Chapter 166 Chapter 166 Update.
The ninth day of the fifth lunar month was an auspicious day that Tian had asked Taoist nun Ma from Baqiao to calculate using a tortoise shell.
Lengxiang Street, a remote and inconspicuous part of Kaohsiung City, was unusually bustling today. Newly built restaurants, with their embroidered curtains and vermilion lanterns adorning their doors, were a dazzling display of delicate red cloth. Visitors read the large inscriptions on the floor, which read:
“Ping An Restaurant!”
"Ping An Restaurant, what a good name, what a good name."
There were a lot of carriages parked at the door. They were all from the families of the ladies of Ji Xu's restaurant who had been his kitchenmates in the past and had established a good relationship with him. Now they had come to support her restaurant after learning that it was opening today.
Even those who, proud of their status, hadn't come in person still sent their maids to bring gifts. "Madam Liu, we're sending you a pair of silver bowls to wish Yi Jinnv a prosperous business."
I saw Che'er holding a bamboo book at the door and reading, "He had learned to count, so naturally he learned to recognize words. Even if there were some words he was not familiar with, he had asked Ji Xu for advice in advance and had practiced them long ago. Now he read them one by one in a clear and festive manner, and the audience cheered."
"Mrs. Peng, I'm sending you a pair of gold-painted lacquer chopsticks. I wish you, the Golden Lady, prosperity in your business."
"Madam Song, I'm sending you a pair of servants, and I wish you good luck and prosperity."
This was their aunt, Mrs. Song, who was thoughtful and sent servants trained in her own house.
They were all adults, unlike the slaves sold by human traffickers who were not well fed and were just a bunch of skinny bones. These two looked strong and sturdy, which showed that they were well fed and well-drinking in their master's house, could do heavy work, and could also roll up their sleeves to guard the house.
Ji Xu had been preparing meals for Song Shi to take care of her health recently. The two of them were like family, and Song Shi had already spoken to her in confidence:
"The Gao City is a den of wealth and luxury, and those who can open a shop there year-round are not good people.
I'm afraid there might be troublemakers coming to our house, or drunken diners who are talking nonsense and acting crazy. You are a girl, even if you are resourceful, but your aunt is also afraid that you will suffer a loss of strength.
So I've chosen two strong slaves for you, one named Wufu and the other Liugu. They grew up in my house and are trustworthy. When you open your business, your aunt will send them to you."
The fruit was delivered today, and even the indentures of the Five Blessings and Six Grains were brought along. This is more thoughtful than anything else.
Wufu Liugu recognized her, bowed to Ji Xu, and called her "host". She gave each of them a handful of money and a handful of fruit.
Che'er was still reading from the book:
"Madam Yu, I present a pair of vases with Pisces and daylily patterns, wishing the girl a prosperous and prosperous life."
"Madam Yu? Madam Yu, the head of the Li family?"
"It's her family's carriage, and she sent a maid to bring a gift."
Although Yu, as a descendant of the Qi and Chu nobles, did not come in person, her gift was enough to cause a commotion, and the onlookers pointed at the vase with relish.
"This rich girl is able to open a shop in Gao City. It seems she has a backer."
"Who is her backer?"
"The Li family, this shop was gifted to us by the Li family. The Yu family also sent us gifts. Gaoshi is bustling again!"
Tian Dou led the maids to put these gifts in the lattice as decorations. The Ping'an Restaurant was brightly lit with large lanterns and candles, and the curtains were hanging like clouds.
A few steps into the door is the elegant seat. On the right is a staircase that leads guests to the second-floor rooms. Below the stairs are the kitchen and storeroom, and there is a door leading to the backyard, where a well and a woodshed are located. There is also a row of houses where the hired workers live, and the big kangs inside are all brand new.
Qiu Gu had already moved in, sharing a room with two other waitresses. She had left her bag here, and was looking around, feeling quite satisfied, when she heard a shout from outside:
"It's time to give out wedding money, it's time to give out wedding money, Qiu-gu, why don't you go and claim it?"
Tian Dou had just received a handful of wedding money and his mouth was wide open. He was counting it and whispering something happily to Candou. He stuffed the money into his clothes and asked Qiu Gu to go and get it as well.
"Opening today, we're giving away a liter of calamus wine and a plate of braised food, our signature dish."
Qiu Gu also received the wedding money. After Che'er finished reading the gift booklet, she was there soliciting customers. Not to mention, her voice was unique and charming, with a bit of opera accent, which was very attractive.
"Braised? I've heard of that. The braised food stall in the southwest corner of Jiaomen City serves it this way. It's so fragrant and flavorful that it penetrates deep into the bones."
"That's the one! It's also owned by our boss, Yi Jinnv Niang! Why don't you all come in and try it? Today's signature dishes include Golden Money Pancakes and Fried Chicken with Ginger..."
"saute?"
"What is stir-frying? I've only heard of steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, and roasting minced meat and preserved vegetables, but I've never heard of stir-frying!"
"This is a unique way of eating in our restaurant. We stir-fry five kinds of vegetables and six kinds of livestock, and when combined with the fresh, fragrant, sour and spicy flavors, we have a thousand different flavors."
What she said was so fascinating that the diners who had originally come to watch the fun flocked into the restaurant.
One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a long white robe and a long beard. He had a somewhat immortal-like demeanor. He was a wealthy guest near Gao City, and his nickname was Li Guishe.
Because he is picky about food, is not afraid of being cheated by big stores, and has sharp comments, he has many fans.
For example, Manxianglou, known as "the best restaurant in the world", once had a dish of carp slices on a golden plate, which was very popular. One day, Li Guishe ate it and shook his head and said:
The food is like chicken ribs, tasteless and bland!
The thugs of Manxianglou kicked him out for causing trouble, and asked him if he was willing to change his words.
He was bruised and battered, but he still refused to change and even said:
Even the carp sashimi prepared by a three-year-old child tastes better than the one at Manxianglou.
As more and more diners believed his comments, no one was interested in the golden plate of carp sashimi anymore.
Later, it was the owner Hu of Manxianglou who came to apologize in person, saying that he had changed the chef and asked Li Guishe to taste the food again. Only then did the restaurant restore its reputation. Otherwise, its title of the best restaurant in the world would have been lost.
"The Li Guishe is here!"
"Li Guishe is here too?"
Li Guishe came in, looked around at the decorations inside, straightened his robe, sat down at the table, and called the waitress to serve him wine and food.
His arrival caused a commotion in the private room. Everyone was curious about how he would evaluate the newly opened Ping An Restaurant and whether it would fail on the first day.
Not only the elegant seats, but also the arrival of Li Guishe caused a stir in the kitchen. Tian Dou ran over and said:
"The ghost tongue is here! The diners there just now said his tongue is like a ghost, no good words!
She was wearing something called an apron, which was "designed" by Ji Xu and cut by Tian. It was only half a piece that could cover her chest and was long enough to reach her knees. It was tied at her neck and waist with two straps.
They wore armbands on their arms, which were similar to anti-dirt sleeves. On their heads, Ji Xu also asked them to wrap their hair with a white square scarf to prevent it from falling into the dishes.
Candou was also dressed like this. Ji Xu had just been meeting guests outside, so he was still wearing a wide-sleeved skirt. He now used sleeves to tie up his sleeves, revealing his working arms. He also had a scarf wrapped around his head, and was telling Candou how to cut vegetables.
Tian Dou came in noisily.
"If he doesn't eat well, wouldn't that ruin his reputation? Miss, why don't we secretly give him some money? Or maybe have Wufu Liugu secretly coerce him into saying something nice!"
Tian Dou said that she now believed in Ji Xu and changed her tone with Jin Dou, calling her "Miss", but her temper was still cunning.
"If it's good, it's good. If it's bad, it's bad. Besides, I heard he's a straight-talking person. Doing this will only ruin his reputation. We've been practicing for so long, so don't panic. Just be patient and prepare the dishes. Did he say what he wanted?"
"I want today's signature dish, stir-fried chicken with ginger."
The nun outside the hall had already told Tian Dou, and now she was saying it.
Ji Xu nodded and asked them to get busy. Tian Dou peeled the young ginger and cut it into thin slices. She was an excellent knife worker, so slicing was no problem for her.
Broad beans are responsible for another technical task: making fire.
Because boiling water must always be available in the kitchen, the fire in the stove was lit early in the morning. Now the fire was led to another stove for cooking, and wood was added, and it soon became a strong fire.
Ji Xu sliced the chicken breast into willow-leaf thin slices along the silk road texture, mixed it with egg white and potato starch, drizzled it with sesame oil, and slid the snow-white lard paste into the hot pan.
This "pot" was given to me by an acquaintance - Wang Shouyu, the former second master of the Wang family.
He went to Lingnan and met Xiang Niangzi and Shuo Shu there. He also went to Chang'an last month and met Ji Xu. It seemed that his cold had been much better and he had already settled down in Lingnan. He asked Ji Xu if he was willing to go with him.
Ji Xu shook his head, pointed in the direction of Gao City, and happily told him that he was going to open a Ping An Restaurant there.
Wang Shouyu was silent for a while, then took off the jade pendant and gave it to her, saying it was a gift.
That was the only old thing he had after his house was ransacked. He wanted to keep it as a keepsake, but Ji Xu couldn't accept it. After an argument, he got angry.
Ji Xu remembered that he was familiar with iron smelting and forging techniques, so he said: There is a gift that I really need the help of the second master to deliver.
These two "pots" were wide, round and open-mouthed, made of evenly forged black iron. They looked a bit like the wood-burning stove her grandmother had made in her previous life. The big pot on it was used for cooking, and was much more convenient than the deep-bellied and small-mouthed "cauldrons" of today.
Of course, cauldrons, tripods, and steamers are also present. After all, novelty is necessary, but it cannot completely deviate from the eating habits of this dynasty.
Because this asparagus and chicken dish is today's signature dish, there will be many people ordering it. Tiandou and Candou are still cutting ginger slices and chicken breasts, preparing for Ji Xu to stir-fry later.
I saw steam rising from the pot burning on a blazing fire, emitting a fragrant aroma, and the flames reflected Ji Xu's serious face. A plate of fried chicken slices with reed and ginger was ready.
Tian Dou sniffed the alluring fragrance and said:
"This is called an iron wok, and it's really good. It's better for stir-frying than an iron pot!"
"Where is the Second Master of the Wang family from? Although he didn't come in person, the gift he sent is very practical."
She had just listened to the ritual book that Che'er was reading, and there was a sentence:
"The second master of the Wang family sent two iron pots to wish the golden girl peace and prosperity."
"An old friend in Lingnan."
Ji Xu moved a wooden window aside, placed the dishes on the table, and shook the rope.
The bell hanging outside rang, and the waitress knew the dishes were ready. She checked the wooden number on the side of the dish to find out whose dish it was. She held it in a red lacquer box and walked towards the private room with a smile.
"Li Guishe, fried chicken slices with ginger and reed have arrived, please try them."
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