Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Cai Quanwu: "Okay, I'll go to Hongxinglou first this afternoon. Last time they said they wanted some vegetables, and they'll also sell some seafood."

Xu Huizhen: "Okay, I'll go cook. We'll have seafood for lunch. I'll bring it to you when it's ready."

At noon, Xu Huizhen made a fish hotpot. She washed the small fish and removed the heads.

Heat oil in a pan, add onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, star anise and other spices, and stir-fry until fragrant, then add fish. Fry the fish on both sides in the pan, add water and cooking wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. While the fish is stewing in the pan, stick a circle of cornmeal pancakes on the edge of the pan, so that the dish and staple food are done in one pot.

As far as Xu Huizhen knows, the method of cooking fish pot slices was invented by fishermen in the Jiaodong area in the 1960s, which means that this method has not yet been introduced to the public.

In her previous life, Xu Huizhen had run a restaurant, so she knew a lot about catering.

For other shellfish, just boil them in water to preserve their original flavor and, most importantly, save oil.

She brought one portion to Cai Quanwu. People were working hard to help her sell seafood, so she couldn't be stingy. If she wanted the horse to run, she had to feed it well.

After the fish slices were ready, Xu Huizhen used a spatula to scoop out a portion for herself, and took the rest and the small iron pot to the tavern.

It was the first time that Cai Quanwu saw this method of cooking. He ate the cornmeal cakes soaked in fish soup and felt that it tasted great. He could eat two more taels of rice with the fish.

He was a bachelor and didn't know how to cook. He usually just made do with what he ate, as long as he wasn't hungry. After eating the food Xu Huizhen cooked, he suddenly wanted to get married and start a family. Xu Huizhen was nice, but in his heart, Xu Huizhen was a towering figure, and he was not worthy of her. He knew this.

Xu Huizhen also had a delicious seafood feast. After the meal, Cai Quanwu went to the cellar to get some samples of each seafood, and then went to Hongxinglou. Before leaving, he asked, "Boss, how many vegetables do you have so that I can have an idea of ​​the number."

During this period, Xu Huizhen picked all the vegetables that had matured in the space and stored them in the space. She didn't take them out because she couldn't tell Cai Quanwu where these vegetables came from, and vegetables couldn't be stored for a long time like seafood. This time she went to Tianjin and happened to say that she bought them from the countryside. So she replied, "All kinds of vegetables add up to about 400 kilograms."

When they arrived at Hongxing Building, the waiter saw him and hurried to the back to find the shopkeeper, who had been thinking about Cai Quanwu's vegetables these days. The fat shopkeeper ran out happily and greeted him enthusiastically: "Brother, come, sit down and have a cup of tea to warm yourself up." Then he motioned for the waiter to make tea.

Cai Quanwu said with a wooden face: "My boss has vegetables again, and asked me to ask if you want any seafood."

The fat shopkeeper rolled his eyes and said, "You mean if we want seafood, we can get vegetables, and if we don't want seafood, we can get no vegetables?"

Cai Quanwu: "You guys who run a restaurant need ingredients anyway, so it doesn't matter who you buy from. It would be great if we could take care of each other. I was the first one to come to your Hongxing Restaurant."

The fat shopkeeper held his forehead and said, "Those who run restaurants all have their own purchasing channels, but recently, with the changes in policies, or perhaps because the Chinese New Year is approaching, the supply of many ingredients is tight. If you ask for 100 kilograms, you'd be lucky if they can give you 60 kilograms."

If you run a restaurant, you can't make food without ingredients, right? So he clapped his hands and said, "Great, really great! Let me see what seafood you have."

Cai Quanwu led him to the tricycle at the door and opened the sack covering it. Octopus, razor clams, mantis shrimps, oysters, and various fish.

Cai Quanwu pointed at the small yellow croaker and said, "Our boss made a fish pot with small yellow croaker for lunch today. It was so delicious. I even ate two more taels of rice. Although the fish is small, it tastes really good when it is cooked."

The fat shopkeeper: "Again, again, you come to show off your boss's cooking skills? What do you mean? Do you look down on our chef?"

"No. What I mean is that this fish is very fresh. It tastes good when cooked by an ordinary housewife. It tastes even better when cooked by your chef. Good food means good business, right?"

The fat shopkeeper said, "What you said seems to make sense. But what kind of dish is fish pot slices?"

Cai Quanwu: "Fish is stewed in an iron pot with cornmeal cakes stuck to the edge of the pot. When the fish is done, the cakes are cooked too. Half of the cake is dipped in the fish soup and served on the table along with the pot. It tastes so good."

The fat shopkeeper: "That's a good idea! We can try this dish in our restaurant. Brother, come in and talk."

The two returned to the restaurant, and the waiter served them tea. Cai Quanwu was a big man, and no one had ever looked at him seriously before. Today, he was flattered by such courtesy. He took a sip of the teacup, and the aroma of tea spread in his mouth. He blurted out, "Good tea!"

The fat shopkeeper said, "Of course, how can the food in our Hongxinglou be bad?" Then he took out a big black ten from his pocket and slapped it on the table: "This is the money for the recipe of the fish pot slices you mentioned. After you take the money, you can't tell anyone else about this idea."

"What do you mean? I just said it casually, and I'm giving you ten dollars? Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern." Cai Quanwu was excited, took the money with trembling hands, and put it in his pocket. He kept promising: "I won't tell you! I have a secret, I will never tell you!"

接下来两个人你来我往，最后商议决定：洪兴楼要100斤大虾，100斤八爪鱼，50斤海带。海蛏子和海蛎子、皮皮虾各200斤。三种鱼各要了150斤。小黄花鱼要了200斤，小虾要了100斤。蔡全无卖给他们100斤蔬菜。

The vegetables are all very fresh. Of course, they were just taken out of the space, how could they not be fresh? The shopkeeper gave a good price, one yuan per catty for cucumbers and tomatoes, and the prices of other leafy vegetables were the same as last time. He was not stupid, and gave a good price in the hope that Cai Quanwu would send vegetables to Hongxing Building in the future.

The fat shopkeeper thought about it. The New Year is coming soon. He ordered more seafood. The restaurant can't use up all the seafood. He can also give some New Year's goods to the employees. Besides, with these 100 kilograms of vegetables, he can also attract a lot of business.

The matter was settled, and Cai Quanwu stood up, drank the remaining tea, and walked out. The fat shopkeeper asked from behind: "Brother, what's your name? Where can I find you when I need to buy goods in the future?" He was afraid that Cai Quanwu would never come back.

Without even turning his head, Cai Quanwu said, "My name is Cai Quanwu. You can find me at the Daqianmen Bistro." Watching his receding figure, the waiter muttered, "Cai Quanwu, we're out of food. This name is not good. It's unlucky."

The fat shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are wrong. The person who gave this name is very knowledgeable. Those who know only half of what they say, and those who are thrifty have nothing at all. It means that a smart person will only say half of what he wants to say, and a person who has achieved great enlightenment will not easily express his opinion. Silence is golden. What you just said is redundant."

The clerk stuck out his tongue and slapped himself lightly on the face: "Boss, I was wrong. You are really knowledgeable. I will definitely cut it in half next time, no, nothing at all!"