Chapter 355 - Free Food Tasting (1/2)

“Did you hear? Over on the east side of the city, someone opened a…what was it called…braised food shop. They have free food tasting and half-price sale for the first day of their opening!”

“Braised food stop? What’s a braised food shop? I’ve never heard of it. Is it edible?”

“Won’t we know if it’s edible after trying? It’s free anyway!”

“Who would do a business that doesn’t earn money? Won’t they lose all the money that they invested in the business?”

“That’s right, that’s right! Is the manager a fool? They won’t trick us to try it, and then ask for money, right?”

“That can’t be, right? The shop isn’t very far from the prefectural yamen. Would a swindler dare to scam right in front of the prefectural magistrate?”

“Come, let’s go check it out! It doesn’t cost any money to take a look…”

…

In the Jingwei Prefectural City, everyone was talking about ‘The Yu's Braised Food Shop’. Like a cool autumn breeze, the opening of ‘The Yu’s Braised Food Shop’ had spread to every corner of the city.

Yu Xiaocao, who came up with the gimmick of free food tasting, was currently busy giving out the braised food to the people waiting in line for tasting! There was a very long line in front of The Yu’s Braised Food Shop. Liu Hu and Yu Hai were busy keeping order.

Originally, these people were watching from afar with the mindset of a bystander. At the beginning, there were very few people in front of the braised food shop. Most people didn’t believe that there would be such a good thing as a free meal. However, when Little Shitou’s classmates who lived in the prefectural city, like Little Fatty and Liu Jinye, heard about the soft opening of the braised food shop, they hurriedly sent their servants to line up. They, on the other hand, huddled in front of the glass window to look at the roasted duck, roasted chicken, smoked chicken, smoked duck, and smoked pork, drooling.

The first person in line was the steward in charge of the kitchen in the Sun Household. Yu Xiaocao pointed at the slices of braised meat and smoked meat on the plate and said with a smile, “Feel free to have a taste!”

The Sun Family’s steward looked at his young master, and then raised his voice to ask, “Can I try it even if I don’t buy anything?”

“Yes!! It’s our soft opening today, so we have free tasting and half-price sale for all our products! You can have a taste even if you don’t buy anything, but each person can only try one piece of each dish!” Yu Xiaocao replied with a smile.

The Sun Family’s steward tried each of the dishes and had high praises for the braised meat. His young master had already selected the roasted duck, roasted chicken, salted duck, and a large braised pork knuckle that he wanted to buy. If Yu Xiaocao didn’t stop him, he might have bought all of the different dishes!

“It’s a little warm now, so the food can’t be out for too long. Just buy the ones you’re eating today. Wouldn’t it be a waste if you buy too much and they end up going bad?” Seeing his intention, Yu Xiaocao promptly stopped him.

The steward of the Sun Family looked at the price of the braised meat. With the fifty percent discount, it was even cheaper than the raw pork sold on the market now. It also tasted very good. He couldn’t help but quietly ask his young master, “Young Master, my mother likes to eat meat, but she has bad teeth. The braised pig head meat is fragrant and soft, so this servant wants…”

“You have money in your pocket, so if you want to buy it, then buy it! There’s no need to ask me!” Little Fatty used a toothpick to pick up a piece of ‘crispy skin roasted duck’ and savored the taste in his mouth. Then he said to Yu Xiaocao, “Second Sister, your roasted duck isn’t inferior to that of Zhenxiu Restaurant, and it’s also cheaper. If Zhenxiu Restaurant’s business plunges because of you, the Zhou Family definitely wouldn’t let you off!”

“Look carefully. Five taels is half price. It will be back to the regular price tomorrow!! Moreover, for products such as roasted duck and roasted chicken, our shop is only selling ten per day and we don’t accept reservations. It won’t affect Zhenxiu Restaurant in any way!!” Yu Xiaocao quickly packed the food and collected the money. Then she swiftly sent away Little Shitou’s classmates.

At this time, there weren’t any customers in front of the shop again. She raised her voice and yelled, “The Yu’s Braised Food Shop is having a soft opening today. We’ll have free food tasting for half a day. Come over quickly if you want to taste it. You can have a taste even if you’re not buying anything. Free tasting will be over at noon! Don’t walk by and miss out on this opportunity!!”

Today was the second day after that examination, so there were still a lot of students who hadn’t left yet. A student, who was in his twenties and dressed in a long blue robe, came over to the window and asked Yu Xiaocao in a soft voice, “Excuse me… did you guys used to sell braised food at Tanggu Docks?”

Yu Xiaocao looked up at him, nodded with a smile, and said, “Yes! Our ‘one copper coin braised food’ is very famous at the docks. Not only the locals of Tanggu Town, but a lot of foreign merchants are also full of praises for our braised food. Older brother, since you have heard about our braised food, have a taste to see if you like it.”