Chapter 404: A Thousand Gold for a Toss, Old Zhou's Astonishment

Chapter 404: A Thousand Gold for a Toss, Old Zhou's Astonishment

Afternoon

In the Five Peaks Square, a super luxurious mansion.

Deng Shirong prepared a grand feast to entertain his in-laws, the mother-in-law, and the elder sister-in-law.

"Mother-in-law, you made this white-cut chicken, I used to eat it a lot back in my maiden home, and the taste is still quite good. However, the flavor you make is far better."

Mother Gu tasted a piece of white-cut chicken and praised it,, "The last time I ate this, I wanted to say that the white-cut chicken you make has a very special aroma, and the more you eat, the more fragrant it becomes, making it unforgettable. It’s truly amazing!"

Deng Shirong smiled, "Mother-in-law, our Bo Bai white-cut chicken is delicious because, the key to its deliciousness lies not only in the cooking time but also in the ingredients themselves and the secret sauce and seasonings, which are most important."

"Speaking of the ingredients, let’s take this white-cut chicken as an example. It must be made with free-range chickens that have been raised for over a year. The meat from such chickens, when made into white-cut, is absolutely chewier and more fragrant. This is not something you can compare to the chickens bought from the market."

"And the seasoning sauce and seasonings are also extremely important. Different white-cuts have different sauces and seasonings, which are crucial. If you want to learn, I can teach you how to pair the sauce and seasonings for white-cut chicken, and you will definitely be able to make this fragrant white-cut."

Mother Gu smiled broadly, "Mother-in-law, you can say that well. teach me to make this, your skills are truly amazing."

Gu Caiwei also smiled and said, "Dad, teach me too, so when Yung Heng wants to eat it, I can make it for him."

Deng Shirong nodded, "No problem, This white-cut chicken is one of the easiest dishes to learn. As long as you get the sauce and seasonings right, even if the ingredients are not the best and the cooking time is not perfectly controlled, the flavor will still not be too bad."

"Of course, if you can control both the ingredients and the cooking time well, the flavor will be even better, complementing each other and making the taste even more exquisite."

Gu Caixiao smiled and said, "Caiwei, I was originally worried that your appetite would be poor during pregnancy, and you wouldn’t be able to eat anything. But with your father-in-law’s skills, I’m now only worried that you might eat too much and get too fat."

Gu Caiwei touched her belly, somewhat concerned, and said, "Getting a bit fat is not a big deal. After giving birth, I should be able to slowly slim down. I’m just worried that the nutrition is too good and will make the baby inside my belly too fat, which will be a problem during childbirth."

Deng Shirong replied, "Caiwei, this is a good thing that you don’t have a psychological burden. A well-developed fetus is a good thing, and having a baby is indeed a trial. A well-nourished fetus will greatly boost the baby’s immunity after birth, leading to healthy growth. If the fetus is poorly nourished, the baby will be weak and prone to illness."

Mother Gu said, "Caiwei, your father-in-law is right. You should maintain a balanced nutrition during pregnancy, which is beneficial for the baby’s future growth."

Gu Caiwei smiled and said, "Mom, I was just joking. I know it’s important."

"Alright, mother-in-law, sister, let’s eat quickly. If we keep talking, the food will get cold."

"Okay, let’s eat!"

...

The next day.

Deng Shirong’s family split into two groups:

One group was Deng Shirong with his young daughter heading to the station, boarding a bus to Guangzhou.

The other group was Mother Gu with her two daughters, carrying the gifts selected by the in-laws, accompanied by a bodyguard and driver, returning to her maiden home.

After nearly ten hours of travel, Deng Shirong and his young daughter finally arrived in Guangzhou in the evening.

Guangzhou, known for its food, even in this modern era of the night,Guangzhou still exudes the charm of this city of culinary delights. Deng Shirong and his young daughter visited a very popular stir-fried rice stall, to have two servings of the famous dry-fried beef noodles.

Sitting down and waiting, Deng Yunzhu asked curiously, "Dry-fried beef noodles, why is this name so strange?"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Beef refers to beef, and river refers to rice noodles, hence the name."

Deng Yunzhu was surprised, "Using beef to stir-fry rice noodles? That’s pretty rare." In this modern era, dry-fried beef noodles are not as common as they used to be,Guangzhou, and Deng Yunzhu really hadn’t had this dish before.

Deng Shirong, in his past life, was deeply passionate about culinary arts and had extensively studied the stories behind each dish: "The invention of this dish, dry-fried beef noodles, was actually out of necessity."

Deng Yunzhu, who loved hearing her father tell stories about food, asked immediately, "Dad, how was this dish of dry-fried beef noodles invented out of necessity?"

Deng Shirong, in his previous life, was obsessed with cooking and had studied the stories behind every dish: "The creator of this dish, dry-fried beef noodles, was named Xu Bin. At that time, during the Japanese invasion, China, Guangzhou had already fallen. He and his parents operated a noodle shop in Yang Alley to make ends meet. But business was slow, and it was difficult to sustain the noodle shop alone, so they started to also operate a stir-fry noodle stall."

Previously, stir-fried river noodles were always stir-fried with a slurry, which involved adding a slurry made from cornstarch (bean powder) after stir-frying.

One evening, the stall ran out of cornstarch, and the owner was unable to go and buy more due to the Japanese checkpoints blocking the way, leaving him with no options.

Just then, a Japanese puppet detective came by, craving some stir-fried river noodles after smoking opium. Xu Bin’s father had a strict rule: he would not prepare any dish if the ingredients were insufficient. He refused, saying they lacked the necessary ingredients. However, the detective was unreasonable and insisted on having the noodles, even threatening them with a gun.

Unable to resolve the situation, Xu Bin’s mother stepped in to mediate and sent Xu Bin to prepare the noodles.

In a moment of desperation, Xu Bin came up with a method to stir-fry the noodles without the slurry: he first heated oil in the wok, sauteed the onions, stir-fried the bean sprouts, added the noodles, and then finally added the pre-fried beef to the wok and stir-fried everything together.

To his surprise, the noodles turned out to be exceptionally delicious, and the detective came back every night, specifically asking for this dish.

At that time, it was not easy to earn a few extra cents to buy cornstarch, so Xu Bin and his father were happy to save the money and continued to make "dry-fried beef noodles," serving them with Guilin chili sauce. Later, a restaurant owner saw the potential in this dish and started selling it in his restaurant, and other teahouses and restaurants followed suit.

From then on, this cheap street snack became a famous dish, known as "dry-fried beef noodles."

Deng Yunzhu said, "So, that's how dry-fried beef noodles were created. Dad, you make it sound so intriguing, I wonder how it tastes."

Deng Shirong said, "This dish is definitely delicious. But whether it’s good or not depends on the chef's skills. This night market stall is very popular, so the chef must be quite skilled. The dry-fried beef noodles should be pretty good."

Deng Yunzhu said eagerly, "I can't wait to try it."

Due to the high demand, father and daughter had to wait nearly half an hour for their two servings of dry-fried beef noodles to be served.

Both of them were quite hungry, and as soon as the noodles were on the table, they picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

After a few bites, Deng Yunzhu couldn't help but praise, "Dad, you were right. The dry-fried beef noodles are really delicious."

"Indeed, they taste great," Deng Shirong agreed.

No wonder this night market stall always had a queue of customers, and the number of diners never seemed to decrease. It seemed that the stall had already gained a good reputation in the area.

Dry-fried beef noodles are a perfect dish for a night snack. If his night market street ever gets established, he would need vendors with such skills. As long as there are enough of these skilled vendors, the night market street would surely thrive.

Deng Shirong noted down the address, thinking he might contact them again if the opportunity arises.

...

The next morning.

Deng Shirong took his young daughter to the restaurant downstairs to meet Old Zhou and Old Huang.

These two old friends always came here for morning tea, rain or shine, every day.

Sure enough, as soon as Deng Shirong and his daughter arrived, they saw Old Zhou and Old Huang.

After exchanging greetings, Deng Shirong couldn't help but ask, "Old Zhou, Old Huang, how early do you two get up to arrive here so early?"

Old Zhou laughed, "Uncle Jiu, Old Huang and I get up at 5:30 AM. Our homes are not far from here, so it only takes about ten minutes to walk. We usually arrive here before 6:00 AM."

Deng Shirong sighed, "It seems that the morning tea business is not easy. Even the customers arrive so early. The tea and dim sum must be prepared in the middle of the night, right?"

Old Huang nodded, "The tea and dim sum here are always fresh, so they do start preparing them in the middle of the night."

After ordering a few signature dishes, they began to chat while eating.

After a few exchanges, Deng Shirong asked about the main matter, "Old Zhou, where is the shop you found for me?"

Old Zhou said, "The shop was found by my eldest son-in-law, who works at the Public Security Bureau. It’s about four to five kilometers from here. It was originally a wholesale station with decent foot traffic. After we finish our morning tea, I’ll take you to see it."

Deng Shirong said, "Old Zhou, thank you for your efforts."

Old Zhou laughed, "Uncle Jiu, it was no trouble at all, just a small favor."

While Old Zhou said it was a small favor, Deng Shirong and his daughter, both in business, understood that finding a suitable shop was the most troublesome part, especially for Deng Yunzhu’s hotpot restaurant, which required a large space in a good location. Such a shop was not easy to find.

Deng Shirong didn’t say much more. If they became in-laws, Old Zhou’s efforts as the father-in-law would be expected. If they didn’t, he would consider it a favor owed to Old Zhou and find a way to repay it later.

Since they were planning to go see the shop afterward, today’s morning tea was not as leisurely as usual, lasting until around 9:00 AM.

Then, after parting ways with Old Huang, Old Zhou took Deng Shirong and his daughter to see the shop by car.

In this era in Guangzhou, transportation included not only buses but also a considerable number of rickshaws. As for the popular three-wheeled motorcycles used for transportation, they would only become widespread a few years later.

Half an hour later, Old Zhou led Deng Shirong and his daughter to the destination. He pointed to the shop in front and said, "Uncle Jiu, Azhu, this is the shop I told you about. Do you think the location is suitable?"

Deng Shirong and his daughter began to look around and found that, as Old Zhou had said, the foot traffic here was indeed good. Even though it wasn't rush hour, there were still many vehicles and pedestrians coming and going.

The area was lined with shops, including several restaurants, making it a suitable location for a hotpot restaurant.

Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Old Zhou, this location is indeed good."

Deng Yunzhu also thanked him, "Uncle Zhou, thank you!"

Old Zhou smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. If you decide to rent this shop, I'll contact the landlord to sign the contract."

Deng Shirong looked at his young daughter and said, "Azhu, this is your business, so you make the decision!"

Deng Yunzhu replied, "Uncle Zhou, please contact the landlord. I'll rent this shop."

Old Zhou beamed and said, "Great, then you wait here for a moment while I make a call."

...

Twenty minutes later, the landlord arrived.

The landlord was a middle-aged man in his forties. Upon arrival, he greeted Old Zhou first, "Uncle Zhou."

Old Zhou nodded and introduced them, "Mr. Chen, let me introduce you to Mr. Deng, who wants to rent your shop, and his father, Uncle Jiu."

Mr. Chen greeted them immediately, "Uncle Jiu, Mr. Deng, nice to meet you!"

"Mr. Chen, nice to meet you!"

After exchanging greetings, Mr. Chen took out the keys and opened the shop door, saying, "Uncle Jiu, Mr. Deng, please come in and let's talk."

Deng Shirong and his daughter followed the landlord and Old Zhou into the shop. The space of over 300 square meters was quite impressive. With some renovation, it would make an excellent hotpot restaurant.

Mr. Chen said, "Mr. Deng, you know the rent for this shop, right?"

Deng Yunzhu nodded, "Uncle Zhou has already told me."

Mr. Chen asked, "Do you have any objections to the rent?"

Deng Yunzhu shook her head, "The rent you set is quite reasonable, so I have no objections."

Mr. Chen smiled and said, "Naturally, Captain Qin spoke to me personally, so I offered the most favorable price. How many years do you plan to rent this shop, Mr. Deng?"

Deng Yunzhu thought for a moment and asked, "Mr. Chen, I was wondering, are you willing to sell this shop?"

Mr. Chen was taken aback, clearly not expecting such a question. It was like a tenant suddenly asking if the landlord was willing to sell the property. Any landlord would be surprised by such a question.

However, Mr. Chen was also intrigued. His son was studying abroad, which required substantial expenses. Even with the rent from this shop, it would only cover a fraction of the costs.

In this era, there were two ways to study abroad: one was through government sponsorship, and the other was self-funded. Clearly, government-sponsored students were few, and most were self-funded, often borrowing or working hard to raise the funds.

Mr. Chen's son was one of the self-funded students.

He had been worrying about how to cover his son's high tuition fees in the coming years. Now, if Mr. Deng was interested in buying the shop, it could solve his financial problems.

With this in mind, Mr. Chen smiled broadly and said, "Of course, I'm willing to sell. Mr. Deng, are you considering buying the shop instead of renting?"

Deng Yunzhu smiled and said, "Renting the shop is a bit of a hassle. If the price is fair, I would prefer to buy it."

Mr. Chen happily replied, "Rest assured, Mr. Deng. If you really want to buy, I'll give you a fair price."

Hearing this, Old Zhou was also quite surprised. They had come to rent the shop, but now it had turned into a sale, and the change was quite sudden.

Moreover, renting and buying a shop required vastly different amounts of capital. It seemed he had underestimated the financial strength of the Deng family. They were willing to buy a 300-square-meter shop, which suggested their financial capability was much greater than he had imagined.

Deng Shirong was quite pleased. He had already told his children that if they found a suitable shop for their next branch, they should prioritize buying it if possible. If the landlord was unwilling to sell or the price was too high, they could always rent it later.

It was clear that his young daughter had taken his words to heart, which is why she now wanted to buy the shop instead of renting it.

With one party eager to buy and the other willing to sell, they naturally came to an agreement.

In terms of price, perhaps due to the face of Old Zhou's eldest son-in-law, the other party did not overcharge but instead offered a relatively fair price—560,000 yuan.

At around 1,800 yuan per square meter, this was a shop in a major city like Guangzhou. Although this area was not the most bustling part of the city, the location of Mr. Chen's shop was excellent. Selling it for around 1,800 yuan per square meter was indeed a very fair price.

Deng Yunzhu's net worth had already surpassed a million yuan, and she didn't even need her father's help to come up with the money.

Then, Old Zhou witnessed history as he watched his "future daughter-in-law" spend a thousand gold in a single toss, buying the 300-square-meter shop with great generosity.

This scene left Old Zhou quite astonished.

His family were all government employees, and their economic conditions were much better than most families. However, their savings were still quite limited. If they needed to gather money for something, the most they could come up with without borrowing from outsiders was a few ten thousand yuan.

Of course, if they were to borrow money from others, with their connections, they could easily gather a million or more.

After all, they were all government employees, and having such a stable job made it very easy to borrow money. Asking a few people would easily yield a large sum, and the whole family could gather a million or more by borrowing from relatives and friends.

In the future, there were often news stories about someone owing a million yuan to relatives, friends, classmates, and colleagues due to gambling or other reasons.

However, this someone might only earn a few thousand yuan a month, but because they had a stable government job, they were inherently more trustworthy than idle people in society, allowing them to accumulate such a large debt.

However, being able to borrow money was not a skill. Old Zhou's family could only come up with a few ten thousand yuan, while Deng Yunzhu could easily spend 560,000 yuan to buy the shop. The economic disparity was truly significant.

Previously, they thought that Deng Yunzhu's hotpot restaurant making 100,000 to 200,000 yuan a year was already very good. However, it now seemed that they had underestimated the restaurant's earnings, or more accurately, the earnings of Deng Yunzhu's Spicy Hotpot.

...

Afternoon.

At a restaurant near the Ministry of Finance in Beijing, Deng Yunshong invited his beautiful colleague, Pei Qinghua, to dinner again.

Since the last dinner they had together, Deng Yunshong had been inviting Pei Qinghua to dinner every few days.

At this point, they had become very close friends. During dinner, Pei Qinghua said, "Director Deng, you've been treating me to dinner quite often lately. You can't do it again today; you must give me a chance to treat you."

Deng Yunshong smiled and said, "Director Pei, there's no need to worry about this. A beauty like you, others would be lucky to get the chance to treat you to dinner. You agreeing to have dinner with me is already a great honor. Why should you have to treat me?"

Pei Qinghua laughed, "You really know how to sweet-talk! But let's be clear. We both just started working this year, and our salaries, though not small, are just enough for living. You treating me to dinner every few days would quickly deplete your salary."

Deng Yunshong smiled and said, "The salary from work is indeed not enough for such extravagance. However, although I'm from the countryside, my family's financial situation is quite good. Not to mention just treating you to dinner every few days, I could treat you every day and still afford it."

Pei Qinghua blinked and said, "I didn't expect you to be a little tycoon!"

Deng Yunshong laughed and said, "I hope I haven't embarrassed you."

Pei Qinghua said, "However, even though you're not short of money, today's dinner must be on me. It's only fair to reciprocate."

Deng Yunshong, seeing that she was serious, nodded and said, "Alright, you treat me today, and I'll treat you tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Pei Qinghua smiled and said, "That's fine."

They continued to chat and eat, finding they had a lot in common and couldn't stop talking.

They spent about an hour and a half having dinner.

Since they had agreed beforehand, Pei Qinghua paid the bill, and Deng Yunshong didn't try to take it from her.

After leaving the restaurant, they walked back to the residential compound together.

As they reached the building where Pei Qinghua lived, she waved at him, "Director Deng, I'll go up now. See you tomorrow."

Deng Yunshong also waved, "Alright, see you tomorrow."

...

PS: Thank you, QQ Reader A Biao, for the generous tip, and thank you to all the relatives for your monthly votes.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end