Chapter 3 third chapter
There are various types of banquets, ranging from weddings to funerals, talent presentations and haiku parties.Some people want to hold a formal banquet for their life events, while others just want to have a good time.For a long time, Shichibei's dream has been to let people recognize him as a talented chef, and the dishes he makes can add brilliance to the banquet, so that the guests can name and say: such an important banquet must be held in Shichibei's restaurant, Eating the dishes made by Shichibei is worthwhile.
Reluctantly, Shichibei worked hard all his life. Just busy running Takadaya, training young chefs, and researching new dishes, most of his life passed away in a hurry.When I came back to my senses, my sixtieth year had already passed.
So Qibei decided to entrust his dream to Taiichiro to realize, which was his decision the year before last.
Taiichiro, who was trained by Shichibei, has already had the ability to be alone.He married Duo Hui and gave birth to A Ling, and now he is a big man.Taiichiro obeys Shichibei's orders in everything. After all, it is Shichibei who is the benefactor who laid the foundation stone and erected the pillars for Taiichiro's life. Therefore, Taiichiro never took the initiative to propose an independent family or recommend himself as the successor of Takadaya. Adhering to his duties as a chef at Takadaya, he received some pocket money in the middle and end of the year like other helpers, and lived frugally in the oshigami dormitory with his wife and children.He had already decided to let Qibei arrange his own future.
Shichibei is also aware of Taiichiro's honest personality, so one night he called Taiichiro to a room in the dormitory and sat upright to bring up the matter.He said: Taiichiro, I want you to open a restaurant of my dreams.Of course, I will prepare everything, whether it is looking for a place to rent a shop, or the necessary equipment for making money, I will pay for it.Simply put, it makes you independent.You are welcome.But the condition is that instead of opening a rice shop, a food shop will be opened.You must be fine, you must be able to do it with your cooking skills.
Taiichiro was taken aback, and declined with a pale face.He said: "The boss raised me up and cultivated me. How can I be independent? As far as I am concerned, even if the boss drives me out and tells me to rely on myself, I have nothing to say. I have to work harder. I would like to repay your kindness so far.”
Qibingwei pretended to be angry and said: "Yes, I am your benefactor, don't you listen to what the benefactor said?" He laughed again, "Don't be so harsh, I really want to open a restaurant." Tears said, "As long as this wish is fulfilled, I can go to the Land of Elysium with a smile at any time." In short, Shichibei tried to persuade Taiichiro with both soft and hard tactics. His voice was so loud that even Tae came to visit with a worried face.
Taiichiro had never seen Shichibei express his true feelings so much, and couldn't help being moved.He temporarily resigned and went to the back room to discuss with Duo Hui. After all, Duo Hui also received the favor of Qibingwei since childhood.The couple discussed all night, and finally came to a conclusion when the sky turned white.
Taiichiro and his wife bowed in front of Shichibei and replied: "We decided to take on this heavy responsibility and fulfill the boss' wish." However, Shichibei was not too happy, and the two put forward a condition that they would never give in.
"Duohui and I don't have much savings, so we have to ask the boss to pay for the restaurant. However, please treat the money as borrowed from us. If we want to be independent and have to divide the property, we absolutely cannot accept it. Please treat it as a loan, even if we have limited money to repay, we will try our best to repay it slowly. Please do this, the boss, even if it is a farewell for us, please."
Shichihei was very displeased with this condition at first, and said angrily: "I treat you as my own son, but you still try to be brave!" Taiichiro was also frightened for a while, and even realized with Duohui that they might have to leave Takadaya now.Fortunately, Shichibei's wife, Ah Xian, came out in time to smooth things over.
"Taichiro is indeed like your son, even his personality is exactly the same as yours. Think about it, if it were you, at Taiichiro's age, if the owner of the rice shop who raised you made the same request to you, your answer would definitely be the same. It’s the same as Taiichiro now. If you don’t believe me, how about taking a gamble? I can even bet with the money I saved for going to Ise.”
Ah Xian has been saving money for a long time, and she plans to wait for Shichibei to retire, and the two will pay homage to the priest of Ise together.By now I should have saved a considerable sum, enough for a luxurious trip.And she even said that she was willing to bet all of them.Shichibei smiled and said, "How are you going to bet? Unless you ask God to let us go back to the past, otherwise this bet will not stand at all."
However, Shichihei just likes Ah Xian's bold and straightforward personality.
"I see, I admit defeat. Then write the IOU."
Shichibei's dream and Taiichiro and his wife's future life goals - a restaurant - now have a specific direction.
However, unexpectedly, the location of the new shop has not been found for a long time.
First of all, it should not be too close to Takadaya, a rice-packaging shop. It is better to be in a quiet place, but it is not easy to do business if it is too far away from the downtown area, and the high market price of the location will also affect profits.
Shichibei wanted to open in Asakusa and Kanda, while Taiichiro planned to choose Fukagawa.Near Tomioka Hachiman-kan in Fukagawa, there is a well-known cuisine restaurant "Hirakiyo". Among the patrons, there are many big shop owners in the Nihombashi area or wealthy samurai family with a good reputation.Taiichiro believes that the Fukagawa area has developed rapidly in the past ten years, and there may be many well-off people who do not have so much budget to squander at "Hiraki", but feel that ordinary bento is boring. I hope there is one that is cheaper than "Hiraki". A decent restaurant.
Taiichiro thought that it would be interesting to develop new customers in Fukagawa instead of going to Asakusa and Kanda, where there are many famous stores, and rushing into the fierce battle.
Besides, the land price in Fukagawa is much cheaper than that in Asakusa and Kanda.Taiichiro persuaded Shichibei to focus on looking for shops in the Fukagawa area.
However, a suitable shop has not been found.Takadaya has cultivated enough chefs to succeed Taiichiro, and the helpers also sincerely wish Taiichiro that he can stand on his own, but the most important place to stay has been unable to be decided, and the inflated dreams and expectations are gradually extinguished, like shochu that has cooled.
After more than a year like this, when Taiichiro was awkwardly hanging in mid-air at Takadaya, he suddenly heard a news that there was a restaurant by the Takahashi Bridge next to the Onaki River, and he was willing to bring utensils with him. rent.
Upon hearing the unbelievably good news, Taiichiro and Shichibei rushed to visit the landlord.The name of that place is "Seaside Daikoncho", and as the name suggests, it used to be a place where carpenters lived together.Now, the carpenters have all migrated to "Dagong Town" on the other side of the small river, where there are several small shops next to each other.
The landlord, Sun Bingwei, is an eighty-two-year-old man with severe deafness, but his mind is sharper than Taiichiro's. He talks about money quickly and neatly, and the land price is also reasonable.According to the old man, the reason why the previous restaurant could not continue to operate was because of poor chef skills, not because of the bad location, and there are many temples nearby, so it should be very suitable for opening a restaurant.
The shop is side by side with the samurai mansion at the east end of the seaside Daikumachi across a small river. Surrounded by river water.
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