Chapter 92 Chapter 92 This braised fish, ...
This braised fish, no one knew how it was made, had no fishy smell at all. She had always been prone to vomiting during pregnancy, but she didn't feel that way when she ate this fish. Moreover, the fish tasted extremely delicious, with just the right amount of salty and sweet. The fish meat was also very tender. She dipped her chopsticks in some of the braised sauce and couldn't stop eating it.
"My lady, please eat slowly and be careful of the bones." The maid next to her saw that Cao Rou liked to eat the fish, so she peeled the fish for her and reminded her.
Cao Rou didn't care. She had eaten so many fish since she was a child that she was not afraid of the bones. She continued to do as she pleased and picked up the fish herself before the old woman could peel it. She had eaten most of the fish without realizing it.
As if realizing that she had eaten too much of one dish, Cao Rou pretended to casually retract her chopsticks and picked up other dishes to eat.
Knowing that Cao Rou had a strong taste, Zou prepared mostly strong dishes on the table, such as braised fish, braised pork elbow, braised lion's head, etc., which were all Cao Rou's favorite dishes in the past. In addition, there were also lighter dishes, such as pork tripe and chicken soup, mushrooms stuffed with meat, etc., but Cao Rou had had enough of light dishes and didn't like them very much.
It was not until she had eaten the last piece of elbow skin that she asked the maid to serve her a bowl of chicken soup. People said that drinking chicken soup is very nourishing during pregnancy, but Cao Rou now hates drinking chicken soup. There was no other reason, she was simply tired of it, but she had to drink it for the sake of the baby in her belly, which made her look a little listless.
"That's enough. I can't drink that much." She looked at the old woman filling a whole bowl for her and immediately spoke out to stop her.
However, the old woman continued to do as she pleased, saying, "Master told Auntie to drink more chicken soup every day."
As expected, Cao Rou didn't say anything else after she said this, and the old woman scooped a few more spoonfuls before stopping.
Cao Rou kept stirring the chicken in the chicken soup with a spoon, and only scooped a spoonful when she really had to drink it. However, the greasy taste she had imagined did not come over her. Instead, there was an indescribable sweetness mixed with the aroma of chicken and a hint of Codonopsis pilosula, which was surprisingly delicious.
Cao Rou's eyes lit up and she took a few more sips. The soup tasted better and better. In a short while, the whole bowl of chicken soup was finished, leaving only a few pieces of chicken and pork stomach.
Cao Rou looked at the chicken and pork tripe in the bowl. She didn't want to eat it at first, but because of the taste of the chicken soup, she hesitated and decided to try it. Unexpectedly, after taking a bite, she found that the chicken was tender and the pork tripe was crispy, which was no worse than other dishes.
It’s a pity that she was already full, otherwise she could have eaten some more. Cao Rou looked at the dishes on the table with a look of regret.
Her appearance stunned the old woman next to her. It had been a long time since they saw her eat so much.
"Is it to your liking?" Zou suppressed her pride and asked with concern.
Cao Rou's eyes evaded a little when she heard this, and after a while she said, "It's okay."
Zou choked inwardly, but for her husband's sake, she could only hold it in and said with a smile, "That's fine."
Cao Rou nodded and said nothing more. The meal was a great success for both the host and the guests.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Su Li and Chen had also finished their meal and were about to leave Cao's house when they received a reward from Zou's servants, a total of five taels of silver. This was a bit unexpected for the two of them. They had originally thought that the other party would not give them the same as last time, but unexpectedly, they actually gave them the money. It was a pleasant surprise.
The two of them left Cao's house together, walked out of the alley, and headed towards the restaurant on East Street in the midday sun to discuss the braised food business. This was something they had agreed with the restaurant owner before. It was originally scheduled for a few days ago, but the owner had to go home for something, so the appointment was changed to today.
The restaurant is called Yaoyuelou, and the owner is called Jin Buhuan. He and Jin Mantang, the owner of Xiangmanlou, were brothers from the same mother. Later, due to the division of the family property, the two brothers had a quarrel and parted ways. Later, they each opened a restaurant to compete with each other, and this fight lasted for nearly ten years. At first, the business of Yaoyuelou was more prosperous, but later for some reason, the business of Xiangmanlou gradually surpassed that of Yaoyuelou, and gradually became the number one restaurant in Qinghe County, while Yaoyuelou has been lingering on to this day, relying only on the support of some old diners.
"Don't worry, boss. Your business will definitely get better. I've been to so many places, but the roasted duck in your restaurant is still the best." When Su Li and Chen arrived, there were only a few guests in the restaurant. One of them was an old customer who was eating roasted duck while saying comfortingly.
The shopkeeper was looking at the account book at the counter. He smiled bitterly and said, "Thank you all for your kindness over the years."
"Hey, what's the big deal? Just relax!"
"good."
"Shopkeeper?" The arrival of Su Li and Chen interrupted their conversation. Jin Buhuan was stunned when he saw Su Li and Chen, then stepped forward and greeted them, "Madam Chen, Miss Su, you are here."
"Come in quickly, Xiaoshan, go make a pot of tea." Jin Buhuan said to the guy who was swatting flies next to him.
Upon hearing this, the waiter lazily put the sweat towel on his shoulders and stood up to go to the kitchen.
Jin Buhuan then took Su Li and the other person to the private room.
The private rooms are actually so-called partitions. Because there is an extra door separating them from the lobby, the price is much higher. Yaoyue Tower is located next to the moat. You can take in the beautiful scenery of the entire county by opening the window. The price is even higher. Every year during festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Ghost Festival, many people come here specifically for this purpose. This is one of the reasons why Yaoyue Tower has not closed down over the years.
Su Li looked out the window and found that the view was indeed good. She could even imagine what it would look like when night came and she looked out from here and saw every household lighting up their lights. It must be a beautiful sight.
At this time, Jin Buhuan suddenly said, "Miss Su, I wonder what you think?"
Speaking of which, Jin Buhuan actually found Su Li because of the recommendation of old customers. In addition, many customers who came to the store during that period would ask the waiters to buy braised meat to eat. After a long time, he became curious about the taste of the braised meat. Until that day, he happened to pass by and bought some. He found that it tasted very good, so he took the initiative to find Su Li and wanted to buy her recipe.
Su Li: "Shopkeeper Jin, we've thought about it and decided not to sell the braised dish recipe."
? Jin Buhuan's eyes were a little confused. If he wasn't going to sell it, why did he come?
"Do you think the price is too low? If that's the case, we can discuss it again." Jin Buhuan could only think of this possibility.
"No, Manager Jin." Su Li said, and then expressed her thoughts.
It is impossible to sell the braised dish recipes, after all, her family still has to rely on braised dishes to earn money to buy winter clothes and quilts, but it is still possible to cooperate with restaurants to sell them, and then split the profits 30% to 70%, or 40% to 60%.
Jin Buhuan understood. He meant he'd buy braised dishes from her every day and give her a cut of the profits after selling them, right? This type of partnership was new to him. He seriously considered the feasibility of it. It wasn't impossible, but out of a businessman's intuition, he decided it would be better to buy the recipe and sell it in his own restaurant.
Jin Buhuan tried to persuade him again, "I'll give you 60 taels of silver for the recipe of the stewed dish."
Su Li still disagreed, so Jin Buhuan added another 50 taels. This was already his limit. After all, the restaurant couldn't make much money nowadays. Although the braised dishes were delicious, it might not be possible to earn back the money in a short time, so Jin Buhuan could only pay a maximum of 110 taels.
However, Su Li still disagreed. Jin Buhuan finally began to seriously consider the method Su Li mentioned. The more he thought about it, the better it seemed to him. Although he wouldn't earn as much as he would by selling it himself, at least he could save manpower and material resources, and make a small profit but quick turnover.
"Okay then, but Miss Su, I think the price of this braised dish is still a bit expensive..." Jin Buhuan began to bargain with Su Li, and finally the two of them discussed and came to a result that everyone was satisfied with.
"Tomorrow, I just need about ten kilograms each, and they can be delivered at noon." Jin Buhuan thought for a while and said, ten kilograms should be able to be sold out, but more than that will not work. Even whether these ten kilograms can be sold out is a question, but Jin Buhuan can only try his best.
"Okay." Su Li agreed.
Then the two of them found someone to sign a contract and each of them pressed their fingerprints before it was over.
Finally, everything was done, and Jin Buhuan emphasized again, "Young lady, don't forget what you said about only providing braised dishes to my restaurant."
"Don't worry, Manager Jin." Su Li was not stupid. After all, if her braised dishes were everywhere, it would only affect each other's business, which would be very bad in the long run.
"If you're worried, we can add this to the contract."
"Is it okay?" Jin Buhuan was a little surprised. To be honest, this request was a bit too much to ask, but it did have a big impact on his restaurant's business, so when he heard Su Li take the initiative to propose it, Jin Buhuan reacted so strongly.
"Okay." Su Li said.
So the two of them added this one in.
This time it was really signed. Su Li handed the deed to her mother Chen. Everything in the family was kept by Chen, so Chen took it without saying anything, folded it and put it away. The same thing happened to Jin Buhuan.
Since the deal had been made, there was nothing else to do. At this time, the waiter named Xiaoshan finally made the tea and brought it over.
Jin Buhuan frowned but didn't say anything.
"Boss, the tea is here." Xiaoshan said weakly.
Jin Buhuan: "Okay, you go ahead. By the way, ask the kitchen to carve up a duck for Madam Chen and the others to take back."
"Okay." He said in the same irritating tone and then left.
Jin Buhuan, mindful of the presence of outsiders, ultimately remained silent. He simply turned to Chen and Su Li and politely said, "Our roasted duck meat is excellent. It's from small white ducks from Duoping, and they're thick and meaty. You can bring one back to try."
Jin Buhuan is just that kind of person. If others are nice to him, he will be nice to them. Just now, Su Li took the initiative to suggest adding that clause to the contract, and he naturally appreciated it in his heart.
Su Li and Chen felt a little embarrassed when they heard this. They refused several times before accepting it. Then they said goodbye and left with a bag of roasted duck.
Speaking of which, Su Li has been in Wei for so long and has never eaten roast duck. I don’t know what the difference is between the roast duck now and the roast duck in later generations, but from what the customer said just now, it must be very good.
Sure enough, the taste was really good, not inferior to the roast duck of later generations. I don’t know if it was just out of the oven, so it tasted even better. The skin was crispy and sizzling, and the mouth was full of the aroma of duck meat. The duck meat also had a light fruity aroma and was not woody at all.
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