Bai Fumei in the 70’s

She blushed. There was a pile of bones on the table. How much meat had she eaten? She had never eaten so much meat in her life!

She stared at the educated youth Zhao, and there is a kind of congestion that she was not sure how to explain. But the fullness that the food brought to her, she had no regret even if she died.

Zhao Lanxiang looked at Sister He's empty bowl with a smile. She was very satisfied.

From a certain point of view, this elder sister of the He family and her old man were her benefactors. After Jiang Jianjun had physically and mentally scarred her, she resolutely filed for a divorce and even exposed their marriage scandal to his superiors. Divorce was equivalent to a large, ugly stain on Jiang Jianjun's booming career. How could he let her off so easily?

At that time, Zhao Lanxiang had been like a sorrowful dog. She was panic-stricken all day long. Finally, the older sister of the He family relieved her worries by giving that scumbag a hard lesson.

Zhao Lanxiang pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Granny hasn't eaten yet. Sister, you can take a bowl of food to her."

With that said, she pushed forward the bowl of rice in front of her. Zhao Lanxiang had carefully selected the meat in the bowl, and they were especially simmered in the pot for a long while until it had become soft. Now, the meat had a soft and smooth texture, which made it suitable for the elderly and those with bad teeth.

Sister He nodded gratefully. She picked up the bowl and went into the back room. She was so fascinated by the meal. She had forgotten that her grandmother hadn't eaten her supper yet. The cooking made by Zhao Lanxiang was too evil. It was so bewitching!

...

The next day, early in the morning, Zhao Lanxiang packed the cold duck meat in a jar and sealed it tightly before then putting it in her bag.

Today is the start of the weekend, which saved her the trouble of asking leave from the captain, Li Dali. It was also a good day, which seemed like a once in a lifetime occurrence. The flow of people in Qinghe county town would be greater than usual. Zhao Lanxiang would feel sorry for the delicious meat she had made if she didn't take this chance to go to the county town to make money.

Zhao Lanxiang went to the captain's house first after she finished packing. Li Dali pushed the door open and saw Comrade Zhao immediately. He frowned and asked, "Came to ask for a leave again?"

Zhao Lanxiang shook her head, "Today is the weekend. I came for Tang Qing."

She intended to ask Tang Qing if she could borrow his bicycle. Tang Qing was the only person in the village who owned a bicycle. As the first person to own a model 28 in the village, every time he rode down the road, he always received a bunch of envious looks.

After Zhao Lanxiang explained her intentions to Tang Qing, Tang Qing nodded and lent her the bike with pleasure.

Although Tang Qing was not from her hometown, he was from a neighboring city.

He was a boy who can sing and dance. When a group of educated youths were playing poker on the train or smoking and chatting boringly, he would play a song with an accordion and actively organize the educated youths who were previously strangers to perform stunts together.

"Your noodles were so fragrant. I didn't have time to thank you last time." Tang Qing said.

Zhao Lanxiang rode this model 28 bicycle and waved her hand at him. "I will invite you to have another meal in the future."

Tang Qing came out from the house and said, "The bicycle was very tall. It's not really convenient for girls to ride on it. Remember to go slowly when you pass the mountain."

Zhao Lanxiang hurried away to the county town to sell meat. She waved her hand at Tang Qing and had soon ridden more than ten meters away.

When Zhao Lanxiang arrived on the street in the black market, the vantage point was already occupied. The so-called vantage point was a conspicuous place. From it, a person can attract attention but also could run at the fastest speed if the police arrive. She was new and relatively young, so she could only walk inside obediently.

She found a remote place and stopped. She shook a clean cloth from her school bag and laid it on the ground. The food seller next to her squeezed his eyebrows. Maybe he didn't want people to see him. He wore a hat, and the long brim almost completely concealed his eyes.

"You were new here. I tell you, put it here, it must be placed in the dark!"

"Anyway, I have to sell things too. If you were willing to give me fifty cents, you could leave the things with me. I can peddle them for you. So... what were you selling?"

Zhao Lanxiang slowly took out the pottery jar and carefully opened the lid.

The cold duck meat no longer had a domineering fragrance like it did when it was first made, but it can still be smelt when people were a little closer. Because they were marinated foods, they don't look very good, and the sauce was lumpy.

The young man who also sold food only glanced before he looked away. "Why were they all bones? How much do you plan to sell for a pound, do you want to sell for meat tickets?"

Zhao Lanxiang said: "Of course, two pounds for a meat ticket."

The young man was startled. "You were delusional. I dare not sell it for you. Change the price!"

"Although it's a black market, I can't believe that you were so pitted. It will ruin our reputation. In the future, the officials will not spare you."

Zhao Lanxiang heard the word "officials" and didn't speak anymore. She only silently took out a clean bowl and some chopsticks.

It took a while, but she pulled out a stack of prepared notes from her pocket and handed it silently to the people coming and going on the street. In fact, she did not do it aimlessly. She only gave a note when she saw a well-dressed person.

"Delicious duck meat: prepared using only exclusive recipes and was cooked carefully. It was spicy and refreshing, mellow, but not greasy, giving you a full aftertaste."

She blinks and shows another note:

"If it doesn't taste good, you don't need to pay. You can try it for free first."

The young man beside her withdrew his gaze, though there was an expression on his face as if saying, "don't listen to a random person's words and suffer a loss."

When her "sale pitch" didn't work, Zhao Lanxiang did not care.

There was a stalk of grass hanging out of the mouth of that food seller, and he leisurely sat against the wall, only slightly raising the corner of his mouth.

She rallied her confidence and continued to sell. This time, she went to catch a person who had passed her, immediately wrote a sentence on the white paper, and showed it to the passersby.

"It was made using an exclusive secret recipe. You can try it. I guarantee it will be delicious. If it's not, you don't have to pay!"

The passersby instinctively didn't believe this girl's "advertising words." It's too exaggerated! Meat was so precious, how can they be willing to let people try without paying?

What if you eat and she suddenly asks you to pay money? So everyone who saw the girl's words didn't stop, but walked faster.

Zhao Lanxiang enthusiastically took out a pair of chopsticks and a bowl, and put a piece of duck meat in front of the guests. Under her repeated assurances that she would never dupe people, the passerby put the first piece of duck meat in his mouth suspiciously.

In an instant...

A fresh and spicy sensation stimulated his tongue. This electrifying feeling was like a gorgeous firework exploding in his mind; it was hot and fiery. The numbness moistened the corners of his eyes, and the beautiful sweet flavor overflowed on his tongue. He couldn't stop eating. The more he chewed, the more fragrant it became. Even the bones were infused with that essence.

The man quickly ate another piece of meat. Even the bones were chewed and cleaned. The scent hooked deep in the bone marrow was more interesting than meat! He had never eaten such delicious meat!

Following Zhao Lanxiang into the corner, he lowered his voice and could not wait to ask, "Is there any more?"

Zhao Lanxiang nodded and said in a soft voice: "Yes, a pound for 50 cents and a two-pound meat ticket."

Although this price was a bit painful, it was not unacceptable. The guest bought two pounds of duck meat and a pound of duck necks in one breath, nibbling along the way.

The first person who dared to eat had already come, and gradually came the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth customers. Every guest who tried it would empty his pockets and buy a little more. The last guest simply purchased the rest of the duck dish.

They were all astonished. They could not suppress their excitement, lowering their voices, and said, "It's so delicious, so delicious!"

"Little girl, you have such skills. How do you do it? My mother-in-law doesn't even have an inch of skill compared to you."

"Will you come again tomorrow? I didn't bring enough money today."

Zhao Lanxiang responded to each one by one with a smile, "No, I only come three times per month. The time was not yet fixed, so please don't have too much hope. In the future, in addition to meat tickets, I will also accept cloth tickets, industrial coupons, fish tickets, sugar tickets, soap tickets, etc. The value will be about the same."

After she finished speaking, she folded her stall away neatly into her school bag and silently withdrew from the black market.

The food seller couldn't sit still and straightened his waist.

Oh man, he didn't even make any money, but it was rare to see a person with such personality.