Purchasing various fresh ingredients is something every restaurant needs to do every day.
Buying groceries, something that seems to be something that ordinary people may do every day, is a big event like fighting a war for the chefs of top hotels who rush to the farmers' market before dawn.
The freshest and best ingredients in the market are often not available every day, and the supply is not always sufficient.
It’s like a stroke of luck to be able to come across some top-quality fresh produce.
So the city’s top chefs who rushed to the market at night seemed to have transformed into famous detectives, competing with each other in their eyesight.
When you see those top-notch products, you must act without hesitation. Any hesitation may result in them becoming someone else's possession.
So after Feng Yifan confirmed the vegetables with the owner of the vegetable stall, he rushed to the sashimi area in the farmer's market without stopping. The most important thing about sashimi is its freshness, and he couldn't let others snatch away the good stuff first.
And only in this city's largest farmers' market, where Feng Yifan comes, can one buy the freshest and most premium products.
As we stepped into the sashimi area, the waiters and owners of the first few stalls immediately came over to greet us warmly.
Feng Yifan was naturally unmoved, because he knew very well that the first few houses had such good locations, most of them did not have any good things, and even if they did, they had already been snatched away by others.
Ignoring the enthusiastic stall clerk and boss, he walked in quietly like a passerby, his seemingly casual glances scanning accurately.
After walking past a dozen stalls, we have arrived at the middle of the sashimi area. The owner of each stall greets us warmly.
However, Feng Yifan always seemed like a passer-by. He would smile at every enthusiastic person, but his eyes would carefully scan all the sashimi inside and outside each stall, seemingly casually.
After walking a few more steps, Feng Yifan's eyes swept across a small stall and were suddenly attracted by the fish in a huge iron basin inside the stall. Without thinking, he rushed into the stall in two steps.
But before Feng Yifan could open his mouth to call for help, two other figures stepped into the stall at the same time.
Ding ding ding.
The younger of the two people who came in with Feng Yifan knocked lightly on the iron basin in the stall, then shouted inside: "Where are the people? Are you not doing business anymore?"
After a while, the small door inside the stall opened, and a middle-aged man with messy hair and beard walked out, looking sleepy and wearing shorts and slippers.
When the middle-aged man saw the two people coming in with Feng Yifan, he quickly came to his senses and walked forward with a smile.
"Hey, Chef Zhang, what would you like to order today? I have some good stuff today."
Of the two people who came in together, the other older, more elegant middle-aged man nodded nonchalantly in response, then looked down at the fish in the iron basin.
Without waiting for the elegant middle-aged man to speak, the young man who was traveling with him obviously understood what he meant and asked directly: "Boss, how much is this pot of fish?"
The boss looked at the fish in the iron basin, then said with a smile: "Chef Zhang, you are an old customer. If you want, I will charge you 60 yuan."
The young man was immediately unhappy when he heard this: "What? 60 per catty? Boss, are you kidding me? Can catfish be sold at this price?"
The boss thought about it and said, "How about this, I'll give you 55, is that okay?"
The elegant middle-aged chef Zhang spoke at this time: "35, I want them all, send them back to me later."
This price made the boss very embarrassed: "Chef Zhang, this price is really not acceptable, these few fish of mine..."
Before the boss could finish his words, Feng Yifan, who was standing nearby, said, "I'll take it for 60 yuan a pound. Weigh it and send it to me."
Feng Yifan's sudden interruption startled the other three people in the stall, and six eyes instantly focused on him.
Seeing the three of them standing there in a daze, Feng Yifan asked with a smile: "Why? You're not selling it?"
The boss quickly responded when he heard this: "Sell it, sell it, why wouldn't you sell it? Are you sure? 60 per pound? You won't bargain?"
Feng Yifan nodded: "Yes, it's 60 per pound, but you have to deliver the goods to me, so you can't kill them."
When the boss heard this, he patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I guarantee it will be delivered fresh to you."
Seeing Feng Yifan taking out the money, the middle-aged boss over there had already started weighing the items.
The young man who had been bargaining with the boss spoke again: "Boss, there should be a first come first served rule, right? We haven't even said whether we want it or not, and you're selling it to someone else?"
The boss rolled his eyes and said, "You think it's too expensive? People are willing to pay the price. I'm just a small business, so I'll sell it to whoever pays."
The young man was immediately unhappy: "How can you be such a boss? My master has always purchased from you. If you are like this, we should consider switching to another company in the future."
These words were obviously very hurtful, and the boss's hand on the weighing scale slowed down significantly.
Feng Yifan saw a hint of arrogance on the young man's face, and he deliberately raised his eyebrows at him.
I never thought that I would meet such an interesting person when I came to the farmers' market to buy some fish.
Feng Yifan asked with a smile: "Haha, if you embarrass the boss like this, aren't you afraid that the boss will spread the news that your restaurant has to use blackmail to buy a few fish? I'm afraid your restaurant's reputation will be bad by then, right?"
After hearing this, Chef Zhang, who had allowed his young apprentice to bargain, lost his elegance.
"Alright Liu Quan, we have an old relationship with Boss Fang. Can we just change it? Shut up. Since they are willing to pay a high price for these fish, we can't hinder Boss Fang from making money."
After hearing this, the young disciple finally stopped talking, but his expression showed obvious dissatisfaction.
Chef Zhang smiled apologetically at Feng Yifan, and then said to the stall owner, "Mr. Fang, I don't want these fish today. You can deliver the others according to the order."
Boss Fang also quickly and carefully wiped the water off his hands, then carefully took the order handed to him by Chef Zhang.
"Okay, okay, Chef Zhang, don't worry. I guarantee that everything will be the best. I'll arrange it for you right away and send it to Fujing Building."
Hearing the name "Fujinglou", Feng Yifan couldn't help but look at Chef Zhang and his young apprentice twice.
Catching Feng Yifan's gaze, the young apprentice immediately regained his pride, raised his chin and said, "We at Fujinglou don't lack these catfish, since you have money, just buy them."
The young man's words were full of arrogance, and also revealed a feeling that Feng Yifan didn't know the value of things at all, but was just relying on his wealth.
Understanding what was meant, when the master and disciple turned around to leave, Feng Yifan reached out and stopped them.
The young apprentice asked rudely, "What are you doing? Are you not convinced? Do you still want to fight in the street?"
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "No, no, I've long admired Fujinglou, but I haven't had the chance to try it yet. I stopped you two because I wanted to show you something."
As he spoke, under the gaze of the master and disciple, Feng Yifan walked to the large iron basin, reached out and pulled out the head of a fish.
"One, two, three, four..."
In front of the master and his disciple, Feng Yifan carefully counted the four whiskers under the fish's mouth.
The young apprentice was confused after watching it, until Feng Yifan put the fish back into the basin, then he asked curiously: "Is that all? You just let us watch you count the fish whiskers?"
But Feng Yifan didn't need to say anything, Chef Zhang bowed to Feng Yifan and said, "Zhang Fenglin has learned a lot today."
Then he called his young apprentice and they turned around and left the inconspicuous stall together.
Looking at the backs of the master and disciple going away, Feng Yifan's mouth curled up slightly and muttered: "Zhang Fenglin of Fujing Tower? Well, he is also a master, but unfortunately he is a little arrogant."
Mr. Fang, the fishmonger, had already weighed the fish, and then he came forward and asked, "Where should I send this fish to you?"
Feng Yifan responded, "Oh, it's for Su Ji, but you have to wait for me. I have to go buy other things. You can send them over after I buy them."
Boss Fang nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead. I'll keep these fish for you."
After Feng Yifan paid and left, Boss Fang, who was delivering goods to Fujinglou, suddenly came to his senses: "Su Ji? Didn't old Su have a stroke? Who is this young man?"
When he leaned out to look for him, Feng Yifan had already disappeared into the bustling street outside.
…
Liu Quan followed his master for a while and finally couldn't help asking, "Master? What does that guy counting fish whiskers for you to see? "
Zhang Fenglin sighed: "Alas, I was wrong. Those catfish were wild in the river, and they must have been caught not long ago."
After hearing this, Liu Quan was stunned for a moment, and he also understood why his master was so upset after seeing the fish whiskers? Because he made his master miss the most delicious fish.