novelhk Page 8
Page 8
A peerless gem (+)!
Sure enough, this raw jade pebble can be enhanced, but it requires one thousand merits.
It is on par with Dragon-Subduing Wood and Extraterrestrial Meteorite.
"What a rare gem! Thank you, Father!"
Zhang Xiaoshan did not refuse; he knew it was a birthday gift from Zhang Yuan.
How to carve this jade? That depends on Zhang Xiaoshan's preferences.
Jade is an item that is worn very close to the body; most people keep it until they grow old, or give it to close relatives or friends.
Therefore, Zhang Yuan entrusted the carving task to Zhang Xiaoshan without forcing him to do so.
“If you like it, that’s good. I traded the Zhang family’s soap sales rights in the Ming Dynasty for it from Wan Sanqian.”
"Thirteen thousand? The richest man in the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhang Xiaoshan was also extremely surprised when he heard Zhang Yuan mention 'thirteen thousand'.
But considering that such a rare and exquisite jade would not be easily displayed in the world by others, let alone traded, it is a question that is not relevant to the question.
Wan Sanqian is a businessman, so he naturally knows what to exchange for what.
While a flawless jade is precious, the Zhang family's soap sales rights could bring him even greater profits.
It's worth noting that some of these soaps were top-quality soaps offered to royalty and high-ranking officials.
From a businessman's perspective, 13,000 is not a loss.
Unless the Zhang family collapses first.
"Wan Sanqian has always maintained close ties with the Ming Dynasty's royal family. With Wan Sanqian taking the lead, perhaps our Zhang family's business can expand throughout the Ming Dynasty."
"Yes, I think so too."
Zhang Yuan nodded. Although they were merchants from the Song Dynasty, they were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor and did not share the idea of being loyal to one country and one emperor.
As long as it's not treason or illegal salt and iron trading, making money from anyone is still making money.
Chapter Nine: The Grand Opening of the Red Mansion - Exorbitantly Priced Noodles
Hongfu!
This is a large restaurant that the Zhang family supervised and built over eight months.
On one side is the newly built ten-mile-long causeway of West Lake, and behind it is a bustling pedestrian street, making it an excellent location in a prime area.
The name "Hongfu" is derived from "Dream of the Red Chamber," referring to the grand restaurant built by Zhang Xiaoshan to cater to literati.
Only a masterpiece can open up a market among literary figures.
Nobility comes from three generations!
Even in high-end restaurants, without a proper restaurant culture, one is like a nouveau riche with no substance.
The entire Red Mansion cost 30,000 taels of gold, the restaurant occupied ten acres, and there was nearly thirty acres of West Lake water as a dock, making it extremely magnificent and grand.
The base was constructed with thick concrete piles, while the upper level, apart from the concrete pillars, was mostly built of solid wood.
After completion, the entire restaurant was classically elegant and exquisitely beautiful.
Especially amidst the dazzling lights, the atmosphere becomes even more romantic and lively.
boom! boom!
Two rockets exploded in the sky.
With a burst of firecrackers echoing through the streets, Hongfu Restaurant officially opened for business.
The entire Hongfu Restaurant is divided into four floors, with a total height of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), resembling a magnificent palace in the sky, extremely luxurious.
The first floor is the Red Mansion banquet hall, a space with a height of four zhang (approximately 10 meters).
In the center of the hall is a huge Aquarius-shaped fountain, surrounded by three-story pavilions and several private rooms, all of which are excellent locations for sightseeing.
Starting from the second floor, Zhang Xiaoshan's layout follows the architectural design of the Grand View Garden in the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, and it is not yet open to the public.
After all, without the foundation of "The Story of the Stone," the value of the second and third layers cannot be fully realized.
The fourth floor is a private room, where Zhang Xiaoshan's birthday celebration was held.
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoshan was dressed in a long brocade robe, with a beautiful jade crown; a magical jade pendant was at his waist, along with a sandalwood pouch and a folding fan with a bronze pendant in his hand, making him stand out from the crowd.
His elegant and refined demeanor impressed everyone.
Even Zhang Yuan, who was chubby and round on one side, always had a smile on his face.
With Zhang Xiaoshan's current circumstances, finding a well-bred lady would be no problem at all.
It's well known that the more wealthy and powerful a family is, the more common it is for them to form alliances through marriage.
However, the Zhang family was ultimately a merchant class.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants had the lowest social status.
Therefore, it is not an easy task for the Zhang family to find a suitable partner for a marriage alliance (a step up in social status).
The more outstanding Zhang Xiaoshan's outward appearance is, the more marriage options he will have.
"Gentlemen, my surname is Zhang, and I am the owner of this Hong Mansion."
Today marks the opening of Hongfu Restaurant, which also coincides with the 18th birthday of my son, Xiaoshan. Therefore, all distinguished guests who dine at Hongfu Restaurant today will receive a 50% discount.
In addition, a 'birthday snack' will be served to our distinguished guest in the evening.
Zhang Yuan's light laugh drew cheers from the crowd.
Keep in mind that a 50% discount is already a huge discount, especially since it was the young master's birthday, which holds special significance for some families.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please come in!"
As the Red Mansion opened its doors, the first thing everyone saw upon entering was an elegant and exquisite statue holding a glass vase from which clear water flowed continuously.
Below, a pond is filled with blooming lotus flowers, and schools of ornamental fish sway and swim back and forth.
"This is...so beautiful!"
Looking at the goddess fountain in the middle, everyone was filled with admiration.
Not only is the sculpture beautiful, but the lotus leaves and goldfish playing in the pond are also an extremely elegant combination.
Inside the hall, the round tables made of mahogany are not only of excellent quality and exquisitely beautiful, but each table also has four plates of delicate candied fruit.
"Thank you all for gracing us with your presence. These candied fruits are just a small token of my appreciation, meant to bring you good luck!"
really!
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but admire the Zhang family's generosity.
You have to understand that in those days, candied fruit was a luxury that only wealthy families could afford.
The candied fruit placed on each table now is practically free.
Moreover, the Zhang family had recently donated tens of thousands of shi of grain, which, based on the fair price of 500 wen per sheng in the disaster area, amounted to a loss of over 500,000 taels.
It's easy to imagine that the complimentary items served in those private rooms would be even more expensive.
Including complimentary snacks in the evening, this is really going all out.
"In addition, the second and third floors of the Red Mansion are not open to the public today."
The fourth floor is where my son's birthday banquet will be held tonight. Please forgive any shortcomings in my hospitality.
"No problem! No problem!"
Congratulations, Young Master Zhang! May you have many more happy returns of the day!
"Yes, Young Master Zhang is so handsome and refined, truly a dragon among men."
Amidst the congratulations of everyone, Zhang Yuan led several close friends to a private room on the third floor of the attic.
In the morning and afternoon, the customers are mostly ordinary people.
Even if distinguished guests come, it's just a taste; the real ceremony takes place in the evening.
···
"One bowl of noodles for one tael of silver?"
"And there's a plate of 'silver-inlaid teeth' that costs three taels of silver. Are these bean sprouts made of silver?"
"A serving of fried rice costs one coin!"
Upon seeing the menu, the group of people who had been sitting down to order immediately erupted in chaos.
None of the dishes on the menu cost less than one tael of silver. Even those who came in were either rich or noble, but they were unwilling to be ripped off.
Besides, one tael of silver was enough for a family of four to live on for a month a few months ago.
"Gentlemen, I am Feng'er, the head manager of the Hong family."
A soft, sweet, and intoxicating female voice filled the entire venue.
Everyone immediately looked at the beautiful shopkeeper who was walking gracefully down from the second floor. She was dressed in a long red gauze dress, as delicate as a rose, and incomparably beautiful. With her graceful steps, a fragrant breeze wafted over, and her exquisite and slender body became even more enchanting. Every frown and smile was captivating.
Even though she had witnessed the splendor of the ten most beautiful courtesans in Lin'an Prefecture, she had to admit that, in terms of beauty alone, the other woman was no less than any of the ten most beautiful courtesans.
Even in terms of alluring charm, she surpasses her.
"As the manager of this restaurant, I am able to answer some of the questions raised by you all."
The head manager, named Feng'er, casually took a menu; the first page contained only eight hand-drawn illustrations.
The first dish was homemade noodles.
Noodles are a very common food, but here they cost one tael of silver per bowl, which is an exorbitant price.
"You all think the noodles are expensive, but you don't know that these are not ordinary noodles. The preparation method is extremely time-consuming."
As the head manager, Feng'er shouldn't normally reveal the recipe for this dish. However, given the questions raised by everyone today, Feng'er is willing to explain the specific methods for making these three dishes on the spot.
This noodle dish is the first course!
At this moment, the crowd, who were initially somewhat resentful, suddenly felt ashamed as they were captivated by the endless charm exuded by Manager Feng'er.
Firstly, it's hard to hate a beautiful woman, and an exceptionally beautiful woman evokes even more pity.
Secondly, the way to cook delicious food is like a secret manual within a sect. If a bowl of noodles is really worth one or two taels of silver, they would be putting people in a difficult position.
"Let's talk about the noodles first. First, we need to bleed and dry a top-quality young chicken, then marinate it with eighteen kinds of precious spices for a day and sun-dry it for ten days. After drying, we grind it into fine powder, mix it with flour to make dough, and then roll it into noodles."
Therefore, this seemingly simple noodle dish actually contains a hidden secret.
Hearing that the noodle-making process was so complicated, even the people present couldn't help but look amazed.
A single noodle dish has been meticulously prepared to the extreme.
The Red Mansion truly lives up to its name!
Chapter Ten: An Shigeng's Unfriendly Arrival?
"Manager Feng, what kind of dish is this boiled cabbage in clear broth?"
"Boiled cabbage in clear broth? As the name suggests, the broth is made by boiling chicken, duck, and pork ribs, then adding minced pork tenderloin and old hen, and finally simmering it to make a broth that resembles boiling water, which is then poured over the tenderest cabbage hearts."
Although this dish doesn't require ten days or half a month of preparation like noodles, it does require the chef to spend three or four hours making the broth.
The essence of chicken, duck, and pork ribs is concentrated into a rich broth made from plain water.
It sounds high-end and extremely sophisticated.
Even though no one had ever eaten it before, just by listening to the explanation, they understood that boiled cabbage in clear broth was different from ordinary dishes.
In terms of refinement, it is probably no less than, and perhaps even better than, the imperial cuisine.
After all, these dishes are luxurious in their simplicity.
The final dish to be revealed was fried rice. The ingredients included ham, dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms, and more than a dozen other high-end ingredients. The egg mixture was also described as being as fine and even as golden threads. One could imagine how exquisite this fried rice must be.
Even the most discerning Confucian gourmand, who never tires of fine food, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
To be honest, they had never even heard of most of these dishes before.