novelslam Chapter 146 Mousetrap
Chapter 146 Mousetrap
"Master, if I wash loaches with lightly salted water to remove sand, but add too much salt, won't the surface slime be removed too thoroughly and the resulting product be too dry after stewing?"
Xingruo held a small bamboo brush in her hand and stood in front of the stove in the back kitchen to calm the lingering fear in her heart.
Outside on the long street, the dull thud of a heavy sledgehammer smashing bluestone slabs echoed through the wooden door, making the enamel basin on the chopping board buzz.
"Add about three qian (approximately 15 grams) of salt and five drops of vegetable oil. Place it in a basin and do not change the water."
Chen Feng picked up the heavy kitchen knife with one hand, and the blade swished lightly on the mahogany cutting board, producing a dull thud.
"Loaches are born to burrow in mud, and the raw, fishy smell in their bones and blood is the hardest to get rid of."
The foreign chefs Su Ang hired never figured out how to transform the fishy smell of the muddy ground into authentic, fresh meat.
Su Chen, who was initially a little irritated, was slightly taken aback when he heard Chen Feng's calm and confident words.
He glanced at Mengmeng, who was sitting on a small stool carefully threading a small rabbit doll with a black cotton thread, and then at Chen Feng, who was bending over and rubbing loaches in a basin.
For some reason, the roar of the electric drill outside suddenly didn't sound so jarring to Su Chen.
"Brother Chen, so today... I can just do what I normally do today, okay?"
Su Chen's voice held a hint of stubbornness:
"When I opened the door just now, I saw more than thirty black-clad salesmen brought over by Su Ang. They were all wearing walkie-talkies and were handing out those black gold cards to the neighbors one by one."
I...I'm afraid that as soon as the door opens, everyone will be lured away by their "9.9 yuan" trick.
"Just focus on doing your job well; there's no need to argue with others."
Chen Feng didn't look up; his right hand naturally pulled over the basket of bright red, pointed red peppers.
He deftly tore off a section of the pepper stem, and a crisp "snap" sound rang out.
"His use of dirty money to engage in capitalist activities on the streets is attractive."
But the most crucial element of cooking is always the diners sitting in the restaurant, whether the food they eat is hot or not, and whether it's truly authentic.
"Xingruo, watch carefully. Today, the garlic can't be sliced; it must be sliced into thin slices about three-tenths of an inch thick. Only then, while simmering, can the garlic aroma slowly seep into the loach's marrow."
"Yes, Master!!"
Xingruo responded crisply, quickly pulled out a small cleaver, stood on the other side of the cutting board, and began slicing purple garlic with a "swish, swish, swish" sound.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the long street...
In front of thirteen street-facing shops, just fifty meters away from the "human touch".
"Hurry up!! Take down the scaffolding for me!! Cleaning crew, get out there! If the white dust on the ground isn't cleaned up properly, nobody's getting a single penny of overtime pay from the Su Group today!!"
The third brother had a whistle in his mouth, his bloodshot eyes wide open, and he was waving his arms wildly at the workers all over the street, his voice hoarse.
The old street has completely changed by now.
Thirteen previously dark and deserted shops were stripped bare overnight by the terrifyingly powerful capital of the Su Group.
The cold, reflective alloy walls, the spotless tempered glass floor-to-ceiling windows, and the rows of modern black and gold chain store signs on the door lintels that gleamed blindingly in the morning mist—all these elements have completely distorted this ancient, dilapidated alley.
"President Su, all personnel are in place."
The third brother jogged along, his back hunched, and stood in front of the window of the black Mercedes-Benz that was quietly parked against the wall.
Su Ang rested one hand on the steering wheel, with an unlit high-end cigar between his fingers.
Through his glasses, he coldly surveyed the row of waiters and salesmen standing ramrod straight outside, resembling a regular army.
At the entrance of thirteen stores, more than thirty professional salesmen dressed in matching black suits and wearing Bluetooth headsets were staring intently at the street corner, each holding a large stack of gold-embossed black and gold membership cards.
Inside those upscale glass lobbies, a dozen executive chefs, drawn from various high-end restaurants under the Su Group overnight, had changed into snow-white, wrinkle-free chef uniforms and stood properly in front of the smokeless cold condiment station, waiting for the order to start cooking.
The old street used to be so deserted at this time of day that you could hardly hear a dog barking.
At 5:30 this morning, the series of commotions created a bustling atmosphere, and the air seemed to be filled with a domineering and cold stench of money.
"Mr. Su, following your recipe, the flyers for the '9.9 Premium Free-Range Chicken Hot Pot' have been distributed to all the office buildings and cinemas in the South District."
The young manager of the planning department was clutching his tablet computer tightly, but his voice was full of enthusiasm.
"All the text messages from the cross-industry alliance have been sent to the designated recipients."
It's not even the official opening date yet, but the number of reservations for our old street's "Super Experience Space" on social media has already exceeded 50,000!
"As soon as we open this door, those bargain hunters and high-end members of the bathhouse will swarm the door in a second!"
He took off his gold-rimmed glasses, wiped the lenses with a handkerchief, and a sickly, arrogant sneer slowly spread across his face.
"What are Chen Feng and the others doing in the house right now?" Su Ang asked casually, his words filled with the cold indifference of someone in a high position.
"I...I just had someone peek through the crack in the door."
The third brother wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression strange: "That poor cook... that poor cook went to the suburban market early this morning, but didn't buy anything good."
He brought several large baskets of dark, slimy live loaches, and a few boxes of cheap red chili peppers. Judging from the sounds inside, he and his young female apprentice were chopping garlic.
"Loach? Red chili pepper?"
Upon hearing those two words, the young manager standing outside the car window paused slightly, then couldn't help but let out a low, unrestrained sneer.
"President Su, this poor cook is truly hopeless."
We're using free-range cold chain chickens from the North District to wage a price war, but they don't have the money to keep up with us, so they're actually buying cheap loach from the market to satisfy their customers.
Is he preparing a bowl of mud soup to fight our Su Group to the death?
This is absolutely ridiculous!
Su Ang put his glasses back on his nose.
Behind the glasses, his narrow, dark eyes completely lost all fear of Chen Feng in that instant, leaving only a deep contempt for the lowly craftsmen.
"The barriers of capital can never be broken by a couple of unorthodox methods."
Su Ang sneered and straightened his tight suit collar.
"Third brother, pass on my orders."
When the doors open, all thirteen shops will set off firecrackers simultaneously!!
Put our 'super decoy' right at the very front.
I want to see how long that beast Chen Feng, who was pulled out of the mud, can last against our thirteen traps laid out like a net!