Chang’an Small Restaurant

Chapter 22.1 Hoodlums’ Extortion

Shen Shaoguang squatted next to the small water tank in a narrow alley behind the eatery, with a tweezer in her hands, looking for hair on the pig's head.

In this dynasty, where pork was not high-end nor classy, pigs' heads and other offals were considered bottom tier. However, Shen Shaoguang loved these ‘bottom tier’ extremities.

Back when she was still a child, there was a delicatessen near her home that sold all kinds of pig offal, sausages, smoked chicken, and occasionally stewed beef. Shen Shaoguang loved meat from a young age. Whenever her parents gave her pocket money, other than the small trinkets that most girls liked, she spent most of her money on cold drinks during summer, and patronized the deli when it was cold.

Shen Shaoguang didn’t like stewed beef; it was just not delicate enough and always got stuff in her teeth, moreover the flavor was quite bland. The smoked chicken was only sold as a whole, and the limited pocket money of hers couldn't afford it, so the remaining choices became pork head or sausages. Of the two, Shen Shaoguang enjoyed pig’s head meat the most.

The pork head meat in that deli was first marinated and then smoked. It wasn’t overpowering in flavor but always had a particular burnt aroma.

After school, Shen Shaoguang would first buy herself a sesame flat bread, she would make sure it was just fresh off the pan, the kind that would still be emitting steam when bitten into. Holding the flat bread, she would make her way to the deli and buy a small piece of pork head meat. She would request the delicatessen’s owner to slice the meat into thin slices and then stuff it into her flat bread. With her two hands, the little her would hold the stuffed flat bread and take a big bite every time.

This handy snack allowed her to eat and run around the streets with her friends, play chinese jump rope[1], or throw sandbags, and would only return home after dark. After a quick lecture from her parents, she would hurriedly wash up, eat dinner, finish homework, and get ready for bed...

After Shen Shaoguang graduated, she became a part of the gourmet industry. She had sampled countless famous chefs’ creations but would always reminisce about the pig’s head from that deli. Every time she visited her hometown, Shen Shaoguang made sure to always patronize that store. She even wanted to write a short article to promote that auntie’s delicatessen, and was curious to find out what kind of smoking method she used and why it was so different from the other delis.

This matter was kept pushed back and procrastinated until the day she finally went back to find that the deli and the grocery store next door had merged and turned into a rather large real estate agency office. That elderly auntie was said to have left overseas and settled in with her son who lived here. Hence the question as to how the meat was smoked remained an unsolved mystery.

Shen Shaoguang looked at the wisps of white clouds in the blue sky and sighed. She then lowered her head and continued to tidy up the pig's head. Although she didn't know how to process meat through smoking, Shen Shaoguang was very confident in her stewed pork. It's roughly the same process as simmering red braised pork. The spices and seasoning had to be added generously, and with enough patience when stewing, the end result couldn't be bad—it's just a hassle to clean up.

Shen Shaoguang deliberately gave the butcher shop a heavy tip so that they would be more thorough when shaving off the pig hair. Even so, she was not at ease, and would always give it another check when she bought it back to the eatery. If the guests were to find pig hairs when eating... that would be rather disgusting.

What she hadn’t expected was for something to still happen even after all her meticulous planning. 

The sun was still high when the drum signaling the evening began to beat. It was this day that two strangers came into her eatery, one in a blue tussah silk gown and the other in a brown. Both of them had high nose bridges, deep set eyes, and curly hair– mostly likely northern Chinese.

There were many people of minor ethnic groups in Chang'an City, so Shen Shaoguang didn’t show any prejudice, greeted them with a smile, and allowed them to sit wherever they pleased.

The two ordered the signature Cornelian Meat, Lion's Head, braised pig’s head, and pork trotters, all of the meat dishes that were available along with three jugs of wine.

A single jug contained four liters of wine, and a young man such as Deputy Magistrate Lin would only drink one liter, but these two actually wanted to drink twelve...

Owners of food service establishments never feared big eaters; and so Shen Shaoguang quickly prepared the order and asked A’Yuan to serve the food.

More and more customers began to frequent their eatery, and soon the seats were all occupied. Some left after eating which were soon replaced by new orders. Some people were just here to drink while others solely came for the soup buns or meat dishes; it was a crowded scene.

Suddenly, a commotion was heard in the eatery.

Shen Shaoguang stopped her preparation and walked over to check.

It was the two northern Chinese who had ordered three jugs of wine. One of them pointed to the plate and said accusingly, "There’s hair in the meat! Your eatery serves dirty food!"

Shen Shaoguang always wore an apron, sleeve covers, and bunched her hair in a cloth scarf when cooking; the same goes for A’Yuan. She believed they were quite hygienic, but there may always be contingency. Therefore, Shen Shaoguang stepped forward and said with an apologetic smile. "Guests, there is no need to be anxious. Where is the dirty thing you speak of?"

The man in blue studied Shen Shaoguang with squinted eyes, raised one corner of his mouth, and pointed to the plate of Cornelian Meat. "Here it is."

The meat on the plate had been eaten up, only the sauce remained, and in the sauce was indeed a piece of hair.

Many of the other guests stopped eating and turned their heads or came over to spectate.

The man in blue burped, and the unpleasant smell of alcohol sprayed upon Shen Shaoguang's face. "So what now, little missy?"

The Cornelian Meat were all stewed in the same earthenware pot, and would be plated on order. A spoonful of sauce, for the red color and to enhance the taste, was only added at the every end. In such a process, unless Shen Shaoguang and A Yuan were blind, there should never be a plate with hair being served out.

Looking at the empty plates and jugs, Shen Shaoguang quickly discerned that these two wanted to dine and dash…

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Footnote:

[1] chinese jump rope 跳皮筋 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqaEEUYEylc