105 – Whole Vermicelli Feast

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However, it rained for two consecutive days.

After the sky cleared, Qin Mian and Lei Tie came to the vegetable garden with baskets and straw hats. In the chili field, the first batch of chili planted accounted for about half of the land, divided into three plots. Green chili trees could reach knee-height. Each of the chilies was thin and long, hanging on the branches with its bright red color exuded warm vitality.

The two were carrying baskets in one hand and plucking chili with the other hand.

At this time, the class was still ongoing in the farm residence. The voice of Lei-Qin Shun and the others reading aloud clearly transmitted. Everyone cherished this hard-to-come-by opportunity.

Once the class ended, Lei-Qin Zhong led Lei-Qin Shun and the others to run over, carrying baskets. They saluted Lei Tie and Qin Mian and picked the chilies together.

Qin Mian and Lei Tie went back with two baskets of chilies and picked another two baskets in the space. Qin Mian instructed Lei Tie to remove a basket of chili’s stalks, wash them, and chop them into pieces. After that, he added a proper amount of minced garlic and salt, and put them into a clean and dried earthen pot before sealing it. This was a simple chili sauce that could be stored for a long time.

Qin Mian also made some pickled chilies. The method of pickled chilies was simple. Washed the chilies and dried them. In a cleaned pickle jar, poured in the appropriate amount of salt, sprinkled a little Sichuan pepper powder, and then poured in the cold boiled-water. Next, put the chilies in. Lastly, added a little white wine and sealed the jar. It could be eaten in about six to seven days.

“Wife, since Aunt Fu stays in the workshop, let’s buy another person.” Lei Tie took a look at the remaining chilies.

Qin Mian only thought for a few seconds before he agreed, “Buy. Perfect timing, since we’re going to town in a few days.” After Aunt Fu went to the workshop, the work originally belonged to her in the farm residence was dropped. For example, he and Lei Tie had to work in the vegetable garden themselves. Since they had the capability, why not made themselves more comfortable?

After more than 200 jin of vermicelli were produced in the Vermicelli Workshop, Qin Mian and Lei Tie came to Double Xiang House with 100 jin of vermicelli.

When Manager Sun Maosheng saw the two owners came with something, he guessed whether it was a new dish.

“Manager Sun, how’s the business recently?”

The smile on Sun Maosheng’s face was a little reluctant, “Reporting to Little Young Master; the business is not bad. It’s just that, since it’s getting hotter now, it’s a little bit worse than before.”

Qin Mian understood that a lack of customers was Double Xiang House’s flaw. This problem had been considered before he built the wine house, and he had the countermeasure for dealing with the situation long ago. Therefore, he looked not at all conflicted, but tranquil and calm.

Manager Sun was certain of his guess, upon seeing this.

Lei Tie said something to Qin Mian before he went to make rounds of inspection.

“Since it’s hot, we’ll launch more cold dishes; pot-stewed dish, or make a cold dish feast, or a pot-stewed dish feast, and whatnot.” Qin Mian said as he walked inside. As he passed by the lobby, he glanced. He arrived late in the afternoon. At this time, one-third of the seats in the lobby was still empty.

“I’m clear about the cold dish. What is the pot-stewed dish?” Manager Sun’s eyes brightened. Anything that was specially mentioned by Little Young Master must be extraordinary.

“We’ll talk about this later. We’re launching a new dish today.” Qin Mian handed him the lottery box that had been prepared earlier. “Today, Double Xiang House is holding a lottery to reward new and old customers, with a winning rate of 30%. You tell the customers at each table to take out a card from the box. The blank card means ‘thank you for your patronage’; the card with a pattern means to win a prize. The winners will get a new dish ‘Flourishing Blossoms on the Branches’ personally made by this boss, I.”

In actuality, what he said was ‘Ants on the Tree’¹, but he thought that the name was not elegant enough, so he changed it to a new name ‘Flourishing Blossoms on the Branches’, which complimented the image.

From the name, Manager Sun couldn’t make out anything. However, when he heard it was a ‘new dish’, he was excited and immediately went out with the lottery box in his arms.

Qin Mian hurried into the kitchen and asked people to use boiling water to soften the vermicelli for later use. Not a moment later, he heard noises in the lobby.

Soon, a waiter came to report, “The customer at Table 12 won the prize.”

Qin Mian motioned to Chef Li to step aside.

The other three chefs understood that Chef Li would be in the charge of the new dish. They were not envious, because each of them was good at different cuisines. Moreover, Little Boss always treated the four of them evenly, so much so that when they performed well, Little Boss would give some recipes. One should know, this also affected their monthly commission.

Qin Mian rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. Chef Li stood aside to observe and learn.

When the oil in the wok heated up, Qin Mian added minced ginger and minced garlic to stir-fry until it smelled fragrant. Next, he added well-marinated ground meat and stir-fried. Following that, he put a little salt, a little liquor, and fresh soup. Then, he added soft vermicelli and stir-fried. Afterward, he put a little soy sauce. Lastly, he added chopped scallion and stir-fried for a bit before serving it on a plate.

The waiter picked up the dish and delivered it to Table 12, quickly and steadily.

Over there, a waiter ran over and yelled, “Private Room 4 won the prize!”

“Dear honored customers, the new dish ‘Flourishing Blossoms on the Branches’ is delivered. Please enjoy it!”

When the four customers in Table 12 saw the vermicelli on the plate to which they had never seen before, they looked forward to the dish even more. They immediately moved their chopsticks and carefully tasted it. Their faces showed satisfaction as they repeatedly nodded.

Among them was an older person, who couldn’t help but praise, “Delicious! This noodle-like ingredient perfectly absorbs every flavor of the seasonings and the lean meat. It is soft, sleek, and tender but still slightly resilient. It’s a refreshing taste that is delightful. Good!”

Once the rest of the customers heard it, they secretly swallowed their saliva and felt upset that their luck was not good enough to win the prize.

A customer regrettably looked at the card in his hand with the stamped words ‘thank you for your patronage’ and the words ‘Double Xiang House’ on top. In the lower right corner of the card, there was a stamp of a tiny little mouse behaving like a thief. It was strange, but he didn’t pay it any thought. He put the card into the lapel of his clothes and impatiently called the waiter to ask, “Waiter, what’s the price of this dish? Can I order it now?”

The waiter warmly and kindly smiled, “Dear customer, this new dish is only launched today. You must give the chefs time to learn? However, our boss just said that a vermicelli feast that smells, looks, and tastes great will launch tomorrow. The whole set of dishes are made of vermicelli. If you are interested, you may as well come back tomorrow.”

He spoke in a loud voice, which of course, not only for this person to hear.

The rest of the diners got the answers they wanted to hear and were satisfied, but some of them didn’t know what to eat. They wished that the sky darkened and then immediately lighted up².

At dusk, the number of customers going in and out of Double Xiang House tremendously increased. Most of them came to inquire about the vermicelli dish, and the two families were rich enough to book the vermicelli feast in advance. One needed to know that a table of vermicelli feast cost 8 silver taels! It was not cheap!

Some of the old customers who decided to have dinner in Double Xiang House also pestered Manager Sun for a lottery draw. Therefore, in the evening, Qin Mian made more than a dozen ‘Flourishing Blossoms on the Branches’, which made him very tired.

Other restaurants and wine houses in the town could only say a few sarcastic remarks in a sour manner when they saw this situation, as they were extremely exasperated. They just couldn’t beat it.

After the dinner order, Qin Mian carefully taught Chef Li how to make some dishes with vermicelli. Chef Li had been a chef for more than 20 years. He had a keen sense of cooking, so he learned quickly.

After teaching, Qin Mian asked him to serve each dish for him to taste.

“How does it taste, Little Boss?” Chef Li wiped a handful of sweat as he asked somewhat uneasily. Inwardly, he respected Little Boss. It was said that this kind of ingredient – vermicelli – was invented by Little Boss and Big Boss. Because this was a new ingredient, he was not confident even if he was experienced.

After Qin Mian tasted one by one, he showed a smile on his face and nodded, “Pretty good. If the full score is 10, you get 9 points.”

Chef Li had a reassuring smile on his face, “Then I can rest assured.”

Lei Tie, who had been standing quietly at the door, said, “Wife, have a meal.”

“Coming.” Qin Mian put down the chopsticks and quickly walked over. His stomach was already growling with hunger.

In the lounge, there were three dishes, one soup, an exquisite bamboo bucket filled with cooked rice, and two served bowls of rice on the round table. Qin Mian knew that it was Lei Tie who asked the chef to make the meal for them in the small kitchen.

After turning around and seeing no one at the door, Qin Mian boldly hugged Lei Tie and offered a burning hot kiss.

“You haven’t eaten yet? Come and eat together.” He pressed Lei Tie on the chair as he also sat down, picked up a rice bowl, and ate with big bites. “I’m so hungry.”

“Slow down.” Lei Tie picked up a piece of flesh on the fish belly, removed the bones, and put it into his (QM) bowl.

“You also eat.” Qin Mian gave him a piece of sweet and sour sparerib.

“I just had a fruit.” Lei Tie scooped out a bowl of soup and stirred it with a spoon to cool it down. His eyes were always on Qin Mian. He said again, “Slow down.”

“Um!” After Qin Mian finished a bowl of rice, his stomach felt a little more comfortable, “You also eat.”

Lei Tie scooped half a spoonful of soup to test the temperature and then pushed the soup bowl to his wife before picking up his rice bowl to eat.

Qin Mian took a sip of the soup with a smile and gave Lei Tie a spoonful.

Lei Tie looked at him as he sipped it.

In the evening, the two of them rested at Rugui Building. They idly strolled on the suspension bridge as the night gently breeze blew. It was refreshing and comfortable.

“Wife.”

“Um?”

“Double Xiang House’s daily launch of new dishes can attract a lot of customers. But in this way, you will be very tired,” Lei Tie said. Although those recipes were recorded in the books inside his wife’s space, he didn’t want his wife to spend too many thoughts on it.

“Rest assured,” Qin Mian embraced the man’s shoulders, looked up at the stars, and briskly said, “I have means. You will know tomorrow. But it’s involved you too.”

He looked back and smiled at Lei Tie.

Lei Tie nodded, “Listen to your arrangement.”

Qin Mian pulled the man’s wrist, “No more of this talk. Let’s go. I’ve been busy all day today, I’m sweating. I want to go back and take a bath.”

In the honored guest suit exclusive for the two men on the third floor, the lights had been lit. The inside was clean and tidy as if no one had ever lived in it. Qin Mian took off his shoes and socks, stepped on the floor barefoot as he rushed into the bathroom, and closed the door a ‘bang’, “A-Tie, I wash first.”

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