Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Pre-heating is over. (First update)...
While Linzhi expertly applied spices to the goose, she painstakingly instructed the helper to blow air into it: "Don't just blow hard when you blow. Use one hand to gently pat the goose's body to stretch the skin."
Just as she finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of the helper still being clumsy. Not only did the goose's body not swell up, but it was actually deformed by the pinching.
Linzhi couldn't help but raise her hand to support her forehead. Just as she was about to scold him a few more times, she suddenly remembered that she had just touched the goose belly and her hands were still stained with slippery grease.
She was not careful, and her forehead and hair were immediately smeared with dark brown powder and grease.
Lin Zhi: “…………”
She stared at her powdered hands and suddenly remembered Chen Yan's performance when he helped her blow the goose. Back then, she had laughed at him, but now, comparing his skills to the helper in front of her, she was surprised to realize how well he had blown the goose that time!
He blew each goose into being plump and round, with the skin stretched and not tight, making it much easier for her to apply the ingredients later. He could be said to be a natural goose-blowing expert!
Linzhi sighed and took the clean handkerchief handed to her by Mother Zhao. She wiped the powder on her forehead and continued to process the remaining geese, while carefully calculating the staff shortage in the shop in her mind.
In the past, Lin Sen had to do all the heavy work of slaughtering geese and blowing air into them by himself, and Mother Zhao could only help by passing tools and cleaning the internal organs.
These tasks are both laborious and time-consuming. When there are many orders, Lin Sen is often busy from early morning to noon and does not even have time to eat a hot meal.
Not to mention that when purchasing goods, Lin Sen had to rent a donkey cart and run alone from the shops in the city to the farmers' homes on the outskirts of the city to order fresh geese and chickens, and then finalize orders with other merchants for vegetables, pasta and even spices.
Sometimes, he also has to do delivery work, and spends most of the day on the road, leaving him with no energy to take care of the business in the shop.
Although renting manpower was common in Bianjing City, just like this rented idler, he was clumsy and difficult to use.
After much thought, she felt that instead of making do with unsuitable helpers, it would be better to go to the pawnshop and carefully select a few: one to assist Lin Sen in the shop, specializing in slaughtering and blowing geese; one to drive the donkey cart, delivering goods in and out; one to entertain guests in the shop, a maid with nimble hands and feet; and it would be best to add a smart girl to help in the kitchen.
This was just the staff needed for the shop right now. When I finally took over Xie Da Lamb Restaurant and moved into a larger shop, I'd have to keep two or three handymen around to help with cleaning and looking after the ingredients. Then Mom and Dad could relax and do what they wanted, freeing the family from the chores.
Having made up his mind, Linzhi waited for the helper to finish the work at hand and then told him not to come tomorrow.
Then, Lin Zhi turned to Zhao's mother and said, "Zhao's mother, you have worked hard these past few days. I will pay you your wages. You can come back to work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Take advantage of these few days to rest well."
When Mother Zhao saw Linzhi looking at the helper with a gloomy face, she thought she had made a mistake too and was very nervous.
When she heard that she could take her annual leave early and still get full salary, she breathed a sigh of relief and a big smile appeared on her face.
Lin Zhiji's work was heavy, but his master was kind and generous, never mistreating his servants. Not only did he usually get to take home plenty of leftover vegetables, but his monthly wages and bonuses totaled five or six strings of cash, nearly half as much as he would earn as a helper in another shop.
Because of this, Mother Zhao stood up straighter at home, and her voice was much louder than before when she spoke to her son and daughter-in-law.
She held the brocade bag handed to her by Linzhi and happily went out. Halfway through, Mother Zhao couldn't help but open the brocade bag to count the money, but when she saw what was inside, she gasped: there was actually a five-guan Jiaozi note inside!
Mother Zhao was surprised and happy, and hurriedly changed her route to the money shop and exchanged the Jiaozi for five silver notes worth one string of silver.
She carefully stuffed three strings of silver notes into the lining of her cotton-padded jacket, one string into her brocade bag, and held the remaining string in her hand. She went to the market to buy some candy, bacon, and two pieces of cloth, then carried the bags home.
When Mother Zhao returned home, she was greeted with cheers and excitement. Even her son and daughter-in-law were envious and asked, "Mom, you're doing such a good job at Linzhiji. Are they hiring? Can Junjie come with you?"
Mother Zhao shook her head, saying she hadn't heard the host family mention it. She secretly thought to herself: Junjie'er is too lazy to even wash the dishes at home. Wouldn't she just cause more trouble if she went to Linzhiji? If she angered the host family, she would lose her job.
Mother Zhao had just arrived home, and Lin Zhi told Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang that she wanted to hire more people.
The couple had long felt that they were short of manpower, so they immediately agreed and even contacted the aunties in the neighborhood, saying that they wanted to find a few helpers with kitchen experience.
That afternoon, upon hearing the news, a nearby broker arrived at the door. As soon as they entered, they patted their chests and said, "Don't worry, Madam Lin. I have four people who can do kitchen work. They're all very skilled. Do you know Juyoulou? They've worked there before, and even the owner praised them!"
Linzhi listened to him praising the helper so much that she almost thought that what she was looking for was not a helper but a chef.
When the agent finally stopped boasting, Linzhi asked directly about the wages. After hearing the quotation, she shook her head without hesitation: "This price is far beyond our budget. We really can't accept it."
"Hey? Madam Lin, we can still negotiate the price!" The broker became anxious when he heard this.
Although what he said was a bit exaggerated, the people he had on hand really all came from Juyoulou. If the soup chef had not been involved in a murder lawsuit, Juyoulou would not have liquidated and sold off its staff, and the staff would not have flowed into the market.
Linzhi had lost his patience and just said he would think about it again and sent the person out.
Unexpectedly, the broker was not discouraged and actually came back at night when Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang were home. He kept saying, "Mrs. Lin is young and probably doesn't know the business. How can this experienced helper be paid less?"
Lin Sen and his wife were initially bewildered, but upon hearing this, they were furious. Their daughter was so thorough, how could outsiders have the right to criticize her? They grabbed a broom and chased him out, pointing a finger at his nose and telling him to get out immediately.
The two or three brokers who came later were much more discerning, but either their prices were ridiculously high, or the helpers they brought with them couldn't even cut or prepare the vegetables, which was really not to Linzhi's liking.
It was not until the last day of the warm-up event that the Linzhi family finally finalized the suitable candidate through the brokerage firm.
Because New Year's Day was approaching, after Linzhi signed the contract, she did as she had told Mother Zhao before, asking them to report to the shop on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.
After seeing the broker off, Lin Sen took out the letter sent by the catering company from the cabinet. The family of three sat around the table and read it carefully twice. They decided that the official competition would be held on the eighth day of the first lunar month, and the competition questions would not be announced until the fifth day.
"Now that the date has been set, we should also sort out the competitors we met during the warm-up activities." Song Jiaoniang spoke first. "If there's a business that's on par with ours, it's the one that makes fish ball soup."
Lin Zhi nodded, remembering the incident at the fish ball soup shop: "They used coarse porcelain bowls on the first day, but when they saw the rich kids avoiding them, they immediately switched to silver bowls the next day."
After a pause, Linzhi added, "But the silver bowl is only for guests wearing brocade. Ordinary people still use coarse porcelain bowls."
This double standard approach quickly aroused the dissatisfaction of ordinary people, and it also did not please the rich and powerful. After all, the fish ball soup shop's business was not bad, but its reputation plummeted.
Linzhi had specially bought a bowl of fish balls before. The fish balls were white in color, soft and chewy when bitten, and fresh and delicious.
It’s a pity that the soup is too ordinary and simple. It is just a clear soup made with kelp and shrimp skin. Although it is fresh, it is not worthy of the excellence of the fish balls.
"I think it's also possible that the restaurant didn't bother to think about the soup base during preheating."
"The Tibetan meat pie at the street shop is also good." Lin Sen mentioned another shop. The food made in this shop is called Tibetan meat pie. It looks and tastes similar to roujiamo or shouzhabing.
However, the crust of the Tibetan meat pie is sprinkled with sesame seeds, and the texture and aroma of the dough are quite outstanding, while the meat filling inside is not cut into strips, but in a whole piece.
One bite, the dough is crispy, the meat is plump and delicious, and your mouth is filled with the aroma of oil, meat, wheat and sesame.
"There's also a place that sells glutinous rice dumplings." Song Jiaoniang quickly mentioned another one. "The salty and fragrant glutinous rice is mixed with pork scraps, winter bamboo shoots, and mushrooms...the taste is also amazing!"
"The sesame pumpkin pancakes there are also good. They are crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside."
"Sister Zhi, what about you?"
"Hmm... Actually, I'm quite interested in the stall in the far corner of the warm-up event."
Song Jiaoniang thought for a moment and said, "Ah... is that the one whose shed was nearly blown away by the wind the other day? I don't think many people visit them."
"Because the price is high." Lin Zhi held up three fingers. "The cheapest one is thirty cents."
Song Jiaoniang's eyes widened: "Huh?"
Their fried chicken strips are eight cents a bag, fish ball soup is six cents for three pieces, roasted sparrows are eight cents each, and glutinous rice steamed buns are three cents each... The Tibetan meat pie from that shop is fifteen cents each, which is considered to be a higher price on the market.
Speaking of prices, Lin Sen also remembered this shop. After all, thirty wen was enough to buy three or four kinds of snacks in the street market, so the business of this stall was not high from beginning to end. Some diners even complained that it was really a pig slaughter.
"I've seen it before, and I remember..." Lin Sen pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "What they sell is... a big meatball?"
"Big meatball?" Song Jiaoniang asked doubtfully.
"Well, it's a big meatball, grilled on a teppanyaki grill until all six sides are cooked through," Lin Sen explained carefully. "After it's done grilling, it's cut in half, poured with sauce, and then served to the diners."
Lin Sen originally wanted to try it, but unfortunately it was made and sold immediately. He was busy going back to the shop to help, so he forgot about it later.
When they later remembered to try the dishes of their competitors, they tried several nearby restaurants that were doing a booming business, but did not try this restaurant.
"Sister Zhi, have you tried it?"
"Of course." Lin Zhi tasted all the food made by her competitors. "It's stuffed with pork on the outside, so it looks ordinary, but inside it's made with scallops, Chinese sausage, braised pork, salted duck eggs, green beans, carrots, and mushrooms."
Linzhi felt that this person's method was a bit similar to unwrapped rice dumplings, which can also be called raw fried glutinous rice.
Wrap it with salted egg yolk that is roasted until it is oozing with oil, and then wrap it with a layer of marinated raw pork on the outside, and finally put it on the iron plate and roast it until it sizzles.
Because the glutinous rice and other ingredients inside are already cooked, you only need to bake the outer layer.
Lin Zhi explained the method in detail and then said, "As for the taste, it's also quite good. It's one of the best among all the stalls."
In fact, if we just compare the taste, our fried chicken strips are not at the top. It’s just that fried chicken strips are hard to find in the market, and there are not many in a bag. And with the extremely tempting fried foods, we have been able to carve out a niche.
In terms of taste alone, this meat-rolled rice is not inferior.
After a pause, Lin Zhi said, "The most important thing is that this stall probably just temporarily used the meat buns and rice as a warm-up activity, and the person leading it hardly did anything."
I think the opponent was just testing the waters with the warm-up match and didn't show their real skills.
This made Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang instantly nervous. They picked up the letter and read it over and over again. Song Jiaoniang couldn't help but mutter, "What on earth is this competition topic? It was only announced on the fifth day of the New Year, and the competition is on the eighth day. It's too rushed."
Lin Zhi shrugged. "There's no point in getting anxious. We can just fight back. Let's just have a good New Year's Eve. We can figure out a strategy after we know the competition questions on the fifth day."
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