Chapter 57 Chapter 57 (Updated on the 8th) Eating Yuanxiao leads to misunderstandings...
Last year, Erlang wrote a poem praising the food at the Zhen Family Restaurant. The poem went viral in Bianjing, and even today, people still dine at the restaurant because of it. The Zhen family had few close friends and relatives in Bianjing. During the year, Zhen Erlang was the one socializing with others. While his colleagues in the government usually went to restaurants outside, if he was entertaining classmates or close friends—those with whom he had a close relationship—Erlang would bring them to his restaurant.
From the second day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhen's father took on the responsibility of hosting banquets for seven or eight families. He had to go to their homes to do all the work. Jiang Shixian was not in the store at the moment, so Pei Yanqing often took the initiative to come and help.
Zhen's Restaurant was only opened in February last year, so it missed the fifth day of the first lunar month to welcome the gods. This year, it opened on the fifth day of the first lunar month to give out lucky money. At the auspicious time, they placed offerings, burned incense, set off firecrackers, and scattered copper coins at the door in order to wish for good luck and fortune.
A group of people gathered outside and scrambled for copper coins.
It's not just Zhen's Restaurant. Many shops on the street are open today to give out lucky money. Every shop is trying their best to attract customers. On the first day of opening, making money is important, but having a large number of customers is even more important. In order to create a lively atmosphere, each shop has tried its best.
The first day of the store opening this year was a lively one, with many discounts. Anyone who came into the store to spend money, no matter how much, would receive a free drink. The second portion of dumplings was also half-off. Diners who came into the store today could also make a bet and receive a coupon for spending money. Liu Si'er dressed up as the God of Wealth, not only welcoming guests at the door, but also leading diners who received coupons to spin the wheel at the door.
Baozhu had specially ordered the God of Wealth's clothes before the New Year. Today was the day to welcome the God of Wealth. With his festive appearance welcoming people at the door, even if they didn't come in to eat, they would come over to watch the fun. What's more, he kept shouting that people could get coupons if they made purchases in the store. On the round turntable made by Guanpu, even the smallest gift was two salted duck eggs, and the largest gift was a gold ring.
Seeing that anyone who bought anything in the store could win a lottery ticket, the people who had been on the sidelines suddenly rushed in to join in the fun. The cheapest food in the store cost over twenty cents, but compared to that, the betting on the roulette wheel outside was clearly more exciting.
The column with salted duck eggs takes up the largest grid on the turntable, but the column with Yunjinji cloth shoes also takes up quite a bit of space. Even if you can't get a gold ring, it's worth it to get a pair of Yunjinji cloth shoes.
A lot of prizes were given out throughout the day. Baozhu said that the Guanpu wheel runs until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the rules remain the same: you can spin the wheel by buying food. This evening, someone won a gold ring. It's a busy time, and seeing someone actually win a gold ring dispelled some of the doubts. With the carrot hanging in front of them, people flocked into the store to order food.
With small profits but quick turnover, we made more money that day than usual.
The twelfth month and the first month of the lunar year are both the busiest times for restaurants. Baozhu Pan has been calculating the accounts for the twelfth month these days, and only today did he figure it out. Last month's turnover alone was more than 300 strings of cash, and excluding costs, the revenue was still 150 to 160 strings of cash. Although the revenue has increased several times due to the expansion of the store, it is more because the number of diners coming to the restaurant in the twelfth month is several times more than usual, and the dishes they ordered are all expensive.
At the end of the year, I gave bonus money, red envelopes, and grain, oil, rice and flour as festival gifts to several employees. Although the old rice and flour I bought from the old owner of the rice shop last time were sold out, there was still a lot of new rice and flour. The store couldn't use it all at once, so I gave it to the employees as New Year gifts.
Last year, the shop's best sellers, like Jiang Shi, received thicker red envelopes than the average person. Liu Si'er received the second-best, and Big Brother Wang received a little less. The rest of the shop assistants received the same amount of money. Over twenty strings of silver were spent on the New Year's gift to a few people. Baozhu understood the principle of steady and long-term success. Her shop assistants' dedicated work was better than any other way she could come up with, so she naturally treated her staff well.
Seeing that the shop assistants were all very attentive as soon as the shop opened on the fifth day of the first lunar month and came to the shop early to clean up, she knew that her idea was right.
I can exchange this money for silver when I have time. It will only take three months to earn back the rent of the new shop and the money for renovation.
There are much more people in the first month of the year than in the twelfth month. Baozhu's restaurant has delicious food and often offers discounts, so many diners who come to have small gatherings at home come to reserve a table with Baozhu in advance.
Zhen's father was originally the chef of Fanlou. He was famous, so everyone thought it was worthwhile to spend half the money of Fanlou to eat the food there. Besides, Baozhu often had discounts.
If you order such a large table, you will also be given a pot of drink and a few plates of side dishes. The restaurant is extremely clean, the waiters are all wearing the same clothes, their hair is neatly tied with turbans, and they work efficiently, which is the icing on the cake for the restaurant.
Baozhu knew that many people came to the restaurant for small gatherings during the New Year, so she specially ordered a set meal to save people the trouble of choosing. There were meals for six, eight, or twelve people, and the dishes were all the restaurant's best-selling dishes, without mixing in those with average sales.
There are also some particularities to this kind of banquet. For example, the appetizers will be served with dried fruits and candied fruits first, followed by cold dishes. After the cold dishes are served, the hot dishes will be served one by one. If it is the best banquet, mutton will be the main meat, while ordinary banquets will use pork, duck, chicken and fish instead.
Nowadays, it is difficult for ordinary people to even have enough food to eat, so they are very happy even if they can eat meat. They don’t care about the quality of the meat.
Many people eat the jiaozi noodle soup in the morning, and at noon and in the evening, most of the people come in groups of relatives and friends to eat banquet noodles.
Most of the meals were simplified by Zhen's father from the high-quality meals used by officials today. Even for a small family gathering, they were very decent, and the taste was no worse than those in big restaurants. During the year, the tables in the restaurant were fully booked for lunch and dinner, and a few empty tables had to be left every day for people who were queuing up.
On the sixth and eighth days of the first lunar month, Zhen's father would go to the homes of officials and wealthy families in Beijing to prepare banquets. He was afraid that Baozhu could not handle it alone in the kitchen, so he helped prepare the main dishes first. It would be much more convenient for Baozhu to cook at home after he left.
After the second brother went to Kong's house once, he went there two or three more times in a row. Every time he came back, he was in high spirits, looking like a man who had finally made a comeback. This made Baozhu and Baorong laugh at him secretly.
During the new year, the government granted Pei Yanqing nearly a month's leave. When he had nothing to do, he would come to Zhen's restaurant to help.
Since the shop opened on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, there had been no idle time. The constant stream of people from morning till night had made Baozhu often unable to attend to him. Because of his shoulder injury, Baozhu didn't dare ask him to do any heavy work, only picking up chores like burning the stove and doing odd jobs to keep him from sitting around bored.
If Zhen's father was in the store, he would just sit for a while and then leave. If Zhen's father was not in the store, he would stay and help.
In previous years, Baozhu would just stroll around the street on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This year, Pei Yanqing asked her if she wanted to go to the mountain shed to watch the fun.
Every year before the Lantern Festival, a stage would be set up opposite Xuande Gate. On the night of the 15th, the emperor would come in person to watch the singing, dancing, and various performances and have fun with the people. Every year, this place was very crowded and lively. Baozhu naturally couldn't squeeze through. There were so many people and the imperial guards were guarding it, so she was afraid of being squeezed.
When Pei Yanqing said this, Baozhu knew that he had a way to get closer to watch the show, but Baozhu was a little uninterested. She felt that this was a good time to do business.
The imperial guards were guarding the emperor and his concubines, while the common people were watching the show under the terrace. Baozhu had just spent a large sum of money on renting the shop before the New Year, so now that there was such a good opportunity, she naturally wanted to make some money.
Liu Si'er's stall had temporarily shut down, and her cart remained in her courtyard. On the evening of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people flocked to see the excitement, leaving the shop relatively quiet. Furthermore, since Zhen's father wasn't having a feast that day, the shop was understaffed, so she decided to set up a stall near Xuande Gate.
The scaffolding has been set up in the past few days, and all kinds of performances, operas, songs and dances have been performed. People are coming and going, and it is quite lively. It is so lively before the Lantern Festival. How prosperous will the scene be when the day comes?
When watching a play, snacks are indispensable. It is more satisfying to have a snack while watching the show. At this time, the food on the stalls should be fragrant, convenient to eat, and not too greasy, otherwise it will be difficult for people who are away from home to eat.
Baozhu thought of selling popcorn. She first bought corn and tried it with sugar and oil. She tried several pots little by little. The temperature had to be controlled very well to make popcorn. It took several pots of coke to get the temperature right. Although the popcorn did not have the rich aroma when it was just out of the pot after being stored for a long time, it tasted very sweet.
Once the popcorn is ready, pour the cooked caramel into it while it's still warm and stir briefly. The caramel popcorn is ready. Fortunately, in winter, the popcorn isn't too sticky even when it's cold. It's convenient to store in a bamboo tube or wrap it in paper.
The freshly made popcorn has a rich aroma, and its sweet flavor will definitely attract people's attention.
After all, it is a food that is high in oil and sugar, and the price of oil paper is high. Even cutting one sheet into several pieces costs a lot of money, so Baozhu only uses ordinary paper or bamboo tubes to pack it.
A cup made of bamboo tube costs twelve cents, and a package of paper costs ten cents. Don't underestimate the price. After all, even if a cup is filled to the brim, it only contains a handful of corn. The expensive part is the sugar and oil.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Baozhu pushed the cart out early. Pei Yanqing, who had arrived early, had found a good seat for her. Since she was setting up a stall outside to sell snacks, there was no need to go inside to watch the show.
As expected, as soon as she made a pot of popcorn, people came to ask for it as soon as the aroma spread. Baozhu had prepared it in advance. Those who didn't want to wait could buy the pre-popped ones, and those who wanted to eat freshly popped ones could wait for her to make them.
Pei Yanqing was busy helping her collect money and pack the food, while Baozhu kept an eye on the heat in the pot. The two of them worked together quite well.
By the time the lanterns were lit in the evening, all the corn prepared for the day had been sold out. Many people bought and ate the corn and wanted to buy more to take home, but unfortunately the corn on the stall was sold out. Knowing that Baozhu would not set up a stall to sell popcorn in the future, they shook their heads and left with regret.
This business can only be set up when there are many people. The capital is not high, and the profit is not high either. It's just that every little bit counts. It's okay to give it away occasionally in a restaurant, but it's hard to do it for free as a regular meal.
She had originally planned to keep the stall open for a while longer, but unexpectedly, the stall was closed early. Baozhu only then had the heart to watch the fun. She pushed the cart to the door of the shop, paid some money and asked someone to help watch it, and then the two of them ran to the bridge to guess riddles.
After they guessed correctly for several times, the stall owner just waved his hand and begged them to leave, giving them the winnings. He also gave another person a sachet and asked them to leave quickly.
The sachets were of exactly the same style. Pei Yanqing hung it on his body first, and then urged Baozhu to hang it on as well. He had a peace locket and a heart knot on his waist, and with the sachet, there were a lot of things hanging around him, jingling and clanging.
There were many people setting up stalls today. When they came back, someone was selling red bean wine dumplings at the place where they had originally set up their stall. The stall had just been set up, and Baozhu and Pei Yanqing were the first to come and eat. When she saw Baozhu wanted to buy two bowls, the female stall owner glanced at them and only took the money for one bowl, smiling and saying,
"We've just opened a small business, so I'm giving you two newcomers a bowl to try."
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The author has something to say: Note: 1. Corn was introduced in the Ming Dynasty. It is required by the plot here, so don’t be too serious about it.
The update on the 2nd and 8th is late, but this chapter will still drop red envelopes for everyone [explosive crying][explosive crying]
3. The update on the 9th will be put in the daytime [erect ears rabbit head][erect ears rabbit head]
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