Outsider: The Fifth Young Master of the Kang Family

"Oh my, that cousin Bing is so bold as to not answer my call?"

At 10 o'clock in the evening, Er Lao estimated that his cousin Bing should be here soon, so he picked up the phone and called him, wanting to ask where he was. But no one answered the phone, and Er Lao immediately lost his temper. He thought that his cousin Bing didn't take it seriously and didn't bring out the gas tank, so he didn't dare to answer his call.

Speak of the devil, and here comes the devil. Cousin Bing ran into the Kang family and said, "Why are you answering the phone? You're already at the door." Then he greeted everyone, "Aunt, uncle, and cousins, good morning!"

"Are you stupid? It's night now, and it's morning. Are you stupid?" The second sister-in-law couldn't help but mock her cousin Bing, while Zhu Wanling said happily, "Cousin wants you to treat him to morning tea tomorrow."

The second sister-in-law glanced at her cousin Bing and said, "He wishes!"

"A Bing, why are you out so late?" The nanny asked this question even though she knew the answer. This is how relatives interact with each other. No matter what happens, they have to be polite when they enter the door.

"It's all because of that bad boy A Zong. He acted like he was in a hurry to save his life and asked me to get the gas tank out immediately." Cousin Bing complained but his actions were honest.

He didn't dare to disobey Er Lao's words now. The franchise and direct operation of Ruhao Tea Restaurant expanded too fast, almost comparable to Ducheng Fast Food, which was established two years earlier. Many decoration teams had their eyes on this piece of fat pork, and the design company responsible for designing the storefront for Ruhao Tea Restaurant could decide which decoration team to use just by Er Lao's word.

"You're wrong. There's no need to be so nervous. You can do it during the day. Why do you do it so late at night? Are you going to treat your uncle to a midnight snack?" The old man said politely and teased, then asked, "Where's the gas tank?"

"Oh, here it is." Cousin Bing waved towards the door, and then five people, each holding an empty gas tank, walked into Kang's house. After directing them to put it in the patio garden, Cousin Bing asked them to go back to the car and wait for him. These were all employees of his decoration team.

"Wife, there's no problem now. With so many gas tanks, we can stew as much beef brisket as we want." The big man said with a smile.

Xianglan glared at him unhappily and said, "Why are you only thinking about beef brisket?" These gas tanks are used by dad to save money. How could he give you beef stewed for several hours every day?

As Xianglan expected, Lao Dou almost immediately stood up and said, "Fill up all these gas tanks tomorrow, but don't use them yet. They are for backup. You can only use them after the next round of price increase."

The second brother obviously saw that his father still had a lot to say. He nudged his cousin Bing, who was drinking tea, with his elbow and said, "Don't keep us waiting for so long. Hurry and go back."

"Why are you leaving? I'm waiting to get paid." Although Cousin Bing didn't dare to offend the second brother, he was still very straightforward and brave when he took the money. He said, "Three hundred yuan, give me and I'll leave."

"Are you robbing me?" The second brother was shocked. How dare you charge 300 yuan for these five empty cans? New ones don't have to be that expensive.

When talking about money, Cousin Bing became very serious and said, "What kind of robbery? Don't you need to pay overtime for working the night shift? Don't you need to pay for gas for driving a round trip?"

"Cousin, aren't you going too far? Your aunt and uncle asked you to do some work and you still want to charge them?" The second sister-in-law played the family card, "You are so inhumane."

"Am I being too much or are you being too much? I provided manpower and vehicles for your family's affairs, and now you are not willing to pay some money?" Cousin Bing played the humanity card.

"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you." The nanny waved to Cousin Bing to come to her, took out three hundred yuan and handed it to him, saying, "It's getting late, go back quickly. Remember to call and let me know when you get back." Cousin Bing took the money, nodded and left.

After my cousin Bing left, my father asked the eldest brother to go to each room and call everyone out. After everyone was ready in the living room, he said, "We called everyone out so late because we want to hold an emergency family meeting."

"Today we are talking about how to save energy at home. There are a lot of people at home now. Although we have prepared several gas cylinders, one cylinder of gas will be used up in 10 days."

The old man was talking, and the second brother interrupted directly: "Old man, you also said that there are a lot of people. Burning one tank of gas every 10 days is already very economical." "A Zong, A Zong, please listen to your old man first." The mother nodded at the second brother indifferently, and the second brother shut up obediently. The old man continued: "Yes, it can't be said that it is not economical, but now the price of gas is raised once a week. At that time, everyone will pay for it. So I suggest that everyone should think of ways to save gas at home?"

"That's easy. We can save gas by not cooking and eating out." Sachiko muttered, glanced at him, and said, "Dad, I'm just kidding. I'll listen to you. Whatever you say, that's fine."

The father's expression eased a little, and he looked at everyone encouragingly, signaling everyone to officially start the discussion. After being encouraged, the second sister-in-law took the lead and said, "I think we shouldn't stew so many things. Stewing things consumes the most gas, especially stewing beef tendons."

"What?" The boss Guang, who was criticized, responded without hesitation: "Don't just blame me. You cook chicken every day. Do you use less gas than me?"

"If you ask me, just stop stewing and boiling. We have delicious soup every day, so there's no need to cook anything else." A Yao thought for a moment and said, "Use the rice cooker to cook rice and the electric kettle to boil water. That way you can save gas."

Diana grinned and added softly, "I think we should stop making the traditional Chinese soup for now. I don't understand why you Cantonese people like to drink it. After cooking for hours, it loses all its nutritional value."

"Let's just do this. Don't make any dishes or soup. Just make white rice. Then go to Ruhao Tea Restaurant and get the leftovers from the customers." When the second brother heard Diana say she didn't want to make the traditional soup, he simply doubled the amount.

Kang Qirui glanced at him and said speechlessly: "According to what you said, you might as well go to the hospital and buy some glucose to hang up, it will be cheaper."

"Oh, Dad, how about this?" Xianglan said enthusiastically, "Let's make a cold dish like we northerners do. It doesn't need to be cooked."

Everyone was surprised. Their concept of salad was only salad cucumber, nothing more. This salad for dinner? Everyone thought that Dad would definitely object, but Dad nodded and said affirmatively: "Among the many suggestions everyone made tonight, this is the best one. You know what, salad can preserve vitamins and save gas, and it tastes good, it kills three birds with one stone."

"No, we Cantonese people are used to eating wok-fried dishes. Our stomachs can't stand eating cold dishes without the wok aroma." The second sister-in-law was the first to object, and everyone had similar opinions.

The so-called wok aroma, in layman's terms, is the outstanding flavor and taste of food cooked over high heat during the cooking process.

Specifically, when food is cooked at extremely high temperatures (over 200°C), chemical changes such as caramelization and Maillard reaction (also known as non-enzymatic browning reaction) will occur. During the high-temperature and rapid cooking process, the dishes can emit the most aroma, and they will be hotter and more fragrant when eaten. This is called wok aroma.

But my father rejected everyone's objections and said firmly: "You can try it for a while. If it doesn't work, you can change it. Cold dishes are actually quite delicious."

Seeing that Xianglan's suggestion was accepted by his father, the boss said, "Dad, I think the water heater is the one that uses the most gas, so the bathing time must be limited. For example, some people take a very long bath. It took me eleven words to bathe yesterday."

Eleven characters, that is, 55 minutes. In the past, Roman numerals were used on clocks, with a Roman numeral every 5 minutes, so Cantonese people called 5 minutes one character, 10 minutes two characters, and so on.

The second sister-in-law knew without thinking that some people were referring to her. She looked straight at Da Lao Guang and said, "Uncle, how fast do you take a shower?"

"I never take too much time to take a shower." The big boss said frankly, "In the summer, a cold shower will not take more than half an hour, and in the winter, a hot shower will definitely not take more than an hour."

Everyone looked at the big boss in a daze. Kang Qirui thought: Do you want to listen to what you are saying? How dare you criticize others for taking a long shower?
The old man said unhappily, "Isn't one hour too long?" He thought for a moment and said, "I've decided. To save gas, men will take five minutes to bathe and women will take ten minutes to bathe. Those who violate this will be punished by the family rules."

"Are you kidding me? You favor girls over boys, old man." The second brother rolled his eyes and said, "Does it matter if your hair is a little longer?"

The old man glared at him and ignored him. He summarized the two resolutions passed tonight and adjourned the meeting. (End of this chapter)