Wen Yunling had heard that Xu's Restaurant had been open for about half a month, but she had no plans to go there either. One reason was that she was used to eating at Donglaiju, and even if she went to other restaurants, they were basically all on East Street, and she only went to the West Street market occasionally. In addition, she had heard that it was just a small restaurant, so she had no plans to go and try the food at Xu's Restaurant.
She was a girl, and the place where she sat was covered by a screen, but it was also in the living room, not a private room, so she could still hear the conversations next door.
The diners next door were talking about it.
"Have you ever had breakfast or dinner at Xu's Restaurant?"
"I haven't been there yet, what's the matter? But I've heard about this new restaurant. It's said to be delicious. But I'm used to eating at Donglaiju. I can't stand the food from those small restaurants. How good can the food from small restaurants be?"
The man's tone was dismissive of Xu's Restaurant, and he clearly looked down on the small eatery.
It is true that the food in most small restaurants tastes average and cannot be compared with that in larger restaurants.
"Brother Zuo, your prejudice is truly misplaced. If you trust me, you might as well go to Xu's Restaurant and have a meal there. The butter is especially delicious; it can be used with rice or noodles, and the flavor is truly unforgettable. Also, the hand-pulled lamb chops are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, without any smell of mutton. The fish with pork intestines is spicy and appetizing. In short, even if it's not a signature dish, it's still incredibly delicious. Oh, just talking about it makes my mouth water."
The man called Brother Zuo couldn't help but ask, "Since you're so enchanted, why didn't you go over there for breakfast today?"
The man touched his nose and said, "Brother Zuo, do you think I don't want to go? It's because I've been busy late these past few days. Even if the breakfast is sold out by the time I go, there will be a line for both breakfast and dinner. My shop has been so busy these past two days that I can't spare any time. If I go by this time, they'll have already sold out. I went by this time a few days ago, and they've already closed up shop. In the evening, I'm usually busy until the end of the evening, and their dinner is sold out by then. After I'm done with my work in a few days, I'm going to go to Xu's Restaurant and have a good meal for a few days."
Brother Zuo hesitated a bit, "Is this little restaurant really that popular? And the food is delicious too?"
"Why would I lie to you?" the man continued, "Brother Zuo, trust me this time. Remember to go early for breakfast and dinner, otherwise you'll have to queue. I've also heard that the chef at Xu's Restaurant is kindhearted. He used to make fish balls, fish heads, and braised fish and sold them cheaply to the neighbors. Now that he's opened a restaurant, he's still thinking about the neighbors who can't afford meat, so he still sells those fish dishes at the original price in the restaurant."
Brother Zuo snorted, "How can fish be delicious?"
The man smiled and said, "I originally had the same idea as Brother Zuo, so I bought some fish balls and brought them back. They were springy and delicious, just as good as the other dishes in the restaurant."
Brother Zuo was half-believing and half-doubting, and decided to go and take a look at it at dinner time.
When Wen Yunling heard this, she frowned a little, but still had a hope.
At first, she didn't associate the name "Xu Ji" with the fourth sister-in-law of the Pei family. It wasn't until the diner next door mentioned fish balls and fish heads that she remembered that Xu Qinyu had sold these in Guihua Lane. She also asked Cheng Ge'er about it, and Cheng Ge'er said that it was just fish food, so what kind of taste could it have? At most, it wouldn't have a fishy smell. Those neighbors were all poor people, so they treated it as a delicacy.
Now it seems that Cheng Ge'er was simply deceiving her!
Wen Yunling was so angry that she couldn't even eat breakfast. She dropped her silver and money and went to West Street to look for Xu's Restaurant.
Xu Ji Restaurant was easy to find, but when she got there she found it was closed. She went next door to ask and found out that the restaurant was closed that day.
This was the first time she heard that a restaurant could have a closing time.
Wen Yunling inquired with the owner of the rouge and powder shop next door and learned that the owner of Xu's Restaurant was indeed a young lady of fifteen or sixteen, who should be the fourth sister-in-law of the Pei family. She went back angrily.
After returning home, she complained to Yue Shi, her eyes reddening. "Even if Cheng'er is from the third house, he's still surnamed Wen, and he's my brother. How could he help an outsider? He really hurts my heart. When I asked him, he must have known how the food cooked by Fourth Sister-in-law tasted. He lied to me and said it was just average. I missed out on Fourth Sister-in-law like this. If I had known that Fourth Sister-in-law was such a good cook, I would have discussed opening a restaurant with her long ago."
"She's only fifteen or sixteen, do you really believe she's a great cook? I've heard of that damn Xu's Restaurant, but I'm afraid they're just using some tricks. Otherwise, how could a ten-year-old girl possibly be better than the chef at Donglaiju? I heard people say the food at Xu's Restaurant is even better than Donglaiju's. Do you think that's possible?"
Wen Yunling then stopped talking.
After a while, she couldn't help but say, "I'm afraid Gui's departure was also planned by them."
Yue Shi didn't care even more about this. "If Concubine Gui is gone, then she's gone. What's the point of staying at the Wen family? Besides, both doctors diagnosed her with tuberculosis, so it's probably correct. Even if she recovers, it won't have anything to do with our family. Doesn't Ling'er want to open a restaurant? Mother heard there's a great chef in Raozhou City. We can go there someday and ask him."
If she were to say, she should have settled down in Raozhou City that day so that it would be easier to do business, but her father-in-law felt that he did not have enough money and wanted to live in the town.
Wen Yunling's face lit up with joy, and she decided to go to Xu's Restaurant again tomorrow to try the food there.
If it's really delicious, talk to the owner.
If we can't reach an agreement, we'll go to Raozhou City to find a chef. She's the one who's going to open this restaurant!
Yue still found it funny. She really didn't believe in the cooking skills of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old cook.
…
The next day, Wen Yunling went to Xu's Restaurant early in the morning.
It was just as the diner at Donglaiju said. People had already started queuing at 3:30 am.
After a while, the door of the restaurant opened. It was opened by a woman in her thirties, whom she did not recognize.
The restaurant opened and customers came in one after another. Wen Yunling arrived early and was among the first group of diners, but she had to share a table with others. She frowned but didn't say anything. When she entered the restaurant, she saw her second aunt Wen standing behind the counter.
This time I completely believe that the cook at Xu's Restaurant is my fourth sister-in-law.
When Mrs. Wen saw Wen Yunling, the smile on her lips immediately disappeared, but she did not kick her out.
Yu Niang had told her before that since they had opened a restaurant, the Wen family would surely find out gradually, and the matter could not be concealed. As long as the Wen family did not come to cause trouble and were having their meal normally, she should ignore them and just treat them as ordinary customers.
So Wen asked calmly, "What would you like to eat, sir?"
Wen Yunling smiled sweetly, "Aunt, just help me order, I trust you."
Wen nodded and ordered a custard bun and a bowl of fish porridge for Wen Yunling.
The fish porridge made by Yu Niang is delicious and warms the stomach, and many people order it for breakfast.
Now Yu Niang uses seven or eight small stoves to cook fish porridge at the same time, and now there are eight servings of fish porridge ready to eat.
After paying the money, Wen Yunling went to find a seat to sit down. The person sharing the table with her was a neatly dressed woman. Wen Yunling glanced at her but didn't say anything. If it was at Donglai Ju, no one would be willing to share the table with her. It was indeed a small restaurant that was not presentable.
Soon, the custard buns and sashimi fish porridge were served.
Wen Yunling picked up a custard bun casually and was stunned when she took a bite.
So delicious...
Like the other diners in the restaurant, she could no longer think of anything else and focused on eating.
She finished two custard buns in one breath and started drinking porridge.
The porridge is also thick and delicious, the fish slices are very tender, and there is no fishy smell at all.
Wen Yunling usually doesn't have a big appetite, but after finishing a whole pot of fish porridge, she felt a little full.
She sat in her seat in a daze for a while.
After a while, Wen Yunling went to look for Wen, "Aunt, can I meet Fourth Sister-in-law?"
Wen said calmly, "Mrs. Yu is very busy and has no time to see you. Please don't disturb her. Come back quickly after eating. I still have other guests to entertain."
Wen Yunling pursed her lips, but didn't get angry. She turned and left.
She returned to the Wen family, still a little dazed, and said to Yue, "Mother, the food made by Fourth Sister-in-law is indeed delicious. The food at Donglaiju cannot be compared with that made by Fourth Sister-in-law. It is even more delicious than the food at Jixianglou in the capital." It was the most delicious food she had ever tasted.
Wen Yunling knew clearly that Donglaiju's customer flow was not greatly affected at present. That was because Xuji Restaurant was a small restaurant and could only receive a limited number of customers. Therefore, Donglaiju's customer flow was not particularly affected, but there was still some loss of customers.
Affected are Jinyuan Restaurant and Ping'an Restaurant in West Street Market.
Yue was surprised and asked, "Is it really that delicious?"
Wen Yunling nodded.
No, she must talk to her fourth sister-in-law.
In the evening, Wen Yunling went to Xu's Restaurant for dinner.
She ordered butter rice and hand-pulled lamb chops.
It tastes better than breakfast.
After dinner, Wen Yunling knew that she would not be able to see her fourth sister-in-law if she stayed here, so she went to Pei's house in Guihua Lane, intending to wait for her fourth sister-in-law to come back and talk to her in detail.
She really wanted to open a restaurant and make a lot of money.
In fact, she knew what her grandparents were thinking. They wanted her to return to Beijing, maybe even become the new emperor's concubine.
She would also like to enter the palace and enjoy wealth and glory, but when she thought about it carefully, there was no possibility for the Wen family to return to Beijing. She thought that since she could not return to Beijing, it would be nice to stay in the border town to earn more money and become a wealthy country squire.
That's why he wanted to find a chef to open a restaurant in a hurry.
Wen Yunling came to the Pei family in Guihua Lane and knocked on the door. Soon someone came to open the door. It was Aunt Gui.
Wen Yunling was startled, but she saw that Aunt Gui looked very good, with a rosy complexion and her hair was not so white anymore. She did not look like a tuberculosis patient at all.
"Aunt Gui..." Wen Yunling called out subconsciously.
Gui asked calmly, "Why is Sister Ling here?"
"Has Aunt Gui's tuberculosis healed?" Wen Yunling frowned. She still felt that something was not right about Aunt Gui having tuberculosis.
Gui said, "Maybe it's because I live here and eat well that my illness has healed. Or maybe those two doctors made a mistake in their diagnosis. I am indeed fine now and in great health."
Wen Yunling was a little angry, but she had come to ask for something today, so she couldn't show her displeasure. She said directly, "Auntie Gui, I have something to ask Fourth Sister-in-law. Can you let me in and wait for her?"
Gui did not refuse and let Wen Yunling in.
This was also what Yu Niang had told me before.
He said that if the Wen family came to visit, they were welcome to come in as long as their attitude was acceptable.
If the attitude is bad, just kick them out.
Wen Yunling entered the yard and found Ning Jie'er there too.
Pei Jianing didn't like Wen Yunling, but her fourth sister-in-law said that when you come to someone's house, you are a guest. She suppressed her dislike for Wen Yunling and even made tea for her.
Wen Yunling didn't expect Sister Ning to be so nice to her, and couldn't help but say thank you.
Sister Ning ignored Wen Yunling and went back to her room.
Wen Yunling waited for more than an hour before seeing Xu Qinyu coming back.
Only Xu Qinyu was here. She must have come back after finishing her evening meal. Seeing the sweat on her forehead, it must be very hard work for her to be a chef.
Xu Qinyu was not surprised to see Wen Yunling. She had already heard from Cheng Ge'er that she wanted to open a restaurant.
"What's the matter?" Xu Qinyu asked.
Wen Yunling got straight to the point and said, "I do have some business with you, Fourth Sister-in-law. Don't you think your current restaurant is a little small? If you're willing, I can open a restaurant even bigger than Donglaiju, just like the Jixianglou in the capital, and have you be the head chef. I know you're a great cook, so how about not paying you wages and giving you 10% of the restaurant's profits?"
A restaurant as big as Jixianglou, even if it makes 10% of the profit every month, is almost several hundred or even a thousand taels of silver, which is definitely better than a small restaurant like this.
She knew in her heart that if she really offered the same salary as other shopkeepers, twenty or thirty taels of silver a month, it would definitely not attract her fourth sister-in-law.
Knowing Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking skills, she also sincerely offered her chips.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Do you want to challenge Donglaiju?"
Donglaiju is currently the largest restaurant in Yuanbao Town. Even if she earns enough money to open a restaurant in the future, she will open one in Raozhou City. There are many restaurants in Raozhou City that are similar in size to Donglaiju.
But there is only one such restaurant in Yuanbao Town.
Then why has Donglaiju been able to stand firm in Yuanbao Town for so long, and no other restaurant can shake its position?
That must be because Donglaiju is the local tyrant in Yuanbao Town.
As long as no one comes to compete with it, Donglai Ju won’t care about anything.
Even if Xuji Restaurant is doing good business, Donglaiju has no intention of doing anything about it, because in Donglaiju's view, a small restaurant like Xuji Restaurant is nothing. At most, the number of customers at Donglaiju will be slightly less, which will not have much impact.
Wen Yunling frowned, "What does it have to do with me opening a restaurant? It's all based on our own abilities."
Xu Qinyu said, "I'm sorry, I don't agree. I think my own small restaurant is fine. I don't plan to open a big restaurant for the time being."
She couldn't become fat by eating all at once, and her small restaurant would be envied. She had to be on guard every day, fearing that someone would cause trouble. Fortunately, Xu Kongmu came to have dinner a few days ago, and no one dared to cause trouble for the time being.
You know, even in modern restaurants, it is common for two store owners to fight.
Or it could be those food stalls on the street where two businesses are trying to take over from each other. To put it bluntly, whoever is doing good business will inevitably be envied. This is true no matter what business you run.
Wen Yunling was furious, "Are you stupid? You're wasting your talent by opening a small restaurant instead of a big restaurant."
"No need." Xu Qinyu still shook her head. "Miss Wen, please go back. I won't be working as a chef in your restaurant. I just want to keep my own Xu's Restaurant."
I want to open branches of Xu Ji Restaurant all over the country in the future.
Wen Yunling was so angry that she refused to listen to her advice. She wanted to mock her, but she saw the black leopard Zheng squatting on the ground not far away, looking at her deeply, as if it was going to pounce on her if she made any movement.
Wen Yun was so overwhelmed by the spiritual energy that he finally had no choice but to leave.
Leaving behind a sentence, "I have never seen such a fool!"
In Xu Qinyu's eyes, Wen Yunling was not only spoiled and domineering, but also very stupid.
If you actually think about challenging Donglaiju, you'll probably lose miserably.
After Wen Yunling returned, she talked about it with Yue.
Yue said: "She has no vision and doesn't want to open a big restaurant. Just ignore her. Since Sister Ling wants to open a restaurant, let's go to Raozhou City and invite that famous chef. Sister Ling can open it herself. Mother has some private money, enough for you to use." Otherwise, with the stingy look of her father-in-law, he would definitely not be willing to spend money to help Sister Ling open a restaurant.
As for Aunt Gui, neither of them took it seriously and didn't take it to heart.
Wen Yunling originally thought that if Aunt Gui was still in the Wen family, she could still use Aunt Gui to force her fourth sister-in-law. Now that Aunt Gui is no longer in the Wen family, she really has no way out.
All she wanted was a cook. Since her mother said there was a famous chef in Raozhou City, she would go to Raozhou City in a few days to take a look and invite the famous chef to be the chef for her restaurant.
——————
By early June, the weather was getting warmer and the snails in sauce became popular in restaurants.
In addition to the snails in sauce, Xu Qinyu also had prawns in sauce.
The big river shrimps used are the kind specially used to make shrimp dumplings. They are cooked whole and marinated in the prepared sauce for half an hour before being eaten.
The seasoning for the prawns in sauce is different from that for the snails in sauce, and the taste is also slightly different.
Xu Qinyu doesn't like to make ingredients that are eaten in the same way have the same taste. To her, snails have the chewiness of snails, and prawns have the elasticity and freshness of prawns. Their flavors are different, and they go well with different sauces.
This dish of prawns in sauce is as popular as the snails in sauce and is a must-order for almost every table.
As the weather gets a little warmer, fewer diners order hand-pulled lamb chops. Even though mung bean soup is given as a gift, it is still very hot to eat it in hot weather.
As the weather gets warmer, Xu Qinyu cooks a pot of sour plum soup every day in addition to soy milk tea and mung bean soup.
It is made by boiling black plums, hawthorn slices, hay, tangerine peel and rock sugar.
The cooked sour plum soup is red and cool in color, sweet and sour and refreshing, with a particularly rich flavor, and is very appetizing to drink.
Because the weather was not particularly hot yet, no ice was added to the sour plum soup. After it was cooked, it was hung directly in the well with a rope for an hour. It tasted cool when you drank it, which was so comfortable.
This sour plum soup is also sold for eight cents a bowl. Because the ingredients are real and the black plums are candied fruits, the price is not cheap.
Even though it was sold for eight cents, there were still many customers ordering at dusk. Sometimes Xu Qinyu didn't even have enough to leave for the people in her restaurant.
Xu Ji Restaurant not only has prawns in sauce and sour plum soup, but also a roujiamo for breakfast, which is the roujiamo that Xu Qinyu used to sell at the pier, with fried eggs, braised pork intestines, radish, and hot and sour cabbage added to it.
However, this breakfast was prepared by Cheng Ge'er, and it was still sold at eight cents each.
It is sold at the entrance of restaurants every morning, which is convenient for customers who don’t have time to sit in the store for breakfast. They can be taken away in a package wrapped in oil paper and paired with a glass of soy milk, which is very comfortable to eat.
The soy milk can be poured directly into the water bag and taken away, which is quite convenient.
Now you don’t need to add ice to drinks, but when the hottest season comes in July and August, you will definitely need to add ice. At that time, the price of drinks will increase, after all, edible ice is not cheap.
After a few days, there were suddenly fewer customers in the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu didn't know what was going on.
She knew that Wen Yunling was tinkering with the restaurant.
After hearing Cheng Ge'er say that the location has been chosen, Wen Yunling specially went to Raozhou City to find a famous chef to open a restaurant. The restaurant is near the East Street Market, but it is still under renovation. It will take at least one or two months to open for business. It is a three-story restaurant, and it is not easy to renovate it. It will take at least two months before it can open.
So it is impossible that Wen Yunling’s restaurant took away her business.
Fortunately, Xu Qinyu soon found out what was going on.
That day, just after breakfast, when she had a chance to rest, Wen came to the kitchen and said worriedly, "Yu Niang, I just heard from the diners in the front hall that many people outside are saying that a family member has tuberculosis, but instead of sending them to the hospital for treatment, they are saying that if they continue to eat in our restaurant, they might catch tuberculosis themselves. They must be talking about your grandmother Gui, but how would outsiders know about this? Besides, your grandmother doesn't really have tuberculosis. Do you think Sister Ling ran into your grandmother when she went to Guihua Lane to look for you? But she saw your grandmother and she didn't look like she had tuberculosis at all. Why are they spreading the news? Are they trying to target our business?"
Xu Qinyu frowned, "It's not Wen Yunling."
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