Survival rules for restaurants: cooking and eating melons at the same time

Chapter 94 Cold Dew, Crab Day

"Manager Hu, if you go to a pawnbroker, not only will you have to spend more money, but you may not be able to find such a generous buyer. And you have to pay in full at one time, which many people cannot satisfy. If you sell it to me at a lower price, I will pay the full amount." An Qiao didn't want to spend so much money, always feeling that it exceeded her psychological price.

"If it's any cheaper, my lady, I'll be at a huge loss." Hu Quan was not to be outdone.

"But this place doesn't seem to be worth that much silver. You can probably sell it for 450 taels at most." An Qiao lowered the price.

Hu Quan added, "Young lady, look, there is a pavilion on my side of the lake, and there is a main hall on the other side of the lake. There are also many pavilions and towers around, and guests who come to eat can even experience a new scene with every step."

An Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Manager Hu, I'm not deliberately trying to lower your price. It's just that you see the restaurant next to me. It didn't cost more than 200 taels when I first bought it, and later it was remodeled and renovated, so the total cost is not that much. I just want you to merge two houses here, which is more than twice as big. How about this, I'll give you a fair price. 475 taels, how about it?"

Shopkeeper Hu looked around and to be honest, there were quite a few people who came to see the house recently, but few could afford to pay so much money at once. In addition, his psychological price was indeed 470 taels, so he smiled and said, "475 taels, OK. But the young lady can only go with me tomorrow to transfer the ownership, I'm a bit busy here today."

An Qiao nodded sympathetically, "Sure, boss, you can come to the restaurant to find me tomorrow."

Shopkeeper Hu also felt like a burden had been lifted from his heart and heaved a sigh of relief.

Today is the Cold Dew Festival, and Anqiao ordered a large batch of crabs, which are bigger and more delicious than the ones he ordered earlier.

It is the best season to eat crabs. Notices have been posted early that all the restaurants will prepare crabs today. Even if you want to eat hot pot, they will make seafood hot pot. If you want to eat dry pot, they will stir-fry dry pot crabs.

Steamed, boiled, fried...

Everything is available.

Lian Qitao couldn't help but sigh when he saw so many crabs coming in the morning, "Did the young lady buy all the crabs in Kyoto Prefecture?"

An Qiao returned to the restaurant and immediately started cooking the crabs.

With many people washing together, the efficiency is quite fast.

Breakfast started with steamed crabs and crab buns. Many people were attracted by the smell as soon as they arrived at the door.

"My dear, I seem to smell the scent of crab." The breakfast still follows the style of morning tea. These two dishes are just added in. They are not spicy, but retain the usual freshness.

"Yes, you smelled it right, it smells really good." Qiufen had just finished taking the order for the first table and went straight to the guests who had just walked in with the order board.

"Then give me a pair. I'm craving for crabs." The diner said with a smile, found a seat and sat down, waiting for his breakfast.

The main dishes sold for lunch and dinner are large dishes. If you want steamed crabs, you can order them by the piece or by the plate.

I thought I would never be able to finish the crabs, but after dinner there were not many left.

"These crabs must be eaten tonight, otherwise they will be unavailable tomorrow." An Qiao said to everyone.

"Ah, what should we do then?" Qiufen was panicked for a moment.

Anqiao looked at the remaining crabs in the basin. It was very simple. I picked out the male crabs and cooked them in a dry pot. Then I steamed the female crabs in the pot.

Although most of the little girls don’t understand, just let whatever the young lady says be it.

An Qiao cut the crab into two, heated up the oil in a pan, added onions, ginger, garlic, and hot pot ingredients, and then put the crab in. When it was almost done, she added other side dishes and seasonings, and it was done.

Steaming crabs is even simpler. You just need to add onions and ginger to remove the fishy smell. Then steam it in a pot.

Soon, both dishes were ready to eat, and An Qiao served them on the large plate she usually used for meals, "Everyone, eat quickly."

Everyone was so excited that they sat down and looked at the red crabs, their mouths watering.

An Qiao knew what everyone was waiting for, so she dipped her chopsticks into the food in the pot, and then everyone started eating.

An Qiao turned around and made Cold Dew tea for everyone. This Cold Dew tea was selling very well today and it was a tradition of Cold Dew.

The green tea here is all from tea leaves picked three days before the Cold Dew Festival. It is not bitter or astringent, and does not require steeping, but is extremely fresh.

He poured some more chrysanthemum wine, which An Qiao had brewed not long ago using chrysanthemums, glutinous rice and koji. Unfortunately, the chrysanthemums in the farm have not yet grown, but he could brew another batch after they grow up.

"Everyone, just come and get whatever you want to drink." An Qiao sat down after giving the instructions.

"My dear girl, it's delicious. Come and eat it." Dongzhi still had crab in his mouth and spoke incoherently.

An Qiao sat down and started eating. "It's really good. The crabs we bought this year are good."

Even the two mastiffs each got a crab. In just one month, the two little mastiffs grew a lot and began to look majestic.

This is probably the chef's confidence. Others are praising her for her delicious cooking, but she just thinks that the ingredients she bought are good.

Everyone finished the meal happily. Since they had eaten after seeing off the guests who had dinner late, there was no one in front of the yard and everyone didn't need to rush to work in the front yard.

There are still a lot of pots and pans to wash at this moment. Anqiao is preparing to have a midnight snack after eating noodles. Wash dishes on the Spring Equinox and the Beginning of Spring, and the Summer Solstice.

In fact, these little girls and servants were not originally called these names. It was An Qiao who felt that their names were too troublesome, so she changed them all to solar terms, so that she could buy 24 of them in total.

Even if all 24 are called out, the rest can be changed to festivals.

As soon as I opened the front door, I saw an old woman holding a child standing at the door. The old woman held the child tightly, as if she was afraid that the child would be lost. "Young lady, can I ask for a drink of water?"

An Qiao nodded, opened the door and let them in. She saw that the little boy looked familiar, as if he was the little boy in the portrait that Wu Huan had sent over not long ago.

"Qitao, serve tea to the two guests." An Qiao gave the order and returned to the counter, taking out the stack of portraits.

After searching for a long time, she finally saw the little boy. She was right in her memory, but the Dali Temple had been so busy recently, and she wondered if there was anyone inside the temple at the moment.

Fortunately, it was not too late. "Jinli, come here." An Qiao called out, and Jinli came out happily. "What's wrong, young lady?"

An Qiao whispered something in his ear, and Jinli immediately replied, "I know, young lady, I'm familiar with this matter."

After saying that, she ran out of the restaurant without looking back. An Qiao apologized to the old woman, "I'm sorry, we just started business and are a little busy. Please wait a moment."

The old woman came to ask for water, so she naturally didn't dare to say much and just waited quietly. But the little boy kept looking around after entering the door.