Now that it is summer, it is normal for restaurants and restaurants to have fewer customers.

The reason why Xu Ji can still have so many customers in the summer is that she always likes to get some new food. Eat, you can hook diners to think about.

Last summer, she made all kinds of prawns and snails with sauce.

This year, got fried red fruit and brown sugar fresh milk mochi.

In summer, eat some sweet and sour red candy, and then have a bowl of ice-cold dessert after the meal, no one can resist.

Edible ice is too expensive. Xu Qinyu is not willing to buy this kind of ice. Instead, he bought inedible ice, which is much cheaper. The prepared desserts are chilled in a large ice tub and served when they are ready. , Soft and cold, even she couldn't help but eat a bowl every day.

Although both of them run restaurants, Xu Qinyu never regarded the restaurants and restaurants in Yuanbao Town as competitors. Seeing that Mrs. Dong asked for cooperation, Xu Qinyu just smiled: " I don't know what business Mrs. Winter is looking for me to discuss?"

Seeing that Xu Qinyu was young, Mrs. Dong never dared to underestimate her, otherwise she would not have taken this trip in person.

Mrs. Dong also said bluntly: "My husband and I are very impressed by Mrs. Xu's cooking skills. In fact, I have tasted all of Xu Dong's cooking skills. I came here today to talk to Xu Dong's family, can I use them? If you are willing to sell the recipes to us, we will not continue to open Donglaiju in Yuanbao Town. We will move Donglaiju to Raozhou City. ."

Seeing Xu Qinyu's contemplative look, Mrs Dong said, "Don't worry about Xu Dong's family, we are willing to pay 1,000 taels of silver to buy the recipe for each dish, and we can buy all the recipes of Xu's food."

As far as the signature dishes of Xu Kee Restaurant are about 20, not to mention there are other dishes such as desserts and snacks. Xu Ji's current evening meal plus Yinzi dessert has more than 50 dishes. want to It would take fifty thousand taels to buy them all.

The reason why the Dong family is so rich is that the Dong family has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years.

Donglaiju is also a century-old brand and has its own signature dishes.

Dong's cookbook has a history of a hundred years. The Dong family are all cooks. I heard that some people in my ancestors were imperial chefs, so there is a Dong family cookbook.

The Dong family belonged to the Dong family, and when she came to the Dong family, she had only one daughter, so Dong’s father chose the most talented cooking talent from his apprentices, Yue Weimin, and asked him if he would like to join the Dong family. Yue Weimin said yes. , So after marrying Dong's family, Dong's father handed over all his signature dishes to Yue Weimin, and also Donglaiju to him.

In these years, the Dong family was the owner of Donglaiju.

But Yue Weimin is the chef of Donglaiju, and the husband and wife are also considered as Qin Se and Ming.

Under the care of the two of them, Donglaiju's business is booming.

Since it is a century-old brand, Dongjia is definitely not short of money.

Dong's family doesn't have the talent to be a cook, and it's not that Dong's father has not taught her cooking skills, but the food she cooks is just so-so. Certainly not.

But also because of this, the Dong family is also very uneasy. She was born in a culinary family and knows that the recipes in the hands of each family or cook are unique. Generally, if they are not too poor, no one is willing to sell recipes, or even steal other people's dishes. , they can all sue the government and get punished.

So Dong Shi was very worried that Xu Ji's owner would not be willing to sell recipes.

She also felt that her request was a bit excessive.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help raising her eyebrows.

One thousand taels of silver for a dish looks like a lot, but it's not.

These dishes of hers can make a lot of money in any fertile state city, it is only a matter of time.

And she never felt that the recipes of these dishes belonged to her from the beginning, and she never thought of selling the recipes.

Most of these dishes are very common dishes in later generations, and some of them are from her own private kitchen recipes, but even some private kitchen dishes she thought of are based on various foods that have been passed down for thousands of years in later generations. from the practice.

In fact, private kitchen dishes are originally a little difference in taste. The ingredients and methods are slightly changed, and the seasonings are different.

The history has been passed down for thousands of years, and how many delicacies have been passed down.

Even if the dynasty she is in is not her descendant, the cooking skills are still in the early stage.

Cooking is basically salt, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar ginger and green onions.

Unlike later generations, there are hundreds of seasonings for cooking, and even fruits can be used as seasonings.

So from the beginning, she felt that as long as her character was good, she could be an apprentice with her. Some chefs with cooking skills would be able to become an apprentice after learning from her for two or three years, and she would not deliberately hold people in her hands. Let it go, let them leave their own restaurants and restaurants, and carry forward the food.

But for some reason, no one wanted to come to her restaurant as an apprentice when she recruited a cook before.

In fact, it is said that he is an apprentice, but he is also a cook. He needs to be in charge on weekdays and also pays wages.

The notice on the door of her restaurant has been hanging for a year and a half, and no one has cared about it.

Even though her cooking skills had spread, no one came.

After thinking about it, Xu Qinyu told Dongshi, "Mrs. Dong, to tell you the truth, I don't plan to sell these recipes."

After listening to Dong Shi, her heart was really like this, but she was not too disappointed. In fact, Yue Weimin asked her to try and ask, saying that after the restaurant opened in Xuji, the customer flow has indeed decreased a lot. As early as half a year ago, Weimin urged her to ask. She came over to talk to Mrs. Xu and wanted to buy Xu Ji's formula. But she didn't think it was right, and it was because she saw that the business in the restaurant was getting more and more deserted in the past few days, but Xu Ji's business was not affected at all, so she came over when she was hot.

And she only dared to ask if she sold the recipe, and promised Xu Qinyu that she would never open a restaurant in the same place.

I don't even dare to talk about opening a restaurant, because opening a restaurant together is not a wise choice.

Xu Dong's family has recipes and craftsmanship, and there are several apprentices under his hands, but they are too young. After a few years, they will be able to take charge, and it will not be a problem to open a big restaurant. Xu Ji now makes a lot of money every month. The only thing is manpower, otherwise Xu Xixi would have opened a bigger restaurant long ago.

It's easy for brothers to do business in partnership, not to mention restaurants and restaurants that were originally competitors.

Before waiting for Mrs. Dong to say anything, she heard Mrs. Xu say, "Although the recipe is not for sale, I can teach it. The chef or help cook of Mrs. Dong's restaurant will come over and learn from me for two or three years, just come to me. The restaurant will help you for two or three years, the wages will also be paid, and you can learn to cook, what does Mrs. Dong think?"

As soon as these words came out, Dong Shi was stunned.

Miss Xu is unwilling to sell recipes, but is willing to teach her cooking skills for no reason?

Is it enough to learn from her for two or three years?

Dong Shi had no idea for a while.

Although her grandfather joined the family, over the past few years, Donglaiju has basically been in charge of him, and he is also the chef of Donglaiju, so she can't help much, it is Yue Weimin who is in charge.

Dongshi said: "I have to go back and discuss with my family. How about discussing it with Xu Dongjia in a few days?"

"nature."

Xu Qinyu is not reluctant, Cheng Geer and the others are still young, at least they have to study for another two or three years before they can officially become the chef, so she still hopes that a chef can come to learn cooking with her, and help her by the way. You can also relax a lot.

Dong Shi soon returned home.

Her family lives in a five-storey house on this side of East Street.

She has been married to Yue Weimin for 25 years. She is 42 this year and has two sons and one daughter.

Because Yue Weimin was in the family, the eldest son took her surname and called Dong Qian. He was twenty-three this year, and he became his biological son.

The second son was named Yue Xi.

Originally, Yue Weimin promised Dong’s father that Dong’s father would join Dong’s family. No matter how many children she had, she should follow Dong’s surname, but when she was pregnant with her last child, her husband said that he was the only one left in the Yue family, and interceded with her, hoping that the second child would be male or female. , If you can follow his surname, it is considered that the Yue family has incense, and the Dong family is soft-hearted, so she agrees.

The second child was another son, and he took the surname of Yue.

The Dong family also has a youngest daughter, who is only fifteen this year, so she also took her surname Dong.

When Dong returned home, Yue Weiming had washed up and was drinking tea in the study to read the accounts.

Although he is now the chef of Donglaiju, he already has many apprentices in his hands, and the restaurant also has assistant cooks. He doesn't have much time to cook every day, so he has more free time.

He had tasted the food at Xu Ji Restaurant, and it was indeed delicious, but he felt that the owner of Xu Ji was so young, only seventeen, so she had learned cooking skills from others since she was a child, and she was just washing vegetables at first. Folding vegetables and chopping vegetables, the master really started to teach cooking, no matter how old he was ten years old, he would not let him take charge of the cooking. He just watched from the sidelines, and he had to wait another year to really start cooking at the age of eleven. At the beginning, just practiced some simple dishes. After two or three years, started to cook, but the dishes made were only for the waiters under hands. When can really cook for the guests, how can It should also be seventeen or eighteen years old.

Even if Xu Jidong's family has a talent for cooking, they are two or three years earlier than ordinary people, that is to say, Xu Jidong's real cooking time is estimated to be only three or four years.

For a cook who has only been in charge for three or four years, what kind of culinary skills can she have is nothing more than having a lot of recipes in her hand. I am afraid that there are some special seasonings that make her cooking taste so delicious and addictive.

Yes, he also felt that Xu Ji's food was a bit addictive. After eating for a few days, he was still thinking about it.

I'm afraid it's the condiments.

So he asked Dong Shi to buy the formula from Xu Ji, also wanting to test Xu Ji.

One thousand taels of silver a dish, such a sky-high price, Xu Ji has more than fifty dishes, no matter how they can be sold for fifty thousand taels of silver.

Even if the business of Xu Ji Restaurant is good, at most a few hundred taels of silver will come in every month, and it will take her eight to nine years to earn fifty thousand taels of silver.

If you really want to make money, selling formulas is the easiest way.

He guessed that Xu Ji's owner would definitely not sell her the recipe, because the recipe involved those condiments.

I'm afraid it's those condiments that make people always think about Xu Ji's food, and those condiments that can make people addicted must not be seen.

Seeing her husband, Dong stepped forward and said, "Master."

Yue Weimin raised his head and asked, "Ma'am, is Xu Ji's owner willing to sell her recipes for those dishes?"

"Miss Xu is not willing." Dong went to sit down and spoke truthfully.

Yue Weimin snorted softly, "I knew she couldn't sell recipes, as expected, she could refuse more than 50,000 taels of silver, I'm afraid her recipes for those dishes are not simple at all."

Dong Shi was stunned for a moment, "Why did the master say that?"

Yue Weimin told Dong Shi about his guess, saying that he suspected that some special seasonings were put in Xu Ji's dishes, so the food tasted good, and the seasonings might even make people addicted.

After Dongshi heard this, she was startled.

Something that can be addictive is definitely not good.

Just like Xiaoyaosan.

Xiaoyao San has rarely appeared, and it was popular for a period of time about fifty or sixty years ago.

The Dong family is only in their forties, so naturally they haven't seen Xiaoyao San being popular, it was Dong's father who experienced it and told his daughter.

Dong's father also told his daughter that anything addictive is not a good thing. He also said that there was an old enemy in the Dong family who was a cook, and the restaurant he opened often fought in the ring, but because the old enemy in the Dong family used Xiaoyaosan, I became addicted after only a few times, this Xiaoyaosan is expensive, after taking it like this for several years, I am neither human nor ghost, extremely thin, and even ruined my family business.

Dong's father was also young at that time, only in his teens, already sensible, and he could be regarded as watching his opponent's demise.

The old man of the Dong family told Father Dong that you can't touch Xiaoyaosan, and you can't touch anything that is addictive, and the same is true for cooking and food. You must have a conscience, and don't add addictive things to it just to attract customers.

Xiaoyao Powder is in powder form, it can be taken, and within a few moments after taking it, one can feel very happy, lying there without doing anything, just like a fairy.

But after taking it for a few years, the body is visible to the naked eye, becoming thinner year by year, and finally the body is completely broken, and the mind is confused and cannot recognize people.

At this time, if you don't continue to take Xiaoyaosan, you will go crazy like crazy, and your relatives will not recognize you, and you will go up and bite people to ask for Xiaoyaosan.

So when Yue Weimin talked about addictive things, she thought of Xiaoyaosan.

After taking that thing for a few times, want to continue taking it. If don’t take it, feel like ants are biting body, which is painful to the bone.

But Xu Ji's food is totally different, although he misses it, it's because it tastes good, and there's nothing wrong with him if he doesn't eat it.

"Master, you must have misunderstood."

Dong Shi didn't believe it, she actually often ate Xu Ji's food, and asked the maid at home to go to Xu Ji to pack it back. There was no abnormality in her body. She was not in good health before, and she was a little thin. Since she often ate Xu Ji's food, She also gained a few kilograms of meat, her complexion was rosy, and she didn't feel any discomfort if she didn't eat on weekdays.

Yue Weimin frowned and said, "Otherwise, she is a young woman who is only seventeen years old, and she has been in charge of the spoon for at most three or four years. How can she make the taste like this?"

"Maybe it's just that the little girl has talent."

Dong Shi couldn't help but speak for Xu Ji's family. She still likes Xu Ji's family very much. She supported a family when she was a teenager. Come home to the husband.

In fact, over the years, her relationship with her husband has also weakened.

Since the second son took her husband's surname, she can still detect her husband's favoritism towards the second son.

When the family is separated in the future, she doesn't know what will happen.

Yue Weimin said: "She doesn't want to sell the formula because there is a problem, five or sixty thousand taels of silver, who can not be tempted?"

Mrs. Dong hurriedly said, "Master, that's not the case. Mrs. Xu said that the recipe is not for sale, but she can go to Xu Ji as a cooking assistant and learn cooking skills from her for two or three years. To be able to make a living using the cooking skills I learned from her."

Yue Weimin frowned, still not believing it.

"Which chef or kitchen assistant who can handle the spoon is willing to serve as an apprentice to a teenage girl? Besides, if she does, who knows if she really knows how to teach? What if she just wants to keep you in the restaurant to work?" For chores, you must sign a contract, and you can’t leave even if you want to, it’s not obvious that you’re cheating.”

If Xu Qinyu were here, she would probably have suddenly realized why, after a year and a half of her notice was posted, no chef was willing to come to Xu Ji to learn how to cook from her.

In Dong's heart, she still felt that Miss Xu was not such a person.

To be able to cook food for those patients with diarrhea, Miss Xu would definitely not have such a scheming plan.

Seeing that her husband still felt that Mrs. Xu used something addictive in the seasoning, Dongshi stopped talking.

After a while, went to find the eldest son Dongqian.

The courtyard where Dongqian lives is not far from the main courtyard.

Dongqian has already taken his wife and had a son, and his wife gave birth to a little girl, who is almost five years old this year, and she was pregnant again at the beginning of the year, and now her belly is already big, and she is due to give birth in two or three months.

Seeing his mother, Dongqian got up, "Mother, why don't you rest so late?"

Dongshi had something on her mind, so she told Dongqian that she went to Miss Xu today, and what Miss Xu told her, she also told her son's father's suspicions about Xu Ji, thinking it was a seasoning problem. listen.

After hearing this, Dongqian said: "Xu Ji's little boss is indeed kind and righteous, mother, I actually want to try it."

In fact, Dongqian felt that there was nothing wrong with the food in Xuji Restaurant, and he often ate it. The reason why his father believed so firmly was because a little woman who had been in charge of cooking for three or four years was better at cooking than he was, and stole him away. In Yuanbao Town for so many years, the stable source of customers, so my father is not convinced.

"Brother Qian, what are you talking about?" Dong Shi was taken aback, "Do you want to work as a cooking assistant in Xuji?"

The eldest son, Dongqian, and the second son, Yuexi, both worked as help cooks in Donglaiju. They learned cooking skills from their master since they were young. The two of them are quite talented. Now they have both worked as help cooks, and they also have a few special dishes.

But Mrs. Dong could see that her husband still preferred the second son, even if he taught the two sons how to cook, he would teach the second son more.

The eldest son didn't say it, but he could still feel it in his heart.

Dong Qian nodded, "Yes, mother, let me go to Xu Ji to be the helper. I want to learn something from Mrs. Xu."

He likes to be a cook, not only because he wants to make money, but also because he wants to make more delicious food. He is also happy when he sees diners complimenting his cooking.

Dong Shi asked: "Have you thought about it? If you really go to Xu Ji, your father will..."

If the eldest son really goes to Xu Ji, the husband will definitely be furious, and maybe he will not continue to teach the eldest son in the future.

Dong Qian said: "Mother, I've figured it out. Actually, I wanted to go earlier, but I knew Dad would be angry."

He thought about it for so long, and now he thinks clearly, there are pros and cons.

Moreover, he could see that his father was more concerned about his younger brother, and seemed to be a little bit defensive about him, but he couldn't tell his mother directly about this kind of thing, because he was afraid that his mother would be sad and what would happen to living in the east in the future, he said. No, but at the moment he just wanted to learn cooking from Mrs. Xu.

Dongshi said: "Okay, you can think about it clearly, then tomorrow I will go with you to go to Miss Xu and ask, and you have to talk to your brother about this, and see what he thinks, if he wants to go or not. Learn cooking skills from Miss Xu for a few years."

The Dong family treats both sons equally.

Leaving the courtyard of the eldest son, Mrs. Dong went to the courtyard of the second son Yue Xi, told him about today's events, and told Yue Xi, "Your brother plans to go to Xu Ji to be an apprentice to help the cook, and wants to learn some cooking skills from Xu Ji's owner. Brother Xi, do you want to go together?"

When Yue Xi heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't want to go, I'm a descendant of Dong's recipes, what to do with an outsider to learn miscellaneous dishes, Dad is right, Xu Ji doesn't even dare to sell the recipe, who knows what he does There is something in the food, mother, persuade the eldest brother to let him not go too."

Dongshi sighed in the bottom of his heart, but didn't say anything, only said: "Your eldest brother has made up his mind, and mother can't persuade him, so let's take a look."

But the next day, the Dong clan still accompanied the eldest son Dong Qian to the Xuji restaurant.

She picked a noon time to go.

Unexpectedly, the woman who ran the hall told her, "Ma'am, our boss went to Dagu Village and hasn't returned yet, why don't you sit here and wait?"

It was only then that Mrs. Dong remembered that Xu Ji's owner seemed to have partnered with a Mrs. Lu from Raozhou City to open a winery, and had to work on the winery every day.

She said, "Okay, then I'll wait first."

The mother and son were sitting by the window and waiting.

Although the mother and son often ate Xu Ji's food, they did not come to the hall to eat, and they all had the servants come to buy it and send it back to Dong's house.

Sitting here now, found that Xu Ji's cleaning was very clean, and there was no greasy feeling on the table. The three women running the hall were very diligent.

Everyone is willing to use these women who have not been good enough to run the hall. Everyone can see how little lady Xu is, and the unborn husband also thinks that little lady Xu must be trying to drag and help the cook with bad intentions.

Is this her husband who has lived with her for twenty years?

Dong Shi thought about it for a while, and saw a carriage parked outside.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Madam Xu jumped out of the carriage.

As soon as Xu Qinyu ate at the restaurant, he saw the Dong Shi and a young man in his twenties sitting by the window from yesterday.

The facial features of the youth are somewhat similar to those of the Dong clan, and they should be relatives of the Dong clan.

Dongshi got up and called out to Miss Xu, Xu Qinyu went over to sit down, and Dongshi directly explained her intention.

When Xu Qinyu heard that this young man was the son of the Dong family and was sent to be a cook to follow her to learn art, her eyes lit up. She waited for more than a year, and finally waited for a cook to help the cook for several years. This signature dish is very fast to learn. She taught for a few months, and she can help the cook to cook. On weekdays, she can also have a lot of leisure time, and can be busy with other things. She doesn't have to stare at the restaurant every day.

Of course, she doesn't teach everyone, but it depends on her character.

To be honest, there are tens of thousands of dishes that she knows. If she wants to make them all by herself, she doesn't know how to do it in the year of the monkey.

Even if she was teaching the apprentices to help cook, she would select the cuisines that suit them, instead of teaching them indiscriminately.

She doesn't know the character of the young man at the moment, so she will sign a deed, which will state that she will teach him cooking skills to the best of her ability, but in the same way, the character must be good.If the restaurant messes up, she learns the recipe from her and sells it to other people, and she has to send it to the government office.