This girl named Lianhua is a female guard at Jinxiu Garden. From her name, she should be a delicate and lovely girl, but in fact, Lianhua seems to be only about eighteen years old this year, about the same age as Xu Qinyu. She is taller. Xu Qinyu estimated that she is about 1.78 meters tall. She has good martial arts, but she is a bit stupid and doesn't like to talk much. She will do whatever you tell her to do. She eats a lot and can eat three or four times the amount of a normal person.
Fourth brother found about twenty guards for her.
The ten on the Jinxiu Garden side were all women, and the ten on the Zizhu Garden side were all strong men with great martial arts skills.
In addition, they have another common feature: they can eat a lot. They can eat a lot!
Especially the food prepared by Xu Qinyu, they ate more. Their appetite was much larger than that of ordinary employees. It might also be that they were martial artists and their appetite was much larger than that of normal people.
Fortunately, Xu Qinyu could afford it and would not deduct their food, so they had enough to eat every day.
Wen was not worried because he knew that Lianhua was a skilled martial artist.
The recruitment process was also particularly smooth. In just one day, these twenty guards were selected. They also performed martial arts in front of Xu Qinyu. Each of them had internal strength, and flying over eaves and walking on walls was no problem for them. This was something Xu Qinyu had only seen on TV and in novels. Her eyes lit up and her face was full of longing.
If her fourth brother hadn't said that her body was already stretched and not suitable for martial arts, she would have wanted to learn it.
However, fourth brother still taught her some self-defense tricks.
Xu Qinyu took Lianhua and Dongqian to Raozhou City.
The three of them went directly to the Bafang Inn.
Xu Qinyu's idea was actually very simple. It was nothing more than attracting customers. She just needed to let the people in Raozhou City know how delicious the food in her restaurant was. Customers would be willing to come just for the food.
When they arrived at the Bafang Inn, Xu Qinyu saw the shopkeeper Zhou.
Shopkeeper Zhou was also very happy to see her. He smiled and said, "If the inn wasn't so busy, Daqing and I would like to stay in Miss Xu's restaurant for a few days."
Xu Qinyu naturally knew how busy they were as inn owners, so she smiled and said, "It's okay. I came to the Bafang Inn today for some reason."
Shopkeeper Zhou said hastily, "Ms. Xu, please tell me if there is anything I can do to help you."
Xu Qinyu said, "It was because of some things that happened at the restaurant. The restaurant has been open for half a month, but except for a few regular customers, no customers have come. I came to Raozhou City and found out that Zuixianlou had invited dancers, so I thought about using your inn to cook for a few days to attract customers."
Shopkeeper Zhou said immediately, "Why not? This is exactly what we wanted. I did hear before that Zuixianlou invited some dancers from foreign countries, but I didn't expect it to have such a big impact on your restaurant." A few days ago, diners in the inn could be heard talking about the dancers in Zuixianlou, saying how beautiful their dancing was and how graceful their figures were. Shopkeeper Zhou had not thought that it would have an impact on Xu's Restaurant.
It seems that Zuixianlou is worried that its own business will be affected, so it came up with some ideas to overshadow the newly opened Xuji Restaurant and make other people forget to visit Xuji and try its food.
This is understandable. When doing business, there is bound to be competition, as long as it is not malicious competition.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Manager Zhou, for giving us two rooms, just ordinary big shops."
She and Lianhua live in one room, and Dongqian can live in another room.
Xu Qinyu wanted to stay in the big inn. She and her fourth brother usually stayed there when they came. Manager Zhou was always reluctant to charge them and always arranged a No. 1 room for them, which made her feel a little embarrassed.
However, Manager Zhou still arranged two top-grade rooms for the three of them.
Shopkeeper Zhou not only regards Xu Qinyu as the benefactor of the Zhou family, but also regards her as his son's master. If it weren't for the food that Miss Xu taught her son to make, the inn would not have the business it has today. It is priceless.
"Don't worry, Miss Xu. Just live here peacefully. If you need any ingredients, just tell me and I'll have someone go buy them."
Xu Qinyu didn't plan to make anything else but crispy suckling pig. This alone is attractive enough. The main thing is that the aroma is the most intense and can be smelled from far away.
She asked the shopkeeper Zhou to help buy a few suckling pigs, which had to be slaughtered and brought back whole, without cutting into pieces. She also brought some other seasonings, such as soybean paste and fermented bean curd, so that the food would taste better if she made them herself.
Shopkeeper Zhou immediately went there in person.
Xu Qinyu couldn't rest either, so she went to the kitchen to meet Zhou Daqing.
Zhou Daqing was busy in the kitchen and was very happy to see her. Xu Qinyu asked him and Dongqian to help build a place for roasting the suckling pig with bricks, which would be convenient for roasting it in a while.
Because Dong Qian had brought her here in a horse-drawn carriage, in addition to the seasonings, she even brought a few iron forks from the restaurant, so that she didn't have to look for iron forks later.
By the time Xu Qinyu and Chef Zhou had finished setting up the roasting pit in the back kitchen, Chef Zhou had already returned.
It was still early, so Xu Qinyu prepared all the ingredients and seasonings before going to the upstairs room to rest.
Lianhua followed her closely, and didn't say much. She just did whatever she was asked to do, and she was very diligent.
Xu Qinyu didn't know much about Lian Hua's background, but she vaguely knew that these guards seemed to be lonely people with no relatives alive, so they learned martial arts and traveled around the world.
Just after noon, Xu Qinyu went to the backyard to work.
It takes about an hour to roast the suckling pig, and by the time it’s finished it’s time for dinner. The aroma can attract many customers.
In addition to the crispy suckling pig, Xu Qinyu planned to order some salty pork intestines, and asked the shopkeeper Zhou to buy a few pairs of pork intestines in the morning. These intestines also had a strong salty flavor and were very attractive to diners.
Crispy suckling pig is expensive. Even if it is sold in ten portions, each portion costs five hundred coins. The taste of salami is just as good, but the price is far different from that of the crispy suckling pig. Most diners can afford it, so some of the cheaper food has to be prepared.
Zhou Daqing had just cleaned the fat intestines in the kitchen. Xu Qinyu prepared the brine and spices and put the fat intestines on the brine first.
While brining the sausage, she also prepared the crispy skin water. The suckling pig had already been marinated before, so now she brushed it with the crispy skin water. After the crispy skin water dried up, she could start roasting it.
In fact, the process of making crispy suckling pig is complicated, but for Xu Qinyu, it is not complicated at all, as practice makes perfect.
After the crispy skin is completely dry, start baking.
She set up two grills and could grill two at a time. Dong Qian could also control two to grill, because he didn't have to turn them over all the time. He just had to pay attention to the heat and turn them over from time to time.
The baking pit is a little small, otherwise she could bake a few more at a time.
In this way, Xu Qinyu planned to roast four at a time. The eight roasted today are enough. If they can't sell them all, they and the inn's waiters will keep them for themselves.
After two quarters of an hour, the aroma of the crispy suckling pig gradually spread.
When Shopkeeper Zhou and Chef Zhou smelled this fragrance for the first time, they couldn't help but say, "What a nice fragrance."
Sure enough, no matter what Miss Xu cooks, it smells delicious. This aroma will surely attract many diners.
Even the waiters in the guest inn would glance at the oven from time to time and swallow their saliva when passing by the kitchen.
The aroma naturally attracted many diners and passers-by.
Many people couldn't help but stop and sniff hard, asking, "What's that smell? It smells so good!"
"Indeed, is it the smell of something being cooked in a nearby restaurant or inn?"
"I live nearby, and I don't usually smell this kind of fragrance."
Shopkeeper Zhou was still standing at the door, and he said to everyone cheerfully, "This is our new food at Bafang Inn, crispy suckling pig and salted pork intestines. Not only does it taste delicious, but it tastes even better. No one will say it's not delicious after having tried it. I guarantee you'll want to eat more. But now the crispy suckling pig isn't ready yet. When it's ready, you can come and try it."
Someone couldn't help but ask, "Crispy suckling pig? What kind of food is this? I don't think I've ever heard of it. As for the halogenated fat intestines you mentioned, can it be delicious if it's boiled in pig's offal?"
"But this crispy suckling pig sounds a little familiar."
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "This crispy suckling pig and halved pork intestines are both made by my master from Daqing. As for this halved pork intestines, to be honest, they are also very fragrant. Do you smell another halogen aroma? That is the fragrance of halved pork intestines. When they are cooked, you can buy some to try. These two foods are wrapped in oil paper and can be eaten right away. Halved pork intestines are 15 coins per serving, and crispy suckling pigs are 500 coins per serving. These are charged at 80% of the price. They are only available for a few days. After a few days, they will return to the original price."
When the people around heard this, they were surprised and said, "Manager Zhou, the salted pig intestines are 15 wen each, and this pig's offal is only 1 wen per pound. Not many people are buying it, so how dare you sell it for 15 wen each? And this crispy suckling pig, it should be made of pork, what kind of pork food dare to sell for 500 wen each?"
Shopkeeper Zhou still looked cheerful. "To be honest, this crispy suckling pig was originally sold as a whole, at six taels of silver, about ten to twenty kilograms. But we were worried that people wouldn't be able to finish it, so we now sell it in portions. The price is indeed a bit expensive, but isn't this Zuixianlou's signature dish also worth two or three taels of silver?"
Someone sneered, "You also say it's Zuixianlou, how can your little inn compare with Zuixianlou? Besides, yours is not just two or three taels of silver, you sell it for six taels of silver each, which is more expensive than Zuixianlou."
Hearing this, the shopkeeper Zhou said, "You can't say that. It's because it tastes good that it's expensive. Crispy suckling pig, you must have never heard of this name, and this method is the first time I've seen it. And the price of the pig's offal is cheap, but it tastes good and delicious. I guarantee you'll want to eat more after eating it. Why can't I sell it for 15 cents a portion? You just say it smells good or not, it's not cooked yet, it will taste even better when it's cooked."
Someone suddenly said, "I don't remember much about the crispy suckling pig you mentioned, but when you said six taels of silver, it suddenly reminded me that a few days ago, someone handed out a notice in the city saying that Xu's Restaurant outside of Raozhou had opened, and all the food inside was six taels of silver per dish. No one in the whole city of Raozhou dared to sell a dish for six taels of silver, so I had a deeper impression. And there was also Fu Shou Quan, which was fifty taels of silver per can. My God, they dared to sell all kinds of food for fifty taels of silver per can."
"Yes, now that you mention it, I remember that it says that a crispy suckling pig costs six taels of silver."
Everyone finally reacted.
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "Yes, he is the owner of Xu's Restaurant. This owner is our Daqing's master. The specialties that Daqing makes were taught by his master. Our Daqing can only make 70% or 80% of the dishes. If his master makes them, the taste is really delicious."
"Shopkeeper Zhou, is what you said true or false? Is it really that delicious?"
Shopkeeper Zhou said cheerfully: "If you don't believe me, just buy one and try it yourself. Let's not talk about the crispy suckling pig. If you think it's too expensive, just buy one of the salted pig intestines."
"But it smells really good. Manager Zhou, when will it be ready?"
"No, it will take more than half an hour to bake."
Everyone can only wait, but I have to say, I still want to taste what this crispy suckling pig that costs six taels of silver tastes like.
After Manager Zhou finished speaking, he was about to go back to the kitchen, but he saw Captain Liang Yiliang coming over.
This Captain Liang was a captain in the military camp and a familiar customer of the Eight Directions Inn.
When he first came to Raozhou City because of Miss Xu, he stayed at the Banfang Inn and borrowed the inn's kitchen to cook and sell food. Captain Liang ate the food that Miss Xu cooked during those two days and he could not forget it ever since. Later, Daqing followed Miss Xu in cooking the same food, and Captain Liang came to the inn to eat from time to time again, but he would occasionally sigh and say that he still missed the food cooked by Miss Xu.
Liang Yi had indeed come here following the smell. When he arrived at the Bafang Inn, he already had a premonition in his heart. Seeing Shopkeeper Zhou standing at the door, he couldn't help asking, "Shopkeeper Zhou, is Miss Xu cooking in there?" This aroma should be some fresh food. Zhou Daqing could not make such a smell at all, so he was sure that the person in the back kitchen should be Miss Xu.
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "Yes, it is indeed Miss Xu. She is making crispy suckling pig. Captain Liang may not know that Miss Xu runs a restaurant outside the city."
Liang Yi's eyes widened. "You said that the restaurant outside the city is owned by Miss Xu?"
He knew that a restaurant had been built outside the city, some distance away from the military camp. A few days ago, at dusk, there was always a smell of meat wafting over from there. The smell was different from ordinary meat smells, but it was very appetizing. The soldiers in the military camp were all wailing a little, wondering what kind of food was it and how could it be so fragrant that it could be blown into the military camp by the wind.
He had also smelled it, but he didn't expect it was done by Miss Xu.
He had a day off today, so he went out to buy something and came over when he smelled the fragrance.
Liang Yi immediately said, "Okay, then leave some for me tonight, and I'll come get it after I finish shopping."
After he asked the price, he ordered half one.
One portion was about one pound, so he ordered half a piece. The price of half a piece was a few dozen coins cheaper, two and a half ounces of silver. Half a piece was about several pounds, which was actually enough for him to eat by himself. However, he had a wife and daughter at home, so he planned to take it home to eat with her.
He never doubted the taste of the food cooked by Miss Xu.
Liang Yi paid more than two taels of silver and went to buy things.
Many people also recognized Liang Yi and knew that he was Liang Qianhu in the military camp. He liked to eat and was a chivalrous and generous person.
Everyone saw him buy half of it without hesitation. Some regular customers who often eat Zhou Daqing's food learned that the two dishes in the evening were made by Zhou Daqing's master. Some who didn't have much money only bought a portion of fatty intestines, while those who had more money also bought a portion of crispy suckling pig. Others were still waiting and watching.
Shopkeeper Zhou wrote down the bill and went to the kitchen to stay for a while.
In the backyard, Xu Qinyu was still roasting a crispy suckling pig.
The pig intestines are almost brine-cooked, but they still need to be soaked in the brine for about an hour to make them more flavorful.
As time goes by, the aroma of the crispy suckling pig becomes stronger and stronger.
Many people have come to the inn to ask about the aroma.
Shopkeeper Zhou never tires of telling the diners what the food is, who made it, and that there are restaurants outside the city, so that everyone can remember the name of Xu's.
Just because of the fragrance, many people placed orders with Shopkeeper Zhou.
The first batch of crispy suckling pig is finally out of the oven.
Xu Qinyu asked Lianhua, Dongqian and other employees of the inn to help fan the crispy suckling pig that had just come out of the oven with a big fan.
This will allow the heat from the crispy suckling pig's skin to dissipate quickly, making the skin more crispy.
As for the roasted suckling pig, the innkeeper Zhou directly carried the food tray to the door of the inn so that the passers-by and diners around could have a look. They had seen such food before.
The big pot of salinated sausage was also taken out, taken out of the pot, and placed on the chopping board to be cut into pieces.
Liang Yi also came over quickly. When he saw Miss Xu, he smiled and congratulated her: "Master Xu, long time no see. I heard that the restaurant outside the city is still owned by Master Xu. I can finally eat the food cooked by Master Xu in the future. I hope Master Xu will have good luck in opening the business and great fortune."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Thank you, Captain Liang. It's been a long time since we last met. I will pack the food for you first."
He ordered half a pig, and Xu Qinyu cut it directly, put it in a large food box and handed it to Liang Yi, asking him to return the food box another day. Not only that, she also cut two pounds of fatty intestines for him.
The other diners couldn't help but ask, "Why are they only giving this gift to the Lord Qianhu, and not giving us some as well?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, everyone gets a share. Buy one serving of crispy suckling pig and get one serving of salted pig intestines for free."
Liang Qianhu couldn't wait to smell the aroma. When Xu Qinyu put his crispy suckling pig in the food box, he took a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. It made a crispy sound when it entered his mouth. It had a crispy aroma and a meaty aroma. Liang Qianhu's eyes widened and he immediately said, "Boss Xu, wait a minute, give me another half! I want the remaining half too. I want the whole one."
Liang Qianhu felt lucky that he had a bite and it was really delicious.
He has a big appetite, so if he really takes half of it back, it would actually not be enough for him. It would be better to eat a full meal at once. The price is cheaper now, and he can buy a whole one for more than four taels of silver. When the price returns to its original price, it will cost six taels of silver.
If he buys the whole thing, he can eat it to his heart's content, and his wife and daughter can also have their fill.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, give this whole thing to Lord Liang. Manager Zhou, please bring a double-layer food box over."
After packing the crispy suckling pig, Xu Qinyu handed the food box to Liang Qianhu, who couldn't help but ask, "Will Miss Xu still be here tomorrow?"
Xu Qinyu nodded and said, "I will stay at Bafang Inn for the next few days. Tomorrow, in addition to the crispy suckling pig, we will also have crispy pig intestines, which will taste great too."
Liang Qianhu immediately said: "Then I will come again tomorrow."
The crispy fatty intestines sounded delicious, so he planned to come back tomorrow to have a look. Perhaps he didn’t have enough today and would like to try the crispy suckling pig.
But I thought the crispy suckling pig was a bit expensive, but then I thought, such a big crispy suckling pig only costs 6 taels of silver, and if it is really sold in portions, the price is about the same as a plate of food at Zuixianlou, right? And it tastes so good.
Captain Liang finally came to his senses, but he still felt a little pain in his heart. He left with a large double-layered lunch box and two kilograms of halogenated intestines.
This trip cost him more than four taels of silver, and his monthly salary was actually only six or seven taels. Captain Liang planned to go into the mountains after dinner in the evening to hunt for some prey to supplement his family income, otherwise his monthly salary would not be enough for him to eat.
Most of the others just bought it in batches, none of them were like Liang Qianhu.
Seeing this, others couldn't help but say, "Isn't this really a scam? He bought a whole one at a time. Can he finish it?"
Someone sneered, "What a lie! This is Lord Liang, the captain of the army. He eats much more than the average person and knows how to eat. Lord Liang doesn't like things that don't taste good. Lord Liang wants to eat the whole thing after tasting a piece, which only shows that this crispy suckling pig is really delicious."
After saying that, he immediately said, "Boss, give me one too."
Soon, all four roasted suckling pigs were sold out, and the halved sausages were basically given away. Anyone who bought a crispy suckling pig would get a portion of halved sausage for free. The amount of halved sausage was not much, only about seven or eight cents, about two or three taels.
Some people couldn't help but taste a piece of the crispy suckling pig as soon as they got it, and immediately said, "Boss, give me another serving of crispy suckling pig. It's delicious, really delicious."
Shopkeeper Zhou could only say, "The first few are all sold out. If you want to buy more, you have to wait another hour. It will take another hour to roast them. There are only three left. After these three are sold today, there will be no more."
Miss Xu said that she would keep one for later so that everyone could taste it.
Shopkeeper Zhou must be very craving for it after smelling the aroma for so long, and he also wants to try it.
An hour later, the second batch of roast suckling pigs was ready. We kept one for ourselves and the remaining three were sold out in a short while. They were all repeat purchases by the first batch of diners. Some ordered more on the spot after tasting the flavor, while others took some home and ate them before coming back to buy more.
Some people did the same as Liang Qianhu and ordered one directly the second time.
Others are also bought in half or multiple portions.
Many of the first batch of diners came back to buy, but found that they were all sold out. They regretted not buying more and asked if it was still available tomorrow, and immediately made reservations for tomorrow.
Xu Qinyu was not actually surprised. The reason why the restaurant had no customers this time was because it was located outside the city. If it was located inside the city, even if Zuixianlou hired more dancers, it would not have any impact on the restaurant. The aroma alone would be enough to attract customers.
In the evening, in addition to the roast suckling pig, Xu Qinyu also made smoked fish for the family.
There happened to be fish in the inn, because the dishes Zhou Daqing had learned from her before were all related to fish.
Smoked fish is not bacon.
Instead, it is made from fresh fish cooked with a dozen kinds of seasonings.
This smoked fish is also on the menu of Xu Ji Restaurant. It tastes sweet and sour, crispy and refreshing.