Goldfield
Chapter 144: Giving Advice

Originally, Mrs Mao had heard from a relative, who worked at Zhenxiu Restaurant, that the city's wildly popular roasted chicken recipe was made by a little girl from Dongshan Village, who was a local, the surnamed Yu. He didn't believe the story at the time. How could an eight to nine year old girl, who had been sick and weak for so many years, know how to cook food?

However, when the Yu Family recommended the Zhou Family chicken to Zhenxiu Restaurant, their chicken, which had previously been sold poorly, not only sold out but also caught many chicks in the spring. They said they wanted to expand their chicken farming activities!

If his family ducks still can't be sold, due to the bad state of the year, they will most likely become a deficit for his family. Madam Mao decided to take the risk, despite only half believing her story, and came to ask for help. She did not expect that the youngest daughter of the Yu Family really had any cooking talent. Within a few days, the little girl created ‘bek osmanthus’, which is a new dish that sells well.

It is said that this osmanthus duck not only has a tempting taste but can also nourish the body in various ways. It is rumored that if consumed consistently can relieve fever, remove toxins, nourish Yin, improve the lungs, moisturize dry areas, and beautify the skin!

Madam Mao knew that her husband had no natural talent in doing business like the Zhou Family brothers. Other than raising ducks, she is not good at many things. The oldest boy had tuition and all other expenses at home depended on the sale of ducks to pay them. In the past, he could only sell one duck for every two chickens in the city. With that, they could barely make ends meet. This was also the reason why he had to bid every ounce or copper.

Now different. With this new dish and his relationship with the Yu Family, even if his family nurtured more ducks, they would not have to worry about selling them! Madam Mao felt very grateful in her heart towards the Yu Family for their kindness and concern. This basket of duck eggs was his way of saying a sincere thank you to them.

After she saw Madam Mao, Madam Liu grumbled about a basket of duck eggs. Duck eggs are not as good as chicken eggs. No matter how you prepare it, it always feels a little fishy. Apparently, they could only use a bit of coarse salt to preserve it. When the peak growing season arrives, they can add another dish to their table!

“Mother, give this duck egg to me, and I will prepare it!” On the other hand, Yu Xiaocao was not worried about the egg at all. In his previous life, century eggs and porridge of lean meat as well as fried tofu stir-fried eggs were his favorite foods to eat. Salted and best preserved duck eggs also have a reddish-red yolk, delicious yolk oil, and a soft taste .. ‘ah, can not think about it anymore, will soon drool.’

Xiaocao always did as he promised! The next day, he took some Sichuan pepper, Chinese cinnamon, fennel, fresh ginger, fine salt and added it to the cold water and let it all boil for about twenty minutes. After that, he poured the dough into an earthenware container and placed the duck eggs, which had been washed thoroughly, into the dough and closed the jar.

When Madam Liu saw her doing this, she said that she only made ordinary salted duck eggs. Using spices like this would be useless, so he should not do so. Traditionally, when preserving duck eggs, people usually use red soil and mix it with water until it becomes thick and sticky. Some coarse salt is then added and the whole mixture is used to coat the eggs and marinate them.

Xiaocao laughed, “Mother, I made five salted duck eggs seasoning. This type of duck egg has a rich aroma and a savory taste. I guarantee it will be better than all the other salted duck eggs you have ever tried, just wait and see! ”

“Don't we have a basket of duck eggs? Why do you only marinate half of the basket? ” Lady Liu asked while helping her daughter.

Xiaocao thought for a moment and replied with a different question, “Mother, can we get chalk around here? And huangdan powder.

“Huangdan powder? Wasn't it used by Taoist priests to concoct pills for immortality? Don't tell me that you plan to use the rest of the duck eggs to make the immortality pill? It doesn't seem right, I've never heard of an immortality pill that requires a duck egg. ”Madam Liu is quite confused by the question.

When he heard Madam Liu's words, Xiaocao felt relieved. Looks like lime and huang powderand everything is available.

Quite surely, Madam Liu continued, “Lime is not hard to come by! Many townspeople in the city use chalk to paint their walls while building new homes. The youngest uncle of the mother's side knows how to put up the bricks, so we can send him a letter to buy you some. As for huangdan powder, you might be able to buy it at the pharmacy. ”

Chalk is used to build houses ah! Isn't Third Young Master Zhou at the dock overseeing the construction of the factory? Finding him would be perfect! The dock also seemed to have a small apothecary as well, but he wasn't sure if they had huangdan powder for sale. Yu Xiaocao was very anxious and started to prepare to go to the dock.

After he finished breakfast, Xiaocao drove the donkey carriage with Xiaolian to the road leading to the pier. As they left the village entrance, they saw the plump figure of Yu Heizi appear.

Previously, Yu Heizi was considered a hooligan in Dongshan Village causing trouble all day long. Using his big and fat figure to his advantage, he bullied all the other children in the village. After being scared to death by a small sacred stone, he unexpectedly did 180 degrees and stopped all his bad habits.

“Brother Heizi, are you going to the dock? Come on, we got a place for you! ” Yu Xiaocao has no ill intentions towards the reformed Yu Heizi. After all, they are family. He couldn't pretend he didn't see her just because he didn't like his mother!

Yu Heizi dodged Xiaocao's eyes and laughed coyly, “Ahhhh, I will go to the dock to see if there is any work I should do, I had to remove some of this fat in my body, so walking there was better! ”

Yu Xiaocao giggled, “ Weight loss does not happen all at once. Our Donkey carts move fast, and the sooner you get there, the more opportunities you have! Stop lingering, quickly come ah! ”

Yu Heizi did not try to reject his offer again and clumsily climbed onto the donkey wagon. Little Grey was still quite calm and did not lower his speed even though the fat Heizi added to his load. Heizi praised the donkey sincerely, “Xiaocao, your donkey is raised very well! When you first buy it, it is so thin that it looks like a bag of bones. It was also so sick that it was on the verge of death. Everyone says you're wasting money. I didn't expect this donkey to be so sturdy and healthy after being raised by you. ”

“Little Grey actually doesn't hurt much, it's just that there's no good vet in town. You also know that I learned some medicine from your Doctor for a few days. I can take care of the animals without any problems! ” Xiaocao replied gently.

Heizi scratched his face in embarrassment and said, “No! I was fourteen this spring. My mom said, in two more years I might be able to talk about marriage. Heh heh. we can't make much at home from fishing and my mom says that all the money at home is for Young Uncle's school. In the future, Grandma doesn't seem to be giving me much for an engagement gift. So, I thought about it for a while, and decided that since I was so healthy, I could go out and make my own money! ”

“You have spirit! Brother Heizi, I believe in you! ” Yu Xiaocao nodded in admiration. In this period of time, it was very common for people to find a soul mate for fifteen to sixteen year olds. To Madam Zhang, other than her youngest son, whom she valued, everyone was as important as grass. He could actually see the old woman not giving a penny for Heizi's engagement gift!

Heizi smiled foolishly at him, “Actually, you, Xiaocao, are encouraging me! You are younger than me in five to six years, but you know how to sell boiled food on the dock for money. I am almost at the age where I can marry a wife, so it is not good if I just stay at home waiting for others to get food and drinks for me! If I continue to laze at home, then I may have trouble marrying a wife in the future.

Xiaolian gently made fun of him, “Hee hee hee.... Brother Heizi, I didn't know you wanted to marry a wife! Do you have someone in your mind? ” That teasing laugh sounded like a small silver bell ringing in the air.

A bright red hue appeared on Heizi's dark face, and she stuttered, “That's… I heard the elders at the village entrance mention that the vagabonds in the neighboring village did nothing all day and could not marry a wife even at the age of forty, so that's why… why... don't spread rumors about me! ”

Xiaocao helped him out of this awkward hole, “Brother Heizi is right! As long as you work hard, do you have to worry about marrying a wife? Brother Heizi, what are your plans? ”

“No... nothing special! Just want to go to the dock and see if they need dock workers. I heard, during busy times, a dock worker can earn around fifty to sixty copper coins a day! ” Longing expression appeared on Heizi's face.

Yu Xiaocao looked at the fat scroll on his body with little attention, “Working as a port laborer requires a lot of strength and endurance! Do you think you can move something that weighs around fifty kilograms? ”

Heizi was silent for a while before she replied, “Even if I can't at first, I still have to try. I can tell them to pay me a little less. Once I strengthen, then it will be fine! ”

The three chatted during the trip, and before long, they reached the dock. Currently, there were not many ships in the area, so Foreman Sun and his workers were all lazing around.

When he saw the pair of beautiful sisters, Foreman Sun walked over and greeted them, “Xiaocao, it has been a long time since I last saw you at the dock, why do you have time today?”

“Uncle Sun, I was at the dock yesterday! You mistook me for someone else, I am Xiaolian. Xiaocao is beside me! ” Xiaolian grinned happily as she walked to Grandpa Liu's noodle shop and stood next to him. He lit a small clay stove and placed the boiled food on it to heat it up.

The foreman Sun looked at Xiaolian and then looked at Xiaocao. He laughed a bit awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head, “You two are really similar. It's not easy to tell the two of you apart quickly. Old Liu, give me a bowl of mixed wheat noodles. Xiaolian, give me a serving of pork head meat, I want more fat! ”

Xiaocao was confused by his order and asked, “Uncle Sun, why are you eating mixed noodles? Are you tired of eating wheat noodles? ”

Mandor Sun grimaced bitterly and shook his head, “Xiaocao ah, don't mock your Uncle Sun. I could hardly afford to eat this bowl of mixed wheat noodles, let alone wheat flour noodles! ”

“What happened? Business not going well? ” Xiaocao asked somewhat pensively as he glanced at the large ship that was anchored. There was a group of dock workers who were vigorously working hard on the ship.

Foreman Sun slapped the table loudly and loudly exclaimed, The “Liuzi bastard really isn't someone easy to deal with! He pretty much monopolized all the jobs on the docks! All the strong men also went to him. He won't leave me to make a living anymore ah! ”

“That can't be true, right? Brother Liuzi doesn't seem like someone who would monopolize everything, does he? ” Xiaocao frowned and looked at the tall and muscular figure near the beach.

Mandor Sun laughed bitterly for a moment and then said, “That's my fault too! In the past, I forced myself and made Liuzi difficult. There was a time, when business was good, I became complacent with my success. I promote someone to be an assistant and don't bother to organize things myself. Who knew that I was blind and that assistant turned everyone's daily salary into a monthly one. After a month had passed, he darkened everyone's pay and ran away! Liuzi took advantage of the opportunity to persuade everyone to him. Besides, he also has someone helping from above, so it will be very difficult for me to return. Ay... Now, being able to eat until full is considered good enough for me ah! ”

Yu Xiaocao looked at someone in the distance, not too far from the pier, measuring something on land. He calmed her down, “Uncle Sun, it will only be difficult for a short time. Once the dock is completed and we have a large port, there will certainly be a need for more workers. When the time comes, you will have another chance! However, I feel competing fiercely with someone is not as lucky as working together. ”.

“Hmm? Why is working together more profitable? Let me hear your opinion, okay? ” From behind him, a loud and clear voice suddenly interjected.

Yu Xiaocao turned his head and looked. He did not know when Brother Six arrived behind him. He had a tall and muscular body with a healthy bronze-colored skin. The scar on his face did not diminish his gallant appearance in the slightest. He really is the epitome of a man full of hormones!