Chapter 583: The piglet arrives and finds Alice for help

Author: Biantang Wushi

Chapter 583: The piglet arrives and finds Alice for help

"Roasted suckling pig" can be called a "long-standing" in Guangdong. On June 9, 1983, the tomb of the King of Nanyue of the Western Han Dynasty, which had a history of more than 2,000 years, was discovered in Xianggang Mountain. Archaeologists who rushed to hear the news discovered a series of precious cultural relics, including the "Emperor Wen Xing Seal", but what most interesting to the majority of foodies is the dazzling cooking utensils in the burial objects. The ovens have their own pulleys below, which are convenient to eat and move wherever they are, and the four corners on the top are raised to prevent food from slipping.

There are two iron forks next to the oven, which are 83 cm long, which is probably used to roast small suckling pigs - because there are 4 small suckling pigs cast on the wall of the square oven unearthed. Next to this oven, the remains of the suckling pigs were also found in a copper cauldron. From this point of view, the King of Nanyue, who lived in Yangcheng back then, seemed to have already enjoyed the "crispy suckling pigs" that "eat in Guangzhou".

Of course, the South Vietnamese era is far away (more than two thousand years). It is hard to say that the "crispy suckling pig" in Cantonese cuisine today has a direct inheritance relationship with the (suspected) roasted suckling pig from the tomb of the King of Nanyue. A modern Guangxi scholar Liu Xifan once verified in "Lingbiao Jiman" that the "roasted fragrant pig" was originally a specialty from the "Guizhou Province (now Guangxi) Man District". Later, its practice spread to Guangdong, and the "roasted suckling pig" came into being.

More importantly, it is related to culture. Considering the exquisite and complex production process of "roasted suckling pig", ordinary people can only do it during very grand festivals. Guangdong wedding customs, the groom accompanied the bride to visit his father-in-law and mother-in-law on the third day after the marriage, which is called "returning to the door". A traditional wedding is truly over here. In many places in Guangdong, the necessary gift for the groom to "returning to the door" is the roast suckling pig (also known as "golden pig").

According to Yu Puchen in "Yunlang Notes": "In the Guangzhou wedding, the bride returned to her parents' home three days after the wedding, and then accompanied her with a roasted pig. The number of pigs depends on the wealth of her husband's family..."

In recent years, the connotation of "three-day return home" has changed, but whether it is frugal at the banquet, there must be a "roasting pig" policy to show good luck and good luck.

Wedding customs have always been regarded as one of the most important rituals in life. The emphasis on "roasted suckling pig" at the back-end banquet also imitates other ritual ceremonies. Guangdong people would place suckling pigs on incense and worship gods during festivals. In the old days, major competitive competitions in Guangdong often used roasted suckling pigs as prizes. Even when the company opened a celebration, they liked to cut suckling pigs to symbolize their bodies. The career should be red and strong, in order to achieve good luck.

The deep integration with local culture in turn further strengthens the status of roasted suckling pigs in Cantonese cuisine. For example, today's Shenzhen is indeed an immigrant city, but there is a kind of "potted vegetables (also called "enclosed vegetables")" locally. This traditional diet is made of mixed brocade dishes served in pots. It is said that the top layer is usually covered with roasted suckling pigs (or replaced by white-cut chickens), symbolizing its noble status. In contrast, the "Guangdong restaurants claimed by Hu Pu'an, a literati during the Republic of China, in the article "Banquet in Guangzhou" that "the restaurants in Guangdong are the best in China and abroad", and "if roasted pigs, steamed nests, etc. are also treasures", of course, it seems more straightforward.

From this point of view, this roasted suckling pig has a deep mass and cultural foundation in Guangdong. The reason why I agreed to Ah Song happily is actually a little clear-headed. First of all, when I was selling China, I saw a slaughterhouse not far from Bantian Railway Station, but I didn’t leave a phone number because we don’t need it. This is a small matter. I will ask those little girls who are resting at home and help me see it.

The second trick is to push it to the restaurant, but this is not like selling cigarettes. You go to the door and ask directly, you must find a familiar relationship, otherwise, how could you get in? At this time, I suddenly remembered one thing, that is, Mr. Zhou once took us to a Cantonese restaurant on Cuihu Road on Luohu Road for dinner several times. I remember that Mr. Luo from the restaurant always came to our private room to say hello, sometimes he had to toast two glasses of wine, or recommend a few newly launched dishes, or ask about the taste of the dishes, etc. It can be seen that he and Alice are very familiar.

I have been there more times, and Mr. Luo and I have met each other. Every time we meet, we will have a drink. The size of this restaurant is not small. It has three floors, one floor is individual customers, the second floor is a large event venue, and the third floor is a private room. I also checked it out and there are more than 30 rooms.

Once, Mr. Luo and I visited the kitchen. The chef alone had thirty or forty people in the red and white cases, so I thought of this at the first time. I wonder if Mr. Luo needs it here? But I don’t have Mr. Luo’s phone number, and I think it’s not a good idea to rely on my friendship with him alone, so I decided to ask Alice first.

After a brief process of what was at hand, I went to Alice's office. After knocking on the door and entering, I saw her calling, Alice signaled me to wait a moment. Soon, she finished talking on the phone and asked me with a smile if I had anything to do?

At this time, I suddenly regretted it. This is a private matter. Will Alice think that I am unfaithful to the company, or spend the company's resources but do things that have nothing to do with the company? But since I have come, I can't turn around and go back. Besides, Alice and I are both teachers and friends, so I just ask. If it's okay, it's fine. I'll think of other solutions.

So I told her a little embarrassedly that a friend of mine from the customs intercepted a batch of piglets and wanted to deal with it. I would like to ask Mr. Luo if they need it, do they need it?

Mr. Zhou laughed and teased me, "Arthur, your friend is really amazing, you even do this, hahaha."

I didn't know what she meant, so I had to smile awkwardly and said, Yes, this guy is one of my classmates. I was a little puzzled when I received the call just now. How did I find me such a difficult thing? Hahaha. However, Mr. Zhou, I just asked casually. If it is inconvenient for you, forget it, it doesn't matter, I'm sorry.

It's okay, it's okay. I'm going to go to Mr. Luo for dinner tonight. I want to book a private room. I'll ask you later.

OK, thank you Mr. Zhou, please trouble you

About half an hour later, Alice called me and asked me to go to her office. I hurried over and she took out a note and said to me, Mr. Luo, I want it, this is his phone number, you can talk to him about the specific matters yourself.

Is that true? That’s great, Mr. Zhou, thank you so much, I called him at noon.

OK, go busy.
Chapter completed!