Chapter 821 Preparations for the opening (Part 1)
There are still three days left in the holiday that Emperor Jiajing gave himself, and things in the store have to be stepped up. After staring at the decoration for a long time in the morning, Zhu Ping'an left a message for Liu Mu. After showing the design drawing and talking about some precautions during the decoration, Liu Mu was asked to stay here and stare at the decoration.
Liu Mu is the most careful and steady among Liu Dadao and Zhu Pingan. Liu Mu is left to stare at the decoration, and Zhu Ping'an couldn't be more relieved.
To open a store, in addition to decoration, it also needs to recruit people, mainly chefs and waiters.
As for the chef, Liu Mu and Liu Dadao unanimously recommended Mr. Liu, who was from Yunmeng Village. When Zhao Daying sent troops to kill good people and take credit, Mr. Liu only escaped when he went out to fetch water. One calamity.
Old Uncle Liu is a famous ladle chef in his village. He has been cooking for half his life. His cooking skills are passed down by word of mouth among the neighbors. Everyone who has tasted the food cooked by Old Uncle Liu will give them a thumbs up. The master chefs at the restaurant were full of praise for Mr. Liu's craftsmanship. When there are banquets held for weddings and weddings in eight nearby villages, they all feel proud to have Old Man Liu as the chef. As long as Old Uncle Liu is the chef, the banquet will be well-prepared.
The four of them, Liu Dadao and Liu Dachui, took the heads of their fellow villagers back to Yunmeng Village for burial. When they returned from Yunmeng Village, they took Old Uncle Liu's advice and returned to the capital with them.
The other five hunters who were imprisoned at the beginning settled in a cottage at the foot of the graves of their folks in Yunmeng Village. They agreed to observe mourning for their folks for one year and then join up with Liu Dadao and the others to repay their kindness. Safety.
In order to return to the capital as quickly as possible, Liu Dadao and the others worked hard all the way. They were young and strong and were fine. However, Old Man Liu’s old arms and legs were not good. He was shaking all the way. They returned to Linhuai yesterday. The Hou Mansion took a rest.
Zhu Pingan went back to see Mr. Liu yesterday. Mr. Liu is in his fifties and is in good health, but he is too mentally exhausted.
It was a complete sense of déjà vu. Why were you on your way in such a hurry?
Zhu Ping'an was both moved and speechless as Liu Da Dao and the others rode so fast all the way.
Old man Liu couldn't sit still and wanted to come over early this morning to help. However, Zhu Ping'an insisted that old man Liu rest in the house for one more day.
So, as for the chef, it’s Old Man Liu, and with Liu Daqiang volunteering to be Old Man Liu’s helper, there should be no problem as a chef. Liu Daqiang often helped Old Uncle Liu cook when he was in Yunmeng Village. He was considered half of Old Uncle Liu's nominal apprentice. He was still recognized by Old Uncle Liu for washing, cutting, and cooking vegetables.
Of course, if the business is busy, we can find a few more cooks for Old Man Liu and Liu Daqiang. As for the waiters, Liu Dadao and the others have already volunteered.
Next comes custom equipment.
This piece of Zhu Ping'an was handed over to Liu Daqiang and Liu Daxu. Liu Daqiang was very familiar with pots, pans, plates and chopping boards. When he worked as a cook for Mr. Liu, I often go to the town to help people hosting banquets with these things, bargaining, etc. Liu Daqiang is a veteran.
So, Zhu Ping'an gave Liu Daqiang 15 taels of silver and asked him to take Liu Daqiang to buy these equipment and buy seasonings for cooking. He especially emphasized that they should buy more peppers imported from Nanyang. .
Panjiao is also called chili pepper. There is no specific record of when chili pepper was introduced to China.
However, the earliest recognized record of chili peppers is the "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" (1591) written by Gao Lian of the Ming Dynasty. This book records: "Chili peppers grow in clusters with white flowers, and the fruit looks like a bald pen head, and the taste is Spicy red, very impressive."
According to the records in this book, modern people generally believe that pepper was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Ping'an thought so at the beginning, but this is not the case. It is now the 30th year of Jiajing (1551 AD), and peppers have already appeared on the streets of the capital city of the Ming Dynasty. They are already the seasoning of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the degree of exploration of chili peppers is far less than that of modern times.
Even when Zhu Pingan was a child, he first met Li Shu, who was still a little lolita, in the town. In the town near the south, the bun shop already had chili noodles mixed with vinegar to make a sauce. .
Well, when you have time, you need to write some articles like Gao Lian, such as "Safety Notes" or poems, and leave written records to prove that the consumption of peppers was much earlier than the late Ming Dynasty.
Well, let’s talk about this later when we have time.
Now I have to buy ingredients.
Vegetables and meats in this era are all natural and pollution-free. They are all grown in soil and fertilizer. The quality is absolutely guaranteed, which is very reassuring. Zhu Ping'an took Liu Dachui and Liu Dadao there. Vegetable market nearby. Plan to compare prices and quality to understand the market situation. If possible, make a long-term supply agreement with the stall owner and ask them to deliver directly to the store.
After walking for about twenty minutes, we arrived at the vegetable market closest to the store.
The vegetable market is called "vegetable market". It is somewhat similar to the modern vegetable market, but the management is stricter. There are two clerks sitting at the door of the vegetable market drinking tea. There are two sticks on the table. Whip, maintain order in the vegetable shop.
There are many vegetable sellers and buyers in the vegetable market, which is very lively, but it is chaotic but not chaotic.
Zhu Ping'an led Liu Dachui and Liu Dagang into the vegetable market, which was divided into two areas, one for vegetable sellers and the other for aquatic products and meat.
Zhu Pingan and the others first went to the vegetable shopping area. There were all kinds of common vegetables or expensive vegetables such as radish, lettuce, cabbage, onion, garlic, spinach, greens, taro, etc. They asked about the price. There is not much difference in prices between vendors. If you purchase in large quantities, the price per catty can be reduced by one or two cents, and it can basically be delivered to your door.
Of course, it seems that there is not much difference between the various vendors, but when purchasing in large quantities, the differences are still quite large.
In addition, the vegetables from various vendors may seem similar, but there are still some differences, such as freshness, quality, origin, etc.
There are many ways here.
A dish in different restaurants, which one is delicious and which one is not delicious, apart from the cooking techniques, the key is the ingredients.
Zhu Ping'an compared the ingredients for a long time, but he couldn't help but feel confused, and still couldn't tell the quality of the ingredients from the bad. I decided to bring Old Uncle Liu and Liu Daqiang over next time and make a decision. Old Uncle Liu and Liu Daqiang are more professional in this kind of matter.
Go to the aquatic meat area.
In fact, Zhu Pingan came to the vegetable market just for the aquatic meat. To be precise, it was pork, and to be more precise, it was pig heart, pork liver, pork belly, pig kidney, pig intestine, etc. Get into the water.
It seems that I often complain about the pig-in-water scenes in some modern time-travel novels, so I think I should apologize to them.
Ancient people preferred to eat beef and mutton and less pork, especially before the Song Dynasty. Although it became popular to eat pork in the Ming Dynasty, some people still couldn't make it to the banquet. Pigs are rich in meat and cheap, which is far inferior to modern times. .
Pork is only eaten by common people and poor people, let alone pigs. Pig hearts and livers are better. As for pig intestines, basically no one cares about them. The price is so cheap that you can give them away. If no one buys it, the butcher usually just throws it away.
In fact, the main reason is that the ancients did not know how to deal with pig waste.
In modern times, these are all good things. The famous braised pork and braised pork are mouth-watering delicacies.
As a grassroots foodie, when he is short on money and greedy, Zhu Ping'an always buys a stewed dish, eats a plate of cucumbers by himself, and eats like a whirlwind with a cup of hot tea. Drenched in sweat, it was so satisfying to get rid of the gluttonous food.
As a foodie's most basic accomplishments, Zhu Ping'an still knows how to handle pig waste and braised pork. (End of this chapter)