The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law

The restaurant is under renovation but Shunzi didn’t remain idle. Recently, he moved into Gu Youyou’s house, under her guidance, to focus solely on making various spicy fish dishes.

Gu Youyou asked, "Chilies are hard to come by since nobody has grown them before. Have you solved this problem?"

Shunzi chuckled and said, "The chili peppers have already been planted. When we escaped, the most we brought with us were chili pepper seeds. I mentioned this to Miss Du last time, and she generously rented a small manor for me. It’s not far from both Beijing and Jinxiu City."

Gu Youyou burst into laughter, praising him, "Well done, Shunzi, you’ve learned to plan ahead. I’d forgotten to mention this to you before and thought you had forgotten about it."

"How could I?" Shunzi replied. "If the fish doesn’t have chilies, the flavor is never quite right. I’ve been using chilies for the fish, and Erya absolutely loves it."

"Alright, then I’m relieved. Today, sister will teach you to make sauerkraut fish. Some people’s palates aren’t suited to very spicy flavors but enjoy that sort of taste, so you can serve them a less spicy sauerkraut fish."

With Gu Youyou’s help, Erya’s Fish Manor successfully opened.

Since Shunzi’s way of making fish was not yet widely accepted, Gu Youyou suggested that he prepare some small dishes for customers to sample first. If they liked it, they could then go inside to order.

The opening day had a 50% discount, the second day a 60% discount, and the third day a 70% discount... until the original price was restored. This approach was very enticing and, since there was no shortage of wealthy individuals in Beijing, they would come to the restaurant out of curiosity to try the novelty.