Chapter 47: Brother, Can I Have A Bite? Seeking Monthly Tickets
The chaos and pandemonium in the Hall of Supreme Harmony seemed to have no impact on the liveliness outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance, as if separated by thick palace walls.
Zhang Biao, clad in a faded green robe and wearing tattered straw sandals, squatted by the wonton stall at the foot of the west side of the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance’s city wall.
The stall was run by a man who looked like an old soldier. The stove was burning brightly, and the bone broth in the iron pot was bubbling with foam. The aroma mixed with the smell of firewood, drilling directly into people’s noses.
Several porters and laborers sat around a worn bench, slurping loudly.
“Brother, the broth is rich! Is it the Huaixi style?”
Zhang Biao held a coarse porcelain bowl with a chipped rim. He didn’t mind, blew on it, and took a big mouthful of the scalding soup. The heat made him hiss and grin as he gave the stall owner, the old soldier, a thumbs-up.
The old soldier grinned, revealing a missing tooth, his sleeves greasy, “Young man has a good palate! I learned from a master in Jiqing Prefecture when I followed the Marshal across the river! The bones were crushed and simmered for a long time! Want more wontons?”
“That’s enough!”
Zhang Biao waved his hand and started slurping again.
Just then, a sallow-faced old man, seeing that Zhang Biao was unfamiliar and clearly enjoyed the food, became interested: “Young man, you’re not from around here, are you? Huaixi?”
Zhang Biao paused for a moment, then turned his head and said with a smile, “You can tell, old man?”
“Heh, my eyes are extraordinary. Even when the Marshal hadn’t crossed the river yet, I could tell he was a true dragon!”
The old man spoke excitedly, gesticulating from time to time, “Look at this Gate of Heavenly Acceptance, isn’t it magnificent? The Marshal entered Ying Tian through here with his sword back then!”
Zhang Biao took a sip of the scalding wonton soup, winced from the heat, and laughed, “Is that so? The Marshal is that awesome?”
“Indeed! The Marshal is very awesome!”
The old man said it by reflex, but then felt the word was a bit off, so he grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, “Young man, you look like a learned scholar!”
“Ah, what scholar, just trying to make a living.”
Zhang Biao waved his hand, his eyes darting around. He lowered his voice, “Let me tell you a secret. Just yesterday, I dreamed of a great golden dragon coiled on this Gate of Heavenly Acceptance. Its whiskers, tsk tsk, were even glossier than Wang Mazi’s pig’s head meat! What do you think, does this signify something?”
The old man listened, stunned, his cloudy eyes wide, “Golden dragon? Then… then isn’t that the new emperor…”
“Shh—!”
Zhang Biao looked around furtively, a mysterious expression on his face, “The heavenly secrets cannot be revealed! But then again…”
He changed tack, patted his bulging money bag, which jingled with copper coins, “Even a golden dragon needs to eat pig’s head meat, right? I’m off, old man, I’m rushing to order some good stuff!”
He dropped a few copper coins, patted his butt, stood up, and sauntered towards Wang Mazi’s butcher shop, humming a tuneless little song, “Pig’s head meat is so fragrant, Old Zhu is so angry he’s snorting~~”
Soon, he arrived at Wang Mazi’s butcher shop.
This was the first time he had seen Wang Mazi in person since his transmigration.
Wang Mazi was broad-shouldered and stout, with a gruff face, wearing a leather apron of indeterminate color. He was swinging a thick-backed cleaver, ‘clang! clang! clang!’, chopping a rack of ribs. The blade flashed, and bone fragments flew everywhere, creating an awe-inspiring sight.
In the large wooden basin next to the cutting board, freshly cleaned pig stomachs and intestines were soaking, their raw smell mixing with the smell of blood, assaulting the senses.
“Brother Wang! Such strength!”
Zhang Biao’s voice was loud. He called out from a few paces away and nodded to the neighbors waiting to buy meat, appearing familiar.
Wang Mazi looked up and saw Zhang Biao. A smile like a chrysanthemum bloomed on his weathered face.
“Oh! Censor Zhang! You’re finally here! The brothers who are buying pig’s head meat in bulk today have been waiting for you! You have no idea, dozens of officials came asking this morning, all saying they wanted to buy pig’s head meat today, and they specifically asked for fatty ones!”
Zhang Biao knew what was going on but feigned surprise, “Oh? They’re all thinking about it? It seems I had a heart-to-heart with the brothers last night… no, I mean, we had a gourmet tasting session, and it really resonated!”
Saying this, he raised his hand and pointed, “Brother Wang, five large pig heads, with fatty backsides and thick fat, clean them up for me! The brothers need your good stuff for our feast tonight!”
“I’ve already prepared them for you! Just watch!”
Wang Mazi patted his chest in assurance and nimbly brought out five ferocious-looking but very oily large pig heads from the back, lining them up on the cutting board. The scene was quite spectacular.
“Excellent! Brother Wang always does things properly!”
Zhang Biao nodded with satisfaction, his eyes scanning the cooked food section next to the cutting board, and suddenly fixed on the brightly colored, soft, and tempting braised pig’s trotters.
His eyes lit up, his appetite whetted, “Hey! Brother Wang, these pig’s trotters are well-braised! Give me two! No, give me four! I’ll prepare them myself!”
“Alright!”
Wang Mazi deftly scooped out four heavy, trembling pig’s trotters and wrapped them in oiled paper.
Zhang Biao took the pig’s trotters, cradling them like treasures, and then began to direct.
“Brother Wang, lend me your utensils! Garlic! Peel a lot of garlic! Ginger! Smash it! Vinegar! Use aged vinegar! Soy sauce! Sesame oil! Oh my, you have cornelian cherry powder here? Good stuff! Give me a scoop! Do you have ground Sichuan pepper? Give me some of that too! And sugar! To enhance the flavor…”
Zhang Biao, like a general commanding thousands of troops, set up his station at the small table by the butcher shop’s doorway.
He spread out the oiled paper bag, revealing four plump pig’s trotters. He grabbed the cleaver next to the cutting board and chopped them into small pieces with a clatter.
Immediately afterward, he dumped minced garlic, minced ginger, cornelian cherry powder, ground Sichuan pepper, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and a little sugar into a large coarse porcelain bowl.
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing half of his forearm, and reached in directly with his hands.
His five fingers churned and flipped in the bowl, mixing the seasonings and pig’s trotter pieces incredibly evenly, coating each piece with a bright red, oily, and fragrant sauce.
His movements were fluid and natural, carrying a unique boldness and uninhibitedness of the marketplace, so much so that Wang Mazi forgot to chop meat.
“Done!”
Zhang Biao sniffed with satisfaction, breathing in the complex, stimulating, and mouth-watering aroma, his eyes narrowing blissfully.
He didn’t use chopsticks, but directly extended two fingers, picked up a piece of pig’s trotter coated with minced garlic and cornelian cherry powder, and put it in his mouth.
“Mmm—!”
Zhang Biao let out a contented sigh, his cheeks bulging, his eyes happily curved into crescent moons, “Spicy, sour, and fragrant! It’s truly refreshing! Brother Wang, your braised pig’s trotters are excellent, and my cold-dressing skills are the icing on the cake! A perfect match!”
“Heh, Censor Zhang really knows how to eat!”
“Indeed, it tastes extremely good!”
He ate with his mouth full of oil, even sucking his fingers with relish, and still managed to give Wang Mazi a greasy thumbs-up.
However, just then, a weak, somewhat shy, but unable-to-suppress-a-swallow voice suddenly sounded behind him.
“Big brother, can… can I have a bite?”
“Hm?”
Zhang Biao was slightly taken aback and looked towards the sound. What met his eyes was a young beggar dressed in coarse cloth, but with noble features.
