When Xu Qinyu heard Fourth Brother ask this, she said, "He's the new kitchen helper at the restaurant. Why are you asking about him?"
The restaurant will have more and more customers in the future, but with Xu Qinyu, her apprentices, and the original kitchen helpers and chef of Donglai Ju, there will definitely not be enough manpower. Xu Ji Restaurant needs a lot of people, so in the past three months, she also recruited some kitchen helpers. In addition to the original kitchen helpers and chefs, some kitchen helpers have come one after another. They all have some cooking skills, so they can learn faster and more easily.
Similarly, any kitchen helper who comes to Xu Ji and wants to learn cooking from her and then become the chef in the future must sign a document, agreeing to stay and work at Xu Ji wholeheartedly for five years. During these five years, they must not do anything that is detrimental to Xu Ji, nor sell the recipes they have learned to others. After five years, they can leave and at that time, they can open their own restaurant with the recipes they learned from Xu Ji.
The person that Fourth Brother was asking about was the one who came half a month ago. His name was Yan Mingcheng. He was almost 40 years old this year. He came here specifically because he heard that Xu’s was recruiting a kitchen helper.
However, for those who have just come to Xu Ji to learn to help in the kitchen, Xu Qinyu will not let them go into the kitchen to learn right away. She will let them stay in the backyard for two or three months to help with odd jobs, such as washing vegetables, cutting vegetables, preparing vegetables, and watching the stove. She will not let them go to the stove to learn from her.
Because she didn't know these kitchen helpers well and was worried about encountering people with bad intentions, she always had to check their character first and wait for a few months. Only if their character was good would she let them go to the stove and learn from them.
Yan Mingcheng had been at Xu Ji for about half a month. He didn't like to talk much and just worked silently. He would chop wood when asked to do so and prepare side dishes when asked to do so. Occasionally, he would stare at the stove in a daze. Xu Qinyu couldn't figure it out for a while and planned to wait a few months to see how he reacted before deciding whether to let him go to the stove and learn from her.
Pei Weixuan said, "He has a broad face and a long nose, prominent eyebrows and evil eyes, a pockmarked face and a green beard, but his fate palace is sunken, and his temperament is narrow and sinister. Although his eyes are dull, when he saw you, his eyeballs trembled slightly, and his mind was thinking differently. In addition, the wealth palace shows that he got a windfall half a month ago. From the wealth palace and fate palace, we can see that this person will do anything for money. He came to Xuji with bad intentions, so find a reason to get rid of him."
He didn't know much about physiognomy at first.
When I was in the palace, I read books about astronomy.
I learned a little about physiognomy in the last year. When I helped Yu Niang select people, I mostly judged their personalities by their eyes and some subtle movements.
Until a while ago, I stayed there to farm, and in my spare time I read books on physiognomy. I made a lot of progress in physiognomy and could now see some things from a person's face.
When Xu Qinyu heard what her fourth brother said, her heart tightened and she asked in a low voice, "Fourth brother, could it be that this person was bribed by someone and came to Xu's specifically to cause trouble? Or was he bribed to come to Xu's to steal skills?" After all, Xu's had many chefs. Even if a restaurant or food stall outside served the same food as Xu's, even if they reported it to the authorities, they might not be able to find out who did it.
Otherwise, why would he come to Xu Ji right after making a fortune?
Fourth brother also said that judging from his appearance, this man was not a good person. He was cunning and would do anything for money.
Pei Weixuan said, "It's very likely, so find a reason to send him away. Also, Xu Ji has a guard named Huo Jiang. Judging from his face, he is very thoughtful and has many other skills besides martial arts. Yu Niang can ask him to help investigate the people who come to Xu Ji on weekdays and use them after finding out their identities and backgrounds."
Huo Jiang is a child adopted by Huo Ye. He has been among the Black Armor Guards since he was a child. In addition to his good martial arts skills, he also has strong reconnaissance skills.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Does he still have this ability?"
Huo Jiang was about the same age as her. He was also a big eater and had great interpersonal skills. He was very familiar with Xu Ji's guards, other waiters, and cooks, and always called them "big brother." However, when he saw Xu Qinyu on weekdays, he seemed a little reserved and also liked to call her "master." He also said that he had been an orphan since childhood and knew some martial arts. If anyone needed him, just ask and give him food.
Pei Weixuan nodded, "After we drive Yan Mingcheng away, we can let Huo Jiang follow him and find out who he belongs to."
Xu Qinyu nodded and decided to listen to her fourth brother. From now on, she would ask Huo Jiang to help investigate anyone who came to Xu's company.
No one wanted to use her before. If she could find out about this person's family background and character first, she would definitely investigate his character and origin first, which would save a lot of trouble.
After saying this, Xu Qinyu chatted with her fourth brother for a while about moving matters, and then they went to bed.
The next day, Fourth Brother went back to Yuanbao Town to pick up Sister Ning and the others, and also had to transport all the furniture from Laixi Lane here. Sister Ning also had to deal with the matters of Linglong Pavilion, which should take exactly two or three days.
After Xu Qinyu finished the busiest part of breakfast, she went to find Huo Jiang.
At this moment, Huo Jiang was squatting next to the vegetable garden outside Xu's house and eating breakfast.
On weekdays, the staff meals for these guards and other servants and wives are prepared by the kitchen helpers. Xu Qinyu usually does not prepare staff meals herself.
When she went to see Huo Jiang, she thought about it and brought a bag of winter melon candy with her.
She made the winter melon candy herself. Summer has arrived recently, and many people come to Xu Ji to escape the heat. Most of them are people with families, and there are many children. So she made some winter melon candy. If there are children at a table, she will give them a plate of winter melon candy.
Winter melon candy is naturally made from large winter melon and sugar.
Peel and remove the sac of the winter melon, then cut into even long strips, and soak them in clean water with alkali overnight. Soak the winter melon strips until they become transparent, then wash them with clean water and continue soaking them in clean water. After that, blanch the winter melon strips and rinse them in cold boiled water. Then, mix the winter melon strips with sugar and marinate them for two or three days to allow the sugar to fully blend into the winter melon strips. After that, put the marinated winter melon strips in a pan and fry them with sugar until a layer of white frosting forms on the surface of the winter melon.
It is quite troublesome to make and takes several days, so Xu Qinyu makes a lot every time and often eats it as a snack.
Xu Qinyu went to find Huo Jiang and brought him a bag of winter melon candy.
Huo Jiang was squatting in the vegetable garden, slurping down noodles. The noodles were made by the kitchen helper, but he found them quite delicious, far superior to the cooking of the black-armored guards. In fact, he had actively sought to be a guard at the restaurant because he had tasted the princess's cooking, and it was so delicious that he was ravenous.
Although he couldn't eat the food cooked by the princess every day after coming to the restaurant, and only occasionally, he was already quite satisfied.
When he finished a big bowl of noodles and was about to get a second bowl, he saw the princess walking towards him.
He thought the princess came to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, but unexpectedly, the princess walked up to him, stopped, and said gently, "Guard Huo, do you have a moment? I need your help with something."
Huo Jiang immediately said, "Just give me your orders."
Xu Qinyu said, "There seems to be something wrong with that middle-aged man named Yan Mingcheng in the kitchen. I plan to send him away in the next few days. Can you ask Guard Huo to keep an eye on him for a few days to see if he shows any abnormalities?"
Huo Jiang smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it."
"Thank you, Guard Huo." Xu Qinyu thanked him and handed him the winter melon candy in her hand. "This is the winter melon candy I made myself. Guard Huo, you can try it."
Huo Jiang immediately took the winter melon candy and smiled, revealing his big white teeth.
Seeing him like this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but smile.
After she left, Huo Jiang couldn't wait to open the oil paper and pinched out a winter melon candy. It was the first time he heard that winter melon could be made into candy. The color was tender yellow and a little translucent, and it was covered with a layer of icing sugar. It was crisp and mellow in the mouth, not choking, and the sweetness was just right. He ate several pieces in a row and stuffed them into his lapel, then went to the kitchen to get a big bowl of noodles to eat.
After eating the noodles, Huo Jiang went to the city and specifically inquired about Yan Mingcheng's family background. He learned that he was not from Raozhou City and his family background could not be investigated. He came to Raozhou some time ago.
After returning, Huo Jiang told Xu Qinyu that he couldn't find out his background for the time being and he wouldn't keep an eye on him during this period.
…
Two days passed, and Xu Qinyu still couldn't find a reason to get rid of Yan Mingcheng.
Apart from a scar at the end of his eye, this man wasn't very good looking and was taciturn. Xu Qinyu really couldn't tell what kind of person he was. Besides, he did his job well and didn't like to talk, so she couldn't just let him go.
It was not until the evening that Fourth Brother brought Ning Jie'er and the others back to Xu Ji.
The furniture was delivered to the house by the caravan in the morning.
Xu Ji was too busy, and most of Xu Qinyu's relatives and friends were in Yuanbao Town. The only people she knew in Raozhou City were Madam Lu and the prefect's family.
It was definitely impossible to invite the prefect's family, and if she invited Madam Lu alone, she was afraid that she would feel uncomfortable. So Xu Qinyu simply did not invite anyone and just prepared a dinner in the new house to celebrate with the whole family, as if it was just a move.
The new house has five courtyards and a very spacious garden. The garden is connected to the back mountain, making it convenient for Baiyu and Moyu to have fun on weekdays.
Ever since they moved to Xu's, Baiyu and Moyu are rarely seen during the day as they have gone up the mountain.
Occasionally, when Xu Qinyu woke up in the morning, she would see a dead prey at the door of her room. These were brought back from the mountains by Mo Yu and Bai Yu.
Baiyu actually learned to hold food in her mouth instead of feeding it to her, which made Xu Qinyu very relieved.
The courtyard where Xu Qinyu lives is the main courtyard, and it is also the largest courtyard in the house.
Xu Qinyu was not used to living alone in such a big yard. If something happened at night, it would be troublesome to call everyone, so Ning Jie'er usually lived in the same yard with her.
Wen and Zhu lived in the courtyard next door with Fengger and Yanjieer, and could be reached through a hanging flower gate.
As for the fourth brother, he doesn't come back often and lives in another yard.
The three courtyards are still adjacent to each other.
Xu Qinyu and her fourth brother also took time out to go to the pawnshops in the city and bought several young maids. They didn't need to do anything else, except for the daily cleaning and laundry. In their spare time, they would go to Xu's kitchen to help out, starting with picking vegetables and preparing the dishes. Xu Qinyu also planned to teach them how to cook.
The ones she bought were all girls who were ten years old or earlier.
Most of these young girls in the pawnshop come from poor families and are sold by their families.
If she doesn't buy them, others will. What if a brothel owner takes a fancy to these girls and takes them to a brothel? Then their future will be ruined.
It's called buying, but in fact it's almost like giving them a job. They get a monthly salary, and when they are in their early twenties and want to get married and meet the right person, the deeds will be returned to them. They can also learn cooking from her, and then they can get married and start a family.
Xu Qinyu bought eight little maids, all of whom had their own names, and Xu Qinyu had no intention of changing their names.
These maids were all very thin, and Xu Qinyu felt sorry for them. She gave them a brief instruction on what work they should do on a daily basis. As for serving the whole family personally, they didn't have to do that. They also had to go directly to the restaurant's kitchen for breakfast and dinner.
The house does not need to be cleaned every day. The courtyards where you live on weekdays can be swept every day, and the other vacant courtyards only need to be swept once every ten days.
The girls were very nervous at first. They worked in a pawn shop and had heard of Xu Ji's reputation, but they never thought that it was the owner of Xu Ji who bought them.
Xu Ji is quite famous in the city. Even the boss of the dental clinic where they work has eaten at Xu Ji and praised it highly.
The girls found that the boss always spoke to them in a gentle voice. He also said that he would give them a monthly stipend. At first it was not much, only two hundred coins. Later they could go to the kitchen to help and he would slowly teach them some cooking skills.
The maids were a bit incredulous. They were all indentured, the kind that could be sold at the master's will. Not to mention the 200 wen monthly salary, which was generally only given by wealthy families, but the master also said that the salary would increase in the future and even taught them cooking. They were a bit shocked. They all secretly swore to be loyal to their master in the future for having such a good master.
After giving instructions to the maids, Xu Qinyu arranged accommodation for them.
They all lived in the back room of the house. After all, they were maids who had signed a contract to sell themselves, so it was better for them not to live together with the waitresses in the restaurant.
After arranging the little maid, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen.
After coming here, Sister Ning also started to get busy.
Ning Jie'er also cleared out Linglong Pavilion in Yuanbao Town and planned to find another shop in Raozhou City. It didn't have to be too big, just about the same size as the shop in Yuanbao Town. She didn't fire the embroiderers in Yuanbao Town as they had all been with her for two years. She trusted them all and let them work at home on weekdays and deliver the finished products to her at the restaurant once a month.
Ning Jie'er was busy traveling every day, and Fourth Brother also went with her to the capital to find a private school for Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er.
Three or four days passed like this, and Xu Qinyu still didn't send Yan Mingcheng away. There was nothing wrong with him in the restaurant.
However, tomorrow is his day off. Xu Qinyu wants to see if he will go into the city tomorrow. If he does, she will let Huo Jiang follow him to see if he can find out anything.
The next morning, several people from Xu's family took a break, including Yan Mingcheng.
After breakfast, he returned to the dormitory and left the restaurant, planning to go into the city.
Without Xu Qinyu's instructions, Huo Jiang followed quietly.
Huo Jiang followed Yan Mingcheng into the city and stayed with him for a whole day until dusk fell. Then Yan Mingcheng returned to Xuji to eat at Mu's.
After dinner, Huo Jiang found Xu Qinyu and scratched his head, saying, "Master, I followed him all day today, and he didn't go anywhere. He just stayed in the gambling house in the city."
Xu Qinyu frowned. He was a gambler. No one in the restaurant, whether it was a cook or a waiter, was allowed to have bad habits. This was made clear when recruiting.
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Thank you, Guard Huo, I understand."
The next morning, Xu Qinyu found Yan Mingcheng and told him, "Master Yan, when you were on your day off yesterday, a waiter from the restaurant happened to see you going to the gambling house. I'm really sorry, but bad habits are not allowed in the restaurant, whether it's the chef, the kitchen assistant, or the waiters. So I'm afraid Master Yan can't stay here any longer."
She planned to pay Yan Mingcheng the wages based on one month's work.
Because he was a kitchen helper, his initial monthly salary was three taels of silver, and Xu Qinyu took out three taels of silver and gave it to him.
Yan Mingcheng's face turned pale, and he pleaded bitterly, "Boss Xu, I know I was wrong, and, besides, I was just curious about the gambling house. I don't usually go there."
Since Fourth Brother said there was a problem, Xu Qinyu certainly couldn't keep him.
Even if Fourth Brother hadn't said it, if she knew that this man was a gambler, she wouldn't have kept him.
It’s okay to play mahjong with friends and family as entertainment on weekdays, but those who go to casinos are almost always addicted to gambling.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Master Yan, do you go to the gambling house whenever you have a day off? In fact, you can find out by just asking inside. Master Yan, do you want to do that?"
Yan Mingcheng's face turned pale. When he first came to Xu's, the boss had already told him what he couldn't do. He didn't take it seriously, thinking that going to the gambling house was harmless and wouldn't affect other people. Little did he know that the young cook from Xu's would actually drive him away without any mercy or leniency.
What's more, his purpose of coming to Xu's was not simple. If he couldn't stay in Xu's, he would not be able to get the at least 20,000 taels of silver that would be paid later.
When Yan Mingcheng thought of this, he begged Xu Qinyu even more desperately, hoping that she was young and shameless and would forgive him this time, and said that she would definitely change in the future.
But Xu Qinyu was determined and asked the guards to pack up his things and kick him out of Xu's.
This was seen by many people.
Xu Qinyu briefly explained the situation, which was also a warning to the people who stayed behind at Xu's house that even if they went to the gambling house and the money they gambled was their own money, it would not be allowed.
Because in the end, a gambler will definitely lose everything, and his family may be destroyed. In the end, a gambler may do anything.
It really made everyone in Xuji alert that even if they make a lot of money in the future, they must not develop such bad habits.
After Yan Mingcheng was driven away, Huo Jiang followed him and stayed with him for several days.
Huo Jiang returned a few days later. He didn't even wait until breakfast was over and went straight to the kitchen to look for Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu and Huo Jiang went to a secluded and deserted spot outside before asking, "Did Guard Huo see anything?"
Huo Jiang nodded. "After returning to the city, this man didn't go anywhere else. He went to the gambling house again, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating there. He didn't leave the gambling house until four days later, and then went straight to the Kong family mansion."
"The Kong family mansion?" Xu Qinyu frowned.
Huo Jiang immediately said, "It's the house of the owner of Zuixianlou."
This is also what he asked others after seeing Yan Mingcheng enter the Kong family mansion.
When Xu Qinyu heard this, her face darkened.
What is there to not understand now? Fourth brother said that Yan Mingcheng made a fortune some time ago, and then came to Xu Ji to work as a kitchen helper, wanting to learn cooking skills from her. Now it seems that the windfall should have been given to him by the Kong family, so that he could come to Xu Ji to learn the skills.
It wouldn't be a big deal if she slightly changed the recipes of her dishes. When the time comes, Zuixianlou can just change the names of the dishes, make them more varied, and make the prices cheaper, and it will attract a large number of diners.
But in fact, Xu Qinyu is not worried about such a thing. Xu Ji now relies not only on food to attract customers, but also on comfortable and pleasant accommodation, which is also very important.
In addition, the taste of the same dish she makes is unmatched, so even if someone uses this method, Xu Ji will not go bankrupt, only the customer flow will be slightly affected.
But this kind of competition method is really a bit ugly.
Both businesses run restaurants, but one is located in the city and the other is outside the city, so they do not affect each other.
These diners often go to Zuixianlou to eat when they are in the city.
Huo Jiang said, "Master, do you want me to continue following you?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head. "No, there's no point in continuing to follow. I'm just going to recruit people from Xu's in the future. I'd also like Guard Huo to help investigate their background. Otherwise, if someone like this sneaks in again and it really becomes a conspiracy, it won't bring down Xu's business, but it will definitely cause serious damage."
Huo Jiang nodded.
After Huo Jiang left, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen and started busying herself.
In fact, she knew it in her heart. Even if she knew that Yan Mingcheng came to Xu Ji to learn from him at the behest of the owner of Zuixianlou, she had no evidence now. Besides, Yan Mingcheng had not learned anything, and the police could not arrest him. She could only let the matter go and pretend she knew nothing.
But Xu Qinyu was still a little angry in her heart.
She suddenly remembered that there would be a cooking competition in Raozhou City in two months.
This is different from the previous once-a-year competitions in the city, or private competitions between famous chefs.
This is a cooking competition that takes place once every ten years and is only held in the southwest. Many famous chefs from several state capitals will come to participate.
She didn't know whether the Kong family from Zuixianlou would participate, nor did she know whether the Kong family had participated in the competition before and won the championship.
But this time, she must participate. Once she wins the championship, she will become famous, and Xu Ji will also become famous. In the future, more people will come to Xu Ji to taste the food and go on vacation.
By the time Xu Ji became famous throughout the southwest, Zuixianlou could no longer compete with Xu Ji, because they were no longer on the same level. Even if Zuixianlou studied Xu Ji's dishes, it could not hurt Xu Ji.
However, before participating in this cooking competition, Xu Qinyu had to go back to Yuanbao Town.
The winery in Yuanbao Town also started making wine.
In addition to the wild grapes on the mountain this year, the green grapes planted two years ago have also begun to bear fruit and can be picked and used to make wine.
Madam Lu and Zhen Wu had already gone to Yuanbao Town, and the wild grapes were being picked one after another.
The next day, Xu Qinyu returned to Yuanbao Town, and Pei Weixuan went with her.
Xu Qinyu didn't have to do anything herself when she returned to Yuanbao Town this time. She had taught Xu Tiao how to use his sense of smell to make wine for three years. This year she was just giving guidance and didn't have to do it herself. Xu Tiao did a great job and she basically didn't have to worry about anything. She was also relieved to leave all the wine matters to Xu Tiao, and then returned to the restaurant.
Pei Weixuan also stayed there for about half a month. After sending Yu Niang back to the restaurant, he left.
Before leaving, he found Huo Jiang and asked him to protect Yu Niang on a daily basis. Whenever Yu Niang wanted to leave the restaurant, he must send someone to follow her. He must also find out the details of the people recruited back by the restaurant first. Huo Jiang responded with a serious expression.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
