Chapter 100 Apprentice
The beavers and the witches quickly mastered the art of catching shrimps, and Takumiu also pulled up a full basket of shrimps.
This cage of magic lobsters was their late lunch today. Jiangyou set up the stove and called Meili to his side, teaching her how to deal with the magic lobsters, how to wash the shrimps, remove the shrimp threads, and how to make these magic lobsters into delicious crayfish.
Although Mary is introverted and shy when interacting with others, she is not afraid at all when dealing with food. She is particularly talented in dealing with lobsters and works efficiently. In this regard, she may do more than Lolisa, who screams and runs around from time to time.
Jiang You first set aside a pot of crayfish for steaming: "If you want to be a good cook, the first step is to understand the ingredients. So for this first pot, we simply steam it with water and only add ginger to remove the fishy smell."
As Meili watched in horror, she pulled a small bottle of soy sauce from the skull. "Of course, a cook needs to be familiar with the taste of the sauce too! Steaming crayfish with soy sauce gives you the best of both worlds. It's the most refreshing and natural way to eat it!"
With one chef and one apprentice, the cooking efficiency is greatly improved. After a while, the first pot of steamed crayfish is hot out of the oven. The bright red shrimp shells are clean and look particularly tempting.
Meili followed Jiangyou's example, peeled a shrimp, licked the shrimp roe first, then took a bite of the shrimp meat, and finally dipped the shrimp tail in a little soy sauce, tasting the various flavors of crayfish.
"So delicious!" She was instantly captivated by the delicious shrimp meat. "The shrimp meat, with its natural sweetness, is delicious on its own, and when dipped in soy sauce, it's even more refreshing and irresistible. I can't stop eating it!"
"It would actually taste even better if we added some rice vinegar," Jiang You said with some regret, "but it's a pity that I haven't brewed rice vinegar yet!"
In addition to rice vinegar, there is also rice wine. These two seasonings are also the indispensable soul of Chinese cuisine. She has to work hard to get all the sauces together.
After teaching the normal way to peel shrimp, Jiang You also taught the two little witches the magic of peeling shrimp. In terms of magic, Lolisa was more talented and learned it after watching it twice.
After finishing the first pot of shrimp, Jiangyou washed the pot, turned on the fire again, and taught Meili how to braise crayfish.
Meili studied very seriously, meticulously recording in her little notebook the exact amount of seasoning to use and when to add it. Seeing how eager she was to learn, Jiangyou became interested and explained several common seasonings and their variations in detail. He added at the end, "There are many variations in cooking. As the saying goes, it's hard to please everyone. It's normal for some people to find a dish delicious using the same method while others may not."
"Some people prefer sweet, some salty, some can't handle spicy food without it, and some can't handle any spice at all. Sometimes the same dish can taste completely different in two different places depending on people's taste habits. The basic recipe is just the beginning, not the end. Keeping the basics in mind and then constantly improving the flavor to make more customers love it is what a chef should do."
Jiang You said, "If a customer has any dietary restrictions or preferences, you can ask clearly when ordering, and we can make corresponding changes during cooking. Oh, and Lorisa knows the Purification Spell, so don't forget to test each dish and record it with the recording crystal before serving. This is a good tradition, and we should keep it to prevent any customers from causing trouble."
This pot of shrimp was eaten up again, and Meili carefully memorized the taste. For the next pot, Meili was the cook.
This was the test before taking up the job. Fortunately, this little girl was really talented in cooking. The shrimps she made were about 80% similar to Jiangyou's, which was already at the level of a master.
Everything is ready, the next step is to distribute the profits.
The three of them quickly reached a consensus. Takumi Yuu came up with the recipe and provided business guidance and signs, while Lorisa and Meili were responsible for running [Takumi Yuu's Brewing Workshop (Witch Forest Branch)] in the Witch Forest. Lorisa was the branch manager, and Meili was the branch chef. The beavers were free outsourced staff, specifically responsible for helping to catch shrimp.
Although the beavers wanted to catch all the crayfish in one go, there were too many of them and they couldn't catch them all in just one or two trips.
Lorisa and Mr. Beaver arranged that every morning on the day the branch opened, the beavers would swim to the witch village of Ranchalo, haul back the raft loaded with lobster pots, and then return the lobsters to Ranchalo. This way, the beavers could gradually eliminate the problem of the magic lobsters, freeing up the two little witches to focus on opening the branch.
The net profit of the branch is obtained after deducting the cost expenditure from all the income. Fifty percent of the net profit is given to Jiangyou, and the other fifty percent is divided between Lolisa and Meili. Jiangyou does not interfere much.
All the soy sauces and sauces needed for the subsequent operation and sales of the branch are counted as expenses and must be purchased from the head office at cost price. This makes the accounts clearer and easier to calculate.
Currently, the branch's main products are soy sauce and crayfish. Once the crayfish season is over, Jiangyou will need to come up with new recipes to attract customers.
The branch store has started operating at full speed before the main store has even opened for business. This practice may seem a bit outrageous, but making money is the most important thing, and there is no need to worry about other things.
After the three of them had discussed their plans and caught nearly all the lobsters, they decided to return to the village to have Andre witness the signing of the agreement. Jiangyou also planned to inquire about how to get a license and sign for the branch.
After bidding farewell to the happy beavers, the three of them returned quickly and easily. The raft loaded with twenty cages of lobsters soon stopped at the dock of Lancialo, and Jiangyou also saw Andre at the witches' gathering place.
"Huh? Opening a branch? So soon?" Even Andre, who was already used to the Skeleton's impetuous style, was slightly surprised after hearing Jiang You's words. He thought for a moment and said, "The branch procedures are not difficult. I will take care of it for you when I escort the two corpses back to the city later."
"Oh, how is the case going?" Jiang You asked casually.
"No progress," Andrei shrugged. "Those who died were small-time thugs, not particularly influential. Once they died, all the leads were cut off. Honestly, I think this whole thing just feels like a spur-of-the-moment decision, a casual experiment."
He looked towards the west side of Eston. "It's like someone suddenly came up with this idea to test my abilities. If it works, he'll benefit; if it doesn't, that's fine too. With one step, he'll know the depth of the water."
"I think his target might not really be the Witch Forest, but me."
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