The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

21. Looking for a Shop

Translator: Yang Ting & Jia Manxin

The man carrying the baggage is not attracted by the lively scene of the riverside. When the hustle and bustle behind him grows noisier, he speeds up his pace and leaves the Mudu Port quickly as if in a flying manner. This man with the baggage is Xu Zhiwei, who leaves Wuxi with humiliation and fright for Shanghai.

The unexpected competition offends the Chef Clique, and within half a day, he is panicked like a disowned dog with nowhere to hide, and could be attacked by others at any time. Although Wang Zhunian’s begging in Peach Orchard assures Xu Zhiwei that he has escaped the crisis, the experience leaves him an indelible shadow in his heart. He is so helpless at that time, even more helpless than waiting to die in the palace. On the way to Shanghai, the captain and punters tell the passengers who yearn for Shanghai some things about this city. Most of the things these people know are rumors, so it’s all about fighting between gangs, collusion between gangs and the government, and ruffians who are not allowed to join the gangs. Xu Zhiwei is even more frightened after hearing these things, for fear that misfortune would not come singly and another accident would happen. So even if the captain is urging everyone to get off, he is still the last to go ashore, trying not to flock together with other people. After being hit by Cai Renxin, his first reaction is that he is a thief and wants to scheme against him. So although he is injured, he dare not let Cai Renxin help or pick up his baggage. Finally, without waiting for Cai Renxin to make an apology, he leaves in a panic.

On the ship to Shanghai, Xu Zhiwei figures out what he should do when he gets there. Although the Chef Clique’s submission makes him feel that he is strong enough, and even the words Mr. Weng said when asking him to create a cuisine come to his mind twice, he knows that there is a big difference between reality and imagination. With superb cooking skills, he originally thinks that he can find a lucrative job in Wuxi. But in fact, he has difficulty in finding a job at first. After getting a job in Huiquan Hall, he accidentally offends the Chef Clique. Then after competing with the Chef Clique, Zhao Hudong kicks him out, leaving him both heart-broken and helpless. Therefore, he feels that after arriving in Shanghai, it is best to work for himself, neither begging anyone nor offending anyone. But if you want to work for yourself, you must first have capital. Xu Zhiwei has a good gift and used to be an imperial chef in the palace, so he is unwilling to set up a roadside stall. At least, he must own a small shop to shelter him from rain. Xu Zhiwei figures out his remaining savings. And it should be enough to rent a small shop to open a snack bar. Moreover, he has just arrived in Shanghai, and being totally unfamiliar with the place and the people, he can only open a snack bar. Although it makes money slowly, at least it will not offend others. Even if he robs other people’s business and offends them, there will be no major trouble because they are all small bosses like him. When he makes enough money and familiarizes himself with all kinds of relationships, he will consider expanding the shop and opening a restaurant.

This is not ambitious. He had planned to open his own restaurant when he left home to learn cooking skills. If it had not been for the dish in the palace that embarrassed him, he would have saved enough money for another two years of work, then he would try to leave the palace and go home to open a restaurant. But he does not expect that he finally leaves the palace with nothing, and he not only fails to save enough money, but also loses all of his savings. If it weren’t for Mr. Weng’s money, he would have to earn his way home by working.

On the ship to Shanghai, Xu Zhiwei specifically inquires about which part of Shanghai is most famous for snack bars. Where there are more snack bars, there will be a fiercer competition. From time to time, some shops will be eliminated for their business is not good, so the chance of getting a shop is relatively high. In addition, where there are more snack bars, there must be a large number of regular customers. And as long as he has a shop and shows a little skill, these customers will definitely be attracted by him and become his customers. After careful weighing, Xu Zhiwei finally decides on Xiaodongmen from several places provided by others.

Shiliupu by the Huangpu River enjoys an ideal position for large ships with its wide and deep water and slow current. Therefore, there are many wharves, and most of the large cargo ships and passenger ships that enter the Huangpu River from the Yangtze River are moored here.

In front of those wharves, there is a road winding along the riverbank, which is an important road for transporting goods. Across the road and opposite the wharves are some newly built houses of various types, some of which look different from normal houses, strange but imposing. These are all western-style buildings, including commercial houses for foreign merchants, exchanges for business talks, and warehouses for Chinese merchants. And around these buildings, there are some temporary storage yards and warehouses.

Across the alley in the middle of these western-style houses, there is a small road that lies in front of Xiaodongmen. Xiaodongmen is also called Baodaimen, and it is one of the most famous gates in Shanghai’s old town. Xu Zhiwei first heard of this name a few years ago when the Small Sword Party sprang up in Shanghai. The Small Sword Party besieged by the Qing army finally chose this place to break out of the encirclement.

Nowadays, there is no trace of war in Xiaodongmen. Instead, the whole street is filled with delicious foods. Although the small road in front of Xiaodongmen is not as prosperous and magnificent as the road on Shiliupu, it is far more lively than that road. Because this is a crowded place. If the passengers from the ships docking at Shiliupu Wharf want to enter the city of Shanghai, it is the easiest and fastest to walk from Xiaodongmen. In addition, there are also a large number of laborers working at the wharves nearby. After the ships pull in to the shore, the low-level sailors will lodge here temporarily.

Most of passengers who just get off the ship will find a cheap and distinctive shop nearby to fill their bellies. This is because the food on board is not affordable for ordinary people. Most of the laborers come to Shanghai alone to make a living. They can’t afford to eat anything expensive and usually eat and drink in cheap shops. As for the transient sailors, their situation is similar to that of these laborers, but they are slightly more luxurious than the laborers when choosing food in the small shops.

This population structure creates a unique business environment for Xiaodongmen. The number and density of snack bars is beyond Xu Zhiwei’s expectation. He is a knowledgeable person who travels north and south, but it is the first time he has seen so many crowded snack bars. And this situation also increases his confidence at once, and he cannot help feeling that he will definitely find a chance to do something big.

But after two days of walking around Xiaodongmen, he loses more than half of his confidence. Because he sees that almost all the houses along the street are shops, and there is no room for a new shop. Now it seems that he can only find a chance to take over a shop that is going out of business, but that is not something that can be achieved in a hurry. It entails luck and waiting. So Xu Zhiwei rents a narrow room in the alley near Xiaodongmen to settle down first, waiting for an opportunity. While waiting, he also inquires about which restaurant is looking for a chef. This is not because he changes his original plan and wants to go to work in a restaurant again, but because he doesn’t know when he can get a shop, so he must find something else to do first. And as for opening a snack bar, the more money he has, the better. He tries to earn as much money as possible to deal with emergencies in the future.

But this time Xu Zhiwei has learned the lesson in Wuxi, and asks about in advance whether there is an organization similar to the Chef Clique in Shanghai. Fortunately, there are no such gangs in Shanghai’s chef industry, which should have a lot to do with its overall environment.

After Shanghai started serving as a port, people from all over the world come to Shanghai, which inevitably leads to the diversity in tastes. And as for the same cuisine and the same restaurant, people also hope that they can innovate more often or change chefs, unless they have a signature dish, such as Buddha Skipping Wall, Zhoupao Dolphin, or Jintang Shark Fin. As long as the dishes are delicious, they can support the whole restaurant. The host will order these dishes when entertaining guests to enhance his identity and show his enthusiasm. But if these dishes are to last, they must conform to authentic tastes derived from excellent chefs. If it is slightly deficient in flavor, it will soon be eliminated.

Due to this situation and demand, it is very difficult for the chef industry to organize a gang to monopolize the labor force and compete with the restaurant owners and employers.

The dishes can be changed at any time, the tastes can be adjusted at any time, and the chefs can be replaced at any time. The most important thing is that the restaurant is not afraid of lack of chefs. There are many chefs who flock into Shanghai to make a living. In addition, it is very easy for these big restaurants in Shanghai to hunt for chefs who are good at speciality from elsewhere. And with the development and prosperity of a place, the rules there are also perfected. These rules are made by the government and the sinister gang, and they both are unwilling to have more gang organizations, especially those of the laborers.

At that time, it is very difficult to set up any organization of laborers in Shanghai. It is said that the only gang organization belonging to the bottom laborers is the “Qijiabao” in Pudong, a mutual aid group composed of boatmen, sailors, and fishermen. Because their main scope of activity is on the water, and does not disturb the main channel, so they barely survive. Other organizations, even if they exist, are all attached to the sinister gang.

Although there is no organization like the Chef Clique, Xu Zhiwei still fails to find a job in the hotels or restaurants. This is because when these hotels or restaurants recruit chefs, they usually hire an entire team. Although this team is not so big as the Chef Clique, it is more closely connected, and usually has a certain social relationship with each other. So a single person like Xu Zhiwei can’t find a job in those restaurants. Only some low-end small restaurants may hire him alone, but these small restaurants are almost of the same scale as the ones he wants to open, and it means working for others. Xu Zhiwei feels that he has not yet been reduced to such condition, so he doesn’t consider going to a small restaurant temporarily.

As time passes by, Xu Zhiwei becomes more and more anxious because he can’t get a suitable shop, so he expands the range of his choice. But the situation in other places resembles Xiaodongmen’s, and there is no room to squeeze in a snack bar. In addition, the cost of this kind of snack bar is very low. One can change the variety and mode of business flexibly at any time, and even if it only attracts some curious people to taste new products, it can last for a while.

Xu Zhiwei also considers simply looking for a secluded place to open a snack bar, where the rent is low. As long as the snacks one makes are delicious, one can attract customers and make money, just as the saying goes, “Good wine needs no bush.” But after seeing it on the spot, Xu Zhiwei gives up this idea.

The regional distribution of Shanghai at that time is very strange. The lively places are particularly lively, and the secluded places are like the countryside, where there are few people. And snacks are eaten to fill the belly nearby. Few people will walk long distances for a snack. People who have money, time and interest to walk a long way to eat delicious food generally won’t come to this kind of snack bar, but rush to the famous restaurants. As for ordinary people, they try not to eat outside, especially eating snacks outside the house, which is absolutely wasteful. They will walk a few steps back to the house and get something to eat. Even if the food is delicious, there are no visitors coming. No consumer group of nearby residents, and no diners come here, then the business will be bleak.

Before dawn, Xu Zhiwei is awakened by a pee, and he quickly gets up from the rented cubicle and runs to the toilet on the street to urinate. People in Shanghai generally have toilets in their homes without going out. The landlords will prepare the toilets for long-term tenants or they will buy these things themselves. For short-term tenants and temporary tenants, without the landlords’ preparations, it is cumbersome to purchase them on their own, so if it’s urgent to urinate at night, they will go out and pee freely. But Xu Zhiwei is different. He is a man of knowledge and experience for journeying north and south, and worked as a royal chef in the palace. Such people generally have qualities and know the rules. Moreover, cleanliness is the first basic requirement of a chef and a prerequisite for making good dishes.

Xu Zhiwei comes out very early, but some snack bars on the street have begun their preparations for a new day. Especially some shops that need to ferment dough to make steamed bun, and shops that need to grind their own soybean milk to make tofu pudding. If you don’t get up and prepare by this time, you will miss the breakfast rush.

Xu Zhiwei walks to the entrance of the alley and suddenly sees a thin figure sneaking across the street quickly. The figure runs to the stove placed in front of the bun shop opposite, and squats down to see if anyone is around. Then he hurriedly fiddles something under the stove, and then turns around and slips away. With the help of the gray dawn, Xu Zhiwei roughly sees the person’s pale and panicked face. Xu Zhiwei does not fall asleep after going to the toilet not because he saw the strange figure just now, but because before he can get ready for sleep again, Xiaodongmen has come to life.