When distinguished guests arrived, Huang's mother killed the only laying hen in the house. Zhao Xian tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Huang Bo knew how to make spicy crab, so he planned to make a plate of spicy crab at home for his family to try.

However, Huang Bo didn't have the seasonings to make spicy crab at home, so he might not be able to make it as delicious as the ones in restaurants. But he didn't care. After all, he was a chef, and making a delicious plate of spicy crab shouldn't be a problem.

The two younger brothers immediately went to catch crabs and soon returned with a bucket full.

Huang Bo immediately cleaned and marinated the crabs. Since there were no seasonings, he made his own, as he was quite confident in his culinary skills.

After a flurry of activity, the meal was finally ready and served on the table.

Zhao Xian saw that Huang Bo had also made a plate of spicy crab, but he couldn't smell any special aroma. Judging from the appearance of the dish, it could only be considered a plate of braised small crabs.

He picked up his chopsticks, took half a crab, and smelled it. It still had a slight fragrance, but the fishy smell hadn't been removed.

He put the crab in his mouth and tasted it. It had a strong earthy taste. No wonder the locals don't like to eat crabs. Huang Bo's cooking process must have removed some of the earthy taste, otherwise the taste would be even stronger.

The spicy crab I cooked myself used a lot of seasonings to cover up the muddy taste, giving it a completely different flavor, which is why so many people like it.

Huang Bo also tried a piece of crab, but the earthy taste made him shake his head. He had put in so much effort, yet he couldn't get rid of the earthy taste of the crab.

It seems that to enjoy delicious spicy crab, one must use special seasonings for cooking, which means that other restaurants find it difficult to cook spicy crab with excellent color, aroma, and taste.

Although Huang Bo's spicy crab was not good, Zhao Xian was still very happy. From now on, if people in Qing'an Prefecture want to eat spicy crab, they can only go to Qinghe Restaurant. Other restaurants cannot make authentic spicy crab. Only their restaurant can make this kind of money. Other restaurants can forget about it.

The next day, Zhao Xian did not leave immediately. He planned to walk around the fields and ditches in the village to check on the crabs.

After breakfast, Huang Bo led Zhao Xian to the fields. This was a plain area, mostly paddy fields, with crisscrossing ditches and paths. Between the paddy fields were large swamps, which together covered a much larger area than the paddy fields.

These swamps are low-lying, unable to form lakes or be converted into rice paddies, which provides an excellent living environment for mud crabs. Therefore, it is not surprising that mud crabs have become rampant here.

This vast area is a natural breeding ground for mud crabs, so Zhao Xian doesn't need to worry about the supply of mud crabs at all.

Crabs crawled everywhere in the ditches and ridges beneath my feet. Although they didn't grow very big, they were all plump and strong.

Crabs move nimbly, like locusts; when they see someone approaching, they scatter and flee.

Zhao Xian was now wide-eyed with astonishment. He looked at Huang Bo and asked a question.

"How do you plan to collect crabs here and transport them to restaurants?"

Huang Bo had been waiting for Zhao Xian to say this, and seeing that the shopkeeper finally spoke, he immediately replied:

"Manager Zhao, this is what I'm thinking. I'd like my two younger brothers to handle the matter of supplying crabs to the restaurant. They can supply the restaurant as needed, and they are both very honest and conscientious. They will definitely not make any mistakes."

Zhao Xian nodded. This was the best approach. With Huang Bo's two younger brothers handling the matter, there would be no need to worry about the supply of goods, ensuring the restaurant's supply to the greatest extent possible.

"Then it's settled. From now on, you'll be in charge of sourcing the restaurant's supplies, and your two younger brothers will be responsible for delivery. This way, we can also protect the crab resources here," Zhao Xian said.

The two walked and talked, and when they came to a big tree with lush branches and leaves, they decided to stop and rest.

Looking at the surrounding scenery, Zhao Xian seemed lost in thought. He then spoke:

"Master Huang, we've already made spicy crab with mud crabs. As the head chef, have you thought about making other dishes with it?"

Huang Bo scratched his head, a little embarrassed, because he really hadn't considered this question.

Seeing this, Zhao Xian laughed and said:

"Although crabs are not big, they contain a lot of crab roe. Could we extract this crab roe and make it into delicacies such as crab roe buns, crab roe porridge, and crab roe soup?"

After Zhao Xianyi's reminder, Huang Bo's eyes lit up. As long as the earthy taste of the crab roe was removed, making these delicacies shouldn't be a problem.

"Here's what we'll do: once we get back to the restaurant, you can do some research and develop some new dishes to enrich our menu."

Huang Bo nodded. Manager Zhao's trust in him gave him confidence.

"Don't worry, Manager Zhao, I will definitely study it carefully when I get back and try to develop a variety of delicacies from crabs."

"Master Huang, have you ever thought about this? Our restaurant's usage is limited. It's such a waste that so many crabs just die on their own. Is there any way to solve this problem?" Zhao Xian asked.

This is indeed a problem. Even if restaurants develop a variety of dishes and increase the supply of crabs, sales are always limited.

Moreover, mud crabs have a very short lifespan, at most two years. When they are at their fattest and have the most roe, their lives are nearing their end.

At that time, crabs began to die in large numbers, which was indeed a huge waste.

Seeing that Huang Bo could not answer, Zhao Xian then spoke up:

"Qing'an Prefecture is very large, with five counties under its jurisdiction and a large population. In another month or two, the crabs will be at their fattest. Do you think we could hold a food festival and make crabs into all sorts of dishes, promoting them at the festival? Wouldn't that stimulate a wave of consumption?"

Zhao Xian's words reminded Huang Bo that there was indeed a food street in Qing'an Prefecture, where all kinds of delicacies were sold and it was very popular. The scholars and literati of Qing'an Prefecture liked to go there.

At that time, there were no food festivals, and people didn't know what a food festival was.

“Once the food festival is held, it will consume a lot of ingredients. For us, crabs here are inexhaustible, which provides a strong guarantee for us to hold the food festival,” Zhao Xian added.

"I understand what Manager Zhao means. After I return to the restaurant, I will start developing new dishes and strive to provide a wide variety of food for the food festival, making the crab food festival a success." Huang Bo was full of confidence at this point.

“Okay, then we’ll go back first thing tomorrow morning. Have your brother prepare two hundred catties of crabs, and we’ll bring them back to the restaurant. Starting the day after tomorrow, we’ll have them deliver four hundred catties of crabs to the restaurant every other day. Is that alright?”

“No problem, then it’s settled on the delivery.” Huang Bo said excitedly.

The next day, Zhao Xian and the others prepared to return to Qing'an Prefecture. In order to get home before dark, they got up very early.