PNB Chapter 33 Sesame Beef Jerky
Chapter 33 Sesame Beef Jerky
After the case was closed, the Dali Temple finally returned to a certain degree of peace. Gu Qingyun and his group used the Kyoto Restaurant as a canteen and ate three meals a day without missing a single meal.
"An Qiao, why haven't I seen you in the past few days? Where have you been?" Gu Qingyun chewed the dry beef that had just been served to him.
In this era, cattle were used as farming tools, and it was illegal to kill them at will, but Kyoto Prefecture, as the center of the country, was not short of them. Some were tributes from the Western Regions, and some were cattle that died in surrounding villages and towns.
Although it is a bit expensive, it is not completely unaffordable. In addition, the price will be even higher after processing, so An Qiao will buy some.
Cut the beef tenderloin into strips, add star anise powder, pepper powder, grass fruit powder, dogwood, a little white wine and oil, mix well, and marinate for six hours. Then pour in white sesame seeds, mix well, and bake in the simple oven that has just been built in the backyard.
After drying, put it into the oil pan, put the dried meat in when the oil temperature is 50% to 60%, and fry it until golden and crispy. After it cools down, it becomes a delicious side dish for drinking, sesame beef jerky.
This dish is also the most expensive one sold in the restaurant, with the profit alone making two taels of silver.
An Qiao absentmindedly added water to Gu Qingyun. Seeing that An Qiao ignored him, Gu Qingyun asked angrily, "I'm asking you, what have you been busy with recently? Why can't I see you?"
"Just come to the restaurant and eat. Why do you always look for me? I'm not cooking for you." An Qiao and Gu Qingyun became more and more familiar with each other. In addition, Gu Qingyun always looked gentle and cold outside, but whenever he faced An Qiao, he was always familiar and impolite.
"You have a bad temper. Let me ask you what's wrong." Gu Qingyun muttered. An Qiao felt that the person in front of her was not the cold and aloof Shaoqing of Dali Temple at all, but clearly an elementary school kid.
"I opened a shop outside the alley outside your Dali Temple, selling agricultural and sideline products, such as wine, canned food, sauces, and gift boxes for New Year and other festivals. Recently, I've been busy checking whether my small jars are finished and decorating the shop." An Qiao stood up and was about to say that she didn't want to bother him anymore, but was stopped by Gu Qingyun again.
"What are you selling? Are you waiting for the Mid-Autumn Festival to sell mooncakes? My grandmother likes them. Do you think I should order one now?" An Qiao was speechless at Gu Qingyun's behavior of making small talk. Did this guy think of himself as an electronic pickled mustard tuber? Huh?
"It's almost there. It's not ready yet. I will definitely post notices everywhere and you will be able to see them when you come to eat." An Qiao replied with a smile.
"Hey, do you want to see me every day?" As soon as the words came out, both of them were embarrassed. One of them questioned why he said such a strange thing, and the other was thinking whether it was a cheesy love talk?
"Cough-cough-"
Gu Qingyun lowered his head and continued to eat his sesame beef jerky, and An Qiao also left with the water.
Many scholars came today, and the voices of scholars in the hall were rising and falling, discussing the questions given by the teacher today. Most of the students studying in the capital have already passed the examination. It is June now, and in another half a month, there will be more students taking the examinations in various prefectures. An Qiao thought that when there are more students, she would hold some poetry and tea parties, which would be a good opportunity for marketing.
So they put up notices on the big wooden boards at the door and inside the house, announcing voting for activities to be held in July, including poetry competitions, guessing riddles, flying flowers, pitching pots, passing flowers with drums...
You can cast a vote every time you make a purchase in the store, and the votes outside the store are left to passers-by. Votes in the store account for 75%, and votes outside the store account for 25%.
After the final vote is drawn, a grand event will be held in July. There will be a buffet on the day of the event. As long as each person pays 20 cents, everyone can come in and play. Winners in the event can also receive rewards.
Although no one knew what the reward was, people love to join in the fun, so naturally many people wanted to participate in such a lively and novel "buffet".
As soon as An Qiao put up the notice, someone asked, "Young lady, when does voting begin?"
"It will start today. From today until July 1st, anyone who meets the requirements can vote. There is a suggestion box at the door. If you have any questions or ideas, or even what gifts you want, you can write them down and put them in. We will post and respond to any valuable questions." Before An Qiao finished speaking, a scholar raised his hand.
"If the young lady posts this, the handwriting will be exposed. Who will dare to say anything? If a classmate sees it, it will be embarrassing."
Seeing everyone nod, An Qiao added, "Everyone can feel free to speak freely. All questions and ideas posted in this store will be transcribed by me, and the handwriting will not be exposed."
Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief and cheered with relief.
"Miss An is truly a business genius. I don't know who came up with these ideas, but each one of them makes everyone concerned and keep coming to eat. It's no wonder that the business is so good." said a scholar.
"That's right, it's a pity that Miss An is not a man, otherwise I don't know how we could react so quickly and think so agilely in the examination room." He said with a self-deprecating smile, and couldn't help blushing as he looked at An Qiao who was slowly climbing down the ladder.
The young lady with a rosy face is so smart and clever, it is only right that she is admired by others.
Qi Tao couldn't help but smile when he saw the scholar's expression. Their young lady looked like a pretty girl, but the way she spoke and acted seemed like she had lived for thousands of years.
"Qitao, I'm calling you, didn't you listen?" Gu Qingyun had already called Qitao several times. He was really unable to bear it anymore, so he called out louder.
"Master Shaoqing, what's the matter?" Qi Tao, who was occasionally very insensitive, didn't notice Gu Qingyun's impatience at all and said with a smile.
"I say, keep the box by the window on the second floor for me tonight. I want to treat people to dinner." Gu Qingyun lost his temper and left after saying that.
After An Qiao finished working at this stall, she went straight to the small shop. The store had been renovated and the shelves had been set up. They just had to wait for the small jars to be ready and canned, which would only take two days.
The plaque was hung today and covered with a red cloth, waiting to be unveiled in a few days.
In the evening, An Qiao had just finished a busy day's work and returned to the restaurant for dinner. She saw Gu Qingyun entering the restaurant with a handsome man who was about forty years old.
Gu Qingyun was no longer playing around like he usually does, but looked a little more serious.
"Qitao, order some food." Gu Qingyun called towards the kitchen, and Qitao came out swiftly. After listening to Gu Qingyun reading out the names of the dishes, he quickly returned to the kitchen.
An Qiao's attention was all on the uncle. She didn't know if it was because he was too handsome or because he had some inexplicable attraction to her.
"Cough-cough-"
Gu Qingyun looked at An Qiao and wanted to cough for no reason.
An Qiao quickly looked away and continued to eat her fried mint pork ribs.
Gu Qingyun took the Marquis to the second floor, and he was so familiar with the place that people thought he had returned home.