Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 291: Auspicious Gold Ingot Egg Dumplings

Unexpectedly, the two guests had just finished their meal. When they saw Li coming over, they said, "Madam, it's time to pay the bill."

One of them praised: "The food tastes good, I will come to your house for dinner next time."

When Li heard this, she was very happy and thought to herself, "This is perfect. The guests will leave without me having to ask for anything, and I don't have to lose money."

She smiled and handed over the bill, adding, "As long as the customer is satisfied with the meal, come back next time and report that you are a regular customer. I will give you an extra dish of mixed vegetables as a side dish."

The two guests were delighted to hear this. They paid the money readily and then got up and hurried to the market to buy something.

When Zhou Dalang saw Nanny Qiu coming, he knew that she was very strict with rules and there was no need for her to chase him away, so he tactfully went to the kitchen in the backyard to busy himself.

Li told Jiang and Zheng Sanniang that the second wife had brought four young ladies to book the entire venue.

He asked Jiang to go to the backyard to continue making pickled fish, while he and Zheng Sanniang quickly cleaned up the dishes left by the guests and wiped the tables and chairs.

Seeing that everything was ready in the shop, Shen Yu went to the door of the shop.

Nanny Qiu was waiting there with a sullen face and blank eyes, not knowing what she was thinking.

Shen Yu stepped forward and said with a smile: "Mammy, the guests have left, the ladies and ladies can come in."

But Aunt Qiu didn't answer.

He turned around and went back into the shop, looked around, and saw that there were indeed no customers. Even the male waiter was nowhere to be seen. Then he nodded with satisfaction.

Then he said to Zheng Sanniang, "Go get a charcoal stove and boil a pot of water. If the ladies want to drink tea, we have brought tea sets with us, so they can make tea themselves. You don't need to serve them."

Zheng Sanniang agreed and went to the backyard to prepare the tea stove.

Only then did Nanny Qiu turn around and walk out of the shop, inviting the second lady and four young ladies in.

For a moment, Shen Yu felt that the shop was filled with so many beautiful things that it was dizzying.

After a few people entered the door, Aunt Qiu stood at the door of the shop with a stern face, like a door god.

The maid Cui'er came in last, holding a wooden box containing tea sets in her hands. She placed it on the square table, opened the box, took out the tea sets inside and arranged them one by one before stepping aside.

The Second Lady and the others took off their veils. Cui'er took them, put them in order, and placed them on the table against the wall, then stepped aside.

After they had arranged their clothes, sat down in front of the square table and settled down, Shen Yu finally had time to step forward and pay his respects.

Gao smiled and said, "Miss Shen, I have to trouble you again today."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Madam, that's not true. It really makes our little shop shine that the ladies are willing to come and dine here."

While they were chatting, Jiang and Zheng Sanniang started serving the dishes.

The pork belly skewers are still sizzling with oil just out of the pan, sprinkled with seasonings while hot, and emit a rich aroma of fried meat and spices.

A plate of snow-white, soft and chewy pancakes, a plate of bright red lychee flesh shaped like lychees, and a plate of scallion-fried tofu that was as tender and smooth as milk and had a bright red sauce were placed on the square table in order.

Finally, Jiang brought up a large wooden tray, wrapped the handles of the pot with a cloth, and picked up the copper soup pot filled with a pot of steaming pickled fish and placed it on the bamboo mat in the middle of the square table.

As soon as Jiang stepped aside, Zheng Sanniang followed with a small wok and heated the oil.

As the hot oil is poured on with a "sizzling" sound, the sour and fragrant aroma spreads.

The ladies had never seen food being served in this way before, and they couldn't help but stare with their eyes wide open, looking at the copper pot in the middle, where the hot oil was still sizzling.

When Shen Yu saw that all the dishes were served, he smiled and said to the Second Madam, "Madam, the dishes are ready. The pickled fish has just been brought down from the stove and is still hot. Ladies, please be careful when eating to avoid getting burned. Is there anything else you need?"

Song Yuzhi, who was standing next to her, was originally whispering to her cousin Gao Qingwan. When she saw the pickled fish on the table, she stopped whispering and hurriedly said to Gao: "Mother, this is the pickled fish."

"It's too hot to put in your mouth right now, you must try it later."

"This pickled fish right out of the pot is the most delicious. It is much more tender than the one I brought back home and reheated that day."

Gao smiled and said angrily, "I see. You, the host, didn't greet your three sisters, but instead just let me eat first. Is this reasonable to treat guests?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yuzhi puffed up her cheeks mischievously and dared not say anything more.

Gao nodded to Shen Yu, then turned to ask the two cousins, "Originally, we planned to have dinner with only the three of us, so we didn't order many dishes."

"Take a look at the menu. If there's anything you want to eat, order some more."

"This Miss Shen may not look very old, but she is an excellent cook. It's rare for her to come out, so we are not in a hurry to go back. We can still make the food right after ordering it."

Gao's nieces Gao Qingwan and Gao Qingyu look 70% similar to the second wife.

Both of them have long eyebrows and thin eyes, gentle expressions, and they speak slowly and gently.

The two looked at the menu, pointed at it and asked curiously: "What are these gold ingot egg dumplings made of? What is this Hundred Wealth and Blessings? The names sound really interesting."

When Shen Yu was writing the menu, he took into account that the shopkeepers were entertaining guests and most of the guests were businessmen, so he thought of a few dishes with auspicious names.

It gives the shopkeepers a good start when ordering dishes, and the guests will also be happy to hear it.

The two dishes that Miss Gao asked about are what the shopkeepers must order when they come over to entertain guests. Every time the dishes are served, the names of the dishes are announced loudly, which always makes the guests smile knowingly and say that the dishes are well ordered.

Seeing that they were asking about these two dishes, Shen Yu smiled and introduced: "These gold ingot egg dumplings are made with eggs as the dumpling skin and pork as the filling."

"Because the dish looks like a gold ingot, we gave it this name for good luck."

"Bai Cai Na Fu is a dish made with tender cabbage leaves as the wrapper and pork as the filling. "Cabbage" is a homophone for "Bai Cai", so it is named this way."

Gao Qingwan smiled and said, "Then let's add another gold ingot egg dumpling."

Shen Yu agreed and said, "Egg dumplings can be steamed or made into egg dumplings with three fresh ingredients soup. Which one do you want to make, ladies?"

Gao Qingwan didn't know which one to make.

Song Yuzhi blinked her big eyes and enthusiastically suggested to her cousin: "There is already a soup dish of pickled fish on the table, so let's steam the egg dumplings."

"Next time, let's try the three-fresh soup."

Gao Qingwan nodded and said to Shen Yu with a smile: "Then let's follow my cousin's suggestion and make steamed egg dumplings."

Shen Yu took note of it, and seeing that there was nothing else he needed, he bowed and turned to leave.

The third young lady, Song Yurong, looked around curiously since she entered the shop and sat down, but did not speak.

Seeing Shen Yu was about to leave, he finally mustered up the courage to say, "Miss Shen, wait a moment."