While Du Zhong was at his wits' end, Li Ying remained calm and composed, wearing a faint smile.
"Shopkeeper, why don't you leave this matter to me?"
She lowered her voice and whispered a few words into Du Zhong's ear. Seeing her confident look, Du Zhong finally relaxed her knitted brows and let out a sigh of relief.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mrs. Li."
After bidding farewell to Du Zhong, Li Ying strolled leisurely on her way back to the village. When passing by the dock, although she had announced in advance that there would be no street - food stall today, some coolies were still waiting there in twos and threes.
When they saw her coming, they greeted her warmly.
"Mrs. Li, I heard that your business at the theater was booming today too. You'll probably open a restaurant in the town soon! Congratulations!"
"Oh, you'll be a boss lady in the future. We old customers might not be able to afford your food..."
Mrs. Li spat and said, "A Ying has to earn money to support her family. Do you know how expensive the rent for a shop in the town is? If she still sells it for three coppers a portion, she'll be doing business at a loss!"
The words were crude but the reasoning was sound. The person who was being sarcastic had no retort and could only hang his head dejectedly.
Li Ying just smiled and said, "Thanks to all the villagers' continuous support. I'm not a money - grubber. The prices of the dishes in the shop will indeed go up a bit, but I guarantee they'll be made of real and high - quality ingredients, well worth the price. If you're interested, welcome to come and support my business."
She added, "I'll also hire a waiter to deliver take - out to the dock every day. The previous dishes will still be three coppers for two. How about that?"
The coolies had no more complaints and all praised Boss Li for being straightforward.
The fisherwomen also got the news. When she returned to the village, they all surrounded her to offer their congratulations.
Li Ying thanked them one by one for their kind wishes. Then she cleared her throat and said, "I need more ingredients for the stall in the town. And I still have to take care of the business in the pharmacy. I really can't spare the energy for beach - combing... I wonder if you sisters and aunts would like to sell all the seafood you catch during beach - combing to me?"
Most of the ingredients she had used in recent days were bought from Mrs. Li, the wife of the bamboo craftsman. Many fishergirls had heard about this.
They knew Li Ying well. As long as the price was fair, they could save the trouble of setting up a stall every day and have more time to do housework. Why not?
Immediately, several fisherwomen readily agreed without hesitation.
"I also have good news for you. With the daily seafood purchase receipt, you can get free treatment for gout at Dejitang. You only need to pay for the medicine. Shopkeeper Du can't bear to see us suffer from gout and has promised that you only need to pay a few coppers for the cost of the medicinal materials."
As soon as these words were spoken, several fishergirls who had been hesitant no longer had any concerns.
"A Ying, is what you said true? You're really the great savior of our village!"
God knows how much they suffered from the stabbing pain in their bones on rainy and cloudy days!
Li Ying smiled and couldn't help but promote the reputation of Dejitang: "It's of course true. You don't need to thank me. It's Shopkeeper Du who is kind - hearted."
Dejitang was now vigorously promoting "humanistic care", so it was particularly important to build a charitable "corporate image".
The fishermen who were cured of gout would be the walking advertisement for Dejitang in the future!
Finally, after these enthusiastic fishergirls had left, Li Ying couldn't wait to tell Grandma Sun the good news. But she only saw a familiar figure leaning against the reef in front of her house.
"Brother Lu?"
Li Ying called out tentatively. Lu Xunguang slowly got up. His tall and straight body cast a mottled shadow in front of her.
"Congratulations, Miss Li."
He said in a deep voice and took out a wood carving from behind and handed it to her.
The wood carving looked like a tiger or a leopard in body, with a dragon's head and tail. It had a pair of wings on its back and a single horn on its head, which tilted backwards, pointing straight to the sky. There was also a copper coin in its mouth.
"Is this... a Pixiu?"
Li Ying took the wood carving and gently stroked it. The carving marks were faintly visible, indicating that the craftsman was not very skilled. But the Pixiu's eyes were bright and it really looked auspicious.
Lu Xunguang's eyes flickered as he looked at her tentatively.
"Did you carve it yourself? Brother Lu, you're so dexterous!"
Li Ying accepted the wood carving, overjoyed.
For the opening of the shop, the Pixiu, which symbolized attracting wealth, was really a good omen!
Seeing her sincere smile, Lu Xunguang seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He quietly pressed a cut on his thumb made by the carving knife with his sleeve.
"Miss Li, you're going to hire a waiter to deliver stir - fried dishes. If you haven't decided on anyone yet, could you let me do it?"
"I know this position is highly sought - after. The Pixiu wood carving is a bribe. Could you do me a favor, Miss Li?"
Lu Xunguang said frankly.
Li Ying didn't expect that he would recommend himself. Since she had accepted his gift, she really couldn't refuse and had to nod in agreement.
Since the price of the stir - fried dishes was going to increase, some "signature dishes" should also be added.
The basil was very popular, so the Sanbei Chicken naturally made it onto the new menu.
Li Ying wrote down the names of the dishes one by one on a cardboard. After a slight pause, she added another one.
Braised Spare Ribs in Sauce.
The spine ribs were inexpensive, with large pieces of meat that couldn't be completely removed, as well as fascia and bone marrow. After being stewed until tender, they could be grabbed with hands and eaten to one's heart's content. Compared with the finely - cooked small spare ribs cut into small pieces, they gave people a more satisfying feeling of eating meat heartily.
On her way back, she had bought the spine ribs. After soaking them to remove the blood, she stewed them with scallions and ginger and then fished them out.
She put rock sugar into the pot and stir - fried until it turned amber. Then she added the old brine, supplemented with a little more spices, and poured in the spine ribs. She turned the heat to low and stewed them until they were tender and flavorful.
Taking advantage of this time, she washed two cabbages and shredded them finely.
She salted them to draw out the water, then washed and squeezed them dry. She added a little rice vinegar and pickled them.
Normally, the "pickled sauerkraut" to go with the stewed ribs and relieve greasiness should be made from a whole Chinese cabbage, only adding salt and Chinese prickly ash. After pickling for a month, each cabbage leaf would turn golden yellow. Then it should be shredded and placed under the stewed ribs. Absorbing the meat juice, it would be sour and appetizing, which was the most authentic way.
But since her shop was about to open, she really didn't have time to wait. She could only take a shortcut.
Li Ying also sliced two fresh white radishes thinly and pickled them with sugar, vinegar and dogwood. After one night, they would be appetizing pickled radishes, which would be served as an extra side dish.
When the rich aroma of meat wafted from the pot, Mao Mao strolled in leisurely from outside with a basket in its mouth.
Its fluffy little tail rubbed against Li Ying's ankle.
Only then did Li Ying notice that the basket was filled with seabird eggs.
"Mao Mao? Did you find all these?"
The little sick cat meowed proudly and then slowly walked back to its little nest to lick its paws.
The seabird eggs were much smaller than ordinary chicken eggs. But imagining the scene of Mao Mao opening its not - very - big cat mouth and laboriously carrying the eggs into the basket one by one, Li Ying couldn't help laughing.
She served a bowl of spare - rib soup, picked out a few pieces of stewed meat and placed them in front of Mao Mao.
"Thank you, our little hero."
Mao Mao's throat let out a "gurgling" sound, obviously very satisfied with such a reward.
Li Ying boiled the seabird eggs, peeled them, and deep - fried them over low heat until they turned wrinkled and golden - brown like tiger skin. Then she put them into the pot with the spareribs and stewed them together.
She mastered the heat just right. The tiger - skin eggs were slightly charred on the outside and covered with the meat broth, but the egg yolks were still runny. When you took a bite, the yolk would slowly flow out, like the setting sun on the sea.
Customers could choose either the Sanbei Chicken or the Braised Spare Ribs in Sauce, plus a seafood stir - fry for only five coppers.
The wages in the town were a little higher than those at the dock. Some diners chose two meaty dishes. Li Ying charged them eight coppers. Besides the bone soup, she also served a tiger - skin egg and pickled radishes.
Seeing that each piece of the braised spare rib was as big as a palm and a chopstick could poke out the tender bone marrow, and the ribs were richly flavored and soft, the diners who had been just watching the excitement could no longer resist their hunger.
"A bowl of stir - fried shredded pork with vegetables in Tianxianglou costs ten coppers, and the shredded pork is so thin that you can almost thread a needle with it! Landlady, your cooking skills are no worse than the head chef in Tianxianglou. As long as you don't cut corners, we'll come to your place every day from now on!"
A diner wiped his oily mouth and praised non - stop.
Li Ying greeted the customers from all directions skillfully and said, "Don't worry, sir. Our small shop uses real and high - quality ingredients and will always stay true to our original intention!"
While her shop was bustling with customers during the meal time, Tianxianglou was deserted.
The shopkeeper angrily knocked on the table and roared at the waiter, "What are you standing there for? Go and attract some customers on the street quickly! You're such a good - for - nothing!"