Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 851 - 434: Five-Spice Donkey Meat
Third Watch, seeking pink.
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After visiting several cloth shops, Lian Manman and Lady Zhang picked out five bolts of natural color coarse cloth and five bolts of natural color fine cloth, as well as four bolts of blue cloth and two bolts of bright red cloth, and four bolts of various patterned cloths, all of high quality. In total, buying this much was nearly one string of coins cheaper than purchasing in Qingyang Town.
Along the way to Dongcheng, while browsing, Lady Zhang and Lian Manman planned which of the bought fabrics would be used for making clothes, cushions, curtains, and so on.
The Old Wang’s Large Cart Inn was easy to find. They asked for directions only once, and by midday, the group had arrived.
Lu Bingwu was waiting for them in the main hall of the cart inn. It turned out that the workers delivering the wheat seeds and cotton wadding had already arrived.
Together, they went to Room No. 8 of the Earth Series to examine the goods and settle the accounts.
Lu Bingwu, who had been engaged in business with his father and brothers since childhood, was extremely adept and reliable in handling affairs. He went to the inn’s cashier to borrow a scale, which was a very common practice in the cart inn.
When Lu Bingwu returned with the scale, a young lady and an old woman followed behind him.
Once the young lady entered the room, she and the old woman served hot tea and laid out pastries.
"This is Miss Wang Qi, the eldest daughter of the owner of this inn," Lu Bingwu explained to Lady Zhang.
Miss Wang Qi had a sturdy build with a long face and slightly protruding front teeth. Although her appearance was quite plain, her demeanor was very generous, without the slightest hint of a young girl’s shyness.
"Aunt Lian Si," Miss Wang Qi addressed Lady Zhang as soon as she spoke, inviting her to sit down for tea and pastries, and helped her to inspect the goods. "I know both of these shops very well, and they know me too. As long as you are staying at the Wang Family’s cart inn and buying their goods, you are guaranteed the best quality and the lowest price. The Lu Brothers have been here more than once; they are familiar with our rules. You can rest assured, Aunt Lian Si. If there’s any problem, I’ll take full responsibility."
After inspecting the goods, Lian Manman gave the remaining payment for the goods to the delivery workers. Lady Zhang discussed with Lu Bingwu on the side about when to return and how to transport the goods.
The items weren’t too numerous; the horse cart they rode in could carry them back.
Having settled the matter, Lian Manman, seeing that it was almost time for the midday meal, suggested they not return to the County Yamen for food and instead find a restaurant outside to dine in, and to invite Lu Bingwu to join them.
Lady Zhang naturally agreed.
"Why bother going out to eat? Just dine right here at our inn. We can prepare any kind of meal," Miss Wang Qi suggested they eat at the cart inn.
"The food here is good, not inferior to the big restaurants outside, and it’s clean and affordable," Lu Bingwu added.
After Lu Bingwu said this, Lady Zhang and her group nodded in agreement. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Miss Wang Qi specially cleared out a private room for them to be seated.
"Mom, if we’re eating here, we have to send someone to the County Yamen to let them know we won’t be returning for the meal," Lian Manman reminded.
"Right."
Lady Zhang nodded and sent a young worker from the cart inn to deliver the message to the County Yamen.
"Brother Xiao Woo, you’ve come to Taicang often; you know all the good dishes here. Help us choose a few," Wu Lang let Lu Bingwu order.
"Brother Sanlang, you know what’s good to eat here too, help us order," Lian Manman also asked Sanlang to order dishes.
After some polite back-and-forth, they ordered dishes and asked Miss Wang Qi to add a few specialty dishes.
The kitchen of the cart inn was very efficient; it wasn’t long after ordering that the dishes were served one by one. Miss Wang Qi personally attended to them, going back and forth to look after their table.
The signature delicacy of Taicang County is donkey meat. Donkey meat in puff pastry and five-spice donkey meat are must-tries for visitors to Taicang. The Old Wang’s Large Cart Inn also served donkey meat in puff pastry and five-spice donkey meat, but the donkey meat in puff pastry served at the table was delivered from Zhang’s, Taicang’s oldest brand, and the large bowl of five-spice donkey meat was from Gather Fragrance Tower, the most famous restaurant in Taicang County Town.
On the way here, Lian Manman heard the coachman say, "Dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground." This saying implies that the tastiest meat of the creatures in the sky is dragon meat, which is not the mythical dragon, but rather the meat of a rare bird called the Flying Dragon found in the deep forests to the far north of Liaodong Prefecture.
"Donkey meat on the ground" means that among the land animals, donkey meat is the most delicious.
Lian Manman enjoyed the meal heartily. This was her first time eating donkey meat since she had arrived in this era. In Thirty Mile Camp, where tenant farmers mostly cultivated land for a living, few kept cattle or sheep for eating. Their most common meat was pork, followed by poultry. Mutton and beef were less common, needing to be traded from outside, while donkey meat was even rarer.
