Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 327: With the inscription, amber meat will become the signature dish of the store

Several people present nodded upon hearing this.

Zhou Dalang said embarrassedly: "If the guests hadn't read it to me on the spot, I wouldn't even be able to recognize all the words on it, let alone understand its meaning."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "At first, I thought the same as everyone else. I thought that many people who came to our store to eat were illiterate and couldn't recognize what was written on the banners."

"But if you think about it carefully, this is what the county magistrate wrote in front of everyone."

"Once the word gets out, no matter if they know it or not, they will all praise it and will be curious about what kind of dish the county magistrate praised so highly and recommend it."

"Wouldn't it be better if many people came here to order this dish?"

"Perhaps once the amber meat is sold, it will be more famous than our pork belly skewers and become another signature dish."

With this explanation, if you think about it, it is indeed true.

When the guests were paying the bill just now, many of them even paid the price for that ordinary little porcelain bowl and took it away as if it were a treasure.

It’s because this small bowl once contained the boiled pork slices given by the county magistrate.

Shen Yu and Yu Tao put away the pens, ink and inkstone on the table together, and carefully placed the paper with the wet ink on it on the table, waiting for it to dry completely before rolling it up and putting it away.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "It's getting late today. Tomorrow morning, I'll take this calligraphy to a framing shop and have it framed properly. I'll hang it in a prominent place at the entrance of the store. This will be more useful than promotional paper."

"Also, go to the bamboo shop and make some rectangular menu boards, and write the name of a dish on each one."

"Round holes were drilled on the top and bottom of the bamboo plaques, and colorful silk ribbons were used to tie them into knots. They were then hung on the wall in a row with nails."

"It's cold now. There are no red flowers and green leaves. Everything is gray. It's depressing to look at."

"The restaurant should just decorate brightly."

"Hanging up a row of menu boards with colorful flower knots like this not only makes people feel good, but also allows them to know at a glance what dishes the store has."

"When new dishes are added in the future, we can just add another menu. It is much more flexible than writing a menu on a large piece of paper."

Yu Tao's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she volunteered, "Sister, this is a good idea. Sister Zheng and I will make the lace then."

"Sister Zheng knows a lot of different ways to play the game of lace, and she plays it very quickly and well."

Li smiled and said, "Then I'll leave this to the two of you. It should be festive in color and unique in pattern."

Yutao nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, mother. Sister Zheng matched the colors of the clothes very well. They are festive and not tacky."

Zheng Sanniang was a little flustered by Yutao's praise, and she shook her hands: "Madam, Miss Yutao is praising me. I only know those few tricks, not as good as Miss Yutao said."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Sister Zheng is good at sewing, we all know that, just follow the style you know, it will definitely look good after decoration."

Everyone chatted for a while about the decoration in the store. Since there were still four servings of boiled pork slices to be picked up in the evening, Shen Yu did not dare to waste time.

Seeing that the ink on the paper had dried completely, he rolled it up and asked Zheng Sanniang and Yutao to take the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table and put them on the desk in Yucheng's room.

The two men agreed, one took the rolled rice paper and the other took the tray and went to the backyard.

Shen Yu discussed with Li and the others: "In the evening, the county magistrate will send someone to get four servings of boiled pork slices."

"This dish is easy to make. If you are eating in a store, you can just use a deep porcelain soup bowl."

"Now I want to take it away. There is only one suitable small pot in the store. What kind of container should I use to put it in?"

Li thought for a moment and said, "A small copper pot is best for delivery. It can be heated directly when it arrives."

"The market is still open now. It should be in time for Zhou Dalang to go to the store and buy three more small copper pots like the one you bought."

This time it was Shen Yu's turn to feel a little pained: "Do you want to buy three? That small copper pot costs 1,500 coins."

"We have a larger copper pot at home that Aunt Yang gave us. We can use that one, too."

Li waved her hand and said, "You don't understand. Although the pattern of that one is more beautiful, it's a little too big. When we put the food box in it, it got stuck in the middle and couldn't reach the bottom."

"Not only will it not be stable, but the same amount of food will seem a lot less if you put it in there. Who do you think should be served this portion to?"

"It would be better to use the same container and the same amount for the four portions, so as not to embarrass the servants."

Shen Yu thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.

Li and her colleagues greet customers in the store every day, and their experience in this area is indeed much richer and more practical than mine.

Li thought for a moment and then said, "We bought it for more than just this one time, so it doesn't matter if it's expensive."

"When the person from the county government comes to pick up the food, tell him that when the county magistrate has finished eating tomorrow, put the copper pot and food box aside and we will go get them back."

"When the weather gets colder, if we have delivery again, if the customer is a regular and the quantity is large, we will use a copper pot so that the customer can take it home and heat it up before eating."

"We can ask customers to send the food back after use, or we can pick it up. There won't be customers who live far away ordering food for delivery."

"After all, winter is coming soon, and who doesn't want to eat something warm?"

After Li finished speaking, she took out some silver and handed it to Zhou Dalang, asking him to go to the store to buy a pot.

Shen Yu said with a smile: "Then let's choose the casserole for tomorrow as well. I will concentrate on cooking. There may be more customers at noon tomorrow."

Mrs. Li took on all the responsibilities, and said in a very imposing manner: "Of course, you don't have to worry about these trivial matters. Your Aunt Jiang and I will take care of them for you."

"You just need to order the ingredients and make new dishes, and we will take care of the rest."

Li paused, then said, "When you cook later, let Zheng Sanniang help you."

"She is much more efficient in cutting vegetables and preparing the dishes than when she first came. If we work together, it will be much faster."

Since it was not yet time for the market to close, there were still a few customers coming into the shops.

After they discussed it, they went about preparing.

Shen Yu turned and went to the big kitchen in the backyard and began to check whether there were enough ingredients so that he could start making boiled pork slices after a while.

These side dishes are commonly used vegetables and the quantity is sufficient. The main thing you need to check is how much front leg meat is left.

Shen Yu took a look and calculated that including the amount to be delivered later, it would be enough to make four servings of boiled pork slices.

But we have used up tomorrow's ration today, so when the waiter delivers the ingredients today, we will ask him to make another trip tomorrow morning.

After Shen Yu checked the stock of ingredients, he calculated the new dishes that would be served in the next few days and wrote down the ingredients that he needed to order more.