Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

As soon as they entered the capital city gate, Li Yu, Princess Jianing and Han Xiaomei jumped out of the car.

The village had been quiet the whole day, but when they suddenly saw the bustling streets of the capital, they all wanted to take a walk.

Especially Princess Jianing, she walked in front with brisk steps.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, roadside stalls are lined up one after another, selling bundles of firewood, game, various sweets and snacks, as well as people selling lanterns and Spring Festival couplets, which are dazzling.

Because her family had a regular farmer who delivered firewood to them, Li Yu did not go to the place where firewood was sold. However, when she saw the tied hare, she was somewhat tempted.

It would be nice to add a spicy rabbit head and a spicy rabbit meat during the Chinese New Year.

After asking about the price of the wild rabbit, Li Yu thought it was acceptable and bought it directly.

Seeing that Li Yu was generous with her money, the fish seller next to the hunter approached Li Yu and said, "Madam, look at all these fish I have. They are all shipped from the east. Some of them are only found in the sea. They are delicious. Take a look."

Li Yu had not originally planned to buy fish, but when he heard the owner say there were seafood products, he immediately walked over.

Seeing that she was interested in buying, the stall owner introduced it more enthusiastically: "Look at this, soft fish, boneless and thornless, the best to eat. Only 40 cents per piece."

Li Yu looked in the direction of his finger and saw forty or fifty squids placed in the center of the stall.

It was not the first time that Li Yu had seen squid after being in Dayu Dynasty for so long, but the ones she had seen before were dried squid and squid strips, while this time it was unprocessed squid.

Several ways to cook squid suddenly appeared in my mind.

*

Li Yu picked up a squid and sniffed it. Seeing that it didn't have any strange smell, he said, "Thirty cents each. I want all the squid on your stall."

The stall owner was embarrassed. "My lady, it's not easy to transport squid from the east. The price you're offering is too low. Let's make a concession and give it 35 cents a piece."

Li Yu pointed at the kelp beside the stall and asked, "How much is that per pound?"

"Forty cents." The stall owner was afraid that Li Yu would not buy the squid, so he immediately changed the subject after answering, "Madam, squid is the most delicious..."

Li Yu interrupted him: "Kelp is 30 cents a pound, squid is 30 cents a piece, I want them all."

The stall owner opened his mouth and asked in surprise: "Really?"

Li Yu nodded: "Yes."

The stall owner stood up straight abruptly: "Deal!"

*

The stall owner quickly packed fish and kelp for Li Yu in a sack. Especially when he was packing the squid, he moved so fast that his arms almost left afterimages.

It’s not that he has always been so fast, but he is afraid that Li Yu will go back on his word.

He bought the squid from fishermen when he went to Donghaizhou to purchase goods. The fishermen told him that the squid tasted good when cooked. Thinking of making more money, he bought a batch of squid at the price of 15 cents each without even tasting it.

After he arrived in Beijing, he found that squid looked strange and was expensive, so almost no one bought it. Moreover, squid was not tasty and was too fishy. He asked his wife to cook two squids a few days ago, but after they were cooked, the whole family didn't want to touch them.

He had been selling for three days and had sold less than thirty pieces.

People like Li Yu are considered his big clients, and he must hold on to them tightly.

*

Li Yu took the money from the stall owner. When handing the silver over, he thought of something else, so he pointed to the sack of squid and asked, "Do you have any more squid?"

The stall owner suddenly looked up, his eyes surprisingly bright, "Yes, I have more than a hundred at home, do you want some?"

Li Yu: "If I want all of them, then they have to be cheaper."

The stall owner only heard the first half of the sentence: "You want all of them?"

Li Yu: "We need to see the price first."

It was rare that someone bought all the squid, so the stall owner said cheerfully, "If you want all the remaining ones, they'll be 26 cents each. It's not easy for me to transport the goods from the east, so I have to make some money."

Li Yu thought about it and said, "Okay, I'll take all the rest."

After the two of them finished talking, the stall owner's wife happened to come over from somewhere else, and the stall owner immediately asked her to go back and pack the squid for Li Yu.

*

Princess Jianing walked around the other stalls and returned to Li Yu.

Seeing the squid in the sack, she frowned and asked, "Did you buy this?"

Li Yu nodded.

Princess Jianing: "Squid are extremely unpalatable. What do you buy them for?"

Li Yu: "Buy it and cook it, Princess. I have several ways to cook squid."

When Princess Jianing thought of the other things she had made, the look of disgust on her face faded a little.

*

The stall owner's wife returned quickly. Li Yu counted the quantity and after confirming that it was correct, he handed over the remaining money.

The stall owner put it away carefully and thanked Li Yu profusely.

The guards of the palace had been watching nearby. When Li Yu finished shopping, they took the initiative to step forward and pick up the sack.

Li Yu thanked him and asked him to help deliver the things to the barbecue restaurant.

Princess Jianing was surprised and asked, "You want to make a barbecue?"

"Yes." Li Yu walked forward and explained to Princess Jianing, "Squid fish is best when grilled. If you want to try it, I can go to the barbecue restaurant and make it for you now."

Princess Jianing was particularly curious about her cooking methods, so she stopped looking at the stall and said, "Then let's go to the barbecue restaurant."

Anyway, these stalls will be there for the next few days, so it won’t be too late for her to go shopping tomorrow.

*

Inside the barbecue restaurant, Mrs. Yan saw Li Yu and others entering the store and quickly stood up.

Li Yu asked her to continue with her own business. "I'll go to the back to make some food for the princess. You don't have to worry about us. Just do what you need to do. By the way, are there any private rooms upstairs?"

Mrs. Yan: "There is one room left upstairs."

Li Yu nodded, turned to Princess Jianing and asked, "Princess, do you want to go to the backyard with me, or wait directly in the private room upstairs?"

Princess Jianing said without hesitation: "I'll go to the backyard."

*

Fearing that Princess Jianing would be anxious, Li Yu did not have time to rest. As soon as he entered the backyard, he found a wooden basin, took out two squids and began to process them.

Cut it open, remove the liver, ink sac, cartilage and squid gills, then put the remaining edible part into water, peel off the squid skin, clean the place where the squid head connects to the internal organs, and remove the squid mouth.

The squid mouth is actually edible, but Li Yu was a little disgusted and just went straight to it.

Her movements were as smooth as flowing water. Princess Jianing could not help but sit down in front of the wooden basin to watch.

*

Li Yu cleaned the squid in the shortest time possible, found two bamboo sticks, skewered the squid, and put it on the iron plate to grill.

She didn't make any special sauce and just used the existing barbecue ingredients.

Soon, two skewers of grilled squid were ready.

Before plating the dish, Li Yu sprinkled some dry barbecue seasoning on one of the skewers and handed it to Princess Jianing.

Princess Jianing smelled the aroma and instantly forgot the taste of squid she had tasted before. She picked up the skewer that was not sprinkled with dry ingredients and took a bite.

Li Yu waited for her to finish eating and asked, "What do you think, Princess?"

Princess Jianing gave her a thumbs up.