I

Dingsheng Building, a two-story wooden building, is located at the dock of Hekou Town.

Visitors and merchants can choose private rooms on the second floor. While eating, drinking and chatting, you can enjoy the river view and observe the status of your own merchant ships.

If you want to be more elegant, you can invite music lovers to listen to music and accompany the wine with the sound of silk and bamboo.

There are also ways to entertain both refined and popular people. A stage is set up on the first floor, and a theater troupe regularly performs. Jiangxi is a nest of opera, and any large restaurant or teahouse will not be qualified without a theater troupe.

It's early in the morning and it's not bright yet.

The Dingsheng Building was not open for business yet, and the door panels were not even removed when someone came and banged on the door frantically.

"Who is it? Come on, come on, stop knocking!" The waiter just woke up. He took off a door panel and saw seven or eight people standing outside. He yawned and said, "The cook hasn't come yet. Everyone, it’s too late.”

"It's not early, check the accounts!"

Fei Xi (the big shopkeeper) gave the order, and the servants around him immediately restrained the shop assistant.

Zhao Han, Fei Ze (Jian Dan) and Fei De (Jiu Po), with a few slaves, quickly broke into the store.

"What are you going to do?"

"Help, robbers are robbing people!"

"..."

There were four shopkeepers in total, and all of them were detained in the blink of an eye, and the entire restaurant was taken over.

As soon as they took out the ledger, several more restaurant employees arrived, and they were all detained in a private room on the second floor and interrogated separately about the information they knew.

At the back door of the restaurant, some food delivery people came one after another, and they were also invited into the store to chat.

One of the fish senders tried to run away, but was quickly captured by Feize (Jian Dan). After some inquiries, it turned out that this person was the niece-in-law of the shopkeeper, who was responsible for collecting goods from fishermen and then transporting them to the restaurant.

The situation for other food delivery people is similar, and they are more or less related to the management.

The accounting clerk brought by Zhao Han was busy checking the accounts.

Fei Xi (the head shopkeeper) said to Zhao Han: "There is something wrong with the purchase price of the ingredients. It is at least 50% higher than the normal market price."

Zhao Han said: "We interrogated each other separately and exposed each other. Those ordinary guys were just committing petty theft. A few cooks were the most powerful. They deliberately killed the fresh fish, or the meat was spoiled, and brought it back after work in the evening. At home, we sell them to the neighbors at low prices. We also steal spices very hard, especially pepper. By the way, a guy confessed that the second shopkeeper in charge of the opera troupe and the music troupe had a quarrel with the opera singers. "

"Brother, the big shopkeeper is here!" Feize ran over to report.

"catch!"

The owner of the restaurant was named Fei Zhong. He was caught inexplicably just as he entered the restaurant. He was so frightened that he shouted: "Hero, spare your life, hero, spare your life!"

A total of three shopkeepers were arrested one after another.

Zhao Han said: "Uncle Xi, you are the big shopkeeper sent by my wife. Of course you are in charge of the management of the restaurant. As for these three people, they must be escorted to see the officials. The other store workers can hold the handle."

"It belongs to brother Yihan." Fei Xi said with a smile.

Zhao Han called all the cooks over again, a master chef, three apprentices, and a group of assistant cooks.

The chef's name is Peng Zhengxiang. He is a hired worker and is already quite old. Unless there are VIPs, he usually doesn't do it himself and only lets three apprentices be in charge of cooking.

Zhao Han grabbed a handful of dried chili peppers and said with a smile: "This chili pepper can be used very quickly. Are there many customers who like spicy food?"

"Sir, have mercy on me, please have mercy on me!" Peng Zhengxiang quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhao Han did not mention his crime and only asked: "Are there any peppers grown locally in Qianshan?"

Peng Zhengxiang replied: "Most of the peppers are shipped from Zhejiang. In recent years, they are also grown locally, but not in large quantities."

Simple written records about peppers first appeared in the 19th year of Wanli.

The detailed text description of peppers, including what color flowers bloom, first appeared in the first year of Tianqi.

In other words, chili peppers were introduced to the Ming Dynasty at least thirty years ago. Moreover, the real time of introduction must be much earlier. It was first recorded by literati thirty years ago.

There were two early transmission routes of pepper, one originating from Zhejiang and the other originating from Liaodong.

Qianshan County is close to Zhejiang and has been exposed to chili peppers much earlier than Huguang, Sichuan and Guizhou.

"Take out all the spices." Zhao Han said.

"Ah?" Peng Zhengxiang didn't understand.

Zhao Han asked: "Are you discussing how much money you made, or do you want to compete with me on your cooking skills?"

Peng Zhengxiang immediately shouted: "Bring all the spices!"

The kitchen was suddenly abuzz with excitement, everyone was scared and curious.

Zhao Han grabbed a fragrant leaf, smelled it, and said with a smile: "This thing is originally from the Mediterranean, and it is also available in the Ming Dynasty. Is it expensive?"

Peng Zhengxiang answered cautiously: "It used to be very expensive, but it's not so expensive these years. There are cinnamon trees planted in many places."

Zhao Han pointed at a cup of dried chili peppers and ordered: "Crush them into pieces!"

Peng Zhengxiang quickly ordered his apprentice: "Crush it into pieces."

Zhao Han glared at him: "If you don't want to learn, just go out."

Peng Zhengxiang was stunned. He was already in his fifties. He really had never thought about learning cooking again, and he didn't believe that Zhao Han had any cooking skills. But if someone catches me, I can't do it without learning, so I can only pound the peppers myself.

Zhao Han asked people to prepare other spices.

When everything was ready, he ordered: "Burn the vegetable oil."

A chef, three cooks, and a group of helpers forgot their fear at this moment and came forward to watch.

Zhao Han spread his hands to test the temperature of the oil, then suddenly took the pot and poured the hot oil in.

"Here!"

Two batches of oil were poured in, and as Zhao Han stirred it with chopsticks, a strong aroma hit his nostrils.

Peng Zhengxiang took a deep breath, his expression was intoxicated and he couldn't help but want to taste it.

After swallowing, Peng Zhengxiang asked: "This is..."

"You Lazi," Zhao Han said with a smile, "Unfortunately, making bean paste takes time, and I don't know if the air colonies in Qianshan are suitable. Well, the most important thing is that I don't know the specific process."

There are many varieties of Jiangxi cuisine, especially Qianshan cuisine, which is relatively heavy-flavored, and because of the prosperity of commerce, it has absorbed a lot of characteristics of other cuisines.

This shows that the upper-class gentry and merchants ate the Qianshan cuisine in the late Qing Dynasty relatively lightly, but it also tended to be heavy on the whole. The lower-class hawkers and lackeys simply prefer the heavier the taste, and there are already a variety of street snacks.

Zhao Han belongs to Yeluzi and is quite familiar with Sichuan cuisine, which suits the taste of this place.

Unfortunately, the soul of Sichuan cuisine, "Pixian Douban", has not been invented yet.

The Sichuan cuisine of the Ming Dynasty is completely different from the Sichuan cuisine of later generations.

Spicy spicy soup is popular in Sichuan, can you believe it?

According to the records of Ming Dynasty literati, Hu spicy soup was also a Sichuan delicacy. The recipe is roughly the same as that in the north, except that rice noodles are used to thicken the soup.

If Zhao Han had unified China in advance, so many people in Sichuan would not have died, and there would be no need for Huguang to fill Sichuan, I am afraid it would be difficult for "Sichuan cuisine" to be born in this time and space.

"Are there any rice noodles?" Zhao Han asked.

"Yes." Peng Zhengxiang did not call his apprentice anymore, but brought the rice noodles himself.

Rice noodles were called "Can" in the Sui Dynasty and "Mi Lian" in the Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the written word was "rice glutinous rice", and it was already commonly known as "rice noodles" among the people.

Boil a pot under water, scoop out more than ten bowls of rice noodles, add soy sauce, minced garlic, chopped green onion and spicy oil.

Red, green and white, full of color and fragrance.

Zhao Han said: "There is no MSG. When making rice noodles in the future, you can make chicken soup or bone soup to enhance the freshness."

Peng Zhengxiang didn't know what MSG was, so he could only nod his head flatteringly: "Master taught me, and my disciple has remembered it."

Zhao Han ordered: "Take it out and ask them to stop checking the accounts and fill their stomachs first."

Peng Zhengxiang couldn't help but ask: "Master, can I have a taste?"

"Try it." Zhao Han said with a smile.

Peng Zhengxiang subconsciously put in mint, but Zhao Han stopped him, allowing him to simply experience the charm of spicy oil.

When cooking at this time, various provinces like to use perilla, and mint is especially popular here in Qianshan. Mint is thrown into many dishes.

Peng Zhengxiang mixed the rice noodles well and took a bite. It was spicy and refreshing. It made his nose runny. He said, "In the cold winter months, eating a bowl of spicy rice noodles will be a hundred times more delicious."

"Calculate the cost and give the price to the shopkeeper. From now on, we will sell spicy rice noodles in the morning. Well, spicy rice noodles are also fine." Zhao Han said.

Peng Zhengxiang thought for a moment and said, "Master, does this spicy food seem to have other uses?"

"You can study it yourself," Zhao Han said with a smile, "Every half month, I will teach you a new dish. Today I will teach you how to make red oil and white chicken, just in time to make chicken soup for the rice noodles."

Peng Zhengxiang, who was already in his fifties, suddenly knelt down and kowtowed: "Master, please bow to me as a disciple!"

Zhao Hansheng accepted the offer and did not refuse.

Before noon, diners came to the restaurant one after another.

The consumption here is on the high side and the lower class people cannot afford it. Not to mention the private rooms on the second floor, the lobby on the first floor is also quite expensive.

Fortunately, Hekou Town has developed commerce and there is no shortage of tourists.

Every time a customer comes in, the store clerk actively promotes red-oiled white-chopped chicken and oily spicy rice noodles (noodles), saying they are new dishes coming from the imperial chef.

Palace cuisine?

Good guy, why don’t you serve it quickly!

There were not enough chickens in the kitchen, so the restaurant buyers were sent all over the world to find chickens.

Upstairs and downstairs, unlucky diners can be seen everywhere, sitting there with their tongues hanging out from the heat.

All I heard was a strong man slamming the table and shouting: "Another plate of red oil chicken!"

Zhao Han sat at the counter and observed the situation. He saw that this guy was wearing ordinary clothes. He didn't seem to be a rich man, but he ordered a table of good food and also carried a stick with him. He called the waiter and asked, "What is that table for?"

The store clerk replied: "They are all leaders of the Iron Foot Society."

"Iron Foot Club?" Zhao Han had never heard of it.

The shop clerk explained: "In the past few decades, all walks of life have established guilds. There are rice guilds in rice shops and cloth guilds in cloth shops. The Kuhaha people followed each other and formed guilds. The Tiejiao guild is the dock. The coolie guild was later joined by porters in the town. If any employer dared to default on wages, hundreds or even thousands of people from the Iron Foot Guild would come to the door carrying poles to demand payment."

My dear, this is the prototype of an industrial union.

Zhao Han didn't know that among the various labor unions in Qianshan, the paper industry union was the most powerful.

They are all skilled workers, and the industry is densely populated. Many of them can even read a few Chinese characters. The owners of private paper mills had no choice but to compromise if they were treated even slightly harshly and went on strike frequently.

As for the official paper mills, they don't treat their employees as human beings at all, and those who dare to take the lead in causing trouble are directly beaten to death and maimed - it doesn't matter if they delay production.

In the mid-Qing Dynasty, paper workers in Qianshan County accounted for more than 30% of the county's population (excluding children).

The late Ming Dynasty was not so powerful, but the number of paper workers was equally terrifying. In Shitang Town alone, if those who chop bamboo, burn troughs, and lifts are included, there are 50,000 to 60,000 papermakers in this town. It can be said that the whole town is revolving around the papermaking mill!

union?

strike?

interesting.

Zhao Han stood up and walked over, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Dear guests, are you satisfied with the new dishes in our restaurant?"

(A solemn tribute to a book: "Surveying the Sky with a Red Heart", a particularly awesome fairy tale novel with more than three million words.)