Chapter 140: The Culinary Tycoon

Check out our official instagram. There are lots of BL pics for your cravings 😉

xxx

Seafood Feast

“Dahe, you’re back? Why did it take you so long this time?” Xiaoshu was selling cured meats at the door and saw Dahe returning, dragging a cart. He went over to help push it.

Dahe wiped the sweat off his forehead and dragged the cart to the door. He said to Xiaoshu, “It’s a long story. Xiaoshu, could you help me get those two barrels down? I can’t easily put them down right now.”

There were two large water barrels on the cart, filled about seventy to eighty percent with water. Dahe was dragging it carefully, trying to avoid splashing water onto the sacks behind. The distance from the dock to House of Prosperity wasn’t too far, but he ended up breaking a sweat in this cold winter weather.

“Okay,” Xiaoshu said and tried to lift it, but he found it too heavy and couldn’t manage. He glanced at it and frowned, “What is this, a seashell? It’s so heavy!”

He quickly called Da Song over to help him lift it together.

“It’s called a Nine-Holed Conch. It should be a valuable item. When Brother Yu comes back, we’ll let him take a look. It sells for a good price over there,” Dahe said. After they unloaded everything from the cart, he let go of the cart handle and carried the large sack into the shop.

“Hey, Xiaoshu, this sack shouldn’t get wet. Which one is the storage room? Open it for me,” Dahe walked to the back where there were two rooms and he didn’t know which one to enter.

The last time he left, House of Prosperity hadn’t opened yet, so this was his first time here. When he arrived at the snack shop earlier, the villagers he knew told him that Yu Qingze and Chang Le were staying at the restaurant now. After inquiring about the address, he finally made his way here.

Xiaoshu and Da Song came in carrying a large wooden barrel and said, “It’s the one near the main hall, the door isn’t locked. Just go in. The other room is for Boss Yu and Brother Le.”

“Oh,” Dahe took a look and then walked to the entrance of the storage room, pushing the door open and going inside.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Hey, Dahe, where should we put this wooden barrel? In the kitchen, the backyard, or should we also put it in the storage room?” Xiaoshu asked.

Dahe put down the sack and came out, saying, “Let’s put it in the kitchen for now. It’s too cold outside. Are Brother Yu and Brother Le not in the shop? Why are there no customers?”

Xiaoshu and Da Song carried the wooden barrel inside and replied, “Boss Yu took Lord Cai and two gentlemen from the capital back to the village. They should be back in the afternoon. Brother Le went to Dr. Xue’s place for treatment. He’ll be back before noon.”

“Brother Le is sick?” Dahe frowned upon hearing that Chang Le went for treatment.

Xiaoshu came out and explained in a somewhat embarrassed voice, “No, he’s not sick. It’s about Brother Le’s birthmark, which is very light in color, right? There’s a doctor who came from the capital specialized in treating it. He said he can help Brother Le regulate his body. If it works, Brother Le will be able to have children like other gers.”

“I see,” Dahe’s eyebrows relaxed upon hearing the explanation. He felt relieved and said, “That’s a good thing.”

Perhaps it was time for them to consider such matters after being married for so long.

Dahe looked at the two-story restaurant in front of him, beautifully decorated, and the cured meats sold outside were popular. He asked Xiaoshu, “Is the restaurant doing well?”

Xiaoshu replied, “It’s doing incredibly well! Customers start coming and occupying seats before noon every day. The private rooms on the second floor need to be reserved several days in advance. We’re busy every day. But we had a bit of an issue a few days ago, so we haven’t been able to open much these days.”

“What happened?” Dahe asked.

Xiaoshu then explained the incident at Xiang Man Yuan to Dahe. Dahe was surprised to hear that someone had tried to drug the restaurant. It was truly despicable!

While they were talking, they moved another large wooden barrel into the kitchen. This barrel was covered with a lid, leaving only two vent holes. They could occasionally hear the sound of splashing water from inside.

“What’s inside this one? Why is it covered?” Xiaoshu asked.

“Hehe, it’s a type of fish you’ve never seen before,” Dahe chuckled.

Curiosity sparked in Xiaoshu, and he wanted to lift the lid and take a look. However, Dahe held him back and said, “They might crawl out. Let’s wait for Brother Yu to come back. Xiaoshu, I need to go to the wharf to retrieve a barrel of fish. We’ll see if Brother Yu thinks they can still be eaten when he returns.”

“Do you want me to help?” Xiaoshu asked.

“No need, it’s just one barrel.”

By the time Dahe returned, Chang Le and the others had also come back.

Chang Le was delighted to see Dahe and chatted with him for a while before feeling tired and went to rest.

Jiabao took the medicine bag and went to brew the medicine. Since his eldest brother wasn’t present, he wanted to take good care of his brother-in-law.

In the afternoon, Yu Qingze and the others returned.

They arrived in two horse carriages, and Lord Luo and the deputy county magistrate had also come along. Naturally, they would have dinner at House of Prosperity.

When Yu Qingze saw Dahe upon getting off the carriage, his eyes brightened. “Dahe? You’re back.”

Dahe scratched the back of his head and called out, “Brother Yu.”

Yu Qingze asked Jiabao to invite the distinguished guests to the private room and then walked inside with Dahe. He asked Dahe while walking, “Why did it take so long this time?” He left in mid-July, and now it was already late November.

Dahe explained, “Oh, it was quite a journey this time. We initially went to the north. After unloading the cargo, I was about to go look for some unfamiliar crops when our ship captain received an urgent order. There was a ship in the other port that suddenly started leaking, so their cargo was urgently given to us. We immediately loaded the goods and headed south.”

“We stayed in a southern city for a few days. It’s a coastal area with not many crops, but there are plenty of fish in the sea. However, the order our captain received was to proceed directly to the north without returning. I noticed that there aren’t many dried fish sellers in Tongshan, so I directly bought a lot of dried fish there. Take a look, this is the bag.”

Dried fish?

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze immediately became excited. He moved the bag out to the courtyard and opened it.

On top were two bundles of dried fish, well dried in the sun. Yu Qingze took a sniff and tasted a bit. It had the unique salty and fishy flavor of sea fish, without any moldy or foul smell. It was quite good.

Afterward, there were several cloth bags inside. Yu Qingze took them all out, opened each one, and was pleasantly surprised.

There were dried silver fish, dried squid, dried scallops, and in the last small bag, there were dried abalones.

“Did you buy this in the south too?” Yu Qingze pointed at the small bag of dried abalones and asked.

Dahe glanced at it and replied, “Oh, no, this one is not. I bought it in the north. I added it later. It’s more expensive than the others, but I thought it must be good. However, I ran out of money, so I borrowed some from the boss to buy it. I also bought some live ones.”

“Well, this is a good thing!” Yu Qingze was delighted. He tied up all the bags and stored them properly. Then he asked, “Where are the live ones you mentioned?”

“They’re in the kitchen.”

The two of them went to the kitchen. Yu Qingze was ecstatic when he saw it. One bucket contained almost half a bucket of live abalones, and the other bucket had around twenty squids.

“Some of them died, and some went bad and smelled. I threw those away. There are a few that haven’t gone bad yet. I brought them back yesterday. I’m not sure if they’re still edible,” Dahe asked.

Yu Qingze smelled the dead squids and abalones. They had a strange odor, so he said, “Don’t eat them. It’s not worth the risk of getting a stomachache.” In this ancient era with poor medical conditions, it’s better not to eat things that have died.

“Then I’ll throw them away,” Dahe picked up the buckets and headed outside.

Yu Qingze said, “Throw them far away.”

“Understood.”

In the evening, Yu Qingze cooked stir-fried squid and steamed abalones for Lord Cai and the others.

The other guests enjoyed the seafood, savoring the delicious flavors and praising them.

However, Luo Mingda was allergic to seafood and couldn’t eat it, so he felt a bit resentful. Fortunately, Yu Qingze also prepared his favorite Drunken Goose, which brought him some comfort.

That evening, after much contemplation and discussion with Chang Le, Yu Qingze decided to host a seafood feast. He invited Young Master Zhao and Master Hu, who had helped them during the price increase and poisoning incidents. On one hand, it was a gesture of gratitude, and on the other hand, Yu Qingze had an idea he wanted to discuss with the heads of the families.

The next day, Yu Qingze had Jiabao write several invitations and sent people to deliver them one by one. He instructed the staff at the counter to reserve three large private rooms.

At the same time, House of Prosperity introduced some specialty dishes: steamed abalone, red-braised abalone, stir-fried squid, crispy fried squid, and grilled squid in sauce.

On their promotional board, they made a special note that these were seafood dishes and people with skin reactions after consuming seafood should avoid them.

The prices of these dishes were quite expensive, especially the abalone.

When the customers heard the prices quoted by the waiters, they knew these items were rare and must be delicious. However, the high prices deterred some customers who weren’t particularly fond of seafood. But for those who loved seafood, it was a rare opportunity.

There was no choice. Seafood didn’t taste good when prepared at home, and it was quite expensive. If they wanted to indulge in seafood, they had to come to House of Prosperity, so as not to waste ingredients on a poorly cooked meal at home.

Therefore, despite the high prices, on the day of the launch, there were customers who enjoyed eating seafood and placed their orders.

Of course, when the dishes were served, the taste was truly worth the money they had spent.

By the following evening, Young Master Zhao and Master Hu arrived as planned.

In addition to Young Master Zhao’s group, Yu Qingze also invited Lord Cai and his companions who were still in Tongshan, including Luo Mingda. Knowing that Madam Luo enjoyed seafood, Yu Qingze extended the invitation to him, his two children, Old Master Cai couple, Cai Yunwei, Young Master Zhao, and Master Hu’s wife.

So, there was one table for the heads of the families, one for the officials, and one for the three members of the Cai family and the wives. It worked out perfectly, as all the people they needed to thank were in attendance.

The seafood feast naturally focused on seafood dishes. In addition to the existing seafood options, including the newly introduced abalone and squid, Yu Qingze also prepared scallop and mushroom chicken soup, stir-fried chives with dried small fish, and a few other dishes to make it a sumptuous meal.

To cater to Luo Mingda’s taste, Yu Qingze made two additional dishes that Luo Mingda liked for the table of the officials.

After finishing the dishes, Yu Qingze went upstairs to socialize, leaving Chang Le and Jiabao to take care of the guests downstairs.

Yu Qingze went table by table to toast and express his gratitude.

“Xiao Yu, this seafood feast is excellent and delicious!” Old Master Cai said.

Young Master Zhao also praised, “Yes, I particularly like this soup. It’s very flavorful, more so than the usual mushroom and chicken soup.”

Madam Luo, being a true seafood lover, smiled and said, “From now on, we’ll have a few more dishes that I love.”

Yu Qingze accepted the compliments from the guests with a smile, then spent some time accompanying the official table. Finally, he sat down at the table of the heads of the families.

He had an idea and wanted to discuss it with the heads of the families.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Celebrate good times, come on ~~~