Chapter 57

“This is a small matter. If the restaurant really decides to offer this dish, I can take the lead in sourcing clams from your village.”

After all, it’s still a purchase, and since he has no relatives in the village, it doesn’t matter whose clams he buys.

Shopkeeper Yu set down his chopsticks, his gaze falling again on the other jar. The jar he had just opened contained the clam dish with sauce, but what was in the other jar?

To be honest, he was quite curious.

“Madam, is that jar also filled with clam dish with sauce?”

“No,” Yin Huaixi replied.

She opened the jar for Shopkeeper Yu to have a look.

“This is a new seasoning. I’m not sure if I could borrow your kitchen for a moment, so my daughter can try making a dish for you with this seasoning.”

“Your daughter…”

Shopkeeper Yu was surprised as he looked at the young girl beside Yin Huaixi. She appeared to be only about eleven or twelve years old, but there was nothing childlike or naïve about her gaze.

Well, children from poor families often mature quickly. At eleven or twelve, they were already quite sensible, and cooking was no big deal.

“Alright, then. You two follow me.”

Since Shopkeeper Yu wasn’t busy at the moment, he wanted to see what this new seasoning was.

The three of them went to the kitchen, where Shopkeeper Yu had a stove cleared for the mother and daughter. Seeing that they didn’t mind being watched, he decided to stay and observe the young girl cooking.

“Shopkeeper, can I use a plate of clams?” the girl asked.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Clams were the cheapest seafood, so even if the girl used them all up, Shopkeeper Yu wouldn’t mind.

With permission granted, Jiang Wan immediately took a large plate, picked out a batch of clams, cleaned them, and then mother and daughter began peeling garlic.

There were plenty of pre-prepared garlic cloves on the table, but since they weren’t the restaurant’s regular chefs, they decided to peel the garlic themselves to avoid accidentally offending anyone.

“What are they going to do?”

“What’s she going to do with clams and garlic? Stir-fry? We already have stir-fried clams at Fengwei Building.”

“Let’s watch. The shopkeeper hasn’t left, so maybe she really will make something interesting.”

The murmurs of a few chefs were ignored by the three of them. Soon, the mother and daughter had peeled and minced the garlic.

Jiang Wan had cut quite a bit, so naturally, she added a bit more oyster sauce.

Shopkeeper Yu instinctively stretched his neck, his eyes full of curiosity.

It was a reddish-brown, sticky sauce—so this was the new seasoning.

Hmm? She’s mixing it with the minced garlic?

And she added some soy sauce…

What was going on?

Shopkeeper Yu couldn’t make sense of it, and the other chefs were equally puzzled.

Next, Jiang Wan poured hot oil into the bowl, and the strong, fragrant aroma hit them all in an instant, causing everyone to straighten up.

It smelled amazing!

Shopkeeper Yu unconsciously took a deep breath, his face showing more seriousness.

This mother and daughter really came prepared. Just from that bowl of minced garlic, he could tell that the dish the girl was about to make would surely surprise him.

He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but he was already starting to get impatient.

Half a cup of tea later…

“Shopkeeper, the garlic clam dish is ready. Please give it a try.”

“So quick?!”

Shopkeeper Yu was shocked. The speed of this dish was more like stir-frying vegetables.

“Did you not add any salt?”

He had watched the entire process. Aside from two spoonfuls of soy sauce and that new seasoning, the girl hadn’t added any salt. Could it possibly taste good?

Jiang Wan smiled without replying, simply offering him the chopsticks to try the dish directly.

The clams, freshly steamed, were still releasing steam. Each clam had opened, revealing its meat inside, and was topped with a layer of garlic that had been drizzled with hot oil. It smelled wonderfully fragrant.

Shopkeeper Yu hesitated but picked up a clam and sucked the meat out. The moment it touched his tongue, he was stunned.

This dish not only had salt, but the flavor was rich and full!

The sweet freshness of the clam meat paired perfectly with the savory garlic, and after finishing the meat, he even found himself sucking on the shells.

Before he knew it, he had eaten most of the plate of garlic clams. It wasn’t until several other chefs couldn’t resist that they finally came over and took some with chopsticks, preventing him from finishing it all alone.

After finishing the clams, everyone still felt unsatisfied. Their chopsticks reached out toward the remaining garlic in the pot.

“Not bad, not bad, this is the taste.”

“Strange, the minced garlic doesn’t have that sharp taste, but the garlic aroma is stronger.”

The chefs were all discussing, but Shopkeeper Yu ignored them. He led the mother and daughter to wash their hands and went outside to speak with them.

He had watched every step of the preparation carefully. He knew the ingredients, and the restaurant already had everything except for that jar of seasoning.

That seasoning was the soul of the dish.

Shopkeeper Yu was sure he should buy it. After all, it had made such an affordable ingredient like clams taste so delicious. Even he couldn’t stop himself from wanting two more plates.

With the weather warming up, he could imagine serving clams with a little wine and enjoying the breeze. The thought of it made him happy just imagining it.

Although he was already smiling inwardly, Shopkeeper Yu maintained a serious expression, not letting too much emotion show.

“Madam, these two jars you’ve brought today are truly extraordinary.”

“You’re too kind, Shopkeeper. After tasting the dish, what do you think of the oyster sauce?”

Shopkeeper Yu narrowed his eyes.

“Oyster sauce? Which oyster?”

“The oyster in oyster sauce. The main ingredient is fresh oyster meat, with a bit of a special blend of secret ingredients.”

Yin Huaixi spoke half-truths, but she didn’t hide the key ingredients.

The daughter intended to make a long-term business out of selling oyster sauce, so it would be impossible to keep the fact that they were sourcing large quantities of fresh oysters from the village a secret. It was better to be upfront and clear, so people could feel assured about it.

Upon hearing that the oyster sauce was made from fresh oyster meat, Shopkeeper Yu was truly surprised. Oyster meat at the restaurant had mixed reviews—some people loved it, while others couldn’t stand the strong fishy smell, even just looking at it.

Coincidentally, Shopkeeper Yu was one of those people who couldn’t eat oysters.

But just now, he had found himself wanting two more plates of it…

How could something as fishy as oyster meat be transformed into such a flavorful seasoning? He couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

But one thing was certain: this oyster sauce was indeed something special.

Today, they could steam clams, and after buying more, he could try steaming shrimp, fish, and various other dishes. The restaurant would have even more new dishes to offer!

“Madam, how much would you like to sell it for?”

Yin Huaixi instinctively looked at her daughter. Last time, she tried to bargain but ended up getting nowhere, so she didn’t feel like speaking now.

Jiang Wan picked up on the signal and immediately tugged at her mother’s sleeve.

“Mother, we added quite a bit of salt to this oyster sauce. We can’t sell it too cheaply.”

This was said for Shopkeeper Yu to hear, and he took it to heart.

Indeed, the garlic clam dish earlier hadn’t had any salt added, so it seemed that this oyster sauce couldn’t be sold for cheap.

“How about you tell me how much you’re willing to pay?” Yin Huaixi asked, tossing the question to Shopkeeper Yu. He thought for a moment before tentatively responding, “How about 200 wen for a jar of oyster sauce?”

200 wen—after deducting 20 wen for hiring help and a bit for salt and firewood, it would still be quite profitable.

But Jiang Wan was not satisfied.

“Mother can’t sell it for that! We used more than 50 kilogram of oyster meat to make this oyster sauce. It takes seven or eight kilogram  of oysters to get one kilogram  of meat, and we carried them back and forth for so long. We also spent a whole day extracting the oyster meat. After subtracting the cost of the ingredients, the salt, and the firewood, we still have to pay our neighbors for their help in extracting the oysters. After all that, we won’t have much left.”

Shopkeeper Yu hadn’t realized how troublesome it was to make this oyster sauce. He had seen oysters before, and indeed, their shells were heavy, and the meat was small.

This girl wasn’t lying.

Yin Huaixi pretended to be reluctant, then followed her daughter’s words. “Shopkeeper Yu, this oyster sauce isn’t easy to make, and we have to make some profit too. 200 wen is too little. I need 500 wen.”

The price had risen by 300 wen, and Shopkeeper Yu thought for a moment before deciding he could still negotiate.

“500 wen for a jar of seasoning is a bit too expensive, and I’m not sure if the customers will like dishes made with this oyster sauce. I can’t take the risk. The most I can offer is 300 wen.”

Seeing that her mother was wavering, Jiang Wan quickly tugged at her sleeve again.

“Shopkeeper, this jar of oyster sauce weighs nearly two kilogram . Just a spoonful can make a great dish, and you can make many plates from it. You can earn a lot of money. Our house recently collapsed, and we’re waiting for money to repair it. Could you add another 50 wen?”

The little girl looked pitiful, and this price was still within what Shopkeeper Yu could afford. So, he decided not to argue anymore. He directly handed over 350 wen to the mother and daughter.

After sending them off, Shopkeeper Yu excitedly held the jar and went into the kitchen.

“Come on, you all, gather around. Make a plate of clams following the method that girl used just now.”

He was going to introduce this new dish at lunch!