1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 135 "Lo Hei" (Prosperity Toss)

"Police station?" Lu Hua was a little confused by the question. "A justice agency?"

Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head, then asked, "Can good cure evil?"

"Maybe?" Lu Hua hesitated before giving an answer, though he himself wasn't sure.

Lu Yuan put away his smile and said seriously, "Good can never cure evil, otherwise there would be no laws to restrain people, nor police stations to use violence to suppress violence."

The idea that good can cure evil is a religious fantasy. The idea that one can become a Buddha by laying down the butcher's knife is unrealistic. Not every evil person has a heart of repentance.

Wang Facai is not a villain in the traditional sense.

It's just that when they failed to compete for the same pond, they were unwilling to become nourishment for others and went mad.

But to Lu Yuan, and to Lu Family Cuisine, he must be a complete villain.

However, it's not appropriate to judge Wang Facai based on clear red lines because of what he did.

He became smarter and began to carefully skirt the edge of the red line.

This is also the reason why the Chinese people have developed a family culture and clan system over thousands of years, because everyone must stick together to protect their common interests.

So even without Lu Yuan saying anything, Lu Hua would be anxious, and when the Lu family finds out, they will all be anxious.

Lu Hua fell into deep thought, as if he understood what to do. Then, Lu Yuan said calmly, "Bring Hai Ge here."

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When Lu Hua heard Lu Hai's name, his eyes trembled slightly. Although he had vaguely guessed Lu Yuan's thoughts, Lu Yuan's decisiveness still surprised him.

However, he quickly understood and stopped worrying about it. He simply nodded and walked towards the door.

After Lu Hua left, Lu Yuan also fell into deep thought. He felt like Uncle Dong from a certain TV series he had watched.

Such malicious business competition would be easily resolved in later generations.

Firstly, navigation clearly indicates the location, and various platforms have authentication systems, so everyone can easily tell which is real and which is fake.

Furthermore, with smartphones, one can also manage a private domain, which is also an important way to retain old customers.

At worst, an investigation, evidence collection, and prosecution would be enough to give him a hard time.

But we are currently in such a chaotic phase that civilized methods are rendered ineffective.

However, there is now an advantage: Wang Facai's restaurant is just a business run by outsiders renting out rooms in Tangguan Village, and the villagers are unlikely to help him.

Before long, Lu Hua led Lu Hai to the backyard.

Lu Hai is Zhenzhen and Pingping's older brother. He's a muscular man who's nearly two meters tall and can chase after a whole group of people all by himself.

Lu Hai was just born in the wrong place. If he were in Inner Mongolia, he would be a skilled wrestler.

"Xiao Yuan, you were looking for me?" Although Lu Hai looked like a member of the Lu family, he had a face full of fat and his smile was a bit scary.

"Brother Hai, come, have a seat!" Lu Yuan gestured to the seat opposite him.

Lu Hai sat properly opposite Lu Yuan, looking like he was following Lu Yuan's instructions.

Lu Yuan paid everyone almost double their salary, and now, in the hearts of the Lu family, Lu Yuan is almost as important as the young clan leader.

Lu Yuandao: "Are Zhenzhen and Pingping adjusting well now?"

Lu Hai nodded vigorously: "They are so happy now. They bought new clothes for the whole family after they got their salaries. My parents were overjoyed."

Lu Yuan stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Brother Hai, I want to hire you to do something."

"Me?" Lu Hai's eyes widened in confusion. "But I can't cook. If I were a waiter, I'd scare the customers to death."

Lu Yuan waved his hand and said, "I won't do those things."

"Then what can I do?"

Lu Yuan said seriously, "Brother Hai, I want you to find a few brothers from the Lu family who are physically strong and establish a security department for the Lu family."

"Security Department? What's that?" Lu Hai asked, looking puzzled.

Lu Yuan patiently explained, "Brother Hai, with this row of restaurants open, it's inevitable that some people will be jealous. Besides, most of the staff working in the restaurants are our aunts and sisters-in-law, so we can't really handle any troublemakers."

After hearing this, Lu Hai patted his chest and said, "Xiao Yuan, whoever dares to cause trouble, just call me, and I'll kill him!"

Lu Yuan laughed and said, "Brother Hai, you can't handle all this by yourself. We're about to build 20 acres of greenhouses, and when we make money, people will be envious. So you need to find a few brothers to set up a security department for the Lu family. They'll have to guard our family's money-making assets."

Lu Hai nodded and said in a deep voice, "Now I understand, it's like a militia!"

"You can interpret it that way too!" Lu Yuan changed the subject and told Lu Hai about Wang Facai's malicious competition.

Lu Hai immediately slammed his fist on the table, ready to go after Wang Facai. Because of Zhenzhen and Pingping's relationship, he had hated the Wang family since he was a child, so he couldn't stand hearing about this.

Lu Yuan quickly stopped Lu Hai, telling him to gather all the security personnel during the day tomorrow, and that he would have his own plans for dealing with Wang Facai.

The next morning, as usual, Lu Yuan waited by the jeep for Zhao Yan to go to school together.

This feeling is like making an appointment with a female classmate to go to school together—it feels weird.

After Zhao Yan went out, she saw Lu Yuan standing next to the car, so she immediately hid behind the car and secretly peeked at Lu Yuan.

After watching for a while, Lu Yuan chuckled and waved at the rearview mirror: "Hi, good morning!"

Zhao Yan then realized that Lu Yuan had already seen her in the rearview mirror. She was so annoyed at her own stupidity that she cried again. Angrily, she opened the car door and asked, "Lu Yuan, you're not going to get revenge on me, are you?"

Lu Yuan said helplessly, "I'm not as bored as you. Get in the car!"

"Oh!" Zhao Yan tossed the car keys to Lu Yuandao. "You drive!"

"Why do I feel like I've become your driver?" Lu Yuan took the keys, skillfully opened the car door, and got in. He handed the small bag he was carrying to Zhao Yan: "Here, this is a sandwich. This morning at school we had steamed buns, soy milk, and cold dishes. I guess you wouldn't like it."

"Hehe, thank you, Boss Lu!" Zhao Yan happily took the sandwich, opened the bag immediately, and said, "Open it slowly, I want to finish it before I get to school!"

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"Okay!" Lu Yuan slowed down the car, glancing at Zhao Yan out of the corner of his eye from time to time.

She took a small bite, smacked her fingers, and exclaimed, "It's delicious!"

Immediately, her brows furrowed: "How can it be so hot!"

Then she involuntarily slurped, coughed twice, and choked on her tears: "Lu Yuan, you're so despicable! You actually put wasabi in a sandwich!"

Lu Yuan suppressed a laugh and said innocently, "What are you talking about? Sandwiches are supposed to have wasabi in them!"

Zhao Yan was so angry when she heard Lu Yuan's serious nonsense that she burst into tears. After taking a few deep breaths, she finally got over the aftereffects of the wasabi.

She pouted and glared at Lu Yuan, her cheeks puffed out in anger, deciding to ignore him completely.

But looking at the sandwich in her hand, Zhao Yan felt it was a waste to throw it away, yet she couldn't bring herself to eat it. She was in a dilemma.

Lu Yuan said directly, "You can eat from the other end. I only put a little wasabi on this end."

"That's more like it!" Zhao Yan thought to herself that this guy still had some conscience after all, so she turned the triangular sandwich around and bit into the other end.

Then Zhao Yan repeated the scene from before, her tears welling up completely from the spiciness.

Lu Yuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter: "Hey, Teacher Xiao Zhao, how can you be so silly? Can't you just lift the bread up and take a look?"

Zhao Yan was so angry that she didn't want to talk anymore. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, not because she was so sad, but because the wasabi was just too strong.

Lu Yuan simply parked the car on the side of the road, took the bag, took out the bottom sandwich, and handed it to Zhao Yan, saying, "This is absolutely not it, I'd be a dog if I lied to you!"

"I don't believe you, take a bite first!" After Lu Yuan took a small bite, Zhao Yan took the sandwich with some doubt.

After waiting for several minutes without any response from Lu Yuan, she began to eat in small bites.

Lu Yuan didn't waste the remaining sandwiches; he simply stacked them together and ate them in a few bites.

This terrified Zhao Yan. She thought Lu Yuan wasn't afraid of the spiciness of wasabi at all, so she immediately opened the bread slice in her hand to check.

However, since the sauces were all mixed together, she couldn't tell which one wasabi. Fortunately, there was no reaction for a long time, so she finally felt relieved and continued to eat in small bites.

"Lu Yuan, your chef is really a bit abnormal. He doesn't even react to wasabi!" Zhao Yan said with a sigh.

Lu Yuan looked puzzled: "What are you talking about? I only put wasabi at both ends!"

Zhao Yan: "..."

""

After leaving Zhaoyan at school, Lu Yuan drove directly to Daning Town.

After two days of guidance, the women quickly got the hang of it, and he felt more at ease letting them do it directly.

Although Lu Yuan didn't have a driver's license, as long as he didn't go on the main roads, no one would check him on the country roads.

However, driving like this is indeed inconvenient, and Lu Yuan still needs to find an opportunity to get his driver's license.

The landlord and his uncle were already waiting. After Lu Yuan finished the contract and other procedures, he left the rest of the formalities to his uncle.

These days, going to government offices is very inefficient; he doesn't have the time to make those trips repeatedly.

Starting this afternoon, I'll be busy with another private banquet, which was booked by Mr. Wang again.

Mr. Wang recently secured two major projects and is beaming with pride.

This afternoon, he generously invited the company's senior executives to a group dinner.

He booked three private rooms in a row, with only one requirement: the room had to be high-class!

To meet President Wang's demands, Lu Yuan has trained Lu Hang, the most energetic-looking member of the group, to become a chef specializing in serving dishes.

Aside from not being quite proficient at slicing roast duck, he usually does a very good job of pouring sauce and arranging platters on the spot.

For Mr. Wang's dinner party today, Lu Yuan specially prepared a dish of raw fish salad.

The ancient Lingnan fish sashimi culture spread to Southeast Asia with immigrants. In the 60s, Singapore improved upon it by creating a seven-colored fish sashimi, which was then paired with a complete set of blessing rituals and spread throughout the Chinese communities of Singapore and Malaysia.

The core of this dish is not just eating the food, but also a collective blessing ceremony.

However, due to the scarcity of ingredients, Lu Yuan made a modified version of Yu Sheng (raw fish salad).

First of all, there's sashimi. If local fish were cut into raw, everyone would end up in the hospital.

Actually, there is a top-quality fish in the northern region called the pigeon fish!

During the Qing Dynasty, these items were transported to the Forbidden City as tribute.

Because of its extremely delicious taste, it was eaten so much that it became a Class I protected animal in China.

Therefore, Lu Yuan could only use wild large fish slices, which he would then blanch in boiling water, as a substitute.

Furthermore, since lemongrass, the soul of Yu Sheng (raw fish salad), was also missing, Lu Yuan simply made significant changes to the recipe.

Anyway, no one in the northern region knows the authentic way to make Yu Sheng (raw fish salad), so the ritualistic aspect of Yu Sheng is what he's trying to achieve by making this dish.

Shred ginger, scallions, onions, garlic, fried radish, cilantro, and purple cabbage into thin strips.

These dishes don't have a fixed format, but they must include 10 different kinds, symbolizing perfection.

Furthermore, each dish has a homophone for an idiom, such as "May you have abundance every year," "Good fortune befall you," "Clever and quick-witted," and "Auspicious purple air comes from the east," etc.

When serving the dish, Zhenzhen and Pingping will first introduce that the dish originated in Singapore and is a blessing ritual on the tables of Chinese people in Southeast Asia.

Then they would invite the four distinguished guests in the private room to first pour sauce and sprinkle condiments on the dishes, and they would always say auspicious words: "Please, distinguished guests, bring us wealth and good fortune!"

A sprinkle of pepper is the perfect finishing touch!

Sprinkle with crushed peanuts for a perfect "Blooming Flowers and Full Moon!"

Sprinkle three handfuls of roasted sesame seeds, symbolizing "sesame flowers blooming higher and higher!"

Four drizzles of sauce, "Perfectly round!"

Today, Mr. Wang is hosting a banquet for high-level leaders, each holding a position of varying rank.

After this segment, the leaders couldn't stop smiling.

Especially President Wang, who was still waiting to put a bridal ball on the whole roasted lamb, but he didn't expect Lu Yuan to change his tactics again.

It's not a sign of a leader's ability to issue orders themselves. Having others support them is what truly demonstrates their status and position.

After pouring the sauce, Zhenzhen and Lu Hang placed the large plate of raw fish salad in the center of the table.

Zhenzhen began, "Everyone, pick up your lucky chopsticks and scoop the food as high as you can! Follow my chant, scoop up good fortune with every scoop!"

First, Zhenzhen personally led everyone to scoop up various shredded vegetables into the air and let them float down.

"Let's try our luck again!"

"Three scoops to bring wealth!"

"Let's toss and shove! May everything flourish and get better year after year!"

As Zhenzhen finished her blessing, Mr. Wang's face was almost frozen with a smile.

This dish is perfect for a company dinner atmosphere; every word conveys a wish for the company to prosper.

In addition to the leaders, everyone else also joined in, tossing raw fish with the leaders and bosses, creating a very lively atmosphere.

The shouts of "It's been fished out!" from the three private rooms broke through the courtyard and were even heard by Zhao Yan in the backyard.

Zhao Yan was eating a bowl of ham and mushroom stewed rice at a small table, with several small plates in front of her.

Lu Yuan made extra dishes for the banquet, specifically saving them for her.

Zhao Yan's little mouth was greasy from eating, and she shook her head slightly, thinking to herself that Lu Yuan looked much more pleasing to the eye when he wasn't up to his old tricks.

Especially when he puts the dishes in front of him while wearing a chef's uniform, he gives off a very gentlemanly vibe.

How can his cooking be so delicious? Zhao Yan picked up a piece of ham and put it in her mouth. The taste was simply amazing, so delicious that she wanted to jump for joy.

After finishing her meal, Zhao Yan saw Lu Yuan still busy in the kitchen, so she pouted and went to the courtyard to pick up her paintbrush and continue drawing One Piece.

Lu Yuan's manuscript only contains about ten drawings, providing very little information.

Zhao Yan was already looking forward to the weekend when the children with cleft lips came to eat, and to listening to the story of One Piece with them.

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In Tangguan Village, at Lao Lu's Home-Style Restaurant, Wang Facai and his wife closed their door, lit a yellowish lamp, and counted their scattered banknotes together.

"Honey, what do you think of my plan? We'll do exactly what Lu Yuan does. We've earned more in this week than we used to in a whole month!"

Wang Facai was grinning from ear to ear, counting the money over and over again, several times over.

Wang Facai's wife patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't make a sound. Pack the money up and take it back. It's already dark!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go now!" Wang Facai unbuckled his belt, took off his pants, and put the money into the pocket on his underwear.

They then turned off the lights, locked the door, and rode a beat-up motorcycle toward Luwangtan Village.

Although Wang Facai considered the Lu family his enemies, at least the Lu family wouldn't do anything to them.

But they don't know the people in Tangguan Village. If a bad guy comes along and stabs them to rob them, that's a possibility.

After all, the restaurant is right there, and the villagers can see it coming and going every day during mealtimes.

Therefore, they dared not live in Tangguan Village and had to go back to Luwangtan Village to sleep every day.

Just as they were walking back, a tractor came chugging towards them.

Wang Facai said to his wife behind him, "This man is really hardworking; he's still doing farm work in the middle of the night."

Wang Facai's wife was in a good mood today and joked, "Maybe he's going to do something naughty. Who does farm work at night?"

On the tractor were Lu Hai and several of his brothers from the Lu family, who were now completely suffocated by the stench.

When my uncle brought the sheep this morning, he also brought a batch of unwashed sheep offal.

Especially the sheep intestines, the smell inside is just too strong.

Lu Hai's face turned completely green from the smoke. He was 2 meters tall, and he looked pitiful huddled in the back of the tractor.

Finally arriving at the Lu family's house in Tangguan Village, Lu Hai immediately jumped out of the car, panting heavily.

As soon as he got off the bus, he saw Wang Facai's sign on the side of the road, which was exactly the same as the one Lu Yuan had used on the national highway.

His storefront wasn't as grand as Lu Yuan Restaurant's, but the font was exactly the same, especially since it also had the words "Lu Family Cuisine" displayed at the front.

If people from other provinces saw this combination, they would definitely think it was authentic Lu Family Cuisine.

But after they taste it, they'll definitely spread the word along the national highway, cursing and swearing, that the Northern Lu Family Cuisine is a rip-off.

"Damn it, this son of a bitch is really good at imitating!" Lu Hai cursed and tore the GG sign standing by the roadside to shreds with his bare hands.

Then he directed the Lu brothers: "Don't hurt anyone, don't smash or loot, we're not bandits. Throw all the sheep intestines in, and pour paint all over them!"

"Alright, Hai-ge!"

These Lu brothers were all very fierce, having fought alongside Lu Hai and other villagers in gang fights when they were in school.

They all put on work gloves, pried open an opening in the old-fashioned window, and climbed inside.

Then, dragging the sheep intestines, they went straight to the back kitchen of Wang Facai's restaurant, where all the pots, pans, and bowls were covered with them, and even the vegetable baskets were not spared.

The lobby wasn't much better; the reception desk, tables, benches, and even the ceiling lights were covered with sheep intestines.

The other Lu brothers splashed paint directly on Wang Facai's door, completely covering the words "Old Lu's Home-Style Dishes".

According to Lu Yuan, if you insist on using my signboard, then I have no choice but to stop you from using it.

The shop's menus were also painted over, and the last few were simply dumped onto Wang Facai's ledger.

When they left, the Lu brothers thoughtfully closed all the windows for Wang Facai to prevent the smell from spreading and bothering the people in Tangguan Village.

On the way back, the Lu brothers asked Lu Hai with a frustrated look, "Brother Hai, why didn't we just splash some paint? Why didn't we smash his shop?"

Lu Hai patiently explained what Lu Yuan had told him before: "Think about it, when you're at home, do you feel worse seeing a broken plate, or a plate filled with poop, or a clean plate that's been used to hold poop?"

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