In the county seat of Changli County, Yongping Prefecture.
Liu Jin and Zhao Erhu walked very leisurely in this small county town. The county town was very small, with only a few streets, and it only took less than half an hour to complete the tour.
Although the county town is small, it is very lively, with many people coming and going, and all kinds of shouts coming and going.
"It's quite lively, just like the Chinese New Year."
Liu Jin looked at the lively scene in front of him. There were scholars wearing robes and holding fans, looking superior to others, with their nostrils turned upward; there were poor people in rags who came from the countryside carrying firewood or some dry goods; there were also people carrying goods.
Dan, small businessmen who shout loudly to do business, operators of special snacks, etc.
Such scenes are rare to see in later generations. In Liu Jin's memory, such scenes can only be seen during the Chinese New Year in rural areas. With the development and progress of the times, such lively scenes are becoming more and more popular.
Rarely seen.
Although it was much different from the later generations, Liu Jin felt that this place seemed more like shopping, and people couldn't help but look at everything here carefully.
"It's very lively. I haven't been to the county town for several years."
Zhao Erhu touched his head and kept looking around, as if Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden. When he saw some food vendors, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
“Dumplings, delicious pork dumplings~”
Hearing the sound of pork dumplings, Zhao Erhu couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and at the same time his eyes were fixed on a stall.
"Let's go and have something to eat~"
Liu Jin naturally noticed Zhao Erhu's slander, smiled and walked towards the dumpling stall. When Zhao Erhu saw it, he immediately jumped up and followed him.
"Master, what do you want to eat?"
The owner of the dumpling stall was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his 40s. When he saw business coming to his door, he quickly wiped the stools and tables.
"What good food do you have here?"
Liu Jin looked at the stall carefully. There was a shed built next to a wall, several sets of seats, and next to the stove for cooking. At this time, the fire on the stove was very hot, and there should be something cooking in the pot.
Things like pig skulls give off bursts of meaty aroma, and as the soup boils, you can also see some bones and small minced meat.
“Excellent noodle soup and excellent pork dumplings, all freshly made, guaranteed to be delicious.”
The boss looked at Liu Jin and saw that Liu Jin was dressed as a scholar. Although the clothes were ordinary, a scholar still had enough money to eat, so he introduced them all. If he met a boss who didn't have money, he would probably just introduce him.
Noodle soup.
"Then give us two bowls of dumplings."
Liu Jin looked at Zhao Erhu's appearance, smiled and said.
"Okay, two bowls of dumplings, please wait a moment, they'll be here soon."
When the boss heard this, he immediately shouted happily, and then started rolling out the dough and making dumplings. He was very skillful and very fast. In less than 10 minutes, two large thick bowls were filled with dumplings and soup.
"Two bowls of dumplings are here, please use them slowly~"
Liu Jin picked up the spoon and chopsticks, and was not in a hurry to eat. He looked carefully and saw that the dumplings were very big. Compared with the most common Shaxian dumplings in later generations, they were almost as big as two dumplings in later generations, and they were also more packed.
of denseness.
Liu Jin counted carefully and found that there were 20 dumplings in this large bowl, which was a lot, but he didn't know how much the price would be.
Gently pick up a dumpling, blow it to cool it slightly, and take a slow bite. Suddenly, a sweet and refreshing aroma comes. The pork is accompanied by Chinese cabbage and some green onions. The taste is perfectly blended.
Together.
“These dumplings are delicious~”
Liu Jin couldn't help but praise.
Compared with the dumplings of later generations, although there is not so much seasoning in this era, the ingredients used are very real and the ingredients are very fresh. The soup is also made from large bones. The boss has been making dumplings for many years. This skill is not
said.
Although the dumplings of later generations bear the name of dumplings, they often cut corners and cut corners. The meat used is unknown, and the soup is just water. The dumplings have no taste at all.
"Thank you for the compliment, sir. It's delicious. Please remember to come here often."
After hearing Liu Jin's words, the boss, who had no business to spare, also said with a smile on his face.
“Wow~ so delicious~”
At this time, Zhao Erhu on the side finished the last bit of soup in the bowl and couldn't help but say.
"Aren't you going too fast?"
Liu Jin looked at Zhao Erhu's bowl, then looked at his own bowl. He only had one dumpling here, but Zhao Erhu had already finished the whole bowl. At this time, he looked like he was not full and looked at the dumplings in Liu Jin's bowl eagerly.
Look.
"I haven't eaten any delicious dumplings yet, so I ate them a little faster."
Zhao Erhu said with a naive smile.
"Boss, give him another bowl."
"Eat slowly, no one will compete with you."
Liu Jin couldn't help but smile and shook his head.
"Okay, a bowl of dumplings, they'll be here soon."
Seeing that there was business again, the boss was very happy and got busy. When Zhao Erhu heard that there was still another bowl to eat, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Just follow Brother Jin. You can eat two bowls of dumplings.
Liu Jin ate very slowly. When Zhao Erhu finished the second bowl, Liu Jin still had a few dumplings left to finish. The amount was quite large, and Liu Jin had a weak appetite, so he couldn't eat it.
"Finish mine too."
Liu Jin moved the bowl to Zhao Erhu, then turned to the boss and said: "Boss, pay the bill."
"This young man, three bowls of dumplings, one bowl of dumplings costs 10 cents, total 30 cents."
As soon as Liu Jin paid the bill, the boss came over with a smile.
Liu Jin took out some broken silver from his pocket and put it on the table.
The boss took the broken silver, looked at it carefully, and then bit it with his teeth. A smile soon appeared on his face. The silver was of very good quality. Then he took out a small scale and weighed it carefully.
.
"Sir, your broken silver is worth about 100 Wen. I'll ask you for 70 Wen."
Soon, the boss put away the scraps of silver, took out another handful of money, counted out 30 coins, and strung together the remaining 70 coins and placed them in front of Liu Jin.
"Hmm~"
Liu Jin did not count the coins and put away the coins.
"You can eat dumplings like this for 10 cents. It's really cheap. In later generations, you wouldn't be able to eat dumplings like this for less than 20 yuan a bowl."
Liu Jin couldn't help but make some comparisons in his mind. He had to say that the price level in this era was still very low.
"Let's go~"
Watching Zhao Erhu finish the last bit of soup, Liu Jin also stood up and prepared to go shopping again.
"Master, walk slowly~"
When the boss saw Liu Jin and Zhao Erhu leaving, he also smiled and said goodbye.
At this time, the weather was getting colder. After eating a bowl of hot dumplings, he felt much more comfortable. Walking on the streets of the small county town, Liu Jin couldn't help but start looking around and asking questions.
"Boss, how do you sell these eggs and chickens?"
"Sir, a chicken costs 15 cents, and two eggs cost 1 cent."
"How come it's so cheap?"
Upon hearing this price, Liu Jin couldn't help but secretly said, "I remember that I used to watch TVs and other things, and buy things in silver. I didn't expect to buy a big rooster weighing several kilograms for only 15 cents."
.
Looking back now, the dumplings I just ate didn’t seem cheap at all. One bowl cost 10 cents, and 3 bowls equaled two big roosters.
"Boss, how can I sell this firewood?"
"Sir, you are really discerning. The wood I have has been dried in the sun. It is a very strong cypress wood, and it definitely weighs more than 100 kilograms. It only costs 50 yuan."
Liu Jin looked casually along the way. When he came across something he was interested in, he would go up and ask about the price. Generally speaking, in this self-sufficient small farmer economy, the price level is very low.
A piece of fine cotton cloth only costs less than 200 cents, the best polished rice from Jiangnan only costs 2 cents per catty, and the best cotton only costs 25 cents per catty.
Everything was very cheap, of course it cannot be said to be cheap. At this time, because silver from the Americas had not yet flowed in on a large scale, people still mainly used copper coins on a daily basis, and the price level was much lower than in the late Ming Dynasty.
When the concealment was revealed, there was a large-scale inflow of silver. Silver slowly replaced copper coins and became the mainstream currency, and the price level became relatively high.
"Brother Jin, there's a meat selling place ahead."
Walking, walking, Zhao Erhu looked at the several meat stalls in front of him, couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and said to Liu Jin.
"Let's go over and have a look."
When Liu Jin heard this, he nodded and walked over.
The place selling meat in a county town is very small, and there are very few people selling meat. There are only a few stalls, one selling mutton and two selling pork. As for beef, there is no place to buy it, because in this era,
It can be said that the status of cows is higher than that of humans. They are protected by law and cannot be slaughtered. Unless the cows die of old age or disease, otherwise they are absolutely not allowed to be slaughtered.
"Master, do you want to buy some meat?"
Liu Jin came to a pork stall. The owner of the butcher saw Liu Jin's appearance and asked with a smile. While sharpening his knife, he said: "My pork is all high-quality pigs. Look at this fat meat.
It's a finger thick."
Liu Jin looked at the pork on the chopping board. The pig was indeed very fat. The butcher also laid out the fattest parts. Only then did Liu Jin remember that in an era when it was difficult to eat meat, the most popular thing was fat.
Meat, as for lean meat, bones, elbows and the like, are the least wanted.
So when the butcher saw business, the first thing he introduced was fat meat. In later generations, this fat meat would be the least wanted thing, but what everyone liked most was ribs, lean meat, and elbows. It was just the opposite.
"How much does it cost per pound?"
Liu Jin smiled and asked, he had promised Zhao Erhu to treat him to braised pork.
"Fat meat costs 12 cents per catty, and lean meat costs 9 cents per catty. How much do you want?"
The butcher smiled and said.
"Cut me 5 pounds of fat meat, and chop me a few ribs~"