Farmer's Wife Has Magic Skills

Luo Xiaoyi sniffed around with her nose lifted, her big eyes filled with admiration for Chu Qingzhi, “Sister, you’re so amazing. I’ve never smelled anything so delicious.”

The children standing nearby couldn’t help but swallow their saliva, looking eagerly at the pot.

The oldest child in the orphanage, Luo Yiyang, said happily, “It’s going to taste even better when we eat it.”

Chu Qingzhi told the children, “After the braised meat is cooked, it needs to simmer for a while to taste even better. Everyone, please be patient for a bit longer.”

Another child said with a laugh, “I know, ‘haste doesn’t bring success’.”

Laughter filled the kitchen…

Luo Jisheng and Yan Jingkui, standing at the kitchen door, also smiled. Initially forced to come and repair the orphanage, they had some complaints, but now, they felt it was all worth it.

Chu Qingzhi stayed for lunch at the orphanage. After lunch, it was time to take the braised meat out of the pot, and everyone, including the elderly gentleman, came to the kitchen.

The elderly gentleman had secretly swallowed his saliva many times, standing behind the children, craning his neck to see the situation in the pot.

Not just the elderly gentleman, but everyone was looking at the pot, eagerly awaiting the moment it was finally ready.

Chu Qingzhi lifted the lid, and a cloud of steam rose, bringing out a burst of aroma. Everyone felt hungry again even though they had just eaten.

Chu Qingzhi took out several large pieces of pig’s head meat. The braised meat had a brownish-yellow color, was glossy with oil, and had a strong soy sauce aroma. She cut the head meat into slices with a kitchen knife and offered them for everyone to taste, “Nowyou can eat.”

Everyone’s eyes followed the bowl, saliva involuntarily secreted, and as soon as Chu Qingzhi put down the bowl, everyone started grabbing with their hands, unable to wait for chopsticks.

“Delicious, delicious!”

“Immortal delicacy. It smells good and tastes good.”

After tasting a piece of the braised meat, the elderly gentleman felt as if a new door of taste had been opened to him.

He had lived for decades and had eaten countless things, but the braised meat still gave him a fresh and stunning feeling. He gave her full marks in his heart. “Miss, you have good culinary skills.”

An old woman said, “Yes, we two old women have cooked our whole lives and never made meat as delicious as yours. We must call you master chef.”

Chu Qingzhi smiled modestly.

Luo Xiaoyi, still thinking about doing business, quickly asked, “Sister, when are we going to sell the braised meat?”

The elderly gentleman was somewhat excited, thinking such delicious braised meat would surely sell well, “Miss, how much do you think we should price the braised meat per pound?”

Luo Xiaoyi joyfully said, “Our braised meat is so delicious, it will surely fetch a good price.”

Chu Qingzhi calculated, “Considering the cost of the pork we bought was thirty copper coins per pound, including the cost, selling it for seventy copper coins per pound would be reasonable.”

The elderly gentleman gratefully said, “Thank you, miss. We’ll remember that.”

Luo Yiyang said eagerly, ” Why don’t we try selling some right now?”

Everyone looked at Chu Qingzhi, waiting for her decision.

Chu Qingzhi, seeing the hopeful faces, couldn’t bear to refuse, “Let’s first make a small food cart before we start selling. Now we need everyone to prepare these things…”

An hour later, a simple, pushable food cart was born.

The bottom of the food cart was a cabinet, which could hold braised meat, a cutting board, knives, and other essentials for selling braised meat.

The space above the cabinet was a platform for displaying the braised meat for sale, sealed on both sides, with a sliding window in the front that could be opened for business. The back had small doors that opened to the sides.

Above was a rainproof awning, extending out like an umbrella, treated for water resistance, providing shelter during rain.

On the front of the awning were several wooden letters spelling “Luo’s Braised Delicacies,” dyed red and very eye-catching.

Everyone gathered around the small food cart, looking at it with novelty and curiosity.

Chu Qingzhi was satisfied with her handiwork and said, “Let’s move the goods onto the cart, and we’ll go try selling them.

The children cheered, “Let’s sell braised meat!”

Two old women and a few older children started moving things, while Chu Qingzhi picked up some leftover materials to make several windmills, dyed blue, and tied them to the cart as decorations, making the quaint cart even more eye-catching.

Once ready, the group set off.

This group included Chu Qingzhi, two old women, Luo Yiyang, Luo Xiaoyi, and four other children, along with Luo Jisheng and Yan Jingkui.

The appearance of the small food cart on the streets immediately attracted the attention of many people, with some even following behind, curiously watching the procession.

“Where are we going to sell the braised meat, sister?” Facing the gaze of so many people for the first time, Luo Yiyang felt embarrassed, tense, and particularly nervous.

Chu Qingzhi replied, “Let’s head to the market, and you can also shout along the way to attract customers.”

Not experienced in doing business and unsure how to proceed, the old women immediately started shouting at the top of their lungs, “Braised meat for sale! Delicious and fragrant braised meat, come and try, take a look…”

Being shameless isn’t scary; going hungry is. As long as it could earn them money, they were willing to go all out.

Their voices drew even more attention.

A man asked, “What is braised meat?”

Chu Qingzhi encouraged a somewhat bewildered Luo Yiyang, “Bring out the braised meat for everyone to try.”

“Right away,” Luo Yiyang responded, quickly taking out a plate of mixed pig’s head meat and pig’s ears from the cart and offering it to the man, “Free tasting, but you can only try one piece.”

Seeing the offer of free meat, the bystanders got excited, and quickly, the plate was emptied.

A pound of meat hadn’t been sold yet, but they had already lost a plate of meat, leaving the children looking eagerly at the bystanders, hoping they would return the meat.

The man sniffed, found it fragrant, then chewed and his eyes brightened, “How much for a pound of braised meat?”

Luo Yiyang eagerly said, “Seventy copper coins.”

Seeing Luo Yiyang’s eager expression, the man smiled, “Such delicious braised meat, cut me two pounds.”

Luo Yiyang’s face lit up with joy, “Auntie, quickly cut two pounds for this brother.”

Without waiting for Luo Yiyang’s instructions, the old woman had already started cutting the meat, extremely excited.

Luo Yiyang told the man, “We have pig’s head meat and pig’s ears, both are delicious. You can have one pound of each, and we also have dipping sauce if you need it, for an extra five wen.”

The man, a food enthusiast, said, “Let me see the dipping sauce.”

Luo Yiyang brought out a bowl of prepared dipping sauce from the cabinet, “Brother, smell this, isn’t it fragrant?”

The dipping sauce, mildly spicy with chili oil and various seasonings, was designed to suit the general palate.

The man sniffed, “It’s fragrant indeed, how do you make this dipping sauce?”