Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 190 The tempting aroma of skewers attracts the first customer

Shen Yu smiled and said, "When the time comes, sprinkle some of the seasonings I've mixed on it, it will definitely taste better. It's a pity that the spice shop in the market here can't buy dogwood oil. It would taste better if it were spicier."

Speaking of spicy taste, Shen Yu thought of the time when he went to the shop to buy spices and looked for chili peppers a few days ago.

Shen Yu went to the shop where he usually bought spices. He happened to catch a new batch of goods arriving in the shop that day. A dozen merchants from the north and south were in the shop, making it quite lively.

When Shen Yu saw several unfamiliar faces he had never seen before, he did not rush to leave.

After they finished trading goods with the shop, she would go up to all the merchants coming from the south and ask them about the shape of the peppers and whether they had ever seen this plant.

There was a dark-skinned businessman who traveled between southern ports and this place all year round. He said that he had seen potted plants brought by merchants on ocean-going ships from overseas, and they were very similar to the peppers described by Shen Yu.

The leaves are stretching green, the fruits are red, growing one by one towards the sky, and look like the head of a brush. The name is hot pepper.

When Shen Yu heard this, she was so excited that she almost jumped up, and begged him to bring her two pots to try when he came from the south again.

The businessman looked at Shen Yu as if he was a fool: "You can't eat it. Even though the pepper fruit is small, it is poisonous."

"When I was on the boat, I saw the red fruit was beautiful, so I stole one and held it in my hand. When I got off the boat, I accidentally squeezed it and broke it. The juice of the fruit stained my hand, and it hurt for most of the day. I thought I was going to die."

"I will never touch it again."

As the businessman spoke, he touched the palm of his hand involuntarily, and it seemed that the burning pain was still there.

Shen Yu knew that the people at that time had never eaten peppers, and that he would not understand even if he explained it to them, so he simply said, "Then I won't eat it. It looks so good, and it looks like a brush head. I'll buy it as a potted plant."

The merchant suddenly laughed: "You are just a little cook, what do you need it for? The potted plants are very valuable, one pot costs fifteen taels of silver. Go quickly, don't delay my business."

Shen Yu was also shocked by the price, but thinking about the tempting taste of the pepper, he gritted his teeth and took out a silver ingot of ten taels: "Then I want it too. If you can bring back two pots, as long as the pepper flowers are alive, I will pay the remaining twenty taels."

The businessman casually quoted a high price, hoping to scare Shen Yu away, but he didn't expect Shen Yu to take out a silver ingot, which really surprised him.

The merchant will go back to the south to purchase goods after today, so he just brought back two small pots of flower trees, which is not a big deal.

The chili peppers at the port cannot be sold for even one tael of silver per pot. If he brings them back, he can make twenty-eight taels of silver by reselling them. Who would miss such a good business?

The merchant made up his mind and took the silver.

Shen Yu was afraid that he would take the money and not do the job, so he said, "Since you have agreed, borrow some paper and pen from the shop and sign a contract. Don't take my money and not return it."

The businessman thought it was nothing. After all, he and Shen Yu were not familiar with each other, and he was still thinking about making the remaining money, so he readily agreed.

The two men asked the owner of the spice shop to be the middleman and signed a contract, agreeing that one month later, he would bring two potted chili peppers back to Shen Yu, and Shen Yu would pay him another twenty taels of silver.

The owner of the spice shop was very puzzled as to why Shen Yu spent such a large amount of money to buy two potted trees. He was worried that Shen Yu was wasting his money, so he kindly gave him some advice, but Shen Yu insisted on paying the money and signing the deed.

Fortunately, the merchant had been cooperating with the store for a long time, and the shopkeeper was familiar with him. He was not worried that the merchant would not come back here for ten taels of silver, so he simply acted as a good person and wrote a contract for the two of them.

Shen Yu carefully put the deed away, and after returning he did not dare to tell Li and the others about it.

After all, spending thirty taels of silver to buy two pots of not-so-expensive flowers and trees would make anyone think Shen Yu was crazy.

Although Shen Yu was a little worried that the money would be wasted, she could only be patient and wait a month to see if she could get the peppers she wanted.

After Shen Yu demonstrated how to thread a few skewers of meat, he let Li do the threading.

Jiang went to cut some onions, ginger, garlic and the like, and also had to change the knife to cut the drained vegetables.

Shen Yu went to the door of the store and looked at the sky. It was almost four quarters past nine. People were coming and going on the street. Customers had already started to go into the noodle shop across the street to eat noodles.

Shen Yu went to the big kitchen in the backyard and saw that the first batch of pancakes was about to come out of the oven, and the rice steaming on the stove was already emitting a fragrant aroma.

Shen Yu told Zhou Dalang that after the pancakes and rice were ready, they should be sent to the long table in front where the food was placed, and she would start cooking vegetables and frying meat skewers.

After opening the stove door and adding coal, Shen Yu placed two woks on the stove. He poured most of the oil into one wok, and when the oil heated up, Shen Yu started to stir-fry some quick vegetarian dishes in the other wok.

Stir-fried bean sprouts with vinegar, stir-fried garlic shoots, stir-fried shredded cabbage, and stir-fried rapeseed with fresh mushrooms.

Jiang was preparing the side dishes while Shen Yu was in charge of cooking. Soon, four vegetarian dishes were cooked, served on a large square plate, and brought to the prepared insulated steamer.

Shen Yu also prepared two pickled vegetables, one was spicy ginger radish, the other was ten-spice radish. They were cut into thin strips with a sharp knife, mixed with balsamic vinegar and sesame oil, and then divided into small plates. Pickling pickles does not require any money. After mixing, they are placed on the long table and guests can take any food they want when they dine in.

Li followed Shen Yu's instructions and put the skewered meat into 40% hot oil and started frying the skewers.

As the meat skewers sizzle in the oil, the shop begins to be filled with the unique and tempting aroma of the meat skewers.

After frying once, fry again until the color of the meat skewers becomes darker and the surface becomes crispy, then remove the fried skewers and place them on a strainer aside to drain the oil.

Shen Yu was just about to stir-fry a dish of diced chicken when the first customer who came in for the taste walked in.

It was a short, fat middle-aged man. He kept sniffing as soon as he entered the door and shouted loudly, "Has the bakery changed owners? What kind of food is this? I can smell it from outside the door."

Jiang came forward and greeted him with a smile: "Sir, please take a seat here. The bakery has changed its owner and is now a restaurant. We sell all kinds of stir-fried meat skewers. The staple food is pancakes and rice."

The middle-aged guest did not sit down, but followed the smell to the front of the kitchen, in front of the long table with vegetarian dishes and pickles. He leaned forward and soon saw the pork belly skewers that had just been taken out of the stove and were still on the strainer to drain the oil.

When Shen Yu separated out the small kitchen, he deliberately made it semi-open, so that guests sitting at the dining table can also see the kitchen stove across the long table of dishes.

When frying dishes and frying skewers, Shen Yu always faces the customers. His goal is to allow customers to see the freshness of the ingredients and the frying process at a glance, and smell the crispy aroma of the skewers and the deliciousness of the stir-fried dishes.

The middle-aged customer pointed at the fried skewers and asked, "What kind of meat skewers are these? They smell much better than the ones sold on the street. How much is one?"