Chapter 25 Are you here to challenge me?
"Miss, this dish is not worse than the one in Shengjing." Lianxin and Luokui had a clear division of labor. One of them filled her cup with water to wash her hands, and the other served her the dishes.
Whether it is three-cup chicken or steamed pork with rice flour, the dishes look exquisite, with good color, aroma and taste.
"Luo Kui, call the shopkeeper over." Xiao Jiuyue tasted every dish before speaking.
"Okay." Luo Kui stepped out of the door and went to call the shopkeeper.
Although Lianxin had doubts, she never asked.
Xiao Jiuyue wiped his mouth and drank the tea beside him. He had no intention of explaining. Soon, the shopkeeper came over.
"Hello, young lady. I'm the owner of the restaurant, Zeng Qing. What's wrong with the food?" The owner had a smile on his face, and his eyes lit up when he saw Xiao Jiuyue. This young lady was eating in the restaurant for the first time.
"Shopkeeper Zeng." Xiao Jiuyue nodded slightly, her eyes fixed on the dishes on the table. "The Three Cups Chicken is rich and fragrant, sweet with a hint of saltiness, and then salty with a hint of freshness. It's very good. The steamed pork with rice noodles, the oiliness of the rice noodles mixed with the aroma of the meat is also quite good. But the appetizer of spicy and sour cucumber shreds has the appearance of Shengjing cuisine, but not the taste of Shengjing cuisine."
Zeng Qing was very happy when he heard the praise at the beginning, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, he was shocked. This girl was from Shengjing. He bowed and replied with a smile: "Miss, you don't know, it's not easy to eat cucumbers at this time of year."
It's almost winter now. Where would their restaurant get the cucumbers if they didn't use special methods?
"I see. Your restaurant has put a lot of thought into this cucumber. It's a shame it's not crisp enough." Xiao Jiuyue said regretfully, "No wonder your restaurant has always been second to Hongxinglou."
Xiao Jiuyue didn't wait for Zeng Qing to get angry, and continued to speak: "This cucumber is not crisp enough. Why didn't you think of using other vegetables as the main course?"
Zeng Qing's mouth twitched. Where did this Miss Jiao come from? He smiled and said, "We have other appetizers here, such as blanched choy sum, which tastes good, as well as braised pig ears and peanuts..."
Zeng Qing introduced them one by one.
Xiao Jiuyue said, "Then I'd like to trouble you to bring them all up for me to taste."
"Miss, please wait a minute." Zeng Qing turned around and went to the kitchen to bring back seven or eight appetizers, each served on a small gray plate.
Xiao Jiuyue tasted each one and said, "Shopkeeper Zeng, don't you have any new dishes? Eight out of ten of these dishes at Shengjing Restaurant are appetizers."
Zeng Qing was speechless, lowered his eyes to hide his dissatisfaction, and raised a professional fake smile at the corner of his mouth, saying: "Miss, are you here to challenge me?"
"How could that be? Shopkeeper Zeng really misunderstood me." Xiao Jiuyue's eyes were clear and innocent. She said sincerely, "I think your restaurant's dishes taste just as good as Hongxinglou's, but you're ranked second. I'm afraid you're being wronged. Now it seems that you lost because of this appetizer."
"Oh?" Zeng Qing couldn't tell for a moment if the girl in front of him was really looking for trouble. He asked, "How does the girl think this appetizer should be improved?"
"Of course, we need to change the method." Xiao Jiuyue brought out the argument he had already prepared. "Take these peanuts for example. The chef's cooking time is good, and the fried peanuts are fragrant. But, who wouldn't get tired of eating them every day?"
"In addition to being fried, peanuts can also be salt-baked, spicy and sour, frosted, spiced, and so on." Xiao Jiuyue talked about it freely. She was very familiar with these foods!
She had previously offended her superiors and was set up to do harm, leaving the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. She then went to a century-old braised food shop, where the traditional stew was incredibly flavorful. She said, "Besides, these pig ears are too strongly flavored with soy sauce. If they were cooked differently, with a salty-sweet or spicy flavor, the taste might be different."
"Besides, the blanched choy sum is so tender that I can't bear to remove the old and hard stems. It's turning yellow, not green at all." With every word Xiao Jiuyue spoke, Zeng Qing's eyes showed a hint of deep thought.
He really didn't know that there are so many ways to cook the peanuts she just mentioned!
"The girl is a cook?" Zeng Qing's eyes were filled with doubt. The girl in front of him looked elegant and noble, and it was obvious that she was from a noble family. Her hands were as delicate as scallions, and she looked like a young lady who had never touched water. How could she look like a cook?
"Boss Zeng, how about we work together?" Xiao Jiuyue didn't answer whether she was a chef or not. She said, "I'll provide appetizers for your restaurant. I guarantee your business will double."
"Ahem." Zeng Qing cleared his throat, rubbed his fleshy nose, and said, "Miss, you're joking. How could it be possible to..." with just a few appetizers.
"What if the appetizer is unique to your restaurant?" Xiao Jiuyue said slowly, "It's impossible for customers to only eat appetizers when they enter the restaurant, right?"
Xiao Jiuyue looked at Zeng Qing with a smile. He had single eyelids, a bulbous nose, and a simple smile, which made him very approachable.
Zeng Qing pondered for a while. He had been running Hongdu for so many years, and even though his dishes were as good as Hongxinglou's, he still lagged behind Hongxinglou in terms of business. If it was really as she said...
Zeng Qing asked, "Miss, how do you think we can cooperate?"
Xiao Jiuyue smiled and said, "For the appetizers, I'll have them prepared and sent to the restaurant according to the purchase price."
"No problem." Zeng Qing thought, isn't this just like collecting mountain products? If it can't be sold, he won't want it.
"Wait a minute." Xiao Jiuyue continued, "Shopkeeper Zeng, my appetizer is unique. If I were just selling appetizers, I could sell it to all the major restaurants instead of just picking Fengchunlou, right?"
"That's right." Zeng Qing nodded.
"Since you want exclusive sales, the price will naturally be different." Xiao Jiuyue didn't wait for his reply and said directly, "I'll make a few appetizers tomorrow. Shopkeeper Zeng can try them. If they work, we can discuss the price later."
Zeng Qing lowered his eyes and thought, if he could really do as she said and boost the restaurant's business, it would be fine to raise the price a little bit, so Zeng Qing agreed without hesitation.
"See you tomorrow." Xiao Jiuyue stood up and turned around and said, "Lianxin, settle the bill."
"Yes." Lianxin responded.
Zeng Qing said, "Today's meal is Zeng's treat, young lady."
Xiao Jiuyue paused and glanced at Zeng Qing: "Boss Zeng, business is business."
After he finished speaking, Zeng Qing only felt a gust of fragrance blowing by. Xiao Jiuyue had already led the people away. He looked at their departing backs and murmured to himself: Can the restaurant business double with just a few appetizers?
Zeng Qing shook his head and waited to see what appetizer she would serve tomorrow.
"Miss, you, you, you want to do business with someone?" Luo Kui said what she had been holding back for a long time as soon as she got on the carriage. She said excitedly: "We have never eaten at Hongxinglou, who knows if the food there is delicious?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
