Cheng Wanwan was in a wonderful mood.
With the donations from Yangzhou businessmen and the income from the second investment conference, the money for building the canal should be enough.
She was flipping the abacus and recording various data in the account book. While she was busy, Mrs. Ma walked in and reported: "Gongren, the aniseed has been fried. Do you want to have a taste?"
Cheng Wanwan put down the brush, immediately stood up and walked to the kitchen.
These fried aniseed ingredients are the secret lobster seasoning. When the lobster business gets on track in the future, she will be responsible for providing the seasoning. In this way, the business will always be under her control.
In addition, the crayfish had to be sent to the capital. Merely writing the recipe might not be able to perfectly create the taste of crayfish, so she also had to include a seasoning pack.
As soon as she walked to the kitchen, she smelled a pungent smell. She coughed twice, picked up a spoon and tasted the taste. Her eyes suddenly lit up: "This is the smell. It's more perfect than I imagined. Hurry up." Put it in a jar, seal it, and send it to the capital as quickly as possible."
This condiment can be stored in a cool place for about half a month after being sealed, and it may go bad after half a month.
Seasoning is a trivial matter, but transporting crayfish is a big deal.
The normal journey from Dahe Town to the capital is eighteen or nineteen days, and even if you go on a fast horse, it will take ten days. If you walk on the road for ten days, the fresh crayfish will probably die 98% of the time.
Fortunately, the weather today is not as hot as July, and there is one less factor that can cause death.
She consulted some modern information before deciding on the mode of transportation. Water would be used for long-distance transportation. Crayfish and water would be placed in a box or cabin in a one-to-one ratio, and the crayfish would be turned over every three or four hours. , and changing water frequently can reduce mortality.
But no matter how much precautions are taken, at least half of the crayfish will die on the road. Therefore, Cheng Wanwan can only stock up on large quantities.
Fifty acres of lobsters were raised this year, which sounds like a lot. In fact, the yield of intensively raised lobsters is only 400 to 500 jins per acre, which means that the total output of 50 acres of land is only about 20,000 to 30,000 jins. This is used for the first food festival. Six or seven thousand kilograms have been lost. It is conservatively estimated that the second phase will require at least ten thousand kilograms. If another five or six thousand kilograms are left for successful bidders, there will still be about four to five thousand kilograms left.
She had all the remaining lobsters sent to the capital.
Four to five thousand kilograms, more than half of them died on the way, and only about one thousand kilograms left when they arrived in the capital, which should be enough to cope with the dignitaries in the imperial city.
In addition to lobsters, there are also potatoes and tomatoes, and some are also sent to the royal family for a taste.
After preparing everything to be sent to the capital, the second phase of the Dahe Town Food Festival has arrived.
It’s the eighth day of August and it’s a nice cool day, with a gentle breeze and not too dry sunshine.
Early in the morning, the entire Dahe Town became busy.
There was a traffic jam on the road into the town. Zhao Da led a few people to clear the road there. Zhao Tiezhu stood at the entrance with a smile on his face and showed the way to people coming to Dahe Town.
Enter the market east from the entrance of the town, pass through the old market, and then enter the new market. Then go around the new market and arrive at the Food Festival Square.
After the reputation of the first food festival was established, more people attended the second food festival, especially the people from nearby areas who brought their families to join in the fun.
It costs 20 cents per person, 10 cents for children under ten years old, and no charge for children under three years old. Once you enter, you can eat all kinds of delicious food for free with the admission ticket. It is said that you can fully recoup the admission fee.
After the local people in Dahe Town experienced the huge crowds last time, they have gained experience this time. Almost every household came out to set up stalls.
Because of the huge flow of people, it seems that no matter what is put up for sale, it will be sold out in an instant.
Mr. He and his party got off the carriage at the entrance of Dahe Town and walked in. After paying the capitation fee, they walked into Dahe Town and saw people everywhere.
"With so many people, it's busier than the morning market in Yangzhou City."
"Our Yangzhou city is prosperous every day, and only the food festival in Dahe Town attracts so many people."
"A place that has just been transformed from a village into a town can attract so many people, which is enough to show that Suigong people are capable..."
The group of people talked and moved towards the square with the flow of people.
Suddenly, the crowd became restless.
"Hurry up, the crayfish over there are out of the pot, first come, first served!"
"I seem to smell the fragrance. It smells so damn good. Hurry over there. I'll be late and have to wait for the next pot."
"Hey, don't worry, don't worry, my shoes have been stepped on!"
"..."
Countless people were pushing and squeezing like they were desperate. How could Mr. He squeeze through these people? He quickly stood aside to avoid them.
"Mr. He, should we try these lobsters, or go to the investment conference?" A young man licked his lips and asked, "The investment conference starts in half an hour, why not..."
Another person immediately echoed: "Here you come, if you don't eat, you won't get it for free."
The lobsters that the Suigong people invited to eat two days ago, each of them got two or three, and they didn't get enough of them. As soon as they smelled the fragrance, all the gluttons came out, and they had to go back to the investment conference. Depend on.
Mr. He nodded: "Okay, let's go and have a look."
But they were a step late. When they arrived at the square, they heard Zhao Dashan shouting: "The first pot of crayfish is gone. The next pot will take another quarter of an hour. Please wait patiently."
At the same time, other shouts sounded in the square.
"Ice powder, ice powder, delicious ice powder!"
"Lotus drink, lotus drink, eight cents a cup, no money if it's not sweet."
“Spicy little potatoes, free tasting!”
“Free candied tomatoes, first come, first served!”
"Free preserved eggs, come and try them now..."
All kinds of shouts came one after another, some were free to taste, and some were purchased for a fee. These foods were not available in Yangzhou City.
He Lao and his party walked and ate all the way, and every snack brought them new taste buds.
Originally they just wanted to do the lobster business, but after a visit, they had various ideas.
The time for the investment conference came soon, and Mr. He and his party had to give up the food and go to the three-story shop where the investment conference was held.
At this time, most of the merchants have already arrived. From the second and third floors of the shops, you can see the grand scene of the food street, and you can also see the continuous flow of people coming in from afar.
"I heard that 50,000 people came in the first phase. This time, I'm afraid it will exceed 100,000."
"If the canal is opened, there will only be more people attending the food festival, and Dahe Town will definitely become the number one town in Huzhou in the future."
"Your layout is too small. I think Dahe Town will become the number one town in Yun Province."
"Maybe one day, they will be alongside us in Yangzhou City."
Mr. He touched his beard and joined in the chat.
The merchants chatted with each other, just to inquire about each other's intentions of coming here. It turned out that almost everyone came here for the crayfish.
Because Huzhou businessmen were not allowed to participate in this investment fair, the people present were basically people who had come all the way from other places. Everyone was working hard and was determined to get what they wanted.
Mr. He's expression was a little solemn. It seemed that there was a tough battle to be fought at this investment meeting.
