The two largest restaurants in the town are the time-honored Yipinzhai and Zuixianlou, which opened later. Both restaurants are located on East Street. Cao Xiangnan went to Yipinzhai. He thought that since Yipinzhai could become a time-honored restaurant, it must have its own advantages.
It was not yet time for lunch, and there were not many customers in the restaurant.
"Two guests, please come in..." The waiter greeted the customers with a smile as soon as he saw them.
"We have something to ask your shopkeeper. Is your shopkeeper here?" Cao Xiangnan came in and took a look. He didn't see the person in charge, so he asked with a smile on his face.
He was very satisfied with the attitude of the children in this restaurant. At least he didn't chase them away just because they were wearing coarse linen clothes, otherwise he really couldn't do this business.
"The shopkeeper just left. What do you want to see our shopkeeper for?" The waiter paused and asked with a puzzled look, knowing that the visitors were not here to eat but to see their shopkeeper.
Shopkeeper Liu, who happened to be walking out, heard someone looking for him, and came over to see the two guys who said they were looking for him. Liu, the shopkeeper, came over and took a look at the people who came. One of them was leaning on a cane and had difficulty walking. They were both strangers and it was the first time they met. He asked, "You are here to see me. What's the matter?"
"I am Cao Xiangnan. I have a few special dishes that I would like to recommend to you, Yipinzhai. I wonder if you are interested?" The person who came over was a tall and thin man, about 40 years old. Cao Xiangnan looked at the other person and said with a smile.
He was confident that the other person would be interested. As long as you run a restaurant, few people can refuse someone to send you a recipe, unless the other person is a fool. He came to Yipinzhai to bet on the good luck of the people here.
As expected, as soon as he finished speaking, the face of the shopkeeper Liu changed, and he asked, "Is it true?"
"Of course, I would have to be very brave to come to your house and deceive you." Cao Xiangnan came prepared.
"Please come in, let's go in and talk." The shopkeeper Liu made a gesture. The business of their restaurant has been very bad recently. He was thinking about some way to make the business of the restaurant better. Now someone came to deliver the recipe. Even if he had doubts in his heart, he would see it first.
"Why don't you take me to the kitchen of your restaurant, and I will cook two dishes for you to try. If you are satisfied after trying them, we can talk again. What do you think?" Cao Xiangnan asked with a confident smile on his face.
Words are not enough, you have to show your real ability first, then you have a 70% chance of winning, and the last 30% depends on whether the price you negotiated is satisfactory.
"Okay." Liu, the shopkeeper, agreed without hesitation and led the people to the kitchen, "Come here."
The dishes to be bought in the kitchen had already been bought back. The chef in the kitchen was also here. When he saw the shopkeeper leading people in, he felt a little strange and stood up to greet them. Manager Liu said, "Old Zhao, I'll lend you my kitchen."
The kitchen is a key place that outsiders are generally not allowed to enter, but since the person was brought by Manager Liu himself, Master Zhao would not refuse to allow him to enter. "If the manager wants to use the kitchen, he can go in and use it. There is no need to borrow it."
Master Zhao is the chef of Yipinlou. He is short and fat with a big belly, and his smile is like that of a Amitabha.
Seeing Manager Liu bring someone to their kitchen, he followed behind, curiously looking at the person who went in. Could it be the new master hired by Manager Liu? It doesn't look like it. "Who is this little brother?" He asked Manager Liu in a low voice.
Liu the waiter didn't say much, Master Zhao understood and stood there to watch.
"Master Zhao, can I lend you someone who is familiar with the arrangement of things in the kitchen?" Cao Xiangnan went in and looked around the kitchen. He was not familiar with other people's kitchens, so he turned around and asked the master who was standing with Liu the waiter.
"Xiao Liuzi." Master Zhao called out, and a servant in charge of groceries in the kitchen came out and helped.
Cao Xiangnan told the person what he wanted one by one, and asked him to take out the things he needed. Xiao Liuzi was also a smart worker, and soon he found all the things that others asked for.
Sun Ji put the food box in his hand on the table, opened the lid, and stayed there to help Cao Xiangnan.
Cao Xiangnan took out a big bowl of rice noodles. He looked at the shopkeeper Liu with an inquiring look and said, "This is called rice noodles, made of rice. I have a stall over at the pier that sells rice noodles. If you don't believe me, the shopkeeper will send someone to take a look over there later."
"There are many ways to cook rice noodles, fried, stewed, braised, and scraped. I'm going to make you two fresh ones now, one is stir-fried pork rice noodles and the other is casserole rice noodles." Cao Xiangnan looked at the big fish in the barrel and said, "The thing that Fenshui Town has the most is fish, but I believe there are not many people who can cook fish deliciously. I'll make you two more fish dishes, shopkeeper, do you think it's okay?"
He knew that his rice noodles were not the most attractive to the restaurant. What attracted the shopkeeper Liu should be his suggestion to make two fish dishes.
Liu, the shopkeeper, waved his hands and signaled him to do it.
The first dish was stir-fried pork slices rice noodles. Cao Xiangnan cut the pork into thin slices and marinated it with salt, oil, cornstarch, and rice wine. He brought the cornstarch from home, as well as some seasonings that would be needed later.
The rice noodles were soaked, the green onions needed were cut, and two eggs were ready.
"Help me beat the eggs."
The ingredients for the casserole noodles were prepared in the back. Chicken soup happened to be stewed in the kitchen, so Cao Xiangnan used it to make the soup base. There was no small casserole here, so he used a larger pot instead.
With Sun Ji helping him, Cao Xiangnan worked in an orderly manner, and the waiter next to him could also help him.
In his previous life, Cao Xiangnan knew how to cook when he was very young, and his cooking skills were always good. Later, when he was working, he also worked in the kitchen. At that time, the chef in the kitchen saw that he was diligent and eager to learn, and personally taught him how to cook. Although he did not become a master in the end, he was still able to cook two dishes.
These things accumulated over time and slowly accumulated in his mind. When he thought about them again, many of them could be used.
He took out a big fish from the bucket and cut off the head to make chopped pepper fish head.
He wanted to cut the meat at the back into slices to make pickled fish, but Cao Xiangnan suddenly remembered that there was no pickled cabbage here, which gave him a headache. Liu, the storekeeper, stood there and didn't
leave. Noticing Cao Xiangnan's pause, he asked, "But what's missing?" "Well, one dish is indeed needed. I want to make a pickled fish dish, but it can't be made without pickled cabbage. I need to pickle it myself at home, and it will take about a month to make it." Cao Xiangnan nodded and changed his mind temporarily, "I'll make sweet and sour fish instead, it tastes good too." Although he prefers pickled fish.
"Okay." Liu, the storekeeper, responded.
"Zi--" The oil was poured into the pot, and Cao Xiangnan neatly poured the meat slices into the pot, fried it until it was half cooked and served it. Then the eggs were fried, and finally the rice noodles were fried. Be careful not to fry the rice noodles too much, add the seasoning, and finally pour the rice noodles in.
He had fried the rice noodles here, and the casserole rice noodles over there were also ready.
"Shopkeeper, can you please move outside first? Let's take this stir-fried pork rice noodle out for you to try. It won't taste good if it gets cold. I'll fry the next dish for you." Cao Xiangnan turned his head and glanced at the shopkeeper and asked.
"Yeah." Shopkeeper Liu didn't say much. After seeing him prepare two dishes neatly, he looked at the boy with a different look and turned to go outside. The waiter who was serving dishes at the back took the dishes out and followed their shopkeeper.
Master Zhao stood there, reluctant to leave. It was the first time for him to see this way of cooking, and he nodded from time to time.
The next two dishes, a chopped pepper fish head and a sweet and sour fish, were full of color, aroma and taste, and the color was bright. The smell of them made people drool. After finishing two dishes, Cao Xiangnan also left the kitchen with Sun Ji.
"Mr. Cao, our shopkeeper is waiting for you upstairs." The waiter waiting at the door led them upstairs to find the shopkeeper. Pushing the door open, the shopkeeper Liu standing there pointed to the chair in front of him and said, "Sit down."
On the table were several dishes he made, which were obviously all tried.
"We are from Caojia Village. I am Cao Xiangnan, and this one is with me. His name is Sun Ji. Shopkeeper, I don't know what your name is yet?" Cao Xiangnan did not sit down immediately, but stood in front of shopkeeper Liu and asked.
"My surname is Liu, and everyone in the store calls me Shopkeeper Liu." Shopkeeper Liu said.
Cao Xiangnan sat down after the other party sat down, and asked Sun Ji who followed him to sit down as well. Cao Xiangnan looked at the shopkeeper Liu and asked with a smile, "I wonder how this dish tastes, shopkeeper Liu?" "
I am very satisfied with your dishes." Shopkeeper Liu has been working in Fenshui Town for seven or eight years. The business of the restaurant was good at first, but after Zuixianlou opened, it took away some customers. The business is not good or bad, but it is not as good as before.
Shopkeeper Liu has tried these dishes one by one, and the taste is naturally good. The dishes are also fresh, with good color, fragrance and taste. If their restaurant launches these dishes, the business will definitely be able to surpass Zuixianlou.
"I want our Yipinzhai to be the only one in the whole Fenshui Town that has these dishes. Can you do it?" The shopkeeper Liu was straightforward and asked directly without beating around the bush. He took out a silver coin from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said, "If you have a good recipe in the future, as long as you come to our Yipinzhai, I will give you a satisfactory price. What do you think?"
"The rice noodles you make should also be delivered to our Yipinzhai every day. Start with 20 kilograms a day. If it sells well, we can discuss it. As for the pickled fish you mentioned, if you can make the pickled cabbage, you can only sell it to our Yipinzhai in the future. As for the price of this dish, we will discuss it with you then." The shopkeeper Liu has tasted both fish dishes, especially the chopped pepper fish head, which is spicy and delicious.
He remembered that the boy had just mentioned that there was a pickled fish dish. In his heart, the shopkeeper Liu was expecting what kind of surprise the pickled fish dish would give him, so he ordered it first, lest the boy go back to Zuixianlou and that would be a disaster.
Cao Xiangnan looked at the money on the table and met the determined look of the shopkeeper Liu. He raised his lips and smiled, and said, "Since the shopkeeper Liu is so decisive, I will be more decisive too. Okay, deal. I promise that the recipe will not leak out from me, but if it leaks out from you, then it will be your problem and has nothing to do with me, don't you think?"
"Of course." The shopkeeper Liu nodded and said.
"Words are not enough. Let's sign a document. Do you think it's okay, Manager Liu?" Cao Xiangnan asked.
"Okay." Manager Liu called out, and someone pushed the door open. He ordered, "Pen and ink."
The servant went downstairs, and soon came back with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Cao Xiangnan wrote down the recipe step by step and handed it to Manager Liu, who solemnly put it in a box. Then both parties signed the document, and they were escorted out by the waiter.