Butcher Fulang’s Noodle Shop - Chapter 35
“The students of Hongwen College will hold gatherings every twenty days. Young Master Lin is willing to pay one hundred taels, and the cost of the ingredients will be calculated separately. He asked me to prepare the banquet,” said Song Shi’an.
His eyes were bright, and his cheeks were as red as the rising sun.
At home, there were 700 taels at the bottom of the box—680 taels of which Xu Zhongyue earned, and 20 taels were taken from the income of their restaurant. With so much money, one hundred taels was the amount he could calmly accept. However, Lin Zhihang’s willingness to pay so much was a full affirmation of his cooking skills!
“On the way back, I have already thought of several elegant and interesting ways to serve the dishes, which will definitely make them addicted! It’s a rare opportunity for a young wealthy businessman to come forward and this is the opportunity to develop high-end customers!”
After this banquet, the decorations on the second and third floors could also be completed. When the restaurant opens for the second time, a large number of well-spoken and well-off guests would come to support it, and the sales would double!
By then, Xu Zhongyue would no longer have to work hard to slaughter pigs or carry four hundred kilograms of pork back home alone.
Xu Zhongyue looked at his wife’s fair and beautiful face. When he became happy, the corners of his eyes and cheeks turned red, as if he had crushed the petals of a begonia to paint them on his face.
An ordinary well-off family, with six people working together, couldn’t earn a hundred taels in three years. His simple wife actually believed that Young Master Lin was just interested in his cooking skills and was willing to pay the sky-high price of one hundred taels.
But looking at Song Shi’an’s smiling face, Xu Zhongyue’s thin lips moved slightly, but he couldn’t bear to say unpleasant words to disappoint him.
Song Shi’an’s red mouth continued: “Young Master Lin said there is a host at this party. The banquet will happen in twenty days later. There is still plenty of time. I have to hire helpers and waiters first so that I can save myself from going out all over the place!”
Xu Zhongyue finally nodded: “When the time comes, I will accompany you. If you need to carry anything, I will do it.”
He decided to take advantage of Song Shi’an’s busy work during the day and secretly went into the mountains twice to hunt a few more spotted deer and foxes, secretly saving a hundred taels.
When holding a banquet, he could keep his wife safe by staying close to Song Shi’an. If Young Master Lin saw that he failed to get it and refused to pay one hundred taels, he would fill it in quietly.
Song Shi’an was determined to hire people as soon as possible and train them for a few more days before hosting the banquet, so he prepared to go to the rental shop in the afternoon when there were fewer people.
At this time, the agent was similar to an intermediary in a broad scope. In addition to renting and selling real estate, they also hired and even bought and sold slaves.
Unexpectedly, as soon as his words were revealed, two candidates came to him automatically and helped him save a sum of money.
One was Shen Fusheng, the eldest son of Aunt He, an “agent” who sold hot dry noodles at the dock. Song Shi’an and Aunt Liu mentioned this casually, and he answered without hesitation, “Xu Fulang, do you think I can do it?”
Song Shi’an looked him up and down. The half-grown boy, only thirteen years old, was taller than the last time they met. Aunt Liu told him that Aunt He had set up two noodle stalls, and the business was getting better and better.
They had already squeezed out the husband-and-wife team who sold bad food and bad rice. Shen Fusheng did everything by himself to protect his mother.
Some people spoke rudely, or if they wanted to default on a bill and refuse to pay, he wasn’t afraid of things and was not ambiguous. He could really roll up his sleeves and go to war.
“If you join us, what will happen to your noodle stall business? My restaurant is very bustling, we have to open from morning to night, could you handle it?”
Song Shi’an was satisfied with Shen Fusheng, but he felt that he might preferred the noodle stall.
Shen Fusheng puffed up his thin chest and said, “Xu Fulang, please rest assured. I am the oldest man in the family and can make my own decisions. My brother has become much more skilled these days. Besides, my grandmother has taken care of our fields in the countryside, two acres of thin farmland were given to neighbors to cultivate. Every year they will my grandmother a few taels of silver. She came to the city to join us, and she is very busy helping with our noodle stall.”
Song Shi’an nodded. Shen Fusheng’s mother, Aunt He, was only in her early thirties. His family’s grandmother shouldn’t be fifty years old yet, and people at this age were still tough.
“In this case, I will explain the situation clearly. If you work in my restaurant, I will pay you two taels every month and provide three meals a day. The extra one tael will depend on the restaurant’s monthly income. If you really want to do it, I will discuss this with you in detail. There is only one thing I want to mention in advance. If you work as a waiter in my restaurant, you may not make as much money as with a noodle stall.”
Before Song Shi’an hired someone, he asked Xu Zhongyue to help find out how much it costs to hire a waiter in restaurants and other businesses in the town. The price he offered Shen Fusheng was above average, and the additional performance appraisal of one tael was based on his experience in the noodle shop business in the food court.
If performance pay was not linked to restaurant turnover, then whether the restaurant’s business was prosperous or not would have completely opposite meanings to restaurant owners and employees. The restaurant owner was naturally eager for customers to come, but the employees would only find the crowd troublesome and tiring.
This money included meals, which was enough for a young man to support his family and save some more. But for Shen Fusheng, who was already running a small business, it might not be cost-effective.
Shen Fusheng looked frank and said, “Xu Fulang, to tell you the truth, our family also wants to open a shop. We will open a shop by the dock, selling everything for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some porters who are working get hungry at night, so we can also serve late-night snacks. Now that I have chosen a shop, I will have to save up for three years to buy it.”
“My family has already opened two noodle stalls, and adding one more will become a business battle between our family members. Secondly, Aunt Liu is too busy. I might as well come to work in your restaurant. If I get free meals, I can save all the wages and learn the tricks of doing business in the restaurant. Don’t worry; if I want to leave after working for two years, I will tell you in advance and appoint a replacement.”
Shen Fusheng’s family gradually recovered by relying on Song Shi’an’s good craftsmanship. If it weren’t for Song Shi’an’s intervention, a widowed mother taking care of two half-grown boys, it would have been even more difficult for them.
Seeing that he had explained everything clearly, Song Shi’an nodded readily, “That’s it; come back and see me early tomorrow morning.”
.
The candidate for the second spoon-stewing master was unexpected by Song Shi’an. It was from Xu Zhongyue, the brother who helps in the restaurant, Ye Du.
Ye Du, with a shy smile on his dark face, stood in front of Song Shi’an like a primary school student and introduced himself, which completely shocked Song Shi’an.
He knew that Ye Du worked hard. The other men finished their work, ate the meal they had been thinking about in the evening, and then hurried back. Only Ye Du would stay until the end. The copper coins he collected were too heavy, so Ye Du would help carry it to their home.
But…
“Do you know how to cook?” Song Shi’an looked at Ye Du suspiciously, and the young man hurriedly raised his hands to show him the scars on his hands.
“The thumb is blanched with hot oil, and the callouses is made by grinding the spoon from my tender hands when I was young.”
They were talking when Xu Zhongyue came in.
He didn’t drive a mule cart today but spent fifty cents to borrow a fine horse to go hunting on the mountain. He hunted two red foxes at noon. The red fox fur went to a clothing restaurant and sold for forty taels.
He exchanged it for banknotes and carried it with him. He saw Ye Du bragging about his cooking skills and saying that he wanted to be a chef.
A smile flashed across his stern face, and he pulled his wife to sit on a stool, massaged his sore wrists, and said, “Ye Du, this kid can cook well, and it’s much more delicious than what I cook. He used tube-bone lotus root to make soup. It tasted really good. The lotus root was tender and powdery, and the marrow juice in the bones was boiled out. So, the brothers eagerly stayed at the butcher’s house, waiting for Ye Du’s feeding, and some people joked, saying that it is a pity that Ye Du is a bit dark and is a man, otherwise they would marry him.”
Ye Du gave them a decisive ‘damn you’.
Song Shi’an said “Oh,”
Xu Zhongyue mentioned that Ye Du’s family was very poor. His father was a fisherman. A sudden big wave actually detained him and his boat in the river. When the water calmed down and the tide receded, only the floating boat was left on the river.
His mother was sad and fell ill, and she lingered on her bed. Until her death, Ye Du was busy taking care of her inside and outside. Presumably, this cooking skill was also developed while taking care of his own mother.
“We have known each other for these years, Brother Xu, don’t you still trust me? I am already twenty this year. It is time to start a family and start a business. I no longer want to do odd jobs with a hammer and a stick here and there. I will work hard with you. It’s better to save money to marry a wife!” Ye Du suddenly interrupted Xu Zhongyue.
Xu Zhongyue stared at him with sharp and deep eyes, and suddenly said: “Which wife do you want to marry?”
If he didn’t see the right candidate, Ye Du would only say to save money for a wife.
Ye Du didn’t expect his heartfelt words came straight out of his deepest heart. When he saw Xu Zhongyue and Song Shi’an staring at him, his dark and handsome face suddenly turned red.
“You…you all know…”
Song Shi’an’s eyes widened, he seemed like knew it, but he couldn’t remember who it was. Xu Zhongyue knew that Ye Du was not a poacher, so he raised his leg and kicked him lightly, saying: “Don’t tell the truth? Maybe I can help you.”
When Ye Du thought about this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly said: “He always come here and then. My sister-in-law’s neighbor, a young shuanger named Yun Ge’er. If I can marry him, my life will not be in vain!”
Once Ye Du opened his chat box, he couldn’t close it, “I have never seen a shuanger with such a round face, and we can’t see his eyes when he smiles. It’s so cute. And his little belly, every time he comes to the restaurant to eat, it becomes round and bulges out. One time, he even had his waistband puffed out, and his blushing look really… it makes me… fascinated….”
This…
Song Shi’an covered his face and said speechlessly, “Just say this to us; don’t say it in front of Yun Ge’er.”
He also thought Yun Ge’er was white, fat, and cute, but Yun Ge’er didn’t think so. He had always been obsessed with the soft belly around his waist. He was envious of Song Shi’an’s light physique. He also skipped dinner every now and then, saying he wanted to lose weight to reduce his belly fat.
Song Shi’an liked to tease him very much. Every time he said he didn’t want to eat through the wall, he would make a fragrant dinner and bring it to the wall so that the fragrance could not be missed.
Ye Du didn’t know about Song Shi’an meaning, but he nodded obediently and said, “Okay, I’ll remember it; I won’t tell Yun Ge’er.”
“Yun Ge’er said that he wants to find a husband whose food is as delicious as my sister-in-law’s, so I must accept this challange. Let me study under your guidance. You will be a teacher for a day and a parent for a lifetime. From now on, sister-in-law, I will never refuse wherever you need me. I could get through fire, water and knife for you. Anything you ask, I can get it from the mountains or the Lianjiang River!”
Song Shi’an was amused by him and said, “I am a serious restaurant owner, not a black business that kills people to sells goods, and I don’t want you to suffer!”