Chapter 650 Hit the nail on the head
Ning Weimin, who had no idea about other people's worries, was extremely happy these days.
He also gave himself a holiday.
After accompanying his master Kang Shude around Tianjin for a full week, he drove the old man back to the capital.
This trip was a waste of money.
Ning Weimin took fifteen thousand with him when he left Beijing, but it was almost not enough.
But it must be said that they really did not run away in vain, it was so worth it.
Because their trip not only fulfilled Kang Shude’s long-cherished wish, but also hugged the baby a lot, which was a great harvest.
This Jinmen is not an ordinary place.
I think that at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, many ministers of the late Qing Dynasty and retired Beiyang officials came to Jinmen to live in their apartments in order to avoid suspicion and gain access to Beijing.
This was also one of the main cities where Belarusian nobles took refuge in China.
So in Jinmen, there are really a lot of good things living among the people.
Although the time was short, the master and apprentice have not bought many things since then, only a little over ten.
But everything I got back was absolutely exquisite, and they were all worthy of being put into the Forbidden City.
Like a pair of "Fu Lu Continuous" Ming Hongzhi yellow glaze hollow revolving vases are the largest.
Next is a Yongzheng dynasty flat pot with dragons and five brocades, and a Kangxi "Jade Huchun" vase.
In addition, there is an extremely exquisite Russian iceberg egg with a small flower basket inside.
There are almost five small items that are particularly valuable.
A jade ring, a Song Dynasty Duan inkstone and a Ming Chenghua Doucai chicken bowl cup, as well as two Gu Yuexuan snuff bottles.
But among all things, the most valuable ones are calligraphy and painting.
This time, they caught a good ancient painting.
In addition to buying a volume of Huang Tingjian's large-character calligraphy "Renting Poetry Volume" and a sub-volume "Xing Zhen" of "Qianlong Grand Reading" painted by Lang Shining.
They were particularly lucky to discover Mi Fu's authentic work.
A painting and calligraphy painting on plain silk called "The Immortal among the Flowers" is complete, including the painting and the couplets. It is a complete set.
Needless to say, this is no longer an ordinary treasure, and must be taken decisively at all costs.
Once the Ma family garden is repaired, just this set of Mi Fu's paintings and calligraphy will be hung in the main hall, which will instantly improve the style of the entire house.
As long as a knowledgeable person sees it, he will be shocked.
Look, what a coincidence. Just after the house was taken back, I got such a good thing by accident. It was as if God had given it on purpose.
What a great comfort to Kang Shude!
As for Ning Weimin, he was actually satisfied that he couldn’t even use so many things.
Just the pair of hollow revolving bottles is enough.
You know, Ning Weimin still clearly remembers his previous life, around 2010, when domestic and foreign media frantically reported a news about the auction.
At that time, a Qing Qianlong pastel hollowed-out "Auspicious Day More Than More" revolving vase was auctioned in London.
Unexpectedly, it far exceeded the original estimate of 800,000 to 1.2 million pounds, and was finally sold at a price equivalent to RMB 554.1 million.
So, now he actually got a pair of revolving bottles instead of just one.
Moreover, the gap between Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty is also obvious.
Then it will only be more than the 500 million, not less than the 500 million.
Isn’t it enough to get one billion back from a trip to Tianjin?
Not to mention that he accompanied Master and had a lot of fun along the way.
Not only was it useful, but it also greatly increased my knowledge.
It can even be said that what he saw and heard during this trip was very helpful and inspiring for him to run the altar palace.
Just like the Lishunde Hotel in Jinmen where they stayed.
That was not only the place where Li Zhongtang and Mr. Sun stayed.
The key is that this hotel was founded in 1863. It is known as "the first foreign-related hotel in China" and created the beginning of modern trends.
The lobby here still retains an old telephone made in 1918.
The pure wooden staircase covered with red carpet was built in 1886.
There is an old-fashioned elevator on the top floor with a cabin covered with wooden walls. It is also the oldest elevator in my country and was installed in 1924.
The most amazing thing is that this thing can still be used normally today, which is really shocking.
In short, the style of the Republic of China here is extremely authentic, and the combination of earth and foreign is quite wonderful. It is actually similar to the atmosphere of Tan Gong Restaurant.
This made Ning Weimin surprised and also came up with some new ideas for layout and decoration. He took some photos and planned to make changes to the style of the telephone, elevator, and stairs when he returned, so as to achieve a closer historical reality.
In addition, the Tianjin snacks of this era are also worth trying.
Pancakes, fruits, and the world-famous "Three Wonders of Tianjin" are surprisingly cheap at this time, especially affordable.
Pancakes and fruits only cost 25 cents a set, fried ear cakes and Guifaxiang twists only cost 35 cents each.
Even the dog ignores the buns, but at this time it is not the buns that even the dog ignores. The price is only one yuan and two pounds.
That's really affordable.
The most important thing is the taste, which is surprisingly good.
It is far better than the feeling of industrializing these things in the future, packaging them in colorful colors, and selling them in the food streets to fool outsiders.
Ning Weimin even suspected that there was something wrong with his taste, because he was not short of oil and water.
It stands to reason that people like him should not feel any special attraction to food that is so rich in oil and water.
From the perspective of 30 years later, the reason why people enjoyed delicious food back then was because there was not enough oil and water, and there were few choices.
But the problem is, he really thinks it is delicious, and feels that this time-honored brand in this simple era really lives up to its name.
But why is this happening?
Is it because it is purely handmade? It's really puzzling.
In the end, the old man pointed out the key points for him with a few words and solved his confusion.
"What's so strange about this! This is a person's strength, and craftsmanship is not false. Those who rely on craftsmanship to eat are the strong and always strong."
"I'm also telling you, why is this catering industry so important? Are there different levels of restaurants, restaurants, and restaurants? Because traditionally, people who sell noodles do not sell stir-fry dishes, and those who make banquets definitely do not cook popular dishes. "
"It is important to know where your strengths are. Only by leveraging your strengths can you be successful. It is difficult for a restaurant to do well in every category from top to bottom. After all, good chefs like Master Zhang are so rare.”
“If you think about it, ordinary people can only master this Goubuli bun with practice. For example, people only make this kind of food every day, and they only make pork and three delicacies stuffing. So good, the person who makes thousands of steamed buns every day, who has been making stuffing for twenty years. Are the steamed buns still ordinary? Isn’t it delicious? Even with your eyes closed, it’s better than yours.” Small restaurants with famous chefs are the only ones left with famous snacks. In big restaurants like yours, eating is about spectacle and pomp, commonly known as "eating for the eyes", and it is mainly about visual enjoyment. Small restaurants and public restaurants that offer food all focus on category coupons and affordable prices. But the problem is that doing everything means doing nothing well.”
When Ning Weimin heard this, he thought it made sense, but he was still a little unconvinced.
"Old man, you can't be too sure. You see, we have a full range of categories and do everything well. Master Zhang gives us guidance and invites famous chefs to teach us. I have completely achieved the goal of "no one else has my taste, no one has my essence"."
"I will never brag to you, let alone the authenticity of the palace cuisine, compare the other two palace cuisines with us. , Nothing. As for the taste, if we compare 'Peach Blossom Pan' to the authentic version of Kangle Restaurant, it is not inferior to them."
"The same goes for our palace pastries, let alone Yulu Shuang. , milk chess piece, noodle warehouse, Suye pastry, which are not available elsewhere. Even the pea yellow and ai wowo cakes are better than those made by Beihai Fangshan, not to mention the stuff from the non-staple food store. Compared with us, it’s rubbish. What about Daoxiang Village in Chongzhang, Beixinqiao? It’s still not as good as us.” It's better than Goubuli's, but it's expensive every day. There's a limit of two per person, and half of the people in line can't get it. We're not weak now. Go to Fengze Garden. There are also small pork rice and sour soup, which are even more authentic Manchu..."
Ning Weimin became more and more excited as he talked, but unexpectedly, Kang Shude interrupted him with disdain.
"Ah, okay. Stop it, stop showing off. If others don't know, don't I know? What do you call taking advantage, taking advantage of loopholes, and winning without force?"
"I admit that you have some abilities. But your abilities lie in how to make money, how to manage people, and how to be good at management. All of these things you mentioned are not something that other people have, and they belong to a group that has no competitors. Recruit fresh. Or you are taking advantage of others."
"I ask you, how could you do it without the help of Master Zhang's knowledge and favors. Are the dishes better than others? Master Luo, you are the authentic descendant of Zhengmingzhai. How many years have you been making pastries, and this skill has become your specialty?”
“You didn’t steal those pastries? You only get the old noodles from Fengzeyuan? Not to mention your steamed buns. If you can’t sell banquets for thousands of yuan and use the extra shark fins and seafood dishes like Buddha Jumping Over the Wall as stuffing, you How can you compare with other people’s pork buns? Are you embarrassed?”
"Finally, the most important thing is that you pay a lot of money and use experienced chefs. Except for you, other chefs don't do a good job. Can your Taohuafan be compared with Kangle Restaurant? That's Because when a mouse gives birth to a litter, it is worse than a litter. Even so, no matter how good the peach blossom pan you make is, can it be compared to what Master Chang Jing makes by himself? "
"I'm not afraid to tell you that in the first two weeks, Master Zhang invited me to Dongzhimen for a snack - fried mutton dumplings. We went to a small restaurant, and I couldn't even see the sign. , but that place has been open for decades, just outside the city. The fried dumplings are so fragrant that the gods must surrender. Master Zhang said that he has been eating here since it was a wild teahouse, and the chef who makes fried dumplings is here. The former owner of a small shop has been cooking fried dumplings for thirty years. "
"The fried dumplings there are very different from those in Mujiazhai in the past. The green garlic is served with the lamb. Master Zhang told me that the green garlic here is grown by himself and is always eaten fresh. Although his own skills are good, he can never cook such neat noodles. You can’t get the right heat to produce such balsamic vinegar.”
“Master Zhang said so, why are you so crazy? You should be humble and think about how to continue to improve the quality of your own dishes. . For example, in the future, Master Luo’s health will become worse and he can’t make rice cakes for you anymore. Let’s use another analogy. In the future, other restaurants will also start selling pork rice and sour soup. Are you coming? How many young chefs are there who are diligent and willing to learn? If you just work together for a long time, all the experienced chefs with specialized skills will retire and the manpower will be exhausted. What should I do? Can you still have an advantage in the taste of the dishes? You are too optimistic."
"I'm not even afraid to tell you that you ate quite well today, I'll eat it. Come on, the taste is actually not as good as it used to be. It may not be because there are no really good craftsmen who have retired, or because the big pot is feeding lazy people and they like to make do with things.”
I have to say, Master is still Master.
Kang Shude’s words really hit the nail on the head and hit the mark.
Ning Weimin felt as if he had received an enlightenment, a moment of great enlightenment.
He gasped, his mind racing, thinking about it.
After a while, he went to find a long-distance phone and called Qiao Wanlin.
For no other reason, he wanted Qiao Wanlin to help contact the service bureau in Jinmen and invite the master chef from Goubuli, as well as the master chef who knew how to make Er'er Eye Fried Cake, Gui Fa Xiang Twist, Pancake Fruit and Crispy Rice Cake to Beijing.
Come to Tan Gong Restaurant for at least three months of "technical exchange".
At present, we can put aside the shortcomings of grasping everything at once, and there is no need to worry about how to solve the problem of mixed and divided industries.
Ning Weimin believes that there should still be time to slowly figure out the solution and solve it by adjusting the kitchen structure and personnel benefits.
On the contrary, the catering industry has not yet been commercialized and these old chefs have not retired yet, so the opportunity is rare.
He should try to get the "Three Wonders of Jinmen" in his own hands first and move them all to Tan Palace.
He also wants to try his own fresh steamed buns.
If Goubuli, a master chef who has been working for decades, could make it, how delicious would it be?
(End of this chapter)