Fox Song

Chapter 16 Works of Conscience
After reaching the other side, Zixuan drove along the river according to her friend's suggestion to find the grilled fish restaurant called "Yu Juice and Yu Wei".

The strange thing was that after driving back and forth along the river twice, they still didn't find such a store. Zixuan and the others were sure that it was not that they had missed it, but that there was no such store on the roadside near the river.

"In my opinion, either your friend is teasing you." Xiao Jing looked at Zi Xuan's embarrassed look and laughed, "Or maybe the business of this store is so bad that they can't continue and have to close it down."

Zixuan thought about it and felt that Xiaojing's words made some sense. However, that friend never lied and had a good reputation, so it was probably the latter.

"Sister, do you have any other good places to recommend? How about we go somewhere else?" Xiao Jing teased, "Since we are here, why not fulfill your wish?"

Zixuan ignored her. She pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out, and seemed to ask for directions...

"Sister, I think you should just stop wasting your energy!" Xiaojing shouted in the car.

Zixuan was unwilling to give in.

There were a row of stalls on the roadside. She asked a middle-aged female stall owner with a kind face for advice.

-

"Hello, sister. Is there a grilled fish restaurant called 'Fish Juice and Fish Flavor' nearby?"

"'Fish juice and fish flavor'? Yes! You've asked the right person." The female stall owner glanced at Zixuan, pointed at her enthusiastically, and said, "I can tell you're from out of town! The store is nearby, here... walk toward the street from the intersection about 50 meters ahead, and you'll see it not far away."

"Oh! I understand, thank you!" Zixuan said.

"You're welcome, it's nothing." The stall owner smiled innocently, "The food in that restaurant is delicious, it's worth going there!"

Zixuan nodded, thanked him again, and returned to the car.

Xiao Jing naturally heard the conversation and became interested. She said, "Hey, there really is one! Let's go and take a look."

A few minutes later, the car turned into a street along the river and drove forward about 100 meters.

Sure enough, they saw a store on the side of the road with a sign that read "Fish Sauce and Fish Flavor".

The four large gold-plated characters on the sign are written in seal script, which is beautiful and elegant, with vigorous and powerful strokes, as if they were written by a famous calligrapher.

There are wooden couplets nailed on both sides of the store entrance. The couplets are in running script, and they are as graceful as a startled swan and as graceful as a swimming dragon. The content is exactly the couplet that Zixuan mentioned, "With wine, one can be content, and drunkenness can relieve a thousand sorrows; without fish, how can one be happy, and the juice can blend all things."

"The front door is grand, but the store is small."

After Xiaojing got out of the car, she stood at the door and couldn't help but comment.

Pushing open the door, looking inside from the outside, the entire barbecue restaurant seems to be in full view. The store is only about 30 square meters in size, with only a few tables and chairs besides the open kitchen and cashier counter. There are several ink landscape paintings hanging on the bluestone walls of the store, which have a bit of Ming and Qing Dynasty style.

There seemed to be only four female staff members in the store wearing store uniforms, and there was not a single customer. One staff member was busy in the kitchen, one was mopping the floor, and the other two were talking at the cash register.

"Sister, is this the store your friend recommended?"

After Xiao Jing came in, she was stunned and said, "This business seems to be extremely quiet!"

Zi Xuan was also shocked and shook her head with a wry smile.

If she didn't know so much about that friend, she would have doubted his character.

"welcome!"

Seeing someone coming in, a waitress behind the cashier counter greeted them with a smile.

"Waiter, give me two servings of grilled fish!" Xiaojing said.

"I'm sorry." The waiter smiled, "Our store is closed today."

"What? Closed?" Xiaojing was stunned and hadn't reacted yet.

"Isn't it still early? Why are you closed today?" Zi Xuan frowned and asked.

"Is this your first time in our store?" asked the waiter.

"Yes! What's wrong?" Xiaojing replied.

"Oh, it's like this. We have a limited supply of grilled fish in our store, and the maximum number is 2000 per day." The waiter was neither humble nor arrogant, and still had a smile on his face. "Today's quota has already been sold out. So I'm very sorry, please come tomorrow."

"Oh! So that's how it is." Xiaojing said suddenly.

But she grumbled again, if we don’t do business when we have it, why limit the quantity?

"Is your business so good every day?" Zi Xuan asked.

"That's about right. We've been open for more than four months, and it's been like this almost every month," the waiter replied.

Xiao Jing took a deep breath after hearing this. She couldn't help but calculate in her mind. According to the price list in the store, if you only take the grilled fish for 20 yuan per piece, the daily turnover is 40000 yuan, which is about 120 million yuan a month. Such a small store, the monthly revenue is more than a quarter of my hospital's revenue, which is amazing.

"Business is really good!" Zixuan nodded.

But is this fish really so delicious? Why?

There was a plastic billboard near the entrance of the store. She took a look and saw a few conspicuous words on it: "The best grilled fish in the world!"

The tone was quite arrogant. She was curious and continued reading.

The introduction is quite long, and it mainly talks about three aspects: First, the selection of ingredients. The materials used are all Taihu dragon fish about 5 inches long. Taihu dragon fish has only one large thorn. Its meat is tender, rich in various amino acids and vitamins, and tastes excellent. It is a top-grade fish. Second, the ancestral secret recipe. Before use, the fresh fish needs to be soaked in the ancestral secret soup for a week to eliminate waste in the body. The soup is changed every day, and this soup moisturizes the fish meat from the inside out. Third, the cooking is meticulous, grilled with Nanshan high-end pine charcoal, and combined with unique techniques and spice formulas, the grilled fish is finally completed. It is said that this grilled fish can make your mouth water for several days in a row, and it is endless aftertaste...

"Sister, what's so good about it? Since there's nothing left, let's go." Xiaojing pulled Zixuan and said.

"Okay, let's go!" Zixuan responded casually. She turned to the waiter and said, "We'll buy it tomorrow. Can you provide takeout?"

Zixuan thought to herself, since she was here, she had to try it no matter what to see if it was really as the rumors said.

Judging from its introduction and business situation, even if it is not the best in the world, it should be a conscientious product - nowadays, there are not many foods that can strive to be perfect in every detail, and they deserve respect and support. If she didn't eat it today, she could ask them to deliver it to the hotel tomorrow.

"Sorry, we don't provide take-out and we can't take reservations!" the waiter replied.

Zixuan was surprised by her answer.

"What a crappy shop this is. You can't even take takeout orders." Xiaojing said dissatisfiedly without waiting for Zixuan to say anything.

"Oh, that's right. According to research, our grilled fish tastes best within 20 minutes. If you make an appointment, it may take more than 20 minutes to pick up the fish. In this way, we can't guarantee the quality." The waiter patiently explained. "In order to ensure quality and reputation, our general manager does not do this."

"Interesting, it's getting more and more interesting." Zi Xuan said with a smile, her eyes bright.

"Interesting? What's interesting?" Xiao Jing said angrily, "I have an opinion!"

"Oh, if you have any comments or suggestions, you can write them down in the customer message book."

When the waitress heard this, she didn't care at all. She actually took down a beautiful notebook from the wall next to the counter and handed it over.

Zixuan took it first and flipped through it casually. Surprisingly, most of the messages in the notebook were words of praise.

Then, she handed the notebook to Xiaojing and said, "If you have any opinions, just raise them!"

Xiaojing was feeling depressed and just said it casually, she didn't really want to write anything.

But looking at this situation, it would be a bit unreasonable for her not to write something. What should she write? She thought about it and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

She picked up the gel pen that came with the notebook and wrote: It is recommended to increase supply and expand scale. If you have any funding needs, you can contact Ms. Bai.

Then she wrote down Zixuan's cell phone number.

Zi Xuan was speechless watching from the side, but it was not easy to point it out, so she could only say, "Your handwriting is crooked, can you write better? It's like a ghost's scribble... It affects your image."

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't like what you're saying." Xiao Jing pouted, "Can you change the wording?

"It feels like a chicken claw..."

"Well, ghost painting is better." Xiao Jing put down the pen after writing, feeling quite proud, "After all, this is still a skill!"

Zixuan smiled and shook her head. There was really nothing good to say about this shameless guy.

Two minutes later, Zixuan and the other person left "Fish Juice and Fish Smell".

They would drive to other places for supper.

"Sister, where are we going now?" Xiaojing asked impatiently as soon as she left the store.

"Well, this time..." Zixuan thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go to the university town? It's not far from here, and it only takes a few minutes to drive there."

“What’s good to eat in University City?”

"There is a snack street there - Fallen Street, which is also famous in Jinling."

"Fallen... Street?"

"Yes, Fallen Street!"

……

Today is the weekend, this chapter is dedicated to the foodies like the author! Haha︿＿︿

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(End of this chapter)