Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 91 The Zhang Family

Yang Tiebin said, "Isn't this what we've been talking about this week? You'll understand it after we've talked about it. It's basically the same. It's always good to learn something. If the boss comes to dinner, it'll be embarrassing if you serve him this. Oh right, Xiao Wei, go to Er Ma Road before you go back and buy a set of carving knives."

Xiao Wei asked, "Didn't we say we could buy it in class before class?"

Xia Maosheng shook his head and laughed, "That thing is still usable? It's just for fooling newbies. If you want to buy something, buy a professional one; the materials are completely different."

Yang Tiebin laughed and said, "I'm a man of my word. If you think the ones sold at school are good, I'll buy you those. Haha, one's nineteen, the other's ninety. You're in for a surprise."

Xiao Wei asked, "What do you mean by 19 or 90?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Old Yang was just giving an example. The price difference is huge. The set at the school should sell for sixty, right? I heard Li Na mention that a set of professional knives from Er Ma Road costs several hundred."

Xiao Wei paused for a moment, then asked, "Why is it so different?"

Yang Tiebin said, "They're completely different. The ones the school makes rust after peeling just two potatoes, how can they be used? Besides, this thing mainly requires molds, and molds are used a lot."

Xiao Wei asked, "What kind of mold?"

Yang Tiebin glanced at Xia Maosheng, who scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "You'll know when you go and see for yourself."

Luo Qinghe turned around and continued, "The mold? I went to see it the other day. It's just some steel sheets welded together. There are words, flowers, animals and stuff. I don't see what it's for."

Li Guangzhao was squatting on the ground looking at the bottom row of dishes when he said, "For example, if you're cooking for an old man's birthday, and you put the character for 'longevity' on the main dish, wouldn't that be quite fitting? The tip would come in, right? But you'd have to use a mold to cut out that character; are you going to cut it with a knife?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What are you deducting?"

Li Guangzhao picked up a book, stood up, and said, "Old people use radishes, which means health and longevity, and they're also red. Middle-aged people use steamed buns or pancakes, which means 'rising steadily.' Children don't care; eggs are fine, or you can just slice potatoes. There are no particular rules. Once, I made a plate of braised lamb with potatoes for a child. The child was born in the Year of the Sheep, and the host gave him 500 yuan. The child was overjoyed."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "There are also larger molds, you can put a big character on them and place them on the side of the plate. It mainly depends on what you're using as the main dish, there aren't any specific requirements."

Li Guangzhao tossed the book he was holding to Xiaowei and said, "Buy this one. It's full of basic (home-style) recipes that you can make at home. Aren't you going to be a stay-at-home dad? It's perfect for you."

Xiao Wei held the six books he had chosen and flipped through the one Li Guangzhao had found for him with one hand. It was basically full of common dishes from Northeast China, as well as the method for making pickled vegetables. It was indeed practical, and there were very few books like this nowadays.

In fact, regardless of the type of book, there's a prevailing trend in Chinese academia of not explaining things clearly. Whether it's a technical or instructive book, it's all like this: shrouded in mystery, making the simple overly complicated, or the complicated overly hopeless. They leave out only seven-tenths of what they say, speaking hesitantly, as if they wouldn't appear superior otherwise.

Everyone browsed, talked, and searched, and by the time they finished choosing their books and came out to pay, it was already noon. The sales clerk was already heating up their lunch. At this time, most employees brought their own lunchboxes and heated them up on a small stove at their workplace. In the summer, they used electric stoves, and in the winter, they used coal stoves.

That was an era when aluminum lunchboxes were all the rage.

Nine people walked over with their books. The woman preparing food nearby asked, "Settling accounts?" She stood up and walked over, going into the wooden cabinet. On the cabinet were several notebooks, a small abacus, an inkpad box, and a diamond-shaped stamp on top.

Nine people placed their books on the counter, and the woman flipped through them one by one, fiddling with an abacus on the side, then issuing receipts, collecting money, and stamping the books with her small rhombus-shaped stamp.

Xiaowei bought the most. It wasn't that others didn't want to buy them; most cookbooks were printed on copperplate paper, which was quite expensive. Xiaowei spent almost 200 yuan on these seven books, which was a huge sum for ordinary people in this era. They had the desire but not the means.

The nine of them packed the books into plastic bags printed with the Xinhua Bookstore logo and carried them out of the bookstore. Xiao Wei, Xia Maosheng, Li Guangzhao, and Yang Tiebin went to Er Ma Road, while the others went straight back to the school. It was lunchtime, and they couldn't afford to treat anyone, nor were they comfortable letting others treat them, so they decided to take care of their own meals at home.

If you walk straight along Taiyuan South Street without turning, you'll reach the busiest section of Ermalu Road, which is lined with food-related shops. Markets are amazing places; no matter which city you're in, just walk around the raw material wholesale market, additive market, or equipment dealership, and you'll know which industry is the most popular.

These markets are usually located near train stations. In Fengtian, they mainly sell food, while in Yuzhou they are all Raymond mills, and in Yuezhou they are cosmetics and employment agencies. These are regional differences.

Just a moment ago, this area on Er Ma Road was filled with kitchen utensils, molds, and additives. After 94, it was flooded with birthday cake and mooncake-related equipment, tools, and additives. This area represented the entire province's market.

There are two markets in Fengtian for food additive equipment and tools: one on Ermalu Road and the other in Beixing. This has remained the case to this day.

When they arrived at Erma Road, the group wandered around and looked at several shops. The items sold were largely the same. Yang Tiebin bought a knife set for 330 yuan as a gift for Xiaowei, while Li Guangzhao bought a complete set of chef's uniforms, including shoes, for 180 yuan. Xia Maosheng scratched his head, chuckled a few times, and bought a few kitchen knives. He didn't buy a set; Xiaowei wouldn't want them anyway—they were too expensive. Five knives alone would cost over 400 yuan.

Xiao Wei also bought several knives. Yang Tiebin, Li Guangzhao, and Xia Maosheng each gave him one. They were cleavers, the kind of knives chefs use most often. He bought the most expensive ones in the store, 140 yuan each, but the shop owner gave him a discount because he bought a lot.

Then we can only take a taxi. By the way, can four people each carrying several kitchen knives get on a bus?

The taxi driver hesitated for a while before letting them into the car. Luckily, this is where they sell this product; otherwise, the driver would have definitely run away.

After bringing the things inside, even though no one had lived there for a month, the house was warm and cozy with the heating on. The best thing about winter in Northeast China is that it's clean. Everything is covered in snow, so even if you roll around on the ground a few times, there won't be much dust. Just pat it off and it'll be clean.

However, they still needed to tidy up. Xiao Wei took a rag to wipe the dust, while Xia Maosheng and the other two went to buy groceries. This time, Xiao Wei paid for it. Today, he was going to show off his skills and be a successful stay-at-home husband.

The menu was discussed by the four of them. It had to be delicious but not too complicated. Xiao Wei couldn't handle anything too complicated right now, so he had to cook all the dishes by himself today. The others would only lend a hand at most.

Braised green beans, stir-fried pork with green peppers, dried tofu with green peppers, stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers, braised eggplant strips, crispy pork ribs, sweet and sour pork, stir-fried pork slices, home-style ribbonfish, dry-fried kingfish. No need to list the ingredients and seasonings; the rest of us know more than Xiaowei.