Chapter 249: Bundle Sale? Draft Beer.
Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Bundle Sale? Draft Beer.
There was also a hint of intimacy in the air.
’Having a girlfriend really changes things.’
Jiang Liu sat up, preparing to get out of bed.
Jun Qingmeng spoke up, "Jiang Liu, don’t be in such a hurry. Let me take your temperature again and see how you are."
As she spoke, Jun Qingmeng leaned over and grabbed the thermometer from the table.
"Alright." Jiang Liu didn’t refuse.
Jun Qingmeng treated him like a child, coaxing him as she tucked the thermometer under his arm.
Jiang Liu rolled his eyes at her "childish words."
Ten minutes passed.
Jun Qingmeng held up the thermometer and said,
"Good, 37.1. Your temperature is always a little higher right after waking up, so it’ll drop a bit later. Looks like you’re fine."
She was very happy.
Her boyfriend had recovered quickly from his illness.
This meant they were in for another happy day!
"Ready to go wash up together?"
"You two go first." Jun Qingmeng sat in bed, refusing to get out from under the covers.
Jiang Liu glanced at her flustered expression and smiled.
’The more I look at my girlfriend, the cuter she gets.’
Jun Qingmeng was stunningly beautiful, with delicate features, an oval-shaped face, clear eyes, thick eyelashes, and skin as pale as moonlight.
In many people’s eyes, she was a goddess.
After the three of them finished washing up, Jiang Liu found an opportunity to purchase two hams.
The hams were wrapped in a two-millimeter-thick layer of transparent plastic. Through the film, one could see their hard, dry exteriors, which resembled craggy, gray-black stones.
The price of the hams nearly made his jaw drop.
Fifty thousand yuan for a single leg.
Mamma mia!
’If I don’t make at least a hundred thousand from this, I’ll definitely lose money!’
Jiang Liu did a quick search online and, sure enough, found this type of ham.
However, the Spanish hams he found online were completely different from his.
’Mine seems to be an old antique...’
Jiang Liu suspected the Gourmet Album had procured it from the 19th century.
Hams from that era were truly exceptional, each one unique.
Nowadays, they’re all mass-produced.
The three of them left, pulling their small cart.
Jun Qingmeng noticed the two "oddly-shaped things" on the cart.
"Honey, what is this?"
As she spoke, Jun Qingmeng poked it curiously with a delicate, pale finger.
It was very hard.
Jiang Liu explained casually, "It’s some ham I got from a friend. I thought I’d try selling it today."
"Ham?"
"Daddy, do we have a new tasty treat?"
Both of their eyes lit up at once.
’Her boyfriend could always surprise her.’
’Daddy was Tongtong’s greatest idol!’
Jiang Liu smiled at the two of them. "You’re both such little foodies. That’s right, we have a new item today!"
"Yay! A new item!" Tongtong cheered, raising her little hands from Jiang Liu’s arms.
Jun Qingmeng was also looking forward to it.
They got in the elevator.
Jiang Liu opened his phone to check his messages.
He found a text message that had arrived late last night.
"Jiang Liu, sorry to tell you this, but my fourth new shop is about to open. My daily revenue will soon break sixty thousand. Yours is hovering around a hundred thousand, right? You must regret divorcing me. If you do, I might give you a chance."
’Huh, another piece of junk mail.’
Used to this by now, Jiang Liu read halfway through before deleting the message and blocking the number.
He drove to the wet market.
The moment Jiang Liu parked, his two passengers woke up again.
"Jiang Liu, I’ll go with you."
"Daddy, let’s go together."
Tongtong held an umbrella from Jiang Liu’s arms, while Jun Qingmeng held another one over him from the side.
They were both afraid he would get caught in the rain again.
He bought some fennel.
Jiang Liu returned to Yangzhai Street.
Even though it was raining and the weather was damp and cold,
there was still a long line at his stall.
This peculiar sight on Yangzhai Street was even frequently filmed and posted on the local Douyin.
"Happy weekend, Brother Jiang! Your daughter and wife are both here today. Does that mean you’re making extra buns?"
"Boss Jiang, you look much better than yesterday! I was worried about you all night, afraid you’d be sick and wouldn’t open up."
"Rest if you’re tired, Little Boss Jiang, we don’t mind. Just make some extra in advance to stock us up. We can’t live without your buns!"
"Everyone, quiet down! Stop teasing Boss Jiang. What if he gets angry and skips town?"
"I was just kidding, Brother Jiang! Don’t take it to heart."
The customers chattered excitedly.
Jiang Liu smiled and nodded.
He could tell that even though they were joking around, the unconcealed worry in their eyes was real.
He exchanged a few casual words with the customers.
Then, Jiang Liu got to work.
He planned to make three hundred buns by hand today and generate the remaining nine hundred directly with the [Bun-Making Tools].
It would save him a lot of effort.
Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong threw themselves into helping Jiang Liu with the odd jobs.
They didn’t have the slightest complaint.
The dough was proofing, the yak meat was stewing, and the tuna was prepped.
He took out the [Bone Knife] and [Meat-Carving Knife].
Jiang Liu had already examined the two knives that morning. They looked unremarkable, but they were light in his hand and felt smooth and comfortable to the touch.
Both knives had wooden handles and silvery-white blades. The Bone Knife was fifteen centimeters long, while the slender Meat-Carving Knife was twenty-five centimeters.
’Nice. Much better than a fifty-yuan knife.’
Jiang Liu took the Bone Knife to the ham on the table.
The knife sank into the hard rind as easily as if it were cutting tofu.
’Jeez, no wonder it came with knives. This thing is practically a fossil!’
Jiang Liu tapped the ham with one of his own knives, producing a CLANG CLANG sound, like stone striking iron.
The moment the ham was cut open,
a rich, smoky aroma burst forth. It was mingled with the clean scent of oak, without a trace of any unpleasant raw-meat smell.
It was pure fragrance!
He cut through the outer rind, revealing a white layer of fat.
This layer had to be removed.
Once Jiang Liu had scraped away the layer of fat,
he was stunned.
’It’s gorgeous! A work of art!’
The lean meat was a brilliant red, the fat a snowy white. The two were beautifully marbled, the texture of the meat showing the grain of its age, like natural marble with its intricate, crisscrossing patterns.
A rich, savory aroma filled the air.
Jiang Liu sliced off a piece as thin as a cicada’s wing and placed it in his mouth expectantly.
Delicious!
The flavor!
Nothing but a deep, rich flavor!
It melted in his mouth. The lean part wasn’t tough at all, carrying a savory saltiness like sea salt—flavorful without being greasy!
Jiang Liu licked his lips, satisfied.
On a scale of one to ten, this ham’s flavor was an eleven.
A truly unique delicacy!
’So, how should I price this... Right, could I sell this ham as part of a bundle?’
Jiang Liu thought of the unfiltered draft beer in his Gourmet Album. He wasn’t much of a drinker.
He had, however, tasted the draft beer once. It was mellow and slightly bitter at first, but the malty aftertaste was exceptionally rich, with a depth that felt as if it had been fermented for a century.
Jiang Liu continued to slice, wanting to see how much meat he could get from one eighteen-jin ham.
Once cured and dried, the ham’s weight was greatly reduced, but its essential flavor had been concentrated into every fiber of the meat.
"Papa, what’s that yummy smell? Let Tongtong see!"
The little foodie, Tongtong, followed the scent and came running over.
"Honey, are you preparing the ham?" Jun Qingmeng asked, looking curiously at the red-and-white slices of meat on the clean table.
She had eaten this sort of thing before; in fact, her family had a collection of many world-renowned, expensive hams.
Jiang Liu nodded. "I’m just missing a proper stand, or I’d be even faster. Qingmeng, go dish out some porridge. We’ll eat in ten minutes."
Ever since they had slept in each other’s arms the previous night,
their relationship had become more natural. Jiang Liu felt completely comfortable asking her for little favors.
"Alright, I’m on it."
"Mama, take this little cutie with you!"
Jiang Liu went out to the main area and wrote on the blackboard:
"Cured Ham: 3000 yuan per plate. Unfiltered Draft Beer: 100 yuan per jin."