Chapter 70 Opening Ceremony
After unlocking the door, Qiao Mancang brought out firecrackers, and only after hearing the crackling sounds did Qiao Jiawang start a fire.
Lin had kneaded some dough in advance. While she was rolling out the noodles, she was boiling water in a pot, and Qiao Jiaxing was cutting a platter of braised meat. There wouldn't be enough time to cut it at the last minute when there were more guests.
Qiao Mancang put down the stools, one after another. At first, not knowing how business would go, they only set up ten square tables. If business was good in the future, they would add more tables.
Seeing everyone busy at work, Qiao Mianmian went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook rice. At this time, they were serving "lao fan" (a type of rice dish), where the rice was cooked in a pot until it puffed up, then scooped out and steamed in a rice cooker. This method produced fragrant, fluffy rice with the best texture.
Cook some rice in the pot to make porridge. Crack an egg into the bottom of a bowl and stir it. Pour boiling rice water over the egg to create egg drop soup. Add a little sugar, and your morning egg drop soup is ready.
Qiao Mianmian blew on the hot drink and drank half of it before going to the door to ask the others if they wanted some.
"I want it!" Qiao Jiaxing was the first to respond.
Qiao Mancang and Lin Shi said no, but Lin Shi said she didn't have time to drink that. "Just boil a few eggs, and we'll have something to eat."
Qiao Jiawang nodded in agreement; only Qiao Jiaxing liked to eat it.
The egg drop soup was smooth and tender, with a hint of rice flavor. Qiao Mianmian finished the rest of the egg drop soup in one gulp.
She made a bowl of egg drop soup for her second brother, and then a customer ordered twice-cooked pork.
"Who eats twice-cooked pork so early in the morning?" Qiao Mianmian asked.
"Who cares who it is, we'll just do the work." Qiao Mancang said with a smile. He wasn't selling meat today; he had brought half a pig. The food shop would use as much as it could, and the rest would be used to make braised pork later in the evening.
“That’s true.” Qiao Mianmian called her older brother over to cut the meat, while she prepared the side dishes.
First, the pork belly is stir-fried in a pan to render out excess fat. Qiao Jiawang has excellent knife skills, making each slice of pork belly thin and even. After rolling it into a beautiful arc, Qiao Mianmian scoops out most of the fat from the pan and then adds seasonings such as fermented bean paste.
Since there are no green peppers this season, she sprinkled on some garlic sprouts, stir-fried them briefly, and they were ready to serve in no time.
The aroma filled the kitchen. Qiao Jiawang carried the twice-cooked pork to the main hall, and Qiao Mancang took it from him. "The twice-cooked pork is here. Please enjoy!"
As dawn broke, six out of ten tables were occupied, all by regular customers.
At this moment, Lu Zhao and Qingjiu also arrived.
When Lu Zhao and Qiao Mancang congratulated each other, Qingjiu couldn't wait to order noodles, "Auntie, I want a bowl of braised pork noodles and a bowl of pork intestine noodles."
"Alright, Auntie will add some extra noodles for you, so you can eat your fill!" Lin knew that Qingjiu could eat a lot, and now that she had opened a shop, she had increased the price of each dish by two coins. At the beginning, she would definitely have to offer more portions to continue attracting her regular customers.
Qingjiu chuckled, standing in front of the stove as usual, waiting. "Where's Miss Qiao Wu? I haven't seen her."
“Mianmian is busy in the kitchen. She’s in charge of stir-frying the vegetables, and I’m in charge of blanching the noodles,” Lin said.
There are many people eating noodles in the morning, but not many people order stir-fries, so Qiao Jiaxing helps out here in the morning and goes to the kitchen around noon.
"I see. We've already arranged with Lord Ouyang and the others. They'll be coming over for lunch, I reckon there will be seven or eight of them." The Qiao family runs a restaurant, and Qingjiu has been promoting it daily since she found out.
"Thank you for coming. I'll reserve a private room for you." As she spoke, Madam Lin finished cooking the noodles.
Qiao Jiaxing took the noodles, topped one bowl with braised meat and broth, and the other with a spoonful of fatty intestines and a spoonful of broth. Finally, he garnished it with some chopped green onions, and the two steaming bowls of noodles were ready.
"I can carry them myself." Qingjiu carried a bowl in each hand, found his master, and sat down. "Luckily, the Qiao family shop isn't far away, it's on our way to work, otherwise it would be difficult to get a meal."
Lu Zhao picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks. The noodles were chewy and smooth, coated with rich broth. One bite and he instantly felt refreshed.
With the opening of Xin's shop, some new customers came in, and Lin's shop didn't stop all morning.
It was almost noon when there were hardly any customers left in the shop, giving Lin a chance to rest. She rubbed her arms and went to the kitchen.
Before even entering the kitchen, Ms. Lin could smell a variety of delicious aromas.
In the kitchen, a trench was built with bricks, with charcoal burning inside, and earthenware pots, ceramic jars, and cylindrical iron pots placed on top.
Lin opened the lid of the iron pot and saw a pot of braised pig's trotters. "My goodness, you cooked both pig's trotters?"
“Yes, if we don’t start making them in advance, we won’t be able to prepare them properly in time if customers want to eat them.” Qiao Mianmian knew what her mother was worried about. “Don’t worry, those delicious pig’s trotters will definitely sell. Even if they don’t, it’s the first day of business, so we can eat them ourselves. We should at least celebrate, don’t you think?”
"Alright, alright, then we'll save a bowl later. Even if it sells well, we'll keep it for ourselves." Mrs. Lin was unusually generous.
Qiao Mianmian was a little surprised, "Mother, what's wrong with you today?"
"What's wrong?" Madam Lin patted her daughter. "Can't your mother afford to treat me this once? Everyone has worked so hard for so long, we deserve to eat something good. Do you think I'm a miser, so stingy that I won't spend a penny?"
"No, I would never think that way. You've always been the most generous and the kindest person!" Qiao Mianmian chuckled and moved closer. "Since you've left a bowl of pig's feet, I'll make some chicken soup this afternoon to nourish everyone, including my sister-in-law. What do you think?"
She hadn't had chicken soup in a long time, and she was starting to crave it.
Today, Madam Lin was unusually agreeable, nodding and saying yes, "Today is an auspicious day, anything is fine!"
"Yay!" Qiao Mianmian poked the pig's trotter with her chopsticks. It was already stewed until tender. She put the iron pot aside, leaving only a small amount of charcoal fire to keep it warm. "Mom, go and rest. You've worked hard all morning."
Lin couldn't stay idle, so she sat in front of the stove and helped to scoop out the embers. "There's plenty of time to rest this afternoon. How can I be at ease knowing you're all busy?"
“Then you go and collect the money. It’s fine for me and my brothers to stay here. Otherwise, the kitchen is so small, it’ll be crowded with so many people here.” Qiao Mianmian pushed her mother out. “You go ahead and collect the money. It’s your favorite thing to do.”
"You silly girl, I haven't even been here long. Alright, alright, I'll go collect the money right away." Madam Lin smiled broadly, and as soon as she reached the lobby, she saw Luo Da. "Oh, Manager Luo, you're here today too. Today is the first day of the restaurant's opening, and we've added quite a few signature dishes. By the way, the braised pig's trotters are especially good today, would you like some?"
Thinking about the pot of braised pig's trotters, she was really worried that she wouldn't be able to sell them all.
"What you recommended must be delicious, so let's have one. Today is your first day of business, and Madam specifically asked me to order a table of dishes."
Looking at the signboard, Luo Da began to order. "The pumpkin pancakes are the same sweet ones from last time, right? Young Master really likes them, so I'll have one of those. Also, some poached chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, a yam soup, and some stir-fried vegetables. That's all. I'll pay now, and then have someone deliver them to the Luo residence."
"Okay, don't worry, I'll have Mianmian and the others do it." Lin calculated the money and rounded it down.
After Luo Da left, she added a sweet and sour fish dish to the Luo family's menu. "When I went to repay the money this time, the Luo family didn't let me repay it. They said that opening the shop was more important. They are so kind, so I'll give them an extra dish today."
Qiao Mancang said it was his duty, "I'll give it to Mianmian right away."
As soon as Qiao Mancang left, Manager Sun came with a basket of pastries and gifts. "Congratulations! I'm really happy to know you've opened your business. The pastries are a small token of my appreciation, and the dried goods in the gifts were brought by the owner."
Chunxilou has always sold the Qiao family's braised food, bringing in a good income every month. Moreover, the Qiao family is reliable and has never made a mistake, so they are happy to continue their business relationship.
"Oh, you're too kind. It's good that you've come all this way, why did you bring gifts?" Madam Lin felt embarrassed. Her family owned a restaurant, and she was worried that the owner of Chunxi Restaurant might be unhappy. "Please sit down, what would you like to eat?"
"We can't eat anymore. You see, this is the time when your restaurant starts to get busy, and Chunxi Restaurant is the same." Manager Sun was already showing great importance by making the trip himself, and he still had to go back and keep an eye on things. "You're busy, I'll come over next time when I have time."
Lin felt embarrassed to accept things from others for free. She looked around and found that she only had wine and pickled vegetables, nothing else of note.
Qiao Jiaxing immediately saw through his mother's thoughts, ran to the kitchen, quickly packed up a portion of braised pork, and ran out to catch up with Manager Sun. "This is our best-selling dish. Although you also run a restaurant, the taste of braised pork is different for every restaurant. We didn't think of that. We should have prepared some snacks. Please take this back and try it."
Manager Sun was a little surprised. After accepting the braised pork, he said, "Thank you very much. I will definitely take it back and enjoy it. Go on with your work. Let's get together again another day."
"Take care, and be sure to come again when you have time." Qiao Jiaxing watched Manager Sun leave before returning home.
When he arrived at the shop, he saw that Chunsheng's family and Xu's family had come. He went over, picked up Erlong, and lifted him up, saying, "Auntie, what brings you here today?"
Chun Sheng's mother smiled and said, "I've been thinking about Mianmian's cooking, and today is your opening day, so I thought I'd come and satisfy my craving. I didn't expect to run into Da Long's mother and the others as soon as I stepped out, so we came together. How's business?"
"It's great! Look, it's not even the busiest time yet, and it's already half full." Qiao Jiaxing invited them to come upstairs. "Since there are so many of you, I'll take you upstairs. There's more food than usual today, so please eat more!"
“That’s for sure.” Jin led Da Hu up to the second floor and took her youngest son from Qiao Jiaxing. “Go ahead and get busy. We can manage on our own.”
Just then, Madam Lin came up as well. Seeing the neighbors, she quickly greeted them warmly, "Please sit down. I'll bring you some braised pork later. You know, our braised pork is the best. Oh, Erlong, have you gained weight again? Let Grandma hold you. You're so adorable."
Erlong can be held by anyone and will even greet them sweetly.
Lin hugged Erlong and then touched Dahu's face, "Have you decided what you want to eat?"
Chun Sheng's mother and Jin Shi each ordered two. They told Lin Shi to go and get busy, while Jin Shi and Chun Sheng's mother went to the kitchen out of curiosity.
Qiao Mianmian was busy cooking for the Luo family when she saw Jin and the others arrive. She quickly said, "Auntie, Sister-in-law Xu, I don't have time to entertain you right now. My brothers are here. I'll have them arrange seats for you."
“It’s all arranged. We just came to take a look.” Jin said, rolling up her sleeves. “This vegetable needs washing, right? I’ll wash it for you.”
When Chun Sheng's mother heard Qiao Mancang say that a guest wanted to order braised pork, she picked up a bowl and helped to scoop out the braised pork.
"Oh dear, you are our guests today, how can we let you do the work?" Qiao Mancang said.
Jin laughed heartily, "What guests? We've been neighbors for so many years, we're like family. You go ahead and do your work, we'll eat by ourselves when the food is ready!"
Chun Sheng's mother also urged Qiao Mancang to hurry up and leave, "Another guest has arrived, go quickly!"
Qiao Mancang had no choice but to go to the lobby, where he saw Lu Zhao arrive with his men and lead them upstairs.
Qingjiu enthusiastically introduced the food, saying, "Everything Miss Qiao makes is delicious. Today is their first day of business, so please come often!"
Ouyang Yi nodded in agreement, "Yes, the Qiao family used to have a thriving business when they set up a stall in the market, and it will definitely be even better now."
"Haha, it's all thanks to your support." Qiao Mancang led them into a private room. "We now have a few new dishes, including boiled shrimp and Golden Jade Abundance. What are your taste preferences? I can recommend some to you."
Qingjiu immediately said, "Uncle Qiao, I want to eat boiled fresh shrimp!"
Ouyang Yi still prefers Qiao's braised dishes the most, so he ordered a braised dish platter.
The others also ordered a few dishes, while Lu Zhao opted for a tofu soup.
Qiao Mancang came downstairs with the menu when Jin came out carrying braised fish. "Table seven, Uncle Qiao, where is table seven?"
Qiao Mancang pointed in a direction, and Jin Shi carried the dishes over. She didn't seem to be there to eat at all, but rather to help out. When she put down the dishes, she smiled and said, "Please enjoy your meal. Just call us if you need anything!"
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