63 Chapter 63 New Ingredients
Of course, some people didn’t like Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Yao. Seeing that they stayed, they immediately got up and left.
Gu Chengrui did not know someone was waiting for him at the village entrance. After he entered Hongyun Restaurant and unloaded the bean sprouts and tofu, he opened a bamboo basket and said, “Uncle Zhou, do you want to take these?”
Chef Zhou looked inside the basket. There were two yellow objects, one black, and one red. He asked, “What are these things?”
He picked up a piece of braised tofu and asked, “Why does this look like tofu?”
Gu Chengrui was secretly happy. “You have good eyes. This is braised dried tofu. Try it.”
Gu Chengrui didn’t expect that there would be tofu here, but no other tofu byproducts. It seemed that this tofu business of theirs could continue.
After Chef Zhou heard that, he put it under his nose and sniffed it carefully. He didn’t expect the lovely fragrance from it. Then, he broke off a piece and put it in his mouth.
He was surprised that the more he chewed, the more fragrant it was. It was much more flavorful than the regular stir-fried tofu. He nodded and said, “If we were to take it, how much would you sell it for?”
“To tell you the truth, this is something that my wife made. You are the expert, so why don’t you offer me a price?”
“I can’t make the decision myself, as I need Manager Liu’s permission.” After Chef Zhou finished speaking, he asked the waiter at the side to call for the manager.
He looked at the other two items curiously and asked, “Are these two also bean products?”
“Yes, this is tofu skin, and this is dried yuba. You can stir-fry them, mix them with food, or stew them.
“However, the yuba are dried, so you must soak them in warm water before cooking them.”
Chef Zhou nodded and looked at each of them carefully. Then, he began to think about how to cook them. If he could come up with one or two new dishes, he would be able to have an excellent new year.
When Manager Liu came down, he saw Chef Zhou standing at the side in a daze. He went up and gave him a push.” What are you thinking about?”
“You’re here. Mr. Gu and his wife have sent two new ingredients, and I’m thinking about what to do with them.” Chef Zhou said this after he came back to his senses.
“Oh.” Manager Liu looked at the items in the bamboo basket curiously and asked, “Are they all made of soybeans?”
“Yes,” Gu Chengrui nodded, then briefly explained their methods.
Manager Liu also tried a piece of braised tofu and nodded. “Not bad. This tofu tastes similar to meat. However, our restaurant doesn’t accept half-seasoned products, so we will accept them only if you produce them in their original flavor.
“As for the price, how about eight coppers per pound?”
“The braised dried tofu and tofu skin can be sold at eight coppers, but dried yuba must be 20 coppers per pound.”
“20 coppers per pound. Isn’t that too expensive?”
“To put it bluntly, three pounds of soybeans could only produce almost one pound of dried yuba. With the addition of firewood needed, we will only earn our labor.
“If it were another person, we would sell it to them for at least 25 coppers per pound.”
Manager Liu picked up the dried yuba and looked at it carefully under the sun. It was very fine and dry, and it could be transported over long distances, being able to be stored for a long time. It was indeed a rare good food item.
Then, he remembered that a pound of soybeans sold for five coppers in the grain store, so he hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright, we’ll accept your prices. I will take these for now, and we’ll decide how much we want tomorrow.”
“Alright. As for the braised tofu, you guys can keep it for drinking snacks.” After Gu Chengrui finished speaking, he moved the ingredients into the kitchen, received his payment, went to buy some medicinal herbs, and rushed back.