Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Warm-up. (First update)...
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang's hearts were like a tangled mess, with surprise and joy constantly surging in their hearts.
After a while, Lin Sen leaned back, his hands trembling slightly. He exchanged glances with his wife, feeling very complicated: They are not stupid, how could they not see Chen Yan's thoughts?
Although Chen Yan kept saying that they had to pay him two thousand strings of cash after the game, only then would they get this trading opportunity.
But Chen Yan didn't run a food shop, so why would he spend such a large sum of money to buy a shop? It would be more practical to deposit it in a Jiaozi bank and earn interest!
What’s more, we lend it to them interest-free!
Last time, they'd inquired at the brokerage office and learned that the government's Jiaozi service charged a two-cent monthly interest rate, but the review process was extremely strict. Even though their own business was stable and profitable, they had only been settled in Bianjing for less than six months. Using their shop as collateral, they could only borrow a maximum of one thousand strings of cash.
If the remaining gap is to be paid from a private Jiaozi shop, the monthly interest rate will be 3% to 5%. If an additional 1,000 strings of cash are borrowed, an additional 30 to 50 strings of cash will be paid in interest every month. In a year, the interest alone is enough to buy the shop at my feet.
Lin Sen did a rough calculation in his mind and couldn't help but gasp. He stepped forward, pulled Chen Yan aside, and said, "Chen Lang, this is really too much trouble for you."
"It's really no trouble."
"No, no, no. If you hadn't taken action, we would definitely be in trouble." Lin Zhi came to her senses and figured things out quickly.
She restrained her expression and said seriously, "Chen Lang, we will remember this favor. After the competition, we will definitely be able to raise 2,100 strings of cash, and we will repay the subsequent payments on time. We won't let your hard work go to waste."
"And the interest—"
"Wait a minute." Seeing that Lin Zhi actually mentioned the interest, Chen Yan quickly interrupted her and admitted his little thought: "We are friends, right? We should help each other. If you give me interest again, it means you don't treat me as your own."
"Besides, I didn't buy this shop just for you. Brother Tao even joked with me that if you rent my shop, he can get a discount when he comes to eat roast goose in the future."
Chen Yan put emphasis on the word "rent".
Lin Zhi temporarily forgot about the interest issue and raised her eyebrows: "Who does Tao Lang look down on? I'll take first place later and see what he dares to say."
Tao Yingce, who was busy in the Dali Temple, sneezed twice and rubbed his nose. Seeing this, Lu San, who was standing next to him, hurriedly asked someone to add more charcoal to make the room warmer.
As for Chen Yan, after hearing Lin Zhi's answer, his eyes drifted for a moment, and then he nodded confidently: "That's right, let's see what he dares to say!"
After talking for a while, Chen Yan handed Lin Zhi the meal list ordered by Dali Temple today, and then returned to Dali Temple.
Lin Zhi looked at Chen Yan's back, lost in thought. Soon, an idea came to her mind: since Chen Yan refused to accept interest, she would leave him a meal every day as a token of gratitude. She still needed to think about other ways to express her gratitude.
Afterwards, Lin Zhi told Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang about her idea. The couple naturally had no objection and agreed happily.
Soon, it was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.
Seeing that the warm-up activities for the New Year's party were about to officially begin in two days, the Linzhi family had a simple breakfast and began the final inspection work.
"Put up the notice first. Dine-in service will be suspended for the next few days. Roast goose and roast chicken, just like last time, will only be delivered to customers' doorsteps if they pre-order. Don't let diners run out without a full order." Lin Zhi said as she handed the written notice to Lin Sen. "I'll go with you to Imperial Street on the first day, and I'll be in charge of orders from home the next few days."
"Okay." Lin Sen nodded.
"What about the list from the Dali Temple?" Song Jiaoniang asked.
"The orders from Dali Temple are basically stable, with about seventy orders every day. I can handle them all by myself." Lin Zhi was glad that she had taught Lin Sen the frying technique before. She originally wanted to hand over this job to others in the future, but now she can free herself up and it won't delay other things.
After a pause, Linzhi added, "But I have to hire two maids or idle men to help kill the geese and chickens, and to blow air into the geese, otherwise I'm afraid it will be too late."
Lin Sen wrote this down on a piece of paper, planning to go to the pawnshop to look for the man soon. He moved on to the next item on his list: "Also, there's bread crumbs. I need to start preparing them today."
"Well, the warm-up event lasts for five days, so we need to make more of this." Lin Zhi thought about this and said, "Oh, and the spice powder for marinating the chicken and the final powder also need to be ground."
Linzhi calculated and gave a number.
Lin Sen took a deep breath. "So many? Then let's go to the government-run pharmacy. They have large medicine mills pulled by oxen and horses, which can be faster. However, the processing fee is 20% of the cost of the medicinal materials, which is a bit expensive."
Ordinary wealthy families would rather have servants grind the medicine using foot-operated medicine mills than pay for it. However, Linzhi felt that hiring someone temporarily would cost money and her character was unknown. She thought it would be better to go to the government-run pharmacy and buy one, which would save her the trouble and guarantee a fine powder. So, without hesitation, she nodded and agreed, "Let's go to the pharmacy and grind all the powder today."
In addition to the above, the father and daughter also checked the carts, iron stoves, oil drums and other tools used for the stall one by one to confirm that they were all usable. They also prepared some extra spare parts in case of temporary malfunctions.
Halfway through the tidying up, the father and daughter realized that they had forgotten to prepare an awning, so Lin Sen hurried to the cloth shop and paid extra to order one.
After checking all the tools, Linzhi accompanied Song Jiaoniang to prepare New Year's goods. The shop was too busy, so they had no time to make the Tusu wine they would drink during the New Year or the glutinous rice dumplings they would eat on New Year's Day, so they had to buy them from the shop.
There is also enough chicken, duck, fish and meat prepared in brine and sauce, which must also be prepared.
Then the mother and daughter went to a paper-making shop to order Spring Festival couplets, peach charms and door god portraits. Finally, they returned home carrying large and small bags.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the first day of warm-up activities for the newlyweds' New Year's party, Lin Zhi, still asleep, was awakened by Song Jiaoniang's shout outside: "It's snowing!"
Linzhi sat up in a daze, put on his jacket and walked to the door, pushed it open a crack and looked out: the yard, which was still bare when he went to bed yesterday, was now covered with a thin layer of snow, like a snow-white carpet.
The cold wind blew in through the crack in the door, scratching her face and making it hurt. Linzhi quickly clutched the collar of her jacket and closed the door tightly.
After wrapping herself up like a round cotton ball, Linzhi pushed the door open and walked out. After a quick wash, the family of three busied themselves loading things onto the cart: oil drums, wash basins, a wooden barrel filled with chicken, and ground ingredients, all wrapped in thick cloth to prevent them from getting wet by the snow.
After packing up, the three of them pushed the cart towards Imperial Street. Although the snow on the road was not thick, it made the wheels feel heavy. By the time they arrived, they were half a cup of tea later than planned.
Despite this, the Linzhi family arrived early, and the two stalls next door were still empty.
But just as I stopped the cart, snowflakes started falling from the sky again, hitting my face and feeling cool.
The Linzhi family was well prepared. Lin Sen carried the awning bracket, and Song Jiaoniang pulled out the oilcloth. The two of them worked together to insert the bracket into the ground, cover it with the oilcloth, and tie it tightly. Their movements were very quick and efficient.
After a while, a sturdy awning was set up, and they placed the food and tools under the awning one by one, which was quite safe.
But the situation was not so good for several shops not far away. They had not prepared any awnings at all. Seeing the snow falling heavier and heavier, they frantically dug out the spare tarpaulin. Several people gathered around the tarpaulin, pulling at it but failed to put it up for a long time. They were so anxious that sweat broke out on their foreheads.
The Linzhi family had no time to look at others. Although it was freezing cold, people were gradually appearing on the Imperial Street.
I think it’s because the New Year’s party is so famous that many people got up early to join in the fun.
After a while, the whole street became bustling, and seeing this, all the stalls sped up their operations.
Linzhi watched as the stall diagonally opposite had a red lacquered wooden table with fine porcelain bowls on it, apparently selling drinks or soups; another shop had a charcoal stove and iron rack, with bursts of meaty aroma wafting out, probably selling roasted meat; another shop had steamers stacked high, with white mist wrapped in sweet fragrance wafting up, probably selling steamed fruits.
Linzhi also hurried to add a few handfuls of dry charcoal into the furnace. The flames crackled and soon made the iron stove hot.
She put the iron pot on the stove and poured half a bucket of rapeseed oil into it. The oil surface calmed down and she just waited for the temperature to rise slowly.
"Wow, there are so many people." Song Jiaonian exclaimed.
"...Really?" Lin Zhi looked up and felt a sharp pain in her teeth. She saw a dark mass of people heading towards the street in the distance.
Even as the mother and daughter were talking, the venue was already filling up. There were wealthy men and women dressed in splendid attire, surrounded by servants, strolling leisurely between the stalls; there were also ordinary people, carrying cloth bags, gathered in groups of three or five, their eyes shining as they watched the food being served in the stalls.
Because of the cold weather, the soup stall was the first to gather. The stall owner scooped up the boiling hot soup with a long spoon and poured it into a fine porcelain bowl. A white mist wrapped in fresh air spread out, but a few wealthy young men approached, glanced at the coarse porcelain bowl, frowned, and turned away.
Linzhi sniffed the aroma and secretly thanked lucky that she didn't make fish ball soup, otherwise it would be one problem, and the utensils would also be a big problem.
If I also use fine porcelain bowls, I am afraid I won’t be able to retain these customers; but if I use silver, the cost is too high and it is really not cost-effective.
Thinking about it this way, Linzhi felt more and more that she had made the right choice to fry the food. There was no need to worry about the dishes, she could just wrap it in oil paper and eat it. It was convenient and decent.
"The oil is hot!" Song Jiaonian checked the oil temperature and hurriedly shouted to Lin Zhi.
Linzhi came to his senses, picked up the marinated chicken fillets with both hands, and rolled them in the breadcrumbs bowl. The golden breadcrumbs were evenly coated on the meat strips.
As the chicken fillets fell into the frying pan, the crisp sizzling sound and the fragrant oil immediately attracted many people's attention. By the time Linzhi scooped up the fried chicken fillets and sprinkled them with seasoning powder, quite a few people had gathered in front of the shop.
"What kind of food is this? It looks fresh!" The first customer was an old lady holding a little girl. She must have been pestered by the child so much that she stopped in front of the shed.
"Auntie, this is fried chicken fillet. It's wrapped in steamed bun bran and fried. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Would you like to try it?" Lin Zhi picked up one and handed it to the old lady, then picked up another and gave it to the little girl: "Little sister, try it too. It's delicious!"
"Thank you, big sister!" The little girl took it with both hands, her eyes sparkling. She blew on it to cool it down, took a quick bite, and the clear, crisp sound echoed throughout the crowd: "Mmm—so delicious!"
"This kid is exaggerating," the old lady muttered with a smile, putting the chicken fillet into her mouth. The next second, her eyes widened, and after chewing a few times, she couldn't help but ask, "How come this chicken is so tender? Not tough at all?"
As she spoke, she took out copper coins from her purse and said, "Give me two bags! No! Three bags!"
After the first customer arrived, people soon gathered around, some taking one bag, some taking two, and the freshly baked chicken fillets in the basin were all gone in no time.
Seeing this, Lin Sen instinctively wanted to take over the job. Unexpectedly, Lin Zhi didn't give up her position, but instead urged Lin Sen: "This guy is more capable than we thought. Dad, go home first and bring over two boxes of chicken fillets."
Lin Sen finally came to his senses, slapped his forehead, and hurried home. After he brought back two more boxes of ingredients, Lin Zhi made way and returned to the shop to prepare the custom roast goose and the order from Dali Temple.
Around noon, she hurried to Imperial Street to check out the stalls. Unexpectedly, she ran into Lin Sen, who was jogging along the way. "Dad? Why are you here?"
"Sister Zhi, you're here just in time!" Lin Sen didn't bother to explain and dragged her home. "We've run out of those three boxes of chicken strips. Hurry, hurry, we need to get two more boxes!"
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