Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Summer Begins with a Boat Journey South
Lotus leaf glutinous rice chicken and lotus leaf steamed pork are both southern dishes. If they are to be sold in Bian Jing, the taste needs to be slightly modified. Therefore, Baozhu asked Mrs. Kong, a native of Bian Jing, to try them first.
I asked Mrs. Liu to go to the kitchen and bring these two things over. I used chopsticks to gently peel off the lotus leaves wrapped around the outside. The glutinous rice was mixed with sauce, and the chicken breast was wrapped inside. The smell made people's mouths water.
Miss Kong scooped a mouthful with a spoon and tasted it first. She found it very fragrant and soft. The fragrance of the lotus leaves had already been steamed into the rice. After eating it, she savored it for a while and felt it was not enough for one person, so she finished the glutinous rice chicken in the dish.
After trying the lotus leaf glutinous rice chicken, I tried the steamed pork with rice flour. As soon as the meat entered my mouth, I found it so soft and glutinous. I used to think that fat was greasy, but when I ate the pork belly offline, I didn't feel greasy at all.
The pork belly used to make steamed pork with rice flour is all carefully selected top-grade pork belly. The meat is firm and fresh, a little fatter than the bottom-grade pork belly but in line with modern people's taste. After being steamed, it trembles when picked up with chopsticks. The rice flour coating on the outside adds a solid texture to the meat. When you put it in your mouth, you will feel that it is fat but not greasy and the meaty aroma is fragrant.
The picky eater, Miss Kong, ate up both plates in one gulp. After she finished, she asked Baozhu if there was any more in the kitchen. If there was any, she would take it back and let her parents have a try.
Baozhu simply asked her to take the remaining whole food boxes back.
After all, the Kong family was a well-known family in Bianjing, and they had many good friends. In the spring, many of the flower plates and food plates sold in restaurants were sold through the mouth of Miss Kong.
The food competition was still lingering, so the new dishes were introduced, naturally attracting many people to try them. Officials heading to the yamen early in the morning often bought one or two of the lotus leaf glutinous rice chicken for breakfast, and at noon and evening, the lotus leaf steamed pork was still the most popular choice. These two items alone have made the restaurant a lucrative business these past few days.
Baozhu also hung a sign for Zhen's father in her own restaurant. There are more banquets in the summer, especially the high-end official banquets, which require a lot of time to prepare dishes and many other matters. Therefore, now they only receive a maximum of twelve guests a month, including both high-end and low-end banquets.
This actually attracted more people to look for him.
He was obviously unable to handle the work alone, so he picked a young boy from among those who came to learn cooking to teach him. Now the boy followed Zhen's father and did odd jobs. Zhen's father also wanted to observe his character before teaching him the skills.
If this young man has good character, he will have a great future, whether he works at Zhen's restaurant or prepares banquets with Zhen's father.
The same dish tastes different when prepared by different chefs. Nowadays, in Bianjing, whether one runs a restaurant or a chef who prepares banquets for others, one must have his own connections to do business. Otherwise, relying solely on good cooking skills, one can only barely make ends meet.
Since he had accepted someone as his apprentice, the young apprentice knew the etiquette. He brought the apprenticeship gift and kowtowed to Zhen's father and Madam Xu. After that, he followed Zhen's father to help.
Calculating the date, Ah Xiu was due to give birth in July, which was a hot time, so Madam Xu wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to go back. Dalang and his wife were parents, and they were worried that there might be something they missed. Even if she couldn't take care of everything, she could find a suitable maid to look after them.
Hearing that A Niang was going back, Baozhu and Zhurong also wanted to go back with her.
"It's fine for Baorong to go back. Her master will approve her leave anyway. But is it okay for Baozhu to go back to the restaurant?"
Baozhu nodded immediately. "Now that Jiang Shi has gained experience, Mrs. Chen in the kitchen is also a good hand. Mrs. Liu is hardworking. It will only take three or four months. If the real man is short of hands, tell Jiang Shi to hire temporary help."
"Besides, my father is still in Bianjing. It's not like he hasn't run a restaurant before, so he knows the rules and regulations. If there's anything, just ask him to take a look."
Baozhu acted coquettishly and foolishly for a while, and Xu Niangzi could only nod her head. The two maids were very independent. If she didn't take them back, it would make people even more worried if she sneaked back with them.
Baozhu arranged all the affairs in the store. In the hot summer, many people came to the store to eat cold food. Now, as long as she could maintain the diners, she would not have to worry about the monthly income.
He then handed over the store's accounts to Jiang Shi and said, "Pay your wages for the past few months as if you were a manager. If you do a good job these past few months, I'll promote you to manager when I come back."
Jiang Shi was full of ambition, and looked at Sister Liu and Sister Chen with some envy. Baozhu followed and said,
"Our restaurant will definitely grow bigger and bigger in the future, and there will be many opportunities to succeed."
Madam Xu had made all the arrangements at home and outside, and she had also hired a new clerk in her warehouse shop. The original clerk was already very familiar with the affairs of shipping and receiving goods. Madam Xu gave him a raise and promoted him to be a small manager, and he was working very hard.
The maid hired to help the family remained, helping out despite the lack of family members for the past few months. However, she was still being paid as usual for her work. Baozhu left a letter at the shop, instructing Jiang Shi to give it to Pei Yanqing if he came looking for her.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, the three of them boarded a ship heading south. Madam Xu carefully selected the small clothes, hats, and tiger-head shoes she had ordered and packed them into a large bag. The rest of their luggage wasn't much; besides the clothes, they had two clay pots, some cooking oil and salt, and some money close to their bodies. Baozhu and Baorong both changed into men's clothing to avoid being conspicuous on the road.
Baozhu is tall, so she looks no different when she dresses up as a man. Baorong is handsome and looks like a young man. No one can tell who they are along the way.
I had sent a letter to Suzhou before leaving, and I think the letter arrived just a few minutes earlier than others.
The merchant ship that sailed south from Bian Jing was a frequent traveler. The ship's owner had connections with all the checkpoints along the way and government offices in various places, and had some connections with those officials. The merchants on the ship hired many guards. This kind of large ship wanted to carry many passengers, and they could make some money back if they brought more passengers.
Baozhu thought it would be safer with more people, so she was willing to spend more money to build such a large ship. It's hard to carry too much luggage on a long journey, so naturally she didn't bring any rice or flour, buying everything on the boat.
At first, we could still eat fresh vegetables on the boat. However, because it was summer and vegetables spoil easily, there were not many vegetables stored in the warehouse, and they were all eaten up in a few days. After eating all the vegetables on the water for a long time, we still couldn’t reach the next ferry. During these few days, we could only make porridge with dried vegetables and meat.
The conditions on the boat were a little worse. Baozhu brought oil, salt and a clay pot. Since she didn't plan to eat with the boatmen, she borrowed the stove on the boat and used the clay pot to cook a pot of food that was barely enough for three people. Even using the stove once cost her ten cents.
There were many people renting stoves, so Baozhu's move was not noticeable. The boatman said it would take three days to reach the next dock to resupply food.
There has been a lot of rain recently, and the boat was swaying on the river from time to time. The wind was strong and the rain was heavy outside. A boatman cast a net in the river and caught a lot of fish.
The bland taste in my mouth was really unbearable, and my face turned green from drinking the vegetable porridge. Seeing the boatman catch a fish, I went to buy one, killed it, sliced it into pieces, added some shredded ginger, and cooked a pot of fish porridge on the stove.
The fragrance attracted many people to ask about it. This stove was borrowed from the boat. Baozhu naturally didn't want to be conspicuous, so she laughed it off and refused to answer.
The water is very cold, and this fish porridge is the best way to dispel the cold. It also contains shredded ginger. After drinking a small bowl, everyone feels sweating all over.
When I was heading north from Suzhou, I was full of panic but didn't find the time difficult. But now, on the way back to Suzhou from Bian Jing, my butt is sore from sitting all the way.
At first I felt it was fresh, looking at the mountains, the water, the vastness of the sky and the land. But after a while I looked outside and no longer felt the scenery was beautiful, I just felt it was unbearable.
After sailing for more than a month, it was already mid-June when we arrived at the Jiangnan Canal. The ferry stopped for a day to replenish supplies. Arriving at the Jiangnan Canal meant that we were about to reach Suzhou.
Baozhu, Zhurong and Xu Niangzi got off the boat to get some fresh air as soon as it stopped. When they stepped on the ground, they felt their legs were a little weak. The journey was really unbearable. They were tired of eating fish. From the fish porridge at the beginning to the fish oil cooked and grilled, they felt like vomiting when they smelled the fish at the end.
They would arrive at the destination in about ten days, and this trip would be the last one to replenish supplies. Baozhu and Rong bought a lot of plums and apricots, a bag of fine salt, a pot of oil and half a pot of vinegar, a piece of bacon and three or four sausages.
I saw someone selling lotus leaves on the roadside and bought a bunch. I wrapped the marinated meat in lotus leaves and steamed it in a clay pot. It tasted better than the fish after all.
The last time the ship stopped for supplies, Baorong bought a few storybooks. She had read them all to pieces in the past few days, so she took this opportunity to buy some new ones. In the past, her mother would scold her if she saw her reading these at home, but now she no longer complains about the unbearable boat ride and instead reads the books in the cabin with great interest.
The clay pot we brought before leaving came in handy. The three of us relied on this clay pot for all our meals along the way. Fortunately, we brought two clay pots. One of them cracked on the way, so we had to use the remaining pot with caution.
This clay pot is very convenient for making porridge, cooking rice or cooking fish.
The ferry was bustling with activity, and basically everything that could be bought could be found near the pier. After all, they had no relatives here, so the three of them didn't dare to stay any longer and returned to the boat immediately after buying their things.
Before getting on the boat, Baozhu saw someone rowing a small boat selling river shrimps and lotus seeds. She simply bought all the shrimps and put them in a bucket to keep them for a few days.
The shrimps are delicious at this time of year. As soon as we got back to the boat, we lit a stove and fried the small river shrimps in oil. We also steamed a pot of rice, bacon and sausage. The vegetables we just bought were very fresh, so we blanched them in boiling water with salt in a pot and drizzled some oil to make a seasonal vegetable dish. We made a pot of egg drop soup with eggs.
The food was better in the first few days when the ship stopped for supplies. Baozhu was reluctant to eat vegetables in the previous few times. It was hot and the humidity was high on the ship, so the vegetables would rot within two days. Now Baozhu has gained experience and will eat the fresh meat and vegetables she bought within two days, and then slowly eat the dried goods and cured meats that have been stored for a long time.
With three dishes and a soup, everyone is satisfied with the meal. The closer they are to home, the more excited they are.
The next day the ship continued to sail south. The owner had stopped the boat at the ferry the previous day and had agreed with two other boats to travel together.
Since there were so many people, they wanted to save time by taking a shortcut. Although the other two ships were smaller, the ship owners and the merchants said that if they traveled together with three ships, they would not be afraid of pirates. It would be better to take another waterway which would be faster and they would not have to pay toll fees to the government.
It used to take more than ten to twenty days to get there, but now it only takes ten days to get there by another route.
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