Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Two Taels of Silver
Mu Yunniang’s face flushed red, and she stammered, "Fourth sister-in-law, I, I..."
"It’s okay, it’s always like this at the beginning, you’ll get used to it gradually."
Yi Meng gave Mu Yunniang a reassuring smile, "You drink some water and calm down first, I’ll start cooking."
"Okay."
Mu Yunniang wasn’t sure if she was excited, nervous, or ashamed, but there were tears shimmering in her eyes.
Yi Meng didn’t pay her any more mind and directly said to Ai Zhaodi, "Fifth sister-in-law, prepare the ingredients."
"Okay!"
Ai Zhaodi responded promptly and her actions were swift.
Ai Zhaodi’s knife skills were quite good. After Yi Meng’s training over this period, although Ai Zhaodi couldn’t yet carve intricate designs, it was sufficient for a restaurant of this scale.
"Second sister-in-law, gut the fish!"
Yi Meng called out, and Qu Laodi immediately got to work outside the door.
She was responsible for gutting the fish.
The fish were caught from the second courtyard, and if they weren’t enough, they were fetched from the village pond.
No one knew if the Qi Family was particularly suited for fish farming, but in any case, the fish in the two ponds, regardless of size, grew very well.
Squirrel fish, also known as squirrel mandarin fish, is typically made with mandarin fish.
But since there weren’t any mandarin fish, Yi Meng used carp instead.
A little over two catties of carp, considered small among the fish in the pond.
After scoring the fish meat, it was marinated with seasoning and then coated with egg yolk batter.
The biggest characteristic of this dish, besides the taste, is being able to shape it while frying.
Hold the fish tail, and place the entire fish upside down in the oil pot.
Because of the inverted position, the scored fish meat would spread open when fried.
At this point, hot oil is poured over, and the fried fish meat gradually sets.
But this is not the most clever step yet.
Once both sides of the fish meat are set, one hand holds the fish tail, a spoon presses down on the fish head, bending the fish body, and it’s put back in the oil pot to continue frying.
When fried this way, the fish takes on a curved shape.
For plating, use garnishes to create a base on the plate, and place the fish on top to present a leaping fish pose.
Considering that Concord City prefers salty flavors, salt is added to the sauce in addition to sweet and sour.
This obviously differed from the renowned authentic squirrel fish from Yi Meng’s previous life, but suited the northern taste better.
When the sauce is poured over the crispy fish, you can even hear a sizzling sound.
Served hot at the guest table, it engages the sense of smell, sight, and sound.
For the braised pork, Yi Meng used the juice from homemade fermented tofu as one of the ingredients, giving a flavor slightly different from the local braised pork.
The vegetables in the stir-fried greens were also all produced from the Qi Family’s land. Due to Yi Meng occasionally adding some Space Spring Water as nourishment, they not only grew well but tasted great, further highlighting the natural flavor of the food.
Simple stir-frying could contrast with daily family dishes.
Three out of the four dishes took some time to prepare, but luckily, the cooperation in the kitchen was seamless, and everything proceeded smoothly.
Actually, time-consuming meat dishes like braised pork and sweet and sour pork were pre-prepared, albeit in limited quantities.
No one could be sure how many guests would come on the first day of opening, and if they prepared too much in advance, any leftover would have to be consumed by the family.
The signature dishes are priced slightly more expensive than normal stir-fried dishes, not every table of guests would be as willing to spend as those scholars.
So the pressure in the kitchen wasn’t that big.
Mu Yunniang had recovered by the time Yi Meng was frying the fish.
Once the busy lunch period passed, she was functioning smoothly in the kitchen, with no sign of nervousness or panic.
Soon, the guests were settling their bills and leaving, and the restaurant calmed down from the recent bustle.
The two waiters were busy clearing dishes, while Qi Zheng couldn’t help but come down from upstairs. Seeing no one in the hall, he headed straight to the counter.
Qi Ercai was inside the counter tallying the Silver Coin earned during the lunch period, his fingers flitting across the abacus, while the other hand occasionally noted down sums with a charcoal pen.
Not until he finished calculating did Qi Zheng ask, "Second brother, how was it at noon? Did we sell well?"
Because the hall was crowded with people, Qi Zheng and the others had to go to the private room upstairs. Even though they knew there were customers downstairs, they weren’t sure what exactly was ordered and so were anxious.
Qi Ercai smiled and held up two fingers.
"Two hundred coppers?"
Qi Zheng asked.
Mrs. Qi, standing next to him, widened her eyes and whispered, "Just one noon and we earned two hundred coppers? Then, how much will we earn in a month?"
Next to her, Qi Manman said crisply, "Two hundred coppers for one noon, two hundred coppers for one evening, that’s four hundred coppers in one day. Grandmother, that’s twelve taels of silver in a month."
"T-Twelve taels of silver? My heavens, that’s like making money without effort!"
Mrs. Qi patted her chest, visibly startled by this number.
Remember, back when they were at the old home, even with many sons in the family, they couldn’t earn ten taels of silver in a year!
Qi Ercai was amused and shook his head, saying, "It’s not two hundred coppers."
"Then it’s twenty coppers?"
As soon as Mrs. Qi said this, her face fell into a frown, "That’s too little!"
Two hundred coppers was a lot, but twenty coppers felt very little.
Qi Zheng glared at his wife and said sternly, "Stop talking nonsense! One dish in our shop costs more than ten coppers, do you think all those people downstairs only ate one dish?"
Mrs. Qi also realized.
Twenty coppers was impossible, and it wasn’t two hundred coppers, so it’s...
Mrs. Qi glared at Qi Ercai, "Qi Er, hurry up and tell us how much!"
"Two taels of silver."
Qi Ercai stopped teasing and said straightforwardly, "And some copper coins, altogether about two taels and three qian of silver."
"T-Two taels..."
Mrs. Qi felt her breath catching.
In one day, no, in just one noon, they made two taels, so in one day, it’d be four or five taels.
Oh my goodness, that’s more than making money effortlessly!
Mrs. Qi’s heart was pounding wildly; other members of the Qi Family felt the same.
Qi Zheng remained relatively composed, considering the family recently had a large windfall, so the two taels of silver seemed alright to him.
"Not bad, not bad!"
Although he felt it was okay, Qi Zheng couldn’t think of anything else to say.
He was naturally happy.
Calculated like this, the teahouse’s investment should be recovered soon.
"What happened here?"
Yi Meng walked in from the back at this moment, holding an apron, happily looking at everyone, "Did you come to see how much silver we earned at noon?"
"Fourth daughter-in-law, do you know how much we earned at noon?"
Mrs. Qi looked at Yi Meng with a face full of joy, holding up two fingers, "Two taels! A whole two taels!"
