a large quantity and it saves us the trouble, we'll give you a discount. How about everyone give you a 8% discount?"

The following words were said to the grandparents around.

After these grandparents figured it out, they decided that a 20% discount was a sure win, because by the afternoon the food would have wilted, and even a 50% discount would be frowned upon.

"Okay, okay, let's do as Brother Jiang says. We'll sell it to the youngest at a 20% discount."

"Grandma, I still have over 40 kilograms of green peppers. I'll charge you two yuan per kilogram, so that's yuan."

"Grandpa still has over 50 kilograms of potatoes. Isn't that too much? Little one, please take less. You can't eat more."

Wang Fan didn't care how much these grandparents had left, he took it all. He was not worried that his things would be left. This showed his strong confidence in his own abilities.

He always had a limited supply, but never a surplus. Wang Fan's stall was quickly filled with vegetables, and those who didn't know him might have thought he was switching from retail to wholesale.

Grandpa Jiang and the other grandparents flatly refused Wang Fan's request for a free meal: "You haven't even made any money yet, and we're still eating your food for free. Where's our dignity going?"

Wang Fan thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Grandpa Jiang? I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the vegetables here. How about you grandparents please help me wash and peel them? You helping me save time, so I can treat you to a meal in return. That would be a win-win situation."

Grandpa Jiang smiled and said, "It's no big deal to help you with some work, but we won't eat this meal. We've taken it with us."

They got to work right away. A group of grandparents in their seventies and eighties washed their hands and started helping Wang Fan wash the vegetables. These vegetables were all grown by themselves, and they were very careful when washing them, as if they were taking care of their own grandchildren.

Wang Fan looked at the vegetables and quickly categorized them: potatoes, green peppers, cabbage, Hangzhou peppers, carrots, eggplant, celery, white radish, bamboo shoots, lettuce, spinach, ginger...

Wang Fan ordered half a pig from the butcher shop nearby. The owner of this butcher shop was the one who often changed change for his grandparents.

The boss's surname is Chen, he is in his 40s, with a friendly appearance and a bit dark. When Wang Fan asked for half a pig, he was shocked: "Little brother, please be careful with your order. Are you going to use up all the half pig? It will be stale by tomorrow. If you keep it like this, tell me when you are done and I will bring you more."

Wang Fan smiled and said, "No, just do it for me. If you have time, you can help me cut it into pieces, just like the pieces for braised pork. Give me this piece of tenderloin first, and I'll take it back and shred it."

Boss Chen watched Wang Fan turn and leave, still in shock.

Who is this person?
It's okay to sell food at the vegetable market, but you also open your mouth and say half a pig. There is no one else in this market except us who run shops and buy things. Who are you going to sell the food to?
Those who opened shops usually ran their own business in the shop, and he didn't think other bosses would patronize this young man's business.

The eldest brother shook his head and had no choice but to do as he was told, but he decided not to cook for himself at noon today and to help his kind-looking youngest brother to open the business.

In the past, lunch boxes in Northeast China were packed directly into iron lunch boxes, and some were packed into thermos buckets. When guests came, they would just put rice and vegetables in them. Wang Fan also got a few thermos buckets and three large pots, two for stewing and one for frying. It was no problem for him to prepare hundreds of meals in an hour.

The grandparents didn't leave either. They had sold all their vegetables and it was a good time for them to take a break. They had gotten up at two in the morning and were a little sleepy. They took a nap while watching Wang Fan's lively life.

They also liked this young man very much. Most of these people's children did not live in the countryside, so seeing Wang Fan was as friendly as seeing their own grandson. They thought that if they couldn't sell the food, they would have a meal here at noon today to open up the business.

Wang Fan first processed the white radish.

More than thirty white radishes were all washed clean, and they looked fresh and juicy with their white and tender appearance.

Without peeling the skin, Wang Fan cut the white radish into small strips with the skin on.

If you can wash the white radish clean, it is best not to peel it. Not only will the flavor be richer, but the taste will also be richer.

Put the chopped white radish into a stainless steel basin and sprinkle a layer of white sugar on it to remove the moisture.

Both white sugar and salt can remove water, but salt will cause the radish to dehydrate quickly and make the pickled radish too strong, so Wang Fan has always liked to use white sugar to remove water.

Using sugar to remove water can not only remove the spicy taste of radish, but also make the radish more crisp and tasty, and have a better taste.

While the radishes were being blanched, he began to make the pickled water.

At this time, the water in the pot on the side has boiled. According to the ratio of 80 grams per pound of water, the adjusted amount of rock sugar is put into the pot.

After the rock sugar has completely melted, add salt at a ratio of 15 grams to one pound of water.

Finally, after the two seasonings were fully dissolved, Wang Fan added white vinegar at a ratio of 200 grams to one pound of water.

As soon as Wang Fan added the white vinegar and waited for the water to boil, he took the pot off the heat. If it was cooked for a long time, the vinegar would evaporate and the taste would not be strong enough.

But it won’t work if you don’t cook it first. Soaking it in raw vinegar will have a bad sour smell, which will greatly affect the taste.

While the pickling water was cooling down, Wang Fan picked up the basin of radish strips again. At this time, there was already a lot of juice from the white radish at the bottom of the basin.

After pouring out the juice, Wang Fan washed the radish strips again, drained the water, and then put them into the glass pickle jar on the side.

This pickle jar looks the same as the ones used in Sichuan, except that it is made of glass, so you can clearly see the state of the ingredients in the jar.

It took 8 jars to put all the radish strips in, and at this time the temperature of the pickling water in the pot gradually dropped.

Wang Fan poured the pickling water into the jars one by one until it submerged the top layer of radishes. After pouring all the pickling water, he added some peeled ginger slices, garlic slices and chili peppers into each jar.

Finally, add a handful of washed cinnamon, star anise, and peppercorns, cover the jar, and seal the jar with cold water.

It usually takes three or four hours to pickle the radish. In order to save time, Wang Fan cuts the radish into thinner strips so that it can be eaten by lunchtime.

Don’t underestimate the power of this little thing as an appetizer, as it may seem simple to make. You can even have a delicious meal with rice and these radish strips.

After soaking the radish strips, Wang Fan started to stew the meat.

Generally, pork belly is used for braised pork, as it has both fat and lean meat and is easier to stew.

But Wang Fan discovered that many people now prefer meat with more lean meat, especially young people, who have a special liking for braised pork made from the front and back tips.

Just stewing braised pork with the front and back tips requires a higher level of control over the heat than stewing pork belly.

Stir-fry, add ingredients, pour water, add potatoes, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat without worrying about anything else.

Wang Fan's swift movements left the grandparents stunned. Grandpa Jiang even exclaimed, "Young man, you're even faster than our kitchen squad leader back then."

"And it feels so smooth to make. Not to mention whether it tastes good or not, just watching my little one cook makes me feel really good."

"It must be delicious. You can tell from the cooking skills of Xiaoer that he is a master cook. I have to have a meal here at noon today."

"Even if my son bought hundreds of kilograms of vegetables, can he sell them? It would be bad if he loses money."

"No, let's buy some on our way out so we don't have to make it tonight. We can't let such a kind-hearted kid lose too much money."

Until this moment, these grandparents were still worried about whether Wang Fan could sell these dishes, but they didn't know that a large number of diners were already running on the field of hope.

(End of this chapter)