Ye Zhiqiu took a pen and paper, recording and identifying the spices in the brine, and even the medicinal ingredients!
Because at this time most spices can only be bought in herbal medicine stores.
The brine Wang Lei taught him was all Beijing-style brine, and he also knew some Sichuan-style brine. He taught in great detail, having Ye Zhiqiu look at every spice, teaching him how to identify good and bad, and even memorizing the smell!
Because if you just buy herbs with a list, you'll reveal the recipe! So when buying brine ingredients, you should buy more than a dozen herbs. This way, it's difficult for others to reverse-engineer the brine recipe based on the spices you buy.
Don't trust any random recipe you find online; they're just ordinary brine and aren't very useful.
Many time-honored brine restaurants rely on unique family traditions, with a recipe passed down through generations, yet few are willing to share it with others.
Chen Yimin came back from get off work and heard Huang Dahe, who was greeting him, saying that Wang Lei and Ye Zhiqiu were in the warehouse, so he walked over. Seeing that the two were teaching seriously, he left without saying hello.
Finding only two children in the living room, he asked curiously, "Son, where did your grandpa go?"
Chen Weihong said with a smile, "Dad, Grandpa took the fish that Big Brother Ye brought and went out to show off to others! Grandpa is so funny, he even brought a fishing rod to pretend that he caught the fish!"
Chen Yimin didn't know what happened yesterday, so he asked out of curiosity. When he found out what happened, he was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
The older this old man gets, the more he acts like a child!
It was not until seven o'clock that Chen Renfu brought the fish back with satisfaction. After handing the fish to Huang Dahe who greeted him, he returned to the living room.
Not seeing the two people, he asked Chen Yimin, "Son, where are your second apprentice brother and my young disciple?"
Chen Yimin pointed outside and said, "In the warehouse, by your medicine cabinet, I'm teaching Xiaoye how to prepare brine! Hey, Dad, you're already old, are you still so competitive?"
Chen Renfu naturally understood what his son meant. He said proudly, "Let Lao Mo pretend it for me. He only caught a two-jin carp, and he was showing off in front of me for a long time yesterday!
Dad, this isn't called being competitive. I'm simply going to slap him in the face and teach him a lesson: don't act like a fool in front of me! When we were young, he couldn't outshine me, and now that we're old, there's no way he can outshine me!
Seeing the old man's expression, Chen Weihong said with a grin, "Grandpa is so shameless, treating Brother Ye's fish as if they were his own!"
Chen Renfu was not annoyed. He smiled and said, "Granddaughter, your elder brother Ye is my disciple's grandson. The fish he brought must belong to grandpa! I just used it as my own catch. It is both reasonable and logical!"
Who told you, Grandpa Mo, to brag all the time? Grandpa, let me tell you, back then he wasn’t as good at fighting as I am, and he couldn’t pee as far as I could…”
Master Ye Zhiqiu and his disciple walked out and went to the kitchen to take a look. The dishes were almost ready by Huang Dahe.
The two of them couldn't help, so they simply went back to the living room, greeted everyone and sat down.
Ye Zhiqiu asked with a smile, "Master, did you enjoy visiting me today?"
Chen Renfu laughed heartily and said, "Hey! That was so cool! My little disciple, you don't know, that old man who was pretending to be so arrogant with a small fish in front of me, his face was so dark!
The key is that he couldn't chase people away, so he could only force himself to chat with me. I laughed secretly a hundred times in my heart, and then I left his house and went with someone else.
"Hehe, if they dare to come here and pretend next time, I'll ask someone to bring a message to me! I can't say anything else, but catching a big fish is nothing!
We can pretend, but anyone who tries to pretend in front of us will be slapped in the face!"
Chen Renfu pointed at Ye Zhiqiu and said to them cheerfully, "Look, my little disciple has a temper like mine! You two bastards, I know what you are without even saying anything. You can only advise me to be magnanimous and not to take it to heart!"
Don't you think about the fact that I'm already old and there's nothing I can be generous with him?"
Chen Weiguo was so amused that he asked jokingly, "Grandpa, if there weren't any big fish, wouldn't you still have to endure this?"
"Bullshit! I've already thought about it. If I don't catch any big fish in the next two days, I'm going to find an excuse to beat up your Grandpa Mo while I can still beat him, and then I'll get my revenge..."
Li Cuihua came back with a plate of food. She said cheerfully, "Okay, Lao Chen, stop talking nonsense and get ready to eat."
Ye Zhiqiu quickly helped take the dishes. He said exaggeratedly, "Hey, what's wrong, Auntie? Just sit still! Leave these tasks to us. You have to give the young people a chance to perform!"
Li Cuihua really liked Ye Zhiqiu, her grand-disciple. She said kindly, "This little grand-disciple has a pleasant mouth! I'm old now, and I'm not like your master, who not only goes fishing all day, but now even plans to beat people up!"
Chen Renfu muttered indignantly, but he didn't dare speak loudly for fear of angering his wife. His sons, daughters, and grandchildren all only stood up for their grandmother, never for him!
Ye Zhiqiu went to the kitchen to help serve the dishes. Tonight's dishes were quite good. There was a boiled fish fillet, a braised fish fillet, a plate of braised pig ears, a dish of mapo tofu, a dish of scrambled eggs with leeks, and a dish of pickled cabbage.
Chen Yimin took out two bottles of Erguotou, and the task of pouring wine for everyone was taken over by Wei Guo.
Speaking of naming, Li Bicheng's son was born first, so his son should be named Weiguo.
Who knew that when he was about to return to the army after getting married, Chen Yimin took Sun Lai Di with him, and she didn't get pregnant for several years.
Li Biben originally got married in the same year as his eldest brother, but his son is much older than Li Weiguo and is named Weimin.
It was mainly composed of four brothers, who discussed and decided to name their child Wei.
Li Peng was an accident. When Li Bicheng was naming the child, he saw that sentence and wrote the word "Peng" in the name.
After drinking a cup together, Ye Zhiqiu started eating with a steamed bun in one hand and some food in the other.
After tasting several dishes, Chen Renfu began to comment with a smile, "Dahe's boiled fish is good, almost catching up with your junior brother. As for this braised fish, when you marinate it, add a little more wine."
And you have to add half a spoonful of salt. Fish don't mind saltiness, but I don't mean it should be too salty. But the fish needs to have enough flavor to bring out the freshness..."
Huang Dahe nodded in agreement, and Ye Zhiqiu also listened attentively. This is how learning works: listen more, take notes, and then try the methods when you're doing it yourself. Naturally, you'll master the key steps.
When they were almost done eating, Ye Zhiqiu started talking about today's business.
He said to Chen Yimin with a smile, "Master, I've thought about it for a long time, and I still feel that working in the kitchen is not suitable for me. But my master is free now, so why not let him take charge of the cafeteria for you?"
Chen Yimin was stunned for a moment, then asked in confusion: "Second Junior Brother, is there something wrong with your restaurant?"
Wang Lei told the story with a wry smile, which made Chen Renfu a little angry. Chen Yimin nodded, indicating that he understood it.
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