Chapter 73 Grand Opening of Shengyuan, Distinguished Guests Arrive
After tasting all the dishes, Sheng An had a good grasp of the four people's culinary skills.
Bao Xiang had the best knife skills, Bao Xiu had the best control over the heat, while Bao Lan and Bao Yun were just average, only managing to cook the ingredients properly.
In Sheng An's eyes, none of the four people performed well.
It doesn't matter if they don't meet the standards right now; the oldest of them is only eighteen, and they still have a lot of room to grow.
Sheng An looked at Bao Xiang, the oldest and most beautiful among them, and asked, "What are your plans for the future?"
The slave trader once mentioned Bao Xiang's background: she married at sixteen and had a son.
However, her husband died of illness last year, and her in-laws could no longer tolerate her, so they sold her for five taels of silver.
The reason given was that Bao Xiang was young and beautiful, and would definitely be unable to resist the temptation to seduce other women.
If they let her continue to stay in her husband's family home, she will eventually ruin their reputation and bring shame upon their son's death.
When Sheng An was selecting people at the brokerage firm, he asked Bao Xiang this question before.
She was at a loss and didn't know how to answer.
Sheng An realized that the brokerage firm intended to sell Bao Xiang to a brothel at a high price, and out of sympathy for her, he chose her.
Given Bao Xiang's looks and age, remarrying wouldn't be difficult for her.
Once she has such thoughts in mind, it will be difficult for her to calm down and learn cooking skills.
Sheng An couldn't possibly dedicate his time and energy to someone who was multitasking.
Upon hearing the question again, Bao Xiang's previous confusion vanished. She walked to Sheng An and slowly knelt down. For the first time, a resolute look appeared in her previously timid and evasive eyes:
"My lord, I wish to learn your skills and never marry again in this life!"
Sheng An met Bao Xiang's gaze and said in a calm voice, "Although I bought you, I won't stop you from getting married. You still have decades of future ahead of you."
Bao Xiang thought Sheng An didn't believe her, and looked a little anxious: "Master, I'm telling you the truth! As long as you don't mind, I'll serve you like a slave for the next few decades!"
Having lost both her parents at a young age, and with her family fortune divided among her grandparents and uncles, she became a burden despised by everyone, suffering the hardship of living under someone else's roof.
She finally grew up, only to be sold by her uncles to a man with poor health to bring him good luck.
After her husband died, her in-laws, for five taels of silver, disregarded the fact that their young son needed her care and cruelly sold her to a brokerage firm.
If she hadn't met her master, she would probably be trapped in the filth of brothels and dens, unable to escape until her death.
Her experiences from childhood to adulthood have taught her that she cannot let others control her destiny.
She is indeed a slave now, but she has the opportunity to learn skills and become a useful person.
As long as she is valuable in her master's eyes, her master will not easily abandon her!
Sheng An stared intently at Bao Xiang, seeing only the resolute determination to give everything in those eyes.
She didn't say anything else, just three simple words: "Study hard."
Bao Xiang burst into tears of joy and kowtowed to Sheng An, saying, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
Besides Baolan and Baoxiang, Baoxiu, who is only thirteen years old, and Baoyun, who is only fourteen years old, also have their own tragic backgrounds.
One was that her younger brother was sick and they couldn't afford medical treatment, so her parents sold her to raise money for his medical bills.
One reason was that her family arranged for her to be married off to her sister-in-law's family so that her brother could get married.
However, before she could marry into her sister-in-law's family, her sister-in-law's brother drowned while swimming. Her sister-in-law's parents felt they had lost out, so they took her away from their home and sold her to a brokerage firm.
Sheng An went to the brokerage to select people, and Bao Yun and Bao Xiu boldly volunteered.
Seeing a reflection of his past self in them, Sheng An spent money to buy the two women.
Given that the two were still young and had several years before getting married, Sheng An didn't ask them anything, only offering the simple three words: "Study hard."
Bao Lan and Bao Xiu were relatively outgoing, and they only respected Sheng An, who was only a few years older than them, without any fear. They immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Yes, Master!"
Next, Sheng An pointed out the shortcomings in their cooking one by one and personally demonstrated for them.
The four of them felt that their cooking skills were passable, certainly not comparable to those of professional chefs in restaurants, but not bad.
When they tasted the dishes prepared by Sheng An, they were all amazed, but many were also deeply shocked.
Master is so amazing!
It turns out that the differences between people and between dishes can be described as worlds apart.
After the initial shock, the four became excited again, their eyes shining brightly as they looked at Sheng An: "Master, we will definitely study with all our might and will never let you down!"
We must study like crazy!
As long as they can learn their master's cooking skills, a bright future awaits them.
Sheng An observed the four people's reactions, and a faint smile appeared on his lips:
"I'm only giving you two years. If you can't satisfy me after two years, there will be no place for you in Shengyuan."
Laziness is a common human failing; no amount of sweet talk is as effective as hanging them by the neck.
Sure enough, the four women's expressions changed slightly, and the next moment their voices became even more resolute: "Yes!"
For the entire afternoon, Sheng An taught them theoretical knowledge about cooking.
How much they can remember and how much they can apply depends on their individual comprehension.
In the following days, Sheng An instructed the four members of Shuqi on etiquette and problem-solving skills in the mornings, and taught the four members of Baoxiang cooking skills in the afternoons. Every day was extremely fulfilling.
The Sheng family elders and Xu Chenglin were also busy with the wonton shop business. Over the course of a few days, they accumulated a small number of repeat customers, and the business improved day by day.
Every time Sheng An returned to the small building, Grandma Sheng would excitedly tell her how many bowls of wontons she had sold that day and how much money she had earned.
Seeing that the three elders were happy and in increasingly good spirits, Sheng An was naturally pleased as well.
On the 26th, the usually quiet Shengyuan Garden was suddenly filled with the sound of firecrackers, announcing that Shengyuan Garden was officially open to guests.
However, there wasn't a single customer in front of the door.
The absence of guests did not dampen everyone's good spirits.
As the smoke from the firecrackers gradually dissipated with the breeze, Sheng An felt an endless ambition rising in his heart as he looked at the "Shengyuan" plaque with a large red silk ribbon tied above the gate.
She looked at the man standing beside her and gently shook his hand: "Do you have any thoughts?"
Xu Jinnian's expression was gentle, and his voice was soft: "What An'an feels and thinks is what I feel and think."
Sheng An pinched his waist in dissatisfaction: "Trying to take shortcuts."
Xu Jinnian turned slightly to the side and, using his sleeve as a cover, secretly took her hand: "It's a meeting of minds."
Sheng An, wanting to pick a fight, deliberately asked, "Then tell me, what am I thinking?"
Xu Jin smiled and gently stroked her palm with her fingertips: "May your business be bustling with customers and your wealth flow in."
Sheng An was very dissatisfied that her thoughts had been guessed, and poked his waist in resentment: "Are you a tapeworm in my stomach?"
Xu Jinnian: "..."
Seeing that he was speechless, Sheng An laughed heartily: "It means the same thing as being in sync with someone, so don't worry about these details."
Xu Jinnian had no choice but to ignore the stares from others and pinch her cheek: "How could I dare to argue with you?"
Sheng An glanced at him sideways: "You make it sound like I'm some kind of domineering person."
Don't be fooled by how this guy always treats her kindly in public. Ever since that night when he opened the door to a new world for her, he's been playing tricks on her all the time.
The last layer of stubborn calluses on his palms has disappeared; this guy deserves the most credit for that.
Seeing the couple's affectionate behavior, the three elders not far away felt embarrassed to watch any longer and quickly turned around and went inside.
Shuqi, Baolan, and the others were seeing Xu Jinnian for the first time and only then did they realize that their master was already married. None of them dared to look at him too much, for fear of incurring the displeasure of the male master.
After the couple left, the group finally relaxed and couldn't help but huddle together and whisper among themselves:
"The master's surname is Sheng, and this place is called Sheng Garden. Could it be that the master married into the family?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Master is a scholar, how could he possibly marry into another family?"
"What? Master is a scholar? Who told you that?"
“Yesterday I delivered flour to the wonton shop, and the old lady told me in a casual conversation with a customer that the master was still the top scorer in this year’s imperial examination. There’s no way that she’s wrong.”
"Heavens! Master has passed the imperial examination at such a young age and has already become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination). He will definitely become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) in the future!"
The group's voices grew louder, and they became quite agitated.
The saying goes, "When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Serving as a servant to someone with official rank is different from serving as a servant to an ordinary merchant.
Sheng An was completely unaware of the discussions among Shu Qi and the others. After seeing Xu Jinnian off to class, she went to the study on the second floor to draft the menu for entertaining the Ding family grandfather and grandson the next day.
Ingredients such as pork, chicken, duck, lamb, fish, and shrimp are easy to buy at the market.
Rare ingredients, such as soft-shelled turtles, eels, and snakes, require specialized personnel to catch them.
Forget about beef; the government strictly forbids the slaughter of cattle.
Only sick, old, or injured cattle could be slaughtered with the permission of the government.
Even if you're lucky enough to find a cow waiting to be slaughtered, the beef has already been pre-ordered by well-informed people, and ordinary people simply can't buy it.
Sheng An has been here for several months, and he has never even seen or smelled beef, let alone seen it.
After careful consideration, the menu was finally finalized.
Sheng An handed the menu to Bao Xiang and asked her to take the other three people to the market to buy things.
Learning how to select ingredients is also an essential lesson on the road to becoming a master chef.
Entrusted with an important task by her master, Baoxiang was both excited and nervous, fearing that her master would be angry if she did not do a good job.
Baoxiu, the youngest, comforted them, saying, "Master has already taught us how to choose ingredients. If the four of us go together, we're sure we can find ingredients that Master will be satisfied with."
Bao Xiang took a deep breath, her eyes hardening: "Yes, our master has entrusted us with such an important matter, which is both a sign of his trust in us and a test for us. We must not let our master down!"
The four of them didn't linger. They carefully put away the money they had purchased before hurrying to the market.
The next day, Sheng An arrived at the main kitchen early.
Bao Xiang and her three companions had arrived, all wearing matching aprons, and were busy preparing the ingredients.
They were very quick and efficient, and Sheng An didn't need to keep an eye on them at all.
The Ding family arrived earlier than Sheng An had expected. Before the prepared ingredients could even be cooked, Shuqi hurriedly reported, "Master, the distinguished guest's carriage has arrived at the door."
"So early?"
Sheng An was somewhat surprised, so he dried his hands, took off his apron, and went to the front door to greet him.
Unexpectedly, the visitors included not only the Ding family grandfather and grandson, but also a middle-aged man she didn't recognize, yet who exuded an air of authority.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com