Chapter 45 Chapter 45

Jiang Huai didn't know the shock that a bag of salt brought to Chef Fang. When the dishes were served, Jiang Huai tasted them and found that they tasted quite good. No wonder it was a well-known restaurant in Anyuan Prefecture.

Although it was inferior to his favorite dishes, after all, there were fewer ingredients and seasonings, but the freshness of the dishes made up for it.

These dishes were quite new to Jiang Huai, after all, he had never eaten them before. However, they were a bit boring to Xiao Jingzhao, because compared with the dishes made by Jiang Huai, these dishes were just downgraded from the ones he often ate, and even the cooking methods were not much different.

However, seeing Jiang Huai eating with gusto, Xiao Jingzhao felt that the food he was eating also tasted better, with a hint of sweetness.

Jiang Huai and Xiao Jingzhao were eating, but they had no idea how much torment Chef Fang, who cooked for them, was feeling.

After the dish was prepared, Chef Fang tasted it first to check the saltiness. This was a common practice in the kitchen. Even if one was very confident in his cooking skills, he could not guarantee that his hand would falter one day. If he did not taste it first, and made a mistake in serving the dish, it would damage the reputation of the restaurant and the consequences would be serious.

After tasting it, Chef Fang discovered that the dishes cooked with the salt given by Jiang Huai tasted different, especially since the other guests ordered the same dish as Jiang Huai, with the other seasonings being the same except for the salt. When the two dishes were tasted one after the other, the difference in taste seemed quite dramatic.

As a chef, all chefs wish to find ways to improve their cooking skills, and adding and improving seasonings is one of them. However, most chefs' improvements are mostly to make new sauces or find new seasonings and spices. No one has put their attention on salt because salt is such a common seasoning that there is really no possibility of improvement.

Chef Fang had the same idea before, but now he realized that salt can be improved. In fact, because salt is the most basic seasoning, if it can be improved, the taste of the dishes will be greatly improved.

After all, other seasonings cannot be used in every dish. Some thick sauces cannot be used in dishes with light flavors, while salt is suitable for most dishes. It can be said that unless the dish only requires sweetness, salt is basically required.

If the salt could be replaced with the salt brought by Jiang Huai, the taste of the dishes in the restaurant would be greatly improved. Chef Fang could hardly imagine it.

After learning from the waiter that this was the first time Jiang Huai and his companions had come to the restaurant for dinner, Chef Fang no longer hesitated. He was afraid that if he delayed any further, after Jiang Huai and his companions left, he might not be able to find them even if he wanted to.

Chef Fang went to the private room with his head held high. Jiang Huai heard that the salt had been delivered from the kitchen and thought it was the waiter, but it turned out to be a man.

When Chef Fang entered the private room and saw the looks of Jiang Huai and Xiao Jingzhao, his heart immediately sank. He didn't come here to get the recipe for making the salt. He knew very well that he couldn't get it, let alone protect it. He just wanted to ask if he could buy some salt, preferably a long-term and stable supply, after all, the restaurant's salt consumption was quite high.

I just hope the price of this salt is not too high, otherwise I really can’t afford it.

But it's obvious that Jiang Huai and Xiao Jingzhao are not people who are short of money. Would such a family really be willing to sell salt?

Or what if the other party feels that this question is offensive?

Just recalling the taste of the dishes just now, Chef Fang still asked tentatively.

"Do you want to buy salt?" Jiang Huai didn't expect that the person who came to deliver salt was the chef of the restaurant. After hearing the other party's words, he reacted instantly and felt that the chef was indeed very sharp.

Seeing that Jiang Huai was not angry, Chef Fang realized that Jiang Huai might be easy to talk to, so he stopped looking at Xiao Jingzhao and nodded directly at Jiang Huai, his eyes full of expectation.

Seeing Fang Chef's natural attitude, Jiang Huai almost thought that his memory of the law was wrong. Shouldn't we buy official salt and not sell private salt? The other party said it so bluntly.

Seeing Jiang Huai's hesitation, Chef Fang thought that the other party was not willing to sell it, so he praised the snow salt. In his opinion, the other party was not short of money, and even if he raised the price, he could not offer too high a price, so naturally there was no temptation.

Judging from the fact that the other party always uses snow salt when eating in a restaurant, Jiang Huai should also have high requirements for the taste of the dishes. Then, using the excuse of improving the taste of the dishes might be able to impress the other party.

"You buy it from me, doesn't that count as illegal salt trading?" Jiang Huai asked doubtfully.

Chef Fang was stunned. He didn't expect Jiang Huai to be so surprised by this. However, after thinking about it, he said, "Sir, we also buy official salt in our store. However, the quality of official salt varies, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Naturally, we have to buy some other salt as a backup."

"Besides, a little salt is nothing."

…

When Jiang Huai and Chef Fang were talking about snow salt, Wei Xuan was also considering the profits from salt.

The salt and iron industries in the Great Zhou Dynasty were all state-run and under the unified jurisdiction of the imperial court. The salt profits from all over the country were also handed over to the imperial court by the salt officials. In the past, Anyuan Prefecture would not touch these profits, but now, several months have passed, and the imperial court has not given the military pay and supplies that it should have given, and has not even issued an official document. It is still unknown when it will be given.

They also had to consider Ding'an Wei more, and salt profits were one of them.

Even if the salt is only sold locally in Anyuan Prefecture, the profit will be enough for the time being. However, it is difficult to think of any good ideas to monopolize the salt industry of the entire Anyuan Prefecture for the time being. After all, the relationship with the court has not been completely broken off, and the price of salt cannot be reduced too drastically.

But if the price is not reduced, who will buy this illegal salt?

Wei Xuan talked with his staff several times, but they couldn't think of any solution. He couldn't help but feel a headache. With this headache, Wei Xuan wanted to go to Jiang Huai to relax.

If for no other reason, the Jiang family's dishes were indeed good. He didn't know where the Jiang family's chef was found, but his cooking skills were excellent and the food tasted even better than the Wei family's chef. He even wanted to ask the Wei family's chef to learn from Jiang Huai, but he was too embarrassed to bring it up.

However, before Wei Xuan arrived at the Jiang family, he saw Jiang Huai and Xiao Jingzhao walking towards him from the street from afar. The two were talking and laughing and did not notice him.

When Jiang Huai looked up, he saw Wei Xuan walking by with the smile on his face still on. However, when he met Wei Xuan's gaze, Jiang Huai inexplicably remembered what happened before and suddenly felt guilty. He didn't know what he was feeling guilty about.

"Brother Wei!" Jiang Huai greeted him, and Wei Xuan dismounted.

“What are you doing…”

"I went to Chunfeng Tower for a meal to try something new." Jiang Huai replied.

"The food at Chunfeng Tower is not as good as yours." Wei Xuan raised his eyebrows. He used to go to Chunfeng Tower often to eat, but he seldom went there since he ate at Jiang's house. Eating the food prepared by his own chef was a must, but if he had the time to go to Chunfeng Tower, he might as well go to Jiang Huai's house for a meal.

"So Brother Wei, are you here to eat for free?" Jiang Huai said.

"Yeah, but it seems we can't eat it today." Wei Xuan sighed, and suddenly noticed that Xiao Jingzhao was holding something in his hand. He took a closer look and saw that it was a piece of bacon.

"You went to the restaurant and bought bacon as well?" Wei Xuan was surprised. Is there something special about this bacon?

But after looking at it, he found that this bacon was no different from ordinary bacon. It had no strange fragrance and looked nothing special. Moreover, the meat did not look like beef or mutton, but more like pork.

When Wei Xuan thought of pork, he worried that Jiang Huai was being cheated. Pork is a cheap meat. Even if it is made into bacon, the fishy smell will be lessened. But thinking about what pigs eat to grow up, people will completely lose their appetite.

"Yes, I tried it and the bacon here is pretty good. I also asked and found out that the pigs are fed with other kinds of food, so I bought some," said Jiang Huai.

He chatted with Chef Fang for a while, but in the end they did not decide to sell salt. Instead, after learning that the bacon in Chunfeng Tower was good, Jiang Huai tasted some and found that it tasted indeed good. Although the pig itself was not castrated, it had been processed in various ways, and the method of making bacon did reduce the fishy smell a lot. In addition, the pig was also hygienic to eat, so Jiang Huai bought it.

"Are they trying to trick you?" Wei Xuan was still worried that Jiang Huai had been deceived. In his opinion, although Jiang Huai was a businessman, he was still too honest. In addition, his previous woolen yarn business was a sole proprietorship, and he didn't have much experience. What if Chunfenglou fooled Jiang Huai into buying this bacon...

"The pigpen of Chunfeng Building is not far from the building. I went to the third floor and took a look from a distance. There was no toilet upstairs. They must be fed with leftover slop and other miscellaneous food." Jiang Huai shook his head. He would not trust the other party too much just by what he said. He had to take a look for himself.

After hearing what Jiang Huai said, Wei Xuan finally felt relieved.

Although Jiang Huai bought some bacon, he had already eaten his fill at Chunfeng Tower and had not planned to cook. But when he saw Wei Xuan coming over specially this time, he thought about it and decided to stir-fry winter bamboo shoots with bacon.

He knew that although Wei Xuan also loved to eat, he rarely came to the Jiang family just for the sake of eating. Most of the time, he came to the Jiang family to relax because he had something on his mind. After all, as the actual master of Anyuan Mansion, Wei Xuan could not show weakness in front of his subordinates.

Only Jiang Huai and Wei Xuan do not have a superior-subordinate relationship. In addition, the relationship between the two is good now, and Jiang Huai is alone, so Wei Xuan can express himself in front of Jiang Huai.

This time when Wei Xuan came over, although he was joking, Jiang Huai could see the irritability in Wei Xuan's heart. Moreover, it was already past Wei Xuan's usual meal time. If Jiang Huai asked him to eat somewhere else, he would not be able to do it.

Wei Xuan was about to leave when he heard Jiang Huai say, "Brother Wei, you came at the right time. I was just about to make a dish of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with bacon. Why don't you stay and try it and see how it tastes?"

Jiang Huai's words did not give Wei Xuan a choice. Wei Xuan hesitated for a moment, then stopped and followed Jiang Huai into the house.

After all, he didn't want to stay because he felt that Jiang Huai had already finished eating, and it would be inappropriate to ask Jiang Huai to cook something specially for him. But if Jiang Huai wanted to cook a new dish, he could eat that dish with the staple food.

Besides, he seemed to have never eaten the dish of fried winter bamboo shoots with bacon at the Jiang family before, which made Wei Xuan a little curious.

As soon as he arrived at Jiang's house, Wei Xuan saw the large cast iron pot and realized that this should be the new kitchen utensil. He watched curiously to see how Jiang Huai was going to make this dish.

Xiao Jingzhao had silently peeled the winter bamboo shoots, washed the bacon, and prepared the garlic sprouts that Jiang Huai wanted.

In fact, this dish would taste better if there were chili peppers, but since there were no chili peppers, Jiang Huai could only make do with it.

Cut the winter bamboo shoots, cut the bacon, blanch the winter bamboo shoots, and then heat the oil in a pot. Fortunately, a large stove was built in advance, otherwise, with such a large pot, Jiang Huai suspected that he would have to hold the pot while cooking to prevent it from tipping over. After all, the commonly used small stove is really small, and a large pot with a small stove is too easy to tip over.

Heat the pan with cold oil, and Jiang Huai quickly pours the fattier bacon into the pan and stir-fry. The originally white fat quickly becomes transparent under the high temperature, and the lard inside is refined, emitting a rich and oily aroma. Then pour the lean bacon into the pan. When the bacon is almost fried, quickly add the garlic sprouts. The spicy aroma of the garlic sprouts is stimulated by the oil and quickly spreads.

From a distance, others could smell the aroma from the pot, not to mention the few people gathered around it.

At first, Wei Xuan didn't think there was any difference between stir-frying and other cooking methods, until he smelled the aroma, he found that it seemed indeed different. The previous steaming, boiling, frying, and roasting seemed unable to produce such an aroma. It looked like it hadn't been cooked yet, after all, the winter bamboo shoots were still aside.

Jiang Huai originally thought that he was full. Even if the winter bamboo shoots with bacon were ready, he would probably just eat a little and then put down his chopsticks. But when he smelled the familiar aroma of the stir-fried dishes, Jiang Huai felt hungry again. He could even have another meal with the rice, but the problem was that there were not many winter bamboo shoots cut.

It’s too late to add some winter bamboo shoots now. Not only are they troublesome to wash, peel and cut, but most importantly, they need to be blanched, and the wok here is already waiting for the winter bamboo shoots to be put into the pot.

Jiang Huai felt heartbroken for a second, and could only comfort himself that he could eat it again in the evening. Besides, it would not be good to eat too much at noon and not digest it.

Jiang Huai's emotions were revealed very subtly. Wei Xuan was only focused on the dish in front of him and didn't notice it. However, Xiao Jingzhao saw Jiang Huai's movements and understood at a glance that Jiang Huai was tempted by the aroma of his own cooking.

After putting the winter bamboo shoots in, it is normal to add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc., but unfortunately these two seasonings are not available here. As for other sauces, Jiang Huai didn't dare to add them, for fear of affecting the taste, so he only added a little salt.

Because there was no sauce color, the color of the winter bamboo shoots and bacon looked particularly refreshing when it came out of the pot. The red bacon, the pale white winter bamboo shoots, and the green garlic sprouts greatly increased Wei Xuan's appetite.

By the time the dishes were placed on the table, Wei Xuan was already eager to eat, and Jiang Huai was struggling over whether to eat with them. Xiao Jingzhao had already served the rice, but it wasn't much, just a small bowl.

Now that the meal is ready, let’s eat.

As Jiang Huai took a bite of the winter bamboo shoots, he squinted his eyes happily. The refreshing, crispy and tender fried winter bamboo shoots, with a hint of salty freshness from bacon and the fragrance of garlic sprouts, were so delicious and made him miss them so much.

Wei Xuan was also amazed by the taste of fried winter bamboo shoots with bacon. This dish was a bit strange compared to the dishes he had eaten before. It looked greasy, but it didn't feel greasy at all when he ate it. Instead, it was extremely refreshing, with a very crispy and tender texture, but without any moisture. It tasted better and better when eaten with rice.

Wei Xuan wanted to say something, but in the end he just buried his head in his food, one bowl of rice, two bowls of rice, three bowls of rice...

It was not until the plate was empty that Wei Xuan realized that he had eaten too much. Even with his big appetite, he felt a little full.

Meeting the gazes of Jiang Huai and Xiao Jingzhao, Wei Xuan felt a little embarrassed, but more of a sense of wonder: "Why is this dish so delicious?"

He didn't pay much attention to the dishes he had eaten at the Jiang family before. This was the first time he saw Jiang Huai cooking. The stir-fry looked very simple, without any seasonings, just salt, but how could it taste so good.

But speaking of salt, Wei Xuan suddenly remembered the salt he had just seen. It seemed to be snow-white, and seemed a little different from the salt he had seen before, but Wei Xuan didn't think about it too much.

If you ask Jiang Huai why stir-fried dishes taste better than other dishes, he can't explain the reason very accurately. After all, he has always eaten them this way. However, apart from the cooking method, Jiang Huai knows another reason: "It should have something to do with salt."

Salt?

Wei Xuan was confused when he heard Jiang Huai talking about what happened to Fang the chef. The more he listened, the more shocked he became.