Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 77

    Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi sat side by side at the chariot, and the carriage drove away from the bustling Taibai Street.

    The noise and lights are all behind, the night wind is slow, and all sounds are silent.

    “Sit inside, it’s windy outside.”

    Gu Yin was enjoying the quiet atmosphere and shook her head: “It’s not cold either.”

    Why do such hot people always like to wear cold masks?

    Her eyes fell on the mask again.

    “Is everything going well today?” Wu Qingyi asked while driving without looking away.

    Gu Yin retracted her eyes and replied, “It went well. Today alone, I have hired three servants, so I have to thank you.”

    Wu Qingyi asked her what to say?

    Gu Yin told him about the encounter with Wei Sanniang, and smiled: “I thought before that ‘give a man a fish, it is better to teach a man to fish’. That’s why I thought I tried to hire her, because you helped her before, she trusted me so much, signed the deed with me, and pressed her handprint without looking carefully, and she was not afraid that I would sell her. Later, she brought two people from the same village. They are also very quick, if they are like them, I think about two floors, and it would be enough to recruit a dozen people to run the hall… But I thought it was shallow before, it was not me who helped them, but they helped me, mutual benefit. !”

    Wu Qingyi held the reins for a while, he pondered thoughtfully for a long time, and suddenly smiled: “It also helped me!”

    Then he accelerated the speed of the car and sent Gu Yin to the gate of the British public residence. Then he did not stop, let the next person lead the horse out, and immediately got on the horse and rode away.

    Gu Yin didn’t know why, and after watching him leave, she remembered that she had brought porridge back.

    How about a drink before going to work?

    Wang was waiting for Gu Yin in the backyard. When she came back, she first asked her if she had eaten, and then asked her if she was cold. Hearing that she had eaten, it was not cold. Only then did he look behind her and asked her with a smile, “Where’s Qingyi, didn’t he say I’ll pick you up after the value is down?”

    Wu Qing went home as usual after he decided to work. Hearing that Gu Yin was still busy outside, he said to pick her up, went straight over, and asked the coachman to bring his horse back.

    Wang is happy to see it happen, and she always thinks her son is dumb!

    It has been a month since I went to Kyoto. Although the family is in the same place every day, the eldest son will go home when he is ready. In fact, he can’t even get close to his daughter-in-law, and he doesn’t know when he will see the two of them really mix oil with honey, and then add a child to the family.

    There are so many kids in the house, it is best to ask for a girl. Now that she has grandchildren, she can wake up laughing from her dreams.

    The performance of the eldest son today is unexpectedly good.

    Thinking of this, Wang Shi smiled again: “Let me guess, did this fool send you to the backyard and rest in front of him again? It’s really stupid, you guys are Serious husband and wife, how about sending you into the house? It’s not an unmarried man and woman who wants to guard against men and women.”

    Gu Yin said no, “He didn’t enter the mansion, he left me at the door and left. It seems that he suddenly thought of something to do.”

    Wang couldn’t help laughing.

    If it wasn’t for her own son, she would have cursed.

      Divide for supper.

    Thinking that she had been busy all day, Wang shi didn’t stay in front of her too much, she called a maid to serve her in the bath, and went back to the house with the food box.

    Wu Zhong had already washed and exercised in the room before going to bed.

    A lot of handrails are installed in their house now, which is Gu Yin’s suggestion.

    Don’t think this thing is inconspicuous, but it is very helpful for patients with inflexible legs.

    At least now in the house, Wu Zhong no longer needs crutches, he can move freely by pulling the handrail. Of course, the speed is definitely a lot slower than ordinary people.

    “Da Ya is back?” Wu Chong approached with a smile and took the food box in Wang’s hand, “This child is filial, and he has been busy all day without forgetting to bring food to the family. Don’t say , I am used to Da Ya’s craftsmanship, and it is not delicious to eat the dishes made by the original Wangfu chef.”

    Wang shi likes to listen to other people compliment her daughter-in-law, Wu Zhong also sees that her face is not very good, so he specially picks up what she likes and tells her.

    It’s okay if he doesn’t say it, but the Wang family is even more depressed.

    She looked at Wu Zhong for a long time and said, “Why did I put your cow dung on it?”

    Wang shi likes what Gu Yin likes, but if Gu Yin is smaller, I wish she could be tied to her every day.

    Why is my eldest son so unhappy?

    I want to know that I didn’t follow her to be a mother, but to follow his father!

    “Humph!” Wang hummed angrily, went out to wash and went to bed and lay down.

    …

    After two days, Mr. Wen asked Mr. Wen Er to send a plaque as a congratulatory gift.

    The three big italic characters of “Food is Heaven” are also square and square, and are matched with smooth and smooth wood, but the size is larger than the one in Hanshan Town.

    And the last seal is no longer two, only replaced by a new one.

    This time, Mrs. Wen did not hide it from Gu Yin, and wrote a letter to her, saying that the two seals in the past were engraved by the emperor of the previous dynasty. It was his real private seal. As for the plaque of Hanshan Town, he also took this opportunity to rewrite a piece and sent it back to replace it.

    I didn’t expect that when I was in Hanshan Town, my signboard used the seal engraved by the emperor. No wonder Mrs. Wen confidently told Gu Yin that despite using the name “food is heaven”, Don’t worry about making taboos.

    Gu Yin also met in the restaurant with the two chefs invited by Shopkeeper Zhou.

    These two chefs, the surnamed Kong in charge of the red case and the surnamed Cao in charge of the white case, are about the same age as the shopkeeper Zhou, who are in their prime. I used to work in the same Beijing restaurant.

      The new owner of the restaurant has its own team, and the two chefs lost their jobs.

    Treasurer Zhou knew them when he was a teenager. Although they haven’t communicated much for many years, their friendship is real.

    The craftsmanship of the two chefs is not inferior to that of Shopkeeper Zhou and Gu Yin, and the wages are still the same as they used to be, 50 taels a month for each person.

    The fifty taels were not all taken by themselves. They each brought a few apprentices and help cooks, and a team of people took fifty taels in total, which was distributed by the chef.

    This is equal to one hundred taels of wages per month, which is used to support the back kitchen of the restaurant.

    Gu Yin actually likes cooking, researching new things, and is not very good at the complicated affairs of operation and management.

    In the past, the capital was low and the manpower was not enough, so I had to bite the bullet and do everything myself.

    Behind the propaganda of Wei Sanniang and the big and small Sun, more and more families of wounded soldiers came to apply.

    In ten days, the fifteen maids have already taken their places. Gu Yin temporarily ordered the smartest grandson to be the foreman, and gave him an extra half tael per month.

    You don’t need Gu Yin to do the training of the servants, Wang Shi will come to guide them when she has nothing to do.

    Then the soft decoration in the hall was also put on the agenda – this time it is not that Gu Yin has no money to decorate, it is that this restaurant is newly built, the decoration is brand new, even the tables and chairs are good and complete of.

    The two-storey restaurant, the lower one is the lobby, which is for individual guests, and there is no need to buy anything.

    The table above is larger, and the interval between the tables of each chapter is also wider. A screen is placed in the middle of the interval, which is more elegant and does not appear noisy.

    The partition screen was taken out by Wang from the warehouse for Gu Yin.

    Wang only found out later that the warehouse she and Gu Yin went to before was only a warehouse for storing gold and silver, and there was a large antique store next door, just screens and rockery , Large floor-standing vases, dozens of each.

    Of course, these things still carry the palace emblem, and it is impossible to realize it. Instead of eating ashes at home, just take it out and make the best use of it, and the provincial family has to spend more money to buy it.

    Don’t say, a good thing is a good thing, Gu Yin doesn’t know how to enjoy it, and seeing those screens and vases put on the second floor of the restaurant, she feels that the grade has risen a lot.

    There are several other rooms on the second floor, and they are also arranged in a similar manner.

    Anyway, as long as you step on the second floor and don’t spend ten taels of silver, you will feel sorry for these decorations!

    The last and most important thing is the main business items in the store, the business direction of the entire store.

    This time it is definitely not a cheap Chinese fast food, but a real business for high-end customers.

    In this era, ordering food is usually written as a small lottery and hung on the wall. Originally, this restaurant also set aside such a place.

    This step is simple, Gu Yin asked shopkeeper Zhou to make a batch of each of them’s specialty dishes, and also made some menus, but different from future generations, this time the menu Not paper – good paper is not cheap, cheap paper has no style, and paper must wear out a lot in daily use. It’s not bad money, but you can save some money.

    It is a cloth menu made into a scroll style. When you open it, you can see a variety of dishes with pictures.

    This time, of course, I had to write flyers and propaganda, and Wu An was also in charge. I heard that such a menu was needed, so he also stopped this work. He is already studying painting – now that Master Wen has returned to the Hanlin Academy to work, he cannot accompany him to study every day like before, so he will let Wu An and Wen Lang of the Wen family be taught by another teacher.

    That Mr. Wen was personally selected by Mr. Wen, so there is no need to worry about his level. And when Master Wen is down, he will make final comments and critiques on their homework.

    Wu An has a shallow foundation, but is smart and conscientious, and it is the same diligent work for another gentleman.

    He is still young, and his family situation is very comparable.

    So after he finished reading the enlightenment books, Master Wen didn’t want him to be exposed to the Four Books, Five Classics and Eight Guwen at his age, so he asked him to teach him piano, chess, calligraphy and painting and the six arts of the gentleman.

    200 flyers with pictures and dozens of menu scrolls, the little guy finished drawing in half a month.

    Not to mention, smart people learn everything faster than ordinary people, his paintings of living things lack charm, and some simple food paintings are lifelike.

    Before opening, Gu Yin did one last market research.

    I don’t know if I don’t investigate, I’m startled when I investigate.

    In modern times, many food bloggers call Beijing a “food desert”.

      Specialty!

    As long as it is a restaurant with a larger scale, like the chef Zhou’s specialty dishes, other chefs will also do it.

    Although it is a new dynasty, the lives of most people in the capital have not been affected, and most of the old restaurants have been standing for many years.

    Most of the owners of old-fashioned restaurants are either rich or expensive, and have strong capital. If you want to grab diners from them, it is almost impossible to do it without finding another way.

    It’s getting cold now, Gu Yin and shopkeeper Zhou discussed it, and they are going to launch hot pot and barbecue as the specialty of the store.

    She doesn’t believe it anymore, what can’t a hot pot and barbecue be solved? !

    The hot pot is divided into four flavors, bone soup, mushroom soup, sour soup and butter and spicy.

    The first three are cheaper, and the butter and spicy ones are twice as expensive. Especially the butter, it is not easy to buy.

    It’s a little funny, but Wu Qingyi helped Gu Yin to do it.

    Gu Yin thought for a long time before deciding to ask him for help.

    She rarely spoke, Wu Qingyi naturally did not respond, seeing her tangled expression, she added: “Although I don’t know business and cooking skills, but since it is what you want to do, if someone wants something, I will Of course there is nothing wrong with it.”

    His tone and demeanor were too serious, as if he was going to go up the mountain of knives and fry for her in the next second.

    Gu Yin was amused and hurriedly said, “It’s not that serious, it’s just that I want to buy cattle.”

    Although Wu Qingyi’s current status is not enough to kill a few cows, no one dares to betray, but it is still too much to let the dignified prince kill the cows for his own business.

    Gu Yin actually wanted him to help him find out where to buy cows that died of natural causes, but she felt that such trivial matters would trouble him. .

    “That’s it,” he laughed, “I didn’t notice it before, but I just asked, it’s not troublesome to think about.”

    He is in charge of the latter. He is in charge of the imperial guards and the guard of the capital. With eyes and ears all over the capital, it is really convenient to snoop on news. In November, before the opening of the business, seven or eight cows that died suddenly due to accidents or died of natural old age were collected for Gu Yin. I have searched all the villages near the capital, and there are only so many. No matter how much I want, there will be no more. However, the size of the cow is huge, and seven or eight heads are enough for Gu Yin.

    The weather is cold, these cows have been cooked and frozen, and they can be stored for many days.

    After the cow was in place, Gu Yin’s custom-made copper pots and grid baking pans were also delivered – some of these copper pots had a partition in the middle, making them two grids. There are also four grids, so that guests can choose whether they want one type of pot bottom, mandarin ducks or four grids according to their tastes.

    The grilling plate is a grid-shaped square plate made of iron wire, which allows guests to choose whether to slowly bake it on the charcoal fire, or let the chef do it for you and send the baked product directly.

    Follow-up work is completed one by one. On the fifth day of November, Shiweitian Restaurant officially opened!

    After the two strings of hanging whips sounded, two lion dance teams jumped over from the street to the sound of gongs and drums.

    The lion head blinked and was very mighty, guessing the gongs and drums, fluttering or jumping, very pleasing.

    The first two “lions” met, and they fought lively, and finally spit something out of their mouths – not the couplets commonly used in later generations, but many red envelopes.

    The onlookers actually thought it was a happy money, and scrambled to grab it.

    This thing is really fresh, and there are words and paintings. Although everyone was disappointed, they did not throw it away.

    When the lion dance is over, it is the final ribbon-cutting ceremony.

    Gu Yin, as the owner, stood in the middle, and she presided over the ceremony.

    Gu Yin’s hand holding the scissors trembled slightly, and her eyes were red.

    When the shopkeeper saw it, he persuaded softly: “Don’t be excited, this opening will be very successful.”

    Gu Yin nodded, she was not worried about that.

    The two lion dance teams spent 22 taels of silver, and there were many other initial investments, so she didn’t dare to count them carefully. It is also a loss that the family is rich now, and they can act immediately if they want.

    I was still in Hanshan Town before, how dare I think about it?

    After the simple but solemn ribbon-cutting ceremony, the door of the restaurant opened.

    Those who have seen the lively people get the vouchers and are just about to eat nearby will enter the store to have a look.

    The entrance of Taibai Market is very good. In less than half an hour, dozens of customers came in.

    But most of them are flat-headed people, so they don’t go to the second floor private room or box, but directly to the lobby on the first floor.

    They are all old locals, so you must ask what are the specialties.

    The maids headed by Da Sun are all wearing light yellow overalls, and they will all smile and serve menus.

    There are also pictures on the menu, so even illiterate guests can choose what they want to eat.

    The price of the dishes is clearly marked. Vegetarian dishes and dim sum are about half a tael. If the total price exceeds five taels of silver, a staple food will be presented.

    Generally speaking, a family of three can eat well for five taels.

    This price is naturally something Gu Yin did not dare to think about in the past – in the town, this is enough for ordinary people to chew for half a year.

    But in a place like the capital, there are too many people who don’t look like mountains and waters, but actually have a lot of money.

    If you can come to the vicinity of Taibai Street and join the lively opening of the restaurant, there is no spare money in your pocket.

    Especially the current Shiweitian Restaurant is worthy of this price in terms of decoration and location.

    No one just leaves because of pricing.

    However, what Gu Yin expected happened – after reading the menu, a customer was not very satisfied: “Your restaurant has these dishes outside, and the price is similar. Alas, I’ll go back. Eat where you were before.”

    People who had the same idea as him also stood up and prepared to leave.

    At this moment, the shopkeeper Zhou has already prepared the things outside the store and started to grill the meat on the charcoal fire.

    When the grill is hot, put on the prepared beef, lamb, pork belly, sausage, leeks, corn kernels and other ingredients.

    The wonderful fragrance is tangy, and at the end of the week, the shopkeeper will sprinkle a handful of cumin or chili noodles on top. No one smells drooling!

    “Your grilled meat is so special!” The first diners who wanted to leave came to the door and stopped.

    Boiled meat is not new, but I don’t know why, there has never been a restaurant that cooked ordinary grilled meat so fragrant!

    It’s natural because of the addition of cumin chili noodles and white sesame seeds. Where is the seasoning sprinkled here, it is real gold and silver!

    Gu Yin smiled and did not explain.

    Because the meat was thinly sliced ​​and the vegetables were small portions, it was cooked in a short time.

    The shopkeeper Zhou cut the meat into small pieces, the vegetables into small portions, put them on the plate and invited those who have entered the store to try it.

    Wait until the end of the trial, these people who walked to the door turned back again.

    The shopkeeper will not sprinkle those in the first week. After all, it is not profitable to try it, and the seasoning is more expensive than the ingredients themselves.

    This time he brushed the sauce on the food, the sweet and salty sauce made by Gu Yin himself.

      .

    Who can resist hot pot in this cold and windy winter?

    What’s even more amazing is that you can eat four flavors at the same time in one pot!

    Especially compared to a la carte dishes, each ingredient and pot base of the hot pot is not very expensive. If you are not a meat lover who only eats meat, you can eat five taels at a table.

    Not to mention the taste, the freshness alone is enough to attract this group of diners with good money.

    Before meal time, the lobby in the restaurant was almost full. There were hundreds of diners.

    Before putting it aside, Gu Yin should be very satisfied with this situation.

    But there are still vacant seats on the second floor, so she naturally has other ideas.

    She was thinking about how to promote it when she saw Gu Ye poking his head at the door.

    She beckoned to Gu Ye, the little brat trotted forward and asked her with a smile, “Mother, how is the business?”

    Gu Yin said it was okay, then smiled and poked his little forehead, and asked him, “Why haven’t you been seen these days, are you a young master?”

    Gu Ye is very interested in his own business and used to be the head of a department.

    This time, he changed his mind. Before the opening, he didn’t do any work.

    “Of course it’s right.” Gu Ye said with a guilty conscience, “It’s just…it just didn’t work out.”

    Gu Yin asked him what errands he was doing these days. He put his hands on his hips and touched his forehead with the other.