It's a large portion.
There's enough for a table of people.
Yan Xia doesn't sell beef by cut; instead, she sells it as a platter. This way, each platter contains different cuts, making it more enjoyable to eat, and it also avoids situations where a particular cut is sold out and a customer orders it but it's unavailable.
"The soy milk won't be delivered until tomorrow, so if you want to drink alcohol today, drink it; if you can't, drink plum juice. Oh, and Jinlu wants to remind you that if you don't sell all the soy milk in one day, drink it yourself that night or throw it away. Don't keep it until the next day. The same goes for vegetables. Except for meat, none of them can be kept overnight. Got it?"
Yan Xia suddenly thought of this and carefully instructed her son.
The vegetables were all washed and cut into pieces before being placed on the plate; even the cabbage was washed piece by piece and piled on the dish.
If they don't sell out on the same day, they'll wither away the next day.
Selling it again would damage the shop's reputation, and we'd end up losing more than we gain.
"Ouch, that's spicy! My son heard it."
Jin Lu had just taken a bite of the tender beef, hissing and breathing out hot air. Even though his mother often cooked spicy dishes, he still couldn't handle the spiciness of the hot pot.
Today we had a mildly spicy hot pot.
Not only him, but everyone at both tables except Xiao He was drinking water because of the spiciness.
Xiaohe was unable to get out of bed, so Yanxia had her eldest son carry her over.
It's not right for the whole family to eat hot pot while leaving the daughter-in-law alone in the house.
Yan Xia thoughtfully prepared a dipping sauce for her with sesame oil and vinegar to relieve the spiciness, and also poured her a glass of warm milk to prevent her from touching the cold plum juice.
Surprisingly, even the pregnant daughter-in-law couldn't handle the spiciness, while several men were brought to tears by it.
"Wow, it's delicious, but it's too spicy. But I want to eat more after I've eaten it."
"Phew, Mom, I want another glass of plum juice."
"Madam, may I go to the backyard to drink some well water? It's so spicy!"
"It's so delicious! I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life. Although it's really spicy, it's so satisfying. I've been sweating a lot and I'm not cold at all anymore. Look, my hands get freezing in winter, but feel them now, they're burning hot."
"......."
Inside the restaurant, the sounds of people talking and gasping for breath from the spiciness mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere.
The aroma of hot pot wafted out through the cracks in the restaurant's main entrance.
The overpowering fragrance could be smelled for miles around.
It was very cold in the evening. Apart from the various people going home, most of the people on the streets were at home "huddled in their quilts". This is a characteristic of Shuangqiao Town. When it gets cold and there is no work to do, they will fill a copper kettle and put it in their quilts to keep warm. The whole family will crawl in together, eat candied fruits and chat.
This continued until spring arrived.
Only then did things get busy again.
Of course, this is the life of the wealthy in the town; the village is just as busy in winter.
They had to chop firewood, plant vegetables, and repair the roof to prevent the snow from collapsing the house.
It's not as leisurely as summer.
A hot pot meal filled the family's stomachs, warmed their bodies and minds, and satisfied their palates.
Although it's quite spicy, hot pot is still loved by everyone.
The lingering aroma will forever remain in the hearts of the people of Shuangqiao Town who could not eat.
They were incredibly curious about which family had cooked such delicious food that their child was refusing to eat any other meal, insisting on having this fragrant dish.
The next day at 9:00 AM, Yan Xia had her servants hang up the restaurant's signboard.
Yan's Restaurant
The four large characters were painted with gold hot-stamped paint, giving it a high-end and sophisticated look.
There is also a line of smaller text in the lower right corner.
Winter hot pot version.
After all, hot pot is only sold when it's cold. Once the weather gets warm, she changes the signboard.
Yan's Restaurant.
Summer meal recipes.
Next, they covered all the tables in the shop with a wooden board.
This way, you don't need to replace the hot pot table, saving money, time, and space.
During this period, Yan Xia was as busy as a spinning top, never stopping, and finally the business opened.
She instructed her servants Qian Rong and Qian Fu to set off firecrackers.
One person stands on each side.
I bought two strings of firecrackers and wrapped them around a bamboo pole.
At Yan Xia's command, the two lit the fire simultaneously.
"Crackling and popping—"
"Bang bang bang—"
The whole street suddenly became incredibly noisy.
The sound of firecrackers, like a stone thrown into water, drew the attention of the people of Shuangqiao Town.
Wait until the firecrackers have finished setting off.
The crowd gathered outside the door pointed and gestured toward the restaurant.
"Oh, this is a newly opened restaurant. I wonder if it's any good. Tomorrow is my son's birthday. If the prices aren't too high, I'll bring the whole family here to try it out."
"Hey, isn't this Manager Yan? Yan's Restaurant, you've opened another shop? Wow, you've made a fortune! The pastry shop has only been open for a short time, and you've already opened another one. I remember this shop used to be Zhou's Crispy Pastry Shop, right? Manager Yan is really amazing. You drove away your rival, and then opened a restaurant in your rival's shop. We admire you."
"Manager Yan, what do you mean by 'winter hot pot version'? What is hot pot?"
"Are you open now? I'm just about to eat. How much does it cost?"
"....."
Yan Xia stood at the door to greet them with her youngest son and daughter-in-law.
She was dressed in a plain new dress and looked at everyone with a smile.
"Everyone, please be quiet. Today is the first day of the opening of my Yan's Restaurant. Our restaurant has a unique feature: we offer different sales methods in winter and summer. Now that it's winter, it's natural to eat hot pot. Not eating hot pot is practically a wasted life! It's cold in winter, and I'm sure everyone is feeling chilly. If you come to our restaurant and have a pot of spicy hot pot, with meat and vegetables, one bite will warm you up from head to toe. As you all know, I am the owner of Yan's Pastry Shop, so as usual, we have a three-day opening special. As long as you come into the shop and eat hot pot, each table will receive a pot of sake and two drinks. If your spending reaches three taels, you will receive a one tael discount! This is only for three days!"
Yan Xia's activities are very extensive.
Unlike some modern online shopping platforms that raise prices first and then offer discounts under the guise of promotions, she did not.
This creates the illusion that customers are getting a discount.
She's genuinely cheap.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, people started coming into the shop.
One reason was to try the hot pot she mentioned.
Secondly, it's for the purpose of the event.
If you give away one tael for every three taels you buy, isn't that just giving away silver for free?
Who could stand that?
They also give away wine and drinks.
Regular customers who have bought pastries from Yan's Pastry Shop all have an inexplicable confidence in her.
I think everything she makes tastes delicious.
If you can buy pastries in half-ounce bags regularly, then you can certainly afford hot pot too.
The seven tables on the first floor were filled in no time.
"Waiter, bring me the menu."
"What kinds of dishes do they have? What's hot pot? Is it a pot? How do I order? Which one is the best?"
"Hey, why is there a big hole in this table? Is it for putting a pot in?"
"Oh, so it's for storing pots and pans? I thought it was for children, to keep them from running around and delaying the adults' meals, haha."
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