When Wen heard what Yu Niang said, she was stunned for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Why did Yu Niang think it wasn't Sister Ling?"
Xu Qinyu said, "The time is wrong."
It's not that she was speaking for Wen Yunling, nor that she thought Wen Yunling was so good, but that the timing of the rumor was wrong.
It had been almost a month since Wen Yunling last ran into her grandmother Gui. If Wen Yunling really wanted to spread the news, she should have done so then. Even if she didn't spread it then, it shouldn't be now. She should at least wait until Wen Yunling's restaurant opened. This would be beneficial to Wen Yunling, so she intuitively felt that it was not Wen Yunling who spread the news.
As to whether it was someone else from the Wen family, she couldn't be sure, but she vaguely felt that it was not the case, and that the timing was just not right.
Her business has been getting better and better recently. Even if there is no other food for breakfast, she would rather buy two roujiamo at the door and take them with her to eat, and is unwilling to eat anywhere else. She must have been envied by other restaurants, hotels and snack stalls.
Apart from the Wen family, only the Wen family knew about my grandmother Gui's affairs.
The Wen family probably now just thinks that Gui has recovered and doesn't know that she is faking illness.
Everyone in the family knew that Gui did not have tuberculosis at all, and Wen and Ning Jie'er were definitely not gossipers, so how could they say such things outside?
Even if only Aunt Bai knew the inside story on Cheng Ge'er's side, Aunt Bai would not tell anyone else about it. Although Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er were still teenagers, after spending a few months with them, Xu Qinyu knew that the two brothers were very tight-lipped. Tao Jie'er stayed with Ning Jie'er all day and never visited other neighbors in Guihua Lane.
After all, it was definitely not told to our family or Cheng Ge'er.
Xu Qinyu frowned.
If it wasn't someone from my family or the third branch, then who could it be?
But I am definitely closer to my family, at least I come into contact with them every day.
She asked, "Mom, have you talked about Grandma recently at the restaurant, or heard Cheng Ge'er and the others mention it?"
The only possibility is that it spread from the restaurant.
Mrs. Wen thought about it, her heart skipping a beat. "Didn't Sister Ling come to the restaurant to look for you a month ago? After she finished eating, she said she wanted to see you. I said you were busy in the kitchen and asked her to go back. Then she asked how Aunt Gui was doing. Didn't she have tuberculosis? She was feeling better. There were no such things. I was afraid people would hear, so I lowered my voice and said your grandmother was well. She didn't say anything, just nodded and left. It was breakfast time, and there were many customers around. Did the news get out then? If that's the case, it's all my fault..."
Xu Qinyu still felt something was wrong. If the news had really spread a month ago, why were the restaurant's customers only now unwilling to come after hearing about it?
She said, "It's okay, mother, don't worry. This isn't urgent. I heard someone in our family has contracted tuberculosis from overwork lately. This rumor is clearly spread with ulterior motives, and it seems that the person spread it deliberately, specifically targeting our business. This matter is easy to resolve. We'll bring Grandmother and Sister Ning here tomorrow. Brother Feng and Sister Yan are also coming to the restaurant. I'll make some evening snacks for everyone, and then Sister Ning will take them for a walk."
Tuberculosis is indeed scary, but there is no real patient in her family. As long as it is clarified and spread, everything will be fine.
When Wen heard this, she felt a little relieved.
…
Wen Yunling also heard about this and scoffed. After returning, she told her mother-in-law about it, "Could it be that Concubine Gui didn't have tuberculosis and deliberately lied to us? Now that this matter has spread, it can be considered retribution for them."
Mrs. Yue nodded. "That's true. You can't blame anyone else. But if this was really done by another restaurant, that's really stupid. It's just a rumor. Once they invite Concubine Gui to stay in the restaurant for a couple of days, the rumor will be self-defeating. It won't have any impact at all."
After saying this, Yue asked again, "Sister Ling, how is the decoration of your restaurant going?"
Wen Yunling couldn't hide the joy on her face. "It's still under renovation. I plan to decorate it according to the decoration of Jixiang Building."
If the tallest shop in Yuanbao Town was only three stories high, she would have wanted to find a six-story shop with eight or nine rooms to use as a restaurant, but now she can only make do with this.
Yue said, "Don't worry about your fourth sister-in-law. Just manage your restaurant well and make a lot of money in the future."
Wen Yunling nodded, "Mom, I'll save it."
She and her mother had personally gone to Raozhou City to hire a chef. Having tasted his cooking, she found it quite good. She offered him a salary of twenty taels of silver per month, but Wen Yunling was still a little dissatisfied. She knew that even the chef hired from Raozhou City couldn't match her fourth sister-in-law's skills, not even the chef at Jixiang Restaurant. The chef she had hired was at best on par with the chef at Donglai Restaurant, and she still preferred her fourth sister-in-law.
Fourth sister-in-law’s cooking skills...
Wen Yunling swallowed her saliva. She wanted to go to Xu Ji Restaurant for breakfast and dinner.
In fact, no one in the family has ever tasted Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking.
However, when my grandparents found out that my fourth sister-in-law had opened a restaurant, they scolded my second aunt, saying that she was unfilial and that she didn't send them any food even though her daughter-in-law was a good cook.
…
The next day at dinner time, Sister Ning led Aunt Gui, Brother Feng and Sister Yan to the restaurant.
She had already heard about the recent rumors at the market and was very angry.
After Gui knew about it, she blamed herself even more.
On the way, I ran into other neighbors from Guihua Lane, and they couldn't help but ask, "Sister Ning, where are you going?"
The neighbors all knew Ning Jie'er and liked her very much.
Ning Jieer smiled and said, "Take my grandmother to the restaurant for dinner."
The neighbors had also heard about the rumors about the West Street Market, but they all lived in Guihua Lane. They knew whether there were any patients in Miss Xu's family. The whole family had rosy complexions. Even the old lady who had just returned a few months ago, although she was skinny and looked haggard, was in good health after being cared for for for so long.
The neighbors comforted Ning Jie'er and Gui.
"Sister Ning and the old lady, don't take it to heart. Just go out for a walk and let those people see it with their own eyes."
"That's right. They even said there was a tuberculosis patient at Miss Xu's house. That's hilarious. We've been buying fish and meat from Miss Xu for over six months, and nothing's happened. I think someone is jealous of Xu's restaurant's success and is deliberately trying to do something bad."
"That's right. Who is so mean? When we go buy fish tonight, follow the people around us and tell them about it. Don't believe everything. Otherwise, Xu Ji Restaurant has been open for a month and a half, and everyone is doing well."
"That's right, Mrs. Ning, please go over first. We'll line up to buy fish when the time comes."
Pei Jianing and Gui felt warm in their hearts when they saw that the neighbors were speaking up for their family.
Pei Jianing knew very well that this was a good relationship that was created by his fourth sister-in-law.
Ning Jie'er and Gui Shi took their two children to Xu Ji Restaurant.
In the past, there would be people queuing up at dinner time, but now there is not much people queuing up, but there are already customers sitting in the restaurant's living room.
Seeing her son, daughter, granddaughter, and mother coming over, Wen quickly came over and arranged a seat for them by the window. "Ning Jie'er, mother, please take a seat first. Yu Niang said she has prepared squirrel mandarin fish for you. After you finish eating, you can go out for a walk."
Pei Jianing nodded and quietly watched the people coming and going in the market outside.
Gui rarely went out, so she felt a little awkward at the moment.
Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er sat there obediently.
About a quarter of an hour later, Chen came over with a dish that had a head held high and a tail curled up, and was bright in color. Not only that, it was also fresh and fragrant, with a sweet and sour taste filling the restaurant.
The table where Gui and Ning Jie'er were served was the first to be served.
The other customers couldn't help but ask, "Boss, waiter, what kind of dish is this? Why haven't I seen anyone order it before? Is this a new dish in the restaurant?"
Chen said loudly, "It is indeed a new dish, but it is not new to the restaurant. Our Miss Xu made it specially for her grandmother, sister-in-law, uncle, and niece. It is called Squirrel Fish. It tastes sweet and sour and is more suitable for the elderly and children. Our Miss Xu's whole family is here. Don't let anyone say that there are patients with tuberculosis in Miss Xu's family. Look at everyone's complexion, do they look like they have tuberculosis? This is really nonsense. I'm afraid someone is jealous of our restaurant's good business and probably made up a rumor. Miss Xu also said that she would invite her family to the restaurant for everyone to see openly. If anyone else says nonsense, we will report it to the police."
Just as the words "report to the police" were uttered, there was a loud bang, like the sound of a plate or porcelain hitting the ground.
Chen turned around and saw that it was Sun, another waitress in the restaurant.
Sun was carrying a few small empty plates to the kitchen to wash them, but she accidentally slipped and dropped the plates.
This small porcelain plate is for pickled vegetables.
For guests having dinner in the evening, each table will be given two plates of pickled vegetables. Some people have already finished both plates of pickled vegetables before the dishes are served.
So Sun was carrying the empty plates of pickled vegetables from several tables back to the backyard.
Chen couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, are you okay?"
Among the three waiters, Sun is the oldest.
Sun said hurriedly, "It's okay, it's okay. My hand slipped and I'll sweep the porcelain pieces away. Don't come over here yet, lest you get hurt."
Her face was a little pale, and I didn't know if it was because she was scared by dropping the disc or for some other reason.
Sun quickly swept away the broken plates and mopped the floor.
Chen is not familiar with Sun, but she is more familiar with Yuan.
Chen lived in Laixi Lane and Yuan lived in Guihua Lane. The two were quite familiar with each other and were both chosen by Xia's sister-in-law Wu Wan to help Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu couldn't find anyone to take the waiter position, so she randomly picked one from the list of women who applied for the waiter position. Sun was relatively tall and looked strong, so Xu Qinyu chose her. Sun was indeed very diligent in her work and never cheated or played tricks. This was the first time she had dropped a plate.
When they arrived at the kitchen, Xu Qinyu knew that she had dropped the plate but didn't say anything. She just asked Wen to keep a record of the account and compensate her according to the purchase price of the plate, which would be deducted from her salary at the end of the month.
Although this small plate is not expensive, only two cents each, it is also the rule that broken utensils must be compensated according to the price.
Sun hurriedly nodded and said yes.
Chen didn't take Sun's throwing of the plate seriously, and even told the diners in the front living room that the host was unlucky and had been slandered.
"When our host's grandmother was brought home a few days ago, she wasn't in good health. But after a few months of care, look at her now healthy and strong. If she really had tuberculosis, would she look like this?"
The diners nodded in agreement, "Exactly. It's shameful to resort to such despicable tactics in order to have an open and honest competition."
It's easy to guess that it's caused by the competition in business. Many of these diners are businessmen, so they naturally understand this.
One diner laughed and said, "But there are also benefits. Some people really believed this rumor. But if they come here to eat, they don't have to queue, and we can relax a little."
"Hahahaha, but it's of no benefit to the boss. The boss won't make any money without business."
The diners were chatting and laughing, and they also planned to help the restaurant clarify the matter in the future, otherwise Xu Ji Restaurant would really be closed down. Where would they go to eat such delicious food in the future?
Chen has a loud voice to help talk, and she helps to talk when diners come.
There were also neighbors who were queuing up chatting at the door, saying that they had been buying fish balls from Miss Xu's house for more than half a year, and that they felt healthier after eating them. They didn't know where they heard these messy rumors. They also said that Miss Xu's restaurant had been open for more than a month, and diners had been eating there for so long, so if there was really tuberculosis, it would have spread long ago.
It was heard by quite a few people.
Sure enough, within a few days, Xu Ji Restaurant's business picked up again.
In fact, business was still pretty good when the rumors were spreading. Xu Qinyu would be busy for more than an hour whether it was breakfast or dinner. Now business is even better and people have to line up again.
Another major reason is that these diners who believed the rumors went to other restaurants and found that they still missed the food at Xu Ji Restaurant because the taste was so different, so they all ran back to Xu Ji Restaurant to eat.
…
Xu Ji Restaurant's business was going on as usual. Xu Qinyu still took two days off every month. Later, she decided to take days off at the beginning and middle of each month, and all the restaurant employees took a day off.
Even in the past two days, Xu Qinyu didn't have to prepare fat-reducing meals for Yang Zhizhi.
Soon it was mid-June, the time when Xu's Restaurant was closed.
When Xu Qinyu rested, she really rested. She didn't dare to do anything. When she couldn't sleep, she would lie in bed and stare blankly, or think about recipes.
Wen also wanted to let Yu Niang rest and sleep for twelve hours a day. If Yu Niang hadn't refused, she would have wanted to bring breakfast and dinner to her bedside for her to eat.
Every time Xu Qinyu takes a break, many diners would sigh. These diners are already loyal customers of Xu Ji Restaurant. They basically have a meal there every day, either breakfast or dinner.
When Xu Ji is closed, they can only eat somewhere else or at home.
Unexpectedly, when Xu Ji Restaurant was closed that day, Ping An Restaurant on West Street also started selling custard buns, glutinous rice intestines and raw fish porridge for breakfast.
However, the custard buns and glutinous rice intestines at Ping'an Restaurant are not served in small baskets like those at Xu's Restaurant. They are all placed in a large steamer, with the bottom layer being glutinous rice intestines and the top layer being custard buns. The fish porridge is also cooked in a whole pot.
And the price is cheap.
Custard buns cost two cents each, glutinous rice and pork intestines cost three cents each, and a bowl of raw fish porridge cost only four cents.
Therefore, there are quite a few diners going there to eat.
As the diners entered, the female owner of Ping An Restaurant said frankly, "It's indeed modeled after Xu's restaurant. The taste probably isn't as good as Xu's, but it's cheaper. Regardless of whether you enjoyed your meal or not, I've been frank with you. If you think the breakfast here isn't as good as Xu's, you can go back to Xu's another day."
She said this very clearly, and the diners naturally understood.
After trying it, I realized the food wasn't even half as good as Xu Ji Restaurant, but it was cheaper. Xu Ji Restaurant's custard buns were five cents each, but here they were two cents each, and they were even bigger. The glutinous rice and pork intestines and fish congee both had a strong, fishy smell. I just wanted to drink water after finishing them, and I didn't feel very good. I'm planning not to come back tomorrow.
However, because Xu Ji Restaurant was closed today, Ping An Restaurant launched several breakfast dishes similar to Xu Ji Restaurant, and they were bought out by customers who wanted to try something new.
But without exception, any customer who has eaten breakfast at Xu Ji Restaurant cannot help but say when leaving, "Boss, even if your Ping'an Restaurant imitates Xu Ji Restaurant's breakfast, the taste should at least be somewhat similar. Your custard buns are too sweet, and the milk flavor is not right. And the glutinous rice pork intestines taste a bit fishy. The fish fillet porridge, the fish fillets are cut too thick, and the fish smells fishy, and not tender at all. "After saying this, they are willing to leave.
The female shopkeeper smiled and said that things would improve, but she was actually resentful of Xu's Restaurant in her heart.
…
The back house of the county government office.
The maid Chunhong happily returned to the west wing carrying several food boxes.
The west wing is where Yang Zhizhi lives. Today, Xu's Restaurant is closed, so she didn't go out to eat. She asked Chunhong to buy some food for her.
Xu's restaurant was closed, and Qinyu was exhausted every day. Yang Zhizhi was now a close friend of Qinyu's, and knowing how exhausted she was, she couldn't bear to cook breakfast and dinner for her during her rest days, hoping that Qinyu could get some rest. Fortunately, it only lasted two days a month, and Qinyu said she could eat whatever she wanted on those two days, but she just had to avoid eating after the evening hour.
But Yang Zhizhi couldn't eat the food from other restaurants.
When Xu Ji Restaurant closed for the first time, she asked Chunhong to go to Donglai Ju to pack up the dishes she usually ate. She found that she couldn't eat them at all. The taste was too strong and it was not the taste of the ingredients themselves. The food made by Qinyu basically gave off the original taste of the ingredients.
So during the few times that Xu's Restaurant was closed, she didn't feel like eating much.
She has been losing weight for two months. Except for the first month when she weighed herself once every three to five days, she rarely weighed herself afterwards because she found it too troublesome.
The main reason was that weighing was too troublesome, so she measured her waist and legs, and found that both her waist and leg circumferences were getting smaller.
For more than two months, her family members who saw her every day couldn't tell whether she had lost weight or not. But a few days ago, her grandmother came over and said that she looked a lot thinner and her clothes were much looser on her.
She planned to wait for Chunhong to buy her breakfast and ask Chunhong to help her weigh it.
As soon as Chunhong came back, she said happily, "Miss, guess what breakfast I bought for you?"
Yang Zhizhi lay on the square table, resting her chubby face on it, looking a little listless. "Food from Donglaiju? Qinyu is closed today, and I don't really feel like eating anything."
Chunhong immediately smiled and said, "Of course not. I bought custard buns, glutinous rice and pork intestines, and fish porridge."
Yang Zhizhi suddenly raised her face from the table and asked, "Qinyu opened the store today?"
"No." Chunhong said, "I bought it at Ping'an Restaurant. This morning I went to West Street to see if there was anything to eat. I saw that Ping'an Restaurant was also selling custard buns, so I bought some. Come and try it, girl."
Yang Zhizhi immediately opened the food box. She didn't want to eat it, but also wanted to see how Ping'an Restaurant had the courage to imitate Qinyu's food.
She didn't care about anything and picked up a custard bun to taste it. The texture was not right and it was not soft at all.
When I put it in my mouth, the dough had no milky fragrance and was not soft. I took a bite but didn't taste the filling yet. When I tasted the filling, my face turned a little green. It was too sweet. It should be the filling made by boiling sugar and egg yolks. It also had a bit of fishy smell of egg yolks. The filling was also dry.
I tried the glutinous rice and pork intestines, but they also didn’t taste right.
The fish porridge was even worse.
Yang Zhizhi took a bite and refused to eat any more, saying angrily, "What's the point of Ping'an Restaurant? Even if they want to imitate Xu's restaurant, they should at least make it more delicious. This tastes like a mess. Even if they sell it cheap, Xu's reputation might be affected."
Chunhong also picked up the food that the girl didn't eat and tasted it, then frowned.
She had also eaten at Xu's Restaurant, and the food was really not that good.
Yang Zhizhi was a little angry, but helpless. It was indeed impossible to say that other restaurants could not make or sell Xu Ji Restaurant's food.
She was so angry that she even lost the mood to weigh herself and wanted to tell Qinyu.
But considering that my friend is resting, I decided not to talk about such a depressing thing.
Xu Qinyu didn't find out until the next day. A guest told Chen and the others when they came for breakfast, and Chen and the others went to the kitchen to tell Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu just smiled and said, "It's okay, no need to make a fuss. It's very common to follow food trends. Diners say their restaurant doesn't taste good and don't want to go there again. There's nothing to worry about. Let's continue to do our own thing."
Chen said angrily, "But this is too much."
Xu Qinyu smiled, but her heart sank.
It is indeed normal for people to imitate others in making food. The only abnormal thing is that there really is an internal thief in Xu Ji Restaurant.
Even if you are imitating others to eat, you should know how to eat it.
Fish porridge and glutinous rice and pork intestines are okay. You probably know how to make them after having eaten and seen them. The only difference is the recipe and ingredients. But custard buns are different. You can’t know how to make the filling of custard buns just by having eaten them. At least you have seen how she prepares the filling.
But it is not ruled out that some great chefs can tell what ingredients and seasonings are in the food just by tasting it.
She just thought that the chef in Ping'an Restaurant shouldn't be that good. If he really had such a taste, he must be a world-famous chef.
So it is very likely that they have discovered the thief.
Even if it was an internal thief, some could be ruled out. Cheng Ge'er was already her apprentice, so there was no way he would sell the custard bun recipe to anyone else. Gong Ge'er was also out of the question; he was a careless child and could see through anyone's thoughts at a glance. Besides, they had been together for so long, and their character could be seen through. Wen Shi was even less likely. So the only ones left were the three waitresses.
Xu Qinyu couldn't figure out who it was for a moment, and just glanced at Chen, Yuan and Sun.
The three of them were chatting and laughing while washing pots and pans. Chen's voice was still as loud as before, Yuan didn't like to talk and just smiled, and Sun was not as open as Chen and didn't speak actively, only responding to Chen occasionally.
She thought about it, called Cheng Ge'er over, and whispered a few words in his ear.
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