delicious master

Chapter 5

In October in Ningcheng, getting out of bed has changed from a test of perseverance to a test of frost resistance.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, and keeping a good spirit, Tang Xiaokang started to get up and prepare the ingredients.

It was still daylight at this moment, and there was silence in the alley. Occasionally, the sound of merchants who bought breakfast pushing snack carts could be heard.

Take out the mutton that was frozen yesterday from the freezer.

Defrost it in water, wash the radishes from yesterday afternoon, and prepare the soup.

All actions are calm and orderly.

It was in stark contrast to the fierce voices outside.

It was already seven o'clock, and all the working people who worked from nine to six were out. It was the most intense battle for the breakfast vendors.

There was a lot of people, and even through the walled courtyard, you could still feel the noise and commotion outside. The fierce competition inadvertently made the autumn wind in the small courtyard panic.

The movement and silence are in sharp contrast.

Unlike the breakfast vendors outside, Dongju is a private restaurant. It does not need the mandatory business quota of a hotel to receive banquets and a large number of customers, and it is not the kind of mobile stall that strives to earn a full meal.

Private, small, refined, delicious.

This is Tang Xiaokang's own understanding of Dongju.

In his impression, when his grandfather took over Dongju, he never worried about the source of customers. There were countless old gourmets from all over the world, just to taste his handicraft.

Simmer slowly, and as time goes by, the aroma of the mutton in the pot becomes stronger.

The gate of the yard has been pushed open, allowing the mutton soup to simmer slowly in the pot, and Tang Xiaokang is cleaning the fallen leaves in the yard with a broom.

The rustling sound of sweeping the floor echoed in the yard.

At the entrance of the alley, the small vendors who had been eating in the morning had already begun to pack up their things and prepare to close their stalls. As soon as eight o'clock passed, the number of customers they could receive decreased significantly. The bustling crowd made them lose the energy to do business, as if for a while Feeling dull after the convulsions.

"Huh? What's so delicious?"

Soon, some people began to notice the aroma of mutton wafting out of the East Residence. The faint aroma was accompanied by the faint scent of osmanthus, which instantly increased people's appetite.

It didn't take long for everyone to discover the source of the scent, Dongju not far from them.

Everyone is naturally familiar with this house. The East Residence sign had been hanging before they arrived. It had never been touched for many years. It was not until a young man arrived in recent days that he opened the door for the first time. .

Some people looked at it and left, while some vendors came up and looked curiously at the yard inside.

"The old store in Dongju reopens today and welcomes new and old customers."

After talking about the notice board hanging on the door, many people had wary looks on their faces.

It seemed that there was going to be another competitor, especially after seeing that the opponent still had a stable appearance, many people looked a little grim.

The crowd of onlookers dispersed quickly. Some people were curious about what the fragrance coming from the yard was, but no one asked, or entered the store for consumption.

After all, they had basically just gotten money into their pockets by eating, so how could they possibly take it out again.

And more people left with a look of thinking. The opening of Dongju made them feel a little anxious.

……

Tang Xiaokang didn't pay any attention to those hawkers watching outside the door, and the other party was just joining in the fun. Dongju is an old store and has its own store, which is different from those itinerant vendors.

There is no direct conflict of interest between the two. After all, fighting for territory has nothing to do with Dongju. Everyone is doing business and pays attention to harmony.

The kind of deliberate fault-finding plot in the novel is simply impossible to appear here.

I swept the fallen leaves under the roots of the sweet-scented osmanthus tree. At some point, an old man stood at the door and looked around the yard.

Seeing someone coming, Tang Xiaokang leaned the broom next to the tree, smiled and walked out.

"Old man, come and see us again today?!"

The old man's name is Ning Zhiyang, and his family lives in the old community at the end of the alley. When he was young, he was an employee of a state-owned enterprise. Later, he retired and lived here with his wife. I heard that the only daughter of the family went abroad to work.

Tang Xiaokang met Mr. Ning on the second day after he came. At that time, the old man had just finished grabbing discounted dishes from the market. He happened to meet Tang Xiaokang who opened the door, and the two chatted.

Later, every morning, the two could meet each other, and they became acquainted with each other after going back and forth.

Speaking of which, Mr. Ning can be regarded as Dongju's regular customer. When Tang Xiaokang's grandfather Tang Youwei was still in charge of Dongju, he had already come here to taste the dishes.

Tang Xiaokang's first task after getting the system, the opening of Dongju, also got a hint from the other party.

Nodding his head, he answered Tang Xiaokang. Mr. Ning kept his eyes on the notice posted on the door.

Seeing the other party's appearance, Tang Xiaokang knew what was going on. In the past, the other party always inquired about when Dongju would open, as well as the Cantonese-style mutton soup.

At that time, the Cantonese-style mutton soup that Tang Xiaokang made was so eye-catching. Naturally, he didn't dare to reveal anything to the other party, but now, Tang Xiaokang felt that he finally had a chance to show his skills.

"Ning Lao, don't look at it. Today is the first day of reopening. The Cantonese-style mutton soup you want has just been stewed. Come in and try it?"

He wiped his reading glasses with his clothes, and a smile appeared on Master Ning's face.

"well!"

As he said that, he directly carried the vegetables in his hands, walked into the yard, walked around the osmanthus tree familiarly, and sat down at a seat by the window. Mr. Ning smelled the aroma of mutton in the air.

“It’s been ten years, and I finally smell this smell again!”

After muttering something softly, soon Tang Xiaokang came out from the back kitchen with mutton soup.

Seeing the radiant mutton soup in front of him, Mr. Ning picked up the chopsticks, picked up the mutton familiarly, dipped it in the soup, and bit down.

Looking at the old man's way of eating, Tang Xiaokang was secretly amazed.

Sure enough, someone who has tasted the old man's cooking is very familiar with the soup. Unlike the guy who looked like a programmer yesterday, he just wolfed it down and did not reflect the essence of Cantonese mutton soup at all.

In winter, the temperature is low, and the mutton is easy to be cold, so the first thing to eat should be mutton, dip it in soup and warm it up, the taste is the best time, taste the soup little by little, radish, the taste of radish It just relieved the greasy mutton, because it absorbed enough soup without dispelling the fragrance of the mutton, and finally drank the mutton soup to warm up the body.

Only by eating in this way can you fully appreciate all the flavors of mutton soup.

(End of this chapter)