The city of Kaffa.
The scenery is indeed unique.
The design of the inner and outer cities is very suitable for strategic locations.
There are also particularly tall city walls built along the coast, with many sentries on duty standing on them.
The market is also very lively.
After Laura accompanied Huang Xuan to an inn, she said she wanted to inquire about the princess.
Classmate Xiao Huang is happy to visit Kaffa City alone, which is more convenient.
After Laura left, classmate Xiao Huang specifically asked the owner of the inn whether Princess Margaret of the Latin Empire was going to marry King Khan of Crimea, and received a positive answer, but the wedding party had not arrived yet. Kapha, as to why, is unclear.
During the famine life, everyone was working hard to develop new foods. Kaffa, a city close to the sea, and the Black Sea had abundant fish resources due to its unique geographical environment.
The white sturgeon is a unique species here, and the processed fish eggs are red caviar. The price of red caviar is much higher than the black caviar of cod eggs.
Caviar is known as the black pearl in food, as famous as foie gras and truffles.
When buying caviar, pay attention to the grade and place of origin. Traditionally, the highest quality caviar is wild caviar produced in Russia and Iran. The caviar comes from sturgeons in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
Huang Xuan watched the sturgeons caught by fishermen using large nets at the port. They used winches to drag the nets to the shore. When a pregnant female fish is caught in the net, it is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head with a wooden stick. After landing, it is beaten again before being sent to the processing site. All the roes were taken out through the incision on the belly of the fish. The fish was not dead at that time. The removed roes were placed on a large stove made of wires and moved back and forth to sort out the size. The roes are collected in a metal tank. After being repeatedly rinsed to remove impurities, skilled pickers will come over to sort and pickle the roes. Size and color are primary considerations in assortment. Then, send it to marinate. After the salt is evenly distributed, a very fine mesh is used to filter the water. The processed caviar is sealed in painted tin cans. Under the operation of skilled workers, no more than 15 minutes.
Huang Xuan inquired about the price. The price of ordinary grade caviar was the same as bread. It's really cheap.
Although the best caviar is from the Caspian Sea sturgeon, the caviar produced by the Black Sea sturgeon is also of equal quality.
Huang Xuan happily joined them to watch the processing while chatting with the fishermen. This time he came over alone.
"My name is Justin Bernard. It seems that sir is very interested in caviar." Justin has been looking at Huang Xuan for a while. He is a man from the East. Although the clothes he wears look similar, the materials are different. Look, it's definitely not ordinary. Only in the East can such good materials be woven, and the stitching can be so delicate.
"Yes, but I want something better, such as a white sturgeon that is over 60 years old." The white sturgeon is 5 meters long and weighs more than 1,000 pounds, and its eggs can account for more than 0% of its body weight. The eggs of the white sturgeon are the largest type of fish, and they take a long time to produce. It takes 0 years for a female fish to grow enough to lay eggs. The lifespan of a white sturgeon can be more than a hundred years old, and its body length can exceed 4 meters. Weighing nearly 1 metric ton, a fully mature sturgeon is about 60 years old. There are also extremely rare caviar produced by white sturgeons that are over 100 years old. It goes without saying how precious they are. The best quality fish eggs do not exceed 5% of the weight of the fish eggs.
"Yes, there is, but it's pricey." Justin observed Huang Xuan's face.
"Price is not an issue. What matters is quality." Huang Xuan said arrogantly.
When Justin heard this, he was secretly happy. He led Huang Xuan out of the port, turned to an alley next door, and then pointed to a room and motioned for Huang Xuan to follow him in.
Justin went to the back of the room and brought out a crystal plate, with the fish roe spread out in a thin layer. The paddlefish is the largest species in the sturgeon family. The eggs are large and loose, shining with a steel-gray luster. The fatter, fuller and rounder the particles are, the more transparent and clear the color is, and even slightly shimmering with a golden glow.
Use a shell spoon to put the caviar into your mouth, spread it gently on your tongue, and slowly crush the caviar one by one with the tip of your tongue; enjoy the sound of "pop, pop" in your ears, and it is so much at this moment of bursting. With its unique elasticity, a slight pressure on the tongue seems to feel a little bit of resistance, like a slight push, but it is because of the delay of this millisecond that it makes people extra worried, and then a kind of elegance The delicate breath floats away.
The higher the grade of caviar, the fat content in the caviar will increase and the salt content will decrease. As a result, the taste will be thicker and the flavor will be more refined and clear.
Justin admired Huang Xuan's satisfied expression, "What you tasted is the best quality part of our 60-year-old caviar. How does it taste? I also have one from a higher age. I don't know which one you want. How much is it?"
Huang Xuan did not answer his question, "My caravan will arrive here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I have transported a lot of food here. I need several large warehouses. The bigger the better, because there is a lot of food. I wonder if you can Do you want me to do this first?”
"It's a little difficult for a large warehouse. Mr. Huang, you don't know. I can provide one or two rooms myself. If there are more, it may not be easy to handle, because my warehouse is mainly used to stack seafood, so that Mr.'s food and Put them together..." Justin looked a little confused.
"Actually, my food also needs to be sold immediately. I only stay in this city for a few days. Can you help me find some other merchants. They will provide me with goods and I will provide them with food. I wonder if you can help me, sir?" What am I doing?"
"If you want to store it temporarily, I can provide you with a place." Justin took Huang Xuan a few more streets and walked around to an open space surrounded by a wall.
"This place has been reserved by Sir Cross Nair. He is going to build a new house. But the stones and wood for the construction have not arrived yet, so it will be empty in the past few days. I have a very good personal relationship with him, and he I'll agree to borrow it for a few days, just..." Justin rubbed his fingers. “Some fees may be required”
In fact, he has selfish motives for helping Huang Xuan so hard. Although caviar is precious, its shelf life is too short. The situation in Kaffa is not very clear recently. There are many rumors behind the scenes. Some say that the Yuan army will fight back, and some say that the Tatars The Tatar people have been restless recently, and many nobles in the city are recruiting private armies. If it were exchanged for food, it would be hard currency.
Huang Xuan looked at the surface and it had been cleaned up. It was about as big as a current football field. It's enough to pile up food. "No problem. In addition, I need to purchase some other products. I will come to see you tomorrow afternoon."
Compared with the simple shacks near the dock, the city center looks very prosperous, with more and more exquisite and gorgeous buildings, and the streets are also very clean.
It was in the evening, and the slanting light of the setting sun reflected on the surrounding buildings was very impressive.
People of all colors and looks walked through the streets, and sometimes nuns and monks could be seen.
But then the church bells rang.
The people around me began to walk in a hurry. When the bell rang for the second time, Huang Xuan found that there was no one on the street.
"This gentleman"
Huang Xuan looked towards the place where the sound came from, and a person slowly walked out from the shadow of the building, "Excuse me?"
"This bell is the curfew bell. After the second bell rings, if you are still wandering on the road, you will be arrested," Cross Nair said slowly. "It's the second bell now."
"Ah" Huang Xuan secretly asked Lorraine the route from the hotel. Fortunately, it's not very far. "Thank you very much for your advice, sir. I will go back to the hotel immediately."
Huang Xuan walked into the hotel room for the first time.
The first thing I saw was a person.
a woman
Sitting quietly on the stool in the room, the candle beside him flickered brightly and dimly.
She is Laura, but compared to her embarrassed appearance in the morning, now her whole body has been tidied up, and she is wearing a refreshing lotus root-colored long dress that reaches to the ground. There are decorative pins on the chest, and there are many strands of braided ribbons around her waist that cross at the back. Fold back the front body and tie it tightly, letting it hang down to the feet.
She was kicking the ribbon and playing with it. When she saw Huang Xuan come in, she immediately sat upright.
Although Lorraine had informed him before he entered that Laura was waiting for him in the room, he was still surprised when he saw the person. In the morning, his gray skin had become white and tender under the light.
"Mr. Huang" Laura smiled faintly. "Her Royal Highness the Princess will probably be able to arrive in Kaffa Town tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
Lorraine immediately reported to him the whereabouts of Laura after leaving. After she separated from him at noon, she went to a tavern, stayed there for about an hour and then left. Then she started shopping for clothes again, and did not return until the afternoon. The hotel rented the room next to Huang Xuan, and then went out to buy things. Huang Xuan and he returned to the hotel one after another.
"This is really good news!" Huang Xuan sighed.
Classmate Xiao Huang looked at Laura opposite, and suddenly thought, how nice it would be if Miss Diao Chan wore such clothes and sat in his room waiting for him to come back. (To be continued)