15
Selling Two More Dishes (Catching Bugs): The First Bucket of Gold
Master Fang invited his superior to taste the phoenix claws, ultimately deciding on Boneless Lemon Red Oil Phoenix Claws, Garlic Phoenix Claws, and Shredded Ginger Phoenix Claws.
It seemed people still predominantly maintained a nine-to-five lifestyle nowadays. At least the local palate in Jinling still leaned toward the mild flavors of Huaiyang cuisine, not particularly heavy.
Wang Xiao felt somewhat disappointed. She had originally thought Pickled Pepper Phoenix Claws and Rattan Pepper Phoenix Claws would dominate.
Fortunately, although the current socio-political atmosphere was strict with no one daring to mention market economy, Jinling Hotel—renowned for foreign receptions and well-versed in capitalist practices—promptly paid 1,500 yuan for the recipes with immediate payment upon delivery.
After all, hotels now also emphasized innovation, where innovation in some ways mattered more than tradition. For Jinling Grand Hotel to learn others’ techniques, they’d send chefs on business trips to network, persistently persuade, even formally apprentice—all incurring significant expenses. Now with someone offering it proactively, it was more convenient.
Wang Xiao bargained for a long time but couldn’t raise the price.
She had initially wanted to sell each recipe for 1,000 yuan. Not that she was greedy, but Jinling Hotel’s dishes were already expensive—a small plate with less than a quarter of a salted duck could sell for 11 yuan. What was wrong with charging 1,000 yuan per recipe? Given their scale and customer flow, they might recoup the cost in just one day.
But Jinling Grand Hotel, experienced and worldly, firmly insisted on one point: their renowned status meant any dish entering their menu would quickly become famous citywide. By then, she wouldn’t need to worry about selling the recipes to other restaurants.
As for Jinling Grand Hotel fearing recipe leakage? Of course not.
The quality of dishes depended firstly on ingredients, secondly on the chef’s skill, and thirdly on the cooking technique. Otherwise, why would the same shredded potatoes with green peppers taste so different?
Moreover, Jinling Grand Hotel’s thriving business and high prices weren’t solely due to dish flavors.
Wang Xiao was swayed by the “famous citywide” promise. She believed the hotel was conservative—with its reputation, an innovative dish gaining nationwide fame was only a matter of time.
With Jinling Hotel vigorously promoting phoenix claws’ popularity, it would save her much effort later when opening Phoenix Claw King Braised Food Chain Store and producing vacuum-packed instant chicken claw snacks.
1,500 yuan it was then. After all, there were many sizable hotels in the provincial capital. She could directly leverage Jinling Grand Hotel’s name.
Hey, want the same as the top-tier?
No sooner had Wang Xiao received the money than she grabbed her lunchbox, ready to rush to Four Seasons Spring Restaurant just a street away.
Uncle Pang, whose curiosity had been piqued all evening, wouldn’t let her go. He quickly grabbed her arm: “Alright, alright, no hurry today. The remaining phoenix claws are perfect for your dad and me as a drinking snack. Focus on the duck first—I want to see how you’ll handle this completely cooled roast duck. Don’t worry about your chicken claws; I promise I’ll sell them for you tomorrow. I have contacts at Four Seasons Spring too.”
To be precise, he had connections at every moderately sized hotel in the city that made their own braised food.
Master Fang also became interested. Jinling people loved duck. Jinling roast duck differed from Beijing roast duck—it wasn’t wrapped in pancakes but chopped into pieces and drizzled with braising sauce, offering a unique flavor.
Cold weather made ducks easily develop a layer of white fat, which indeed wasn’t ideal for roast duck consumption. Even with their restaurant being warm and cozy, roast duck sales had been rather sluggish lately.
With those 10 lunchboxes of Secret Recipe Chicken Claws as foundation, he remained curious about what method this young woman had to reprocess roast duck. Or more specifically, what clever techniques the old masters in the catering industry had once created.
After all, this young girl clearly didn’t look like chef material – she herself admitted having learned it accidentally from reading a book.
Considering nearly a century of natural disasters, human calamities, and the impact of the “Destroy the Four Olds” movement, many culinary traditions had been lost. Rediscovering them by chance could be considered a fortunate event for the industry.
“You shouldn’t go back either, just work here at our restaurant,” Master Fang said half-jokingly, half-seriously. “If you can deliver solid results, we wouldn’t mind buying the recipe.”
If this were a year and a half ago, when the restaurant was so busy they needed customers to turnover tables quickly during peak hours, he would never have said such a thing even under threat of death.
But now, due to international circumstances, business had declined significantly. Letting her try using an available stove burner wasn’t that difficult anymore.
Wang Xiao’s eyes sparkled with an idea: “Do you have Beef Fat Hot Pot Soup Base here?”
Whether it was because ready-made hot pot base blocks weren’t available on the market or because locals seldom ate hot pot creating poor sales potential, she hadn’t seen any base ingredients at the seasoning stalls in the market.
“Yes, we make our own here at the restaurant,” Master Fang replied curiously. “Are you planning to put roast duck in hot pot? No, no, that would be completely wrong.”
Wang Xiao laughed: “Not hot pot, but Mao Cai – Mao Roast Duck.”
This dish was something she learned from her university roommate, along with the previous internet-famous chicken claws.
That sister pursued the food streaming route, cooking and eating herself. Though Wang Xiao often interacted with her to help drive traffic, her channel never took off. Fortunately, she honed her cooking skills. After graduation, instead of pursuing graduate studies, she started selling various handmade delicacies in her residential community’s WeChat group, easily earning over ten thousand yuan monthly – much more profitable than her food streaming days.
This showed that choice is far more important than ability.
With proper chefs present in the kitchen, Wang Xiao didn’t attempt to show off her limited skills. Truth be told, those roaring diesel stoves with high flames made her quite nervous.
So she gave instructions while others did the cooking.
Heat oil in a wok, add Sichuan peppercorns, minced ginger and garlic until fragrant, then add fermented bean paste and stir-fry. Directly add the restaurant’s homemade beef fat hot pot soup base, bring to a boil, then remove the ginger and garlic. Add yellow bean sprouts, lettuce and lotus root slices, napa cabbage leaves, enoki mushrooms, and tofu skin in sequence. Remove and spread at the bottom of a clay pot. Then add duck blood, duck intestines, and shredded tripe, remove and layer over the vegetables. Finally, add the diced roast duck, cover everything, and pour the red soup over it.
Uncle Pang, stimulated by the spicy aroma, kept sneezing and thought the dish was ready to serve. Unexpectedly, Wang Xiao had one final crucial step: making Oil Splash Chili with chili powder, minced garlic, and sesame oil, then pouring it sizzling hot over the roast duck. The fragrant spiciness could be smelled from miles away.
What others thought, Uncle Pang didn’t know, but he decided on the spot that he wanted this so-called Mao Roast Duck recipe.
He could picture himself setting up a pot in the braised food shop to cook this dish, the aroma so captivating it could lure people’s souls. By then, there would be no need for them to shout through megaphones or create some earth-shattering signboard at the shop entrance—the smell alone would draw everyone in.
Hmm, the braised food shop already had pots and stoves ready, and they always kept tofu skin in stock. As for duck blood and duck intestines—heck, they made their own roast ducks, so of course they had those. Shredded tripe seemed optional to him; after all, Mao Cai was essentially a variation of hot pot. And with hot pot, you could throw in whatever you wanted. Since they were selling roast duck, they’d naturally use whatever was convenient as side dishes.
Well, with the cold weather setting in, napa cabbage and white radish were cheap, and they’d probably taste great in this Mao Cai.
His mind raced without slowing down his chopsticks—whoosh, a piece of roast duck was snatched up and into his mouth.
Uncle Pang blew twice on the roast duck drenched in hot oil, then carefully placed it in his mouth to savor.
Absolutely incredible. The roast duck had soaked up the spicy freshness of the Red Oil Soup Base, with crispy skin, tender meat, and rich flavor. Paired with rice, it made you want to devour a big bowl in an instant.
The soybean sprouts, lettuce, and tofu skin in the pot were also saturated with broth, offering a rich, satisfying texture in every bite.
It was truly a divine dish for pairing with rice.
With three yuan’s worth of duck and two yuan’s worth of ingredients, cooking up a large bowl would surely provide a hearty feast for a family. Just imagine—outside, the world freezing cold, while the family ate until their foreheads glistened with oily sweat. How satisfying would that be?
Uncle Pang sampled every side dish in the Mao Roast Duck and immediately made a decision: “We’re taking this dish. Tomorrow—no, tonight—I’ll go block the manager’s door. Old Fang, get me a lunchbox; I’ll pack some for the higher-ups to try.”
Master Fang retorted irritably, “There’s only this much left, and we were counting on it for dinner.”
Uncle Pang paid them no mind: “You can just make more yourselves. Hey, let me be fair here—this dish is legit enough to be a main course. Don’t brush it off with just 500 yuan. Don’t think I don’t know—the bonus for creating a presentable new dish is more than that.”
In the food industry, it’s all about skill. A chef who can come up with popular innovative dishes never has to worry about job security. Master Fang’s predecessor had been poached by another major hotel this spring. That person had taken unpaid leave, paying 380 yuan monthly to Jin Ning Grand Hotel to retain their position. The confidence to do so came from the new boss offering a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.
Yes, a solid 3,000 yuan—equivalent to what an eighth-grade fitter would earn in a year.
That boss valued them because they had created several innovative dishes that earned the hotel substantial profits.
Pressed by his old friend like this, Master Fang had no choice but to consult the leadership again and raise the offer for the recipe to 800 yuan.
Of course, the chefs at Jin Ning Grand Hotel had already prepared Mao Roast Duck once under Wang Xiao’s guidance. Even if they claimed the hotel didn’t want it but later sold it directly, Wang Xiao couldn’t really do anything about it.
But pinching pennies like this was entirely unnecessary for a large establishment like Jin Ning Hotel. Even if business had plummeted, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse—they could certainly afford 800 yuan.
Besides, who knew how deep their pockets were or how much substantial skill they could actually bring to the table?
You’re killing the goose that lays the golden eggs here. If you push too hard, they’ll stop dealing with you altogether and sell all their innovative dishes to your competitors. Aren’t you just creating trouble for yourself?
Anyway, it’s public funds – no need to save it, absolutely no need to save it.
After staying at the hotel for an extra half hour and earning an additional 800 yuan, Wang Xiao was extremely satisfied.
Oh my, what an unexpected surprise. If this continues, I might even be able to provide the startup capital for the braised food shop myself.
Wang Xiao turned to Uncle Pang with a smile: “Uncle, please continue with your work. My dad and I will head home first. Tomorrow I’ll have you try the braised dishes that sell well even in winter.”
Only then did Uncle Pang remember there was still an unknown new dish. He wanted to ask the girl to reveal it right away, but worried it was too late and the Mao Roast Duck would get cold, making it unsuitable to bring to the food company executive’s home for tasting and approval.
Master Fang kept urging her to show her skills immediately, but Wang Xiao firmly refused: “No, this dish requires long preparation time. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely come tomorrow.”
Hey! She’s not stupid. Scarcity increases value. She had already sold four dishes at Jinning Grand Hotel today. If she continued, the prices would surely drop. Better to slowly sell them one by one later.
Her Rattan Pepper Chicken – the flavor is no worse than Ziyan Baiwei Chicken at all!
The Braised Chicken Feet are good too. Since everyone accepts chicken feet well, they can definitely be put on the market.