Chapter 34 In contrast to the Li Huan family…

Compared to Li Huan's family, the troublemaking old lady's family became heartless villains, despised and scorned by the crowd, with some even spitting at them.

The old lady was devastated. How could things have turned out this way! She was too ashamed to stay any longer, so she grabbed her grandson and ran away. As soon as she ran, everyone else quickly followed suit.

The stretcher was left lying alone in the middle of the road.

The crowd's disdain deepened. "With such character, she's still a primary school teacher? She'll corrupt the children. The school must fire her!"

The old lady's family is going to get away with this; they haven't received any benefits and they've even lost their jobs.

Jiang Can thanked everyone for their help, especially the kind Aunt Huang Shujun, who not only contributed the most effort but also gave her a handkerchief! That handkerchief had been used to wipe the old lady's face and was obviously unusable. She invited everyone to rest at the restaurant, then led Liangliang towards Jiang's Restaurant, saying, "Are you hungry? Let me take you to eat something delicious."

Jiang's Restaurant was already full of people, but no one was talking much; they were all listening to the sounds outside.

Jiang Can first hung the banner on the wall behind the cashier, and it did look quite nice.

Jiang Can had Liangliang sit at the cashier's counter and served him two large pig's trotters to eat first.

Yan Li picked out some more meat and vegetables and a few fast food meals, praising Jiang Can for his good profits, saying that the braised meat and fast food smelled really good.

Jiang Can took the money, but not the big pig's trotter. He gave it to Liangliang, who was just a little kid. He only ate a tiny bit of the skin, and the rest was packed up and taken away.

We really can't leave without taking it; there's nowhere to sit in the restaurant.

Then, they gave each of Aunt Huang Shujun a boxed lunch and a bowl of cold dishes, weighing about seven or eight pounds, and told Aunt Huang Shujun to divide them as she saw fit.

I'll bring Aunt Huang a few more handkerchiefs another day.

After the meal, Jiang Can led Fang Yuan to make a hot pot with butter.

First, prepare the ingredients: cut the butter into small pieces, and wash and set aside the scallions, ginger, garlic, onions, and cilantro.

Jiang Can then chopped various chili peppers and put them into the bowl, along with a variety of spices. She only had a basic understanding of how to make beef tallow hot pot; how delicious it would be remained to be seen, and this was her first time trying it.

Boil water in a pot, add various spices and start cooking. This step is very important as it brings out the flavor of the spices. Cook for about ten minutes, then put the spices in a strainer to drain the water.

Next comes rendering the butter, which is similar to rendering lard. Put a little water in a pot and boil the butter. This step takes a lot of time and can't be rushed. You have to keep an eye on it, otherwise it will be overcooked and the taste will be bad. Also, if the oil temperature is too high, it is easy to burn.

Next, drain the oil residue, extract the scallion oil, and fry the previously prepared scallions, ginger, and garlic in the oil.

This is similar to the steps for making chili oil for braised dishes. After taking it out, add the spices that have been left to rest. At this point, it's already very flavorful! It's spicy and fresh, making your mouth water.

However, the color is still a bit lacking, not bright enough. Pour in a bottle of fermented soybean paste, and the red oil comes out immediately. Once all the spices float to the surface, you can turn off the heat.

Add sugar, soy sauce, MSG, white wine, salt, and other seasonings. This kind of beef tallow hot pot is so delicious that even the soles of shoes will smell amazing when cooked in it.

Pour a pot of beef tallow hot pot base into a bowl, let it cool, and then cut it into pieces. It can be used directly in hot pot.

The flavor of the beef tallow hot pot broth was so delicious that it attracted the owner of the hot pot restaurant next door. Mr. Xu brought over a plate of watermelon and said, "Can Can, time to eat watermelon."

She came to inquire about what Jiang Can was doing with the hot pot broth.

Honestly, if Jiangji Restaurant added hot pot to its menu, their hot pot business would be cut in half!

Besides its delicious food, Jiangji Restaurant is also known for its juicy gossip! Who doesn't enjoy gossip while eating?

During mealtimes, Mr. Xu would often come over to buy braised meat or fast food, and he would always be eager to hear gossip.

Jiang Can: "Our shop owner sells braised meat and fast food. This hot pot base is something I made and sent to a friend. I only cooked some of it."

Mr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief, chatted with Jiang Can for a while with a smile, left the watermelon platter, and left Jiang's Restaurant with peace of mind.

Jiang Can does indeed plan to open a hot pot restaurant, but not here. There's a hot pot restaurant right next door. If she opens another one, wouldn't that be competing with it?

There's really no need for that.

Nowadays, young people love hot pot and barbecue the most, and these two dishes are definitely profitable.

However, hot pot requires more than just a good broth; the meat also needs to be delicious. The secret-recipe beef at the hot pot restaurant I ate at in the provincial capital last time was quite good. I'll have to look into that.

During this time, a special investigation team from the provincial capital arrived and questioned Jiang Can about being impersonated in college.

Jiang Can told the truth, and the head of the investigation team reassured her that the province would definitely give her justice and would never allow such a heinous thing as impersonating someone else to exist.

Jiang Can was very grateful for the province's attention to this matter.

Because the aroma in the shop was so strong, the investigation team asked Jiang Can if he could eat now.

The group had been busy all day and hadn't had lunch yet.

Normally, she definitely wouldn't be able to eat at this time, as the fast food wouldn't be ready yet, and she really didn't have the energy to cook a stir-fry. But the members of the investigation team had been hungry all day, so they definitely needed to be treated specially.

Jiang Can used the ingredients prepared by Fang Yuan to first stir-fry a small pot of vegetables: boiled beef, spicy hot pot, braised fish, and hot and sour shredded potatoes.

Boiled beef and spicy hot pot are both made with a beef tallow base, which is very simple.

I also made two cold dishes, one meat and one vegetable, and finally a boiled egg drop soup.

Huang Xiaoling served the six dishes and one soup.

Jiang Can and Fang Yuan continued making afternoon snacks. Because they had taken a long time, they made boiled beef, spicy hot pot, and scrambled eggs with chili peppers.

The soup was a pork trotter and kidney bean soup that had been simmering all afternoon, with beef and pork bones added. The broth was very rich. It was complimentary, and while there wasn't much meat in each bowl, it contained kidney beans, cabbage, and radish, making the broth flavorful and just as delicious as the meat. Every bowl had some!

The members of the special investigation team ate quickly, paid the bill, and said goodbye to Jiang Can. One of the female members joked with a smile, "Comrade Jiang is such a good cook. After you go to university, we won't have the chance to eat such delicious food anymore."

Jiang Can: "My apprentice's skills are also quite good."

That's the truth. Fang Yuan isn't very articulate, but he's calm and has a good learning ability. Now he can make braised meat that looks quite decent.

However, he couldn't keep track of the amount of meat and vegetables if the quantity changed.

What we have now is enough to support Jiang's Restaurant.

My stir-frying skills are still lacking; I have a lot to learn.

In the evening, every customer who enters the restaurant asks, "Boss Jiang, would you like to add hot pot?"

Jiang Can replied with a smile, "We don't have hot pot, but we do have boiled beef and spicy stir-fry. If you want hot pot, you have to go to Boss Xu's place."

The spicy hot pot at the fast food restaurant received unanimous praise. It's actually a mixed dish with beef slices, pork meatballs, beef cracklings, corn pieces, lotus root, and so on. Many people especially love the beef cracklings, finding them delicious, and asked Jiang Can how he made them.

Jiang Can smiled and brought out the beef tallow cracklings, giving each diner a small bag, about two handfuls, saying that adding some to stir-fries and soups would make them especially fragrant.

This is really worthless.

After everyone had eaten and chatted about gossip, and even got some free beef tallow cracklings, they were naturally happy. Everyone liked Jiang Can; she was beautiful, kind-hearted, and a great cook. Most importantly, she was very generous, making them like coming to Jiang's Restaurant even more.

Jiang Can didn't eat much that night, planning to have a hot pot with beef tallow when Shen Lang came back. He had prepared all the side dishes and marinated two large plates of beef slices.

By the time Shen Lang arrived, the bone broth on the coal stove had been simmering for a while. Jiang Can added a large piece of beef tallow hot pot base, and the red oil melted, releasing a rich aroma.

The dipping sauce is also ready: sesame paste, crushed peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro, and vinegar. Jiang Can and Shen Lang both love vinegar, so add plenty of it.

Shen Lang took off his coat, sat down next to Jiang Can, put his arm around her shoulder, and said, "It smells so good! Let's have one together, to toast Boss Jiang."

Jiang Can was used to him putting his arm around her shoulder. She raised her soda bottle and said, "Cheers!"

Fang Yuan and Huang Xiaoling also held up their soda bottles, and the four bottles clinked together, making a crisp sound that was particularly pleasant to hear.

The fire in the stove was very strong, and the beef boiled quickly.

Shen Lang picked up a large piece of beef with his chopsticks and put it into Jiang Can's bowl. "Thank you, wife."

Every day when he comes home, there is a delicious meal waiting for him. When he is busy outside, he always has something to look forward to. He likes the home with Jiang Can.

Thinking of home makes my heart flutter with joy.

Jiang Can carefully tasted the sauce. The marinated beef was tender and juicy, coated with the savory and spicy flavor of the beef tallow broth, and then dipped in the sauce. It was delicious.

She exclaimed with satisfaction, "I must be a reincarnation of a culinary genius, otherwise how could I be such a good cook!"

After taking a big bite of beef, Shen Lang exclaimed how delicious it was: "I'm really lucky to be able to eat the God of Cookery's cooking every day."

Fang Yuan and Huang Xiaoling nodded repeatedly, saying it smelled amazing and they had never had such delicious hot pot before.

Outside, Mr. Xu brought in two large platters of ingredients: one platter of duck blood and pig brains, and the other platter of tripe, beef aorta, and duck intestines.

Mr. Xu: "Can Can, I'll add two more dishes for you. I knew you wouldn't have prepared these; hot pot can't be without them."

Jiang Can then asked her if she had eaten and if she wanted to eat together.

Xu Rao sat down to eat with them, and Fang Yuan helped mix the dipping sauce and brought it over.

After taking a bite of the beef, Xu Rao narrowed her eyes. "Can Can, your cooking is amazing! It's delicious! It's even better than the hot pot broth recipe I got from the imperial chef's descendant. The beef is marinated perfectly, so tender and fresh, and it doesn't get tough even after cooking for a while." She put the tripe into the pot. "Try this."

The group finished all the prepared dishes, and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger.

Fang Yuan and Huang Xiaoling were cleaning up the pots and pans when Xu Rao chatted with Jiang Can. She asked, "Can Can, are you really not planning to open a hot pot restaurant? Your hot pot broth makes everything taste delicious."

Jiang Can: "We are planning to open another hot pot restaurant, because young people love to eat this."

Xu Rao: "Where are you planning to go?"

Jiang Can thought for a moment and said, "Near the city landmark, there's a lot of foot traffic there."

Upon learning that Jiang Can hadn't found a storefront yet, Xu Rao said, "I have a storefront in the city, opposite the bus station. It's two stories, over 230 square meters in total, a spacious enough location! You're going to university, which means you'll have to leave Liaoxian. What you lack most is time, while I have plenty of time. Let's open a hot pot restaurant together. We'll split the initial investment 50/50. If you don't have the funds, I'll lend you some. I'll handle the operations, and you can research the cuisine. We'll split the profits 50/50, with the initial investment deducted from the later profits. With your skills, our hot pot restaurant might even be able to open in Beijing."

Jiang Can thought about Xu Rao's words very seriously. She really didn't have time to run the business. She had to focus more on her studies. Xu Rao was very good at business and ran the hot pot restaurant very well. She also chose several good waiters. On this street, the spicy hot pot restaurant and Jiang's Restaurant had the best business.

The two quickly reached an agreement, both were satisfied, and agreed to visit the store together the next day.

Xu Rao walked away with a big smile on her face, carrying the empty plate.

Huang Xiaoling asked in a low voice, "Boss, when we open the hot pot restaurant, Boss Xu will eventually find out how to make the hot pot base. You're going to university now, so Boss Xu will still be in charge of the restaurant and decide how much revenue we make. I'm not saying anything bad about Boss Xu, I just think you should be more careful. If you really open a restaurant together, you must keep the hot pot base recipe in your own hands."

Jiang Can treated her extremely well. She didn't go to work for the past two days, but her salary was still paid on time. She ate very well at the restaurant every day, eating whatever was made for her, without having to prepare any extra vegetables or tofu for the waiters.

Today, Fang Yuan specially asked her to stay and have hot pot with him. At noon, she really wanted to go out and help, but Fang Yuan stopped her. Fang Yuan told them to stay in the store and watch the food, and they could only go out when the boss called them.

She was very uneasy at the time, afraid that her boss would be unhappy.

Later, the boss praised them, saying they were good at managing the store.

The person she admires most now is her boss. She is smart and determined, and she has overcome so many difficulties to find a way out. She has experienced darkness but still remains bright and cheerful.

But the boss was too kind-hearted, had no ill intentions, and didn't know how to be wary of people.

She was afraid that her boss would suffer a loss, and after saying those words, she regretted it, fearing that her boss would be angry.

Jiang Can took Huang Xiaoling's hand. "Xiaoling, thank you. I'll remember this! If Boss Xu falsifies the accounts, I'll sell the goods to her and open another hot pot restaurant next door. I believe I can make even better hot pot. Xiaoling, I remember you only graduated from junior high school? Why don't you go to night school and take the accounting exam? You can help me with the accounts in the future, so I won't be cheated."

Huang Xiaoling blushed. "Boss, I...I can't do it."

Jiang Can: "Why not? I'll pay for you to attend night school, and if you do well, I'll give you a raise."

Huang Xiaoling: "Boss, you can't do this! What if I graduate and end up working somewhere else? You'll be at a loss!"

Jiang Can smiled: "Does Xiaoling know how?"

Huang Xiaoling shook her head repeatedly, "I can't!"

Jiang Can: "That's right. It's getting late, go home and rest, and be careful on the road."

Huang Xiaoling's eyes were red. "Boss, I'll be leaving in a bit."

Jiang Can patted her shoulder: "I'll go back first, you should go back early too."

Fang Yuan handed the two bags of things to Shen Lang, saying, "Master, be careful on the road."

Fang Yuan and Huang Xiaoling stood at the store entrance, watching Jiang Can get into the back seat of Shen Lang's car. They only went back to the restaurant after they could no longer see him.

Huang Xiaoling clenched her fist: "I will definitely study hard so that I can help the boss with the accounts in the future!"

Fang Yuan: "I will definitely learn to cook as soon as possible! I will make boiled beef!" When the boss goes to university, he will definitely learn the boss's skills and not let the business of the store get worse.

Huang Xiaoling: "Let me taste it for you!"