Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 324 Dongpo Pork has a new name

Lu Zheng had to pay twenty taels, which was not a small amount.

Yang Chi still felt it was not enough, so he took out a purse from his sleeve pocket, rummaged through it, and picked out four small silver ingots in the shape of pen ingots and ruyi.

He took them out and handed them to Lu Lang, saying, "This small silver ingot was newly minted by my family during the Chinese New Year last year."

"I thought it looked good, so I kept some for you."

"There are only these four left, so let's reward Miss Shen. I hope she will be successful and make better dishes."

Lu Lang agreed, took the purse and silver ingots, and went to pay the bill.

Shen Yu took it generously, handed it to Li, asked her to put it away, and followed Lu Lang to the square table.

Shen Yu bowed slightly and thanked with a smile: "Thank you, gentlemen."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Miss Shen may not look very old, but her cooking skills are really good."

"Yesterday's delicate and elegant dishes were well prepared. I didn't expect that this home-cooked stir-fry would taste so good. No wonder the girl's restaurant is doing so well."

Yang Chi suggested, "Miss Shen, the casserole steamed meat you made is really good."

"It's almost winter now. If I can have one or two pieces of steamed meat like this for lunch, it will satisfy my hunger and cravings."

"I wonder if it would be troublesome if I did too much at once."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "It's not that troublesome. It's just like steaming buns. The steps are right there."

"The time and effort required to steam one basket of buns at a time is actually not much different from that required to steam six baskets at a time."

"The same goes for steamed meat. The more thoroughly the casserole steamed meat is steamed, the softer and more flavorful it becomes. That's why I made more yesterday."

Yang Chi smiled and said, "Miss, you might as well sell this dish in the restaurant."

"This dish is soft, glutinous and fragrant, melts in your mouth, is fat but not greasy, and has a unique appearance. I guess everyone will like it."

"If everyone likes this dish and spreads it, then slowly, people will be more accepting of other dishes made with pork."

Lu Zheng nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yang's words make sense, but the name of this casserole steamed meat is too common and straightforward. It doesn't sound special. Why not give it another name?"

Shen Yu listened with a slight smile on his face, but he couldn't help but feel ashamed in his heart: "This dish name is indeed straightforward, because it was given by someone like me who has no artistic talent."

"Then what else can it be called? Can it still be called Dongpo Pork?"

Yang Chi concentrated and thought for a moment, "The steamed meat yesterday looked shiny and juicy under the lamp, and the pork belly was square and layered, shaped like amber. How about calling it amber meat?"

"Amber meat."

Several people present murmured it again.

To Shen Yu, who is a rational person who only names things according to the ingredients and cooking methods, it just sounds okay.

Many dishes are named after their shapes, such as chrysanthemum tofu soup, which is named because the finished dish resembles a white chrysanthemum.

Lu Zheng thought it was great: "It's wonderful, it's shaped like amber, and its color is also reddish brown and translucent like amber."

"Besides, this amber is one of the seven treasures of Buddhism. It is well known to everyone. Anyone who eats it will be blessed."

After his explanation, Shen Yu and the others also realized that the name was good, and they squatted down and bowed solemnly: "Thank you for the name, sir."

Yang Chi smiled gently and said, "Get up quickly, no need to be polite."

"Brother Lu, now that we have a name for this dish, if you, the county magistrate, personally write a menu of dishes and hang it on the wall, I'm sure this amber meat will be more popular."

Lu Zheng thought about it and realized that it was true, so he said cheerfully: "I'll write a menu when I get back and send someone to deliver it to you."

Yang Chi shook his head and said, "In my humble opinion, Brother Lu might as well write it here so that the people can see it with their own eyes."

"Just think about it, if people knew that this restaurant has a dish made of pork, and that the county magistrate not only likes it himself, but also named it himself and wrote the menu himself."

"Then would people also like to come and try this dish that the county magistrate praised so highly?"

Lu Lang also nodded in agreement: "Uncle Yang, this is a good idea. This will let the people know that the county magistrate also eats pork, so they won't dislike pork so much."

Yang Chi turned to Shen Yu and said with a smile: "Miss Shen, if you can make other dishes using pork as an ingredient, you might as well make a few more and sell them in the restaurant."

"With the menu written by the county magistrate himself, your shop will be very popular."

Lu Zheng originally loved writing and drawing, and Yang Chi's suggestion just hit the spot. He laughed and said cheerfully, "Then I'll do as you please and write the menu here."

Shen Yu was listening from the side, feeling very happy.

Unexpectedly, with the help of the prefect, what was originally just a name for a dish ended up being named by the county magistrate himself.

The celebrity effect is useful in every era.

Haha, who doesn’t love money? Of course we want it, the more the better.

If it wasn't in front of the county magistrate, Shen Yu would probably jump for joy.

But at this moment, Shen Yu could only suppress his inner joy, trying his best to show a proper and joyful smile, and hurriedly said: "Please wait a moment, County Magistrate. I will go get paper and pen."

Having said that, he turned around and took a few quick steps through the small door of the shop.

As soon as he passed through the small door, he immediately trotted to Yucheng's house.

Fortunately, a lot of flowery paper had been distributed recently due to promotional activities, so Shen Yu went to buy some thick linen paper.

When buying paper, I also bought a few sheets of high-quality thick rice paper, planning to let Yucheng and Dundun paint some simple watercolor flowers in the winter to decorate the walls. They came in handy now.

Shen Yu rolled up the rice paper, put the pen, ink and inkstone on a tray, and hurried back to the shop.

When they heard that the county magistrate was going to write the menu for the new dishes himself, the customers who were in the process of paying their bills and preparing to leave stayed.

The customers who were standing at the door of the store and watching couldn't help but squeeze in. The customers passing by heard about it and rushed over to watch the fun.

For a moment, the snack shop was completely blocked.

Li and the others had already stepped forward to clear and wipe the plates on the square table.

Jiang also prepared a large pot of osmanthus hawthorn honey drink and brought it over.

When Shen Yu came back, the three of them, who were a little full from lunch, were sipping sour and sweet honey tea to help them digest their food. The customers who were still reluctant to leave the restaurant were chatting casually about how the business at the market was going.

Seeing Shen Yu bringing paper and pen, everyone consciously made way for him.

Spreading the paper on another empty square table, Shen Yu poured some clean water into the inkstone, ground the ink into a thick layer, and then respectfully invited Lu Zheng to come over and write the inscription.

Lu Zheng picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and after a little thought, he wrote two lines of poetry on the paper: Amber is crystal clear and the flesh is beautiful, and the food is rich and fragrant.

After writing the signature, he put down the pen, fished out the personal seal he carried with him from his waist pocket, looked at the position carefully, and stamped it.