After thinking it over, she decided to go in and take a look. Seeing that she was not doing well, Zhang Ting followed behind her.
Once inside, I found the environment to be very elegant, and the tables and chairs were spotless, making it seem like there were no diners at all.
After the two sat down, a waiter came over and asked in a nonchalant tone, "What would you like to eat?"
"Bring me one of your signature dishes," Xu Yuehuai said nonchalantly.
"Fifty coins, pay first and then we'll serve the food." The waiter nodded and said this.
"What kind of rule is this?" Zhang Ting was anxious when she heard this. In ordinary restaurants, don't you pay the bill after you finish eating?
"That's our family's rule. If you're not going to eat, then leave," the waiter said with a laugh, completely unconcerned.
"You!" Zhang Ting was about to explode upon hearing this, but was pulled back by Xu Yuehuai beside her.
"Here's the money, please hurry." Xu Yuehuai handed the money to the shop assistant, who happily took it and left.
"Manager Xu, can't you see? I now know why no one is coming to this shop. It must be because of the prepayment system, and the food must be really bad. Naturally, there won't be any customers." Zhang Ting looked at Xu Yuehuai in disbelief. Even she could figure this out, so she didn't believe Xu Yuehuai couldn't.
After she finished speaking, Xu Yuehuai asked, "Zhang Ting, do you think this store came up with the idea of prepayment because no one came, or is it that prepayment is what caused no one to come?"
Zhang Ting was momentarily stumped by the question, and after pondering for a long time, she didn't know how to answer.
Just as they were racking their brains, the waiter brought out the signature dish and said with a smile, "Here are two customers. This is your signature dish, braised beef."
Xu Yuehuai found it unbelievable upon hearing this. She looked at the dishes on the table and then at the waiter, asking suspiciously, "Are you sure?"
"Of course, please enjoy your meal," the waiter replied with a wave of his hand, then swaggered off to the side to rest.
Xu Yuehuai stared at his back, seemingly lost in thought. After all, beef couldn't be cooked that quickly.
"Manager Xu, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Ting brought Xu Yuehuai back to reality. She then picked up her chopsticks and prepared to take a bite, as she was quite hungry after wandering around for so long.
Xu Yuehuai smiled but remained silent, watching Zhang Ting eat her beef.
Zhang Ting, however, had no suspicions. She picked up a piece of beef and threw it into her mouth. At first, the aroma of the spices seemed quite good, but when she bit into it, she almost knocked out her teeth.
"This is called beef? I thought it was a stone, ptooey, ptooey." Zhang Ting spat out the beef in her mouth and looked at Xu Yuehuai with a bitter expression.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding customers burst into laughter. Their tables were completely empty, indicating that they had only come to watch first-time visitors get their comeuppance.
“Maybe it’s just a matter of skill,” Xu Yuehuai said after examining the beef on the plate. “Young man, where is your manager? I’m thinking of taking over this shop.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a middle-aged man came out from the kitchen, wiping his hands and sneering, "What skills does a woman have? Do you think you can run this shop successfully after renting it?"
“At least I’m better than you,” Xu Yuehuai replied calmly.
"What did you say? Fine, then you come and try. If you make it better than me, I'll rent this shop to you at a cheaper price." The middle-aged man felt looked down upon and said angrily.
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Xu Yuehuai didn't plan to make any complicated dishes. Besides, delicious things are naturally the simplest. After thinking it over, she decided to make wontons.
Take a piece of lean pork belly, wash it thoroughly, and then chop it finely with a knife using even force.
Wash the scallions thoroughly, chop them finely, mix them evenly with the minced meat, and then add a little bit of seasoning water several times.
Once the scallions and pork are chopped together, put them in a bowl and set aside.
Take a bowl of flour, add half cold water and half hot water to make a dough, and set aside.
Take an egg, separate the egg white from the yolk, add the egg white to the minced meat and beat until smooth and elastic, while adding seasonings such as salt and pepper.
Once the dough has risen, take it out, sprinkle flour on the work surface, knead it into a smooth dough, and then roll it out into a sheet.
On the other side, a fire was lit on the stove, a pot was set up to boil water, and then the dough was cut into small squares of the same size with a knife.
Now you can start wrapping wontons. Use a small spoon to put some filling on the dough, fold it in half, then fold it in half again, and you're done.
Once the water boils, the wontons will be all wrapped. Gently lower them into the pot from the side. Once the wontons float to the surface, you're all done.
When paired with a pre-prepared broth, the aroma wafts out.
The shopkeeper had never seen anything so delicious before, and ate two bowls in a row without stopping.
Xu Yuehuai stopped him from serving the third bowl, and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper, we can eat these wontons later. How about we talk about the shop now?"
The shop owner had no intention of continuing to run the shop, and after tasting such delicious dishes today, he was naturally very satisfied and immediately made a decision: "A man's word is his bond. I just said that if your dishes are better than mine, I will rent this shop to you at a low price. It's settled then."
Xu Yuehuai was naturally very happy, after all, it seemed that this person's mind was not on running the restaurant, and she did not want the food to be desecrated by such a person.
Although the shopkeeper gave the shop to Xu Yuehuai at a very low price, Xu Yuehuai planned to spend some money to renovate it again, since the style here was not her type. She wanted to decorate it like the Tianxianglou in Chang'an City.
The plan was finalized, but she didn't have much money left. Although the shop was cheap, it still cost a lot of money. After thinking about it, she decided to go to Qi Guze to ask for money.
Since he needed her help, Xu Yuehuai even personally cooked a meal for her.
Qi Guze and Xu Yuehuai had known each other for a long time, so he naturally understood her inner thoughts and couldn't help but ask, "What? Is there something you want from me?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Xu Yuehuai knew that her little schemes couldn't escape Qi Guze's notice, so she couldn't help but chuckle and said directly, "It's nothing serious. I just have my eye on a shop. The rent isn't a big deal, but I really can't stand the decor. Unfortunately, I'm a bit short on cash..."
As she said this, she glanced at Qi Guze's expression.
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