allonlinenovel Chapter 152 The arrow I shot has hit me again...
Chapter 152 The arrow I shot has hit me again...
Magistrate Yang has always loved eating scorpion claws. This flavor, deeply rooted in his childhood memories, always brings him a sense of happiness every time he eats it.
However, Magistrate Yang never thought of making money from scorpion claws. After all, soybeans were not valuable in later generations, and soybeans roasted into scorpion claws were also not expensive. In the Ming Dynasty, soybeans were one of the staple foods of the people. How could the people of Ningyang County not know about scorpion claws? So Magistrate Yang naturally overlooked this.
However, when Magistrate Yang went to the kitchen to find scorpion claws to eat, he suddenly realized that this thing had three advantages.
It's delicious, filling, and keeps well.
As long as it doesn't get damp, this thing can last for ten days or half a month, or even two or three months or half a year without any problem.
So, as long as a batch of scorpion claws is baked, properly protected from moisture, and then sold to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, wouldn't the money roll in?
However, just as Magistrate Yang was pondering whether to frame Xu Da or Chang Yuchun this time, Lame Wu curled his lip and said, "Your Excellency, these beans were all soaked by the heavy rain, so when we were harvesting the beans, Your Excellency had already had some of them ground into powder and mixed into the fried noodles. The people's families didn't have many beans left to begin with."
After a slight pause, Limpy Five added, "Some time ago you said that people should only keep the beans for seed and for their own consumption, and use the rest to make oil, and then store the soybean cake. I reckon that most people's households don't have many soybeans left right now."
Magistrate Yang was dumbfounded.
Damn it, so the arrow I shot a while ago flew around and finally hit me right between the eyebrows?
This is a complete disaster! Without the scorpion claw, how am I supposed to trick Lao Xu and Lao Chang?
Otherwise, how about we find a way to get Old Deng to drop some gold coins?
After pondering it over, Magistrate Yang simply gave up the idea of making money with scorpion claws. He then took Lame Wu directly to the chicken farm and selected a batch of young, unmarried roosters.
Strictly speaking, the roosters selected by Magistrate Yang were the third generation, specially bred. They did grow faster than the first generation. Under the premise that they all grew to a pound, the third generation roosters would take about five or six days less than the first generation.
It may not sound like much, but with generations of cultivation, the difference could be as much as ten days, a month, or even two months.
As the young roosters grew faster, the idea of using Ningyang County Braised Chicken, which Magistrate Yang planned to use to satirize Emperor Zhu, became a reality.
Soon, the batch of roosters specially selected by Magistrate Yang were plucked and their feathers removed, and their claws and wings were also styled according to Magistrate Yang's instructions.
Next, the young roosters are marinated with salt, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and other seasonings. Once they have some flavor, they are deep-fried in oil. Finally, they are braised in a pot of broth. If you include the time for marinating, deep-frying, and braising, it will take about an hour and a half in total.
Then, Magistrate Yang stared blankly at the extra pile of chicken hearts, livers, gizzards, and kidneys.
Magistrate Yang suddenly thought of the chicken frame culture of Shenyang.
Rumor has it that no duck can leave Nanjing alive, and no chicken can leave Guangdong alive.
Similarly, no chicken frame can leave Shenyang intact – grilled chicken frames, roasted chicken frames, original flavor chicken frames, fried chicken frames, chicken frames stewed with potatoes… In that era of scarcity and pain and confusion, the optimistic people of Shenyang managed to turn chicken frames into a culture that spread to the surrounding areas.
Of course, what Magistrate Yang wanted to use to make the gold coins of Lao Deng was Ningyang braised chicken. It was impossible for him to dismantle the chicken carcass to create some kind of chicken carcass culture. However, these chicken hearts, livers, and gizzards could be expanded into braised chicken hearts, smoked chicken livers, salt-baked or smoked chicken gizzards, just like in Shenyang in later generations.
The only pity was the chicken kidneys. Without cumin, chili, or red bean paste, chicken kidneys would always have a fishy smell no matter how they were cooked, and Magistrate Yang didn't like them.
Why not do them a favor and sell them at a lower price to the widows who run steamed bun shops, so they can add a few more of their signature dishes to their menu?
Time flies.
After about two and a half hours, with the patient guidance of Magistrate Yang and the careful preparation of several cooks, the Ningyang Braised Chicken, which took an hour to marinate, fry, and braise, and then simmered in the pot for another hour and a half, was freshly served.
Especially the moment the lid is opened, a salty and savory aroma rises out with the white steam.
Magistrate Yang directed the cook to scoop out one chicken first, and then used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken breast.
Mmm, it's flavorful.
Although chicken breast can never be really delicious no matter how you cook it, with the base flavor of salt, the complex aroma of soy sauce and Sichuan peppercorns, plus a touch of magical seasoning made by Magistrate Yang, the thick chicken breast actually has a hint of umami flavor.
After tasting the chicken breast, Magistrate Yang picked up a chicken leg, removed the meat and set it aside, then put the chicken leg bone directly into his mouth and began to chew.
"It's alright. Although the lack of spices like angelica and galangal makes the braised chicken taste a bit off, in the Ming Dynasty, a braised chicken with bones completely tender and even the worst-tasting chicken breast meat flavorful would be amazing enough."
"Next, we need to pack up these braised chickens and have them sent to the capital, where we can ask Wang Sheren to present them to Old Zhu and Little Zhu."
"Oh right, and Empress Ma and Jin'er and Yu'er too. We can't forget anyone but these three, especially Empress Ma. She's the future mother-in-law, and a lifesaver. If you want to keep getting ahead of Old Deng, you'll have to keep currying favor with her."
"It seems that Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, and the Chang brothers should also be given gifts."
"Tsk tsk, I'm sending out so many chickens at once. Unless that old emperor can personally inscribe the four characters 'Ningyang Braised Chicken' on them, I won't be at a loss."
As for what will happen to Dezhou now that Ningyang Braised Chicken is available... Magistrate Yang said that having Ningyang Braised Chicken is the same as having Dezhou Braised Chicken. If I have it, you have it too. We are all one family, so there is no need to be so clear about the distinction.
"No, we need to make another batch. We'll send two to each of Wang Guangyang, the Vice Minister of the Shandong Provincial Government, and Wu Zude, the Prefect of Yanzhou. If these two people have any conscience, they should eat one themselves and use the other to entertain the local gentry and gentry under their jurisdiction."
"In that case, we should also send a few to Lao Xu and Lao Chang. After all, they have treated me quite well, especially that guy Chang Heitan. If we don't send him a few, he'll probably bring his troops to rob us. There's no need to provoke him over a few chickens."
Having made up his mind, Yang Shaofeng directly instructed Limpy Five: "Brother Limpy Five, have someone go to the breeding farm and pick out about ten more roosters. I want to prepare them and send them away. Also, I need to trouble Brother Limpy Five to arrange for someone to fetch some ice. After this batch of braised chicken has cooled down, we'll use the ice to keep it warm before sending it to the capital."