Chapter 56 Broccoli
It's like your best friend, who promised to stay single forever, secretly got married.
That's how Wang Xifeng feels now.
Yuan Hongqu found it amusing and said to her, "You and Jia Lian are already husband and wife, and your child is already so big. Why are you thinking about being single for the rest of your life?"
Wang Xifeng, however, said that didn't count...it only counted after she arrived!
Yuan Hongqu felt quite helpless towards her.
Fortunately, Wang Xifeng's mood didn't last long, as she was soon overwhelmed by a series of events at the Rongguo Mansion.
After finishing her work, she would come to discuss these matters with Yuan Hongqu. As time went on, seeing that Yuan Hongqu treated her and Jia Lian well without taking it to heart, the guilt she had felt before naturally disappeared.
Yuan Hongqu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Time flies, and summer has passed in the blink of an eye; it's already early autumn.
The last batch of cherry tomatoes was sent to the palace; the tomato vines were reduced to bare stems, with hardly any leaves left.
Jia Lian felt a little regretful.
But in the blink of an eye, he spotted Yuan Hongqu's greenhouses.
One after another, greenhouses were built in the original Hongqu Farm, and they were even more sturdy than the straw houses of ordinary people. The greenhouses had complete beams and pillars, and the number of rafters used was no less than that used in the construction of a proper house.
The only difference is that the houses are covered with mud and straw or tiles, while the greenhouse is covered with tarpaulin, and on top of the tarpaulin is a straw curtain for insulation.
The weather hasn't gotten cold yet, so the tarpaulins and straw mats are all rolled up.
Inside the greenhouse, rows of lush green vegetables, shaped like flowers, are quite adorable.
Yuan Hongqu said this is called broccoli, and it's a particularly good vegetable.
Jia Lian wondered if these broccoli could replace the cherry tomatoes.
Recently, Yuan Hongqu has been bringing broccoli to Rongguo Mansion from time to time, and the main kitchen has also received recipes from Yuan Hongqu.
Broccoli in abalone sauce, braised broccoli with goose feet, broccoli and shrimp, broccoli in broth...
Broccoli dishes are not complicated to make, but because of their novelty, dishes with broccoli are instantly elevated in quality.
Broccoli can be served alone, as a side dish, or even simply as a garnish on the side of a plate—all are excellent options.
Over the past two weeks, everyone in the Rongguo Mansion has been eating broccoli. Some of the more favored servants even secretly took some home with them.
Half a month later, everyone on Ningrong Street knew that there was now a dish in the capital that had come from the West. It looked exactly like a flower and tasted very unique.
These people are mostly concerned with saving face. When they go to a restaurant, meet with friends, or discuss business, they call the waiter to order a dish made with broccoli.
No, of course not.
So he started to exaggerate.
You guys don't have this? My family has been eating it for ages...
Restaurants throughout Beijing were all asking: What is this broccoli? Where can I buy it?
Yuan Hongqu never expected that broccoli would become a trend in the capital.
She brought broccoli to the Rongguo Mansion to see how the public would react to it, and she hoped that people on Ningrong Street would accept broccoli so that when she put it in her shop, it wouldn't be ignored.
Little did she know, before she could even put the items on the shelves, Jia Lian came looking for her.
Jia Lian and Yuan Hongqu discussed for a long time about presenting broccoli to the palace, but Yuan Hongqu did not agree.
What a joke! If you send him to the palace, what will I sell in my shop?
Originally, Hongqu was hoping to fill the shop with broccoli!
When Jia Lian saw that Yuan Hongqu wouldn't budge, he changed his mind and said that he would buy as many broccoli as there were in the greenhouse!
Yuan Hongqu could not possibly be unaware of his thoughts.
This is because they benefited from cherry tomatoes and now want to follow the same path.
"Second Master Lian, broccoli and cherry tomatoes are different. You can package the latter up to make it bright red and auspicious. It's delicious on its own."
"No matter how you package broccoli, it's still just a vegetable. Nobody wants to use this green broccoli as a mascot. You should just wait until spring to plant your tomatoes."
Yuan Hongqu advised Jia Lian.
But Jia Lian still wanted to give it a try.
There was nothing else Yuan Hongqu could do but let him go into the greenhouse and pick out the best-looking one.
To prevent the broccoli from losing moisture, Yuan Hongqu thought of wrapping it in bamboo paper and putting it in a basket.
Since the item was to be sent to higher authorities, Jia Lian felt that the packaging was too simple.
He found skilled craftsmen to weave exquisite little bamboo baskets with the words "wealth and prosperity" on them.
Then the broccoli was repackaged, wrapped in layers of bamboo paper, like stars surrounding the moon, with a broccoli wrapped in the center, which looked very nice.
Only two plants are placed in a bamboo basket.
He ordered one hundred broccoli from Yuan Hongqu, packaged them, and immediately began sending them as gifts.
The Prince Xian's Mansion sent four baskets, while those families with good relations with the Rongguo Mansion each sent two baskets.
After he finished delivering the gifts, Yuan Hongqu's shop reopened.
Same location, same recipe.
The difference this time is that the shelves are full.
The goods were plentiful this time, but there were only two items: one was broccoli, which had been all the rage in Beijing recently.
Another thing is radishes, all kinds of radishes: red, purple, white, green; big, small, long, round, as if radishes were having a meeting.
The prices were easy to remember: radishes were one coin per pound, and broccoli was one tael of silver per head.
To buy a head of broccoli, you must first buy ten pounds of radishes.
Otherwise, I won't sell!
Those who can afford broccoli wouldn't even look at a radish that costs a penny a pound.
However, in order to buy broccoli, this radish was determined to bite the bullet and rush to buy it.
Because this boss is so annoying, he makes you pay for the radishes first before you can pick out the broccoli.
Every customer who comes to buy broccoli receives a small piece of paper with three broccoli recipes and two radish recipes.
Although the shop is small, it is meticulous in every aspect, and customers feel that their money is well spent.
Yuan Hongqu did not go into the shop, but only had Wu Tian and two other people inside to greet the customers.
The deliveries were handled by people from the estate; she didn't have to do anything.
The broccoli craze reached its peak when news spread that broccoli soup would be designated as a banquet dish for visiting officials from outside the capital.
Jia Lian was praised and given a job in the palace, where he was tasked with delivering one hundred broccoli florets to the palace every day.
Jia Lian's move forced Yuan Hongqu to provide him with a hundred heads of broccoli every day, and the price of these carefully selected broccoli doubled!
Even so, Yuan Hongqu still did not want to sell to Jia Lian.
However, considering that Jia Lian was Wang Xifeng's husband, she couldn't just watch Jia Lian defy the imperial decree and make Wang Xifeng a widow!
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