Hong Kong variety show: From being bitten by a cockroach to becoming a legend

"Ugh... Huh?!" Feiji mumbled incoherently, his mouth moving rapidly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed it whole. Then he let out a long sigh, staring blankly at Song Zhaowen: "Wen... Brother Wen, what... what is this thing? It's... it's fucking delicious!"

He smacked his lips with lingering enjoyment, as if still savoring the burst of flavor he had just experienced: "The outside... chewy! The inside... it felt like there was something... hot, fresh juice, bursting in my mouth with a 'pop'! My goodness, it felt like I was back in that summer, running freely on the beach~"

After saying that, he stroked himself up and down with both hands.

"Holy crap, no way~ they probably put marijuana in there."

"Damn it, Ah-Xiao, don't talk nonsense. I'm a decent person. If you don't believe me, try it yourself."

Xiao Zhuoxiao, Ahua, and Tony looked at each other, noticing that the plane's exaggerated expression didn't seem fake.

"Let's give it a try!"

Xiao Zhuoxiao carefully picked up a steaming brown meatball from the table, examined it closely. It looked like an ordinary beef meatball, only darker in color and with a smooth, oily surface. He put it in his mouth and gently bit it open.

The next second, Xiao Zhuoxiao's expression changed.

The intense taste sensation seemed to transport Xiao Zhuoxiao back ten years, to the Yau Ma Tei pond where he and Ah Fen were under the open sky and on the ground, enjoying a passionate lovemaking session.

"This..." Xiao Zhuoxiao swallowed the meatball, took a deep breath, "Brother Wen, these beef balls... are amazing! How come the meat filling is so bouncy? It's like eating a table tennis ball!"

The others then gave it a try.

"Holy crap!" Tony exclaimed, "Brother Wen, what kind of magical seasoning did you add? This taste... I've never had beef balls like this before!"

Ahua, being quite composed, nodded after savoring the meat carefully, saying, "The meat is firm and chewy, the tendons are handled very well, and there's absolutely no residue. The seasoning is very special, with a salty and savory flavor and a hint of sweetness, along with a subtle aroma of wine. The best part is the 'bursting juice' inside; the temperature, freshness, and oiliness are all just right. One bite, and you're overwhelmed with satisfaction."

Seeing the defeated expressions on his brothers' faces, Song Zhaowen smiled. He picked up a meatball and weighed it in his hand: "This isn't an ordinary beef ball. This is called—'Pissing Beef Ball'."

Speaking of which, the inspiration for the Pissing Beef Ball came from the movie "The God of Cookery" that I watched in my previous life. After doing some research, I found that no one in the world had made Pissing Beef Balls yet. There was no reason why Stephen Chow could make a comeback with it, but Song Zhaowen couldn't make a fortune with it.

After some investigation, I found that there was no buck-toothed turkey or Stephen Chow on Temple Street. Thinking about it, that makes sense. If there were buck-toothed turkey and Stephen Chow, wouldn't that mean there are gods and ghosts in this world?

However, it's not a big problem even without these two people. As long as the direction is right, it's just a matter of the proportions of the ingredients.

This was no challenge for Song Zhaowen.

I went to Shenzhen and reached a cooperation agreement with a university there for a food chemistry course.

Turkey's homemade beef balls are nowhere near as delicious as those made with high-tech ingredients!

If the flavor isn't fresh enough, just add a lot of strong ingredients, like evaporated milk and other flavor enhancers.

Think about all the frozen products that people eat in later generations. The original flavor is healthy and definitely not as delicious as the high-tech ones.

"Wow~ It's delicious, exciting, and fun!"

Feiji and Song Zhaowen simply started playing table tennis with beef balls.

Xiao Zhuoxiao and the others were dumbfounded.

Are you kidding me? Beef balls are being used as boba.

Knowing that his brothers had questions, Song Zhaowen explained.

"A little bit of food-grade thickener and water-retaining agent can make the minced meat more springy and juicy, and prevent it from becoming dry after freezing. Sodium glutamate and disodium inosinate are basically high-grade MSG and I+G. When mixed in a scientific ratio, the umami flavor can be enhanced dozens of times, and it's natural, so you won't feel thirsty after eating it. How about that, it's more satisfying than the original flavor beef?"

The plane was stunned: "Brother Wen, you...you know all this? I thought all you knew was boxing and stabbing..."

Song Zhaowen couldn't very well say that he learned it from the information explosion era in his previous life and that he specifically studied it in this life. He waved his hand and said, "What's the difference between a gangster who doesn't use his brain and a salted fish?"

Ahua seemed thoughtful: "So, Brother Wen, you bought this factory not to wait for its value to appreciate, but to get involved in food processing?"

"That's right!" Song Zhaowen walked to the office wall, pulled back a curtain revealing a factory renovation plan: "I've had it planned out. The first floor will be cleared of the canning production line and transformed into a fully enclosed food processing workshop, divided into raw material processing, pounding and mixing, molding and filling, and quick-freezing and packaging areas. All processes will be clean, hygienic, and compliant with food regulations. The second floor will be used as a warehouse and cold storage. The third floor will be offices and employee rest areas. The fourth and fifth floors are currently empty; we'll discuss that later."

Pointing to the blueprints, he said with great enthusiasm, "We're not a small workshop; we're building a brand, a factory. Beef balls are just the beginning. Later, we can make fish balls, pork balls, cuttlefish balls... and even develop ready-to-eat hot pot and convenience foods. I've already thought of a name: the company will be called Wenji Foods, and the brand will be 'Exploding Juice Boy'."

"Juicy Boy..." Airplane muttered the name, finding it increasingly appealing. "Hahaha, great! It's catchy and corny enough, easy to remember!"

"I've also thought of the GG phrase," Song Zhaowen cleared his throat and imitated the TV GG in an exaggerated tone: "Juicy Pissing Beef Balls - bursting with juice in one bite, more satisfying than first love, you'll want to come back for more after you've tried them, you'll miss out if you don't eat them."

"Pfft~" Tony, who was drinking water, spat it out, coughing and laughing loudly: "Hahaha, Brother Wen, you...you're so talented! 'More fun than first love' is such a cool guy phrase...it's amazing."

Ahua wiped away tears of laughter and asked, "Brother Wen, the idea is great. But filming a movie and getting on TV will cost a lot of money, right? And then there's the production line upgrade, raw material procurement, that'll cost a lot more too."

Song Zhaowen's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Besides the initial expenses for buying the land, I've prepared an extra five million in start-up capital. With careful budgeting, that should be enough for the beginning. We can buy second-hand equipment or lease it. We'll recruit twenty or thirty workers first and train them before they start working. I've negotiated monthly payments with the suppliers in Shenzhen for raw materials, with payment terms. GG... we can start by distributing samples on the street to build word-of-mouth. Once we have stable orders and cash flow, we can consider appearing on television."

Seeing their boss speaking so casually, the brothers were eager to try their luck and didn't want to miss this fast track to wealth.

"Boss, I think this business has a lot of potential. Can I get a share?" Tony was the first to raise his hand and ask.

Song Zhaowen shrugged: "Absolutely no problem. Let's agree on a minimum investment of 200,000, and no withdrawals within three years. If we do well, we'll grow to two companies in a year, four in two, sixteen in four... and open all over Hong Kong~ After three years, we'll go public, and all of us brothers will be on the board!"

Before he even started making any money, Song Zhaowen was already making empty promises, simply because he was running out of money.

Five million to buy a factory, two million to buy machinery from Shenzhen, two million to keep for imported raw materials, and one million to keep for salaries.

The money was gone in the blink of an eye. If we wanted to start a real business, we had to squeeze some money out of our brothers first.