Chapter 58 Flavored Grilled Fish: Sour and spicy, fragrant and spicy, garlicky, purple...

Early in the morning, before the sky was fully bright, Lin Yao arrived at the restaurant.

In the backyard, Ah-Zhu and Ah-Fu were working together to pour the grass carp they had ordered yesterday into the water tank. The fish were splashing around and looked exceptionally fresh.

Ever since Lin Yao made grilled fish for Carpenter Xu, people have been asking when they can eat it for several days in a row. However, the iron plate for grilling the fish is not ready yet, so Lin Yao asked them to wait a little longer, which really whetted their appetites.

Today, the blacksmith has finally delivered all the iron plates, and it's time to officially launch this new dish.

Lin Yao wanted to make grilled fish a signature dish at her restaurant, so she put extra effort into this new product launch.

She had a scholar write a wooden sign in advance and placed it at the entrance of the shop where people came and went. It listed four different flavors of grilled fish and included simple line drawings that she designed herself, making it look very lifelike.

The steps for making grilled fish are fixed. From killing the fish and marinating it to grilling and saucing it, each step can be handled by different people, which can achieve assembly line operation. It is an ideal main dish for chain stores.

What Lin Yao needs to do now is to open up the market, build a brand, and cultivate consumer habits so that people will think of Lin's Restaurant when they think of grilled fish in the future.

Everyone had a clear division of labor: A-Zhu and A-Fu were in charge of killing the fish, Su-Niang prepared the side dishes for the grilled fish, Zhao Niangzi and Wang Xiaoyu grilled the fish, and Lin Yao was mixing different flavors of grilled fish sauce.

As the sun rose higher and the ingredients in the kitchen were all prepared, Afu opened the tightly closed shop door.

As soon as the door opened, Lin Yao heard the commotion outside. It was only lunchtime, yet quite a few diners were already waiting at the door. It seemed that the restaurant's persistent promotion over the past few days had not been in vain.

"Miss Lin, we've been waiting for this!" Madam Chen from the rice shop on the front street came in carrying a bamboo basket, followed by a little child munching on a candied hawthorn. "The fish on the signboard is so exquisitely drawn, it makes you want to eat it. Give us a spicy one."

Ever since Ye the blacksmith tasted Lin Yao's cooking on the day the restaurant opened, he has become a loyal fan of Ye Family Restaurant. Not to mention that he has made a lot of strange iron plates for her these past few days, he is really curious about the grilled fish that Lin Yao mentioned. Today, he specially did not let his wife cook at home, but brought his apprentice to try it out.

As soon as Lin Yao saw Ye the blacksmith, she went up to him and said, "Master Ye, you've finally arrived! The iron plate you made the other day was for serving this grilled fish. Today's grilled fish is sure to amaze you!" She gestured for Ye to look at the menu, "We have four flavors of grilled fish: sour and spicy, fragrant and spicy, garlic, and perilla. The sourness level is either slightly sour or very sour, and the spiciness level is either mild or normal. Please choose whichever you prefer!"

"Extremely sour?" This was the first time Ye the blacksmith had heard of such a thing. "I've never heard of this flavor before."

Lin Yao explained, "Extremely sour means it's so sour it'll give you a jolt. If you crave sour flavors, you can choose this one." She picked up a small dish of sauce from the counter: "Smell this!" The sauce in the dish was bright red and thick, with the aroma of sour plums and dogwood wafting out. "This extremely sour sauce uses double the amount of sour plums, plus dogwood. One bite and your mouth will water, and the more you eat, the more addictive it becomes!"

Ye the blacksmith subconsciously shrank his neck: "Good heavens, just the smell makes my teeth ache! It's a pity I can't eat sour food, but my wife can. She's pregnant and has been craving sour things lately! Pack me a super sour one, I'll take it back to satisfy her craving!" He then hesitated for a moment, pointing to the spicy and perilla dishes on the menu, before finally waving his hand, "I'll have one spicy one, normal spicy, and one perilla one! Xu Mu bragged about it to me and Lao Yang for ages after he ate it last time, I want to try it today too."

As Lin Yao and Ye the blacksmith exchanged pleasantries, the noise outside the door grew increasingly louder.

There were far more customers than usual today, and the restaurant didn't have enough seats. Several people even kept asking Ah Zhu and Ah Fu when they would be able to get seats.

Liu Xu was sweating profusely with anxiety. He quickly walked to Lin Yao's side, "Manager, there are so many customers, there's simply not enough room for everyone!"

Lin Yao quickly scanned the restaurant and saw many diners looking disappointed and preparing to leave because there were no seats available.

This is all pure silver!

She took a deep breath and raised her voice, "Dear neighbors, thank you for your patronage! There are so many customers today that we don't have enough seats. Please be patient!" Her clear and loud voice successfully attracted everyone's attention.

"How are we supposed to eat if there are no seats?" asked a person in the crowd who was about to leave, puzzled.

Lin Yao: "Don't worry, everyone! We will distribute numbered tickets in the order of arrival. Please wait patiently after receiving your number. We will strictly follow the numbering system to ensure that every customer can enjoy the grilled fish!"

She turned to Afu and instructed him, "Afu, quickly bring out all the benches from the backyard so everyone has a place to sit and rest!"

Afu responded and left. Soon after, several benches were neatly arranged on the open space outside the restaurant.

Seeing that some people chose to sit and wait at the door while others left, Ah Zhu brought out a pot of tea and said, "Gentlemen, please have some tea!"

Lin Yao looked at Ah Zhu approvingly; he was a clever one.

Liu Xu, who was standing to the side, saw this and was annoyed that he was so inflexible and didn't know how to adapt.

In a daze, he suddenly saw Lin Yao waving at him, "Bring out some konjac juice and give it to the waiting customers for free, so they can have something to eat first!"

The guests who were initially hesitant to leave all chose to continue waiting after receiving the tea and konjac dessert.

"This young lady Lin really knows how to do business!" A customer took a bite of the konjac dessert and nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, yes!” the woman next to her chimed in, “This konjac dessert is sour, spicy, and appetizing. After eating it, I want to eat grilled fish even more. I have to wait for it no matter what!”

Seeing that the diners had gradually calmed down, Lin Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

~

"My lord! My lord!" Jin Yu dragged her leg, which had just been kicked by Xu Zhiheng, and chased after him.

Although Xu Zhiheng suffered only superficial wounds, he did not receive timely treatment after being injured in order to avoid the imperial soldiers. By the time he returned to Qingquan Town, the wounds had begun to fester, causing his complexion to turn ashen and his lips to become bloodless.

To avoid being noticed by the spies in the capital, Xu Zhiheng always applies makeup before going out to make himself look healthier.

There were no women in the mansion, so Jin Yu always applied a little makeup for him. However, today Jin Yu was thinking about how she would soon be able to eat the grilled fish that she had smelled all night, and her mind was already far away. She accidentally applied too much rouge, but she had a bad intention and did not tell Xu Zhiheng.

However, Jin Yu couldn't hide anything on his face. As soon as Xu Zhiheng saw his expression, he knew that Jin Yu had something up his sleeve. Before leaving, he looked in the mirror and saw his reflection, which looked like a monkey's bottom. He then kicked Jin Yu.

A few days ago, Xu Zhiheng went to Jianglin City to investigate banditry. The bandit leader was a Robin Hood-like figure who robbed the rich to help the poor, and he robbed corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants who were rich but heartless.

Seeing that he had a chivalrous spirit, Xu Zhiheng intended to recruit him into the army. However, before he could even explain his purpose, he was ambushed by the bandit leader. Fortunately, he had a backup plan and managed to escape.

It turned out that news of officials and wealthy merchants being robbed outside Jianglin City had already reached the capital. The good-for-nothings in the capital thought that the bandits must have amassed a fortune by now, and wanted to use the pretext of suppressing the bandits to wipe out the bandit leader and all the money he had stolen.

The bandit leader thought he was a lackey of the imperial court and had laid an ambush long ago.

After he escaped, the imperial troops gathered at his stronghold. Although the people in the capital were useless, General He Qi, whom they sent this time, was a rare talent. The traces left by their march and fighting would probably arouse his suspicion.

The court is currently in turmoil, the emperor is dissolute and licentious, various forces are stirring up trouble, there are many who are forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices, and many people are secretly harboring inappropriate thoughts.

As a family of military generals, the Xu family's very identity was bound to arouse the emperor's suspicion. Although Xu Zhiheng had always presented himself as a playboy, at such a sensitive time, if anyone were to learn that he was secretly associating with bandits who were seen by outsiders as accumulating wealth and repeatedly provoking the government, it would inevitably arouse suspicion from others, and might even be used by those with ulterior motives to make a big fuss.

To avoid suspicion, Xu Zhiheng rushed back to Qingquan Town that very day, even going to the Rouge Tower to watch a play all night, and then spending the night there.

When the master and servant arrived at the Lin family's restaurant, Ah Zhu called the last table of people to sit down. Jin Yu stood on tiptoe and looked into the restaurant. "Unbelievable! Now you have to queue to eat at Lin's restaurant." He sniffed, "It smells so good!"

Xu Zhiheng looked at the packed shop, raised an eyebrow, and was about to turn around to wait on the bench outside when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him: "Aheng?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw Chen Qianyuan.

Xu Zhiheng suddenly felt like he'd been caught red-handed. Chen Qianyuan waved to him, "Sit down! It's no fun eating alone."

Jin Yu's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly followed Xu Zhiheng.

Two grilled fish were already laid out on the table, one covered with sizzling spicy grilled fish, and the other covered with fresh perilla leaves.

Chen Qianyuan gestured to the waiter to add more bowls and chopsticks. Looking at Xu Zhiheng's face, which he had deliberately made rosier, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Aheng, you must follow the doctor's advice and not be greedy, or I will write a letter to Madam Xu."

Xu Zhiheng shuddered involuntarily as he recalled his mother's Iron Palm technique: "Of course."

The charcoal fire beneath the iron plate was still crackling, and the perilla leaves curled slightly under the heat, revealing the oily fish meat underneath. When Xu Zhiheng took his first bite, his tongue first tasted the sweetness of honey, followed by the unique flavor of perilla, and finally the freshness of the fish meat—layers upon layers, creating a very rich flavor.

"How is it?" Chen Qianyuan poured him a cup of tea. "Miss Lin's skill in seasoning is so good that even the chefs at Zuixianju in the capital would have to admit defeat."

"That's right!" Jin Yu, her mouth greasy from eating, suddenly pointed to the grilled fish in Ye the blacksmith's hand at the opposite table: "Young master, look! That uncle even packed a whole fish to go! I want one too!"

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Author's Note: Jin Yu (Makeup Girl Version): My lord said we're going to eat grilled fish later (pat pat pat), what does grilled fish taste like? (pat pat pat), it smelled so good last night (pat pat pat), I'm going to eat two servings later (pat pat pat): Oh my! Hehe [doge emoji]

Xu Zhiheng: !!! [Angry]