Chapter 33: If You Can Revive It, I Will Give You Thirty Percent of the Profits!

Su Wan pretended not to see, took off the carrying basket from her back and said to Jiang Baiwei, “I’ve brought pork belly, I’ll make Mei Cai Kou Rou (Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables) later.”

“Great! I’ll prepare the dried vegetables for you!” Jiang Baiwei immediately picked up the basket, glanced at Gu Huaizhi with sulking face, and muttered, “Men who meddle too much are easy targets, you shouldn’t choose him.”

“I’ve formally married him.”

There was a “thud” sound

Jiang Baiwei fell to the ground.

Damn!

Are they husband and wife?

A young man’s heart shattered.

A flicker of emotion passed through Gu Huaizhi’s eyes, and the inexplicable irritation in his heart dissipated.

Jiang Baiwei looked resentfully at Su Wan’s hair. He mistook her unmarried status because she didn’t wear a married woman’s hairstyle^[1]Married women in ancient China wore their hair tied up in a variety of styles ranging from the practical to the elaborate, depending on social rank and contemporaneous fashions. The simplest was a … Continue reading.

Su Wan was speechless, picked up the basket and went into the kitchen.

Jiang Baiwei quickly got up and followed her in, and started to soak the dried vegetables.

Shopkeeper Xu settled Gu Huaizhi and the children, Gu Jingyun and Gu Baozhu, then walked into the kitchen and saw Su Wan took out piece by piece the golden-fried pork belly, and placing it in a winnowing basket.

“Young la… Madam Su, this pork belly?”

“In this weather, the meat will spoil if left out too long. I’ve prepared enough for ten servings of Mei Cai Kou Rou. Just pay me for the meat if it sells.”

Su Wan glanced at the sky with confidence shining in her clear eyes, and her lips curved  as she said, “It’s only midday now. I’ll steam a few bowls of steamed pork and display them on the counter to attract customers.”

Shopkeeper Xu was uncertain and wondered, could this really attract customers?

The fragrant fried chicken mushrooms only attracted five or six tables of customers.

Could Mei Cai Kou Rou do better?

Su Wan suggested a strategy to Shopkeeper Xu, “Write ‘Today’s Special’ on red paper. For those who dine in the restaurant and spend at least five hundred wen, offer them the lowest-priced dish for free. Then set up a lucky draw, where the winner gets their meal for free.”

Shopkeeper Xu was startled and asked hesitantly, “Will this attract customers? Won’t we lose money? How many free meals should we offer?”

“Ten,” Su Wan said, watching as Shopkeeper Xu’s face twitched in pain, with a look of agony on his face. She couldn’t help but laugh, “You can’t catch a wolf without risking your sheep. Our main goal today is to attract customers and then retain them with our culinary skills. We can’t just look at the short term; we need to think long-term.”

Shopkeeper Xu was persuaded by Su Wan. He gritted his teeth and steeled his heart, then he declared, “Alright, I’ll get on it right now!”

After walked a few steps, Shopkeeper Xu turned back and asked, “Can you cook all the dishes from the restaurant?”

“I can give it a try,” replied Su Wan, never one to overpromise.

Shopkeeper Xu’s heart skipped a beat. Was this uncertainty?

He wanted to back off because everyone had their own specialty dishes. What if Su Wan could only cook a few?

But seeing Su Wan’s calm and composed demeanor, and he had already spoken, so he couldn’t go back on his word.

Well, just this once, what if?

What if Su Wan succeeded?!

Shopkeeper Xu went all in, ready to cut another piece of flesh from his thigh, “Madam Su, if you can revive our restaurant, I’ll give you thirty percent of the profits!”

Su Wan looked surprised at Shopkeeper Xu’s retreating figure, and understood his intention quickly.

The Zuixiang Pavilion lacked a pillar, and he wanted to retain her with a share of the profits.

Su Wan put the soaked preserved vegetables into the chicken broth, added a pinch of salt, and let the broth to infuse with flavor, then sliced the pork belly into thin pieces for later use.

She lowered the heat, heated oil in a pan, added minced garlic, green onions, star anise, and five-spice powder, stir-fry until fragrant. Then added the pork belly to season, added a bit of sugar, soy sauce, then stirred them well. Poured a little water to boil, then neatly arranged the pork belly in small bowls, sandwiched the preserved vegetables between the meat slices, and covered the rest on top. And then covered it with a plate and steamed it over high heat.

“How long should it be steamed?” asked Jiang Baiwei. He couldn’t help but swallow his saliva as the aroma of the meat wafted through the air.

“Only for three-quarters of an hour. This way, the meat will have a slight crispness, giving it a good bite. If oversteamed, it will become too soft and a bit greasy.”

When the time was up, Su Wan took the Mei Cai Kou Rou out of the pot, placed it on a clean plate, inverted the bowl onto the plate, and brought it out of the kitchen.

The rich fragrance of the preserved vegetables spread out, and Shopkeeper Xu stared at the golden-colored pork, was mesmerized, “This dish is so fragrant, it will definitely bring in customers!”

Su Wan smiled, then looked at the empty restaurant and then at the bustling Fengwei Pavilion across the street. Then she pulled up a stool to sit at the doorway.

Shopkeeper Xu watched the bustling street, his heart pounding rapidly, and his fingers clenched into fists with nervous anticipation.

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Example for married woman’s hairstyle