"That's it." Someone nodded in realization.
Shopkeeper Li in the front row heard Zheng Sanduo's words and was very angry. He wanted to refute a few words, but also felt that it was inappropriate for a senior to argue with a junior. While hesitating, Lu Xiaotian laughed.
"Brother Sanduo underestimated him. I heard that yesterday the emperor sent him to the palace to cook the royal meal. The eighteen dishes and the soup were so stunning that everyone was amazed. The emperor also gave him the name of the dish and named him the royal chef."
Everyone gasped.
"No way? What kind of official is walking in the imperial kitchen?"
"The imperial chef is not an official, so what kind of official is he who works in the imperial kitchen? He is just a servant in the palace." Zheng Sanduo said sourly, not believing that Li Yao actually became the official in the imperial kitchen. "
Lu Xiaotian said: "The imperial chef is indeed nothing special, that is, the first place in the cooking competition is qualified to enter the palace as an imperial chef, and the second place in the imperial kitchen can only be a handyman."
These words were obviously directed at Zheng Sanduo. Everyone present here knows that Lu Yiming became the imperial chef after winning the first place in the cooking competition, and he specially cooked royal meals for the emperor. As for Zheng Fugui, although he also had He is qualified to enter the imperial dining room, but his status is obviously not as good as Lu Yiming.
Ye Jiayao secretly thought: This is a wonderful thing to say, just to slap the face of this guy with his nostrils pointing up to the sky, who doesn't know how high the sky is.
Zheng Sanduo knew he had made a mistake and was choked by Lu Xiaotian again. His face turned blue and white, and he was very embarrassed.
"So, Li Yao is quite capable." Someone said.
"He is so powerful, he is supposed to be qualified to participate in today's parliament."
"Yes, shopkeeper Li didn't bring anyone here so that we could get to know each other."
"Huh!" Someone snorted coldly.
Ye Jiayao looked up and saw that it was Niu Baoshun sitting in the first seat in the second row.
"The level of your cooking skills will be revealed in the competition." Niu Baoshun said.
Zheng Sanduo finally found an ally and said: "Exactly, how powerful Li Yao is. Now everyone has only heard that being famous does not mean he has real ability. Making the emperor happy does not necessarily rely on his cooking skills. This Li Yao Yao was accustomed to clinging to powerful people, and he was probably quite capable of flattering people."
I care about you for being such a brat, but you are such a smart guy and you haven’t had the opportunity to cling to the powerful and flatter him! Ye Jiayao stared at the back of Zheng Sanduo's head, really wanting to kick him into the dirt.
Lu Xiaotian sneered twice: "I think Li Yao will definitely participate in this cooking competition. Then Brother Sanduo will be able to see whether Li Yao is worthy of his reputation or just in vain."
Lin Changchun, the shopkeeper of Jufulin, who was sitting next to Shopkeeper Li, said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Li, five years ago, you had Niu Baoshun in the sky, and he won the third place as a dark horse. This year, the competition has not started yet, and you in the sky have Niu Baoshun. It’s already the hottest topic, your chef is not simple!”
Shopkeeper Li smiled modestly and said, "No, no, I heard that your chef at Jufulin is the one who hides his secrets."
Zheng Fugui, who was sitting in the seat, glanced at the hall and saw that it was full, and said: "Since everyone is here, let's start the discussion!"
"First of all, the first issue is the protest raised by several pastry shops in Jinling."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes turned to Shopkeeper Li. Shopkeeper Li turned a blind eye and drank tea calmly.
Ye Jiayao's heart skipped a beat, "Fuck your grandma, how many months have I been making cakes? What's wrong with you?" He actually brought it up for discussion, which was obviously jealous.
Zheng Fugui continued: "Although there is no explicit regulation by the Chamber of Commerce, the rules of the industry are established. Restaurants, pastry rooms, teahouses, wine shops and even vinegar shops all have their own clear business scope and do not cross the line easily. I heard that Tianshangju recently launched an ice cream shop. Leather mooncakes have had a great impact on several pastry shops in Jinling, so they jointly protested, Shopkeeper Li, could you explain this matter?"
Shopkeeper Li put down the tea cup and said calmly: "Since someone has raised a protest, I will come and say that the business scope of the restaurant is comprehensive, not just cooking, the restaurant also makes wine, such as Fu Shouchun in Fuji. It’s home-brewed, so the business is very good, and the winery didn’t protest because of it, right?”
Zheng Fugui didn't look good, but he didn't expect Shopkeeper Li to drag him into Fu Ji when he opened his mouth.
"Restaurants also make drinks. For example, every restaurant will launch iced sour plum soup, lotus seed and fungus soup, etc. in summer. Restaurants also make pastries, and some even pickle candied fruits, such as the pastries of Xiangyilou and the candied fruits of Qilin Pavilion. It's very famous, why don't you see someone jumping out to protest? When it comes to selling mooncakes, in what year did the restaurant owners here not sell mooncakes? Now how many months do we sell mooncakes in the sky, so why are they an eyesore?" Shopkeeper Li said.
Mei Xiuguang, who was on the opposite side, jumped out and said: "Others' home-brewed wine, pastries, and pickled candied fruits have not caused a devastating blow to others, but your snow-skin mooncakes have caused all our mooncakes to be unsaleable and unsaleable. .”
Shopkeeper Li smiled and said: "Shopkeeper Mei, please be patient. The snowskin mooncakes we sell in Tiantian are aimed at wealthy people. There are many rich people in Jinling City, but no matter how many there are, there are not as many as ordinary people. So, you guys from pastry shops There are still a lot of customers! Doing business depends on competition. Whose products are better will naturally have better business. Otherwise, Xiangyilou will not come to poach people."
"There will be development only if there is competition. As for if you can't compete with others, then quickly find a way to change the way. If the high-end mooncakes cannot be sold, then sell low-end mooncakes. Shopkeeper Mei is also a veteran in business. I don't need to teach you, right? If you insist on hitting an egg with a stone, Who is to blame for the loss?"
Ye Jiayao just wanted to applaud shopkeeper Li, Lao Li was so eloquent! Said to the point.
Mei Xiuguang was so angry that Shopkeeper Li was speechless.
"Shopkeeper Li, don't be so aggressive. If things change, your chef will stay in your heaven for the rest of his life?" Some people can't stand Shopkeeper Li being so arrogant.
Shopkeeper Li said: "Who knows what will happen in the future, just take care of it now."
Zheng Fugui said: "Mr. Li, we are all in the same industry. We don't look up when we look down. We all make money by being harmonious. I think this is good. How about you reduce your living expenses in half and leave a way for others to survive?"
Most of the people in the hall nodded in agreement. Although Tianshangju is an old restaurant and its business has not been bad, it is suddenly so popular that it turns purple. It is inevitable for people to be jealous and jealous.
"I don't agree that doing business depends on one's ability. As long as there is no cheating, abduction or theft, and the means are legitimate, it's fine." Duan Qilin said.
Ye Jiayao looked at this big man in surprise. She thought he looked a bit fierce before, but now she felt that this man was simply full of righteousness.
"Please forgive me for my bold words, junior." Lu Xiaotian stood up and clasped his fists.
“Chefs have many specialized skills, including vegetarian meals, non-vegetarian meals, and pastries. Because people have limited qualifications and limited energy, they cannot take care of them all. Nowadays, there is the chef Li Yao of Tianshangju. He not only cooks dishes, Exquisite and delicious, he is also a master at making pasta. I heard that he also has superb carving skills. This kind of talent is really rare. It is a blessing for Tianxianju to have such a chef."
"To be honest, the business of each business is not as good as others. I can only complain that I can't hire such a comprehensive chef. As for the pastry room, it specializes in pastries but is defeated by a small chef in a restaurant. This is It's like two people fighting, and the opponent uses your tricks to defeat you. You can't ask your opponent to tie his hands and feet to fight you just because you lost. That's a shame, and you can only blame yourself for not being as good as the other person."
Mei Xiuguang's old face turned red, but she couldn't argue.
"What Lu Xiaotian said makes sense. We, like Jufulin, were once prosperous, but now our business is sluggish. We don't blame others." Lin Changchun also said.
Lu Xiaotian's words were so sharp that even if the people present were dissatisfied, they did not dare to come out and accuse him. If they did, they would inevitably be labeled as someone who was inferior in skills and wanted to be dishonest.
Seeing the stalemate, Zheng Fugui asked for the opinion of the old president on the side, and said: "You can discuss this matter privately! Next, the second agenda item is about the cooking competition."
"The cooking competition held every five years in Jinling City was originally organized by our Chamber of Commerce to increase the popularity of major restaurants and introduce new ones. However, this year the official put forward opinions and hoped that it would be broader and not limited to major restaurants. Anyone who feels that Anyone with excellent cooking skills can participate.”
As soon as this statement came out, the whole hall was in an uproar. In this way, the level of this competition will be improved. It will no longer be a matter within one's own circle. By then, there will definitely be as many people participating as crucian carp crossing the river, and even people from other towns will know it. Come, the competition is fiercer.
"Why? The funds are all provided by the Chamber of Commerce." Lian Xingwang from Xiangyi Tower objected.
Zheng Fugui said calmly: "Our chamber of commerce will only provide 30% of this year's funds, and the rest will be borne by the government."
He also didn't want to expand the scope of the competition, which would be detrimental to his son Sanduo. In Jinling City, Sanduo's cooking skills had a guaranteed chance of winning, but once the competition was opened, it would be unpredictable. There are mountains outside the mountains, and there are people outside the mountains. , there are many folk masters.
Uh... Since it's the officials who take the lead, they can't object even if they want.
Ye Jiayao was thinking about asking Zhong Xiang and others to participate in the competition.
"How are the awards set up?" someone asked.
Zheng Fugui said: "Since the scope has expanded, the awards will naturally increase. Officials have said that this year the top ten will be able to enter the imperial dining room. Moreover, this competition has also added noodles, and the top three will be selected."
Once this statement came out, there was another uproar. It was unreasonable. The top ten people all entered the imperial kitchen. Did the imperial kitchen want to take this opportunity to recruit cooks
Ye Jiayao could understand the official decision. It must be that the masters in the palace were tired of the dishes cooked by the current chefs and wanted to change them.
That's how it is. A restaurant will have to change chefs every few years, just for fear that customers will get tired of the food and lose their appetite.
"So, everyone here should go back and prepare well. This competition is not only to gain fame for yourself, but also to gain face for our restaurant in Jinling City." Zheng Fugui obviously wanted to encourage everyone, but he couldn't say anything he said. It feels a little heavy.
(End of chapter)