Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 19

“Brother Jiang, give me four buns, two with radish and two with dried tofu.”

“Ah, what a pity, we don’t have any dried tofu today, but we have something new. Would you like to try it?”

“Okay, make it two buns with the new stuffing for me to try first.”

Manager Wang obviously already trusts Jiang Miao’s craftsmanship, as he asks for the new filling without even inquiring what it is. Standing in front of the food cart, he waits for the buns to be ready while chatting with Jiang Miao.

“Brother Jiang, why don’t you set up your stall yesterday? I was looking to buy some buns but couldn’t find you.”

Jiang Miao hands over the buns and says, “I was held up by something yesterday, but I’m here today, aren’t I? By the way, try these buns first and let me know what you think. I’m hoping for your feedback.”

Yesterday afternoon, Jiang Miao went to pick up his food cart from Daniu. After deducting Daniu’s wages, he has over two hundred coins left. He uses this money to buy flour, radishes, and some seasonings. He also chops the lotus root he bought yesterday into small pieces, stir-fries them until half-cooked, and uses them as the filling.

Manager Wang takes a bite, chews carefully with a frown, then says, “This filling… tastes sweet, crisp, and juicy. What is it? Let me taste it again.”

Today’s buns clearly puzzle Manager Wang. Unlike the dried tofu buns, which he can identify in one bite, he can’t figure this one out even after almost finishing the bun. Finally, he breaks open another bun and sees the filling, realizing: “Isn’t this lotus root? Can it be used as bun filling?”

Jiang Miao smiles, “First, tell me, how do the lotus root buns taste?”

“In one word, excellent!” Manager Wang never holds back praise for delicious food. In fact, he admires Brother Jiang quite a bit. Brother Jiang dares to experiment with ingredients and makes delicious food, setting an example for other vendors on the street.

“With your approval, I feel reassured.” Jiang Miao’s flattering words make Manager Wang very happy.

In his delight, he can’t help but add, “Brother Jiang, your buns are indeed delicious, but I still want to give you some advice.”

“What?” Jiang Miao, seeing his earnest expression, widens his eyes and waits.

“Can you stop making only vegetarian buns and make some meat buns for us men to taste? When will you start selling meat buns?”

Jiang Miao is at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He also wants to eat meat, but aren’t they expensive? After sending off Manager Wang, who is still fixated on meat buns, Jiang Miao continues minding his stall.

The lotus root buns are fresh, crisp, and tender, with a rich texture that is well-received by the people of Yifeng Street, young and old alike. Some customers miss the taste of the dried tofu buns and urge Jiang Miao to order some dried tofu for tomorrow’s sales.

Meat is a bit difficult to procure, but dried tofu is easy, so Jiang Miao naturally plans to order it. After selling out the buns for the day, he immediately goes to find Old Man Ding to place an order.

Old Man Ding is holding the money Jiang Miao gave him for the goods, looking like he wants to say something but hesitates. Jiang Miao, puzzled, asks him what is wrong. Old Man Ding says, “Little Jiang, you might not know because you haven’t been here these past few days, but the bun seller at the end of the street has also started selling buns with dried tofu filling.”

“Does he get his dried tofu from you as well?” Jiang Miao thinks the issue might be with the supply being too much to handle.

“No, he gets his dried tofu from the tofu stall up front.” Old Man Ding shakes his head. “What I mean is, he’s also selling buns with dried tofu filling!” He emphasizes the words “dried tofu filling.”

Jiang Miao immediately understands; Old Man Ding is feeling indignant on his behalf. “It’s fine, let him sell them. Everyone makes a living with their own skills, I’m not afraid of them copying.”

“Are you really not worried he’ll take all your business? He’s selling them cheaper, too!” Old Man Ding can’t understand why this young man remains so good-natured, not minding that his wares are being copied by others.

“Even if it’s cheaper, it’s not a problem. Even if the items are exactly the same, each person’s method—cooking time, portion sizes, and ingredient order—is different, so the taste will be different. As long as my buns are delicious, I won’t lack customers.” In modern times, there are many cookbooks with detailed recipes, yet no one has become a master chef just by following them. To make something truly delicious, you need years of accumulated experience and skill.

Old Man Ding is genuinely impressed. Perhaps this is what people mean by ‘With great skill comes great confidence.’

In fact, Jiang Miao isn’t as skilled as Old Man Ding thinks. He simply can’t prevent others from using similar ingredients. Anyone can tell what’s in the filling with just a taste, so how could he stop them? However, in situations where there’s severe homogenization, whoever makes the worst food will be embarrassed. Moreover, coming from an information age, he has countless types of snacks in his mind. In ancient times, information was scarce and people didn’t travel much, so how many could have seen or tasted as much as he has? Anything he makes could be considered new, and even if they copy him, they’re just following behind him, sipping the soup.

Just as Jiang Miao is carrying his cart back home through the side door, someone knocks on the front gate of the courtyard.

Grandma Bai, sitting under the eaves, calls out, “The door is open, come in!”

The person pushes the door open and, seeing Grandma Bai sitting there, steps forward to ask, “Ma’am, I need to inquire about something. I heard that there’s a chef who’s skilled at making pastries living here?”

Grandma Bai is puzzled by his question. She hasn’t heard of any pastry chef living here, though there is one waiter in a restaurant.

“There is no such person here, you must have heard wrong.” She shakes her head and continues sorting vegetables.

The person becomes somewhat anxious, “How could there be no such person? I’ve asked around everywhere, and everyone says there’s someone here who makes amazing buns.”

Hearing this, Grandma Bai slaps her thigh and then glares at him, “You young man, you don’t speak clearly. If you had said someone who sells buns, that would have been clear! What pastry chef are you talking about? That’s nonsense!” Then she calls out towards the north, “Little Jiang, someone is looking for you!”

At this moment, Jiang Miao is in the house warming up buns for Xiao Shitou. He has woken Xiao Shitou when he went to set up his stall, and Xiao Shitou, not yet fully awake, insists on going with his brother. Since it is too cold outside, Jiang Miao doesn’t allow it and coaxes him back to sleep. Now he is just waking up.

Jiang Miao puts the buns into a bowl and hands them to Xiao Shitou, who has finished washing up. He wipes his hands and walks out, smiling as soon as he sees the visitor, “Brother Zhao?”

Upon seeing him, Zhao Xing immediately begins to complain, “You don’t give clear directions, making me search from house to house! Yifeng Street and Tianshui Alley are so crowded, finding you is like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially since I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s my fault for not being clear. I apologize. But, Brother Zhao, what brings you here today?” Jiang Miao has a pretty good guess but doesn’t want to say it outright.

“Didn’t you say you’re skilled at making pastries, and that your longevity peaches are unique? Now’s your chance. Come with me and prove it,” Zhao Xing says.

“Alright!” Jiang Miao is thrilled, as his guess is confirmed. He can almost see a large sum of money coming his way.

“But are you really good at making longevity peaches?” Zhao Xing hesitates, feeling he might have been too hasty.

“Brother Zhao, rest assured, this is my specialty!” Jiang Miao assures, thumping his chest.

Alright, Zhao Xing thinks, he has no other choice now and has to take a leap of faith.

…

By yesterday evening, all the ingredients had been purchased. To ensure the success of the birthday banquet in two days, Master Zhu wanted to taste the dishes in advance to avoid any mishaps. The kitchen received this notice and immediately began preparations.

The head chef was the renowned Master Du from the entire city of Liangjing. The main dishes he presented were impeccable in both taste and presentation. Master Zhu nodded in satisfaction as he ate them. The cold dishes and other small dishes, made by Master Du’s apprentices, were also quite good. However, when the longevity peaches were served, Master Zhu frowned. The buns resembled regular buns with slightly pointed tops, colored with red yeast powder to suggest a peach shape, but barely so.

It stands to reason that most longevity peaches from other places were like this, but Master Zhu wasn’t satisfied. It’s said that living to seventy is rare, and this was his father’s eightieth birthday, a very special occasion! He had spent a lot of money hiring Master Du to prepare the banquet, so failing with the longevity peaches would be an embarrassment. Moreover, there were distinguished guests this year, and everything had to be perfect!

Master Zhu’s orders were absolute, regardless of whether the staff could fulfill them. When the chief steward conveyed Master Zhu’s words, Zhao Xing was distraught. Initially, the higher-ups said they wouldn’t hire a pastry chef, so he hadn’t contacted any. With so many banquets during the cold winter months, any chef with a good reputation was booked well in advance. Master Du had been booked a month ahead; otherwise, he would have been hired elsewhere.

The chief steward didn’t care about Zhao Xing’s concerns. He just left him with, “Do this well and you’ll be rewarded. But if you mess up the old master’s birthday banquet, well, you’ll see!”

Zhao Xing wanted to curse, but he didn’t dare. Instead, he hurriedly visited the homes of several well-known pastry chefs, hoping to find one available. However, they were all booked, either by the Zhang family or the Li family.

That night, Zhao Xing tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He wished he could turn into a big longevity peach himself to serve it at the banquet. His wife, disturbed by his restlessness, elbowed him and turned over to sleep again.

This elbow strike, however, cleared Zhao Xing’s head. He suddenly sat up, and remembered that the kid who came with his uncle at noon today seemed to be the pastry chef.

He had said, “The birthday buns I make are different from the ones at the mansion. Bringing them out will definitely bring prestige.”

Where did he live again? West Gate, Yifeng Street… Tianshui Alley!

…

The donkey cart sways as it moves forward. Jiang Miao sits on one side with Xiao Shitou, and Zhao Xing sits opposite them. Suddenly, Zhao Xing remembers something and asks, “Brother Jiang, can you really make longevity peaches?”

Jiang Miao says helplessly, “I should be.”

“Should be?” Zhao Xing almost jumps up. With a distressed look, he says, “How can you say ‘should be’? Brother Jiang, just give me a definite answer! Whether I’ll be punished or not depends on you!”

“As long as nobody else is from where I am, the birthday buns I make should be unique.” Jiang Miao takes a deep breath, reminding himself to be patient.

“Then I can rest assured,” Zhao Xing breathes a sigh of relief. “As far as I know, among the pastry chefs at Liangjing, there shouldn’t be anyone from Jiangjiawan.”

“…” Jiang Miao laughs until he cries.