Chapter 37: Awesome! There's a car! There are horses! What can be done about it?

  The front desk little sister probably went crazy. Kong Zhen lay on the table, thinking of the front desk little sister after feeling sad. At the same time, Kong Zhen also thought of a spicy hot pot stall in Nancheng.

  After a while, Kong Zhen sat up straight. He casually pulled out his wallet and counted the money, only to find that he had more than 80 yuan left. The cost of staying in a small hotel was enough, and adding the card, there should be more than 800 yuan left. But thinking of Zhang Na's parents... Alas!

  Spicy hot pot... thinking of spicy hot pot stalls... dinner still needs to be eaten at night.

  Kong Zhen works for a private investment company, but as the market worsens, everyone has family to support. Borrowing 3,000 yuan from colleagues is not an option for Kong Zhen, who can't bring himself to ask and probably wouldn't get it anyway.

  But Kong Zhen's parents were not rich themselves, and Kong Zhen had to beg for money. With Kong Zhen's masculine pride, he would rather cut off his hand than ask his parents for the money with an outstretched hand.

  It's also unclear whether Kong Zhen is truly in love or just foolishly filial. In fact, Zhang Na and Kong Zhen had discussed hoping that Kong Zhen could ask his parents to borrow some money. But Kong Zhen didn't even think about it before refusing Zhang Na's request. Perhaps he was unwilling to add to the difficulties of his already struggling parents. Or perhaps as a man, he didn't want to lose face by asking for money.

  But as a result, Kong Zhen, who was deeply despised by Zhang Na, was swept out of the door.

  Kong Zhen felt a surge of emotions, scratched his hair, and began frantically searching on the office desk, hoping for a miracle. If he had forgotten 100 yuan on the desk that time, maybe he could find it now and alleviate some of his urgent needs.

  But Kong Zhen was really disappointed! Looking at the sky outside that gradually darkened...Kong Zhen didn't even know where he would sleep tonight!

  As night falls, the night market becomes more and more prosperous. Diners choose their favorite snacks or restaurants, and settle in for a meal. Amidst the bustle, Zhao Huanzi sees Li Xiaoteng constantly cooking spicy hot pot. He walks over and says: "Brother Teng is mighty! Brother Teng take a break!"

  Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Baozi and said, "You take a break. You've been running for half a day too. If you keep this up for a month, I reckon you'll lose another 10 pounds!" Zhao Baozi chuckled and then said, "Teng Ge, tomorrow we're taking over the Dongxing Gang's territory, are you excited?"

  Li Xiaoteng glanced at Zhao Huzi and said somewhat speechlessly, "Since the Dongxing Gang took our black money, they should naturally give us some territory in return! What's there to be excited about?" Just as he was speaking nonsense, a waiter from the Dongxing Restaurant came over and refilled their plates with edamame.

  The two of them quickly lowered their heads and didn't speak, if the service staff heard this conversation, they would definitely think that the two were mentally ill!

  Zhao Baozi suddenly looked at Mao Dou and asked, "Teng Ge, do you think this Mao Dou and Huang Dou are the same thing? I really can't figure it out, are these two names referring to the same thing, just with different names?"

  Li Xiaoteng thought for a moment and said, "You're actually right! These two names are referring to the same thing." He then lowered his voice and said, "Don't you know? It's just like Huang Pian and Mao Pian are referring to the same movie, they're the same..."

  Zhao Baozi nodded thoughtfully.

  Li Xiaoteng glanced at his watch and saw that it was already past 9 o'clock. He turned to Zhao Baozi and said, "I'll go to the Dongxing Restaurant to give Manager Dong a heads up. Later, I'll find a waiter to come out and help us with our order." After saying this, he nodded at Zhao Baozi and then rushed into the Dongxing Restaurant.

  Manager Dong's goldfish is still unfinished in the pool. Looking at Manager Dong who was still reading, Li Xiaoteng suddenly felt a little speechless. After calling out to Manager Dong, he hastily said: "Manager Dong, I need to go out for a bit, can you arrange someone to help me? I'm afraid Zhao Baozi is too busy!"

  Manager Dong had just received a big red envelope from Li Xiaoteng, so he naturally didn't say anything else. He accompanied Li Xiaoteng out of the office and happened to run into Zhang Dakuan who had just come out of the toilet after smoking.

  Manager Dong pulled Zhang Dake over with one hand and asked: "Where did you go?"

  Zhang Dake suddenly felt a sense of being caught off guard. He hastily said, "Manager Dong, I'm going to take a dump..." "Take a dump? How crude can you be! Can't you say you're going to the bathroom?" Li Xiaoteng rolled his eyes in exasperation and looked at the two of them before hurrying to say, "Manager Dong, what about what I was saying?"

  Manager Dong nodded and hurriedly said: "Zhang Dakuan, I can tell you're sneaking out to smoke during work hours! Later, you'll go with Li Xiaoteng to help out at the night market. Help Zhao Baozi watch the stall at the entrance. I'll let it slide this time that you were smoking during work hours, did you hear me?"

  Zhang Dakei quickly nodded, indicating that he would definitely help the other party well and make amends! Li Xiaoteng looked at the two people who were talking nonsense and really wanted to say: Why is the mountain of duck pear so big?!

  Li Xiaoteng arranged for Zhang Dakuan to help, and when Zhao Baozi was busy, he personally took out the reserved ingredients and put them next to the spicy hot pot.

  Li Xiaoteng used a spoon to scoop up the soup, avoiding the red oil. He took out a mouthful of soup, blew on it to cool down the heat, and sipped a mouthful of the soup...

  She casually grabbed a small handful of stir-fried green peppercorns. She added a small piece of rock sugar and sprinkled some salt. After stirring for a while, she smelled the aroma and added two dried chili peppers. After a while, she put the taro, duck blood, frozen tofu, and meatballs that needed to be cooked into the pot and cooked them for a bit. In the time it took to smoke half a cigarette, she quickly added several types of leafy greens, then after a moment's hesitation, she hastily scooped out all the spicy hot pot ingredients.

  She casually took out the large Qinghua porcelain plate borrowed from Dongxing Restaurant from under the shelf, and neatly arranged the spicy hot pot ingredients together.

  Zhao Pangzi watched Li Xiaoteng's craftsmanship, doing it with style. Suddenly his eyes shone brightly and he muttered to himself: "Has Brother Teng transformed into a great chef? This is so awesome?"

  Li Xiaoteng was still thinking about flattering and didn't notice Zhao Baozi's gaze. He covered the dish, wiped his hands and was about to leave when a customer who had been paying attention to Li Xiaoteng suddenly shouted: "Boss, give us another serving of what you just made for that table!"

  Li Xiaoteng glanced at the guest beside him, nodded and said: "Alright!" Hurriedly called Zhao Baozi over to make another portion for the guest according to his own selection of materials.

  Zhao Pàngzi's performance in making málàtáng is not worth mentioning, but Li Xiaoteng took three steps and did two, running straight to the police station.

  Yu Pian'er looked at the chessboard on the table, nodding his head in satisfaction. He took a puff of smoke and said: "Ai Jun Ge, we have a spicy hot pot here that is unparalleled in Beijing. It's called 'numbing but not hurting the mouth, spicy but not hurting the stomach'. The aroma is rich and smooth, it's a real delight to eat. And it's run by a young man in his early twenties who partnered with someone else. That young man's craftsmanship is top-notch!"

  Feng Aijun had been feeling uneasy for several days. He and his wife at home had already escalated from some trivial matters to a cold war! Just when he was not feeling comfortable, Yu Pianer came today with a big kill four sides. When he was running out of breath, he heard someone knocking on the door outside with a "thud thud thud".

  Yu Pian'er hastily got up and went out to open the door. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Feng Aijun really wanted to tear up the chessboard. But after thinking about it, he sighed and restrained himself.

  Only then did Yu Pian smile and welcome Li Xiaoteng, who had just walked in from outside. Feng Aijun thought Li Xiaoteng was just a delivery guy and didn't even look up or greet him. Only when Yu Pian pulled over a chair and hastily offered it to Li Xiaoteng did Feng Aijun finally raise his head to take a look at Li Xiaoteng.

  Li Xiaoteng saw Feng Aijun and naturally knew that this was Yu Pianer's friend, so he rushed to greet him: "Hello, I'm also from this neighborhood. My name is Li Xiaoteng!" Yu Pianer saw that Li Xiaoteng was quite polite, so she hurriedly introduced him: "Aijun, this is the young man I told you about. His spicy hot pot is one of the best in Beijing!"

  Feng Aijun's face turned dark, and he responded with a single sentence: "He just said hello and that was it." Yu Pian'er didn't think much of it either, and smiled as she said: "Xiao Teng, this is my old classmate, now working at the Food and Drug Inspection Bureau. Now he's doing better than me, already a department head!"

  Li Xiaoteng put down the spicy hot pot in his hand and hurriedly nodded at Feng Aijun. Feng Aijun didn't even bother to respond to Li Xiaoteng this time, staring blankly at the chessboard.

  Li Xiaoteng took a glance at the chessboard and suddenly felt delighted. Feng Aijun was playing with red flags, while Yu Pian was using black pieces. Two of Yu Pian's black pawns had already crossed the Chu River Han border and were pressing straight into the enemy camp. The most interesting thing was that Feng Aijun's king was actually hanging on the upper left corner, with no knights on either side, and there was even a chariot below...

  Yu Pian'er rushed towards Li Xiaoteng with a smile and said, "Wait for me, it's my turn to go..." As he spoke, he took a step forward. He shouted loudly: "General!" Feng Aijun jumped onto the horse below him and shouted loudly: "I'll eat!"

  Li Xiaoteng couldn't help but shake his head. Just then, the horse was just about to suffocate Feng Jianjun's own general. Suddenly, Yu Pian'er burst out laughing and raised her hand to sacrifice another pawn...

  The game ended with Feng Jianjun's own blunder.

  "Just listen to this kid, haha, saying: 'What's the use of being a general at this time? What's the use of having a car? What can you do with a horse?' Haha! Feng Aijun suddenly slammed his fist on the table and scolded angrily: 'You son... I'm going to fight it out with you!'"

  Yu Pian quickly laughed and said, "Just kidding, just kidding. Why are you still angry?" He hastily turned around to Li Xiaoteng and said, "Xiaoteng, hurry up and bring over the spicy hot pot, let Director Feng try some!" As he spoke, he casually pushed aside the chessboard.

  Li Xiaoteng hastily brought over the spicy hot pot, opened the lid. Feng Aijun was stunned at once. Looking at the exquisite spicy hot pot, he was stunned for a moment. Pointing to the plate, he said: "How did you make this spicy hot pot so exquisite?" Li Xiaoteng scratched his head and said with embarrassment: "This is Yu Su'er's specialty dish. Of course, it has to be made more exquisite. Hehe"

  Yu Pian'er looked at Li Xiaoteng's carefully made spicy hot pot and suddenly felt very proud. Feng Aijun took a glance at Yu Pian'er and casually said, "Great, Yu Pian'er, you're really something! But I don't know if it's just for show or actually tastes good." He picked up a disposable chopstick and ate a meatball. Suddenly, the numbingly spicy and fragrant flavor rushed straight to his heart. The tingling sensation of spiciness in his mouth blended with the aroma of spices, lingering around his tongue. He chewed a few more bites, then picked up another piece of oilseed rape and started eating.

  Yu Pian'er saw the situation and hurriedly said: "Damn! Old Feng, don't eat it all! Leave some for me." Yu Pian'er also grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started competing with Feng Aijun.

  Li Xiaoteng watched the two of them arguing happily, and naturally felt very pleased. He looked at the two eating and chatting together. The feeling of defeat that Feng Aijun had earlier was already gone, who knows where it had been thrown to!

  Li Xiaoteng saw that Feng Aijun had almost finished eating and said, "Brother Feng, I'm not good at playing Chinese chess. Can you give me some advice on the next two moves?"

  Feng Aijun wiped his mouth and shook his head, saying: "Xiao Teng, don't worry about the chess game! My wife loves to eat spicy hot pot. Is your stall far from here? Give me some to take back home and see if I can win my wife's favor, otherwise I'll be worried sick!"

  Li Xiaoteng hastily nodded and said, "Not far, not far." Before he could finish speaking, his phone suddenly rang...... Li Xiaoteng took out his mobile phone and saw that it was Zhao Baozi calling. He felt a bit anxious, the old woman's case had already caused him enough trouble. Zhao Baozi must have called Li Xiaoteng for something important, otherwise he wouldn't have looked for him when he knew what Li Xiaoteng was doing.

  Li Xiaoteng picked up the phone, turned around, and asked in a low, somewhat anxious voice: "What's wrong?" Zhao Baozi shouted back: "Teng Ge is awesome! Teng Ge! They opened a roasted lamb skewer stall right across from us!" Li Xiaoteng softly responded with an "oh" and curiously asked: "The government didn't even let you open one, did they? Is that all?" Zhao Baozi immediately followed up by saying: "The one roasting the lamb skewers is that big-breasted beauty who called you a donkey brother last time!"

  Elder brothers! I'm hanging on the recommended spot of Qidian, I need everyone's help! As the old saying goes: At home rely on parents, outside rely on friends! If you have a ticket, please give me a vote! If not, please add a bookshelf and collect it. If you've collected but don't have a ticket, please leave a comment to show your support! Thank you all, my fellow readers who are like my parents!