Pei Yao asked in surprise, "Brother Qingshan, Brother Erdan, what brings you here?"
Erdan walked over, still covered in sweat, looking like he had been traveling without much rest.
When Erdan saw Pei Yao, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly told her the purpose of his visit.
Erdan said that he had just driven an oxcart from the town to Liangshui Town to find Pei Yao, but after arriving, he realized that he did not know where Pei Yao lived, so he had to go to Niu Qingshan to bring him over.
"Is there something you need?" Pei Yao asked, standing up.
Erdan was just about to speak when he noticed that Pei Yao's table was still set with dishes. Now, because of his and Niu Qingshan's interruption, everyone put down their chopsticks and looked in his direction.
Somewhat embarrassed, he asked, "Yao-mei, did I disturb your meal?"
Pei Yao shook her head: "It's nothing. You go first. You must have something urgent to tell me since you came all this way."
Yunniang went to the kitchen, got two bowls, and poured him a bowl of water to drink.
Erdan gratefully took the water, drank it all in one gulp, and continued:
"Here's the thing, the spicy snails you delivered this morning, along with the sea urchins grilled on the barbecue grill and the garlic vermicelli scallops, sold out immediately at the store."
The customers who had lunch were still clamoring to eat there again at dinner time. Some even wanted to pack another portion to take home or bring to their friends.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly told me to come find you before dark, saying that the previous order was too small and he wanted to order more from you.
Erdan rattled off a whole bunch of things in one breath, but Pei Yao quickly got it all sorted out.
Slightly surprised, he calmly picked up a yellow stone that could be used to write colors from the ground beside him, then found a piece of wood and asked calmly, "Brother Erdan, how many kilograms do you need tomorrow? I'll write it down."
Erdan glanced at the wooden board in her hand and laughed, "The shopkeeper said he also wants 100 catties of spicy snails, 50 catties of sea urchins, and 150 catties of scallops. Here is a deposit of one tael of silver."
After Erdan finished speaking, he immediately took out one tael of silver and gave it to Pei Yao.
Pei Yao took the silver and wrote down the amount they wanted on the wooden board.
The rest of the family were shocked, their mouths agape. They had thought that Manager Qian had already ordered enough, but they hadn't expected him to add so much more.
However, because there were outsiders present, no one showed it, but everyone's face was filled with undisguised joy.
Manager Qian had ordered less goods earlier, and he had also given Pei Yao more money, so he didn't collect the deposit at that time.
This time, Erdan brought a deposit with him.
Pei Yao accepted the order. Her family had received a lot of seafood this afternoon, enough to cover the amount the shopkeeper had ordered.
There won't be enough stalls for tomorrow.
That's good though, tomorrow I'll probably be busy enough with just this one order from Manager Qian.
But Pei Yao was very curious about how Qian Zhangui had managed to make the spicy snails so famous all at once.
To sell so many in just one day is honestly a bit too exaggerated.
Pei Yao thought this, and then asked it aloud.
Erdan was currently bursting with enthusiasm: "The shopkeeper heard you mention giving away some freebies at the entrance, and since these spicy snails are so sour and appetizing, he decided to just put out a small portion of them and give them away at the entrance, giving every customer a small dish of snails..."
Erdan vividly described the scene to everyone in the courtyard, his voice filled with passion.
Shopkeeper Qian took the spicy snails outside and gave them away for free. Although the people who came to eat were all wealthy, the mentality of taking advantage of small things happened equally to everyone.
So people gradually came to try it, thinking that it was free to try, so why not?
The weather in Lingnan is already unbearably hot, and these people still had little appetite when they arrived at the restaurant.
I tried the spicy snails and they were very sour and spicy, which was very appetizing. They were also icy cold when I ate them, which instantly relieved the heat I had just felt.
After finishing this small dish of spicy snails, those people were not only hungry, but also felt that they hadn't had enough of the snails.
They all went to Deyun Restaurant for dinner, and every table ordered spicy snails, as well as grilled scallops and sea urchins that were grilled to a very crispy perfection at the entrance.
By evening, word spread among those who had eaten at noon, and everyone came over wanting to eat spicy snails.
However, the spicy snails had already sold out, so Manager Qian could only comfort them and tell them to come back tomorrow, where there would be plenty to go around.
But since we were already here, and they didn't have spicy snails, we couldn't just go to another restaurant, so we ordered other dishes. Then we fell in love with Pei Yao's two dishes: steamed sea bass with egg and clams stuffed with shrimp paste.
Manager Qian then realized what was happening and told Erdan to go find Pei Yao immediately.
Although he didn't know where Pei Yao lived, they all knew Niu Qingshan, which is why Niu Qingshan brought Erdan to find Pei Yao.
Pei Yao was very excited to hear this. Heavens, she never expected that Manager Qian was so clever. She had just casually mentioned him and he had used it so well and so brilliantly.
This guy isn't cut out for business.
In that case, she won't have to worry about selling her seafood; it's practically on the verge of selling like hotcakes!
After Erdan finished speaking, Pei Yao and the others quickly invited him and Niu Qingshan to stay at their home for a meal before leaving.
Niu Qingshan shook his head: "No need, my grandma has already cooked dinner and is waiting for Erdan to come over for dinner."
"Okay, I'll come again next time if I have the chance," Pei Yao said awkwardly.
After the two finished saying goodbye, they were about to leave when Pei Yao suddenly remembered something and quickly called them back. Then she wrapped a packet of cold seaweed salad in two banana leaves and gave it to Erdan.
Erdan stared at the glistening, green strands, too finely cut to immediately identify them. "What is this?"
"I recently developed a new recipe for cold seaweed salad. It's crisp and refreshing, and tastes great. You should try it when you eat later and see how it is." Pei Yao handed her the packaged seaweed salad.
Then he continued, "By the way, Brother Erdan, I just heard you say that some customers wanted to take the leftovers home after they finished eating, is that right?"
Erdan nodded: "Yes."
“When we used to set up a stall, some customers would order takeout. When ordering takeout, you can use banana leaves to wrap the dishes. Because banana leaves that have been washed with water are cool and refreshing, they are perfect for wrapping cold dishes. If you wrap them thickly, the cold dishes won't get hot in the sun.”
Pei Yao shared some of her insights with Erdan, asking him to tell Manager Qian, since the success of Deyun Restaurant's spicy snails was entirely beneficial to her.
Erdan was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Great idea! I'll talk to the shopkeeper about it when I get back."
After finishing their conversation, the two of them didn't disturb the Pei family's meal any longer and hurried back to Niu Qingshan's house.
Only then did the Pei family members resume eating.
The kelp in Black Bay is particularly large; a mature piece can be almost two meters long. When Pei Yao was cooking, she only cut off a third of it, and it already filled a large bowl.
Even after sending so much to Erdan and the others, there's still a large portion left, enough for their family to eat.
During the meal, everyone praised how delicious the spicy shrimp was, but Pei Yao felt that it lacked a bit of flavor.
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