Chapter 429

"In ancient times, only the Son of Heaven and feudal lords could use large tripods to boil beef during sacrifices."

"Those bronze tripods were originally meant for cooking food."

"Thus, the status of cattle was extremely high in ancient times, so much so that by the Song Dynasty, laws prohibited commoners from slaughtering cattle privately."

"If beef couldn't be eaten, then only mutton remained."

"Especially during the Song Dynasty, they particularly loved eating mutton."

"But there was a problem: sheep, like cattle, had to be raised through grazing."

"They had to be fed grass to grow."

"Moreover, the sheep of ancient times were different from the sheep in our modern southern regions."

"When mentioning sheep, everyone's first reaction is a strong gamey smell; the flavor is too intense, and many people dislike eating it."

"In reality, mutton from true saline-alkali lands has no gamey smell at all."

"In fact, once the mutton is cooked properly, it shouldn't even be dipped in sauce; if dipped, the sauce easily overpowers the original flavor of the mutton."

"Therefore, the mutton produced in the saline-alkali lands of the north is the most delicious."

"The Song Dynasty was no different, but during the Song Dynasty, there was no north anymore!"

"During the Northern Song, they never occupied the Hexi Corridor."

"The best places for raising sheep were not under their control; this was even more true during the Southern Song."

"So, gradually, the supply of mutton became a problem."

"At this point, they were forced to use pork as a substitute."

"However, the people of that time preferred mutton and could not immediately accept pork replacing it."

"In other words, they simply didn't like it!"

"So Su Shi specially created a very famous dish!"

"Dongpo Pork!"

"Su Shi's original intention in making it was that the wealthy refused to eat pork, while the poor did not know how to cook it."

"Wealthy families wouldn't eat pork, and poor families couldn't cook it, so he invented Dongpo Pork to provide a method."

"It was only after Su Shi's dish that pork gradually became popular, eventually surpassing mutton in status to become the staple food of the Chinese people."

"By the Ming Dynasty, large-scale pig farming had begun."

"But during the Ming Dynasty, as everyone knows, the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang bore the surname Zhu."

"So there was a very serious problem: the common people of the Ming Dynasty were forbidden from calling it 'pig'!"

"Initially, there were two alternative names: 'Shi' and 'Zhi'."

"Everyone is familiar with 'human Zhi'; Empress Dowager Lu turned her rival into a human Zhi."

"But these two characters, whether 'Shi' or 'Zhi', were ones the common people could not write."

"So 'pig' was given another name: 'Feifei'!"

"During the Ming Dynasty, the common name for pigs was 'Feifei'."

After hearing this passage, everyone present burst into laughter again.

Such folk knowledge.

Let alone us archaeologists.

Even a historian coming here might not be able to say it.

Because their research focuses on major historical events.

Few people ever study such seemingly meaningless folk customs.

But after listening to Fang Yang's explanation, it felt very interesting.

For instance, today's topic of pigs.

It contained many points of knowledge they had never heard before.

First, food lovers.

The very first thought in their minds was that they must go and taste the mutton raised on saline-alkali lands.

To see if it truly lacked the gamey smell as Fang Yang claimed.

Second, to find those ancient lean black pigs.

To taste and see what the texture was really like.

But one thing could be certain.

It would definitely not taste worse than the modern white pigs.

As for the naming convention mentioned last, that was even more interesting.

Feifei!

In the future, when teasing someone, you could call them Feifei.

This was essentially a roundabout way of calling them a pig.

【Popularity】 +1+1+1+1....

— 【Fang Yang is right; you can come to our region to taste our local mutton. It has no gamey smell at all and is incredibly fragrant. Every tourist who visits us eats at least one sheep a day; this is no joke.】

— 【Speaking of this, we must thank our ancestors. Without the territory they secured for us, eating mutton today would probably require a passport. Traveling often means going abroad. The most important thing for a nation is its land area. I used to not understand why people fought to the death over such a small island, but now I understand: every inch of land must be defended!】

— 【Even now, few people slaughter cattle for food. In my memory, when I was young, many households would jointly raise one cow. They were afraid of overworking or sickening it. It supported countless families; without it, it's hard to imagine how tasks like plowing fields would be done! Relying solely on shovels to dig would probably kill a person.】

— 【When I was young, I even herded cattle. Back then, the status of cattle was indeed very high; generally, no one would slaughter a cow unless it died of old age. However, the meat of a cow that died of old age was very tough and not tasty, selling for little money. My grandfather once stubbornly refused to sell one. Finally, the family couldn't endure his stubbornness, and since they also had feelings for the cow, they chose to bury it under the date tree in our backyard—the very place where it had been tethered for its entire life.】

As Fang Yang unearthed two artifacts one after another on site.

And their ages were each more exaggerated than the last.

Director Qin had already called the Mayor to report the news.

They had made full preparations for Fang Yang's arrival this time.

Everyone knew what Fang Yang's coming meant.

He was definitely not just here to dig up a few spots of soil.

For them, it was definitely not just a matter of excavating some cultural relics.

Especially for the Mayor.

Fang Yang was walking GDP.

Everyone knew that as long as they kept Fang Yang here.

The economic impact brought to the local area would be unimaginable.

However, they all knew in their hearts.

Staying long-term was definitely impossible.

To put it exaggeratedly, it was like borrowing a seed.

Fang Yang passed through here, leaving something behind.

This cultural relic not only symbolized historical and cultural value.

It also represented Fang Yang's trace.

If it were just a cultural relic, it would not attract many people to come and view it.

But if it were Fang Yang plus a cultural relic, the effect would be indescribable.

So when the Mayor learned that two thousand-year-old relics had been excavated.

He immediately arranged for the driver to take him to the construction site.

Just at that moment, Fang Yang had not continued digging.

The Mayor hurried over, extended his right hand, and smiled, saying, "Fang Yang! Welcome, welcome. Thank you very much for coming to our place. If you have any needs, just speak up. I guarantee I will do my utmost to satisfy them!"

This sudden enthusiasm left Fang Yang somewhat puzzled.

Or rather, he looked at Director Qin and Captain Jiang.

Director Qin smiled and waved his hand, saying, "This is our Mayor. Today, he specifically asked us to wait for you at the intersection."

"Oh!!" Fang Yang hurriedly smiled and returned the greeting, "You are too polite!"

Who would have thought the Mayor would immediately wave his hands, saying, "No, no, no. Your coming is our greatest honor. It's just that I had many official duties to attend to this morning; otherwise, I would have definitely gone to the intersection to wait for you myself!"

At this, not to mention Fang Yang, even the people nearby were somewhat surprised.

This was the Mayor.

Moreover, the Mayor of one of the top three cities in Jiangning Province.