After several days of hard work, the carpenter finally completed and delivered the table and chairs that Li Xi had ordered. The past few days have been sunny and warm, and the snow on the road has melted. Everyone worked together to move and clean the items, and after much effort, the shop looked brand new.
Although the lacquer materials of this era did not have the diversity of later generations, the cultural and artistic cultivation of this era was extremely high. When you walk around Kyoto, you can feel the cultural atmosphere here and be deeply impressed by the wisdom and insight of the ancients.
As a former designer, her previous skills were only superficial and hardly impressive. Although they weren't particularly useful here, she could still manage simple painting. Li Xi was responsible for painting the furniture inside and out, and the paint on her brush seemed to come alive. In the middle of the day, everything was sparkling clean. The temperature inside was pleasant, and the flowers were in full bloom, showing no signs of wilting despite the winter.
The tables, chairs, and counters were placed where they belonged. Li Xi was full of energy. She had a dream since she was a child: to open a small shop, decorate it according to her own preferences, and have a small courtyard to grow her own fruits and vegetables. As she grew up, she realized that such a wish was becoming increasingly difficult to realize. How many people in the world can escape the pressures of life and follow what their hearts truly desire?
Studying, working, getting married, and having children seem to be conventional social norms, and anyone who doesn't follow these steps is considered an outcast. Having unexpectedly arrived in this era, she was entrusted with caring for her younger brother by the original owner of this body. She has now accomplished most of that. From now on, she should earn more money to help her brother grow up and settle down in peace.
The future remains uncertain, and this is all she can do for now. After discussion, they finally decided on the shop's name: "Porridge, Noodles, Rice," a simple and direct name that clearly indicates what kind of food they serve, similar to a modern fast-food restaurant. The clientele is mostly students, travelers, and ordinary people; the variety of food is diverse, and the prices are relatively affordable, catering to most people's budgets.
Based on the setup of a modern fast food restaurant, Li Xi ordered two large pots to cook the soup base. A bowl of mouthwatering noodles reached its peak with the delicious soup base. Moreover, when stir-frying vegetables, adding broth for seasoning made the flavor incomparably fresh. Although there is chicken essence in later generations, restaurants will naturally make their own broth to attract diners and make them want to savor the taste.
It would be a waste for Ling'er to only make noodles with her culinary talent, so she has made a new plan. She plans to hire two kitchen helpers and two waiters. The chili sauce cannot be launched yet because it has not been planted in large quantities and can only be launched next year.
These past few days, Li Xi and the others have been writing recipes. After finalizing the recipes, she made a cookbook with illustrations. Each simple dish name was accompanied by a lifelike picture of the food, along with its price. The dish names were, of course, written by Meng Zhelan; Li Xi had only learned about ten traditional Chinese characters so far. The illustrations and descriptions made the cookbooks much more engaging. Five cookbooks were made: one for the cashier, one for the kitchen, and three for customers to refer to when ordering.
The helper turned out to be an aunt and uncle she knew from next door. This middle-aged couple had recently lost their jobs. Ling'er was familiar with Aunt Wang and knew she was also very capable at housework, so she mentioned it to her. Aunt Wang was overjoyed and casually mentioned her husband. Ling'er had met Uncle and Aunt Wang before and knew they were honest, hardworking people who worked quickly. The job posting found two teenagers, around thirteen or fourteen years old, energetic, diligent, and quick-witted.
Li Xi and Meng Zhelan had been frequently visiting the market these past few days, bringing back cartloads of ingredients and checking for any shortages daily, striving for a perfect opening day. Li Xi specially went to the Marquis's residence to send an invitation to Shen Xu, and then made a detour to Luyang Academy to find Li Yi, asking him to bring a few familiar companions to accompany her to the shop to warm up the atmosphere. Li Yi was pleasantly surprised to see Li Xi, saying, "Sister, you've come! I haven't seen you for so many days." "I'm sorry, I've been busy with opening the restaurant these past few days. I only had time to see you today. I remember you have a day off tomorrow, so it's perfect timing." "Great, sister! I'll go help out early that day," the young man said with a beaming smile.
She hadn't been in Kyoto long and didn't know many people. After informing the two of them, she drove to the market to buy some red envelopes.
On a winter night, the temperature plummeted, and the wind was biting. The night sky was dotted with stars, twinkling faintly. The earth, covered in snow, appeared tranquil and peaceful.
In this cold season, people huddled early in their warm beds or gathered around the fire for warmth. The lanterns in the night market streets cast a soft, dim glow, illuminating the quiet night. Occasionally, a few horse-drawn carriages would slowly pass by, breaking the tranquility. The drivers would call out "Giddy up!" as if hurrying home to escape the cold wind…
At dawn, Ling'er was the first to get up and wash. She quickly prepared breakfast for a few people and kept it warm on the stove. Then she went to the front yard and back kitchen, where she was starting over. She boiled a large pot of water for easy washing.
The old hen, which had been killed and cleaned before bed, was already placed in a wooden basin. There were also a few beef bones and pig skulls in it. All of them were put into a large pot, water was added, and the water was brought to a boil. The foam was skimmed off, and ginger slices were added and the pot was continued to boil.
While they were busy making soup, Tian Tian, having finished her meal, came to help. With the strength of an ox, Tian Tian lifted several large pots without even breaking a sweat. "Tian Tian, bring in the ingredients that are frozen outside," Ling'er said, busy chopping ingredients.
About half an hour later, Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang arrived. Following the work assignments given to everyone yesterday, everyone in the kitchen busied themselves in an orderly manner. Soon after, two helpers arrived as well. They swept and cleaned the living room and arranged the tables and chairs. The front door was open, with a thick curtain blocking the cold wind from coming in. The charcoal brazier inside was already burning hot, and everyone's faces were beaming with joy.
Li Xi and Meng Zhelan got up as dawn broke. Li Xi had already hung red silk at the door yesterday and held an opening ceremony. She had consulted a fortune teller to choose an auspicious time for the opening and even made several flower baskets herself. Of course, she invited Shen Xu to cut the ribbon, as he was the young master of the Marquis's mansion and was happy to do so.
Meng Zhelan wrote out a recipe for ginger soup and had Ling'er arrange for someone to cook a large pot. When the guests arrived and were seated, they would be served a pot of ordinary tea and a pot of ginger tea. "Xi'er, is everything arranged at the entrance?" "Everything is ready, just waiting for the final touch." Li Xi confidently winked at Meng Zhelan.
At the stroke of midnight, Li Xi lit firecrackers. The crackling and popping sounds echoed through the sky, deafeningly loud, attracting the attention of people nearby. "Dear neighbors, today is the opening day of our shop. Welcome to our store!" Li Xi and Meng Zhelan handed out red envelopes containing two coins to the onlookers.
Seeing the red envelopes, everyone rushed forward, but fortunately Sun Tiantian held Meng Zhelan back, saying, "Please don't push, everyone. There are enough for everyone. If you line up, you'll get yours faster. Please cooperate." Hearing this, a long queue formed.
"Dear neighbors, today is our grand opening! We're offering a 30% discount on everything for the first three days only. Our shop specializes in congee, noodles, rice, and other popular dishes. Welcome to come and try our food!" Li Xi greeted the crowd with a bow. "Alright, I'll go in and give it a try. I've never seen anything like this before," Shen Xu said, leading the three of them into the shop.
When others saw that it was Marquis's third son, Shen Xu, who went in, many others followed suit, and the shop was soon filled with customers.
"Brother Shen, thank you very much. Please eat whatever you like today, it's on the house," Li Xi said, bowing with his hands clasped in gratitude.
"Brother Li, let me introduce you to my good brother. This is Qin Xiaolin, the young master of the Duke's mansion. He has been my good brother for many years. Brother Qin, this is the hero I've always told you about, the one who would come to my aid." Qin Xiaolin cupped his hands to Li Xi and said, "Young Master Li, I've long admired your name." "Young Master Qin, I'm sorry for not greeting you properly. Thank you for patronizing my humble shop. Please try our signature dish; I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Qin Xiaolin looked at Li Xi with delight in his eyes...
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