Early in the morning, Ye Chui arrived at the bustling market, ready to purchase fifty pounds of lamb for his evening barbecue stall. Thanks to the near eighty-year absence of meat in their diet, people had elevated vegetable cultivation to new heights, resulting in an astonishing variety, rich nutrition, and even better taste. Of course, Ye Chui wasn't there for vegetables; his mission was lamb, essential for his evening business.
Compared to the vibrant vegetable stalls, the meat area felt almost desolate. While meat had enjoyed a comeback, this generation remained largely unfamiliar with it, and some even found the concept of eating it completely alien. This peculiarity led to meat prices that surprisingly fell even below those of vegetables.
Despite the near neglect of freshly butchered meat, Ye Chui found himself benefiting from its low cost, significantly reducing his lamb skewer production expenses. Speaking of lamb skewers, they held a special place in Ye Chui's heart. In his previous life, he'd started his culinary journey by selling them as a teenager. Now, reborn in this unique environment, he felt a sense of destiny restarting his career with lamb skewers, albeit on a much higher level than before.
"Young man, back for more lamb?" boomed the meat stall owner with a smile upon seeing Ye Chui approach his section. "Just take a look, this meat was brought in fresh from the slaughterhouse this morning."
Having become a familiar face by frequenting the stall daily, Ye Chui simply nodded and began his meticulous examination of the meat cuts on the chopping board. The ideal meat for lamb skewers came from the forequarter and hindquarter muscles, known as 'qianjianzi meat,' offering a perfect blend of flesh and tendon that grilled into delectable skewers. Additionally, the 'biandanzi meat' from the back and the 'fangrou' from the ribs were excellent choices.
With his practiced eye, Ye Chui swiftly selected the finest lamb for grilling, roughly fifty pounds in total. These fifty pounds would translate to over a thousand skewers, enough for his usual evening crowd. The local lamb was incredibly affordable, averaging only twenty yuan per pound, making the fifty pounds cost a mere thousand yuan. Considering his two yuan per skewer price, after deducting costs, Ye Chui could expect a profit of seven to eight hundred yuan in a single night.
Naturally, Ye Chui was a valued regular at the meat stall, and the owner happily helped him package the fifty pounds of meat securely, all but offering to personally carry it to Ye Chui's tricycle parked outside.
Heaving the lamb with some effort, Ye Chui recalled his morning promise to Wang Shiyu and scanned the surroundings, contemplating what grand dish he could cook for lunch. Having been reborn for over half a month, he'd been engrossed in setting up his lamb skewer business, neglecting his true passion – cooking. The anticipation gnawed at him.
Suddenly, Ye Chui's eyes brightened as he spotted a stall specializing in whole, dressed chickens nearby.
"That's it! That's what I'll make for lunch!"
With a newfound resolve, Ye Chui walked towards the chicken stall. The vendor, seeing a customer approach, launched into a vigorous sales pitch for his poultry. However, Ye Chui remained focused, meticulously selecting his prize. Finally, after careful examination, he chose a perfect whole chicken and handed it to the vendor for weighing.
The skilled vendor quickly measured the chicken's weight before his curiosity piqued. He cautiously inquired, "Sir, I saw you taking your time choosing just now. Is there some kind of secret to picking the best chicken?"
While chicken had only recently returned to the dinner table, even the chicken stall owner lacked in-depth knowledge about selection. His question stemmed from genuine curiosity, and Ye Chui, seeing no harm in sharing, offered a brief explanation on choosing whole chickens.
"There are four key points to remember when buying chicken: checking the knife wound, examining the eyes, inspecting the skin, and looking at the claws. First, a good whole chicken should have a clear slaughter wound on the neck, with blood residue around it. Sickly chickens won't have this, or if slaughtered after dying, the wound won't have blood. Next, look at the eyes. Healthy chickens have full, vibrant eyeballs, with eyelids mostly open or half-open. Sick chickens have shrunk, sunken eyes without shine, and their eyelids will be fully closed. Now, let's talk about the skin..."
Ye Chui's words left the vendor speechless. He hadn't imagined such intricacies existed in chicken selection. He hurriedly exclaimed, "You've really opened my eyes today! But brother, trust me, my chicken is absolutely fresh and genuine, no tricks here."
"Indeed, this is an excellent chicken," Ye Chui said with a smile as he took the bagged chicken from the vendor. He then walked away, carrying the heavy lamb.
The vendor at the white-meat chicken stall couldn't stop thinking about Ye Chui's words. From then on, whenever someone came to buy chicken, he would inevitably show off his knowledge, using it to prove that his white-meat chicken was the best.
Just before noon, a sweating fat man suddenly rushed over in a hurry. The fat man was about thirty years old, fat-headed and ear-heavy, and very fair. His forehead was sweating profusely, and his white shirt was soaked. He looked anxious, and it was unclear what urgent matter he had encountered.
He came to the white-meat chicken stall and began to pick out chickens in a hurry.
The vendor continued to show off his newly learned knowledge: "The chicken here is all the freshest and best. There are four things to look for when picking a white-meat chicken, namely..."
After listening to the vendor's explanation, the fat man, who was still rummaging through the chickens, suddenly stopped. He was clearly surprised by the insider knowledge. He raised his head and stared at the vendor: "You seem to know a lot about chicken. Do you know how to cook chicken?"
"Cook chicken?"
The vendor quickly shook his head. "I'm just a chicken vendor. I'm not good at cooking. I usually just boil it for soup, which is nothing special."
The fat man looked disappointed. "Sigh, I thought you were very knowledgeable about this after hearing so much."
"Hehe, to be honest, I actually learned all that from a young man this morning. That young man knows a lot." The vendor laughed and said casually.
"From a young man?" The fat man's eyes lit up. "What does that young man do?"
"This... I don't know the details either. You can go ask the owner of the lamb stall over there. He knows him."
Hearing what the chicken vendor said, the fat man hurried to the lamb stall to inquire. It just so happened that the owner of the lamb stall had actually noticed where Ye Chui lived. Although he didn't know the exact address, he knew the general neighbourhood. The fat man thanked him and hurriedly ran towards Ye Chui's neighbourhood.
By noon, the fat man was wiping the sweat from his forehead when he suddenly sniffed the air.
"Such a fragrant smell...It's chicken! But...how did this smell come about!?"