CHAPTER 587: CHAPTER 587: SAUCE MADE

"Second Sister, why the tsk-tsk, are these dishes not tasty? But Brother Cheng has had the dishes made by the master’s wife, and they are really tasty, just a tiny bit less delicious than the ones Second Sister makes."

Indeed, what a good little brother, never forgetting to flatter his own Second Sister in the end.

Gu Jinli laughed and said, "It’s not a matter of taste, it’s that these dishes aren’t suitable for selling in the town’s taverns."

Brother Cheng: "Why?"

Gu Jinli: "Those who come to the town’s taverns to dine aren’t the type with overflowing wealth. A meal won’t cost more than five taels, and the cost of making just one dish from this cookbook that Lady Xia gave us is already five taels. Even if made, no one would spend the money to eat it. In our rural areas, we should make tasty dishes that are cheap to prepare, making these expensive dishes would make people say our tavern is crazy."

Brother Cheng thought about it and said, "So you mean in the countryside we should sell cheap dishes, and in the Prefecture they sell dishes from Lady Xia’s family."

He added, "Brother Cheng gets it. So when will Second Sister go to cook? What new dish are we eating tonight?"

Feeling hungry for it.

These days Second Sister has been teaching the aunts, Cousin Le, and the two kitchen maids from the aunt’s family how to cook. Recently, there have been two new dishes to eat every day in their house.

Gu Jinli checked the time and said, "Today, we’re making squirrel fish, osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, and osmanthus crystal cake."

Brother Cheng’s eyes brightened: "Three, we’re making three today, I can eat a lot."

Gu Jin’an changed into a set of hemp clothes for work and walked out from the house, looking at Brother Cheng, he said, "You can only have two pieces of each, no overeating."

Brother Cheng became anxious and pleaded, "Big Brother, Second Sister said I’m growing and need to eat lots."

Gu Jin’an: "Eat until you’re stuffed and then can’t sleep because you have a stomachache, right?"

This little guy loved to eat new things; it had been like celebrating New Year recently, with lots of delicious food every day. Since the two brothers lived together, if the younger one felt sick because he overate, the older one had to take care of him, worrying that he might eat so much that he’d get sick.

Mrs. Cui and Third Grandma were making a padded jacket; hearing the conversation, Mrs. Cui hurriedly said, "Brother Cheng, listen to your big brother. You must not overeat, that can upset your stomach."

But inside she felt very distressed, thinking the child must have been so fond of eating because he had been starved from a young age; now he always was thinking of food.

Brother Cheng muttered, "Second Sister said I could eat~"

Gu Jinli smiled mischievously: "Of course you can eat. If you eat until you’re sick, you’ll remember the lesson then."

Brother Cheng widened his eyes: "Second Sister, you’re tricking me, you’re bad."

Gu Jinli said with a smile, "I never said I was a good person, nor that I wouldn’t trick my little brother."

Gu Jin’an shook his head as he heard this and said to Brother Cheng, "Now you know who treats you the best, right?"

He and Xiao Yu were different; he would keep Brother Cheng in check to prevent him from making mistakes, but Xiao Yu would spoil Brother Cheng, letting him make mistakes and saying that once he made a mistake and learned his lesson, he would change on his own, which was quite cruel.

Brother Cheng got angry and no longer paid attention to them, running off to find Mrs. Cui: "Mom, Big Brother and Second Sister are picking on me."

Mrs. Cui lifted her hand with the needle high up so not to prick him, looked down at him, and said, "Coming to mom won’t do you any good, you need to listen to your big brother."

In ancient times, the eldest son held a high position in the family, and as Gu Jin’an was a decisive and practical person, stronger than both Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui, it was always him who disciplined Brother Cheng, with Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui not really intervening much.

Brother Cheng huffed and, seeing Mrs. Cui wouldn’t help him, gave up.

"Xiao Yu, we’ve arrived." Qi Kangle, with two kitchen maids, came to the Gu Family and asked, "What are we making today?"

Gu Jinli listed the dishes she was going to make.

"Squirrel fish? Crystal cake? Xiao Yu, you know how to make so many things." Qi Kangle was convinced by Gu Jinli; how could she make so many fresh and delicious dishes?

Gu Jinli stated that if you want to eat something, she could make anything.

She took a pair of sleeve protectors, put them on, and then said to Gu Jincheng, "Brother Cheng, bring the water chestnut flour, we’re making crystal cake now."

"Here it comes." Brother Cheng immediately opened the cupboard in the hall and took out a pottery jar filled with water chestnut flour.

Water chestnut is the essential ingredient for crystal cake and since it’s not a staple food, it doesn’t require much land to cultivate, and the price is cheap. During the harvest season, one could buy two pounds for a cent.

Gu Jinli bought over a thousand pounds, ate some fresh ones on several occasions, and ground the rest into powder. Now, she could use it to make confectionery.

The osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root takes longer to prepare, so Gu Jinli taught them to make it first: cut off one end of the lotus root, then stuff soaked sticky rice into it, seal the end with bamboo skewers, place it in a pot, add water and sugar, plus the soaked dried osmanthus flowers, and simmer it together to make the dish.

Qi Kangle said, "This uses both sticky rice and sugar, the cost must be high, right?"

Gu Jinli replied, "Not too high, but a bit more expensive than squirrel fish and crystal cake."

Sticky rice and sugar are indeed expensive, but lotus root is very cheap, and it’s the main ingredient used in this dish. Therefore, overall, it doesn’t end up being that costly.

"One segment of lotus root can make one plate, fifty cents a plate, there’s still a profit to be made." Gu Jinli had already calculated the cost of these dishes and presented it to Qi Kangle, "Two dishes, one pastry, osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root earns less, but the other two can double the profit. Running a restaurant is about earning less on some dishes and more on others, as long as the profits are good overall, that’s what matters."

Gu Jinli’s hands kept moving; after teaching them to make osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, she went on to show them how to make squirrel fish and osmanthus crystal cake.

"Young Master, this is squirrel fish, look at the fish body that blooms like a flower, it really resembles a squirrel’s tail."

"And this crystal cake, truly is crystal clear, you can even see the osmanthus flowers inside."

The two cooks were amazed by the squirrel fish and crystal cake, praising them greatly. When it was time to eat, they barely dared to pick up the crystal cake, afraid of breaking such a beautiful thing.

Gu Jinli ate directly, handing a piece to Brother Cheng and watching the little guy eat with bright sparkling eyes, she asked him, "Is it tasty?"

"Uh-huh, it’s delicious, Second Sister makes the tastiest things." Brother Cheng took a wooden bowl and picked five pieces of crystal cake from the plate, "I’ll take these to Mother and the others."

Brother Cheng carried the wooden bowl and clomped off to bring the crystal cake to Mrs. Cui and the others.

Mrs. Cui, Third Grandma, Gu Jinxiu, Sister Li, and Cha Hua all tasted it and thought it was quite good.

The next day, Gu Jinli made three-cup chicken and sauce chicken, both dishes had great flavors and required soy sauce.

Gu Jinli had made several vats of soy sauce since May, and in the heat of summer, it has to be stirred daily. After half a year of hard work, it was finally ready to eat.

But before eating, the soy sauce had to be boiled; boiled soy sauce is easier to store and has a richer flavor.

She, Mrs. Cui, Gu Jinxiu, Third Grandma, Sister Li, and Cha Hua boiled soy sauce most of the day, finally bringing it to a rich and bright jujube red color.

Cha Hua, who had served as a maid in a large household, saw the soy sauce and curiously said, "Young Master, this soy sauce is almost like Hai Xian Sauce, and it tastes very similar."

She had tasted a bit of it.

Gu Jinli said, "Does it? But it’s different from Hai Xian Sauce."

The cost of soy sauce is much cheaper than Hai Xian Sauce, as it’s only salt and soybeans. Unlike Hai Xian Sauce, which is made by marinating meats.