The knights, who filled the street-facing windows on the third floor, were all drawn to the noodles.
They had never seen such finely crafted noodles.
Not only had I never seen it before, but I had never even heard of it before.
The moment the Westerling noodles were served, they sparked a heated discussion.
These people are all wealthy; they've all eaten noodles and can afford them.
But these noodles are all the same size, so finely crafted, I've never seen anything like it before.
The noodles they ate before varied in size and length, mostly in chunks, some as thick as a palm. Their most distinctive characteristics were their roughness and primitiveness. Furthermore, regardless of their social class, they always ate noodles and broth together.
Scarcity makes things valuable!
The moment these noodles, which everyone had never seen, heard of, or tasted before, were served, it washed away any initial flattery or desire to curry favor with the Earl.
No one can resist the allure of such exquisite and beautiful noodles!
As the noodles were served, pairs of perfectly polished chopsticks were also handed to the guests.
The guests' attention shifted from the noodles to the chopsticks.
The chopsticks have inscriptions on them, painted with bright colors, explaining why they are designed to be round at the bottom and square at the top.
Because of the square shape of the upper part of the chopsticks, they will not roll whether placed on a table or a bowl. When serving guests at a banquet, the chopsticks will be as stable as a rock.
The guests nodded in agreement after reading the written explanation.
Of course, the significance of chopsticks, which come from the East and represent Chinese civilization, goes far beyond stability.
First of all, although these chopsticks are simply round at the bottom and square at the top, they are actually quite sophisticated.
The shape of the lower circle and the upper part alone was finalized after a long period of historical development.
First of all, the square shape of these chopsticks is derived from round and hexagonal shapes. Square chopsticks are less likely to slip when you hold them in your hand and use them to stir food, making it easier to eat noodles.
The shape of chopsticks, round at the bottom and square at the top, also provided skilled craftsmen with artistic opportunities to inscribe poems, carve characters, and create patterns on them, laying the foundation for the production of exquisite craft chopsticks. The four sides of square chopsticks can be carved on one side, two sides, or all four sides.
The square end and round end of chopsticks are derived from the Chinese cultural concept of a round heaven and a square earth. Since chopsticks symbolize heaven and earth, holding heaven and earth in one's hands embodies the Eastern philosophy that humans, as the masters of all things, should control heaven and earth and change the destiny of humankind.
Secondly, why is the simplest and most versatile utensil used by the Chinese people called chopsticks?
The character "筷" (kuài) in "筷子" (kuàizi) symbolizes happiness and joy; "子" (zǐ) is a respectful term for a person in traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, "筷子" signifies joy and courtesy.
Of course, the cultural significance and connotations of chopsticks are not limited to these points.
The instructions on the specially designed chopsticks for this noodle shop, designed by Magic Mountain, didn't offer much detail for the Western nobles of ancient times, who lived a semi-pastoral, semi-agricultural lifestyle. Compared to the cultural connotations embodied in chopsticks and refined noodles, these nobles, limited by the constraints of their historical era, wouldn't have understood even if explained. It was sufficient to simply tell them that the square design of the chopsticks made them easy to place without rolling, conveying stability, and making eating noodles easier.
After all, university science and engineering students from the electronic technology civilization era can easily crush a group of so-called Western aristocrats from a semi-agricultural, semi-pastoral civilization in terms of civilization level! Just mentioning one of their many advantages is enough!
True skill lies in simplicity, and a heavy sword has no edge!
As the noodles from the second and first floors were served, the guests on the third floor had already finished theirs. When they asked for refills, they were told that due to the difficulty of producing dried noodles and the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of finely milling wheat, the production of dried noodles was limited. One bowl per person today was already the best they could manage, and no refills were available. If they wanted more, they would have to wait until tomorrow.
This is the true high-end reflected in the refined dining culture. Being able to eat a bowl of noodles at Earl's Noodles Restaurant is already a rare privilege, and it is an honor in itself.
No one who isn't a knight, a tycoon, or a celebrity has the right to taste noodles here. Many people can produce a silver deer coin, but those qualified to enter Earl's Noodle Shop, besides possessing a silver deer coin, are either noble, wealthy, or celebrities who have made outstanding contributions in a particular field.
As for others, they come with money, but we don't serve them!
If these knights and nobles were to eat at other restaurants the delicacies they had never seen or tasted before, they would surely eat their fill and enjoy themselves to the fullest. But at Count Od's noodle shop, not one of them dared to be unruly.
If you want to eat these unique noodles again, there's no other way but to come back tomorrow. If you want to buy these noodles and cook them at home, sorry, regardless of whether Crigan Village can produce large quantities of these refined noodles, they are not for sale.
An hour later, all the guests had left. Earl Ode saw them off and returned to the shop to check the earnings. It was a very successful day, as in addition to the cost of each guest's silver deer noodle dish, many had given generous gifts. Some of the extremely wealthy had even gifted a hundred gold dragons. A little over half an hour later, the accounts were tallied, and Earl Ode and Sir Gregor each had several hundred gold dragons in their accounts.
The Earl's eyes narrowed with laughter, and little Rosamund Lannister was running and skipping around the noodle shop. The cooks, helpers, apprentices, and servants from Clegane, including the former innkeeper, were all beaming with joy.
After the accounts were settled, everyone tidied up and could close the shop for a break. It was only noon, and the noodle shop was closing up shop.
A bowl of noodles is expensive and only sold to nobles and the wealthy. The food also sells a sense of superiority: it's not just about eating unique noodles, but also about strongly satisfying the vanity of the customers. And the profit is several times that of selling vegetables and wine in the past.
The cooks and workers were delighted by the greatly shortened working hours, and Count Auder was even happier, because he was certain that many nobles would bring their families to eat these noodles tomorrow. This unique noodle delicacy would not only broaden the horizons of nobles and the wealthy, but also become a topic of conversation for them to boast about when they went out to parties. Anyone who hadn't eaten it would be looked down upon.
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If each person buys one bowl of noodles tomorrow, sales will more than double.
Before long, the reputation of Earl Odd's Noodle Shop in Lannisport will spread far and wide, reaching many island nations across the seas and the nine free city-states across the Narrow Sea. A month later, they can begin selling small quantities of noodles at high prices through trade routes, gradually building their reputation. Two months later, they can open a second noodle shop in King's Landing, thus creating a unique goldmine.
"Master Alec!" Count Ode greeted with a smile.
"Yes, sir!"
Alec is the wife of Blackstone, the standard-bearer of the Mountain's cavalry, and the head chef sent by the Mountain to Earl Od's noodle shop.
"I will send the family's chief bodyguard, Gna Lanny, to escort you back to Clegane New Village. There is plenty of time; you can return before nightfall without any rush, and it won't interfere with tomorrow's noodle business."
"Yes, sir."
"Please go back and tell Lord Gregor, but it would be better to tell Lady Jenny that we had a very good harvest today. I will temporarily break the agreement and not deliver the hundreds of gold dragons belonging to Sir Gregor to Clegane Castle today. I will deliver the money to Sir Gregor as soon as Duke Tywin leaves Clegane Village."
"Yes, sir!"
"Please tell Lady Jenny privately that if Duke Tywin knew our noodle shop was doing very well, he would probably increase our taxes. The Duke has always liked to do that. Our noodle shop is making a lot of money, but it's just the beginning, so it's best to keep a low profile."
"Yes, sir!"
Earl Odd hoped to keep a low profile and make a fortune quietly, but his ulterior motives confirmed what Duke Tywin Lannister had said when criticizing Ser Kevan: Kevan and Odd were both intelligent, wise, loyal and responsible, but they had limited vision, narrow minds and small perspectives.