Chapter 57 Snail
After hearing Song Yushu's explanation, the customers who came to the restaurant tried picking up a snail and slurping it up. Sure enough, the snail was very flavorful, spicy and delicious, and even better than the snails from yesterday.
"Another plate, please!" The customer finished a plate of stir-fried snails before he knew it, but still felt unsatisfied and ordered another plate.
Some diners who were unaware of the situation noticed a pile of snail shells on their table and asked a nearby diner who was slurping snails, "Are these snails really that delicious?"
"What do you think! I can't stop slurping them!" The customer, busy drinking and slurping snails, said this and then ignored everyone else.
As a result, everyone was asking for a plate of stir-fried snails, so the kitchen had to add another person to stir-fry them. The two woks were stir-fried all morning, and the number of people gradually decreased.
"If there are people this afternoon, let's have Sister-in-law Wei and the others take over. Mother, you should rest," Song Yushu said helplessly. She hadn't expected so many people to order stir-fried snails. She had been stir-frying snails all morning, and her hands were so tired she could barely lift them.
In just one day, the stir-fried snails from Haowei Restaurant became famous throughout the town, and news of Haowei Restaurant's purchase of snails also spread quickly.
People in the countryside naturally knew about snails, but they were used to feed ducks and no one ate them. They were surprised that people in town ate them and were skeptical for a while.
"What is this? They actually dare to put these snails on the table? They're crazy!" Taixing Restaurant naturally knew that Song Yushu's restaurant had recently launched a new dish, but this time Manager Zhu was not in a hurry to let people try it.
"Absolutely true! Haowei Restaurant is packed every day! All because of this stir-fried snails!" the waiter who returned with the news assured him.
"Our guests at Taixing Restaurant are all wealthy and influential; how could we possibly bring something like this to the table!"
"But the guest..."
"What's there to be afraid of? Our restaurant now has two renowned chefs. Are we afraid we can't compete with a small eatery?"
Although Taixing Restaurant didn't get involved this time, the profits from the stir-fried snail business were so high that many street vendors set up their woks and started selling stir-fried snails, which quickly attracted a lot of customers.
However, Song Yushu's restaurant still made up the majority of her business. She also had requirements for the size of the snails she bought, they had to be neither too big nor too small, and preferably uniform in size. Because she paid a high price, the villagers who brought snails would pick out the best ones and save them for her first, and then sell the rest to the street vendors.
In just a few days, these villagers earned more money than they used to earn in a year. After the news spread, even the most skeptical people couldn't sit still anymore. They would go to the fields with torches in the middle of the night to feel around. From a distance at night, the fields looked like they were filled with torches, which was truly a spectacular sight.
"People now spend every night in the fields collecting snails and selling them to shopkeepers in town. In just a few days, they've earned what they used to earn in a year!"
On the magistrate's side, one of his advisors found it amusing and mentioned the matter.
"It's just that this stuff is really not presentable, otherwise I could have brought a portion for you to try!" the clerk said with some regret.
"Snails used to damage rice seedlings if there were too many of them, but now they've become a delicacy on people's tables and can increase villagers' income. This is a good thing, so how is it something that's not presentable?"
Gu Cheng was an honest official who was wholeheartedly devoted to serving the people. Before becoming an official, he was just an ordinary farmer's son. Naturally, he did not have the arrogance of other officials. He only cared about whether something was beneficial to the people.
"You're right, sir. I was being narrow-minded," the clerk quickly corrected himself upon seeing this.
"Go buy some. I want to try these snails and see what's so special about them," Gu Cheng said, showing his curiosity about the snails.
Song Yushu is now making so much money from stir-fried snails that his hands are sore from it. He is truly sore from it that he relies on Zhou Chengzhu to calculate the profits at night. Every day, as soon as he opens his eyes, he is stir-frying snails. Even though he takes turns stir-frying them with Wei's mother, it is still very hard work.
"These past few days, quite a few unfamiliar guests have come. They look like maids and servants from wealthy families. I never expected that the masters and ladies also love to eat snails."
There was a hint of pride in Wei's mother's tone, after all, the popularity of her cooking was a form of affirmation for her.
Song Yushu also found it strange. It was normal for ordinary people to accept snails, but why were these wealthy people joining in the fun? Were they being so down-to-earth?
Soon, Song Yushu's question was answered.
"I heard that the county magistrate hosted a banquet for some of the most prominent families in the county a few days ago, and stir-fried snails from Haowei Restaurant were even served!"
"That can't be right, can it? These important people would eat snails?"
"Absolutely true! My brother-in-law's wife's sister's daughter is now a maid in the county magistrate's mansion. What she said is definitely true!"
"And haven't you noticed these past few days? Quite a few maids and servants from wealthy families have come to buy stir-fried snails. That one over there is a servant from Master Zhang's mansion!"
"Oh my! It's true! So they love eating snails just like us ordinary folks?"
"Exactly! Exactly! Mr. Wei, another plate of stir-fried snails, please?"
Song Yushu quickly agreed and turned to go into the kitchen to help Wei's mother get out of bed and rest.
She never expected that even the county magistrate would be eating stir-fried snails and giving her free publicity. No wonder her business not only didn't slow down, but actually got better and better. This advertising was really effective.
"These snails are not right, why are they so small?" After all the guests had finally left, Song Yushu went to the backyard and found that only a few of the snails in the basin were a little bigger, while most of them were too small and of poor quality.
"There were too many guests today, and I told them to leave in the backyard without checking on them. I thought they were familiar with our family and wouldn't cheat us, so I had Chengzhu pay them..." Sister-in-law Wei didn't expect this to happen, and her face was full of self-blame.
“We’ll take them back and ask,” Song Yushu said, and soon drove the oxcart back to the village with Wei’s mother and the others.
"That can't be! We picked out all the snails we found before having Wei Xiaohu and the others deliver them... You little rascal! They must have sent the wrong ones!" Brother Wei looked at the snails and also felt that they weren't the ones they had sorted out, but since he was on good terms with Wei Xiaohu and the others, he just thought they had made a mistake.
"Let's go! Go to Wei Xiaohu's house and ask who they sold it to, then we need to get it back right away!"
As soon as Song Yushu arrived at Wei Xiaohu's house, Wei Xiaohu's mother, Xu, hurriedly came out to greet them.
"Oh my! What brings you all here? Running such a big restaurant in town must be exhausting, right? My sons Xiaohu and Ayuan always tell us about it when they come back!" Xu, Wei Xiaohu's mother, tried to get closer to Song Yushu.
"Stop talking nonsense, where's your Xiaohu?" Wei's mother was of the same generation as her and didn't care about such formalities.
“He came back from town, he’s tired, he’s resting inside. If you need anything, just tell me.”
"Tell me, how did the snails I sent to the restaurant turn out like this? Who did he sell them to by mistake? Explain it clearly and make them exchange them!" Brother Wei carried the snails that didn't look good to the yard and asked him.
"This... Oh dear! It must be that Xiao Hu and the others remembered it wrong. They've been collecting snails day and night, so it's no wonder their minds are a bit muddled. I'm so sorry!" Xu Shi glanced at them and then turned around to explain.
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