This year's wine, in addition to the red wine made from wild grapes in the mountains, naturally also includes green wine made from green grapes.
The cost of making wine from this kind of green grapes is relatively high. The purchase price of each kilogram of grapes is about thirty cents. Because it is the first year, the purchase price of green grapes is also relatively high. After the grape vines grow up, two grapes can climb a wooden rack. The yield is very good. Two grape vines can produce more than 100 kilograms. In the future, the grape vines will grow bigger and bigger, and the fruits will become more and more.
Basically, one grapevine can earn one and a half taels of silver.
Before, everyone was asked to use the open space in front of and behind their houses. Each household planted two or three seeds, and those who planted more could plant a few more. Basically, they could get a harvest of four or five taels of silver. Those who planted more could get a harvest of more than ten taels of silver.
In this case, the more than one hundred coins I spent on each grape seedling was nothing compared to the money I earned now.
Some families who were familiar with Xu Qinyu even divided out one or two mu of their land or half an acre to grow grapes. Last year, they had no harvest and were laughed at by neighbors and relatives. But this year, the grape vines began to bear fruit and they could earn more than ten taels of silver from one mu of land and more than one hundred taels from one mu of land. Even if the grapes planted last year had no harvest, they would still make a lot of money this year, which made those relatives and friends who laughed at them shut up and wished that it was their own family who planted two mu of grapes.
However, there are not many people who are willing to use one or two acres of land to grow grapes, only a few families.
Most households in Yuanbao Town and nearby villages planted one or two grapes. Only after learning that these green grapes could really be sold for around thirty cents per pound did they believe it and planned to buy more grape seedlings this year.
But when the people from the winery went to collect the grapes, they had already told them that the price of grapes would only be higher in the next two years. After two years, when the output of green grapes increases, the price will still drop. In addition, they also let everyone know that planting crops should be the priority. If they really want to plant, they can use the front and back yards or vegetable gardens at home, and there is no need to use too much arable land.
So after making green wine this year, many people bought some grape seedlings and started transplanting them.
The green grapes harvested this year are similar to the wild grapes picked from the mountains, so the total amount this year should be able to produce 60,000 to 70,000 bottles. The cost of green wine is higher, but the price of wine is not planned to increase. Wine that costs three taels of silver per bottle will be a bit of a premium if the price is higher.
This kind of green grape is a bit like crystal grapes and is quite sweet. The proportion of sugar needs to be adjusted when making wine. Xu Qinyu also taught Xu Diao how to mix sugar.
Wine made from green grapes is also sweeter. Xu Qinyu plans to keep some of it and sell it at the restaurant and Xu's, aiming for around 10,000 bottles. Last year, when she tried to sell wine in the capital, all the wine was bought by the Handong King. This year, she's a little worried. The Handong King dared to embezzle military pay. If he really used his power to bully her and refused to pay for the wine, she'd be left with nothing but tears.
So this year, Xu Qinyu didn't let Zhen Wu send the wine to the capital, but sent it to other provincial capitals. At worst, he could sell it slowly.
Xu Qinyu had also won a few acres of green grapes, which were growing well, so she specially invited tenants from nearby to come and take care of them.
Xu Qinyu also owned about a hundred acres of land in Yuanbao Town. After collecting 40% of the rent and deducting the taxes, she still had a lot of grain left. She had previously sent some of the grain to the restaurant, and stored the rest in her house in Laixi Lane. She had moved a few days ago and moved all the grain from there here.
Every year’s food is basically eaten up, and new food is stored for the next year.
In order to store grain, Xu Qinyu built several granaries in the house when she built it.
By the time the wine was almost brewed, it was two months later. By the end of summer, the first batch of wine had fermented and was ready to drink. Xu Ji Restaurant in Yuanbao Town and Xu Ji outside Raozhou City both put some in, and the price was set at two taels of silver, which deducted the transportation cost on the road.
In Xuji Restaurant in Yuanbao Town, wine sales are slower. After all, Xuji Restaurant receives guests from within the city, all of whom are wealthy and powerful nobles who have no shortage of money, so sales are better.
The cooking competition in the southwest will also be held in three days.
Xu Qinyu actually didn't want to participate at first. In her previous life, she had participated in many cooking competitions of all sizes, and even won the world-class one. It can be said that she had no regrets, so she had no interest in the cooking competition here. If Zuixianlou hadn't used this method, she wouldn't have wanted to participate.
Now she just wants to prove herself, show it to Zuixianlou, and bring more traffic to Xu Ji.
In the past two months, Xu Qinyu also asked Huo Jiang to find out some things about the Kong family and Zuixianlou.
I also know that ten years ago, Kong Kun, the owner of Zuixianju, participated in the once-in-a-decade cooking competition. He was only thirty years old at the time, and there were many famous chefs who were older than him and whose cooking skills were better than his, so he did not win the championship.
As for Kong Kun's father, the former owner of Zuixianlou, he had also been in Zuixianlou for thirty years, but he had never participated in this cooking competition held once every ten years.
Huo Jiang even found out how Zuixianlou started.
Know what happened to Kong Kun's father back then.
After hearing this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but frown, and then asked, "Guard Huo, have you found out whether Yan Mingcheng was instructed by Kong Kun or his father to come to Xu's?" For some reason, after hearing about Kong's father's past, she always felt a little weird in her heart. It was too coincidental. He was the only one left in his family who died fleeing famine, and then he met his master, who was a lonely man. He followed his master to learn crafts for several years, but his master and he were poisoned by carbon monoxide because they burned charcoal for heating at night. As a result, the master was too old and could not be rescued, but he was younger and was rescued. Then, for fear of being reminded of his master by seeing his things, he sold all his master's property and went to other places to make a living with the money.
Shouldn't he stay in his master's hometown, use the cooking skills his master taught him, and promote his master's recipes and reputation?
Xu Qinyu felt a little strange.
But when Kong's father followed his master to learn the craft, he was only about eleven or twelve years old, a teenager. When his master got into trouble, he was only in his early twenties. I think he would not do anything to harm his master.
Xu Qinyu didn't have the ability to figure out human nature based on just one thing, so she could only keep this doubt in her heart.
She heard Huo Jiang say, "My Lord, Yan Mingcheng was sent to Xuji by Kong Kun's father."
Because he couldn't question Yan Mingcheng openly, Huo Jiang secretly followed him for a while. After Yan Mingcheng left Xu's, he stayed in the casino for several days before going to Kong's Mansion. Huo Jiang naturally followed him. He was a martial arts expert, so it was easy for him to follow someone into the mansion. He also heard the conversation between Yan Mingcheng and Kong's father outside.
Yan Mingcheng went to see Kong's father to ask him for money.
Kong's father asked him how his studies at Xu's were going and whether he had learned Xu's recipe.
Yan Mingcheng had to say that the owner of Xu's kitchen was still wary of him, and new kitchen helpers had to wait three months before they could go to the kitchen to learn how to do things. Now he could only stay in the back kitchen and do odd jobs.
Yan Mingcheng then asked Kong's father for money, but Kong's father said, "We had discussed this before. Before you went to Xu's, I'd give you five thousand taels of silver. If you could learn ten of Xu's signature dishes within six months and give me the recipes, I'd give you another twenty thousand taels of silver. Now you're asking me for money, which of course I can't do. If something happens to you and the owner of Xu's is kicked out, wouldn't I lose both the money and the recipes?"
Yan Mingcheng's eyes flickered slightly, but he said no, saying that he performed very well in Xuji and worked very efficiently. The owner of Xuji was also very optimistic about him, so maybe he could go to the kitchen earlier.
But Kong's father had lived for decades and turned Zuixianlou into the largest restaurant in Raozhou City. He was also an old fox and did not believe Yan Mingcheng's words at all, and even became suspicious.
He asked, "Did you lose the money I gave you earlier in the gambling house?"
He is also familiar with Yan Mingcheng.
Yan Mingcheng was not from Raozhou City, nor was he from Zuixianlou. Kong's father did not dare to let the kitchen helper of Zuixianlou go to Xuji to learn cooking skills secretly.
Yan Mingcheng was a chef he had met when he went to another state capital. His cooking skills were average, but he opened a restaurant. He loved gambling and lost his restaurant. His wife left him and took the children with her, and returned to her parents' home. After that, Yan Mingcheng could only work as a kitchen helper or chef in other restaurants to make a living.
When Kong's father asked this, Yan Mingcheng began to stammer.
Kong's father knew that he had lost all the five thousand taels of silver he had given him. Kong's father was also very angry and told him that no one from Xu's was allowed to go to the gambling house. If the young cook from Xu's found out, she would definitely kick him out. Kong's father then asked him if he had already been discovered by the cook from Xu's and kicked him out.
Yan Mingcheng also said no, and still asked Kong's father for money.
Kong's father refused to give it to him because he knew in his heart that Yan Mingcheng must have been discovered by the young cook of Xu's when he went to the gambling house and was driven away. Now Yan Mingcheng wanted to come to him to cheat the last wave of money.
Yan Mingcheng was also furious and said bluntly that if he didn't give him money, he would spread the news that Kong's father had bribed him to go to Xu's to learn skills.
Father Kong sneered and said, "There's no evidence of any deal between you and me. Besides, you're just going to Xu's to work as a kitchen helper. Xu's hiring kitchen helpers themselves, so what does that have to do with me? Yan Mingcheng, don't think you can take these five thousand taels of silver easily. I told you that if the deal doesn't work out, you have to return the five thousand taels of silver to me. Now there's nothing you can do. You have to return the five thousand taels of silver to me. If you can't, you won't be able to leave Raozhou City."
Yan Mingcheng was frightened when he saw the old man with gray hair in front of him. His eyes were cold and scary. He didn't dare to ask for money anymore. He muttered a few words and turned away.
In the end, the two parted on bad terms.
Afterwards, Yan Mingcheng was probably a little afraid of Kong's father, so he left Raozhou City.
Huo Jiang followed Yan Mingcheng for a few more days, and then he returned to his own state capital. Apart from threatening Yan Mingcheng a few times, Kong's father did nothing else.
Xu Qinyu learned the whole story from Huo Jiang. After listening, she didn't say anything. However, Xu Qinyu asked Huo Jiang to check the origins of the kitchen helpers and staff who came in the past two months. Only when there was nothing unusual did she let them into Xu's.
It has been almost two months now and the cooking competition is about to begin.
This cooking competition had a huge number of participants from other provincial cities and Raozhou City, almost several hundred people.
You have to know that this competition is different from the usual small fights. If you can really win the championship in this competition held once every ten years, you will not only become famous, but also get rewards.
This year's reward is a rare ore. This ore is extremely rare and has little use in other places. Only when mixed with iron can it make the ironware extremely tough and sharp.
Therefore, this kind of ore can be used to mix with iron to make a set of knives, which is perfect.
Xu Qinyu can actually use any kind of knife.
But having a set of sharp and handy knives can make cutting vegetables much more comfortable and is also good for your wrists and hands.
So even for this tiny piece of ore, she wanted to win this year's competition.
The cooking competition will officially begin three days later.
The venue was outside the prefectural government office in Raozhou City.
There was a relatively open market outside the prefectural government office, which was perfect for the competition.
This was also approved by the prefectural government.
Cooking competitions are similar to those in later generations, but the number of participants in the later cooking competitions and auditions was tens of thousands, while the number of participants now is much smaller.
This competition is divided into the opening round, the middle round and the final round.
If you can win first place in all three games, it is called winning three prizes in a row, which is a bit like the imperial examination, and it also borrows the prize of winning three prizes in a row in the imperial examination.
Three days later, all those who want to participate in the competition must go to the venue, draw lots, and compete in the order of the draw.
The first round was also very simple, just like the auditions in later generations, with almost the same ingredients and seasonings. As long as the dishes were made within the specified time and tasted by the judges, they would pass if all the judges gave them 60 points.
Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan were very excited when they learned that Xu Qinyu was going to participate in the cooking competition that was held once every ten years. When the time came, they discussed with their parents and wanted Xu to remember a few days so that they could watch their good sister's competition. Although they knew that their good sister would definitely win, they wanted to watch the process more.
Xu Kongmu and County Magistrate Yang certainly would not stop them. If they were not busy with official duties, they would also like to secretly watch Miss Xu's competition.
However, although the head of the family could not go, the wives of the two families had time, so they each brought their daughters-in-law, daughters, and grandchildren to stay at Xu Ji first.
Because they were both girls and their grandchildren were only a few years old, they could just live with their mother, so the two families lived in two adjacent courtyards.
On the Xu family side, Xu Qinyu has already started construction of another garden.
This garden is for those who have families to live in.
The design of the garden was also designed by her fourth brother. Although it is a large garden, each courtyard is separated and does not disturb each other, so she will never accidentally enter other courtyards.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
When the people at Xu's knew that Xu Qinyu was going to the city to participate in the competition, they all wanted to go with her, but the restaurant was busy and they definitely couldn't go with her. However, many of Xu's regular customers knew that she was going to participate, so they ran to join in the fun and encourage her, even Mrs. Lu went over.
Xu Qinyu asked Lianhua to drive the carriage into the city early in the morning and all the way to the outside of the prefect's mansion.
When we got there, we found that it was packed with people. In addition to the chefs who were still participating in the competition, there were also many onlookers, and even people from other states who came to watch the competition and enjoy the excitement.
Xu Qinyu and Lianhua parked the carriage. Lianhua held her hand. Xu Qinyu didn't know how Lianhua did it, but she easily squeezed into the crowd and came to the front.
It was just a drawing of lots at this moment, and Xu Qinyu stepped forward and took out the household registration documents.
When registering, you will write down your basic information such as your surname, address and household registration. Now you can participate in the competition with your household registration documents.
After taking out the household registration documents, the lottery will begin.
Xu Qinyu gave the household registration documents to the gentleman.
These judges are all "Mr.", and the title of "Mr." is also a sign of respect, because those who can serve as judges are all respected old gentlemen who have achieved success in other fields. Most of them are gourmets, and some are famous chefs in various states and cities who have won the championship in previous cooking competitions.
Therefore, these gentlemen are all in their forties or fifties and above, and they are all absolutely fair.
But now I am quite curious to see such a young lady coming here.
An old man laughed and said, "Young lady, are you here to participate in this year's cooking competition? You look quite young, I wonder who your teacher is. Isn't it a little too early for you to participate at this age?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "In reply to the old gentleman, I don't have a master. I figured out my cooking skills on my own. I also opened two restaurants in Raozhou City."
As soon as she said this, all the judges' eyes fell on her.
There were twenty old gentlemen who came to judge the event. Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but look at Xu Qinyu, thinking that the young lady was exaggerating.
Generally speaking, cooking skills are closely related to age. Only after years of practice can cooking skills get better and better.
There are many famous chefs among these judges. They have all learned cooking from their masters or family elders since childhood. They have all practiced for more than ten years. By the time they dare to participate in this competition, they are at least thirty years old. What's more, this young lady said that she has no master and she figured out her cooking skills by herself. I am even less confident that her cooking skills can pass the test.
The old man who asked the question didn't say anything else, but he had a deeper impression of Xu Qinyu.
I still have a slightly unfavorable impression of the young lady in front of me. I feel that she is a little too eager for success and is eager for fame and fortune.
Xu Qinyu didn't care. She was just telling the truth. There was nothing she could do if these old gentlemen didn't believe her.
She went over and drew a lot. It was a wooden stick with 456 written on it, which was relatively late.
Lotus glanced at the wooden stick and whispered, "It's a little far back."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Whether I'm in the front or the back, it makes no difference."
This was heard by several old gentlemen in the front, who kept looking at her, and they thought that the young lady in front of them was a little arrogant. You know, even if it was the first time, there was still a difference between the front row and the back row. It would be better to be in the front row.
Because the competition is very simple, the same ingredients and seasonings are given, everything is exactly the same, and the dish is made, and then the judges have to taste it. This means that for several days in a row, the judges have to keep eating the dish made by the contestants. No matter what kind of delicious food it is, you will get a little sick of it after eating it for a few days in a row, not to mention the uneven quality of the dishes made by the contestants. As time goes by, contestants with similar levels may get lower scores.
Furthermore, the ingredients for this first round are still pork belly, and we are going to make braised pork.
The more you eat this stuff, the more greasy it will be. If you eat braised pork for several days in a row, even if the contestants cook better than the ones before, they may not get high scores because it is too greasy.
So when the young lady in front of them said that it didn't matter whether they were ranked in front or behind, they thought Xu Qinyu was arrogant.
After Xu Qinyu drew her lot, she was not in a hurry to leave. It would definitely take a few days for her to get her turn, so she planned to stay here and watch the contestants ahead of her.
Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan also came over.
They finally squeezed to the front and saw Xu Qinyu at a glance. They moved closer to Xu Qinyu and said happily, "Qinyu, we are here too."
Xu Qinyu was very happy to see her two good friends and started chatting with them.
As for Mrs. Lu, she sat on the top floor of a nearby attic, where she had a better view.
This attic does not welcome everyone. Ladies from noble families of higher status who want to join in the fun also stay in the attic and watch.
Two hours later, all the contestants had drawn their lots.
Xu Qinyu also saw Kong Kun, the owner of Zuixianlou.
She herself did not recognize Kong Kun, but Huo Jiang did, so he drew the appearance of Kong Kun and his father and showed it to her.
Kong Kun had participated once ten years ago, but he missed the championship that time. Ten years later, he came to participate in this cooking competition again, thinking that after another ten years, his cooking skills had become more sophisticated and he should have a sure win. However, when he saw the owner of Xu's restaurant, Miss Xu, also coming, he felt a little uneasy.
It was really because Xu Ji had been too popular these days. He originally thought that Xu Ji's only delicious dish was the crispy suckling pig, and that it was a recipe that the young cook accidentally got from somewhere and became Xu Ji's signature dish. But what he didn't expect was that when Xu Ji became popular, many regular customers of Zuixianlou also went to Xu Ji to eat. They all said that every food at Xu Ji was delicious, and there were many signature dishes, and every signature dish was worth trying. He started to feel a little nervous.
But he had no choice but to watch more and more customers go to Xu Ji.
He had never eaten at Xu Ji, and Xu Ji's food could not be taken away. It was only available to guests staying in the restaurant. He couldn't be so shameless as to go to Xu Ji to eat.
Now, everyone was just hoping that it was just because the young cook at Xu's knew so many unusual recipes that everyone kept going there for a while out of curiosity. Today's cooking competition depended on taste, and if ordinary dishes could be made delicious, the young cook probably had no chance of winning.
…
Xu Qinyu glanced at Kong Kun and then looked away.
She didn't know that Kong's father had sent Yan Mingcheng to Xu Ji to learn skills, and whether Kong Kun knew about it or not, but she must do her best in this competition.
When the judges announced that the first competition of this year was the braised pork, many contestants who drew the first lot showed joy.
Braised pork is a dish that all chefs can make, and the taste is basically the same. Braised pork is made with pork belly. This dish will be very greasy, which is very beneficial to the contestants in the front.
Kong Kun drew number 37, which meant it would be his turn in the first few rounds, and he felt more at ease.
After Xu Qinyu found out, she remained calm.
After the first round of competition officially began, the chefs on site also started to get busy.
There are only ten stoves on site, with ten people in each round.
Soon, the sounds of cutting vegetables, cleaning pots, boiling pots and frying pans could be heard.
The onlookers were watching quietly or discussing in low voices, but their voices were not loud.
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