Chapter 14: Boss! Do you handle credit cards?

  Zhao Pàngzi's home is very small, a one-bedroom apartment of over 30 square meters. The kitchen is so narrow that you can't even turn around in it. To be exact, Zhao Pàngzi's house originally belonged to his parents. Now that his parents have each formed their own families, Zhao Pàngzi's father gave this relatively small unit to Zhao Pàngzi to live in alone.

  Perhaps the homes of single men are always so messy. The bedding on the bed is all piled up in a mess. Li Xiaoteng had never seen Zhao Baozi's bed made neatly. On the dining table, there were all sorts of leftover instant noodles and packaging bags for sausages! Even more outrageous was that the floor was filled with various vegetables, konjac products, and large boxes of sausages! Everything was disorderly and chaotic, randomly piled up throughout the entire room!

  Li Xiaoteng looked at the messy room with a sense of oppression and said, "Dong Ge, can we clean up? It's really impossible to work like this! Look at your kitchen..." Zhao Baozi smiled awkwardly: "I'll clean up the kitchen right away. There's really no space in the room! I have nowhere to put the dishes!"

  Li Xiaoteng glanced around the room and said, "Alright, you go fold the bedding first, I'll help you clean up the kitchen! You put all the dishes and stuff away neatly!" Zhao Baozi nodded and said, "No problem!" Li Xiaoteng continued to lecture, "As a catering business, the most important thing is to be tidy and clean! We will become big and strong in the future! If we don't have good hygiene habits and tidy dish management requirements, we will definitely not do well! Good habits must be cultivated from now on!"

  Zhao Baozi's face turned black as he stared at Li Xiaoteng, who was chattering nonstop. He had no idea how much of it he had actually taken in! Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Baozi's darkened face and let out a helpless sigh: "Alright! Let's get started!" With that, he casually took off his jacket, found a relatively clean apron, and with the fearless spirit of a revolutionary martyr, charged into the kitchen!

  It looks like a small place, but Zhao has made it so dirty and messy that there's nowhere to put your feet. Li Xiaoteng, who was working while thinking about how miserable he was, finally managed to clean up the basic operating space by noon after struggling for a long time!

  Zhao Pàngzi was gathering things outside, looking at Li Xiaoteng who was busy running around, and said with embarrassment: "Teng Ge, it's almost 12 o'clock, I'll treat you to a bowl of noodles!" Li Xiaoteng replied while working: "You have so many dishes here, just stir-fry something simple and that's enough! Why go out to eat? It's such a waste. I'll cook two dishes for you, let's make some rice and have a meal together!"

  Zhao Baozi was shocked and tried his best to widen his small eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, those little eyes were still so small! Zhao Baozi sighed: "Teng Ge, have you been possessed by a demon? If it weren't for the time when I accidentally spilled some spicy hot pot while cooking, I wouldn't dare eat your cooking!"

  Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Baozi speechlessly, originally wanting to boast a bit. After thinking about it, he didn't say anything!

  Two exquisite small stir-fries were placed on the table, one was a wood ear mushroom and cabbage stir-fry with fish tofu. The other was a vinegar-glazed potato sliver. The fish tofu was bright and translucent, while the potato slivers emitted a sour fragrance. The aroma emanating from the table was extremely enticing. The color, fragrance, and flavor were all complete!

  Li Xiaoteng recently gave Zhao Baozi a surprise, one after another. Originally, Zhao Baozi had already become somewhat immune to it, but seeing today's simple two stir-fries, he was shocked again. Because Zhao Baozi himself knew that the seasonings in the kitchen, except for salt, MSG, and vinegar, were basically all lacking. If Li Xiaoteng hadn't asked him to buy seasonings the night before last, there wouldn't even be vinegar today. But under such conditions, with such ordinary home-cooked ingredients, Li Xiaoteng was actually able to make it like this! Zhao Baozi said that he's getting more and more unable to understand Li Xiaoteng!

  This meal made Zhao Baozi burst out again. Li Xiaoteng had a small bowl of rice, with three or five bites of vegetables. The rest of the dishes were all eaten by Zhao Baozi. After finishing his meal, Zhao Baozi covered his big belly and lay down on the bed, muttering to himself: "Teng Ge, I'm so full! It's too delicious, too delicious..." Suddenly he sat up and shouted: "Teng Ge! Let's open a restaurant!"

  Li Xiaoteng sat in front of the dinner table, speechlessly looking at Zhao Baozi and said: "With our limited funds, we still want to open a restaurant? Let's first get the spicy hot pot right before talking about it... Actually, I really want to take over the cold dish business of Dongxing Restaurant. We can add some grilled dishes! But I don't know if the boss of Dongxing Restaurant is willing to let us have it!"

  "The boss of Dongxing Restaurant, it seems like he owed money, went to Macau to gamble on horses, lost a lot of money, and was detained in Macau. It wasn't until the boss's wife brought money to bail him out that they found out how much he owed. Even if the boss's wife sold all their pots and pans, she still wouldn't be able to pay it back! Later, she just threw the money at Macau and quickly ran back! She had fulfilled her duty. It was a close call for the boss's wife not to come back! The casino in Macau doesn't know about the relationship between the boss and his wife, if they did... Hmph, it would be hard to say what would happen!" Zhao Baozi seemed to know all the inside information, speaking with flying spittle!

  Li Xiaoteng thought for a moment, and asked in confusion: "Then who did you negotiate with when renting the night market at Dongxing Restaurant?" Zhao Baozi replied casually: "Of course it was with the manager of Dongxing Restaurant! Who said that the manager must be the boss? You haven't heard of professional managers?" Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Baozi dejectedly, lit a cigarette and took a puff, saying: "For such a small shop, with an area of less than 400 square meters in total, would there be a professional manager?"

  Zhao Pangzi shrugged and said, "They may be professional managers, but after all, their professional quality is not good enough. It's like the boss's family has had an accident. From top to bottom, everyone in the store is looking for a way out for themselves, no one is working with their heart! Didn't you see that last chef, he wandered around and then disappeared?" Li Xiaoteng finished eating and was about to start work, but couldn't help asking, "Have we met their head chef before?" Zhao Pangzi nodded, "We have! It's the big chef who wore a yellow chef uniform last time!"

  Li Xiaoteng suddenly remembered the cook covered in oil stains, whose uniform was invisible. Suddenly, he felt a wave of nausea and an urge to vomit!

  Li Xiaoteng, who had taken a few fierce puffs on his cigarette, calmed down and said, "Alright, let's not mention it anymore. With our current limited funds, let's focus on getting the spicy hot pot business off the ground first!" Zhao Huazi also nodded slowly and said, "Yes, unfortunately, we don't have enough funds. Speaking of which, Mr. Li, how much capital are you planning to invest?" Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Huazi with a mixture of disdain and disappointment on his face, sighed, and said, "I plan to invest 2,000 yuan, and the rest will be in the form of technical investment." Zhao Huazi knew that Li Xiaoteng didn't have much money, and he himself couldn't bear the responsibility of running the spicy hot pot business alone.

  In the supermarket, it's always crowded with people. There aren't any cheaper goods than outside, maybe even more expensive. But people often have a mentality of following the crowd. Good things that one or two people don't want will eventually be unwanted by many, and enter a vicious cycle, losing their value. And bad things, when bought by many, are naturally thought to be good, even if not ideal, they'll find excuses for themselves: since others have bought it, it must be good, and the problem is either with the quality or my own operation!

  In the supermarket, Zhao Paozi pushed a shopping cart and looked at his own shopping cart which was completely occupied by a 20-pound bag of chili peppers! He couldn't help but sigh at Li Xiaoteng's ability to cause trouble. Thinking back to earlier when Li Xiaoteng finished cleaning the kitchen, his first task was to ask Zhao Paozi to buy chili peppers! Zhao Paozi fell silent!

  Li Xiaoteng tasted Zhao Baozi's hot pepper soup ingredients and broth, but no matter how he ate it, it didn't taste right! After searching for half a day for chili oil, he found that it was still the same one Zhao Baozi bought at the supermarket that night! He looked silently at the poor and empty kitchen. Li Xiaoteng finally understood an old saying: "A good cook can't work without rice."

  A common steamed bun in a steel pot! Hot oil is boiling inside, and two empty oil barrels are placed next to it. Standing in front of the gas stove, watching the scallions, ginger, and garlic being fried until they lose their moisture, the slices of scallion have turned golden yellow and float on the surface of the steel pot! Li Xiaoteng quickly fetched a skimmer and started scooping out the residue of the scallions, ginger, and garlic from the oil.

  At this time, Zhao Huanzi came in with the door open! Holding chili crumbs, hands still holding several bottles of fragrant oil in plastic bags. Excitedly asked: "Teng brother, what a great onion flavor! You didn't say you wanted to make red oil? How did you end up making oil that tastes almost like scallion and sea cucumber?" Li Xiaoteng said casually: "I'm making authentic Sichuan red oil! You pour out half of the chili crumbs, put them in a bowl, add two taels of sesame seeds, and then stir evenly with fragrant oil. It's just like playing with mud when we were kids." After finishing speaking, he was still a bit worried, so he walked over. While simmering the scallion oil, he instructed Zhao Huanzi on how to dilute the chili crumbs with fragrant oil. After it was done, he directly scooped up the chili crumbs with a spoon and put them into the scallion oil, with a small fire that wouldn't let the chili face boil the oil, but every time there was a "sizzling" sound of oil frying, it would be accompanied by the transmission of sweet and spicy pepper flavor!

  Stir-fry various spices with chili oil. The Sichuan hot pot base, which is the finishing touch, is also stir-fried! After pouring in clear water, a large amount of chicken essence is added. Zhao Baozi watched Li Xiaoteng work for a long time before making another big pot of spicy and numbing hot pot base. He muttered to himself: "With such fragrant base ingredients, how delicious will the spicy and numbing hot pot be?"

  The aroma of spicy hot pot wafts through the night market, and the streets on both sides are filled with the scent of spicy hot pot! The phrase "fragrance for miles" seems a bit exaggerated. However, inside the night market, it's not just Li Xiaoteng selling spicy hot pot, but other people's spicy hot pot stalls are also crowded. Occasionally, after finishing their meal, customers would still stop by Li Xiaoteng's stall to try a few bites. Looking at the diners sitting in front of Dongxing Fangzhuang today, who came specifically to eat spicy hot pot and drink beer, it seems to be an interpretation of the deliciousness of Li Xiaoteng's spicy hot pot!

  Busy Zhao Baozi, one serving hot pot to diners, the other taking orders and collecting payments from customers.

  Li Xiaoteng, who was busy calculating accounts, suddenly heard a pleasant female voice shouting: "Boss, I wish you prosperity in your business!" Li Xiaoteng, still focused on his calculations, didn't even lift his head. Then he heard Zhao Baozi excitedly shouting: "Damn it, look at our business! Isn't this what they call prosperity?"

  A pleasant female voice hastily apologized: "Boss, congratulations on your wealth!" But the sentence that followed immediately after was like a thunderclap that resounded in Li Xiaoteng's ears.

  "Boss! Do you handle credit cards?"

  (Today is New Year's Eve, I guess everyone has just finished lunch! Wishing you a happy family reunion and all the best. Happy New Year to everyone!)