Chapter 46 Chapter 46 After researching the fried chicken recipe...
After researching the fried chicken recipe, Shen Xuan started to think about red oil skewers.
In the modern world, red oil skewers are easy to make, relying on just one ingredient, red oil, which can be bought everywhere in supermarkets. But Dajin doesn’t have ready-made red oil hot pot base, so you have to make it yourself.
When Shen Xuan was in college, he went abroad for an exchange for a year. When he was craving for delicious food, he also learned how to make red oil hot pot base online.
He wrote a recipe from memory, and the other ingredients in it could either be found on the market or substitutes could be obtained. However, because the Jin Dynasty protected working oxen and basically did not eat beef, things like butter were unavailable. Mutton was expensive, and the cost of mutton fat was too high, so they had to replace it with lard.
Chen Xuan first purchased peppercorns, dried chilies, Pixian bean paste, and some spices according to the recipe, then went to the butcher's shop to buy 20 kilograms of fatty pork, and then went to the kitchen to prepare the food as before.
He first soaked and washed the spices he bought in boiling water, and then added a small amount of white wine to the green and red peppercorns and mixed them together.
After asking the cook to light the stove, he poured in the dried chilies and brought them to a boil. The cooked peppers are given to the cook to be pounded into pepper paste with a pestle and set aside. The fat is then cut into small pieces and put into the pot to boil out lard.
The pigs in Dajin are all raised in a purely natural way and they are naturally delicious. Just boiling some lard, and the whole kitchen is filled with the aroma.
Shen Xuan scooped up the oil residue and asked the cook to take it out to share with others. When I was the only one left in the kitchen, I poured all the soaked spices into the oil pan and fried them until fragrant.
He deftly scooped out the fried spices, then poured in the pounded chili paste and fried it into red oil. At this time, the kitchen was already filled with a fragrant aroma, but it was also pungent and spicy.
Shen Xuan coughed several times due to the spiciness and quickly covered his mouth and nose with a gauze scarf. After taking out half of the peppers, add the Pixian bean paste. Finally, add green and red peppercorns, a small amount of white wine, fermented glutinous rice, rock sugar, soy sauce, salt, oyster sauce, and the seafood powder made from the scallops and shrimp skins left over from frying chicken last time.
He specially used this seafood powder to replace MSG. It tastes delicious. He made a big jar of it last time, which can be used for a long time.
At this point, the red oil base is basically ready, with a rich and fragrant flavor that fills the entire kitchen.
Shen Xuan added a little and tasted it, then added a little salt and poured the red oil into an open container.
At this point, the red oil base is ready, and the red oil skewers are already full of soul. But to make complete red oil skewers, the pot base alone is not enough.
Chen Xuan poured the previously cooked pork bone soup into a clay pot, added some red oil base, and put the meat skewers, potatoes, winter melon, dried tofu and other things skewered on bamboo sticks into the pot to cook.
After a while, the soup and red oil in the earthenware pot were boiling, and the skewers were cooked. Shen Xuan picked up the skewers and brushed them with some sesame oil mixed with mashed garlic.
These strings of rice are fragrant and have a beautiful rosy color, which is already very appetizing.
Shen Xuan was so busy that he was hungry, so he couldn't help but eat a skewer of meat first.
The red oil skewers taste really good. Although they lack the flavor of beef due to the lack of butter, the original flavor without any added technology or manipulation is still appetizing.
Shen Xuan ate a few more skewers before stopping. Then he saw that the red oil base he had prepared earlier had solidified.
He used a knife to cut the solidified oil slab into pieces, dividing it into more than ten pieces in total. You only need to take one piece each time to make red oil skewers, which is convenient and simple.
After doing all this, Shen Xuan let Huang the chef in again.
When Chef Huang smelled the aroma of the red oil skewers outside, her mouth was already watering. Her mind was constantly thinking about the ingredients she saw, but she had no idea which ones were used specifically or how they were cooked.
Shen Xuan let her in and let her taste the remaining red oil skewers.
Chef Huang picked up a bunch of winter melon and put it into her mouth. The winter melon was filled with soup, which was spicy and numb, but unexpectedly fragrant and delicious, making people want to eat more.
"This is called red oil skewers, how do you think it tastes?" Shen Xuan asked.
"It's delicious." Huang the chef praised: "I heard earlier that people in Shu love spicy food and like to put Sichuan pepper in their dishes. I tried it once but I couldn't get used to it. I didn't expect that the combination of Sichuan pepper and chili pepper has a unique flavor. It's really addictive."
"Which do you think tastes better, this red oil skewers or fried chicken?" Shen Xuan asked again.
"This..." Chef Huang hesitated for a moment before saying, "I prefer the red oil skewers, but the fried chicken is also very crispy and delicious. The red oil skewers have a spicy taste, and some people may not be used to it. For those who don't like spicy food, the fried chicken should taste better."
What Huang the chef said was quite true. After hearing it, Shen Xuan called Jin Gui and Jin Zhi in again and asked them to ask after eating the red oil skewers.
Sure enough, Jingui also liked to eat the red oil skewers, but Jinzhi was afraid of spicy food. She burst into tears after just one bite. After that, she dared not eat it anymore and just tried desperately to find water to drink.
When Shen Xuan saw this, he thought that since these two snacks sold in his shop were both heavy-tasting, he could also sell some tea with them.
Just out of the spirit of contract, he will not sell honey custard tea, so he simply sells sour plum soup together with it.
The recipe for sour plum soup is already everywhere and can be bought directly at the pharmacy, saving him the trouble of making it himself.
After thinking it over, Shen Xuan started to rent a shop and hire people.
The shops have already been chosen in advance, and we just need to choose a good place and sign the contract.
Shen Xuan chose a very busy shop, just opposite the theater. Although the storefront was only three feet square, the rent was 1,200 taels of silver a year.
Although this shop has a small frontage, it has three entrances. Not only is there a yard with a well at the back, there are also several rooms for living. It is very convenient for businessmen to live in it.
After Chen Xuan negotiated the deal for this shop and signed a contract with the broker, he was left with only two thousand taels of silver.
The shop has been found, and we just need to renovate it and hire a few people.
He also directly asked a broker to help him with the renovation of the shop. These brokers lease and buy and sell shops for a long term, handle more business, and get to know more people in related industries.
As expected, as soon as Shen Xuan mentioned it, the broker immediately introduced him to a master named Wang. He just said that many shops nearby asked him to renovate their shops because his craftsmanship was good and his prices were reasonable.
Chen Xuan asked him to find Master Wang and asked him about it. Only then did he know that Master Wang was indeed an old hand in this business and was good at carpentry and masonry.
So he agreed with him to renovate the shop's front. After discussion, he offered a price of one hundred taels and asked him to change the entire layout of the shop according to his requirements.
After signing the contract, Shen Xuan took out fifty taels of silver as a deposit and put it in the hands of the broker, who would then pay it to Master Wang as material fee when needed.
After deducting the cost of materials, Master Wang still had fifty taels of silver for labor costs. The money will be paid to Master Wang in person after Shen Xuan inspects the store. The formalities are also handled by this agent, which is very safe and convenient.
It only took Chen Xuan one day to rent the shop and negotiate the renovation. He drew a sketch for Master Wang at the dealer's place on the spot, clearly explaining the areas of the shop that needed renovation.
After doing all this, Shen Xuan returned home, waiting for the broker to help him get the rental contract from the government, and prepared to go to the human market to buy people the next day.
Jinzhi and Jin Gui followed behind Shen Xuan and were surprised to see his efficient work.
There are many wives of wealthy families in Beijing who do business to earn extra money, but most of them do not manage the business themselves. They just leave the shop they brought as a dowry to the family to manage, and then settle the accounts and distribute the dividends at the end of the year.
Even if some people managed their shops themselves, they would ask their housekeepers to hire experienced managers to help them run the business, and they would know nothing about these complicated matters.
Besides, it will take more than one or two days to open this shop. Even if the housekeeper takes care of it, it will take more than half a month.
Jinzhi and Jingui didn't know how Chen Xuan knew all these complicated procedures so well, and they were able to complete them without any trouble.
It seems so simple. It was even more impressive to see him draw a sketch in just a few seconds and explain to Master Wang how to renovate the shop.
After today, they were even more impressed by Shen Xuan. With such a capable guy, why would he worry about not making money? No wonder Shen Xuan, a country boy, was so generous.
As long as I follow him well, I will have a good life in the future, and my prospects will be no worse than those servants following other masters.
Shen Xuan also saw these changes in Jinzhi Jingui.
Although these two people were servants sent by the Bai family, they were not direct descendants from the Bai family, but original servants in the Marquis' Mansion.
Bai underestimated Shen Xuan and did not send any trusted people beside him except Mother You. Although Jinzhi Jingui was a family-born child, none of the family members held any important positions, and none of them worked in the courtyards of Bai or Xue Fengli.
After Bai Shi transferred them to serve Shen Xuan, Xue Fenglin assigned their parents to work in his own courtyard. After Shen Xuan trained them for a while, he figured out their personalities.
Jinzhi is straightforward and can be made to work wholeheartedly if given a little benefit. He will do whatever you tell him to do.
Jingui thinks more, but is also smarter. After being scolded by Shen Xuan, he became quite loyal, and was even able to guess Shen Xuan's thoughts, and took the initiative to help Shen Xuan do some things that he had not had time to explain.
Shen Xuan taught Jin Gui to read and write because he valued his intelligence and thought he could be of great use.
The next day, Shen Xuan prepared to go out to the human market again to buy back the staff from the shop.
Watching Shen Xuan running around every day, I didn't know where he went, and he often didn't return home until the evening. Mother You couldn't stand it anymore.
So before Shen Xuan left that day, she stopped him and began to nag, "Brother Shen, you have been in the capital for a long time now. Although you have opened a residence outside according to the Queen Mother's wishes, you are still the fiancé of the young master of the Xue family. It would not be good if you go out to play every day. You should at least consider the face of the Marquisate."
"You are a country boy who has just arrived in the capital. It's not your fault that you don't understand the rules of this wealthy family." Mother You said, "Since I have time today, I will teach you the rules of the Marquis' Mansion, so that you, Brother Shen, will not act recklessly and make a fool of yourself in the future."
Mother You’s words were harsh, meaning that Shen Xuan should not go out. As the housekeeper sent by the Bai family, she felt that her words were speaking on behalf of the Bai family and carried some weight.
Before, Shen Xuan had always been submissive to her and seemed to listen to her in everything. Mother You naturally felt that Shen Xuan would definitely listen to her this time.
However, after she finished speaking, Shen Xuan winked at Jin Gui, and then Jin Gui quietly ran to find Su Yun and Su Yue. It is said that Mrs. You has become bolder now. Chen Ge'er just wanted to go out, but she acted like a master and stopped Chen Ge'er at the door to lecture him.
"Great! This old woman is getting more and more daring. She simply can't tell the difference between master and servant!" Suyun and Suyue looked at each other, then immediately rolled up their sleeves and put their hands on their hips and said.
Jingui had come to give them a message before, and she came again this time to tell them that now was the time when they could be used.
They had been waiting to catch Mrs. You's pigtails, and after looking at each other, they immediately walked out.
As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw Mother You still scolding Shen Xuan for abiding by the rules of the Marquis' Mansion. Shen Xuan did not refute, but stood at the door listening to her. His face was very calm, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
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