Chapter 53

Xu Qinyu prepared breakfast for Yang Zhizhi using whole-grain flour to make shrimp dumplings. Even with whole-grain flour, she could roll the dough as thin as a cicada’s wings. Although it wasn’t as translucent as white flour, you could still see the beautiful color of the shrimp inside, and the texture was just as good. The whole-grain flour gave the dough a slightly chewy texture.

In addition to the shrimp dumplings, there was a bowl of milk, naturally unsweetened, with added almonds, making it rich and creamy with a hint of natural sweetness. The vegetable dish was a cold salad of shredded celery, which was tangy, spicy, and crisp.

The whole-grain shrimp dumplings were very filling, so Yang Zhizhi ate them heartily.

Everyone else could eat whatever they liked.

Madam Wei ordered custard buns. She had tried them once at the Pei family and couldn’t forget them. Today, she ordered two steamers, along with two servings of shrimp dumplings and a cup of milk tea.

Madam Wei’s eldest daughter-in-law also came along. Although her two sons didn’t come, they brought food boxes to take some breakfast home for their family.

As for the Xu family, except for Officer Xu, who went to the office, everyone else, including Xu Yunlan’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, came. Unlike other customers, they all knew Xu Qinyu’s skills. They not only ordered for themselves but also paid for the breakfast they wanted to take home.

Other customers who had yet to taste Xu Qinyu’s cooking were still grumbling at the counter, “Why is it so expensive?”

“Using offal for breakfast and charging ten wen? Are they robbing us?”

“Eight wen for a serving of fish porridge? Donglai Restaurant’s meat porridge is only twelve wen, and it has meat. How can they charge eight wen for cheap fish?”

“Exactly, this restaurant’s breakfast prices are similar to Jin Yuan Inn’s, but their portions are much larger. Look at this breakfast; there are only two items per serving.”

Jin Yuan Inn was a small inn at the front of the market, with many regular customers.

“The portions are indeed small…”

The customers complained about the prices, but the enticing aroma and the sight of other customers quietly enjoying their food made them decide to give it a try.

Then, like all the other customers, they didn’t say a word, just focused on eating, occasionally exclaiming, “Delicious!”

When the later customers were still grumbling and complaining, Madam Chen shouted, “Manager, there’s not much breakfast left in the kitchen. We’re almost sold out. There are only five servings of shrimp dumplings, three custard buns, five shumai, and some milk buns left. Everything else is gone, but we still have fish porridge and oil-splashed noodles, which are made to order.”

Hearing that many items were sold out, the customers quickly started ordering breakfast. In the end, only the fish porridge and oil-splashed noodles were left.

Since it was the first day, Xu Qinyu wasn’t sure how much demand there would be for fish porridge. By tomorrow, she would be able to prepare five servings of fish porridge in advance so customers could get their food faster.

By the end of the Si hour, breakfast was sold out.

Later customers, hearing that only fish porridge and oil-splashed noodles were left, either stayed to try the fish porridge, curious about why it was priced at eight wen, or left, thinking it was too expensive. However, those who stayed to eat the fish porridge and oil-splashed noodles praised both dishes highly.

After cleaning the pots, pans, and the front dining area, Madam Chen, Madam Yuan, and Madam Sun could rest in the back.

Xu Qinyu also had little to do. Cheng Ge’er had already prepared the fish balls for the afternoon, so they just needed to be cooked.

In the evening, as dinner time approached, the aroma of fish balls and braised fish attracted many people. Even the neighbors from Osmanthus Alley came early to queue up, fearing they wouldn’t be able to buy fish later.

The shopkeepers and owners of nearby stores were astonished.

“How is this new restaurant’s business so good? People are queuing up? Aren’t there seats inside? Why don’t they go in to eat?”

“Exactly. Could it be a gimmick by the owner? Did they hire people to come? It’s the first time I’ve seen this.”

The neighbors in line immediately turned around and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. The restaurant owner didn’t hire us to fool you. The owner is kind-hearted and has been selling us fish balls, braised fish, and fish head dishes for months. They’re cheap and delicious. Now that the owner has opened a restaurant, they’re still selling at the same prices: small braised fish for five wen each, large ones for eight wen each, fish balls for five wen per serving, and fish head tofu stew priced by portion, with options for five, ten, and fifteen wen. It’s all affordable, generous, and tasty.”

“How good can fish be?”

The neighbors replied, “Can’t you smell the aroma? Can the aroma be faked? If it wasn’t good, would we buy it every day?”

“Why don’t you eat inside?”

“Such cheap food can only be bought to take home. The owner said that if we ate inside, they wouldn’t be able to serve other dinner customers and would lose money. The owner is kind-hearted, and we can’t take advantage of that.”

Soon, the fish heads, fish balls, and braised fish were brought out, and Cheng Ge’er and Gong Ge’er sold the fish at the entrance.

Xu Qinyu was in the back preparing dinner. She had about thirty dishes for dinner. The signature dishes included fish with intestines, charcoal-grilled lamb ribs, stir-fried eel, stir-fried shrimp, crab roe noodles and rice, with crab roe made from river crabs. Cheng Ge’er and the others helped prepare the crab meat and roe, which Xu Qinyu turned into crab roe oil.

There was also pea shoot soup. Peas were already available, and Xu Qinyu had grown the pea shoots in clean, oil-free wooden tubs. The portions were small and expensive, with a serving of pea shoot soup costing eighty-eight wen.

Another signature dish was marinated snails. The snails were the largest ones available, similar in size to sea snails. Since no one ate snails here, some were particularly large. They were delicious when marinated.

Among the signature dishes, the most expensive was the charcoal-grilled lamb ribs, costing half a tael of silver, or five hundred wen, for a three-jin serving. The crab roe noodles were also pricey, with a bowl of crab roe noodles or rice costing two hundred wen.

After having breakfast at Xu’s Food Mansion, Fan Cuifang eagerly anticipated dinner. When dinner time arrived, she came over and said, “Good evening, I’d like to order two dinner dishes, and please deliver them to the cosmetics shop next door, just like breakfast.”

With so many dinner options, Fan Cuifang was dazzled. She recognized the ingredients but hadn’t heard of most of the cooking methods. After some hesitation, she ordered the signature stir-fried eel and stir-fried bamboo shoots. She initially wanted to order pea shoot soup, but since she didn’t know what pea shoots were and it cost eighty-eight wen, she decided to go with stir-fried bamboo shoots instead. The stir-fried eel cost one hundred and twenty wen. The fish with intestines is also priced at this rate. Stir-fried bamboo shoots cost fifteen wen.

Apart from the signature dishes being more expensive, most vegetable dishes are priced around ten wen, and other meat dishes are priced in the tens of wen.

Xu Qinyu was in the kitchen preparing marinated snails. It was almost May, and although the weather hadn’t warmed up yet, people were already wearing light dresses and could enjoy some refreshing dishes.

The snails had been purged of sand for two days, their shells scrubbed clean, and the tips of their tails knocked off. Marinated snails are not difficult to make. The large snails are boiled in water for 15 minutes with ginger slices, Shaoxing wine, and scallion segments.

While boiling the snails, she prepared the marinade with soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger juice, a bit of minced garlic, five-spice powder, and her homemade mushroom powder.

The mushroom powder was made from several types of wild mushrooms she found in the mountains, serving as a natural flavor enhancer. She didn’t plan to serve wild mushroom dishes in the restaurant, fearing that people might imitate her and pick wild mushrooms to cook at home.

Only she could distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous wild mushrooms. Even the same type of wild mushroom could be poisonous or non-poisonous, depending on its growing environment. Many poisonous and non-poisonous wild mushrooms look similar, making it difficult for ordinary people to tell them apart. If someone carelessly picked and ate them, they could easily die from poisoning.

Unlike in modern society, where advanced medical techniques can save most people from wild mushroom poisoning, it could be fatal here. Even in modern times, not everyone can be saved from wild mushroom poisoning. So she picked wild mushrooms for her family to eat when she had time.

When she decided to open the restaurant, she dried and ground the wild mushrooms into powder for seasoning.

The prepared marinade was mixed with cool boiled water, and the boiled snails were added, along with a handful of chopped cilantro and scallion segments. The snails were left to marinate for 30 minutes before eating.

The marinated snails were placed in the mouth, the marinade sucked off, and the snail meat was extracted with a roll and a suck of the tongue. The snail meat was refreshing, salty, and savory, with a sweet aftertaste. If there were other seafood available, it would make an even better marinated seafood dish. Unfortunately, this place isn’t by the sea, so fresh seafood isn’t available.

After ordering her dishes, Shopkeeper Fan also requested a bowl of polished rice, which cost two wen per bowl.

In less than 15 minutes, the two dishes and a bowl of rice were delivered to the cosmetics shop.

Shopkeeper Fan first picked up a piece of stir-fried eel. The eel was tender and delicious, leaving a lingering fragrance in her mouth. She couldn’t resist taking another bite, and after several mouthfuls, she finally stopped, still savoring the flavor. She murmured, “How can it be so delicious?”

She then tasted the stir-fried bamboo shoots. Even a simple dish like stir-fried bamboo shoots was full of fresh flavor, with the bamboo shoots’ natural sweetness and crispness.

The bamboo shoots’ original taste was evident, with just the right amount of salt, making the dish light yet irresistible. There was no bitterness at all. Even the polished rice from Xu’s Food Mansion was exceptionally fragrant, with each grain full and chewy, releasing a rich rice aroma when chewed.

“How can even a bowl of polished rice be so delicious?” Shopkeeper Fan felt like crying from the deliciousness. She feared she would want to eat breakfast and dinner at Xu’s Food Mansion every day.

Breakfast was manageable, costing at most twenty or thirty wen to be full, but dinner would cost around two hundred wen.

She hadn’t ordered the charcoal-grilled lamb ribs yet. The manager said there were only three servings, and once sold out, they were gone. But a serving cost five hundred wen, so she couldn’t bring herself to order it.

Eating at Xu’s Food Mansion every day would cost over two hundred wen. Even if she ordered cheaper dinner dishes in the future, it would still be several dozen wen, costing at least three taels of silver a month. This was without ordering signature dishes. If she wanted to eat signature dishes, it would cost six taels of silver a month.

Shopkeeper Fan felt a bit heartbroken. Finally, she decided to indulge for the first month at Xu’s Food Mansion and then occasionally treat herself afterward.

As dinner time arrived inside Xu’s Food Mansion, many customers started coming in. Naturally, these were the same customers who had breakfast there and were very satisfied, so they came back to try dinner. When they arrived, customers were already inside.

These were the Xia, Yang, and Xu families. The restaurant’s only three servings of charcoal-grilled lamb ribs were ordered by them.

Why were there only three servings of charcoal-grilled lamb ribs? Because these three servings were pre-ordered by the Xia, Yang, and Xu families before the restaurant opened.

Although there were several stoves that could be used to cook multiple dishes simultaneously, Xu Qinyu couldn’t manage to grill the lamb ribs at the same time. So, she grilled the lamb ribs in advance.

While grilling the lamb ribs, she also taught Cheng Ge’er how to grill them.

Even Xia Yuanzhi from the Xia family, seeing that the shop had no business, closed early to come for dinner.

Since Officer Xu and Magistrate Yang had yet to finish their duties, they left a small portion of the lamb ribs for them, and the rest was eaten by their own family members.

Xu Qinyu specially selected and marinated Yang Zhizhi’s lamb ribs. She chose the leanest lamb ribs and used different seasonings for marinating, making the flavor lighter but still delicious. However, she couldn’t eat too much, so she prepared two ribs for her.

Because Yang Zhizhi couldn’t forget the whole grain shrimp dumplings from breakfast, she asked Xu Qinyu if she could have them for dinner. Xu Qinyu smiled and said, “Of course you can.” So, she prepared two steamers of shrimp dumplings and a bowl of pea shoot soup for Yang Zhizhi.

The way Yang Zhizhi’s pea shoot soup was made was different from others. For others, the soup base for the pea shoot soup was made with pork bones, but for Yang Zhizhi, it was made with fish bones. The soup base made with pork bones was fragrant, while the one made with fish bones was fresh.

When other customers arrived, they couldn’t help but ask, “Manager, what is that amazing aroma? It’s so strong.”

Madam Wen smiled and said, “That’s the charcoal-grilled lamb ribs. There were only three servings, pre-ordered by customers before the opening, so it’s not available today. If you want to try it, you need to pre-order for tomorrow. Each serving of charcoal-grilled lamb ribs is three jin and costs half a tael of silver.”

Half a tael of silver was quite expensive. Some customers hesitated, but wealthier ones, seeing the lamb ribs on the three tables, with their crispy exterior and tender interior, couldn’t resist and pre-ordered the lamb ribs for the next day.

Even for pre-orders, they had to pay two hundred wen upfront to prevent any disruptions or cancellations. Other customers found it too expensive and didn’t order. These customers quietly ordered their dinner without complaining about the prices or the ingredients like fish and intestines.

The evening diners were mostly the same customers who had breakfast. While they found the breakfast delicious, the dinner dishes were also new and exciting.

The entire restaurant was filled with lively conversations, with customers praising the delicious dishes and fragrant rice, and some even admitting they were too hasty in their initial judgments.

“This is so fragrant. How on earth is it made?”

“The chef must be a renowned master. This skill is worth double the price!”

“Breakfast was already much better than other restaurants, but this dinner is truly unique.”

By the end of the You hour, most of the prepared ingredients were nearly gone.

Fortunately, there weren’t many customers left by then.

Cheng Ge’er took charge of cooking the staff meal in the evening.

Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er, accustomed to Xu Qinyu’s cooking, found Cheng Ge’er’s food less appealing, but they didn’t say anything. They couldn’t bear to let Xu Qinyu cook dinner for them after seeing her come out of the kitchen, untying the cloth from her head, with sweaty hair sticking to her forehead and cheeks, and her face flushed. Madam Wen’s heart ached for her.

To Madam Wen, treating Yuniang as a daughter-in-law was more like treating her as a daughter. She knew there was no romantic relationship between Yuniang and her son, and they didn’t even share a room. She didn’t force anything. She simply loved her as a daughter.

Ning Jie’er also felt uncomfortable. They urged Xu Qinyu to return to Osmanthus Alley to wash up and rest, assuring her they would take care of everything else.

Having spent so much time with the Pei family, Xu Qinyu knew Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er’s personalities well. With them around, she felt at ease.

With the restaurant’s main door closed, everyone finished their dinner, cleaned up, and prepared to go home.

Xu Qinyu nodded and left first.

At home, Madam Gui had already fed the two children.

Xu Qinyu had cooked extra portions while preparing the dishes and made a steamed pork dish, which Gong Ge’er brought home in a food box. The children and the elderly couldn’t go hungry.

When Xu Qinyu returned to Osmanthus Alley, Madam Gui saw her and felt a pang of sympathy, helping her heat water for washing.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Xu Qinyu lay down on the bed for a short rest and felt much better. She still needed to hire a few assistant cooks; otherwise, it would be too tiring.

Soon, Madam Wen, Ning Jie’er, Cheng Ge’er, and Gong Ge’er returned.

Madam Chen and the other two waitresses also went home to sleep.

Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er came back carrying a wooden box. They brought the money box home, fearing it might be stolen if left at the restaurant overnight, as no one guarded it.

The wooden box contained the day’s sales.

Hearing the delightful sound of coins clinking, Xu Qinyu felt less tired and smiled brightly.

Madam Wen, seeing Yuniang’s expression, felt a bit helpless.

The family gathered in the kitchen to count the day’s earnings.

After delivering the food, Cheng Ge’er and Gong Ge’er returned to the Wen family.

As the manager, Madam Wen also kept the accounts, making it easier to reconcile them monthly. Xu Qinyu counted the money in the wooden box, which totaled about thirty-five taels of silver.

Madam Wen murmured, “Did we really earn thirty-five taels of silver in one day?”

Ning Jie’er quickly said, “Mother, it’s not thirty-five taels. We have to deduct the cost of the ingredients to find out the actual profit.”

Xu Qinyu calculated that today’s ingredients cost about eight or nine taels of silver. But the remaining twenty-six or twenty-seven taels weren’t pure profit; they had to calculate the gross profit.

Gross profit is the amount left after deducting the cost of goods sold, rent, labor, and other expenses.

Since Madam Wen helped manage the restaurant and kept the accounts, Xu Qinyu planned to pay her five taels of silver per month.

Cheng Ge’er would still receive one tael, and Gong Ge’er, who ran errands like delivering items, would get five hundred wen per month.

The three waitresses women earned eight hundred wen each, totaling over two taels of silver per month.

Rent was four taels per month, and the cost of seasonings was not low. Today alone, they used about two taels of silver worth of seasonings, totaling sixty taels per month. There were also future business taxes and other miscellaneous expenses.

After calculating, she realized that her gross profit was around twenty taels of silver, with a net profit of five to six hundred taels per month.

This was quite high. However, it was indeed very hard work.

For ordinary people, earning five to six hundred taels of silver in a month was something they could never achieve in a lifetime. Madam Wen knew how hard her daughter-in-law worked to earn money and felt sorry for Yuniang. When she learned that Yuniang planned to pay her five taels of silver per month, she refused, saying she had no use for the money and that it should all go to Yuniang. She knew that Yuniang wanted to open a large restaurant.

After calculating the accounts and hiding the wooden box under the bed, Xu Qinyu planned to rest.

Bai Yu was curled up under the bed. Xu Qinyu squatted by the bed, patted the wooden box, and told Bai Yu, “Bai Yu, remember to guard the money for me. When we earn more, we’ll buy a big house with a garden, and you can run around the garden instead of sleeping under the bed.”

Whether it understood or not, Bai Yu straightened up and coiled around the wooden box.

Xu Qinyu smiled and patted Bai Yu’s smooth head.

In fact, Bai Yu didn’t stay under the bed every day; it occasionally went hunting in the mountains. However, it never brought back any prey for her.

As night fell and the house grew quiet, the family went to sleep.

Xu Qinyu looked at the not-so-round moon outside the window and thought of Fourth Brother, who had been away for three months.

It had been three months. Xu Qinyu sighed, wondering how Fourth Brother was doing with the merchant caravan. She hoped he was safe and would return soon.

Madam Wen, lying in bed, also thought of her son. With Yuniang and the family doing well, she hoped Xuan Ge’er would take care of himself while away.

Wiping her eyes, Madam Wen closed them and went to sleep.

The next morning, the family got up early and started their busy day again. After half a month, the reputation of Xu’s Food Mansion spread further in West Street.

Two larger restaurants and inns on West Street were affected by Xu’s Food Mansion. Their business became much quieter, as most customers went to Xu’s Food Mansion.

However, Xu’s Food Mansion had limited breakfast and dinner servings, so most customers who couldn’t get in had to go to other restaurants and inns.

Indeed, after half a month, customers wanting to eat breakfast and dinner at Xu’s Food Mansion had to start queuing up like the neighbors buying fish.

Fortunately, Xu Qinyu knew how much food she could prepare, so she would have the three waitresses inform the customers when they reached the limit, telling those behind them not to queue up. This led to some complaints from customers, asking why the chef didn’t make more food.

Madam Chen, one of the waitresses, could only say, “It’s not our owner’s fault. The owner previously advertised for assistant cooks, but when they heard our head chef was a young girl, they left. Without assistant cooks, our young chef can only prepare enough breakfast and dinner for a few dozen people. There’s really no other way.”

There was indeed still a notice for hiring assistant cooks at the entrance. But in a small town, assistant cooks usually had several years of experience, and only a few were available. They had come to ask Xu Qinyu before, and after half a month of Xu’s Food Mansion being open, they must have heard about it. Perhaps they felt it was too rude to leave before, so they didn’t come back.

Xu Qinyu thought that if she couldn’t find assistant cooks, she would have to start teaching a few apprentices from scratch. Otherwise, Cheng Ge’er alone wouldn’t be enough.

The other two restaurants and inns were also anxious, feeling their business was being taken away, but they could do nothing. The owners and head chefs of both places had bought food from Xu Ji Restaurant to try, and it was indeed delicious. Even their head chefs couldn’t find any faults with the cooking and frankly told the owners, “The chef at Xu’s Food Mansion has skills that we can’t match even after decades of cooking. We can’t compete with their business.”

If they weren’t head chefs but just ordinary assistant cooks, they would have wanted to become apprentices at Xu’s Food Mansion.

---

Xu Qinyu’s business was going smoothly, while far away by the sea, on a large ship with huge sails sailing forward with the sea breeze, stood a few people on the deck, led by none other than Pei Weixuan.