Chapter 60: Institutional Refinement (Part 2)

Noticing that the volume of vegetables Gu Qingsong purchased was significantly larger than that of their own restaurant, they initially wondered if Spring Breeze Pavilion had changed its procurement manager. To their surprise, Wang Hu, the original procurement manager of Spring Breeze Pavilion, arrived just a moment later.

Exchanging glances, the crowd hurried forward to greet him.

"Good morning, Manager Wang."

"Manager Wang, you look so radiant and full of vitality today. It seems you had a good night's sleep."

"Manager Wang, all the private rooms at Spring Breeze Pavilion must be fully booked again today. As expected of the number one restaurant in our county!"

...

Compliments echoed intermittently from that side. Yang Fan and Zhang Gui looked at Gu Qingsong, using their eyes to ask whether they should also go over and exchange greetings.

However, Gu Qingsong was a straightforward fellow. With his blunt temperament, he understood nothing of these twists and turns. He only wanted to haul the vegetables in the carriage back quickly, figuring everyone was probably already waiting at the restaurant.

Thus, he was seen huffing and puffing all the way from one end of the vegetable market to the other, loading large bags of the remaining ingredients into the carriage.

Just as he was about to leave, he checked Zhen Mier's list from top to bottom once more and realized he was short five pounds of ginger and ten pounds of chili peppers. He hurriedly bought them from a nearby vendor, and then the three of them drove the carriage away in a rush.

Wang Hu's sharp eyes stared at the departing carriage thoughtfully. He motioned with his chin toward the vegetable vendor where Gu Qingsong had just bought the chili peppers, and the errand boy trailing behind him instantly understood his intention, running over to inquire about the identities of the three men.

Upon learning that the man was actually the primary proprietor of the newly opened Top Scholar Restaurant, the area fell silent for a moment. Yesterday marked the grand opening of the Top Scholar Restaurant, and its momentum was truly unmatched.

According to the rumors spread by diners who had visited, the dishes at the Top Scholar Restaurant were not only inexpensive but also exceptionally delicious, rivaling or even surpassing those of Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Everyone cast glances at Wang Hu. Yet, he still wore the same smiling expression as before, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

When Gu Qingsong and the other two returned to the Top Scholar Restaurant, everyone had already gathered except for Gu Qingbai. Zhen Mier called the Wen Chunmei sisters aside and informed them of the adjustments to their duties. Wen Chunmei nodded solemnly, expressing her determination to perform her job well.

Under her sister's watchful gaze, Wen Dongmei used her fingertips to tightly dig into her palms beneath her sleeves, her fists clenched hard. Gathering all her strength, she nodded vigorously and raised her voice, striving to speak clearly. "Yes, alright, I will definitely work hard and do a good job."

Everyone turned to look at her. Her volume was far louder than yesterday's buzzing mosquito-like sounds. Feeling all eyes upon her, Wen Dongmei blushed fiercely. Seeing the proprietor's youngest sister beaming at her, she shyly lowered her head.

After unloading all the ingredients from the carriage, Gu Qingsong lost no time in fetching tools. Together with Gu Lizong, they cleared out a storeroom near the back kitchen with windows on both the front and back sides, transforming it into a serving room.

The windows on the front and back were removed to serve as passing counters, and wooden shelves were erected on both sides to hold trays. Beneath the window sat a set of tables and chairs, allowing Wen Dongmei to sit and record the menus.

Following that, Gu Qingsong climbed onto the roof and strung the bells used for communication down along the pillars connecting the first and second floors.

Before long, Gu Qingbai returned. Chefs were not so easily found, so he brought back only two errand runners and Auntie Wang, who had helped out in the back kitchen yesterday.

Seeing her, Zhen Mier and the others were quite surprised. Auntie Wang explained, "Yesterday when I worked at the flute and drum troupe, I was actually filling in for an old sister of mine who had injured her leg and had been bedridden for days. Today she has fully recovered, so there is no need for me to go. When I was heading to the market just now, I ran into the second proprietor. After asking around, I learned that the Top Scholar Restaurant was looking to hire a long-term kitchen assistant, so I thought I would come and give it a try."

Everyone had witnessed Auntie Wang's diligent work yesterday, and Madam Zhou was the first to voice her approval, with no objections from the rest.

Since Auntie Wang's family lived right in the county and she returned home every day, the restaurant only needed to provide her with three meals a day without requiring lodging.

One of the newly arrived errand runners was tall and slender, named Hu Wenyu, fifteen years of age. His family was once quite well-to-do, and he had studied books for a few years, but his parents passed away early, and he was raised by his grandmother. After his grandmother passed away, his uncles seized his family property and drove him out of the house. After wandering for a month, he arrived at Yun'an County.

The other, slightly shorter lad was named Chen Ping, sixteen years old. When a flood devastated his family during his childhood, he came to Yun'an County to seek refuge with his maternal uncle. He had studied books for two years alongside several cousins, but he was constantly bullied, and his aunt despised him, so he left to make a living on his own.

Zhen Mier glanced at Gu Qingbai, continually feeling that the Gu family members, regardless of gender or age, possessed compassionate hearts. This trait was even more evident in the long-term laborers hired by her second brother.

Many hands make light work. In just one hour, nearly all the ingredients had been washed and chopped, placed in clean basins, and neatly arranged on the shelves behind the stove, ready to be stir-fried as soon as guests placed their orders.

During this time, Gu Qinghe boiled three massive vats of mung bean sweet soup. The mung beans were inexpensive, and the resulting broth cleared heat, detoxified, and quenched thirst, making it the perfect complimentary drink for the diners.

To accompany the mung bean sweet soup, she also steamed a large quantity of mung bean pastries. The pastries were exquisite and dainty, both pleasing to the eye and delicious. Two of them were placed on each small dish, stacked into a miniature mountain in front of the Top Scholar Restaurant.

Zhen Mier simmered a pot of Eight-Treasure Porridge, steamed several cages of buns and dumplings, and griddle-baked over twenty flatbreads.

Gu Tingzhi kept circling around her. There were his favorite corn and fresh pork steamed dumplings, and he could no longer wait. Zhen Mier picked one up, blew gently to cool the steam, and fed it to him. He immediately narrowed his eyes in blissful enjoyment.

Gu Lisong set up two large tables in the corner of the back kitchen. From now on, everyone would eat breakfast and lunch here, and have dinner in the restaurant after the guests had all departed.

Fortunately, the back kitchen of the Top Scholar Restaurant was spacious enough that even if a few more people were milling around inside, it would pose no problem at all.

The newly arrived Hu Wenyu ate with refined elegance. As he chewed the steamed dumpling in his mouth and took a sip of the porridge, his eyes lit up involuntarily. Having grown up in a prosperous household before his uncles stripped him of his property, he was accustomed to fine food and drink, yet the third proprietor's wife possessed such exceptional culinary skills.

Chen Ping also endlessly praised Zhen Mier's cooking. With an exaggerated expression, he swallowed a bun whole in a single bite, declaring it to be the most delicious thing he had ever eaten, which sent everyone into fits of laughter.

Gu Tingzhi also grabbed a bun and took a large bite. Mimicking Yibai, he proudly puffed out his chest and raised his chin. Manman's cooking is simply the best! Hmph, Manman is my wife! Hmph, no amount of praise from you guys will change that!

After finishing breakfast and clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, Zhen Mier told everyone to sit down and rest to preserve their energy, as it was not yet time for guests to arrive at the restaurant.

Wen Chunmei was someone who could never sit idle. While everyone was resting, she pulled Wen Dongmei along to the West Market to distribute the menus of the Top Scholar Restaurant.

As she handed them out, she shouted at the top of her lungs. Her booming voice drew a crowd of people who had come out for breakfast, all eagerly inquiring what was written on the menus.