Chapter 76 Jiang Sijie (Contains 1.5w nutrient solution plus more...)

Regular customers only noticed that the restaurant had changed a lot. The walls on the first floor had been repainted, and the wall waist below had also been replaced with a new one. Looking up at the copper lamps on the wall, they were in the shape of auspicious clouds.

Only the tables and chairs remained the same: nine tables on this side and thirteen on the other. But after the new flooring was laid, the tables and chairs looked much newer.

There was also a young servant with an unfamiliar face. He was quite big, but had regular features and a simple and kind smile.

Lin Ming smiled and asked, "What would you like to eat, sir?"

Shopkeeper Shi said that you should smile when you see guests.

"Let me see the menu." The customer could read. Although he had just heard Manager Shi say that the prices of the dishes had not increased, he could not guarantee that they would be a few cents more expensive. He could not say anything because he did not have the previous menu.

If you can leave even if you don't eat, can such a big shop really bully customers by taking advantage of its size?

Lin Ming immediately brought out the menu. The customer took a look and saw it had one more page than last month. Alas, the same prices remained for the same dishes. Braised pork, a frequent eater of his, was still 40 wen, and shredded potatoes were 10 wen a plate.

Lin Ming said, "Today, we have donkey meat dumplings and braised donkey meat. We don't usually have them. You can try them. The dumplings are made with pure meat filling and are very delicious. The braised meat is also better than pig's head."

Donkey meat tastes similar to beef, but is sweeter and has its own unique aroma. The customer's eyes lit up when he heard this. He looked at the price and said, "Then give me a portion of braised pork and five dumplings."

Lin Ming took note and asked, "Sir, would you like any other dishes?"

"A plate of braised pork, a plate of shredded potatoes, and two garlic-flavored crucian carp... the portions remain the same, right?"

Some shops haven't raised prices, but they've reduced the portions, so isn't that still a price increase? Business owners are savvy, so you have to ask.

Lin Ming reassured again and again: "Don't worry, sir, there is definitely nothing wrong. If the quantity changes, you don't have to pay."

The man nodded and his eyes lingered on another menu for a while. They were all new dishes, so he would wait and see if others ordered any that tasted good.

After Lin Ming left, the guest turned around and looked around. There were many regular customers sitting nearby. Knowing that Lin Qiuran's cooking was delicious, they directly added new dishes such as spicy diced rabbit and spicy chicken.

These two dishes were newly added by Lin Qiuran. With the addition of Lin Chun and Lin Ying to the shop, Lin Qiuran gave each of them a menu from the second floor. These were all dishes that customers often ordered, with more than ten dishes on a table. Other dishes could be learned slowly. In this way, even if Lin Qiuran had to go out for something, the three of them could still run the restaurant.

While the three of them were busy, Lin Qiuran had some free time. She couldn't always cook in the kitchen. After all, the shop was making little money. Since the shop was expanding, she needed to introduce new dishes. Lin Qiuran remembered the spicy diced rabbit she had made for Xiao Xun last time. Manager Shi and the others had said it was delicious, fragrant, spicy, and went well with rice. It was a very satisfying meal.

Lin Qiuran added spicy diced rabbit, cumin lamb, spicy diced chicken and other dishes.

Lin Dong and the other two are responsible for the simple stir-fries in the shop, while Lin Qiuran is responsible for making these new dishes, stews, braised meats, etc. Lin Qiuran prepares the ingredients in packets, and whoever is free can come. As long as they follow the steps, you basically can't tell who made them.

Originally, Lin Qiuran didn't want to add the spicy diced rabbit dish, because rabbits had to be bought on the street, and they had to be caught by hunters at certain times, so they were sometimes available and sometimes not, making it difficult to add it to the menu. A customer said that our restaurant had no rabbits today and could not make this dish.

But Zhao Xing found a hunter and raised rabbits at home.

The hunter had shot a couple of rabbits, one male and one female, alive, but instead of selling them, he kept them. As a result, the rabbits kept growing. Occasionally, someone would buy them at the market, but most people preferred pork.

Rabbit meat is not easy to cook. The flavor of the meat depends on the seasoning. How can ordinary people get so many seasonings at home? Besides, if you have never cooked it before, it will not taste good if you make it rashly. It is not as satisfying as pork.

If Zhao Xing hadn't noticed it, the hunters probably wouldn't have raised rabbits in the future. Raising rabbits requires collecting fodder, which is very troublesome.

But now we can supply restaurants steadily, and we can definitely sell a few rabbits every day. Let's see how the business is. If many people order this dish, the hunter family will have to expand the scale.

Lin Qiuran liked making this dish because if it was diced, no one would complain that one dish was missing a leg or another, and business was good. Shopkeeper Shi and his three companions were busy in the lobby, entertaining guests, taking orders, and serving dishes. The only thing they didn't have to do was to go to the door and solicit customers.

There are twenty-two tables on the first floor of the restaurant. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the first floor is almost full, with only two tables in the middle left empty. Perhaps they think there are too many people here and the seats by the wall or window are better. However, if you want to eat and there is no other place, you can only sit here.

The lobby is bustling with activity and the kitchen is buzzing with activity.

Lin Qiuran was very satisfied with the newly renovated kitchen. Against the west wall was the chopping block, with separate cutting boards for raw and cooked dishes. Washing vegetables took place in the courtyard, which was now quite spacious. Large stoves for cooking stood in a row, with four iron woks placed on top. Against the north wall were clay pots, simmering ginger duck. To the west were large pots, stewing braised pork, braised fish, and stewed meat...

The one to the east is for steaming rice, a mix of glutinous rice and rice, as well as the fermented glutinous rice steamed buns that customers love, filling several trays. In the other steamer are donkey meat dumplings, which I made today instead of the chive ones.

There's a low fire burning right now to prevent the food from getting cold.

The food preparation rack is a little smaller, one for each person, and can be pushed around. It is placed next to the pot for easy access.

The chimney was also remodeled and made larger, placing it above the cooking stove to prevent the choking fumes from cooking spicy dishes. There are four water tanks in the kitchen, placed in the four corners for easy access.

Wan Niang is now in charge of cutting vegetables, preparing food, making fire and doing miscellaneous things. Although she envies Manager Shi and others who can do more work and earn more money, after all, the recipes are learned for their own family members. She is an outsider, and Wan Niang has never thought about learning to cook.

The food in the restaurant is delicious, and Lin Qiuran treats people well. He always brings her extra food every day. She will be very satisfied as long as she can work there for a long time.

Wanniang brought out the prepared dishes. It was also Wanniang who served the dishes such as braised pork.

She also had a small cart. If there were a lot of dishes, she would push it directly to the door. Then, Shopkeeper Shi and the others would carry them out. Wan Niang thought this thing was really good, very convenient and hassle-free.

Ever since the kitchen was renovated, everything has been fine and in order. Wan Niang doesn't know what the kitchens of other restaurants are like, but the one at Jindinglou is definitely not bad.

She looked back at the kitchen. Several iron pans were in use, and Lin Qiuran and others were wearing the same pudding on their heads.

Lin Qiuran's spatula and spoon shook, and flames came out from the bottom of the pot. Wan Niang saw that she had lost a lot of weight.

Lin Qiuran skillfully stirred the wok, sautéed the chili peppers, and then scooped out two large spoonfuls of fried rabbit cubes.

The fragrance burst out, Wan Niang sniffed, and Aunt Xu from next door called out. Wan Niang said, "Qiu Ran, I'm going to feed the baby, I'll be back soon."

Lin Qiuran: "Well, go quickly."

Now that the courtyard is connected, there is an extra room. The original room is still reserved for Aunt Xu and Ying Jie'er to use. The teahouse room has not been renovated, but Lin Qiuran asked Lin Dong and others to clean it up and keep it for lunch break.

Today, Mrs. Sun came with some rice dumplings, and Mrs. Xu also came and stayed in this room.

Today's Jinding Building is large and bright, with a nice front hall, a nice kitchen at the back, and an extra room.

Sun listened to the bustling sounds outside and coaxed Tangyuan, "Look at this big restaurant. It's run by your mother. Your mother is very capable. Tangyuan must also be capable in the future."

Tangyuan stared outside and hummed something, but it was just babbling words.

Sun hoped that the restaurant would make a lot of money and become the largest restaurant in the county.

Xiao Dashi had gone to help out in front today, so he came over now that he had some free time. Sun, holding the glutinous rice balls, asked, "How's it going? Are there many people?"

Xiao Dashi smiled and said, "There are quite a lot, but the second floor is not full."

The downstairs was full. There were ten rooms on the second floor, three tables for lunch and five tables for dinner.

Sun said, "This is not too few. How can the restaurant be full every day? Who comes out to eat all day long? It's not too few."

The second floor is being installed in preparation for when there are many customers. It doesn't mean that there will be so many customers once it is installed and it will be full every day, otherwise other restaurants will have to close.

Sun saw Xiao Dashi drink a glass of water and urged him, "Don't stay here anymore, go help. And there's also Xinghua's family. Qiuran said to put it on her account, don't forget."

Aunt Yu's family came to support us and sent a flower basket, but we can't accept any money.

Xiao Dashi nodded, "I know."

Manager Shi wanted to exempt him directly, but Xiao Dashi refused.

Sun urged Xiao Dashi to go out. He hadn't rested yet, so how could he rest alone? The people hired by Shi were working hard, and Xiao Dashi was a family member, so how could he be lazy?

For new customers, the food in such a large restaurant is not expensive, the portions are large, and the taste is even better. It feels like they have found a treasure, and they can't help but sigh why they didn't discover this shop before.

For regular customers, the price has not changed, and now that the place is bigger, they don't have to worry about not being able to eat there. Moreover, the decoration of Jindinglou is grand, so eating here is prestigious and they will naturally be satisfied.

The first three days of opening are very cheap, and many new dishes are added. The new dishes are fresh and delicious. Customers can take a sip of wine while eating spicy rabbit cubes. The food is fragrant and spicy, and even the peppers are crispy.

The taste of other dishes remained the same, and two tables even gave tips after finishing their meal.

Shopkeeper Shi and his three companions were very busy serving dishes and collecting money. When business was at its peak, the first floor was full, and after that, there were still about sixteen or seventeen tables.

Shopkeeper Shi greeted the guests with a smile, beaming with joy. He was genuinely happy; at noon, there were over thirty tables, and he estimated that the turnover on the first floor alone was about five thousand yuan.

The profit of 5,000 yuan is 40%, and there is still the second floor. The business is not open at night, so the whole day is just making money.

In addition to serving as waiter, Manager Shi also took care of other things. "Zhao Xing, go to the winery and get a few more barrels of wine. I don't think we'll have enough tonight."

As he spoke, he quickly cleaned up the table where the meal had just ended and placed the dishes in the yard, waiting for Aunt Liu and the other two to come and wash them right away.

I was busy all afternoon.

But for Lin Qiuran, it was not too busy because there were many people in the kitchen and he could handle it with ease.

However, the kitchen was too hot. It was early March, with grass growing and birds singing, and the weather was just right, but several people were busy in the kitchen and sweating.

Shopkeeper Shi said that there were no more customers, so Lin Qiuran looked at what was left in the kitchen. There was only leftover rice and steamed buns, and a few dumplings that were difficult to divide, so Lin Qiuran simply bought them.

The ginger duck was sold out, but there was still some braised pork, some fried rabbit and chicken cubes, and some shredded potatoes. Lin Qiuran planned to stir-fry a pot and eat them later.

There are also vegetables. The shop now has fried leeks and river shrimps, but river shrimps are not cheap. Lin Qiuran plans to make fried leeks and eggs for lunch.

There were too many people, so Sun and Xiao Dashi took the food back and cooked another dish for Madam Xu.

Business today was better than Lin Qiuran had expected. She had originally prepared extra items and was worried that she wouldn't be able to sell them all, but in the end, there wasn't even enough ginger duck to sell, and she had to steam another pot of rice.

Shopkeeper Shi came over to serve the food. "Madam Lin, I've heard you say at least ten times how delicious the restaurant's food is today."

Especially when eating dumplings, I felt so satisfied. And the braised donkey meat was sold out very quickly today.

A bowl of rice in the restaurant costs two cents, and you can get more after you finish it. Shopkeeper Shi can see it, with a plate of braised pork, a plate of shredded potatoes, a pot of rice wine, and three or four bowls of rice.

At this time, they never complain that the guests eat too much. Instead, they think that the guests will eat more if the food is delicious.

Someone else asked where the rice was bought from, and Shopkeeper Shi just smiled and said nothing because he didn't know either.

If you want to eat something delicious, you should try it. I have been to Yu An's restaurants and hotels. It is understandable that the dishes are different, as it depends on the chef's skills. However, the rice and steamed buns made by Jindinglou are different from those made elsewhere. There are also donkey meat steamed dumplings, which are selling very well today.

Many people order a few at first and then take a few home.

Wan Niang and Manager Shi expected that there wouldn't be much left, and donkey meat was not cheap. There were many people in the restaurant, so they probably wouldn't share it. So they each bought five. Manager Shi planned to take them home for his children to try, and Wan Niang was thinking about Zhao Shi.

Lin Qiuran also kept a few. Donkey meat was rare, so she had to try it. Of course, Manager Shi now had a share of the profits. She also bought them with money, but for her it was just a transfer from one hand to the other.

Shopkeeper Shi was beaming with joy because of the good business. Lin Qiuran also smiled and said, "As long as the customers like the food, it's fine. Let's eat too. We've been busy all day."

The meal was simple. Shopkeeper Shi raised his cup of tea and said, "Today we are celebrating the opening of the Jinding Building. Thank you all for your hard work."

Lin Qiuran also raised her glass. She felt that it was great to have Manager Shi around. She could teach him how to manage the shop in the future. This way, the business would be good, she could make more money, and she would feel more at ease.

Shopkeeper Shi also said: "You have done a good job today. Come on, eat and have a good rest after eating. We still have to work tonight."

After saying a few words, Manager Shi buried his head in his meal.

Lin Qiuran also started to eat. A few dishes were served wrong today. It was inevitable that there would be confusion when there were so many people around. Manager Shi would talk about it in private, but he would not embarrass himself in front of everyone.

Good.

After a break at noon, Aunt Liu and her partner cleaned up the place and started a new round of busy work in the afternoon.

At night, before it got dark, several lanterns were hung on the second floor of the Jinding Building, illuminating the signboard. Lights were also lit inside the restaurant, creating a particularly beautiful auspicious cloud.

There were the sounds of customers talking and waiters shouting, and the smell of fireworks mixed with the aroma of food and wine, making Yu'an particularly lively at night.

Business is better in the evening than at noon. All the donkeys I bought yesterday were sold out today.

There were still some dumplings left, so Lin Qiuran made some for himself and saved them for tomorrow morning.

After closing the shop that night, Shopkeeper Shi didn't settle the bill. He was exhausted today and decided to wait until tomorrow morning to settle the bill. Xiao Dashi slept here to watch over the shop at night. It was so big, so it was safer to have someone there.

Lin Ming drove the cart back home, feeling truly exhausted and poorly paid, but to be honest, he felt more at ease and like a human being than at the Qian residence. Shopkeeper Shi hadn't given Lin Qiuran more work just because he'd bought him, and besides, he was still working.

Arriving at the Xiao family's house, Lin Ming called out, "Madam, we're here."

Lin Qiuran rubbed her eyes and got out of the car. It was already dark. She went home and stood in the yard for a while.

In the side room, Madam Xu was humming a song to coax Tangyuan. She listened from outside for a while and heard Tangyuan laughing.

Lin Qiuran walked to the door and coughed. Tangyuan immediately looked towards the door and said, "Ah~"

She smiled, and Madam Xu and Tang Yuan said, "Tang Yuan, look who's back."

Madam Xu spoke softly with a hint of erhua in her voice. Tangyuan's eyes were bright as she stretched out her two plump arms towards Lin Qiuran.

Lin Qiuran took the glutinous rice balls, and Madam Xu said, "I was looking for you. She cried twice during the day, but she was fine after being comforted for a while."

Because the shop was closed for a few days, Lin Qiuran spent a lot of time at home during the day and also spent a lot of time with Tangyuan. Today, Tangyuan went to the restaurant with him, but he was not happy when he came back and kept looking for Lin Qiuran.

Lin Qiuran kissed Tangyuan on the cheek. He had grown a little bigger and could lift his head, so she could hold him upright. Occasionally, her hand would rest on her neck. She didn't know when the little bamboo shoot would grow into a bamboo.

Lin Qiuran: "It's okay to cry for a while. You've worked hard during the day."

Mrs. Xu shook her head and said it wasn't hard. The glutinous rice balls were cute and she liked them too. A baby over two months old, who couldn't roll over and wasn't naughty, was at the age when he was most lovable.

Lin Qiuran coaxed Tangyuan back to sleep for a while, then went back to her room to take a bath. Bathing can help relieve fatigue. While twisting her hair, she couldn't help but think about how much profit she would make today. It must be more than before. She would know after Manager Shi calculated it tomorrow.

The moon rose and set, and the next day was still a sunny day. Lin Qiuran arrived at the shop and saw the magnificent facade of the Jinding Building, and his heart couldn't help but relax.

Manager Shi came early in the morning. Ever since he was given a share of the profits, he came very early every day and almost took charge of the shop.

Zhao Xing and Lu Fan also arrived early. Zhao Xing was the only one who came early. He wanted to buy something, and he was looking forward to a pay raise, so he came early. Shopkeeper Shi had given Lu Fan some tips, and he came earlier and earlier, too.

Shopkeeper Shi wasn't siding with Lin Qiuran; he was simply being honest. The shop's business was good, firstly because the food was delicious, and secondly because the shop was large. He didn't have much to do with the employees. No matter how clever he was, could he trick people into eating two more bowls of rice?

It's impossible that the shop makes more money and therefore we have to raise the wages of our employees. On weekdays, they only work two or three hours a day and don't do anything else. If they still want a raise at this time, they have to do more work.

Otherwise, Manager Shi would not be able to talk to Lin Qiuran about the salary increase.

The two of them were quite reasonable. After Manager Shi finished his accounts at the end of the month, as long as they made a lot of money, they would get a raise.

The shop was closed, and Manager Shi was counting money and using an abacus at the table in the small room. Zhao Xing had gone out, and Lu Fan had to clean and fetch water.

Shopkeeper Shi knew very well that he could make a profit of three or four taels a day in the past, but this time he would have to double it.

However, we have only been in business for one day, so we cannot calculate the cost in detail. Today we will calculate the cash flow and estimate the profit.

There were eight tables upstairs, and the turnover was eight taels and two cents. On the first floor, it was all copper coins. Manager Shi counted them, and the total was twelve thousand three hundred and sixty coins.

Because we can't make much money from drinking alcohol, and we sell it at a 10% discount, so even if we assume a 3.5% profit today and roughly calculate the amount of money we exchanged for copper coins in silver, we still made seven taels of profit yesterday.

Doubled.

The weather has been good these past two days, so business must be good. Even if you factor in the fact that it was cloudy and rainy this month and business was bad for a few days, you can still make more than one hundred taels of silver a month, and Manager Shi can take more than one tael of silver himself.

Hey yo.

Shopkeeper Shi grinned, calculated again with the abacus, and planned to talk to Lin Qiuran in private.

As for why I didn’t say it now, it’s because there are many people in the kitchen and Wan Niang is an outsider.

Wan Niang is working diligently right now, but there's no guarantee that she'll have other ideas when she sees the restaurant making a lot of money. We should be on guard against this.

After lunch, Lin Qiuran was quite satisfied when he heard the number from Manager Shi.

The investment in the renovations was substantial, but the payback was quick. Wufangzhai now gets 20 to 30 taels of silver per month, and Aunt Yu's family also sent a few taels. Xu Yuanheng, the spice dealer, says they're making a lot of money, but most of the money has been invested. Lin Qiuran gets 90 taels of silver per month, and if you add in the restaurant's earnings, he can make close to 300 taels per month.

Lin Qiuran is still very content.

With money, I can buy some nice furniture, plant some flowers and plants in the yard, and even buy a house.

Lin Qiuran thought of Xiao Xun. Although Xiao Xun said the war wouldn't affect her, food prices might rise. She wasn't making a fortune from the war, so she could stockpile some. She grew food back home, but Lin Qiuran was worried someone would steal it.

Besides, Liu hadn't visited him for a long time because she was busy with business. If she didn't go back, Lin Ming would have to go.

Lin Qiuran was thinking about these things in his mind. Tangyuan was still young, so there was no rush to go to Xuzhou Capital. It would be better to make money first.

Sun often lamented the goodness of having money. Tangyuan had milk to drink, and even when the weather got hot, she could stroll around the yard with her child in her arms. Eating well and sleeping well, Lin Qiuran had replaced all the furniture in the house. From the outside, the house looked majestic and imposing, and from the inside, it was also exceptionally elegant.

There was an armchair, a mahogany table, an octagonal table for dining, someone was guarding the gatehouse, and the beds, cabinets... inside were all replaced, so it finally looked presentable.

The restaurant business was booming, and Lin Qiuran had some extra money, so in May he bought two more maids. One was in her twenties, good at embroidery, and was in charge of making clothes and tending to flowers and plants for the family; the other was in her thirties, and was in charge of cooking and washing clothes.

Lin Xia mostly ran errands for Lin Qiuran. When she came to the Xiao family, she was young, lively and cheerful. Now she has become more stable and will be able to stand on her own in a year or two.

During this period, Xiao Xun had not returned. Sun had only asked Lin Qiuran twice at the beginning, "Did Xiao Xun write to say when he would be back?"

Lin Qiuran lied, "Mom, I sent a letter last month, but I said I was busy at the military camp and couldn't come back."

Sun sighed inwardly and muttered, "It's been several months. He passed away in early March. Tangyuan can crawl now. As a father, he hasn't spent as much time with Tangyuan as Master Xu."

Xu Yuanheng had come twice in the past few months. Sun could only complain to herself. She was afraid that if she explained for Xiao Xun, Lin Qiuran would be unhappy.

Lin Qiuran comforted him, "He's busy with work. He'll come back when he can. Don't worry."

Sun nodded and looked at the sun outside, becoming more and more anxious.

Sun did not ask about it later, because when she was carrying the dumplings out, she heard that the court was recruiting soldiers. Sun was shocked and returned home in a trance.

Why are they conscripting soldiers again? She asked Xiao Dashi, "Do you think there's a war going on? Is Xiao Xun going to fight too?"

Xiao Dashi had served in the military before, and his family couldn't bear to see their other sons go, so they pushed him out. But there was no war at the time, so no one would die. The war had been intense in the past two years, and Xiao Xun was the only one in his family. And since men have ambitions, Xiao Xun was willing to go.

Xiao Dashi said, "I guess they did fight. It's okay, it's okay..."

Sun's face was filled with worry. "Don't tell Qiuran about this. If anything happens again after you come back, Qiuran will definitely not be able to bear it."

Sun glanced at Tangyuan. He was now over seven months old and his hair had grown a lot. He had finally survived the summer heat. Tangyuan was more active than before. It would be great if Xiao Xun could meet him.

well.

Xiao Dashi: "Well, I won't tell Qiuran, and you shouldn't keep asking. Asking too much will easily lead to overthinking." Sun said: "I don't know that, right? I will definitely not ask again in the future."

The two hoped to keep it a secret so that Lin Qiuran wouldn't get suspicious when he found out about the war in the northwest. However, the imperial court's conscription had a significant impact.

The price of grain has risen, but the Xiao family has twenty acres of land, which is enough for food. They will stockpile the grain there first and buy it when they need to, but they will make less profit.

The prices of rice, flour, grain and oil have all increased. In the past, one thousand and a dozen copper coins could be exchanged for one tael of silver, but now it takes one thousand and thirty copper coins to exchange for one tael of silver.

There were many people buying food, so Manager Shi also stocked up some food for the shop. It was something we needed every day, so if we bought more now, we would spend less money later.

To reduce costs.

Lin Qiuran had no objection to this, but apart from this, she still couldn't feel the war coming. Sun Xiao Dashi didn't ask, but she probably knew it. She could only pretend not to know to avoid panic.

At the end of August, a horse-drawn carriage arrived in Yu'an.

Jiang Sijie lifted the car curtain. She was sent to Xuzhou by her family for temporary refuge. She was a little worried about Lin Qiuran, so she came to see him.

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The author has something to say: At the end of the month [pink heart] please water it ~ [pink heart]

Time Dharma~