Chapter 11 011 Crispy Eggplant
When Wen's mother received the message, she was still completely confused.
Without saying a word, "Grandma Zhuangzhuang" sent a red envelope, a completely different attitude from her nitpicking in the morning.
What happened?
Wen's mother was undecided, but soon she lost interest in thinking about these details because her phone kept ringing.
Several identical verification messages lay in the friend requests.
Hello, I'd like to order food for my child.
[When ordering food, please include the message: "Mom of Stars"]
[Ordering Food]
Wen's mother rubbed her eyes, and when she realized what had happened, she was so excited she almost jumped up!
"Old Wen! Old Wen!"
Wen's mother called out to Wen's father loudly, eager to share her joy.
"Orders are pouring in!"
Many people might think that only four or five orders a day is nothing, but for Wenmu, having a fixed income every day for more than a month is better than anything else.
Mr. Wen, supporting his aching shoulders, smiled with relief as he saw the food orders on his phone.
"That's wonderful!"
Wen's mother excitedly accepted the friend requests one by one, and then added the people to a food ordering group.
As soon as she entered the group, Wen's mother knew where these orders came from.
Zihan's mother seemed to know everyone else in the group; after they joined, they greeted each other familiarly.
However, Zhuangzhuang's grandmother, who had been sending voice messages enthusiastically that morning, seemed rather silent.
Zihan's mother is a teacher. After joining the group chat, she quickly changed her group nickname to include her child's name and asked in the group: "@Wenmu, hello, could you please send me the menu for tomorrow in advance? Just in case any of the children in our group have a food allergy."
Her reminder immediately woke up Wen's mother. Indeed, children these days are so delicate; we really need to be careful about allergies.
She quickly replied with a thank you, and then went to find her daughter in a bit of a hurry.
"Xiao Fan, what are we having for lunch tomorrow?"
Delivery work is different from restaurant work. The set meal needs to have at least three or four dishes, and since it's for children, nutritional balance also needs to be considered.
Wen Fan thought for a moment: "Tomorrow...we'll eat chicken tomorrow."
In the sweltering summer heat, she and her father were busy in the kitchen. Although air conditioning had been installed, it was still hot standing in front of the stove.
After much thought, Wen Fan decided that the best thing to do was to make a cold chicken dish.
When she was in the palace, every summer, some of the young princes and princesses would suffer from the heat and lose their appetite. But the palace was not a place for reason, and if any of the young princes or princesses got sick from the heat, the people who accompanied them and the people in the imperial kitchen would also suffer.
Over time, Wen Fan created a set of recipes suitable for summer, among which several cold chicken dishes were the most popular.
A simple way to make it is to make poached chicken. As long as you choose a good chicken, the skin will be crispy and springy after cooking, and the meat will be neither fishy nor dry. Just a simple red oil sauce is all you need to marinate it for a few hours before you can eat it.
But Wen Fan's favorite dish is still chicken with scallion oil.
The cooked chicken is drizzled with scallion oil and minced garlic, sprinkled with white sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and topped with some crispy fried peanut crumbs. The aroma of the scallion oil is irresistible, and the chicken is firm and smooth.
Wen's mother was so impressed by her that her mouth was watering, and she typed out the words "chicken with scallion oil".
"There are three more to go."
"I haven't finished the eggplants I bought today, so I'll make crispy eggplant, stir-fry some tomatoes and eggs, and make a mixed vegetable salad."
Wen Fan has grasped the pulse of modern society. The biggest difference from the palace is that people here don't define the deliciousness of a meal based on the price of the ingredients.
Even something as ordinary as scrambled eggs with tomatoes can sometimes be just as delicious as a gourmet meal.
In that case, she doesn't need to keep making complicated dishes. Simple, quick, and delicious is the way for her restaurant to survive.
Wen's mother reported the types of dishes to be served tomorrow in the group chat.
None of the parents had any objections.
It was Zhuangzhuang's grandma who sent the first message after joining the group.
My child doesn't eat tomatoes, so don't make scrambled eggs with tomatoes for him tomorrow. Instead, make an extra portion of chicken with scallion oil.
Mother Wen naturally agreed without hesitation.
But as soon as Zhuangzhuang's maternal grandmother appeared, the parents immediately greeted her.
[@Grandma Zhuangzhuang, I haven't even thanked you yet! My son Xingxing came home and said Zhuangzhuang treated him to fried chicken for lunch today.]
Yes, our child was also asking for fried chicken and hamburgers yesterday, and I was just saying I'd get him some for the next few days.
Wen's mother was somewhat bewildered by those two simple sentences.
"Didn't she say that we need to pay extra attention to what the child eats?"
How come you said you wanted to see the vegetable inspection report one minute, and then ordered fried chicken and hamburgers for your child the next? Are those things healthier than regular meals?
Suddenly, Wen's mother had a flash of inspiration and sighed with emotion.
"I'm afraid the old folks are trying to get something for nothing."
The whole thing this morning wasn't really about getting a report; it was just about getting her to give one away for free today.
Mother Wen shook her head: "This is really..."
Wen's mother thought to herself that this was not a good example.
Perhaps because someone had exposed the truth in just a few words, the messages in the group stopped there, and Zhuangzhuang's grandmother never spoke again.
Wen's mother closed the message interface and began calculating the accounts with great interest.
After doing the math, today's income is quite considerable.
Since Wen Fan no longer makes claypot rice, only Wen's father is working in the kitchen. Therefore, despite the price increase, only ten servings have been sold.
The two toppings that Wen Fan made sold out completely around 7 p.m.
Including in-store sales and takeout, we made a total of over 800 yuan!
After doing the math, Wen's mother realized that Wen Fan was right; claypot rice wasn't a good deal.
Wen Fan's pre-cooked toppings for noodles and rice actually result in a faster table turnover rate.
"Or maybe we should skip the claypot rice."
Restaurants that specialize in claypot rice have at least ten or eight stoves in their kitchens. Those stoves need to be specially made, and it's simply not worth it to modify the stoves just for that.
With the current three stoves, one stove has to be reserved for Wen Fan's use, and even if the other two work non-stop, they can only sell a few dozen portions a day.
Mr. Wen was exhausted and his body ached, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Keep it."
He thought that his wife was now taking on a lot of responsibilities at the store.
The couple stayed up late last night. The wife muttered to herself that she was uneducated and hadn't achieved anything significant in all the years she'd been in the city.
"Now that our daughter has this talent, we should also consider how not to hold her back."
Although Wen Fan demonstrated remarkable talent in cooking, her child also studied diligently. Wen's mother didn't want her daughter to become someone who only contributed to the family.
The couple always wanted their child to make future choices without any worries.
Wen's mother's words kept Wen's father thinking all night.
He thought to himself that, aside from everything else, he was a bit stubborn. He had once learned to cook from a master chef in the village. The master chef initially took in a dozen or so children, but later most of them left.
There's no other reason than that this master was keeping secrets.
Having been a student for seven or eight years, the teacher's most frequent task was to have him cut cucumbers. Even with his eyes closed, Wen's father can now cut a perfect cucumber, despite the crisscrossing patterns of the cucumber.
His stubbornness made him the only apprentice of his master to eventually open a small restaurant in the city after completing his apprenticeship.
Looking at his daughter leaning on his wife's shoulder, Mr. Wen thought to himself that as long as he mastered the art of making claypot rice, he could still support his family even after his daughter went to university or started working!
He'll just open one claypot rice restaurant then.
Helpless, Wen's mother went with her husband.
...
The next day, Wen's mother got up early as usual.
She felt that distributing business cards yesterday wasn't enough, so she was going to do it again today. This time, however, she went all out; she left work early yesterday and rushed to a print shop to have one hundred simple fans made.
The fan still had those words printed on it, but now it also had photos of the store's storefront and kitchen, plus a group QR code.
Wen's mother: "This way I don't have to add everyone's contact information one by one. As long as everyone is in the group, they can just report their numbers in the group every day."
These are the things that are on Wen's mind right now. For the first time in her life, she has taken on a... project?
Yes, although Wen's mother felt embarrassed, she felt that only the word "project" could best describe her thoughts.
She always carries a notebook with her, constantly thinking about how to optimize it further.
If she can run a small catering service this summer, can she do it next year and the year after?
Libraries can deliver meals, so can tutoring and extracurricular classes do the same?
Wen's mother was extremely excited and full of energy.
Both Wen's father and she got up earlier than the other, and they both agreed to let Wen Fan sleep a little longer.
Wen Fan also began her long learning journey. Following Wu Na's advice from yesterday, she awkwardly found a video website on her phone.
Wu Na told her that there are teachers online who post video lectures for free.
Wen Fan found a middle school math course recorded by a math teacher. After opening it, she began to learn and do the problems step by step according to the course.
Seeing that it was almost time, Wen Fan went to the store.
After putting on her apron, Wen Fan deftly began cooking chicken, frying peanuts, coating eggplant in batter, and beating eggs...
The eggplants, coated in a thin layer of starch, tossed and turned in the oil, quickly turning an enticing golden brown. After draining the oil, they were fried again until firm and golden brown. In a bowl, white vinegar, sugar, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce were combined with water and stirred well. Scallions, garlic, and dried chili peppers were stir-fried in a pan, and the sauce was poured in and stirred until thickened.
Wen Fan seized the opportunity to add the fried eggplant and stir it in, then sprinkled a handful of white sesame seeds before turning off the heat.
The fragrant, crispy, sweet and sour eggplant is ready.
Whenever Wen Fan cooks, his father watches attentively from the side.
He also followed his mother's example and always carried a notebook with him, taking it out to write down anything he couldn't remember. He didn't ask questions about things he didn't know, because his daughter's answers were usually so simple and straightforward.
"It tastes better this way."
Wen's father had no choice; that's just how cooking is, just like his master. He had only cooked for the old landlord's family for two or three years, and no one taught him; he had to learn everything on his own.
Wen Fan quickly prepared the meal, and lunchtime began to arrive again.
Since Wen's mother couldn't get away, she ordered a delivery service through a food delivery platform.
"Send them all to the library."
A note from the author:
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Sorry, I didn't update yesterday to reduce the word count so that it would be more convenient for the paid version later. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be next Friday. As for the update time, it will basically be stable in the evening from now on; I will try to post at a fixed time.
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