Chapter 19
Whose ingredients are not fresh?
The next morning, warm light shone through the branches, and the interweaving of light and shadow spread a golden yellow all over the ground.
This was the scene Xiao Yue saw when she retracted the awning into the corner, and her mood became wonderful.
It looks like a good day today, you can imagine how good the business will be.
After all, so many people came even though it rained yesterday, so there is no need to worry too much now.
Today is the day when the three-day limited-edition promotion ends and crispy duck with taro paste is added to the menu!
Xiao Yue breathed in the fresh air for a while, looking relaxed, and prepared to go back to the kitchen to cook.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, a burst of crackling firecrackers rang out.
Xiao Yue was startled and quickly raised his hands to cover his ears to block out the explosive sound.
By the time the firecrackers stopped, Xiao Yue's ears were almost ringing.
A sound so close could only be coming from not far away from Yueting Self-service Restaurant.
Xiao Yue walked to the street curiously, and saw a lot of firecracker debris flying on the ground, and a strong smell of fireworks in the air.
She followed the source of the crumbs and found it was a shop next door to hers called "Jixiang Restaurant".
There were two people standing at the door of the shop. One had a slightly dark skin and was holding a bamboo pole with firecrackers that had just been set off; the other had ordinary facial features and was holding a gong and striking it with a "clang" sound.
In an instant, the sound of the gong echoed through half the street, and the man's shouting followed -
"Jixiang Restaurant has improved its business with new activities, don't miss it if you pass by!"
Liuyun City has always set off firecrackers when a new shop opens, symbolizing booming business and attracting passers-by.
This is a time-honored restaurant that has been open for many years. Why are they suddenly setting off firecrackers?
Xiao Yue remembered that the man who struck the gong was the man she met when she went out the back door that day.
The two of them didn't bump into each other at the time, but his mouth was foul as if he had been bumped by her.
Seeing passers-by joining in the fun, Xiao Yue raised his eyebrows and walked over.
Seeing this, the man beating the gong stopped what he was doing, raised his smiling face and greeted them.
"Everyone, take a look! Our old brand is having a big event today. From now on, you can have all breakfast for just 100 copper coins!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Yue paused for a moment. The people around him were also shocked and started discussing aloud.
"One hundred copper coins for breakfast!"
"Why does this sound familiar?"
"Doesn't it sound familiar? Yueting Self-service is right next door. Wasn't it her family who opened it first?"
"What's going on? Why did Jixiang Restaurant change its prices?"
"It costs a hundred to eat, why don't I go to Yueting for a buffet?"
The voice of these words was neither too loud nor too soft, so the man who was striking the gong naturally heard them. He calmly struck the gong again to attract everyone's attention.
"You may not know that our restaurant has been around for more than ten years. We have always used the freshest ingredients and the prices are the lowest! But now we have no choice but to make some painful improvements. From now on, you can enjoy the most authentic meals at our Jixiang Restaurant for only one hundred copper coins!"
There was a slight clamor from the crowd, and one of them rolled his eyes and asked a question.
"Hey, Brother Zhang, I remember that you go to the market to buy your ingredients every day. They are very fresh! If you sell them for 100 yuan in the future, won't you lose money?"
Xiao Yue turned his head and saw that it was a short, shrewd-looking man.
When the people around heard this, they looked puzzled.
Xiao Yue listened to the few words calmly. What everyone was discussing was whether the ingredients at Jixiang Restaurant were really that good? Why did Jixiang Restaurant start to imitate others? In the past, the price was around 400 yuan, how could it really drop so much?
Zhang Mo also heard this and sighed, saying in an unspoken way: "As long as customers can eat safely and healthily, what does it matter if Jixiang Restaurant loses a little? I can't sell it for 50 copper coins, but for 100 copper coins, I guarantee that everyone can eat comfortably!"
There was no mention of Yueting Zizhu in his words, but every sentence he said was meant to be a criticism of Yueting Zizhu.
Their Jixiang Restaurant uses the freshest ingredients every day, and is already operating at a loss to give back to customers, so they can only grit their teeth and sell at the lowest price of one hundred.
In other words: Can people really feel at ease eating at a price of fifty copper coins?
Xiao Yue noticed that some people in the crowd had changed their expressions slightly, and their eyes were looking at her in the last row intentionally or unintentionally.
The short man who had brought up the topic in the first place said thoughtfully, "Good health is indeed more important. In that case, I might as well spend an extra fifty dollars to buy peace of mind!"
After saying that, he went straight to the store and gave the hundred copper coins in his hand without hesitation.
Once someone took the lead, the rest of the onlookers became restless and walked in in twos and threes.
Soon, the Jixiang Restaurant was full of people.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Yue, who was standing there, didn't know what to feel, or rather... his mood didn't fluctuate at all.
Just at this moment, Zhang Mo looked over. It seemed that he had noticed her a long time ago. He raised his chin towards her with a smug look on his face.
Xiao Yue: “…”
What are you doing?
Xiao Yue had a complicated expression. He opened his mouth, closed it again, turned around and left.
What a clumsy way of singing the same tune, what a speechless means of competition. She was afraid that she would laugh out loud if she didn't leave.
Xiao Yue had thought that as his shop became more and more famous, his peers would send people to do something tricky, but he didn't expect that this kind of scene would finally happen today.
Could it be that this person thought that if he did this, she would lose her composure?
Use the stale ingredients to suppress her? ?
Xiao Yue was curious. Wouldn't he arrange for someone to come to her store for an on-site inspection, just like he did today?
What if you take just one bite?
If there really was a problem, why hasn’t anything happened to anyone in all these days?
It had been a long time since Xiao Yue had encountered such a funny thing. The more he thought about it, the funnier it became.
She didn't even bother to pay attention to this self-defeating tactic.
Besides, what the customers eat and where they choose to eat is up to them. When can you force them to buy something?
Xiao Yue rolled her eyes, put the matter behind her in a few steps, and started cooking for the new day.
Today's crispy duck with taro paste has been looked forward to by old customers for a long time, and she will definitely not disappoint them.
Xiao Yue marinated a sufficient amount of duck meat, roasted it in boxes, cut it all up, and placed it neatly in a heat preservation tank.
When she was busy and tired, she would take the time to stop and put a few cookies in her mouth.
I have to say, this thing is really convenient. After cooling and placing it in the insulation tank last night, it is still crispy and fragrant when I eat it today, just like it was freshly baked without any change.
But it was indeed a bit too much for one person to finish.
Xiao Yue thought about it and simply got a few more insulation tanks and made them into a smaller cart rack. He placed the biscuits in a separate compartment, along with the black pepper sauce and dipping water.
When things get busy, this cart is used to store things that are not main dishes.
It didn't take Xiao Yue long to clear the space and move on to making the next dish.
——Enoki mushrooms in garlic sauce!
This dish requires a steamer, and Xiao Yue filled six large plates with juicy enoki mushrooms in advance, leaving no corner unfilled.
After all, this thing will shrink when it's cooked, so it doesn't matter how much you put in.
With so many enoki mushrooms, of course we need a lot of garlic as well.
Xiao Yue walked to the corner where a batch of new utensils had been added last night and took out the food processor.
The food processor is neither too big nor too small, only half the size of a water dispenser, but has a full capacity.
Xiao Yue couldn't count how many garlic cloves he threw in, but his fingers were sore from peeling them.
When the amount was almost the same, she scooped in a little water, added it, pressed the button and started crushing the garlic.
After about two minutes, the food processor stopped.
The moment Xiao Yue opened the lid, the strong smell made her eyes red. She quickly poured it out and divided it into three portions and started to fry the minced garlic in hot oil.
The first time I fried one of them, the light-colored minced garlic quickly bubbled after being put into the pan, and the color gradually turned golden yellow. The strong garlic aroma covered the previous pungent smell.
A few minutes later, Xiao Yue added the second portion of minced garlic.
This time you don’t need to fry it for too long. As soon as it changes color slightly, you can pour the oil and garlic directly into the last portion of minced garlic in the bowl.
They are all minced garlic, but the taste will be different due to different processing methods.
Xiao Yue waits for it to cool down slightly, then adds sugar and salt to enhance the flavor, and soy sauce and oyster sauce to increase the salty aroma. After mixing everything evenly, she can spread it on the enoki mushrooms and put them into the steamer together.
The steamer can reduce the preparation time just like the oven. In about half a quarter of an hour, four plates of garlic enoki mushrooms are ready.
Xiao Yue sprinkled fresh green onions on top and poured boiling hot oil on it to fully bring out the rich garlic aroma.
As the time approached noon, Xiao Yue could already hear the noisy sounds outside and couldn't help feeling anxious.
Fortunately, there was still enough time, so she planned to add one more drink today - jasmine milk.
We have light tea and refreshing sour plum soup, so how can we not have a sweet drink?
But if we just make sweet milk, it would be too ordinary in Dachen, a country where milk is already commonplace. It would be better to add some flowers to increase the flavor.
Jasmine flowers need to be soaked in hot water to bring out their fragrance.
During the process, Xiao Yue added water and rock sugar into the pot and started to boil the syrup.
It won’t take too long for the rock sugar to completely melt, turn light yellow in color, and be done when it is silky and smooth when scooped up.
Xiao Yue scooped out the excess and put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for at least seven days.
Pour the remaining milk in the pot into the pot and heat it to remove the remaining sweetness. Then pour in the soaked jasmine flowers and simmer. The fresh and refined smell will immediately spread.
Xiao Yue took a bite and found it very sweet, but not greasy, just the right amount.
She poured the jasmine milk into the water dispenser with satisfaction and adjusted the temperature. In this kind of weather, it would naturally be better to keep it cooler.
Once everything is done, today’s menu is ready!
Xiao Yue opened the door and saw the queue. He quickly and steadily moved the two carts and the water dispenser out.
Then she took out a pen and started sketching on the whiteboard.
Today's menu: pepper chicken, mapo tofu, crispy duck with taro paste, pork tripe and vegetable soup, enoki mushrooms with garlic sauce, crispy tofu, fish fillet in sour soup, dry pot shredded cabbage, black pepper mashed potatoes, and cold shredded vegetables.
Drinks: Pu'er tea, sour plum soup, jasmine milk.
After finishing writing, the people in the queue saw Xiao Yue coming over and finally couldn't help but speak.
"Madam Xiao, can we have the crispy duck with taro paste today?"
"Absolutely, I've seen the menu!"
"No, I'm too greedy!"
"What is Jasmine Milk?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com