That winter, the weather was a bit cold, and a pile of garbage fire was lit in the north of the village. This was not to keep people warm, but to burn the garbage into ash for fertilizer.
At that time, a white goose was looking for food on the dry lawn not far from the fire. A child passed by it. The white goose felt that it was being disturbed. When it saw the little kid approaching it, it was not afraid and raised its long head. The long neck is in a fighting posture.
The child was frightened, so he ran around and trotted forward. He lost his footing and accidentally fell into the fire where garbage was burned. A villager discovered it and pulled the child up to take a look. Not only was his right hand that was propped into the fire all burned and blistered, it was also swollen, like a large piece of burnt rice cake.
This reinforced Ma Duhe's feeling that once the skin and flesh of any living creature is burned by fire, it will swell and become larger. Ma Duhe used this kind of sensory thought to make associations, thinking that people in the past were stupid and killed chickens. They felt that the chicken feet had no meat and the heads were not edible, so they chopped them off with a knife and threw them away. Today's people are more civilized, and not only do they not Throw away the meatless chicken feet and process them to make the originally thin chicken feet fatter and larger, turning it into a dish with unique flavor and high price.
This was a business path that others had already succeeded in, and Ma Duhe certainly couldn't follow it. He knew that there would be no hope in repeating the same old path that others had taken.
The white goose, the fire, and the child's swollen right hand from burns flashed through his mind several times like a movie. As a result, he came up with an innovative business idea, and happily said to Ma Feilong , Dad, this time I want to make a fortune in the restaurant business.
I have never done hairdressing in my whole life of running a restaurant, how can you do it? You have been running a restaurant for more than half a year, but how has it improved? After Ma Feilong asked his son, he sneered.
Old man, don't hit your son. You need to encourage him more. He has no experience, so you need to teach him more. Hong Xiaoqing came over and interrupted.
Mom, Dad’s experience is out of date. I’ve come up with a new idea, but I won’t talk about it now. Ma Duhe spoke mysteriously.
That day, instead of buying some ingredients for the restaurant, he collected some money and instead found a blacksmith in the countryside to make a square iron plate. He also bought a charcoal stove for burning the iron plate and installed it in the pavilion in front of the restaurant. .
Ma Feilong, who was helping his son with his business, saw it and scolded him, "Across the river, what are you doing?" Ma Duhe said, you will know clearly by then.
Hong Xiaoqing looked at the charcoal stove and said, Crossing the river, do you want to change your profession to blacksmithing? For blacksmithing, you also need a set of tools such as a hammer, fire tongs, and bellows, but you haven't got them all yet.
Ma Duhe explained that this is somewhat related to blacksmithing, but it is not blacksmithing. I am not opening a restaurant? Hong Xiaoqing still didn't understand. When he asked again, his son said, "Just see what I do."
Ma Duhe rushed to the vegetable market and bought back four live geese. He did not slaughter them, but put them in cages to feed them. Then he went around the village and spread rumors that starting from today, his Duhe Chicken Restaurant would have tricks every day.
Feeling that this was not enough, he also asked a gentleman who could write calligraphy to write five advertisements, one posted at the entrance of the museum, and the other four posted in the four directions of the town, east, west, north and south, so that all passers-by could see it. The advertising slogan is this-Dear diners:
Starting from today, Maduhe Chicken Restaurant launches new special dishes. Anyone who comes to taste it, even if they don’t taste it, can see a very exciting trick as long as they pass by this restaurant. This trick is free, you can watch it as you like. look. As for what the trick is, everyone who comes to visit will know it. Those who don’t come will regret it; those who come will be hooked and have endless aftertaste. We will announce it today.
A few hours after this advertisement was posted, a steady stream of people rushed to the Maduhe Chicken Restaurant. Most of them came to see the excitement after hearing the news. The charcoal stove in front of the restaurant was burning brightly. Blue flames floated out.
And the clustered flames were like a tongue, licking an iron plate inside until it turned scarlet red. Sparks flashed from time to time, shouting "Welcome to visit" like a gift.
There is a large vat of water opposite the charcoal stove, maintaining a calmness that may break out in silence. In the middle of the charcoal stove and the large vat of water stood an anvil, with a herringbone wooden frame placed above the anvil. A thin iron wire cover is tied to the top of the wooden frame. There is an openable cover door on the cover, which is now closed because the cover is empty. There are two larger holes on the bottom of the cover.
When people come to see this situation, they are all suspicious. It looks like a blacksmith, but not like a blacksmith. What kind of magic are you doing? Some whispered to each other, speculated and pointed; some simply asked Ma Duhe, who was busy walking around in his apron, what kind of ritual are you doing? It's so mysterious that we feel like we've fallen into the clouds and mist, and we don't know what to say.
Ma Duhe chuckled and asked, "Don't you know?" There will be a wonderful show coming soon. After hearing what he said, everyone couldn't help but applaud and cheer.
At this moment, the show has not started yet, and the venue is already surrounded by three floors inside and three floors outside. Some children even climbed up the big catalpa tree in front of the house to watch.
I saw Ma Duhe tightening his sleeves on both sides, and then took out a big live goose from the iron cage. The big live goose seemed to be aware of something ominous, and made a neighing sound, and made a struggling gesture with its white wings. of flapping.
Ma Duhe held its neck with one hand to avoid being pecked, and held its paws with the other hand to prevent its sharp webbed toes from scratching its hands. After subduing the big live goose, Ma Duhe said humorously, "Don't bark, don't bark. I'll help you wash your paws. Once they're clean, you can go on the road."
Ma Duhe immediately walked over, pressed a pair of paws of the big white goose into the water tank, and washed them briefly. The big white goose has always loved water and became calm. It paddled its feet in the water tank a few times, but the horse crossed the river but did not let go. It still was not free.
At this time, it screamed "click, click, click", as if asking its owner to let it swim in the water. How could Maduhe care about that? He ignored it, but let go of the other foot, grasped one foot firmly, and scrubbed its webbed toes along the edge of the tank. Maybe he used too much force, and the big white goose felt pain, and its wings kept beating.
Ma Duhe then wiped the webbed toes on its other foot with the same action. After that, it was still not clean. He raised his head and asked his mother to bring a piece of wiping cloth, and then wiped the two webbed toes of the big white goose in the water. Press and wipe again.
Then he picked up the big white goose from the water tank, put it head down and feet up, showed it to the onlookers, and said with a smile, "Look, have the webbed toes of this big white goose been cleaned?"
Everyone was silent and made no reply. Suddenly a man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks scolded him, Ma Duhe, you tricked the rest of us into coming here just to watch you wash the webbed toes of the big white goose?
Where can I just look at this? What's there to see? Ma Duhe brought the big white goose he had lifted upside down and said with a smile, "Look, my props haven't been used yet?" The best trick is yet to come.
The crowd began to applaud again. Ma Duhe waited for the applause to subside, then turned the big white goose over, letting everyone see a pair of webbed toes in a close-up shot. Then he asked again, are the big white goose's webbed toes big? In other words, are the paws of the big white goose big? No one answered, and Ma crossed the river to join the road. Which of the big white goose's feet are bigger, or the chicken's feet? Or do duck feet have big claws?
You are not talking nonsense, of course the big white goose has big claws. The man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks said another sentence.
I can make the big white goose's paws bigger right away, do you believe it? Ma Duhe ignored what the man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks said.
He faced everyone, raised the big white goose high, and then slowly approached the anvil standing in the middle of the field. He was like a magician performing magic on the stage, calm, dignified, persevering, and mysterious. His mouth There are also words in it: everyone, pay attention.
