Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Jinjiang Solo
"That's great. I've never seen an airplane before!"
Xia Dayong in the front was grinning from ear to ear. No matter whether his brother-in-law said this to comfort him or not, he was happy to hear these words.
"We'll see you later."
Zhang Mengzhi thought that airplanes would not be available in his hometown until 2000. In the 1990s, if he wanted to take a plane, he had to go to the provincial capital or the mountain city.
Although it takes a long time to get there by car, it is better than taking a train for several days.
"elder brother."
As the tricycle rode into the yard, Zhang Mengyu immediately ran out of the house.
"Xiaoyu, have you been good at home this month?"
When Zhang Mengzhi saw her sister was at home at this time, she knew she had taken a leave.
As a college student, she was admitted to the same university as her brother, but her major was more difficult than Zhang Mengzhi's, so she usually lived and ate at school.
"I'm so good, I even ranked in the top three in the class in this month's exam!"
Zhang Mengzhi raised her head with pride. She was in the top three of her class and the top ten of the whole school. Her grades were only slightly lower than her brother's. The teacher said that as long as nothing unexpected happened to her, she could continue to study for a master's degree after graduating from university.
"What a compliment. My sister is amazing."
Zhang Mengzhi praised.
"Hey, brother, did you bring me any gifts this time?"
Zhang Mengyu has been looking forward to it for the past month. Gifts from the capital are different from those from other places.
"Yes, let's talk about it after dinner."
Zhang Mengzhi patted her sister's head, and after Xia Dayong parked the tricycle, she went into the house with him.
“I’m back.”
Mother Zhang was knitting a sweater, and her cousin next to her was also knitting woolen pants.
"Mom, aunt, I'm back. Where's my dad? Where's my sister? And where are my two nephews?"
Zhang Mengzhi did not miss any one and asked about all of them.
"Your father hasn't finished get off work yet, so he'll have to stay for a while. Your sister is in the kitchen cutting meat, and your two nephews haven't finished school yet either. They'll all be back soon."
Mother Zhang answered each question one by one without any perfunctory response.
"Oh, I forgot today is not the weekend, Xiaoyu and Xiaoshuang have to go to school."
Zhang Mengzhi suddenly realized.
As for why Zhang Mengyao and Xia Dayong did not go to work, we have to mention that some factories have recently started to lay off employees due to poor management and economy.
Originally, with Xia Dayong and Zhang Mengyao's work ability and connections, they would not be laid off even if they were laid off. But Zhang Mengzhi didn't want them to work hard to earn money. And even if they were not laid off now, they would still have to leave the factory in a few years.
It is better to quit early and find another way out, otherwise losing your job during a large-scale layoff would be like the sky falling.
For the sake of his sister, he separated the braised food and spicy hot pot shops and let his sister and brother-in-law run them.
From then on, the braised dishes and spicy hot pot in Guocheng became Zhang Mengyao's dowry, which almost made Old Lady Xia angry to death.
Zhang Mengyao was about to become a rich woman, but the Xia family didn't get any benefits at all. Moreover, her family supplemented her dowry after she got married for so many years. Which girl has such a blessing?
It just so happens that Zhang Mengyao's family lives a good life, but it has nothing to do with them and their son. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if it were them.
Even if Xia's mother wanted to get involved, she couldn't do anything because it was Zhang Mengyao's dowry, otherwise she would be criticized.
After all, the couple are the boss and the boss’ wife. It’s okay if they don’t go for a day, the employees are all there!
The ingredients for the marinade and spicy hot pot are all prepared in advance, so there is no need to worry about others stealing their recipes. Even if they do, it’s okay, because everyone recognizes their marinade and spicy hot pot. Changing to another store may not be as delicious as Zhang’s, and even the hygiene is not guaranteed.
Zhang's food store was well-known in their city for its hygiene, and even the ingredients were of the best quality. Zhang never avoided people when buying vegetables, and everyone could see it. Even the store where they bought vegetables and meat was owned by someone they knew, and they also bought vegetables and meat from those places.
As long as the ingredients Zhang bought were not fresh, they would be exposed on the same day. Some people even knew where Zhang Mengzhi lived, and they would immediately report her. They would be stopped before the ingredients could enter the store.
Moreover, the kitchen and food preparation area are transparent, and guests can see the staff working inside while standing outside.
The dishwasher washes the dishes twice and then rinses them with water. They are cleaner than when you wash them at home.
You won't see any grease on the dining table. In order to let everyone smell the food more intuitively, Zhang Mengzhi does not use strong perfumes, whether it is a fast food restaurant or a high-end restaurant. At most, she puts some apple flowers in the lobby or private rooms as perfume. Such a light fragrance will not affect the aroma of the food at all.
Especially fish and shrimp, they are all killed and cooked immediately. There is no such thing as killing and then putting them in the freezer.
Over the years, Zhang's has maintained the highest standards in making food, and is therefore well-loved in Guocheng.
Zhang Mengzhi was even afraid that the people below him would pretend to obey his orders but actually disobey them, so he often conducted surprise inspections, even in the provincial capital and the mountain city.
Under such circumstances, who would dare to go against the standards? You know, Zhang's treatment is not much worse than that of state-owned enterprises.
If someone does something stupid at this time, someone will stop them immediately because the boss said that if you see someone doing something stupid and don't report or stop them, you will be punished together with the other person.
Now that the collective punishment has come out, no one dares to do this anymore.
It may seem unreasonable, but in order to compensate, the bonus for discovering one case is equivalent to the employee's annual salary.
Under the dual stimulation of the big stick and the big date, those who were secretly making troubles soon disappeared.
Zhang Mengzhi always keeps his word. Whenever he receives a report, he will secretly investigate. The offender will be punished, compensated and kicked out. Then the reporter will take the reward and work happily.
There is nothing in this world that money can't solve. If there is, it means you didn't pay enough.
After dinner, Zhang Mengzhi chatted briefly with his family, changed his clothes and quietly went to his shop for inspection.
He put on a fake beard, a hat, some makeup, and changed his clothes, and he became a middle-aged man with a bit of temperament.
Zhang Mengzhi would not be so stupid as to give others the opportunity to tip off, so he always conducted surprise inspections, and he also disguised himself. He would not say anything after the inspection, and would only report after all the stores were inspected, so that even if someone wanted to tip off, it would be too late.
All the checks have been completed, there is no point in tipping off!
Fortunately, during the month he was away, Xia Donghai managed the Guocheng store very well.
"Master, you are here again."
Xia Donghai wiped his face as he looked at the middle-aged man who was completely different from his master. He was dressed as a woman last time. Who could prevent this?
The key is that his master is open-minded and even dresses up as a woman, not to mention other people. I don't know how the master managed to look completely different from his original appearance after the disguise. Look at the wrinkles on his face!
"Humph, as long as you do your job well, you don't have to worry even if I conduct a surprise inspection!"
Zhang Mengzhi did not remove his disguise, but spoke seriously to his apprentice.
"I know, but your constant surprise inspections keep everyone on edge, isn't that bad?"
Xia Donghai did not blame his master for the random checks. After all, he also conducted random checks frequently and was afraid that his subordinates would mess around.
"If the inspection finds that someone is passing off inferior goods as genuine ones, that would be terrible! All right, let's go have a meal together, and I'll listen to your report."
Zhang Mengzhi took his apprentice out to eat, and didn't eat in the store for fear of making the employees nervous.
"yes."
After Xia Donghai locked up the important documents, he went out to eat with Zhang Mengzhi.
Although the food in their restaurant and fast food restaurant is delicious, Guocheng is also so big that there are always capable people. Some people are not very good at cooking, but Zhang Mengzhi has to admit defeat when it comes to snacks.
For example, the rice noodles they are eating at this rice noodle shop are very delicious, even Zhang Mengzhi will come to try it occasionally.
The soup is made from pork bones, beef bones and sheep bones, and the rice noodles are also made from rice. After boiling, the sauce is scooped on the noodles, and the bone soup is poured on top. Sprinkle with chives, and if you like oily meat, add a little oil to it, and you have a bowl of fragrant rice noodles.
"Boss, give me two big bowls of mutton rice noodles, and two bowls of fried dough sticks on top."
Zhang Mengxiao and his apprentice found an empty table and sat down.
"Okay, do you want cilantro?"
Some people don’t eat coriander, so the boss always asks when he makes the noodles.
"One wants it, the other doesn't."
Zhang Mengzhi’s rice noodles don’t require coriander. He never eats coriander when eating noodles.
"Okay, you two just wait a moment and it will be ready soon."
The boss quickly prepared two bowls of noodles, added seasonings and oil, and brought them over.
"Boss, your noodles are better than others."
A customer said this when he finished eating and paid.
"Hey, don't you see the bone soup in my pot? Other families wouldn't be willing to spend as much as I do."
The boss said with pride.
"Besides, my family has this craft inherited from our ancestors. No other family can compare to it."
"No wonder! The boss is this. I will come back to eat it later."
The guest gave the boss a thumbs up and left happily.
"Boss, give me another bowl of rice noodles, this time with pig intestines."
The person who had finished one bowl ordered another one.
"Okay, or a large bowl?"
The boss is no longer surprised by this situation. Some people have bigger appetites than others. Some people even eat two or three bowls of rice.
"Yes, I'm only half full now."
The guest answered while drinking his soup.
You know, the soup of rice noodles is bone soup, and no one wants to waste it. Everyone who finishes eating the rice noodles drinks up the soup.
People nowadays are still relatively frugal and dare not waste any food. Unlike later generations, no one even drinks bone soup.
Zhang Mengzhi finished her rice noodles and drank the soup as well.
In fact, people in later generations are reluctant to drink soup because some unscrupulous bosses make fake bone soup. Even he would not drink the fake bone soup made with concentrated soup treasure.
As long as conditions allow, Zhang Mengzhi is not willing to compromise on food. Because he is a chef, he is also very strict in the management of ingredients.
Also because he knows how to cook, those who want to falsify the ingredients cannot hide it from him. Therefore, Zhang Mengzhi's dining spot is the cleanest, with the freshest ingredients, and even the cooking techniques are top-notch.
The key is that the food in his restaurant is economical and affordable, even ordinary people can afford it. Of course, if you want to eat expensive food, you can go to Taibailou.
More and more people came to his restaurant to eat, so Zhang Mengzhi spent a few years opening more than a dozen stores and bought a large amount of land for shops.
The locations of some land and shops are not suitable for opening a store, but Zhang Mengzhi still bought them despite everyone's puzzled looks.
It is not suitable now, but after the 1990s, these lands will be very valuable.
Zhang Mengzhi wants to build a business empire of his own, and his biggest capital will come from these lands and shops.
In fact, Zhang Mengzhi's actions were not unnoticed, but he acted with discretion and did not make greedy purchases, so his superiors let him off.
After all, the places chosen by Zhang Mengzhi were those that had been studied for a long time and had already shown signs of being ready for development.
The construction has not started yet, not because the higher-ups don't want it, but because they don't have the money. But it also proves from the side that Zhang Mengzhi has a vision and can see into the future for more than ten years or even longer.
The higher-ups are happy to see people like this helping the country build its economy.
Look at Guocheng. Because of the appearance of Zhang Mengzhi, the economy is now better than they thought.
It was originally a major silk city, and everyone relied on silk to make money, which created a great dependence. Once the silk industry collapsed, it would cause great harm to the people of Guocheng.
However, because of Zhang Mengzhi's interference, many farmers did not choose to raise silkworms, but instead chose to grow vegetables. Zhang Mengzhi bought the vegetables and grains they grew, so they were not worried about not being able to sell them.
In addition, he needed a lot of employees to run so many stores, which reduced some of the pressure on Guocheng.
Seeing that selling food can make money, more restaurants have opened in provincial capitals and mountain cities. It has boosted the agricultural economy, so naturally the higher authorities are willing to give him some preferential treatment.
So Zhang Mengzhi was really happy, he supported hundreds of people, most of whom were farmers who grew vegetables and raised pigs for Zhang Mengzhi.
The vegetables in Zhang Mengzhi and Zhang Mengyao's restaurant must be pesticide-free, and the meat must be local pork. They will not accept pork that is fed with feed.
Of course, local pork is more expensive than pork fed with feed, so Zhang Mengzhi is willing to pay more to get it.
Feed pigs look big, but when they are killed and cut open, there is not much fat inside. On the other hand, native pigs are raised on grains and vegetables for a year, and when they are killed and cut open, you can see thick fat. That fat is wider than the palm of your hand, and it is the favorite meat of people of this era.
This is the kind of native pig that Zhang Mengzhi wanted, and he rejected all those that were fed with feed instead.
So when Zhang Mengzhi said that he supported hundreds of people, he was not joking, but the truth.
Of course, there are benefits. He will not forget the Zhang family. Most of the people who raise pigs and grow vegetables are Zhang family members. Only a small number of people with other surnames have been taken care of by Zhang Mengzhi, and these people are all martyrs' families or special families.
It is said that the poor should take care of themselves, while the rich should help the world. After making money, Zhang Mengzhi also started to do good deeds.
The Zhang family is different, he is repaying their kindness in the previous life. As for those martyrs' families and special families, Zhang Mengzhi is doing good deeds.
He went to the government to get the list, and then personally inquired about the situation of these families. As long as they were not doing well, he would give priority to taking care of them.
As for the children of martyrs, he asked people to send them a can of milk powder every month to supplement their nutrition. This is the only thing he can do now. Not everyone remembers their original intention after becoming rich, so Zhang Mengzhi has a good reputation in the government, and everyone is willing to open the door to convenience for him.
"By the way, Master, while you were away, a very special guest ordered some very special dishes, some of which I don't even know about!"
Xia Donghai talked about the strange things that happened to him before.
"What did he order? Read it to me."
Zhang Mengzhi looked at his apprentice in surprise.
"Camphor tea duck, lotus root pork slices, chicken tofu pudding, boiled cabbage."
Xia Donghai was the student who had been learning cooking from Zhang Mengzhi for the longest time, so his cooking skills were naturally beyond doubt. However, there were two dishes that he had never even heard of.
"You don't know about chicken tofu and hibiscus pork slices, do you?"
As a master, Zhang Mengzhi knew the strength of his disciple, so he immediately pointed out which two dishes he didn't know.
"Yes, Master."
Xia Donghai nodded.
"It's not difficult to make lotus meat slices, but not many people make it now, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it. As for chicken tofu, this dish is very delicately made, and ordinary people really don't know about it, so no one orders it. I'll teach you these two dishes later, and next time someone orders them, you'll know how to make them. As for the camphor tea duck and boiled cabbage, we have collected the ingredients. If someone orders them next time, tell them to order a day in advance and eat them the next day."
Zhang Mengzhi only remembered the two dishes, lotus and pork slices and chicken tofu pudding, when his apprentice mentioned them. He learned them from his master in his previous life.
The master told him that these two dishes were rarely cooked and most people did not know that they existed.
Only an experienced gourmet can order from this menu, which specializes in rare and difficult-to-make Sichuan dishes.
"Yes, Master."
Knowing that his master could do it, Xia Donghai felt relieved because the customer said that he would come again after his master came back.
Sure enough, less than a week after Zhang Mengzhi returned, the person who ordered that menu came again.
"Master Xia, I wonder if you can cook the dish I ordered this time?"
Cheng Jianshe walked into Guocheng Taibai Building with his hands behind his back with an unfriendly look, asked the waiter to call Xia Donghai out and then asked.
"Mr. Cheng, there is nothing wrong with the dish you ordered, but it takes time to prepare. So if you are sure you want to order this, please come back to taste it at noon tomorrow."
This time, Xia Donghai answered his questions confidently instead of sweating profusely and not knowing what to do.
As a chef, being stumped by a menu was a huge blow to Xia Donghai. Fortunately, the master came back and the restaurant's reputation was saved.
"Hmm? It seems that I have asked the elders at home and they know what I ordered."
Cheng Jianshe didn't expect that Taibailou could actually make it. Let's not talk about the boiled cabbage and camphor tea duck, these two dishes are delicious and test the chef's skills. Chicken tofu pudding and lotus meat slices are also a test of the chef's skills, and the other is not well-known and has not been seen at banquets for a long time, so most Sichuan chefs have never even heard of it, let alone making it.
"Mr. Cheng, please rest assured. My master will cook for you personally this time. I won't let you down."
Xia Donghai answered confidently with a smile on his face, "As long as his master is there, he has the confidence, so his current state is completely different from the last time."
"Okay, okay, I'll come tomorrow and bring a few friends to taste it together."
Cheng Jianshe also ordered some other dishes, including salty, sweet, spicy, hot and sour.
The flavors are varied and can be said to include all the main flavors of Sichuan cuisine.
As expected, whether someone will listen or not can be known by looking at the menu the other person orders.
After Zhang Mengzhi saw the menu, he asked the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. The boiled cabbage needed to be cooked with chicken, duck, ham and other ingredients in advance, which took at least eight hours. And this was just the soup. The chicken and lean meat had to be chopped into puree to absorb impurities repeatedly, and the fat in the soup had to be filtered out until the soup was clear and free of impurities.
Finally, carve the cabbage heart into a flower shape, blanch it in water, and then rinse it in cold water. Use a thin silver needle to repeatedly pierce the cabbage heart, place it in a colander, and pour the original broth from top to bottom until the cabbage heart is cooked. Place the cabbage heart at the bottom of a bowl, and then scoop the boiled broth into the bowl.
In addition to its delicious taste, the greatest visual enjoyment of this dish is that as the broth is poured in, the cabbage slowly blooms in the bowl like a lotus.
Next is the camphor tea duck, which is not only pickled but also smoked and steamed.
The process is not any easier than those complicated dishes. Just smoking the duck takes a lot of time, because the duck needs to be turned over every few minutes until the duck skin turns yellow.
Mix Shaoxing wine, fermented glutinous rice juice, pepper and MSG into a sauce, spread it evenly on the duck skin and duck belly, put the duck in a large steamer, steam it for 2 hours, take it out and let it cool.
Put the wok on high heat, add vegetable oil and heat it until it is 80% hot, put the duck in and fry until the skin is crispy and fragrant, then remove from the wok and brush with sesame oil.
Finally, cut the duck into small strips and place them on a plate, with the duck skin facing up, covering the duck neck and arranging it into a duck shape.
When serving, mix sesame oil with a little sweet noodle sauce and put it on a plate. Put the scallions on a small plate and place them around the duck as a side dish.
Next is chicken tofu pudding, which uses chicken and ham as raw materials. This dish is the specialty of Sichuan chefs. The finished dish is quite unique and is one of the representative dishes of Sichuan cuisine, which is light and mellow. The emphasis is on "eating chicken without seeing the chicken" and "eating meat without seeing the meat". The meat ingredients are made into vegetarian shapes, which is what people call "using meat to support vegetarian food".
Remove the tendons from the chicken breast, pound it into red paste, put it into a bowl, dissolve it with clean water, then add egg white, wet starch, pepper powder, and Sichuan salt to make chicken paste. Blanch the fresh cabbage in boiling water, rinse it with clean water, and trim it neatly.
Put the wok on high heat. Add clear soup and Sichuan salt to boil, then dilute the chicken pulp with cold clear soup, stir well and pour into the pot, gently stir a few times, bring to a slight boil, move the pot to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. When the chicken pulp solidifies into snowflakes, first put the Chinese cabbage in a large soup bowl, then scoop the chicken tofu on top. Add MSG to the clear soup in the pot and pour it into the bowl, finally sprinkle the ham on the tofu.
The last dish, Lotus and Pork Slices, is the least famous. It is neither simple nor difficult to prepare, but it is not as difficult as the previous ones.
But Zhang Meng had to cook it herself, so she had to make it.
Pork, egg white, steamed bread bran, dry starch, MSG, ginger, onion, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, cooking wine, salt, broth and lard.
Add an egg white into the clear soup, stir evenly, and steam it in a steamer until it becomes white lotus. The more tender the better.
Add egg white to dry starch and stir to make egg white starch, cut green onion into fine flowers, mince ginger and garlic, and slice pork thinly. Put the cut meat slices into a bowl, add pepper, salt, MSG, cooking wine, stir well and marinate for ten minutes. After the meat slices are well seasoned, pour egg white starch into the bowl and stir well to coat the meat slices with starch. Heat the pan, pour lard to lubricate the pan, spread the oil evenly in the pan, and leave no oil at the bottom of the pan. Stick the meat slices with steamed bread bran and stick them in the pan.
After everything is pasted, place it on a high fire, move the pan to ensure even heating, and bake until the meat slices next to the pan are golden brown.
Heat oil in another pan, and pour it over the meat slices when the oil is cooked. The surface of the roasted meat slices is half cooked, but after the high temperature, it only takes two seconds to be fully cooked, and it is still very tender.
Drain the oil and place the meat slices on a plate. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, dry starch, MSG, and broth to make a soup and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pan again, add chopped green onion, ginger and garlic, stir-fry, add cooking wine, add the soup, stir gently a few times, bring to a boil and pour over the meat slices on the plate.
Finally, take the white hibiscus out of the cage, use a spoon to scoop the hibiscus onto the juiced meat slices and you are done.
In addition, there were other dishes. Zhang Mengzhi cooked them one after another, and Cheng Jianshe and his friends outside were so full of food that they couldn't raise their heads.
Not to mention the special dishes, the point is that he didn't expect that even Mapo tofu, pickled fish, and spicy beef were so delicious! There were also salt-fried pork and braised pork, and there was no dish that they didn't like.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
