Dreaming of Lion Rock: Recipe in Hand

"Chun Ni, didn't you tell me last time that you wanted a new dish and needed beef offal?" During lunch, He Yanqing found Chun Ni.

Chunni wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief and started cooking a new dish. Taking a break from her busy schedule, she casually asked, "Yes! What's the matter? Do you know where I can buy it?"

He Yanqing handed the water to Chunni before speaking.

"Today a patient came in. He was in charge of raising cattle for the production team. He said that a bull they were raising fell into the river and got injured. For some reason it went crazy and injured several villagers. The leader of their production team decided to kill the bull to prevent it from accidentally injuring anyone."

Chunni's eyes lit up. This is definitely the freshest beef offal!

You know, in the eyes of all farmers, cows are the most precious of treasures, and no one will argue against it. Usually, if you want to eat beef, you have to eat sick cows or old cows. Chunni doesn't dare to eat sick cows. Old and dead cows, how much firewood and time are needed to stew them!

If you want to eat beef, it’s definitely better to eat oxen, but that’s a delicacy that Chunni can’t buy even if she has money.

Some people say, aren't there people who raise cattle? In northwestern regions like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, there are cattle and sheep everywhere!

My dear family, at this time, commodities were not in circulation. How many people would have the courage to drive cattle and sheep thousands of kilometers away to sell them? Not to mention cattle and sheep, even for simple things like clothes and home appliances, Chunni could make a lot of money by running back and forth a few times. Why? Because commodities were not in circulation!

Having said that, if Chunni comes across beef like this, she will definitely buy it!

"When will the cow be slaughtered?" Chunni asked anxiously.

"They said they would kill him at noon."

“Where can I buy it?”

"It's in the Taiping Commune next door. Can you get away? If you can, let's go buy it now?"

"Aren't you going to work this afternoon?" Chunni took off her apron and handed it to Li Shufen, who was helping her.

After studying for a while, Li Shufen is now able to make home-cooked stir-fries. It's okay for Chunni to be away for half a day.

"I know you're anxious, so I switched shifts with Zhu Zhiwei. I have to take you there no matter what! This is like sending a Buddha to the west. Haha." He Yanqing said with a smile.

Chunni nodded appreciatively and pulled He Yanqing out the door.

He Yan parked his bicycle at the door early in the morning, took Chunni with him and headed towards Taiping Commune!

Beef is indeed a rare thing, but there is a problem with rare things: they are expensive.

Therefore, when Chunni and the others arrived, most of the beef was still left, and a well-dressed old lady was bargaining with the villager who was selling the meat!

"Young man, the number of people in this town who can afford beef can be counted on one hand. You might as well sell it at a lower price, sell it out earlier and report back earlier."

The butcher was a young man about Chunni's age. Even though the old lady kept nagging at him, he didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Old lady, this beef is hard to come by. If I sell it too cheaply, I won't be able to complete my mission. Look at your clothes and your wealthy appearance. You don't look like someone who is short of money. Don't make things difficult for me. I am also working for the production team."

Who doesn't like to hear nice words? The old lady is no exception. When she heard the young man praising her, her face was full of smiles. But this beef is actually sold for two yuan per pound, which is really expensive!

What should I do? I want to eat it, but it’s too expensive. I’m really annoyed!

Chunni didn't care about the old lady's rich psychological activities. She walked forward and took a look. The beef was good meat and very fresh. She lowered her head and saw the beef offal randomly packed in the basin, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Comrade, how much do you sell this beef offal for?"

"You can tell at a glance that you don't have much money and can't afford beef, so you can only buy those junk to satisfy your cravings." This was said by one of the onlookers, with a sense of superiority in his tone.

Chunni...am I someone who can't afford beef?

He Yanqing looked at Chunni with amusement, causing the latter to grimace.

Chunni didn't bother to pay attention to the man. She looked at the butcher with a smile and asked, "Comrade, how are you going to sell this beef offal?"

The young man finally realized what was happening and responded with a smile: "This is beef offal! It's hard to sell it at a good price. If you want to eat beef, you'd better buy beef from the cow."

The young man was very honest. The beef offal had a strong smell, was difficult to clean, and the taste was not very good. The captain said that if it could be sold, it would be sold. If it could not be sold, it didn't matter. He could take it back and distribute it to the poor families in the team.

He was really afraid that Chunni would suffer a loss, and he really cared about Chunni.

Chunni came here for the offal in the first place, so how could she give up? She kept asking: "How much are these beef tripe, beef liver, beef tongue, and beef lungs?" As for the other internal organs, she didn't want them.

Seeing that Chunni was determined to buy it, the young man had no choice but to say, "50 cents a pound."

If I had known this earlier, pork would only be 50 cents a pound. The price of beef offal is not cheap.

"Tsk, he looks like a decent human, but turns out to be a poor guy. He really comes here to buy beef offal!" the woman muttered again.

"It's none of your business!" Chunni couldn't bear it anymore and couldn't help but retort.

"You!" The woman didn't expect Chunni to retort, and her face turned red.

"Why, I can't ask. I can't buy it? Or do you want to buy it?"

The woman didn't expect Chunni to be so aggressive. Seeing He Yanqing looking at her with a sullen face, she felt a little timid, but she still endured and didn't leave.

Only she herself knows what her plan is!

Chunni looked through the offal with satisfaction, and then saw the cow head and cow feet that no one was interested in, and she had an idea in mind. "Comrade, how much are these cow heads and cow feet for?"

The young man was a little surprised. Chunni's previous behavior clearly showed that she was determined to get the beef offal, and now, she was interested in the bull head.

"If there are more beef heads and calf meat, the price will be higher, one dollar per pound."

Chunni opened the cow's eyes, took a look, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Tsk, you still don't want to buy it." The woman's voice was relatively low this time, and Chunni didn't hear it. But He Yanqing glanced at her and didn't take it to heart.

Woman... forget it, she should just wait quietly! Better not to talk!

Chunni looked at the remaining half of the beef, and the butcher suddenly had an idea and said, "Beef is two yuan per pound."

Chunni pretended to flip through it, as if checking the freshness of the meat.

"Don't worry, it was just killed at noon, the meat is fresh!"

Chunni nodded and directed: "From here to here, I want this whole area."

The young man was stunned. He pointed at the beef with a shaking finger, stared at Chunni without blinking and asked: "Sister, I want this big piece?"

Chunni nodded calmly and said, "There are also cow heads, cow feet, cow hearts, cow lungs, cow tripe, cow intestines and cow fat. Please weigh them all for me and settle the bill together!"

Chunni waved her hand with great vigor and courage!

The crowd of onlookers were stunned.

"Can you buy all the offal?" The woman asked again. Chunni's actions made the woman's face hurt. However, she was not willing to give up and had to confirm again.

"Yes! I bought them all!" Chunni nodded jokingly.

The woman was very upset. She had already had her eyes on that beef offal. She thought she would wait and see. If no one bought it, she could buy it back at a lower price. Her family had a traditional dish - cross-legged beef!

Now that everything has been bought, she can't bring herself to go grab it. Oh! If she had known earlier, she would have taken action earlier.

The butcher asked his friend to weigh the things Chunni wanted.

"Chun Ni, wait here for me, I'll be back soon." He Yanqing walked up to Chun Ni and greeted her.

Chunni was very surprised. She had never heard that He Yanqing had friends here. She stared at He Yanqing for a while, but found nothing, so she waved her hand and let him go.

"Sister, the total amount of meat is 70 jin, the offal is 20 jin, and the head and feet of the cow are 58 jin. Let me do the math!" The young man took out an abacus and started to calculate. "The total is 168 yuan. The extra three jin of beef is a gift from us. Thank you for taking care of our business." The last sentence was said in a low voice.

Chunni smiled brightly, paid the money happily, and put the beef into the snakeskin bag she brought.

After a while, He Yanqing came on a bicycle.

Chunni glanced at the bicycles they rode in the corner and smiled with satisfaction.