Jiang Yanyi was amused by the parrot. She took the cage, thanked Feng Shuo again, and asked, "What would the prince like to eat?"
Seeing that she seemed to like the parrot very much, Feng Shuo raised the corners of his lips imperceptibly, glanced at the menu mounted on the wall and said, "Give me a mutton hotpot."
Jiang Yanyi poured him more tea and went to the kitchen to get the pot.
The soup stock is prepared early in the morning and can be poured into the pot with boiling water. Red-hot silver charcoal is placed at the bottom of the pot, so that the soup in the pot will continue to boil even when it is served on the table.
While she was doing all this, Chef Li asked what kind of pot it was. Jiang Yanyi answered mutton pot, and Chef Li quickly sliced a pound of mutton for her. The slices were neither too thin nor too thick, just the perfect thickness for hot pot.
As soon as the pot was brought to the table, the mutton and various side dishes were also placed on it.
All the sauces that Jiang Yanyi had made earlier came in handy at this time, but it was a pity that the fermented bean curd had not yet fermented.
When opening a mid- to high-end hotpot restaurant, the service must of course be good and it is naturally impossible to let the customers get their own sauces and dishes.
Jiang Yanyi asked: "Does Your Majesty prefer a heavy or light sauce dish?"
The sauce for mutton hotpot requires a "spicy, spicy, braised, fermented and fresh" taste. In ancient times when spicy food was not very popular, "spicy" was generally made with minced garlic and "spicy" was made with dogwood.
Feng Shuo had eaten hotpot before, but at that time he had no sense of taste and could not tell whether the food he put into his mouth was delicious or not.
He said, "Whatever you like."
Jiang Yanyi pondered over what he said, and it seemed that he was not going to be picky.
She took a delicate pear-shaped bowl and went to the counter where the seasoning jars were displayed to put the sauce in, first putting the liquid sauce in, then the solid sauce, stirring it clockwise without sticking the bowl, so that the sauce would not disperse or leak.
After preparing the sauce dish, Jiang Yanyi brought it back to Feng Shuo's table: "Enjoy your meal."
The water in the copper pot was bubbling, the soup was clear, a mist of white vapor rose above the pot, the wolfberries and red dates floating on the soup looked like fallen flowers at this moment, and there were a few gorgeous hibiscus flowers in a white-necked porcelain vase next to it.
The tables are separated by half-person-high bamboo screens, on which are woven all kinds of flower and bird totems with bamboo strips. Although they appear a bit rough upon closer inspection, opening such a restaurant in this remote area is already quite "elegant".
Feng Shuo picked up the wooden tablet and discovered that it was also carved with bamboo patterns and a seal-style character "Jiang".
He looked at the bowls and plates on the table and saw that most of them had unique shapes. The small bowl for the sauce dish was pear-shaped, and the plates for the dishes were leaf-shaped. There was also a seal-script word "ginger" on the outer wall of the bowl or plate or on the handle of the spoon, which was obviously painted on when the porcelain was fired.
Feng Shuo originally just wanted to eat something casually, but now he really thinks this unremarkable little shop is quite interesting.
He used an extended wooden stick to pick up a piece of mutton and put it into the pot. After it was cooked, he put it in a sauce dish and dipped it in the sauce. The moment he took a bite, he was stunned for a long time.
The soup at the bottom of the pot was probably made from an old hen, but it didn't have any chicken flavor, only freshness. The mutton had a slight smell, and when you put it in the mouth after coating it with the sauce, the five flavors bloomed on the tip of your tongue, leaving you with an endless aftertaste.
He suddenly understood why the powerful and wealthy liked to eat this antique soup.
At this time, Jiang Yanyi brought up two more plates, both of which were green, one with coriander and the other with Chinese chrysanthemum.
She smiled and said, "This is a free side dish for the store's opening today."
When eating mutton hotpot, it is recommended to add some coriander or Chinese spinach. This is a combination that experts know how to make. However, some diners do not like coriander, while some diners like it very much. Jiang Yanyi simply brought out both plates.
Feng Shuo looked at the two plates of green dishes and his brows subconsciously frowned, but he didn't say anything, just nodded hesitantly.
Jiang Yanyi never understood what this big boss was thinking. After entertaining him, he went to serve food at another table.
Although she asked the vendors selling candied haws to help promote her business for several days, the number of customers dining in the restaurant on its opening day was still not very optimistic.
It was almost time for dinner, and there were only five tables of customers in her restaurant.
There are quite a few children who come here to ask for candied haws, but since they can be lured here by a string of candied haws, their families are not well-off, and naturally they don’t have the spare money to go to a restaurant for hotpot.
Jiang Yanyi placed the three bunches of candied haws that she bought on the counter. Seeing that the children kept gathering around them, she gave each of them a bunch of candied haws, thinking that the money was spent on marketing anyway.
The children then left with smiles on their faces.
Zhao Tou'er, who was sitting behind the counter helping her check the accounts, shook his head when he saw this: "As a businessman, you're losing money before you even make any money."
Jiang Yanyi smiled sheepishly: "Let's make a name for ourselves first."
Although there were many people watching the fun before, just as Jiang Yanyi had worried before, mutton hotpot is not cheap. Those who have money to eat mutton have old shops they trust, or their own chefs have good skills. They will not spend money in her shop so easily.
Just by looking at the furnishings in the shop, Zhao Tou'er knew how much money she had spent in it.
Fearing that Jiang Yanyi would be sad, he said, "It's not easy to open a restaurant. There are always ups and downs. Next time we have a day off, Lao Li and I will invite some old friends from the military camp to come over."
Their old friends in the army, at least they are in charge of a hundred people, so they must have money to eat a pot.
Jiang Yanyi knew that Zhao Touer was afraid that she would not be able to continue this business and would not be able to make back her investment. She was grateful in her heart: "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Zhao, but I can't keep bothering you and Master. Since I decided to open a store here, I must have thought about all these."
She went to the backyard and asked two firemen to help her move the barbecue grill to the door of the shop and light the charcoal.
Zhao Tou'er was puzzled: "What are you doing?"
He had never seen such a stove in his life, but it looked like it was used for baking.
Jiang Yanyi was using a palm leaf fan to fan the silver charcoal to make it burn more vigorously. As she fanned, she said, "It's used for roasting meat."
The ancients called barbecue "roasted meat".
After hearing this, Tou'er Zhao secretly shook his head and thought that this girl didn't know what was going on. It would not work if she opened a restaurant and bought and cooked everything. In the end, she wouldn't be able to do anything well and would lose her reputation.
But today is the opening day of Jiang Yanyi's shop, and Jiang Yanyi is very motivated at the moment, so he doesn't want to say anything unlucky.
The charcoal fire had been lit. Jiang Yanyi walked quickly into the kitchen and found the bamboo sticks that had been sharpened a few days ago from the cupboard.
When Chef Li heard that she wanted to grill the meat, he felt that it was not feasible just like Zhao Tou'er. However, he couldn't persuade Jiang Yanyi, and he couldn't bear to see her busying around alone, so he had to help her cut small pieces of mutton.
Okra was standing guard in the front of the shop so that diners could request for more tea or extra dishes.
Jiang Yanyi skillfully skewered the mutton, took some homemade chili powder and cumin powder and went outside to start grilling the meat.
Although chili peppers had not yet been served on the table in this era, cumin was already a well-known spice, but it was called "kumin" here.
Cumin and barbecue are a perfect match. Sprinkle a little chili powder on it and the aroma can waft across the street.
The grilled skewers on the street create a double impact on vision and taste, attracting many pedestrians to stop.
When the meat was roasted to 70% done, Jiang Yanyi sprinkled cumin and chili on it. The aroma went straight into people's noses, arousing their appetite.
Soon someone came up to ask Jiang Yanyi: "How much do you sell this roasted meat for?"
Jiang Yanyi said, "The shop is opening today. We are not selling this roasted meat. Come in and eat the hotpot and you will get five skewers of roasted meat for free."
No matter what era, the word "free" can always break down customers' psychological defenses the fastest.
The man saw that Jiang Yanyi's roasted meat was of sufficient quantity and she even sent five skewers in a row. He immediately felt that even if the taste of her pot was not satisfactory, it was worth it. He walked into the store and said, "Give me an antique soup and bring the roasted meat up quickly."
"Okay, please come in."
Jiang Yanyi was very happy when he attracted a customer just after he started grilling, and a smile appeared on his face.
When the diners inside heard her say that the roasted meat was free, they were already tempted by the smell and quickly shouted, "Boss, the roasted meat for our table hasn't been served yet!"
Jiang Yanyi replied: "It's being grilled! It will be served to you in a moment!"
Fortunately, there were many firemen coming today and there was no shortage of manpower. Jiang Yanyi quickly asked a few firemen to go to the backyard to help skewer more meat.
Feng Shuo, who was sitting at another table, also smelled the aroma of barbecue, but due to his status, he couldn't shout out like the diners at that table. He just glanced outside.
A fireman was carrying the meat that Jiang Yanyi had just grilled into the store. He unexpectedly caught Feng Shuo's eye. His hand holding the tray trembled, and he turned around and brought it to Feng Shuo's table: "General, please...please enjoy it."
The diner at the table who had just shouted saw that the barbecue was brought to another table and was about to make a fuss, but when he saw that the person sitting at that table was Feng Shuo, he decisively shut up.
He didn't have the courage to snatch meat from the King of Liaonan's mouth.
Boss Zhao was sitting behind the counter. He saw that Jiang Yanyi really used this method to attract customers. But when he heard the silly girl say that the roasted meat was free, he felt like he was losing out. However, one more customer could help him make more money back, so he still went to greet her warmly.
After asking the diners what kind of pot they wanted to eat, he asked the temporary waiter to go to the kitchen to pass the message to Chef Li, while Qiu Kui went forward with the teapot to add tea.
The diners saw that the tables were separated by walls, as if it was a simple private room, and the bowls and plates were exquisitely designed. They originally came for the barbecued meat, but they also had a better impression of this restaurant because of these small items.
Because of Jiang Yanyi's cool operation of grilling meat on the street, plus the addition of cumin powder and chili powder, more and more people came to inquire, and the store was already full before noon.
As soon as it gets lively inside and the outsiders see that the business is booming, diners subconsciously think that the food in this restaurant must be good. When they smell the tempting aroma of roasted meat and hear that the meat skewers are served with the hot pot, they are happy to wait in line.
The nobles passing by saw this grand occasion and inevitably wanted to try it, but they were unwilling to wait any longer, so they left their maids and servants waiting here and packed up the pot to take back home to eat.
Jiang Yanyi did not use much chili powder and sprinkled very little on the meat skewers. After all, the ancients might not be used to eating too spicy food.
But several tables of diners ate the free kebabs and ordered another one even if they had to pay for it.
Jiang Yanyi suddenly felt that there must be a market for the ancients' love of spicy food. Now she only regretted that she had too few chili peppers.
Fortunately, more than a dozen firemen came to the fire camp today, so the restaurant was able to handle all the work, and there was no delay at all from serving food to clearing tables.
Jiang Yanyi was grilling skewers outside, and there was a fireman in the backyard helping her skewer the meat. Later on, not only was there not enough mutton, but there were not enough bamboo skewers either.
Bamboo skewers were easy to come by, as she had enough staff in her shop, so she could just ask two firemen to cut some bamboo and help her cut them. Fresh mutton had to be bought from the butcher's shop.
Mrs. Chen from the clothing shop thought that Jiang Yanyi's business would be difficult to do in the future this morning, but she didn't expect it to be so popular now.
Although she was jealous, she didn't feel jealous because her family ran a clothing store. Seeing that Jiang Yanyi couldn't leave, she said, "Sister, if you trust me, I'll ask my man to go to the butcher and buy you some more mutton."
"Thank you so much, Sister Chen!" Jiang Yanyi had not expected the store's business to be so popular. She called two firemen to go buy meat with Mrs. Chen's husband, so that they could carry back more meat.
Even when the firemen came into the city in the past, they seldom came to the main street of the Protectorate and were unfamiliar with the shops here. With Chen Dalang leading the way, Jiang Yanyi felt relieved.
She was so busy that she didn't even notice when Feng Shuo left the store.
Until a cup of warm scented tea was handed to her. The hand that handed her the tea was slender, with rough fingertips, but the joints were still very beautiful, and the rolled edge of the sleeves was embroidered with dark cloud patterns.
When Jiang Yanyi raised his head, he met Feng Shuo's deep phoenix eyes.
He said, "Drink tea."
Jiang Yanyi was stunned and didn't reach out to take it for a moment. Passing the tea... This is not like Feng Shuo's style.
Fortunately, it was dinner time, there weren't many people on the street, the store was busy, and no one paid attention to what was happening outside.
In order to attract customers, she grilled the meat and shouted for a long time, and her throat was dry and smoking.
Jiang Yanyi wiped her hands on her apron and took the teacup handed to her by Feng Shuo: "Thank you, Your Highness."
She drank the tea in one gulp and felt alive again.
Feng Shuo's brows were knitted together, and he said in a low voice, "Are you the shopkeeper or the waiter?"
Jiang Yanyi knew that she was talking about buying barbecue skewers on the street. Compared with the Lai Fu Restaurant on the street ahead, she, the shopkeeper, was indeed not very respectable.
However, our shop is small, and Chef Li and his friends just came over to help today because they are free. We can't let others do these things.
She held the empty teacup and smiled awkwardly: "We just opened the store today, so I was a little hectic."
Feng Shuo looked at the tiny beads of sweat on the tip of her nose and the little bit of carbon black from burning charcoal, and stretched out his hand as if possessed. Jiang Yanyi froze in place and forgot to dodge for a moment.
“Snap—”
The meat on the grill had not been turned over for a long time, and the bamboo skewers were burnt and burned.
Jiang Yanyi was startled back to his senses by the voice. He turned around and looked with a look of pain on his face: "My barbecue!"
Feng Shuo withdrew his hand when it was only an inch away from her cheek.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was subtly awkward.
"Master, the pot to be taken back to the Grand Concubine is ready."
Just at this moment, Xing Yao came out of the store, with a guard behind him holding a steaming copper pot.
Jiang Yanyi seemed to have forgotten what happened just now. She had the same smile on her face as when she was attracting customers. She said to them, "The roasted meat is ready. I'll deliver it to your house in a while."
Feng Shuo stared at the smile on her face for two seconds before nodding, "Thank you."
His tone was his usual cold and clear one, but one could somehow sense that he seemed to be displeased all of a sudden.
Jiang Yanyi pretended not to know and continued to turn the barbecue with his head down. He waited until Feng Shuo walked away before he raised his hand and patted his slightly hot cheeks.
It must be because I stood in front of the barbecue grill for too long and it was too hot.
Chen Dalang quickly came back with two firemen carrying mutton. When he saw Jiang Yanyi, he said, "There is no mutton in Ma the butcher's shop. These two sheep were killed right away."
"Thank you for making this trip for me. You and Sister Chen must come over for a simple meal in the evening." Jiang Yanyi said.
Chen Dalang was not good at speaking, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "We are all neighbors, it is only natural for us to help each other."
It was noon. He Xingniang, who ran a jewelry store across the street, suddenly poured a basin of vegetable washing water onto the street and said in a sarcastic tone, "Shopkeeper Jiang, you have to clean up your store. A rat jumped into my store yesterday!"
Jiang Yanyi has never seen any mice in his house since he moved here. He Xingniang is yelling in the street, and her thoughts are clearly written on her face.
Jiang Yanyi couldn't understand why her own hot pot restaurant was an eyesore to her. There were so many customers in the restaurant, and she didn't want to argue with He Xingniang. She just said:
"What a coincidence! I haven't seen a single mouse in my store. The meat I used today was bought this morning. As for flour, rice and other grains, every household has them. Sister He, please don't accuse me of opening the store today. It's hurtful."
He Xingniang was retorted by her lightly words, her face was not good, and she snorted and laughed: "This is the first time I heard that a restaurant does not invite rats."
Madam Chen heard them talking and came out to help, "My shop is right next to Miss Jiang's restaurant. If there really was a rat, why didn't it run to my shop first? Instead, it ran to your place, Xingniang, to gnaw on the gold nuggets? Could it be that the rat has become a spirit?"
He Xingniang couldn't win the argument with the two of them, so she pursed her lips, picked up the basin of water, and turned back to her shop.
Madam Chen then said to Jiang Yanyi, "Ignore her. Her husband gets dividends from Lai Fu Restaurant. Lai Fu Restaurant does good business, so they get more dividends. Seeing your restaurant doing so well today, she must be jealous!"