CH 34

Making braised pork was an art, and Mrs. Liang wasn’t very good at it.

Mo Yan ran all the way to the streets where the market was located, but because it was not a market day, there weren’t any stalls on the street, and only a few shops were open.

The braised meat shop was easy to find, and Mo Yan could easily find it via smell. The door of the store was open, and the racks inside were filled with rows of smoked sausages, bacon, and braised pork. The tantalising aroma diffused out from the store, and everyone passing by slowed down to inhale the smell of meat.

The unpainted doors and door frames are gleaming and shiny, and even the ground outside the door was dark and oil-soaked. The signboard with black characters on a white background read “Zhou’s Braised Meat”.

Inside was a fat man wearing a white canvas apron, who was hanging the freshly cooked braised pork on the shelf. He looked like the shopkeeper who sells raw pork, but he was taller.

“Shopkeeper, I’m here to buy meat.”

The fat man looked up and saw Mo Yan, “How much do you want?”

He was the shopkeeper of the braised meat shop, and his surname was Zhou.

“I want a kilogram of smoked meat, and you don’t need to cut it up. I also want a kilogram of pork offal. If our wraps sell well, I’ll buy some more later.”

Shopkeeper Zhou quickly retrieved the meat and weighed it. Mo Yan saw the rows of smoked sausages and asked, “Manager, how much do these smoked sausages cost?”

“It’s twenty dollars per sausage.”

A sausage could be sliced ​​thinly and used for two servings.

“I’d like two of them, please.”

It was rare for someone to ask for so much meat at once, and the shopkeeper wanted to ask, “Girl, is your business doing well?”

“We just started, we don’t know yet! So I’m afraid to buy too much meat at once. When it becomes more stable, I’ll order meat from you every day.”

“Can you sell wraps as a business?” Shopkeeper Zhou didn’t quite believe her.

Mo Yan smiled, “Of course. We make the flatbread ourselves, we fry the eggs ourselves, and we make our own sauce. Our expenses are less than our profits, therefore, we’re selling wraps as a business.”

“After hearing your description, I want to try it, but there aren’t any other employees in my shop for the time being, so I can’t leave!”

“It’s okay, I’ll bring one to you later.”

“That’s very nice of you.”

Shopkeeper Zhou wrapped up the meat, and handed it to Mo Yan.

Mo Yan paid the money and ran back with the meat. Mo Ling and Mrs. Liang had been waiting anxiously, when they saw Mo Yan coming back, Mo Ling immediately ran over to take the meat. Mr. Liang didn’t bother to ask any questions, and hurriedly started cutting the meat while yelling, “Fragrant, delicious and inexpensive wraps.”

Mu Yan ran to the stall and panted, “One takeaway, the most expensive wrap we have.” [1]

Mr. Liang cut the smoked meat without looking up, “Don’t we sell all our wraps outside?”

Mo Yan caught her breath and said, “Takeaway is food that’s delivered to others. The shopkeeper of the braised meat shop wanted to try a wrap.”

Does he even need to buy one of our wraps? Never mind, just do it.

Mo Ling added two eggs, the sauce, and smoked meat into a piece of flatbread, rolled it up, wrapped it in paper and handed it to Mo Yan, “Fifteen dollars.”

They were selling his own meat back to him. Mo Ling added, “Don’t ask for money. After all, the next time we go buy meat from him we’ll pay more than fifteen dollars.”

Mo Yan turned around and ran away. Mrs. Liang gave Mo Ling, who was beside her, a blank look, but didn’t say anything.

There were many passersby on the road, but the postman didn’t come today.

A white horse stopped in front of their stall, and the person on the horse jumped down and said, “I’d like a wrap, please.”

Mrs. Liang agreed and started making one, but then Mo Ling and her both felt like the voice was familiar. When they looked up, they saw Lu Junming next to the horse and standing there smiling.

Mrs. Liang said with a smile, “You’re messing with us!”

Lu Junming said, “If you’d told me you’re doing this business earlier, I wouldn’t have to make my own wraps in the future. I’ll just come and eat here.”

“We can just leave you wraps at your home, why come here again.”

“Your flatbreads are baked on-site in the morning. It definitely tastes better if it’s freshly-made. I don’t have anything else to do, so I came here to have one, and I’ll also bring one back for my grandpa. I even got to let the horse go out for a while.”

“Whatever!”

Lu Junming looked around, and Mo Ling knew that he was looking for Mo Yan, “She went to deliver food to the shopkeeper of the braised meat shop.”

Someone came to buy something, so Lu Junming had to stand aside when he saw Mu Yan returning from a distance.

She was wearing simple clothes and had her hair in a simple bun like a monk. With a thin and small body, it seemed as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

Watching Mo Yan come over slowly, a smile gradually spread across Lu Junming’s face.

Mu Yan saw him from a distance, and when she got close, she said, “It’s good to be outside. After all, the rabbits in the wild are more energetic than those raised at home.”

“Are you calling me a rabbit? I’m obviously a tiger!”

“You’re not a rabbit, you’re a little rabbit, the newborn ones.”

“Are you calling me a bunny? That’s insulting!”

Mo Yan smiled triumphantly, “When did I insult you? Who heard it?”

The firewood in the stove was about to burn out, so Mu Yan went to add more and ignored him.

At this time, an eight or nine-year-old boy walked towards the market and went straight to their stall.

“I want two more wraps, identical to the one my father ordered.”

“Who is your father?” Mo Yan asked.

“My name is Zhou Liangsheng. I’m the eldest son of the shopkeeper at Zhou’s Braised Meat.”

Mu Ling hurriedly made the wraps for him.

This child was well-groomed and looked much better than his father. He spoke eloquently as well, so he was probably educated.

Zhou Liangsheng watched Mo Ling make the wraps carefully. It was probably the first time he saw this kind of food, and therefore he felt curious.

Zhou Liangsheng took the wraps, took out a string of copper coins from the purse on his waist and handed them over. Mo Ling counted forty-five coins, which was exactly the amount required for three wraps.

Mo Ling handed the money back to Zhou Liangsheng, “No need, I’m counting on shopkeeper Zhou to take care of me in the future!”

Zhou Liangsheng turned around and walked away. Mrs. Liang kept saying that shopkeeper Zhou must be kind-hearted and virtuous to get such a good son.

Someone from the restaurant next door came out to buy their wraps, just in time to hear Liang’s words, “Are you talking about Zhou Liangsheng, the son of the shopkeeper of Zhou’s Braised Meat?”

Mrs. Liang nodded, and the man said, “Don’t be fooled by his handsome appearance, that boy’s actually a thief.”

Mrs. Liang was confused. How can such a good child be described by the word “thief”?

The man pointed at the restaurant he came from, “I’m the manager of Shunlai restaurant, and my surname is Liang. There’s a person who works for me surnamed Zhang, who’s a master at making braised pork. Two years ago, that kid was just seven years old. He said that his family loved to eat it, and he bought it every day. Later, he became acquainted with Master Zhang. No one would guard against a child, and he learnt the recipe for his braised pork at some point. Later, Zhou’s Braised Meat was established, and because they sold their meat for cheap, they stole all of my business.”

Post-edit note: That was a plot twist I actually wasn’t expecting. Maybe it’s just because I don’t read enough web serials of this genre? Let me know if you did.

[1] In Chinese, takeaway literally means ‘eat outside’, which is why Mrs. Liang got confused.