Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 135 - 134: Big Business

Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Big Business

With the limited rent he had, Chen San quickly gained high popularity and sold his Lu Chuan skewers to every corner of Dingzhou.

Even when many other stores started selling the same skewers later, none of them could compete with Chen San’s business.

Given that Chen San’s last name was Chen and the flavor of his skewers was somewhat similar to that of the Jiuxian Fresh Brine condiment, Yang Mingyuan naturally thought that there might be some connection between this skewer shop and Chen Afu.

The next day, he visited Chen San’s skewer shop. Seeing that Chen San bore some resemblance to Chen Ming, he was even more convinced of his assumption. After some conversation, it turned out that Chen San really was related to Chen Afu. In fact, he was her uncle, and the style of cooking and selling was also taught by Chen Afu.

Yang Mingyuan thought about it overnight and felt that Chen Afu might have even more and better ideas. If he could involve her in the wine-shop business, his commerce would definitely improve. Thinking of her beautiful figure, he felt a peculiar throbbing in his heart.

So he hurried back to Sanqing County and went to visit the Chens, offering to share the ownership of the wine shop with Chen Afu if she had any good ideas.

When Chen Afu learned that Chen Shi’s business was very successful, and that he had even hired ten helpers, she was very happy. Not to mention that the idea she gave him was also quite effective, bringing not only better business but also swift popularity.

The idea of renting different wine shops as sales outlets was something Chen Afu came up with by referring to the chain store models from her previous life, analyzing the characteristics of this era, and considering Chen Shi’s financial strength.

She was tempted by the conditions Yang Mingyuan offered, but she also knew her limits.

In her previous life, she had learned some culinary skills, but apart from a few recipes and some pastries, her skill level was limited to cooking everyday home dishes. The reason she had won acclaim was because she had the help of the special Datian Agarwood ingredient. How could she dare to advise a man like Yang, who had been running a wine-shop business for years, and even claim shares of his wine-shop for just a recipe?

What Yang Mingyuan wanted was not just a recipe, but maybe a different food culture or marketing techniques.

The small fights and brawls that Chen Ming engaged in could still be managed, but what Yang Mingyuan wanted was a "large market". Chen Afu still lacked confidence in that.

A sudden gust of cold wind made Chen Afu shiver. Then, the words "hot pot" suddenly flashed in her mind.

In this kind of weather, it would be such a delightful thing to gather around a steaming hot pot.

This era also had soup pots, some kind of precursor to hot pots. Tang Garden had made one a few days ago —— some meat and vegetables were boiled in the pot and then eaten with sauce. It was not as sophisticated and particular as the hot pots of her previous life, and also it had not formed a unique style of its own.

The delicacy of hot pot was popular all over Jiangnan even in her previous life, and there were hardly any people who didn’t like it. The key was that Chen Afu knew how to prepare the base, both for the spicy and the non-spicy versions.

Chen Afu had learned to make hot pot so diligently, in fact, she had to thank that heartless Liu Xudong, because he loved hot pot. His good friend was the owner of a famous hot pot chain store, and she had learned from the chefs there. During her free weekends, she would occasionally make hot pot in the hope of keeping Liu Xudong at home...

At that time, she was really too devoid of self-awareness and dignity in love.

Chen Afu blinked her eyes, took a deep breath of the cold air, and suppressed the melancholy in her heart.

She smiled brightly at Yang Mingyuan and said, "Since it’s so cold now, I have come up with a new dish called hot pot. I don’t know if it will be delicious once made. But just for a dish, I wouldn’t dare to ask for Uncle Yang’s shares. Since we have so many esteemed guests today, I will prepare it to extend the hospitality of the host."

Seeing the enchanting smile, Yang Mingyuan’s heart jumped with excitement and he even blushed a little. He quickly forced himself to act calm and replied with a smile, "Great, I’ll look forward to having a feast."

Then Chen Afu laughed and said, "Oh, I forgot that if Uncle Yang is late, he won’t be able to enter the city. Making this dish is a lot of trouble, let’s postpone it to another day."

Yang Mingyuan was too eager to try the hot pot. So he said, "No problem, if it gets late, I can spend the night at an inn outside the city."

Chen Afu then entered the kitchen to check the food that Manager Luo and Yang Mingyuan brought today. Both of them felt embarrassed about bringing so many people to dine, one being the manager and the other running a wine shop, so they had brought a lot of food and drinks. Apart from the meal at midday, they had brought two full wooden basins of food.

Chen Afu squatted down and checked what was there: ribs, pig’s feet, hind leg meat, and pork belly, as well as two lamb legs and a rack of lamb, a chicken, a duck, and more than a kilogram of large shrimp, plus lotus root, and mushrooms.

With all these ingredients, plus the vegetables from her own garden, she might barely be able to create a hot pot.

Being a food lover, she had an abundance of seasonings at home. Although she lacked some from her previous life, she also found some substitutes. However, the spicy pot shouldn’t be too spicy as Northerners couldn’t take much spiciness. Moreover, she even had a small jar of precious pepper, which she bought from a nomadic shop in Dingzhou. Pepper was an essential ingredient for the mild version of the hot pot. Without it, the mild flavor wouldn’t come out. And in the Dashun Dynasty, not everyone ate pepper.

Since she didn’t have a separate stove at home, she had to cook inside the kitchen. She prepared a large pot for the mild version and a smaller one for the spicy alternative. Considering that Northerners favor mild flavors and there would be many children present, she decided to make more mild hot pot.

She also asked Master Kang for help, who, being a great cook, cut the pork belly and lamb into thin slices, thinner the better.

Mrs. Wang went to the field to pick fresh vegetables such as spinach, radish, cabbage, and chives, and specially got some coriander from Junior Officer Gao’s field.

As soon as the ingredients were stir-fried, the aroma immediately filled the air. The men who had drunk some wine said it smelled so good that they wanted to continue drinking in the evening.

Manager Luo came out from the West Room and smiled, "What’s this? Is Afu going to make us some rare delicacies again?"

Chen Afu replied with a smile, "This is a new idea. I don’t know whether it will taste good or not."

However, once Chu Hanyan woke up, everything became chaotic. She was crying for Chen Afu, and Chen Dabao couldn’t calm her down. Mrs. Song had to take her to the Old Courtyard, let her sit on the heated bed in the West Room with other children, and open the door.

As long as the little girl could see Chen Afu, she would calm down, holding on to Chen Dabao’s clothes with one hand. Yan’er, the little chatterbox, was whispering next to her, shaking her headscarf, Hanyan paid no attention to her but Yan’er didn’t lose her enthusiasm for talking at all.

Dabao was absolutely delighted. For the first time, his sister Yan’er relied on him so much. His young chest puffed out with pride and he sat motionless beside Ms. Chu, letting her pull at his clothes, while he chatted with Yang Chao about men’s topics.

As Chen Afu busily prepared the meal with Mrs. Wang and the others, she listened to the children’s laughter from inside the West Room, and her heart warmed like the steaming heat rising from the pot.

This was the feeling of being blessed with many children, something she had been yearning for in her past and present lives.