Chapter 26
Selling Meat Sauce
Li Yu and the others arrived at a fork in the road and walked to an inn. After standing for a while, they saw a large group of carriages and mule carts pulling heavy goods over.
Seeing that Li Mei and Liu Changmin did not know how to promote themselves, Li Yu stood there foolishly and watched the carriages pass by.
Li Yu could only pick up a jar of meat paste from her back and shout along the way, “Selling meat paste! Spicy and delicious meat paste with steamed buns and pancakes. It’s delicious and goes well with rice…”
When a man heard Li Yu’s shout, he looked at the pancake in his hand and felt that it was really difficult to swallow. “Miss, let me see what kind of meat paste you’re selling.”
Li Yu walked up to the man and pulled out the cork of the jar. A fragrant and spicy smell assaulted his nose. The man swallowed his saliva. “It smells quite fragrant. I wonder how it tastes.”
Li Yu handed the jar to the man. “Uncle, you have pancakes. You can scoop some to try.”
“Okay, we’ll talk after I taste it.” The man took a spoon, scooped a spoonful, and smeared it on the pancake. He took two bites of the pancake and chewed a few times. He tasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and meat. “Mmm! Not bad, it’s quite delicious. Girl, how much is your meat sauce?”
“This one’s about a pound. Made with game and peanuts and sesame seeds. It was supposed to sell for thirty-five cents a jar. You’re the first customer. I’ll sell it to you for thirty-three.”
The man hesitated. Looking at the jar Li Yu was carrying, he felt that it did taste good and was very appetizing. He bargained, “Young lady, it’s still a little expensive! If it’s any less, I’ll buy two jars.”
“Thirty copper coins, no less. Look, it’s all fried in vegetable oil. You don’t have to worry about spoiling it if you eat it on the way.”
The man nodded. “Sure. Give me two jars.”
Li Yu quickly took out two cans from her backpack and handed them to him. The three people sitting in the car in front asked the man, “Old Xu, how does it taste?”
Old Xu waved the pancake in his hand. “It’s fragrant and spicy. It’s really quite delicious.”
The three of them waved at Li Yu. “Young lady, give it to us to try.”
“Alright!” After Li Yu gave the meat sauce to the three of them to try, the three of them bought two cans each. Li Yu carried the pickles on her back and continued walking forward.
Old Xu finished his pancake and carried a jar of meat sauce to the inn. He walked to a middle-aged man and handed him the meat sauce with a fawning smile. “Manager Wei, try the meat sauce I just bought. It’s fragrant and spicy.”
“Thank you, Old Xu.” Manager Wei smiled and took the meat paste. He pulled out the wooden stopper and scooped a spoonful into the noodle bowl. He tasted it and nodded with a smile. “Yes, it tastes good and is quite appetizing.”
Old Xu looked at him and chuckled in satisfaction. “I thought you would like it.”
Li Yu walked around. Several people had asked about it and found it expensive. Li Yu was a little disappointed and felt that selling this spicy sauce was not as easy to sell as she had imagined.
On second thought, she consoled herself. Everything was difficult in the beginning! Besides, just one variety was a little expensive. She would go back and make sauces with the peas and vegetables in two days.
Li Mei and Liu Changmin learned that Li Yu had sold eight jars of pickled vegetables in a short while. The two of them looked at Li Yu with smiles. “Yu’er, not bad. You’ve only been here for a while, but you’ve already sold eight jars.”
“Yes, several of them felt that it was a little expensive and didn’t buy it, but it’s fine. Let’s go back and make sauces with the peas and vegetables. We’ll come back when the variety is complete.”
“That’s fine. This one isn’t easy to sell.” Li Mei let Li Yu get on the ox cart and Liu Changmin drove it back. Suddenly, she heard someone shouting from behind, “Seller of meat sauce, wait…”
Li Yu turned around and hurriedly called out to Liu Changmin, “Uncle, wait a moment. It’s the uncle who bought the meat sauce just now.”
Liu Changmin stopped the car. Li Yu got out of the car and waited for Old Xu to arrive. She asked, “Uncle, is there anything else?”
Old Xu ran over angrily and panted twice. “Our Manager Wei wants to buy your meat paste. How much do you have left?”
“There are seven cans left here and about sixty at home. It’s not far if you want it. It’ll be here in less than a quarter of an hour.”
“Wait for me to go back and ask.” Old Xu turned around and walked towards a carriage behind him. A moment later, the carriage turned around and headed towards Li Yu and the others.
When the carriage arrived beside Li Yu and the others, a man stuck his head out of the carriage. He took a look at Liu Changmin’s ox cart and the things in it and smiled at Li Mei. “Auntie, my carriage is fast. Take my carriage and bring me to your house to get it.”
Li Mei replied readily, “Sure! We’re just ahead in West Mountain Village.”
Li Yu did not expect a big client to come so quickly. She got into the man’s carriage with Li Mei excitedly.
Seeing that the aunt and niece were dressed well, the man was satisfied. “I’m Wei Wencheng, the manager of the Wei family’s caravan. Is Sister-in-law from a nearby family?”
Li Mei smiled politely and bowed. “Mr. Wei, my husband’s surname is Liu, and my mother’s surname is Li. We live in West Mountain Village. This is my niece, Xiao Yu. My niece made this sauce. Our family loves it.”
Wei Wencheng said frankly, “Sister-in-law Li, your pickled vegetables taste alright, but we’re a long way away. I wonder if your pickled vegetables can be stored. If they’ve been stored for a long time, we’ll come back in the future.”
When Li Yu heard this, she felt more confident. She had fried the sauce such that all the moisture was gone and even put white wine to preserve it. This big client should be able to keep it for a while.
Li Yu said to Wei Wencheng, “Mr. Wei, my family’s pickled sauce are all made from vegetable oil. It shouldn’t be a problem for you to store them for a month or so. Also, try not to use wet cutlery when you use them.”
After Wei Wencheng heard Li Yu’s explanation, he smiled and said, “Alright, we’ll really come again next time.”
After a while, they arrived at the Li residence. Li Yu jumped out of the car and opened the door. She said to Zhaodi, “Cousin, go and bring two bundles of grass over. I want to fill them with pickled sauce.”
Zhaodi nodded and walked into the woodshed. In a moment, she came out with a bundle of hay and handed it to Li Yu. Li Yu freed up the bamboo basket and padded it with a thick layer of hay before starting to fill the sauce jar.
Li Mei said to Wei, “Mr. Wei, please come in for a moment.”
Wei Wencheng nodded and followed Li Mei into the courtyard. He saw that the courtyard was quite large and clean. There were also several rows of bamboo shelves in the courtyard, filled with bamboo plaques. Inside the bamboo plaques, chili peppers, peas, and vegetable shreds were drying.
Wei Wenxin said sincerely, “This family loves cleanliness. If those pickled sauce can really be stored, we can still cooperate.”
Li Yu packed the sauce jars and Liu Changmin arrived. He quickly helped carry the basket outside. Wei Wencheng saw that there was a thick layer of hay in the basket and nodded in satisfaction.
Li Yu pointed at the pickled vegetable jars in the basket and said, “Manager Wei, look, there are exactly 70 jars.”
After taking a look, Manager Wei nodded and said with a smile, “Yes, move it to the car!” Then, he took out a few pieces of silver from his bag and handed them to Li Yu. “70 cans. It’s exactly 2 taels for a tael of silver, right?”
“That’s right.” Li Yu took the silver and carried the basket into the car with Liu Changmin. She said to Wei Wencheng, “Mr. Wei, there will be other flavors of pickled sauce at my house. You’re welcome to come again after eating.”
“Okay, goodbye.” Wei Wencheng got into the carriage and walked towards the three-way road.
Zhaodi looked at Li Yu happily. “Cousin, did you really sell them for 30 copper coins a can? And all of them?”
“Yes, it’s sold out. You didn’t have anyone selling sauce at home today, did you?”
Zhaodi nodded with a smile. “Yes. I’ve collected almost a stone for each.”
Li Yu looked at the peas and vegetables drying in the bamboo board. “Zhaodi, you can take these in.”