Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 32 Succubus
Before lunch that day, Zhao Huaian went to see Fatty Dou with half a basket of copper coins on his back.

At that time, Fatty Dou was showing off his favorite pork elbow in a ceramic basin. When he heard from his servant that Zhao Huaian had come to visit, he got furious and slammed the wooden box and started cursing:

"This Zhao Da is going too far! I screamed myself hoarse for the wrestling match, and he didn't even take a penny. What else do you want from me? Oh my, this is too much! This is too much!"

As he said that, Fatty Dou jumped up, picked up the iron bone flower from the side of the wooden bed, and was ready to fight with Zhao Huaian.

But at this time, it was the green round robe servant who spoke with him during the day:

"My dear, there's someone above Zhao Da."

Fatty Dou stepped forward with one leg and cursed rudely:

"So what if there are people? Bullying is too much. Bullying is too much."

But another servant in a green round robe added:
"Above him is the Vanguard Tour Commander Song Shijun, and behind him are our Jiedushi and the Zhongwu Army."

So, Fatty Dou couldn't move his other leg at all, but he was still cursing:

"Isn't this bullying the honest people? Ah, honest people should be bullied?"

But the next second, Zhao Huaian's hearty laughter came from outside the tent:
"Brother Dou, I'm here to see you."

So, Fatty Dou quickly threw away the iron bone flower and kicked it under the wooden bed. Then, the moment the tent was opened, he forced a smile at the sunny and kind man.

……

When Zhao Huaian came in, he saw Fatty Dou already at the door, and he felt a little embarrassed:
"Although this fat guy is a bit ugly, he is a good person. Lao Liu still owes him money. He is really not a human being."

He glanced at it and saw a pot of meat on the wooden box, and he was delighted:
"Sure enough, this is the right time to come and pay respects. I've just gotten a free meal."

Then, he grinned and greeted Fatty Dou:
"Brother Dou, let's eat."

Dou Lufeng was forcing a smile on his face, but he was still very angry. After hearing what Zhao Huaian said, he became even angrier:
"You're going to try to get me a taste of my own medicine? What kind of person is this Zhao Da? Why would Envoy Song be interested in someone like him? I'm no better than Zhao Da."

"And this Zhao Da, he's really no good. When there's something going on, he calls me Brother Dou, and when there's nothing going on, he calls me Fatty Dou. We can't have a deep friendship with him. No, we can't have any friendship at all."

But Fatty Dou felt that he was a respectable man and could not lose face, so he called a servant in a green round robe:
"Dou Lu San, go to the back and ask if there's any meat left. If not, forget it."

Dou Lusan didn't hear Fatty Dou's obvious hint, but instead smiled and said to Zhao Huaian:

"Mr. Zhao, you've arrived at the perfect time. The camp just slaughtered a pig, and the blood is still hot. I'll bring it to you right away."

Zhao Huaian agreed repeatedly, but in order to prevent Dou Lu San from taking the wrong meat, he specifically told him that he liked to eat pork belly.

Dou Lu San smiled and walked out with his hands clasped.

Zhao Huaian sighed:
"This fat guy is indeed a rich man. His servants are all very polite."

Thinking of this, he put down the bamboo basket on his shoulder and sat down next to the wooden box.

Fatty Dou was already furious with Dou Lu San. What kind of tact he had? Once Zhao Da left, he would definitely deal with him.

Because he was so angry, he turned around and sat down without paying attention, and Dou Pangzi's toes hit the wooden box. It was so painful.

But in front of Zhao Da, Fatty Dou forced himself to hold back.

Zhao Huaian saw Fatty Dou's face twitching, and quickly said with concern:
"Brother Dou, you should eat less meat. I heard that high blood lipids can cause heart attacks and even strokes."

This is the greatness of Chinese characters. Although Dou Lufeng had never heard of words like hyperlipidemia, myocardial infarction, and stroke, when these characters were combined together, he immediately understood their meaning.

Fatty Dou angrily pounded the wooden box, shaking the basin of pork elbows, and cursed in his heart:

"I gave you meat out of kindness, but you cursed yourself. Zhao Da's conscience is completely broken."

But when he saw the pot of pork elbows, Fatty Dou subconsciously felt a little stuffy in his heart and was shocked. Could it be that Zhao Da was not talking nonsense?
Zhao Huaian saw that Fatty Dou slammed the table when he said that, and cursed inwardly, "He doesn't know how to appreciate a good person," and then didn't mention it again.

He pointed to the bamboo basket he had brought with him and said to Fatty Dou:

"Brother Dou, this is half a basket of money. You left in a hurry this morning and didn't even turn back when I called you. So I have to bring it to you."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Dou's chest tightness and toe pain were no longer felt. He jumped directly to the bamboo basket and lifted the linen cloth. Sure enough, he saw half a basket of glittering copper coins lying there. He could no longer suppress the silly smile on his face.

This golden light really heals all troubles and pains.

It was not until Zhao Huaian coughed twice that Fatty Dou came to his senses. He reached into the basket and stirred it. It felt very solid and he was satisfied.

He shouted loudly to several servants in green round robes:
"What's wrong with you? My dear friend Zhao Da is here, and you're not going to get some wine?"

As he spoke, Fatty Dou started to curse outside:

"Dou Lu San, what's going on? Why does it take so long to get some meat?"

Dou Lu San, who had been standing outside the tent for a while, heard what her husband said, shouted, and rushed into the tent.

He held a basin of greasy pork in boiled water and shouted:

"I'm coming."

Then, Dou Lu San placed the pot of pork belly in front of Zhao Huaian and introduced:
"Mr. Zhao, this white-water pork is cooked with our own homemade wine. It has been simmered for over an hour and melts in your mouth. Please try it."

After saying that, Dou Lu San handed Zhao Huaian a small knife for cutting meat and then stepped aside. Dou Lu San left, but he left the difficult problem to Zhao Huaian. Looking at such a large piece of pork belly without any seasoning, Zhao Huaian had no desire to eat it at all.

And if you smell it carefully, although it has a strong aroma of wine, it still cannot cover up the fishy smell of pork. Who can eat it?

While Zhao Huaian was hesitating, Fatty Dou had already picked up the pot of pork elbows again and was showing off. He had long forgotten about new words like hypertension and myocardial infarction.

Because he was in a good mood, Fatty Dou even called Zhao Huaian to eat.

Looking at Fatty Dou who was eating with relish, and then glancing at Dou Lu San who was looking expectant, Zhao Huaian gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, picked up a knife and cut off a small piece.

It's a really small piece.

He carefully put it in his mouth, and before he chewed it, a fishy smell rushed from his mouth and tongue straight to his forehead. But it was strange. Although his brain was very resistant, Zhao Huaian's mouth was very honest.

His mouth was watering, his cheeks were chewing, and in the blink of an eye a piece of meat was gone into his stomach. Then he cut another piece, and then another piece. After all, he was a strong man. In the blink of an eye, a large bowl of pork belly was finished, leaving only the soup.

Zhao Huaian burped violently, looked at the surprised face of the fat man opposite him, and waved his hand:

"Brother Dou, are you full, full, and you really can't eat anymore? What? You said you'd give me two bowls to take away? That's too embarrassing. Well, I said we hit it off right away, brother, and you really love me. Brother, you're so open-minded, so I, Zhao Da, am not bad either."

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian began to talk nonsense.

Why is it a waste of meat to braise pork belly in such a white sauce? Why do you have to use a casserole to cook the braised pork? They also say that you have to add star anise and bay leaves to remove the fishy smell. In addition, the pork must be bled cleanly and the blood foam must be removed when blanching.

Zhao Huaian knew that his ancestors ate poorly, but he never expected them to eat so poorly.

I only know how to cook boiled meat! Have you ever tried stir-fried pork with chili peppers?
It was at this point that Zhao Huaian started talking about many ways to cook pork. He really couldn't bear to see the meat being wasted like this!

But he didn't know that his talk about "eating" shocked Fatty Dou.

At this moment, Fatty Dou only felt that Zhao Da was as tall as a three-story earthen building, and then asked very respectfully:
"Mr. Zhao is from the Tianshui Zhao family."

Zhao Huaian waved his hands, clasped his fists and pointed to the southeast, proudly:

"I am not talented. I am from Xinghua Village in Shou County."

When Fatty Dou saw Zhao Huaian's look, he dared not underestimate him anymore. Although he had never heard of a noble family with the surname Zhao in Shou County, he just thought that he was ignorant.

Why? Because “it takes three generations of officialdom before one can afford to wear clothes and eat.”

How can ordinary people learn to eat well when they can’t even get enough to eat? Only those who have lived in luxury and have been officials for three generations can be particular about food and clothing and have a sense of style.

The Dou Lu family's ancestors used to be wealthy, but because no one in the family passed the imperial examinations for five or six generations, they gradually became local tycoons.

But even though he had become unsophisticated, his experience remained, so Fatty Dou understood very well that what Zhao Huaian said was not just empty talk, but that he had really experienced it.

Using spices to remove the fishy smell is common, but I've never seen them used on pork. Spices are so expensive, and usually you have to use the best lamb, or only when you have distinguished guests, you'd be willing to use a little.

From what Zhao Da said, it was common to use spices. In order to make the pork more palatable, so many spices were even used to remove the fishy smell.

At this point, Dou Lufeng had already determined in his mind that Zhao Huaian must be from a prominent family in Shouzhou, and his family might be engaged in maritime trade. Now only these people have large amounts of spices.

Fatty Dou thought frantically and decided to get along well with Zhao Da, so he stood up and bowed to Zhao Huaian:
"Mr. Zhao, I'm getting a great deal by trading one of your recipes for a meal of meat."

Zhao Huaian didn't care about this at all. He waved his hand and asked casually:

"By the way, is there any spice shop in the camp? I want to buy some too. I've been roasting mutton with my brothers, and today I had a delicious meal here, so I'm planning to stew some too."

Fatty Dou was stunned for a moment, then he stammered:

"Zhao Da, as far as I know, there are probably only a few shops in Chengdu's West Market that sell spices. How can we, a small, shabby camp like ours, have spices? Even if we sold them, those people wouldn't be able to afford them."

After hearing this, Zhao Huaian was shocked and immediately realized that the price of spices at this time was different from that in later times. It seemed that he had just pretended too much.

In order not to be nervous, Zhao Huaian coughed twice and then changed the subject:
"Dad?"

Just after saying this, Zhao Huaian realized something was wrong and quickly changed his words:

"Brother Dou, why don't we work together again?"

Fatty Dou lowered his body and said respectfully:

"Brother Zhao, I'll still call you Zhao Da, and you can call me Fatty Dou. It's so close, so intimate."

After saying that, Fatty Dou smiled and grinned:
"Zhao Da, I understand what you're thinking. No need to say anything. Let's just join forces and we'll definitely make those poor bastards lose everything."

Zhao Huaian looked at the fat man patting his chest, his flesh shaking, and the smile on his lips was too ferocious. In a trance, he seemed to see a pair of horns growing on the man's head and a big tail showing from the back of his robe.

Shaking his head, Zhao Huaian began to doubt whether it was a good idea to cooperate with Fatty Dou.

But no matter what, he felt that his relationship with Fatty Dou had become closer.

It turns out that this is how relationships between people should be!
At first, he was not happy when I called him Fatty, but now he takes the initiative to let me call him that. What's this? This means that I really treat him, Lao Zhao, as a friend.

Of course, our Lao Zhao’s social skills are not exaggerated. The title of the No. 1 Succubus in the Tang Dynasty will be well-deserved sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)