Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

Pipa tofu is named so because its shape resembles a pipa (a Chinese lute).

After Zhou Yu placed the spoons filled with tofu one by one, he took them directly to the steamer to steam.

After the steamed tofu has cooled, remove it from the spoon.

While waiting for the tofu to cool, Zhou Yu took out a wok and stir-fried a few bok choy leaves.

Then heat the oil again and pan-fry the steamed tofu until fragrant.

Zhang Rong quickly took over the dish preparation work and helped Zhou Yu arrange the dishes.

He first arranged the pieces of Pipa Tofu in order, and then placed the stir-fried bok choy on both sides.

Zhou Yu continued to heat the pot, using chicken broth to make a new thickening sauce.

Finally, drizzle a thin layer of sauce over the plated Pipa Tofu.

At this point, the Pipa Tofu is complete.

"Master Yu, I'll go serve the dishes first," Zhang Rong said.

Zhou Yu nodded.

Zhang Rong carried the dishes out of the kitchen again.

......

Li Long never expected that Zhang Rong would make Pipa Tofu.

He picked up a piece of tofu, and the aroma of sesame oil combined with the crispy tofu wafted into his nose first.

When he put the pipa-shaped tofu into his mouth, the first thing he felt was its extremely smooth texture.

The tofu melted very smoothly in his mouth, and its unique bean flavor spread out instantly.

Then the umami flavor of the shrimp and scallops combined with the shrimp paste is instantly released.

He could taste the sesame oil and coriander, but they weren't strong at all. Instead, the aroma of dried tangerine peel helped to cut through the richness of the flavors.

He suddenly remembered that the first time he accompanied a former bigwig to Macau, the first meal they ate was also Pipa Tofu, which brought back some memories.

Li's mother: "What kind of tofu is this? It's so tender. And there's so much stuff inside."

Li Long explained, "Mom, this is because the tofu was crushed, the water was squeezed out, and then it was made again with shrimp paste and fish paste."

Li's mother was somewhat surprised: "Is it that complicated? No wonder it tastes so good. I thought it was pre-made tofu."

After finishing their meal and paying the bill, Li Long helped his elderly mother out of Shunyi Restaurant. Just as they were about to get into their car, his phone rang.

The screen displays: Qi Shijie.

Upon answering the phone, Qi Shijie said, "Brother Long, do you still have rooms available tonight? If not, we'll be right over."

Li Long laughed and said, "Young Master Jie, don't worry, come on over. There will be private rooms available whenever you come."

After hanging up, he thought for a moment, then manually entered the number and dialed again: "Hey, Ah Bin, are you free tonight?"

After Li Long hung up the phone, his mother held his hand tightly and said, "Longzi, please, please don't go near those people again! We're doing very well now."

Although Li's mother didn't know what Li Long was going to do, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

During this time, some of the people who had been with Li Long before found him again, which reminded Li Long's mother of Li Long's youth.

Li's mother was very grateful for the crackdown back then. She always believed that it was the crackdown that prevented her son from going to jail.

Li Long: "Mom, it's nothing, I just met up with some friends to play cards tonight."

After helping Li's mother into the car, Li Long kept telling jokes to cheer her up, which dispelled her doubts.

After dropping his family off at home, Li Long used the excuse of going to the car dealership to leave the house.

When Li Long arrived at his car dealership, Zhang Wenbin was already in his office, brewing tea and waiting for him.

"Brother Long!"

Li Long waved his hand, gesturing for Zhang Wenbin to sit down.

He took a deck of cards out of the drawer and smiled at Zhang Wenbin, saying, "Abin, let's see if your skills have gotten rusty."

Zhang Wenbin stopped talking and began to demonstrate his current card skills to Li Long.

Zhang Wenbin and Li Long used to work under the same thug.

But with the downfall of their boss, Zhang Wenbin, who used to be in charge of the card and board game business, was also imprisoned.

Although he wasn't as lucky as Li Long, since no one was killed, he was released from prison in the last two years.

After he was released, Li Long helped him out because of their past relationship, but Zhang Wenbin still did not give up. He first went to Macau to work as a henchman.

Unfortunately, he had been out of touch with the times for too long and was unable to make a living in present-day Macau, so he returned to G City.

Zhang Long waved his hand, dividing the shuffled cards into four piles. He then turned over his own cards to reveal a straight flush and said to Li Long, "Brother Long, is this hand of mine acceptable?"

Li Long nodded and said, "Abin, your skills are definitely not a problem. Nowadays, people cheat at cards using high technology. Private games are basically designed to prevent cheating. There are very few skilled players left. Your hand is going to win."

With the economic climate not being good these past two years, Li Long started having other ideas.

He was said to be the manager of Yinsha Water Club, but actually, Yinsha's boss wanted to use some of his past reputation to avoid some trouble.

But now that we live in a peaceful and prosperous era, there's no trouble at all. In recent years, Yinsha has been preparing to find a pretext to fire him.

However, Li Long was able to bring a group of people to spend money, so they didn't touch him.

Li Long wasn't too disappointed about whether he would be fired. As far as he knew, Yin Sha was already more than half a year behind on rent, so even if he wasn't fired, he probably wouldn't be able to stay for long.

Most importantly, the used car market has been bad in recent years. Due to the impact of electric vehicles, the price of gasoline cars has dropped again and again, and used electric cars are not worth much, so he has been losing money year after year.

Therefore, after Zhang Wenbin contacted him again during this period, the two hit it off immediately.

"Brother Long, when should we meet?" Zhang Wenbin asked tentatively.

"No rush," Li Long said. "The local circle is too small. Although they are all a bunch of kids, I have been organizing gatherings with them for the past few years and have gradually become familiar with them. You have just joined, so it is best to nurture you for a while before closing the net."

......

When Zhang Rong returned to the kitchen, Liang Ding had already arrived.

He was chatting and laughing with Zhou Yu when Zhang Rong returned. Right in front of Zhou Yu, he started yelling at Zhang Rong: "You good-for-nothing Zhang Rong! You can't even cook a single dish properly and you still need to ask for help? If you didn't taste the food properly, why didn't you just refuse to sell it?"

Zhang Rong said with a forced smile, "Brother Ding, I was just afraid of causing trouble."

Liang Ding retorted, "What's the big deal about Li Long? If he wants to return the food, let him. If he doesn't like it, he shouldn't have come to eat. He has connections with Gou Ba, why should we give him face?"

Zhang Rong lowered his head: "Yes, Master Ding, it was my oversight."

Zhou Yu: "What is this?"

Liang Ding explained, "Li Long was a petty hoodlum who got to where he is now by relying on some old connections."

Zhou Yu asked curiously, "Are there still any hooligans around?"

Liang Ding: "Of course there are no thugs now, which is why I cursed Zhang Rong. I didn't give him any face. And you don't know, this guy often gathers people to play private card games, so I don't like him."

With that last sentence, Zhou Yu understood why Liang Ding hated Li Long so much.