Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Small Actions. (First Update)...
Xie Ping, the owner of Xie Da Mutton Restaurant, has been feeling very angry recently because Linzhi Ji, which he used to look down upon, has suddenly become very popular.
Ever since the shop opposite opened for business, Xie Ping often stood at the door, staring at that place with a dim gaze, secretly counting the number of people coming in and out.
After watching for two days, he roughly understood that anyone who came out with something wrapped in oil paper was most likely buying roast duck, and anyone who came out with a food box probably had other food as well.
Even with this, Xie Ping would have been more than sarcastic. But Linzhiji's popularity grew, and its fame gradually spread to the surrounding government offices. Even officials who dined at his shop couldn't help but mention it, without a hint of disdain.
Xie Ping was puzzled at first, but then he remembered the Imperial College doctor's visit to Linzhi. If a fifth-rank official could even enter to eat, why would other officials have to be so polite?
Later, it got even worse. Some officials who were having dinner together, upon hearing about it from their colleagues for the first time, sent their waiters to buy roast duck across the street.
Faced with such a situation, the shop assistants could only hastily explain that Linzhiji Roast Duck needed to be ordered in advance and they could not help with last-minute orders. However, the more they did this, the more discussion it caused, which made Xie Ping extremely angry.
What made him even more upset was that the roast duck was really delicious.
Xie Ping asked the shop assistant to buy one. After tasting it, he thought to himself that this was not a good idea. He had never expected this outsider to have such a hidden talent. "If they have such a skill, why don't they just make roast duck instead of serving rice?"
Xie Ping muttered to himself, "If they opened a roast duck restaurant, I could come and sign a supply contract. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? I'd also save him from being an eyesore now."
But at the moment, no matter what, Linzhiji is ultimately a foot shop that mainly sells meals. It would be too cheap for such a high-end restaurant to purchase goods from the foot shop.
Xie Ping became increasingly annoyed as he thought about it. He swept his sleeves back to the shop and headed straight for the kitchen. His face was so gloomy that the kitchen helpers, seeing him, tactfully moved aside, forcing a path through him.
Xie Ping walked quickly to the chef he had hired at a high salary and asked, "How's it going? Have you figured out how to make the roast duck?"
"This." The chef looked embarrassed: "We still need..."
"What else do you need?" Xie Ping interrupted the chef, his tone rebuking, "Chef Cao, I'm not saying anything harsh on you, but it's already the third day, and you still don't have a clue?"
Chef Cao was stunned, his face suddenly darkening. If he could see a new dish and imitate it in three days, why would he still be suffering here? He would have been invited to take charge of the top restaurants long ago.
When the apprentices saw Chef Cao's face, they knew that he must be cursing in his heart, and they were so scared that they dared not breathe.
One of the apprentices swallowed his saliva and wanted to step forward to advise: "Boss, it's not that easy to imitate a dish. You have to think about it over and over again..."
Xie Ping sighed and glanced at Chef Cao: "I heard that the cook at Linzhiji figured out the recipe for lamb head skewers in just three days."
This was pure nonsense, something Xie Ping had made up to provoke Chef Cao. Seeing Chef Cao making no progress, he recalled Lin Zhi's words and suspected she had already made a pork version of the mutton head skewer, and was deliberately provoking it with it.
Chef Cao believes... there's no way he would believe it!
He knew that the head chef of Linzhiji was just a young lady of fifteen or sixteen years old. She was praised enough for being able to cook a few dishes. He even told his apprentices that it was a waste for that lady to work as a cook in a foot shop.
But can she imitate a sheep's head skewer in three days?
It's so funny, if she can really do this, she will be the next God of Cooking!
Xie Ping looked up and saw Chef Cao looking at him like he was a fool. He immediately flew into a rage and scolded Chef Cao harshly before leaving.
As soon as he left, Chef Cao tore off his apron and threw it aside, cursing as he asked his apprentice to take over the work while he went to the backyard to rest.
Everyone in the kitchen looked at each other in bewilderment, no one daring to speak. It wasn't until the second chef gave a reprimand that everyone resumed their work. Even the waiters, who usually loved to hide and gossip, retreated, chatting idly while the shop wasn't officially open.
"The shopkeeper's demands are too high..."
"The accountant said that our shop's revenue has dropped significantly in the past few days."
"Could it be Linzhiji's influence?" another waiter interrupted. "If we're talking about threats, Dongji Restaurant and Furongzhuang are more threatening anyway."
He lowered his voice and said, "The gentleman who used to eat at our shop has gone to Dongji Restaurant twice in a row."
It just so happened that the shopkeeper was so busy competing with Lin Zhiji that he didn't notice this incident at all, which made him feel uneasy.
"Well...why don't you go and persuade the shopkeeper?"
"Look at Chef Cao. The owner spent a fortune hiring him, but he still gets scolded. How could the owner listen to us small fry? He might just send us packing with just one word."
The clerk shook his head helplessly and sighed, "I just hope the shopkeeper can change his mind soon and stop wasting his energy on this matter."
Just as the guys were complaining or worried, Xie Ping walked out of the door with his hands behind his back. Not long after, he felt a little regretful and thought that he had said something too harsh.
He wanted to go back and apologize to Chef Cao, but he was stopped after taking two steps.
Xie Ping's face looked bad at first. He was about to call for help, but when he saw who it was, he hesitated: "You, I remember you are from Juyoulou——"
It was Brother Lu who blocked the way. He raised his head slightly and said with a smile, "Exactly. I wonder if Shopkeeper Xie is free? My soup chef would like to treat you to a cup of tea."
Xie Ping's pupils trembled, and he blurted out, "Chef Tang? Are you talking about Chef Tang Yitang from Juyoulou?"
Brother Lu smiled and nodded.
Xie Ping sucked in a breath of cold air, his heart filled with shock. This soup chef was only in his early thirties, but he was already recognized as the head chef of the Juyou Building.
If you can hook up with such a big shot, even if you can only get a little bit of broth from him, it will be enough to make your own shop prosperous.
When Xie Ping thought of this, he no longer remembered to apologize to Chef Cao. He bowed repeatedly and said, "When I'm free, of course I'm free. Please come in, Mr. Lu."
The two of them drove to the courtyard. After entering the main hall and sitting for a while, Xie Ping heard the familiar name again: Linzhi.
He was suddenly surprised and delighted, and his heart was itching. Chef Cao was unreliable, but it was Chef Tang who took action!
Xie Ping immediately agreed and poured out his predicament. The soup chef listened, tapping his fingertips on the table for a moment before pulling out a roasted duck recipe. "Try this recipe in the shop first. As for how to make the skin crispy and flavorful, I'll need to figure it out for a few days."
Roasted duck, as the name suggests, is roast duck. The skin is roasted until crispy and the duck meat is juicy and delicious inside. It is a very common food in Bianjing City. However, the recipe used by the soup chef is obviously very different from the common market recipes and is by no means an ordinary item.
Xie Ping was delighted, but also a little worried: "But the diners around here are all used to that taste. Even if this roasted duck recipe is delicious, I'm afraid it will be difficult to attract people all at once..."
"Idiot." The soup chef glanced at him with disdain and whispered a few words. Xie Ping listened, thinking to himself that he was stupid and had forgotten even the simplest method.
After bidding farewell to Chef Tang, Xie Ping immediately rushed to the market, spent extra money and hurriedly built two kilns behind his shop. He then gave the recipe to Chef Cao and asked him to make roast duck according to the recipe.
Chef Cao was so frustrated that he almost quit his job right then and there. Unfortunately, Xie Ping had hired him, and they had even signed a contract. In the end, he had no choice but to do as Xie Ping told him.
The commotion at Xie Da Mutton Restaurant naturally couldn't be hidden from the surroundings. Fu Rong Zhuang and Dong Ji Restaurant watched with indifference, while Madam Yu made some inquiries and, within two days, relayed the news to Lin Zhi Ji.
"Are they building a kiln?"
"That's right." Madam Yu lowered her voice mysteriously and said to Song Jiaoniang, "I heard from the shop boy that their boss asked Chef Cao to make roast duck."
"They specialize in lamb, right? They're good at making roast lamb chops, but why did they switch to duck?"
"I'm just jealous of your business." Madam Yu curled her lips, looking down on Shopkeeper Xie's behavior. "But in my opinion, Sister Zhi's cooking is definitely the best!"
After seeing Madam Yu off, Song Jiaoniang lost her composure and hurriedly told Lin Zhi and Lin Sen about this.
"How can this be?" Lin Sen didn't expect that the first person to imitate him would be his neighbor. He immediately got angry: "Is this malicious competition? I'm going to the boss and complain to him!"
"What kind of malicious competition is this? We haven't even announced our price yet, and if Dad goes and tells people, they'll think we're scared." Lin Zhi stopped the glaring Lin Sen and said with a smile, "Besides, we knew that if our business boomed, there would be a lot of imitators."
"If you ask me, this is just the beginning."
"What should we do? Are we just going to watch?" Song Jiaonian asked anxiously.
"If an enemy comes, we'll fight him with our troops; if a flood comes, we'll block it with earth." Lin Zhi said calmly, "Let's prepare ourselves and see what tricks they can come up with."
After hearing their daughter's words, Lin Sen and his wife managed to calm down. Over the next few days, the aroma of mutton gradually wafted from Xie Da's restaurant, and when Lin Sen went to the market, he saw several other shops with signs advertising roast duck.
It seems that the competition is about to break out.
After seeing this so often, Lin Sen calmed down completely. He was afraid that other shops would cause trouble, so he became more cautious about the goods he was buying and selling.
Until this morning, something unexpected happened.
Just as Linzhi was preparing various spices for marinating roast duck in the kitchen, he heard a noise outside.
She lifted the curtain and saw that Lin Sen, who had been out for only a quarter of an hour, had returned with a very ugly look on his face.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
"The duck shop we often go to said all the ducks were reserved!" Lin Sen was so angry that his face turned blue. "There were clearly 60 or 70 ducks left nearby, but they insisted someone would come and get them soon."
Lin Zhi frowned: "What about the other shops?"
In order to prevent problems with the supply chain, Linzhiji had previously reserved three to five shops, so there would be no shortage of goods under normal circumstances.
But Lin Sen gritted his teeth and said, "There's nothing in stock!"
When Song Jiaoniang heard this, her eyebrows immediately raised: "Which shop can eat so many ducks in one go? They clearly saw that our business was booming and deliberately blocked our supply!"
"The key point is, we have already ordered more than 60 of them!" This is what Lin Sen is worried about.
"That's all right." Lin Zhi thought for a moment and came up with a plan: "Go to the market again. Since there are no ducks, we can buy chickens, geese, pigeons, and quails."
Lin Zhi raised the corner of her mouth. "I don't believe he has so much money that he can buy all the poultry in Bianjing. If he really has that ability, there's no need to compete with us for business."
"Chickens, geese, pigeons and quails? Can these be made?" Lin Sen hesitated a little.
"Yes." Lin Zhi gave an affirmative answer.
"Okay!" Lin Sen felt relieved upon hearing this. He had just turned to leave when Lin Zhi called him back, "By the way, Dad, buy some geese today. If that's not enough, add some chickens."
Lin Sen didn't understand what was going on, but he readily agreed and hurried to the market to order a full set of geese.
The servant who had been following Lin Sen to inquire about the situation was stunned when he saw this. He hurried back to Xie Da Mutton Restaurant and said urgently, "Oh no! Oh no! Master!"
"What are you so flustered about?"
"The owner of Linzhiji, that owner Lin, went to the market again." The servant gasped and tried to reply.
"What's the rush? We've already bought the ducks from those shops. If he wants to buy more, he can only buy from farmers." Xie Ping sat with his legs crossed, feeling quite cheerful. He gloated over Lin Sen's reaction, "Hey, if they use ducks raised by farmers, I wonder how they can maintain their quality!"
"No, no." Just as Xie Ping was feeling proud, the servant interrupted, "Master, Manager Lin didn't buy ducks. Instead, he bought a lot of geese and chickens."
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