Chapter 136: Promotion 1/4

The new pier in Chongcheng County is almost completed; it’s just that the river channel in front of the pier needs to be widened and deepened.

The river channel was dug last winter, but it was cold at the time, so not much was excavated, and the people weren’t allowed to dig in the water.

But now it’s different… Many people, including Zhao Laosan, are standing in the water digging mud.

It’s at this moment that the fragrance wafts over.

“What’s this smell? Why is it so fragrant?” Someone couldn’t help but salivate. “I’ve never smelled such a delicious scent before!”

Another person said, “Could it be that the mess hall cooked something delicious?”

Hearing these two, a young man said, “How could the mess hall’s food be so fragrant? This smells even better than the dishes cooked at the county restaurant!”

Another person said, “Yeah, with such a fragrant meat, it definitely wasn’t cooked in the mess hall! I went there earlier, and today they stewed pork with beans and eggplants.”

At this moment, someone from the village in front of the temple took a deep breath and said, “This smell seems familiar to me…”

Zhao Laosan nodded, “It is familiar. This fragrance is like the braised meat made by Li Qingzhi.”

“Li Qingzhi? The one involved in the case?”

“I heard that eating Li Qingzhi’s braised meat can make you smarter… Is it that braised meat?”

“This braised meat is too fragrant, no wonder so many people are longing for it!”

…

Zhao Laosan said, “The braised meat made by Li Qingzhi has this aroma. I heard he also has a shop at the pier, maybe he’s making braised meat there…”

Everyone was very curious and gathered around Zhao Laosan to inquire about the braised meat, saying one after another, “If Li Qingzhi sells this braised meat, I’ll definitely buy some!”

“I want to buy too, it’s so fragrant!”

“Eating it can make you smarter, I’ll make sure my kids eat more of it!”

… After saying that, they envied Zhao Laosan, “Zhao Laosan, you’re really lucky! Your son went to the Li family, he should be able to eat meat every day, right? Hasn’t he eaten a lot of this braised meat?”

Zhao Laosan smiled modestly, “He probably has.”

Someone from the village in front of the temple interjected, “Zhao Xiaodou has entered a good place, not only can he eat meat every day, but he can also study!”

Hearing this, Zhao Laosan smiled even more happily.

When Li Qingzhi returned to the village to host the banquet, he saw Zhao Xiaodou.

His son had really changed a lot; he almost didn’t recognize him!

He had been working on the new pier for the past few months and hadn’t had time to go to the county to see his child. When the work on the new pier was finished in a few days, he would definitely bring some chickens and ducks to the county to see him.

“Zhao Laosan, your son can still study? He’ll definitely succeed in the future!”

“Zhao Laosan, you’ll definitely have a good life in the future!”

“Zhao Laosan, you didn’t live well with Old Li before, but now it’s really good!”

…

Not far away, in the mess hall.

Because of County Magistrate Gou’s instructions, the mess hall here would give the working people some meat to eat every day. Today, they were eating pork stewed with eggplants and beans.

Chef Zhou also fried some eggplant fritters separately and stir-fried pork belly with beans. These were for the clerks and runners working at the new pier. Of course, the people in the mess hall also ate.

Chef Zhou’s craftsmanship was very good. He had made eggplant fritters and stir-fried pork belly with beans a few days ago, and everyone liked them very much, praising them repeatedly.

But now…

Everyone smelled the fragrance in the air and felt that the fried eggplant fritters and stir-fried pork belly with beans were not as fragrant anymore.

“What’s this smell? It’s so fragrant!” someone asked.

Chef Zhou also said, “I’ve never smelled such a fragrant aroma!”

Jin Dajiang rarely spoke, but he spoke up at this moment, “This should be from my son-in-law’s shop making braised meat… He plans to open a braised meat shop here.”

Hearing Jin Dajiang say this, someone asked, “Uncle Jin, have you tasted this braised meat?”

Jin Dajiang replied, “Yes.”

Everyone was envious, “Is it delicious?”

“It must be delicious! Do we even need to ask?”

“It’s a pity we can’t taste it.”

“Uncle Jin, can we go buy some from your son-in-law to try it?”

…

Swallowing saliva, Chef Zhou stood up suddenly.

He took out two plates and filled each with the two dishes he made, then looked at Jin Dajiang, “Dajiang, let’s go, let’s go see Mr. Li and let him try the eggplant fritters I made.”

Li Qingzhi was quite generous; if he went to deliver food now, Li Qingzhi should reciprocate, right?

In Li Qingzhi’s shop, the braised meat was already prepared.

People nowadays rarely use spices in cooking, and spices like star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves commonly used in later generations are not used in the village in front of the temple.

Precisely because of this, their braised meat seemed particularly fragrant.

Li Qingzhi had someone take out the braised meat from the pot. He planned to share some with the laborers in the shop and send some to his father-in-law.

The aroma must have spread by now; he couldn’t just sit idly by.

When the next pot is done, he will also give some to County Magistrate Gou and Zhu Qian.

Just as he was thinking about this, Li Qingzhi heard a knock on the door. Opening it, he saw Chef Zhou with a smile on his face and Jin Dajiang looking a bit embarrassed.

Chef Zhou exchanged the two ordinary dishes with Li Qingzhi for a braised chicken and a braised duck.

He cut them open, gave the chicken leg and duck leg to Jin Dajiang, and distributed the rest to the people in the mess hall, as well as to the clerks and runners.

Everyone who tasted it praised it endlessly, “This braised duck is so delicious!”

“The braised chicken is also delicious!”

“When will Mr. Li’s shop open? I’ll definitely buy some more for my family to try!”

…

Chef Zhou said, “Mr. Li said that his shop will start selling braised meat tomorrow. You guys should go buy it early tomorrow to avoid missing out.”

“I’ll definitely go buy it tomorrow!”

“I heard that eating this braised meat can make you smarter!”

“I heard that too, I’ll definitely eat more of it!”

…

That afternoon, Li Qingzhi sent a lot of braised meat to the Zhu family and County Magistrate Gou’s place.

Of course, he didn’t forget to bring some home. That night, everyone at Jin Xiaoye Embroidery tasted the braised meat.

Li Laogen ate until his belly was round, then looked at Li Qingzhi expectantly, “Ah Qing, can I help you at the shop tomorrow?”

Of course, Li Laogen didn’t really want to help; he just wanted to go to the shop and get some food.

Li Qingzhi said, “Dad, I’ll take some braised meat to the county to sell through Xiaoshu tomorrow. You can go help Xiaoshu there. We don’t need more people at the shop; it’s all laborers from the quarry, and I’m afraid you’ll stay there for a long time and hear something you shouldn’t and then spread rumors.”

Li Laogen had never been very reliable, so it was better to prevent problems before they happened.

“Can I have some of the braised meat?” Li Laogen asked.

“Of course you can, Dad. I’ve set some aside specifically for you. Eat as much as you like,” Li Qingzhi replied.

“Great!” Li Laogen was delighted.

“Ah Qing, are you managing okay over there?” Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi.

“I’m managing fine. Chang Zhan is looking after things,” Li Qingzhi said.

Hearing Li Qingzhi’s assurance, Jin Xiaoye decided not to inquire further about the braised meat shop.

Currently, Jin Xiaoye Embroidery employed over forty female workers. They operated on an assembly line basis, with each person specializing in a particular type of work.

As a result, they not only worked quickly but also produced consistently high-quality products.

Relying on this efficiency, Jin Xiaoye received a lot of orders, and business was booming.

Jin Xiaoye was already considering renting additional space and hiring more workers, but she needed to save up some money first.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

Early in the morning, Li Qingzhi went to the new dock with Chang Zhan and Chang Cui.

Since Li Damao and the others had classes in the morning, and Chang Cui was very attached to Chang Zhan, he brought her along.

When they arrived at the shop, the laborers were busy slaughtering chickens and ducks and processing the pork delivered by the butcher.

Seeing Li Qingzhi, the person cutting the pork said, “Mr. Li, in the future, let’s not have the butcher deliver the pork. I’ll learn how to do it myself. It’ll save us a lot of money.”

“Okay.” Li Qingzhi smiled; he was in a good mood. People willing to learn were always likable.