Chapter 67
In fact, it was more convenient to connect the restaurants. It was the same decoration. As long as the wall is gone, the two could be combined into one. In this way, Qishanju was likely to become one of the best restaurants in the county. It was just that the development was too fast. The manpower couldn't keep up.
Jiang Yun Zhu thought for a long time, but gave up.
A business doesn’t only have horizontal development. Yes, horizontal development was the most effective. But in her dream in Marquis Anping Manor, she saw too many matters of ‘one building being built tall, one host feasts, one’s building collapsed’. It was better not to expand blindly. Best to take root and fight on steadily.
So she decided to develop vertically and open a teahouse next door.
Now there were many young men and women coming to Qishanju. If she opens a teahouse next door, the selling point will be elegant and clean. There was definitely no worry about losing business.
Moreover, the operation of the teahouse was simple- just prepare tea and some dried fruit and snacks. Still, the teahouse makes a lot of money. For example, a pan of Biluochun may only cost 30 wen and it could be sold for 80 wen. Definitely a good business.
Teahouses and restaurants have different operating hours. Teahouses were mainly open in the morning and afternoon, while restaurants were mainly busy at noon and evening. The two could rely on each other and exchange with each other. It could increase the closeness of customers and save money. Manpower, the more Jiang Yun Zhu thought about it, the more she felt that this method was feasible.
If it wasn’t that she didn't have the capital, she thought of building an industrial chain that integrates eating, drinking, and entertainment later.
Of course, she was just thinking. Even if the people in Wuling County were rich, they were not enough to support her to build such a huge monster.
If it was changed to Lu Prefecture or the capital...
Forget it. She was thinking too far. Jiang Yun Zhu decided to plan her teahouse first.
Soon, she basically came up with everything.
"Open a teahouse?" Jiang Cheng and the others were a little at a loss when they heard her say that. How did she think of opening a teahouse? Obviously opening a restaurant was easier and more profitable.
Jiang Yun Zhu gave everyone the one, two, three, four reasons for her decision. Xie Chen was the first to react and looked at her with admiration. She was able to recognize herself clearly at such a time, not to advance aggressively, and not to be greedy for merit. Just this alone, not many big figures in the court could not do it. But she did.
Such a girl made people respect and admire. Don't know who will marry her in the future.
He suddenly saw Shen Feng Ming standing behind the crowd. Although he was standing there quietly, no one could ignore him.
Xie Chen suddenly thought of Gu Yan Zhou and pondered about himself. Today in May, success or failure depends on one action!
After hearing so much from Jiang Yun Zhu, the others began to feel that opening a teahouse was a good idea.
"Then it's decided." Jiang Yun Zhu finally said.
Everyone happily agreed. Anyway, whatever Jiang Yun Zhu said, implementing it was the right thing to do.
Jiang Yun Zhu started to make preparations for the teahouse. First, she ordered a plaque. This time she went directly to Shen Feng Ming, "Gentleman Shen, could you write a plaque for me?"
"Okay." Shen Feng Ming spread the paper and looked at her.
Jiang Yun Zhu had already thought up the name of the teahouse, and it was called "Chabuliang".
Shen Feng Ming already knew that she was going to open a teahouse, but when he heard the name, he was a little startled. He thought the name of this teahouse would be similar to Qishanju. Who would have thought that it would be these three words.
Tea not cold. It was said that when people leave, the tea was cold. However Jiang Yun Zhu's teahouse was called ‘Chabuliang/tea not cold’. It seemed superficial, but it was actually worth savoring carefully.
Shen Feng Ming quickly wrote these three characters and handed them to Jiang Yun Zhu.
Jiang Yun Zhu took it. No matter how many times she read it, she liked his writing very much. Like the books he gave her silently, she couldn't put it down.
Jiang Yun Zhu got Li He to go to the plaque store, while she went to the county yamen with the title deed and land deed and officially transferred it to her own name.
This matter went smoothly. Shortly later, she got a new house and land deed.
Coming out of the county yamen, Jiang Yun Zhu looked at the red seal on the deeds. What to say. She was overjoyed. This was her first real estate in this era. After all, both the house in Changshi Village and the Qishanju store were rented.
One competition, one property. Jiang Yun Zhu felt that this kind of activity was welcomed a few more times.
Of course, it was just a thought. After all, who could guarantee that they could always win!
Back at Qishanju. The front store wasn’t connected but the backyard could.
Jiang Yun Zhu found someone. The next day, those people came and with a few hammers, the wall collapsed. Qishanju and Chabuliang’s backyard became one.
Immediately, the whole yard became more open.
Jiang Yun Zhu felt that she might as well get them to demolish the two side rooms in the middle that were a bit of an obstacle. The entire backyard became a large open space in the middle. There were seven main rooms in the back, two sides got two side rooms. Each side room was the layout of one room.
"There is no other bright place like this in the entire county." Xue Jing praised. Compared with this yard, his small yard was almost like a bird's nest. Not a pretty sight to see.
Li He and his wife were very envious. Jiang Yun Zhu had only come to Wuling County for less than a year. Now she had her own house and store. It would be great if they could buy their own house.
Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng grinning for a while and were stunned for a while. They couldn't believe that this big courtyard belonged to their family.
Their biggest dream last year was to buy a donkey and then build a more dignified house in the village.
Now that they have a house directly in the county city. What’s more, it was excellent. They could wake up with a smile from their dream
"Maternal Grandfather, the yard is spacious enough now. Come and live in the county town." Jiang Yun Zhu said to old Mister Chen.
Old Mister Chen was somewhat tempted. But after hesitating for a while, he spoke, "Forget it. I better live in the countryside. It’s quiet and clean."
Jiang Yun Zhu couldn't persuade him, so she could only give up.
"Which room do you want to live in?" Jiang Yun Zhu asked Shen Feng Ming after everyone had dispersed. Speaking of it, she wronged him. In Changshi Village, he lived in a side room with Yang Sheng. When he arrived in the county, he lived in a side room. This time the side house he lived in was demolished. Jiang Yun Zhu decided to raise his treatment no matter what.
Oh right, she needed to make his room better.
Shen Feng Ming casually pointed to a room, "This one then."
That room happened to be next to Jiang Yun Zhu's room.
"Okay." Jiang Yun Zhu responded and pushed open the door of that room.
The room was empty, which was suitable for Jiang Yun Zhu work with.
"What style do you like?" she asked.
"Style?" Shen Feng Ming was puzzled.
"That is, what kind of room do you want to make? Simple and practical, or elegant and quiet? Or something else. Also, what color do you like?" Jiang Yun Zhu turned her head and asked with a smile.
Shen Feng Ming never thought about this kind of problem. For him, as long as it could be lived in, he never cared about this kind of thing.
Looking at him like that, Jiang Yun Zhu probably guessed something, and couldn't help sighing that the life of this conductor Shen was actually quite rough.
She pondered for a while, "How, I'll handle it for you. If you don't like something, tell me."
"Okay." Shen Feng Ming agreed.
The two of them went out together. First, they went to the silk and satin store to buy some cloth to make curtains, tablecloths, etc.
"How about this color?" Jiang Yun Zhu asked while holding a piece of sky blue material.
Shen Feng Ming nodded.
"And this color?" A piece of maroon material.
"I don't like this."
"Alright then, what about this one?" A piece of autumn-scented material.
Shen Feng Ming shook his head.
Jiang Yun Zhu wanted to put it down, but she liked the color of this piece of material. Holding the material, she couldn't help asking, "Is this piece ugly?"
"It’s good as long as you think it's good." Shen Feng Ming responded.
Jiang Yun Zhu didn't want to force it, but the words had already been spoken. So she said, "How about I'll get the store to make it and you could see the result then. If you like it, you keep it. If you don't like it, put it in my room. How about that?"
"Okay."
It was settled so straightforwardly.
They browsed around here and there. It simply made the nearby store owner and the server stare blankly. Mamma, where did these two good-looking people come from! Listening to their conversation, it should be a pair of young lovers who were about to get married.
So when Jiang Yun Zhu checked out, the store gave her a pair of pillowcases with apricot white bottom and lotus flowers embroidered on them because she bought a lot. The workmanship was exquisite and looked very good.
Jiang Yun Zhu thought it was a random gift from the store, so she handed it to Shen Feng Ming. It happened that the pillowcase matched the color of his room very well.
Shen Feng Ming took the pillowcase and looked at her back with a complicated expression. Lotus. Because there were many lotus seeds, it symbolizes having many children...
Then the two went to the furniture store and picked out furniture. Then there was the pen and paper store. Jiang Yun Zhu discovered that Shen Feng Ming actually liked reading.
Just like that, the empty room became colorful little by little.
"How is it?" When it was mostly done, Jiang Yun Zhu asked Shen Feng Ming.
Shen Feng Ming looked around, the room was elegant and fresh. She had put her thoughts into every place.
"Thank you, Miss Jiang." Shen Feng Ming's eyes seemed to have soft scatter of moonlight inside.
While helping Shen Feng Ming with the room, Jiang Yun Zhu wasn’t idle. The various matters of the teahouse were proceeding in an orderly manner. She estimated that in a few days, her teahouse would be able to open for business.
These days in Qishanju, people have been asking when would the paper-wrapped chicken and Buddha jumped over the wall be sold.
In the end, Jiang Yun Zhu simply made it clear to everyone that these two dishes were too time-consuming and laborious and she wasn't going to sell them.
Everyone felt regretful.
"Boss, why aren't these two dishes for sale?" Xue Jing asked Jiang Yun Zhu privately. Was it time-consuming? He felt it was still okay.
"The cost of these two dishes is too high. Many people couldn't afford them." Jiang Yun Zhu replied. The paper-wrapped chicken was a little better. As for Buddha jumped over the wall, all the materials were top-grade. One jar cost more than a dozen liang silver. It wasn't suitable to sell in the county.
Besides, the ingredients used in these two dishes could only be bought in Lu Prefecture, which was too troublesome.
Xue Jing understood.
"Boss, if we go to Lu Prefecture, would we be able to sell these two dishes?" He laughed.
Jiang Yun Zhu glanced at him. Go to Lu Prefecture to do what?
Of course it was to open a restaurant! Open a large restaurant! Xue Jing smilingly went to work.
To open a teahouse, one must have high-quality tea. In this regard, Jiang Yun Zhu had ordered a batch of good tea. It would be ready for use when the teahouse opens. Second, have delicious desserts and snacks. Jiang Yun Zhu was going to work harder on this.
In the past few days, she had already come up with four or five kinds of snacks, but she always felt that there was something missing.
One day, she was flipping through the 'Conscience Fasting Recipe' that Shen Feng Ming had written silently for her when someone outside asked, "Is there anyone?"
At this time, the restaurant hadn’t yet opened, so it probably wasn’t a customer.
Jiang Yun Zhu felt the voice sound familiar, so she got up and went to the front to check.
Opening the door, it turned out to be Hu Er.
"Boss Jiang?" Hu Er looked at Jiang Yun Zhu, not daring to recognize her. Mainly, this Qishanju was beyond his imagination. The last time he sold hairtail and octopus to Jiang Yun Zhu, Jiang Yun Zhu told him when he had something fresh, send it directly to Qishanju next time.
When he went back that time, he specifically inquired about Qishanju. Everyone said they hadn't heard of it. He thought Jiang Yun Zhu was coaxing him.
As a result, this time he came back from selling things again, everyone was talking about Qishanju. Talking about how the owner of Qishanju beat the famous cook from Lu Prefecture and how delicious the food of Qishanju was.
He came over today to take a look. This Qishanju, had such a big storefront! As expected, it was amazing!
He regarded the next door as Qishanju as the decorations of the two were the same. Still, he wasn't wrong. Anyway, these two were now owned by Jiang Yun Zhu.
"Come back from the south? What new things did you bring back this time?" Jiang Yun Zhu remembered Hu Er and asked immediately.
Hu Er brought back a lot of things. After he came back, he planned to take these things to the market to sell. It was that after hearing the famous name of Qishanju, he immediately changed his mind and brought things directly to Jiang Yun Zhu.
"Boss Jiang, look for yourself. Say what you want, it's all cheap." Hu Er said, walked to the horse carriage behind, lifted the oilcloth covering the carriage, and pointed out everything to Jiang Yun Zhu .
There were a lot of things. The most eye-catching ones were those hams. The whole pig's hind leg was marinated into a bright red color, which looked rosy and attractive.
Jiang Yun Zhu moved closer, smelled the ham, and pleasantly exclaimed, "It's a three-year-old leg?"
Hu Er gave a thumbs up, "Boss Jiang got a keen eye. I heard that it takes more than three years for this stuff to taste good. So I went to many places to buy these few pieces of high-quality ham."
"It’s hard work." Jiang Yun Zhu said.
"It's not hard." Hu Er said with a smile. It was all for living.
In addition to ham, there was bacon, cured fish, sausages, etc. These were meat. As for fruits- in this season, there were already fresh fruits in the south. But Hu Er was alone after all. He couldn't travel day and night. Fearing that those fresh fruits would be spoiled, he bought all kinds of dried fruit back instead of fresh fruit.
And then...Jiang Yun Zhu saw something and her heart skipped a beat. It was... She hurriedly grabbed a handful from the bottom of the carriage and carefully examined it. It was indeed a top-quality meigan cai.
"How many of these things did you bring back?" She hurriedly asked Hu Er.
"Quite a lot?" Hu Er didn't know why Jiang Yun Zhu reacted so strongly. He bought this thing from country folk that sold the ham. At that time, he felt this dried vegetable was cheap and could fill the gaps in the carriage. So he bought as much as he wanted.
Jiang Yun Zhu was relieved. She wanted to open her teahouse and make a good start. Now she had an idea.
Baked stuffed sesame biscuits! Thinking back not long after she arrived in Wuling County, she wanted to make this kind of sesame biscuits after eating the sesame biscuits in the town. Unfortunately, she never had the opportunity and materials. Now she was ready.
The next step was to negotiate the price. Jiang Yun Zhu picked more than half of the things in the carriage. The hairtail and octopus she bought from Hu Er last time have already been used up. She was worried that there were no new dishes in the store. Now she can be at ease.
Since she wanted so much, she was a big customer. And from the look of it she was experienced. Hu Er didn't dare to throw an exaggerated price. He directly offered a very fair price.
"Okay, let's calculate the price according to what you said." Jiang Yun Zhu was still relying on him to go to the south to bring her goods again. Considering that the price he gave wasn't too high, she immediately agreed.
Hu Er was overjoyed and hurried to help her unload the goods.
At this time, Li He and Xue Jing came out to help. They were busy for a while and put away all the things.
Jiang Yun Zhu handed the money to Hu Er and asked, "When are you going to the south again. Could I order another batch of these meigan cai from you?"
Hu Er accepted the money, "Okay. I'll sell the few things left in the carriage and then set off. I estimate it would take two or three days!"
Jiang Yun Zhu calculated the time. It should be around that time. This time, she directly paid Hu Er a deposit, telling him that next time he came back, he must bring her meigan cai and all of them should be this quality.
Hu Er left in satisfaction.
Jiang Yun Zhu went straight to the blacksmith store. She wanted to order an oven. With an oven, she would be able to cook a lot of delicious food in the future.
Six days later, the oven was ready and moved back to the store. The next day was the opening day of Jiang Yun Zhu’s teahouse. It was perfect timing.
Let's make a batch of biscuits first. It was a chance to try this oven. Jiang Yun Zhu immediately went into action.
Take flour. First add hot water to turn the flour into wheat ear state. Then add cold water to knead the flour into a smooth dough. This method of heating first and then cooling make the dough more elastic.
At this time, take some lard and knead it into the dough, so that the biscuit crust would be more crispy.
Then put the dough aside and let it rest.
At this time, the stuffing is made. Top quality pork belly is diced. The meigan cai are processed and chopped. Then the two are mixed together and various seasonings are added. The stuffing is ready.
Then work on the flaky pastry dough. After the flaky pastry is done, the dough is mostly ready and could be wrapped.
There’s skills needed when it comes to wrapping. Place a ball of flaky pastry in the middle of dough and wrap it. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, then roll it up, flatten it out, and then wrap it with fillings. This way the biscuit skin would have many layers.
The finished sesame seed biscuit babies were each about the size of a plum and flat. Didn’t lool unremarkable.
It didn't matter. Sprinkle a layer of sesame seeds and put them in the oven. Everything would be different.
Knowing that Jiang Yun Zhu was making new food today, everyone would peek at her from time to time despite being busy. They were wondering what delicious food she was cooking.
Soon, a special fragrance came out of the oven. The busy people couldn't help sniffing.
After a while, the scent became stronger. Jiang Wu couldn't help it, put down the book, and ran to Jiang Yun Zhu's side with his two short legs, "Elder Sister, what delicious thing are you making?"
"Baked stuffed sesame biscuits." Jiang Yun Zhu replied.
"Is it a the biscuit made of crab shell?" Jiang Wu asked curiously. There were crabs in the rivers of Wuling County. He had eaten those small river crabs before.
"You'll find out later." Jiang Yun Zhu replied. She checked the oven, felt that it was about time, and opened the oven.
Immediately, a gust of hot air and aroma rushed over.
After the heat dissipates, the contents were taken out of the oven. The plum-sized biscuits were bulging and golden on the surface. Weren’t they exactly the same as crab shells in appearance. No wonder they were called crab shell biscuits.
In fact, this biscuit tasted like a baked crab shell. It was extremely crispy.
"Everyone come and taste it." Jiang Yun Zhu called. She wanted to know everyone's reaction to this baked stuffed sesame biscuit.
Everyone had been waiting for her to say this for a long time. After hearing these words, they all rushed over at an incredible speed. Then they looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed. They seem to be running too fast?!
Soon no one cared about this problem. Everyone held a baked stuffed sesame biscuit.
It was piping hot. The sesame biscuits were fresh out of the oven. Everyone had it hopping between their left hands and their right hands. No one was willing to put down the sesame biscuits.
Quickly take a bite.
"Don't..." Jiang Yun Zhu wanted to remind everyone not to rush. But it was already too late.
Everyone bit down and were all scalded by the hot air from the biscuits. This biscuit was actually empty in the middle!
Everyone gasped. Still, they chewed the biscuits in their mouths.
The pork belly was baked until it was overflowing with fat and the rest was flavorful and delicious. The meigan cai had a special sweet taste. Coupled with the chili flavor in the stuffing, the taste was amazing!
"It's delicious, sister, I want more." Jiang Wu stuffed a sesame biscuits into his mouth and said eagerly with his mouth puffed out.
Others felt the same way. This sesame biscuits was delicious. They wondered how Jiang Yun Zhu made it.
Of course it was delicious. In history, two emperors were conquered by this kind of sesame biscuits. Qianlong even called this kind of sesame biscuits ‘Imperial Seal Biscuit’. One, it was like the imperial seal. Two, to show how much Qianlong liked it.
Seeing them like this, Jiang Yun Zhu felt relieved. When the teahouse opens tomorrow, they could sell this kind of baked stuffed sesame biscuits. A mouthful of biscuits and a mouthful of tea. Tao Xing Zhi had once said, "Eat it into your stomach and enjoy boundless blessings together."
In fact, it was more convenient to connect the restaurants. It was the same decoration. As long as the wall is gone, the two could be combined into one. In this way, Qishanju was likely to become one of the best restaurants in the county. It was just that the development was too fast. The manpower couldn't keep up.
Jiang Yun Zhu thought for a long time, but gave up.
A business doesn’t only have horizontal development. Yes, horizontal development was the most effective. But in her dream in Marquis Anping Manor, she saw too many matters of ‘one building being built tall, one host feasts, one’s building collapsed’. It was better not to expand blindly. Best to take root and fight on steadily.
So she decided to develop vertically and open a teahouse next door.
Now there were many young men and women coming to Qishanju. If she opens a teahouse next door, the selling point will be elegant and clean. There was definitely no worry about losing business.
Moreover, the operation of the teahouse was simple- just prepare tea and some dried fruit and snacks. Still, the teahouse makes a lot of money. For example, a pan of Biluochun may only cost 30 wen and it could be sold for 80 wen. Definitely a good business.
Teahouses and restaurants have different operating hours. Teahouses were mainly open in the morning and afternoon, while restaurants were mainly busy at noon and evening. The two could rely on each other and exchange with each other. It could increase the closeness of customers and save money. Manpower, the more Jiang Yun Zhu thought about it, the more she felt that this method was feasible.
If it wasn’t that she didn't have the capital, she thought of building an industrial chain that integrates eating, drinking, and entertainment later.
Of course, she was just thinking. Even if the people in Wuling County were rich, they were not enough to support her to build such a huge monster.
If it was changed to Lu Prefecture or the capital...
Forget it. She was thinking too far. Jiang Yun Zhu decided to plan her teahouse first.
Soon, she basically came up with everything.
"Open a teahouse?" Jiang Cheng and the others were a little at a loss when they heard her say that. How did she think of opening a teahouse? Obviously opening a restaurant was easier and more profitable.
Jiang Yun Zhu gave everyone the one, two, three, four reasons for her decision. Xie Chen was the first to react and looked at her with admiration. She was able to recognize herself clearly at such a time, not to advance aggressively, and not to be greedy for merit. Just this alone, not many big figures in the court could not do it. But she did.
Such a girl made people respect and admire. Don't know who will marry her in the future.
He suddenly saw Shen Feng Ming standing behind the crowd. Although he was standing there quietly, no one could ignore him.
Xie Chen suddenly thought of Gu Yan Zhou and pondered about himself. Today in May, success or failure depends on one action!
After hearing so much from Jiang Yun Zhu, the others began to feel that opening a teahouse was a good idea.
"Then it's decided." Jiang Yun Zhu finally said.
Everyone happily agreed. Anyway, whatever Jiang Yun Zhu said, implementing it was the right thing to do.
Jiang Yun Zhu started to make preparations for the teahouse. First, she ordered a plaque. This time she went directly to Shen Feng Ming, "Gentleman Shen, could you write a plaque for me?"
"Okay." Shen Feng Ming spread the paper and looked at her.
Jiang Yun Zhu had already thought up the name of the teahouse, and it was called "Chabuliang".
Shen Feng Ming already knew that she was going to open a teahouse, but when he heard the name, he was a little startled. He thought the name of this teahouse would be similar to Qishanju. Who would have thought that it would be these three words.
Tea not cold. It was said that when people leave, the tea was cold. However Jiang Yun Zhu's teahouse was called ‘Chabuliang/tea not cold’. It seemed superficial, but it was actually worth savoring carefully.
Shen Feng Ming quickly wrote these three characters and handed them to Jiang Yun Zhu.
Jiang Yun Zhu took it. No matter how many times she read it, she liked his writing very much. Like the books he gave her silently, she couldn't put it down.
Jiang Yun Zhu got Li He to go to the plaque store, while she went to the county yamen with the title deed and land deed and officially transferred it to her own name.
This matter went smoothly. Shortly later, she got a new house and land deed.
Coming out of the county yamen, Jiang Yun Zhu looked at the red seal on the deeds. What to say. She was overjoyed. This was her first real estate in this era. After all, both the house in Changshi Village and the Qishanju store were rented.
One competition, one property. Jiang Yun Zhu felt that this kind of activity was welcomed a few more times.
Of course, it was just a thought. After all, who could guarantee that they could always win!
Back at Qishanju. The front store wasn’t connected but the backyard could.
Jiang Yun Zhu found someone. The next day, those people came and with a few hammers, the wall collapsed. Qishanju and Chabuliang’s backyard became one.
Immediately, the whole yard became more open.
Jiang Yun Zhu felt that she might as well get them to demolish the two side rooms in the middle that were a bit of an obstacle. The entire backyard became a large open space in the middle. There were seven main rooms in the back, two sides got two side rooms. Each side room was the layout of one room.
"There is no other bright place like this in the entire county." Xue Jing praised. Compared with this yard, his small yard was almost like a bird's nest. Not a pretty sight to see.
Li He and his wife were very envious. Jiang Yun Zhu had only come to Wuling County for less than a year. Now she had her own house and store. It would be great if they could buy their own house.
Mrs. Chen and Jiang Cheng grinning for a while and were stunned for a while. They couldn't believe that this big courtyard belonged to their family.
Their biggest dream last year was to buy a donkey and then build a more dignified house in the village.
Now that they have a house directly in the county city. What’s more, it was excellent. They could wake up with a smile from their dream
"Maternal Grandfather, the yard is spacious enough now. Come and live in the county town." Jiang Yun Zhu said to old Mister Chen.
Old Mister Chen was somewhat tempted. But after hesitating for a while, he spoke, "Forget it. I better live in the countryside. It’s quiet and clean."
Jiang Yun Zhu couldn't persuade him, so she could only give up.
"Which room do you want to live in?" Jiang Yun Zhu asked Shen Feng Ming after everyone had dispersed. Speaking of it, she wronged him. In Changshi Village, he lived in a side room with Yang Sheng. When he arrived in the county, he lived in a side room. This time the side house he lived in was demolished. Jiang Yun Zhu decided to raise his treatment no matter what.
Oh right, she needed to make his room better.
Shen Feng Ming casually pointed to a room, "This one then."
That room happened to be next to Jiang Yun Zhu's room.
"Okay." Jiang Yun Zhu responded and pushed open the door of that room.
The room was empty, which was suitable for Jiang Yun Zhu work with.
"What style do you like?" she asked.
"Style?" Shen Feng Ming was puzzled.
"That is, what kind of room do you want to make? Simple and practical, or elegant and quiet? Or something else. Also, what color do you like?" Jiang Yun Zhu turned her head and asked with a smile.
Shen Feng Ming never thought about this kind of problem. For him, as long as it could be lived in, he never cared about this kind of thing.
Looking at him like that, Jiang Yun Zhu probably guessed something, and couldn't help sighing that the life of this conductor Shen was actually quite rough.
She pondered for a while, "How, I'll handle it for you. If you don't like something, tell me."
"Okay." Shen Feng Ming agreed.
The two of them went out together. First, they went to the silk and satin store to buy some cloth to make curtains, tablecloths, etc.
"How about this color?" Jiang Yun Zhu asked while holding a piece of sky blue material.
Shen Feng Ming nodded.
"And this color?" A piece of maroon material.
"I don't like this."
"Alright then, what about this one?" A piece of autumn-scented material.
Shen Feng Ming shook his head.
Jiang Yun Zhu wanted to put it down, but she liked the color of this piece of material. Holding the material, she couldn't help asking, "Is this piece ugly?"
"It’s good as long as you think it's good." Shen Feng Ming responded.
Jiang Yun Zhu didn't want to force it, but the words had already been spoken. So she said, "How about I'll get the store to make it and you could see the result then. If you like it, you keep it. If you don't like it, put it in my room. How about that?"
"Okay."
It was settled so straightforwardly.
They browsed around here and there. It simply made the nearby store owner and the server stare blankly. Mamma, where did these two good-looking people come from! Listening to their conversation, it should be a pair of young lovers who were about to get married.
So when Jiang Yun Zhu checked out, the store gave her a pair of pillowcases with apricot white bottom and lotus flowers embroidered on them because she bought a lot. The workmanship was exquisite and looked very good.
Jiang Yun Zhu thought it was a random gift from the store, so she handed it to Shen Feng Ming. It happened that the pillowcase matched the color of his room very well.
Shen Feng Ming took the pillowcase and looked at her back with a complicated expression. Lotus. Because there were many lotus seeds, it symbolizes having many children...
Then the two went to the furniture store and picked out furniture. Then there was the pen and paper store. Jiang Yun Zhu discovered that Shen Feng Ming actually liked reading.
Just like that, the empty room became colorful little by little.
"How is it?" When it was mostly done, Jiang Yun Zhu asked Shen Feng Ming.
Shen Feng Ming looked around, the room was elegant and fresh. She had put her thoughts into every place.
"Thank you, Miss Jiang." Shen Feng Ming's eyes seemed to have soft scatter of moonlight inside.
While helping Shen Feng Ming with the room, Jiang Yun Zhu wasn’t idle. The various matters of the teahouse were proceeding in an orderly manner. She estimated that in a few days, her teahouse would be able to open for business.
These days in Qishanju, people have been asking when would the paper-wrapped chicken and Buddha jumped over the wall be sold.
In the end, Jiang Yun Zhu simply made it clear to everyone that these two dishes were too time-consuming and laborious and she wasn't going to sell them.
Everyone felt regretful.
"Boss, why aren't these two dishes for sale?" Xue Jing asked Jiang Yun Zhu privately. Was it time-consuming? He felt it was still okay.
"The cost of these two dishes is too high. Many people couldn't afford them." Jiang Yun Zhu replied. The paper-wrapped chicken was a little better. As for Buddha jumped over the wall, all the materials were top-grade. One jar cost more than a dozen liang silver. It wasn't suitable to sell in the county.
Besides, the ingredients used in these two dishes could only be bought in Lu Prefecture, which was too troublesome.
Xue Jing understood.
"Boss, if we go to Lu Prefecture, would we be able to sell these two dishes?" He laughed.
Jiang Yun Zhu glanced at him. Go to Lu Prefecture to do what?
Of course it was to open a restaurant! Open a large restaurant! Xue Jing smilingly went to work.
To open a teahouse, one must have high-quality tea. In this regard, Jiang Yun Zhu had ordered a batch of good tea. It would be ready for use when the teahouse opens. Second, have delicious desserts and snacks. Jiang Yun Zhu was going to work harder on this.
In the past few days, she had already come up with four or five kinds of snacks, but she always felt that there was something missing.
One day, she was flipping through the 'Conscience Fasting Recipe' that Shen Feng Ming had written silently for her when someone outside asked, "Is there anyone?"
At this time, the restaurant hadn’t yet opened, so it probably wasn’t a customer.
Jiang Yun Zhu felt the voice sound familiar, so she got up and went to the front to check.
Opening the door, it turned out to be Hu Er.
"Boss Jiang?" Hu Er looked at Jiang Yun Zhu, not daring to recognize her. Mainly, this Qishanju was beyond his imagination. The last time he sold hairtail and octopus to Jiang Yun Zhu, Jiang Yun Zhu told him when he had something fresh, send it directly to Qishanju next time.
When he went back that time, he specifically inquired about Qishanju. Everyone said they hadn't heard of it. He thought Jiang Yun Zhu was coaxing him.
As a result, this time he came back from selling things again, everyone was talking about Qishanju. Talking about how the owner of Qishanju beat the famous cook from Lu Prefecture and how delicious the food of Qishanju was.
He came over today to take a look. This Qishanju, had such a big storefront! As expected, it was amazing!
He regarded the next door as Qishanju as the decorations of the two were the same. Still, he wasn't wrong. Anyway, these two were now owned by Jiang Yun Zhu.
"Come back from the south? What new things did you bring back this time?" Jiang Yun Zhu remembered Hu Er and asked immediately.
Hu Er brought back a lot of things. After he came back, he planned to take these things to the market to sell. It was that after hearing the famous name of Qishanju, he immediately changed his mind and brought things directly to Jiang Yun Zhu.
"Boss Jiang, look for yourself. Say what you want, it's all cheap." Hu Er said, walked to the horse carriage behind, lifted the oilcloth covering the carriage, and pointed out everything to Jiang Yun Zhu .
There were a lot of things. The most eye-catching ones were those hams. The whole pig's hind leg was marinated into a bright red color, which looked rosy and attractive.
Jiang Yun Zhu moved closer, smelled the ham, and pleasantly exclaimed, "It's a three-year-old leg?"
Hu Er gave a thumbs up, "Boss Jiang got a keen eye. I heard that it takes more than three years for this stuff to taste good. So I went to many places to buy these few pieces of high-quality ham."
"It’s hard work." Jiang Yun Zhu said.
"It's not hard." Hu Er said with a smile. It was all for living.
In addition to ham, there was bacon, cured fish, sausages, etc. These were meat. As for fruits- in this season, there were already fresh fruits in the south. But Hu Er was alone after all. He couldn't travel day and night. Fearing that those fresh fruits would be spoiled, he bought all kinds of dried fruit back instead of fresh fruit.
And then...Jiang Yun Zhu saw something and her heart skipped a beat. It was... She hurriedly grabbed a handful from the bottom of the carriage and carefully examined it. It was indeed a top-quality meigan cai.
"How many of these things did you bring back?" She hurriedly asked Hu Er.
"Quite a lot?" Hu Er didn't know why Jiang Yun Zhu reacted so strongly. He bought this thing from country folk that sold the ham. At that time, he felt this dried vegetable was cheap and could fill the gaps in the carriage. So he bought as much as he wanted.
Jiang Yun Zhu was relieved. She wanted to open her teahouse and make a good start. Now she had an idea.
Baked stuffed sesame biscuits! Thinking back not long after she arrived in Wuling County, she wanted to make this kind of sesame biscuits after eating the sesame biscuits in the town. Unfortunately, she never had the opportunity and materials. Now she was ready.
The next step was to negotiate the price. Jiang Yun Zhu picked more than half of the things in the carriage. The hairtail and octopus she bought from Hu Er last time have already been used up. She was worried that there were no new dishes in the store. Now she can be at ease.
Since she wanted so much, she was a big customer. And from the look of it she was experienced. Hu Er didn't dare to throw an exaggerated price. He directly offered a very fair price.
"Okay, let's calculate the price according to what you said." Jiang Yun Zhu was still relying on him to go to the south to bring her goods again. Considering that the price he gave wasn't too high, she immediately agreed.
Hu Er was overjoyed and hurried to help her unload the goods.
At this time, Li He and Xue Jing came out to help. They were busy for a while and put away all the things.
Jiang Yun Zhu handed the money to Hu Er and asked, "When are you going to the south again. Could I order another batch of these meigan cai from you?"
Hu Er accepted the money, "Okay. I'll sell the few things left in the carriage and then set off. I estimate it would take two or three days!"
Jiang Yun Zhu calculated the time. It should be around that time. This time, she directly paid Hu Er a deposit, telling him that next time he came back, he must bring her meigan cai and all of them should be this quality.
Hu Er left in satisfaction.
Jiang Yun Zhu went straight to the blacksmith store. She wanted to order an oven. With an oven, she would be able to cook a lot of delicious food in the future.
Six days later, the oven was ready and moved back to the store. The next day was the opening day of Jiang Yun Zhu’s teahouse. It was perfect timing.
Let's make a batch of biscuits first. It was a chance to try this oven. Jiang Yun Zhu immediately went into action.
Take flour. First add hot water to turn the flour into wheat ear state. Then add cold water to knead the flour into a smooth dough. This method of heating first and then cooling make the dough more elastic.
At this time, take some lard and knead it into the dough, so that the biscuit crust would be more crispy.
Then put the dough aside and let it rest.
At this time, the stuffing is made. Top quality pork belly is diced. The meigan cai are processed and chopped. Then the two are mixed together and various seasonings are added. The stuffing is ready.
Then work on the flaky pastry dough. After the flaky pastry is done, the dough is mostly ready and could be wrapped.
There’s skills needed when it comes to wrapping. Place a ball of flaky pastry in the middle of dough and wrap it. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, then roll it up, flatten it out, and then wrap it with fillings. This way the biscuit skin would have many layers.
The finished sesame seed biscuit babies were each about the size of a plum and flat. Didn’t lool unremarkable.
It didn't matter. Sprinkle a layer of sesame seeds and put them in the oven. Everything would be different.
Knowing that Jiang Yun Zhu was making new food today, everyone would peek at her from time to time despite being busy. They were wondering what delicious food she was cooking.
Soon, a special fragrance came out of the oven. The busy people couldn't help sniffing.
After a while, the scent became stronger. Jiang Wu couldn't help it, put down the book, and ran to Jiang Yun Zhu's side with his two short legs, "Elder Sister, what delicious thing are you making?"
"Baked stuffed sesame biscuits." Jiang Yun Zhu replied.
"Is it a the biscuit made of crab shell?" Jiang Wu asked curiously. There were crabs in the rivers of Wuling County. He had eaten those small river crabs before.
"You'll find out later." Jiang Yun Zhu replied. She checked the oven, felt that it was about time, and opened the oven.
Immediately, a gust of hot air and aroma rushed over.
After the heat dissipates, the contents were taken out of the oven. The plum-sized biscuits were bulging and golden on the surface. Weren’t they exactly the same as crab shells in appearance. No wonder they were called crab shell biscuits.
In fact, this biscuit tasted like a baked crab shell. It was extremely crispy.
"Everyone come and taste it." Jiang Yun Zhu called. She wanted to know everyone's reaction to this baked stuffed sesame biscuit.
Everyone had been waiting for her to say this for a long time. After hearing these words, they all rushed over at an incredible speed. Then they looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed. They seem to be running too fast?!
Soon no one cared about this problem. Everyone held a baked stuffed sesame biscuit.
It was piping hot. The sesame biscuits were fresh out of the oven. Everyone had it hopping between their left hands and their right hands. No one was willing to put down the sesame biscuits.
Quickly take a bite.
"Don't..." Jiang Yun Zhu wanted to remind everyone not to rush. But it was already too late.
Everyone bit down and were all scalded by the hot air from the biscuits. This biscuit was actually empty in the middle!
Everyone gasped. Still, they chewed the biscuits in their mouths.
The pork belly was baked until it was overflowing with fat and the rest was flavorful and delicious. The meigan cai had a special sweet taste. Coupled with the chili flavor in the stuffing, the taste was amazing!
"It's delicious, sister, I want more." Jiang Wu stuffed a sesame biscuits into his mouth and said eagerly with his mouth puffed out.
Others felt the same way. This sesame biscuits was delicious. They wondered how Jiang Yun Zhu made it.
Of course it was delicious. In history, two emperors were conquered by this kind of sesame biscuits. Qianlong even called this kind of sesame biscuits ‘Imperial Seal Biscuit’. One, it was like the imperial seal. Two, to show how much Qianlong liked it.
Seeing them like this, Jiang Yun Zhu felt relieved. When the teahouse opens tomorrow, they could sell this kind of baked stuffed sesame biscuits. A mouthful of biscuits and a mouthful of tea. Tao Xing Zhi had once said, "Eat it into your stomach and enjoy boundless blessings together."
Man, I'm also drooling from that biscuit's description! Thank you for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteToo bad I can't eat pork, maybe I can change it to other meat? I'll experiment later.
ReplyDelete