Chapter 140
On the 24th day of the 11th lunar month, Lin Chuntao made a new chili sauce, which was more accurately described as chili oil than sauce.
She took two small earthenware jars and filled them with the contents. She planned to send one jar to Qin Suyun and the other to Chai Xingyu to try, and also to discuss the price.
She went to find Qin Suyun first. Qin Suyun was at the shop entrance. As soon as she appeared, Qin Suyun happily ran over.
After returning from her last visit home, Qin Suyun was busy with the shop, and Lin Chuntao was also busy with a bunch of things at home. The two of them didn't get together much. However, Pei's mother would take the opportunity to go to the market to buy meat and vegetables and exchange a few words with Pei Ying.
Lin Chuntao wasn't often at the stall, but when Lin Chunxing saw her, she greeted her warmly and invited her to her home.
As time went by, Pei Ying was no longer so cold and aloof. When he wasn't busy, he would even talk to her a few more times, which made her feel much better.
Seeing Qin Suyun approach, Lin Chuntao handed her the jar.
"I made something and am sending you a jar of it."
Qin Suyun took the things and asked with a smile, "What's this delicious treat?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Why don't you open it and see?"
As they walked into the house, they chatted. It wasn't lunchtime yet, and there weren't many people in the restaurant. When Madam Pei came downstairs and saw Lin Chuntao and Qin Suyun entering the house, she greeted them with a smile, "Chuntao's here."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Mother."
She called out naturally, and Pei's mother was delighted to hear it. Qin Suyun waved the jar in her hand, "Mother, Chuntao made something new and brought some over for us."
Mother Pei looked at them with a gentle smile.
"Chuntao, stay for lunch," Pei's mother said.
Hearing what Pei's mother said, Lin Chuntao knew that she wanted to invite Pei Ying over. Having a meal was a very small matter for her, but it was different for Pei Ying. She smiled and said, "Mother, I have to go to the soy sauce shop over there to discuss business later, so I may not have time. If I do have time, I will invite Pei Ying to come over with me."
Mother Pei smiled and nodded slightly.
Upon hearing that they were talking about business, Qin Suyun immediately asked, "You're not talking about this, are you?"
Lin Chuntao: "Yes, it's a new product."
Qin Suyun asked the waiter to bring over bowls and chopsticks, and said with a smile, "Let me see what delicious food you've made."
As she spoke, she opened the lid, scooped out a small spoonful, smelled the familiar aroma, and looked at the fermented black beans and chili peppers in the spoon. She froze on the spot, staring wide-eyed at Lin Chuntao.
She hurriedly grabbed her chopsticks and tasted a little.
After tasting it, she put down her chopsticks and spoon, grabbed Lin Chuntao's arm and shook it wildly, "My God, Lin Chuntao, what else do you know that I don't know about you!"
Lin Chuntao smiled helplessly and said, "Stop, stop, stop, you're exaggerating too much."
"No exaggeration, to be honest, I've been craving it with rice for a long time, and I've tried making it myself, but it always just wasn't quite right. Yours is a perfect replica! You're like a second sister to me!"
After saying that, Qin Suyun licked her lips and asked Lin Chuntao, "Have you had breakfast? I want to use it to make fried rice now, do you want some? I'll make it."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eat!"
Lin Chuntao hadn't even used this to make fried rice yet, but after hearing Qin Suyun say that, she agreed without hesitation.
Qin Suyun carried the jar into the kitchen. The people in the kitchen were still busy with their respective tasks. When they saw Qin Suyun come in, they all turned around to greet her.
Qin Suyun said, "You guys are busy, I'll make some fried rice."
Chef Guan, who was in charge of the kitchen, said, "What would you like to make, sir? I'll make it."
Qin Suyun waved her hand: "Make some fried rice. Manager Lin brought a new sauce that's really delicious. I'll make a lot so that Chef Guan can try it too."
Upon hearing that it was a new sauce, Master Guan didn't stand on ceremony and said with a smile, "What do you need, shopkeeper? I'll help you out."
Qin Suyun said, "Just crack a few eggs, serve three bowls of rice, and chop some scallions."
As soon as she finished speaking, Master Guan was about to get ready, but the young helper ran over cleverly and said to Master Guan, "Master, let me do it."
Qin Suyun heated the pan with oil, quickly fried the eggs, then added rice. It was a very ordinary egg fried rice, nothing special. But after Qin Suyun quickly stirred it a few times, she scooped up a spoonful of chili oil and poured it in. The yellow and white egg fried rice was instantly soaked in the red oil and turned bright red.
Chili fried rice? It can't be that delicious, can it?
The onlookers stood there dumbfounded, even Chef Guan remained silent, somewhat bewildered by this way of eating.
Just as everyone was holding their breath, a special fragrance filled the room. Everyone took a deep breath in unison, and someone exclaimed, "It smells so good!"
Qin Suyun smiled and said, "I wonder how it tastes. Let Chef Guan try it. If it's good, we'll cook it for everyone at noon."
Upon hearing this, the employees behind him repeatedly said, "Thank you, manager."
Qin Suyun was stir-frying the food when Lin Chuntao stood beside her and asked, "Is it almost done? I'll get you some chopped green onions."
Qin Suyun said, "I'll take it, you don't need to get your hands dirty." As she spoke, she took a spoon, scooped the scallions from the cutting board, sprinkled them on the rice, quickly stirred it a couple of times, and then took the pot off the plate.
Guan Hong is an elder of the Pei family and his cooking style tends to be light. He has never eaten such bright red fried rice in all these years. He knows that the people of Yizhou like spicy food, but he is still slowly getting used to it. Qin Suyun, on the other hand, is accepting it well and often tries to come up with some spicy dishes.
Guan Hong and Lin Chuntao had met once before, at the opening of Chai Xingyu's shop. At that time, she was just the manager of the noodle shop and a good friend of Qin Suyun. This time it was different; she was now the eldest young mistress of the Pei family.
The three sat at a table. Guan Hong kept his eyes down, seemingly lost in thought. With this new relationship, Lin Chuntao and Qin Suyun were now sisters-in-law. Would they fight over the restaurant in the future?
He was lost in his own thoughts and didn't notice that Lin Chuntao and Qin Suyun had already started eating.
"How is it? Isn't it delicious?" Lin Chuntao asked. Qin Suyun, with a mouthful still in her mouth, nodded repeatedly: "Delicious! Are you making this for yourself, or are you planning to take it to Manager Chai to sell?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Take it over there and sell it."
"How much did you make this time? Leave some for me first."
Lin Chuntao said, "I didn't make much this time. There's only a little left besides this jar. It's not enough to make enough food to sell. Keep it for yourself. I'll let you know next time I make more."
Qin Suyun nodded.
The two chatted and ate, and Qin Suyun glanced at Guan Hong casually after speaking. She saw him staring blankly at the bowl of rice. Qin Suyun frowned slightly and said, "Master Guan, try it. It's not spicy."
Guan Hong snapped out of his thoughts and saw that Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao were both looking at him. He gave an awkward smile and then took a bite.
He had tried many different sauces from Yizhou, including Lin Chuntao's spicy sauce. The sauce tasted good, but he felt it had limitations in cooking. Although it was delicious, he personally didn't particularly like it.
This is different. This one isn't spicy at all. The dark fermented black beans have a rather rich flavor. The egg fried rice mixed with chili oil has a strangely fragrant taste. He looked up at Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Qin Suyun smiled and asked, "How is it?"
Guan Hong: "It tastes pretty good."
Upon hearing this, Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao both laughed.
After finishing his meal, Guan Hong left. Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao sat and chatted for a while. Lin Chuntao said, "I bought two small shops in Sifang Street. They are currently being renovated. Chunxing will move in after the renovation is complete."
"When did you buy it? Is it almost installed?"
"It should be soon. I'll go check on it in a bit."
Qin Suyun smiled and said, "The opening date hasn't been set yet, has it?"
"Hmm, not yet," Lin Chuntao said. "I'll let you know when I decide, and I'll come help out on opening day."
Qin Suyun laughed upon hearing this, "Of course! I'll bring two more people with me that day. You're going to be adding new dishes, right?"
Lin Chuntao said, "We should go, but I only made two or three. Let's see how business is first."
Qin Suyun said, "The key to good dishes is quality. A shop can survive if it has just two or three classic dishes."
Lin Chuntao agreed with Qin Suyun's words, and the two sat and chatted for a while longer.
Thinking that she was going to talk business with Chai Xingyu, Qin Suyun smiled and said, "I'll stir-fry a bowl of the new sauce and take it over for Manager Chai to try, so he can have a good taste of it."
Lin Chuntao couldn't help but chuckle. "That makes sense."
Qin Suyun cooked a bowl of rice and packed it in a food box for Lin Chuntao. While it was still hot, Lin Chuntao didn't delay and quickly took the fried rice and the earthenware pot to Chai Xingyu's shop.
As soon as she entered the shop, she saw Zhang Qingqing and Lin Qingqing, and the two of them called out in unison, "Sister Chuntao."
Lin Chuntao smiled and nodded, then asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"have eaten."
"Sister, are you looking for the shopkeeper?" Lin Qingqing asked. Lin Chuntao nodded. "Is he in the shop?"
Zhang Qingqing said, "Yes, it's in the back warehouse."
Sanbao, who was standing nearby, smiled and said, "Madam Lin, please wait a moment. I'll go and call the young master."
He ran off in a flash. Sanbao was quick to leave and quick to return. When Chai Xingyu saw Lin Chuntao coming, he asked anxiously, "Sister, is the new sauce ready yet?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Okay, but it doesn't really taste like sauce; it's more like chili oil."
Chai Xingyu smiled and said, "After my sister's touch, both the sauce and the chili oil will definitely taste delicious."
As he spoke, he invited Lin Chuntao to sit inside. As Lin Chuntao walked in, she said, "I made fried rice with the chili peppers from this batch. Try it and see how it tastes."
Once the person entered the house, Lin Chuntao took out the food box.
Chai Xingyu took it; it was still warm. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I went to see Manager Qin, and he cooked it at their restaurant. It shouldn't be cold yet."
Chai Xingyu went to get a spoon and chopsticks himself, and Lin Chuntao brought out the rice. The bright red oil soaked the distinct grains of rice, and the aroma was irresistible. Chai Xingyu swallowed.
Lin Chuntao said, "This one is slightly different from the previous one. You can use it to stir-fry vegetables, mix it with rice, steamed buns, noodles, or rice noodles. This sauce is very convenient to take away. The oil in it is soybean oil, so it won't solidify."
As Chai Xingyu listened to Lin Chuntao's introduction, he tasted it bite by bite, eating with great satisfaction.
Looking at Lin Chuntao again, his eyes were full of admiration.
The previous spicy sauce was already amazing, and everyone who tried it loved it. Lin Chuntao said that when he made the new sauce, he didn't think it would surpass the spicy sauce. The Chai family has been making sauces for many years. Once they make a good sauce, they only want to improve upon the original one. The taste can never surpass the previous one.
He thought that Lin Chuntao would also reach such a bottleneck.
But I didn't expect that what I made this time would be completely different from the previous one.
He looked at the sauce in the earthenware pot, the oily fermented black beans and chili peppers, which looked very appetizing. He also tasted it and found that it was quite different from the spicy sauce he had tried before.
"Sis, does this sauce have a name yet? When will it be available at the earliest? Let's set a price."
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