Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

"Manager Xu, Happy New Year." Xiao Lan greeted him with a smile. Manager Xu was a cheerful person and got along very well with Xiao Lan's family. "We're about to have dinner at home. If you don't mind, would you like to join us for dinner?" Xiao Lan asked.

"What delicious food did you make at noon? I haven't eaten yet, so it's a good opportunity for me to have a bite at your house." Shopkeeper Xu didn't bother to be polite with her.

Shengxuan and Zhang saw that Manager Xu was not a bad person, so they smiled and invited him to the dining table.

"Mom, cut a plate of jelly and add some vegetables," Xiao Lan turned around and said to Shopkeeper Xu with a smile, "You came at the right time today. My family wants to try out some new dishes. You can try some too."

Shopkeeper Xu came this time to discuss the tofu order with Xiaolan's family. Tianxianglou plans to open the day after tomorrow, and today he came to say hello. When he heard Xiaolan say that she wanted to try the new dish, his eyes lit up. The last time he and Zhao Dongjia came, Xiaolan treated them to tofu pudding, which was so delicious that after the restaurant launched it, people came to order this dish in droves, and it has become their restaurant's signature dish.

Shopkeeper Xu looked at the bean curd skin, bean curd sticks and dried bean curd on the table, and first picked up a piece of bean curd skin with chopsticks. The color was light yellow, the surface texture was obvious, and the thickness was even. When he bit it, it had a chewy texture and a strong bean flavor, and it tasted fresh and delicious. This is just a home-cooked cold dish. If it is paired with other ingredients or cold dishes, stir-fried or made into soup, the taste will definitely be good. Besides, the weather is about to get hot, and everyone likes to eat something refreshing. Using it to mix cold dishes should be a big hit.

Seeing that Manager Xu ate two chopsticks of tofu skin, Xiao Lan knew that he was satisfied with the dish. "This is tofu skin, also called thousand sheets. It tastes good when served cold, stir-fried, or in soup."

Shopkeeper Xu wondered, "Qian Zhang? How did this name come about?"

Xiao Lan explained with a smile, "When we are making it, we need to stack it layer by layer. After it is made, it is stacked on top of each other layer by layer, just like thousands of sheets of paper, so it is called Qian Zhang."

In order to give him a more concrete idea, Xiao Lan took out a pile of tofu skin that she had made at home and showed it to him.

After reading it, Shopkeeper Xu smiled and said, "This is a good name, very descriptive."

"Shopkeeper Xu, this is fried bean curd with black fungus, please try it." Xiao Lan greeted hurriedly.

He picked up a piece of bean curd with chopsticks. The bean curd was yellow-white and shiny. It was different from tofu skin. Tofu skin was stretched out, but bean curd was stacked layer by layer. It was because of the wrinkles that the dish was very tasty. The taste of bean curd was completely different from that of thousand sheets. This one was more chewy and stronger than thousand sheets. "Do you call it bean curd because it looks like rotten bamboo?" Shopkeeper Xu asked with a smile.

Xiao Lan nodded embarrassedly, thinking to herself, I didn't come up with this name, I just borrowed its original name.

"What is this?" Shopkeeper Xu asked while picking up a piece of dried tofu.

"This is dried tofu. Shopkeeper Xu, try it. It has a different flavor."

This tofu has a delicate texture, is salty and refreshing, and is hard yet chewy. After eating one mouthful, he wanted to eat another.

"Manager Xu, the dried tofu we make is only roughly processed. You can also braise it yourself. It is a good dish to go with wine."

After hearing this, Shopkeeper Xu laughed out loud, thinking that the little girl was not only smart, but also eloquent. However, what she said was true. When he tasted it for the first time, he thought of using it as a side dish for wine. "Now I know why it is called dried tofu. It is made by squeezing out the moisture from tofu."

Xiao Lan nodded.

"I find these three new products really delicious. I originally wanted to come here to discuss the tofu matter with you, but now that there are new products, I need to discuss it with my boss again." Shopkeeper Xu said.

"If bean curd sheets are stored properly, they can be kept for a long time. Dried tofu can also be kept for quite a while if it is braised. Thousand sheets are also more durable than tofu." Xiao Lan hurriedly talked about the advantages of the new product.

After lunch, Manager Xu put down a deposit of two hundred taels and went directly to the county town with bean curd skin, bean curd sticks and dried tofu.

"Dad, Mom, our tofu workshop has to start work early. The bean curd sheets and dried tofu need to be dried in the sun, so they can't be ready right away. If Manager Xu needs them urgently, we won't be able to make them on the same day." Xiao Lan said.

"Okay, I'll go to the village and ask if the wives in the village can come to work today." Zhang knew that what Xiaolan said made sense, so she quickly responded.

"Mom, let them know to come tomorrow. We haven't soaked the beans yet. If you notify them half a day in advance, they can have more time to take care of housework." Xiao Lan said.

"I was so busy that I forgot that we didn't soak beans." Zhang said with a smile, "I'll go ask them now. I think they can all come tomorrow. During the New Year's greetings, many people asked me when we would open the business."

"Dad, go to grandpa's house this afternoon and see if my uncle can come tomorrow so I can teach him how to make tofu. If my aunt is willing to come and help, let her and my uncle run the tofu workshop, and you and mom will have your hands free." Xiao Lan thought for a moment and said, "Our family will have to start building a house after the 15th. You should go and tell grandpa and the others so they can prepare. Bring some money with you. Grandpa knows a lot of people, so ask them to help find wood and stones for building the house."

The family members acted separately. Zhang and Xiaoting were responsible for going to the village to inform the working daughters-in-law, Shengxuan went to Xishan Village to find Zhang Shanfeng and Zhang Qingfeng, and Xiaolan and Xiaowen stayed at home to look after the house. There were many things at home, and it would be bad if there was no one to look after the house.

When the Zhang family learned that Xiaolan was going to teach Zhang Qingfeng the skill of making tofu, they were stunned.

What a great trust this is for her uncle! How can the family secret recipe be passed on to others? Moreover, it is such a valuable tofu secret recipe. Zhang Qingfeng and Fu were very excited. Although Sheng Xuan did not say how much he would pay them, they knew that Xiaolan's family would never treat them unfairly. Just for the sake of being able to learn the craft of making tofu, it is worth it even if they are not paid.

In this era, if you want to learn a skill, you must first be an apprentice for several years or even decades, and it is not certain that you can learn it. Moreover, the apprentice needs to sign a contract with the master. The master will provide food and accommodation, but as for the food and accommodation, it all depends on the master's character. The master can beat and scold the apprentice at will, and does not have to pay the apprentice. There is also a clause in the contract that even if the apprentice dies during the apprenticeship, it is in vain. To put it bluntly, the apprentice is cheap labor. If you want to learn skills, you have to learn secretly. The master generally does not teach seriously, otherwise why is there an idiom called "the apprentice learns well and the master starves to death".

Xiao Lan wanted to teach Zhang Qingfeng the skill of making tofu step by step, which was something the Zhang family never dreamed of.