CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: TASTING MARINATED DISHES

"I want to ask, are you mainly focusing on the market in B City and R City?"

Gu Yi looked at Liang Yesheng.

"Yes."

"Then why not include other areas in your sales range?"

"We mainly deal with ready-to-eat food, so our sales range is quite limited."

Liang Yesheng didn’t hide it from her.

"Have you ever heard of vacuum packaging?"

"Vacuum packaging?"

"Yes, your biggest problem now is that ready-to-eat food spoils easily, so you can only limit your sales area to the city."

Gu Yi wanted Liang Yesheng to see his strengths, so he pointed out the biggest issue limiting his company’s development.

Liang Yesheng was silent for a long time after hearing this.

Gu Yi wasn’t in a hurry.

"Then what is the purpose of vacuum packaging, and how can it be done?"

He knew about vacuum but didn’t know what vacuum packaging was like.

"Vacuum packaging is to reduce the oxygen content inside the packaging, preventing mold and spoilage, maintaining the color, aroma, and taste of the food, and extending the shelf life. It’s not seen domestically yet, but you can check abroad."

Liang Yesheng was really considering the feasibility and was planning to go back and call his sister to help check out the situation in the United States.

"You mentioned other recipes too. I’d like to know what else you have?"

He now really looked at Gu Yi differently. He originally thought she just came to buy a recipe, but didn’t expect Gu Yi to be the most amazing recipe. If her proposed vacuum packaging can be utilized, his company could at least double its current size.

"I also have various braised dish recipes. With vacuum packaging, I can guarantee they would sell very well."

Gu Yi was confident in her culinary skills. In her past life, she loved to eat, read many recipes, and even tried cooking at home, improving them to taste even better.

Moreover, some snacks from her previous life sold like crazy online. If she could make them now, they should also sell well.

Furthermore, she could make dried fruits and desserts, but those require machine production, which she’s not confident in yet, so she didn’t mention them.

Especially in a big city like B City, the consumption level is much higher than here, and people would be willing to spend a little money to try new things.

"What you say sounds good, but we don’t know if it’s true or not."

At this time, Yang Lin said something from the side.

"How about this, we’ll cover the material costs, and you make a batch for us to try? How does that sound?"

Liang Yesheng suggested.

"Sure, you can come tomorrow morning, I’ll prepare the ingredients in the afternoon, and braise them in the evening."

Gu Yi found their request reasonable, so she agreed.

"Great, we’ll come back tomorrow. Here’s 50 bucks for the materials."

Liang Yesheng calculated and handed over five ten-dollar bills to Gu Yi.

"Okay, any difference will be settled later."

Gu Yi happily accepted.

In the afternoon, Gu Yi took advantage of a quiet moment in the store to visit the vegetable market.

She bought two pig’s trotters, two pig’s ears, a pound of pork belly, a chicken, a pound of chicken feet, two pounds of edamame, and a section of lotus root.

After returning to the shop, she started washing the vegetables.

Ye Qian and Ye’s mother also came over to help.

"Yiyi, why did you buy so many vegetables?"

Ye’s mother knew those two came in the morning to buy something and talked with Gu Yi for a long time, but she was in the kitchen, and when she asked Ye Qian and Ye Fu, they both said they didn’t understand.

"Mom, those two people run a company and want to buy the zongzi recipe. I thought it would be best to collaborate. I want to sell them the braised dish recipes too, but they want to taste it first."

Gu Yi only told Ye’s mother she wanted to do business with them, not that she wanted to use these recipes to invest in Liang Yesheng’s company. She feared she’d have to explain more, and Ye’s mother might not understand her intentions anyway.

"Sister-in-law, they aren’t con artists, are they?"

Ye Qian watched Gu Yi washing the vegetables. She wasn’t trying to rain on her parade, but would big companies really be interested in something from their small shop?

Seeing Ye Qian’s reaction, Ye’s mother nodded on the side.

"Mom, Qianqian, don’t worry, they aren’t con artists. I know what I’m doing."

Gu Yi, relying on memories from her past life, knew they weren’t con artists and were actually the ones who could help her prosper, but she couldn’t share this knowledge with Ye’s mother and the others.

"Do you need any help?"

Ye Fu walked into the kitchen from the store, seeing the three ladies busy washing vegetables, and asked.

After buying the house, Ye Fu mostly lived here.

"You can help light the fire. We’re almost done washing."

Ye’s mother knew Gu Yi would handle the braising, so she asked Ye Fu to start the fire.

After cleaning, Gu Yi placed all the meat and vegetables in a pot to blanch them.

She got another pot to cook the spices, thankful she bought plenty of braising spices while in B City.

Otherwise, it would really be hard to buy them at the last minute.

Once the spices boiled, Gu Yi added the meat and vegetables to the pot to cook.

She sliced the lotus root into large pieces, boiled some eggs, and peeled them for later.

Once the meat and vegetables in the pot were cooked, she added the eggs, lotus root, and edamame.

When the lotus root and edamame were done, she turned off the fire.

She let all the ingredients soak in the braising liquid.

Early the next morning, Gu Yiyi retrieved the braised dishes that had been soaking overnight and let them drain.

When Liang Yesheng and Yang Lin arrived at the store, Gu Yi was busy, and it was Ye Qian who first saw them.

"Sister-in-law, the two people from yesterday are here."

Ye Qian quickly went to inform Gu Yi.

Gu Yi invited the two to sit down.

"Please wait a moment, it’ll be ready soon."

After saying this, she turned and went to the kitchen.

Gu Yi chopped the pig’s trotters into large chunks, shredded the pig’s ears, and cut the pork belly into big pieces.

She took two plates, one with the meat dishes, the other with the vegetarian ones, and placed two eggs on top.

Gu Yi got two small dishes, each with garlic, chili oil, and a splash of vinegar for the two to try.

"If you like spicy, you can try it with this chili oil sauce."

After saying this, Gu Yi turned back to the kitchen and soon came out with two bowls of porridge.

When she returned, the two were still staring at the braised dishes, not yet picking up their chopsticks.

"Hurry up and try it, what are you waiting for?"

"Hmm, it smells good."

Liang Yesheng first ate an edamame.

He didn’t expect eating edamame with the shell would be so fresh, combined with the fragrance of the spices, it was really delicious, and this eating method was refreshing.

He then tried a piece of braised meat, savory, tender, and soft as it melted in the mouth. The lean meat wasn’t dry at all, and the fatty part melted right away.

He picked up a piece of pig trotter, which had a different texture than the braised meat.

You could chew it, yet it was very chewy, and the more you chewed, the more flavorful it became.

"Boss, this really tastes great."

Liang Yesheng looked up at Yang Lin, who was enjoying it thoroughly.

"Try dipping it in this chili sauce, it has a different flavor from the braised spices, spicier and more appetizing."

Yang Lin was saying this while eating, barely having enough space in his mouth.