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The restaurant had already stocked up on rice, noodles, grains, oil, and various dry goods and seasonings in advance.
Chicken, fish, meat, eggs, and vegetables were not yet stocked because they needed to be fresh.
However, the three of them had already scouted the nearby area and basically secured their supply channels.
For pork, which was the largest quantity needed, Master Ma introduced them to a nearby pig farm. The price was 20% cheaper than the butcher shops on the street, and the pork was freshly slaughtered every morning.
Out of respect for Master Ma, the farm agreed to deliver the pork personally every day, even though the initial volume was small.
Although it was on their way, it saved Su Yi and the others a lot of trouble.
As for chicken and eggs, Li Jianguo introduced them to a chicken farm. The place was a bit further away, and deliveries would be made once a week. However, the good thing was that the chickens could be temporarily kept in cages in the courtyard and slaughtered as needed, and the eggs could be stored.
The rest of the fish and other vegetables were chosen by the three of them after comparing prices at the market.
They also agreed to have them delivered daily on the way.
Today was the first day, so Su Yi introduced everyone to the suppliers when they arrived.
They also checked the weight and quality, and set the quantity and time for the next day’s delivery for the official opening.
After taking care of all that, it was already noon. Su Yi hurriedly started teaching Zhang Tianhua and Li Jianguo how to make Sichuan cuisine.
Zhang Tianhua had already learned from Su Yi a few times, so he had a bit of a foundation.
But in terms of ability, Li Jianguo was stronger, even though he said he had never cooked Sichuan cuisine before.
After Su Yi taught him once, he could basically learn 70-80% of it.
He was just not sure about the seasoning sauce.
Su Yi specifically told him the recipe for the sauce of each dish, “Brother Li, if you think there are too many and you can’t remember them, you can write them down on paper.”
Li Jianguo was stunned, “Su, Xiao Su, this sauce is your secret recipe, how can you just tell me, and let me write it down?”
Su Yi was also taken aback, then smiled, “Brother Li, I heard from Commander Zhou about your time together on the front lines. To be honest, I trust the people he chooses. If you trust someone, you don’t doubt them, and if you doubt them, you don’t trust them.”
“Besides, yesterday when you were cooking, Tianhua was watching the whole time. You didn’t say anything, and you patiently answered all his questions when he asked. Tianhua is young, and I will need you to teach him more in the future.”
Li Jianguo quickly agreed, and he couldn’t help but admire this girl.
Originally, when Zhou Jinchuan first went to find him, he was puzzled about Zhou Jinchuan’s intentions.
Later, he heard that it was for his girlfriend to open a restaurant, and that she was only a girl in her early twenties. He thought it was his first time dating and he was blinded by love.
After seeing her yesterday, she was beautiful, but she was also very resourceful and efficient in her work. She was also very generous in her interactions with people, which dispelled half of his doubts.
At the same time, he couldn’t believe that such a young girl could cook such delicious food.
After seeing her today, he realized that her cooking skills were even better than his.
Regardless, she even generously shared her secret sauce recipe with him.
Thinking about this, Li Jianguo couldn’t help but feel ashamed of his previous suspicions, and he was also reassured.
He would have to work hard here and protect this restaurant.
While the three of them were busy in the kitchen,
Xu Xiaoqin took Sister Mei to thoroughly clean and inspect the lobby on the first floor and the private rooms on the second floor.
She arranged all the bowls, chopsticks, cups, and plates for the guests coming tonight.
Just as dusk arrived, Zhou Jinchuan arrived with the two children and the sign he had made yesterday, bathed in the setting sun.
Su Yi heard the commotion and hurried out of the kitchen to see, “Why are you here so early?”
Zhou Jinchuan patted the sign in his arm, “I finished work at the army and came over to help you.”
He was about to hang the sign for her.
Su Yi quickly brought a stool over for him to stand on.
Just as they finished hanging the sign together, Lu Changzheng and Xie Xiaojun arrived.
Su Yi turned her head and smiled, “Welcome, welcome, you guys are pretty early too!”
Lu Changzheng laughed, “If we’re talking about who’s early, no one can beat old Zhou. Come on, let me see what this restaurant is called.”
Xie Xiaojun read it out loud as he looked, “Ruyi Sichuan Cuisine, it sounds good and it’s easy to remember.”
Lu Changzheng stared at it for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Those two characters in the middle are both ‘yi’ and ‘chuan’, as if you’re afraid people won’t know you two are a couple now. I say just change it to Yi Chuan Restaurant.”
Zhou Jinchuan snorted, “You should read more books, it’s not enough to just know a few characters.”
Then he pulled Su Yi back into the house with a smile, “Don’t bother with old Lu, he’s just joking.”
Su Yi nodded with a smile and went back with Zhou Jinchuan.
Lu Changzheng, feeling embarrassed, pointed at the two of them and scolded, “How do you greet your guests? Come on, Xiaojun, I’ll take you to meet Li Jianguo.”
He then went straight to the kitchen.
They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and both were excited and delighted.
“Good, you, Li Jianguo, you live so close but you wouldn’t come out when I called you so many times. This time old Zhou went to find you, and you were willing to come?”
Li Jianguo laughed with a kind expression, “Commander Lu, I, I was narrow-minded before, I won’t be like that anymore!”
Lu Changzheng nodded in satisfaction, “Okay, I’ll come often from now on, let’s get together, brothers.”
“Okay!”
As they were talking, Auntie Yao and Auntie Zheng’s families also walked in.
Master Ma also came early from the cafeteria.
Finally, even Xu Xiaoqin’s brother, Xu Bin, came.
The two tables were full of people.
Su Yi, who was in charge of cooking today, hurriedly had people start serving the dishes.
Su Yi had not released the restaurant’s menu before, saying she wanted to keep it a secret.
When everyone saw the table full of dishes, they couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.
Auntie Yao and Auntie Zheng were eating Sichuan cuisine for the first time. Seeing so many unfamiliar dishes, they couldn’t help but ask excitedly, “What are these called?”
Xu Xiaoqin immediately enthusiastically listed the names of the dishes,
“Mapo Tofu, Mao Xue Wang, Water-boiled Pork Slices, Spicy Chicken, Garlic-sauce Pork, Kung Pao Chicken, Pickled Cabbage Fish, Twice-cooked Pork…”
Su Yi saw that everyone was about to drool from hunger, and hurriedly asked everyone to sit down and try it.
“These are our restaurant’s signature dishes. We will officially open tomorrow. I invited everyone here today to have a gathering and warm things up, and also to help taste the food.”
As soon as Su Yi finished speaking, everyone was already impatient and eagerly picked up a piece to try.
Lu Changzheng had eaten Sichuan food once before at the courtyard, but it almost killed him with spiciness.
Today, he finally got to eat the normal version of Sichuan cuisine, and he happily said, “Now I finally understand why Old Mo could stay here for a month before leaving.”
Master Ma, the most experienced cook in the cafeteria, also gave the highest praise, “This is the best Sichuan food I’ve ever eaten! It’s also the best flavor I’ve had in years! Now I believe that the three of you coming out was completely correct.”
The two most picky people in the room gave such high praise.
Everyone else, besides saying it was delicious, didn’t know what else to say. So they just buried their heads and ate!