Reborn in 1977

Removing the padded gauze, Chen Fan originally intended to move the bamboo basket containing cured meat and fish up.

But as he was moving it, he hesitated for a moment, put it back behind the trailer, and went to serve the turtle meat with Jiang Lili.

Meat was hard to come by in those years, mainly because people in the countryside had difficulty getting meat coupons. If the turtle meat could be sold, he wouldn't be short of money for the time being, and he would keep the meat for himself.

At this time, the pot had already started to emit steam, but it was still a long way from boiling.

First, he put two bamboo steaming racks in the pot, just above the water.

Jiang Lili was using a bamboo tube to hold the turtle meat, weighing it each time she filled it, and then pouring it into another bamboo tube.

Chen Fan said one bowl was one pound, so she was really putting it in according to the standard of one pound per bowl.

Seeing her like this, Chen Fan couldn't help wiping away a cold sweat, "I said, Little Jiang, just use this bowl as a standard, and if it looks about right, just pour it over. If you're worried about it being short, just add two more pieces of meat. Why bother weighing it every time?"

Jiang Lili raised her head and blinked, "Oh, that's right, it can be done this way."

Looking at her cute appearance, Chen Fan couldn't help laughing. Seeing her face turn from white to red, he quickly closed his mouth and helped her divide the portions.

Soon, bamboo bowls were placed in the pot and stacked up, and the turtle meat in the wooden bucket was almost empty.

However, after filling 96 bowls, there were still about a dozen bowls left in the bucket. Chen Fan didn't plan to sell these either. He would heat them up on the spot later and give some to Captain Yang and Master Liu for lunch.

After filling the bamboo bowls, the water hadn't boiled yet, and a large group of people had gathered in front of the stall.

"Master, what kind of meat are you selling?"

"What a strong fishy smell, is it turtle meat?"

"There's even someone selling turtle meat? Can that stuff be eaten?"

"Are you from out of town? Master Chen came to Lujiawan and taught them how to cook turtle. I heard it's very delicious, and they say one turtle is worth two chickens. Hey, Master, are you from Lujiawan?"

Chen Fan was busy moving the cured fish to the basket of cured meat, and then he picked up the empty basket, checked if it was dirty, wiped it simply, and then turned it upside down as a lid, firmly covering the dozens of bowls of turtle in the pot.

The pot was quite big, but unfortunately, the height of the basket was not enough, so he could only steam it in batches.

Hearing the man's question, he smiled and said, "I am from Lujiawan."

Then he raised his voice and said to the others, "Whether this thing is delicious or not, what I say doesn't count. Wait until the water boils and it's steamed, and only those who have eaten it can judge."

After speaking, he squatted down and added dry firewood to the earthen stove.

Today, for the sake of setting up the stall, he specially brought firewood, which was more durable than cotton stalks. This big bundle could burn for a long time.

As soon as two pieces of wood were added, the flames immediately soared upwards, even窜ing out from the gaps between the pot and the stove, and a heat wave quickly spread out.

Some people who came to the market early had already strolled around the Shuizhu Lake and saw someone setting up a stall selling cooked food, which was turtle that they had never eaten before, so they couldn't help but stop here.

And the villagers of Lujiawan on the side helped to promote it, "This is Master Chen who taught our entire Lujiawan brigade how to cook turtle. The taste of his turtle is top-notch. It's not the same as what we used to make. I guarantee that once you eat it, you'll remember it for the rest of your life."

Immediately, someone replied, "Is it really that exaggerated? Are you boasting?"

Other villagers said, "We Lujiawan people are not fools, can't we tell if it's delicious or not? In Master Chen's words, you'll know if it's delicious or not after you take a bite. Moreover, this turtle meat is very nourishing, one pound of turtle is worth two pounds of chicken. If you eat turtle meat, you won't be able to sleep at night."

"Oh, what do you do if you can't sleep?"

"If you want to know, just buy a bowl and go home. Of course, you must be married, unmarried people should not eat it indiscriminately."

The semi-naked words immediately caused a burst of laughter and aroused the interest of many people.

Chen Fan ignored them and buried his head in the fire. Before long, steam rose from the steamer.

It's just that steaming is different from boiling. The same thing takes much longer to steam than to boil. At least, you have to wait 10 minutes before the turtle meat in the pot is thoroughly heated.

While waiting, Chen Fan turned to look at Jiang Lili, "Is there anything you want to buy?"

Jiang Lili shook her head gently, "No."

Chen Fan, "It's not easy to come here once, let's go shopping later, maybe there's something you want to buy."

Jiang Lili smiled, just as she was about to speak, she suddenly seemed to see something, and quickly lowered her head and shrank her neck, as if afraid of being discovered.

Seeing her appearance, Chen Fan naturally raised his head and glanced around, but found nothing unusual, so he asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Lili murmured, "The educated youth from our educated youth spot are here."

Chen Fan frowned, "Are they bullying you?"

Jiang Lili shook her head gently, "No. It's just…"

She didn't say what it was.

Chen Fan's eyes turned slightly, and he immediately understood her concerns.

On the one hand, she was embarrassed to run into acquaintances, and on the other hand, she was afraid of causing trouble.

It didn't matter if he set up a stall, but it would be a big deal for a female educated youth with family problems to come out with him.

Lujiawan didn't say anything for his sake, but those educated youth wouldn't.

After pondering for two seconds, he took out the unused piece of homespun cloth from his satchel, unfolded it and handed it to her, whispering, "Use this as a headscarf, wrap it around your head and cover your face, no one will recognize you."

Jiang Lili took it in her hand, unfolded it and draped it over her head, crossed it behind her head, and then wrapped her face, and soon only a pair of eyes were exposed. Coupled with her head down to burn the fire, let alone those few educated youth, I'm afraid even her family would not recognize her.

Chen Fan stood up as if nothing had happened and looked around.

These people were either chatting or looking inside the basket, and no one noticed their movements at all.

In fact, even if they saw it, it wouldn't be anything. It was just helping to get a headscarf, what did it matter?

As the steam became more and more, the aroma of the turtle meat also spread out with the steam, attracting more and more people to watch.

The one who was still saying that the turtle was fishy and inedible just now couldn't help but ask, "Master Chen, how much is this?"

Chen Fan raised his head and smiled, "When you go to buy meat, it costs 80 cents to 1 yuan per pound. My big bowl has one pound of turtle meat, and I'll cook it for you, isn't it too much to sell it for 1 yuan?"

Hearing this price, many people stopped talking.

Some people thought it was too expensive. Turtles were everywhere, and no one used to eat them. You still sell it for 1 yuan? Are you robbing money?

And some people thought it was reasonable. A plate of stir-fried sliced meat in a restaurant had less than three taels of meat, and it cost 40 to 50 cents on the table, which would be 1.4 to 1.5 yuan per pound, not to mention the extra meat coupons.

If this turtle meat was really as delicious as the people of Lujiawan said, and it could be nourishing, it wouldn't be impossible to spend 1 yuan to buy it and try it.

Of course, those who held the former idea were basically members of the production team, while the latter were naturally employees of the town's units.

This was also the reason why Chen Fan didn't have the idea before, until he heard Captain Yang and the others say that people from the town would also come, that he thought of making cooked food.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and Chen Fan opened the bamboo basket, and the bamboo bowls piled up like a hill appeared in front of everyone.

At the same time, an aroma ten times stronger than before quickly spread, attracting more and more onlookers.

Chen Fan picked up two bamboo sticks, clamped a piece of meat and threw it into his mouth. After confirming that it was thoroughly heated, he turned around and shouted, "Good turtle meat, one yuan a bowl, first come first served."

Some people didn't move at all and took two steps back.

But some people immediately took out 1 yuan, "Give me a bowl."

Chen Fan collected the money, inserted a bamboo stick into the bamboo bowl, and then handed it to him, "Hold it tight, be careful it's hot."

At this moment, everyone was staring at him.

The man held the bamboo bowl and weighed it twice, "Wow, it's really hot."

Then he padded it with his clothes, brought it to his mouth and took a bite.

As soon as the turtle meat reached his mouth, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Delicious."

Someone next to him shouted, "Really delicious?"

The man couldn't stop his mouth, "More delicious than chicken."

This was terrible, a dozen hands stretched out in front of Chen Fan, "Give me a bowl!"