Chapter 62 Chapter 62-Two in One I'll give my wife more money, my wife...
But I have tried several times at home, but I still can’t make that taste. Moreover, people have tasted delicious food, but the food you want to eat is not made. When you want to buy it, it seems that it is not worth the price, and you will become more and more unwilling to give up.
I decided to give it another try. I went to a sauce shop and asked the owner directly. Aren't we all selling sauce? Whose money isn't money?
When customers frequently asked what kind of sauce was used in Lin Ji's noodle soup, the owner was confused. He introduced it to the customers: "This is the best sauce we have. It should be this one."
The man shook his head and said, "No, it tastes different when I buy it and cook it."
The shopkeeper's eyebrows knitted together after being rejected by the customer. He handed the money to the waiter and said, "Go to Lin Ji's noodle soup and buy two bowls. I'll try it and see what it tastes like. I'll also check if you look familiar. Have you bought sauce from us before?"
The waiter took the silver and money, picked up the bowl and food box, and ran away.
He was gone for a long time before coming back. The customer was still waiting in the sauce shop, and the shopkeeper was also waiting anxiously. He thought that the waiter was clueless and must have been wandering around outside.
The customer looked at the shopkeeper's expression and said with a smile, "Don't worry, shopkeeper. The noodle soup stall is probably doing great business at this hour. Sometimes there's a line of twenty or thirty people."
The shopkeeper was a little surprised: "Business is so prosperous?"
The customer nodded and said, "It's just a very simple little stall, but it squeezed out the mutton noodle shop."
The shopkeeper frowned upon hearing this. That mutton noodle shop had been open for years, how could it be squeezed out by a small stall? The customer, observing the shopkeeper's expression, said, "Those noodles are made with pork, and they sell for ten cents a bowl. Everyone thinks that's worth less than a bowl of mutton noodles, but the taste is just so delicious, and after finishing a bowl you feel completely refreshed!"
"That's right. I asked the lady, and she said she added her own special sauce. No one believed me. The best sauces are all in your sauce garden. She must have bought them and kept it a secret from everyone."
The shopkeeper was naturally happy to hear such praise. He just had to wait for the waiter to buy some and taste it, and then he would know what kind of sauce was used. With the reputation of this small stall, the business of this sauce factory would surely be more prosperous.
Just as the waiter from the sauce shop took away the two bowls of noodles, Helan walked over to Lin Chuntao and whispered, "The man who just left was the waiter from the sauce shop."
Lin Chuntao looked up at the young man jogging away, her brows slightly furrowed.
Helan said, "I heard that many people went to the sauce factory to ask you what kind of sauce you used to make noodles. This might be for tasting."
Helan's reminder made Lin Chuntao's heart skip a beat. She hadn't sold the sauce yet, so he shouldn't do anything to steal her recipe, right?
Helan said softly, "Be careful that the sauce factory uses you for publicity."
Lin Chuntao was stunned for a moment when she heard Helan's idea. "Can they taste the flavor of my sauce in the noodles I make? And then make one?"
Helan nodded slightly, "It's very possible. Their sauce factory has been around for over a hundred years, and they're quite good at talking."
Helan then told Lin Chuntao about an incident in which a sauce factory tried to steal the recipe of a small sauce shop. The small shop was doing okay, so the sauce factory tried to buy the recipe at a low price, but the shop refused to sell. So they bought the sauce from the shop, took it back and made a copy with a similar taste. Actually, it wasn't as delicious as the one from the small shop, but the sauce factory had more money, so they squeezed out the small shop with a low price, and finally squeezed it out of business.
Helan said, "Actually, losing the shop was a minor issue. Later, a fire broke out in that family's house, and all four of them were burned to death."
Lin Chuntao's face gradually darkened as she heard this.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper He, for reminding me. I now understand."
The owner of the sauce shop waited anxiously and finally saw the waiter running back. He quickly took the food box and asked the waiter to bring him a pair of chopsticks.
After a short distance, the temperature of the noodles has cooled down a bit and is just right for eating.
The shopkeeper had just put a piece of sauce into his mouth with his chopsticks when the person waiting to buy the sauce started to sniff and swallow.
His slightly frowned brows gradually relaxed, he licked his lips and took another sip. Without saying a word, he took a sip of the soup directly from the big bowl and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boss? How is it? Can you tell what kind of sauce it is?"
The shopkeeper waved his hand. He had already tasted it and realized that it was not the sauce from their shop, but he didn't want to tell the customer so. He made an excuse and said, "It's not from the shop. I'll go back tonight and ask the boss if he has a new sauce. I'll see when to put it up for sale. Then we'll put up the sign."
The customer who bought the sauce left disappointed, but the shopkeeper didn't care at all. He buried his head in his noodles, quickly slurping down the entire bowl, leaving not a drop of soup behind. He turned back to the waiter and said, "Bring out that bowl too." He took another hundred coins from his purse and tossed them to the waiter, "Go buy three more bowls and send them to the old and young masters. Tell the lady to add two more spoonfuls of meat sauce."
The waiter swallowed, responded and left with the money.
Lin Chuntao saw the waiter come back and ask for three more bowls.
"Madam, add two more spoonfuls of meat sauce to all three bowls."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, one spoonful of meat sauce is four cents."
The waiter nodded and counted out fifty-four coins for Lin Chuntao, waiting for the noodles to be cooked and served to him. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Brother, are you still on duty? I've never seen you before. Come and have a bowl of soup tomorrow before you start your shift. We cook it fresh. A bowl of steaming hot soup noodles before you start your shift is guaranteed to put you in a good mood all day."
The waiter asked, "What time do you start cooking in the morning?"
"Come at 2:15 AM, we'll be there."
The waiter nodded and left with the lunch box.
At the Chai Mansion, the old housekeeper saw the waiter from the shop bringing in two food boxes and asked, "What are these?"
The waiter replied, "The shopkeeper asked me to bring you this. It's the new braised pork noodle soup from the market. It's been really popular lately. Many people out there think it's from our sauce factory, and they come to the shop to ask for it."
After the waiter said this, the old housekeeper immediately understood what he meant. He took the food box and asked the waiter to go back to the shop.
Chai Songchuan and his wife Guo Jixiang were discussing their son's marriage in the hall when they saw the old housekeeper carrying a food box. They asked about it, and the old housekeeper conveyed the waiter's words truthfully. The old couple said, "Bring it up and have a try."
The old housekeeper carefully brought over two bowls of noodles, and then personally fetched chopsticks. He then said to the two of them, "Shopkeeper Chai also bought some for the young master. I'll bring this to the young master."
Hearing about her son, Guo Jixiang's expression changed slightly, "I'm afraid he won't eat it."
The old butler said, "What if? What if the young master eats..." The old butler became weaker as he spoke. The young master of their Chai family originally had a good-looking face, but he fell off his horse after being frightened and was injured. Although he was rescued and saved his life, the scars on his body could not be removed. He could not accept the monster-like self, so he broke off the engagement with his fiancée and locked himself in the house all day without eating or drinking.
The old couple's only son was saved and they were thankful to God. How could he die like this? When he refused to eat, they often asked someone to hold him down and feed him directly.
The old butler watched him grow up, and this must be very painful for him.
Chai Songchuan glanced at the old housekeeper's expression and said calmly, "Send it."
The old housekeeper then hurriedly trotted towards the courtyard where Chai Xingyu lived, carrying the food box. The maids waiting in the courtyard were all at the gate. The courtyard was quiet, and the doors and windows of the house were closed. The old housekeeper stepped forward and knocked on the door, "Master, I'm coming in."
There was no response from inside the house, but no objection either. This was normal. The old housekeeper gently opened the door and went in. The light inside the house was dim. The old housekeeper took out the noodles from the food box and placed them on the table. Then he walked to the bed. The bed curtains were covered tightly, and it was impossible to tell whether the person inside was awake or asleep.
"Master, there's a new dish at the market today called braised pork noodle soup. It's very popular. Do you want to get up and try it?"
The old butler's voice fell like the wind, leaving no trace. He said nothing and there was no response.
"I heard from Shopkeeper Chai that the lady told the customers that it was her own special sauce, but the customers didn't believe it. They all thought the sauce in the noodle soup was from our sauce factory, so they came running to ask, 'If you're interested, you can try it and see if it's better than ours?'"
There was still no sound from inside the bed curtains. The old housekeeper sighed and left the room.
After hearing the door close, Chai Xingyu sat up. With disheveled hair, he pulled open the mosquito net and the aroma of soup and powder wafted into his nose. His expression was numb and his nose and face were hideous. If someone saw him outside, he might scare a child to tears.
He hadn't smelled such a different smell for a long time. He walked to the table and sat down, looking at the red soup in the bowl. The off-white powder was matched with green leeks, and small pieces of meat filling were scattered in the soup. He picked up the chopsticks and stirred it gently, and also stirred out tomato slices.
He sneered. What kind of way is this to eat it, mixing tomatoes, meat and leeks together!
But the soup looked delicious, so he picked up the bowl and tried a sip. The spicy taste was mixed with a hint of sourness, but it was not the sourness from vinegar, it should be the sourness from the tomatoes. After taking a sip, he naturally took another sip. After drinking enough, he put down the bowl and tasted the noodles. The noodles were also cooked very soft, and each noodle was soaked in the soup. Chai Xingyu thought that the meat filling had no smell, which was probably due to the sauce.
Chai Laosan is really interesting. When he knew that the sauce was not from his own sauce factory, he sent it to his parents and let them taste it.
Should I try to make the same taste? Or should I buy it?
He thought that these things didn't fit together, but the person who made this noodle not only made it, but also made it taste so good. He must be a foodie.
He is the kind of person who is willing to try anything.
The Chai family was rich enough for him to live a carefree life, so he ate out all day long. But now, his face looked neither human nor ghost, and even the maids and servants who had served him for many years did not dare to look directly at him. How terrifying was he?
He was afraid that after going out, he would jump directly into the well.
After all this trouble, he actually didn't want to die. Not only did he not want to die, he wanted to live well. He had never left Yizhou, had never seen the scenery outside, and had not tasted the flavors of other places. He was reluctant to die.
But what if he couldn't bear to leave now? He didn't even have the courage to step out of this small courtyard.
Chai Xingyu ate every piece of meat until there was not a single grain left. After finishing, he returned to his bed and lay down with a dull look on his face.
In the main hall, Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang had also finished the two bowls of noodles. They pursed their lips and savored the taste. When they saw the old housekeeper come back, they didn't ask Chai Xingyu whether he had eaten. Seeing the old housekeeper's expression, they knew the result.
"Master, Madam, how about this powder?"
Guo Jixiang said, "This sauce is good. It has this flavor even when added to soup. It must be very fragrant when eaten alone, and not greasy. It must have been made by a master chef. His craftsmanship is incredible."
Chai Songchuan nodded slightly in agreement, "Go and ask if anyone has opened a sauce shop recently. We've been neglecting what's going on outside because of our boat trip."
The old butler responded and left.
At lunchtime, Guo Jixiang took her servants to deliver lunch to Chai Xingyu. When she pushed the door open, she saw the empty bowl on the table. She was so surprised and happy that she almost cried. Her hands were shaking slightly. The old nanny next to her quickly supported her hands. The old nanny looked at her and nodded slightly. This was good news!
Guo Jixiang calmed down and walked to her son's bed, "Xingyu, get up and eat."
"Not hungry."
Guo Jixiang paused. At least Chai Xingyu had replied. She hurriedly asked, "Do you still want to eat that noodle? Mommy, please ask someone to buy another bowl."
Chai Xingyu thought about the taste of the powder and hummed muffledly. Guo Jixiang was overjoyed.
"Well, mother will send someone right away." Then she added, "I will go myself."
Guo asked the servants to carry the food boxes and hurriedly took people out of the Chai Mansion.
She went straight to the market and asked someone to point her to the right place. When she arrived, Lin Chuntao and the others were just packing up their stalls. She felt bad and asked anxiously, "Madam, do you have any more noodles?"
Lin Chuntao turned around and saw the elegantly dressed woman. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am, we're sold out today. Please come back tomorrow."
Guo Jixiang thought of her son and said to Lin Chuntao with a smile, "I'll give you some extra money. Could you please cook two bowls for me right now?"
Most people can just eat it tomorrow if they can’t finish it, but why do you have to pay extra to cook it?
"Ma'am, I'm so sorry. We have run out of the sauce we brought and can't cook today." Lin Chuntao felt a little apologetic. After all, many people would definitely come back tomorrow when they heard that it was sold out. This person even asked for extra money, so there might be some special reason.
As expected, the woman's expression changed after she finished speaking. After a moment's silence, she asked again, "Where do you live, ma'am? Is it far away? Could you please go home and get some sauce?"
Lin Chuntao: “…”
Guo Jixiang hurriedly said, "I'll give my wife some hard work money."
As he said that, he took out a purse from his long sleeve, took out a piece of silver and handed it to Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao took a quick look and estimated that there was about two taels.
Just as she was about to take it, Helan came out of the house. Seeing Guo Jixiang, he greeted her with a smile.
"Mrs. Guo, long time no see! How have you been lately?"
Seeing Helan, Guo Jixiang smiled bitterly. "Shopkeeper He is in the shop, just like usual. He's just been tied up by family matters lately. How about you? How's business?"
Helan smiled and said, "I'm still the same." Helan smiled again and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. Let's go home and sit for a while."
Guo Jixiang said hurriedly: "I can't go today, I'll wait for next time."
"Hasn't my rascal been feeling unwell lately? He can't eat, and it's really got me worried. He just wanted to eat some rice noodle soup with soy sauce, so I came here to buy it myself."
Speaking of the child, Helan glanced at Pei Ying. Speaking of which, Pei Ying had saved Chai Xingyu, but the Chai family never mentioned looking for their savior afterwards, so Helan said nothing.
In fact, it was more than that. Chai Xingyu was the only son of the eldest wife of the Chai family. He was going to inherit the soy sauce factory in the future. However, he was dragged by a horse in the street and almost lost his life. All the prominent families in the county knew about this, but the Chai family wanted to suppress it and pretend that nothing happened. They even asked the doctor to say that Chai Xingyu was unwell.
The Chai family's eldest branch now heads the family. Guo Jixiang gave birth to two daughters and two sons, but the eldest son died young, leaving only Chai Xingyu. This young master, Chai Xingyu, is a remarkable individual. While Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang are both ruthless, Chai Xingyu is kind-hearted. Apart from eating and drinking in the county town, he hasn't done anything harmful or deceptive. He prefers playing to studying and doesn't care about the family's soy sauce business. The other branches of the Chai family are undoubtedly eyeing the opportunity.
If Chai Xingyu were to pass away, the people who would take over the soy sauce factory would be from other families.
Helan looked at Guo Jixiang carefully. He found that she looked much thinner than the last time he saw her.
"Is Xingyu feeling well?"
Guo Jixiang said, "Much better. He should be able to recover soon."
Helan patted her chest gently, "That's good, if he's better, you can relax a little. As a mother, we can't bear to see our children suffer."
Guo Jixiang also nodded slightly and said with a smile, "No, I was just discussing with this lady whether I could buy him two more bowls of noodles to take back."
As he spoke, Guo Jixiang looked towards Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Madam, it takes more than an hour to go back and forth to my house. Is it okay with you? If so, we can go home now and bring it back to you later."
Guo Jixiang frowned slightly: "Madam, are you going back to make the sauce?"
Lin Chuntao replied: "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Guo Jixiang thought that it would take more time. She just wanted to get the soup noodles back quickly. It was rare that Chai Xingyu had an appetite and wanted to eat.
"How about this, I'll arrange a carriage and let Madam go with you. After it's done, I'll bring it back to her so that you don't have to bother running around."
Lin Chuntao had no objection. She accepted the silver given by Guo and asked them to go back and get two pots and or ceramic jars.
She bought another two pounds of meat at the butcher's shop and bought some noodles at the noodle shop. When everything was ready, the carriage arranged by Guo Jixiang arrived, and the butcher's work was done, they all rode back together in the carriage.
The old nanny who went with them didn't say much. After arriving home, Lin Chuntao asked Chunhe to bring stools for her and the groom, and they sat in the yard. Lin Chuntao quickly washed the meat and chopped it into minced meat. Lin Chunxing lit a fire and heated oil. The bone soup made yesterday was still there, so it could be used directly.
Although only two bowls were needed, they all came with it, and the money given was a lot, so she cooked half a pot.
They brought clay pots, one for the noodles, and the other one Lin Chuntao made some soup and poured it into. She said to the old nanny, "Nanny, if your family wants to eat it in the evening, just use this soup and add some noodles, leeks and tomatoes.
The old nanny looked at Lin Chuntao with a kind look. She was Chai Xingyu's wet nurse. She had watched the child grow up and become like this. She was as heartbroken as Guo Jixiang. Now that he had what he wanted to eat, she was very happy. Seeing that Lin Chuntao was not only a good cook but also thoughtful, she liked her even more.
"Thank you, my lady."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "As I should."
The old nanny carried the earthenware jar to the carriage and was about to leave. Lin Chuntao didn't say anything polite to keep her for dinner.
After sending the person away, Lin Chuntao weighed the piece of silver and found it was three taels to one.
Lin Chunxing's face was filled with joy, "Sister, I made a profit!"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Yes, I made a profit." If someone else had given her this much money, Lin Chuntao could have fried a bowl of meat sauce for her, but she thought of Helan's reminder, and the fact that this family came to buy twice in a row, maybe they were really studying her recipe.
If the other party really wants to do this, there is no way to avoid it, but she doesn't want to make things easier for him.
Lin Chuntao did not tell Lin Chunxing and the others about this. Even if they studied her recipe, it would take time to make the sauce, so they would wait and see.
Putting away the silver, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I made some money today. What do you want to eat?"
The sisters' eyes rolled around, thinking about all the delicious things Lin Chuntao had made before. They couldn't eat the pig kidneys or anything like that without buying them. Lin Chuntao looked at them for a long time without being able to explain why. She smiled and said, "Why don't I make you some sauce-flavored pancakes and share them with you?"
This was something they had never heard of before. The sisters all widened their eyes and agreed without hesitation: "Okay, okay! Sister, how do you make this cake?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll do it while you watch from the side."
As she spoke, she stood up and fetched a clay basin. She scooped a few spoonfuls of flour, added an appropriate amount of salt, and asked Lin Chunxing to boil some warm water. She added the warm water and stirred the flour until it became flocculent. She gave the rest to Pei Ying: "Just like the previous steamed buns, knead it into a smooth dough."
Pei Ying smiled, took the clay basin, brought it to the table, and kneaded it while standing.
The dough was given to Pei Ying, and Lin Chuntao went to make the sauce. Lin Chuntao didn't like sweet food, so she only prepared minced garlic chili sauce and some spice powders, and chopped two tomatoes to neutralize the taste. After that, she chopped some fine meat filling and mixed it with green onions for later use.
Everything is ready, heat oil in a pan.
She added a lot of lard, and after it melted in the pan, she scooped some out for later use. Then she added minced garlic and stir-fried it until golden brown. Then she added the sauce and spices. Once the aroma was released, Lin Chuntao added the tomatoes and continued to stir-fry. Once the tomatoes and sauce were blended, she added some water and simmered over high heat until the sauce thickened.
After she finished her work, she looked at the dough and found it was ready. Lin Chuntao got another bowl, scooped some more flour, added salt and stirred it, and finally poured some of the oil that had just been heated into it to make the puff pastry.
After the pastry was ready, Lin Chuntao took a knife and divided the dough kneaded by Pei Ying into several doughs. She asked Pei Ying to roll it into a round cake, brush it with pastry, spread it with meat filling, draw a circle in the middle, and divide the cake into several parts along the lines. She folded and wrapped it layer by layer to make a dough.
The sisters standing next to them opened their mouths wide, "Sister, is this okay?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Not yet."
After saying that, she took the rolling pin and rolled the dough again, but she had a technique, and the meat filling she had just wrapped in did not leak out at all.
She put one aside and handed the rolling pin to Pei Ying. She was about to check if the sauce was ready. Before Pei Ying could take it, Lin Chunhe ran over and said, "Sister, let me try."
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