In Anqingfang, Kyoto, the Zhang and Wang families looked at each other in bewilderment.
They opened more than a dozen restaurants of various sizes in Anqingfang, providing meals for one to two thousand people.
The main ones are the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Treasure Department, the Imperial Banknote Department, and the Lingtai Gate Guards. They provide three meals a day for more than 2,000 people, and make a good profit.
Actually, there is a kitchen in the palace, but the food cooked in the nearby western kitchen is not tasty at all. It is not just bad, it is simply terrible.
This business has been going on for several years, and the Zhang and Wang families have made a lot of profit from it.
But there are also troubles for both families.
One reason was that there were so many diners this time that some other restaurants wanted to steal their business. They couldn't tolerate this, so all those who should be driven away were driven away. Those who were not driven away were far away from the palace gate and did not disrupt their business too much.
The second trouble is to establish a good relationship with the chief manager of the Baochaosi.
Since you open a shop next to someone who is in the palace, naturally you have to have a good relationship with him.
The western kitchen had not been improved for a long time, and the chief steward of the Baochao Division had not mentioned the matter for a long time, and even blocked the improvement of the western kitchen, just to get the profit.
Normally, if the palace servants did not have enough food to eat and had to go out and spend money to buy food, they would have complained to the Imperial Household Supervisor long ago.
Unlike the manager of the Baochaosi, who not only did not complain, but also deliberately invited them all to Anqingfang for dinner, which was naturally profitable for him.
Yes, the person who complained about the Western Kitchen was the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household, but there was nothing wrong with his complaint. It was absolutely reasonable and was definitely to gain benefits for his palace servants.
Therefore, neither the Western Kitchen nor the Imperial Food Department said much, and their relationship with the Imperial Household Department was still very good.
As for the Guandi Temple, there is basically no one there. The two general managers of the Shangbaojian don't care about it, and the old supervisor is absolutely an insider.
However, the powerful officials did not pay much attention to the complaints from the chief and deputy chief managers of the Imperial Household Department. She knew a little about the affairs of the Treasury Department, so it was naturally impossible for her to take the initiative to harm the interests of her subordinates.
It was the accidental incident with Deputy Prime Minister Xi that prompted her to bring up the complaint against the Imperial Household Department.
They are not trying to solve the problem of food supply in the western kitchen, they are just using this as an excuse to deduct the western kitchen's allowance.
What has happened so far is both expected and unexpected.
The powerful want to seize power.
The Shangshi Division wanted to take this opportunity to improve the food.
But the only unexpected thing might be the Zhang and Wang families.
What does what happens in your palace have to do with us?
But if you think about it carefully, it's still a matter of where the palace servants go to eat, and the two families hope to make money from the palace servants.
In this case, there is certainly no hope for real improvement in the western kitchen.
The chief steward of the Treasury Department also used this reason to persuade them: "As long as we can survive these few days, the Western Kitchen will be completely destroyed. By then, no palace servant will go to the Western Kitchen. Won't those palace servants still have to rely on your restaurant?"
In the past few days, he has been making a lot of trouble in the Western Kitchen and preventing the Imperial Food Department from transferring people there.
These people were not sent over for use, but were directly assigned to the West Kitchen through the list of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was equivalent to increasing the number of palace maids in the West Kitchen.
If we destroy the West Kitchen before transferring the palace maids there, we can then hold them responsible for the crime, plus we can add the March agreement we mentioned earlier.
It was reasonable for the powerful to take over the western kitchen.
The chief steward of the Treasury Department also advised: "It's just these few days, you just have to be patient, the palace servants will come to eat soon, so don't worry if the palace is deserted these few days."
"I will transfer the palace servants away for a few days and have them come back for dinner soon."
The Zhang and Wang families also kept these words in mind, but keeping them in mind is different from seeing that a restaurant that was once prosperous is now deserted.
Even though the two families understood the plans of the nobles in the palace, they were still resentful in their hearts.
If I give you money but don't do anything, it would be better not to give you any money.
I have given a lot of filial piety this month.
Moreover, the chief steward of the Treasury Department transferred all the palace servants away with just one word, and they were no longer allowed to eat in Anqingfang. It was really too sudden.
This incident was sudden for the Western Kitchen, and it was also sudden for all the food shops in Anqingfang.
If you run a restaurant, you must order the ingredients in advance.
This sudden incident caused great losses to the Zhang and Wang families.
There are more than a dozen restaurants, big and small, so many ingredients, and so many employees. The loss of money made them both upset.
They had already been upset last night, and now they received this news early this morning. Moreover, the suspension would take two or three days. The Zhang and Wang families could only sit in the restaurant and sigh.
But what's the use of sighing? Just get through it first.
If it takes more than two or three days, they will really have to go find the chief steward of the Baochao Division again.
The money given cannot be wasted!
Just as the Zhang and Wang families were about to go out, they saw someone acting suspiciously at the door. It seemed that after checking that there was indeed no one in the store, he wanted to slip away.
But if a store can drive away other competitors without any problem, will it let such a person go?
The first one from Zhang's family who saw this immediately had someone stop him. What were they doing sneaking around in front of his house?
But no matter how he asked, this man just wouldn't speak.
Wang Jia, who had been in contact with the palace for a long time, couldn't help but ask, "Could it be a eunuch?"
Eunuch?
What are the people in the palace doing here wearing ordinary people’s clothes?
When Su Wan got the news, she knew who sent the eunuch.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Xi, as soon as she delivered the note written by Su Wan to the head of the Ministry of Food, they started to take action.
It's not even breakfast time yet, but the Zhang and Wang families are already getting restless.
Mainly because they "bribed" the eunuchs who were gathering information, and only then did they know the "truth" in the palace.
Anyway, according to that eunuch, no restaurant will be opened in Anqingfang in the future.
This time we are closing the shop for a few days just to let them get used to it in advance.
Because they wanted the food in the western kitchen to improve, it was the idea of the nobleman above them, the chief steward of the Treasury Department.
That noble lady specifically requested that the western kitchen be improved and that as many palace servants as possible be allowed to eat there.
Since the chief manager of the Baochao Department was her man, he would naturally be obedient.
Didn’t you listen to it yesterday? Today you asked the palace servants to eat in the west kitchen just to show your loyalty.
Sooner or later, these restaurants will close down.
The treasure bank manager knew that it would be impossible to close the store suddenly, so he was just stalling for time. If he stalled for too long, wouldn't your store close down by itself if it lost money? Then it would have nothing to do with him.
What?
Did you give money?
Can the money you give be compared with that given by the nobles in the palace?
That is the long-term support.
Who is this palace servant? Of course, she was sent by the nobles of the inner palace to gather information and see if there are any palace servants eating outside in Anqingfang. You can tell from my name tag that I am indeed a person from the inner palace.
If there is any, it is because the manager of the Baochaosi did not do his job well.
Then why am I telling you the truth?
Of course, I gave you enough silver.
Anyway, for things like this, no matter whether the Zhang and Wang families believe it or not, the seeds of doubt have been planted.
Just waiting to take root and sprout.
After the eunuchs from the "inner palace" left, the two families were filled with hatred and neither of them said whether they believed it or not.
But when I think about the improvement of the western dining room, won't all the palace servants go to the western dining room to eat? There is a free dining room, so no one wants to spend money.
In the past, money was spent because the food there was too bad and also because the chief steward of the Baochao Division was supervising it overtly or covertly.
If the steward's backers want to take control of the west kitchen and improve the food there, wouldn't that be robbing them of their source of income?
But after all, it’s just gossip, so they still need to find out more!
After hearing these words, Su Wan laughed and said, "Within a day, they will definitely not be able to sit still and will come to snatch the palace maids to eat at their place."
"One day?" Deputy Prime Minister Xi was puzzled. "But when the commander told me this just now, he said it would take two days. These two days will wear out their patience."
When the Zhang and Wang families lose their patience, they will go to the manager of the Baochaosi to make trouble, either to get the silver back or to force the palace servants to eat in Anqingfang again.
Otherwise, both sides will be in trouble and the matter of giving filial piety money should be made public.
But although it sounds impressive, they are actually just testing each other to see how far they will end up.
This is enough for Su Wan and the others.
And there is hope. As long as the Western Kitchen can hold on for two days, and everyone grits their teeth, they can succeed.
Anyway, they are not the ones who need to be anxious now.
As for one day?
Naturally, it is Su Wan’s back-up plan.
I guess it’s almost time for breakfast in the western kitchen, and the recipe for Anqingfang Li’s pig’s trotters should have been received by now.
He also had to convey the words he was asked to say.
That is: "In the future, Anqingfang can't cook so badly. The food made by the Western Kitchen is so delicious. If it is worse than the food made by the Western Kitchen, why would people spend money to come to Anqingfang to eat?"
It would be interesting if this sentence reached the ears of Zhang and Wang.
Previously, the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Treasure Department ate at their place because the food in the Western Kitchen was so bad.
When the food in the western kitchen improved, the number of people in these two places suddenly decreased. This is a real situation.
The Zhang and Wang families had sensed this a long time ago and had even gone to the chief steward of the Treasury Department to ask for the reason.
When I think about it now, the sense of crisis is definitely stronger.
Another thing: "What do you mean by closing for only two or three days? It's obvious that there will be no customers after that."
"Compared to the noble man, you are nothing."
"The Western Kitchen is free! And the food is delicious! If the palace maids were to choose, they wouldn't choose Andingfang."
The rest is fine, but the last sentence deeply hurt the Zhang and Wang families.
yes.
If the food in the western kitchen is delicious, then they will have no advantage at all.
How about going to ask about the western kitchen?
Since I often work at the palace gate, I can naturally find out more and verify the news from the inner palace.
While the Zhang and Wang families were doing these things, the big pig's trotter of the Li family who had sent out the message was making braised pork rice, which was the recipe given by Su Wan.
Just a quick glance at this recipe will reveal its subtlety.
They already knew some skills in cooking pig's trotters, and when they saw the braised pork rice, they started to work immediately.
I don’t know who gave me this recipe, it’s so amazing.
Su Wan, who gave the recipe, was currently preparing today's lunch in the western kitchen.
It was pretty much what Su Wan thought. After finishing breakfast, they had to start preparing lunch for more than 1,500 people. They basically couldn't stop for a moment.
This was especially true for the palace maids who were in charge of cleaning the dining hall and collecting the dishes and chopsticks, and they were also very busy.
I also have to help wash the dishes because the palace maids in the kitchen are preparing the ingredients.
Even cutting tofu takes a long time and it has to be kept well so that it doesn't change color.
The chicken for Kung Pao Chicken is easier to handle. I had already cut it almost into pieces when I used the chicken rack to make soup yesterday.
The sounds of cutting and washing vegetables in the west kitchen never stopped throughout the morning.
Yu Shu, who was in charge of steaming rice and buns, steamed five times as much rice as usual. It was not an easy job.
At one time, many unused stoves were reignited. It was too easy for eighty people to prepare meals for so many people.
This is because we are used to such a menu and everyone is organized in their work. Otherwise, things would be very chaotic.
That's why Su Wan decided to wait until things were over before changing the summer menu.
We spent so much time kneading dough yesterday, and now we are cooking for the same reason today. Some palace servants are already complaining.
It would be abnormal not to complain in this situation. Just as Deputy Prime Minister Xi was about to find someone to help, someone knocked on the side door of the west kitchen.
Su Wan also knew the person who came. He was the young eunuch in charge of the old prison. He brought more than 20 people with him. As soon as he arrived, he said, "Our general manager said that you must be very busy, so he asked me to assign some people to come over."
Su Wan looked a little surprised.
It would be perfect to secretly send someone here at a time like this.
Who knew that not only the old treasury sent people away, but also the Imperial Household Department and the Shangbao Department sent some people away.
Especially the Shangbaojian, their work is easy, so just a dozen people can come here.
All three departments have the same idea.
That means the west kitchen cannot collapse!
If the western kitchen collapsed, where would they go to eat such delicious meals?
Su Wan looked at them and smiled: "Luckily you guys came to help. We are really busy recently, otherwise we would have to change the menu."
Change the menu?!
When the imperial eunuch Shangbao, who often ate meals in the western kitchen, heard this, his eyes immediately widened.
Although the current menu is already very good, who doesn’t want more delicious food?
On the contrary, the old supervisor had no idea and just said, "It depends on your situation. If it is too hard, you don't have to change it."
"Well, definitely not recently. At least after the western kitchen is stable, I will definitely make a menu that you all like." Su Wan's few words made the three palace people who came to help think differently.
But Su Wan didn't say anything afterwards and took everyone to the west kitchen to help.
Seeing so many people coming to help, everyone in the west kitchen breathed a sigh of relief.
There are so many things going on right now!
They all had back pain, and some even felt dizzy and had difficulty seeing the world, all because they were too tired.
Fortunately, some people from the Three Palaces came to help. There were about thirty or forty of them at once, which instantly relieved a lot of pressure, and some of the less important tasks could be handed over to them.
Although everyone knows that the palace servants from other places will not come to help for long, they should finish the next few meals first.
Su Wan naturally followed them, but what she just said was on the minds of the people in the three palaces.
I vaguely felt that what Su Wan meant was that if the Inner Palace and the Treasury Department hadn't caused trouble, they would have been able to eat other delicacies.
But on second thought, Su Wan is only twelve years old, just a cute little girl who can cook, what does she know?
I guess he just said it casually and told the truth.
Now that it is summer, let alone changing the menu, we should also cook the mung bean soup we usually eat.
But now no one would complain that the West Kitchen does not do any work. They do, but there is just too much work and you can tell by looking at how hard it is.
For example, the North Kitchen is responsible for the meals of 3,100 people, which is twice as much as the West Kitchen.
But how many palace servants did they have? There were 320 of them, four times as many as those in the western kitchen!
Normally speaking, the West Kitchen should have 160 people, but now there are only 80. What do you expect?
Once you understand these truths, you can only secretly complain that the people in power are too cruel.
To what extent can you push people?
Su Wan listened to everyone's whispered discussion, but brought out the soaked mung beans and coix seeds.
It’s not difficult to cook mung bean soup, so you still have to cook it.
Especially at times like this, the Western Kitchen must do things well.
Now their west kitchen is in chaos and they are very busy.
But there are people out there handling these matters.
As long as the Western Kitchen cooks beautiful meals, it will give confidence to the head of the Imperial Food Department and end this chaos sooner.
Chaos is a step.
Now, both she and the chief of the Imperial Kitchen wanted to take advantage of today's chaos to climb the stairs and completely eliminate the trouble in the Western Kitchen.
In such a chaotic time, cook a big pot of mung bean, lily and coix seed soup to clear away heat and relieve summer heat, and also help everyone relieve internal heat.
In fact, Su Wan wanted to do it yesterday, but she had something to do in the evening.
There are many people coming to help now, and many things are organized. She can also find a pot in the corner and start cooking cooling soup for everyone.
In the afternoon when the sun is high, everyone tends to feel tired and weak. At this time, having a bowl of cool mung bean soup is perfect.
Soak the mung beans and coix seeds in water in advance and put them in the ice cellar. When you take them out to make soup, it is easy to cook the mung beans and coix seeds until they bloom, which can greatly save the time of making the soup.
It is indeed faster to cook mung bean soup. However, the mung bean soup cooked by many people is not the beautiful green color, but red. The reason is that the pot is not covered properly when cooking the soup, allowing the mung bean water to come into contact with the air during cooking, which makes it turn red.
If you have a pressure cooker, just put it in the pressure cooker and it will come out to be a bright green color.
Now Su Wan is just waiting for the water in the pot to boil, and then pour in lilies, mung beans and coix seeds. In fact, there is no need to worry about it at this moment, just wait for the soup to boil again.
After it boils again, lower the heat on the stove and continue cooking the soup without opening the lid.
Because when cooking soup, you must add a lot of water, so there is no danger of burning the bottom.
After all, this is cooking soup, not porridge, there are some differences between the two.
The former drinks the soup, while the latter eats the ingredients inside, so there is still some difference.
Soak the mung beans and coix seeds in water in advance, then chill them. Turn to low heat and add a little rock sugar after a quarter of an hour, and you can drink it.
The rock sugar from the western kitchen must be used sparingly, it is just to enhance the flavor.
However, Su Wan did not serve the mung bean soup immediately. Instead, she turned off the fire and put it aside to cool.
After cooling, it is carried directly to the ice cellar.
Iced green bean soup!
Who wouldn’t want to have a bite!
Because mung bean soup is easy to cook, Su Wan hardly bothered anyone and did everything by herself.
When the meal was delivered, a bowl was also sent to Yan Pei.
Many palace servants in the west kitchen had to wait until lunch was almost over before they realized that Su Wan had actually prepared iced mung bean soup for them. They were extremely surprised for a moment.
If it were any other day, many people would have noticed this, but today we are too busy.
I started making breakfast before dawn, then made lunch, and now I have finally sent away more than 1,500 palace inhabitants.
Every time they left, they praised the food in the west kitchen for being delicious.
Especially the palace staff of the Baochaosi, except for a few eunuchs who secretly came to the west kitchen, the rest of them were licking the plates.
Were they fools before?
Why don’t you come to Xishanfang for dinner instead of going to Anqingfang?
Why would you miss the food here?
In fact, the palace staff of the Baochaosi felt a little guilty while eating, after all, they knew some of the secrets.
Because of this guilt, some people took the initiative to help collect plates and bowls, and even took the initiative to help with the chores, which saved the western kitchen a lot of trouble.
There's nothing we can do about it. It's because those who eat in the western kitchen feel guilty about it, and it's because the food in the western kitchen is so delicious!
Because of the actions of the palace servants in the Baochaosi, the palace servants in the West Kitchen calmed down a little, but at the same time they felt a little proud.
Look, who can resist Xishan’s food?
Similarly, no one can resist the iced mung bean soup made by Su Wan!
Wow!
Su Wan is so thoughtful!
The palace maids from the west kitchen who had been busy for a long time, as well as the palace maids from the three ministries who came to help, happily drank a bowl of iced lily, mung bean and coix seed soup to relieve the heat and fatigue.
This feeling is so comfortable!
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