The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 158

 

| TBBOTOF | 158

The spicy snack business didn't work out.

It's not because no one wanted to buy it, but because...

Let him put it this way, making the skin is a task that requires both skill and endurance, especially in this weather. Even with the temperature dropping a bit, after cooking, you need to leave the kitchen immediately, or you'll overheat, let alone having to keep an eye on the hot pot.

It's okay to do it occasionally, but doing it every day is too much for anyone to bear.

The decision not to continue this business wasn't made by Tang Xu; it was Wei Dong who firmly decided against it, saying it was too much work.

"It's delicious, and the cost is low. It just takes some time," Tang Xu tried to persuade him.

Wei Dong shook his head, "We don't need the money, you don’t need to suffer." His eyes were full of undisguised pain. The snack tasted great, chewy with a spicy kick, and it would definitely be popular if sold, but the process was indeed troublesome, involving picking soy skins and deep frying them, which just wasn't worth it.

Tang Xu sighed, "Fine, let's make spicy shredded pork."

He had made spicy shredded pork several times before. Tang Erhu liked to drink a bit, and without any side dishes, he would nibble on peanuts while drinking. After seeing this a couple of times, Tang Xu started making spicy shredded pork for him.

Wei Dong had also tasted the spicy shredded pork. After a moment of thought, he nodded and said, "That'll do."

"Can you make me a tool?" Tang Xu went back to the house to get some paper and a pen to draw. He wanted to make a hand-cranked meat slicer, which he had seen in a video earlier. It would be much faster than slicing the meat by hand.

In the past two years, Wei Dong's craftsmanship had improved a lot. Usually, when Tang Xu needed to make something unusual, he would draw a picture for him, and Wei Dong could figure it out and make it quite accurately.

By the time Tang Xu finished boiling all the pork tenderloin, Wei Dong had already made the tool out of wood.

After sanding it and cleaning it thoroughly, Tang Xu used it to start shredding the pork.

The shredded pork turned out loose and plentiful. From five pounds of tenderloin, they ended up with a full basin of it, looking like a lot.

"I'll prepare the seasoning. You take the chubby boy inside; if he smells this aroma, he'll be drooling." Because the dish involved adding chili peppers, Tang Xu didn't dare give any to the chubby boy.

Wei Dong looked at him helplessly, "He already asked me about the pork earlier."

"What did he ask?" Tang Xu looked up at him.

"He asked if you were making meat for him," Wei Dong said with a hint of amusement in his voice, finding his son's craving look adorable.

The three children in the family were gradually growing up. Er Bao was already walking all over the place by himself. 

Although the youngest didn't like to move, he could walk quite a distance while holding onto the wall. However, after walking once and getting tired, he would sit on the floor and refuse to move again.

There was another thing: because of the chubby boy's enthusiastic efforts, the two younger ones had already been taught to call him "dad" clearly.

Hearing this, Tang Xu decided to make a separate portion of salty pork for the chubby boy. He also took out some shredded pork for Wei Dong to turn into minced meat for the two little ones who didn't have all their teeth yet.

The aroma was so enticing that not only was the chubby boy drooling, but Xu Ze also came to the doorway, pushing the stroller with the two little ones calling out "dad." Even the two half-grown boys studying in the study were drawn over.

Several people gathered at the kitchen door, peeking in and swallowing their saliva.

The chubby boy couldn't help himself and had already run into the kitchen, hugging his dad's leg, drooling and eagerly looking up with anticipation.

"Wait a bit, it'll be ready soon," Tang Xu reassured him. The dish for the kids didn't need much seasoning, so it would be ready quickly.

He cooked the kids' portion and the adults' portion together, and it was done in no time.

He took the dish out to let it cool in a basin, then put the kids' portion into a large bowl. Picking out a piece, he fed it to the chubby boy, who chewed and chewed, unwilling to swallow. 

Tang Xu laughed and pinched his nose. "Swallow it, or it won't taste good if you keep chewing."

The chubby boy covered his mouth and, with his big round eyes, happily nodded his head, "It's so~ delicious~!"

Tang Xu was amused and couldn't stop laughing. He pinched his cheek, "Go sit in the pavilion outside to eat. It's cooler there."

The chubby boy nodded and reached out to hold the large bowl himself.

In other households, parents wouldn't dare let such a small child carry a bowl, fearing they might slip and break the bowl, wasting the food. But in their house, there was no such worry. The chubby boy was so careful with the bowl, hugged it with both hands and walked very cautiously.

When the chubby boy walked out of the kitchen, Xu Ze reached out to take the bowl and help him carry it to the pavilion.

"Thank you, Brother Ze~"

Xu Ze smiled and patted his cheek, "You're welcome."

Tang Xu finished frying the minced meat and handed it over, then filled another bowl with spicy shredded pork. "Give the minced meat to the two little ones. This bowl is for you three to share."

"Thank you, Brother Xu." Xu Ze took the two bowls, turned around, and handed the bowl of spicy shredded pork to Wei Xi.

Tang Xu always felt awkward when he heard his son call Xu Ze "brother," especially since Xu Ze also called him "brother." This generational mix-up made things quite confusing.

Let's each follow our own generation. He can talk about it later, Tang Xu thought, considering the presence of Old Xu, Xu Ze's generation was indeed a bit mixed up.

Wei Dong picked up some spicy shredded pork with his chopsticks and, looking at the full basin, asked, "How much are we selling this for?"

"Sell it just like this?" Tang Xu rubbed his chin and said, "Let's sell it bowl by bowl. I’m not sure about the price, though."

The cost of the meat wasn't high, but the spices were expensive. Even though it didn't use much oil, making it was still quite a bit of work.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "How about twenty-five wen per bowl?"

The bowls were small, but a bowlful was still quite a lot.

Wei Dong's mouth twitched. His eyes swept over the basin of fried pork and he shook his head. "That's too expensive."

Selling at that price in town would be fine, but in the village, no one would buy it at such a high price.

Tang Xu realized his initial price was indeed too high. Hearing Wei Dong's comment, he waved his hand. "Fifteen wen, no less."

Wei Dong smiled and nodded. "Alright, whatever you say."

Tang Xu shot him a sharp look. That's not what you said just now!

He huffed and then filled another bowl, setting it aside. He told Wei Dong, "I’ll leave a bowl for you and dad to have with some wine tonight. Take the rest out to sell."

Wei Dong nodded, picked up the basin, and headed out.

He didn't go far, directly to the stalls set up by Wu Hong and Wei Zhonghong.

The stall was bustling with people, many of whom had come to buy skewers.

Wei Zhonghong, upon seeing Wei Dong approaching from afar, waved and called out, "Dongzi, come over here and take this back."

As Wei Dong got closer, the people waiting for their skewers at the stall caught a whiff of the rich, spicy aroma of the meat.

Fortunately, their house was far away and built at the foot of the mountain, with the only neighbors being their own family members. Otherwise, the aroma from Tang Xu frying the shredded pork earlier would have had people drooling all over.

Wei Zhonghong sniffed the air and exclaimed, "What did you make that smells so good?"

Her question echoed what everyone else was wondering. Such a large basin of meat didn’t look like it was just for them to eat.

"Ah Xu just made it. Spicy shredded pork, fifteen wen a bowl," Wei Dong said succinctly. He put down the basin and turned to the gathering crowd, "Pure meat, you can each try a piece."

When he said a piece, he meant it—just a tiny piece.

Even with just a piece, the taste lingered in everyone's mouths, so fragrant that they savored it, grinding it with their teeth, reluctant to swallow even when it was ground to meat bits.

It was so delicious, truly delicious.

It felt like the aroma of meat filled their mouths with every breath.

Wei Zhonghong and Wu Hong both tried it, and Wu Hong, with tears in his eyes, looked at Wei Dong, "Brother Dong, can I keep a bowl for myself?"

"No. Your brother-in-law will make more tomorrow. Ask him to save some for you then." Saving one bowl here is quite a lot, especially using their family's large bowl.

Wu Hong's eyes brightened immediately, and he nodded vigorously.

Hearing that it was fifteen wen per bowl, many people hesitated. Wu Hong, who had been selling braised offal for the past two months, had already learned an important lesson: if you don’t promote your product, people won’t be willing to buy it. Those who are not inclined to buy will not be convinced no matter how much you praise the product.

Especially with Tang Xu's creations, they never had trouble selling.

With so many people in the village, if one person didn’t buy, there would always be someone else who would. Sometimes, just calling out would ensure that others would come and buy.

He wasn’t wrong. Many of the people who tried the shredded pork were tempted but had already bought skewers. They decided to come back tomorrow to see if there was more to buy.

Those waiting in line for skewers were quite happy, and decided to buy the shredded pork instead.

Even so, the skewer business didn't slow down, and the shredded pork sold out quickly.

Wu Hong was so impressed he felt like kneeling in admiration to Tang Xu.

Just with this skill, Tang Xu could earn a substantial livelihood. If the recipe was passed down to the children, it could probably sustain the family for several generations.

He smacked his lips, feeling even more determined to work hard and make money.

As the stall was being packed up, Wei Zhonghong brought the copper coins from selling the shredded pork back to Tang Xu. Before she could say anything upon entering, she was handed a large bowl.

She looked down to see a bowl of spicy shredded pork.

“Ah Dong said that Ah Hong likes it, so I fried this for him. This dish is heavy on oil and salt, so it keeps well overnight and can be eaten hot or cold,” Tang Xu explained with a smile.

“Why did you go through the trouble of making him something special? That glutton can devour the whole thing in one sitting,” Wei Zhonghong scolded him playfully.

“It’s a reward for his hard work. He earns money for me every day, so I can’t let him go without a treat,” Tang Xu said as he took the money basket, not bothering to count it and placing it aside. 

He then asked, “How’s business been lately?”

Since he was busy taking care of the children at home, Tang Xu hadn't been paying much attention to the business side of things. He only collected the earnings every ten days, and the amount of copper coins had been consistent, so he didn’t bother to count meticulously.

“It’s been good. We’re selling cold noodles too, though we haven’t dared to make too much,” Wei Zhonghong said, placing the large bowl aside and sitting down on a chair. “Sit down, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Tang Xu raised an eyebrow.

A while back, Wei Zhonghong had received a letter from Wu Weiming. The writing was crooked and messy, not looking like it was written by someone else. Her third son had been away for three years, and although she didn’t know exactly what he was doing, the fact that he had learned to write suggested that he was doing well.

However, this wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. With some worry, she said, “My son wrote in his letter that there’s fighting up north.”

Tang Xu was taken aback by this news, his face showing confusion.

It took a moment for him to realize she meant war.

He recalled the contents of the book. Since he didn't like reading about battles and wars, he had skipped over the parts about defending the country. He didn't remember the specifics, only that the war had been going on for many years, but it was always at the northern border, far away from them.

"I just can't shake this uneasy feeling. He’s gone so far away, and if he really gets caught in a war, what would I do?" Wei Zhonghong sighed.

Tang Xu felt a headache coming on, thinking that no matter how he tried to comfort her, it wouldn’t be much help.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Why not write him a letter? Ask him to explain what's really going on over there and try to persuade him?"

Although he knew that Wu Weiming would eventually become a general, the future was uncertain, and anything could happen.

Wei Zhonghong nodded, "Alright, let's have Xiao Xi write it."

Tang Xu agreed with a nod.

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