A plate of steamed mandarin fish and a pot of yam and pork rib soup allowed the managers of Jiang's Private Kitchen to experience a new level of culinary delight.
Aunt Hong said with mixed feelings, "Have you been hiding in the house these past few days, studying these seasonings? You haven't been eating or sleeping properly, have you?"
Jiang Shan smiled and said, "Young Master An must have had a harder time than me. I heard he returned yesterday? Where is he?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than two figures... no, three figures of varying sizes entered one after the other.
Upon seeing the person who arrived, Jiang Shan nearly spat out the soup in his mouth. "You, you, you... how did you get yourself into such a terrible state?"
An Jing's originally porcelain-white handsome face turned into a bronze pot-like color. With a dark expression, he walked to Jiang Shan's side with his hands behind his back, looked at him, and then silently pulled out a chair and sat down next to Aunt Hong.
If he sits next to Jiang Shan, he'll be laughed to death!
Fu Qiyuan then sat down next to Jiang Shan while holding Jiang Huai.
Jiang Shan immediately pushed the soup bowl in front of him towards Fu Qiyuan, saying, "Try it."
Fu Qiyuan took a sip of soup, then fed Jiang Huai a sip, and Jiang Huai immediately grabbed the bowl and poured the soup into his mouth.
"It tastes wonderful, is this chicken essence?"
Jiang Shan nodded with a smile.
So it's called chicken bouillon!
Aunt Hong served An Jing a bowl of soup and said happily, "Young Master An, this soup is so delicious! I've never tasted such a wonderful soup before!"
An Jing took two sips with a sour face, rolled his eyes at Jiang Shan, and said, "Today, I'm treating you to the most authentic Chongqing hot pot. I guarantee it will make your tongues tingle with deliciousness!"
Jiang Shan smiled and said, "You should all thank Young Master An. It was he who went to great lengths to purchase all kinds of chili peppers and spices from various places, which enabled me to make such an authentic hot pot base. Young Master An deserves a lot of credit!"
An Jing's lips curled up slightly, and just as she was about to drink the soup, the soup bowl was gone.
Jiang Huai held onto his soup bowl with one hand, burying his head in the bowl and drinking it with great relish.
Jiang Shan disgustedly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said, "You're being too domineering! What will Uncle An do if you drink his soup?"
Jiang Huai's big, bright black eyes darted around the table, then he pointed to the plate of fish and said, "Fish, eat!"
An Jing smiled and said, "Huai'er knows that Uncle An likes to eat fish? How sweet!"
Fu Qiyuan said calmly, "Huai'er just doesn't like to eat fish."
An Jing glanced at Fu Qiyuan, ignored him, and used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish belly meat and feed it to Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai sniffed and turned his face away, showing no interest.
The steamed mandarin fish, drizzled with a little soy sauce, tasted especially fresh and sweet. Without thinking, Jiang Shan picked up a piece of fish, put it in his soup bowl, and handed it to Fu Qiyuan.
Silence speaks louder than words here.
Fu Qiyuan stiffened, then looked down at Jiang Huai in his arms and said, "I don't like eating freshwater fish..."
"Tch! What kind of bad habit is this!" An Jing scoffed, picked up the fish from Jiang Shan's bowl, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Fu Qiyuan's gaze darkened slightly, but he said nothing.
Jiang Shan said dismissively, "Let's have hot pot tonight. Prepare plenty of good dishes so the guys can all try them. We'll find an auspicious day and do a live broadcast later!"
Tong's Private Kitchen has been open for nearly three months, and its impact on Jiang's Private Kitchen is considerable.
Besides its style and business model that closely resembles Jiang's private kitchen, there is another aspect that Jiangshan cannot match: the official network of the Pei family's two sons.
Lord Pei treated his colleagues to several meals and gave them some discount coupons. After a few rounds of drinks at the dinner table, everything was understood without being said.
Unlike Guyang County, Yuzhou is full of connections. The connections brought by the name "Prefect Pei" are still considerable. At least those wealthy faces that Jiang Shan used to see often have not visited Jiang's Private Kitchen for a while.
The meal Fu Qiyuan treated his colleagues to when he first arrived in Chongqing was not at Jiang's Private Kitchen, but at Juxianzhuang.
Jiang Shan's idea.
“The waters of Yuzhou run deep. You’ve just arrived, so don’t be too flamboyant before you’ve established yourself. After all, you’re an official and I’m a businessman. You don’t need to use your official position and power for me, and I’m not a parasitic plant that wants to live under your protection.”
When Jiang Shan said those words, Fu Qiyuan's eyes held emotions that Jiang Shan couldn't understand.
He held her hand in silence for a long time before sighing softly, "I'll do whatever you say."
Jiangshan has made no moves in the past few months, and its performance has been declining day by day, which has made the managers very anxious.
It wasn't until Jiang Shan buried himself in researching and perfecting hot pot base, soy sauce, and chicken bouillon that everyone was fully revitalized, eager to try it out, and even more excited than before the opening of Jiang's Private Kitchen.
When the flyer was handed to the owner of Tong's Private Kitchen, Mr. Tong flicked it dismissively with his greasy fingers, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it away.
Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly came forward and said ingratiatingly, "Boss, I have already instructed my staff not to bring flyers into our shop, nor to hand them out to customers at the door. Those little devils have already been chased away!"
Boss Tong snorted coldly: "Let them do what they want. The bigger the commotion they make, the better. We can just follow suit and save ourselves a lot of trouble!"
The shopkeeper bowed slightly, "Master, your insight is brilliant!"
After touring upstairs and downstairs and greeting some of the dignitaries, Boss Tong went to the kitchen with a smug look on his face.
Tomorrow is his brother-in-law's birthday, and he needs to express his gratitude a day in advance, otherwise his brother-in-law won't even notice him tomorrow.
He spent a lot of money to order the largest ghost crab, which he planned to use to entertain his brother-in-law that evening.
"Where's Ghost Crab? Let me see!"
Upon seeing that it was the host, everyone greeted him politely.
The kitchen manager wiped his sweat and said with difficulty, "Boss, we couldn't buy any ghost crabs today. We sent people to all four of Chengbang Logistics' dispatch warehouses, but none of them had any!"
"Impossible!" Boss Tong's face darkened, and he flicked his sleeve, saying, "I asked the manager of City Logistics, and they said that as long as you order in advance, they can provide as many as you want! I ordered three days ago, how could they not have Ghost Crabs!"
The manager's face scrunched up in a bitter expression. "Master, all the ghost crabs that Chengbang Logistics has been delivering to Yuzhou City these past few days have been ordered by Jiang's Private Kitchen! Don't even mention if you tried to order three days in advance, you couldn't get any even if you ordered five days in advance! Jiang's has ordered... ordered a hundred ghost crabs!"
"How much!" Boss Tong's eyes widened in surprise.
The manager held up one finger. "One hundred!"
"One hundred...! We've only sold a few dozen since we opened. Why did they order so many ghost crabs? Can they even sell them? In this heat, can those ghost crabs even live that long?"
The manager wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded, saying, "Who can argue with that? That's exactly what the manager of City Logistics said!"
Boss Tong's face was grim. He turned around a few times with his hands behind his back and said, "If you don't have ghost crabs, then get big prawns instead, the biggest kind! Go and get a few more!"
The manager shrank back and bent over even more deeply, "Master, there are no prawns... no prawns either..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
