As soon as he heard that guests were coming, Changle lost all intention of continuing to play here. He picked up his preserves and got up to go to the back garden.
Seeing that she didn't forget the candied fruit in her hand before leaving, Wang Zi'an couldn't help but frown slightly.
"You are pregnant. Try to eat as little of this sweet stuff as possible in the future. It is not good for you and the fetus. Do you have snacks like walnuts at home? If not, ask your servants to prepare more -"
With that said, he reached out and took the plate of preserves from Chang Le's hand.
Changle pouted, the boss was reluctant.
Wang Zi'an had no choice but to comfort him with kind words.
"Eating too many sweets can easily make the fetus grow too big, and it will suffer when the baby is born. Don't blame me for not warning you -"
Changle's expression suddenly changed and he quickly took back his little hand that was trying to grab the plate.
"Huh, if you don't want to eat, you won't eat. It's like you care about others. I, I haven't eaten anything delicious..."
Looking at that arrogant little appearance, Wang Zi'an couldn't help but laugh, turned to Cheng Ying'er and explained.
"Yinger, prepare more walnuts in the future - you all remember to eat more walnuts, your children will be smart in the future -"
Seeing Changle walking out without looking back, he quickly gave instructions from behind.
"Li Zhen, especially you, did you hear that..."
Princess Changle:......
Humph, don’t think that I’m stupid because I can’t hear it!
"Don't eat——"
He said a word and left without looking back.
Hum, this hateful little scholar is no longer cute!
I originally planned to wait for him to finish his work and take him to go shopping and listen to the theater, but I stopped going——
Go and play by yourself in the back garden!
She just likes to stay there.
The flowers were in full bloom there, and she liked the feeling of being surrounded by flowers. In the glass greenhouse, she felt very comfortable looking at the various vegetables and the grapes that were already covering the shelves.
She even started to fantasize about playing games with her son An here.
…
"I've met my uncle, I've met Her Royal Highness Princess Lin'an——"
As soon as he entered the door and saw Wang Zi'an and Cheng Ying'er, Gao Fu couldn't help but smile, and took the lead in greeting Wang Zi'an and Cheng Ying'er with his arms raised.
"Uncle Gao——"
Cheng Ying'er stood up with a look of joy on her face, quickly stepped forward to hold Gao Fu's arm, led him to sit next to him, and then greeted the other stewards with a smile.
"Everyone in charge is our own family, so there is no need to be polite. Please take a seat first -"
Because of Cheng Yaojin's relationship, among the stewards who came here, Wang Zi'an and Gao Fu, the old bandit, were the most familiar. Some of the other stewards had met once, and some had never met.
But Wang Zi'an was very polite. After saying hello, he saw that everyone was sitting with their buttocks stretched out, so he asked the servants to make tea.
Gao Fu quickly stood up and bowed his hands to Wang Zi'an.
"Uncle, don't bother me. We came here today to ask you for some advice. We'll leave later -"
"What about the spices?"
With Cheng Ying'er's reminder, Wang Zi'an already had Pu'er in mind.
"Exactly——"
Upon hearing Wang Zi'an's question, the other stewards couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"The price of spices is now more than ten times that of a year ago. Even so, there is still a price but no market, and the shortage is severe. If this continues, we will soon be unable to survive..."
"Yeah, it's really too expensive..."
"Those merchants who have been supplying goods to us for a long time have expressed their inability..."
A few stewards, you and I, complained about everything they said.
After all, they are the managers of these businesses. If profit margins are squeezed, they are the first to be unable to hold on.
Wang Zi'an didn't expect that the problem had become so serious.
After pondering for a moment, he asked thoughtfully.
"How long has this been going on?"
"Master Qi, it's been almost two months. At first, the price just increased. Although it was a little more expensive, we could still get the goods. But since the New Year, the situation has become more and more serious. Even if you have money, you can't get the goods." You may not be able to get the goods..."
"Two months?"
Wang Zi'an glanced at them in surprise.
"Yes, two months!"
Several people couldn't help but nodded in unison.
"So, what do you want to do when you come here today?"
Wang Zi'an asked tentatively.
"We just want to ask Mr. Hou if there are any dishes that require less spices or no spices at all..."
Chang'an Hou's cooking skills have reached the peak, there must be a way, right?
Manager Li of the Hejian County Prince's Mansion is a very kind-faced fat man. He smiled without saying anything and seemed very approachable. He was in charge of the restaurant jointly owned by Li Xiaogong and Wang Zi'an.
This person is very capable and has great prestige in the Chang'an restaurant industry. He is considered the leader in the Chang'an restaurant industry.
At this time, the leader looked at the handsome and extraordinary young man in front of him with admiration.
He directly became a little fanboy.
After working in restaurants for decades, I have never seen a chef with such excellent cooking skills.
That cooking skill is so good!
"We are different from him. We just want to ask if those spices can be replaced by other things. Those black-hearted profiteers are ruthless in grabbing money than we were back then-"
Gao Fu tugged on his beard with an annoyed look on his face and took over the words.
The delicatessen business supported many old brothers in the past. Everyone was counting on this for food. However, just after a certain period of time, those black-hearted profiteers blocked their necks.
The most relied on spice is gone!
It's not the same as the restaurant business. The restaurant can temporarily use other dishes to prepare for emergencies, but they can't. What kind of meat can be braised without spices?
So, speaking of it, these delicatessens all over Chang'an, and have even begun to spread to various parts of Guanzhong, are the real big consumers of spices. It can be said that the spices consumed by their delicatessen, plus Li Xiaogong's several large restaurants, account for almost one-third of Chang'an's spice consumption. This is already a very scary number.
It's so scary that it's even enough to affect the price of spices in Chang'an and even Guanzhong.
But again, their business is too dependent on spices.
Without more than ten kinds of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, fennel, and Sichuan peppercorns, the stew would not have the flavor it has now.
Therefore, in fact, they are more anxious and eager than Li Xiaogong's restaurant, trying to solve the problem fundamentally.
Here in Wang Zi'an, we found several materials that can replace the spices required for braised pork.
Wang Zi'an looked at the anxious stewards, suddenly smiled, and turned to look at Steward Li from the Prince's Mansion in Hejian County.
"It's not difficult to create new dishes. Spring is here, and the restaurant should serve some new dishes. I'll write a list later. Later, you can go to the back kitchen to find Chef Gao and ask him to teach you -"
Chef Gao is the most skilled chef in Wang Zi'an's kitchen now. He has a very strong understanding and can already make ordinary dishes to a seven or eight-point standard. In the eyes of Wang Zi'an, the god of cooking with his extra skills, he is considered a passer-by.
Manager Li was overjoyed when he heard this.
Sure enough, there is no problem that the Marquis of Chang'an cannot solve!
He was so excited that he wanted to get up immediately and run to the back kitchen to find Chef Gao.
But Wang Zi'an hadn't started writing him an order yet, and he didn't dare to rush him. He could only suppress his temper and stay by the side as if on pins and needles.
Seeing that the prince of Hejian County had found a solution to the problem, Gao Fu couldn't sit still.
"Uncle, where are we -"
Wang Zi'an looked at the anxious Gao Fu and several stewards and smiled leisurely. Gu Jing
It's a pity that he hasn't grown his beard yet, and he doesn't have a white feather fan in his hand, which makes him a little less interesting.
He could only cough slightly and wave his hand lightly.
"Everyone, please be patient - here at the deli, I have three strategies: upper, middle and lower. Which one are you willing to listen to..."
Gao Fu:......
This guy's style suddenly reminded him of a guy named Xu Maogong back then. At that time, he also liked this style and was so anxious that people wanted to punch him in the face.
However, at this time, he was asking for help from others, so he had to pinch his nose and cooperate, willing to be the compliment of others.
"Excuse me, uncle, what do you think of each other?"
Awesome!
Wang Zi'an glanced at Gao Fu with approval. Although the old bandit was sometimes rough in style, he was very comfortable with his compliments in a timely manner.
"The best solution is for me to find some replacement materials for you. From now on, you no longer have to look at the faces of those spice merchants. However, the taste of those braised cooked foods will be affected to some extent..."
As Wang Zi'an spoke, he picked up his own boiled water, took a leisurely sip, and then spoke slowly.
"The best way is to make money for everyone, publish the current recipe for braised cooked food, or find a few powerful and powerful families to cooperate. I believe that we can solve it once and for all, and this kind of moth will never happen again. …”
Gao Fu instantly heard the meaning of Wang Zi'an's words, suddenly changed his expression, and stood up suddenly.
"You mean, someone has pink eye and is causing trouble behind your back?"
The prince nodded happily.
"There is no point in doing business in this business without making money? You are a big consumer of spices. Those merchants who sell spices have no time to curry favor with you, so how could they deliberately block you? Even if the supply of goods is really tight, The most they can do is raise the price, and more than two months have passed. Even if the supply is tight for a while, in these two months, the subsequent supply should be allocated. How can it be increasingly scarce?"
Gao Fu:! ! ! ! ! !
"He's actually causing trouble to us men!"
Gao Fu immediately became angry——
In Chang'an City, there are still people who dare to secretly give eye drops to old brothers like me...
Do you know how many eyes Lord Ma has?
"Uncle, needless to say, we men have never been afraid of anyone, just tell us the right strategy——"
Sure enough, TV and TV are not all lies. As long as a military advisor proposes three strategies, the opponent will definitely choose the strategy.
"Zhongce -"
Wang Zi'an's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a soft beeping sound.
"Then it will be business as usual - after returning, take the initiative to raise the price of spices, a little more, a few more times. In short, the more eager you appear, the better..."
Everyone:…
"Uncle (Master Hou), this -"
A few people wanted to ask more questions, but Wang Zi'an smiled and waved his hand.
"If you believe in me, just do it..."
Several people, you look at me, I look at you, none of them can guess what kind of medicine is sold in Wang Zi'an's gourd.
But no matter how they asked, Wang Zi'an smiled and said nothing, and they had no choice but to leave confused.
Manager Li of Hejian County Prince Li Xiaogong is in a better situation. After all, his problems have been basically solved. The ones who really need to worry are Gao Fu and the others.
Wait for Gao Fu and others to leave.
Cheng Ying'er couldn't help it anymore.
"Husband, what do you mean by the middle strategy? Why do you have to take the initiative to increase the purchase price? Aren't you afraid of losing money?"
When Wang Zi'an saw this, he couldn't help laughing.
"Don't worry, Ying'er. When did your husband and I ever make a loss-making business?"
Cheng Ying'er:......
…
Gao Fu went back confused.
However, after hearing his return, Cheng Yaojin couldn't help laughing.
"Lao Gao, please tell them to go down and tell them to just do what my uncle said. The price of spices will increase, right? They don't need to increase it, we will help them increase it, increase it hard, increase it three times a day..."
Gao Fu looked at Cheng Yaojin with admiration.
"Lao Cheng, when did you become so powerful? You actually understand what my uncle is planning upon hearing this! Come on, come on, tell me, what's going on -"
Seeing this old guy looking at him with admiration, Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but feel proud and smiled without saying a word.
you guess!
Gao Fu:......
You old guy, you've lived for most of your life, can you still learn a little bit?
Seeing that this old guy was making noises and refused to explain, Gao Fu turned around and walked out. We don't care if he likes to explain but doesn't explain!
In the evening, with a pot of good wine, I called Lao Fang, Lao Geng and several other old brothers from the past and asked Cheng Yaojin to drink together. It's been a long time since the old brothers had a drink together. The key is that their wives usually keep an eye on them and won't let them drink. Today, the brothers have a drink, how can they not take the opportunity to have a good drink?
"Come on, let's get drunk and rest today!"
Cheng Yaojin raised his wine glass enthusiastically and gestured to Gao Fu, Lao Fang and Lao Geng.
warmed with wine.
There was no need to take the initiative to lead the topic. After three glasses of wine, Cheng Yaojin brought the topic to Wang Zi'an.
"I think back then, Your Majesty, I, and my second brother, that old man, were out shopping together. We met Zian by chance. What kind of vision did I, Old Cheng, have? We have an accurate vision. I knew Zian at a glance. Not from the pool!”
Pick up the wine glass and finish it in one sip.
After wiping his wet beard, Cheng Yaojin was obviously a little excited.
"I thought at that time that this was clearly the son-in-law sent by God to our old Cheng family. I immediately decided that it was him! In order to catch up with this son-in-law, without saying a word, I took His Majesty and Second brother, I chased Zian for three streets”——”
Ziliu, have another drink!
"At that time, my second brother's calves were almost broken by running away, and then he ran away and lost it. That's it, we didn't let that kid Zian run away, and we blocked him at least!"
Gao Fu, Lao Fang, and Lao Geng couldn't help but look at each other after hearing this, and then looked thoughtfully at Cheng Yaojin, who was boasting about the magic conch.
hiss--
It seems that some great problem has been discovered!
However, Cheng Yaojin was talking happily and drinking happily, and did not notice the strange look in the eyes of several old brothers.
The more he talked, the more excited he became. He picked up the wine glass and took another sip.
"This means His Majesty is following you. I don't want to do anything, otherwise I would have kidnapped that brat that night. You all know what happened next. That brat Zi'an was moved by my sincerity and heroism and cried. I want to be my Lao Cheng’s son-in-law..."
Gao Fu and others couldn't stand hearing it any longer, so they unceremoniously pierced his skin.
"Didn't we, the old brothers, snatch it back? If we hadn't acted decisively, this son-in-law would have been snatched away by His Majesty..."
Cheng Yaojin glared.
"You know what the heck, I deliberately set a test for that boy. If it hadn't been like this, he would have become the son-in-law of our Cheng family..."
Gao Fu and others:…
This guy is hopeless. He's been here for most of his life, but he still hasn't changed his shameless bad habits.
"Awesome, awesome, no wonder you understood his intention after my uncle mentioned it a little bit today..."
Gao Fu Zhuangruo complimented him unintentionally, then raised his glass slowly and secretly pricked his ears.
Seeing this, Cheng Yaojin proudly put the wine glass on the table.
"You are stupid and you still don't admit it. Do you still need to understand this? Just ask, when has that kid Zi'an ever let himself suffer? Doesn't he have a role in Li Xiaogong's restaurant, or does he not have a role in our delicatessen? "
Several people were stunned for a moment.
Ah, this——
Old Cheng, we were wrong and overestimated your wisdom!
