It is said that during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, there was an important postal route from Laoling, Shandong Province to Wuqiao, Hebei Province, with many postmen. Baodian is an important post station on this postal route. In the past, when the postman passed by the package point, he had to put down his mail and stop to have a rest. In Baodian's pub, he had to serve a pot of old wine, a few plates of mutton offal and drink some wine to warm himself up. As time goes by, the postmen are tired of the monotonous dishes in the pub, while the bartender can only make chop suey and so on, and can't do anything rare to keep these regulars. They are very anxious.

The ground became hard and smooth that winter. At that time, Li's great-grandfather raised a donkey, which he used to work in the fields on weekdays. It was the treasure of the family. Unexpectedly, the donkey broke its leg when walking on the slippery ground. After a long period of treatment, it became an abandoned donkey. Tang gaozu was very unhappy. He killed the donkey and stewed a pot of delicious donkey meat. When the hotel owner learned about it, he bought it from Li Gaozu for the postman to taste. After eating, the postman praised the food again and again. Since then, the local people no longer keep donkeys only as animal power, and gradually become a delicious food. Li Shousheng's great-grandfather also switched to slaughtering donkeys to make cooked meat, which was passed down from generation to generation.

However, it is the local Wulin hero who really makes Baodian donkey famous. In the local area, since ancient times, there has been a saying that "Ningwu two counties are unruly". The "unruly" here is not a ruffian rogue, but a derogatory term for people who practice martial arts by feudal officials, meaning that there are many people practicing martial arts in Ningjin and Wuqiao counties. Among them, one of Li's grandfathers is a famous martial arts master, known as "Nanquan Li". It is said that "Nanquan Li" has a martial arts school in Baodian with hundreds of disciples. At that time, a self-proclaimed "King of Northern Feet" in Cangzhou, Hebei Province was dissatisfied and came to call for a contest. The two agreed to do nothing but show off their kung fu. So, the two of them came to a place with a large audience in Yang Shulin. The "King of North Feet" stepped forward and kicked open a poplar tree with a thick bowl, and everyone cheered in unison. Later, the "Nanquan King" walked to a slightly smaller tree and slowly pushed his fist at it. Only this tree didn't move, and another poplar tree a few steps behind it was bigger than the one kicked by the king of the northern suburbs, but it suddenly broke. Seeing this scene, the "North Foot King" felt ashamed. Later, people in the Wulin asked the "Southern Boxing King" why he had this magical power. "Nanquan King" said that it all benefited from the donkey meat in Baodian. The donkey meat in Baodian is not only delicious, but also conducive to relaxing tendons and activating collaterals and opening up seven points and eight veins. From then on, people who traveled in Ningjin area and practiced martial arts and entertained artists often ate donkey meat in order to strengthen their bones and muscles, and took this story with Baodian donkey meat to all directions.

Zongheng Li said that this is a beautiful legend. The fame of Baodian donkey meat is indeed related to the spread of martial arts acrobats in Ningjin, but it can attract people and become a tribute of the Qing court. The most fundamental thing is its delicious taste.