HPDBC Chapter 37 Big Shopping Spree
Chapter 37 Big Shopping Spree
If you don't pay attention to the details when hosting a Chinese banquet, some misunderstandings may arise.
The most common problem is that customers don't know how to order. They ignore the restaurant's signature dishes and order a bunch of strange and unusual dishes, ending up having a bad time and complaining that there's something wrong with the restaurant.
Some customers don't know how to combine dishes properly, resulting in an awkward eating experience due to improper combinations of meat and vegetables, or hot and cold dishes.
Another thing to consider is the customer's characteristics. For example, if you ask someone to do you a favor and they order a freshwater fish, but the fish gets a bone stuck in their throat, then you can forget about getting the job done.
For example, if you invite a well-dressed lady to dinner and serve her dishes like stir-fried shrimp and spicy crab, it would be unseemly if her hands got all dirty while eating.
Taking Xu Jianjun's family banquet as an example, there were 2 elderly people and 3 families attending the banquet. Each family consisted of 2 adults and 1 child, for a total of 11 people.
Eleven people need five cold dishes and nine hot dishes, for a total of 14 dishes.
In northern China, people usually order dishes in even numbers, symbolizing good things coming in pairs.
Banquets typically feature meat dishes as the main component, with a suitable combination of 10 meat dishes and 4 vegetable dishes.
Lu Yuan's uncle can handle the beef, mutton, chicken, and vegetables, and can guarantee a very high quality.
His trip to the county town was mainly to order some seafood ingredients and tableware for the banquet.
The tableware at Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant doesn't match the style of the banquet; the tableware should be matched to the dishes served at the banquet.
Lu Yuan wandered around the market in the county town several times, but couldn't find many live seafood.
These days, logistics aren't that advanced, and the technology for raising marine fish on land isn't widespread yet.
To enjoy fresh seafood in Northwest China, you have to go to a very few high-end restaurants.
Lu Yuan was also influenced by his ingrained thinking from his previous life, and felt that a banquet without seafood was missing something.
However, according to people's understanding in 96, having a braised carp at a banquet was enough to make up for the lack of seafood.
The market in the county town has a wide variety of seafood, except for fresh seafood, which is not available. Frozen seafood is particularly plentiful.
Lu Yuan found two types of frozen ingredients that had a relatively small impact on the taste: Zhoushan ribbonfish and black tiger shrimp.
But these days, seafood prices are ridiculously high.
Even frozen seafood, such as Zhoushan ribbonfish, costs 50 yuan per jin (500g), while black tiger prawns cost as much as 100 yuan per jin.
Lu Yuan spent 500 yuan just on ribbonfish and black tiger prawns.
Lu Yuan left the items he had selected with the merchant and then went to the tableware shop.
The tableware for a banquet, whether it is a round plate, a fish plate, a soup pot, a bone dish, a condiment dish, a rice bowl, a soup bowl, a teacup, or a wine glass, must be of the same color and pattern, and must never be a mix of different colors.
Lu Yuan's favorite color is pure white bone china, which is suitable for any occasion and looks very high-end.
Moreover, tableware with this color scheme is easy to buy. Lu Yuan only visited two stores before finding a very suitable set of tableware and immediately placed an order.
In addition to tableware, round tables with turntables for banquets are also a must-buy item this time.
However, due to the limitations of contemporary aesthetics, the current round table designs are rather outdated and lack the beauty of lines.
Lu Yuan chose a passable one, intending to use it this time.
He plans to have a carpenter make a more ideal design for him later.
Just as he finished shopping and was about to go back, he discovered a store that was about to close down. It specialized in selling tents and other outdoor equipment.
The boss's somewhat ahead-of-the-line idea gave Lu Yuan a great inspiration.
He originally planned to clean out a room in his spare warehouse to use as a private room for banquets.
But with a tent, you can set it up along the Baiyang River and create a private room with a view.
Anyway, the area by the river is outside the old man's courtyard, and ordinary people don't usually come here.
The water of the Baiyang River is very clear, and the branches of the poplar trees droop down, swaying in the breeze, creating a picturesque scene.
Lu Yuan picked out two tents, one large and one small, and bought them at a rock-bottom price.
The larger ones were used as private rooms, and the smaller ones were used as kitchens.
To complement the tent, Lu Yuan also bought some lamps, which he would hang by the river to create a unique ambiance.
Just as Lu Yuan was loading his car and preparing to go back, he saw Lu Hua and Sha Xiaojuan, a mother and daughter, waiting for a car by the roadside.
After some conversation, I learned that they had taken the last bus back to the county town in order to save money on accommodation.
However, after returning to the county seat, there were no more buses back to the town.
So Lu Hua was squatting by the roadside, hoping to catch a acquaintance returning to town.
Unexpectedly, this wait led to Lu Yuan's arrival.
Lu Yuan didn't rush back. Instead, he turned around and went back to the market, where he bought some pancakes and soy milk for the three of them so they could have something to eat on their way.
The three of them had traveled all day and only ate lunch, so they were now starving and looked like nothing else.
Looking in the rearview mirror, Lu Yuan saw that all three of them looked like squirrels hiding things in their cheeks, which was quite funny.
"Brother Hua, did you embezzle the money I gave you? Why are you in such a sorry state?" Lu Yuan asked.
Unexpectedly, Lu Hua got angry as soon as he heard this, gulped down two mouthfuls of soy milk to swallow the pancake in his mouth, and pointed at Sha Xiaojuan, complaining:
"She won't eat anything. She won't eat steamed buns, fried noodles, or clay pot dishes."
Sha Xiaojuan glanced at Lu Yuan innocently and said weakly, "The food in the provincial capital is too expensive."
Lu Hua glared at her, annoyed, and said:
"I didn't ask you to pay. It's a pity that this child has some kind of congenital disease. She and her mother were so hungry that they were delirious. I had to drag them to eat a bowl of ramen."
Sha Xiaojuan put down the pancake in her hand and said in a tired voice:
"He has congenital heart disease, ventricular septal defect. If he doesn't have surgery soon, he will develop pulmonary hypertension and won't have many years to live."
Lu Yuan glanced at her in surprise in the rearview mirror. This woman, who hadn't even finished junior high school, had actually memorized such a long string of terms.
After hearing Sha Xiaojuan's words and recalling what the doctor had said, Lu Hua suddenly lost his temper and sighed, saying:
"The doctor said the surgery would cost 4 yuan, and we would have to wait for a bed, which would take about a month."
Upon hearing the 4 yuan surgery fee, Sha Xiaojuan's eyes dimmed; this figure was astronomical for people in rural areas.
She felt that if Lu Yuan knew it would cost so much money, he would definitely regret it.
Unexpectedly, after listening, Lu Yuan simply asked:
"Have you assigned beds yet?"
"No," Lu Hua replied, then countered, "Seriously? You're really going to pay for the surgery? That's 4 yuan! Where would you get that much money?!"
At this moment, Lu Yuan immediately put on a sour face, parked the car on the side of the road, turned around and cursed at Sha Xiaojuan:
"Why did you come back if you didn't get a bed? Did you hear me say I'd pay for the surgery? You three get out of here and find a hotel to stay in. Go get a bed first thing tomorrow morning, or don't come back."
One minute later, Lu Hua and his two companions, each holding a pancake, stared in astonishment as Lu Yuan's light truck sped away.
Sha Xiaojuan was a little incredulous and turned to ask:
"Brother Lu Hua, does Boss Lu Yuan mean he still needs to pay for Dandan's surgery?"
Dandan is Sha Xiaojuan's daughter, and she is about the same age as Lu Xue.
Because of her heart condition, her small face appeared dark, and her big eyes were wide open, waiting for Lu Hua's answer.
Lu Hua immediately changed direction, saying somewhat irritably:
"Didn't you hear? Xiao Yuan said he'd pay for the surgery, so there's definitely no problem. Let's hurry and find a hotel, we're exhausted!"
Despite Lu Hua's somewhat impatient tone, Sha Xiaojuan still hugged her daughter and cried with emotion.
The most painful thing in the world is watching your child die little by little, and being completely helpless.
For a farmer, 4 yuan is like the sky falling.
The land belongs to the collective and cannot be sold; rural houses can only be transferred within the same village.
Even if you sell all the chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep, and drain all their blood to sell, you still won't be able to raise enough money for medical expenses.
Lu Yuan's appearance was like a savior. She vowed that once Dandan recovered, she would work like a slave to repay the money that saved her life.