Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Seafood is plentiful in winter, and the steel mill's purchasing efforts are truly impressive, resulting in a significant amount being stored in the warehouse.

Of course, this was for special meals; the workers ate the same old thing, three meat meals a week.

Li Jiuzhou was quite happy to see that there was a lot of seafood in the warehouse, even though it was all frozen, which was not important to him.

He has plenty of ways to season it.

There was a reception at noon, with my second uncle's father-in-law and several high-ranking officials.

Li Jiuzhou worked with Sha Zhu and his apprentice.

Since the banquet couldn't be too extravagant, Li Jiuzhou made a charcoal-grilled seafood platter.

The charcoal grill pan has always been available in the factory; it's used for making charcoal-grilled fish.

This time, Li Jiuzhou brought in hairy crabs, squid, clams, and shrimp to mix together.

The seasonings are still prepared in the Sichuan style: spicy, oily, and salty, perfect for pairing with alcohol or rice.

In winter, a charcoal grill makes eating warm and cozy.

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up when he saw it, and he praised, "Senior brother, you're so clever! You've invented another dish, it smells fucking delicious!"

Li Jiuzhou chuckled: "Let's serve the food."

"Alright!" Sha Zhu replied and immediately arranged for someone to serve the dishes.

Inside the private room, everyone smiled when they saw the charcoal pot in the hands of the auntie serving the dishes.

Li Huaide's father-in-law said:

"Wow, grilled fish? Not bad, not bad."

The other three leaders who came to inspect the site also smiled.

The popularity of grilled fish can be seen from the sales figures at Emei Restaurant; it's practically a must-order dish at every table.

The leaders had naturally eaten it before; one dish of grilled fish would be enough for five or six people to drink.

It contains not only fish, but also some side dishes.

At that time, Li Jiuzhou basically used the rest of the space, except for the fish, to prepare the dishes.

The main selling point is that the portions are large and filling, so at least at first glance, diners feel that the money is well spent.

It's Sichuan cuisine after all, so we won't go for anything fancy; as long as it's filling and goes well with drinks or rice, that's fine.

If you try to pull any fancy tricks with my Sichuan cuisine, I'm not exactly defenseless. How about some boiled cabbage in clear broth?

Just when everyone at the table thought it was grilled fish, the auntie serving the dish smiled slightly and placed the dish directly in the middle of the table.

The old man was stunned when he saw it:

"Wait a minute, where's the fish?"

The other three leaders and the people from the steel rolling mill also looked puzzled.

The auntie serving the dishes smiled and explained, "Distinguished guests, Chef Li's new dish is called a charcoal-grilled seafood platter. Please give it a try."

"Haha, Chef Li's new dish? We must try it!" one of the leaders said with a smile.

He laughed because the dishes weren't extravagant and were within his acceptable range.

It's just shrimp and crab, nothing serious.

The group of people picked up their chopsticks and, after tasting the food, all thought it was quite good.

Eating seafood like this for the first time was similar to eating grilled fish for the first time.

It's plentiful and lasts a long time.

Then the other dishes were served one by one.

The leaders were very satisfied with the meal.

It's good enough if it's not extravagant or wasteful.

The leaders were satisfied, and the people at the steel rolling mill breathed a sigh of relief, while also feeling somewhat proud, as their steel rolling mill's hospitality meals were top-notch.

Not just any cat or dog can eat it.

It's said that even dogs shook their heads at the meals served at the brother factory's restaurant.

Of course, it's not that there's any problem; it's just that it's edible, but it has absolutely nothing to do with being delicious.

The difference becomes clear after comparison; the steel mill produces better ingredients than them, even with the same raw materials.

After a while, will the leaders still need to consider where they like to eat?

The leaders don't just visit one factory in one morning; they usually visit several.

Why did they tacitly leave the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill for last?

All I wanted was to try the salty food in the back kitchen of the steel rolling mill.

Sometimes after meetings, the leaders would joke about where to go for lunch to try something salty.

No words were needed; a single glance was enough for everyone to understand: they were heading to the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill.

The Red Star Steel Rolling Mill may not have any delicacies, but you can eat and drink to your heart's content, and even take some local specialties home with you... (pickled duck feet).

The leaders of the steel rolling mill weren't fools; the ingredients they prepared were mostly ordinary ones.

This is also what makes things most difficult for the brother factory.

You could say that if the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill provided its leaders with delicacies that surpassed their official banquets, that would be one thing.

It's just some ordinary home-cooked dishes, yet Li Jiuzhou is so good at performing fancy tricks. Who the hell can compare to you?

This is Li Jiuzhou's suggestion to his second uncle, Li Huaide: there can be hospitality, but it absolutely cannot be extravagant.

Otherwise, it's easy for others to say that it's extravagant or wasteful, or that it's just trying to please the boss. This trend is wrong, so it needs to be changed.

If a steel mill serves abalone, lobster, shark fin, bird's nest, or the like, it's doomed.

Those factory leaders will likely all suffer the consequences later.

This time, the charcoal-grilled seafood platter once again made Mr. Fish's name resound throughout the culinary world of Beiping.

Since the introduction of the charcoal-grilled platter, many leaders have come to inspect the steel rolling mill, staying for the entire morning. Naturally, they would want to have lunch before leaving.

Upon hearing this, Chef Wu of Emei Restaurant immediately invited the two brothers to the restaurant for guidance.

Li Jiuzhou repeated the process, causing Chef Wu to slap his thigh in regret.

"This is way too easy."

Li Jiuzhou laughed loudly upon hearing this:

"Hahaha, you're right, it's not much different from grilled fish."

Chef Wu smiled, his eyes narrowed:

"How about this dish at our Emei Restaurant, Jiuzhou?"

Li Jiuzhou nodded in agreement:

"Sure, but it might need a few improvements."

"Seafood is expensive; some people can't afford it."

"In that case, just order some cheap squid, clams, shrimp, razor clams, etc."

"Or we could categorize the ingredients into several levels."

"If you want something nicer, go for lobster, abalone, etc. If you want something more affordable, go for shellfish, shrimp, and other seafood. Anyway, that's how you cook it, and it's not difficult."

Chef Wu wholeheartedly agreed. Sometimes, when a dish is developed, it is indeed necessary to calculate the cost, selling price, or target audience.

This dish is really not difficult for chefs who specialize in Sichuan cuisine; it's something you can learn in no time.

After teaching Li Jiuzhou at Emei Restaurant, he had to rush to Fengzeyuan, which was his hometown. He would go there on his own without anyone asking him.

Master and senior brother are still there.

Manager Luan and the others were very happy to see the two brothers arrive.

After exchanging pleasantries with them, Li Jiuzhou described the dish to his master and senior apprentice.

The two of them immediately got to work, not even bothering with clams or small shrimp.

We used sea cucumber, lobster, abalone, and hairy crab to make it.

Anyway, since Manager Luan said he'd let Li Jiuzhou have a meal with him, we'll naturally pick out the best dishes.

With nothing else to do, Sha Zhu made another dish of grilled frog legs; he was simply craving it.

The frogs are marinated, coated in flour, deep-fried, and then grilled over charcoal until fragrant.

The best private room at Fengzeyuan was used by five people to serve ten dishes, and they drank Fenjiu liquor. The taste was absolutely wonderful.