1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

It has to be said that Lu Yuan has raised the standard of this banquet to a very high level, and everyone is already looking forward to every dish.

For the tenth dish, Lu Yuan brought out braised prawns made with black tiger prawns.

Frozen shrimp will lose much of their fresh sweetness if cooked by simply boiling.

For this braised shrimp dish, Lu Yuan chose to use tomato sauce and white sugar to create a slightly sweet and sour flavor.

On the one hand, this flavor is more in line with the tastes of children who are present.

On the other hand, this method can compensate for the lack of sweetness in frozen shrimp, using a relatively strong flavor to highlight the texture of the shrimp.

When Pingping brought the dishes to the table, Xu Jianhua spoke first this time:

"Dad, let's not talk about the taste, the size of these shrimp is fine, right?"

Xu Jianguo craned his neck to take a look, then clicked his tongue and said:

"Not only is there no problem, these shrimp are top-quality."

"These are black tiger prawns." Old Master Xu's eyes shone brightly. "Most of the black tiger prawns in China are imported from Southeast Asia."

Manman picked up a shrimp, excitedly held it up, and said:

"Mom, look! This shrimp is bigger than my hand!"

Manman's mother patted her little head with satisfaction and said with a smile:

"Mom will peel the shrimp for you."

The braised prawns were a perfect match for the three children's tastes, and the three wives turned into prawn-peeling machines, peeling prawns non-stop.

That's how family dinners are; there aren't any particularly strict rules.

This whole family is all about their three children, so spoiling them is perfectly normal in their eyes.

For the eleventh dish, Lu Yuan made a sesame seed cake with grilled meat.

There's a tradition at banquets in northern China: a main dish must be served.

In case someone at the banquet hasn't eaten enough, this dish is served to help them fill their stomachs.

When a banquet involves drinking, the serving of the main course signifies the watershed moment when the game is halfway over.

Let's take a break and wait until we've had a bit more alcohol before going to war.

Sesame seed cakes and grilled meat are dishes that people in northern China generally don't eat.

If Zhao Yan were there, she would definitely be surprised and ask why Lu Yuan would make this dish.

Because this is a traditional Beijing delicacy, Lu Yuan believes it is a rare Beijing dish that even people from other places would enjoy.

This dish is actually very suitable for making in the northern regions because the quality of beef and mutton here is very high, which can bring out the advantages of this dish.

Furthermore, people here have a habit of eating noodles and are very accepting of sesame seed cakes.

Once the grilled meat and sesame seed cakes are served, everyone can tell how to eat them, but they can't understand the intricacies of the process.

Everyone was waiting for Grandpa Xu to explain, but unexpectedly Xu Jianguo spoke first:

"I ate this when I took Manman to Beijing for medical treatment. This grilled meat is very popular in Beijing, especially in winter because it's very warming."

Grandpa Xu nodded and pointed to the sesame seed cake, saying:

"When eating grilled meat, the flatbread must be freshly baked. As soon as the meat is cooked, put it in the flatbread. That's the best part of enjoying the crispy outside and fragrant inside."

Upon hearing this, everyone picked up their flatbreads, ready to stuff them with roasted meat.

However, when they pick up the sesame seed cake, they will let out a hissing sound and then switch to the other hand to hold it.

Just as the old man said, the sesame seed cakes were freshly baked and still a little hot to the touch.

Xu Jianguo took a bite of half a sesame seed cake and exclaimed, "This is so much tastier than a roujiamo!"

There were exactly 11 sesame seed cakes, no more and no less.

Everyone was holding a sesame seed cake and eating it. After eating half of it, Manman let out a burp and handed the cake to her mother.

"Mom, I really can't eat anymore. Can I take it home and eat it tomorrow?"

Manman's mother affectionately pinched Manman's cheek and said:

"It won't taste good tomorrow. Can Mommy take you to see Uncle Lu for dinner again tomorrow?"

"Okay, okay, I want to play with Xiaoxue again!"

Xu's mother also smiled kindly and looked at Manman, saying:

"If this child eats like this from a young age, his health won't be so poor."

Xu Jianjun smiled somewhat helplessly:

"This child has overeaten twice since he was little. The first time was when he went to Beijing to eat McDonald's, and the second time was today."

Xu Jianhua said, "Why don't we just ask this cook to go back? There's nothing interesting about him cooking in this rural area."

Xu Jianjun shook his head and said, "He won't agree. Although I've only met with Boss Lu twice, I know he's a man who's going to do big things."

"What big things can be done in rural areas?" Xu Jianhua asked, puzzled.

Xu Jianjun looked at him, a slightly meaningful smile on his face, fiddled with his chopsticks, and asked softly:

"Jianhua, how much money does your music store make in a month?"

Upon hearing his elder brother talk about his business, Xu Jianhua sat up straight, one arm draped over the back of the chair, the other tapping on the table, exuding a sense of pride and confidence.

"Brother, my business is getting better every day. This month's net profit is 5000 yuan. How's that? Not bad, right?"

Seeing Xu Jianhua's smug look, Xu Jianjun chuckled and said:

"When I ordered food from Boss Lu before, I saw him doing the math. Guess how much he could sell it for?"

Xu Jianhua said with a disdainful look, "How much money can a small rural restaurant make?"

Xu Jianjun remarked playfully, "This small rural restaurant makes nearly 3000 yuan in half a day."

"What?" Xu Jianhua looked incredulous.

Xu Jianguo then took over the topic of calculations, saying, "If we calculate at 3000 yuan, this Boss Lu must be earning 3 to 4 yuan a month!"

Xu Jianjun added, "As far as I know, Boss Lu will be hosting banquets every afternoon from now on, and these meals will be more profitable than the small restaurants along the national highway."

"So, that means Boss Lu earns 7 to 8 yuan a month?"

Xu Jianjun nodded and said, "That's right!"

After finishing the last bite of the sesame seed cake, Grandpa Xu wiped his hands with a damp towel and said:

"Jianhua, don't underestimate this meal. If you can understand what it means, you'll know what it means to be outdone by others and to have a world beyond your understanding."

Then he looked at Xu Jianjun and said, "Jianjun, you've arranged this meal perfectly. We have a real expert in the north!"

As they were talking, Pingping brought out another dish and said, "Black pepper beef ribs."

At banquets in northern China, beef is destined to be the star.

Black pepper beef ribs is a famous Cantonese dish, but at this time it was considered a very trendy dish in northern China.

As the banquet drew to a close, everyone was already quite full, and the new dishes were more for tasting and appreciating.

Lu Yuan was well aware of this pattern, so he chose this dish, which had a strong sensory impact and carried the fashionable style of the Cantonese in this era.

Beef short ribs are short ribs with bones, tendons, and marbling. They are a good mix of lean and fat, with bone, meat, and tendons, and the meat is tender and chewy.

It has a strong black pepper flavor, is salty, fragrant and slightly spicy, not greasy or dry, and has a meaty aroma mixed with peppery fragrance when you bite into it.

This dish is very pleasing to the senses for first-time diners.

The plump short ribs, piled together with onions, look incredibly appetizing.

Grandpa Xu picked up the smallest piece of beef rib, but instead of immediately putting it in his mouth, he smelled it first and nodded with satisfaction: "The black pepper flavor is perfect!"

"Is this Cantonese cuisine?" Xu Jianguo knew in his heart that he was asking this question to pave the way for the old man.

Sure enough, Old Master Xu glared at him and said, "Nonsense, isn't this what we ate when I took you to Guangdong Province in the 80s?"

Xu Jianguo wasn't annoyed. He exchanged a glance with his two brothers and chuckled.

After retiring, the old man was always a bit listless, and his brothers often tried to cheer him up in this way.