Two days later, the pot that Jiang Yunzhu had ordered was ready. She got up early in the morning and started preparing the octopus to make octopus balls.
However, the weather was cold, and although the ice cube had been placed in the kitchen last night, it had not melted yet, so she was having a bit of difficulty.
She thought, why not wait until the ice melts.
"Let me do it." Shen Fengming passed by the kitchen and saw her struggling with a lump of ice, so he came in and said.
"Okay, be careful, don't let it splash on you." Jiang Yunzhu warned. She no longer refused Shen Fengming's help.
Shen Fengming agreed, picked up a stick, and knocked a few times to break the ice, then used a knife to cut out the octopuses one by one and put them in the water. His movements were fast and clean, and the octopuses were actually intact, without any broken arms or legs.
Jiang Yunzhu watched from the side and found it pleasing to the eye. She thought that if he learned cooking, he would definitely be at the top level.
After preparing all the octopus, she started to make the batter. The batter for octopus balls nowadays is made with eggs and baking powder. The function of baking powder is to make the batter ferment quickly so that the octopus balls will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
If you don’t have baking powder at this time, you can still use the fermentation method, but it’s time-consuming, so make it in advance.
Everything was ready. She washed her hands and said to Shen Fengming, "I'll make something delicious later."
"Yeah." Shen Fengming looked at her, with a slight smile on his face. She often had new ideas and was always full of expectations for life. People around her would be unconsciously influenced by her.
For example, Xue Jing is now as busy as a chicken with his blood pumped up every day. He is either cooking or researching new dishes.
For example, Mr. and Mrs. Li He are no longer as decadent as before.
For example, Xie Lian, the little girl can also smile now.
For example... Shen Fengming thought of himself. He didn't want to stay at home before, so he spent most of his time in the Zhenfu Division, investigating and handling cases, as if he was never tired. But now he seems to know that there is more to life than just investigating cases, he has many other things to do.
At 9:00 pm, the batter was almost fermented, so Jiang Yunzhu started to make it. First, she put a little oil in each semicircular groove, and then poured the batter in. When the batter met the hot oil, it immediately began to bubble.
Pour the chopped octopus and other things into the pot. At this time, the batter at the bottom is almost formed, so use a bamboo stick to turn it over, pour in the batter again, and then repeat the process.
Soon, a pot of meatballs was successfully made. It was a pity that there was no dried bonito flakes here, but there was enough octopus in it, plus Jiang Yunzhu's secret sweet and spicy sauce, she thought it should be good.
"Sister, what is this?" Jiang Lin asked while holding a book. Today was a day off, so neither he nor Jiang Wu went to school. His task today was to teach Jiang Yunxue how to read. But while he was teaching, he smelled the fragrance from the kitchen and ran out.
"Try octopus balls." Jiang Yunzhu said.
At this time Jiang Yunxue and Jiang Wu also came over. They couldn't wait to take the bamboo sticks, stick a meatball in it and put it in their mouths.
It was so hot, it was just out of the pot, so naturally it was hot. But none of the three of them were willing to spit out the food in their mouths.
The shell is crispy and delicious, but when you bite it, you will find it is soft inside.
The umami flavor of the octopus filled the entire meatball, and paired with the unique sweet and spicy sauce, Jiang Lin only regretted that he had eaten breakfast in the morning, otherwise he could have eaten two pots of meatballs in one go.
But even so, he couldn't stop eating.
At this time, Xie Lian and Xie Chen came.
"Try it." Jiang Yunzhu took a meatball and ate it, saying casually.
Xie Lian is no longer so timid in front of Jiang Yunzhu. She knows that when Jiang Yunzhu asks her to eat, she really means it.
She took a bamboo stick, poked a meatball with it and put it in her mouth. Then, her eyes lit up instantly. This meatball was really delicious, even better than the meatballs that the aunt next door gave her when she was hungry that year.
Xie Chen also made a meatball with a slightly blushing face. It tasted fresh and crispy, and was delicious!
But he only ate one and then talked about the purpose of his visit today. Today was a day off and he came to help Xie Lian with the work.
"No need, she's doing a great job." Jiang Yunzhu said. Xie Lian was a very sensible girl, eager to do any work. She could really be called one of the top ten employees.
However, Xie Chen decided to stay in the store and work for Jiang Yunzhu to repay her kindness.
Not only did she let Xie Lian stay in the store, she also gave Xie Lian delicious food. In the past two days, Xie Lian's face had noticeably regained color and he looked much more cheerful, which was something that money could not buy.
Jiang Yunzhu had no choice but to let him do it.
At this time, Li He came with two buckets of milk in his hands. Since the ginger milk was launched that day, it has been unexpectedly popular. Not only do people who come to the store order one, but some people also come to the store specifically to buy it to take away.
Then half a bucket of milk every day is naturally not enough.
Li He would go to the market whenever he had nothing to do, and he actually found four families with calves.
"Boss, should that be enough?" Li He put down the two buckets of milk and asked with satisfaction. Two buckets of milk can make a lot of ginger milk, which can be sold for a lot of money.
Jiang Yunzhu looked at him apologetically and said, "Maybe, it's not enough." She planned to make milk tea today.
Li He was stunned for a moment, then turned around and walked out again. He couldn't believe that in such a large county like Wuling, there were only four families giving birth to calves.
Jiang Yunzhu started to make milk tea, which is actually simpler. Fry the rock sugar and tea leaves in a pan for a while to bring out the caramelized aroma, then pour in milk and boiling water, and a cup of milk tea base is ready.
Add red beans and it becomes red bean milk tea.
If you like orange flavor, you can add a little orange juice.
Unfortunately, there was no tapioca flour, and Jiang Yunzhu felt that using sweet potato flour would not be enough, so she decided not to make pearls.
A few cups of red bean milk tea, a few cups of orange juice milk tea, just finished eating octopus balls, took a sip of milk tea, silky and fragrant, sweet but not greasy, I felt that my life was instantly complete.
The kitchen was quiet. Everyone was sipping milk tea and feeling the tranquility and beauty.
When Shen Fengming came back, lunch had already been prepared in the kitchen.
He didn't care, but just searched for someone with his eyes.
"I saved this for you." Jiang Yunzhu handed him a portion of octopus balls and a cup of milk tea. She told him that something delicious would be prepared in the morning, and he even helped to prepare the octopus, so she had to let him have a taste.
Shen Fengming took it, and there seemed to be stars in his eyes.
After all, he is a young master of an aristocratic family. When Shen Fengming eats, no matter how fast or slow he eats, he is always very elegant and calm.
"How is it?" Jiang Yunzhu asked after he finished eating.
"It's delicious." Shen Fengming said.
Since he said so, Jiang Yunzhu felt that the octopus balls and milk tea could also be sold.
At noon, these two items were added to the menu.
Miss Ye and her friends are regular customers of Qishanju. Even because of her influence, more and more girls in the county come to Qishanju, and the store's turnover has increased significantly. This is something Jiang Yunzhu did not expect when she opened the store.
They came again today and saw the new things, so naturally they ordered some.
When the food was served, the girls took a bite of the octopus balls and drank a sip of milk tea, and were immediately impressed by the perfect combination of the two.
"This octopus balls, with this sweet and spicy sauce, are much better than the spicy octopus." The oval-faced girl exclaimed. The spicy octopus is a dish, while the octopus balls are more like snacks, with an interesting shape and fun to eat.
"This milk tea is delicious. I've heard before that people in Saibei use milk to make tea, but it always has a fishy smell. How come the one made by Qishanju has no fishy smell at all?" As soon as the round-faced girl got the milk tea, she felt like she had met it too late.
"Of course it's the owner's skillful hands." Miss Ye said with a smile, "Do you think anyone can make something so good?"
The oval-faced girl heard the implication in her words and said with a smile, "Sister Ye, are you talking about the Cao family buying milk?"
Speaking of this, the girls became even more excited.
It turned out that after Miss Ye brought the ginger milk back to her grandmother, the old lady felt relaxed all over and thought of her elder sisters. People tend to be afraid of cold when they get older. Of course, she wanted to let them have a taste of this good thing.
She asked Miss Ye to buy some more and send them to some of her old sisters she was familiar with, including the old lady of the Cao family.
After eating it, the old lady of the Cao family also thought it was delicious. She asked and found out that it was bought from Qishanju, and then asked her servants to buy it.
Miss Cao was beside her at the time. When she thought of the grievances she had suffered in Qishanju, she hated that store so much that she stopped the servant immediately.
She refused to buy it, and when Mrs. Cao asked her the reason, she certainly didn't dare to tell the truth, so she belittled Qishanju.
But why does Mrs. Cao feel that ginger milk is delicious
"Grandma, if we make it ourselves, wouldn't it be cleaner and more elegant than what they make?" Miss Cao said.
This seemed to be the case, so the Cao family bought milk.
But is it really done
"I saw the servants of the Cao family coming here to buy ginger milk yesterday!" said the oval-faced girl.
The girls looked at each other, all hiding their faces and laughing. Miss Cao always thought that no one else could do it, but she could. Now she knows.
"Speaking of which, the cooking skills of the owner of this shop are really good. I wish I could eat here every day. I don't want to go home at all." The round-faced girl sighed.
Several girls agreed with this.
Jiang Yunzhu naturally didn't know about their whispers, but it was true that she made a lot of extra money today.
At noon, when the number of customers gradually decreased, two people came in. The one in front was Qin Yao, and the one behind was Lin Yubai.
Xie Chen wanted to help Jiang Yunzhu with some work, so Jiang Yunzhu asked him to replace Jiang Yunxue and work behind the counter.
As soon as Qin Yao came in, she saw the man behind the counter. She was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.
Lin Yubai looked up and down, left and right like a thief, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Shen Fengming was not there.
He didn't want to come to this store at all, but since Qin Yao wanted to come, he had no choice but to come.
Otherwise, she would offend someone she shouldn't have, and it would be too late for her to regret.
Xie Chen also saw the two of them. He felt that Qin Yao looked familiar. After thinking carefully, he remembered who she was and nodded and smiled at her.
Qin Yao's cheeks turned slightly red and she quickly sat down.
Lin Yubai also sat down.
The two of them quickly ordered the dishes. Qin Yao ate absent-mindedly. Lin Yubai picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. His beautiful peach blossom eyes immediately flashed with light. The food in this restaurant is so delicious!
Jiang Yunzhu came out to pick up the list by chance and saw the two people. She thought to herself, as expected, these two people know each other. Then she looked at Xie Chen again, thinking.
From that day on, Qin Yao and Lin Yubai became regular customers of Qishanju. Qishanju's business was booming and everyone was full of energy every day.
But this morning, Chen came in hurriedly from outside and said, "Yunzhu, isn't our neighbor's house being renovated? I just saw them hang up a plaque, and they're actually going to open a restaurant, and... you should go out and take a look!"
Next to Qishanju is the shop owned by Manager Meng, which Jiang Yunzhu almost rented before.
Jiang Yunzhu went out to take a look and saw that the renovation of the next door had been basically completed. The windows were replaced with fine white gauze. The furnishings in the shop were not exactly the same as Qishanju, but they were about 80% similar.
Look at the plaque that has just been hung, wow, it’s “Xishanju”.