Seeing this situation, the surrounding shops all opened for business one after another, but none were as popular as this place.
The people from the escort agency returned after fifteen days, bringing fresh beef and mutton with them.
He Zifeng went to collect the goods. When taking inventory, he was somewhat surprised: “This meat is all deboned?”
“That’s right,” the escort agency people answered him.
He Zifeng hadn’t expected the grassland people to be so honest. If you didn’t count the weight of the bones, it was much cheaper than he had imagined.
After checking all the goods, he also settled the final payment.
During this period, the first floor had really made a name for itself, and even the prices of stalls here were rising sharply.
As soon as He Zifeng got his pots and cooking equipment, he arranged for everyone to start work.
Early the next morning, the most prominent place in the shop already had writing saying that the stewed meat pot on the second floor was now open and welcoming everyone to eat there.
Even the regular customers who always came here were amazed by this unfamiliar yet stunning aroma.
Early in the morning there was the smell of stewed meat drilling into their noses non-stop.
Going upstairs, they saw beautiful copper pots – crescent-shaped cooking vessels hanging on iron chains. Just the appearance alone looked very attractive.
The pots were divided into small and large ones. Small pots had half a jin of meat, large pots had one jin of meat. The prices were three hundred wen and five hundred wen respectively.
Inside there were some potatoes and tender cabbage hearts, with a layer of half-cooked pancakes covering the top like a blanket.
The hot air from the pot steamed the pancakes until they were cooked through. Eating them, they were salty and fragrant with meat flavor.
Both the side dishes and pancakes came free with the pot. Adding extra side dishes and pancakes would cost additional money.
There were two types of pots here: beef and mutton.
They had already stewed the beef and mutton over high heat for two hours, making them tender and flavorful.
Whether it was the elegant and luxurious or affordable delicacies sold downstairs, none were as satisfying as eating large chunks of meat.
Enticed by the meat aroma, the customers’ feet seemed to move without listening to their own commands. When they sat down, their craving immediately hit them.
Moreover, the stewed pots here were very cleverly designed. When cooked and brought by the server, they were steaming hot on top.
Underneath was a palm-sized small candlestick with a candle burning to continue heating the stewed pot. This heating method kept it steaming hot continuously!
“Bring me a beef portion.”
“I’ll have one too, a large portion.”
The meat here was already stewed, so they just needed to heat the soup briefly and spread the pancakes on top before it could be served.
The first customers to be served could already start eating.
Previously they only thought beef had a strong gamey smell and tough meat that was hard to chew. But now, forget the meat – even the beef tendons on top were quivering and translucent. Taking a bite, they were soft, tender, and full of fragrance.
Not a trace of gamey smell could be tasted.
Eating large chunks of meat was the most satisfying thing.
A small pot for three hundred wen was enough for one person to eat.
The vegetable hearts below were very tender, even tasting somewhat sweet when eaten. The dried tofu was also delicious.
Tearing off a bit of pancake perfectly balanced out the saltiness, creating infinite satisfaction while eating.
Eating meat until you were full had been a wish during this period of heavy snow blocking the roads, and it was finally fulfilled.
After eating just once, they were already planning when to try the mutton next time.
They also sold some rice wine here, clear as water. It didn’t cause headaches when drunk.
You could invite a few people for a pure feast – drinking heartily and eating meat in large bowls was more comfortable than anything.
After eating, there was also delivery service. But you had to order in advance, leave an address, and they would deliver uniformly in the afternoon.
In the morning, these people had eaten happily, but their family members hadn’t tried it yet.
They wanted to buy a portion to take home for their families to taste.
Lured by the aroma from the second floor, customers on the first floor kept running upstairs. Few could resist this kind of fragrance.
Soon the second floor was nearly full.
On the first day, they made thirty taels of silver. And this was with many people still not knowing about it yet.
Fortunately, He Zifeng had prepared in advance and found all the helpers beforehand. Plus Chef Zhang had been busy before and naturally had methods to handle the rush.
In the end, if they hadn’t sold out of meat, they could have sold even more.
He Zifeng came to balance the accounts and put away the silver. Hearing that they wanted to stew more meat tomorrow, He Zifeng took the money and went to find the escort agency again.
Since their stewed pots were so popular, that beef and mutton definitely wouldn’t be enough to sell. Plus it took too long for them to make a trip, so he needed to prepare in advance.
The escort agency boss said: “That’s fine, but the herders don’t have much meat left. This will probably be the last shipment.”
The meat there was all pure meat, properly slaughtered. When others saw it, they also took out money to buy it.
The escort agency boss said: “There’s one more thing. When we came back, we took a detour. There are already some refugees on the road.”
They were all disaster victims, displaced and homeless, wanting to make a living outside. Half were selling their children, and if they had nothing to sell, they could only resort to robbery.
But no one dared rob the escort agency – these tall, strong men, especially since they carried sabers.
After hearing this, He Zifeng said: “I understand. You also be careful of safety. This time, no matter how much meat there is, bring it all back. If there isn’t enough money, please advance it for me. I’ll definitely pay you when you return.”
The county didn’t just have poor people – there were wealthy people too. With the stewed pots, money was flowing in every day.
The escort agency boss nodded.
He Zifeng then went to find the County Magistrate. The County Magistrate’s subordinate said he was practicing calligraphy.
He Zifeng now had some understanding of the County Magistrate and knew that if the County Magistrate could still calm down to practice calligraphy, his mood wasn’t bad.
He had someone report his arrival and waited outside.
The County Magistrate was halfway through writing when he heard He Zifeng had come. He directly put down his brush and immediately let him in.
The County Magistrate now made a considerable income just from selling vegetables every day. Some people even asked if they could open another one – quite a few merchants wanted to get involved.
When the County Magistrate heard this, he felt great. Those merchants had probably found out that the county lacked silver, so they were waiting to name their price.
But they hadn’t expected the County Magistrate to have He Zifeng beside him.
The County Magistrate didn’t like the feeling of being held hostage. This turnaround battle was really beautiful – it prevented these merchants from looking down on him.
He Zifeng entered the County Magistrate’s room from outside. Just as he was about to bow, the County Magistrate stopped him and asked: “What’s wrong?”
The County Magistrate knew He Zifeng was someone who did practical work, unlike others who would come over to flatter him even when there was nothing to do.
He Zifeng wasn’t like that – if he came, there must be something important.
He Zifeng then told him what the escort agency had said about refugees outside.
Initially, the County Magistrate’s face still had some smile, but after hearing He Zifeng finish, his expression became heavy.
He said: “I knew the county magistrates around here didn’t listen to me.” He felt somewhat pained.
Although he could understand his colleagues’ thinking – everyone had their own territory, and county magistrates just needed to manage their own territories well without the right to point fingers at others.
But thinking of such harsh cold weather forcing common people to leave their homes, they must have reached a desperate situation to do this.
The County Magistrate immediately sent two people out to check how many refugees there were and what the situation was like outside.
The County Magistrate then called Constable Zhu over to discuss matters.
Ever since Constable Zhu hadn’t participated in handling the secretary’s matter last time, he had quit drinking and was available whenever called. He had to serve honestly.
As soon as Constable Zhu arrived, he said: “My lord, you’re looking for me.”
The County Magistrate nodded.
Constable Zhu saw that He Zifeng was also there. After the county no longer had a secretary, only the three of them were in charge of main affairs.
Each had their own responsibilities, and now that all three were gathered, it must be something big.
Constable Zhu didn’t know what had happened and looked at He Zifeng curiously.
He Zifeng said: “My lord is worried about the refugees outside.”
Constable Zhu was an old hand in the county. As soon as he heard this, he understood. If it weren’t for the county’s arrangements this year, some of their common people would probably have become refugees too.
This snow disaster was really too rare and beyond everyone’s expectations.
Constable Zhu said: “Our city gates have been reinforced. Those people can’t force their way in.”
They had long heard that refugees easily bred trouble. Those people, on their escape route, honest people simply couldn’t survive to the next county town. These people were used to burning, killing, and robbing.
Letting them into the city would be an unstable factor that would bring many troubles to the county’s common people.
Constable Zhu said: “My lord, if this matter is entrusted to me, I can lead thirty government officials plus two hundred auxiliary soldiers and can defend the city gates.”
If it were before, he wouldn’t dare say this, but after experiencing this period of training, those government officials had all undergone transformational changes.
Dealing with some petty thieves wouldn’t be difficult!
The County Magistrate nodded and said: “We’ll talk after the people return.” He didn’t give him a definite answer.
The County Magistrate was somewhat troubled. He wanted to think alone and told the two to go walk around outside first.
After Constable Zhu went out, he pulled He Zifeng to another rest room and said: “Brother He, tell me honestly, what’s really going on?”
Constable Zhu had now discovered that the County Magistrate valued He Zifeng more, but He Zifeng was very respectful to him and didn’t have any superior arrogance.
Plus He Zifeng was someone he had promoted. It didn’t affect him much.
Instead, he wanted to understand some things through He Zifeng to avoid guessing blindly by himself.
He Zifeng told him about the refugee situation.
Constable Zhu said: “Our County Magistrate isn’t getting soft-hearted, is he?”
He had been constable for so many years, and this was the first time he had seen such a County Magistrate. But such a County Magistrate was much better than one with a hard heart.
He Zifeng said: “When winter began, the County Magistrate had our brothers investigate how many people were in the entire county.”
At that time, their county had less than fifty thousand people. False reporting of population numbers happened in every county, but they hadn’t expected the previous magistrate to be so bold as to conceal half.
With He Zifeng’s slight reminder, Constable Zhu also reacted and said somewhat surprised: “The County Magistrate wants to bring in these people to fill the numbers?”
He Zifeng said: “Otherwise, he knows our forces haven’t suffered casualties from the snow disaster. Defending the city definitely wouldn’t be a problem. If he’s still this worried, it must be about other things.”
Constable Zhu thought briefly and said: “That makes sense.” Then he fell into contemplation – he had just been too rash.
