Shanmao Supermarket focused on high-end quality. To shop there, one had to obtain a membership card and pay an annual fee of 500 yuan, thus the service and product quality were naturally top-notch.
As far as Hu Lanfang knew, Shanmao Supermarket’s suppliers were all well-known large enterprises in the country, recognized by national institutions. Companies like COFCO and Shengnong were among their suppliers.
Hu Lanfang was unfamiliar with other companies, but she had a classmate working at Shengnong Corporation who was in charge of feed procurement.
According to him, Shengnong was also a supplier of raw materials for KFC, providing chicken wings and legs.
They were very strict about their feed control, procuring strictly according to quality. One could imagine how good the quality of the chicken meat would be.
With a familiar person working for the company vouching for it so confidently, Hu Lanfang had a rather good impression of Shanmao Supermarket.
People were strange. When you used a product, others saying it was good meant little. If you used it yourself and found it good, it was just a bonus. But if someone you knew worked at the company and confidently stated that the product was excellent and all tests were up to standard, you would generally trust the product 100%.
Hu Lanfang was such a person.
Seeing that the ginger was washed clean with no soil on it, she nodded with satisfaction.
Just then, the women processing the yellow sheep returned, panting, carrying the sheep.
They said the internal organs of the yellow sheep were still being washed, and they had brought the meat back first to cook.
Gu Chaobei volunteered, applying for the task of cutting the meat.
Seeing her father’s professional technique, each cut precise, following the grain of the meat, effortless and artistic, Gu Qingcheng suddenly understood that "Pao Ding Jie Niu" was not just a legend.
Her six years of medical education were not in vain.
After butchering the sheep into eight pieces, Gu Chaobei threw all the meat into the pot of boiling water to stew. Hu Lanfang casually threw the sliced ginger into the pot as well.
If anyone asked, she would say it was wild ginger she had picked. Since it was already sliced, who would recognize it?
The family of three cooperated with tacit understanding.
Gu Qingcheng walked to the side of the pot and secretly added half a bag of salt. At this time, she couldn't tell them that too much salt was bad for their health or that they shouldn't eat too much.
Ninety percent of the villagers were deficient in salt, feeling weak even when walking.
Not only for the lamb soup, but Gu Qingcheng also added half a bag of salt to each of the other four pots stewing wild chicken and wild rabbit.
She used three bags of common supermarket salt, iodized, costing her six yuan for the six pots.
If she were to sell it here, she could get nearly 500 catties of grain.
To cook these six pots of meat soup, Gu Chaobei's family had indeed "paid a heavy price."
Although this lamb soup might also be shared with Gu Lao Han's family, there was no choice. They couldn't possibly not let them eat. They would let them taste some sweetness first, and then deal with them slowly later.
The six large public pots, set up simultaneously, had quite an imposing sight. The stoves were lit with dry branches as thick as a child's arm. These were collected by the villagers along the way; firewood was not lacking in the forest.
The raging fire made the spring water in the pots boil and churn. The yellow sheep were put into the pots to stew, and the wild chickens and rabbits were also cut up and placed in the pots to boil vigorously.
Gu Qingcheng enthusiastically helped tend the fires, and while everyone was distracted, she added some salt, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, cooking wine, dark soy sauce. Finally, she poured a bag of Thirteen Spices into each pot.
After all, these pots had been used by so many people; who would know who put the seasonings in?
As the heat intensified, the meat in the pots tumbled, releasing a fragrant aroma that awakened everyone's hunger, making their mouths water.
At this moment, the women processing the yellow sheep's internal organs also finished. There were five or six catties of sheep intestines, hearts, livers, and lungs, not a single part wasted, all put into the pots to cook together.
The entire pot of soup was rich with the aroma of meat, making everyone salivate.
"Oh, Mom, we're eating better than during the holidays today! With meat! Ah, it would be great if we were fleeing famine every day!"
A small child said innocently.
The adults beside him couldn't help but chuckle and say, "What a silly child, wishing for famine!"
"Of course! Isn't fleeing famine good? We can eat meat when fleeing famine. Can we eat meat at home? We haven't eaten meat in half a year!"
The child retorted frankly.
His mother's expression stiffened, and tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and said,
"Yes, fleeing famine is good. It's good that the village chief brought us out to flee famine.
Now we can eat meat. When we get to the south, the climate will be warm, and there will be large fields for us to cultivate. You must work hard then, and you'll be able to eat fragrant rice."
"Okay, I want to flee famine, and I won't say my feet hurt anymore."
The child said obediently.
Gu Qingcheng suddenly heard this conversation and found it both funny and sad.
Alas, she couldn't quite describe the feeling!
Alright, in this group, there were heartless and unrighteous families like Gu Lao Han's, and there were also innocent and kind common people like this child.
Gu Qingcheng felt a warmth rising in her heart. On the road of fleeing famine, there was still a glimmer of hope.
Gu Qingcheng walked over, rubbed the child's head, and said,
"Donggua, you're so good. Sister will give you a piece of candy, but don't tell the other children."
As she spoke, Gu Qingcheng took a piece of brown sugar from her pocket and placed it in the child's hand.
The child's eyes lit up, and he nodded knowingly.
After Gu Qingcheng left, the child didn't immediately put the candy in his mouth. Instead, he handed it to his mother nearby and said,
"Mom, Sister Qingcheng gave me brown sugar. You eat it!"
Naturally, the mother wouldn't snatch food from her child. She lovingly put the brown sugar into the child's mouth and said,
"Donggua, eat it well. When you grow up, you'll have the strength to cultivate many fields. Then you can repay Sister Qingcheng for this piece of candy."
"Okay."
The child nodded hard. The rich syrup of the brown sugar melted in his mouth, and the taste was incredibly delicious. The child closed his eyes in happiness.
Gu Qingcheng didn't expect that a casual act of kindness would earn her a "satisfaction point" from the system, originating from: Praise for kindness.
Gu Qingcheng shrugged slightly.
Ah, this system was truly omnipresent, constantly monitoring her words and actions.
In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed. The meat in the large pots had tumbled and was fully cooked.
The rich aroma of meat wafted through the forest.
There were likely many wild animals around the forest, even fierce beasts like wolves and leopards, but with the presence of an entire village, their strong human presence made these beasts wary and reluctant to approach.
Village Chief Gu called everyone to line up for meat soup.
The taste of lamb was distinctly different from chicken and rabbit meat. Village Chief Gu said that if anyone was afraid of the flavors mixing, they could each take two bowls and get them separately.
Some were less particular and simply took a large bowl, saying, "It's all meat, who cares about mixed flavors? Just smelling the meat aroma makes me content."
The meat stewed in large pots was indeed fragrant. Let alone the common villagers, Gu Chaobei's family, drawn by the aroma, also had their stomachs growling with hunger.