The price of the newly purchased shop was very cheap, less than twenty taels of silver, which was a world of difference compared to the previous grocery store. But being expensive has its advantages, and being cheap has its disadvantages. The reason why this shop is so cheap is because of its location.
If you are not someone who is very familiar with the local terrain, it would be impossible to get here by bypassing seven or eight alleys. Qi, who almost fainted in the alley, was now so worried that she couldn't eat, fearing that her daughter would lose all her money.
Lin Dan comforted her while tidying up the tables and chairs: "Mom, don't worry. There is a reason why I opened the store here. Look at what kind of shops are around here?"
"What are they? Casinos, fighting arenas, docks, brothels, all low-class places, and the people who come and go are all low-class people. I really don't understand why you opened a store here. Since the Yan family can't tolerate us, let's leave the capital, at least we can live a peaceful life. Mother doesn't want you to fight for any family property, nor does she want you to compare who is superior or inferior. Mother just wants you to be safe." Qi said as she pulled her daughter's wrist.
Lin Dan patted her soothingly and explained, "The residents of South City are all immigrants. Their identities are indeed complicated, but they are better than those of North City. Don't think that the people of South City are lowly. In fact, there are all kinds of people here. It is not a simple place. If you do business here, it will be much better than in North City. Look at the casinos, fighting arenas, docks, and brothels. Are there people coming and going? This is the natural popularity. The cooking skills of a restaurant are the first, and the popularity is the second. If the cooking skills are good and the popularity is high, the business will naturally rise. My cooking skills are here, and I can borrow the popularity of the surrounding areas. I am not afraid of not making money. You will know when I open the store."
"The popularity of the surrounding area is indeed not bad, but you don't even consider whether your store can benefit from their popularity. This alley has to go around seventeen or eighteen turns. How can people find you? A restaurant should be opened on the street. Mother has never seen a store opened in a dead end." Qi was still worried.
"Good wine needs no bush. This is not a big problem." Lin Dan smiled and waved his hand, not taking it seriously.
The guy she brought with her was very efficient and cleaned up the store in half a day. He also hung a small flag at the door and the store was ready for business.
The handsome man was delayed for some time in the morning due to something and arrived at noon. He first took care of the local tyrants here, and then found the nearby constables and asked them to take good care of Lin Dan. Then he reported to the store. Of course, all these things were done behind Lin Dan's back, for fear that she would feel burdened.
"Why are you here again? Don't you have anything to do?" Lin Dan was surprised when he saw the man.
"You seem to have never asked me my name?" the man asked instead of answering.
Lin Dan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "Well, may I ask what your name is, and how old are you?"
"I'm twenty-six years old this year. My surname is Tang, and I'm the ninth child. You can call me Brother Tang Jiu, or just Brother Jiu." The man bowed to Qi as a junior, then picked up an axe to chop wood.
"Tang? That's a good surname." Lin Dan smiled even more cheerfully. She is a cook and has a natural liking for soups and watery things.
The man immediately realized what she was laughing at, and his deep eyes couldn't help but reveal a few soft lights. Even the names they exchanged can be associated with the dishes. Lin Dan really speaks about his profession every three sentences.
A carpenter has been hired to make the restaurant's sign, and it will be delivered in the afternoon. Lin Dan did not plan to do business today, so he only asked the servants to bring three large pots for soup: one pot of clear soup, one pot of milk soup, and one pot of braised soup. Since the shop was very cheap, she still had a lot of money left to spend, so she cooked without considering the cost. She stuffed whole chickens and ducks into the pot, and also added pork elbows, pork bones and other ingredients, and boiled them all in water.
"I learned this skill of making soup from a master chef in the north. Although he is not an imperial chef, his cooking skills are simply perfect. I have learned only the basics from him after three years. Clear soup should be made over low heat, and milk soup should be made over high heat. You have to be careful when adding firewood." Lin Dan spoke very modestly, but his technique of making soup was extremely sophisticated. He blanched, boiled, swept and made soup with smooth movements.
Tang Jiu stared at the large pots, his tone slightly worried: "With so much material, can you make back the cost?"
Lin Dan chuckled and said, "Don't think that these pots of soup use a lot of ingredients and seem to be quite wasteful, but you have to know that these pots of soup are enough for me to make hundreds of dishes and hundreds of bowls of noodles, and nothing is wasted. My shop is too hidden, so I have to boil some old soup to attract customers. As the saying goes, 'Good wine needs no bush', and for me, 'Strong soup needs no bush'. When the soup is ready, there will always be people who will come here to smell the aroma."
After the clear soup and milk soup were cooked, Lin Dan put the spice bag into the marinade and boiled it over high heat. After boiling for a quarter of an hour, he added pork elbows, pork bones, pork belly, pig skin and other ingredients. After boiling, he covered the pot with a lid and blocked the surrounding with wet towels to prevent the steam from escaping.
"Let's simmer this pot of marinade over low heat until tomorrow morning. Everyone, take a break. Just leave one person to watch the fire." Everything was ready, and Lin Dan clapped his hands to dismiss everyone. The caravan still had some dry goods business to run, so a few servants packed up their things and left the capital.
Lin Dan was preparing to make lunch for her mother and Tang Jiu when a man suddenly ran in from outside the door. It turned out to be the waiter of Qiaoyuan Restaurant. He looked a little angry and said, "Finally I found you, the liar! Tell me, what kind of things did you sell to my restaurant? How could you pass off inferior goods as good ones?"
"Don't worry, little brother. I'll go back to Qiaoyuan Restaurant with you if you have anything to say." Lin Dan was not annoyed. He also poured a cup of hot tea for the waiter in a graceful manner.
The waiter came here to arrest someone, and hurriedly tried to pull her away. However, he became intimidated by Tang Jiu's cold glance and had to ask her to go back in a nice tone. The fair and handsome young chef had been waiting in the store for a long time. He was clearly the victim, but he was very thin-skinned and his tone of criticism was very soft, "The ingredients you sold me may have problems. They don't taste like top-quality ingredients. Try this. This dish is made with the broad tripe you sold me. This was bought from Yan's Restaurant. They are the same seafood. Why do mine and his taste so different?"
Lin Dan tasted the dishes from both tables and couldn't help but smile. She was just worrying about how to fight back against the Yan family when the young cook handed her the knife. Well, since she can't compete with the Yan family, there will always be someone to fight for her.
Thinking of this, she waved her hand and said, "Go to the kitchen and let me see how you cook. These dry goods of mine are all picked up bit by bit from hundreds of goods. Each one is top-notch and there will be no problems. Since there is no problem with the ingredients, then there must be something wrong with your cooking method. Let's find the cause from the source."
The young chef nodded and agreed without thinking, then walked towards the kitchen, behaving very cleverly in every move. The old shopkeeper glared at Lin Dan, as if he wanted to scold her for being rude, but he didn't dare to speak because of the angry Tang Jiu. The group went to the kitchen and started cooking.
Lin Dan stared at the young chef for a long time, then shook his head and said, "You have solid basic skills, but you just lack some experience. When cooking with dried ingredients, 70% of the effort is in soaking them, and 30% is in seasoning. If you haven't mastered the soaking skills, you naturally can't make a good dish."
"For example, soaking the black sea cucumber in water is not enough. If you just cut it into sections and stir-fry it, it can barely be used. If you use the whole black sea cucumber in the dish, the meat will be soft in some places and hard in others, and the taste will be very uneven, and it will not be easy to absorb the flavor. I will teach you a secret method. Before soaking the black sea cucumber in water, it is best to bake it on a hot iron plate, then burn the outer layer of skin black over low heat, and finally scrape off the black skin with a knife before boiling it in water. Why do you do this? Because the dried black sea cucumber you just bought still contains some moisture. Only by completely removing this moisture can it have an even taste. Boil it in water three times and let it cool three times. Only then can it be considered to be truly fully expanded. You can pinch it with your hand to leave a mark, and it feels very tender and smooth."
She was explaining while processing the black sea cucumber, her deft hands moving up and down, stunning everyone. The young chef then realized belatedly that Shopkeeper Lin was not only a dry goods seller, but also a very experienced chef. Who could have guessed the secret of her unique skill of soaking black ginseng without three to five years of study? However, she not only thought of it, but also taught others generously, and her moral character was also excellent.
In order to learn more, the young chef immediately took over the job of soaking black ginseng.
Lin Dan wiped his hands with a towel and continued to process the fish maw. While boiling the oil, he explained, "You didn't ferment the Guangdu correctly. You need to ferment it with oil so that it will have a smooth and soft texture. First, soak it twice in 50% hot oil, let it cool, and then fry it on the stove over low heat. Then, take it out and soak it in clean water to fully absorb the water. Then, put it in ash water and pat it with your hands to wash away the grease. Finally, use clean water to wash away the astringency of the ash water, and then you can cook it. The fish maw fermented with oil has a very soft, glutinous and smooth texture. It will be delicious no matter how it is cooked. Not to mention the top-quality Guangdu, even the worst quality flower heart fish maw can be made into a delicacy."
When it comes to cooking, Lin Dan talks nonstop, and he doesn't slack off from the work in his hands. He quickly heats a pot of oil and throws the fish maw in. Whether a chef has real skills will be revealed once he sits at the stove. The young chef looked at Lin Dan with his eyes becoming brighter and brighter, as if he had discovered a treasure.
While waiting for the oil to cool down, Lin Dan said, "Look, this basin of rock fungus is not cooked properly. It's not enough to boil it in boiling water. You have to add a little coarse salt to soak it to soften it, and grind off the fluff on the back..."
"Yes, yes, you are right! Shopkeeper Lin, I was wrong. I misunderstood you before. Please be magnanimous and forgive me this time. My cooking skills are not very good. Please teach me! A while ago, Yan's Restaurant launched a new dish called Squirrel Mandarin Fish. The appearance and taste are both unique. It has attracted all the remaining diners in my family. If I don't improve, my reputation of "Imperial Kitchen Family" will really be ruined in my hands!" The young chef clasped his hands together and bowed to Lin Dan frequently. To be honest, judging from the skill of soaking rice cakes, Lin Dan is no worse than his father and grandfather, and is more than qualified to be his master.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
