"Brother Jiang, give me four buns, two radishes and two tofu buns."
"Oh, unfortunately, we didn't order the dried tofu yesterday, but we have some new ones today. Would you like to try them?"
"Okay, make two with new fillings for me to try first."
Shopkeeper Wang obviously trusted Jiang Miao's cooking skills and ordered the stuffing without asking. He stood in front of the load, chatting with Jiang Miao while waiting for the buns to come out of the pot.
"Brother Jiang, why didn't you come out to set up your stall yesterday? I couldn't find anyone to buy some buns."
Jiang Miao handed over the buns and said, "I was delayed yesterday by something, but I'm here today. By the way, how about you try the buns today? I'm looking forward to your advice."
Jiang Miao went to Daniu yesterday afternoon and brought back the load, and after deducting Daniu's wages, he had more than 200 coins left. He used the money to buy flour, radish and some seasonings, and diced the lotus root he bought yesterday, fried it half-cooked and wrapped it in the pot.
Shopkeeper Wang took a bite, frowned, chewed it carefully, and then said, "This stuffing... tastes sweet, crispy and tender, and there's a lot of juice inside... What is it? Let me try it again."
This bun clearly stumped Shopkeeper Wang. Unlike the previous dried tofu, he could tell the difference in one bite. This time, one bun was almost empty, but he couldn't taste the filling. Finally, he opened another one to see the filling, and then he realized, "Isn't this lotus root? Can it be used to make buns?"
Jiang Miao smiled and said, "Tell me first, how do these lotus root dumplings taste?"
"In one word, good!" Shopkeeper Wang never hesitates to praise the deliciousness of the food he eats. In fact, he admires this young man Jiang very much. He dares to use the right ingredients and cooks the food deliciously. His ability to innovate is worth learning from for other stall owners on the street.
"I feel at ease when I hear a good word from you." Jiang Miao's flattering words made Manager Wang very happy.
In his joy, he couldn't help but say, "Brother Jiang, your buns are indeed delicious, but I still want to give you a suggestion."
"What?" Seeing that he spoke in a serious tone, Jiang Miao couldn't help but open his eyes wide and wait.
"Can you stop serving vegetarian food and give us some meat to try? When can we serve meat buns?"
Jiang Miao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He also wanted to eat meat. Isn't this expensive? After sending away Shopkeeper Wang who was obsessed with the meat buns, Jiang Miao continued to look after the stall.
The lotus root buns taste fresh, crispy and tender, with rich flavors. The men and women of Yifeng Street all enjoy them very much. Some people miss the taste of buns with dried tofu, and urge Jiang Miao to order some dried tofu tomorrow so that they can sell well.
Meat is a bit difficult, but dried tofu is easy, so Jiang Miao naturally wants to order it. After today's buns are sold out, he immediately goes to Old Man Ding to place an order.
Old Man Ding held the money he had given him, and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Jiang Miao was puzzled, so he asked him what was wrong. Old Man Ding said, "Brother Jiang, you didn't come here these few days, but you didn't know that the bun shop at the end of the street has also started selling buns stuffed with dried tofu."
"Did you also order his dried tofu from you?" Jiang Miao didn't understand what he meant for a moment and thought that there were too many goods to bring over.
"No, the dried tofu they sell comes from the tofu stall in front." Old Man Ding shook his head, "What I mean is, they also sell buns with dried tofu filling!" He deliberately emphasized the words "dried tofu filling".
Jiang Miao immediately understood that the old man was defending him. "It's okay, just do it. We all make a living by our own skills, so we are not afraid that they will learn from us."
"Aren't you really afraid that he will take away all your business? His products are even cheaper!" Old Man Ding didn't know why this young man was so good-tempered. He acted as if nothing had happened even though his skills had been learned by others.
"We don't mind if it's cheap. Even if it's the same thing, everyone uses different heat, different amounts, and different order of ingredients, so the taste is different. As long as our buns are delicious, we won't have to worry about not having customers." Nowadays, there are so many cookbooks that teach the cooking steps in such detail. If it's really that easy to learn, no one has become a chef from them. If you want to make something delicious, you have to rely on years of experience and touch.
Old man Ding really admired him. This might be what others mean by "the more skilled you are, the more courageous you are."
In fact, Jiang Miao was not as skilled and daring as he thought, but he really could not stop others. He could tell what ingredients were used in those buns by tasting them, so how could he tell others not to use the same ones? However, in the case of serious homogeneity, whoever tasted bad would be embarrassed. Besides, he came from the information age, and there were countless kinds of snacks in his mind. In ancient times, information was blocked and the population was not very mobile. How could he have seen and eaten as many as he did? Whatever he made was considered a new product. Even if they all imitated him, they would just follow behind and drink some soup.
On this side, Jiang Miao had just returned home through the side door carrying his load when someone knocked on the main gate of the yard.
Old Mrs. Bai, sitting under the eaves, called out, "The door is open, come in!"
The man pushed open the door and saw Mrs. Bai sitting there, so he stepped forward and asked, "Old lady, I want to ask you something. I heard that there is a chef in your yard who can make white cases, right?"
Old Mrs. Bai was confused by his question. She had never heard of a cook living here, but there was one restaurant waiter.
The man was a little anxious: "How come there is nothing? I asked every household, and everyone said that there is someone in your courtyard who is good at making dumplings."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Bai slapped her thigh and glared at him: "You young man, you can't even speak clearly. Why didn't you just say you were selling buns? What's the matter with the white pastry chef? Isn't that nonsense?" After that, she shouted to the north, "Brother Jiang, someone is looking for you!"
Jiang Miao was heating up steamed buns for Xiao Shitou in the house. When he went to set up the stall, he woke Xiao Shitou up. Before he even opened his eyes, he said he wanted to set up the stall with his brother. It was too cold outside, so Jiang Miao didn't let him go. He coaxed him back to sleep, and he finally woke up.
He put the buns in a bowl and handed it to the washed little stone. He wiped his hands and walked out. He was happy when he saw her: "Brother Zhao?"
As soon as Zhao Xing saw him, he immediately complained: "Why don't you explain clearly, kid? It's so hard for me to find him every house!" There were so many people in Tianshui Alley, Yifong Street, and looking for this kid was like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially since he didn't even know the other person's name.
"I didn't explain it clearly, so I apologize to you. But Brother Zhao, why did you come here now?" Jiang Miao guessed something in his mind, but didn't dare to say it directly.
"Didn't you say that you can cook plain pastry and the longevity peaches you make are different from others? Now I'll give you a chance. Come with me and try it." Zhao Xing said.
"Great!" His guess was confirmed. Jiang Miao was very happy as he estimated that a large sum of money was about to fly into his purse.
"But, do you really know how to make birthday peaches?" Zhao Xing hesitated and felt that he was too careless.
"Brother Zhao, don't worry, I'm good at this!" Jiang Miao patted his chest and assured.
Well, he has been forced into a corner and can only try his best.
Yesterday evening, all the ingredients were purchased. In order to prepare for the birthday banquet two days later, the master of the Zhu family said that he would first try the dishes on the table to prevent any inappropriate dishes from being changed as soon as possible. After receiving this notice, the kitchen immediately started to prepare.
The chef was the famous chef Du in the whole Liangjing City. The dishes served were impeccable in terms of taste and presentation. Master Zhu nodded in satisfaction after eating. The cold dishes and other side dishes were made by his apprentices and tasted good. But when it came to the birthday peaches, Master Zhu frowned. The birthday peaches on the plate were more pointed than ordinary buns, and the top was dyed with red yeast rice powder, so you could barely see the shape of a peach.
Normally, most other people's birthday peaches are like this, but Mr. Zhu thinks it's not right. It is said that it is rare for a person to live to be 70 years old. His father is celebrating his 80th birthday this year, how rare! He spent a lot of money to invite Master Du to prepare it in front of the chairman. If he loses his place in the birthday peach, wouldn't it be a joke? Besides, there will be guests coming this year, so naturally every aspect must be perfect!
He said what he wanted to do, and he didn't care whether his subordinates could do it or not. When the butler passed down Master Zhu's words, Zhao Xing felt very bad. The superiors had said that the white case would not invite a chef, so he didn't go to greet him. You know, there are countless people who hold banquets in this cold winter, and those with a little fame have already been booked. As for this chef Du, he was booked a month in advance, otherwise he would have gone somewhere else.
The butler didn't care what Zhao Xing was thinking. He said, "Do this well. If you do it well, you will be rewarded. If you don't do it well and ruin the old master's birthday banquet, you just wait!"
Zhao Xing wanted to curse, but he didn't dare. He could only rush to several famous white case chefs before the evening drum, hoping to find a bargain. But after asking around, no one was available. Either they had already been booked at Zhang's house, or they were going to Li's house.
He was so worried that he tossed and turned in bed at night, wishing he could turn into a big birthday peach and have someone bring it to the host to eat. Mrs. Zhao Xing was annoyed by his noise, so she elbowed him and turned over to continue sleeping.
This elbow woke Zhao Xing up. He sat up suddenly and suddenly remembered that the boy who came with his uncle at noon seemed to be the one who did the white case.
He said, "The birthday peaches I make are different from those in the mansion, so it's more respectable to keep them here."
Where did that person live? Ximen Yifeng Street... Tianshui Alley!
The donkey cart swayed forward. Jiang Miao sat on one side with Little Stone. Zhao Xing sat opposite them. Suddenly he remembered something and asked with certainty, "Brother Jiang, can you really make birthday peaches?"
Jiang Miao nodded seriously.
After a while, Zhao Xing asked again: "Are the birthday peaches you make really different from others?"
Jiang Miao was helpless: "It should be."
"Should?" Zhao Xing was about to jump up. He said with a sad face, "How can you say should? Brother Jiang, just give me a definite answer! Whether I will be punished or not depends on you!"
"As long as no one comes from the same place as me, the birthday peaches I make will be unique." Jiang Miao took a deep breath and told himself to be patient.
"Then I'm relieved," Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, "As far as I know, there shouldn't be any chefs from Jiangjiawan in Liangjing."
“…” Jiang Miao laughed and cried.
(End of this chapter)