Chapter Twelve: The Heir of Yang's Cuisine

  Arriving at the kitchen, Song Kai had Pangzi try cooking a few dishes. Unexpectedly, although they didn't taste very good, their presentation was quite visually appealing.

  Song Kai nodded after taking a look, this fatty still has some knife skills.

  "Not bad," Song Kai said, nodding after taking a look at Pangzi's craftsmanship.

  "Of course, it's only natural," said the fat man with a sly smile. "I'm not bragging to you, but my family, the Zhao Iron Mountain clan, has been renowned for eighteen generations as the best in the culinary arts throughout the Tang Dynasty. The only ones who can rival us are the imperial chefs of the palace kitchen. In our heyday, my ancestors used just one knife to conquer the kitchens of the Sui Palace and created a dish with nine turns and eighteen bends that made Emperor Yang of Sui laugh with joy for three days, leaving a lasting impression..."

  "Stop it!" Song Kai looked up and down at the fatty, his mind beginning to have some doubts. This fatty was quite good at boasting.

  "Oh, yes," the fat man hastily stopped and smiled: "Then, boss, can you give me a little more salary every month? Three taels of silver is a bit low for me... after all, I am the only successor of the 18th generation of Zhao's family cooking..."

  "If you behave well, one or two gold coins per month is also possible," Song Kai said with a big smile. "Let's get started first, and let me take a look at your official documents."

  "Ah..." The fatty's face changed slightly, and he quickly looked around, seeing no one, he suddenly knelt down with a thud.

  Song Kai was startled and thought "What's going on here?"

  "Shopkeeper, to be honest with you, I...I'm from Chang'an and I sneaked out," the fat man said, grabbing Song Kai's pant leg, with a mix of snot and tears, but his eyes were darting back and forth, probably thinking that if Song Kai wanted to report him, he would immediately take off running.

  Song Kai didn't show much expression, anyway, the store had already taken in a non-human guest, he opened his mouth and said: "What did you do wrong?"

  Fat boy saw Song Kai didn't panic, nor did he shout loudly. He let out a sigh of relief, wiped his nose and stopped pretending to be pitiful. "Hey, I'm Zhao Baozi, usually just like to brag a bit and take advantage of small things, but absolutely not a bad person. Think about it, I'm Zhao Tieshan, the 18th generation of single transmission, naturally doing things upright and honest, standing tall and doing things with integrity. Besides, as long as I make one dish, the entire Chang'an city will..."

  "Enough!" Song Kai interrupted Zhao Tieshan's boasting, "Let's talk business."

  "Oh, oh, hehe, well, it's actually a disaster out of nowhere. You must know, shopkeeper, that in recent years, Chang'an City has been in chaos. Those dead eunuchs are in power, and the struggle between factions is fierce. If you're not careful, if you stand on the wrong side or say the wrong thing, even if you're a third-rank official, you'll be arrested and executed overnight.

  Woe is me! I was the head chef of Wang Shangshu's household, but unfortunately, last month Wang Shangshu was too straightforward and submitted a memorial to the emperor criticizing the eunuchs. The next day, his entire household was arrested and executed on charges of harboring imperial fugitives. That poor Autumn Jade, the maid from Wang Shangshu's household, I've had feelings for her for over two years... that night, she was sold into a government brothel.

  Woe is me! I escaped with some servants in the chaos. Shopkeeper, you must pity me! Think of me, Zhao Tieshan, the eighteenth generation of the Zhao family line. If I die, our old Zhao family will be extinct...”

  Zhao Tieshan covered his eyes with his hand, seemingly wiping away tears, but actually observing Song Kai's reaction.

  Song Kai nodded and said, "Alright, but from now on, you'll hide in the store and not go out normally. If Duke Wu comes to investigate, be clever and don't implicate me."

  "Yes, yes, thank you shopkeeper, thank you shopkeeper." Zhao Tieshan hastily expressed his gratitude.

  Song Kai nodded and said, "Since you're working in my shop, I won't ask about your background. The requirement remains the same: if you do well, you'll get one or two gold coins every month. Of course, if another wine house offers you a high price to leave, I will report it to the authorities."

  Zhao Tieshan's face turned pale for a moment, and he hastily chuckled: "No, no, Song Lang has shown me kindness, I naturally won't betray his trust."

  Song Kai nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take you to see the place where we will be staying. Tomorrow is the official opening of our guest shop, so today let's discuss our menu together."

  "No problem! With me Zhao Tieshan in charge of the kitchen, you can rest assured." Zhao Tieshan held that cleaver, with a heroic air.

  Nie Lingdang was chopping firewood with an axe in the backyard.

  Zhao Tieshan saw Nie Zhongzheng, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot. He was also a man of twenty-seven or eight years old. As an unmarried old bachelor, women, especially beautiful women, had a special attraction to him.

  "Song... Song Lang, she, she is..." Zhao Tieshan pointed at Nie Zhongtang.

  "The service staff in the store, oh, just miscellaneous workers," Song Kai said.

  Zhao Tieshan heard this and ran over in a flash, the iron knife in his hand chopped down fiercely on the wooden log in front of Nie Lingdang, "Ka Cha" sound, one round wood broke with a loud noise, it seems that this knife is indeed sharp enough.

  Nie Ling Tong jumped in fright and took a step back, looking at the man with a scar on his face in alarm.

  "Hello, little girl. My name is Zhao Tieshan, the new head chef of our inn. I earn one or two taels of gold every month. I am also the 18th generation descendant of the Zhao family and the only inheritor of Zhao's cuisine. Look at this knife, it was forged from meteoric iron and was given to my family by Emperor Yang of Sui...". Zhao Tieshan spoke excitedly in front of Nie Lingdang, his small eyes lingering on her body nonstop, almost drooling. Such a good girl, if he could marry her, it would be the fortune accumulated over several lifetimes.

  Nie Ling Tong's mouth was half open as he listened for a while, then he turned his head and looked at Song Kai, "Song Kai, where did this madman come from?"

  Song Kai smiled wryly and said, "Zhao Tieshan, hurry up and go take a look at the room. Your room is at the easternmost end."

  Zhao Tieshan's room is at the easternmost end, Nie Zhong's room is at the westernmost end, next to Song Kai's room. It's really hard for Song Kai not to notice Zhao Tieshan's state, which belongs to that kind of male animal in heat, and he has to be on guard at all times.

  Zhao Tieshan chuckled and said, "Little girl, I'll come help you chop wood in a bit."

  He said, and slipped into the room in a flash.

  The backyard was originally a guest room, with more than ten rooms, six on the first floor and four on the second floor, surrounded by a semicircle. However, the hotel business was not good, and no one had lived in the store for a long time, so it had been empty all the time. Song Kai let Zhao Tieshan, Nie Zhongzheng and others live directly in the guest room.

  Zhao Tieshan hastily tidied up his own room.

  Nie Ling Tong wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked to Song Kai's side, saying: "Your recruitment notice, just recruited such a good-for-nothing?" His face was full of disdain.

  Song Kai rubbed his hands together, heh-heh, and said: "He's better than you think, although he bragged a bit, oh, and was a bit too flashy, but his cooking skills aren't bad..."

  Not long after, Ah Fu carried a basket of things into the inn, he patted his waist and said: "Boss, I've asked around, the lion dance team's performance costs at least six taels of gold. I think we'd better not bother with that."

  Song Kai nodded, now with too little funds on hand, can't afford to be reckless, "Have you bought the copper gong and all that?"

  "It's expensive, it's expensive," Ah Fu sighed with a painful expression.

  Song Kai also sighed, these days there is no gunpowder, the firecrackers used are very low-end, just that kind of thing that goes "pop" when lit, nothing more, basically no power at all. If only they had gunpowder, a few strings of firecrackers would be much more convenient.

  Anyway, it's still necessary to make a big fuss about the opening.

  Nie Lingdang's voice came from the backyard, "Finish chopping the firewood and then fetch water."

  "Alright, alright, no problem. I, Zhao Tieshan, have a body full of unending strength. I don't have any other good qualities, just brute strength. Look, look at this physique..."

  Upon hearing this conversation, Song Kai let out a sigh and walked to the backyard. Indeed, Zhao Tieshan was providing free service for Nie Zhongzheng.

  "Zhao Tieshan, come over and study the menu. Tell me what you're good at, I'll prepare some of my specialties, and we'll open tomorrow," said Song Kaidao.

  Arriving at the kitchen, Zhao Tieshan mentioned some dishes he was skilled in. He had been the head chef at Wang Shangshu's house and was indeed a master chef passed down through his family, so his culinary skills were quite reliable. Song Kai then taught Zhao Tieshan how to make braised pork belly.

  Zhao Tieshan saw the fragrant braised pork belly and immediately lost his temper. He stared blankly at Song Kai, "Shop... shopkeeper, was your ancestor also a cook?"

  Song Kai nodded casually and said, "This is a signature dish. The Drunken Duck you made was not bad either. Oh, right, I'll teach you another recipe for braised pork belly, which is also quite delicious and can be used as a signature dish. Hmm, one more thing, how about Old Vinegar Peanuts?"

  Song Kai went on talking to himself and then told the methods of making braised pork in brown sauce and pickled mustard greens together.

  This time, Zhao Tieshan fell silent directly.

  Song Kai looked at Zhao Tieshan strangely, "Zhao Tieshan, you're the head chef, say something."

  Zhao Tieshan cupped his hands and bowed ninety degrees to Song Kai, saying: "Song Lang, you...you are so generous, teaching me the cooking methods of these dishes. I...I Zhao Mou am truly ashamed. Don't worry, Song Lang, I definitely won't leak these secrets out."

  Song Kai waved his hand, patted Zhao Tieshan's shoulder and said, "Don't mind it, if you like, these dishes can be put into your Zhao family cuisine system in the future, just claim that you made them yourself."

  "What? Really? ... Then, how can this be, these dishes are very... precious, unique, and very... good." Zhao Tieshan kept rubbing his hands.

  "It's settled, as long as you can run this restaurant well, I'll be at peace. As for reputation, I've never thought about it. You can rest assured and stay here, in the future we will continue to expand some new dishes and carry forward your Zhao family cuisine," Song Kai said with a smile.

  Zhao Tieshan fell silent for three seconds before bowing again, "Thank you, Song Lang, for your help."

  "Alright, I'll leave this part of the kitchen to you, I'm going outside to post some small ads."

  After finishing speaking, Song Kai left the kitchen and went with Ah Fu to discuss the best place to post the advertisement.

  A Fu was also confident this time, and chose ten places where people gathered, saying: "Big Lang, let's go with these ten places. There are many people here, and the emperor will bless us. This time, our Red Dust Inn will definitely be successful!"

  The book has been signed, and I hope everyone will support it, collect and comment on it.