A man and a woman who entered the store were talking in low voices. The man said with concern: "I thought there was no decent restaurant in Nancheng, but I didn't expect that I would look down on this place. Sister, you haven't eaten much for two days, so you should eat a little today anyway."
The woman clutched her chest and nodded reluctantly: "Then eat a little."
The man walked closer and saw Lin Dan mixing a pot of braised pork, he couldn't help showing a surprised expression, "Hey, you can actually make braised pork with Qianzhou flavor, just so we are from Qianzhou, give us a serving. Bar."
Lin Dan shook his head and said, "My guest, I'm sorry, the braised pork is sold out. Can you order something else? We still have noodles and porridge here."
The man frowned and seemed unhappy: "But I just want to eat braised pork, nothing else."
"Then I can only say sorry to you. If you want to eat, you can come early tomorrow." Lin Dan smiled lightly.
She didn't know who the man was, but Qin Erniang knew, and she quickly waved her hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay, I'll give him this plate of meat, I won't eat it." Lulu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression very frightened. If I read correctly, the two brothers and sisters should be the direct son and direct daughter of the King of Yunnan and Guizhou. The King of Yunnan and Guizhou is the only king with a different surname in the Great Chu Kingdom.
In order to show his loyalty, the king of Yunnan and Guizhou sent his heir to the capital to study very early, and the treatment was not bad compared with that of the prince. The year before last, he also sent his 15-year-old daughter, who seemed to be going to the palace to be a concubine. In short, the two brothers and sisters are both people on the top of the mountain, and they can't afford to offend them in the slightest.
The man frowned and seemed satisfied with Qin Erniang's acquaintance, but Lin Dan said, "Everything must be done first. Erniang has been waiting all morning, and this plate of braised pork should belong to her."
Before the man could show an angry expression, Lin Dan raised his head, took a closer look at the pale girl, and continued: "Besides, I see that this lady has been covering her chest, and she seems to be feeling dizzy. Shouldn't he be able to get used to the water and seasickness? You can't eat these greasy things when you feel sick, how about I make some refreshing food for the lady?"
The woman didn't really want to eat meat at all, so she nodded quickly after hearing Lin Dan's words: "Alright, please help me to cook some delicious side dishes for me, I really don't want to eat meat very much now." Yanluo glanced at his brother timidly.
Thinking of his sister's future fate, the man felt pity in his heart, and how could he refute her words, so he nodded in agreement, turned around only to find Tang Jiu also, and couldn't help being surprised: "Tang Shizi, you also come to eat at this restaurant? What a coincidence."
Tang Jiu nodded and said: "This store is opened by my friend, thank you for the honor of the king." The voice is - you can play tricks anywhere, but please don't make trouble in this store.
The man was given the title of a county king by the emperor in his early years. It seemed that his status was higher than that of a marquis. His arrogant expression disappeared immediately, and his smile appeared approachable.
Seeing that he was honest, Tang Jiu only gave ten copper coins to Lin Dan, and when he said goodbye, she repeatedly told her to go to the Ministry of War Yamen to send him a letter if something happened.
Lin Dan promised well, but in fact, he never thought of bothering Tang Jiu again. People who are not from the same world, why should they be together? She is the cook, he is the diner, the relationship is as simple as that. After handing the mixed braised pork to Qin Erniang, whose hands and feet were shaking, she filled a casserole with white porridge, heated it on the stove, and then took out a handful of green peppers and threw it into the fire.
The green peppers were roasted by the charcoal fire, making a crisp beeping sound, and a pungent and spicy smell quickly spread out. Xiaozhu was choked and sneezed again and again, but the handsome man and petite woman showed half-surprised and half-nostalgic expressions.
"Are you making hot peppers?" The woman walked to the stove and stared at the green peppers that were gradually softening in the fire, with tears in her eyes: "When I was in my hometown, my mother liked to cook this dish for my brother and I. If you don’t know, we were separated from my father when we were young. My mother took my brother and I to hide in the countryside. We had no money, and we couldn’t eat big fish. It's heavy enough to eat and to keep us full."
The mask on the man's face was also cracked, and the eye sockets were slightly red.
Lin Dan raised his head and smiled at the woman. His eyes were full of comfort. After that, he put the boiled chili peppers and a few garlic in a bowl and pounded them, and then poured soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, wood ginger seed oil and other seasonings.
"Try it, is it the taste of your hometown?" After the cold salad was ready, Lin Dan handed the bowl to the woman. The woman picked up some hot peppers and savoured it carefully. With a blink of her eyes, tears came down, "Yes. , that's the taste." She quickly wiped away her tears and smiled: "Brother, come and taste it too."
Since she was taken back to the palace by her father, she has never eaten this dish again, because her mother is long gone, and there is no place for them in the palace. She and her brother are just two items that can be sacrificed and used at will.
The man took a bite of the dish, and his voice was a little hoarse: "The shopkeeper should have stayed in Qianzhou, right? This hot pepper is very authentic."
"Stay for a few months." Lin Dan put the casserole porridge and the small stove on the table together, and said warmly, "The appetizers are a bit spicy, it's better to eat less, I cut some raw meat and pork liver for you, along with If you get the leafy vegetables, you can put them directly in the porridge. Cook and eat now, the taste is more fresh.”
"Thank you, shopkeeper." The woman felt much better after crying. She used chopsticks to burn the chili peppers and slowly ate it bit by bit, her eyes full of treasure. Unexpectedly, in such a remote place in the capital, you can eat such authentic hometown dishes.
The two brothers and sisters sat and ate, silent for a long time, but their eyes were red. In order to avoid embarrassment, Lin Dan and Xiaozhu retreated to the back kitchen. Qin Erniang didn't dare to share the hall with the nobles, she followed Lin Dan with a plate of braised pork, and chatted about various gossip in the capital. She likes Manager Lin very much now, not only because of her good craftsmanship, but also because she is a good person. When you get along with her, you can feel her peace and tolerance everywhere, which is the most comfortable place.
After two quarters of an hour, they came out. The brothers and sisters had already left, but there was a shiny golden leaf on the table. Qin Erniang swallowed hard, and sighed sincerely: "My darling, it's good to have good craftsmanship. Manager Lin, your shop is going to make a lot of money!"
From this day on, Tang Jiu, Weiyuan Hou, Dianqian County King and others have become loyal fans of their hometown restaurants. With their living signs, Lin Dan's business is getting better and better. Not only people from Nancheng come here, but even dignitaries from Xicheng and Dongcheng will come quietly in the most ordinary clothes and enjoy a quiet meal. Food. No matter how many delicacies of mountains and seas I have eaten, what I love and miss the most is still such a hometown dish.
…
Two months later, Lin Dan has completely established a firm foothold in the capital. She is busy with her own business in the morning, and in the afternoon, she goes to teach Chef Qiu how to cook. Chef Qiu has only learned cooking skills from his father for three years, and he has not mastered the knives well, let alone the stove. But he is very spiritual and willing to study, teaching Lin Dan to teach him interest, and officially accepting Cook Qiu as his apprentice.
On this day, Tang Jiu invited several princes from Mongolia to come to the restaurant for dinner. Lin Dan boiled a large pot of hand-grabbed mutton with almond milk, made a sauce with salted grass head and chive flowers, and brought it out directly for the guests to use. Xiaozhu wanted to prepare chopsticks and dishes, but she shook her head and denied it.
Without cutlery, how can guests eat? The officials who accompanied Tang Jiu slammed their faces immediately, and a young man who looked quite similar to Tang Jiu shouted: "You don't wink, so many of us come to eat, you will bring a big one. When the pot comes out, where is the bowl? Where are the chopsticks? Should we grab it with our hands? Brother Ninth, this restaurant is too unreliable. Let’s go to the Yan family restaurant. Sister Yan is out of the palace today, and she should be in the restaurant. The craftsmanship is good, and the guests will be satisfied.”
The man's name is Tang Peng, he is Tang Jiu's cousin, and he is also serving in the Ministry of War. It's a pity that his proposal was rejected by his cousin. Now that Lin Dan makes such a big oolong, he can't help it.
"If you don't have knowledge, speak less and save yourself shame." Tang Jiu's tone was cold and displeased.
"Ninth brother, I also want to entertain the distinguished guests. They finally come to Dachu, so you take them to eat this? You don't even look at the faces of the princes..." He said and turned his head to look at the My lord, I was going to explain it in a good voice and ask them to move the car again, but I saw that they reached into the big basin, grabbed a piece of mutton with bones, and devoured it, chatting while eating. His face was full of admiration.
A staff member who knew Mongolian translated: "The princes are very satisfied with this meal. This dish is called hand-grabbed mutton, and it is eaten directly with the hands."
Next to him, another prince raised his voice and said a word, and his staff's face became even more pleasant, and continued: "Several princes said that the mutton in the Central Plains is too stinky, and they are not used to it. Today I can finally eat enough. The mutton made by this cook is very tender and has no stink of the Central Plains mutton at all. It is exactly the same as the mutton they ate on the grassland. The hometown restaurant is worthy of being a hometown restaurant, and it really lives up to its reputation!”
Tang Jiu said a few modest words, then grabbed the mutton and started eating. Several officials could not wait to get under the table, and they said in their hearts that it was okay, but a few princes could not understand Chinese, otherwise they would be embarrassed today. Tang Peng's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, and he was speechless for a long time. He yelled and scolded there, accusing the shopkeeper Lin of being ignorant, but it turned out that this dish was a Mongolian speciality, and it was originally prepared by hand, but it seemed that he was short-sighted and not even a cook.
Xiaozhu and the others were a little nervous at first, but they almost laughed out loud when they saw this scene. Pooh! What kind of dignitaries, really have no knowledge at all!
Lin Dan didn't care about the farce in the front hall, washed his hands and boarded the carriage to go to the west city. In order to fight against the sudden rise of Qiaoyuan Restaurant, Yanjia Restaurant has launched two signature dishes in a row in two months. I heard that the third dish will be launched today, so she has to go check it out.