Looking at the plaque in front of her, Xu Qinyu followed Wen in.
Dong also came today. She had originally been in charge of the restaurant's affairs, but today was different. It was Miss Xu's first time at the restaurant, so she was naturally concerned about her and came to take a look.
The waiters in the restaurant are sweeping and cleaning.
When Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen, even though she was still a young lady, the chefs and kitchen assistants who were in their thirties, forties, and fifties all respected her.
Xu Qinyu didn't waste any words. After a few simple words, she started to prepare today's breakfast.
I told Dong Xi about the ingredients yesterday, and they are all ready.
For example, the river fresh products were ordered from Uncle He, and the milk was also transported with the help of Uncle He. When the two companies were going to merge a few days ago, Xu Qinyu had already told Uncle He about it. Today, Uncle He came to the town early, and drove a few donkey carts with his children and grandchildren to deliver the seafood and milk to the big restaurant here.
The chefs and kitchen helpers at Donglaiju didn't know how to make Xu's food, so they were helped by Dongqian and Chef Wang. In addition, Cheng Ge'er, Feng Ge'er and Da Niu had been at Xu's for almost three years and were almost able to take charge of the cooking, helping out a lot. Although the chefs and kitchen helpers at Donglaiju had never made Xu's food, they had more than ten or even dozens of years of experience and were able to pick it up very quickly. Although they couldn't help with tasks like mixing the stuffing, they could help with other things.
The kitchen suddenly became bustling with activity.
Anyway, with so many people around, things get busy pretty quickly.
More than an hour later, breakfast was ready, and Xu Ji opened the door of the restaurant and started business.
After all, there were only a few diners at Xu Ji yesterday, and there were also a few who came today, but they were all preparing to go to Xu Ji for breakfast as usual. Suddenly, they remembered that Xu Ji said yesterday that it would move to Donglai Ju, so they hurried to Donglai Ju and found that the sign of Donglai Ju had been changed to "Xu Ji Restaurant", and there was still a small sign hanging next to it, which was the original sign of Donglai Ju.
The diners stood at the door for a while, and when they saw the four big words "Xu Ji Restaurant", they had a somewhat different feeling. They were also witnesses of Xu Ji's gradual growth.
The breakfast at Donglaiju was originally just a few ordinary dishes.
The Mu family has more specialty dishes, so Donglaiju’s original breakfast menu was not retained, and all breakfast items were from Xu’s restaurant.
Therefore, a few more items were added to Xu Ji’s breakfast, including mutton spicy soup. Spicy soup naturally has to be served with fried pancakes, and of course fried pancakes were also added. In this season, eating a bowl of warm soup with fried pancakes is also very comfortable.
In addition to mutton spicy soup, there are also tofu skin, rice wine, and tofu pudding.
These are also standard for normal breakfast.
Xu Qinyu didn't plan to add too much at once, because the restaurant is quite large now, and the breakfast variety was a bit limited before, so she added these few items first, and will slowly adjust them later. She can also improve the types of noodles for breakfast in the future.
The spicy soup is cooked in a big pot and the aroma is overpowering.
When these diners learned that they would have a fresh breakfast, they naturally ordered the fresh breakfast and paired it with other breakfasts they were used to eating.
Diners were a little worried that even if the two restaurants merged, the taste would be different.
When the breakfast I ordered was served, I smelled the familiar aroma and took a taste. The taste was exactly the same. Only then did I feel relieved and started to eat my breakfast with peace of mind.
The new breakfast dishes are also particularly popular among diners.
And the meal is more comfortable because the place is spacious.
Although Xu Ji was clean and bright before, it was a bit crowded. Now it is much more comfortable.
There were also those diners who were unaware that Xu Ji had moved, so naturally they still went to Xu Ji for breakfast as usual.
When we arrived at the place, we found that Xu Ji's door was closed and there was a notice hanging on the door saying that Xu Ji had moved and merged with Donglai Ju.
The surrounding businesses also kindly reminded, "Xu Ji has moved and merged with Donglaiju on East Street. Everyone goes there to eat. I just ate there too. The food is still as delicious and the place is more spacious. You all should hurry over."
Because of the notices and reminders from surrounding merchants, these diners also learned that Xu Ji had moved to Donglai Ju, and naturally went there for breakfast.
There are also some of the original diners of Donglaiju. In fact, they also like Xu Ji’s food. However, they later felt that Xu Ji had to queue up and they were not willing to queue up, and it was also very crowded, so they went back to Donglaiju to eat. Now that Xu Ji has moved in and there are so many varieties of breakfast, they are naturally willing to do so.
In short, all the breakfast prepared on the first day was sold out within two hours.
It also made the chefs and assistants of Donglaiju admire him very much.
There are not many diners coming to Donglaiju for breakfast on weekdays, so the breakfast occupancy rate is very low.
The restaurant is almost full today, even the private rooms on the third and fourth floors are occupied.
The evening meals were similar, and most of them were Xu's signature dishes. Even most of Donglaiju's original customers ordered from Xu's menu.
All the prepared ingredients were used up at dinner time.
In the past, the ingredients prepared by Donglai Ju were often not used up and would be left for the next day. As long as the taste did not change, they would continue to be used as ingredients the next day.
After Xu Qinyu learned about this, she told the chefs, kitchen helpers, and the winter banquet, "Brother Xi, you're in charge of the restaurant's purchasing, so you should understand the importance of fresh ingredients. From now on, in addition to some ingredients that can be stored in the restaurant, like bacon, sausage, or pickled stinky salmon, etc., most poultry meat and fresh vegetables, if you can't use them all, have the restaurant staff divide them up that night and take them back to your family to eat, especially the river fish."
Xu Qinyu has the most stringent requirements for ingredients.
Except when the weather is extremely cold, some meats are fine if left out for a day.
But for river fish, even in the middle of winter, the taste and texture of fresh river fish and river fish that have been dead for more than a day will be different.
However, for some meat dishes, the meat does need to be marinated and left for two days before the flavor can be highlighted.
There are also some vegetables, such as cabbage and radish, which can be stored.
Those fresh green vegetables will wilt the next day and definitely cannot be used the next day.
Therefore, even if the ingredients are not fresh, they still need to be distinguished.
Dong Xi nodded, "I can save myself the trouble."
After Mu, Xu Qinyu said a few simple words and everyone dispersed.
After three or four days, most of Xu Ji's original customers had already known that Xu Ji had moved, and the number of customers returning to Xu Ji had basically reached more than 90%. The remaining customers did not go there for other reasons.
The news that Xu Ji moved to Donglai Ju and merged with Donglai Ju spread almost throughout the town.
It was three days later that Shi Lao Ba and Yao Shi found out that Xu Ji had moved to Donglaiju. They were both a little confused. Shi Lao Ba murmured, "She, how could she move just like that?"
Yao was also panicking. "Master, I told you I shouldn't have mentioned buying shares in the business, nor should I have mentioned raising the rent, but you just wouldn't believe me. Now look what's going on. They haven't even waited for the lease to expire and have simply moved out. What should we do now? How about I go and apologize to Miss Xu? It's all our fault, and we really should apologize."
Shi Laoba roared in rage, "Why apologize? We did nothing wrong. If we don't want to rent, then we don't. I wonder how she had the guts to say no. It turns out she had already planned to merge with Donglaiju, but she kept it a secret from us until she moved out. This young lady is truly scheming. Is the owner of Donglaiju stupid? Why would they be willing to merge with Xu's? They even changed the signboard. They just gave up on this century-old brand name."
But Yao had no intention of listening to him nagging about this.
She knew that now that the matter was settled and it was their fault, she should apologize sincerely and let it go.
As for her shop, even if Miss Xu was unwilling to rent it, she would just put up a rental notice again.
Now, because this shop was previously rented to Miss Xu, who made the shop prosperous for three years, it should be easier to rent it out in the future.
Yao sighed and said to Shi Laoba, "Master, please stop talking. Tomorrow I'll go with you to apologize to Miss Xu. We'll put this behind us. When the rent is due next spring, we'll put up the notice again and rent out the shop. Miss Xu even renovated the shop and cleaned it thoroughly before moving out, so it's sure to be easy to rent out."
Shi Laoba was still furious. "Why did we have to wait until spring? Why are you putting up notices and renting out the shop now? I'm even going to question her. Isn't this just destroying the bridge? We rented the shop to her for three years, and now that her business is booming and she's making a lot of money, she's moving out and leaving us alone."
Yao was also a little annoyed. "Master, please shut up. If you hadn't been thinking about raising the rent all day, I wouldn't have thought of paying two thousand taels of silver to buy shares in someone else's business. Miss Xu wouldn't have thought of moving out, and things wouldn't have gotten to this point. Besides, what's the meaning of "burning bridges after crossing them"? We are in business. They pay the rent, and they have a good business and many customers. It's not our shop that is prosperous for them, but their good cooking skills and delicious food that are the reason they have many customers. It's not our shop that is prosperous for her, but she is the one who brought prosperity to our shop. Don't worry about renting out this shop from now on. I'll take care of it."
She also felt a little regretful. Why did she always indulge the master? If it weren't for him, she and Miss Xu wouldn't have ended up like this.
What's more, the house she lives in now and the shop are all her properties and have nothing to do with the master.
Seeing his usually soft and easygoing wife suddenly speaking to him like this, Shi Lao Ba pushed Yao fiercely and said, "What do you know? If I hadn't helped you, with your personality, you would have been cheated countless times. This young lady Xu cheated you, and you're still defending her."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.
Yao was pushed back two steps by him, and her lower back hit the corner of the table behind her. The pain made her face change color, and she watched Shi Lao Ba leave.
Shi Laoba didn't go anywhere else, but went directly to Xu Ji in Donglaiju. It was just breakfast time at that moment, and Shi Laoba walked into the restaurant and shouted at the top of his voice: "Where is Xu Qinyu? Come out!"
His shout startled the diners who were having breakfast in the restaurant.
Many diners couldn't help but frown.
Yuan immediately came over and asked, "Shi Laoba, what are you doing? Are you still looking for trouble?"
Shi Laoba sneered, "I came here today to cause trouble for the cook at your Xu's. I've never met such a person. I rented her our shop for three years, but she said she wouldn't live there, and the lease we signed only benefits her. I was wondering why she was so arrogant a few days ago, saying she wouldn't rent our shop anymore. It turns out she's trying to climb up the social ladder at Donglaiju, and even moved out overnight. Isn't that just destroying the bridge after crossing it? Distinguished guests, please judge for me. With such a person's character, how dare you eat the food she cooks? Who knows if she added something to make it taste better? Otherwise, tell me, how can an eighteen or nineteen-year-old cook like her cook food that tastes better than chefs who have been cooking for decades?"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only the diners' expressions changed, but even Yuan's expression changed as well.
She said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? You know very well why our boss moved away. And the food our boss makes is delicious. The diners in Yuanbao Town have been eating there for three years. If we had known that our boss's cooking skills were so good, we would have eaten there every day. If you keep talking nonsense, be careful that we will report you to the police."
"Look, this is not anger out of shame!"
Shi Laoba shouted immediately.
This also made the diners who came to eat breakfast a little suspicious, as if the food made by Miss Xu was indeed more delicious than that made by the chef who had been cooking for decades...
The other staff members in the restaurant immediately ran to the kitchen to report to Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu was still mixing the stuffing. When she heard Shi Laoba was causing trouble, her face turned cold. She handed the work to Chef Wang and walked over to the front hall. She saw Shi Laoba saying smugly, "Dear guests, think about it yourselves. Why is the food made by this young cook so delicious? Don't you feel like you've never eaten anything so delicious in your life? Do you really think this is normal? There must be something addictive in it. You'd better be careful."
Xu Qinyu's face was as cold as ice. She whispered to Xu Feng who followed her, "Brother Feng, go to the government office and report first."
Xu Feng glanced at Shi Laoba and said, "Master, be careful then."
After saying that, he instructed Xu Diao behind him, "Brother Diao, protect the master and keep an eye on Shi Lao Ba. I'm going to report to the police first."
Xu Diao nodded, and then Xu Feng walked out of the restaurant. When he passed by Shi Laoba, he gave him a cold look.
After Xu Feng went out to report to the police, Xu Diao followed Xu Qinyu into the hall.
Xu Qinyu looked at Shi Laoba and sneered, "Shi Laoba, you don't have to get angry and slander me just because I disagree with your rent increase and move out. I've run a restaurant in Yuanbao Town for three years. My guests can tell whether the food I make is delicious or because of additives. I even don't use most of the ingredients if they're left overnight. I put a lot of thought into the ingredients. I've helped so many children with weak spleens and stomachs and picky eaters recover. I've also helped some overweight guests get back to a normal weight."
Ever since she helped the county magistrate's daughter Yang Zhizhi to control her weight, Yang Zhizhi now weighs just over 100 kilograms and has almost maintained this weight.
Yang Zhizhi lost weight, and several overweight diners came to her one after another, asking her to help adjust their diet.
Xu Qinyu also arranged breakfast and evening meals for them, and they all lost weight. Some of them are still eating and are losing weight.
After hearing what she said, the diners were surprised to find that it was indeed true. Several children who often ate breakfast and dinner at Xu's were skinny and had little flesh at first, but now they have grown fair and tender. There is also the daughter of County Magistrate Yang, who was a little fat before, but now she has a good figure.
They have been eating it for three years and have no health problems. Instead, they are in great health.
If something was really added, they would have had problems after eating it for three years.
One diner couldn't help but say, "Exactly. We've been eating Miss Xu's food for three years, and we're in great shape now."
"That's right. I even asked Miss Xu to help me make my diet lighter. I've lost more than 30 pounds. After losing weight, I can walk without getting out of breath. I feel much more comfortable."
The diners began to speak up for Xu Qinyu one after another.
Some people couldn't help but ask, "Miss Xu, what exactly does this guy want to do? Isn't he the owner of the shop you originally rented? Why is he slandering you like this? Could it be that you really took advantage of his shop?"
Shi Laoba immediately responded, "My dear guests, you don't understand. I rented the shop to her at a discount to the market price. But she just moved out without even saying goodbye. How can you behave like that?"
Xu Qinyu had not originally intended to publicize the matter between her and Madam Yao's shop. Since she was not going to rent it anymore, it would be better for them to part ways amicably.
Moreover, she had no opinion about Madam Yao. Thinking that she was about to move away, she did not tell anyone about what Shi Lao Ba had done, so as to avoid implicating Madam Yao's shop and making it difficult to rent it out in the future.
But Zhishi Lao Ba actually dared to come here to cause trouble and even slandered her for adding something to the food.
She naturally couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Old Eight Shi, you know exactly what happened. I didn't want to make a big fuss about it for Madam Yao's sake, so as not to affect Madam Yao's shop in the future. But you still want to come to the restaurant and make a scene, so don't blame me for being rude."
She briefly explained the matter to the diners around her, "A few days ago, Shi Lao Ba came to me and wanted to give me 200 taels of silver to buy shares in my restaurant in Raozhou City. The construction of the restaurant building alone cost tens of thousands of taels of silver in the early stage, so I naturally couldn't agree. He told me that he wanted to raise the rent to 20 taels of silver a month. The rent of a shop like that on the other end of West Street is basically 50 taels of silver a year. He asked for such a high price. I thought that the restaurant was a bit small, and it was a bit crowded for the guests to eat. So I thought about taking this opportunity to find a larger shop, renovate it and move it there. Coincidentally, when Madam Dong heard about it, she wanted to cooperate with me, so we merged our two shops and moved Xu's directly to Donglaiju."
Everyone suddenly realized.
Some people couldn't help but speak up for Xu Qinyu.
"Shi Laoba, this is too much. How dare you ask for two hundred taels of silver to enter someone's restaurant?"
"And your shop only makes five taels of silver a month at most, and you're asking Miss Xu for twenty taels of silver a month. She's definitely going to move out."
Everyone started to condemn Shi Lao Ba.
Seeing this, Shi Laoba immediately stammered, "I didn't say those words, nor did I intend to raise the rent to twenty taels of silver a month. That was all you said. I just came to ask you, saying that Xu's business is doing well, could you give me the market price for next year's rent, and you got angry and said you wouldn't rent it anymore."
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu was so angry that she almost laughed.
"You don't want to admit it, do you?"
Wen also came over and said, "I was there that day. You told my Yuniang that you wanted to pay two hundred taels of silver to take over the business shares of my Yuniang Restaurant."
Shi Laoba snorted coldly, "You two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, will naturally help her speak."
A customer shouted, "I heard it too. That day, you said to Miss Xu at the gate of Xu's restaurant. When Miss Xu disagreed, you threatened to raise the rent to twenty taels of silver a month. I heard it all."
That was the second time Shi Laoba came to visit, and that’s what happened at the door of Xu’s house.
This diner was the owner of a shop next to Xu's. He happened to be out for some fresh air that day and was squatting at the door of his shop when he heard the conversation between the two people. He was about to go up to help, but when he saw Xu Kongmu coming, he did not get up.
Shi Laoba was speechless.
Just then, another woman walked in from outside the restaurant. It was Yao.
When Yao saw Shi Lao Ba coming out angrily, she was worried that he would come to Xu Ji Restaurant to cause trouble, so she reluctantly followed him. Unexpectedly, he actually came over here.
Seeing Xu Qinyu, she immediately came over to apologize to her, "Ms. Xu, I'm so sorry. It's actually my fault. I shouldn't have said I would give you two thousand taels of silver to buy shares in Xu's business, and it turned out like this."
Xu Qinyu raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you talking about investing two thousand taels of silver in Xu's Restaurant?"
Yao nodded. "If Miss Xu doesn't want to, then forget it. A rent increase is out of the question. There won't be a rent increase."
Xu Qinyu told her bluntly, "Your master wanted two hundred taels of silver, but when I disagreed, he threatened to raise the rent to twenty taels of silver a month."
Yao was stunned for a moment, then looked back at Shi Laoba in disbelief.
Shi Laoba felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look at Yao.
When the diners saw this, they all understood.
It turned out that it was Madam Yao who originally wanted to invest two thousand taels of silver to buy shares in the restaurant, but she didn't expect to get such a big profit by investing two hundred taels of silver. It was this old Shi who caused all these things behind the scenes.
"This Shi Laoba is really greedy, and he's even blaming others for what they did."
"That's right. What was Miss Yao thinking at the time? She chose to marry Shi Laoba, an old bachelor. She was a widow herself, but she had a daughter, a house, and a shop. She felt that it would be better for her to stay with her daughter."
"I heard that Shitouba was very kind to her in the past, even cooking and washing clothes for her. Otherwise, why would Madam Yao marry him?"
Yao listened to everyone's words in a daze.
At the beginning, it was indeed because Shi Laoba was very good to her and her daughter. He came to her house to help her cook and wash clothes, and said that he would take care of her and her daughter in the future and not let others bully them.
But after getting married, he changed. He no longer helped him with washing clothes. He was idle all day long and did nothing. After going out for a stroll, he would come back and wait for dinner.
The diners complained a few words and asked Madam Yao to take Shi Laoba away quickly and not embarrass himself here.
Only then did Yao come to her senses and apologize to Xu Qinyu again before planning to take the person away.
Unexpectedly, Xu Feng came with two yamen runners, and as soon as the runners came in, they arrested Shi Laoba.
Shi Laoba struggled hard, "What do you want to do? Why are you arresting me?"
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