Seeing his expression, Pei Yao asked about Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang: "Uncle Qian, have you heard any news about my eldest uncle and father recently?"
Manager Qian shook his head, then frowned as he spoke: "I've asked around at every saltworks near Shangtang County, but I haven't heard of any of them having these two people..."
He seemed a little embarrassed, as he had promised to help inquire but hadn't received any news after so long.
After hearing this, Pei Yao lowered her head in silence. Her smiling face had turned somber. She wondered, how could these two living people have disappeared? The official had clearly said that they were working at the salt fields nearby. Although she hadn't had much contact with Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang, only spending the first two days after she transmigrated, she didn't have a deep affection for them.
But she remembered Yunniang and Chen Fang always gazing blankly at the distant sky in the courtyard, tears quickly streaming down their faces; Xiao Xuan'er always crying and calling for her father to come home in the middle of the night; or Pei Yao always feeling a faint sense of attachment deep in her heart whenever she thought of Pei Erlang...
She naturally had no feelings for Pei Erlang. The only explanation is that the feelings buried deep in her heart belonged to the previous Pei Yao.
Influenced by them, Pei Yao subconsciously wanted Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang to be safe and sound, and even hoped that they could return safely and reunite with their family.
After hearing what Manager Qian said, Pei Yao had no choice but to prepare for the worst.
"But don't worry too much. I'll go and inquire at a few more salt fields further away. There are also a few more remote salt fields under Shangtang County that I'll inquire about later. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."
Shopkeeper Qian comforted her, not knowing what else to say, and promised to continue helping her find people.
Upon hearing Manager Qian's words, Pei Yao composed herself and managed a polite smile, but her voice was noticeably lower.
"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Qian. Just tell me how much money you need to bribe while you're searching."
Manager Qian waved his hand: "The silver you gave me before is enough for greasers. If it's not enough, I'll talk to you again."
Pei Yao lowered her head to calm herself down. Fortunately, the upset feeling didn't affect her too much. She had felt that Manager Qian wanted to talk to her as soon as she came in.
Because normally Manager Qian would go directly to the backyard to give me the silver, it was rare for him to do it like today...
Pei Yao then asked, "Uncle Qian, did you call me here because you need to see me?"
"It's like this, Miss Pei. Our restaurant will be celebrating its 100th anniversary soon. Business wasn't good before, so we weren't planning to celebrate this year. But recently business has been booming, and the owner wants to launch a few special dishes on the 100th anniversary..."
Pei Yao listened patiently to Manager Qian's explanation and finally understood. The owner of Deyun Restaurant wanted to hold a 100th anniversary celebration and launch several signature dishes on the day of the celebration. However, the chefs in their restaurant had limited skills, which could be seen from the restaurant's business after Chef Fang left.
So Manager Qian thought of Pei Yao and recommended her to their boss.
The owner of Deyun Restaurant had heard of her since the first time Pei Yao approached Manager Qian to sell snails. Although Manager Qian was the one who managed Deyun Restaurant on a daily basis, she would periodically send a message to the owner to update him on the restaurant's situation. (In this era, there were courier services, messengers, and letter carriers who would deliver messages as quickly as possible using various methods, both land and water.)
So, after listening to what Manager Qian said, I entrusted this matter to him.
Pei Yao was still a little puzzled after hearing this. This owner was really interesting. Whether Deyun Restaurant was on the verge of bankruptcy or has now recovered, she had never met this owner before.
It's like not caring much about your own business, indifferent to whether this restaurant is good or bad...
Is this just the capriciousness of the rich? Or is their business so big that they hardly even remember this small restaurant exists?
Of course, these were all just Pei Yao's wild imaginations; only she herself knew the truth.
"Does Miss Pei have any recipes for her signature dishes? Our restaurant can buy them." After saying this, Manager Qian asked, seeing that Pei Yao seemed to be deep in thought.
Pei Yao was indeed deep in thought, and now she had found her answer. Three dishes came to mind: "Uncle Qian, have you ever heard of Kung Pao Chicken, Dongpo Pork, and Three Treasures of the Earth?"
After hearing about the three dishes, Manager Qian paused for a moment, then shook his head. He had indeed never heard of these three dishes before.
He wondered if the recipes were from the palace, passed down from the girl's maternal grandfather, who was a royal chef.
If it's something that came from inside the palace, then it's normal that I haven't heard of it before.
Pei Yao was secretly pleased; it was good that she hadn't heard of it.
He had actually just wanted to suggest Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but it takes time to make, and Deyun Restaurant would have guests later at noon, so he certainly couldn't take up too much of the kitchen's time.
Another issue is that the ingredients used in Buddha Jumps Over the Wall are all relatively expensive, and she was worried that Deyun Restaurant's ingredients might not be complete, resulting in a much worse taste, so she simply gave up on the idea.
Pei Yao acted immediately. Manager Qian had seen Pei Yao's cooking skills twice before, so he trusted her a lot and let her use the kitchen as she pleased.
Since Pei Yao planned to sell the recipes this time, she naturally couldn't let them see her process. So she asked the people from Deyun Restaurant to wait in the back room first, leaving only Niu Qingshan to help her. She also gave them the jar of lychee drink she had brought with her.
Pei Yao had originally planned to sell the recipe for the lychee drink today, so she decided to let him try it out beforehand and then sell him the recipe later.
She told Erdan how to drink the lychee drink: "Uncle Qian, the two chefs, and Brother Erdan, you can drink this lychee drink while you wait. I'll go and get busy."
After Pei Yao finished speaking, she took Niu Qingshan back to the kitchen to prepare ingredients, leaving the four of them looking at each other in the side room.
Chef Qin and Chef Liu had long been very curious about what was in the jar, and Manager Qian's curiosity had also been piqued by Pei Yao's words.
Following Pei Yao's instructions, Erdan brought cups for everyone and used a bamboo ladle to fill a cup for each person.
First, hand it to Manager Qian, then to the two head chefs.
As soon as the jar was opened, Manager Qian could smell the fresh fragrance of lychee mixed with a faint lemon scent.
The moment he got the water cup, he picked it up and took a sip. In an instant, the heat from before seemed to disappear. The lychee drink was sweet with a slight hint of fruit acidity. Compared to the sweetness of the lychee, the acidity was not obvious, but it enriched the overall taste.
In addition, it contains mint, so it's refreshingly cool and can instantly relieve the summer heat.
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