Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

In the evening, Manager Cao knocked on the door of Section Chief Qiu's house at the Meat Processing Factory, carrying two packs of Huazi cigarettes, two bottles of Lianhuabai, and a box of Daoxiangcun snacks.

After hearing what Manager Cao said, Section Chief Qiu felt that what he wanted were just scraps and the quantity was not large, so he agreed to go and get some tomorrow.

Things went surprisingly smoothly. On the third day, Manager Cao took Cai Quanwu to the meat processing plant to bring back two sets of pig offal. To be honest, it was very troublesome to clean up these pig offal.

If you want a horse to run, you have to let it eat more grass. In order to encourage everyone's enthusiasm. Xu Huizhen held a small meeting. She said: "If you make money from selling braised food, you can give everyone some overtime pay or night shift subsidies, which is a disguised increase in wages. After all, everyone does more work than before. Occasionally, if there is unsold braised food, everyone can share some and take it home for their families to taste."

Everyone applauded enthusiastically. As long as there is money, it is not a problem to work more. For a family like Zhao Yali's, there are eight sons in the family, and the young ones eat their father out of poverty. If they can't get the braised meat, they can get some broth.

Xu Huizhen continued, "Cai Quanwu, go find your nephew and see if he has time to teach you how to make braised dishes. The others will start cleaning the pig's offal. This is the first time we'll do it today. After it's done, we can taste it first."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Cai Quanwu agreed and rode away on his wind and fire wheels. The others went back to work happily.

Manager Cao smiled and said to Xu Huizhen: "Manager Xu, I find that I, as the manager of the public office, am redundant. You can run the tavern successfully by yourself."

Xu Huizhen: "Manager Cao, you are a knowledgeable and educated person, suitable for doing big things. It's a bit of a waste of your talent to manage such a small pub. Our pub is already on the right track, and you don't have much to do. Now that the public-private partnership is fully implemented, there is a shortage of people everywhere. You can apply to the neighborhood committee and serve as the public manager of another store. Wouldn't this also increase your performance?"

Manager Cao nodded thoughtfully and said, "Manager Xu's suggestion is very good. I will consider it."

He Yuzhu taught Cai Quanwu how to make braised meat in the kitchen. Cai Quanwu was his uncle, so he was willing to teach him. Xu Huizhen promised him that if he did a good job, she would let He Yuzhu supply the marinade packets in the future. This way, the recipe could be kept secret and He Yuzhu would not work in vain. It could be said that it was the best of both worlds.

Ma Liansheng looked at them from a distance, his face full of eagerness. He was the chef of the big canteen, but in this era, the skills were generally not passed on to outsiders. If someone didn't teach you, you couldn't learn secretly, so Ma Liansheng was too embarrassed to move forward, but he was worried that if Cai Quanwu learned it, his position would be shaken in the future.

Soon, the aroma of braised meat wafted from the kitchen.

Accountant Zhao Yali sniffed and swallowed involuntarily. Her family had eight sons, and you can imagine how difficult life was. They could not eat meat on a regular basis, and it was good enough if they were not hungry. So when she smelled the meat, her stomach growled reflexively. Her mouth was also flooded with saliva.

She awkwardly found a way out for herself and said, "Master He's craftsmanship is indeed inherited from his ancestors. Just smell it and you'll know it tastes good."

Kong Yuqin also sniffed and agreed, "It's true. We are in for a treat today, hehe."

After noon, the cafeteria closed. Everyone could not wait to gather around the table. Cai Quanwu had already arranged the braised meat. He Yuzhu also made a nine-turn large intestine, which was greasy and shiny, making everyone's appetite almost burst out.

Manager Cao said, "Come on, everyone try it." Everyone couldn't wait to stretch out their chopsticks, pick up a bite and put it in their mouths.

He Yuzhu asked calmly, "How is it? Please give us your valuable suggestions!"

"Good, good," Ma Liansheng said incoherently. The others also nodded in agreement, eating their meat without interruption.

Manager Cao said: "Master He's cooking skills are really great, especially the large intestine, which is more authentic."

He Yuzhu was very proud: "This is the authentic traditional Shandong cuisine Nine-turn Large Intestine. Do you know how the name Nine-turn Large Intestine came from?"

Everyone shook their heads to indicate they didn't know.

He Yuzhu continued to show off, saying: "Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, there was a restaurant called Jiuhualou in Jinan, Shandong. The owner of the restaurant was named Du, and there was a signature dish, braised large intestine. This dish was cooked with a lot of ingredients, and after being cooked, it was served on the plate and had a rosy and shiny color. It tasted fat but not greasy, and it had five flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. The guests praised it highly after eating it. Some literati and scholars said that eating this dish was like eating the Taoist Nine-Turn Elixir, and this delicacy was comparable to the elixir. Therefore, the braised large intestine was renamed the Nine-Turn Large Intestine."

Xu Huizhen praised: "The name is elegant and vivid. In other words, ordinary ingredients can be made into extraordinary flavors in the hands of high-end chefs. Let's talk about it. Can our canteen use Chef He's recipe to make braised food for sale?"

"Sure! Definitely!"

Finally, everyone agreed to start selling braised food tomorrow.

In order to encourage everyone's enthusiasm for work, Manager Cao said generously: "Let's keep one third of the stewed food we made today. When you get off work, everyone can share a portion and take it home for your family to taste."

He was responded with warm applause. Xu Huizhen said, "Master He, you should also take some back to nourish Yu Shui. Tomorrow morning, you must take time to come and give me some advice. I am not sure about Cai Quanwu's first time, so let's try to make it a success."

Manager Cao agreed, "Yes, if the braised meat sells well, we can add other items in the future. With Chef He's cooking skills to protect us, our tavern business will be booming."

So, the next morning, Master Ma and Cai Quanwu went to the meat processing plant to pull back three sets of pig offal. Today was the first day of selling, and they didn't know how the business would be, so they gave it a try.

Everyone worked together with great enthusiasm, thinking: If the products don't sell well, maybe we can take some home.

At noon, the aroma of braised meat wafted through the cafeteria.

He Yumei held a plate with small pieces of braised meat on it and asked customers to taste it with toothpicks. She called out, "Try it, take a look, we have a new braised meat in the cafeteria."

Xu Huizhen then shouted: "This is the stewed food made with the secret recipe handed down by the royal chef. It's delicious and not expensive. If it's not delicious, I won't charge you for it."

Suddenly, the cafeteria was bustling with people saying, "Let me try it, let me try it."

"It's delicious. Let me have another piece."

"No, no, each person can only taste it once. Don't try to eat more than that."