Chapter 86: Wang Meiyu, the Vegetable Cutter.
The customers in the restaurant also enjoyed their meal very much, exclaiming that the dishes tasted especially delicious today, making the trip worthwhile and leaving them very satisfied.
They ate the delicious meat and vegetables, chatting enthusiastically with smiles on their faces, which made the customers waiting in line outside, who were still waiting for their numbers to be called, drool.
"Oh my god, I'm so hungry! Standing in line at Gu's Private Kitchen is such an ordeal. It's so unbearable to see and eat it!"
"Come on, at least we can see the food and get to eat it later. If you think about something good, you won't feel so bad. Those customers who come late and can't even get a queue number are the ones who are really upset. They make a wasted trip and have to go back full of disappointment."
"What you say makes sense. Next time we come to eat, we'll definitely have to come earlier so we don't have to wait in line at the door and can just go straight in to eat!"
"I know, you always say that. If you had slept in a little less, we wouldn't be standing here waiting like this. But let's just say good things come to those who wait. Just thinking about how hard we've been waiting in line makes the delicious meat and vegetables we'll eat later taste even better!"
"You're good at comforting yourself. But we're lucky to have managed to get a chair. Those who had to stand and wait were really suffering. Fortunately, the sun hasn't hit us yet, and with the peach trees blocking the sun and the air conditioning from the restaurant, it's not too hot."
"Hi, what's your number? When it's your turn to dine in, could you please save this chair for me?"
"This is no problem..."
Gu Qingqiu had no idea that the customers waiting in line outside the restaurant were already discussing reserving waiting chairs in advance, while she was busy at the stove in the back kitchen.
For this dish of pickled cabbage and pork, the pickled cabbage, scallions, ginger, and garlic are stir-fried in a clay pot until dry and fragrant. Water is then added to bring out more saltiness and sourness from the pickled cabbage. Enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and tofu skin are then added and cooked together.
The lean pork slices are marinated in advance. Now, we'll coat them evenly with sweet potato starch and a little water, making the pork slices even more tender when cooked.
The coated meat slices cannot be directly slid into the sauerkraut broth in the casserole to cook, otherwise the sweet potato starch will easily disintegrate. You need to use another pot to heat water, then slide the lean meat slices into the pot one by one. After they have slightly set, use a spatula to slowly push them apart.
The lean meat slices gradually change from dark brown to light meat color, and the edges of the slices curl up slightly, which means they are almost cooked.
She used a slotted spoon to scoop out the sliced meat from the pot, drained it slightly, and then evenly spread it on top of the pickled cabbage, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and tofu skin in the casserole. She then covered the pot and simmered it for a few minutes.
A few minutes later, lift the lid of the casserole, sprinkle in chopped green onions and chopped chili peppers, pour in some hot oil to release some aroma again, and the sauerkraut and pork dish is ready.
Gu Qingqiu transferred the pickled cabbage and sliced pork from the casserole to a large spare casserole bowl, placed it on a tray, and carried it to the glass window. She then placed a slip of paper with the corresponding table number under the casserole bowl, took the tray back to the stove, and continued cooking the next dish.
Busy times pass quickly. After cooking the last dish ordered by the customers in the dining area and placing it by the glass window, Gu Qingqiu wrote a note and rang the bell. She took out her phone to check the time; it was already 12:50.
Now that the store has purchased more ingredients, the business hours have also been extended, but Gu Qingqiu can still manage.
She thought she could find a table to sit down and eat at the restaurant later. She went to the stove, took a water cup from the shelf next to her, unscrewed the lid, took a few sips of water, and then started cooking the dishes she wanted to eat.
It's quite simple to cook. Just make a dish of pickled cabbage and pork, a casserole-baked sea bass, and chives and tofu. The soup was prepared earlier and kept warm. The casserole-baked sea bass was already cooking on the stove. All you need to do is make a dish of pickled cabbage and pork and stir-fry a dish of chives and tofu.
At 12:10, the stir-fried chives and dried tofu were plated. Gu Qingqiu gestured to Sister Tang to take the dishes to the dining table outside and also to get the bowls and chopsticks.
She took off her apron and chef's hat, washed her hands, and then used the washcloth she had taken out of her pocket that morning to wet her face before walking out of the dining area to prepare for her meal.
There was only one table of customers left in the restaurant, and when they saw the owner come out after making so many fragrant meat dishes, they smiled and waved: "Thank you for your hard work, boss. The dishes are delicious today. Goodbye."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and nodded, replying, "Thank you, and welcome back again!"
She smiled and waved to the young people. Sitting down at the table, she felt comfortable, and her legs and back, which had been standing for a long time, were relaxed and relieved to some extent.
Sister Tang brought out three bowls of soup from the kitchen, and Gu Qingqiu smiled and said thank you.
Sister Tang quickly shook her head: "Boss, don't be so polite. We should be thanking you."
It's rare to see a restaurant cook for its employees. Although this is because the restaurant only has one chef, the owner, it's still quite remarkable that the three of them cooked so many dishes. They look plentiful and delicious.
Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed.
Sister Zhou collected the last table's bowls, chopsticks, and dishes and put them in the kitchen sink to soak. After washing her hands, she hurriedly ran out, smiling and saying, "Boss, Sister Tang, you've worked hard."
"You've worked hard too, Zhou," Sister Tang said.
Gu Qingqiu greeted them, "You've all worked hard, come and eat."
Sister Zhou and Sister Tang both smiled and agreed.
Gu Qingqiu was the first to drink the soup. The soup wasn't very hot at the moment, and as she picked up the bowl and drank it, she felt that the soup was very mellow. The unique sweetness of the night-blooming cereus combined with the meaty aroma of the ribs slid into her mouth, making it very fragrant and rich.
After taking a few sips, she felt a little more comfortable and refreshed. Then she picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of pork rib to eat. The rib was cooked until it was soft and tender, and it was easy to chew and swallow it.
I must say, the pork ribs used in this soup are light but not bland. They absorb the sweetness of the broth and taste quite good.
Sister Tang must have been taking special care of her. She scooped three pieces of pork ribs into the bowl, which Gu Qingqiu ate in one go before picking up some dried lily buds to eat.
The night-blooming cereus flowers, like vegetable roots, grew in clusters. They were so tender and soft that you could tear them into shreds with your teeth. Of course, she didn't do that. After chewing them a few times and savoring their sweet aroma, she swallowed them.
After finishing the night-blooming cereus flowers, she used her chopsticks to scoop up some of the barley, poria cocos, and apricot kernels that had sunk to the bottom of the soup and ate them. Only after finishing everything did she pick up the bowl again and drink the remaining half bowl of soup in one gulp, which was incredibly satisfying.
Even after putting the bowl down, I could still taste the sweet fragrance in my mouth for a while, and I felt so comfortable that I felt like I was floating on air.
Gu Qingqiu rested for a while before picking up her chopsticks again and eating some slices of meat from the pickled cabbage and pork dish.
The sliced meat is smooth and slippery in the mouth, tender and delicious with the aroma of pickled cabbage. The pickled cabbage is crisp and refreshing with the meat flavor. The enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and bean curd sheets, in addition to their own aroma, also have the fragrance of pickled cabbage and meat.
At this time, serving half a bowl of rice with rice is undoubtedly the best choice, and Gu Qingqiu did just that, going to the rice cooker with Sister Zhou and Sister Tang to serve rice.
The rice cooked in the restaurant is usually kept in the dining area so that it can be served to customers whenever they order. However, sometimes when there isn't enough left for the customers, they don't cook any more. In the end, when the rice is sold out, they themselves have no rice to eat.
Fortunately, there was enough rice for three people to eat today, and it tasted really good with the pickled cabbage and sliced pork.
The braised sea bass in a clay pot is simply delicious!
Biting into a piece of sea bass reveals a smooth, slippery skin and tender, firm flesh with a hint of seafood sweetness, but mostly a savory flavor. Because it's been braised in a clay pot for quite some time, the aroma of fermented black beans permeates almost every fiber of the fish, making it incredibly flavorful. Once you've eaten most of the fish, mixing it with some rice is also a great option.
Gu Qingqiu loves this dish. The sea bass is fresh, fragrant, tender, and savory. Compared to sliced pork, fish is definitely higher in protein.
When she was shopping at the market in the morning, she passed by a fish stall and saw that these sea bass were the freshest, with the least amount of black veins and mist. She immediately asked the fish stall owner to pick out thirty of them and made them into a clay pot baked sea bass. Sure enough, the taste was very fresh and savory.
Sister Zhou just mentioned that many customers dining in the restaurant at lunchtime praised the fish dish for its freshness and deliciousness.
Gu Qingqiu mostly used her chopsticks to pick up fish and eat, but she also tried stir-fried chives and dried tofu quite a bit.
The chives were bought from the old lady I often buy from; they're all homegrown and very fresh. When stir-fried, they were indeed tender, juicy, and fragrant. Even the dried tofu absorbed the chive aroma, becoming moist and savory, with a subtle bean flavor lingering throughout. As a vegetarian dish, it was undoubtedly a perfect one.
After she finished eating, she went to rest, while Sister Zhou and Sister Tang chatted for a while before going back to their respective tasks.
Gu Qingqiu remained seated, took out her phone to check WeChat, and received a greeting from her aunt back home, which she replied briefly.
I went back last month and we got along quite well. My aunt would send me messages from time to time to ask how she was doing, and she liked these occasional greetings from relatives and friends. The two of them chatted quite well.
The other party didn't reply to the message for a while. She originally wanted to open Xiaohongshu to do her daily interactive session, but suddenly remembered something and changed her mind and opened Pinyou first.
Gu Qingqiu is now hoping to find a vegetable chopper as soon as possible to help her with grocery shopping and food preparation to relieve her work pressure.
So last night, while checking her usual job postings on Pinyu (a job search platform) to see if anyone had submitted a resume or inquired, she impulsively gave her own post about a vegetable washer job a boost in traffic, and now she wants to see how it goes.
After opening the app, she went straight to the messages section and saw the red dot numbers displayed. For a moment, she really thought she had opened Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
Then Gu Qingqiu couldn't help but smile. It seemed that the money spent on traffic recommendations had some effect. She started looking at some messages and inquiries, first looking at the resume and then at the questions asked by the other party. She would reply to suitable ones and arrange an interview, and directly refuse unsuitable ones to avoid wasting each other's time.
After doing all that, she opened Xiaohongshu in a good mood, clicked on the comment section of today's post, and started her daily interactions.
[Tired of decorating: Ahhhhh, I finally got to eat such delicious Gu's Private Kitchen food! It was absolutely amazing! I've been back at the hotel for half an hour and I'm still savoring the taste. I can't sleep at all (laughing and crying)]
Today's soup at the restaurant is the night-blooming cereus and pork rib soup. It has a sweet and mellow flavor with a rich meaty aroma. The pork ribs are cooked until tender, falling off the bone with a bite, and soaked in the sweet broth – quite delicious. The night-blooming cereus flowers are also very tender, almost like eating vegetables, leaving a sweet aftertaste. As for the pickled cabbage and pork slices, I think they're just as good as the pickled cabbage fish I've had before. The lean pork slices are smooth and tender, the pickled cabbage is crisp and salty-sour, and even the enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and tofu skin are delicious. The casserole-baked sea bass is tender and firm, with a savory and fragrant flavor. It's the first time I've found the fermented black bean flavor so appealing; it's a great dish to eat with rice.
Steamed Chicken with Five-Finger Peach was a rather novel dish; I'd never had it before. And Gu's Private Kitchen certainly didn't disappoint. The chicken was tender and juicy, with firm meat and crispy skin—it was the first time I'd ever found chicken skin so delicious; usually, I just tear it off with chopsticks. The flavor of the five-finger peach was quite unique, a mix of coconut and milk, which blended nicely with the chicken's aroma. The overall flavor was light yet not bland.
The only other dish, stir-fried chives with tofu, was also quite good. The chives were very tender and fresh, the kind that releases juice when you bite into them. The tofu had a strong bean flavor, combined with the aroma of chives, and the overall savory taste was very enjoyable. In any case, our group finished the entire table of dishes, including every single ingredient in the pork rib and night-blooming cereus soup.
Today's lunch was a fantastic dining experience since arriving in Jiang City; it was definitely worth the special trip. Hehe, we'll be spending two more days in Jiang City, and I'm going to eat! Eat! Gu's Private Kitchen!
[Images:] Night-blooming cereus and pork rib soup; pickled cabbage and sliced pork; casserole-baked sea bass; steamed chicken with five-finger peach; stir-fried chives and dried tofu.
[Gu's Private Kitchen replied to "Tired of Renovation": Hahaha, you're welcome anytime, but please remember not to eat here too often! If you get tired of it and never come back, I'll have nowhere to cry (covers mouth and giggles.gif)]
[Uh...hehe...eating at Gu's Private Kitchen every day makes me happy all day, no, at least three days! And I don't want to eat at any other restaurant for a while, no matter how much I eat, it's just like the taste of a fairy (laughs to death)]
My favorite dish today was the steamed chicken with five-finger peach. The chicken was incredibly tender, firm yet juicy, with a crispy skin. The aroma of five-finger peach permeated every inch of the chicken, making it very fragrant. For the first time, I found this original-flavor chicken to be better than those savory chickens, soy sauce chickens, or spicy chickens!
Of course, the pickled cabbage and pork belly and the casserole-baked sea bass were also delicious. My family and I ate our chopsticks non-stop from the first dish to the last, and we even ate a bowl of rice each. It wasn't because we didn't want to eat more rice; we just wanted to save room for the meat dishes.
I sincerely recommend everyone to come and try Gu's Private Kitchen. Their meat dishes are so delicious and flavorful, I guarantee you'll never want to eat at any other restaurant again! (gif)
[Images:] Night-blooming cereus and pork rib soup; pickled cabbage and sliced pork; casserole-baked sea bass; steamed chicken with five-finger peach; stir-fried chives and dried tofu.
[Gu's Private Kitchen replies: Thank you for liking it. Steamed Chicken with Five-Finger Peach is a simple and easy dish to make. Just remember to buy a whole chicken. You can try steaming it at home when you're craving it sometimes. It should taste pretty good. (Little Dumpling is working hard to cook.gif)]
[Calcium Supplement, Calcium Supplement, and More Calcium Supplement: I used to never be willing to call a delivery service for restaurants that couldn't deliver to me; even an extra dollar for delivery would have been the death of me. But when I eat at Gu's Private Kitchen, I feel so happy and willing to pay that ten-odd dollar delivery fee!]
It has to be said that Gu's Private Kitchen's takeout packaging is really hardcore. The beautiful insulated takeout bag and the sturdy, leak-proof packaging box are a big plus. The portion size is basically the same as when you eat in the restaurant, and the quality control is the same. It is still hot when it arrives.
Heaven knows how happy a busy worker is to drink a bowl of sweet, savory, and meaty pork rib soup after a long morning. The ribs are so meaty, just ordering this soup and meat is enough to fill you up for a whole meal.
Of course, I also ordered a dish of pickled cabbage and sliced pork. The lean pork slices were smooth and tender, with a rich, salty flavor from the pickled cabbage. The pickled cabbage could be considered a vegetable, and it was crisp and refreshing. Even the enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and bean curd sheets were very fragrant. And the golden pickled cabbage broth was incredibly flavorful; I highly recommend it to anyone dining in tonight!
[Image of pork rib soup with night-blooming cereus.jpg, pickled cabbage and sliced pork.jpg, pretty packaging bag and heavy packaging box.jpg]
[Gu's Private Kitchen replies to "Calcium Supplement, Calcium Supplement Again": Thank you for your support. We'll look into offering a delivery fee subsidy later (starry-eyed.gif)]
[I'm tired of this: every day I just look at everyone's photos and feel envious, so envious! When will it be my turn to eat something as divine as Gu's Private Kitchen?]
[Gu's Private Kitchen replied to "I'm Tired": (pats head.gif) We'll meet someday, it's just a matter of time. I hope we won't disappoint you then!]
Gu Qingqiu glanced at the top-rated comments and replied to a few of them. Later on, she only replied to the more interesting and witty comments.
She quickly scrolled through most of the comments section, then exited the post and checked her follower count on her homepage. Satisfied, she left Xiaohongshu and opened Weibo to continue interacting with netizens.
After her online operations, Sister Zhou and Sister Tang are almost done with their work.
Gu Qingqiu wasn't in a hurry to play on her phone. After logging out of Weibo, she turned off her phone and put it in her pocket. She got up and walked to the restaurant entrance to stand and enjoy the natural breeze. Even though the breeze was dry, it seemed more comfortable than the air conditioning.
With a casual glance, she could see the noodle shop diagonally opposite. Most of the food and beverage businesses had closed after lunchtime, but the noodle shop seemed to be open all the time, happily serving customers whenever they came in.
Just as Gu Qingqiu was about to look away, the restaurant owner walked out of the shop. He happened to be looking in her direction and even smiled at her.
She paused for a moment, then, receiving the other person's friendly smile, she smiled back and nodded as a greeting.
Then the restaurant owner went back into the shop, while Gu Qingqiu remained standing at the door enjoying the breeze, seemingly unconcerned about the greeting she had just exchanged.
After Sister Zhou and Sister Tang finished their work and left, she closed the wooden door and went upstairs to rest.
In the following days, in addition to cooking in the kitchen and running the restaurant, Gu Qingqiu interviewed several people and finally successfully hired a vegetable cutter.
Wang Meiyu is 43 years old this year. She used to work as a vegetable cutter and an apprentice chef at a restaurant in Jiang City. Her cooking skills are decent, and her knife skills are quite good.
Because the working atmosphere at the restaurant was bad, and the chef only wanted to exploit her without teaching her cooking skills, coupled with the change of her child's school for junior high school and the move to rent a place in Yunjiang District, she naturally quit her original job and found a job at Gu's Private Kitchen.
Gu Qingqiu was hiring a full-time vegetable washer, with the same salary and benefits as Sister Zhou. When interviewing Wang Meiyu, he was satisfied with her knife skills and felt that she was a pretty good person. So he hired her temporarily to give it a try. A one-month probationary period would be enough to test Wang Meiyu and how she would get along with everyone.
After hiring the person that day and arranging for them to officially start work the next day, Gu Qingqiu happily ordered two more grocery shopping carts on the shopping app. Hehe, now she'll have someone to accompany and help her when she goes to the market to buy groceries every morning!
In the days that followed, she and Wang Meiyu would each pull their shopping carts to the market every morning.
Gu Qingqiu would often be the one picking and choosing and buying, while Wang Meiyu would pull the shopping cart to receive and put away the ingredients, following beside Gu Qingqiu with the cart. She was particularly clever and shrewd.
Several stall owners were quite familiar with Gu Qingqiu because she often came to buy vegetables. When they saw a new face, they couldn't help but ask her a few questions out of curiosity, and they also noticed the newcomer's reaction.
"Boss Gu, now you have company when you come to buy groceries, it's great to have someone help you so it's not so tiring!"
"Boss Gu, it's rare to see you bring someone to shop for groceries today! You won't have to carry all that stuff yourself anymore!"
"Wow, there are four shopping carts today! Boss Gu, you can buy whatever you want today. Before, when I saw you with two carts full, I was always worried that one bag of meat would fall off on the way home, haha."
"..."
Gu Qingqiu listened to the stall owners talking with a smile and responded cheerfully. Wang Meiyu stood to the side and smiled shyly, saying, "The boss is very good at guiding us. It's all what I should do."
Having an extra helper makes grocery shopping at the market much easier. Of course, many stall owners can deliver the groceries to restaurants for you, and Gu Qingqiu doesn't hesitate to do so.
The fish stall owner was very honest. Even though Gu Qingqiu had an extra person to help her, he didn't dare to refuse. Without her having to say anything, he readily told them to go buy other things first, and he would help deliver the fish to the restaurant when they came back.
The procurement went smoothly, and Wang Meiyu quickly got the hang of preparing the food at the restaurant.
As long as Gu Qingqiu sets an example, she can learn to cut each ingredient by imitation. She can slice pork into even slices, cut beef along the grain, slice fish into double slices, and even cut loofah into rolling chunks.
Gu Qingqiu absolutely adored this kind of vegetable chopper who could learn to chop vegetables with just a little guidance.
With someone else chopping vegetables and meat, she can focus on preparing the ingredients, marinating and seasoning, making her more efficient. Wang Meiyu can also lend a hand when stir-frying, making things much easier.
Moreover, the spiritual power in Gu Qingqiu's dantian gradually solidified and grew stronger. Even if he was only responsible for marinating and seasoning in the food preparation step, the dishes cooked through stir-frying could remove all impurities and condense a tiny bit of spiritual power, just like before.
During her first week at the restaurant, Wang Meiyu gradually adapted to the restaurant's work rhythm and could clearly feel the boss's approval of her. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that her chances of becoming a permanent employee were quite high and there shouldn't be any problems.
She really liked the restaurant's work atmosphere; the boss was kind and her colleagues were friendly. If she didn't know something, Sister Zhou and Sister Tang would give her some pointers.
Furthermore, the restaurant staff's meals were really good, exactly the same as the dishes served to customers outside. Every dish was incredibly delicious. Just the prospect of lunch and dinner kept her motivated to work.
With Wang Meiyu's help, Gu Qingqiu felt much more relaxed throughout the day. She wasn't tired at all, and her spirits were high. She couldn't help but sigh that it was good to have more people to help her. She had finally found a suitable vegetable chopper!
In mid-July, the largest film and television city in Jiang Province, located in the Jiang City Port New Area, was where the crew of "Ten Years' Promise" arrived in Jiang City for a short rest after completing more than a month of filming in Shanghai. They then began filming the high school scenes.
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