Chapter 12 – Shu Yu’s Store
Shu Yu was one meter and sixty-eight centimeters, and weighed around a hundred pounds, so her figure was decent. ( T/N: For us people from the united states, one meter and 68 cm is around 5’6”.)
With a good figure and looks, she had received the title of being the flower of the class. There were around an equal number of females and males within the Department of Chinese Literature. However, regardless of grade, department, or even school, Shu Yu had the most people pursuing her. Due to this, her relationships with the other females in the class weren’t so great.
“Shu Yu started a business and wanted to ask you to write an article for her. Since Beauty Shu Yu has made the request, Scholar Gu will definitely not reject her!”
Hu Yue Yue laughed out loud after speaking. While Shu Yu’s relationship with other girls were somewhat distance, and her relationship with guys was somewhat better, she thought of Gu Zheng as her best friend when they were in school. The reason was simple, Gu Zheng didn’t pursue her romantically. So, she could consider him as just a close friend.
“Yue Yue hasn’t spoken incorrectly. I did open a small store recently, I wanted to ask you to help me advertise!”
Shu Yu recovered and immediately asked Gu Zheng. She had never attended a party with her classmates. She came this time because Hu Yue Yue that Gu Zheng would be participating this time. Not only did she want to ask for Gu Zheng’s help, after graduating just over a year ago, she had never seen Gu Zheng. She didn’t hear any news about him either, so she did miss him somewhat.
Of course, her loneliness only existed between the two friends.
“Shop? What shop?”
Gu Zheng first greeted the others, then sat down and whispered to Shu Yu. He had already understood, Shu Yu opening a store must be related to food, otherwise she wouldn’t have looked for him.
Shu Yu quietly explained: “I was sold a wonton shop. It has fragrant alcohol, but I’m worried that people would fear entering so deep into an alley way to reach us. We only just opened it, so I was thinking of asking Scholar Gu to help me out!”
“A shop that sells wonton? You opened such a shop?”
Gu Zheng was a bit surprised. He and Shu Yu were fellow students in the University for several years, and their relationship was pretty strong. He naturally understood Shu Yu’s family situation. Shu Yu was a native resident, and her father was an entrepreneur. Her family was quite rich. In fact, he had personally seen Shu Yu’s driver driving her to school in a 600 Mercedes-Benz.
“Of course, I didn’t intend to rely on my family for all my life. I happened to find an excellent wonton recipe. The taste was so delicious, and I’ve already gotten the formula down solid. I’m prepared to pen a chain, first though, I opened it to test the waters.”
Shu Yu spoke with confidence. Her family was doing quite well. She could’ve done nothing to support her family and it would’ve been fine, however she had her own pride. She wasn’t thinking of relying on her family to find a career, so she searched for her own project in independent entrepreneurship.
“I’ll try it some time, and writing an article isn’t a problem. However, you know my temper, I’ll write the truth. Aren’t you worried I’ll give you a bad review?”
Gu Zheng asked quite casually. Shu Yu didn’t respond at first. On the side, Hu Yue Yue smiled and spoke: “We know of Scholar Gu’s policies. However, Shu Yu’s wontons are truly delicious. We believe that you will be satisfied and write positively about Shu Yu.”
“Yue Yue has eaten it, and she knows the taste. I have confidence in my wonton!”
Shu Yu nodded strongly. She knew clearly of Gu Zheng’s temper. However, she also knew that the reviews that Gu Zheng wrote were the truth. She had confidence in her own food, so she wasn’t afraid of Gu zHeng’s genuine comments.
“Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll come to check it out!”
Gu Zheng decided. Shu Yu was an old friend. Old friends should help each other. These past few days he hadn’t written any manuscripts. On top of that, recently he had been forced to spend quite a bit, if he didn’t go work a bit overtime, then he would soon end up going bankrupt.
Full Moon House’s’ signature dish was honey chicken. Gu Zheng had reviewed it before and gave it a good rating. The fusing of the honey and chicken was a very good choice on their part, it was sweet and delicious, and there wasn’t any grease.
Unfortunately, when he ate it this time, he felt something was wrong. This wasn’t the first time that he had eaten this chicken, he originally thought that it was quite tender. However, it was quite tough, which greatly affected it’s tastes. Gu Zheng judged that the chicken they used was definitely not a second-class quality ingredient. It might not even be inferior quality, it was most likely low quality.
After thinking that it would be low quality, Gu Zheng lost his appetite, and he ate very little of the honey chicken.
The meet up continued smoothly. They mainly just chatted and reminisced. They hadn’t graduated too long ago, there were some with a good outlook like Gu Yue Yue and Shu Yu who both had businesses were quite happy. However, most weren’t doing as well, some were even earning just above minimum wage.
Along with the fact, most weren’t married, they chatted openly over dinner. The mostly talked about the past. Even Gu Zheng learned some interesting things, it brought back a lot of memories, and he laughed for a long time.
Shu Yu’s store was towards the West Coast, far from the People’s Square, that was considered a prime location.
Gu Zheng always held his promises. Also, he held a strong curiosity towards Shu Yu’s shop. The next day, he arrived early in the morning. The shop wasn’t large, only around four to five square meters in size. There was an half-open kitchen with glass, so that the customers could see the chef working within. There were ten small tables, and it was cleaned nicely.
“Imperial Wonton, the name’s pretty good!”
Gu Zheng saw the golden welcome sign, and gently nodded his head. The shop didn’t look like anything too special. It was the kind of store that looked ordinary. It had tasteful decoration, and the shop looked clean. Immediately, several opinions formed. The wall decorations were very good. There was even a small heart-shaped board that allowed customers to write their reviews. If it was a good review, they would receive a reward.
Alright, this doesn’t seem like anything too different.
Property by © Fantasy-Books.live; outside of it, it is stolen.
“Gu Zheng, you came!”
Shu Yu came early to wait for Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng’s plan was to first take care of this matter with Shu Yu and taste her wonton. Then he would head to the Shanghai Tribe Industries to purchase eggs. Then he would return home and enter the Great Desolate Space, and consume the Immortal pellet. Then after he upgraded the quality of the eggs, he would open a stand the next day, and begin selling his fried eggs.
There wasn’t any suitable location. When starting out, he could only rely on the fact that perhaps the city management didn’t have a set eating place.
“Very clean, the main dish is clearly wonton. There are rice and other auxiliary sides. As long as stores like these have their own specialty, there should be no worries. Their business would definitely do well.”
Gu Zheng smiled as he nodded his head. The most important thing was the wonton. This kind of small shop needed something to stick out from the crowd. Since Shu Yu had spent a decent sum to purchase the wonton formula, surely it should be decent.
“Don’t flatter yet, taste it first!”
Hu Yue Yue was also here. She had arrived even earlier than Gu Zheng, and had already eaten a bowl of wonton.
“When I bought the wonton recipe, they told me that it was specifically made to serve the Qianlong Emperor. Supposedly, the Qianlong Emperor praised it, thus the people who made the wonton were invited into the palace, and became part of the Imperial Kitchen. Thus, this wonton is considered an imperial dish!”
Shu Yu who was towards the side explained the origin of the wonton recipe. Gu Zheng only smiled, and didn’t say anything.
Replicating the ability of the ancient imperial chefs was far from easy. Not only were they required to possess skill, they were also required to have the proper etiquette. They must be multi-talented, otherwise, a wonton wouldn’t be able to be considered an imperial dish. If they only possessed the ability to make the wonton there was no way they would be able to enter the Imperial kitchen. Even if it’s flavor got even better, at most they would only be invited to cook it once.
There was another reason, Gu Zheng was a food critic. He had a very clear understanding towards the Imperial kitchen of the Qianlong period. He hadn’t heard of people whose specialty was wonton. He didn’t know if the person who sold it to her heard about it from a secret source, or was selling the recipe with the intention of deceiving Shu Yu.
Gu Zheng didn’t say anything about the authenticity of the story. A story was a story, just listening to it was enough. The taste of the food itself was the most important thing. If it really was delicious, only then would it be able to move people. So, even if the story was fake, it could be treated as true. However, if the taste wasn’t good enough, even if the story was true, others wouldn’t believe it.
Chapter 12 – Shu Yu’s Store
Shu Yu was one meter and sixty-eight centimeters, and weighed around a hundred pounds, so her figure was decent. ( T/N: For us people from the united states, one meter and 68 cm is around 5’6”.)
With a good figure and looks, she had received the title of being the flower of the class. There were around an equal number of females and males within the Department of Chinese Literature. However, regardless of grade, department, or even school, Shu Yu had the most people pursuing her. Due to this, her relationships with the other females in the class weren’t so great.
“Shu Yu started a business and wanted to ask you to write an article for her. Since Beauty Shu Yu has made the request, Scholar Gu will definitely not reject her!”
Hu Yue Yue laughed out loud after speaking. While Shu Yu’s relationship with other girls were somewhat distance, and her relationship with guys was somewhat better, she thought of Gu Zheng as her best friend when they were in school. The reason was simple, Gu Zheng didn’t pursue her romantically. So, she could consider him as just a close friend.
“Yue Yue hasn’t spoken incorrectly. I did open a small store recently, I wanted to ask you to help me advertise!”
Shu Yu recovered and immediately asked Gu Zheng. She had never attended a party with her classmates. She came this time because Hu Yue Yue that Gu Zheng would be participating this time. Not only did she want to ask for Gu Zheng’s help, after graduating just over a year ago, she had never seen Gu Zheng. She didn’t hear any news about him either, so she did miss him somewhat.
Of course, her loneliness only existed between the two friends.
“Shop? What shop?”
Gu Zheng first greeted the others, then sat down and whispered to Shu Yu. He had already understood, Shu Yu opening a store must be related to food, otherwise she wouldn’t have looked for him.
Shu Yu quietly explained: “I was sold a wonton shop. It has fragrant alcohol, but I’m worried that people would fear entering so deep into an alley way to reach us. We only just opened it, so I was thinking of asking Scholar Gu to help me out!”
“A shop that sells wonton? You opened such a shop?”
Gu Zheng was a bit surprised. He and Shu Yu were fellow students in the University for several years, and their relationship was pretty strong. He naturally understood Shu Yu’s family situation. Shu Yu was a native resident, and her father was an entrepreneur. Her family was quite rich. In fact, he had personally seen Shu Yu’s driver driving her to school in a 600 Mercedes-Benz.
“Of course, I didn’t intend to rely on my family for all my life. I happened to find an excellent wonton recipe. The taste was so delicious, and I’ve already gotten the formula down solid. I’m prepared to pen a chain, first though, I opened it to test the waters.”
Shu Yu spoke with confidence. Her family was doing quite well. She could’ve done nothing to support her family and it would’ve been fine, however she had her own pride. She wasn’t thinking of relying on her family to find a career, so she searched for her own project in independent entrepreneurship.
“I’ll try it some time, and writing an article isn’t a problem. However, you know my temper, I’ll write the truth. Aren’t you worried I’ll give you a bad review?”
Gu Zheng asked quite casually. Shu Yu didn’t respond at first. On the side, Hu Yue Yue smiled and spoke: “We know of Scholar Gu’s policies. However, Shu Yu’s wontons are truly delicious. We believe that you will be satisfied and write positively about Shu Yu.”
“Yue Yue has eaten it, and she knows the taste. I have confidence in my wonton!”
Shu Yu nodded strongly. She knew clearly of Gu Zheng’s temper. However, she also knew that the reviews that Gu Zheng wrote were the truth. She had confidence in her own food, so she wasn’t afraid of Gu zHeng’s genuine comments.
“Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll come to check it out!”
Gu Zheng decided. Shu Yu was an old friend. Old friends should help each other. These past few days he hadn’t written any manuscripts. On top of that, recently he had been forced to spend quite a bit, if he didn’t go work a bit overtime, then he would soon end up going bankrupt.
Full Moon House’s’ signature dish was honey chicken. Gu Zheng had reviewed it before and gave it a good rating. The fusing of the honey and chicken was a very good choice on their part, it was sweet and delicious, and there wasn’t any grease.
Unfortunately, when he ate it this time, he felt something was wrong. This wasn’t the first time that he had eaten this chicken, he originally thought that it was quite tender. However, it was quite tough, which greatly affected it’s tastes. Gu Zheng judged that the chicken they used was definitely not a second-class quality ingredient. It might not even be inferior quality, it was most likely low quality.
After thinking that it would be low quality, Gu Zheng lost his appetite, and he ate very little of the honey chicken.
The meet up continued smoothly. They mainly just chatted and reminisced. They hadn’t graduated too long ago, there were some with a good outlook like Gu Yue Yue and Shu Yu who both had businesses were quite happy. However, most weren’t doing as well, some were even earning just above minimum wage.
Along with the fact, most weren’t married, they chatted openly over dinner. The mostly talked about the past. Even Gu Zheng learned some interesting things, it brought back a lot of memories, and he laughed for a long time.
Shu Yu’s store was towards the West Coast, far from the People’s Square, that was considered a prime location.
Gu Zheng always held his promises. Also, he held a strong curiosity towards Shu Yu’s shop. The next day, he arrived early in the morning. The shop wasn’t large, only around four to five square meters in size. There was an half-open kitchen with glass, so that the customers could see the chef working within. There were ten small tables, and it was cleaned nicely.
“Imperial Wonton, the name’s pretty good!”
Gu Zheng saw the golden welcome sign, and gently nodded his head. The shop didn’t look like anything too special. It was the kind of store that looked ordinary. It had tasteful decoration, and the shop looked clean. Immediately, several opinions formed. The wall decorations were very good. There was even a small heart-shaped board that allowed customers to write their reviews. If it was a good review, they would receive a reward.
Alright, this doesn’t seem like anything too different.
Property by © Fantasy-Books.live; outside of it, it is stolen.
“Gu Zheng, you came!”
Shu Yu came early to wait for Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng’s plan was to first take care of this matter with Shu Yu and taste her wonton. Then he would head to the Shanghai Tribe Industries to purchase eggs. Then he would return home and enter the Great Desolate Space, and consume the Immortal pellet. Then after he upgraded the quality of the eggs, he would open a stand the next day, and begin selling his fried eggs.
There wasn’t any suitable location. When starting out, he could only rely on the fact that perhaps the city management didn’t have a set eating place.
“Very clean, the main dish is clearly wonton. There are rice and other auxiliary sides. As long as stores like these have their own specialty, there should be no worries. Their business would definitely do well.”
Gu Zheng smiled as he nodded his head. The most important thing was the wonton. This kind of small shop needed something to stick out from the crowd. Since Shu Yu had spent a decent sum to purchase the wonton formula, surely it should be decent.
“Don’t flatter yet, taste it first!”
Hu Yue Yue was also here. She had arrived even earlier than Gu Zheng, and had already eaten a bowl of wonton.
“When I bought the wonton recipe, they told me that it was specifically made to serve the Qianlong Emperor. Supposedly, the Qianlong Emperor praised it, thus the people who made the wonton were invited into the palace, and became part of the Imperial Kitchen. Thus, this wonton is considered an imperial dish!”
Shu Yu who was towards the side explained the origin of the wonton recipe. Gu Zheng only smiled, and didn’t say anything.
Replicating the ability of the ancient imperial chefs was far from easy. Not only were they required to possess skill, they were also required to have the proper etiquette. They must be multi-talented, otherwise, a wonton wouldn’t be able to be considered an imperial dish. If they only possessed the ability to make the wonton there was no way they would be able to enter the Imperial kitchen. Even if it’s flavor got even better, at most they would only be invited to cook it once.
There was another reason, Gu Zheng was a food critic. He had a very clear understanding towards the Imperial kitchen of the Qianlong period. He hadn’t heard of people whose specialty was wonton. He didn’t know if the person who sold it to her heard about it from a secret source, or was selling the recipe with the intention of deceiving Shu Yu.
Gu Zheng didn’t say anything about the authenticity of the story. A story was a story, just listening to it was enough. The taste of the food itself was the most important thing. If it really was delicious, only then would it be able to move people. So, even if the story was fake, it could be treated as true. However, if the taste wasn’t good enough, even if the story was true, others wouldn’t believe it.
