The people from the Chamber of Commerce suggested, "Mr. Qiu, why don't we go to Zuixianlou for dinner? After dinner, we can go to Liyuan to listen to opera. What do you think? And I heard that Zuixianlou has invited a group of dancers from foreign races. The dances they perform are very good. It's a good opportunity to go and see them."
Mr. Qiu smiled and said, "How about we go to Zuixianlou another day to enjoy the dancing of the dancers? To be honest, it was that Mrs. Lu who invited my daughter-in-law to eat there before. When my daughter-in-law came back, she brought back a dish of crispy suckling pig. It was so delicious. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought about it. I have been eating in this restaurant for half my life. You know how picky my taste is. I think that crispy suckling pig is a real delicacy. There is nothing wrong with it. I asked my servant to run a trip yesterday and make a reservation. We can eat it tonight. There is also a place to stay there. I heard it is quite unique. It's just right to stay for two nights to try it out. Please trust me for once. If it wasn't really good, I wouldn't have invited you to try it."
"Okay, then let's listen to Mr. Qiu. But if the taste is not good, we will decide where to eat and drink from now on."
The two people in the Chamber of Commerce heard this and laughed and joked.
Mr. Qiu smiled and replied yes.
The three of them rode out of the city in a carriage and headed towards Xu's Restaurant.
Old Mrs. Qiu also got on another carriage with her old sister, Old Mrs. Jin, and followed her son.
When they arrived at the entrance of Xu's Restaurant and saw the big stone, the people from the Chamber of Commerce couldn't help but say, "It does look quite wild and interesting."
Another person sniffed and couldn't help saying, "What a nice smell! Could it be the smell of food being cooked in the restaurant? We're quite far away, but the smell is wafting through."
Mr. Qiu also swallowed his saliva and said, "This is the aroma of the crispy suckling pig. It is not only fragrant, but also tastes absolutely amazing. Once you have tasted it, you will know that it will definitely make you linger."
The two owners of the Chamber of Commerce originally did not have much expectation, but they did not want to refuse Mr. Qiu's kindness. Now, after smelling the rich fragrance, they finally began to look forward to it.
The two carriages soon arrived at the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu had also been waiting nearby. When everyone came down, she smiled and said, "Please come in, guests. The food is ready."
She knew that Mrs. Qiu was the mother-in-law of Yu from a few days ago.
The two old ladies were specially invited to the private room on the second floor, while Mr. Qiu and the people from the Chamber of Commerce went to the private room on the third floor.
After the guests from both sides sat down, a pot of hawthorn drink was served first. Then the waiter came with a large wooden tray with bright-colored crispy suckling pig on it.
In addition to crispy suckling pig, there are also Daolongjing shrimps, eight-treasure rabbit cubes, quail soup with polygonatum, lily and lotus root, sweet and sour river lotus root and almond tofu.
As for the staple food, since no one could eat glutinous rice or pasta, Xu Qinyu served them with some brown sugar rice porridge.
For the two old ladies, in addition to crispy suckling pig, Longjing shrimps, there is also almond tofu, which is brown sugar rice porridge. There is no eight-treasure rabbit cubes, polygonatum odoratum, lily and quail soup, or sweet and sour river lotus root, otherwise I was afraid that the two old ladies would eat too much and their stomachs could not bear it. Now it is just right.
The most eye-catching thing is of course the whole crispy suckling pig.
After Xu Qinyu helped to chop it into pieces, she gave each of the two old ladies some sugar and dry sauce for dipping.
Mr. Qiu was being served by the waiter.
Mr. Qiu had eaten it once before, but he was still amazed by how delicious it was this time.
The other two had never eaten it before, and they were amazed at the first bite. No wonder Mr. Qiu was so concerned about it and insisted on inviting them over. They really made the right decision.
The two of them didn't say a word, just buried their heads in eating. After eating several pieces in a row, they let out a long sigh and said to Mr. Qiu, "Mr. Qiu really didn't lie to us. We were narrow-minded. We didn't expect that there would be such delicious food in the world." In comparison, the food they had eaten in the most famous restaurants in other states was just like this. Compared with Xu's, it was really nothing.
I thought this crispy suckling pig, which costs only 6 taels of silver per portion, tasted the best.
But after trying a few more dishes, I was a little stunned because not a single dish was bad and all the dishes were amazing enough.
The best shrimp for making Longjing shrimps is river shrimp. Xu Qinyu chooses the largest river shrimp. The shrimps are tender, sweet, and fresh with the fragrance of tea leaves. The aftertaste is mellow and fresh, making people can't help but eat them one by one.
The spicy and appetizing Eight Treasures Rabbit Cubes.
Sweet and sour river lotus root has a crispy and tender texture, with a moderate sweetness and sourness.
Almond tofu is white, tender, smooth, refreshing and sweet. It melts in your mouth and is a perfect dessert.
Finally, have a bowl of Polygonatum, Lily and Quail Soup, a delicious traditional Chinese soup that nourishes and strengthens the muscles and bones.
There is also the brown sugar rice porridge, which is soft, glutinous, fragrant and thick, with a light date aroma and the slight sweetness of brown sugar.
The three of them couldn't help themselves and ate all the dishes cleanly.
However, the dishes and soup that Xu Qinyu prepared for them were just right. The soup was only two small bowls per person, and the same was true for the porridge. But after eating it all, they were definitely still full.
In the end, the three of them were so exhausted that they were in no hurry to go to Zizhu Garden to rest. They just sat in the private room, looking out the open window, watching the gentle breeze and the slow setting sun.
Mr. Qiu looked out the window at the scenery and said with a smile, "What do you two think?"
The two laughed and said, "Not bad, I never thought that not only the food is delicious, but the scenery is also so pleasant."
It was indeed more comfortable than eating and drinking in a restaurant and then going to listen to opera as usual. I even forgot about those exotic dancers.
The main reason is that the food is just too delicious.
The two even plan to bring their families over to play for a few days every month when they have time in the future.
This way, the whole person can relax and improve one's character, which is really good.
The three of them couldn't help but chat.
"This dish of crispy suckling pig, which costs six taels of silver, tastes just like freshly cooked pork. I heard that there is also a bowl of bird's nest in clear soup for two taels of silver, and a can of Fu Shou Quan for fifty taels of silver. How delicious are these two dishes?"
Mr. Qiu smiled and said, "The bird's nest soup can only be made after ten bowls are filled. I heard that it has to be ordered five days in advance because it takes five days to prepare. As for the Fu Shou Quan, it takes even longer to wait. It seems that because the ingredients are hard to find, it requires thirty or forty ingredients, which have to be shipped from the south. Do you want to try it? If you want to try it, I will make a reservation with Mr. Xu, but it may take a month or two."
He actually wanted to try it. The crispy suckling pig at six taels of silver already amazed him, so how delicious would this Fu Shou Quan dish at fifty taels of silver be?
Fifty taels of silver could provide several years' living expenses for ordinary people, but to wealthy businessmen like them, it was nothing.
The two managers of the Chamber of Commerce nodded, "Okay, let's make a reservation."
In fact, there are not only these, there is also Wensi tofu and some traditional old-fashioned soups, and the prices are basically between one or two taels of silver.
Xu Ji's new menus are all quite distinctive, and even the simplest vegetarian dishes are impeccable.
On the other side, Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Jin also had a very happy and satisfying meal.
Xu Qinyu waited by their side the whole time, and with a smile she introduced the two old ladies to the general methods of cooking and the taste of these dishes.
Old Mrs. Qiu couldn't help but ask, "Did you make all this food, young lady?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Yes, because there are not many guests now, so I cook all the food for the guests in the back kitchen."
Old Mrs. Qiu couldn't help but praise: "Ms. Xu's craftsmanship is really amazing."
When she heard her daughter-in-law say that before, she didn’t believe it at all. But after coming here in person and tasting these delicious meals, she found that all of them were delicious and she loved every dish.
After eating, Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Jin went to Jinxiu Garden to rest first.
The two old ladies, unlike the younger girls and wives, were not restrained and went directly to the hot spring pool to soak in the hot spring. After returning, the old ladies lit incense, applied cream, and called two young ladies to massage their muscles and bones.
Two old ladies lived in one room and could still talk to each other.
Several guests stayed in the garden and played there for three whole days.
Mr. Qiu still had business dealings to discuss with the managers of two chambers of commerce, so he couldn't stay there any longer.
Old Mrs. Qiu was also willing to spend money. Not only did she eat well every morning and evening, but she also lit incense and applied cream every day to massage her muscles and bones.
Just like that, three days later, Mr. Qiu came to call his mother back. Mrs. Qiu was not willing to go back, and told her son, "Big brother, you still have things to do, so you should go back to the city first. Your aunt Jin and I plan to stay for a few days. When you go back, tell your daughter-in-law that she has been busy with household chores recently and she is tired. When I go back in a few days, if she wants to go out and play, she can continue to go out and play for a while."
Because her daughter-in-law found such a good place for her this time, Mrs. Qiu also planned to be gentler to her daughter-in-law in the future.
This is also what she has been thinking these days. She is almost dead, so why not enjoy taking care of household chores all day? She is too lazy to get involved in household chores and matters involving her daughter-in-law and son. Her daughter-in-law will be the mistress of the house in the future, so she can't always scold her. She will not be in charge of household affairs in the future.
Mr. Qiu smiled and said, "Okay, then you and Aunt Jin can have fun here."
When Mr. Qiu and the two managers of the Chamber of Commerce left, he also gave Xu Qinyu some advice.
"The hot spring is nice, but it would be nice if there was a place where we could listen to opera troupes and stories. After soaking in the hot spring to relax our muscles, we can go and listen to opera and stories."
They are not people who like fishing, they just like watching plays and listening to books.
Xu Qinyu thought about it and felt that the opera troupe was a bit difficult, but storytelling was easy. She just needed to write some scripts and hire a storyteller.
As for the stories in books, she can write them all.
There are dozens of types of novels in later generations, which are varied and flourishing, and they are as exciting as they can be. It just so happens that she has a few ideas, so she can try to write them.
She remembered that among the brothers Fengtiaoyushun, Shun seemed to like reading storybooks. She would ask Shun later to see if he was willing to write for fun.
After Mr. Qiu and the others left, Madam Lu also came with her boxes, intending to stay in the hotel for ten days and nights. This time she did not bring anyone with her, she came alone. Both He and Yu were the mistresses of the house, with a lot of chores to do at home, and they were definitely not as good as her, a lone woman who could play as long as she wanted.
In addition to Mrs. Lu, Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan also came to Xu's Restaurant.
Xu Qinyu was also very happy to see them, "Why are you here?"
Yang Zhizhi smiled with eyes crooked, and went over to hug Xu Qinyu, and couldn't help jumping, saying happily, "Qinyu, it's so good to see you, we haven't seen each other for a long time. When I heard that your restaurant was open, I begged my parents for a long time before they were willing to let me come."
Yang Zhizhi was the most beloved daughter of the county lord and his wife, so they were naturally worried about her coming to Raozhou City alone.
Later, Xu Yunlan also wanted to stay at the restaurant for a few days, so she made an appointment with Yang Zhizhi.
The county magistrate then sent two people over.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "What do you want to eat? I'll prepare it later."
Yang Zhizhi said: "Crispy suckling pig!"
Xu Ji in Yuanbao Town serves many fresh dishes at the same time as the restaurant. The crispy suckling pig is the most popular one. Even though it is expensive, many people eat it every day because when it is roasted, the aroma can be smelled for several blocks. No one can stand such a fragrance.
However, Xu's Restaurant can only serve about ten crispy suckling pigs every day, and reservations must be made in advance.
Even if Yang Zhizhi was greedy, there was nothing she could do because the crispy suckling pig at Xu Ji was booked for ten days later.
Xu Yunlan said with a smile: "Qinyu, you don't know how difficult it is to eat this crispy suckling pig at Xu's Restaurant now."
In fact, she was also very anxious, but it was too difficult to make a reservation.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "This is easy. I'll grill it for you tonight. The restaurant has just opened, so there aren't many customers yet."
Yang Zhizhi said: "Don't worry, Qinyu, there will definitely be more and more customers."
The two were very confident in their good sister's cooking skills, knowing that Xu Ji would never have to worry about customers in the future. As long as they came to eat, they would definitely become repeat customers.
Although their fathers were both county officials and their mothers owned shops, they were still quite frugal in their daily lives.
In order to save money, the two of them lived in a private room.
In addition to the discounts on restaurant activities, Xu Qinyu also gave them a lot of discounts. In fact, she didn't want to take any money from them. She only moved to Yuanbao Town because of the help of Xu Kongmu and County Magistrate Yang. She also saved money. It took a lot of trouble to open the restaurant smoothly.
After eating the crispy suckling pig she had been craving for, Yang Zhizhi almost cried, "Wow, it's really delicious."
She weighs just over 100 pounds now, and is not very thin, but just the right size, with a plump and fair skin. Many matriarchs like Yang Zhizhi and want to get engaged to the Yang family, but the county magistrate and Wei are not in a hurry to marry their sons and daughters off. They plan to arrange the match slowly. They don't want to find Zhizhi a man with a high family background, but he must have good character, and the mother-in-law must be gentle. They have to pay attention to all aspects.
Yang Zhizhi, Xu Yunlan and Xu Qinyu are all of similar age, only one year apart. Xu Yunlan has also started looking for a marriage partner recently, but Xu Kongmu and Xiang are not in a hurry either.
Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan stayed at Xu's for six or seven days before the county magistrate sent someone to take them back.
The two were reluctant to leave because it was so much fun here. Every day after breakfast they would stroll around the restaurant, go to the lake to look at the lotus leaves and flowers, and then go fishing.
On the other side of the lake, the lotus leaves are also beginning to grow like crazy, almost every day, and the lotus flowers are also showing tiny buds. In another half month, these lotus leaves will grow very tall and the lotus flowers will bloom. Once the lotus flowers bloom and gradually wither, you can eat lotus rice.
Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan also like fishing.
There were not many customers in the restaurant, so Xu Qinyu went with them to the lake to fish and enjoy the scenery during the day.
Old Mrs. Qiu and her old sisters also liked to come to the lakeside during the day to enjoy the scenery and watch the little girls fishing. The two old ladies also tried it.
Xu Qinyu specially built a number of wooden pavilions on the edge of the lake, with curtains around them. It is so pleasant to sit inside and enjoy the flowers and drink tea.
Xu Qinyu likes to come here on weekdays, stay inside to drink tea, enjoy the scenery, and write and paint.
It just so happened that she started writing a storybook these days.
I'm going to write a story about cultivating immortals. It's about a boy from an ordinary family who, after going through untold hardships, finally attains enlightenment and becomes an immortal. There are setbacks, golden fingers, adventures, as well as love and hate. It's a refreshing type of story. I've only written the beginning and shown it to Yang Zhizhi and Xu Yunlan. They both said it was good and wanted to know how it develops next.
Xu Qinyu planned to hire a storyteller as soon as she finished writing the first volume, and have him tell stories in the restaurant on weekdays.
After Yang Zhizhi and Old Lady Qiu left, only Mrs. Lu was left in the restaurant.
As a result, the restaurant has been open for almost half a month, and there are only these few waves of customers.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but feel a little suspicious in her heart, because something really didn't look right.
The customers who come to Xu Ji are all regular customers. There has not been a single customer in the city before. Logically, some people should be curious about the restaurant's origin and whether the food is delicious, so they come to try it. If it is not worth the price, it is no big deal to make a fuss, or they may never come again. But now it has been open for almost half a month, and there has not been a single curious customer.
Xu Qinyu told Chef Wang and Dong Qian that she wanted to take a walk around the city.
Because there are not many customers on weekdays, even the meals for the restaurant’s employees and the purchase of some ingredients are delivered to the door. Not much is delivered, because the poultry, eggs, duck eggs, and vegetables we eat on weekdays are all collected from nearby villages. They are cheaper than in the city, and they are all raised with insects and wild vegetables from the mountains. The taste of the ingredients themselves is impeccable.
Even these roasted suckling pigs were collected from nearby villages.
Xu Qinyu charged thirty coins per catty.
Because even if a pig is raised to full size, it will only weigh about 100 jin by the end of the year, and the butcher will take the whole pig away for 8 to 10 wen, which is only a little over 1 tael of silver. But the owner of Xu's Restaurant will take a suckling pig weighing about 20 jin for 30 wen, and they don't have to feed it for a whole year. The piglets grow fast at first, and they can basically grow to more than 20 jin in less than two months. In this way, a suckling pig can be sold for 600 to 700 wen, which is much more profitable than raising a big pig.
There are many families living nearby who bought a lot of piglets and raised them, intending to supply them to the restaurant in the future.
So these days, Xu Qinyu felt it was strange that there were no customers in the restaurant, so she planned to go to the city to have a look.
Xu Qinyu went into the city.
After a walk around the city, she found out the reason.
It turned out to be the story behind Zuixianlou.
Zuixianlou and Xuji Restaurant are of similar standard, and the guests they receive are all wealthy businessmen in the city or high-ranking officials from aristocratic families.
Ever since Xu Ji opened for business, Zuixianlou knew that Xu Ji Restaurant would definitely steal some of its customers, so it was naturally unhappy about it.
So Zuixianlou also organized some activities.
At Xu's, Xu Qinyu offered 20% off on all dishes because it was the newest restaurant, while Zuixianlou offered 30% off. Not only that, tea was free, and dancers were invited to dance at Zuixianlou, which naturally attracted all the customers. So no one went to Xu's.
After Xu Qinyu knew the reason, she felt a little helpless, but this was also a normal competition.
In later generations, many hotels offered discounts on dishes and various recharge activities in order to attract business, which was very normal.
Xu Qinyu must also think of a way to deal with it.
After knowing the reason, she returned to the restaurant.
The restaurant was quite quiet at this moment, and everyone was relaxing inside to rest.
When Dongqian and Chef Wang saw Xu Qinyu coming back, they hurried over and asked, "Master, did you find out anything?"
Chef Wang also followed Dong Qian in calling Xu Qinyu "Master". He did not feel embarrassed at all because he truly admired Xu Qinyu's cooking skills and sincerely regarded Xu Qinyu as his Master.
Xu Qinyu told the two of them about what happened in Zuixianlou.
The two men couldn't help but frown after hearing this. They all had opened restaurants or worked as chefs in large restaurants. They knew in their hearts that this kind of thing was very common. It was just a simple competition between restaurants and restaurants.
The Zuixianlou is also correct.
Dong Qian asked: "Master, what should we do? Should we just wait for customers to come?"
In fact, they all knew very well that as long as customers came to the restaurant to eat, they would come frequently in the future. But now there were no customers, and this was the most important thing. Not to mention that Xu Ji had so many waiters, the food expenses for the waiters were several hundred taels of silver every month, and the care of the various flowers and plants in the garden also cost another two or three hundred taels of silver.
In addition, the monthly salary for all the waiters, the head chef, the assistant chefs and the guards was about one thousand taels of silver.
Just these fixed and necessary expenses would cost more than two thousand taels of silver every month.
Even with the support of Xu's Restaurant in Yuanbao Town, the restaurant here cannot continue to suffer losses like this. If there are no customers, the restaurant will have a bad reputation in the future. People will say that Xu's has no customers and the food must be bad. At most, it can only last for half a year before it has to close down.
Zuixianlou knew very well in his heart that if a food business had no business for two or three months, it would not work. He also knew that Xu Ji could only last about half a year at most.
If Zuixianlou had kept organizing some activities in the next six months, or had come up with some new dishes to keep customers for another month or two, Xu's would have been really finished.
Xu Qinyu shook her head. "Of course not. We can't wait for customers to come. Zuixianlou won't give us this opportunity, so we have to think of other ways."
The solution is actually very simple. The restaurant is not doing well now because the customers don't know how delicious Xu's dishes are. All we have to do is let them know.
Xu Qinyu whispered a few words to Dong Qian and Chef Wang before packing up her things and preparing to take Dong Qian with her to Raozhou City.
When Wen learned that Yu Niang was going to stay in Raozhou City for a few days, she was worried and wanted to go with her. Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. With Dongqian accompanying her, nothing will happen. You still have to take care of the restaurant."
Wen is now the manager of the restaurant and usually stays here.
Wen must have still been worried, so Xu Qinyu finally brought a maid named Lianhua from Jinxiu Garden with her, and only then did Wen feel comfortable letting her go to Raozhou City.