Chapter 75 Chapter 75 (Supplementary Chapter) Fragrant Crispy Meat Pie...
The restaurant has a new door and the windows are bigger, so you can see inside the restaurant from the outside.
Vegetables are placed on special racks, fish are kept in buckets and are eaten fresh, and mutton and pork are delivered early in the morning with a layer of ice underneath so that the meat still looks rosy.
During the first three days of the store's opening, everyone who enters will receive a free bowl of hot mutton soup. Regular customers with existing food passes can also receive a box of dim sum daily with their food passes, in addition to the free soup. This is also in preparation for the store's new dim sum offerings for the spring season.
During the New Year, a lot of meat-filled puff pastry cakes used as wedding cakes are sold. When spring comes, we will prepare to launch various new flower cakes, such as peach blossom cakes, locust blossom cakes and other popular flower cakes.
The presents were intended to thank the customers who had signed up for the food service, and also to promote the sales of the cakes. Mrs. Chen was in charge of the restaurant, and Baozhu would be in charge of the cakes and other pastries.
When these cakes become somewhat famous, I can open a small shop to sell them.
In March, the city of Bianjing was bustling with people, and the pink peach blossoms and green willows were in perfect harmony. This year, there were still many people out for a spring outing, and the paths in the suburbs were full of vendors selling food.
Since the shop reopened, its reputation has been growing. The cakes it originally sent out have been very successful. This year, it not only sells spring plates and flower plates, but also has received snacks for banquets from several wealthy families.
When there was a happy occasion at home, meat-filled wedding cakes were considered extremely prestigious. Originally, the business of making puff pastry and meat-filled wedding cakes was always going strong, mostly selling to wedding event shops. Initially, Baozhu hadn't considered selling them, but with so many inquiries from the shopkeepers, she figured she could make as much money as possible. While the price was lower than selling individually, she didn't have to work so hard to sell them herself.
The restaurant is now run by Jiang Shi alone, so Baozhu doesn't have to work as hard as before to do everything herself. Jiang Shi will only come to her if there is something he can't solve. Therefore, Baozhu bakes cakes at home most of the time, and only goes to the restaurant if there is no order for cakes one day.
Inside the oven were preserved vegetable and pork crispy cakes and ham and pork crispy cakes. A faint aroma wafted out of the oven. Bao Rong took a deep breath and then curled his lips and said,
"I've noticed that many restaurants are now offering food cards to their customers. They're really learning the ropes."
Many businesses in Bian Jing, no matter how innovative they were, could only seize the initiative. They could not prevent others from following suit. Even if others copied their ideas exactly, they could do nothing about it. Even if they reported it to the government, the government would ignore it. They could only ask diners to remember their own store first.
Learning these things is not a skill. Being able to do it for a long time is the real skill. Zhen's Restaurant became famous because of its constant innovation, not because of learning this or that.
When the shortbreads came out of the oven, the ones ordered were picked up first and put aside, printed with red wedding characters, and then left to cool. The remaining broken ones that were not in good condition were kept for their own consumption. One bite of these shortbreads was never too much, and the Zhen family members could never get tired of them.
Bao Rong stirred the food cooked for Li Nu in the pot. She placed a small crispy cake on a plate next to her. She picked up one and put it in her mouth. The crust was so crispy that it fell apart, and the meat inside was roasted in the oven and was dry and fragrant. One was not enough. She ate three in a row and then said happily,
"Master has secured me several large orders for Buddhist prints for temples. These days, temples often give lectures, and Buddhist images are printed on the sutras. On April 15th, the monks and temples hold a ceremony, so these prints must be produced before the first day of the new year."
Baorong had previously followed Lady Yu mainly to learn, and occasionally took on some odd jobs, such as carving portraits for some storybooks. After several years of learning, he could barely be considered a master.
Now that Madam Yu felt that she had nothing more to teach, she took on some paintings for her to practice. Madam Yu now only gave her some pointers and did not explain everything to her in detail as before. At first, Baorong was a little afraid of making mistakes, but now she can handle it on her own.
Baorong also knew that she was able to get the business because of Madam Yu. Now that Madam Yu had helped her get started, she naturally couldn't relax, otherwise people would only blame Madam Yu. Moreover, she had to do this job well first so that she could take on more work in the future.
The largest business Baorong had ever taken was to make woodblock prints for the temple. There were a total of twelve portraits, which cost a total of 180 taels of silver. She had already been given 50 taels to buy materials.
Nowadays, this temple can be said to be the richest place. Not to mention Xiangguo Temple, even the most ordinary temple has many industries in this Bianjing city, such as shops and fields, which are even richer than those families who have been officials for many years.
The food for the cat servant in Lady Yu's house had been taken care of by Baorong since he went there. The Zhen family ran a restaurant, and they couldn't use up the usual food such as chicken hearts, chicken livers, and chicken breasts, so they gave it all to Baorong to make cat food.
People who have cats are somewhat similar. Several of Yu Niang's friends also have cats at home. Seeing that Yu Niang's cats are well-raised and shiny, and knowing that Bao Rong is very good at making cat food, they gave her some money and asked her to make some as well.
All the cakes in the oven were taken out, and Baozhu began to chop up the fresh grass that she had bought early in the morning to feed the sheep. The two sisters wore their sleeves, one assembling the grass while the other cooked cat food.
The sheep that we were reluctant to kill was fenced in a corner. Last year, when it was in heat, we hired a carpenter to castrate it. Since then, its temperament has become more gentle. As we raised it year after year, it has become more humane.
Normally when he is let out he wanders around the yard, but he doesn't eat flowers, plants or vegetables. When he is hungry he goes to the trough to eat some grass. If strangers come he will bark a few times, just like an ordinary dog raised by other people.
After finishing the work, Baozhu sent the boxes of snacks to the store.
It was spring at this time of year, and although the weather was neither too cold nor too hot, I couldn't help but sweat a little after walking all the way from home.
As soon as she arrived at the door of the store, she saw Jiang Shi arguing with a man. A group of people had gathered around to watch the fun. Seeing Baozhu coming, Jiang Shi came over and took the box of snacks from her hand, whispering to her that this was Chen Saozi's husband. He found out where Chen Saozi lived in Bian Jing and asked the neighbors around, and then found the restaurant.
"There are so many customers in the store right now, how dare I let him in and cause trouble—"
The man continued to rant, "My poor child at home cries for her mother day and night—but she's bewitched and refuses to come home. I really have no choice, so I came to Bianjing to see what has bewitched her."
More and more people gathered to watch the fun, and the man became more and more excited. He was about to throw dirty water on Mrs. Chen, but Baozhu immediately interrupted, "Brother, if you have something to say, why don't you find a quiet place to talk? How can you open your business after making such a fuss?"
As if he felt that Baozhu had nothing to be afraid of, he raised his voice a little, "I think this is the shopkeeper. Don't let her fool you. This woman is not a good person. She is a liar. I don't know how many mistresses she has outside-"
Bang!
One slap wasn't enough, so he slapped her again with his other hand.
The man was as tall as Baozhu, and the two slaps made Baozhu stagger. She took a few steps back and needed someone to push her to steady herself. As soon as she had steady herself, she became angry and wanted to fight back, so she asked Jiang Shi and two of his men to take each side of her.
"What a scoundrel! He is a lazy man who drinks and plays at home all day long. He asks his wife to work as a cook to support the family. He asks someone to bring her wages home every month. But he doesn't spend any of the money he works so hard to earn on his children. Instead, he spends it on wine and women and asks for a second wife." Baozhu put her hands on her hips and cursed angrily, and asked another waiter to report to the police.
She only said that someone was causing trouble in the store. She looked at the onlookers and found that there were several people who were instigating the trouble. It was inevitable that people would be jealous of her good business. She didn't dare to do anything openly, and she couldn't catch anyone for secretly causing trouble. This time, she wanted to avenge Mrs. Chen and make an example of her.
But I have to tell Mrs. Chen about this. If she still breaks off all ties with this man's family as she said last time, it would be fine for her to help. But if she doesn't think so, she would seem to be trying to catch a rat with a dog.
When Mrs. Chen heard Sister Liu tell her about the commotion outside, she came out with a kitchen knife in hand. When Baozhu asked her what she thought, she looked at the man on the stand with a cold face, as if looking at a fly. "Let the shopkeeper decide. This commotion has delayed a lot of business. In my opinion, he deserves a good beating."
Baozhu smiled, "I wanted to tell you this in a serious way, but now go and talk to the officials in the government office yourself."
The yamen runners came quickly. When they heard that someone was causing trouble, they surrounded him, asked him about the situation, and then arrested him. He was still shouting as he left.
"You damned woman! Our two families have been engaged, our names are written on the same marriage certificate, and we've been husband and wife for over ten years. Not only are you now a whore, but you're also arresting me and taking me to the government office! This is truly unjust, and you're such a lowly—well—"
A smelly sweat towel was blocking his mouth.
"You're just making up stories because you can't get the money!" Danier cried to the people who were still there, "My mother is not that kind of person!"
Mrs. Chen looked like she was about to collapse, but Dani'er held her up. After hearing the foul language, Mrs. Chen felt her hands and feet turn cold and sweaty. She couldn't hold back her tears. "I used to ask someone to send money back, but last month I stopped. I never thought he would come all the way to Bianjing."
Baozhu asked everyone to go in first and asked those who were watching the fun to disperse.
Hearing that beast being slapped hard by Baozhu, Mrs. Chen felt extremely relieved. After calming down, she remembered, "This guy is becoming more and more shameless. What should we do if he stays in the store in the future?"
Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, and flies are always hard to drive away.
If he comes to the store, I will drive him away every time, just because I am afraid that he will slander Madam Chen with empty words. Rumors are scary. Even if no one believes it at first, as time goes by and more people spread it, it will become true in people's minds.
"Do you want to divorce him?" Since she was willing to stand up on her own, Baozhu also wanted to help her. Besides, she didn't want anything to happen to Madam Chen. You know, the store had finally hired a very suitable chef.
When it came to divorce, Mrs. Chen nodded vigorously, then sighed as she recalled the incident. "He wouldn't agree to it. Even if I asked him to write a letter of divorce, he wouldn't agree..."
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