On the day when the noodle shop officially opened, Jiang Yanyi still did some publicity. When her antique soup shop opened, she had limited funds and could only hire a candied haws seller to go from street to street to promote the store.
Now relying on the stable income from the antique soup shop, they can also afford a lion dance team, and the "Tian Ji" noodle shop is officially renamed "Jiang Ji".
It's a rare day that it's not snowing, so it's no exaggeration to say that the noodle shop is packed with people today.
A red paper couplet written by the old scholar was posted in front of the noodle shop. Amid the sound of gongs and drums of the lion dance, Bing Shao handed a burning incense stick to Jiang Yanyi and said, "Boss, light these firecrackers."
Jiang Yanyi was still in mourning, so even on a day like this, she dressed simply. She wore a primrose-colored double-breasted flowered jacket with snow-white rabbit fur trimmed at the collar, which made her complexion look even whiter, and her originally overly gorgeous features became even more delicate.
Jiang Yanyi took it with a smile, covered his ears with one hand, and used the other hand to light the big red firecrackers hanging on the tall bamboo. Amid the "crackling" sound of firecrackers, the onlookers applauded and cheered.
Jiang Yanyi handed the incense to Bing Shao, and said to the people in front of the opposite gate with a smile: "Today Jiang's Noodle Shop officially opens. Thank you all for coming to support us. Today, buy five noodles and get one free!"
This statement again drew applause from everyone.
"Shopkeeper Jiang, don't even mention the extras. Everyone is waiting in line to buy!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said yes.
The buy five get one free gift packages are all pre-wrapped with oil paper, on which is printed an ink-colored ginger flower with the two big Chinese characters "Jiang Ji" written on it, and a small seal specially used by Jiang Yanyi's store is printed next to it.
The noodles inside are 5.2 yuan and 1 yuan.
This novel and beautiful packaging bag made many people feel novel. A large bag of noodles for only 1 copper coin could provide food for two days. Even an ordinary family would not be short of this little money. And when they heard that a piece of noodles would be given as a gift, they would be more generous in giving the copper coins.
Some customers just wanted to buy some to try, and only bought one or two pieces of dough cakes. Jiang Yanyi would have them wrapped in oil paper and hand them to the customers with a smile. His service attitude was absolutely impeccable.
Many people bought instant noodles, and the sauce could be used for both instant noodles and cooking, so it was naturally snapped up. However, because it was made with lard, the cost price was there, so the sauce couldn't be much cheaper. Jiang Yanyi set the price at 15 wen per can. After deducting the material cost and labor cost, the profit from selling a can was about 8 wen.
Chu Shubao heard that Jiang Yanyi's noodle shop had opened, so she came to help. She helped Jiang Yanyi collect money. Although she only handled copper coins, Chu Shubao was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
When she had some free time, she said to Jiang Yanyi with a smile on her face: "So this is what it feels like to make your own money and be the boss."
Jiang Yanyi stood for a long time, his waist was sore, and he asked Chu Shubao with a smile: "Are you tired?"
Chu Shubao nodded and shook her head: "It's not easy, but when I think about the money I earned through hard work, I feel happy and don't feel tired anymore."
When she talked about making money, her eyebrows flew up: "By the way, I used all my private money to buy rouge. I have prepared a copy of the most fashionable styles at the moment. I don't have to worry about the girls in Xizhou City not buying them."
Jiang Yanyi said, "When you're done, come to my shop and we'll discuss how to display the counter."
Chu Shubao was waiting for her to say this, and she was so happy that her teeth were showing.
After the busiest period, there weren't many people buying instant noodles anymore. Fortunately, Jiang Yanyi had some second-hand supplies.
She took out the noodles and seasoning sauce, and made a bowl of instant noodles on the street, shouting, "Just add hot water and it's ready to eat," while demonstrating on the spot. Passersby on the street didn't know much about instant noodles, but after hearing about this magical way of eating and smelling the enticing aroma, they couldn't help but become curious and gathered around to watch.
-With the crowds of people watching the fun, passers-by behind would unconsciously stop and watch. The fragrance floating in the air aroused their appetite, and they could not keep the money in their pockets.
What surprised Jiang Yanyi was that the young master of Tianji also came to support her. After the cause of death of the gambling house's son was found out, the young master of Tianji was released by the government office.
Seeing the noodle shop opening so lively, he cupped his hands towards Jiang Yanyi, and couldn't help but sigh: "Congratulations to Shopkeeper Jiang, Congratulations to Shopkeeper Jiang, the noodle shop has really been revived in Shopkeeper Jiang's hands. When I was young, my family was at its peak. It's a pity that the ancestral foundation was eventually destroyed in my hands."
The wounds on his face from being beaten by the gambler's son and his men had not yet fully healed. There were faint bruises on the corners of his eyes and on his chin. Even though he was wearing decent clothes, he still looked a bit shabby.
As if realizing that he had said something he shouldn't have, the young master of Tianji laughed guiltily: "Look at my mouth. Today is the day of your grand opening, and I am talking nonsense..."
Jiang Yanyi said it was okay, and the young master of Tianji said a few auspicious words, bought five buns and left, and the episode just passed like that.
The noodle shop made considerable income on the morning of the first day of opening. When Jiang Yanyi and Chu Shubao were counting the copper coins in the bamboo basket, their eyes almost went blind. Every time they counted out a thousand coins, they strung them together into a string. In the morning, they made a total of eight strings of coins, more than three hundred coins.
Chu Shubao weighed the heavy money and said with emotion, "It seems that there are many people buying noodles, but if you break it down, each person only earns a dozen coins at most. I think it's better to sell rouge. The rouge from Baixiang Pavilion in Beijing is of good quality. A small box can be sold for several taels of silver!"
Jiang Yanyi said: "There are only a few girls who can afford rouge, and even fewer who can afford top-quality rouge, but this is something that everyone can afford."
If the country is peaceful and the people are prosperous in the future, and more people can afford rouge, then there will indeed be a huge market. But now, many people are still worried about food and clothing. With limited money, they naturally take care of food and clothing first. Most of the copper coins earned by the noodle shop this morning were bought by the people in the West Market. If the people in the whole city eat instant noodles, the business will be more considerable.
Moreover, food will be gone after one meal. It is something that must be bought every day, unlike clothes and jewelry, which can be bought once and used for a long time.
Chu Shubao nodded, not quite understanding.
**
The guys at the noodle shop cook their own meals after work. Today, Jiang Yanyi is here, so he plans to cook for them, just to celebrate the opening of the noodle shop.
She entered the small kitchen and found that there were not many dishes and the seasonings were not as complete as those in her antique soup shop.
The cook had never seen a boss who would cook for his servants. After Jiang Yanyi entered the kitchen, he was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. He said stiffly: "Boss, we are all rough people. Just make something to eat. Everyone said this morning that we should boil water and make some noodles. That tastes good!"
Jiang Yanyi didn't expect that the ancients couldn't escape the charm of instant noodles. When she was young and ignorant, she ate instant noodles for the first time and even thought it was a delicacy. Later, she ate it so often that she felt sick of the smell. But if she didn't eat it for a long time, she would be greedy again.
Jiang Yanyi looked at the ingredients in the kitchen, thought for a moment and said, "Why not make maocai?"
Maocai, a Sichuan dish, is not much different from hotpot in terms of cooking method and is even called "personal hotpot".
The guy had never heard of "maocai", but he just thought it was his own lack of knowledge and did not raise any questions.
Jiang Yan saw that there were ready-made potatoes and lotus roots in the kitchen, so he asked the waiter to go out and buy some meat and other vegetables.
While Jiang Yanyi was preparing the ingredients, Chu Shubao volunteered to help her.
Chu Shubao had no interest in cooking, but she liked to chat with Jiang Yanyi about topics related to rouge and makeup. In the Xuan Dynasty, thinness was considered beautiful, and the weaker a woman was, the more lovable she was. Therefore, most women would show a sense of weakness in both their appearance and makeup.
Both she and Jiang Yanyi have bright facial features and slender figures. Unless they dress up deliberately, they will not look weak at all.
Chu Shubao told Jiang Yanyi about her experience in the capital: "You don't know that the girls in the capital only eat with such small bowls..."
She gestured with her hands to Jiang Yanyi, and said speechlessly, "I feel that the small tea bowl I use to drink tea is bigger than their rice bowls, and the rice in the bowl can only be half full. It's okay at home, but if I go to a banquet, I will be laughed at if I add more rice. I never dare to eat too much at a banquet, I always fill my stomach when I get home, and because of this, I have been scolded by my mother a lot."
Jiang Yanyi washed the lotus root, peeled it, and cut it into thin slices. After hearing Chu Shubao's words, he couldn't help but say, "She is at the age of growing up, how can you restrict her from eating it?"
Chu Shubao seemed to have found an ally, and said angrily: "My mother said that I can't get married if I'm fat, and she doesn't allow me to eat meat in order to get married. But I don't want to get married!"
Jiang Yanyi was amused by her and said, "How can you be fat? Being too thin will make you sick easily. You are just fine like this now."
Chu Shubao saw Jiang Yanyi finish processing the lotus root, and then picked up a potato and handed it to her: "You know my mother's temper. In Beijing, if you eat half a bowl of rice, she will scold you for a long time. Fortunately, Xizhou doesn't have those rules. During the days I came to Xizhou, I found that the girls here are all energetic, unlike in Beijing, where there are only sick beauties. Every time I attend a banquet, I feel like I might faint when looking at them. Fortunately, my grandmother loves Huibao and me, and never restricts us from eating. I still like the customs in Xizhou. Young girls don't have to put on makeup on their faces as if they are about to die."
Jiang Yanyi said: "Everyone has their own unique look. Whether it's makeup or body shape, a well-proportioned body will be beautiful. There's no need to ruin your body just for what others say is beautiful."
Chu Shubao nodded wildly: "I think so too."
The two chatted for a while, and the waiter came back with some vegetables, but he only bought the relatively cheap pork. Jiang Yanyi cut half of the lean meat into thin slices for later use, chopped the other half into a paste and mixed it with chopped coriander, then beat an egg and mixed it evenly before kneading it into meatballs.
After the ingredients were ready, she dried the wok and added some oil. When the oil temperature came up, she scooped a large amount of seasoning sauce into the wok. The solidified oil melted when it was heated, and the mixture of vegetable oil and animal oil produced bursts of rich aroma. Jiang Yanyi stir-fried with a spatula while adding the spices into the wok and stir-frying evenly. In no time, the air was filled with the rich spicy aroma of the seasoning.
After frying the seasonings until fragrant, pour in boiling water. If you use broth, the taste will be better, but unfortunately there is not enough time to boil it.
As soon as the water boiled, Jiang Yanyi first put potato slices, lotus root slices, bean sprouts and tofu into the pot to cook. When they were 70% cooked, he put the meat slices and coriander meatballs into the pot. At the same time, he soaked a few pieces of instant noodles in boiling water. When the noodles were swollen, he used chopsticks to pick them up and put them into the pot to cook them. After turning off the heat, he put them into the soup pot and sprinkled them with scallion segments and coriander. It not only looked good but also enhanced the flavor.
The difference between maocai and hotpot is that hotpot is eaten by shabu-shabu, while maocai is eaten by cooking all the ingredients in one pot.
The rice was steamed in advance in a wooden barrel steamer. Jiang Yanyi shouted "Let's eat!" and the waiters who had been smelling the food outside and swallowing their saliva for a long time rushed into the kitchen like dogs fighting for food, and took out two maocai pots and the steamer of rice.
+Several people sat around two tables. Jiang Yanyi took Bing Shao and Chu Shubao to eat with several masters.
The noodle shop had a hard time making a living before, and the dishes did not even have much oil, so there was no time to eat meat in such big mouthfuls. The young guys almost wolfed down the food, picking up a handful of vegetables from the soup bowl and swallowing it with the hot rice. The spicy aroma lingered from the root of the tongue to the tip of the tongue, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste.
The vegetarian dishes in the pot seemed to be cooked with the aroma of meat, and the instant noodles also fully absorbed the meaty soup. When I put them in my mouth, I felt that the taste was several times better than usual. The guys in the noodle shop all praised it.
Chu Shubao is a carefree person. She did not feel uncomfortable at all during the meal. She even took the initiative to ask the masters about the noodle-making process. She seemed careless, but her words were quite measured.
Jiang Yanyi felt that this girl was a person with strong opinions. If she devoted all her attention to rouge, she might be able to achieve something in the future.
After dinner, Chu Shubao touched her round belly and sighed, even walking was difficult.
Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Don't eat too much next time."
Chu Shubao rubbed her belly and complained, "If I could control my mouth, I wouldn't be like this now."
As she spoke, she sniffed her clothes: "I feel like my clothes are also smelled by the smoke. I hope Huibao won't pull my sleeves and cry while I'm envious when I get home."
Jiang Yanyi said, "It's not that bad. Next time you come, bring Huibao and the others with you."
Chu Shubao's eyebrows began to fight: "Grandma didn't let Huibao come over."
Jiang Yanyi asked: "Why?"
Chu Shubao said with a tangled face: "Grandma said Huibao is too greedy."
Jiang Yanyi burst out laughing: "No matter how much she eats, can she bankrupt my store?"
Chu Shubao also smiled embarrassedly.
She was so bloated that Jiang Yanyi thought it would be good to walk to help digest the food, so he didn't call a bullock cart and walked directly back to the antique soup shop with Chu Shubao.
Just as she arrived at the store, she found a bullock cart parked in front of the door. There was no one on the cart, only a few chickens with their wings tied and their feet tied together, looking like they were waiting to be slaughtered. It was a spectacular sight.
The author has something to say: Jiang Yanyi: Shall we have chicken tonight
Sorry, my dears, I was delayed by many personal matters. I will make it up to you tomorrow~
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