Chapter 268: A Huge Merchant Ship with Golden Bells
Ye Lulu looked at it. Forget about the staple food. Although it was harder to swallow, it was still natural coarse grain. This dish was not suitable at all. When Ye Lulu placed the ingredients in the pot, she picked up a few more fishballs for Xu Huang.
Xu Huang lowered his head silently and calculated in his heart. Sixth Brother Guan had fished the fishballs in the river himself. The price was lower than the pork meatballs, so he could afford them, right…
Ye Lulu quickly made two bowls of Malatang and handed a bowl each to them. This speed shocked the people in front of the stall. What kind of food was this stall doing? Why was it cooked so quickly?
It was similar to the dry rations sold, but this food was made with soup and water. It was not the same as dry steamed buns at all.
What kind of stall was this?!
Guan Chixi eagerly took his bowl and started to eat. After eating a few mouthfuls, Guan Chixi looked up and said to Ye Lulu in surprise, “This is even more delicious than the last few times! Amazing! Why is the taste so amazing? It’s satisfying and refreshing.”
Ye Lulu also replicated the scene. At that time, Mother Rong and the rest had done a live broadcast. The few of them did not sell it but ate together first…
This caused the surrounding crowd to crave it.
“What is your stall selling?” A merchant who had just alighted from the boat walked over and asked directly, “How do you sell it?”
How were they going to sell so many ingredients? This was fresh. They had never seen such a stall at the docks.
Ye Lulu was just finishing her bowl of Malatang. She felt satisfied and at ease and started to focus on selling. She stood in front of the hot pot with a clear gaze and a generous attitude, and said to the surrounding crowd:
“Our stall sells Malatang.”
“Malatang?!” This was the first time everyone had heard of this.
“How do we sell it? Take whatever ingredients you like and we’ll cook them in a pot. You can add chili sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, and other seasonings according to your taste. The stall has just opened, so there are no tables or chairs. There are only wooden bowls. After you finish eating here, you can return the bowls. You can also do takeouts and put them in a large bamboo tube. However, you have to pay for the bamboo tube.”
“It’s fine if you bring bowls from your house. That would be the best. You can make whatever you want to eat and bring them back.”
“There’s such a method?”
“Do we have to stand here and eat?”
“How much is a bamboo tube? Why do we have to pay for it ourselves?”
Ye Lulu did not dodge and said bluntly, “Why not? The bamboo tube doesn’t belong to you. Since you want it, you have to pay for it.”
Ye Lulu spoke boldly and confidently, not at all intimidated by the crowd’s gossip.
In this world, everyone thought that women were weak and restrained. However, Ye Lulu did not move and her expression was calm.
The person didn’t say anything else.
A strong man dressed as a crew member raised his eyebrows and said with a frown, “But there are many vegetables here. They can’t fill our stomachs. What’s the point of ordering them?”
Ye Lulu said calmly, “If you want to eat your fill, you can include noodles. There are different types of noodles. You can take as many ingredients as you want. That’s our specialty.”
“How can you not be full? You can take as much as you want. Doesn’t this mean that you can eat to your fill? How can you not be full?”
The man frowned and pondered for two seconds before saying, “That’s true. How are the prices set? According to what you said, if your ingredients are priced expensively, wouldn’t it be extremely expensive for men like us to eat our fill?”
Ye Lulu replied calmly, “That’s not true. There are both expensive and cheap dishes. This is so that it’s convenient for everyone to spend as much money as they want. Look, if it’s cheap, you can choose one or two vegetables and add some noodles. That would withstand hunger. If you don’t lack money and want to try something new, you can order whatever you want.”
“For vegetables, Including the mushrooms picked every day in the mountains, you can get three sticks for one copper coin. Tofu is one copper coin for one stick. These are called beancurd sheets. It’s something new and unique. You can’t find it in other stalls. I made it myself. I got it midway through the process of making tofu. That’s two copper coins for one stick. Meatballs are one copper coin for one stick. Vermicelli is three copper coins for one small bundle. Take as many as you want to eat. White flour noodles are four copper coins for one small bundle. Two-flavored noodles are two copper coins for one small bundle, three-flavored noodles are two copper coins, black noodles are one copper coin.”
“Lastly, this is a special recipe. It’s called chicken filet. It’s a secret recipe that I specially developed. It’s brand new and has excellent flavor. It’s most suitable to be placed in the soup of Malatang. If you want to try it, you can order it. This is expensive. Five copper coins.”
After hearing Ye Lulu’s introduction, everyone around was interested. It was mainly because this kind of food stall was a little interesting and they felt very addicted to it.
However, when they heard Ye Lulu introduce the price of the chicken filet, everyone’s eyes widened. “What?! No way. A small piece of this thing costs five copper coins?!”
“It’s even more expensive than a handful of white flour noodles!”
“What is this? Chicken filet?! Is this chicken meat? Although meat is expensive, it can’t be sold for five copper coins just for a small piece like yours! This is too expensive!”
History was repeating itself. As their stalls did not sell ordinary things from the Shang dynasty and Ye Lulu’s pricing had never been low, Mother Rong had experienced such doubts when she set up her stall back then. Now, Ye Lulu was experiencing it again.
Ye Lulu said, “It’s true that it’s chicken meat, but we have to take into account the seasonings and procedures. Also, it’s fried. It’s not cheap at all! Furthermore, this is an exclusive secret recipe. Our family is the only one in the entire Shang dynasty who has it. How can a specialty not be worth a single cent? It has to be worth money as well!”
Ye Lulu went even further than what Mother Rong had said. The crowd in front of her immediately shook their heads in surprise. They looked at Ye Lulu for a moment and then started discussing among themselves.
“Is this girl crazy…”
“What did she say? A specialty that requires money? She must be crazy!”
“Silver coins are practical. One can touch them and you can see copper coins. What is a specialty? Can you get them? Why can you exchange them with copper coins that can be touched and felt?!”
The innocent ancient citizens were shocked.
Ye Lulu said calmly, “Of course. If you guys go to a big restaurant to eat and order a plate of stir-fried vegetables, will it be the same as eating at a stall?”
“But you’re just a stall!” someone shouted back.
“That’s right. This is a stall, so I’m not selling stall fees. Instead, I’m selling an exclusive recipe! You can’t eat food like chicken filet anywhere else. Isn’t it the same as you can’t eat the restaurant’s dishes outside?” Ye Lulu quickly argued back.
Everyone fell silent. They also understood… why specialties were valuable.
Although everyone had understood the logic of accepting money, not everyone was willing to spend an extra copper coin to buy an exclusive ‘specialty’.
Many people were just watching, but this was only about the chicken filet. After talking for a long time, a clean male voice said roughly, “We just pick up the vegetables, right? Use this wooden basket to pick them? Give them to me and I’ll order something to eat.”
This male voice belonged to the crew member who was questioning whether he could eat his fill. He was not short of money and was also attracted by the smell of Malatang. It was the first time he had seen Ye Lulu’s stall at the docks. He was still unclear about the situation. He looked at her for a while longer before moving forward.
“Yes, pick up whatever you want to eat. You heard the price just now, right?” Ye Lulu replied bluntly.
The person nodded. Xu Huang immediately handed over the wooden basket. He was very nervous, afraid that no one would do Ye Lulu’s business. When he saw that someone was going to buy it, he quickly did his work.
After the crew member made his move, a few people immediately surrounded him. They asked a lot of questions, but this stall with such a fragrant smell… Many people wanted to try it!
In particular, there were various merchants, bosses, and people of status gathered at the docks!
There were only three wooden baskets. Firstly, the stall was too small and there was only one pot. Ye Lulu would not be able to cook everything alone in time, so she was afraid that the taste would be adversely affected if there were too many people. Secondly, once there were too many people, it would become chaotic. It was best not to leave too many pots around the stall.
Therefore, only three wooden baskets were made. Only the three people at the front walked around the wooden cart with wooden baskets to pick up the ingredients.
The rest of the people rushed forward and surrounded the entire wooden cart. However, they heard Ye Lulu shout, “Everyone behind, line up! Line up and take turns. Don’t all rush up!”
“Line up? What do you mean by lining up?”
Another person asked. As there were many merchants in Yuan City, there were very few instances where people needed to queue. Everyone usually rushed forward and fought over them one by one.
It was the same at Mother Rong’s side. A group of people surrounded the wooden cart.
However, Ye Lulu shouted, “It means for one person to follow another! That’s because there are three wooden baskets. There can be three lines. After one person is done, another person will take it.”
“This is too troublesome!”
“You have so many rules. Who do you think you are?!”
“I’m not eating. How dare a woman ride on our heads?!”
Some people had huge reactions. Their expressions darkened, and they turned around to leave!
Ye Lulu did not shrink back at all and shouted with a calm expression, “Line up! Line up! If a few people walk away, you’ll be in the front! Hurry up, the faster we move, the faster we’ll be ahead!”
When the remaining people heard that, they were surprised to find it very reasonable!
Everyone looked at each other and followed their hearts to line up…
When the men who had flicked their sleeves and left heard this, their faces darkened again. They were extremely angry!
That crew member was the first to receive the Malatang. It was the first bowl Ye Lulu had sold today.
This crew member often stayed on the river, so the moisture in his body was very heavy and he could eat spicy food. Following Ye Lulu’s suggestion, he added two spoonfuls of chili.
Many people looked at him. After all, he was the first to eat it. This new stall was called Malatang. As to how it tasted, it depended on him!
This crew member stood in front of the stall with a wooden bowl in hand. He took a few bites with his chopsticks and immediately broke out in a sweat. He looked up happily and said in satisfaction, “Good!”
The surrounding people widened their eyes and immediately queued up even more fervently.
They had never experienced such a smell floating up from a stall. It was incomparably fragrant. It was spicy and strong, causing even those who didn’t eat spicy food to feel inexplicably itchy in their hearts.
The Malatang stall’s name was quickly spread in the crowded docks, attracting waves of people. Finally, if one looked down from above, one could see that with Ye Lulu’s stall as the center, a circle was spread out, and everyone was gathered!
More and more people were following the spicy fragrance of Malatang!
The spot that Ye Lulu had found was also effective. It was a little far from the crowd, but it left enough space for people to move around.
Furthermore, as they were near the Yuan River, many people rushed into the crowd as soon as they disembarked. This was because there was nothing delicious by the river. The best stalls were in the market. Furthermore, they had been on the ship for a long time, so everyone was anxious to quickly walk to the surface.
However, it was different after Ye Lulu set up the stall here. The smell was already extremely enticing. With such a hot and spicy stall by the side as soon as they disembarked the ship, wouldn’t most people turn around and come over?!
And it was amazing.
After a few more people ate it, the more people ate, the spicier the effect and the more sensational it was!
In the beginning, the atmosphere was like this as well. After the few people who had queued up to try Malatang first received it and ate it, they immediately enjoyed and praised it. More people surrounded them. After more people bought Malatang, the atmosphere became hotter…
In the end, the domineering fragrance of the stall coupled with the new taste created a loud effect at the docks!
The ingredients Ye Lulu had prepared were quickly consumed. As expected, Xu Huang started to wash the vegetables laboriously by the side. Guan Chixi and Guan Chibei were so busy that their feet did not touch the ground…
As soon as the stall opened, they busied themselves for four hours without stopping.
Ye Lulu stood in front of the wooden cart, so busy that her hands were about to break. There were fewer people in front, but there was still an endless stream of people.
At this moment, on the busy Yuan River on the first day of sailing, a huge ship slowly arrived from the north.
That was right. It couldn’t be called a large ship because the size of that ship could be considered huge.
A huge ship that was four stories tall was perhaps the largest ship in the Shang dynasty. One could clearly tell that there were four stories of buildings on it.
Green jade surrounded the entire side of the ship, and a full circle was inlaid… What was even more surprising was that this giant ship was decorated in an incomparably luxurious manner. The four-story building on the ship was carved with beams and paintings, and there were even eaves. They were inlaid with gold and carved with jade, and they were extremely noble. On the eaves of the four-story building, there were actually strings of golden glass bells hanging. The fragrance was overwhelming and it was luxurious…