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101: One dish for twenty taels of silver

The restaurant owner's mind was in turmoil and he made up his mind in a short while. He and Shen Zian often met and knew that Shen Zian was not a man who spoke without thinking. If his wife's cooking was not delicious and there was nothing special about it, he would definitely say it. If he didn't say it, it must be true. What's more, everyone at the table, including the two little kids, said so, so he believed it 80%. He thought about asking Su Zhi to cook for him on the spot, wouldn't that confirm it?

"My dear, I want to see and taste the dumplings I told you about, and the dishes you mentioned. If they are as delicious as you say, I will give you a free meal today. How about that?"

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he looked at Su Zhi, then at Shen Zian, thinking that if one of the couple agreed, the deal would be done. Of course, in Chapter 101, he was thinking that it was not easy for the country people to come to the restaurant to eat, and now they heard that they could get a meal for free by cooking, how could they not be happy?

Su Zhi was amused. She thought the shopkeeper was really smart. Did he want to learn her cooking skills with the money for a meal? The dumplings tasted delicious, but you could learn by just looking at them. The dishes were similar. If she didn't plan to make money from this, she could make them at home. After a few times, people who were interested would learn how to make them. After a long time, the recipe would really be worthless. Anyone in the restaurant could learn how to make them.

But Su Zhi now thought that it would be a waste not to make money, and it would be nice to make some money with a few recipes that could be learned by others at any time, so she naturally would not do what the shopkeeper wanted.

Shen Zian said, "Wife, you are frightened today. You come here to eat, not to cook. We can still pay for this meal. Shopkeeper, please go ahead!"

The shopkeeper was surprised to hear that this was not what he had thought. He looked at Shen Zian carefully and found that he was different from before. Although he was still wearing cloth clothes, his spirit and energy were completely different. He remembered that he had killed a tiger not long ago. Later, he heard that he had built a big house. This was really different from Chapter 101: Twenty taels of silver for a dish. It seemed that he didn't care about the cost of this meal.

Shopkeeper Zhang immediately said, "Think about it again. I really want to know what that dumpling is. Brother Zi'an, we have known each other for a long time. Don't you even want to give me this courtesy?"

Li Shi laughed and said, "Manager Zhang, the food cooked by my sister-in-law is really delicious. You don't have that many dishes here. Not to mention that one of her dishes can replace a whole table of dishes here, you just waived the meal fee, which is too low. Just say that your words make people feel uneasy. If the food is delicious, you waived the meal fee. If you say it is not delicious, then my sister-in-law is busy. You learn the skills, but in the end you still have to pay for the meal, right?"

Manager Zhang's face, which had seen a lot, almost turned red. He had just thought that if Su Zhi's cooking was not to his liking, he really couldn't waive the meal. This restaurant was not owned by his family, and if he couldn't give good things to the owner, he had no reason to waive the meal.

"Brother Li, you misunderstood me. How could I do that?"

Su Zhi felt that Li Shi was a meticulous person and had the potential to do business. It seemed that if she wanted to do business with him in the future, he would definitely be a good choice.

"Boss, let's finish our meal and find a quiet place to talk, okay?"

"Okay, then you guys eat."

The shopkeeper knew that it was impossible to easily figure out what the dumpling was, so he wanted to take his time and went back to the counter first.

Sister Li and the others, who had not dared to interrupt just now, now happily talked to Su Zhi, asking her not to teach this thing to the restaurant for nothing. Su Zhi smiled and nodded. Then the whole table began to eat happily again.

There were eight dishes on the table, and eight people ate their fill.

Because we had this meal early, it was time to go back to the village as usual.

Liu Si Niang was embarrassed to say goodbye first. If she didn't go back on time, she would be scolded again. She would definitely be scolded today. Sister Li and Sister Shu Gen also said goodbye. They also had to go back to cook for the men at home. Besides, it would not be good for them to get involved in the discussion between Su Zhi and the shopkeeper about the dumplings and vegetables.

Li Shi did not leave. He stayed outside to help watch the ox cart.

The shopkeeper invited Su Zhi and Shen Zian to the back hall, and Su Zhi put forward her own suggestions.

"Manager Zhang, you are in the restaurant business, you should know that recipes are also a skill, and this skill can make money. You want to know how I make those dumplings, you can't learn it in vain."

When Shopkeeper Zhang heard that the young lady wanted to sell her recipe, he thought he would be able to see her cooking skills with just the price of a meal, but he really underestimated her.

"How much money do you want for one prescription, young lady?"

"I don't want much. Five taels of silver for the dumplings. This price is really not high. You can make money in a few days. As for the dish, I can teach you two, but the price is higher, twenty taels of silver for one dish. What do you think? If you think it's worth it, then we'll make a deal. Otherwise, we'll leave now. To be honest, if we go to another restaurant, we can sell it at this price."

Su Zhi didn't ask for much. She had already delivered dumplings to several families in Hebian Village. It was not a secret and it would spread out anytime. Besides, the shopkeeper had just heard two kids say they had eaten dumplings. If he asked, he could find out how to make them. Now, while he still thought dumplings were not easy to make like some other dishes, and she could make some money, she should not miss it.

As for the food, Su Zhi thought of two better dishes. If they were cooked, they would definitely become the restaurant's signature dishes. Of course, they would have to be priced higher.

Twenty taels of silver may not mean much to some wealthy people, but to a countryman who depends on farming for his livelihood, it is the harvest for the whole family in a bumper year.

When Shopkeeper Zhang heard this and saw how calm Su Zhi was, he thought that maybe this was a really great dish. It would be bad if we missed it and let other restaurants learn from it. He thought for a moment and said, "Please make it first, young lady. If it is really something we have never seen before, we will pay for it. Young lady, don't worry that I will cheat you. If it is really good, we will continue to buy other recipes from you in the future. Besides, Brother Zi'an is a man who can kill a tiger, and we dare not deny his credit."

Su Zhi smiled and said, "Where is the kitchen? Please lead the way!"

Both parties agreed, and Su Zhi, Shen Zian and the shopkeeper came to the kitchen.

There were two chefs who cooked. When they heard the shopkeeper say that someone could cook dishes that they couldn't, they became interested. Chefs like to see new dishes. But when they saw that Su Zhi was a young woman, they were a little skeptical.

Because it was dinner time, we asked one chef to come and watch over the meal first, while another chef discussed with us about another dish.

Su Zhi plans to make a dish of Dongpo pork first.

Su Zhi asked someone to prepare the seasoning for cooking. At this time, she thought of aniseed again. She thought that cooking really needed it. Sichuan peppercorns were already available, but why didn't anyone find aniseed? However, she thought that she could make some money by planting aniseed next year, which was also a good thing. She smiled and threw aside the regret of not having aniseed.

Dongpo pork is actually very easy to make, but people at that time obviously don't know how to make it. It's normal to think about it. According to legend, Dongpo pork was first made by Su Dongpo, so there was no such dish before him. No one could make it for so many years before him, so it's normal that people at that time can't make it. Su Zhi thought while instructing the chef to make it. The chef was a little unhappy, but when he thought that he was learning to cook from Su Zhi, he started to work according to Su Zhi's instructions.

Throw a piece of pork belly with the right amount of fat and lean meat into cold water, boil it, blanch it, take it out and cut it into square cubes, put green onions and ginger under the clay pot, put the pork belly skin side down, it would be better if there were green onions and star anise, but unfortunately there are none, so it's just a makeshift one. Then add soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and water. Then boil it and cook it on low heat for another half an hour, turn the meat over, pour some wine, and simmer for 25 minutes.

It is ready to eat now, but you can steam it for another quarter of an hour.

The steamed Dongpo pork at that time would have a crystal-clear texture, smell fragrant and not taste greasy at all.

While making Dongpo pork, Su Zhi was also making dumplings. Of course, she was only making a dozen or twenty dumplings, so it was not tiring. While doing so, she was instructing another chef who had just taken over to prepare the fish. She wanted to instruct him to make boiled fish.

Not only the chef, but even the shopkeeper felt dizzy after seeing so many peppers. He wondered who could eat so many peppers!

But when the boiled fish was ready, everyone was mesmerized by the fragrant and spicy taste.

After the two dishes were ready, the guests started eating. The two chefs were also free. It was their turn to eat. They each filled a bowl of rice and sat around the two dishes and the dumplings, waiting for the shopkeeper to taste them first.

After Shopkeeper Zhang took a bite of Dongpo pork, his eyes lit up. After taking another bite of boiled fish, he felt that all the pores on his body were awake. He quickly ate another dumpling, and then he felt a little better.

Shopkeeper Zhang thought the dish was delicious and the dumplings were fresh, so he didn't even want to give them to anyone else.

The people in the kitchen had been waiting to eat for a long time. When they saw the shopkeeper go out, they immediately gathered around the two dishes and started to fight for them. In a short while, all the dishes were gone, and not a single dumpling was left.

"Young lady, you are a great cook. I admire you." Shopkeeper Zhang took out forty-five taels of silver without hesitation and said, "Please tell me how to make this dish. I will write it down and show it to my boss later."

Su Zhi asked Shen Zian to collect the money, and then asked the shopkeeper to write a prescription.

Manager Zhang put away the recipe and said with a smile, "Young lady, your cooking skills are so good, you must have other specialties. If you have any, please sell them to our restaurant and the price can be negotiated."

Su Zhi said, "I do know how to cook some dishes, but it's not the right season now, so let's talk about it later. There's another dish, but it requires chestnuts to make, and I happen to have some chestnuts at home, so I'll bring them over next time, and we'll talk about it then."

When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately agreed.

When Li Shi saw Manager Zhang personally escort Shen Zian and Su Zhi out, he knew that the deal was done.

The three of them then got on the ox cart and started back to the village, while Manager Zhang hurriedly gave instructions to his waiter and went to look for his boss.