The casual life of the flat space

"Oh, I was careless. I didn't expect it to be so difficult." This matter was indeed beyond Bai Tieying's expectations.

"You know what's going on in our county. Don't say I don't dare. Even if I could, I wouldn't want him to take my money, so I didn't file a petition. I'll wait until the new county magistrate takes office. I'll have an idea of ​​Bafangke's monthly revenue, and it won't be too late to file a petition then. If I want to sell wine now, I can only go to Zhiyin Restaurant to buy wine."

"Well, I'm not familiar with selling wine. I'll ask you about it later. Don't worry, our current focus is still on our own dishes and new formats. If we can't sell our own wine, then everyone's wine will be similar. The iron is still the best, and we focus on the uniqueness of the dishes, which is the basis for standing out!"

"That's what I thought too!"

The two of them went to the kitchen while talking. They had met the new chef Bai Tieying before. After they greeted each other, Bai Tieying made "Braised Pork Belly with Snow Girl Fat" with his consent.

"Is this edible?" Zhou Shuqin asked as she looked at the plate of toads which looked well presented but she really couldn't eat it.

“This thing is no different from other meats. People who like it won’t have any thoughts about it, and people who don’t like it won’t pick up their chopsticks even if you talk about it in a fancy way.

But from the nutritional point of view, that is, the medicinal properties, snow girl fat tastes sweet, salty, and neutral. It enters the lung and kidney meridians. In other words, it can nourish yin and strengthen yang, nourish the kidney and benefit the essence, nourish blood and moisten the lungs, beautify the skin, and enhance disease resistance.

And eating one wood frog is equivalent to eating four eggs to a certain extent. Do you understand? Except for pregnant women, people with spleen deficiency and diarrhea, and very few people with special constitutions who cannot eat it, eating it in moderation has only benefits and no harm, which is something that eggs cannot compare to.

Sister Zhou, don't think of it as an ordinary ingredient. Think of it as a medicinal food. Wouldn't it be easier to accept? Besides, we can't buy it freely. Didn't I tell you before? We need to get an ingredient that is hard to sell. That's it."

"But aren't toads available everywhere? We are reluctant to sell them, but people just catch them at will in the fields. Isn't this a joke?"

"I have been to all the fifteen villages, one town and one city in Shang'an. In terms of scale, only the Toad Village where I signed the contract can supply a large amount of goods every day. In addition, although they are all called toads, I can distinguish three types. Only the type of toad I named 'Snow Girl' has the effects I mentioned.

Besides, the most valuable part of this toad is actually another part of its body. I have already taken out some of it and sold it separately, so the overall price has been negotiated down to three cents per piece. These are my gifts today. If anyone from Toad Village comes to give them to you tomorrow, you will have to pay for them out of your own pocket!"

"Ah? Hey! Tieying! I actually wanted to tell you about this after the business has been open for a while. Not to mention your life-saving grace to me, you have put in a lot of effort in the reopening of Bafangke, so I thought, if this new model is really feasible, I want to give you 50% of the shares."

"Sister, dear sister, please don't mention the term 'life-saving grace' anymore. It's not that you are too stubborn. Even if I am a great god, I can't help you!

Besides, I really gave you advice because I felt that we were compatible. If you were to do this, wouldn't that make you alienated from me? How can you ask for a share just to help your sister? How about this, next time I come to eat, you can just give me a discount!"

Bai Tieying really had no intention of doing anything, so what she said was the truth. She had just started working on the mountain products business, and she couldn't just take someone else's shares without doing any work. Didn't you see that Mu Qingqiu had been running errands for her for a while?

But she knew Zhou Shuqin well, and if she didn't accept anything, the matter would not be over, so she might as well just ask for a discount.

Zhou Shuqin is actually like most women here. Although she is not so strictly bound, she still takes "supporting her husband and raising children" as her responsibility and "being virtuous" as her creed. That is why she has been entangled with Jiang Lixin for so many years.

If she hadn't accidentally heard the truth, if I hadn't given her a push, if her original family hadn't given her enough confidence, her life or ending would probably have gone the way everyone could have expected.

But she was only a small part of the reason, the most important thing was her own character. Although she seemed to be submissive in her original world, the times were different and people's values ​​were different. The biggest credit for her being able to survive the ten years of torture was her own tenacity.

"This, how can this be possible? This is not good!" After several months of contact, Zhou Shuqin knew that Bai Tieying was speaking the truth, but precisely because Bai Tieying thought this way, she wanted to give him something in return.

"Okay, okay, if you keep talking the food will get cold! If you feel embarrassed, just try it and praise my cooking skills! Chef Ji, can you please try it and give a score? You all come and try it too." Bai Tieying joked to Zhou Shuqin, the chef, and the others beside them.

"Eh? It's not as bad as I thought, it's delicious. It's a bit like chicken, but smoother and more tender than chicken; it's like fish, but chewier than fish. Add the aroma of the sauce, and the meat tastes rich and mellow, which complements the special texture of toad meat. It suits my taste very well!" Zhou Shuqin gave the first evaluation.

"Well, this dish is delicious, mellow and not greasy, and it whets the appetite." Chef Ji also gave his own evaluation.

"But what?" Bai Tieying asked.

"What but?" Zhou Shuqin didn't understand what Bai Tieying was asking.

"Chef Ji, you must know that this is just a home-cooked dish of mine, not something that can be served at a banquet. I heard that you had something else in mind when you said it just now. Would you like to give me some suggestions or make some improvements? After all, the medicinal properties I just mentioned are all true. This toad can really be used as a signature dish for guests from all over the world."

"Ms. Bai is very insightful. I won't hide anything. I think this dish can indeed be improved."

"Thank you, Ji, for cooking..."

Bai Tieying handed the plate of toad she had made to the others, and then watched Chef Ji busy himself with Zhou Shuqin.

Chef Ji first soaked the toad in warm water and washed it twice, then heated up the oil in a pan, half soybean oil and half lard, and added pepper, aniseed, angelica, and bay leaves to stir-fry until fragrant. Then he poured in the evenly cut pork belly, and after it changed color, he added the scallions, ginger, and garlic to stir-fry thoroughly.

Then, soybean paste and two other sauces that Bai Tieying didn't know about were added. After stir-frying for a few times, cooking wine was added, and then half of the soup was poured in. When it boiled, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper were added. After the pot boiled, the toad was added, and the lid was covered and simmered on low heat for a quarter of an hour. The seasoning was skimmed off, and the sauce was reduced to high heat. Minced garlic and sesame oil were added to enhance the flavor and color. Finally, it was served on a plate, decorated, and served. It was done in one go.