Pei Yao arrived in town early; there were still some customers having morning tea at Deyun Restaurant.
It's completely different from the deserted scene of the previous two days; they've even hired a few more waiters.
Seeing that they were busy, Pei Yao and Niu Qingshan went directly to the back door.
Niu Qingshan parked the oxcart to the side and went up to knock on the door.
Erdan opened the door. As soon as he saw Pei Yao and her brother, he immediately opened the door and made way for the oxcart to pass, saying, "Brother Qingshan, Sister Yao, come in quickly. The shopkeeper is still busy and will be here later."
Pei Yao jumped off the oxcart: "It's alright, business is the most important thing. Let Uncle Qian go ahead and do his work. We'll wait in the back."
Niu Qingshan pulled the oxcart inside and busied himself unloading the goods from it.
Pei Yao moved the four buckets of cold spicy seaweed salad to the side separately.
Because the buckets were covered with thick banana leaves, Erdan couldn't tell what they were. He asked curiously, "Sister Yao, what are these four buckets? Is it some new trick you've come up with?"
Pei Yao nodded, but didn't say exactly what it was, keeping everyone in suspense: "Yes, but you've had this new twist before."
Erdan looked at Pei Yao, then at the wooden bucket noodles, and pointed to himself with a puzzled expression: "I...have eaten this before?"
He thought back to the delicious food he had eaten in the past two days, all of which were given to him by Pei Yao. It seemed that the only good thing was that spicy seaweed dish that Pei Yao had given him last time.
"Spicy seaweed strips?" Erdan's tone was filled with surprise. He thought it was delicious when he ate it that day.
He had planned to mention to the shopkeeper how delicious the spicy seaweed strips were when he had some free time in the next couple of days, but he didn't expect Pei Yao to bring them over today.
The group chatted for a while longer before Manager Qian, having finished his work, came over.
Without beating around the bush, Pei Yao directly served Manager Qian a bowl of seaweed strips.
Having been amazed by his previous experience, when Pei Yao offered him the spicy seaweed salad this time, Manager Qian didn't hesitate at all and immediately put it in his mouth to try.
After finishing the meal, he exclaimed, "Give me as many of these cold seaweed salads as you can, I want them all!"
Although this cold spicy seaweed salad isn't meat, it has a unique flavor. Manager Qian thinks it's even crisper than spicy snails.
Pei Yao brought four buckets today. She smiled and pointed to the four buckets behind her: "Uncle Qian, I only brought four buckets today. You can sell them first. If they sell well, you can come back to me for more."
Manager Qian chuckled and agreed, and he was in a good mood as the restaurant had added another delicious dish.
Kelp is a vegetarian dish, so it naturally doesn't sell for the same price as snails. A pound of well-mixed kelp strips costs six coins.
This price wasn't expensive for Deyun Restaurant, so Manager Qian readily agreed.
The dishes their restaurant gets from Pei Yao, they just change the plates and serve them to the customers, and they can sell them for several times the price.
Just like Pei Yao's spicy snails, Deyun Restaurant got them from Pei Yao for thirteen coins a pound and sold them for about ten times the price.
Otherwise, a large restaurant with so many employees and such high expenses would not make much money if the profit margin was not high.
Manager Qian pulled Pei Yao inside to sit for a while, and asked Erdan to pour them two cups of tea. He then went to get Pei Yao the silver for today's settlement.
Seeing that the cold seaweed salad sold out so easily, Pei Yao naturally didn't forget that she had put two pieces of dried fresh seaweed in the basket behind her.
Manager Qian brought over the silver and gave it to Pei Yao.
"Uncle Qian, I've recently invented a soup. Would you be interested in trying it?"
Manager Qian was quite interested in all the dishes Pei Yao mentioned, and immediately took Pei Yao to the kitchen.
After all, the dishes that girl made last time are now selling very well in their restaurant.
Deyun Restaurant has been doing well these past two days. The kitchen, which was originally deserted, has now temporarily hired a few helpers to work in the back kitchen.
Manager Qian planned to hire one or two more chefs, but a good chef couldn't be found quickly, so he had to find temporary workers to fill in for now.
The two chefs, who had been busy all morning, were resting when they saw Pei Yao arrive. They immediately perked up and their attitude towards Pei Yao became much friendlier after the last time.
Pei Yao greeted them with a smile: "Hello, Master Liu. Hello, Master Qin."
"Hello, Sister Pei."
As soon as Pei Yao arrived, the two of them gave up their seats to her.
The dish Pei Yao is preparing today is not only nutritious but also incredibly delicious.
Manager Qian dismissed the temporary workers, telling them to go home, have lunch, and rest for a while before coming back later.
Pei Yao searched the kitchen and finally found two remaining pig trotters in a corner.
Pei Yao had inquired with Niu Qingshan beforehand and learned that in this era where only studying was valued, pig's trotters symbolized passing the imperial examinations with flying colors.
This has led to many scholars loving to eat pig's trotters, but there aren't many ways to cook them; they're usually just boiled or braised.
So Pei Yao plans to make a dish with pig's trotters as the main ingredient today.
Ever since witnessing Pei Yao's culinary skills, the two chefs have been voluntarily helping her out.
After searching around and not finding any soybeans, I asked Chef Liu, "Chef Liu, do you have any soybeans?"
"Yes, it's in the jar over there. I'll go get it."
Pei Yao: "Okay, Master Liu, when you bring it over, please soak half a bowl of it in warm water for me."
"Okay, sure." Master Liu scooped half a bowlful from the jar next to him and put it in the basin to soak.
Pei Yao held the pig's trotter, preparing to chop it with a knife, but the trotter was too hard, and her body was weak, so chopping it only caused a slight scratch to the trotter.
Pei Yao thought to herself that she really needed to exercise, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to chop a pig's trotter.
Chef Qin, quick to notice, immediately took the knife from Pei Yao's hand: "Sister Pei, let me do it."
Pei Yao didn't stand on ceremony with him, thanked him, and went to prepare other things.
She soaked the dried kelp she brought from home in warm water.
Then chop the scallions into sections, slice the ginger, and cut the dried chili peppers you brought from home into sections. Set these ingredients aside for later use.
After soaking the kelp, Pei Yao selected the thickest part in the middle of the kelp and cut it into slices.
Chef Qin had already chopped the pig's trotters, so Pei Yao took them and put them in a pot of cold water to blanch them, adding ginger slices and rice wine to the water to remove the fishy smell.
These farm-raised pigs don't need to be rinsed again after blanching; you can simply skim off the foam and take them out.
Pei Yao took a clay pot, heated oil in it, and stir-fried dried chili peppers and pig's trotters until fragrant. Then she added water and poured in the pre-soaked soybeans. She simmered it over high heat for about thirty minutes.
Pei Yao found another sweet corn and cut it into small pieces.
The pig's trotters stewed in a clay pot will become soft and tender. After cooking for 30 minutes, Pei Yao put in the corn and kelp that she had prepared in advance and cooked for another 20 minutes.
The resulting pork trotter and kelp soup is both fresh and sweet, with the pork trotters so tender they practically melt in your mouth.
The braised pig's trotters in the casserole were bubbling away, releasing a rich and fragrant aroma that filled the entire kitchen.
The pot attracted everyone in the kitchen, who all eagerly watched the casserole, waiting for the pig's trotter soup to be ready.
Chef Qin said he was once again amazed by the young girl. They only knew that soybeans could be stewed with pig's trotters, and that this kind of soup was usually made by women who had given birth, as it was believed to promote lactation.
But I never knew that you could cook it with corn and kelp.
Chef Liu says, "Me too!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com