First-rank palace maid Su Jixiang

Chapter 239 Are we opening a shop or doing charity?

The happy New Year time passes quickly.

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, Wei Ling accompanied Su Jixiang and Xie Yingfeng to visit General Qu's home with Qu Wanning. General Qu had adopted Su Jixiang as his goddaughter, so this was considered a return to her parents' home.

The family played in General Qu's mansion for a whole day and played mahjong with General Qu. As a result, the old general and the young general of the Qu family had a lot of notes stuck on their faces... They really couldn't outsmart Wei Ling and Xie Yingfeng.

After the Chinese New Year, Su Jixiang’s new store officially opened on the 30th day of the first lunar month.

The decoration of this store is very unique. The front two floors are restaurants, the second floor has private rooms, and there is a small separate room on the outermost side of the first floor with a window facing outwards with the word "Takeout" posted on it.

The guys Su Jixiang recruited were all family members of the veterans of Mangcheng, and each of them was very hardworking and capable.

After half a month's training, she was able to do things in a very methodical manner. Su Jixiang also made uniform jackets and skirts for them, all in light lotus pink color, which made them look gentle and amiable at first glance.

Each table was covered with a white tablecloth with flowers embroidered on the four corners. There was a vase on the table filled with artificial flowers made of wool and silk, which looked very fresh and elegant.

After entering the two-story building, there is a small courtyard. A rockery was built in the courtyard to block the view from the view. When the weather gets warmer in spring, Su Jixiang plans to plant some flowers here to decorate it. Passing through the corridors and paths, you will arrive at the left and right wing rooms and the backyard arranged by Su Jixiang.

The left and right wing rooms are two tea rooms. A pond has been dug in the backyard. It is too cold now and the water has not been added yet. When the weather warms up, the water will be added and some lotus flowers will be planted. The scenery will be different in summer.

There is also a two-story building in the backyard. Su Jixiang renovated it into a place to stay. The first floor was made into a meeting room, and the second floor was made into ten guest rooms.

This place was originally a coach inn, so there was a large yard and ten large tiled houses behind it. Su Jixiang renovated it and made it into a stable and storage yard. The ten large tiled houses were temporarily vacant, as Su Jixiang wanted to make it into a temporary warehouse.

The restaurant in the front is now open, and the three courtyards in the back are still under renovation, so they are not open to the public. Only the back door is left for workers to enter and exit.

After a lively sound of firecrackers, Su Jixiang's restaurant was named Caidiexuan. The name was chosen by Qu Wanning. She thought it was very elegant and sounded much more poetic than names like Zuixianlou.

Outsiders didn’t know that the owner of Caidiexuan was the general’s wife, and Su Jixiang had also instructed everyone not to spread the matter.

She hoped that others would come to Caidiexuan for the food and service, not for her title as the general's wife.

When the new store opened, Su Jixiang made a lot of snacks and asked the staff of Caidiexuan to bring them out, giving a small piece to anyone who wanted to taste them.

Su Jixiang makes the simplest osmanthus rice cake, which can be made in any restaurant. It is not afraid of getting cold and has a unique flavor when it is cold.

After all, the weather in Mangcheng is still very cold. Once the hot rice cakes are taken out of the steamer and exposed to the wind, they will quickly cool down.

Su Jixiang's rice cake has a layer of red bean paste filling inside, and the red bean paste filling is made with osmanthus wine. Whether it is hot or cold, it is full of fragrance. When you take a bite, you can feel the fragrance in your mouth, and the rich osmanthus flavor goes straight to your heart.

Su Jixiang's action of giving away free osmanthus cakes all over the streets caused quite a stir.

The key is that Su Jixiang’s osmanthus cake is really delicious.

Some people feel unsatisfied after eating one piece, so they come back for another.

The people in the store were not tired of it and did not show any impatience or disgust. This move immediately won a good response.

By lunch time, the entire Caidiexuan was already full, and there were many people outside looking in to see if there were any seats available.

Su Jixiang made menu cards for all the dishes so that everyone can choose from them.

She hired several chefs and some odd jobs in her kitchen. All of them were wounded soldiers who had retired from the Black Tiger Army and were able to support themselves.

The reason why Su Jixiang was so busy after the Chinese New Year was that he was overseeing the decoration of the restaurant and training the chefs to cook.

The four chefs she recruited were all local chefs who had worked in other restaurants and had some experience, but they had not received systematic training, which was far from the requirements of modern kitchens. So Su Jixiang formulated a series of rules and regulations. She signed a contract with the four chefs, requiring them to work in her restaurant for five years. After the five-year contract expired, she would see the willingness of both parties and renew the contract if both parties were willing to continue the cooperation.

She paid these four chefs three times more than other restaurants. They happily signed a five-year contract, but during these five years, they were not allowed to reveal the recipes and formulas of Caidiexuan, nor break the rules of Caidiexuan, and they were not allowed to do anything dirty. In short, they had to strictly abide by the rules set by Su Jixiang.

The four chefs originally thought themselves to be very experienced as they had been cooks for many years. When they heard that Su Jixiang wanted to teach them how to cook, although no one said anything on the surface, after all, Su Jixiang was the boss and the boss had the final say, but they were all very disdainful behind his back.

But an expert can tell whether the food is good or not with just one glance. After Su Jixiang prepared several dishes on the recipe and let these people taste them, the four chefs were all convinced!

Originally they thought Su Jixiang was just arrogant, but after tasting the dishes cooked by Su Jixiang, they realized what precise cooking time and delicate techniques were.

"Steamed chicken? This chicken soup costs one tael of silver?" Someone couldn't help but shout after reading the menu in Caidiexuan. "Are you robbing me? A chicken only costs ten coins!"

"Sir, the way this chicken is cooked is unique and the taste is extraordinary." The trained waiters are all women, and their voices are light and gentle, which makes people feel very comfortable listening to them.

"That can't be that expensive! Did this chicken grow up eating copper coins?"

"If you are willing, you can try it first. If it is not worth the price, you don't have to pay." The waiter said with a smile.

“Is there such a good thing?” When everyone present heard this, they immediately asked the waiter to serve a portion of steamed chicken.

Seeing that every table had to order a portion of steamed chicken, Qu Wanning's face turned a little dark.

She found Su Jixiang in the kitchen and said, "Are we opening a shop to make money or to do charity?"