When I was in Xiangyang, there was always a vegetable market about two or three square meters away. The government provides the place, collects rent, and the guild manages it. The population in Luoyang is too small now. There are only three vegetable markets built in a few squares near Huitong Bridge, many of which are government stores.
Ma Kuo's eldest son, Ma Chong, walked along the street and walked around the vegetable market.
It is summer, and the vegetable market has a dazzling array of vegetables. It's just that the Ma family used to employ maids to cook, but there are no maids anymore, and the women in the family are not very good at cooking. After much deliberation, I bought two squid and steamed them at home.
Holding the slaughtered fish in his hand, Ma Chong bought a leg of lamb, a live chicken to slaughter, two kilograms of eggs, some random vegetables, and then went to a cooked food shop. This cooked food shop is owned by the Xuanfu Division and is called "Touguxiang". It has branches in every state and city. The recipes used are uniformly researched, purchased and produced in a standardized way, so the taste is the same everywhere.
With the current scale of Luoyang City, "Touguxiang" does not make much money, and it is really boring to support so many employees. It's just that Luoyang is a big city, and Wang Xiaolie insisted that what was available in other places should be available here, so he had to drive here. Even the headquarters was moved to Luoyang City.
After watching for a while, Ma Chong asked: "How much does the cooked beef cost here?"
The person in the store said: "Sir, there is a price tag on the wall over there. Cooked beef is one hundred and sixty cents per pound."
Ma Chong curled his lips and said to the shopkeeper: "The imperial court has a law that a pound of beef is no more than twenty coppers. Even if it's cooked, it's only thirty or forty coppers. You charge so much for a pound, and you cook it with fairy grass?" "
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Guest is joking. Beef that costs 20 cents per pound is sick cattle and dead cattle, which are also available now. It's different here. They are all slaughtered cattle. Fresh meat costs 100 cents. When it's cooked, it's different." Beef costs 160 yuan, which is very cheap."
The Song Dynasty banned the slaughter of farm cattle, but it did not mean that beef was not eaten. Cattle that died of illness or old age were still eaten. In order to prevent people from stealing and killing farm cattle, the price of beef is limited to no more than 20 yuan per pound. Ordinary mutton usually costs 100 cents per catty. Pork in Kaifeng is a little more expensive, and the price is similar in other areas. Others, such as live chickens, cost almost a hundred yuan per pound, and geese are slightly cheaper. Eggs cost five cents each, and one pound is about seventy or eighty cents. The price of beef is limited to less than 20 cents, making it basically unprofitable. But in some places, you can still get a hundred pence from killing a cow and selling the meat to the neighbors.
Under Wang Xiaolie's rule, the price of meat has not dropped, but it has not increased either. It is basically the price before Jingkang. Compared with other places now, it is very cheap. In many places, due to war and the large-scale migration of northerners southward, prices have skyrocketed.
The "bone-flavored" beef is bought directly from the slaughterhouse and is much lower than the market price. Selling for one hundred and sixty cents, the profit is not much. This is a business strategy, the price is not high, the taste is stable, and the business will last for a long time.
After listening to the store owner's explanation, Ma Chong said nothing and just stared at the meat on the stall.
In addition to beef, there are also beef cheeks, tripe, beef hooves, etc., all of which have been marinated and can be eaten as soon as you buy them. In addition to beef, there is also cooked mutton on the side. Of course, the most popular ones are pigs and chickens. There are cooked pig head meat, cooked pig trotters, cooked elbows, cooked pork tongue, and even cooked pork ribs. Chickens are available as whole cooked chickens, as well as chicken feet, drumsticks, and even chicken hearts.
In this era, pig's trotters, chicken feet, etc. are not valuable, and "Tou Gu Xiang" is also sold cheaply.
After standing aside and watching for a while, Ma Chong said: "Cut two kilograms of the selected beef for me, mix it and wrap it up. Also, there is one kilogram of tripe, which must be mixed well before wrapping it up. Come back over there Six chicken legs, one elbow, and three pig's trotters."
The store owner loudly agreed. Cut the beef and tripe and mix them together, then wrap them in lotus leaves. Another clerk took the chicken legs, elbows, and pig's trotters, wrapped them in a few lotus leaves, and handed them to Ma Chong.
Ma Chong took it and sighed. These cooked meals cost a lot of money. Ever since Ma Kuo's disaster, the family has never been so rich. I don’t know if I can continue to live like this. God has mercy on me, I hope my father can be safe and sound.
After coming out of the vegetable market, Ma Chong went to the nearby wine shop and bought a bottle of liquor, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of rice wine. I really couldn’t get it, so I called a man who was doing odd jobs nearby and asked him to carry the food on a load and transport it home for me.
inside.
On the road, Ma Chong took out the remaining money, counted it carefully, and carefully hid it in his underwear. I spent less than two thousand yuan today, and the rest is my family's private money. Under Wang Xiaolie's rule, people were encouraged to separate their families early and large families were not encouraged to live together. If his father could settle down in Luoyang City, he should also consider taking his wife and children to separate and start a small family. This money is the capital of the small family.
After returning home, Ma Kuan was surprised when he came out and saw that his son had hired someone to pick out food. In this day and age, things are so expensive that my son went out with five guan of money and bought something like this. I just bought wine and didn't bother to care.
He asked his mother and wife to get fish and mutton to cook. Ma Chong put the cooked food on the table and said to his father: "Dad, there is a cooked food shop here called "Touguxiang", which is under the Xuanfu Division. . Everything is sold there, which is really convenient. I bought some and brought them back for my father to drink with. "
Ma Kuo came up to take a look and couldn't help but shake his head. He said: "This elbow is very plump and interesting. What do you mean by the other things you bought? Although our family is not very rich, how can we eat cooked beef? Which serious wine shop have you seen that sells this kind of food?"
Ma Chong said: "Dad, under Xuanfu, unlike other places, cattle are not allowed to be slaughtered. The meat is freshly killed and tastes very good. I looked at that shop for a long time and saw people The most purchased item is cooked beef.”
Ma Kuo couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "It is forbidden to slaughter cattle here? Is there such a thing in the world?"
Ma Chong said: "I asked others and they said that as long as they have been raised for ten years, even cattle can be slaughtered. So the beef sold here is more expensive than other places, but it tastes delicious. It has been alive for dozens of years. How can I do it if I haven’t eaten beef yet?”
Ma Kuo glanced at his son, picked up a piece of beef and ate it. After tasting it for a while, he said, "Sure enough, this is good meat!"
Ma Chong smiled and said, "I've been looking there for a long time. How could I lie to my father? The wines here are all the best in the wine shop. Let me have a try."
He picked up the white wine and poured it for Ma Kuo, holding the bottle and looking at it.
Ma Kuo picked up the wine and drank it in one gulp. Said: "This wine is still powerful! Here in Luoyang, you can not only serve the country, but also have good wine and food, what more can I ask for!"
