Tavern expansion

As Li Shimin formally ascended the throne, the situation in the entire court stabilized, and the city of Chang'an City gradually recovered its vitality.

After all, the royal family dealt with royal matters, and everyone still had to live their own lives.

Slowly but surely, some people had to go out and earn money to support their families due to financial pressures at home, and eventually they left their homes.

Then, as these people seemed to have no issues, the more daring residents of Chang'an City began to wander the streets.

The business at Zhang Nuo's Tavern gradually improved from only having Li come by for occasional meals to having other customers drop in.

And Zhang Nuo's culinary skills gradually spread throughout Chang'an City.

After all, compared to the traditional sticky and greasy food served at other restaurants, Zhang Nuo's dishes stood out with their beautiful appearance.

As soon as Li and his friends left, several tables of guests arrived right after.

Which made the already busy Zhang Nuo a bit flustered. Even the Doggy had to run to the market three times in one day to have someone deliver the ingredients.

By the time dusk arrived, after a day of hard work, Zhang Nuo, who had lost some of his usual carefree attitude, finally settled down.

Little sister, the maidservant, had already prepared the bathwater. Zhang Nuo couldn't wait to rush in and take a refreshing bath.

Oh my god, he was so proud of his cooking before.

After all, he might be remembered in history, and at least his name would appear in some gossip.

But he forgot that there were two powerful tools in modern kitchens: the range hood and the exhaust fan.

However, the kitchen he was in did not have any of these.

A whole day, his eyes were almost blinded, and his body was filled with the same aroma as a roasted lamb.

After washing up, Zhang Nuo put on a fresh robe and lounged on the soft couch in the courtyard. He munched on some snacks and drank some wine brought by little sister, while he began to ponder.

He knew he would definitely gain a higher rank in the future. Although money was very important, as the restaurant's business continued to improve, he couldn't keep staying in the kitchen every day.

He wouldn't even have time to practice calligraphy, let alone eat his meals in peace.

And as the reputation of Zhang Nuo's restaurant grew, when he entered the court, any ordinary clerk could mention that they had eaten his food, which would make him lose face.

Although heroes do not need to ask for their origin, this was not a particularly respectable thing to happen.

Zhang Nuo thought,

"Well, the restaurant needs to make money, but I need to change my approach to earn it. At least, with the current kitchen and business, I need to find a few chefs to take over."

When he thought about the important matter at hand, Zhang Nuo called little sister repeatedly, asking her to call her brother and mother to come over.

Doggy and his mom were busy in front. Upon hearing little sister say that the master of the house had summoned them, they abandoned their tasks and rushed to the backyard.

Looking at the orderly family of three in front of him, Zhang Nuo felt somewhat helpless.

The class distinctions of ancient times were not something that he could change with a few words.

He was still relatively lucky. In some households of the wealthy, the rules were even more numerous than one could imagine, and the corresponding punishments were very severe.

Zhang Nuo did not have the determination to break down the class barriers, nor the ability to do so. All he could do was treat the servants of his own family well, which was already the most he could do.

Moreover, he had to gradually adapt to this kind of life. After all, in the future, when he entered the officialdom, he would have to bow to those of higher rank, even the emperor. If he had a fragile heart, he would only end up tormenting himself.

Collecting his scattered thoughts, Zhang Nuo looked at the family of three and said seriously,

"You are all from Chang'an City. Do you know any young men from respectable families who would like to be chefs?"

"You have seen the business of our restaurant. It will only get better in the future, and I already have no time to practice calligraphy."

"In the future, I will certainly have to advance in rank and title, so I cannot always be in the kitchen. I am asking you to inquire for me."

"It would be best to find someone who is willing to learn and can work with me for a long time, not someone who will leave after learning a few tricks."

Doggy mother's eyes brightened at these words. The master of the house was still recruiting people, and this time it was for chefs. It seemed that the household was becoming more prosperous.

Moreover, according to the master's words, he would still have to take the official path in the future, and he might become a great person who would ascend to high office.

Such a good master of the house had to be well behaved. Doggy had not yet started a family, and there was no head of the household in this family. If the master of the house chose well, they could soar to great heights by working hard.

After all, Er Niang had eaten for many years, and she understood very well that her family was now like a vine that could only depend on Zhang Nuo's tree to grow.

As long as this small sapling grew into a towering tree in the future, their vine would naturally be able to climb up as well.

Thinking of this, she began to recall carefully which respectable family had a dependable young man who was willing to earn his keep by working in the kitchen.

Although she had only been in Zhang Nuo's mansion for a short time and had only exchanged a few words with him, she had seen that he was not a stingy person. As long as the person who came could work hard and support his family, it would not be a problem.

However, before she could think of a suitable candidate, Xiao Mei suddenly tugged at her sleeve and whispered,

"Mother, what do you think of Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang?"

Er Niang's heart stirred at these words. Come to think of it, those two brothers were really good. So she didn't care about Xiao Mei's lack of manners in pulling and tugging in front of the master of the house, and she quickly spoke up.

"Master, there are two brothers family name Liu in our neighborhood. They are not very old, and they are also respectable young men. They usually work hard at the docks and help out in the kitchen."

Zhang Nuo hasn't seen anyone at the moment, so he doesn't know how things are going, but if he can chat with someone, that would be nice.

Moreover, according to what Er Niang just said, he is doing manual labor at the dock, so at least he won't be exhausted by the heavy work in the kitchen. His physical condition should be acceptable.

You should know that doing kitchen work requires a good physical condition. A restaurant kitchen is different from a home kitchen.

The workload is extremely heavy, with tasks like chopping vegetables, stirring pots, and even carrying dishes, all of which are physically demanding. Once business picks up and the amount of movement required increases, those who lack the physical ability won't be able to keep up.

Most importantly, according to what Er Niang said, these two brothers often help out in the kitchen, which is even better.

After all, being a chef is not just about standing in front of the stove and stirring pots. Good knife skills are absolutely essential for a good chef.

If you have to learn from scratch, it takes at least six months of hard practice just to be able to slice and dice properly.

If you can save the time it takes to practice knife skills, that would naturally be best.

After thinking it over, Zhang Nuo nodded and sent his servant to fetch the people. This kind of thing needs to be done quickly, as he really doesn't want to be as busy as he was today.

As Zhang Nuo's full-time errand boy, Doggy runs in and out all the time and naturally has no objections. Seeing that there is still some time before the market closes, he quickly sets off.

With his question answered, Zhang Nuo has no more words to say. After letting Er Niang and her daughter leave, he continues to lie on the soft couch and ponder the future development of the restaurant.

He vaguely has an idea of wanting to change the restaurant.

It's embarrassing to say, but other time travelers, those predecessors who came to ancient times, aren't they all the embodiment of poetry and culture, achievement and wealth?

Only he, a person who possesses an external system, hasn't achieved anything yet after such a long time and is still running around a small restaurant.

It seems a bit embarrassing!

Moreover, he had opened a restaurant for nearly ten years in his previous life. Even though he had traveled through time, he still opened a restaurant?

Even if his restaurant is currently the only source of income for his family, he's getting a little tired of it.

But what else can I do if I don't open a restaurant?

Unable to come up with any ideas, Zhang Nuo closed his eyes and sank into the vast memories of his past life, hoping to find some inspiration from the various information he had seen on the internet.

He needed an investment that wasn't too large, could make money without breaking the law, and could be done in a period of Tang Dynasty when material conditions were relatively scarce.

At the same time, it had to be tasteful and presentable, not becoming a black mark on his history.

Well, if it could be done without too much effort, that would be even better.

After organizing his requirements, Zhang Nuo was stunned.

Damn! Did I have such high demands?

However, where there's a will, there's a way. Perhaps he could really come up with something.

Since he was idle at the moment, even if he couldn't find a good approach, he could still study the learning materials in his memory to alleviate his boredom.

Thus, completely off-topic, Zhang Nuo, with a pig-like face, carefully watched some teaching materials of a teacher serving guests with colorful kimono and having a bath.

Hmm, these pickled vegetables are so round, this sushi is so white, emmm ~ the saliva is flowing out.

After a while, Zhang Nuo, who still had a trace of sanity, finally broke away from his memory and found no one around him, quickly adjusting a certain part of his body that was itching.

It seems like he needed to practice calligraphy and be employed soon, so he could enjoy delicious food and drink every day and live happily.

Huh?

Delicious food and drink?

Yes, he could make some high-quality wine!

Zhang Nuo slapped his thigh suddenly, thinking he had found a business idea.

Let's make wine! This business is great!