Chapter 30 A Flash of Inspiration
"Uncle Baohua, I don't ask for your forgiveness, I just want to apologize. My father should have gone to Hong Kong City that year, but you stayed..."
"Shichang, the world is unpredictable. No one knows what will happen next." Yue Baohua helped him up, "Get up."
"Please let me finish what I am saying. My dad told me that it was he who encouraged you to go to Gangcheng after you came back. He was afraid that if you came back, his position as the master chef of Fuyunlou would be in jeopardy, and he promised you that he would take good care of Zhirong. During the years you were away, you sent money and things to my dad. When I got married, you sent me a large sum of money. You didn't owe the Luo family anything. On the contrary, the Luo family took advantage of you a lot. But later I only cared about myself. My dad died, and Zhirong knew that he didn't have much time left. Zhirong and I grew up together. As his brother, he wrote to me and asked me to take care of Ningning, but I did nothing. When you came back from Gangcheng and said you wanted to find Ningning, I listened to Lifen's words and had some bad ideas, saying that it would be good for Ningning to let Guoqiang, the most capable one, and Ningning get the marriage certificate. These were all lies. It's just that you have a restaurant in Gangcheng and Guoqiang is a good cook, so you came up with this idea." Luo Shichang knelt on the ground with tears in his eyes and kowtowed to Yue Baohua.
The last time Yue Baohua encountered such a tearful scene was when he paid off Ding Shengqiang's gambling debts for the first time. Within a year, Ding Shengqiang owed gambling debts again, and owed even more. He refused to help him pay it off. What was his final outcome?
Yue Baohua looked at Luo Guoqiang, feeling a little sorry, and thought of his senior brother. His senior brother was really good to Zhirong and his daughter. Even though Zhang Lifen had done something like that, the two of them, for the sake of their senior brother and Luo Guoqiang himself, wanted to take Luo Guoqiang to Hong Kong City. Now it seemed that this matter had to be abandoned.
Yue Baohua let go of Luo Shichang: "Shichang! It's too late today, and I'm tired too. You guys go back first!"
"Uncle Baohua..." Luo Shichang didn't get a reply and refused to get up.
"Uncle Luo, my grandfather has varicose veins in his legs. Let him rest early." Yue Ning said.
Luo Shichang didn't get a definite answer, but he could do nothing about it.
Luo Guoqiang wanted to say something to Yue Ning, but Yue Ning said, "Brother Guoqiang, I'm airsick! I've been on a plane for eight hours, do you think you're tired?"
"I was wrong, what about tomorrow?"
"We'll talk about tomorrow's affairs tomorrow, but we still need to rest tomorrow morning. Shall we talk again tomorrow afternoon or evening?"
"All right!"
The grandfather and grandson sent the father and son out. Yue Baohua looked at Yue Ning, who smiled helplessly: "Their wishful thinking failed, and our wishful thinking also failed."
Yue Baohua followed with a smile: "What else can we do?"
When they got upstairs, Yue Ning said, "Never mind, I'll go find Qiao Junxian first and fill out the form."
Yue Ning added: "Grandpa, don't think too much. Have a good sleep."
After Yue Baohua entered the room, Yue Ning went to knock on Qiao Junxian's door.
The door opened, and it was indeed Qiao Junxian. With a "bang", the door closed again. Yue Ning looked at the closed door, and the scene just now appeared in her mind. Qiao Junxian seemed to be shirtless? He closed the door so quickly that she didn't see his figure clearly. I wonder if it was as outstanding as his face.
The door opened again, and Qiao Junxian was already wearing pajamas: "Come in."
Yue Ning walked in, and Qiao Junxian pointed at the desk and said, "Take a look first, and after you've read it, we'll fill it out together."
Yue Ning looked through the forms. Behind each form was a piece of manuscript paper with some examples of what to fill in. She looked up and asked, "Did you write this?"
"Well, it's best not to make alterations on official forms, so I gave you an example. If you don't understand, just ask me."
"I'll also write it in advance on the manuscript paper and then copy it down." Yue Ning picked up the pen on the table.
Qiao Junxian poured her a glass of water and looked down at her writing. Her writing posture was really pleasing to the eye.
Yue Ning wrote it again on the manuscript paper: "Do you think this is okay?"
Qiao Junxian bent down to check, and Yue Ning looked up, just in time to see his chest exposed when he bent down.
Yue Ning turned her head away and told herself, what's the big deal about a man showing such a large part of his chest? A man's swimsuit should not cover the top two points, okay?
"Okay. After you fill it out, take the guarantor form here and ask Uncle Hua to sign it. Also, stand against the wall and I'll take a picture of you for your ID photo." After saying that, Qiao Junxian turned around to get the camera.
Yue Ning was filling out the form when Qiao Junxian asked, "When are you going to compete with Luo Guoqiang in making fish soup? I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I wonder if I'll be able to enjoy it?"
"there is none left."
"Why?"
"Alas!" Yue Ning sighed, "Luo Guoqiang is really a good seedling. What a pity..."
Yue Ning talked about Luo Shichang's actions just now: "After doing such a thing, he still wants to blackmail me morally. No matter how good Luo Guoqiang is, we can't take him with us, right?"
Yue Ning had also finished filling out the form, and Qiao Junxian moved the single sofa against the wall away: "You stand there."
Yue Ning stood against the wall, and Qiao Junxian pointed his camera at her: "It's okay, if this one is not suitable, just find another one."
"How can it be that easy? I originally thought that Fuyun Building and Baohua Building were of the same lineage, so Luo Guoqiang could be used when he came over, and I would also have a helper that I could use..."
"Turn your head a little to the right and lower your chin. OK, that's it." Qiao Junxian pressed the shutter. "Luo Guoqiang is not the only one who can be employed in Fuyunlou. Even with my grandfather's help, even if Hong Kong City has a resistance policy and it is very convenient to move, the approval process will still take a few days. With your ability, can't you go to Fuyunlou and ask for two available cooks? The Luo couple is so smart, and your uncle Luo is the chef of Fuyunlou. I'm afraid it won't be easy to be a cook under him, right?"
Yue Ning went over to get the form, and Qiao Junxian put down the camera: "Go ask your grandfather how much he pays his apprentices every month. Anyway, ordinary workers in Hong Kong make 1,500 yuan a month, and skilled cooks must make more than that, right? For workers in the mainland, 50 or 60 yuan is considered a lot, and 70 or 80 yuan is a high salary. Give them a chance to earn 1,500 Hong Kong dollars, which is equivalent to more than 500 yuan. Do you think they are willing to go?"
"Are you suggesting that I take advantage of socialism?" Yue Ning slumped on the sofa like a salted fish.
Although most of the time-honored brands will decline in the tide of the market, if you become the one pushing them forward, you will eventually feel a little guilty.
How can I put it? My original idea was to take Luo Guoqiang to Hong Kong City, wasn't it also poaching? Well! I have always been so "shameless". In my previous life, I was clearly under the brand of Cantonese cuisine, making improved Cantonese cuisine, making a lot of money, and even going to the high-end line, I must be recognized by everyone as an authentic Cantonese cuisine master. It's really "classic", shameless, and simply shameless.
"It's not like I'm taking advantage of anyone. I've been chatting with Mr. Chen all the way. Since the country opened its doors, the higher-ups have set the tone to develop the economy. You can recruit them to the port city, make some money, and then return to Yuecheng to open a restaurant. Wouldn't that add vitality to domestic construction?" Qiao Junxian sat down. "You can directly use them when you open a restaurant. We're in the shipping business, and there's a huge gap between the mainland and the outside world. We have to find a way to train them and teach them international standards. My grandfather is having a headache over this!"
Yue Ning poked her finger at her temples, feeling as if she had some ideas coming up. Teach? She patted the armrest: "Qiao Junxian, you are really smart."
She was shocked and praised him for being smart. The question was, did he say anything special? Didn't he just complain that the mainland was short of everything and had nothing going for it?
"Brother, listen to me, do you think this will work?" Yue Ning told him his idea.
In my previous life, the manager of Ning Shao La in Yokohama, Japan, was a sister who went to Japan in the late 1990s. She went from the southwestern mountainous area to work in a Japanese-owned garment factory in Suzhou. The factory claimed that as long as she did a good job, she would have the opportunity to work as a trainee at the Japanese headquarters for two years. At that time, she worked hard on the sewing machine in Suzhou, earning less than 1,000 yuan a month. Going to Japan to learn technology and earn 3,000 yuan was very attractive to everyone. Her efforts paid off and she finally got this opportunity.
After going to Japan, she realized that the so-called training and learning technology was actually just changing the place where she operated the sewing machine. But she was very open-minded. She left her hometown and worked from 8 am to 8 pm and 8 pm to 8 am, but the salary was three times that of China. What was there to be dissatisfied about?
In the factory, this sister also met her husband, a man who came from the countryside of Hokkaido to work, and she stayed in Japan.
Japanese trainees recruit workers under the guise of learning technology, but they actually give people opportunities for training.
Yue Ning said: "Luo Shichang also said that with the passing of Grandpa Luo and my father, several famous dishes have been lost. What I want is to cooperate with Fuyunlou in an open and aboveboard manner, select excellent chefs from their building, send them to Baohualou for training, and work at the same time, earning 70% of the salary of chefs of the same level in Baohualou, but with food and accommodation provided. The term is two years, and then they will return to Fuyunlou. The most important thing is that the problem of Baohualou's lack of chefs has been solved. And we are not just fleecing them, but we are also raising the level of "drinking water and remembering its source, like crows feeding them". It will benefit all the young chefs in Fuyunlou, so that these young chefs can have the opportunity to succeed."
"You came up with this idea, but you say I'm smart? Are you mocking me?" Qiao Junxian looked at her speechlessly.
Yue Ning frowned. "Brother, you have to understand. If you hadn't mentioned the training, how could I have had a flash of inspiration? Mr. Lu Xun said: Genius is 1% inspiration plus 99% perspiration. Without your inspiration, I wouldn't have been able to perform well later."
These are not the main points now. Qiao Junxian is concerned about: "Are you sure Mr. Lu Xun said this?"
"I don't know who said this famous quote, but I attribute it to Mr. Lu Xun." Yue Ning picked up the form on the table and said, "I'll ask my grandfather to sign it."
"What time is it? Your grandfather must have gone to bed early, right?" Qiao Junxian pointed at the small clock on the table.
Oh! It's almost twelve o'clock. Yue Ning walked to the door with the form: "Sorry, I kept you awake. Good night!"
"It may be difficult for you to find Fuyunlou's superiors. Tomorrow morning, let's talk to my grandfather and ask him to contact the local government and tell them that you have learned that Fuyunlou's craftsmanship inheritance is facing problems, and you have taken the initiative to propose this way of cooperation. How do you think?"
"Thank you." Yue Ning nodded repeatedly, "We are really a pair of cobblers. Together we can be as good as Zhuge Liang."
Qiao Junxian said unhappily, "Who wants to be with you?"
"I mean, we can team up in giving and making decisions. Are you worried that your girlfriend will be jealous? Got it. I'll pay attention to it next time." Yue Ning couldn't suppress his excitement and his eyebrows were beaming with joy.
Qiao Junxian responded unhappily: "I don't have a girlfriend."
"There will be bread, there will be milk, and there will be a girlfriend. When you chase girls in the future, I will be your military advisor." Yue Ning opened the door and went out, but saw his grandfather smoking in the corridor.
"Grandpa!?" Why is grandpa smoking in the middle of the night?
Yue Ning closed the door for Qiao Junxian: "Grandpa, there are a few things you need to fill in on the form. How about filling it out now?"
"Okay." Yue Baohua opened the door and Yue Ning followed him into his room.
Yue Ning pointed at the grid and asked his grandfather to fill in the relatives' information and guarantor's commitment.
"Grandpa is worried that if Brother Guoqiang doesn't go to Gangcheng, Baohua Building will be short-handed all of a sudden, right?" Yue Ning chuckled, "Just now I was filling out a form with Qiao Junxian, and while chatting with him, I came up with an idea. I see that you won't be able to sleep if you don't solve this problem. Let's not put it off until tomorrow, I tell you..."
The incident had just happened and the granddaughter had a solution. Yue Baohua found that after finding his granddaughter, he didn't have to think anymore.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Okay! It's too late, I'll go back to my room." Yue Ning stood up.
Yue Baohua thought about it and decided to tell the child: "Ningning."
"Um?"
"From now on... don't be alone with boys at night." Yue Baohua found it extremely difficult to say these words. If he didn't say them, he might not be able to sleep again tonight.
Yue Ning understood what his grandfather was worried about and laughed out loud: "I thought that after last night, Grandpa Qiao would be worried about his grandson being alone with me!"
Yue Baohua recalled what the Beijing police said: the robber had his front teeth knocked out by a punch and was so scared that he wet his pants...
*
Fuyunlou was first built during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. Later, the owner of Fuyunlou made money and moved to the central area of Guangdong City eighty years ago, to a European-style building on the bank of the Pearl River.
The best Cantonese restaurant in Yuecheng is a European-style building, which in itself speaks to the history of Yuecheng. As a trading port city, it gathers passengers from the south and the north, and the Eastern and Western cultures blend here.
It was almost time for dinner. A man wearing black-framed glasses, a white short-sleeved shirt and black pants locked his bicycle, walked to the entrance of Fuyunlou, and looked up at the sign. On the top were the words "State-owned" and below were the words "Fuyunlou". This is one of the few restaurants that has retained its original name after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
When he walked into Fuyun Building, it was probably not the peak dining time yet, so it was not very busy. He found a seat by the window and sat down, waiting for the waiter to come over to take his order.
I waited for two or three minutes, but the place wasn't busy and no waiter came.
Just wait patiently and see how long it takes.
"Mr. Zhou, why did you tell the waiter that you must eat the fish soup made by Chef Luo?" a voice came from behind.
He turned around and saw a fat old man in his sixties or seventies and a woman in her thirties or forties sitting at the table behind him. The table was empty, probably because they had just ordered the food but it hadn't been served yet.
"If it weren't for the fact that Luo Shichang's fish soup was still delicious, I probably wouldn't have come to Fuyunlou. The only things that are still edible in Fuyunlou now are a few of Luo Shichang's dishes. But I just want to taste it and reminisce about the past." The old man sighed.
"What was Fuyun Building like back then?" the female comrade asked with great interest.
"When Fuyunlou was at its most glorious, Master Luo brought his most proud apprentice, Master Xiaoyue, to make a chrysanthemum and five snakes soup in autumn, which was second to none in Guangdong. Shrimp and pomelo peel made coarse dishes with exquisiteness to the extreme, and the most praised dish was the crispy glutinous rice chicken made by Master Xiaoyue."
"Glutinous rice chicken, where can you find it? Isn't it just chicken and glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed?" said the female comrade.
"I knew you would say that, so I paused on purpose." The old man said proudly, "This crispy glutinous rice chicken is the way we Cantonese people cook roast chicken..."
The old man described in detail how to make the crispy glutinous rice chicken. The female comrade said disapprovingly: "Only capitalists would come up with such a tricky method. Can't eat chicken without removing the bones?"
The old man was speechless for a moment, and sighed, "There are common people, but there must also be highbrow culture. Chinese food culture is broad and profound. If we only cook coarse dishes, it would be a pity if these skills were lost."
The waiter probably finally remembered that there were customers here, and handed the menu to the comrade with glasses. The comrade with glasses asked the old man: "Old comrade! I just came to Yuecheng from another place. From what you said, you are a gourmet. Can you recommend a few dishes to me?"
The old man set his eyes on the abalone, and the comrade with glasses said, "A cheaper one will do."
The old man responded, "For the two of you, roast goose and roast pork, a portion of fish soup, Dongjiang stuffed tofu, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables will be enough. The fish soup will take some time, but it is also a specialty that Fuyunlou has barely retained, so you must try it."
The comrade with glasses thought for a moment and said, "One serving of roast goose and one serving of Dongjiang tofu."
"What are you eating? You are alone. Come here, sit here, and eat with me." The old man invited him warmly.
The comrade stood up and readily agreed: "Then I'll be shameless and have a free meal."
The lady sitting at the old man's table rolled her eyes, and the waiter who took the order also rolled his eyes. The old man looked at it and shook his head: "With this attitude, before the liberation, they would have to pack up and leave immediately. From the kitchen to the waiters, all of Fuyunlou is no longer good."
He was just muttering about how bad Fu Yun Lou was when the waiter brought over a plate of roasted pigeon, put it heavily on the table, and rolled his eyes at him again.
The old man wanted to say something, but the female comrade at the same table stopped him and said, "Mr. Zhou, have some roasted pigeon."
The old man invited this comrade to eat squab: "Eat this piece with the wings."
The comrade took a bite and said, "This roasted pigeon is indeed as good as its reputation!"
The old man put down his chopsticks and said, "The skin is crispy, the meat is tender and juicy, right?"
Is that even necessary?
The old man shook his head: "It's not full and sweet enough. The pigeon roasted by Master Xiaoyue has a faint sweetness with a hint of fruity wood. The key is that it is sweet but also moist."
"What is Run?" someone asked at the next table.
Smoothness is a feeling, and it is really hard to explain this kind of feeling. The old man finished eating a piece of pigeon meat without explaining it clearly, as if he was too tired to talk to you ignorant people.
The fish soup for their table came up, and the old man was surprised: "Why is it served so early today?"
"Isn't it good to serve early?" The waiter lowered his head and squinted his eyes as he looked at him with his chin folded into three layers.
The old man said, "The fish for the fish soup is freshly killed, fried, and freshly cut. How can it be made in such a short time? Are you trying to fool me by using a fish that has already been cut?"
"No, why do you, a rich landlord, have so many problems? You are bothering us working people." The waiter got angry.
These words brought back the old man's unbearable memories, and his fat face turned red. The comrade with glasses stood up, looked sullen, and said to the waiter, "Go call your manager over."
The waiter wanted to say something, but then a man in a chef's uniform came running over, bowed and apologized: "Grandpa Zhou, don't be angry, it's all my fault. When they placed the order, they said you specifically wanted my dad to make the fish soup. The fish soup I made these days has been praised by the customers. When I saw you coming today, I snatched the order from my dad and wanted to make you a fish soup. Please give me some comments. I didn't expect... I'll ask my dad to make you another one. It's all my fault, please don't be angry."
Luo Guoqiang apologized so sincerely that the old man's anger gradually subsided: "Guoqiang, it's okay, it's okay, I'll try it first."
Luo Guoqiang picked up the bowl, scooped a spoonful of fish soup into the bowl, and respectfully handed it to the old man: "Grandpa Zhou, whether it is good or not, just tell me directly, I'm listening."
Someone nearby asked, "Who is this old man?"
"Mr. Zhou San, a wealthy young man from Xiguan before the liberation, has been a regular customer of Fuyunlou for decades." Someone explained.
When a spoonful of shredded fish soup was put into his mouth, the old man's eyes, which had been squinting, suddenly opened. This expression scared Luo Guoqiang so much that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
The old man asked Luo Guoqiang: "Did you really make this fish soup?"
Luo Guoqiang nodded and said, "Yes!"
His heart was about to jump into his throat, and he asked, "Grandpa Zhou, am I not cooking well enough?"
"Who did you learn this from? This... this tastes like your Uncle Zhirong! But didn't your Uncle Zhirong die in the northwest?" The old man asked in a trembling voice, "The fish soup your father made lacks the aroma of your Uncle Zhirong's. You have it in your bowl! Guoqiang, you've got it! Your grandfather has someone to take over! When I took the first bite, I thought this fish soup was made by your Uncle Zhirong!"
"Ah?" Luo Guoqiang was stunned.
The old man took another sip and said, "Really, really! Your uncle Zhirong also realized it when he was your age. You have a lot of potential!"
"No, no! I didn't figure it out on my own." Luo Guoqiang waved his hands quickly, "I went to the northwest, and it was Uncle Zhirong's daughter Ningning who taught me. After you cut the fish apart, fry it in the pan, and it will leave a little bit of the burnt aroma. Also, Ningning taught me to remove the fish bones before frying the fish, which saves a lot of time."
"Zhirong's daughter? When that child followed his father to the northwest, I remember she was not even as tall as the table."
"Now he's grown taller, almost catching up with me."
"Guoqiang, you still have to be the chef!" someone called Luo Guoqiang.
"I'll be right there, right there." Luo Guoqiang smiled from ear to ear, and he bowed to express his gratitude. "Grandpa Zhou, I'm going to cook! Don't choose between my dad and me in the future."
"Boy, I'll choose you." The old man pointed at Luo Guoqiang and said.
Luo Guoqiang ran in happily. The old man greeted the comrade wearing glasses and said, "The fish soup should be eaten while it is hot. The fragrance will disappear if it gets cold."
The comrade with glasses was eating the fish soup, which tasted really good. He was a foreigner and didn't know much about it. He only heard the old man say: "The fish soup uses very common ingredients, which are common ingredients at home. If you don't mind the trouble, you can make it at home. But it is not easy to make it fresh, fragrant, smooth and soothing. The best fish soup I have ever eaten was made by the uncle of the chef just now. It's a pity that such a good person went to the northwest and is gone."
"This young master is willing to study hard. It seems that Fuyunlou still has talented people."
"That being said, it's a good thing that he's willing to learn, but his father is only half-baked, how much can he teach him?"
As the old man was speaking, the waiter came to serve the dishes and continued to give him a cold look.
The female comrade advised: "You should just eat well and stop being annoying."
"Eat, eat, no more talking."
When the old man said this, the comrade with glasses was not happy: "Old comrade, I'm waiting to hear it!"
"Eat first, eat first. We'll talk after you finish eating."
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