Looking at the plaque in front of her, Xu Qinyu followed Wen inside.
Dong also came today. She had not been involved in the affairs of the restaurant before, but today was different. It was the first time for Miss Xu to come to the restaurant, so she was naturally concerned about her and came to take a look.
The waiters in the restaurant are sweeping the floor.
Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen. Even though she was still a young lady, the chefs and assistants who were in their thirties, forties, or fifties all respected her.
Xu Qinyu didn't waste any time. She just said a few words and started to prepare today's breakfast.
I told Dong Xi about the ingredients yesterday, and they are all ready.
For example, fresh river products were still ordered from Uncle He, and the milk was also transported with the help of Uncle He. When the two companies were going to merge a few days ago, Xu Qinyu had already told Uncle He about it. Today, Uncle He came to the town early, and he and his children and grandchildren drove a few donkey carts to deliver the seafood and milk to the big restaurant here.
The chefs and assistants at Donglaiju didn't know how to cook Xu's food, thanks to the help of Dongqian and Chef Wang. In addition, Cheng Ge'er, Feng Ge'er and Da Niu have been at Xu's for almost three years and are almost able to take charge of the kitchen, so they helped a lot. Although the chefs and assistants at Donglaiju have never cooked Xu's food, they have more than ten or even dozens of years of experience and can learn the skills very quickly. Although they can't help with tasks like mixing the stuffing, they can help with other things.
The kitchen suddenly became bustling with activity.
Anyway, there are so many people, so things get busy quickly.
More than an hour later, breakfast was ready, and Xu Ji opened the door of the restaurant and started business.
After all, there were only a few diners at Xu Ji yesterday, and there were only a few who came today, but they were all preparing to go to Xu Ji for breakfast as usual. Suddenly, I remembered that Xu Ji said yesterday that it would move to Donglai Ju, so I hurried to Donglai Ju and found that the sign of Donglai Ju had been changed to "Xu Ji Restaurant", and there was still a small sign hanging next to it, which was the original sign of Donglai Ju.
The diners stood at the door for a while, and when they saw the four big characters "Xu Ji Restaurant", they had a different feeling. They were also witnesses of Xu Ji's gradual growth.
The breakfast at Donglaiju was originally just a few common dishes.
Mu's has more special dishes, so Donglai Ju's original breakfast menu was not kept, and breakfast was all Xu's food.
So a few more items were added to Xu Ji's original breakfast, including mutton spicy soup. Spicy soup naturally has to be served with oil cakes, and of course, oil cakes were also fried. In this season, eating a bowl of warm soup with oil cakes is also very comfortable.
In addition to mutton spicy soup, there are also tofu skin, rice wine, and tofu pudding.
These are also standard for normal breakfast.
Xu Qinyu didn't plan to add too much at once, because the restaurant is quite big now and the breakfast variety was a bit limited before, so she added these few items first and will slowly adjust them later. She can also improve the types of noodles for breakfast in the future.
The spicy soup is cooked in a big pot and the aroma is overbearing.
When these diners learned that they would have a fresh breakfast, they naturally ordered the fresh breakfast and paired it with the other breakfasts they were used to eating.
Diners were a little worried at first, wondering if the taste would be different even if the two restaurants merged.
When the breakfast I ordered was served, I smelled the familiar aroma and took a taste. The taste was exactly the same. Only then did I feel relieved and started to eat my breakfast with peace of mind.
The new breakfast dishes are also very popular among diners.
And the meal is more comfortable because the place is spacious.
Although Xu's was clean and bright before, it was a bit crowded. Now it is much more comfortable.
There were also those diners who were unaware that Xu Ji had moved to a new location, so they naturally continued to have breakfast at Xu Ji as usual.
When we arrived at the place, we found that Xu Ji's door was closed and there was a notice hanging on the door saying that Xu Ji had moved to a new address and merged with Donglaiju.
The merchants around also kindly reminded us, "Xu Ji has moved and merged with Donglai Ju on East Street. Everyone has eaten there. I just ate there too. The food is still as delicious and the place is more spacious. You should all hurry over there."
Because of the notice and reminders from surrounding businesses, these diners also learned that Xu Ji had moved to Donglai Ju, and naturally went there for breakfast.
There are also some of Donglaiju’s original customers. In fact, they also liked Xu Ji’s food, but later they felt that Xu Ji required queues and they were not willing to queue, and it was particularly crowded, so they went back to Donglaiju to eat. Now that Xu Ji has moved in and there are so many breakfast options, they are naturally willing to go there.
In short, all the breakfast prepared on the first day was sold out within two hours.
The chefs and assistants at Donglai Ju were also very impressed.
On weekdays, not many diners come to Donglaiju for breakfast, so the breakfast occupancy rate is very low.
The restaurant is almost fully occupied today, even the private rooms on the third and fourth floors are occupied.
The evening meals were similar, and most of them were Xu's signature dishes. Even most of the original customers of Donglaiju ordered Xu's menu.
All the prepared ingredients were used up at dinner time.
In the past, the ingredients prepared by Donglai Ju were often not used up and would be kept until the next day. As long as the taste did not change, they would continue to be used as ingredients the next day.
After Xu Qinyu learned about this, she told the chefs, the assistants, and the winter banquet, "Xi'er, you are in charge of the wine shop's purchases, and you should also know the importance of fresh ingredients. In the future, in addition to some ingredients that can be placed in the wine shop, such as bacon, bacon, or some pickled stinky salmon, etc., most poultry meat and fresh vegetables, if they are not used up, you can ask the staff of the wine shop to divide them up that night and take them back to your family to eat, especially the river fish."
Xu Qinyu is actually the most stringent in terms of food ingredients.
Except when the weather is extremely cold, some meats are fine if left out for a day.
But for fresh river fish, even in the dead of winter, there is a difference in the taste and texture between fresh river fish and river fish that have been dead for more than a day.
However, for some meat dishes, you do need to marinate the meat for two days before cooking so that the flavor can be highlighted.
In addition, there are some vegetables, such as cabbage and radish, which can be stored.
The fresh greens wilted the next day and could definitely not be used the next day.
Therefore, even if the ingredients are not fresh, they still need to be distinguished.
Dong Xi nodded, "I can save myself the trouble."
After Mu, Xu Qinyu said a few simple words and everyone dispersed.
After three or four days, most of Xu Ji's original customers had already known that Xu Ji had moved, and the number of customers who returned to Xu Ji had basically reached more than 90%. The remaining few did not go to eat there for other reasons.
The news that Xu Ji moved to Donglaiju and merged with Donglaiju spread almost throughout the town.
It was three days later that Shi Lao Ba and Yao found out that Xu Ji had moved to Donglaiju. They were both a little confused. Shi Lao Ba murmured, "She, how could she move just like that?"
Yao was also panicking. "Master, I told you that I shouldn't talk about buying shares in the business, nor should I ask them to raise the rent, but you just didn't believe me. Now, they haven't even waited for the store's lease to expire and have moved out directly. What should I do now? How about I go and apologize to Miss Xu? It's our fault, and we should really say sorry."
Shi Laoba was so embarrassed that he roared, "Why apologize? We did nothing wrong. If she doesn't want to rent it, then don't rent it. I wonder how she had the confidence to say that she didn't want to rent it. It turns out that she had already made plans and discussed with Donglaiju to merge. She kept it a secret from us until she moved out. We only found out after she moved out. This young lady is really scheming. Is the owner of Donglaiju stupid? Why is she willing to merge with Xu's? She even changed the signboard. She just said she didn't want to use the signboard of this century-old brand."
But Yao had no intention of listening to him nagging about these things.
She knew that now that the matter was settled, it was their fault, and she should apologize sincerely and let it go.
As for her shop, even if Miss Xu was unwilling to rent it, she would just put up a rental notice again.
This shop was previously rented to Miss Xu, who made the shop prosperous for three years. It should be easier to rent it out in the future.
Yao sighed and said to Shi Laoba, "Master, stop talking. Tomorrow I will go with you to apologize to Miss Xu. We can forget about this matter. When the rent is due next spring, we will put up the notice again and rent out the shop. Miss Xu even renovated the shop and cleaned it up before moving out. It will definitely be easy to rent out."
Shi Laoba was still furious. "Why wait until spring? She put up notices now and rented out the shop. I'm going to question her. Isn't this just destroying the bridge after crossing the river? We rented the shop to her for three years, and now her business is good and she's making a lot of money, so she moved out and didn't care about us anymore."
Yao was also a little annoyed. "Master, shut up. If you hadn't been thinking about raising the rent all day, I wouldn't have thought of investing two thousand taels of silver in someone else's business, and Miss Xu wouldn't have thought of moving away, and wouldn't have gotten into such a mess. What's more, what is meant by crossing the river and then destroying the bridge? We are in business, and they pay the rent, and they have a good life and many customers. It's not that our shop is prosperous for them, but that they have good skills and make delicious food, so they have many customers. It's not that our shop is prosperous for them, but that they have made our shop prosperous. Don't worry about renting out this shop from now on, I'll take care of it."
She also felt a little regretful. Why did she always try to accommodate her husband? If it weren't for him, she and Miss Xu wouldn't have ended up like this.
What's more, the house she lives in now and the shop are all her properties and have nothing to do with her husband.
Seeing his soft and easy-going wife suddenly talking to him like this, Shi Lao Ba pushed Yao fiercely and said, "What do you know? If I hadn't helped you, you would have been cheated countless times with your personality. This Miss Xu cheated you, and you still helped her."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.
Yao was pushed back two steps by him, and her lower back hit the corner of the table behind her. Her face turned pale with pain, and she watched Shi Laoba leave helplessly.
Shi Lao Ba did not go anywhere else, but went directly to Xu Ji in Donglaiju. It was just time for breakfast, so Shi Lao Ba walked into the restaurant and shouted at the top of his voice, "Where is Xu Qinyu? Come out!"
His shout startled the diners who were having breakfast in the restaurant.
Many diners couldn't help but frown.
Yuan came over immediately and said, "Shi Lao Ba, what are you doing? Are you looking for more trouble?"
Shi Laoba sneered, "I came here today to find trouble with the cook of your Xuji. I have never seen such a person. I rented my shop to her for three years, but she said she would not live there, and the contract she signed was only beneficial to her. I was wondering why she was so arrogant a few days ago and said she would not rent our shop anymore. It turns out that she climbed up the high branch of Donglaiju and moved out overnight. Isn't this destroying the bridge after crossing the river? Distinguished guests, please judge for me. With such a person's character, do you dare to eat the food she cooks? Who knows if she added something to make it taste better? Otherwise, tell me, how can a cook of 18 or 19 years old cook food that tastes better than chefs who have been in charge for decades?"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only the diners' faces changed, but even Yuan's face changed.
She said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? You know why our boss moved away. Besides, the food our boss makes is delicious. The diners in Yuanbao Town have been eating here for three years. If we had known that our boss is a good cook, we would have eaten in the restaurant every day. If you keep talking nonsense, be careful that we will report you to the police."
"Look, this is not just anger out of shame!"
Shi Laoba shouted immediately.
This also made the diners who came to eat breakfast a little suspicious, as if the food made by Miss Xu was indeed more delicious than that made by the chef who had been in charge of the kitchen for decades...
The other workers in the restaurant immediately ran to the kitchen to report to Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu was still mixing the sauce at this moment. When she heard that Shi Laoba was causing trouble, her face turned cold. She handed the work in her hands to Chef Wang. She went to the front hall and saw Shi Laoba saying proudly, "Dear guests, think about it for yourselves. Why is the food made by this young cook so delicious? Do you feel that you have never eaten such delicious food in your life? Do you really think it is normal? There must be something addictive added in it. You better be careful."
Xu Qinyu's face was as cold as ice. She whispered to Xu Feng who followed her, "Feng'er, go to the government office and report to the authorities first."
Xu Feng glanced at Shi Lao Ba and said, "Master, be careful then."
After that, he instructed Xu Diao behind him, "Diao, protect the master and watch over Shi Lao Ba. I will go report to the police first."
Xu Diao nodded, and Xu Feng walked out of the restaurant. When he passed by Shi Lao Ba, he gave him a cold look.
After Xu Feng went out to report to the police, Xu Diao followed Xu Qinyu into the hall.
Xu Qinyu looked at Shi Lao Ba and sneered, "Shi Lao Ba, you don't have to get angry and slander me just because I disagree with you raising the rent and moving out. I've run a restaurant in Yuanbao Town for three years. My guests can tell whether the food I make is delicious or if I add something to it. I don't even use most of the ingredients if they're left overnight. I put a lot of thought into the ingredients. I've helped many children with weak spleens and stomachs and picky eaters to recover. I've also helped some overweight guests to lose weight to a normal weight."
Ever since she helped the county magistrate's daughter Yang Zhizhi to control her weight, Yang Zhizhi now weighs just over 100 kilograms, and has almost maintained this weight.
Yang Zhizhi was so thin that she lost weight. Then, several overweight customers came to her one after another and asked her to help them adjust their diet.
Xu Qinyu also arranged their morning and evening meals, and they all lost weight. Some of them are still eating and losing weight.
After hearing her say this, the diners were also surprised. It was indeed true. Several children who often ate at Xu Ji's restaurant were skinny at first, but now they have grown fair and tender. There is also the daughter of County Magistrate Yang, who was a little fat before, but now she has a good figure.
They have been eating it for three years and have no health problems. Instead, they are in great shape.
If something was really added, they would have had problems after eating it for three years.
One customer couldn't help but say, "That's right, we've been eating Miss Xu's food for three years, and we're in good health now."
"That's right. I even asked Miss Xu to make my diet lighter. I have lost more than 30 pounds. After losing weight, I don't even have to breathe heavily when I walk. I feel much more comfortable."
The diners spoke one after another to help Xu Qinyu.
Some people couldn't help asking, "Ms. Xu, what does this guy want to do? Isn't he the owner of the shop you originally rented? Why is he slandering you like this? Could it be that you really took advantage of his shop?"
Shi Laoba immediately responded, "My dear guests, you don't know. I rented the shop to her at a lower price than the market price. But she just moved out without any notice. How can she behave like this?"
Xu Qinyu had not originally intended to publicize the matter between her and Madam Yao about the shop. Since she was not going to rent it anymore, it would be a good idea for them to part ways amicably.
Moreover, she had no opinion about Madam Yao. Thinking that she was about to move away, she decided not to tell anyone about what Shi Lao Ba had done, so as to avoid implicating Madam Yao's shop and making it difficult to rent it out in the future.
But Zhishi Lao Ba actually dared to come here to cause trouble and even slandered her for adding something into the food.
She naturally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "You know exactly what happened, Shi Lao Ba. I didn't want to make a fuss about it for Madam Yao's sake, so as not to affect Madam Yao's business in the future. But you still want to come to the restaurant and make trouble, so don't blame me for being rude."
She explained the matter to the diners around her in a simple way. "A few days ago, Shi Laoba came to me and wanted to give me 200 taels of silver to buy shares in my restaurant in Raozhou City. The construction of my restaurant cost tens of thousands of taels of silver in the early stage, so I naturally couldn't agree. He told me that he wanted to increase the rent to 20 taels of silver a month. The rent of the store at the end of West Street is basically 50 taels of silver a year. He asked for such a high price. I thought that the restaurant was a little small, and the guests were usually crowded when eating. I thought about taking this opportunity to find a big store to renovate and move there. Mrs. Dong heard about it and wanted to cooperate with me, so we merged the two stores and moved Xu's directly to Donglaiju."
Then everyone suddenly realized.
Someone couldn't help but speak up for Xu Qinyu.
"Shi Laoba, you are being too unreasonable. How dare you ask for two hundred taels of silver to stay in someone's restaurant?"
"And your shop only earns five taels of silver a month at most, but you're asking Miss Xu for twenty taels of silver a month. She's definitely going to move out."
Everyone started to criticize Shi Lao Ba.
Seeing this, Shi Lao Ba immediately stammered, "I didn't say that, nor did I want to raise the rent to twenty taels of silver a month. That was all you said. I just asked you, saying that Xu's business is good, could you give me the rent for next year according to the market price, and you got angry and said you wouldn't rent it anymore."
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu was so angry that she almost laughed.
"You don't want to admit it, do you?"
Wen also came over and said, "I was there that day, too. You told my daughter Yu Niang that you wanted to pay two hundred taels of silver to take a share in my daughter Yu Niang's restaurant."
Shi Laoba snorted coldly, "You two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, will naturally speak for her."
One of the diners shouted, "I heard it too. That day you spoke to Miss Xu at the gate of Xu's. Miss Xu disagreed, so you threatened others to raise the rent. You wanted to raise it to twenty taels of silver a month. I heard it all."
That was the second time Shi Laoba came to visit, and that’s what happened at the door of Xu’s house.
This diner was the owner of a shop next to Xu's. He had just gone out for some fresh air that day and was squatting at the door of his shop when he heard the conversation between the two people. He had been planning to go up and help, but when he saw Xu Kongmu coming, he did not stand up.
Shi Laoba was speechless.
Just then, another woman walked in from outside the restaurant. It was Yao.
When Yao saw Shi Lao Ba rushing out angrily, she was worried that he would come to Xu Ji Restaurant to cause trouble, so she reluctantly followed him. Who knew that he actually came here.
Seeing Xu Qinyu, she immediately came over to apologize to her, "Ms. Xu, I'm so sorry. It's actually my fault. I shouldn't have said I would give you 2,000 taels of silver to buy shares in Xu's business, and it turned out like this."
Xu Qinyu raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you talking about investing two thousand taels of silver in Xu's Restaurant?"
Yao nodded. "If Miss Xu doesn't want to, then she can just call it quits. There's no way the rent will be raised. There won't be a rent increase."
Xu Qinyu told her bluntly, "Your father wanted two hundred taels of silver, but when I disagreed, he threatened me to raise the rent to twenty taels of silver a month."
Yao was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at Shi Lao Ba in disbelief.
Shi Laoba felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Yao in the eye.
When the diners saw this, they all understood.
It turned out that Miss Yao originally wanted to invest 2,000 taels of silver to buy shares in the restaurant, but she didn't expect to get such a big bargain by investing 200 taels of silver. It was this old Shi who secretly made up all these things.
"This Shi Lao Ba is really greedy, and he's trying to turn the tables on others."
"That's right. What was Miss Yao thinking at the beginning? She wanted to marry Shi Laoba, an old bachelor. She was originally a widow, but she had a concubine, a house and a shop. She felt that it would be better for her to live with the concubine."
"I heard that Shi Touba was very kind to her in the past. He even made rice paste and washed clothes for her. Otherwise, why would Madam Yao marry him?"
Yao listened to everyone's conversation in a daze.
At the beginning, it was indeed because Shi Laoba was very kind to her and her daughter. He came to her house to help her make rice paste and wash clothes, and said that he would take care of them in the future and not let others bully them.
But after getting married, he changed. He no longer helped her with washing clothes. He was idle all day long and did nothing. After going out for a walk, he would come back and wait for dinner.
The diners complained a little and asked Madam Yao to take Shi Laoba away quickly and not to embarrass herself here.
Only then did Yao come to her senses and apologize to Xu Qinyu again before planning to take the person away.
Unexpectedly, Xu Feng came with two yamen runners, and they arrested Shi Lao Ba as soon as they came in.
Shi Laoba struggled hard, "What do you want to do? Why did you arrest me?"