"This braised food doesn't taste right; it doesn't taste like the one we had on our autumn outing!"
"Impossible! My dad said it was bought from that store! The store we ate at during our autumn outing!" the birthday boy immediately retorted.
"No, the taste is different; it's not from the same shop!"
"It's the same store!"
“.”
At the beginning of the argument, both of them spoke in a relatively normal tone, but as they kept denying each other, their tone gradually became more heated, and the noise grew louder, attracting the attention of other children as well.
In just over ten seconds, all the children—those eating, playing games, and chatting—gathered around to watch the two argue.
Soon, the adults noticed that something was wrong with the atmosphere around the children, and they all stopped talking and went over there.
"Dad!" The birthday boy immediately perked up when he saw his father coming over. He put one hand on his hip and pointed at the braised food on the table with the other, asking loudly, "Dad, this braised food is from the same shop as the one we ate on the autumn outing, right?"
"Yes, it's from the same store. What's wrong?"
"No, the taste is different, it's not from the same store!" the child across from me stubbornly retorted.
Seeing this, Xu An sensed something was wrong and hurriedly started to think about how to get out of this situation. Meanwhile, Xu Kang and Xu Le each grabbed a piece of braised lotus root and a piece of braised potato and started eating them.
Before Xu An could stop them, the two little ones, after tasting the braised food, looked at the birthday celebrant with concern and said, "Uncle, have you been tricked? This isn't the braised food my brother made."
The two little ones' voices were clear and loud, and everyone present could hear them clearly. Then, the pressure fell on Xu An, and all eyes were on him.
He chuckled awkwardly twice, wavering between lying and telling the truth for a couple of seconds. Under the expectant gazes of the two children, Xu An gave a dummy answer and said, "Recently, there are quite a few shops in Shanghai called 'Xu's Braised Food,' and they all taste pretty much the same. It's easy to mistake one for the other if you're not careful."
"How about this?" Xu An said, squatting down and looking directly into the birthday celebrant's eyes. He smiled and said, "Brother will have someone send over some more braised dishes. You can try them and see if they taste the same, okay?"
The arguments between children come and go quickly, and with the mediation of adults, the matter was finally resolved.
However, this matter was only forgotten by Xu An and the other guests who attended the birthday banquet, but it was not over in the heart of the birthday boy's father.
This was specifically instructed to be repeated to the kitchen staff to replace the cold dishes with Xu's braised dishes. It was explained so clearly, how could they get it wrong? We absolutely need to find the person in charge and get a clear answer. If it was an unintentional mistake, then so be it. But if it was intentional...
hehe!
"Manager Ren, which store did you buy the braised dishes for the birthday banquet from?"
"It was purchased from Xu's Braised Food Shop, a subsidiary of Xu's Catering," Ren Jialun said, handing Mr. Lu the prepared purchase invoice. He smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, you specifically instructed us to do this, so we dared not forget."
Mr. Lu took the invoice and examined it carefully. He was unsure if the quantity was correct, but the types of braised dishes shown on the invoice matched perfectly, and there were no issues with the header, signature, or other details.
That's really strange. As the owner of Xu's Braised Food, how could Mr. Xu not know the taste of the dishes in his own store?
Moreover, it wasn't just the Xu family who felt the taste was off; the other children also thought it had changed.
Seeing Mr. Lu's brow furrow slowly, Ren Jialun felt a growing unease and asked nervously and cautiously, "Could there be something wrong with this braised food?"
"It's alright." After putting the invoice back into Ren Jialun's hand, Mr. Lu instructed, "Take those tea drinks to the private room."
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away!"
After agreeing, Ren Jialun escorted Mr. Lu to the elevator. Only after watching the elevator doors close did he return to the kitchen and arrange for a waiter to bring the tea to private room 208.
As the waiter took out drink after drink from the refrigerator, my peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of several bulging plastic bags piled up in the corner of the refrigerator.
This refrigerator is specifically for storing items brought by guests that need to be frozen, but these plastic bags don't look like they were brought by guests at all.
Ren Jialun walked to the refrigerator, picked up a bag, and held it up to his eyes. He then saw the large, gold-embossed character "Xu" on the bag and blurted out, "Holy crap!" All those strange things Mr. Lu had just said now made sense.
As the tea was delivered to the private room, the braised food that Xu An had arranged to be sent also arrived.
Before they could be plated in the kitchen, the children rushed forward, opened the plastic bags, put on gloves, and put the braised food into their mouths.
"Ah, this is the taste! It's delicious!"
"Kang Kang and Lele, your brother's braised food is so delicious! Do you get to eat this every day? I'm so envious!"
“.”
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, Mr. Lu quickly picked up a piece of braised food and put it in his mouth, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes.
——————
Most provinces in China have a tradition of making braised food, and there are many people who know how to make it. However, the taste of braised food varies greatly depending on the place and the person making it.
Even people from the same village, using recipes passed down from their ancestors, can produce braised dishes that taste vastly different.
After Zhang Dezhen's brother-in-law Xiao Yong left, the owner of Jinlong Fast Food Restaurant found a skilled braised food chef to fill the vacancy on the same day.
When the restaurant reopened on the second day, many regular customers were unaware that Jinlong Fast Food Restaurant had changed its braised food chef, so sales were not significantly affected.
Back home, after tasting the braised food, these regular customers started cursing. They complained that Jinlong Braised Food Shop had started cheating less than a month after opening! The braised food tasted completely different from before! This was pure deception!
The taste of braised food varies from region to region and person to person, and each regular customer has a different personality.
Some people thought the new flavor was good, while others decided never to patronize Jinlong Braised Food Shop again. Some felt it was just a mistake and would try again tomorrow. Still others felt they had been cheated and were getting angrier, planning to confront the owner the next day.
The following day, Jinlong Braised Food Shop not only experienced a precipitous drop in sales of its braised dishes, but also received a barrage of complaints from many of its regular customers.
Amidst the insults, the new braised food chef, feeling humiliated, stormed out of the kitchen and started arguing with the regular customers.
Some customers who originally intended to make a purchase hesitated and left after seeing the messy state of the store.
Some of those who left chose to go straight home, while others planned to try Xu's Braised Food, which has recently become incredibly popular in Shanghai.
Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. By the time the farce was over, Jinlong Braised Food Shop was deserted.
(End of this chapter)
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