Ch 99: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

Before the grand opening of the restaurant, Qin Xia had no idea that his fruit wine had already made its way to Shengjing.

To understand this, we need to go back in time…

On the first day of May, an auspicious day, amidst the lively sounds of the firecrackers burning out, Qin Xia pulled down the red silk covering the signboard, officially announcing the grand opening of Heguang Pavilion.

A section of the street outside had been cordoned off, and the Huang brothers’ noodle-pulling performance drew rounds of applause, with onlookers crowding three layers deep.

The novelty of the cotton candy attracted many children, who clamored to try it.

Once people learned that the cotton candy was being given out for free during the first three days of the grand opening, even more people lined up.

Qiu Chuan, dressed in a brand-new outfit, banged on the copper gong, calling out:

“Dear customers! Heguang Pavilion is newly opened, and for the first three days, all meals are 20% off! Plus, you’ll receive a 10% discount coupon for your next visit, so you can save even more!”

His sales pitch was novel, and many people didn’t fully understand it.

A nearby man asked after the gong stopped, “Waiter, what do you mean by 20% and 10% off?”

Qiu Chuan smiled and explained, “It means that whatever you spend on your meal, we’ll only charge you 80% of the total. For example, if your meal costs two taels of silver, during these three days, you only pay one tael and six qian, saving four qian! After these three days, you can come back with the discount coupon, and a meal that costs two taels will only cost one tael and eight qian, saving you two qian!”

Having served as a waiter for some time, Qiu Chuan had developed a booming voice. With the attention he’d drawn from banging the gong, many people clearly heard his explanation.

“That sounds like a good deal.”

“Restaurants in Shengjing have gotten more expensive over the years. Even a bowl of plain noodles on the street has gone from eight coins to ten! It’s rare to see a restaurant being so generous.”

“If you can afford to eat at a place like this, money isn’t the issue. As long as the food is good, that’s what matters.”

With this promotion, by lunchtime, the first floor of the main hall was packed with customers.

Once seated, the waitstaff would bring a pot of hot tea, a plate of four types of dried fruit, and a warm hand towel.

“Hey, this towel is still hot!”

The maid handing out the towels turned and replied, “These towels are boiled in hot water, guaranteed to be clean, so feel free to use them!”

This level of service was unheard of at other places in Shengjing.

Of course, high-profile guests dining in private rooms would be offered copper basins to wash their hands, but the customers in the main hall didn’t receive such treatment, so the warm towels were quite a novelty.

At the time, the restaurant had a total of eight staff members. Qiu Chuan and a young man surnamed Zhou, nicknamed A Jian, were responsible for serving the guests in the front. One bookkeeper handled the accounts, and in the kitchen, assistant head chef Gao Yang was assisted by the Huang brothers, who handled pastry work, along with two elderly women.

The rules had been clearly established in advance, so when things got busy, everyone knew their roles and worked efficiently.

At one table by the wall, two bird-and-flower screens had been set up, creating a small private dining area.

Qiu Chuan was currently reciting the menu based on the preferences of the guests at this table.

When he learned that the three guests wanted fish, he immediately said, “This season, the best fish are shad, catfish, and eel. Yellow croaker is also still in season. Which one would you like to try?”

One of the three guests, an elderly man with a beard, dressed in a loose-fitting “daoist robe” with a flowing crown ribbon behind his head, exuded an air of wisdom and serenity.

“For you to mention these specific types of fish means the chef must know his trade. Let me ask, how do you prepare the shad and catfish?”

Without hesitation, Qiu Chuan replied, “Shad is best steamed with ham, and catfish is known for its head. If you enjoy fish head and like spicy food, I’d recommend our head chef’s specialty: chopped chili fish head!”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged scholar sitting across from the elderly man raised an eyebrow.

“Does this mean your head chef is also the owner?”

Qiu Chuan nodded confidently.

“Of course,” Qiu Chuan replied confidently. “Our head chef is from Pingyuan Prefecture. He started by selling snacks from a street stall and built up his business from scratch to the restaurant we have today.”

“Interesting. Anyone who can build a business from selling food is likely no amateur,” the old gentleman said, stroking his beard. After consulting briefly with his two companions, he decisively ordered the chopped chili fish head.

“This dish sounds like something from the southern Xiang cuisine. I wonder how a chef from Pingyuan Prefecture would prepare it.”

Qiu Chuan picked up on the doubt in the man’s voice, but he remained confident. In all his time at the restaurant, he had never encountered anyone who didn’t enjoy the big boss’s cooking.

After all, why should the people of the capital be any different? Their tongues are made of flesh, not gold. When they taste something delicious, they’ll praise it like anyone else!

In addition to the fish head, the table ordered a few more dishes—meat and vegetables, a balanced mix of salty and spicy—which Qiu Chuan memorized.

As the gentlemen were about to leave, the one who had spoken the least throughout the meal finally said, “Does your restaurant sell wine?”

Naturally, Qiu Chuan recommended their fruit wine.

“This is our house brew, brought in specially from Pingyuan Prefecture. It comes in two flavors—grape and red date. In a little while, we’ll also have apricot wine, and in the fall, there will be persimmon wine.”

The apricot wine was a new addition for the season, and though no one had tasted it yet, Qiu Chuan followed Boss’s instructions to start building its reputation.

“Your place serves grape wine?” the man asked, catching Qiu Chuan off guard.

After a moment, Qiu Chuan reasoned that while grape wine was uncommon in Pingyuan Prefecture, it might not be so rare in the capital.

He didn’t want to exaggerate, so he replied honestly, “Yes, the grapes for our wine come from a specific village in Pingyuan Prefecture.”

This was his way of saying that even if other places in the capital sold grape wine, Heguang Pavilion’s was unique.

“How much for a jar?”

“Two taels,” Qiu Chuan answered.

“Then bring us a jar of the grape wine.”

Qiu Chuan acknowledged the order and went back to the kitchen.

In the back courtyard, Qin Xia, apron tied around his waist, was busy at the stove with a spatula in hand.

Qiu Chuan and Ah Jian entered one after the other to relay the orders—A Jian’s table had ordered the steamed shad with ham, and Qiu Chuan’s table the chopped chili fish head.

“Boss, should I handle it, or will you?” Ah Jian asked. The chopped chili fish head was a specialty dish that Gao Yang had learned from Qin Xia, hence the question.

After a moment’s thought, Qin Xia replied, “I’ll do it.”

Gao Yang realized that his preparation of the dish was still lacking some finesse, so he focused on handling the other dishes. Meanwhile, Qin Xia called out to one of the maids in the courtyard, instructing her to retrieve a fish from the vat and clean it.

“Be sure not to scrape the scales off the shad,” he reminded her.

The reason was that beneath the fish’s scales lay a layer of fat, which would lose its flavor if removed.

A short while later, the shad was delivered to the kitchen.

Both dishes being prepared that day were steamed, but to avoid the flavors mixing, they had to be cooked in separate steamers.

For the shad steamed with rice wine, aside from the fish itself, several other ingredients were required: slices of southern ham, fresh bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and a bowl of scallion-ginger water. The water was made by squeezing out the juices of scallions and ginger, mixing them with salt and rice wine, and then diluting with water.

The scallion-ginger water wasn’t for cooking but for marinating the fish.

The fish would soak in it for two quarters of an hour, then be transferred to a fish plate. The rice wine would be spread over the fish, and the ham, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms would be arranged on top. Finally, the dish would be drizzled with homemade fermented sauce before being placed into the steamer to cook through.

The chopped chili fish head was a bit more intricate.

The fish, also known as bighead carp or by its other name, huayu, was known for its large head. In fact, for a fish weighing just over a pound, the head alone would weigh four ounces.

By the time the fish head was placed on the cutting board, it had already been halved, and the scales, gills, and teeth had been thoroughly cleaned. The next step was to marinate the fish head with a layer of ginger slices, rice wine, and salt.

Compared to the shad, which focused on the freshness of the fish itself and the complementary flavors of the ingredients, the key to the chopped chili fish head lay in the “chopped chili” itself, which had to be stir-fried fresh.

Finely minced scallions, ginger, garlic, chilies, and perilla leaves were prepared, along with two spoonfuls of fermented black beans.

Once the oil was hot, all of these ingredients were added to the pan. The pungent aroma of the chilies immediately filled the air, so intense that even the maid outside couldn’t help but cough.

Qin Xia, accustomed to the strong smells, squinted his eyes and continued adding seasonings to the pot.

Soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, and aged vinegar were essential.

When the bright red chopped chili mixture was finished, he used a large spoon to scoop it up and poured it directly over the marinated fish head.

After it was removed from the stove, a sprinkling of chopped scallions and a drizzle of hot oil completed the dish.

One of the maids, who had just wiped her hands clean, came over to help carry the dishes.

When the chopped chili fish head was served at the table, the hot oil on top was still sizzling.

“The aroma of the chilies is intoxicating!” one of the diners remarked.

Another, however, wasn’t so easily impressed. He lifted a spoon and said, “Looks and aroma come second—let’s taste the flavor first before we praise it.”

He carefully pushed aside the chopped chilies with his spoon, then scooped out some fish meat, first serving it to the eldest man at the table.

This elderly man, surnamed Gu, though unassuming in appearance, was actually quite respected in the literary circles of the capital.

Although he held no official position, he was well-known for his scholarship. He had a refined taste for food, with a particular fondness for fish.

He often told a story about himself, claiming that by the age of three, he could remove fish bones using only his tongue, without the aid of chopsticks or his hands.

Now in his sixties, he often boasted that out of the 365 days in a year, he could eat 200 fish and had never once choked on a bone.

He had tasted all kinds of fish, but this was the first time he was trying fish head with chopped chilies.

The reason bighead carp fish head is so delicious isn’t just because of its size. The key lies in the fish head’s tender, rich meat that’s fatty without being greasy. Moreover, there’s a natural layer of fat within the fish head that’s hard to replicate with any other ingredient.

In the past, when Old Master Gu ate fish head, it was mostly in fish head and tofu soup. The soup would be milky white, and the tofu would soak up the fish broth. Eating the soup with rice afterward was so delicious it would make his beard quiver.

The spicy kick of the chopped chili fish head was a complete contrast to the mildness of fish head tofu soup.

As a true fish lover, Old Master Gu welcomed any preparation.

Though the fish head had fewer bones, which meant his famous skill of removing fish bones wasn’t necessary, it didn’t stop him from evaluating the dish like the fish connoisseur he was.

“Salty, spicy, and fresh. The broth is bright red yet clear, without a trace of fishiness. It’s a well-executed dish,” he said.

The other two diners quickly followed suit, enjoying the meal with gusto.

Delicious as it was, the dish was undeniably spicy.

As they began to sweat profusely from the heat, they couldn’t help but reach for their bowls of rice. Inevitably, they also turned to the wine on the table.

The deep purple-red liquid swirled in their cups, and after a few sips, one of them finally voiced what they had been thinking.

“Why does this wine taste so much like the private brew from Taiping Pavilion?”

Taiping Pavilion was part of the Marquis’s estate, and if it truly was their private brew, there was no way the recipe would be shared.

Yet here it was, a strikingly similar wine being served at the newly opened Heguang Pavilion. The flavor was almost identical, but the price was significantly lower.

Old Master Gu, after several generous spoonfuls of fish head, calmly wiped his mouth and remarked, “Who knows? Perhaps both places are using grapes from the same village?”

The three of them exchanged knowing smiles.

Whether it was true or not, time would tell. That is, until one day, during the busy lunch hour, constables from the Southern District yamen barged into Heguang Pavilion, accusing Qin Xia of stealing Taiping Pavilion’s secret wine recipe and threatening to arrest him.