Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

"This..." Master Li thought, "It's a bit like the Sazi we have in Xuzhou, but it's crispier and the seasoning is lighter."

Wang Jianye nodded and bought a few other snacks to try. He found that although the variety of Huai'an street snacks was not as rich as that of Xuzhou, each one was finely crafted and had distinct flavors.

In the evening, the team gathered at the hotel and reported their research results.

"There aren't many high-end restaurants in the commercial district, and they're mainly chain fast food restaurants." Chen Yu pushed his glasses up, "But there are a few local time-honored restaurants that are doing very well, especially on weekends, so reservations need to be made in advance."

Zhao Qiang opened his notebook and said, "The price of local food is about 10% lower than that in Xuzhou, especially seafood and river food. Because we are close to Hongze Lake, the supply is sufficient and fresh."

Zhang Li added: "I observed the service in several restaurants and found that Huai'an people pay great attention to the dining environment and service details. Noisy waiters or rude service attitudes will not work here."

Wang Jianye carefully recorded everyone's findings, his brows gradually relaxing and then frowning.

The HA market does have huge potential, but the challenges are also considerable.

He closed his notebook and looked around at his team members: "We will continue to conduct in-depth research tomorrow, focusing on understanding the two scenarios of family gatherings and business banquets. Master Li, think carefully tonight about how to adjust our signature dishes to suit the tastes of Huai'an people."

Chef Li nodded, his eyes flashing with thought. As an old chef who has followed Wang Jianye for many years, he knows the importance of this mission.

Late at night, Wang Jianye stood in front of the hotel window, looking at the night view of Huai'an. This city is quiet and introverted, just like Huaiyang cuisine, which is not ostentatious but has its own charm. He took a deep breath and swore in his heart: Wang's Restaurant must take root and grow in this land.

On the second day of the investigation, Wang Jianye's team got up early and went to the most famous morning tea shop in Huai'an, the "Fuchun Tea House".

Huai'an was shrouded in mist in the early morning, and the air was filled with a moist scent. A long queue had formed in front of the teahouse, mostly local middle-aged and elderly people, chatting in groups of three or four, in a leisurely atmosphere.

"In Huai'an, morning tea is a way of life," explained Boss Ma. "A pot of tea, a few baskets of dim sum, and a whole morning of chatting."

Wang Jianye noticed that the dim sum here was more delicate and small than those in Xuzhou. The crab roe soup dumplings had paper-thin skin, and you could see the soup flowing inside when you gently shook them; the jade siu mai was emerald green, with orange-red shrimps dotted on top; and the thousand-layer oil cakes were clearly layered and melted in your mouth.

"Master Li, what do you think?" Wang Jianye asked in a low voice.

Master Li was holding a piece of Sanding Bao and examining it carefully. "The dough is finer than ours, and the fillings are lightly seasoned, highlighting the original flavor of the ingredients." He frowned slightly. "If we adjust our dishes completely according to this standard, I'm afraid we will lose the characteristics of Wang's."

Wang Jianye nodded thoughtfully. This was exactly what he was most worried about - how to find a balance between preserving his own identity and adapting to the market.

After morning tea, the team split up again. Wang Jianye took Master Li to the largest farmers' market in Huai'an, hoping to learn more about local ingredients.

The market was crowded with people and shouts were heard one after another. The aquatic area was particularly lively, with all kinds of live fish and shrimps swimming in basins, and crabs tied into strings with straw ropes, still blowing bubbles.

"Crabs from Hongze Lake, just caught this morning!" a dark-skinned fisherman shouted.

Wang Jianye squatted down and carefully examined the crabs with green backs and white bellies: "How much are they?"

"Sixty-one pounds, how much do you want, boss?" The fisherman swiftly picked up a crab to show it, "Look at this fat, it's so fat!"

Just as Wang Jianye was about to ask for the price, a loud voice came from behind him: "Old Wang? It's really you!"

Wang Jianye turned around and saw a familiar face - Boss Zhou, the vice president of the Xuzhou Catering Association and also an old acquaintance of his.

"Lao Zhou? Why are you in Huai'an?" Wang Jianye stood up in surprise.

Boss Zhou smiled cheerfully, "I came to Huai'an to investigate the market. I heard that Wang's was going to open a store here. I didn't expect to run into him here!" He looked at Master Li beside Wang Jianye and the ingredients on the floor, "Are you doing market research?"

Wang Jianye nodded and briefly introduced his findings over the past two days. After listening, Boss Zhou patted him on the shoulder and said, "The HA market is indeed good, but the difference in taste is a big problem. Last year, Xu Ji opened a store here, but it closed down in three months because the dishes were not adjusted well."

Wang Jianye's heart tightened after hearing these words. He knew that Boss Zhou was not an alarmist and that this was indeed a challenge that needed to be taken seriously.

After bidding farewell to Boss Zhou, Wang Jianye and Master Li continued to wander around the market, tasting various local specialties. Master Li took out a small notebook from time to time to record something, his brows never relaxed.

At noon, the team gathered at a small restaurant that specializes in home-cooked food. It was a husband-and-wife restaurant with simple decoration but clean and tidy. It was lunchtime and the restaurant was almost full of local diners.

Wang Jianye specially ordered several home-cooked dishes - braised fish, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, stewed bamboo shoots with bacon, and a local specialty, water chestnut and meatball soup.

"This braised fish." Master Li took a bite and frowned even more tightly. "It uses very little soy sauce and a little sugar. It mainly relies on the freshness of the fish itself."

Young chef Xiao Zhang disagrees: "I think this is good, healthy and light. Our dishes are too heavy, we should move closer to Huai'an cuisine."

Master Li immediately retorted: "Wang's Restaurant's signature dish is its rich and mellow flavor. If it changes to something light like this, is it still Wang's?"

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Wang Jianye quickly tried to smooth things over: "Don't worry, this issue needs to be considered in the long run. Xiao Zhang, go to a few business restaurants with Zhang Li this afternoon to understand the needs of the high-end market. Master Li, let's continue studying home cooking."

During the afternoon research, Wang Jianye noticed an interesting phenomenon: although Huai'an local cuisine is bland, some Sichuan and Hunan restaurants in the commercial districts where young people gather are doing very well. This gave him a new idea - maybe it is not necessary to cater to the taste of traditional Huaiyang cuisine completely, but it can be adjusted appropriately to adapt to the local market while retaining Wang's characteristics.

Back at the hotel in the evening, the team held another meeting to review the situation. Xiao Zhang couldn't wait to express his opinion: "Mr. Wang, I think we should make bold reforms and adjust the taste of the dishes to be closer to the Huai'an style. Nowadays, young people pursue healthy eating, and dishes with heavy oil and salt are out of date!"

Chef Li immediately objected: "Nonsense! The reason why Wang's Restaurant is successful is because of our unique flavor. If we just follow the crowd, what's the difference between us and other restaurants?"

The two of them were arguing, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became a little tense.

Wang Jianye was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "You all have a point. The HA market does need adjustments, but we can't lose our roots." He turned to Master Li and asked, "Can we keep the cooking method of our signature clay pot chicken while reducing some of the seasoning to highlight the taste of the ingredients themselves?"

Chef Li thought for a while and said, "You can try it, but you might lose some flavor levels."

"And our meat huoshao," Wang Jianye continued, "Huai'an people love to eat dim sum. We can develop a dim sum that combines the characteristics of the two places, such as using Huai'an cattail leaves as fillings, but retaining our production process."

Xiao Zhang's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea! It retains Wang's characteristics while incorporating local elements." Master Li's expression also eased: "I can try to make a few samples tomorrow to taste."

Wang Jianye felt relieved when he saw that the team reached a consensus.

In the dead of night, Wang Jianye was alone in his hotel room, reading through his research notes from the past two days. The city of Huai'an gave him a lot of inspiration, but also brought him a lot of confusion.

He walked to the window, looked at the bright moon in the night sky, and prayed silently in his heart: I hope that tomorrow's dish development will go smoothly and lay a solid foundation for the development of Wang's Restaurant in Huai'an.

……

Early in the morning, in the lobby of Wang's Hotel, Wang Jianye stood at the door, looking at the sparse pedestrians on the street, his brows unconsciously frowned.

Business had just started to pick up since the last foreign object incident was clarified, but the number of customers has inexplicably decreased in the past two days.

"Boss Wang, please take a look at this!"

Xiao Zhang from the Public Relations Department hurried over with a tablet in his hand, and several online articles were displayed on the screen.

The headlines read: "Although the foreign object incident has been clarified, the hygiene in the kitchen of Wang's Restaurant still has hidden dangers", "Former employees revealed: rats are rampant in the kitchen of Wang's Restaurant", and "The hygiene of well-known catering brands is worrying, and it's time for regulatory authorities to take action."

Wang Jianye's fingers trembled slightly as he took the tablet and read it carefully.

The article quoted the testimony of so-called "former employees", describing how dirty and messy the kitchen was, and even accompanied it with blurry photos. What shocked him even more was that one of the articles mentioned that the health department was "about to conduct a surprise inspection of Wang's Restaurant."

"This is a complete rumor!" Wang Jianye's voice was low and angry. "We clean the kitchen thoroughly twice a day, morning and evening. How could this happen? Who are these so-called 'former employees'?"

Xiao Zhang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I have checked. The 'Zhang XX' and 'Li XX' mentioned in the article did work here, but they were both fired due to poor performance. And..."

He hesitated for a moment, "I noticed that these media outlets have reported positive news about Shiyunlou before."

A sharp light flashed in Wang Jianye's eyes: "Sun Fu."

At this time, in the office on the top floor of Shiyun Building, Sun Fu was leaning proudly on the leather chair, with the computer screen in front of him showing negative news about Wang's Restaurant. He picked up the cigar on the table, took a deep puff, and exhaled the thick smoke.

"Mr. Sun, as you instructed, we have contacted five media outlets, and there will be more follow-up reports tomorrow." A tall and thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses reported as he stood aside.

Sun Fu narrowed his eyes and said, "Very good, Lao Zhou. This time, we must make sure that Wang's Hotel will not recover. Have you taken care of all the employees who have resigned?"

"Five thousand each, they are happy to cooperate." Lao Zhou pushed up his glasses, "Two of them even promised to stick to their original statements if they were called to testify."

“Hahaha!” Sun Fu laughed loudly, and the fat on his belly trembled. “Wang Jianye, Wang Jianye, did you think you won last time? In the catering industry, it’s either you or me!”

The atmosphere in the Wang's Hotel meeting room was solemn. Wang Jianye called an emergency meeting of all department heads.

"Everyone knows the situation," Wang Jianye looked around at everyone, "Sun Fu came prepared this time. He not only bribed the media, but also bought false testimony from our former employees."

Chen Ming, the head of the legal department, was the first to speak: "Mr. Wang, we can sue these media and the former employees who gave false testimony. According to Article 246 of the Criminal Law, fabricating facts to defame others can result in a prison sentence of up to three years if the circumstances are serious."

"Prosecution is necessary," Wang Jianye nodded, "but legal procedures take time, and the public opinion crisis is imminent. We must also start from other aspects."

Xiao Zhang from the public relations department suggested: "We can take the initiative to invite the health department to conduct an inspection and use the official results to counter the rumors."

"That's a good idea!" Chef Li slammed the table and said, "Our kitchen can withstand any inspection. I suggest that we not only invite the health department, but also hold a 'kitchen open day' so that customers can see the actual situation with their own eyes."

Wang Jianye's eyes flashed with approval. "Let's do it this way. Chen Ming will be responsible for collecting evidence and preparing for the lawsuit; Xiao Zhang will contact the health department and the media; and Chef Li will prepare for the open kitchen event. We have to do this in three ways!"

After the meeting, Wang Jianye stood alone in front of the window, looking at the eye-catching sign of Shiyunlou across the street.

He recalled his original intention when he started his business - to win customers with real materials and honest management.

But now, he had to spend a lot of energy to deal with these malicious competitions. He clenched his fists and secretly made up his mind to survive this crisis.

The next morning, Wang Jianye personally led a team to collect evidence. They first found a "former employee named Zhang" mentioned in the article.

"Master Zhang, we found you." Wang Jianye stopped Zhang Qiang who was about to go out in a dilapidated community on the outskirts of the city.

Zhang Qiang was obviously panicking: "Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang, I..."

"No need to explain," Wang Jianye said calmly, "I just want to know how much money did Sun Fu give you to tell those lies?"

Zhang Qiang's face flushed: "I didn't. I didn't."

Legal officer Chen Ming took out his phone and played a recording: "'Boss Sun will give you 5,000 after the matter is completed, and another 5,000 if you testify in court' - is this your voice?"

Zhang Qiang's legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground. "Boss Wang, I was wrong! My wife is sick and needs money. Sun Fu's people found me and I am willing to clarify the facts!"

Wang Jianye supported him and said, "Master Zhang, I know you are not a bad person. As long as you are willing to come forward and testify against Sun Fu, I can let go of what happened before and even help your wife find a good doctor."

Zhang Qiang nodded in agreement with tears in his eyes. In this way, they found three bribed former employees one after another, all of whom were willing to testify against Sun Fu. More importantly, one of them also kept the recordings of his phone calls and transfer records with Sun Fu's men.

At the same time, Xiao Zhang has contacted the city health department and invited them to come to the hotel for surprise inspections at any time. The deputy head of the health department personally led the team, and the five people came to Wang's Hotel without saying hello. (End of this chapter)