Joe's Farming

Chapter 242 Hot Pot Base

In addition to chili peppers, spices are also a big part of the diet.

Qiao Yu almost cleared out all the spices in the shops in the two towns.

The grocery store owner who hadn't seen him for a long time asked him curiously, "What big business is Mr. Qiao planning to do next?"

"Well, it's just for my stuttering. Boss, you see it's not convenient for me to do this. I'll write down what I want for you. Can you bring it back for me next time you buy it?

If you can give me a 10% discount on the price, it will be fine."

"That's great. This is a sure-win business."

The faster the items in the store sell, the more money the boss can make. Moreover, for the boss, Qiao Yu makes the money without any risk, so he is naturally willing to give a discount.

Qiao Yu made a densely packed list, some of which had not been found yet, and he wrote down their characteristics for the boss to pay attention to.

All the things are ready, and the butter in the villa is almost cooked.

Qiao Yu had some of the leftover butter residue sent to the village chief and Aunt Shi. He used half of the rest to feed his family, and the rest was left for Ling Lie to cook.

The villa's reputation gradually grew, and more and more people came with their families to have a meal and stay overnight.

Ling Lie's cooking skills improved as well. Sometimes after finishing his work, he would come to Qiao Yu to exchange experiences.

Qiao Yu asked Ling Lie to cook the hot pot base this time, and she just supervised from the side. Ling Lie also called Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba to help.

There are many people in the villa now, and some people are staying overnight, so it is impossible to cook in the kitchen of the villa. So Gu Feng and Gu Gang built a big stove next to the bread kiln.

Ling Lie spent two consecutive days frying the first batch of hot pot base, and it was not finished until midnight each time.

The children were very craving for hotpot every night, but knowing that it was cooked at home, they resisted the urge to ask for hotpot.

Qiao Yu was still guarding Ling Lie in the yard on the first night, but she couldn't make it on the second night, so she went back to the house to sleep at a certain time.

After Ling Lie, Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba finished cooking and returned to the house, Xiao Wu asked with a smile: "Brother Ling, you smell so good, what's that smell?"

Ling Lie only then realized that he had been marinated by the hot pot base.

Ling Lie deliberately kept it a secret: "You'll know tomorrow."

Fortunately, Ling Lie is a martial artist and has a good physical foundation, otherwise he would have been exhausted in the past two days.

The next day, Qiao Yu arranged for people to pack the fried base ingredients into half-pound or one-pound portions in wax paper. The butter would solidify when it cooled, so there was no need to worry about it leaking out.

Finally, Li Xin wrote the six big words "Qiao Brand Hot Pot Base" on it, and then wrote the expiration date next to it.

Because the moisture in the base material is fried dry, and the salt content is high, it will not spoil so easily. However, Qiao Yu still conservatively asked Li Xin to write for only half a month, after all, food safety is still very important.

At the same time, he packed a copy for himself and placed it in a corner to do an experiment to see when it would go bad.

When Ling Lie was frying the base ingredients, the aroma spread from far away. It is no exaggeration to say that Aunt Shi could smell the spicy aroma wafting in the air even at home.

"What delicious food is Qiao making? It smells so good." Aunt Shi asked Wen'er.

"Mom, Brother Qiao gave us some hot pot ingredients last time. Do you remember that hot pot base?"

"I remember, but why does the smell feel stronger and more fragrant this time?"

Wen Ge'er shook his head: "Maybe it's a new recipe."

If Qiao Yu were here, she would tell them, because Douban is there this time!

No matter what kind of oil you use, as long as the bean curd turns red, it will taste delicious, not to mention using butter and so many spices together.

The hot pot base was packed up, and one hundred portions were left at the villa, some were left for the county magistrate's wife and relatives and friends, and the rest were all sent to Wen Ge'er's snack bar.

Qiao Yu set a goal for him, to sell out before the expiration of the shelf life.

Wen Geer looked at the more than 100 servings of hot pot base and said confidently, "I'm sure I can sell them all."

Qiao Yu liked the way Wen Ge'er was now, and said generously: "I'll give you a bonus after you sell it."

Wen Ge'er's eyebrows curved: "Okay!"

He and Wang Jie have already saved more than thirty taels of silver. If they earn a little more, they can build a big house like Qiao Yu's.

Although there are no major conflicts living with his parents-in-law and brother and sister-in-law now, he actually has a house of his own.

His parents still live in the thatched house they built last year, and he has always wanted to move in with them.

Once the snack bar's hotpot was launched, it became popular throughout the entire pier. Not only the diners, but even the business owners nearby came to have a bite just to taste the flavor.

The main reason is that the aroma is so overbearing. As soon as one table of customers orders something, the entire intersection where the snack bar is located will immediately be filled with the unique aroma of hot pot.

There was never a shortage of wealthy people at the dock, and soon someone was not satisfied with the meal and asked to buy hot pot base.

This is also the reason why Qiao Yu wanted to package it in batches at the beginning, so that more people could take it away.

No matter how many rich people there are in Taoyuan Town, they are nothing compared to the outside world.

If he wants to expand his hot pot base business, he has to consider transportation issues just like he does when selling soap.

Qiao Yu set a high price for the hot pot base. He told Wen Ge'er that a half-pound portion of hot pot base should not cost less than one or two taels of silver.

But the hot pot noodles sold in the snack bar are very cheap, a vegetarian serving costs only fifteen cents.

Because Qiao Yu has always adhered to the idea that the rich can make big profits from their money, and it is enough to make a small profit from the common people's money.

For a while, the snack bar's business was so popular that it was hard to get a table.

Brother Wen didn't come to report to Qiao Yu for three consecutive days because he was too busy and had to sleep in the store.

Five days later, Wen Ge'er came to Qiao Yu to give an account with a pair of dark circles under his eyes that were comparable to those of the national treasure giant panda.

"All the hot pot base ingredients are sold out, except for the ones left for hot pot noodles."

Wen Ge'er handed all the account books and cash boxes to Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu opened the money box. Wow, out of it were more than ten taels of loose change and copper coins, and inside were six hundred-tael silver notes.

Qiao Yu asked in confusion: "Why did you sell so many?"

He had calculated before that even taking into account the business level of the snack bar itself, it would be good if he could make three hundred taels during this period.

Wen Ge'er scratched his head in embarrassment. "Because it sold so well, I raised the price later. Those people in the capital are so rich, so I said what I wanted. If I had known, I would have added a little more."

Qiao Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and took out fifty taels of silver from the house.

"Here, the bonus as agreed."

Wen Ge'er saw that there were fifty taels of silver and said, "Isn't this... too much?"

Qiao Yu smiled and said, “Take it. If it weren’t for the stamp duty we have to pay for the money in our store, I would give you more.

You look so tired, why don't you take a break? The shop is full of experienced people, and they can still run the shop well without you."

Wen Ge'er responded softly and took the banknote.

Qiao Yu urged him: "Go back and rest quickly! Take good care of yourself."

"Good. You too."

Wen Ge'er left Gu's house, holding the banknotes in his hand and stepping excitedly.

Wang Jie had just finished washing up at home and boiled some water for Wen Ge'er so that he could take a hot bath and relieve his fatigue when he came back.

"Why are you so happy? You're smiling so hard that you can't close your mouth."

Wen Ge'er pulled Wang Jie into the house, and then showed him the banknotes in his hand, his eyes sparkling:

"We can build a big house!"