Chapter 65 Chapter 65 A Taste. (Second Update)...
"Hey, is this from Linzhiji?"
Not only was Mr. Lin shocked, but even the several minor officials nearby were filled with confusion. They looked left and right, and couldn't help but ask, "Just looking at the appearance, it seems that Linzhiji's roast goose is still better...?"
"Mr. Lin, is this really from Xie Da Lamb Restaurant?" someone else questioned.
"Of course! Look, there's the Xie Da Mutton Restaurant logo on the paper!" Official Lin was so anxious he almost jumped up. He came from a humble family. After deducting household expenses from his income as a minor official and the money he spent on socializing with colleagues, he only had a handful of money left to spend each month.
Therefore, although he knew a few days ago that Linzhiji Roast Duck was delicious and many officials were ordering it, he didn't go in and order a pound of roast duck meat for the first time until yesterday.
When a colleague told him this morning that Xie Da Mutton Restaurant had also started selling roast duck, and the price was even cheaper, he did not hesitate at all. He immediately went to Linzhiji to return the portion he had reserved, and then went back to Xie Da Mutton Restaurant to buy another one.
Mr. Lin was 100% sure: "I saw with my own eyes the chef cut it, packed it in boxes, and weighed it on the spot."
Seeing Mr. Lin's face flush with anxiety, another clerk explained, "Perhaps it's been sitting there for too long, so it doesn't look very good."
As soon as he finished speaking, another person came in from outside.
The man, holding the oil-paper bag in his hand, smiled at Lu San and the others and said, "You're all here? That's perfect! Did you know? Xie Da Mutton Restaurant is selling roast duck now, only 68 cents per pound! I bought half a duck, let's try it!"
Everyone in the room fell silent.
The man who came in was stunned at first, then noticed the roast goose and roast duck on the table: "Huh? What? You bought some too?"
He placed the oil-paper package on the table and opened it for everyone to see. Just as he was about to speak, his eyes wandered over the three servings of 'roast duck': "...Huh?"
Among the three roast ducks, only one was golden in color and had plump meat. It looked particularly bright and dazzling against the dull color of the other two roast ducks.
The man looked again and again: "Why is it different?"
Lu San suppressed his laughter, looked around at the people around him, and said lightly: "Of course it's different, mine is the roast goose bought from Linzhiji."
Whether it was the person who had just entered or the rest of the people in the room, they were all silent. After a while, someone whispered, "Maybe it's just a little better looking on the outside, but the inside is about the same..."
But there was hesitation in his words.
The man who came was even more shameless than Mr. Lin. He squeezed over without hesitation and pushed his roast duck to Lu San: "Come on, come on, Brother Lu, don't be polite, try it quickly——"
After that, he picked up the chopsticks beautifully: "Let me taste yours too."
Lu San was speechless, but did not refuse.
The others who saw Lu San's attitude were instantly cheered up and shamelessly approached him.
"Mmm—delicious!"
"Wow...how can the crust be so crispy?"
As exclamations echoed in his ears, and the dish of goose meat in front of him quickly disappeared, Mr. Lin finally couldn't help but said, "Wait! Let me have a taste!"
The roast goose, jujube-red with golden hues, shimmers with a glossy sheen and exudes an alluring aroma. As you bite down with a little force, the crispy shell makes a harmonious sound, and your teeth sink into the rich, plump goose meat.
The goose meat is extremely tender and juicy, fresh and fragrant.
Just suck gently and the meat juice will rush into your mouth. Your tongue seems to be wandering in a world called spices, and you almost don't know how to react.
Mr. Lin could hardly react in any other way. He chewed madly with his teeth and sucked with his tongue until there was no taste left in the bones before he swallowed.
He wanted to take another piece, but found that the plate in front of him was empty.
“It smells so good.”
“Isn’t this delicious?”
"Is their roast duck also like this?"
"I don't know..." Someone held his head in frustration, unwilling to even glance at the other two plates of roast duck. "Ahhh, why didn't I eat this before? If I had known earlier, I would have known..."
The last person to come in was confused. "It's delicious, but it doesn't have to be like this, right? Who knows? The roast duck at Xie Da Mutton Restaurant is even better!"
Everyone fell silent, looked at him, and sighed. Then Officer Lin handed the oil-paper bag to him and said, "Officer Li, try it first."
"?" Officer Li was puzzled. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. "Xie San Mutton Restaurant is a famous big shop, better than..."
His voice gradually faded away, and he chewed blankly for a few times, his expression changing extremely frequently: from =-= to Oo, and then to (ΩДΩ)!
No, is that right?
Officer Li slowly lowered his head to look at the roast duck in his hand. After confirming again and again that this was the roast duck he had just bought, he was suddenly shocked: "This is too different!"
Li's blunt remarks did not elicit any rebuttal, but instead aroused a resonance of opinion.
"you do not say."
“I was stunned when I first ate roast goose.”
"Regardless of appearance, aroma, or taste, it's all lost!"
As they were talking, everyone couldn't help but look at Lu San. Lin Guanren asked curiously, "Officer Lu, have you tried Linzhiji Roast Duck? How does it compare to roast goose? How does it compare to Xie Da Mutton Restaurant?"
"It's somewhat similar to roast goose, but completely different. It's better than the one at Xie's Lamb Restaurant." Lu San said without hesitation, "Linzhiji's is much better!"
Everyone was amazed, and Mr. Lin was even more annoyed: "If I had known earlier, I would not have returned my share."
Officer Li was shocked when he heard this: "Mr. Lin made a reservation yesterday, but canceled it today?"
"yes."
"...Does that mean I can still buy it now?" Officer Li's eyes lit up, and he stood up and rushed out.
The room was quiet for a while, and then someone got up and left. After all, roast goose would cost 120 wen per jin tomorrow, but 80 wen per jin today. That was a real bargain!
The same scene was happening at two other places at the same time. Some officials who had eaten Linzhiji roast duck declined the roast duck made by Xie Da Mutton Restaurant and planned to buy an extra roast goose while the price was low.
Lin Sen, feeling depressed at noon due to lackluster business, was greeted by a surge of activity in the afternoon. He packed up the last of his roast goose and, facing the throng of diners, could only repeat over and over again that tomorrow, in addition to roast goose, there would also be roast chicken, the former costing 120 wen per jin (approximately 100 kg) and the latter 80 wen per jin (approximately 100 kg).
Many people left with regret, while many others decided to order one to try.
The waiters from Dongji Restaurant and Furongzhuang met again outside. They looked at each other, then lined up tacitly and skillfully, ordering a roast goose and a roast chicken respectively. On their way back, they did not forget to take a look at the scene outside Xie Da Mutton Restaurant.
Shopkeeper Xie was not present, leaving only two clerks to sell roast duck. Although many officials and common people bought it, the popularity was far less than in the morning.
The two waiters shook their heads secretly and reported the situation outside to their boss.
The owner of Dongji Restaurant clapped his hands and laughed, "Look! This time we have to thank Xie Ping for not being able to keep his composure and letting him scout the way for us."
"If Linzhiji's business can continue to hold steady despite the pressure from Xie Da Mutton Restaurant, we won't have to research roast duck technology anymore. We can just sign a contract with Linzhiji and have them provide the roast goose from now on."
"Hasn't our Chef Jin already made it..."
"That's only 70% similar." The shopkeeper shook his head. He said that several shops didn't care about Linzhiji? Of course, that was impossible.
However, unlike Xie Da Mutton Restaurant, which was arrogant and did not take Linzhiji seriously at all, Dongji Restaurant and Furongzhuang were conducting research in private.
Unfortunately, so far, they can only say that they have roughly figured out the method of making roast duck. From the heat to the marinating techniques, and even the specific production process, there are still many problems to be solved.
In fact, they were among those who bribed Zhang's mother, but they were unable to get any information.
The shopkeeper sighed, "If roast goose and roast chicken can be made equally delicious, it means that Linzhiji's recipe is a very mature one."
"The most important thing is that their shop is only that small, so it poses no threat to us." The owner of Dongji Restaurant knew that as officials rose in rank, they cared more about the atmosphere and environment of their meals than the taste. They would never choose a small shop like Linzhiji: "Instead, it's Xie Da Mutton Restaurant—"
The shopkeeper smiled slightly and said, "Since Xie Ping wants to confront his family, then the enemy of my enemy is our friend."
The next day, Xie Ping didn't take the waiter's news seriously. He thought that Linzhiji was just taking advantage of the low price of roast goose to boost sales. He exaggerated the matter and reported it to Brother Lu, promising that he would get Linzhiji out of Bianjing City.
His sales soared that day.
The next day, his sales were still rising.
Then in the next few days, although his sales did not increase as much as before, they also increased slightly.
This continued for five days before it came to a sudden halt. Starting on the sixth day, Xie Ping's sales actually declined. He wasn't worried at the time, simply thinking his sales had reached a bottleneck or were saturated.
Until then, his sales began to decline, and finally began to affect the normal operation of the store.
"What? The Dali Temple has cancelled the banquet?"
"The professor of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the chief clerk of the Ministry of Agriculture also canceled their banquet? They went to Dongji Restaurant instead? Why is that?"
"And Mr. Zhao, Mr. Lu, and Mr. Lin... They actually canceled the banquet too?"
As mentioned earlier, Xie Ping often hosted banquets for high-ranking officials, and used this opportunity to attract lower-ranking officials. These officials would often book one or two banquets each month to attract his attention.
The banquets reserved by these officials were the main source of revenue for Xie Da Mutton Restaurant. In order to increase his income, he set his sights on the high-profit roast duck, but he never expected that his income would not increase much, but instead his revenue would continue to decline.
This sudden series of cancellations finally made Xie Ping look grim. He asked the people in front of him, "Why, how could this happen? Why is it so sudden? Is there something wrong with the dishes? Or has someone offended the master? Or are there new people at Dongji Restaurant and Furongzhuang?"
Chef Cao sat expressionless, unconcerned. The accountant looked up at the others, opened his mouth, and finally couldn't help but say, "Boss... after all, this whole thing is all about the roast duck."
"W-what?"
"People say the roast duck we sell in our shop tastes just like the roast duck they buy in the market. We're just a one-stop shop. How can we be considered a legitimate shop with our level of service?"
It's not even comparable to Linzhiji. The accountant's face was full of bitterness as he continued, "Plus, the guys are hawking outside every day, which has somewhat degraded the quality. Therefore, several officials have switched to other shops, and the rest of the officials have also cancelled their businesses after seeing this."
Xie Ping was struck by lightning when he heard this. After a while, he came to his senses, jumped up and down, and raised his voice in disbelief, "Nonsense! This is the recipe given by the chef at Juyoulou. How can it be the same as the roast duck you get in the market?"
The accountant sighed and had two roast ducks brought over: "Try them—one is made in our shop, and the other is made by a new roast duck shop in the market."
Xie Ping took a bite of each, and his expression completely broke. His hand trembled, and the chopsticks fell to the table with a clatter: "...How is this possible? How is this possible!"
Surprisingly, they are exactly the same.
Before Xie Ping could recover, another person walked into the shop. The leading figure, a man in blue, had a cold expression on his face. He said, "Xie Ping, right? Someone has reported you for malicious competition. You've signed contracts with Zhao's Duck Shop, Feigan Poultry Shop, and Minggaofang, prohibiting you from supplying goods to certain merchants. Please come with us and explain the situation."
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