Chapter 14 014 Boiled Sliced ​​Pork

Wen Fan learned how to make boiled pork slices on the spot. In her original world, although chili peppers were already available, there were many rules for food in the harem. The spicy taste of chili peppers and the sight of sweating profusely while eating them were really unseemly, so the palaces basically never ordered such dishes. As for the palace maids and eunuchs, they had to serve their masters, so they wouldn't even eat anything with a slightly strong flavor, let alone chili peppers, like onions and garlic.

Wen Fan liked the refreshing taste, but she only secretly cooked a little bit during her few breaks. She also heard the palace maids mention that in the mountains of the southwest, people especially loved to eat chili peppers in order to prevent miasma and dampness.

Even people from the mountains of Southwest China would be astonished to see how spicy modern people can eat.

Wen Fan went to the market once, and saw all kinds of chili peppers piled up in sacks, dried, wet, red, yellow, green...

Small business owners at their stalls order a bowl of spicy hot pot, which is covered in a thick layer of red chili oil. Even so, some people still complain that it's not spicy enough.

Therefore, Wen Fan added a lot of chili peppers when making boiled pork slices.

After taking away the delivered meals, Wen Fan also cooked a meal for her family.

Bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and tofu skin form the base, while tender slices of meat soak in chili oil. A layer of minced garlic, scallions, and dried chili peppers on top releases their aroma from the hot oil, adding a lot to the fragrant and spicy flavor of this dish.

Qu Xiaoyu was just over eighteen. He wasn't short, but he had a pale, puffy appearance and was shy, standing there too embarrassed to speak. Yang Tao, standing next to him, had clear, innocent eyes, but he had helped his mother at the shop a lot before, so he was quite familiar with the neighbors.

Mr. Wen served each of them a bowl of rice: "You two haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Yang Tao scratched his messy hair: "No, Uncle Wen, this dish smells really good."

He was sleeping soundly when his mother suddenly pulled open the curtains. As soon as the blackout curtains were open, he let out a howl like a vampire seeing sunlight for the first time, and quickly shrank back into the shadows. His mother, Ms. Song Hui, was so angry that she laughed.

"If this continues, I'm afraid you'll drain my yang energy. Hurry up, you have to go out and see the sun today!"

Ms. Song Hui was disgusted: "You don't get up during the day and you don't sleep at night. You get up in the middle of the night to make instant noodles and eggs. Are you an instant noodle spirit in your past life? Or are you about to become a demon? Get up!"

Yang Tao was woken up by his own mother, who quickly threw on some clothes and took him to the store.

He was initially very reluctant, but after smelling the aroma, he changed his mind.

He accepted the rice that his mother handed him without any hesitation, saying, "Thank you, Aunt Xia, I won't be polite!"

After saying that, he nudged Qu Xiaoyu with his elbow: "What are you standing there for? Eat!"

Qu Xiaoyu responded with an "oh," blushing, and said thank you in a voice barely audible.

Wen's mother smiled and said, "I didn't expect your mother and your sister to be so quick. There's not much food today, so we'll just have a simple meal."

There was only a pot of boiled sliced ​​pork on the table, and some stir-fried vegetables from lunch.

Yang Tao took a big bite of a slice of meat, his eyes shining: "Not too much, not too little, this boiled pork slices are just right!"

A layer of red oil floats in the bowl, with various condiments and slices of meat soaking in the oil. The meat slices are sprinkled with white sesame seeds or peppercorns. The meat slices are placed on top of the rice, and the rice and meat slices are piled on chopsticks. When you take a bite, the tender and spicy meat slices and the rice soaked in red oil are spicy, fragrant and delicious, making it especially good with rice.

Yang Tao ate with gusto, and although Qu Xiaoyu didn't say anything, her actions were no joke; she wielded her chopsticks faster than anyone else.

Wen Fan chuckled softly. The presence of the two young men suddenly gave her the illusion of being back in the imperial kitchen. A group of young palace maids and eunuchs, who didn't seem childish when serving others, were just as eager to eat after their shifts.

Yang Tao swallowed a big mouthful of rice and, taking the initiative, invited Wen Fan to eat as well: "Xiao Fan, you should eat too."

He was also worried that his large appetite might scare Aunt Xia's shy little sister into not daring to pick up any food.

Qu Xiaoyu paused with his chopsticks, then quietly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.

Wen Fan poked at the rice in his bowl: "It's okay, you guys eat, I'm not very hungry."

She tried cooking twice in the morning and was already half full.

Yang Tao scratched his head and chuckled, "Aunt Xia, can I have a bottle of Coke?"

This spicy dish is so good, what's the point of not drinking cola!

Mrs. Wen slapped her forehead: "I forgot, Lao Wen, get the two kids some drinks..."

Wen Fan silently looked at his mother, his unspoken expectation almost materializing as he tugged at her sleeve with his little hand.

Wen's mother: "...Take one more can."

Wen Fan felt as if stars had fallen into his eyes.

Mother Wen chuckled: "Really..."

Lunch was eaten quickly. Yang Tao and Qu Xiaoyu were so focused on eating that they didn't dare eat much meat. After finishing one bowl of rice, they even made a second bowl with chili oil. If they hadn't run out of rice, they would have been eager to have a third. After eating two large bowls of rice, they were so full they could hardly stand up. Even so, they still felt hungry.

As Wen's mother picked up the remaining chili oil to pour it away, the two of them watched her go with reluctance, as if they wanted to pack up the soup and take it home.

Yang Tao turned around, his face full of admiration: "Uncle Wen, your cooking is really delicious."

Mr. Wen chuckled: "It's not my cooking. Didn't your mother tell you? Xiao Fan does all the cooking in the shop now."

Yang Tao exclaimed, "Xiao Fan isn't going to study anymore?"

Mr. Wen quickly waved his hand: "No, she's still studying. It's summer vacation, and Xiao Fan's skills are better than mine. She's very considerate of me. It's all thanks to Xiao Fan that we have such good business now."

Yang Tao gave a thumbs up: "This is my sister's cooking skill. I can't find this boiled pork slices anywhere else!"

Qu Xiaoyu nodded repeatedly. He was not as good as Yang Tao. He lived in the dormitory for three years in high school, and the food he ate was almost comparable to pig swill.

Mr. Wen was even happier than if he had been praised himself.

"Uncle Wen, Aunt Xia, just you wait and see! With my sister's skills, we'll definitely do our best!"

Yang Tao was full of enthusiasm and quickly registered an account with Qu Xiaoyu, binding his rider number to the store name.

Only after this connection did Yang Tao realize that the store had very few reviews and orders.

"This shouldn't be happening. My sister's cooking skills are undoubtedly the best on the whole street, if not the best in the city. Why would she order so few dishes?"

Wen Fan was reading a book at the table next to him and found that Yang Tao's constant use of "our sister" didn't sound presumptuous at all.

“Our store doesn’t participate in promotions, so the platform has demoted our ranking.” Wen Fan turned a page of her book. She had overheard half of her mother’s argument with the platform, and then she searched it up to find out what a ranking demotion was.

This basically means your own food delivery store will no longer have organic traffic unless customers actively search for it.

Yang Tao: "Don't be afraid of this shady stuff, little sister, I'll spread the word for you!"

Song Hui is from Northeast China and married far away. Although Yang Tao usually speaks Mandarin, he occasionally slips into his Northeastern accent when he gets anxious.

As a year-round heavy internet surfer, Yang Tao is naturally much better at using the internet than Wen Mu.

He didn't argue with the platform, but went straight to local forums and online communities to start posts, and also brought up the Wen family's store page on the review website.

They quickly posted several posts, each with an eye-catching title.

There are those pretending to be shop owners—"The platform's commission is too high, will a shop with only flavor and no traffic be able to survive?"

Then Yang Tao replied using three alternate accounts. One expressed sympathy, saying that his own shop was in the same situation; without promotions, it was barely surviving, but with promotions, it was just making money for the platform. Sigh, what can you do but endure? Good luck to all restaurant owners!

One person started arguing on the spot, saying, "This shop is so arrogant! How good is the food? Better than Jin Yu Tang? If business isn't picking up, they should reflect on themselves, find the reasons within themselves, and ask, 'Have you been working diligently and putting in the effort all this time?'"

The third reply was to support the fire and plant seedlings—

Which restaurant is it? Tell us so we can check it out! Whether it's truly delicious or deserved to close down, we'll have our say then!

...

As it turns out, many people like to join in the fun, and the building was quickly erected. A bunch of people kept asking which store it was, wanting to order takeout to see the owner's cooking skills.

Wen's mother and father were dumbfounded, while Wen Fan, with a straw in his mouth, changed his opinion of Yang Tao, who had seemed simple-minded and clumsy just moments before.

—If he enters the palace, he will at least be able to wear a golden pheasant insignia.

Yang Tao's fingers flew up and down, pretending to be both a shopkeeper and a customer.

Have you guys thought about the school food during summer vacation? I must be so used to being tortured, I actually want to eat the school food!

I taught myself Traditional Chinese Medicine and prescribed several herbal remedies for my two-year-old son, but he still insists on eating takeout.

Do northerners especially love staple foods? I ordered a rice bowl, but what came was a noodle bowl. Although it was okay, I always feel that noodles aren't as good as rice.

...

Yang Tao enthusiastically conveyed his philosophy: "If you want traffic online, there are only a few things."

To generalize, consider: traditional Chinese medicine vs. Western medicine, men and women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, whether or not effort has been made...

Wen Fan secretly noted it down.

Take another look at Yang Tao.

Hmm, the pheasant insignia is a bit low quality, the peacock insignia is about right.

****

Whether it was Yang Tao's post at noon that had an effect, or the positive feedback from the library orders at noon, the store's takeout orders on the platform reached a new high that evening.

Yang Tao and Qu Xiaoyu delivered about ten orders that night, and it took them almost an hour to finish.

Mother Wen closed her accounting notebook and exclaimed excitedly, "It's over a thousand!"

Wen's father and Wen Fan exchanged a glance, and the three of them were overjoyed.

For such a small shop, it's already quite remarkable to have this kind of income.

"I'll go buy some more lunchboxes tomorrow."

More and more people were joining the small dining table, and Wen's mother's phone rang several times in the evening; the group now had seventeen members.

However... when Wen's mother opened the group member page, she saw that each name and avatar was incredibly abstract.

"That's really strange."

The children introduced by Zihan's mother all directly labeled their children's names upon joining the group, but what did they change after joining?

[Potato Family]

[Winter melon's brother-in-law, watermelon]

Tomato's Wife: Egg

[Durian's Beloved]

...

"It will be delivered tomorrow. How can anyone say that name?"

A note from the author:

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