Feng Yifan didn't pay attention to the old man he met by chance in the market. He continued to search quickly in the market and purchased a batch of fresh chickens, ducks, geese, eggs, as well as pork, beef and mutton.
At the same time, at the pork stall, in addition to purchasing pork, a batch of fresh offal such as hearts, livers, stomachs, lungs and intestines were also purchased.
After all the ingredients were purchased, Feng Yifan asked all the vendors to deliver them to the vegetable vendor Lao Zhang, and then asked Zhang Qiang to drive them back to Su Ji.
But today, Feng Yifan did not go back with Zhang Qiang's car, but told Zhang Qiang the delivery time: "Qiangzi, please deliver it to Su Ji later. I still have to buy some things. If you go too early, there may be no one to receive the goods at Su Ji."
Zhang Qiang asked curiously, "Brother, what are you going to buy? How about I drive you there?"
Feng Yifan shook his head and said, "No, you can just take a rest, or go deliver something to someone else first, and then deliver it to Su Ji."
Seeing Feng Yifan's insistence, Zhang Qiang had no choice but to nod and say, "Okay, brother, you go ahead. I'll deliver it to Su Ji at half past six, okay?"
Feng Yifan glanced at the time on his watch, nodded and said, "Okay."
After saying goodbye to Zhang Qiang and the vegetable vendor Lao Zhang, Feng Yifan walked out of the market and pushed his bicycle. Coincidentally, when he pushed his bicycle to the intersection, he met the old man and the young boy again.
Since they had met each other once before, Feng Yifan nodded to the other party as a greeting before riding away on his bicycle.
The old man also nodded, and the young man who accompanied him actually smiled at Feng Yifan.
Faced with the friendliness of the old and the young, Feng Yifan felt in a good mood and rode his bicycle to his next shopping destination.
Watching Feng Yifan disappear on his bike, the old man asked the older boy beside him, "Xiaobin, what do you think of this guy? Can you tell how capable he is?"
The older boy didn't know whether to laugh or cry and responded: "Grandpa, we've only met twice, how can I tell?"
Then, before the old man could speak, the older boy asked, "Grandpa, is he really the chef of the 'Su Ji' you mentioned? But his last name is obviously not 'Su', so according to Su Ji's rules, he shouldn't be able to learn the essence of Su Ji's cuisine, right?"
The old man listened to his great-grandson's words and shook his head and said, "Rules are dead. The old plaque was passed down to his son, but when you and your grandfather met Su Lanxin abroad before, didn't she show you two some tricks?"
The older boy asked in a low voice: "I heard from Grandpa that Grandma Xin was stealing the skills?"
The old man then laughed and said, "Xiao Bin, do you think that you can steal the things that your great grandfather couldn't learn as an assistant? Can you really steal them?"
The old man's words stunned the young man, and then a look of disbelief emerged on his face.
The old man shook his head and sighed: "Su Lanxin is already old enough to be a grandmother, but she is still so stubborn. She has been holding this grudge against the old plaque for nearly forty years, but the victory and defeat were decided that year, so she can't go back now."
After hearing what his great-grandfather said, the older boy couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, I don't think you should be partial. Su Ji is obviously declining now, and its reputation in the local area is not as good as those flashy restaurants. Doesn't this mean that Grandpa Su chose the wrong successor?"
The old man glanced at his grandson and said, "To inherit the old plaque is to stick to the taste of Su Ji. As for those false names, they are nothing but illusions in the end."
After hearing what his great-grandfather said, the boy, who had never eaten Su Ji's food, was not in a position to comment on it. He could only change the subject and ask, "Grandpa, where are we going next? How about I call Grandma Xin?"
The old man shook his head: "No, let's go to Fujing Building for breakfast first."
…
Feng Yifan didn't know that the old man and the young man he met by chance in the farmer's market would be the people who might have an influence on Su Ji.
He still followed his planned route and rode his old bicycle to the medicinal materials market.
After buying some necessary herbs in the herbal medicine market, he rushed back to Su Ji without stopping.
Just as he rushed back to Su Ji, Zhang Qiang's delivery van also arrived.
Zhang Qiang saw Feng Yifan still pushing his bicycle into the door and greeted him with a smile: "Brother, we really met at this time?"
Feng Yifan also responded with a smile: "Yeah, just right."
After unloading the goods with Zhang Qiang, Feng Yifan did not let Zhang Qiang leave immediately: "Wait a moment, I have a good cold dish, take it back and let your dad try it."
Feng Yifan quickly took out the braised pork that had been pressed in the corner of the kitchen for three or four days. At this time, the jelly had completely solidified and the braised pork was completely formed.
Then, Feng Yifan used a knife to cut out a piece, and quickly cut it into thin rectangular slices, packed it in a lunch box and handed it to Zhang Qiang: "I didn't make much this time, you can take it back and try it."
Zhang Qiang took the lunch box, lifted it up and looked at it carefully. He was curious about the neatly arranged, beautiful rectangular pieces of meat in the lunch box: "Brother, what is this? It looks beautiful and smells delicious."
Feng Yifan smiled and replied: "This is called 'crystal braised pork'. It can be regarded as a cold dish to go with wine, or as a snack."
Zhang Qiang took a closer look, gave Feng Yifan a thumbs up and said, "Brother, your cooking skills are amazing. You can make a cold dish so beautiful. Crystal braised pork? The name sounds classy."
Feng Yifan patted Zhang Qiang and said, "It's nothing fancy, just a small token of my gratitude to your dad and you for taking care of me these days."
Zhang Qiang smiled and replied: "Brother, you are too polite. My father told me that Su Ji is an old customer of our family, and my father has a good relationship with the former boss of Su Ji. It is my duty to help you."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "You should still be grateful. This is not worth much. Take it back and let your dad have a taste."
Zhang Qiang did not refuse, picked up the lunch box and said, "Okay, I'll go back now. If you need anything, just give me a call. As long as I'm not busy, I'll definitely come and help you."
Feng Yifan saw Zhang Qiang out, expressed his gratitude with a smile, watched Zhang Qiang back out and left, then returned to the kitchen and started to get busy.
The first thing to do is to take out all the crystal braised pork, wrap them and put them in the refrigerator. This is considered to be the revival of one of Su Ji's famous dishes.
Next, Feng Yifan took the tools used to make the braised meat to the wash room to clean them, and then began to process the pork elbows that he had bought.
This is to prepare the next batch, because Feng Yifan knows very well that once the crystal braised pork is launched, it will definitely be sought after by many diners. So he must prepare the next batch in time.
While Feng Yifan was busy, almost at the same time, his daughter Feng Ruoruo came downstairs and stepped into the kitchen with sleepy eyes, and his apprentice Lin Ruifeng also came in from the back door.
Feng Ruoruo greeted softly, "Good morning, Dad."
Feng Yifan turned his head and looked at his daughter and said with a smile: "Good morning, Ruoruo, did you sleep well with grandma last night?"
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her father said, she pouted and said, "Dad, I want to sleep with you and mom today."
Hearing his daughter say this, Feng Yifan was a little surprised and asked, "What's wrong? Can't you sleep well with grandma?"
Little Feng Ruoruo shook her head and said, "It's not that it's bad, it's just that grandma can't tell stories. Grandma's stories are not as good as dad's. Ruoruo wants to sleep with mom and dad tonight and listen to dad tell stories."
The daughter's words at this time revealed a willful and spoiled mood, so Feng Yifan had to smile and nod in agreement: "Okay, then tonight, mom and dad will continue to take Ruoruo to sleep, and dad will tell Ruoruo a story."
Seeing his daughter perked up and started to cheer, Feng Yifan said, "Daddy agreed. Ruoruo, do you want to go upstairs, wash your face and brush your teeth, and let mom and grandma change your clothes?"
Feng Ruoruo nodded and said, "Okay, then Dad, you have to make me that green and sweet Shaomai today."
Feng Yifan also responded with a smile: "Okay, Dad will make it for you right away."
Wait for my daughter to leave the kitchen and go upstairs to wash up.
Feng Yifan said to Lin Ruifeng who came in: "Ruifeng, go pick the vegetables. Do you remember how I handled them yesterday? Come and help me prepare the ingredients."
Lin Ruifeng quickly agreed: "Okay, Master."
Next, in the kitchen, the master and apprentice began their busy morning work.