Chapter 21: Fighting She suddenly realized that she didn't recognize money...
There is a reason why Song Jin made this arrangement.
Suzhou has many wealthy businessmen, many intellectuals, and many people who love to eat, but there are not many Cantonese restaurants.
There is no shortage of people who have been to Guangdong here, and many of them have some understanding of Cantonese cuisine, so if someone likes it or is curious, it is possible for them to try it.
Attract people to the store first, then think about other things. Without people, nothing can be sold.
By noon, quite a few people were seated in the restaurant. When someone asked what kind of food the restaurant had, the waiter answered loudly, "Steamed crucian carp, our specialty. I'm sure it's different from other places. Would you like to try it?"
Someone laughed: "Your store opened today and you have a signature dish. Are you kidding me?"
The waiter was not flustered and replied, "You can only judge after you have tasted it."
Everyone laughed, thinking that the waiter was trying to trick people into ordering dishes, but many people were fooled. Soon someone ordered a steamed fish, saying that he must try what was different.
Song Jin didn't think he was any better at greeting guests from the sixteenth century than the waiter, so he just stood by the counter and watched him greet them. Seeing that he handled it with ease and was very talkative, he went to the backyard kitchen with peace of mind.
On the first day of opening, Song Jin, the head chef, must keep an eye on the business and not let the reputation of the restaurant be ruined. She is also counting on this restaurant to gain a reputation and support herself in the future.
There were fresh crucian carps in the fish tank. When the old woman heard that the crucian carps were going to be steamed, she rolled up her sleeves, reached into the fish tank, and after a few splashes of water, the fish was in her hands.
Then it was thrown onto the stone slab with a "pa" sound, and hit on the head with a thick stick. The fish instantly calmed down and allowed the old woman to cut open its belly and scrape off its scales.
Song Jin helped to check the proportions of the seasonings and the time to steam the food. The old woman was in charge of the cooking, and three maids were helping out. There were two waiters in front and an accountant working as the cashier. The business was run smoothly.
When Song Jin thought of this, the gloom that had accumulated over the past two days was swept away, and his heart gradually became clear.
After the first steamed fish was served, Song Jin stood nervously by the counter and watched the customer's reaction.
The guest was wearing a light blue crepe Taoist robe and a fluttering scarf on his head. He looked young and seemed to have eaten well.
That’s right, who among the poor would eat steamed fish?
Song Jin remembers that when he was a child, his family was poor and he could only eat fish during festivals. Fish was often braised in a dark brown sauce, with a strong flavor and dry meat. Often, he couldn't finish a piece of fish in one meal.
Steamed fish, where one person can eat a whole fish per meal, is a luxury for the poor. Perhaps for this reason, it has become popular among the rich and in areas with abundant aquatic resources.
There is no shortage of fish in Suzhou, and there is also a way to steam fish, but it is not quite the same as Song Jin's method, so Song Jin was very curious about this person's reaction.
Who would have thought that after the man put a piece of fish into his mouth, he frowned at first, then suddenly became cheerful, and then frowned again, and repeated this process over and over again.
Song Jin watched from the side, his expression changing with the man's changes, until he felt that his face was about to get a few more wrinkles, when the man finally finished eating a dish of steamed fish.
He didn't order rice or any other dishes, but just asked the waiter to pay the bill.
"Sir, thirty-five cents."
The man took out a hundred coins from his sleeve without any hesitation, untied the thread, and counted the coins while saying, "This is a gold back, twenty-five cents."
The waiter smiled and said, "If it's a gold back, it'll be twenty-eight cents."
The man looked up at the waiter and obediently counted out twenty-eight. The waiter took it with a smile, completing this first order of business.
Song Jin was a little puzzled. When the restaurant was being renovated before, there was always a manager in charge, so she didn't know much about the money. Now that she started to calculate every penny, she suddenly found that something was different.
She originally wanted to wait for the guy to come over and then ask him, but she was afraid that the question was too stupid, so she held it in for the time being.
Nowadays, there are many people who don’t know officials, and it is rare to find people who don’t know money.
But Song Jin was that rare species. She suddenly found that she didn't recognize money.
Thinking of this, Song Jin walked to the side of A Rong, the accountant, and pretended to be curious and grabbed the copper coin that had just been handed to him and said, "This copper coin is rare."
Ah Rong used to work in the accounting office, so he naturally knew a lot about silver and copper coins. Seeing that Song Jin was curious, he began to talk about it.
"This is a gold back, better than the wax back. Eight gold backs are worth one cent. You lived in the backyard before and rarely saw silver, so you can't recognize it."
"Most customers don't use these, so I guess he's from a wealthy family. I see there are quite a few customers today, and if we become big in the future, we'll have to prepare a scale, otherwise we won't be able to handle it if they pay with silver."
Song Jin thought, I'm still wondering if I can get a foothold, but this guy is already thinking about becoming bigger and stronger. She couldn't help but curl her lips. She was not in a hurry about this matter. Who told her that she had no control over the money?
She is a very cunning shopkeeper.
Song Jin's original idea was very simple. The guest paid for the meal with copper coins or silver. If she wanted to show her filial piety to Wen Ya, she would have to change the copper coins and silver pieces into whole silver, then change the silver into gold, and then make the gold into headwear. This would involve a lot of fiddling, so how could she not take advantage of him?
But now all the money has been taken by this guy, and when the two of them check the accounts at night, he can only touch the money at most, but there is no way he can take advantage of it.
She didn't dare to bribe this guy casually. If he reported her behind her back, all her efforts would be in vain.
I can only think of a solution slowly.
The steamed fish dish has established itself as the signature dish of authentic Cantonese flavor. We don’t know whether it is authentic or not, but it is definitely fresh and a flavor that no one has ever tasted before, and its curiosity has attracted many people.
But Song Jin also understood that this dish was not affordable, it was expensive, and it did not go well with rice.
So she worked with the maids in the kitchen to order several dishes that suited the local Suzhou taste, including sweet and sour poached eggs. These dishes were cheap and suitable for the general public, and she also started looking for new dishes.
But before the new dishes were decided, a special guest came to the restaurant.
What is special is not his identity, but the person who brought him here is the man who wore the light blue crepe Taoist robe a few days ago. This man's expressions are so rich that he almost made wrinkles on Song Jin's face, so he still remembers the past few days clearly.
The man came in and sat down directly. He didn't even ask the waiter what dishes he had today. He just shouted, "Waiter, give me a portion of steamed crucian carp."
The waiter happily responded, "Okay, I'll order steamed crucian carp."
As he spoke, he ran to the kitchen to pass on the message.
Song Jin felt puzzled, and felt that the person this man brought today was not simple. So he went back to the kitchen to watch the cooking, and when the steamed fish was out of the pot, Song Jin followed out and stood by the counter to see how the customer would react.
The special guest was wearing a Taoist robe with lotus pattern on a piece of pine green satin, a Tang scarf on his head, and a folding fan in his hand, with a poem on one side and a picture of bamboo and rocks on the other. He had a straight back and looked like a scholar. But compared to the green bamboo pole, he was less cold and more pretentious.
Pooh!
Don't think too much about the bamboo pole, as it may bring bad luck.
I saw Wa Songlu pick up a piece of fish meat with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Hu Lan opposite him introduced it attentively: "Brother Guan, try the steamed crucian carp here. This is the authentic Guangdong flavor."
Song Jin couldn't help but sniff after hearing this. Is this person helping him sell his products?
But she soon realized something was wrong, because the man opposite her looked disdainful: "That's it? You call it authentic?"
As he spoke, he put down his chopsticks and began to preach seriously: "Although this dish is steamed, it is far worse than the authentic steaming method. Not to mention that I have eaten Cantonese cuisine, even if I haven't eaten it, I should know that this method is not authentic. Brother Ye is new here, I'm afraid you have been deceived, so try eating at a few more restaurants."
This man seemed to have a good temperament and a loud voice. He looked very elegant as he waved a folding fan. However, he started by belittling her own dishes. Song Jin was unhappy about this. This was destroying her reputation.
When thinking about this, Song Jin couldn't help but look inside the store. Sure enough, many people were looking at the green tile. She couldn't tolerate this.
So he pulled up his skirt, walked to the table, and said with a bow, "Sir, what do you think of this dish?"
Brother Wasonglu looked at Song Jin with a squinting eye and asked in confusion, "Who is this?"
"My surname is Wen, my name is Zijin, and I am the owner of this Shidinglou."
"Oh," the man said skillfully, "Since you are the shopkeeper and you are really asking for advice, I will just tell you straight away."
Song Jin smiled and motioned for him to continue.
"You said this steamed crucian carp is Cantonese style. Although I have never eaten Cantonese steamed fish, I have eaten steamed fish from other places. The fish meat is tender, but it lacks fragrance. When eating, we should pay attention to color, fragrance and taste. Your dish has a light color, but it is also monotonous, and the fragrance is not very strong. As for the taste..."
The man paused for a moment, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, then continued: "The fish is tender and smooth, and the saltiness is just right, but it's still a little worse than what I've eaten before."
Song Jin smiled and pointed to a bench on the side: "May I sit down and talk?"
The man closed his fan and said generously, "Whatever you want."
Song Jin sat down calmly, imitated the man's posture, spread his legs, and then began to speak.
"Your Excellency is referring to the traditional steamed fish, which is steamed with autumn oil and wine, and served with mushrooms and bamboo shoots?"
The man's eyes lit up when he heard this: "So the shopkeeper also understands this."
Song Jin smiled and continued, "Young Master, what you said makes sense. This wine can remove the fishy smell, the mushrooms can add fragrance, and the bamboo shoots have a unique flavor, so this method is very good."
When the man heard this, he thought that this was also an expert, and said happily: "That's exactly what I meant. The difference between the autumn oil steaming method and yours is here. Since the shopkeeper knows it, he can correct it in the future."
Song Jin smiled and said, "The fish has a fishy smell, so we need to remove it. The seasoning is not fragrant enough, so we need to enhance its fragrance. The fish selected by our restaurant is only the size of a palm, tender and not fishy, so there is no need to use wine to remove the fishy smell. Just now, the young master also said that the meat was tender, but did not mention the fishy smell. It can be seen that as long as the fish is good, there is no need to add wine when cooking."
The man was stunned. Song Jin continued, "This steamed fish is the original flavor of the fish. If you add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, although it will add flavor, it will also overshadow the main flavor. In my opinion, this is the worst option."
The man's expression became even more stunned. Song Jin asked with a smile, "Sir, is this true?"
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