Zhu Pingan drove his horse and dragged the wild boar along the mountain road for more than half an hour before he saw a small town on the mountain.
Zhu Pingan rode a black horse and dragged a wild boar into the town, causing quite a sensation in the town. A young man who looked weak and honest could actually hunt such a huge wild boar. The contrast was too stark. It immediately attracted a lot of onlookers, and of course also attracted a lot of people from butchers, inns and restaurants.
The Chinese nation are all seasoned foodies, and even during the Ming Dynasty, butchers and restaurant people knew the deliciousness of properly cooked wild boar. Wild boar exercise a lot, so the meat is firm, chewy, unique in flavor, and fragrant. But not greasy. In addition, wild boar meat has the effect of beautifying the skin. It also has several functions of increasing fat and nourishing the stomach. It has certain power in treating blood in the stool and bleeding hemorrhoids.
Therefore, after hearing the news, several butchers and restaurants in the town swarmed in and surrounded Zhu Pingan, who had just entered the town.
"Brother, please sell this wild boar to me, Old Liu. We, Old Liu, are honest people and will never let you suffer." A butcher wearing a greasy apron patted the wild boar on the sled and raised his head with satisfaction. Talk to Zhu Pingan.
"It's better to sell it to us, Zhangji Restaurant. We are a trustworthy restaurant in the town." Another middle-aged man dressed as a shopkeeper was not to be outdone.
The butcher glanced at the owner of Zhang Ji Restaurant and said, "Brother Wang, what are you trying to rob? You can't butcher a wild boar. It won't be too late for me to slaughter the wild boar before I share it with you."
The owner of Zhang Ji Restaurant smiled brightly, "Why, without you Zhang Butcher, I would still have to eat pigs with hair on them."
"It's really embarrassing for us, Luoshan Town, to make noise in public. Little brother, please ignore them. Just sell this wild boar to us at Zuihualou." A well-dressed aunt passed over the two of them and gave Zhu Ping'an a wink. .
Then, everyone began to argue with each other, trying to buy the wild boar. The onlookers also gathered around to watch the excitement, wanting to see how Zhu Pingan responded.
"Ahem. Ping An is lucky enough to have hunted such a wild boar. When I first came to your land, everyone is so kind and welcoming. It's hard to refuse Ping An. Let's do it this way. The highest bidder will get this wild boar."
Zhu Ping'an turned over and dismounted, cupped his hands in front of everyone, and said with a simple smile.
Auction is not a new sales model. Auction has existed for a long time in Chinese history. In the 25th year of Kaiyuan (737), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict: all those who use property to pledge money. ...If it is not redeemed after three years, it will be auctioned. Therefore, ancient auctions have been used for a long time, but they are used less frequently.
As a result, the onlookers around were delighted.
"I'll pay you 15 cents per pound." Butcher Wang was the first to speak.
Zhu Ping'an remained calm about this and just looked at Butcher Wang with a naive smile. The wild boar that his father and elder brother hunted by chance five years ago sold for 15 cents per catty back then, and now you only pay 15 cents.
"No, I'll pay 18 cents per pound."
Then Butcher Wang immediately changed his tune with some embarrassment in Zhu Pingan's smile.
"Hahaha. Wang Tu, no wonder Sister Hua said just now that you are embarrassing our Luoshan Town. You have the nerve to shout out for 18 coins?! I will pay 20 coins." Another butcher ridiculed Butcher Wang, then raised his greasy hands and shouted.
Hahaha, the onlookers couldn't help but laugh at Butcher Wang.
"I'll pay 25 cents." Butcher Wang gritted his teeth and said.
"I will pay 30 Wen." At this time, the shopkeeper of Zhangji Restaurant spoke.
"35 Wen."
...
With everyone watching, out of interests, face, and various factors, the price of the wild boar meat was finally fixed at a high price of 40 yuan. The wild boar hair weighs 325 kilograms, which earned Zhu Pingan 13 taels of silver.
The wild boar that my father and brother hunted back then was sold for only 15 cents per pound. A total of more than four taels of silver, this wild boar is 40 cents per catty, which is more than three times the price.
Zhu Pingan put the thirteen taels of silver into his arms with great satisfaction, in order to express his gratitude to the surrounding people. Zhu Ping'an spent two taels of silver and handed it over to a nearby steamed bun shop, and invited the onlookers to eat the meat buns for free. The two taels of silver were enough for the surrounding people to get two or three meat buns each.
It is better to be happy alone than to be happy together, and everyone is happy for a while.
After asking an uncle who was happily eating meat buns for directions, Zhu Pingan continued to drive his horse on his way without the burden of the wild boar. Killing the dark horse is much faster.
I slept in the open air for six hundred miles and drank water from the Manan River in the Ming Dynasty.
After sleeping in the open air and driving for a whole day, we arrived at Luzhou, which is known as "the right neck of Huaihe River and the lips and teeth of Jiangnan", which is also the modern Hefei.
Towards evening, we arrived at the foot of the mountain that the locals call Longquan Mountain. Through the guidance of enthusiastic people, Zhu Pingan led the black horse up the mountain along the mountain road, preparing to stay overnight in an ancient Longquan temple built halfway up the mountain. .
Longquan Ancient Temple is located on the hillside of Longquan Mountain, above Longquan. The temple is famous for its spring, and the spring is famous for its temple. Legend has it that Li Shimin, king of the Tang Dynasty, bathed his war horses in the spring water that always surged at the foot of the mountain.
Morning bells and evening drums, on the way up the mountain, Zhu Ping'an heard the Sanskrit music transmitted from the Longquan Ancient Temple. Along the way, he also met several monks carrying water. Of course, the most encountered were pilgrims, including wealthy businessmen, local villagers, and some tourists hanging out with friends. , of course, devout believers are also indispensable. Before arriving at the temple, Zhu Ping'an could tell from the flow of people that the Longquan Ancient Temple was very popular.
The temple is huge. When you walk in front of the temple gate, rows and rows of buildings come into Zhu Ping'an's eyes. The roof of the temple is covered with glaze, and many Buddhas are carved on the roof ridges, which are lifelike.
Entering the temple, Zhu Pingan paid ten pieces of incense money, and then a young novice led Zhu Pingan into the courtyard behind the temple for pilgrims to rest.
The courtyards are scattered and complex, with some small gates and single courtyards, and others next to each other. Perhaps because Zhu Pingan paid less money for incense, the young novice led Zhu Pingan to a resting courtyard with rooms next to each other. .
The black horse that killed the horse was tied under the wall. Zhu Pingan moved the things on the horse twice into the room which was less than ten square meters.
There seemed to be a lot of people living in this courtyard, including pilgrims and scholars like himself. It seemed that he could vaguely hear the voice of the female family members, who seemed to be next door. Maybe a family came here to offer incense and worship Buddha. Zhu Pingan did not take it seriously. Something happened.
After settling in, Zhu Pingan washed his face and left the room.
Just now I heard the young novice tell me that the vegetarian food in the temple was quite famous. Out of curiosity, Zhu Ping'an was going to try the vegetarian food in the temple.
There are many pilgrims in the temple, and the temple also uses signs to guide the location of the building. Zhu Ping'an followed the guidance and found the dining hall of Longquan Ancient Temple. However, the menu in the restaurant made Zhu Ping'an click his tongue, steamed pork with rice flour, braised pork with prunes, braised chicken head, sweet duck paw soup, fried Gonghe fish, fried egg crisps, etc., etc.
Chicken, duck, and fish are all available. Could it be that the monks in this temple also eat meat?
But upon closer inspection, I realized that the pork was tofu, the chicken head was taro, the duck feet were white fungus, the fish was eggplant cut into scales, and the egg puff pastry was just noodles.
Although it was a vegetarian dish, the taste was worthy of the little novice monk's boast. Zhu Pingan's stomach swelled slightly before he stopped taking out the bowl and chopsticks. (To be continued.)
