1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 121 Old Master Xu's Banquet for His Comrades

The reason why Mala Tang has been popular throughout the country for so many years is because of its simple and direct spiciness, and its unrestrained and straightforward nature.

Two large bowls of spicy hot pot, piled high with lots of meat, were trembling and formed a small mountain.

That wasn't all. Lu Hua returned to the shop and brought out a large bowl of spicy dumplings, placing it between the two bowls of spicy hot pot.

My second aunt followed closely behind, bringing over a bowl of rice and two plates of flatbread. She then added, "Uncle, Aunt, eat while it's hot. Just let us know if you need more!"

This huge table of incredibly lavish spicy hot pot stood in stark contrast to the other tables, making the villagers instantly feel that their own food didn't taste as good.

It's extremely rare to see someone eat mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot) to this extent.

They thought to themselves, "Being this boss's relative must be so great, we must be sick of it!"

At Grandpa's command, everyone started showing off their food like crazy.

Even the children, Zhuangzhuang, Longlong, and Miaomiao, had their mouths covered in red oil from eating.

The incredibly fragrant and spicy hot pot was a delightful meal for everyone.

As lunchtime gradually passed, Wei Yinghong, having searched for them all along, arrived and immediately complained, "They've prepared a whole table of dishes over there, why did you all come here to eat mala tang?"

Afterwards, Wei Yinghong took her grandfather and his party back to the backyard of Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant.

At this point, no one was coming to the front of the restaurant anymore, and Lu Yuan had finished his work in the kitchen.

After his grandfather and his entourage sat down, Lu Yuan slowly began to discuss the main topic: "Grandpa, what do you think of the business at my restaurants?"

"Great!" Grandpa gave a thumbs up, a heartfelt sentiment from the bottom of his heart.

"Auntie, Uncle, what do you think?" Lu Yuan asked the others, who were the main force behind the upcoming store opening.

After observing Lu Yuan during the midday visit, his aunts and uncles were completely convinced of his abilities.

The reason I hesitated before was because I didn't understand Lu Yuan's capabilities and couldn't predict the outcome after opening the store.

But after seeing it with my own eyes today, all my doubts have vanished.

Upon further reflection, they realized that Lu Yuan was going to help them open a shop, and their excitement was palpable.

They sat under the awning in front of Sister Lu's door, watching people come and go, paying for their purchases.

I did a rough calculation and found that I had collected several hundred yuan in a short time.

That's when I realized that money could be made this way, without having to work myself to the bone and wait to sell grain once a year.

So when Lu Yuan asked them personally, they nodded firmly, waiting for Lu Yuan to give the order.

Lu Yuan went out yesterday and spent the whole night making sauce. He's been working non-stop all day today, so he's definitely a bit tired right now.

The hot afternoon weather made him a little sleepy.

So he simply flipped the chair over, leaned on the back of it, and started telling everyone about his plan to open a lamb offal soup shop.

The gist of it is that the uncle collects sheep every day and helps Lu Yuan deliver them, and it's a pity that the leftover sheep offal is sold off cheaply.

If my uncle opened his own shop selling lamb offal, the cost would be almost half that of other shops.

So, we decided to have my uncle take the lead and open a lamb offal soup shop in a busy area.

My second aunt and my eldest aunt will both come to the store to help out, and they can divide the money they receive among themselves.

Once they've saved enough money, each of them can open their own shop in different places, and they won't need to farm anymore.

This plan has a strong smell of brainwashing and money-grabbing. If an ordinary person were to encourage them like this, they would have been kicked out long ago.

Why make opening a shop and making money sound so easy?

But since this is what Lu Yuan said, the result is completely different; they can believe it 100%.

They had personally tasted Lu Yuan's lamb offal soup yesterday, and the flavor was truly exceptional.

Moreover, Lu Yuan himself is very successful in running his own business, and they have just witnessed how restaurants make money.

So when Lu Yuan finished speaking, everyone agreed without any hesitation.

Since no one had any questions, Lu Yuan immediately made arrangements for the next steps.

My second aunt and my youngest aunt have been staying at Lu Yuan's house for the past two days, learning from him how to make lamb offal soup every day.

The key to good lamb offal soup lies in the preparation of each organ and ingredient. Once prepared, it's quite easy to enjoy during mealtimes.

Besides delivering sheep every morning, my uncle needs to find someone to wash and store the sheep offal from the past few days.

Then we need to go to their town to inquire if there are any shops available for rent near Yang Ermazi.

People like Yang Ermazi need to be dealt with.

Competition is acceptable in business, but dirty tricks are not. My uncle won't be satisfied until he's been dealt with properly.

. . .

The following afternoon, it was time for Old Master Xu's private banquet.

This time, Grandpa Xu didn't come with his children. Instead, he came to Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant with several other elderly people.

Zhenzhen had told Lu Yuan about this beforehand, saying that although it was called a family banquet, all the attendees were Old Master Xu's old comrades-in-arms.

In other words, those attending the private banquet today are all elderly people.

In response, Lu Yuan specially prepared some relatively soft and less oily and heavy dishes.

Moreover, in the morning, Lu Wen also brought two younger sisters who were about the same age as Zhenzhen.

These two younger sisters are also preparing to work as waitresses at the private banquet. After all, there are more and more private banquets with two branches now, and relying on Zhenzhen and Pingping alone is really not enough.

The two new girls are named Xiaojie and Xiaofang. They are not twins, but they are very pretty.

Xiao Jie and Xiao Fang, as always, inherited the Lu family's genes, and were tall and slender.

There was only one private banquet in the afternoon, which was a good opportunity for Xiaojie and Xiaofang to learn from Zhenzhen and the others.

Today's private dinner would be more appropriately called a comrades-in-arms dinner.

These veterans are quite different from ordinary elderly people; the iron-willed spirit they displayed in the military is ingrained in their very bones.

As Mr. Xu had mentioned beforehand, those old comrades-in-arms were all used to living a life of poverty.

He invited these old buddies today because he wanted them to eat something really good, so that they wouldn't be left without ever having enjoyed anything after they've lost all their teeth.

Therefore, today's meal must conceal its true value; it cannot be too extravagant. It must present the ultimate deliciousness with a low-key approach.

There were only 8 people at Mr. Xu's table, but there were 9 chairs.

Moreover, the empty seat was in the main seat, and even Grandpa Xu only sat next to the main seat.

"Second Brother, you've found a good place. It's a small, unpretentious rural restaurant, very down-to-earth," one of the older men said after sitting down and looking around.

Grandpa Xu chuckled softly, but didn't dare to reply, neither denying nor admitting it.

Today, Zhenzhen and Pingping didn't wear cheongsams either, but instead wore ordinary farm girl clothes.

They wore thick braids that hung down their shoulders, looking very simple.

For most of the dishes tonight, Lu Yuan gave up on elaborate presentation, but for the first dish, he still showcased exquisite carving skills.

Lu Yuan took a small winter melon, cut it in half horizontally, and then carved a design of riding the wind and waves on the skin.

The sign next to it reads: "The Red Army fears not the hardships of the Long March, regarding ten thousand rivers and mountains as nothing."

The winter melon serves as the container for this dish, inside which is a bowl of beef rice soup.

The beef rice porridge is relatively moist, so it's not as dry and doesn't feel hard in the stomach.

These elderly people are used to eating staple foods as the main dish at every meal, so he followed their habits and made the first dish more comfortable for everyone.

When this winter melon, with its clear symbolic meaning, was served, an elderly man shouted, "Good!"

The voice was so loud, it didn't sound like an old man at all, which startled Zhenzhen so much that she trembled.

"This is the poem our class monitor loves to recite; it's to inspire us to be fearless in the face of hardship and fatigue!"

The old man was in high spirits, but his eyes dimmed when he recalled his elder brother, and he glanced inadvertently at the empty seat.

"Yes, if our squad leader were still alive, wouldn't it be wonderful to see such a good day like this!"

After the other old man finished speaking, all the elderly people present were plunged into sadness.

"Come on, let's eat! Everyone, try this place. Although it's in the countryside, the food is really good."

Grandpa Xu urged everyone to eat quickly, trying to pull them out of this mood.

He picked up a small bowl, filled it halfway, and showed everyone how it was done. He fed them a small spoonful, and their eyes lit up instantly.

I thought to myself, "This boss Lu really dares to put out so many ingredients!"