The metal ball was tethered to the top of the stainless steel bucket by a thin chain, clanking with every movement of the ladle.
‘This hollow metal ball must be where he keeps those twenty different medicinal herbs,’ Li Xiao guessed.
No wonder the owner was confident enough to make his apprentices work for free for six months.
‘It seems the real secret lies inside this hollow metal ball.’
The owner’s movements were incredibly deft. His actions looked rough, but he didn’t break a single cube of pig blood. Each one dropped into the chicken broth perfectly intact.
Watching the owner’s movements, Li Xiao let go of his initial condescension.
A shop chosen by a Xia Country breakfast program from hundreds of pig blood soup restaurants definitely had some skill.
The owner’s simple movements were full of technique. Pig blood curd is incredibly fragile.
If any bits of the pig blood broke off and fell into the broth, the relatively clear chicken soup would quickly turn murky.
The owner swiftly added all the pig blood to the chicken broth. As it simmered, he carefully adjusted the flame, ensuring the soup base could extract the full essence of the ingredients without overcooking.
Li Xiao was captivated by the aroma wafting from the pot—a fragrant blend of herbs and rich bone broth.
After completing this series of steps, the owner looked up again.
“It’s all ready. What can I get for you four?”
As he spoke, he used his long-handled ladle to point at the toppings on the side of the counter.
“The toppings on the left in the stainless steel bowls are two yuan a portion. The ones on the right in the plastic boxes are five yuan a portion.”
“A plain bowl of pig blood soup is four yuan.”
“All this seafood was brought in fresh by the fishermen. It’s delicious in the pig blood soup!”
Li Xiao raised his eyebrows when he heard the prices. To be fair, they were quite cheap.
He had already noticed the customers eating outside, and the soup bowls on their tables were by no means small.
Li Xiao looked at Wen Churen beside him.
“Miss Wen, what do you usually order here?”
Wen Churen glanced at Li Xiao and blinked, pointing to the toppings in the stainless steel bowls.
“These are better. I’ve always felt that adding seafood to pig blood soup is a little weird.”
Li Xiao caught her subtle gesture and glanced at the toppings.
The stainless steel bowls on the left were mostly filled with different kinds of pork offal, while the ones on the right held seafood.
‘Pig blood soup with seafood does feel like an odd combination.’
‘The original pig blood soup probably only had pig blood and offal, not seafood.’
‘The seafood was probably a later addition by the owner to increase his profit margins.’
That being the case, Li Xiao was happy to take her advice.
He pointed to the stainless steel bowls on the left.
“We’ll take one of each from this side!”
The owner, overhearing their conversation, was already a little displeased.
Li Xiao’s guess had been correct.
The seafood had indeed been added in recent years for the sole purpose of making more money.
The cost of plain pig blood soup and pork offal wasn’t high, but neither was the price he could charge.
Only by selling seafood could he drive up revenue and increase his profit margin.
The owner had been a bit put out when he heard Li Xiao’s group of four wasn’t ordering any seafood.
He had just given them such an enthusiastic sales pitch precisely so they would order more seafood, allowing him to make more money.
However, when the owner heard Li Xiao order one of every type of pork offal, the smile that had vanished from his face instantly returned, brighter than before.
There was a considerable variety of pork offal available—ten different types in total.
Even though each portion was only two yuan, it added up to over twenty yuan.
The owner immediately brightened up.
“This handsome fellow really knows his food! Each type of offal has a different texture and flavor. You have to try them all to get the most authentic pig blood soup experience.”
“What about the other three? You want the same as this gentleman?”
But Wen Churen wasn’t about to be swayed by the owner. She knew exactly what he was thinking. ‘He’s just trying to make more money, isn’t he?’
She quickly waved her hands.
“Oh, no, no, I can’t eat that much.”
“I’ll just have pork liver and kidney in mine. Oh, and I’ll add a portion of motherwort, too.”
At this, she seemed to remember something and quickly turned to explain to Li Xiao.
“You have to add motherwort to the pig blood soup. It makes the flavor much better, more unique.”
???
Hearing the word “motherwort,” Li Xiao was a bit baffled.
He had, of course, heard of motherwort, but in his mind, it was a type of traditional Chinese medicine.
Before he could voice his question, the owner seemed to notice his confusion. Clearly, he’d been asked this by travelers before. He explained with a chuckle:
“You’re not from Chaoshan, are you, young man? Around here, motherwort isn’t just a medicinal herb; we use it more like a vegetable.”
“There are two varieties of motherwort. The purple-flowered one is the original, and then there’s a white-flowered variety. According to the wisdom passed down by our Chaoshan ancestors, the white-flowered kind can only be used for medicine. Only the purple-flowered motherwort is edible.”
“What’s more, you can’t eat it once it’s fully grown. It’s only edible when it’s a young sprout. That’s why you’ll only find farmers in our Chaoshan Region who specialize in growing it. Our local farmers know from experience the perfect time to harvest.”
“We add motherwort to a lot of our dishes.”
“Would you like to add some, young man? It’s only one yuan per portion.”
Hearing this, Wen Churen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
“Since when do you charge for motherwort, boss?”
A helpless look appeared on the owner’s face.
“Prices are skyrocketing these days! Everything’s getting more expensive, and the cost of motherwort goes up every year.”
“Besides, miss, one yuan for a portion of motherwort isn’t expensive, is it?”
Hearing his explanation, Wen Churen pursed her lips.
She had been eating pig blood soup her whole life and had never heard of anyone charging for motherwort. After all, it wasn’t expensive—usually only three or four yuan for half a kilogram, and even cheaper during peak season.
She remembered this place. In the past, not only was the motherwort free, but you could even get free refills of the broth. Its main appeal had been how affordable it was.
She never expected it to end up like this after being on a TV show.
But they were out to have a good time, so she didn’t press the issue and just nodded in resignation.
“Fine, fine. One yuan it is.”
The group quickly finished ordering, and the owner’s hands moved with practiced speed.
He swiftly poured the selected ingredients from their stainless steel dishes into a metal basket next to the soup pot.
The boiling chicken broth quickly cooked the various toppings. The motherwort was blanched in a separate small pot. In just two minutes, the bowls of pig blood soup were ready.