When Xu Qinyu heard Fourth Brother ask this, she said, "He's the new cook in the restaurant. Why are you asking about him?"
The restaurant will have more and more customers in the future, but with Xu Qinyu, her several apprentices, and the original assistant chef of Donglai Ju, the staff is definitely not enough. Xu's Restaurant also needs a lot of people, so in the past three months, she also recruited some assistant chefs. In addition to the original assistant chefs and chef, some assistant chefs have come one after another. They all have some cooking skills and can learn faster and more easily.
Similarly, any assistant chef who comes to Xu Ji and wants to learn cooking from her and then become the chef in the future must sign a document, agreeing to work for Xu Ji wholeheartedly for five years. During these five years, they must not do anything that is detrimental to Xu Ji, nor can they sell the recipes they have learned to others. After five years, they can leave and write down the recipes they have learned from Xu Ji, so it is okay for them to open their own restaurant.
The person that Fourth Brother was asking about was the one who came half a month ago. His name was Yan Mingcheng. He was about 40 years old this year. He came here specially because he heard that Xu's restaurant was recruiting a chef.
However, for those who have just come to Xu Ji to learn to help in the kitchen, Xu Qinyu will not let them go into the kitchen to learn right away. She will let them stay in the backyard for two or three months to help with odd jobs such as washing vegetables, cutting vegetables, preparing side dishes, and watching the stove. She will not let them go to the stove to learn from her.
Because she doesn't understand these helpers in the kitchen and is worried about meeting someone with bad intentions, she always has to check their character first and wait for a few months. If their character is good, she will let them go to the stove and learn from her.
Yan Mingcheng had been in Xu's for about half a month. He didn't like to talk much and just worked silently. He would chop wood when asked to do so and prepare side dishes when asked to do so. Occasionally, he would stare at the stove in a daze. Xu Qinyu couldn't figure it out for a moment and planned to wait a few months to see how he behaved before deciding whether to let him go to the stove and learn from him.
Pei Weixuan said, "He has a broad face and a long nose, bulging eyebrows and evil eyes, pockmarked face and green beard, but his life palace is sunken, his temperament is narrow and sinister, his eyes are dull, but when he saw you, his eyeballs trembled slightly, and his mind was strange. In addition, the wealth palace showed that he got a fortune half a month ago. From the wealth palace and life palace, it can be seen that this person can do anything for money. Lai Xuji must have bad intentions and found a reason to get rid of him."
He didn't know much about physiognomy at first.
In the past, when I was in the palace, I read books about astronomy.
I learned a little about physiognomy in the last year. When I helped Yu Niang select people, I mostly judged a person's personality from his eyes and some subtle movements.
Until recently, I stayed there to farm, and in my spare time I read books on physiognomy. I made great progress in this area and could now tell something from a person's face.
When Xu Qinyu heard what Fourth Brother said, her heart also tensed up, and she asked in a low voice, "Fourth Brother, could it be that this person was bribed by someone and came to Xu's restaurant specifically to cause trouble? Or was he bribed to steal Xu's skills?" After all, Xu's restaurant had many chefs. Even if a restaurant outside served the same food as Xu's, they might not be able to find out who did it even if they reported it to the authorities.
Otherwise, why would you come to see Xu Ji just after making a fortune?
Fourth brother also said that judging from this man's appearance, he was not a good person, he was cunning and would do anything for money.
Pei Weixuan said, "It is very likely, so find a reason to send him away. In addition, Xu's family has a guard named Huo Jiang. Judging from his appearance, he is meticulous and has many other skills besides martial arts. Yu Niang can ask him to help investigate the people who come to Xu's family on weekdays, and use them after finding out their identities."
Huo Jiang is a child adopted by Huo Ye. He has been in the Black Armor Guard since he was a child. In addition to his good martial arts, he is also very good at reconnaissance.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Does he still have this ability?"
Huo Jiang is about the same age as her. He is also a big eater and has great interpersonal relationships. He is very familiar with Xu Ji's guards, other employees, and cooks, calling them "big brother" all the time. When he sees Xu Qinyu on weekdays, he seems a little reserved and also likes to call her "master". He also says that he has been an orphan since childhood and knows some martial arts. If anyone needs him, just ask and give him food.
Pei Weixuan nodded, "After Yan Mingcheng is sent away, we can let Huo Jiang follow him and find out who he belongs to."
Xu Qinyu nodded and decided to listen to her fourth brother. From now on, she would ask Huo Jiang to help investigate anyone who came to Xu's company.
She had no one to hire her before. If she could find out about this person's family background and character first, she would definitely investigate his character and origin first, which would save her a lot of trouble.
After saying this, Xu Qinyu chatted with her fourth brother for a while about moving matters, and then they went to bed.
The next day, Fourth Brother went back to Yuanbao Town to pick up Sister Ning and the others, and also had to transport all the furniture from Laixi Lane here. Sister Ning also had to deal with the matters of Linglong Pavilion, so it should take exactly two or three days.
After Xu Qinyu got through the busiest part of breakfast, she went to look for Huo Jiang.
At this moment, Huo Jiang was squatting next to the vegetable garden outside Xu's restaurant and eating breakfast.
On weekdays, the staff meals for these guards and other employees' wives are prepared by the chef. Xu Qinyu usually doesn't prepare the staff meals herself.
When she went to find Huo Jiang, she thought about it and brought a bag of winter melon candy with her.
She made the winter melon candy herself. As summer has arrived recently, many people have come to Xu Ji to escape the heat. Most of them are family members, including many children. So she made some winter melon candy, and if there are children at any table, she would give them a plate of winter melon candy.
Winter melon candy is naturally made from large winter melon and sugar.
Peel and remove the sac of the winter melon, then cut into even long strips, then soak them in clean water with alkali overnight. Soak the winter melon strips until they become transparent, then wash them with clean water and continue soaking them in clean water. Then blanch the winter melon strips and rinse them in cold boiled water. Then mix the winter melon strips with sugar evenly and marinate them for two or three days to allow the sugar to fully blend into the winter melon strips. After that, put the marinated winter melon strips in a pan and stir-fry the sugar until a layer of white frost forms on the surface of the winter melon.
It is quite troublesome to make and takes several days, so Xu Qinyu makes a lot every time and often eats it as a snack.
Xu Qinyu went to find Huo Jiang and brought him a bag of winter melon candy.
Huo Jiang was squatting in the vegetable garden, panting while eating noodles. The noodles were made by the chef, but he also enjoyed them very much, much better than the chefs in the black armor guards. In fact, he actively wanted to work as a guard in the restaurant because he had eaten the food made by the princess, which was so delicious that he was really hungry.
Although he could not eat the food cooked by the princess every day after coming to the restaurant, and could only eat it occasionally, he was already quite satisfied.
When he finished a large bowl of noodles and was about to get a second bowl, he saw the princess walking towards him.
He thought the princess came to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, but she stopped in front of him and said softly, "Huo Shouwei, do you have time? I want to ask you for help with something."
Huo Jiang immediately said, "Just give me your orders."
Xu Qinyu said, "The middle-aged man named Yan Mingcheng in the kitchen seems to be a little strange. I plan to send him away in the next few days. Can I ask Huo Shouwei to keep an eye on him for a few days to see if he has any abnormalities?"
Huo Jiang smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry, I will pay attention to it."
"Thank you, Huo Shouwei." Xu Qinyu thanked him and handed him the winter melon candy in her hand, "This is the winter melon candy I made myself, Huo Shouwei, you can try it."
Huo Jiang immediately took the winter melon candy and smiled, revealing his big white teeth.
Seeing him like this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but smile.
After she left, Huo Jiang couldn't wait to open the wax paper and pinched out a winter melon candy. It was the first time he heard that winter melon could be made into candy. It was tender yellow in color and a little translucent, covered with a layer of icing sugar. It was crisp and mellow in the mouth, not choking, and the sweetness was just right. He ate several pieces in a row and stuffed them into his lapel, then went to the kitchen to get a large bowl of noodles to eat.
After eating the noodles, Huo Jiang went to the city and specifically inquired about Yan Mingcheng's family background. He found out that he was not from Raozhou City and his family background could not be found out. He came to Raozhou some time ago.
After returning, Huo Jiang told Xu Qinyu about it, and also said that he couldn't find out his background for the time being and he would not keep an eye on him during this period of time.
…
Two days passed, and Xu Qinyu still hadn't found a reason to get rid of Yan Mingcheng.
Apart from a scar at the end of his eye, this man wasn't very good looking and was taciturn. Xu Qinyu really couldn't tell what kind of person he was. Besides, he did his job well and didn't like to talk, so she couldn't just let him go.
In the evening, the fourth brother brought Ning Jie'er and the others back to Xu's.
The furniture was delivered to the house by the caravan in the morning.
Xu Ji was too busy, and most of Xu Qinyu's relatives and friends were in Yuanbao Town. The only people she knew in Raozhou City were Madam Lu and the prefect's family.
It was certainly impossible to invite the prefect's family, so they specially invited Madam Lu to come, but they were afraid that she would feel uncomfortable. So Xu Qinyu simply did not invite anyone else, but just prepared a dinner in the new house and celebrated with the whole family, as if it was a move.
The new house has five courtyards and a very spacious garden. The garden is connected to the back mountain, making it convenient for Baiyu and Moyu to have fun on weekdays.
Ever since they moved to Xu's, Baiyu and Moyu have rarely been seen during the day, as they have gone up the mountain.
Occasionally, when Xu Qinyu woke up in the morning, she would see a dead prey at the door of her room. It was brought back from the mountain by Moyu and Baiyu.
Xu Qinyu was very relieved that Baiyu had actually learned to hold the food in her mouth instead of feeding her the food.
The courtyard where Xu Qinyu lives is the main courtyard, and it is also the largest courtyard in the house.
Xu Qinyu was not used to living alone in such a big yard. If something happened at night, it would be troublesome to call people, so Ning Jie'er usually lived in the same yard with her.
Wen and Zhu lived in the next courtyard with Fengger and Yuanjieer, which could be reached through a hanging flower gate.
As for the fourth brother, he didn't come back often and lived in another yard.
The three courtyards are still adjacent to each other.
Xu Qinyu and her fourth brother also took some time to go to the pawnshop in the city and bought several maids. They didn't need to serve anything else, except for the daily cleaning and washing of clothes. In their spare time, they would go to Xu's kitchen to help with the housework, starting with picking vegetables and preparing side dishes. Xu Qinyu also planned to teach them how to cook.
All the girls she bought were ten years old or earlier.
Most of these girls in the pawnshop come from poor families and were sold by their families.
If she doesn't buy them, others will. What if a brothel owner takes a fancy to these girls and takes them to a brothel? Then they will be ruined in the future.
It's called buying, but in fact it's almost like giving them a job. They get paid every month, and when they're in their early twenties and want to get married and meet the right person, the deeds will be returned to them. They can also learn cooking from her and then be allowed to get married and start a family.
Xu Qinyu bought eight maids, all of whom had their own names, and Xu Qinyu had no intention of changing their names.
These maids were all very thin, and Xu Qinyu felt sorry for them. She gave them a brief explanation of what they should do on a daily basis. They didn't have to serve the whole family personally, and they were to go directly to the kitchen in the restaurant for breakfast and dinner.
The house does not need to be swept every day. The yards where you live on weekdays can be swept every day, and the other vacant yards can be swept once every ten days.
The girls were very nervous at first. They worked in a dental clinic and had heard of Xu Ji's reputation, but they never thought that it would be the owner of Xu Ji who bought them.
Xu Ji is quite famous in the city. Even the boss of the dental clinic where they work has eaten at Xu Ji and praised it highly.
The girls found that the boss always spoke in a gentle and warm voice. He also said that he would give them a monthly allowance, not much at first, only two hundred coins. In the future, they could help in the kitchen and he would slowly teach them some cooking skills.
Several maids were a little bit unbelievable, they were all indentured and could be sold at will by the master. Not to mention the 200-coin monthly salary, which was generally only given by wealthy families, but the master also said that the salary would increase in the future and even taught them cooking. They were a little shocked. They met such a good master, and they secretly swore in their hearts that they must be loyal to the master in the future.
After giving instructions to a few maids, Xu Qinyu arranged accommodation for them.
They all lived in the back room of the mansion. After all, they were maids who had signed a contract to sell themselves, and it was better for them not to live together with the waitresses in the restaurant.
After arranging the maidservant, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen.
After coming here, Sister Ning also started to get busy.
Ning Jie'er has also cleared out Linglong Pavilion in Yuanbao Town, and plans to find another shop in Raozhou City. It doesn't have to be too big, just about the same size as the one in Yuanbao Town. She has not resigned from the embroiderers in Yuanbao Town, as they have all been with her for two years. She trusts these embroiderers, so she can just let them work at home on weekdays, and have them deliver the finished products to her from the restaurant once a month.
Sister Ning was busy traveling every day, and her fourth brother also went with her to the capital to find a private school for Sister Feng and Sister Yuan.
Three or four days passed like this, and Xu Qinyu still didn't get rid of Yan Mingcheng. Nothing could be found wrong with him in the restaurant.
However, tomorrow is his day off. Xu Qinyu wants to see if he will go into the city tomorrow. If he does, she will let Huo Jiang follow him to see if he can find out anything.
The next morning, several people from Xu's family took a break, including Yan Mingcheng.
After breakfast, he returned to the dormitory and left the restaurant, planning to go into the city.
Without Xu Qinyu's instructions, Huo Jiang followed quietly.
Huo Jiang followed Yan Mingcheng into the city and followed him for a whole day until dusk fell. Then Yan Mingcheng returned to Xu's to eat at Mu's.
After dinner, Huo Jiang found Xu Qinyu and said, "Master, I followed him all day today, and he didn't go anywhere. He just stayed in the casino in the city for a day."
Xu Qinyu frowned. She was a gambler. People in the restaurant, whether they were chefs or waiters, were not allowed to have bad habits. This was made clear when recruiting.
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Thank you, Huo Shouwei, I understand."
The next morning, Xu Qinyu found Yan Mingcheng and told him, "Master Yan, when you were on leave yesterday, a waiter from the restaurant happened to see you go to the casino. I'm really sorry, but in the hotel, whether it's the chef, the assistant chef or the waiters, bad habits are not allowed, so I'm afraid we can't let Master Yan stay in the hotel any longer."
She planned to pay Yan Mingcheng the wages based on a month's work.
Because he was a cook, his initial monthly salary was three taels of silver, and Xu Qinyu took out three taels of silver and gave it to him.
Yan Mingcheng's face turned pale, and he begged, "Boss Xu, I know I was wrong, and, and I was just curious about the casino, I don't usually go there."
Since the fourth brother said there was a problem, Xu Qinyu certainly couldn't keep him.
Even if Fourth Brother hadn't told her, she wouldn't have kept him if she had known that this man was a gambler.
It’s okay to play Mahjong with friends and family for entertainment on weekdays, but those who go to casinos are almost all gambling addicts.
Xu Qinyu said, "Does Master Yan go to the casino whenever he has a day off? In fact, you can find out by just asking inside. Does Master Yan want to do so?"
Yan Mingcheng's face turned pale. When he first came to Xu's, the boss had already told him some things that he couldn't do, but he didn't take it seriously, thinking that going to the casino would not cause any harm and would not affect other people. How could he have known that the young cook of Xu's would drive him away without showing him any mercy or leniency.
Besides, his purpose of coming to Xu's was not simple. If he could not stay in Xu's, he would not be able to get the at least 20,000 taels of silver later.
Thinking of this, Yan Mingcheng begged Xu Qinyu even more desperately, hoping that she would forgive him this time because of her young age, and said that she would definitely change in the future.
But Xu Qinyu was determined and asked the guards to pack up his things and kick him out of Xu's.
This was seen by many people.
Xu Qinyu briefly explained the situation, which was also a warning to those who stayed behind at Xu Ji, that even if they went to the casino and the money they gambled was their own money, it would not be allowed.
Because in the end, a gambler will lose everything he has, and it is possible that his family will be destroyed and his whole life will be ruined. In the end, a gambler will do anything.
It really made everyone in Xuji alert that even if they make a lot of money in the future, they must not develop such bad habits.
After Yan Mingcheng was taken away, Huo Jiang followed him and stayed with him for several days.
Huo Jiang returned a few days later. He didn't even wait until breakfast was over, and went straight to the kitchen to look for Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu and Huo Jiang went to a remote and deserted place outside, and then asked, "Did Huo Shouwei see anything?"
Huo Jiang nodded. "After returning to the city, this man did not go anywhere else. He went to the casino again. He ate, drank, defecated and urinated in the casino. He came out of the casino four days later and went straight to the Kong family mansion."
"The Kong family mansion?" Xu Qinyu frowned.
Huo Jiang immediately said, "It's the house of the owner of Zuixianlou."
This is what he found out from others after he saw Yan Mingcheng enter the Kong family mansion.
When Xu Qinyu heard this, her face darkened.
What else is unclear now? Fourth brother said that Yan Mingcheng got a fortune some time ago, and then came to Xu's to be a helper chef, wanting to learn cooking skills from her. Now it seems that the fortune should have been given to him by the Kong family, so that he could come to Xu's to learn cooking skills.
There's nothing wrong with slightly changing the recipes of her dishes. When Zuixianlou changes the names of the dishes and makes them more fancy, and makes the prices cheaper, it will be able to attract a large number of diners.
But in fact, Xu Qinyu is not worried about this kind of thing. Xu Ji now relies not only on food to attract customers, but also on comfortable accommodation, which is also very important.
In addition, for the same dish, the taste she makes is unmatched, so even if someone uses this method, Xu Ji will not go bankrupt, only the customer flow will be slightly affected.
But this kind of competitive method is really a bit ugly.
Both of them run restaurants, but since one is in the city and the other is outside the city, they do not affect each other.
These diners would often go to Zuixianlou to eat when they were in the city.
Huo Jiang said: "Master, do you want me to continue following you?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head. "No, there's no point in following him. I just want Huo Shouwei to help me find out the details when Xu's company recruits people in the future. Otherwise, if someone like this gets in again, and he really becomes a conspirator, it won't destroy Xu's company, but it will definitely cause serious damage."
Huo Jiang nodded.
After Huo Jiang left, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen to get busy.
In fact, she knew it clearly in her heart. Even if she knew that Yan Mingcheng came to Xu Ji to learn from him at the suggestion of the owner of Zuixianlou, she had no evidence now. Besides, Yan Mingcheng had not learned anything, so he could not be arrested even if she reported to the police. She could only let the matter go and pretend she knew nothing.
But Xu Qinyu was still a little angry.
She suddenly remembered that there would be a cooking competition in Raozhou City in two months.
This is different from the previous competitions that took place once a year in the city, or the private competitions between famous chefs.
This is a cooking competition held once every ten years, and it is only held in the Southwest. Famous chefs from several states come to participate.
She didn't know whether the Kong family from Zuixianlou would participate, nor did she know whether the Kong family had participated in the competition before and won the championship.
But this time, she must participate. Once she wins the championship, she will become famous, and Xu Ji will also become famous. In the future, more people will come to Xu Ji to taste the food and go on vacation.
By the time Xu's restaurant became famous throughout the southwest, Zuixianlou could no longer compete with Xu's, because they were no longer on the same level. Even if Zuixianlou studied Xu's dishes, it could not hurt Xu's restaurant.
However, before participating in this cooking competition, Xu Qinyu had to go back to Yuanbao Town.
The winery in Yuanbao Town also started making wine.
In addition to the wild grapes on the mountain this year, the green grapes planted by humans the year before last are also gradually bearing fruit and can be picked and used to make wine.
Madam Lu and Zhen Wu had already gone to Yuanbao Town, and were picking wild grapes one after another.
The next day, Xu Qinyu went back to Yuanbao Town, and Pei Weixuan went with her.
Xu Qinyu didn't have to do anything herself this time when she returned to Yuanbao Town. She had taught Xu Tiao how to use his sense of smell to make wine for three years. This year she was just giving instructions and didn't have to do it herself. Xu Tiao did a great job and she basically didn't have to worry about it. She was also confident to leave all matters concerning wine to Xu Tiao and then returned to the restaurant.
Pei Weixuan also stayed there for about half a month. After sending Yu Niang back to the restaurant, he left.
Before leaving, he found Huo Jiang and asked him to protect Yu Niang on a daily basis. Whenever Yu Niang wanted to leave the restaurant, he must send someone to follow her. As for the people called back by the hotel, he must first find out the details. Huo Jiang responded with a serious look.