In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 678 Observations (6)

The half-eaten poached chicken at Chencun Restaurant cost 120 coins, which was incredibly cheap compared to the half-eaten chicken in Liangzhou that often cost more than 500 coins.

Not only the poached chicken, but all the meat dishes made from chicken and duck, as well as vegetarian dishes and staple foods on the menu, are priced much cheaper than in Liangzhou.

"No wonder the villagers of Chenjia Village all like to eat at this restaurant!"

Li Mingyuan thought to himself that he had noticed this restaurant was the one with the most villagers when he was looking for a place to eat, which was why he chose to come here.

Upon entering the restaurant, it seemed even more crowded. The main hall had over fifty tables, almost all of which were occupied. If Li Mingyuan and his companion had arrived any later, they probably wouldn't have had a seat.

"Dude."

Li Mingyuan looked away from the menu and asked the waiter, "Why are these dishes so cheap?"

"Sir, you must be from out of town?"

The waiter asked with a smile.

"They are indeed from out of town."

"Then it's not surprising!"

The waiter said, "Our Chenjia Village is famous for its cheap meat. Whether it's yellow-feathered chicken or white-feathered duck, the price in Chenjia Village is much cheaper than in other places, so the dishes made with them will also be cheaper accordingly."

"That's it!"

Li Mingyuan nodded and then began ordering food.

"Hey buddy, give us a plate of stir-fried cabbage, half a poached chicken, and another half..."

Li Mingyuan, who was originally going to say half a roast duck, glanced at the pot-bellied Li Qiao and finally changed his mind: "Another roast duck, please!"

"Alright! Please wait a moment, sir, the dishes will be served shortly."

The waiter left quickly.

While waiting for his food to be served, Li Mingyuan carefully observed the villagers dining in the restaurant, mainly focusing on the dishes on their tables. He noticed that almost every table had one or two meat dishes, which indicated that the villagers of Chenjia Village were indeed able to eat meat, just as he had heard before.

Li Mingyuan even noticed that many villagers had bottles of alcohol in front of them.

In the Xia Kingdom, wine is a true luxury!

Since wine is generally brewed from grain, when people are starving, the imperial court naturally has to strictly limit the brewing of wine. Otherwise, if profit-driven merchants use large amounts of grain to brew wine, how many people would starve to death?

This is why, in the Xia Kingdom, alcohol is a very rare commodity for ordinary people. Even the lowest quality alcohol is something that ordinary people can hardly afford to drink.

That's why Li Mingyuan was so surprised when he saw the villagers of Chenjia Village drinking.

"They even have alcohol!"

Li Qiao also saw the wine on the villagers' tables. He was also a wine lover, but because he and Li Mingyuan were both short of money, he hadn't had a drop of wine in a long time.

"Uncle Li."

Li Qiao looked at Li Mingyuan expectantly: "Shall we get some wine?"

Before Li Mingyuan could speak, a man at the next table turned around and said enthusiastically, "Brother, I have some wine here, would you like some?"

Looking at the man's warm smile, Li Qiao subconsciously asked, "Is that alright?"

"What's not allowed?"

The man said heartily, "It's just a little bit of wine."

After saying that, the man took a wine cup, filled it with wine, and handed it to Li Qiao.

After Li Qiao took the glass, the man raised his own glass and said loudly, "Brother, cheers!"

"Dry!"

Li Qiao didn't mince words; he simply tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Upon seeing this, the man couldn't help but give a thumbs up and say, "Brother, you have a good capacity for alcohol!"

The man's praise wasn't entirely flattery. In Xia Kingdom, because most people couldn't afford alcohol, their alcohol tolerance was generally very low. So even though this inferior yellow wine had a low alcohol content, most people would sip it slowly. It was very rare for someone like Li Qiao to down it in one gulp.

"Brother, another cup!"

The man poured Li Qiao another cup of wine and drank with him.

The two quickly became acquainted, and the man even brought the food from his table over to Li Qiao, putting his arm around Li Qiao's shoulder, drinking and bragging, looking extremely happy.

Seeing this scene, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but sigh. In the eyes of many important figures, the people of Xia were ignorant and petty.

But Li Mingyuan didn't see it that way!

The reason why the common people are ignorant is that they do not have the opportunity to study.

The reason why ordinary people are so calculating is because they are poor.

When people are starving, how can they be generous? They can only be meticulous and rack their brains for every last bit of resources to survive.

Only after people have achieved basic needs can they let go of their petty and calculating mentality.

Just like the man in front of him, when facing Li Qiao, whom he had just met, he still showed the utmost enthusiasm, entertaining Li Qiao with wine and food, without caring at all about the value of the wine and food.

When granaries are full, people know etiquette; when food and clothing are plentiful, people know honor and shame.

This saying is perfectly embodied in this man.

"Brother, what's your name?"

"Li Qiao, what about you?"

"My name is Wang Dalang."

"So it's Brother Dalang, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Brother Li, another cup."

"Come on, come on!"

"Brother Dalang, are you a worker in Chenjia Village?"

"Of course! I earn eight hundred coins a month, isn't that amazing?"

"Great!"

"..."

Li Qiao and Wang Dalang, arm in arm, drank cheap liquor and chatted about life with flushed faces.

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, it would be hard to believe that Li Qiao, a first-rank martial artist and one of the top martial artists in Kyushu, could get along so harmoniously with an ordinary worker from Chenjia Village.

When Zheng Qiuyan arrived, this was the scene she saw: Li Qiao, a first-rank martial artist who had utterly defeated the experts from the powerful families of the capital, was chatting and laughing with a worker from Chenjia Village, completely without the airs of a martial arts master.

This caused Zheng Qiuyan to lose her composure for a moment. Fortunately, after spending time together, she had a general understanding of Li Qiao's personality, so she quickly came to her senses and sat down next to Li Mingyuan.

At this moment, Li Mingyuan was enjoying the poached chicken that had just been served. Poached chicken is made without adding too many seasonings, usually just using salt for simple seasoning, which best preserves the original flavor of the chicken.

Because only salt is used as a seasoning, the flavor of poached chicken is relatively mild. It is not popular among the workers in Chenjia Village who prefer strong flavors. On the contrary, people like Li Mingyuan, who do not exert much physical strength, are particularly fond of the taste of poached chicken.