Chapter 224 - 224 Delicacies
224 Delicacies
Since Su Fengchen had brought the lady home, the family could not ignore her. After all, a lady’s life was at stake, and they had to save her.
Su Fengchen did not think when he carried the lady home. He thought no one would find the lady because she was in a hidden location. The lady’s pulse was weak, and he could not leave her to die, especially since no one was around.
Su Binglan knew she would have to go to town if the lady needed a doctor to check up on her. It had been long since her uncle brought the lady home, and the sky had already darkened. If Su Binglan went to town, the clinic would be closed.
She took the initiative to say, “Let me look at her.”
Su Fengchen said, “I’m sorry for troubling you again, Binglan.”
Su Binglan waved her hand. “It’s okay, Uncle Fengchen. It’s no trouble at all.”
She thought the lady looked familiar and should be quite pretty after washing the dirt off her face. Su Binglan could feel that the lady and her uncle might have a connection. With that thought, her eyes were full of joy.
She checked the lady’s pulse and said, “She’s fine. She probably fainted from hunger and exhaustion. She’ll be fine after a good rest.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they heard Su Binglan’s words.
“Still, you must take good care of her tonight. If she develops a fever, put a wet towel on her forehead to cool her down. It’s not a big problem,” Su Binglan advised.
Su Fengchen nodded thoughtfully while Old Madam Su heaved a sigh of relief. She regained her senses and recalled the previous topic, saying, “Let’s continue, Binglan.”
Old Master Su and Shen Qiuhua also looked at Su Binglan. They were curious and wanted to know what Su Binglan wanted to say about a new way of eating chicken and duck. However, they already knew the dishes would be delicious.
Su Fengchen’s ears perked up when he heard that. He could not help but look at his niece and wait for her to respond.
Su Binglan said smilingly, “It’s good that you’re here too, Uncle Fengchen. Now you can listen in too. I remember you hatching many chicks and ducklings. They should be fully grown by now, right?”
She taught Su Fengchen how to make salted and preserved eggs a while back. Then Su Fengchen incubated some of the eggs and ended up hatching them.
Su Fengchen said, “Yes, they’re all grown up now. They even laid a few eggs of their own, and they’ve grown too. That’s why I have an abundance of eggs, ducklings, and chicks.”
He knew his niece’s questions always had a purpose, so he explained the situation to her.
Su Binglan also knew her big brother and his wife sold herbal eggs at their shop and that they bought many eggs from Su Fengchen.
Old Madam Su thought of something and added, “Most of our ducks and chicken are male. We should use them first since they can’t lay eggs. We could also sell them since everyone uses them during the Mooncake Festival.”
Meanwhile, Old Master Su thought of past market trends over the years. He said, “Nowadays, most raise one or two chickens and ducks for cooking. Only a few are willing to buy them.
“Indeed, some townsfolk buy ducks and chickens, but many also sell them. That’s why we will have trouble selling ours.”
At that time, Su Fengchen incubated his eggs and hatched them to save money. However, most of them were male, so he could only keep them. With so many ducks and chickens, he became busy.
Su Binglan’s eyes lit up as she said, “That’s good because it just happened to come in handy.”
Old Madam Su immediately understood what her granddaughter meant. “Do you have a solution, Binglan?”
Su Binglan replied, “Of course. When I said fresh meals, I meant the cooking method. We can make grilled chicken and roast duck, which are delicious. We can premake them so that everyone can buy and reheat them. There’s no need for the customers to do much.”
Su Fengchen was excited yet puzzled. “G-Grilled chicken and roast duck?”
It was his first time hearing of such things, but it came from his niece, so he was not surprised for long. Still, everyone knew how delicious Su Binglan’s cooking always was. Just the thought of it made everyone hungry.
Su Binglan’s eyes glinted with a brilliant light when she thought of delicious food. She smiled slightly and said, “Yes, grilled chicken and roast duck. They’re delicious if cooked right. You can eat them with your hands.”
Shen Qiuhua thought of how she usually cooked chicken and duck. She said, “Most would typically eat chicken, but only a few ate ducks because they could stew or boil the chicken.
“Chickens have always been a great source of nutrition. Everyone stews them during their confinement period to eat and drink chicken soup. The taste is relatively acceptable too.
“Still, how we cook ducks is simple but not the same when we stew them like chicken. Besides, ducks are more expensive, so people rarely buy them. Most only raise ducks to get their eggs.”
Old Madam Su nodded. “You’re right. Fengchen raised more chickens than ducks initially. We only started raising more ducks because you taught Fengchen how to make salted and preserved duck eggs.
“We collected more chicken eggs than duck eggs throughout the village because most families raised chickens instead of ducks.”
Su Fengchen thought about how well he sold his salted and preserved eggs. Then he happily said, “My eggs are selling well, but it’s not enough to warrant me raising so many.
“Since that’s the case, I usually buy duck eggs from other villagers. Everyone was happy when I said I would buy their chicken eggs and duck eggs.”
Shen Qiuhua echoed, “That would be more convenient. In the past, we raised chickens that laid eggs and saved them. Then we sold the eggs in town whenever we had a small basket’s worth. Almost every family did that.”
She emotionally sighed when she reminisced.
“Don’t underestimate the price of eggs. One can have a significant monthly income if one raises too many chickens. Then one can use that income to purchase noodles and meat for their family.”
Old Madam Su thought of the past few days and became absent-minded. “That’s right, but we must also feed the chickens and ducks we raise. We can’t raise too many if we have difficulties selling their eggs.
“We buy as much as everyone has now, so the villagers are willing to raise more. After all, their livelihoods will improve if they have more money.”
Su Binglan inwardly sighed when she heard that.
Indeed, the villagers would be thrilled to earn more money because their lives would be much better. They could not bear to buy more if they were tight on money.
Based on her memories, Su Binglan knew how the villagers lived.