Chapter 42. Stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger cannot be eaten with Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup...
The crab's body is connected to its thick, orange-red legs, and the exposed cross-section of the tender white crab meat is beautiful, revealing a large piece of bright-colored crab roe. At this moment, it is glistening with oil and has a slightly sour hue. As it is tilted when picked up, the creamy crab roe seems to be about to flow.
Lü Qingqing quickly held the crab body close to her mouth and took a bite of the exposed crab roe.
The crab roe has a slightly sandy texture and a slightly salty flavor, probably from being stir-fried with scallions, ginger, and other seasonings, but its main flavor is its own sweetness.
After holding it in your mouth for a few moments, you can vaguely feel the oily flavor of crab roe flowing out, making the overall taste even more fragrant.
Finally getting to eat the crab she'd been craving, the first bite was of her favorite crab roe. A smile curved Lü Qingqing's face as she finished the crab roe, exclaiming, "Mom, this crab is so fresh and delicious!"
"Eat more if you like it," Tao Zhi smiled.
Lü Qingqing smiled and agreed. She bit into the crab body again, this time directly at the tender white crab meat exposed in the cross-section, biting into the meat and shell together.
The crab shell cracked with a crisp sound without falling off, and the plump crab meat was already in your mouth. It tasted succulent, fresh, and fragrant, with the salty aroma of scallions and ginger.
She swallowed the crab meat in her mouth, then bit into the crab body again, this time eating the crab meat along with the crushed shell.
His tongue moved nimbly in his mouth, pushing aside the hard, even slightly sharp, crab shell. He chewed the fresh, tender crab meat a few times, savoring all the flavors, and then swallowed it. With his other hand, he picked up the lid of the box of white rice and spat out the crab shell from his mouth.
She repeated these steps, deftly eating the crab meat covered with the salty and savory flavors of scallions and ginger, while chewing and spitting out the crab shell.
Lü Qingqing has been able to eat crabs by herself since the fourth grade of elementary school.
She loves the delicious crab meat and the fragrant, creamy crab roe. If you skip the step of eating the crab and removing the shell, the crab doesn't seem as tasty.
While other children are still afraid of hurting their mouths by biting crabs, she can already hold half a crab body and nibble on it freely, spitting out the shell with agility.
Besides the crab roe, she loves the firm yet tender crab meat on the crab body, and the long strip of crab meat that she painstakingly pulls out of the crab legs. It tastes sweet and delicious, and gives her a great sense of accomplishment.
At this moment, she had gnawed and spat out the crab's shell, and eaten all the crab meat. The large crab legs and two small crab legs were connected by nodes on the crab's body.
Lü Qingqing simply bit off the other two small crab legs and placed them on the rice box lid. Then, holding the large crab leg alone, she bit an opening at the head and another opening in the middle section, breaking the crab leg in two from the bend. She then inserted the lower section into the upper section, just enough to poke out a long strip of crab leg meat.
She bent down and took a bite. The outer edge of the crab leg meat seemed to have an almost invisible membrane. After biting through it, she could taste the soft, tender, and sweet crab leg meat.
Although it's not crab season yet, these stir-fried crabs with scallions and ginger are plump and the meat is very fresh.
Following this method of eating crab leg meat, she didn't even let go of the other two small crab legs that didn't seem to have much meat, eating all the crab meat hidden inside.
Then he picked up another crab body and started eating from the crab roe. Occasionally, he would taste the crab meat and find it salty, fragrant, and delicious. He would also pick up a piece of rice from the rice box and eat it with it.
Tao Zhiwei had eaten her fill of carrot and beef stew and quite a bit of rice, so now she put on gloves and prepared to eat crab.
Seeing her daughter eat the crab legs so cleanly, she admired her and quickly grabbed a crab body to eat.
If she doesn't eat, her daughter could finish this huge portion of stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger all by herself.
Tao Zhiwei also took a bite of the crab roe. The creamy crab roe was a bit sticky and even dry when she bit into it, with a slightly sandy texture. After a while, the oil hidden inside flowed out, making it moist and even more delicious.
After finishing all the crab roe, she began to eat the crab, shell and all. Her tongue was like a nimble discerning machine; she spat out the shell and chewed and swallowed the crab meat after savoring its deliciousness.
When her daughter first started eating crabs, she was the one who taught her how to get the tender crab meat out of the hard shell. Now, the way the mother and daughter eat crabs is exactly the same.
When she got to the crab leg, Tao Zhiwei used the same method to poke out the crab meat from the large crab leg completely, and ate it in one bite with great satisfaction.
She wasn't so patient with the other two small crab legs. She simply held them in her hand, brought them to her mouth, and bit them off. She ate as much meat as she could, but if there was too much shell to separate the meat with her tongue, she would suck out the delicious juices and discard the shell and meat.
Her simple and direct eating style allowed her to eat faster than Lü Qingqing.
Lü Qingqing ate three crab bodies in a row, since the crab was broken in half, so she ate one and a half crabs.
She could feel her tongue getting numb from the rubbing of the crab shell, and even though the sweetness of the crab meat still lingered in her mouth, clamoring for more, she had to stop and rest for a while.
Lü Qingqing smiled and said, "Mom, this stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger is also super delicious. The crab is so fresh and plump, and it's especially flavorful when stir-fried with scallions and ginger. Gu's Private Kitchen is truly exceptional!"
Tao Zhiwei nodded in agreement: "Yes, these crabs are quite delicious. When I went to get them to go, it was only around 11:20, and the restaurant was already packed with people. When I finished ordering and was waiting at the door, there were about ten people waiting in line."
"The business is booming, and the staff are very friendly. After packing up these four cups of tea for me, they even said that it was the first time their shop had offered tea packaging, and asked for my understanding if there was anything inconvenient. Since they said that, of course I would forgive them!"
"It sounds pretty good. No wonder my classmates from the next class said that several students in the second year of high school went there and couldn't stop talking about it. They praised it to everyone they met and also complained about the cafeteria," Lü Qingqing said with a smile.
She initially agreed with the later criticism of the cafeteria, saying that she herself had been criticizing it since her first year of high school.
Actually, the school cafeteria is one of the few A-level cafeterias in the city, but after eating there for a long time, I got tired of it and couldn't help but find fault with it.
Now she supports all the opinions of those classmates in the second year of high school. The Gu family's private kitchen dishes are indeed delicious, and she should praise them to everyone she meets and recommend them everywhere.
Remembering that she hadn't tried the rose and cyperus tea yet, Lü Qingqing took a cup out of the plastic bag, tore open the straw paper, inserted the straw into the milk tea cup, and took a big gulp.
The tea will be cool now, which is perfect for this kind of weather.
Because her mother had previously mentioned that this tea didn't have much of a herbal flavor, Lü Qingqing made a point of trying it. She found only the familiar sweet rose fragrance she had tasted before, along with a faint herbal aroma. The combination was very pleasant, mellow, and had a sweet aftertaste, making it almost like drinking sugar water.
After taking several sips, the tingling sensation on my tongue dissipated, my thirst was relieved, and a faint sweetness lingered in my mouth.
Lü Qingqing changed her opinion of the rose and cyperus tea; it tasted even better than sugar water, and it was far superior to the freeze-dried rose tea she kept in her dormitory.
Drinking something sweet after a long period of intense studying can enhance one's sense of well-being, and Lü Qingqing felt very happy drinking rose and cyperus tea.
After drinking half a glass, she continued eating crab.
After eating two and a half crabs, Lü Qingqing stopped on her own: "That's enough for me. I can't eat too much at once."
She still remembered what her mother had told her.
Seeing that her mother had probably eaten two crabs and was a little full, she said, "Why don't you take these leftover crabs home later and heat them up for dinner with my dad? That way he won't complain that we're eating all the good food and leaving him out."
Tao Zhi smiled and agreed. Remembering that there was still soup to drink, she quickly opened the soup bowl. The soup inside was reddish-brown, clear and tempting. You could see red dates, pieces of black-boned chicken, and seasonings such as scallions and ginger. At the bottom were some medicinal herbs, namely "Siwu".
From the moment I lifted the lid, I could smell the delicious aroma of black chicken soup, along with a faint scent of herbs. Because it had been kept in an insulated bag, I could still feel the warmth of the soup when I touched the soup container.
"Qingqing, quickly drink a bowl of this Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup. Black chicken soup is already nourishing, and with the addition of Four-Ingredient Soup, it should be even better. I see that there are plenty of ingredients, and the soup has a rich flavor and color, so it should be good."
Tao Zhiwei once again marveled at the restaurant's thoughtfulness, as they had even provided two small disposable bowls for them to easily serve the soup.
Because she asked the shopkeeper for two sets of disposable chopsticks, they gave her two small disposable bowls as a spare, and a slightly larger spoon to use for scooping soup.
Lü Qingqing smiled and agreed, but as she watched her mother start to fill a small bowl with soup, she suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped her, saying, "Mom, wait a minute!"
Tao Zhiwei stopped moving: "Ah, what's wrong?"
Lu Qingqing said, "I just suddenly remembered that you reminded me before that crabs are cold in nature and I should eat less of them. This soup is nourishing and contains medicinal herbs, so can we still eat them together?"
Oh right, Tao Zhiwei realized that she hadn't noticed the problem at all. Her habitual thinking was that as long as the store sold these meat and vegetables together, there wouldn't be any problem. Luckily, her daughter noticed this.
She took out her phone and searched on Baidu: Can crabs be eaten with Siwu black chicken soup?
The search engine quickly provided the answer: Four-herb black chicken soup is a warming tonic, while crab is cooling in nature; therefore, it's not recommended to consume them together, as it may affect the absorption of the medicinal properties or cause gastrointestinal discomfort. If you must consume them together, it's suggested to wait at least two hours between consumption. [Note]
After reading the message, Tao Zhiwei handed the phone to her daughter: "It really shouldn't be eaten together. Why would a restaurant put these two dishes together? Won't customers get sick from eating them?"
Her goodwill towards Gu's Private Kitchen plummeted instantly.
Lu Qingqing carefully read through all the links that popped up from the search engine, then returned the phone to her mother.
"Mom, it's okay to eat crab and black chicken soup together, but this soup contains herbs like Rehmannia glutinosa, Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora, and Ligusticum chuanxiong, so it's best not to eat it with crab. Maybe the restaurant just didn't notice."
She smiled and said, "It's okay, there are two soup bowls. You can fill two bowls with soup for me, and I can heat the soup in the bowls with hot water in my dorm tonight. You can take the rest back and have it with my dad tonight."
Tao Zhiwei thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I'll take two bowls of soup back with me. I'll leave a big soup container here so you can heat it up in a double boiler. Drink more soup and eat more black chicken soup later. If you can't finish it, share it with your roommates."
Lü Qingqing nodded in agreement, took the small soup bowl to help fill it with soup, and specially scooped out extra black-boned chicken meat for her parents.
There was a lot of black-boned chicken meat and soup in this soup box. After filling two small bowls, there was still more than half left. I put the lid back on the soup box and put it back into the takeout bag.
Lü Qingqing remembered that crabs shouldn't be eaten with Siwu black chicken soup, and wondered if the restaurant had noticed this problem.
She had previously heard from a classmate in the next class that Gu's Private Kitchen had official accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo, and she had also seen notes on that classmate's phone about today's menu posted on Gu's Private Kitchen's official account.
Lu Qingqing said simply, "Mom, can I borrow your phone for a moment? I know that Gu's Private Kitchen has official accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. Let's send a message to remind them."
Combining these two meat dishes together might affect the absorption of the medicine, but if it causes gastrointestinal discomfort, it would be bad for both the restaurant and the customers.
Tao Zhiwei fully supported her daughter's decision and quickly handed her the phone: "Go ahead and send it."
Lü Qingqing took the phone, opened Xiaohongshu, searched for Gu's Private Kitchen in the search bar, and clicked on the familiar official account avatar.
She originally wanted to comment on the menu post from Gu's Private Kitchen, but then felt it wasn't a good idea, so she simply sent Gu's Private Kitchen a private message instead.
Knowing that strangers on Xiaohongshu can only send one message, and subsequent messages can only be seen by the other party after they enter the chat box, Lü Qingqing tries to explain things clearly in one message before sending it.
[After the Rain: Hello boss, I'm a customer who ordered takeout from Gu's Private Kitchen at noon. According to Baidu search, your stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger and the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup shouldn't be eaten together, as it may affect the absorption of the medicinal properties or cause gastrointestinal discomfort. This is detrimental to both the restaurant and our customers' health. We hope you can check and improve the menu as soon as possible. Thank you.]
Copy the message, open Weibo, find the official account of Gu's Private Kitchen, and send it via private message. Lü Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief.
In any case, she fulfilled her duty as someone who knew the truth.
Tao Zhiwei watched her daughter edit a text message explaining everything and send it out, feeling proud of her calm, composed, enthusiastic, and responsible attitude.
"Qingqing, you did a great job."
Lü Qingqing laughed and said, "Isn't this what you taught me, Mom? If I hadn't sent a message to the Gu Family Private Kitchen official account just now, you would have gone back to tell the restaurant anyway, right? It's on your way."
"You understand me best," Tao Zhi smiled.
The mother and daughter chatted about other things. Tao Zhiwei inquired about her daughter's situation at school and listened to her talk about interesting things that happened between her classmates; Lü Qingqing asked what her parents had been doing lately.
It got hotter and hotter after 12:30, and the sunlight shining on the ground approached the covered walkway and pavilion.
Tao Zhiwei said, "Alright, you should go back and rest early too. I'll leave the rose and cyperus tea and soup for you. Try to drink the tea this afternoon, and reheat the soup in the evening. I should go back now."
"Take this cup of tea back with you," said Lü Qingqing.
Tao Zhiwei held up the half-full cup of rose and cyperus tea in her hand: "I still have some left. If you can't finish it, you can share it with your classmates."
"Okay, thank you, Mom." Lü Qingqing smiled brightly.
They put the empty boxed meals and the takeout containers of carrot and beef brisket stew separately, put the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger in one bag, and the four-herb black chicken soup in another bag.
Lü Qingqing took out the two untouched cups of tea and put them into the packaging bag containing the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup, thinking that she should be careful not to spill them later.
She used the freed-up plastic bag to pack the empty lunchboxes and neatly tied a knot.
Tao Zhiwei had mentioned, "I'll take it to the trash can near the school gate later, so you don't have to carry it all the way there."
Lü Qingqing smiled and agreed, picked up the takeout bag and walked with her mother to the school gate. Listening to her mother's earnest instructions, she smiled and waved goodbye to her mother who had already walked out through the retractable iron gate.
After watching her mother walk away, she walked briskly along the main road of the campus.
At the end of the road is the teaching building. Turn right, walk a little further, then turn right again. Walk through the gymnasium to the dormitory building. Just as I was about to go upstairs, I heard a familiar shout.
"Lü Qingqing! What delicious food did you go out to eat?"
It was the classmate from the next class who had recommended Gu's Private Kitchen to her. Lü Qingqing turned around and replied, "Cao Zhuojia, my mom brought me food."
The two went to Jiangshi No.1 Middle School from the same junior high school, and were in adjacent classes, so they had a pretty good relationship.
Cao Zhuojia, with his sharp eyes, noticed the distinctive takeout bag in Lü Qingqing's right hand and excitedly leaned over: "Wow! Your mom sent you Gu's Private Kitchen! That's so lucky!"
Lü Qingqing nodded and smiled: "Yes, this is my first time eating Gu's Private Kitchen. It really does taste as delicious as you said!"
"Right? I told you everyone would love such a delicious restaurant!" Cao Zhuojia said with a proud expression.
Ever since she ate at the restaurant, she has become a loyal customer. In her senior year of high school, she only had a break on Saturday afternoons, so she could go eat there once on Saturday and once on Sunday before returning to school.
Her parents, who don't usually like eating out, surprisingly supported her and even ate with more gusto than she did.
Cao Zhuojia had promoted Gu's Private Kitchen a lot at school, and now that he saw Lü Qingqing accept his recommendation and had her mother pack meat dishes from Gu's Private Kitchen to send over, he felt quite gratified.
She leaned closer excitedly and asked, "Tell me quickly, what fresh meat dishes does Gu's Private Kitchen have today?"
"Today's menu includes braised pork chops with apples, beef stew with carrots, stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger, cucumber salad, black chicken soup with four herbs, and rose and cyperus tea," said Lü Qingqing, recalling the menu notes she had just seen on Gu's Private Kitchen's official WeChat account.
"However, my mom and I can't eat that much, so my mom ordered carrot and beef stew, stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger, four-herb black chicken soup, and rose and cyperus tea."
Cao Zhuojia's mouth watered as she listened: "Oh my god, these all sound so delicious! I wish I had asked my mom to pack some and bring it over for me today. I need to call her and ask if she can bring me food tomorrow. If not, I won't stay overnight this week. I have to have a meal at Gu's Private Kitchen."
Thinking that she hadn't finished her cup of rose and cyperus tea yet, and there were two more cups in the takeout bag, Lü Qingqing simply opened the bag, took out a cup, and handed it to her.
"Here's a cup of rose and cyperus tea for you. I think it tastes really good, with a light sweetness that's very refreshing."
Cao Zhuojia accepted it with delight, overjoyed: "I love you so much, Qingqing! This is the biggest surprise I've received today. Finally, one of the dark Saturdays of my senior year isn't dark anymore!"
"Hehe, you're welcome. A pot of rose and cyperus tea in the shop makes four cups of this tea after packaging. My mom and I each had a cup just now. You should try it and see if you like it." Lü Qingqing took out a straw from the packaging bag and handed it to her.
"Okay, I know I'll like it without even trying it." Cao Zhuojia took the straw, tore open the paper, inserted the straw into the cup, and started drinking.
She took several sips in a row. The rose and cyperus tea, just like its name, had a light rose and herbal fragrance. It was cool and slightly sweet, and the aftertaste was refreshing and not greasy.
Cao Zhuojia nodded repeatedly: "It's pretty good. It tastes better than ordinary rose tea. It's cool and refreshing to drink now, and the aftertaste is sweet."
Lü Qingqing also took a few sips of the unfinished rose and cyperus tea and smiled in agreement: "Yes, just like my mom said, it tastes a bit better than milk tea."
"What's certain is that it's healthier than milk tea and less likely to cause weight gain," Cao Zhuojia said with a smile.
As the two chatted upstairs, Cao Zhuojia said enthusiastically, "Qingqing, if my mom brings over some Gu's Private Kitchen dishes for me tomorrow, I'll invite you to eat with us."
Lü Qingqing smiled and shook her head: "No need, you can eat with Auntie then."
Cao Zhuojia figured she might feel awkward eating with her classmate's mother, so she said, "Okay, I'll save some for you to eat later. Sigh, I wonder if my mom will agree to bring me food tomorrow."
Upon reaching the fifth floor, the two separated and returned to their respective dormitories.
Because she had to attend class in the afternoon, Lü Qingqing finished her cup of rose and cyperus tea and then opened the takeout bag to take out another unfinished cup of tea and put it on her small desk, intending to take it to the classroom to drink in the afternoon.
She tidied up and climbed into bed to sleep.
Sitting in the classroom in the afternoon, Lü Qingqing felt clear-headed and was able to keep up with the teacher's explanation of the most difficult physics concepts.
The initial gloom from dropping thirty places in the monthly exam seemed to have disappeared, and I was even in a good mood.
After eating such delicious meat dishes, she seemed to be full of energy and fighting spirit again.
There are still more than twenty days left, we can keep working hard!
Going back a bit, around 11 a.m., Gu's Private Kitchen was packed with customers. Orders were being brought to the kitchen window, where Gu Qingqiu was standing in front of the stove, wielding a spatula to stir-fry meat and vegetables.
The crab body and shell are cut open in a pot and stir-fried in hot oil until they turn orange-red. Then, various seasonings are added along with scallions and ginger and stir-fried. The fresh and salty aromas come out at the same time, which is very tempting.
Gu Qingqiu kept stirring the crab with a spatula, trying to make it fragrant and flavorful while controlling the heat.
When she felt the stir-fry was almost done and ready to be plated, the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger in the pan also condensed a tiny bit of spiritual energy.
Based on her observations and research over this period of time, this means that the dish is cooked to its best flavor; even a second less or more could affect its taste and quality.
She took a clean plate from the side and put the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger out of the pot.
Gu Qingqiu placed the plate of stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger on a tray by the glass window, wrote down the table number with a pen and paper, and placed it under the plate. Just as she was about to turn around and go back to the stove to continue cooking, Gu Qingqiu suddenly stopped.
She suddenly realized that crabs don't seem to go well with certain foods, such as Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup with four medicinal herbs.
She saw this soup recipe in a book on food therapy, and since the ingredients were simple and the taste was good, she added it to today's menu. As for the crab, she saw it at the market and thought it looked very fresh, so she decided to make a stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger. She really didn't think about the possibility of food incompatibility.
She quickly opened her phone and searched on Baidu, and sure enough, there was a problem!
Taking these two together can affect the absorption of the medicine and may also cause stomach discomfort!
Gu Qingqiu hurriedly rang the bell to call over Sister Zhou, who was busy in the dining room.
Sister Zhou thought it was just like usual, that the meat and vegetables were ready and the bell was ringing to call her over to pick up the food. But when she came over, she noticed that the boss looked unusually tense.
Gu Qingqiu hurriedly explained, "Sister Zhou, I didn't pay attention today and only just realized that the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the Crab Stir-fried with Scallions and Ginger cannot be eaten together. It can easily cause stomach discomfort. They should be eaten at least two hours apart."
"Quickly check if any of the customers dining in or taking away have ordered these two dishes. Try to explain the situation to them gently and apologize. We'll waive their bills for today. If any of these customers experience stomach discomfort and need medical attention later, they can bring their medical records and receipts to our restaurant for full compensation."
"Then you quickly marked these two dishes on today's menu as not being able to be ordered at the same time, and reminded customers when they ordered. Thank you for your hard work."
Gu Qingqiu quickly came up with a solution.
Although it might only cause stomach discomfort, giving the entire table a free meal would definitely result in a significant loss. However, failing to consider the possibility of food incompatibilities was a shortcoming on her part. The most important thing is to try her best to compensate the customers and salvage their image.
This incident also served as a wake-up call for her, reminding her that she needs to think more carefully and be more cautious when planning daily menus in the future.
Sister Zhou was also taken aback. She quickly noted down what her boss had told her and replied, "Okay, boss, I'll go explain to the customer right away."
She picked up the plate of stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger and served it, then glanced at the meat dishes on the seven tables in the restaurant.
The restaurant was doing so well that most customers ordered all the meat dishes on the menu. Six out of seven tables ordered both the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the Stir-fried Crab with Scallions and Ginger, and they all got to eat them.
Some ate most of it, while others had only eaten a little.
Sister Zhou's scalp tightened, and she frantically tried to find the right words to explain the matter in a way that would be easier for the customers to accept. She started by explaining to the table that had eaten most of the food.
"Hello, customer. We are very sorry. It was an oversight on our part that we discovered that the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger cannot be eaten together, as it can easily cause stomach discomfort. They should be eaten at least two hours apart."
"We are very sorry about this. Would you mind paying for the meat dishes on your own today?"
As soon as Sister Zhou finished speaking, the customers at the table became excited.
The middle-aged man frowned, his eyes filled with anger: "What did you say? You can't eat Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup with Scallion and Ginger Crab? Didn't your restaurant check for food incompatibilities when you were setting the menu? We've already eaten most of it and you're only now bringing this up?"
The middle-aged woman next to him also said anxiously, "Yes, we've eaten so much, won't this cause a big problem?"
The people at the surrounding tables also became anxious upon hearing what the staff member said.
"Yes, this soup is so delicious and the crab is so fresh and sweet. I've eaten quite a lot. Will something bad happen?"
"I've eaten at this restaurant so many times, how could I make such a basic mistake?"
"Oh no, we just ate crab and drank Siwu black chicken soup at our table too!"
Fang Nianxiang sat calmly at one of the tables. She only ordered the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup, and planned to order the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger later in the evening.
Ms. Zhou looked around at the customers and quickly explained, "Please don't worry, everyone. This was indeed an oversight on our part when we were designing the menu. According to Baidu, eating these two dishes together may cause stomach discomfort. If you experience any stomach discomfort later, please seek medical attention promptly. You can bring your medical records and receipts back to us to claim full reimbursement for your medical expenses."
"If anyone ordered the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the Scallion and Ginger Fried Crab, the entire meal for today is on the house! We apologize for the inconvenience!"
As she spoke, she bowed to the table of customers who had just been talking.
The middle-aged man, who had been furious, was no longer so angry, and the middle-aged woman had also heard clearly that eating the two dishes together might cause stomach discomfort, but it wasn't anything life-threatening.
The young man at the same table said, "Mom and Dad, I think the restaurant is quite sincere. They're offering free meals and reimbursement for medical expenses if we need to see a doctor if we have stomach problems. Let's just skip these two dishes."
During dinner, they drank a lot of Siwu black chicken soup and ate a lot of stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger. My parents kept praising it as they ate, saying that the soup was indeed worthy of Gu's private kitchen, as it was so nourishing, and the stir-fried crab was so fresh, plump, and fragrant. Eating here is definitely the right choice.
He himself also enjoyed every dish on the table.
Although the restaurant didn't set up the menu properly, and two dishes were incompatible and might cause health problems for diners, their attitude in handling the situation is already better than most restaurants.
The middle-aged man clearly remembered how much he enjoyed the soup and stir-fried crab during the meal, and he could still savor the taste.
He and his wife exchanged a glance, then said to the clerk, "Alright, we accept your restaurant's offer of a free meal. Just be more careful in the future and make sure this doesn't happen again."
The middle-aged woman nodded in agreement: "Yes, your restaurant's meat and dishes taste so good, you mustn't ruin your reputation because of this."
She just checked herself and didn't feel any discomfort in her stomach, so she relaxed.
Their family has eaten at this restaurant several times and really likes the taste of the meat and dishes. It's rare for them to feel bad about eating incompatible foods, but they still couldn't help but offer a word of advice.
Seeing that the customers' attitude had softened and they had accepted the free meal as compensation, Sister Zhou nodded her thanks and said, "Thank you so much. We will pay more attention to this in our store. I won't bother you any longer. Please enjoy your meal."
"etc."
The middle-aged man called out to her, "Did you just say that these two dishes can be eaten two hours apart?"
Sister Zhou paused in her turn, smiled and nodded: "That's right, there shouldn't be any problem if you eat it two hours later."
The middle-aged man said without changing his expression, "Alright, then we'll pack these stir-fried crabs to take home and eat them tonight. It's shameful to waste food."
The Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup was served early, and the three of them each had a bowl of soup and ate quite a bit of black chicken meat. They continued to have half a bowl of soup every now and then, and now only the soup base was left.
We ate half of the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger, and there's still half left; it's quite a lot.
The middle-aged woman beside him remained silent, tacitly agreeing. The young man looked up, somewhat embarrassed, and touched his forehead.
Sister Zhou smiled warmly as always: "Sure, we offer free takeout boxes. Just wave me over when you're almost finished eating and I'll bring you the takeout boxes."
The middle-aged man then smiled and said, "Okay, thank you."
Sister Zhou then went to explain the matter to the next table.
Almost all the customers present noticed what happened earlier. They were initially angry and flustered, but they have calmed down a bit now.
Some spoke rather bluntly, some complained a bit, and some were more peaceful, but they all accepted the store's offer of a free meal as compensation.
Don't assume that everyone has a healthy stomach now. If someone does have a stomach problem, they can come with medical records and receipts to claim medical expenses, although of course, the person will suffer.
But in all fairness, Gu's Private Kitchen's attitude and solution were already quite good.
No customers got up to leave on the spot. Many customers planned to eat one item first and then pack the other item to take home and enjoy it later, since the taste was really good.
Seeing that Sister Zhou outside had handled the matter well and the customers' emotions had calmed down, Gu Qingqiu also breathed a sigh of relief.
She went back to the stove and continued cooking the next dish according to the menu.
Sister Zhou then took a pen and added a note to the menu on the wall, indicating that only one of the following could be ordered: the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup or the Scallion and Ginger Fried Crab.
She then went to the entrance to reassure the customers waiting in line.
The customers didn't seem to have any strong emotions, and they smiled and agreed with the staff.
They had noticed the commotion inside from the doorway. On one hand, they were glad they had arrived late and hadn't eaten the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the Crab with Scallions and Ginger, but on the other hand, they were a little upset that the tables inside were getting their meals for free.
Now everyone will remember this, and we can just order one of these two dishes later.
So, should we drink the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup or eat stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger?
Sister Zhou went to the cashier to check the order records from noon.
Fortunately, the owner noticed it early, and since no customers had finished eating and left yet, the six tables inside that had the problem with their orders were given a free meal.
We had two takeout orders today. The first order included a four-herb black chicken soup and stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger.
When Ms. Zhou clicked on the payment order number, she could only see the other party's payment avatar—a blue sky and white clouds. Clicking on it revealed no user information; the billing page only showed the transaction number, not a phone number or anything like that, and she couldn't contact them via message.
When she heard a customer asking for takeout boxes, she exited the computer transaction history page, went to get takeout boxes and bags for the customer, and then settled the bill for another table of customers.
He then hurriedly ran to the glass window and called the boss over to report the situation.
"Boss, we've explained and appeased the customers at the six tables outside, and they've accepted the free meal offer. I took it upon myself to waive the cost of the takeout boxes as well. There was another takeout order that also included soup and stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger, but we couldn't contact that customer through the order records."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "I heard everything. Sister Zhou, you handled it very well, thank you. I'll try to contact this customer who wanted takeout later using the official account. You just need to continue serving the customers in the main store."
Receiving praise from her boss, Sister Zhou's earlier unease about agreeing to the free takeout boxes disappeared, and she smiled and agreed.
She served the carrot and beef stew that the boss had brought to the corresponding table, then gave takeout boxes and bags to the customers who had finished eating, paid the bills for the customers, and then invited the customers who had waited for their number to come in and dine.
Back in the kitchen, Gu Qingqiu returned to the stove, finished making the last dish of cucumber salad, placed it on the glass window, and weighed down the table number slip. Only then did she take out her phone from her pants pocket, unlock it, and open Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
She thought she should post a note about what happened today. It would be better for her restaurant to announce it first than for customers to complain online and spread the word. In addition, she could also take the opportunity to find the customer who took the food to go.
The customer had already eaten by this time, so we could only remind them to pay attention to any changes in their stomach and seek medical attention promptly if they felt unwell. Then we added their contact information and refunded the full amount.
Gu Qingqiu habitually opened Xiaohongshu and first went into the message bar to clear the little red dots for likes, favorites, and comments at the top.
Just as I was about to switch to my homepage, I saw a line of text appear in the "Unknown Messages" section of the message bar.
[After the rain: Hi boss, I ordered takeout from Gu's Private Kitchen for lunch...]
Messages from other users on Xiaohongshu are categorized under "Unknown Messages," and only the first part of the most recent message is displayed. Clicking on it will show messages from other users, and the chat window with the other user will only appear in the message bar after you reply.
Gu Qingqiu's eyes flickered slightly when she saw the message that was only half-shown. She guessed that this netizen might be the customer she was looking for, and immediately clicked to read the message.
After reading it, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly.
The netizen named "After the Rain" discovered that the ingredients in the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the crab were incompatible due to their cold nature, and sent a private message to remind him a few minutes ago.
Gu Qingqiu genuinely felt the other person's kindness, was glad that the other person didn't eat both dishes at the same time, and thanked the other person for the reminder.
She edited a message to reply to the other party.
[Gu's Private Kitchen: Hello, customer. Thank you very much for your kind reminder, and we are very sorry that it affected your dining experience. The restaurant has informed the customer who had already eaten both the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup and the Scallion and Ginger Fried Crab, apologized, and offered a free meal as compensation. The menu will also indicate that customers can only choose one of the two dishes.]
[Gu's Private Kitchen: We are pleased to contact you. To compensate for the error caused by our oversight in setting up the menu, we will be offering a free meal to customers who ordered both dishes at lunchtime. Would it be convenient to add each other's contact information? The restaurant will refund your lunch bill. We look forward to your reply!]
After sending the message, Gu Qingqiu swiped right on the left side of the screen to exit, then swiped right again to exit the unfamiliar message area. She then saw that the chat box with Yu Guo Tian Qing had been displayed in the message bar.
She clicked on the homepage, then clicked on the "+" sign at the bottom center to start editing her message and prepare to issue an apology.
After writing the content, copy and publish it, and then paste and publish the tweet on the official Weibo account.
Another menu was handed in, and Gu Qingqiu took it from the glass window before returning to the stove to get busy.
Around 12:45, there were still five tables of customers in the restaurant, but all the dishes had been served, and a sign that read "Ingredients Sold Out" was hung at the entrance.
In the kitchen, Gu Qingqiu and Sister Zhou also sat down at a small table to eat lunch.
Gu Qingqiu finally relaxed and smiled, "Sister Zhou, thank you for your hard work at noon today. You handled that matter very well. I also contacted the customer who ordered takeout on the official Xiaohongshu account. She was the first to notice that the soup couldn't be eaten with the crab and sent us a message to remind us. I also told her about the compensation. Now we're just waiting for her to contact us."
Sister Zhou breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the customer had been found. It would be even better if the customer had discovered the problem himself and hadn't eaten it.
"It's all what I should do. As long as it's handled well, that's good. We've encountered a public relations crisis today, just like I recently heard in a TV drama. As long as it's handled smoothly, that's good."
The biggest taboo for restaurant owners is customers experiencing food problems. Food incompatibilities like these can severely damage a customer's impression of the restaurant, creating distrust and fear that similar problems will occur again.
Fortunately, the boss discovered the incident in time today and compensated the customers by giving them a free meal. In the next few days, we'll see if those customers experience stomach discomfort and how other customers react when they hear about it.
Hopefully, this won't have too much of an impact on the restaurant's business.
Gu Qingqiu nodded: "I need to think more carefully before finalizing the menu in the future. Let's see how the restaurant's business is doing in the next couple of days. I've also issued an apology statement on the official account."
"Let's eat first."
As usual, they prepared some of the meat and vegetables available in the shop for their own consumption.
Apple stewed pork chops, carrot and beef stew, and cucumber salad were each served in a small dish. Gu Qingqiu asked Sister Zhou, and the two of them decided to eat the stir-fried crab with scallions and ginger while it was still fresh, and then drink the Four-Ingredient Black Chicken Soup in the evening.
The delicious meat dishes were a delight to eat, and Gu Qingqiu forgot all about the frustrating mistake of setting the lunch menu incorrectly.
The restaurant closed as usual at 1 p.m. When it reopened in the evening, the dining area was still full of customers, and there were also customers queuing outside. It was easy to predict that business would be good tonight.
Gu Qingqiu was completely relieved.
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