bookcurios Chapter 55
Chapter 55
In the afternoon, Zhong Ruyi prepared the cold rabbit early and put it aside to dry. He looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. The ancients ate early and went to bed as soon as it got dark.
Thinking that it was almost time for Shopkeeper Ding to get off work, she started cooking. The peppers for the twice-cooked pork were all picked by her in the space, and the rest were the dried peppers and chili sauce that Zhong's mother had dried earlier.
Shopkeeper Ding finished work and was about to go home, but halfway through he remembered that they had agreed to go to Zhongji for dinner that evening. He called a little kid playing in the alley, gave him a penny, and asked him to go to the Ding family to help tell them that someone was treating him to dinner that evening and that he should not go back. The kid took the penny and ran away after hearing what he said.
On the way to Zhongji, Manager Ding also bought two boxes of pastries to take with him.
The wooden board at the door of Zhongji had been put up after the braised goods were sold, and would be taken down when the braised goods were ready to be sold. The door was still open. As soon as he went in, he saw the second brother Zhong sitting at the table counting the bills. When he saw him come in, he greeted him hurriedly.
Before Shopkeeper Ding could open his mouth, a pungent smell rushed into his nose. He limped out and sneezed five or six times in a row. When he recovered, he couldn't figure out what that smell was.
Brother Zhong came out quickly and said, "I'm sorry, Shopkeeper Ding. My sister is cooking in there. She's cooking some spicy dishes, which are a bit pungent. I'm really sorry."
Shopkeeper Ding was a little confused. What kind of dish could make people sneeze like crazy? Could it be that Miss Zhong was good at making delicious braised food but her cooking skills were not so good?
He was hesitant in his heart, but said it was okay, and followed Brother Zhong in. He thought that if the dish was really unpalatable, he couldn't show it, after all, the two restaurants were still cooperating.
Zhong's mother came into the kitchen and said that Manager Ding had arrived and that her second brother was talking to him. Zhong Ruyi quickly sped up the cooking and soon a plate of stir-fried pork with peppers was ready, as well as the cold rabbit and stir-fried rabbit meat with peppers that had been prepared earlier.
Zhong Ruyi asked her mother to help take it out first. There was still one vegetable with garlic sauce left that was not ready yet. She quickly stir-fried it while the pan was still hot.
Soon the vegetables were ready. After taking the vegetables out, Zhong's mother came back and took out a basin of rice. Zhong Ruyi followed behind her, carrying the vegetables.
At the dinner table, Shopkeeper Ding looked at the dishes. Why, why were all the dishes green and red? He didn't know how to pick up his chopsticks.
Zhong Ruyi asked him to eat quickly. Brother Zhong picked up a piece of rabbit meat with chopsticks and gave it to him: "Manager Ding, please try it quickly. These are all my sister's specialties."
After the peppers were fried, they were no longer so spicy and became delicious. He picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. It was spicy, salty and numb!
Just now, he was sneezing at the door because of the spicy smell. Now, when he put it in his mouth, he felt that there was such a delicious food in the world. He took a few bites with chopsticks, and he felt that he was about to cry because of the spiciness, so he slowly stopped.
"Miss Zhong, why does this dish taste like this? You just called it chili?" Shopkeeper Ding asked curiously.
Zhong Ruyi smiled and nodded: "Yes, this is fried with chili peppers. The aroma is pungent. People who can eat it love it, but people who can't eat it stay away from it."
Manager Ding was a little puzzled: "We also have dishes with Sichuan pepper in our restaurant. I've eaten them before, and my mouth just feels a little numb after eating them. It's not like hot peppers, which make you sweat profusely and become more and more addicted the more you eat them."
"Shopkeeper Ding, these are wild peppers grown on the mountain in our village. Villagers used to pick them and eat them raw, but they were not very tasty. Later, I found that they tasted best when cooked with vegetables." She looked at Shopkeeper Ding and continued, "This pepper can also be made into sauce and used to mix with noodles and vegetables."
She smiled and said, "Manager Ding, let's eat first and then talk after we're done."
Shopkeeper Ding originally had a lot of questions to ask, but he had to put them aside. He decided to eat all the dishes first.
Everyone at the table was busy eating, occasionally speaking a few words, and then lowering their heads to eat again.
Touching his bulging belly, Manager Ding took the teacup handed to him by Zhong's mother, thanked her, took a sip, and said, "Miss Zhong, if I'm not mistaken, you still want to make a living from this chili pepper business, right?"
This was Zhong Ruyi's idea. Since no one had discovered that peppers were edible, why couldn't she seize the opportunity?
"I'm thinking of renting the empty store next to mine and opening a restaurant."
Shopkeeper Ding nodded. He also felt it. If he opened a restaurant to sell these spicy dishes, he would definitely not be afraid of lack of business. "Miss Zhong, are you afraid that your restaurant will take away our business from Manxianglou?"
Zhong Ruyi smiled and said, "Of course not. Manxianglou has been open for so many years and its reputation is beyond the reach of our small braised food shop. Today I am just inviting Manager Ding to dinner and there is no other intention." Indeed, Manxianglou has been open for more than ten years and has become the largest restaurant in town, so their dishes and reputation must not be bad.
The reason why I invited Manager Ding here today is to let him know the truth first. If Manxianglou wants to cooperate with her again at that time, that will be fine. With Manxianglou's support, I don't have to worry about other restaurants in town doing bad things.
Shopkeeper Ding was a smart man. He immediately understood what she meant. With admiration in his eyes, he smiled and said, "I understand what Miss Zhong meant."
The two sat and chatted for a few more words, and Shopkeeper Ding said that it was getting late and they had to go back. When he left, Zhong Ruyi gave him a small jar filled with chili sauce made by Zhong's mother.
After seeing off Shopkeeper Ding, Second Brother Zhong took out the money he had earned from selling braised goods this month. The four of them sat at the table, each counting the money.
"Mother, how much do you have? I calculated it to be six taels and five hundred coins!" Liu Yu Niang's voice trembled. She didn't expect that this was only part of it.
Mother Zhong was also very excited: "I have five taels and three hundred coins!"
"I have exactly six taels." Brother Zhong also said.
Finally, everyone looked at Zhong Ruyi. Seeing that she had not finished counting, no one dared to speak, and quietly watched her count one by one. Finally, she finished counting, and under everyone's expectant gaze, she said: "Four taels and three hundred and thirty coins."
Liu Yu Niang was almost crying with excitement. After doing business for so many years, she had never made more than twenty taels in a month. How could she not be excited?
Zhong Ruyi added up the numbers that Zhong's mother and the others had just calculated, and the total was 22 taels and 130 coins. After deducting the cost, there was still 20 taels left.
Zhong Ruyi was quite satisfied with earning twenty taels a month. After all, the cost was not high.
Second Brother Zhong took out eleven taels and gave them to Zhong Ruyi.
Zhong Ruyi refused to take it: "Second brother, we agreed that if this business makes money, you only give me one third, no need to give so much, after all, I can't do much work by myself, and I wouldn't make much money without you."