Yun Ruochun naturally didn't want Qin Yu to be punished by sweeping the latrine, so she hurriedly grabbed the snacks from Qin Yu's handkerchief and put them in her mouth, just like a little squirrel stealing snacks, which made Qin Yu chuckle.
The weather is gradually getting warmer.
The He family's cargo ship was also slowly approaching the two towns.
Yunling had been dressing in men's clothing to check on the ships in the two towns for the past few days. Finally, after two days, she managed to spot a cargo ship with the character "He" written on it.
The deliverymen were familiar faces: the head镖师 (bodyguard) and Er Yi. Yunling immediately ran forward upon seeing them.
"Head镖师, Uncle, did this shipment go smoothly?"
"Brother is here. Thanks to Second Brother, the journey has been smooth sailing, and we haven't even encountered a petty thief."
While Er Yi was talking, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) ran into the cabin and pulled out two pickled ducks. His life had been saved by Yun Ling, and although Yun Ling didn't expect anything in return, he couldn't forget her kindness.
So when he returned to Qingcheng, he praised Yunling to He Da. He had seen Yunling and the others bring sour ducks last time, so he cleverly brought two more sour ducks with him this time.
"Second brother, my wife has some sour duck, I brought you two, I hope you won't mind."
"Not at all, this sour duck is quite rare, I should thank the镖头 (镖头 is a nickname for the ...) for his kindness."
Yunling took the pickled duck and continued:
"By the way, are you leaving as soon as you finish unloading the goods this time too?"
The head镖师 shook his head and said, "No, ever since our boss learned about the three-year agreement between Second Brother and Boss Qian, a lot of our goods have been transported by water. This is the first handover, so we need to explain this to the other parties first."
Yunling said happily, "That's great! I'll arrange accommodations for you right away, and you can also try some of Pingcheng's signature dishes while you're at it."
"Second Brother, you've gone to a lot of trouble. We have a place to stay, which is the Chamber of Commerce's exchange shop. However, we're not very familiar with the signs in Pingcheng that you mentioned, so we'll have to trouble you to lead the way."
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) didn't want to take advantage of Yun Ling, but he thought that if Yun Ling had something to ask them, they should give her that opportunity, so he offered to lead the way.
Yunling nodded, first finding the broker to arrange the delivery, then taking the head镖师 (bodyguard) and Eryi to Shengfu Restaurant in Pingcheng.
"Boss, I'd like a private room, and I'd also like to put up all the signs in your building."
Manager Zhou recognized Yun Ling, but seeing two unfamiliar faces behind her, he didn't expose her identity and simply echoed:
"Well, the building recently launched a new type of oden, how about we get you a serving to try?"
"Okay, everyone come up."
Manager Zhou agreed and arranged for everyone to stay in private rooms before quickly heading to the kitchen. He had lost most of his hair these past few days just from researching oden, and he had finally managed to create a decent flavor. Now that he had met Yunling, he naturally had to ask her for advice.
Thanks to Manager Zhou's personal supervision, the dishes were served quickly, including chicken mushroom oil noodles, three-delicacy mushroom soup, specialty roast goose, seasonal vegetables, and finally, a charcoal-grilled oden.
"Brother, since the weather is warm now, I was thinking that I shouldn't cook this oden too hot, so that I don't sweat too much and feel uncomfortable. But I'm also worried that it will cool down too quickly, so I only put a small piece of charcoal in the charcoal stove. I wonder if this is okay?"
Yunling looked at the pot of oden, which contained radish, cabbage, fish balls, eggs, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and fish products shaped like fish. Putting everything else aside, the appearance and variety alone were about 70% similar to the oden she had imagined.
"Of course, Manager Zhou is certainly capable of handling things properly."
Yunling picked up the radish she had always liked. The radish was neither too soft nor too hard, and it had a slightly bitter taste when she put it in her mouth. It also had some tough fibers, which greatly reduced its appeal.
She then tried the eggs and fish balls. While not exactly amazing, they were at least decent. Yunling took a final sip of the soup, which was savory and slightly salty, not particularly rich, but memorable enough to leave a lasting impression on her taste buds. It wasn't too bad.
When Manager Zhou saw Yunling frowning as she ate the radish, he felt uneasy. They had put a lot of effort into making the radish. At first, they cut it into pieces randomly, but then they felt it was unseemly, so they changed it into small round pieces. However, it cracked when it was cooked, so they trimmed the edges to make them as smooth as possible before they could make this oden. Wasn't that enough?
"Young master, is this radish not cooked long enough?"
Yunling thought about it carefully, then spoke:
"The shopkeeper didn't peel the radish deep enough, and the fibrous parts inside weren't removed, which affects the taste. Moreover, the radish has a bitter, sour, and spicy flavor, which overpowers the original taste of the soup base. It's too overpowering and not good."
Manager Zhou clapped his hands suddenly.
"Yes, that's exactly what I thought when I tasted it. The chef in the building said that the original flavor of the radish could be removed by stewing it separately, but I thought that it was only two coins a pound of radish, so why bother making something so complicated? I didn't let him put in the effort."
Yunling took a sip of the three-delicacy mushroom soup and replied:
"The radishes are two coins a pound, but who says the shopkeeper can't make radishes that cost three or four coins a piece? Adjust the heat of the boiled eggs a little better so that the yolks don't make people choke, and make the other ingredients more refined so that people feel they are getting their money's worth."
Manager Zhou was struck by Yun Ling's words. He had been worried about how to price the radishes so as not to be too abrupt, but now, hearing Yun Ling's price of three or four coins per radish, he naturally had a direction for pricing the other ingredients.
“What you said really resonated with me. I won’t keep you from doing your work, so I’ll go ahead and get busy. If you need anything, please feel free to call me anytime.”
"Go."
After Manager Zhou left, the head镖师 (bodyguard) and Er Yi each finished their bowls of chicken mushroom oil noodles, and without saying a word, gave a thumbs up.
"Second Brother, this mixed noodles really is a signature dish, it smells delicious."
"I'll ask the shopkeeper to bring two more portions."
“No need,” Eryi said, wiping the grease from the corner of his mouth. “Of all the things in the world, the first one is always the best. Any other one is just so-so.”
Yunling said happily, "Uncle, you're so perceptive. Oh, by the way, I wonder if Mr. He's cotton workshop has a place for dyeing fabric?"
You mean the dye house?
Yunling nodded.
Without much thought, Eryi immediately replied, "No, sir, do you want to buy dyed cloth? You can just talk to the owner, and it can be transported from Jiangnan."
"Jiangnan? So, your boss has a dye house in Jiangnan?"
"Of course, there's plenty of silk and cotton fabric in Jiangnan. There are just as many dye houses there as there are cloth shops and embroidery shops in your area."
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