The dishes were served quickly: pickled fish, squirrel fish, steamed sea bass, hydrangea shrimp…
After serving ten dishes, Qiao Erlang named the dishes one by one and handed over the menu in his hand.
"Everyone, take a look, is there anything else we need to add?" Qiao Erlang said.
"Okay, if you need anything, just call the waiter, and just go ahead and do your work. I see quite a few people coming downstairs."
Before Xiaoyao Hou finished speaking, Xu Can walked in, sniffing his nose and looking dreamy.
"Oh my god, this smells so good."
"Then you can accompany everyone and enjoy the meal. I will go downstairs to entertain the guests first."
Xu Can grabbed him and said, "Hey, you are the boss after all, it's not too late to give him a toast before leaving."
Qiao Erlang pulled out his arm and refused to be fooled.
"Don't make me make a mistake. My grandmother has stipulated that people under the age of sixteen cannot drink alcohol at will. This is a family rule. If you want to offer a toast, you can only use tea instead of wine.
Besides, have you forgotten that you are also the boss? It is not right for you to stay out of the first day of business."
"Please enjoy your meal!"
Qiao Erlang took advantage of his moment of distraction to withdraw. Except for Xu Can and Prince Qi who had been to the Qiao family for dinner, the others in the private room really didn't know that the chef of the Qiao family had such skills.
Even Xu Can had never seen several dishes on the table, especially the boiled fish.
The fish meat is white and tender, the soup is deep red, and you can smell the overbearing spicy aroma from far away.
It whets your appetite.
Emperor Wu was the first to pick up a piece of food with chopsticks and taste it.
The freshness and spicy taste of the fish stimulated the taste buds at the same time, causing Emperor Wu, who was experiencing spicy food for the first time, to cough uncontrollably, and his face turned red.
The King of Qi and others were greatly surprised and hurried forward to serve.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? Someone, take this down and ask the boss what's going on."
"Don't make a fuss. I'm not that useless. I just indulged in my appetite! But what kind of food is this overbearing spicy food? Why is it so much more powerful than dogwood?"
Xu Can quickly stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, this is called chili pepper, and it is a variety grown from seeds that the old lady bought from a merchant in the southwest.
Many people may have some stress reactions when they first come into contact with it. Your Majesty, it is better to have this dish removed."
“What is a stress response?”
"Well, it's just like a person who is drinking for the first time and is drunk. The body will not be able to adapt. If you eat too much at one time, your mouth will become red and swollen and you will have diarrhea."
Everyone present understood immediately, remembering how they were when they first got drunk, and how they vomited and had diarrhea. But this didn't stop any man from wanting to have a couple of drinks.
After that, Emperor Wu's chopsticks did not touch this dish again. Even the King of Qi and Marquis Xiaoyao took a bite and then stopped touching their lips, and turned to taste other dishes.
Only Xu Can took on such a large pot of boiled fish, which he paired with iced sour plum soup, and he ate it to his heart's content.
Except for the minor setbacks at the beginning, everyone enjoyed the meal to their heart's content. I'm afraid that from now on, countless people will fall in love with eating fish after leaving this restaurant.
“I don’t know how the chef cooked it, but the fish doesn’t have any fishy smell at all, and the meat is so juicy and tender that I want to swallow my tongue.
How can we eat our own meals in the future? Those wealthy and free gluttons in Beijing now have a new place to go. "
Xiaoyao Hou's face was full of satisfaction, and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with the food. No wonder his brat always ran to the Qiao family, wishing to settle down in their house.
"Father, that's enough. This is just the beginning. I once heard the old lady say that if all the ingredients were available, one fish alone could be used to make a hundred or eighty dishes.
Not to mention, there will be whole pig banquets and whole lamb banquets in the future, and there are many delicious dishes. Even a wild vegetable will taste different after being cooked by his chef. "
What Xu Can said was not an exaggeration at all. Under the leadership of the Qiao family, many common people in the capital and Weizhou Prefecture began to put aside their prejudices and start eating pork.
Even some wealthy businessmen and clean officials with limited funds have gradually joined this group.
The King of Qi was very curious: "Madam, aren't you afraid that the recipe won't be leaked after telling you this?"
Xu Can sighed and said, "Let alone leaking it, even if our chef were to learn from us, he might not be able to learn it clearly. For example, this squirrel fish and the sweet and sour sauce on it. No one sells it on the market, only the Qiao family is currently growing it.
Father, do you know what it is? In fact, we have it in our house, the palace and the imperial garden! It’s a pity that only the Qiao family made it delicious. "
Xiaoyao Hou slapped him and said, "This brat is dishonest. He only said half of the truth and hid the other half. When did we have such a thing in our house? How come I, your father, didn't know about it?"
"Dad, why would I lie to you? The red fruit that the Hu merchant in our garden gave us can be crushed and boiled into juice, which is the main ingredient of this sweet and sour sauce.
We have always treated it as a rare and precious herb, but who could have thought that it would taste so good when cooked into food?
My son is just giving an example. What we lack is someone who can cook. What we lack is the brain of Mrs. Qiao. "
Emperor Wu chuckled and said, "That makes sense! You are lucky to be able to get the younger generation of the Qiao family to pull you into business!
Once this shop is built, it will be unique in the capital. As long as this shop exists, you will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life!"
"Hehe, Your Majesty, you are too kind. When it comes to eating fish, we in Dajing are inferior to the people of Nanliang and Dongyi!"
"As far as I know, these practices don't seem to exist in Nanliang and Dongyi, right?"
Xu Can moved closer and said, "At present, there is none, but that doesn't mean there won't be any in the future. I just don't know if your majesty is willing to extend his grace to the people there."
Emperor Wu tapped the tabletop rhythmically with his fingers. After a long silence, he spoke: "Do you know what you are talking about? What does the Qiao family mean by this?"
"The old lady only bought shares and didn't interfere with the operation of the shop. The young master of the Guan family and the children of the Qiao family are in charge.
We have discussed it privately before. Once we have accumulated enough capital, we will definitely open shops in places like Dajing and Nanliang where there are many fish.
This idea is good, but it takes too long to implement. It would be great if the elders could lend a hand.
If we can get your Majesty's approval, it will be a great gift from heaven. At that time, all the shops with full warehouses will give half of their profits to your Majesty to support the construction and development of our Dajing."
"Like father, like son, it's true. I underestimated you in the past. I will send someone to contact you about this matter. The Qiao family must be present."
Xu Can was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Hey, Your Majesty, don't worry. I wouldn't dare to make this decision secretly. We have discussed it all. They are downstairs, Your Majesty can call them up at any time to ask for clarification."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
