Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Sheep Head Lottery. (Two in One)...

Before Lin Sen could pause for even three breaths, he saw two figures returning. Chen Yan bowed to Lin Sen and said, "Uncle Lin, I wish you a prosperous business and a steady flow of wealth."

Tao Yingce also blushed. He had been so engrossed in the delicious food that he had forgotten his manners. "I didn't know your shop was opening, so I rushed over without any gifts. We'll visit you again tomorrow."

Lin Sen was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Hahahahaha, it's okay, it's okay, we didn't notify you guys!"

"After the opening ceremony, we will invite you to stay in the shop. Tao Lang and Shen Lang, please don't refuse!"

"No, no."

"Don't worry, we will definitely come and participate when the time comes."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Yan and Tao Yingce hurried back to the Dali Temple. They hurried inside, looking around but couldn't find Lü San and Lu Datou.

The two looked at each other and suddenly had an ominous premonition. Where did these two bastards take their food?

Tao Yingce thought about where they usually hid themselves and said with a dark face, "I'll go take a look in the back room."

"Then I'll go to the Military Academy and take a look!"

There are idle rooms in these two places, which are now used by the government as lounges for minor officials. There are long kangs, tables, benches and stoves inside, which can not only heat up meals, but also provide a place for people to rest.

After just a round, Chen Yan did not see any trace of the two people. He asked the officers inside, and they also said that they had not seen Lu San and Lu Datou today.

Chen Yan returned with a frown on his face, just in time to overhear a conversation in the tea room: "Huh? Is this the scallion-braised lamb from Xie Da Mutton Restaurant? Why does it taste different from what I'm used to?"

"No, no, this is from the newly opened Linzhiji restaurant! And there's this shredded pork with mushrooms. The mushrooms are soft and chewy, and the shredded pork is chewy. You should try it now."

"Linzhiji? Wait, I don't like pork. It tastes fishy as soon as I put it in my mouth. Let's forget about this dish."

"Oh, Master Cao, just take a bite. It really doesn't have any fishy smell at all. It's delicious!"

"You really didn't lie to me?"

"Why would I lie to you? Just try it and you'll know."

Then the sounds in the room gradually disappeared. Chen Yan thought that Mr. Cao inside must be trying to eat shredded pork with mushrooms.

In this regard, Chen Yan was very sure that Mr. Cao would definitely be impressed by Zhi Jie'er's craftsmanship.

Just as his thoughts came to an end, Chen Yan heard an exclamation from the tea room: "Really? How come this shredded pork doesn't have any mutton smell at all? It tastes quite fragrant when chewed, quite fragrant?"

"Right! You didn't believe it just now!"

"Hey, I was wrong!" Cao Guanren was overjoyed, exclaiming in amazement. "Pork can actually taste this good... Paired with sweet and fresh mushrooms, and some dried tofu? And fermented black beans? This dish looks simple... I'll have my family try it later!"

Chen Yan felt a little sympathetic after hearing this. He hoped that Mr. Cao, after being excited, would not be like Heng Ge'er, who was still obsessed with pork when he returned home and even ordered the kitchen to make a braised pork.

Everyone in the Tao family was at a loss, but no matter how the servants tried to persuade Heng'er, he refused to give in. Finally, the cook in the kitchen made it for once, but Heng'er vomited it out after just one bite, his face dark. Later, Mrs. Wang grabbed his ear and scolded him, and he was so depressed.

In fact, there were skilled chefs in Bianjing who could make delicious pork. However, most of them worked in large restaurants, which mainly cooked chicken, duck, fish, mutton, and various game. In addition, the wealthy and powerful sought after their own food and disdained pork. Naturally, no one would delve into pork cooking, let alone use pork cooking as a gimmick.

Sister Zhi, on the other hand, came from another place and needed a unique skill to gain a foothold and make a name for herself. Her skill in cooking pork was neither too ostentatious nor enough to make people remember her name.

As Chen Yan pondered, his stomach growled again. Resigned, he caught a glimpse of Tao Yingce returning from the back room. Seeing his sullen expression and the fact that he was alone, he knew he hadn't found Lü San or Cao Datou either.

"Where on earth did they both go?"

"That's right, take our food..." Tao Yingce had entered the Dali Temple since the morning, and had gone into the hall for a meeting. In such a serious situation, even if he was hungry, he could only rely on tea to fill his stomach. Now he was already dizzy with hunger.

The more Tao Yingce thought about it, the angrier he became. He gritted his teeth and roared to the sky, "Lü San, Lu Datou, you two bastards—"

Before he could finish his words, the door to the tea room creaked open. Lu San leaned out and asked, "Tao Lang? You two are back? What do you want to talk to us about?"

Tao Yingce was stunned for a moment, and Chen Yan's face suddenly changed when he saw Lu San coming out of the tea room. He recalled the argument he had just heard, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily: "Wait a minute, you were in the tea room just now?"

Lu San came out: "Yes, yes?"

He looked at the two gentlemen's gloomy faces, and a sense of unease gradually rose in his heart. He cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Did Tao Lang and Shen Lang go to Zhi Jie'er's shop for dinner? How was the food?"

It would have been fine if Lu San hadn't said anything, but after he did, Chen Yan and Tao Yingce's expressions turned even worse. Their gazes met, piercing Lu San like ice blades, causing him to shudder. "What, what's wrong?"

"Uncle Lin said that Big Head Lu took our food."

"Hey? Didn't Lu Datou buy it for me...? Hey? Didn't he?" Lu San was stunned at first, then his pupils trembled.

He tried hard to recall and finally remembered that what Lu Datou had just said was to bring food to a few people.

Lu San: “…”

Lu Datou was even more confused: "I thought you knew, brother Lu, and probably thought that Chen Lang and Tao Lang would stay at Linzhiji for dinner."

Lu San: “…………”

Chen Yan's ominous premonition grew stronger: "Where are our two meals?"

Lu San looked up and down, looking left and right, not daring to say a word. But then, Cao Guanren came out of the tea room and smiled at Lu San, saying, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu! This shop is amazing! I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow!"

Lu San froze, sweat pouring down his face, and suddenly ran away: "Tao Lang and Shen Lang haven't eaten yet? I'll go outside and buy two steamed buns——"

When he ran three meters away, he heard angry shouts behind him, and the man lifted his robe and ran faster.

The people in the tea room heard the noise and leaned out to see what was happening. Someone even said in surprise, "Master Tao is in really good spirits."

"I'm not tired after a busy morning." Cao scratched his head, not quite sure what was happening. He shook his head and said with a smile, "After all, you're young. Unlike me, I just want to take a nap after a full meal."

Several clerks chatted and laughed, looking for places to take a nap. When it was time to start their shift, they lazily returned to their rooms to continue studying crime files, reviewing various documents, and checking for any delays.

As soon as he entered the door, Cao Guanren exclaimed, and saw that Lu San had two symmetrical dark circles under his eyes. He was being directed by Tao Guanren, working tirelessly to move a large number of documents into the warehouse and look for information.

As for Mr. Tao holding tea in his left hand and a steamed bun in his right hand... Mr. Cao blinked, becoming increasingly confused.

He shook his head and returned to his seat, smiling at Chen Yan: "Mr. Shen is still looking at the files from previous years? Those files have been sorted out, no problem."

Chen Yan smiled and said, "I'm just idle and want to see how the seniors handle some cases."

Cao Guanren suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly. He glanced at the pile of files that Chen Yan was flipping through and said with a smile, "I see. Then you continue reading. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. I was the one who was responsible for organizing the materials during that time -"

Cao Guanren's voice gradually became hesitant, and his body involuntarily leaned back. He looked hesitantly at Chen Yan, who looked serious: "What, what's wrong?"

"Mr. Cao, are you saying that you were the one who sorted out and registered the reports to the authorities a few years ago?"

"Yes." Cao nodded when he heard this. "At that time, I had just joined the Dali Temple as a clerk, responsible for organizing records. I copied from morning till night every day, without a moment's rest."

Cao Guanren sighed as he spoke of his experiences back then. He had failed the imperial examinations several times in a row, and in order to repay his debts and support his family, he passed the selection process at the Dali Temple and became a clerk there.

In the eyes of ordinary people, and even in the eyes of their own relatives, being an official in the Dali Temple is already a very respectable thing, but only Cao Guanren knows the difficulties along the way.

The income of the minor clerks who first entered the Dali Temple was no different from that of the runners. They were all classified as clerks and assigned to be assistants to the Kongmu Yasi, responsible for copying various case materials and archiving them.

Kongmu Yasi was also a low-ranking clerk. They were cautious and fawning towards officials, but they were a completely different face towards new clerks like him. Beating, scolding and yelling were common occurrences.

Not only do they have to copy various documents, they often have to run errands and handle affairs all night long.

"There is such a thing." Chen Yan was shocked.

"Yes." Cao Guanren glanced at Chen Yan and thought to himself: Young people like Chen Yan are the easiest targets to be bullied by old foxes, but before anyone can make a move, news came out that Chen Yan was also from a yamen.

A person who comes from a government official's family comes to work as a minor official?

What kind of weird new hobby is this?

Not only did Mr. Cao find it hard to believe, but he also sneered when he recalled everyone's reactions when the news spread.

Cao shook his head, putting these thoughts behind him, and continued, "I was also lucky. The Hu official I met at that time was very kind. He often came to help us sort things out and even let us leave early."

"Mr. Hu? Which Mr. Hu?"

"Ah...it's normal that Mr. Shen doesn't recognize him. After all, this Lord Hu Lin has been transferred from the Dali Temple for five or six years and is currently the Deputy Envoy of the Left Treasury of the Taifu Temple."

"Deputy Envoy of the Left Treasury of the Taifu Temple?" Chen Yan thought about it and had no impression of this person. He was slightly moved and continued to ask with feigned curiosity.

After Chen Yan hinted at it a few times, Mr. Cao opened up and told a lot of old stories.

When Chen Yan heard about the time and position of Mr. Hu in office, he was suddenly shocked: when Rong Xiaoniang's grandparents died, this man was the judge of the Dali Temple, and when Rong Xiaoniang's mother died, he happened to be the inspector of the left army of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Especially the latter, which made Chen Yan's eyes darken slightly. You know, he didn't find any record of reporting to the police when Madam Rong died. Either Brother Liang believed the rumors, or the case was not sent to the Dali Temple at all.

It is difficult to clean up all the procedures involved, unless the person who takes action happens to be the Left Army Inspector who is in charge of the fire, water, theft, and prison affairs in Bianliang and even the secondary capital!

If he received the letter and handled the case personally, and then erased all traces and closed the case as a natural death, then naturally no file would be sent to the Dali Temple.

Chen Yan's thoughts raced, but his expression remained impassive. He pretended to search through the files, then raised an eyebrow and looked at Cao Guanren: "Brother Cao, are you teasing me?"

"What do you mean?" Mr. Cao was immediately dissatisfied.

"Take a look." Chen Yan flipped through a lot of files and said half complaining and half puzzledly, "You said Mr. Hu helped with the registration, but I looked through so many files and didn't see any record of Mr. Hu."

All files of the Dali Temple were required to be traced back to their origins, which meant that all persons who handled them had to sign and seal their names. However, the records he looked through only had the names and fingerprints of Cao Guanren and two other clerks who were clerks at the time, but there was no signature of Hu Guanren.

Cao's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he quickly raised his finger and shushed. He stole a glance back, and only felt relieved when he saw that Tao Yingce wasn't paying attention. He lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Shen, you don't know that Mr. Hu was doing us a favor. We were just small clerks at the time, so how could we trouble Mr. Hu to sign the registration? So..."

Chen Yan blinked and continued, "So, after Mr. Hu has finished processing, he will hand the files over to you, and you will register them?"

Cao Guanren nodded repeatedly: "That's right."

Chen Yan smiled and said, "It seems that Mr. Hu is a good man who is more concerned about his heart than his deeds."

Cao Guanren agreed deeply and casually mentioned other good things about Hu Guanren, such as how he often treated them to meals or helped them with outsourcing and investigation: "... He is really different from other officials."

Chen Yan agreed from time to time, and only after Cao Guanren left did he stop smiling and look at the pile of files with an unclear expression.

Even though they knew what Mr. Hu might have done, they still had no right to open the coffin and perform an autopsy without the family's consent.

Chen Yan let out a long, depressed sigh, holding his cheek and clearing his mind, thinking about how to get the Rong siblings to give in. Then his thoughts gradually turned to the newly opened Linzhiji, and then to the lunch that had disappeared without a trace at noon...

"Shen Lang, Shen Lang."

“…” Chen Yan came back to his senses and looked at Lu San unkindly.

Lu San shuddered and said bitterly, "I was wrong... No, it was Tao Lang who said the time has come and it's time for us to go back."

Chen Yan withdrew his gaze and realized that the sun was setting and it was time to go off duty.

When they reached the entrance of the Dali Temple, they found a carriage already waiting. The driver helped the two gentlemen into the carriage, whispering, "The lady has returned home with her cousin."

Tao Yingce frowned, but Chen Yan pretended not to hear. He bent down to get into the carriage, glancing at Linzhiji from the corner of his eye. The shop door was locked, with only the lanterns at the door emitting a warm red light. It seemed that the family had already closed for the night.

Chen Yan sighed regretfully and lowered the door curtain, thinking that the shop was right next to the Dali Temple, and he would be able to eat it later... no, he would be able to eat it tomorrow!

Unlike what Shen Yan expected, the Linzhi family did not rest at home, but walked hand in hand into the Xie Da Mutton Restaurant diagonally opposite.

The shop assistants were taken aback when they saw the three men come in. Although they didn't know Lin Zhi, they recognized Lin Sen, who had been so powerful that afternoon outside, pulling customers away from many shop assistants.

The waiters were stunned for a moment before a young waiter stepped forward. He ushered the three of them to their seats and said with a smile, "Is this your first time here, sir? Here's our menu. What would you like to order?"

“What are your signature dishes?”

"Of course it's the sheep's head skewer. Even the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple often orders this!" When the waiter said this, he puffed out his chest proudly.

But the next second, he remembered that these people were from the newly opened shop next door, and his heart began to beat fast again, fearing that they were coming from his house to spy on the enemy.

He was so overthinking that he even forgot he still had to pour the tea, and just stood there with the kettle in his hand.

Lin Zhi saw through his thoughts and laughed secretly in her heart: "Don't worry, our family is just here to celebrate the successful opening of the business, not to inquire about the news."

The waiter's face flushed red as he hurriedly poured tea and introduced the dishes dryly: "There are also fried lamb with wine, boiled lamb, lamb skin slices, and lamb offal soup..."

He stumbled at first, but then his words gradually became clearer: "Our chef is particularly good at cooking mutton. If you like a lighter flavor, you can also try mutton soup. If you don't like mutton... hey, then you wouldn't come to our house!"

In the end, the guy returned to his original state and even played a clever trick, which immediately made Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang laugh.

After listening to the waiter's introduction, Linzhi ordered lamb head skewers, roasted lamb, lamb kidneys, braised lamb legs and stir-fried vegetables.

The waiter breathed a sigh of relief and walked back with a brisk pace. As soon as he reached the kitchen, he heard the waiter talking to the cook: "Look at that family of three, do they look familiar?"

"Who is it?" The kitchen helper leaned over to look.

"That's the company that bought Liurong Restaurant. They stole a lot of our business this afternoon!"

"That's the family?" The cooks had been working in the kitchen since early morning. They hadn't come out to check when they heard the noise, so they didn't recognize Lin Zhi and the other two. "Everyone who comes is a guest. It's only a two or three-day bustle. It's not like we haven't opened other shops here before."

The young receptionist nodded in agreement: "Brother Xue, they said they came to celebrate the opening of the business. This is the dish they ordered."

"Let me take a look." Brother Xue reached out and took the menu, glancing at it for a moment. "Are you trying to act rich? Their meal is only nine cents a penny. I'm afraid they've spent all their day's earnings on this one meal, right?"

The cook felt that Brother Xue was going too far, so he shook his head and went back to the kitchen to get busy. Lin Zhi and the other two sitting in the lobby did not hear the other party's discussion. Lin Sen and his wife held their tea and listened attentively to their daughter's accounting.

Lin Zhi clapped her hands and said, "First, let me tell you some good news: all the ingredients we prepared today have been sold out, and the total income is 1,870 coins!"

Open during lunchtime, there is still a 20% discount on all items, starting from as low as 9 cents. Linzhi is very satisfied with this result!

Lin Sen clapped his hands politely, then agreed, "We need to prepare more ingredients tomorrow."

"How about doubling it?" Song Jiaonian calculated the cost and found that they had made a net profit of nearly one guan of money today. Based on this calculation, they would be able to recover the money they spent on buying the shop in just one year.

"More than that, I think it can triple!" Lin Sen thought of the customers he had sent away, and felt very sad: "Just now, many people said they would come back tomorrow!"

"Let's double it first." Song Jiaoniang thought it would be safer. "Don't forget, today is the first day of opening and we're offering a 20% discount. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it'll be 10% off. The day after that, we'll have to go back to the original price. We don't know how many people we'll be able to retain by then."

As he was talking, the waiter brought the dishes forward one after another. The first dish was roasted lamb and lamb kidneys, which was actually the most common grilled lamb skewers and roasted lamb kidneys in later generations.

As soon as the plate was placed on the table, the overbearing and strong aroma rushed into the nostrils of the three people.

The barbecue in later generations was awesome, and the barbecue nowadays is also really not bad. The roasted lamb and lamb kidneys are almost the same as those in later generations in terms of color and aroma.

Linzhi picked up the wooden chopsticks and took the mutton to taste. The mutton was very fresh, with fat and lean parts. It was seasoned with only a little salt, sesame, cumin and fennel, and was extremely delicious.

Linzhi's eyes lit up, and he quickly pointed his chopsticks at the lamb kidneys. Lamb kidneys were better than pork kidneys. There was no need to remove the tendons and fat. Just choose fresh ones and the taste wouldn't be much worse.

She first picked up a piece and put it in front of her eyes to observe. She saw that the lamb kidneys were roasted until the edges were brown, and then brushed with a layer of sauce made with bean paste, cumin, pepper, green onions and other ingredients. The aroma made her drool.

As for the taste——

The moment Linzhi put it in his mouth, he was shocked by the taste. The meat was firm and chewy, with the richness of mutton fat at the beginning, followed by the fresh and fragrant juice, and then the delicate taste.

"Ohhh, it tastes really good."

"I think so too." Lin Zhi agreed deeply, and the three dishes that came up afterwards were also above standard, especially the lamb head skewer, which made Lin Zhi exclaim that it was amazing.

Many people in later generations mistakenly believed that sheep head skewers were something like lamb skewers, but in fact they are completely different.

Sheep head skewers are actually made by steaming the entire sheep's head. The meat from the face is then shredded and served with other vegetables. The skewers are then wrapped in sheep fat, coated with batter, and deep-fried until golden and crispy. They are named after the shape of the skewers when cut in half, which resembles a barrel.

Therefore, controlling the heat is crucial to this dish. If the heat is too high, the outer layer of batter and lamb fat will burn and taste bitter; if the heat is too low, the fat will not fully blend with the lamb cheek and vegetables, resulting in a strong fishy smell.

Linzhi picked up a piece and examined it carefully. From the appearance, the sheep's head skewer was golden in color, straight and plump, and the meat juice could be seen overflowing from the cut.

Wisps of strange fragrance gushed out, unscrupulously squeezed into Linzhi's nasal cavity, and rushed to the brain, stimulating Linzhi's taste buds and appetite.

Linzhi licked her lips and took a bite without hesitation. A crunching sound echoed in her ears, and the aroma of the fat instantly filled her mouth. The mutton fat and the lamb cheek blended perfectly, paired with the greasy vegetables. The flavors surged forward like waves.

Not to mention Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang showing surprise, even Lin Zhi couldn't help but immerse herself in the taste, closing her eyes and enjoying the deliciousness.

After a long time, Linzhi opened his eyes.

She stared at the two remaining pieces of lamb head, her eyes sparkling. Is Xie Da Mutton Restaurant famous? No, it's just an ordinary and common mutton restaurant among the hundreds in Bianjing City.

If their mutton can be cooked to such a level, what kind of food can any restaurant or hotel, no matter how big, prepare?

Linzhi was very excited just thinking about it.

Song Jiaoniang noticed her daughter's upturned mouth and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about, Sister Zhi? You look so happy."

Lin Zhi's eyes sparkled: "I was thinking, when we make more money, we'll take over all the restaurants and shops in Bianjing City!"

Song Jiaoniang laughed: "This is a bit difficult."

How many shops are there in the entire Bianjing City? If I want to eat here, it will probably take several years, no, ten or twenty years, right?

After the family finished their dinner and paid the bill, they walked out happily.

As they walked, Song Jiaoniang continued to ramble on about the deliciousness of the lamb head skewers, though she felt the ingredients were too extravagant. "With just the meat from the lamb cheek, how many servings can you make from a whole lamb head? No wonder it's so expensive."

Linzhi thought for a moment and said with a smile, "I'll make something similar with pork later and let you try it."

"Hey? Is pork okay?"

"Of course." Lin Zhi nodded without hesitation.

The family of three was so busy chatting that they didn't notice the man passing by them. The man subconsciously stopped walking when he heard the sound and looked at Lin Zhi in doubt.

Using pork to imitate sheep head skewers?

What a joke!