Siheyuan: I am a big capitalist after the founding of the People's Republic of China

Manager Zhang: “Who said it wasn’t~”

Li Zihang: "Chinese cuisine is extensive and profound. The food culture has a long history. For ordinary people, eating is just to fill their stomachs."

"Wealthier families began to pay attention to color, fragrance and taste."

“People of a higher social status pay attention to ingredients, cooking skills and face.”

"For those above them, eating is not just about filling their stomachs. It is also about spiritual enjoyment. They pay attention to the mood for eating, the attitude of the service, the health of the food, and the environment of the food."

"Now, as soon as you walk in and order the dishes, they ask for tickets and money, and the service attitude is even worse. If you're not careful, you might even get a cold shoulder."

"Who can bear this? Don't blame us for not coming. This is all our own fault."

Manager Zhang took over the conversation after hearing this.

"Young Master, you are absolutely right. But he has no control over the situation~"

"This is not business at all. The clerks are even more irritable than the customers. They are just pushing customers away~"

"There used to be an old saying: big stores bully customers, and big customers bully stores. Now it's different. Only stores bully customers."

"Please don't talk about our store. A few days ago, I went to buy green onions. For a moment, I forgot about the receipt. The person selling the green onions scolded me. I was so angry that I almost died."

"That guy, he never repeats himself when he bullies people. If you go away, I would have slapped him in the face a long time ago. But there's nothing I can do now~"

While we were talking, two cold dishes came up.

Li Zihang: "Hey~ You didn't ask for money or tickets today~ Aren't you afraid that we won't have tickets after we finish eating?"

Manager Zhang: "Young Master, you are joking. After you finish eating, feel free to leave. I will take care of the rest."

Li Zihang: "The older generation knew how to do business. Uncle Zhang, you are wasting your talent now~"

Manager Zhang: "Master, you are too polite."

After Uncle Guan started eating, Li Zihang picked up a piece of duck gizzard and said.

"The taste remains the same. Not bad~"

"Then you two eat first. I'm going to go downstairs to check on the ducks."

Downstairs, Manager Yang saw Lao Zhang coming down and brought up the previous topic.

"I say, Lao Zhang, you put tea leaves in this wash basin. I can't even bear to drink that tea leaves at home. Why do you just put it in the wash basin?"

"Also, what about the incense and towel you brought? We haven't paid yet. How are we going to settle the bill later?"

Manager Zhang, looking at a long list of problems, couldn't help but feel a little resentful that the store he had run for half his life was run half to death by this group of people.

Coupled with what Li Zihang had just said upstairs, the tone was inevitably a bit resentful.

"Hey, Manager Yang, you should read more books about Chinese food etiquette when you have nothing to do."

"It will be helpful for you to run our restaurant."

"The two of you upstairs are both honored guests. In the past, coming to our restaurant to eat was considered an honor. It's purely to increase the reputation of our restaurant."

"Putting tea leaves in the hand-washing basin makes it even more interesting. How do we eat roast duck in our restaurant? We just wrap the roast duck slices with the lotus leaf pancake."

"For those who are particular about food, who wouldn't wash their hands before eating? As the saying goes, diseases come from the mouth. It's impossible for a particular person to put a lotus leaf cake directly into his mouth."

"Putting some tea leaves in the handwashing water can wash your hands clean while leaving the fragrance of tea leaves on them. This way, when customers take the lotus leaf cake to their mouths, they can smell the fragrance of tea leaves left on their hands."

"The aroma of roast duck in the mouth and the aroma of tea leaves in the nose. That's how it tastes."

All the idle people nearby gathered together and listened to the explanation with great interest.

The person next to him said, "Manager Zhang, you haven't mentioned the issue of eating with culture or eating with martial arts. And the tiger sauce."

"The so-called elegant eating method is the way of eating Peking duck in Jinling. The duck skin is roasted until crispy, and only the skin is eaten without the meat. The fat foam on the skin must be removed completely. In this way, when you eat it, the duck skin is like a biscuit, crispy and fragrant. It is not greasy to eat."

"Because we eat the skin when we roast the duck, the heat is too high. As a result, the meat on the duck skeleton becomes tough."

"So the second way to eat Peking duck was derived. The remaining skeleton is coated with sweet potato flour and fried in a pan. Sprinkle with pepper and salt."

"It's the way we eat it in our restaurant. Cut it into 108 pieces including the skin and meat. Dip it in sweet noodle sauce."

"Wu Chi, because it is roasted at the right temperature, the duck meat is tender. The remaining duck bones are also the best for making soup. Add celery foam when it comes out of the pot, and the soup will be delicious."

"Then why do we put chopped green onions in duck soup in our restaurant?"

Manager Zhang rolled his eyes at the person who spoke.

"Your family had celery in the winter when the city was closed due to heavy snow. You can only use chopped green onions to add flavor, and the rule has been passed down like this."

"What's the story behind that Tiger Sauce?"

"Tiger sauce~ I don't know if you have heard of this saying. It was a saying that was popular in all the restaurants in the past."

“Officials eat Shandong cuisine, scholars eat Huai cuisine, and peddlers eat Sichuan cuisine.”

"It means that officials like to eat official cuisine, which is Shandong cuisine. Scholars and intellectuals don't do manual labor, so their taste is relatively light. They find dishes that are slightly stronger in flavor salty. So they like to eat the lighter and more delicate Huaiyang cuisine."

"Sichuan cuisine is all heavy in flavor and greasy. People who do manual labor and have some money like to eat Sichuan cuisine."

"Tiger sauce was developed to take care of those scholars and men of letters."

"Tiger sauce is bean paste. Stir-fry minced meat until fragrant and add broth. Then add minced garlic and a little sugar to lighten the taste. It retains the aroma of the bean paste while lightening the taste."

"Now you understand, right~"

A waiter nearby said with a hint of hatred towards the rich: "This was all developed by a group of evil capitalists."

Manager Zhang just rolled his eyes as he listened.

"Without them, I don't know where you'll get your salary this month. Don't be so dissatisfied. If the store's business continues like this, everyone should go back and take a rest~"

The manager said, "Mr. Zhang, how are we going to pay for the tea, the incense, and two new towels. Plus some things that are not on the menu. Tell me, how are we going to charge for this?"

Manager Zhang looked at him helplessly.

"My dear manager, do you know that there is such a thing as service fee?"

"All these things are included in the service fee. It will be multiplied several times according to the cost."

The public manager asked tentatively.

"3 bucks?"

Manager Zhang: "Please turn the numbers upside down again."

The waiter next to him exclaimed.

"What? 6 yuan? My monthly living expenses are only 4 yuan. My goodness, Manager Zhang, you are so mean."

Manager Zhang’s eyes almost rolled up to the sky.

"You know nothing. The best tea in the store is 1.5 yuan per ounce, and sandalwood is ridiculously expensive. And two new towels. I'll run around to serve you."

"Is that expensive? Besides, people like them eat out for the service attitude, restaurant environment, and the taste of the dishes. If they are satisfied with the service, this amount of money is nothing to them."

"Believe it or not, whenever the guy upstairs comes, you should greet him with a smile and a sweet mouth. Treat him the way I just did. Let's make a bet. If he doesn't come to our store three times in a month, I lose."

"Do you think the guy upstairs is just as poor as you?"

"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen to see if the duck is ready."

Upstairs box.

Uncle Guan: "Boy, you have no excuse for inviting me to dinner today~"

Li Zihang: "I'm inviting you to dinner. What else do you want? What do you think I can ask of you?"

Uncle Guan: "That's right. With your family background, you can't do it. It's even more impossible to ask me for help."

"Is it really okay?"

Li Zihang: "Just eat with confidence~"

"If you're really uneasy, you can go around and talk to your circle. If they want to sell any treasure, please let me know."

Uncle Guan: "Okay, young master, I feel relieved when you say this."

"Look at the way you treat people to a meal, just like the princes and nobles in the past."

"If you don't explain, I won't be able to eat my meal in peace."

Li Zihang: "Uncle Guan, I will use tea instead of wine to toast you."

After they had been eating and drinking for more than 20 minutes, the duck was finally served. They admired the chef's knife skills in slicing the duck while drinking tea, which was very relaxing.

After an hour of eating and drinking, Uncle Guan looked at the empty plate on the table.

"Boy, what is your stomach made of? Four ducks, two and a half pounds of lotus leaf cakes, and so many dishes. Most of them were eaten by you. Your appetite is really hidden~"

Li Zihang didn't explain why he could eat, he just laughed it off.

Uncle Guan also saw that he didn't want to say it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask. If you can eat so much, you must have some special skills."

"All extraordinary people have their own unknown secrets. Being able to eat is a sign of being extraordinary."

Li Zihang didn't respond, but stood up and told Uncle Guan to go home.

Downstairs at the bar, we started to pay the bill.

"Four ducks, a total of 4 jin. Two hot dishes, two cold dishes, 24 jin lotus leaf cake, and a bottle of Maotai. Service charge 6 yuan."

"A total of 57 yuan. Grain coupons for 6 jin. Meat coupons for 8 jin."

My goodness, just one meal. A middle-level worker's monthly income was gone. Food coupons were fine. In those days, meat coupons were only rationed to half a pound per person per month.

One meal consumes the annual ration of meat tickets for a family of five.

Manager Zhang respectfully escorted the two men out the door.

Li Zihang rode his bike to take Uncle Guan back home.