Chapter 105 Sweet and Sour Pork. (Second update)...
A few days later, Lin Zhi sent someone to Juyou Tower and personally went to Mr. Zhong's residence to express his gratitude. Mr. Zhong's wife, noting Lin Zhi's youth and his methodical manner, held his hand with great joy.
After seeing her off, he was still reluctant to leave. That evening, he praised her to Mr. Zhong. Then he changed the subject and talked about his nephew: "My brother and my sister-in-law are not very capable, but Brother Feng is a good one."
Originally, Mr. Zhong also came from a poor background, and both he and his wife came from farming families. Even after she became wealthy with Mr. Zhong, she never forgot her family and brought her nephew to study at home early on.
Unfortunately, her brother and sister-in-law were both farmers and couldn't offer much help. She wanted to help, but she also depended on her husband for a living and had to look after her in-laws. It wouldn't be easy to raise a nephew who would eat and use her own food all the time.
When she saw Lin Zhi and learned that she had no brothers or sisters, she immediately had an idea: "Feng'er is handsome and educated. All he needs is to find a wealthy woman to marry and devote himself to his studies."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhong was speechless. "You wish! I heard from Guotou that Chef Lin has already arranged a marriage."
His wife was like a deflated ball, very depressed: "Ah..."
Mr. Zhong squinted at her and said, "Don't think about it. If such a beautiful girl doesn't get married, the matchmakers who are looking for her will break down her doorstep."
Seeing his wife looking unhappy, he smiled again and said, "It's just to support Feng'er's education. It's not like I can't afford it. When Feng'er passes the imperial examination, there will be plenty of candidates for a husband. You can choose any one then!"
Just as Mr. Zhong said, ever since the Lantern Festival, the number of matchmakers who came to propose marriages almost broke down the threshold of Linzhi's house.
It was not until the new shop opened in March that it became increasingly busy. Song Jiaoniang really had no time to take care of it. After she made her own requirements known, the number of matchmakers coming to the door gradually decreased.
But there are still people visiting intermittently.
Song Jiaoniang went from being delighted at first to being silent, then to disgust. Finally, she pulled Madam Yu aside and complained, "They're introducing all sorts of dirty and smelly people! At first, they were at least some scholars or clerks, but later they just dragged them over to our house, saying they wanted to be our apprentices, become our godmother, and marry into our family in the future—bah, isn't this just trying to learn our cooking skills for free?"
"And that chef Wang is even more shameless."
"When we were still competing, he took my daughter's recipe to participate, and then turned around and came to my house to ask for my hand in marriage—"
Song Jiaoniang spat, "I didn't slap him twice on the spot and tell him to get out. That's because I have a great heart."
Madam Yu was trembling with joy when she heard this, but at the same time she felt quite sympathetic. There was no way a sister like Linzhi, who was skilled in cooking and had no brothers, was a piece of fat meat in everyone's eyes, and anyone who passed by wanted to take a bite.
Madam Yu asked herself, if she had unmarried sons and nephews, she might have been tempted by them too - but fortunately, she didn't.
That's why Madam Yu was willing to carefully analyze with Song Jiaoniang the candidates introduced by the matchmakers, and helped Song Jiaoniang find many problems.
Song Jiaoniang looked upset and said, "The most infuriating thing is that I finally picked out two good-looking ones, but Zhijie didn't even look at them. She said that they are just a layer of skin on the surface, but who knows what they are like inside. She also said that those men are useless and only want to eat my wife. I can't guarantee that they will use my family's money to raise children outside."
Lin Zhi's words were harsh, and Song Jiaoniang complained a bit, then realized that this was the case. In the Xi Mansion, where the children were born, everyone was a familiar face, and there were men who beat their wives, used the money to drink outside, and even kept children outside.
Some of them were prominent figures around the old lady or even my wife. They cried secretly, but put on a smiling face when they came to serve her. They only dared to tell funny stories to make her laugh, and did not dare to mention the bad things in their own family.
Madam Yu opened her mouth, her emotions mixed. After a moment, she whispered, "Actually, what Sister Zhi said is true. Regarding Manager Zheng..."
Song Jiaoniang sighed: "Alas."
He divorced his wife that year, and remarried less than a month later.
At first, the two thought they were newlyweds on a blind date, but Mrs. Xue revealed a shocking secret. She said that she had seen the two of them cuddling and flirting on the street half a year ago, and now they just passed each other.
When this news came out, Yu Niangzi, Song Jiaoniang and the others were disgusted. Yu Niang was indignant: "At that time, I felt sympathy for him, thinking that he was forced by Hua Niangzi's family. Now it seems that it was three-tenths true and seven-tenths pretense."
Song Jiaoniang took Yu Niangzi and talked about gossip in the house. Outside, Lin Zhi was sitting on a chair, waiting for her brothers and sisters to cook and serve her food.
The Linzhi family had originally rented the place for four people before the Lunar New Year, and they thought that with Zhao's mother included, it would be more than enough. However, they were practically exhausted after just two days of opening.
The person who came to the door——
Linzhi's forehead is covered with sweat when she thinks back on it now. She worked tirelessly, without a moment's rest, but after opening for three days, she quickly paused and asked the broker to hire another group of people.
This was all thanks to the generous amount of silver and money bestowed upon us by the government last time, and also to the many housewarming gifts given to us by the people around us during the grand opening banquet. Otherwise, the money we would have spent on hiring and renting people alone would have been too much to bear.
This time, Linzhi hired a cook and two kitchen helpers, and also bought some young servants who signed twenty-year contracts.
She had higher requirements for these servants.
After nearly two months of intensive instruction, everyone can now make one or two dishes on the menu, and do it quite well.
Linzhi planned to wait until everyone got the hang of it, and then she could step back and take charge of adjusting the menu, creating new products, controlling the quality of the food in the shop, and handling some invitations.
Yes, ever since her reputation spread, many wealthy families have sent invitations to ask Linzhi to come to their homes to make fruits and food.
Just by making one or two kinds of snacks, one can earn more than a hundred strings of cash. If Linzhi wants to order a whole set of snacks, the price will be doubled.
After doing this for two months, Linzhi finally understood why Chef Wang held a grudge against her. The benefits that followed were truly enviable.
In the three months after the New Year, not counting the operating income of the shop, Linzhi earned nearly two thousand strings of cash from these extra incomes alone.
It was also visible to the naked eye that as the praises of many wealthy families spread, there was an endless stream of families inviting Linzhi to come and make their own fruits.
Simply put, Linzhi has achieved financial freedom.
However, the chef You was quite worried about Linzhi's condition and came to ask about her twice. Her words implied that Linzhi should not be complacent and should continue to conduct research.
Linzhi thanked the other party for his kindness and gradually became familiar with several deputy heads and cooks.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone pushed the door open.
Without even turning around, Lin Zhi knew who it was: "Brother Yan, you're here?"
Chen Yan responded, sniffed the fragrance and smiled: "Looks like I came at the right time?"
"That's right, it's almost ready." As soon as Lin Zhi finished speaking, someone lifted the curtain and came out, carrying the dishes on the table: "Chef Lin, I'm ready."
"Are you making sweet and sour pork today? The color looks good, and just looking at the appearance, it's about 80% similar to what you made."
Chen Yan had tried many dishes at Linzhiji and now had some experience in reviewing them. He looked closely at the shiny, amber-colored pork tenderloin strips neatly stacked on the plate and couldn't help but nod. "The sweet and sour aroma that hits me is enough to make my mouth water just by sniffing it."
Lin Zhi also thought the appearance was good, but unlike Chen Yan, she did not praise it directly. Instead, she picked up the chopsticks and picked up the food silently.
As soon as she took a bite, Lin Zhi frowned slightly. She put her chopsticks aside and asked, "Why are the firewood in here so dry?"
Chen Yan cleaned his hands and picked up a piece. The pork tenderloin inside was a little small and fried too overcooked, so it lost its meaty texture when chewed.
Linzhi wrote the word "xia" on this person, and the person stepped aside with red eyes.
After waiting for a while, another person brought over the sweet and sour pork tenderloin. This time the meat was of the right thickness, but the seasoning was a little lacking. It was just average.
The man who came next finally got the upper hand.
Only one of the five people could do it, which made Linzhi frown. She went into the kitchen and made it again while the five people watched.
"Fang Jie'er, you didn't clean the fascia when preparing the tenderloin." Lin Zhi pointed out the mistakes of several people as she prepared the tenderloin. With light movements, she removed the remaining fascia, leaving only the tenderloin with a smooth and even color.
Then she cut it into pieces of appropriate size and cut the tendons diagonally: "Brother Shi, big girl, you guys didn't do it well here."
Then, Linzhi cut the tenderloin into strips. "Don't underestimate these details. The taste of your dishes, and whether diners will remember us the moment they eat them, depends on these details."
Then pour the onion, ginger and rice wine into the tenderloin strips, mix well and marinate for a while. After the marinating is done, slightly adjust the flavor of the tenderloin strips and coat them with an even thickness of batter.
"Watch my movements." Lin Zhi poured the batter into the pork tenderloin strips. "The batter can't be too thin. Fang Jie'er and Hu Ge'er made it too thin. That's called a paste, not a batter."
"Finally, add a little bit of oil and fry them one by one." Linzhi also taught people to carefully watch the firepower of the oil pan. If the oil temperature is too high, the batter will easily burn, and if it is too low, the batter will spread out, resulting in an ugly appearance after frying.
"The batter on the outside needs to be fried until golden and crispy. Once it's set, scoop it out with a strainer and fry it again until it's dark but not burnt. That's just right. Tiger Brother's was fried a little worse, and the color wasn't quite right."
After half a cup of tea, Linzhi had finished cooking the sweet and sour pork. She placed the plate on the table and motioned for everyone to try it: "Try your own cooking first, then come and try this."
"Yes——" Including the big girl who got the job, the five people followed Linzhi's instructions, tasted their own portion first, and then picked up the sweet and sour pork tenderloin made by Linzhi with chopsticks.
When they got it, the sweet and sour aroma that hit them made their mouths water. Chen Yan was among them, shamelessly putting it in his mouth happily. The sweet and sour sauce was just right, and the thick sauce coated the crispy shell. The moment he bit into it, the meaty aroma rushed out one after another, merging with the fragrant oil, sugar and vinegar outside.
Chen Yan ate one and couldn't help but pick up another one. He even subconsciously looked up at the place where the rice bucket was placed, wanting to have a bowl of white rice with it.
Linzhi: "...If you want to eat, go get it yourself."
Chen Yan responded cheerfully and went to get his meal happily.
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