Chapter 81. School life is simple...

Life at school was simple; the learning atmosphere was exceptionally good, and my roommates were all very hardworking, getting up early and going to bed late to study.

Wen Lan, in particular, said she was studying even harder than she was in her senior year of high school.

She plans to transfer to the Computer Science department, but she needs to be in the top three of her class in terms of overall grades to apply for the transfer.

Now, whenever I don't have classes, I go to the computer science department to audit classes.

After auditing the class, my determination to switch majors became even stronger.

Everyone was working so hard, so Jiang Can didn't dare to slack off either. Those who got in were all top students from various schools! Jiang Can didn't want to be at the bottom of the class during the exam.

Before they knew it, it was Saturday. Jiang Can signed a contract with Fang Heng, contracting out the renovation of the other two shops to Fang Heng.

She was very satisfied with the design drawings provided by Fang Heng, and signed the contract decisively. She paid 40,000 yuan as an initial payment for the renovation, but this amount was definitely far from enough, as the investment in a karaoke bar was substantial.

The equipment is very expensive.

However, the investment is large, but the returns are also large.

We still asked Senior Mo Yunxi to draft the contract.

Jiang Can signed the contract, and since there was nothing else to do at school, he took his textbooks and went back to the Xie family home.

She's going home to walk her dog.

The old lady brought Hu Zi here in the first place so that Jiang Can would come home often. Since Jiang Can was home, Shen Lang would have to come back whenever he had a spare moment.

Besides, if the Xie family can raise tiger cubs, why would they put them in someone else's house?

I also took Xie Yu under my wing. Xie Yu has excellent grades; he's in the top five of the advanced class and roughly in the top ten of the grade. Getting into the affiliated high school is definitely not a problem for him.

However, Xie Yu now has a strong desire to become the top student in the class, so Jiang Can helps her organize the knowledge points.

It was something that came easily to me.

Xie Yu's life at school has returned to its former tranquility. Chu Mu and others occasionally go to apologize to her or ask her out, but she refuses them without hesitation. They are now just classmates and neighbors; the friendship of the past is definitely gone.

Hang Jingjing also tried to win back Xie Yu's friendship by giving Xie Yu her favorite snacks, stickers, or dolls.

However, Xie Yu threw all the delivered items into the trash can.

After many attempts, Hang Jingjing finally realized that Xie Yu, who used to be simple and easy to talk to, had changed.

Their friendship was completely over.

A month later, Xie Xun was executed by firing squad.

The Xie family did not go to see the body, but they did find someone to prepare Xie Xun's body for burial.

Xie Yu cried secretly in her bed, while Grandma Xie and Aunt Wang cried in the living room for half the night.

The two found a tear-jerking war drama and cried while watching it.

Jiang Can went upstairs to call Xie Yu to come downstairs and watch TV. "Don't hide under the covers and cry secretly. Cry while watching the TV series."

That way I won't have to explain why my eyes are swollen tomorrow.

Xie Xun spent 19 years in the Xie family. It wasn't nine days or nine months; it was an exceptionally long period of time.

That involves feelings.

Even if they know Xie Xun is unworthy, and rationally know that Xie Xun almost destroyed their families and even plotted against national interests, they will not look at Xie Xun, whether he was alive or dead.

But I still feel sad inside.

Jiang Can turned on the kitchen light, preparing to make a hot and sour appetizer soup.

At dinner time, no one had much of an appetite; they were hungry after crying.

The whole family stayed up all night watching half of a tearjerker TV series, and then enjoyed a big bowl of hot and sour egg soup. They felt much better afterwards.

Grandma Xie added, "I'm too old to watch this kind of TV drama anymore. Pingping, please take me to watch this next time. It's too painful to watch!"

Wang Ma: "I'll throw the disc away later."

I need to apply ice to my eyes before going to bed, otherwise they'll be really swollen and look terrible tomorrow.

Time flies, and it's December in the blink of an eye. The fifth branch of Flame Mountain Hot Pot has been renovated, and the overall style is Chinese classical style.

It's somewhat similar to the restaurants in period dramas.

The overall color scheme is dominated by dark wood, vermilion, and dark gold. Carved screens are used between the solid wood square tables to provide better privacy, and rattan pendant lights are used for the ceiling lights on the tables.

The walls are decorated with traditional Chinese ink landscape paintings and calligraphy plaques. These were all written by students skilled in calligraphy and painted by students skilled in painting, and they were all very inexpensive!

A viewing platform was set up against the wall near the entrance on the first floor, with artificial hills and flowing water, and lush bamboo groves, where several goldfish were also kept.

The tableware is also in a classical style, with classical poems engraved on the copper pots.

Anyway, as soon as you sit down in this hot pot restaurant, the feeling immediately comes over you.

The hotel manager has already been hired. She was previously the manager of a large hotel and did a great job. However, after she got pregnant and gave birth, she was sidelined by her superiors. When she returned to the hotel, there was simply no place for her.

I was introduced to this place by someone.

Her name is Xue Meimei.

Jiang Can liked her very much and was very generous with her salary, increasing it by 10% on top of her original salary. He also entrusted her with the management of the Flaming Mountain Restaurant, and she was responsible for sourcing ingredients for the restaurant.

This includes subsequent recruitment.

She was given almost all the rights to the Flaming Mountain restaurant, so she was required to ensure it was clean, hygienic, and safe.

If you can do it, do it; if you can't, Jiang Can will hire someone else.

Xue Meimei was very grateful for Jiang Can's trust and did her job very well.

There's no need to hire a chef. When Xu Rao came to the capital, she brought a couple in their twenties with her. They were very capable and willing to leave their hometown to make their way in the capital.

They were able to take over the kitchen immediately, and they found a few strong men to pound all kinds of handmade meatballs.

Hot pot restaurants have the highest demand for all kinds of meatballs, all of which are freshly made and delicious.

In a very short time, Xue Meimei finalized the restaurant's food supplier, who was her original supplier and would supply the best batch of goods to Huoyanshan Hot Pot Restaurant.

Waiters, dishwashers, and vegetable cutters were hired one after another.

Xue Meimei attached great importance to the training of waiters and acted as an etiquette teacher, training everyone for several days. She believed that waiters were very important if the hot pot restaurant wanted to do well.

On December 2nd, the fifth branch of Huoyanshan Hot Pot Restaurant opened for trial operation in Yikai City.

On the first day, Huoyanshan Hot Pot Restaurant had already distributed flyers at the gates of several schools, offering a 20% discount for the first three days of dining.

Waiters dressed in cheongsams and wearing bright red capes invited guests into the restaurant for a meal at the entrance.

Grandma Xie arrived around 10 a.m., bringing a large group of her close friends to support Jiang Can's business. They first toured the hot pot restaurant's decor, exclaiming how beautiful it was and how it was the first time they had ever seen a hot pot restaurant with this style.

Actually, older women don't eat hot pot very often.

Xie Yu also brought more than 20 classmates, who brought two particularly beautiful large flower baskets. There were too many people, and the private room couldn't accommodate everyone, so they took up four tables in the lobby on the first floor. They removed the screen and placed it in the middle, dividing the space into a small area.

The students really like this small space; no matter how much noise they make, it doesn't bother the people outside.

The dishes in the restaurant are basically the same as those in Liaoxian. The hot pot bases include mushroom base and tomato base, and the signature dish is still spicy beef hot pot base.

Jiang Can went upstairs to help the old ladies order mushroom and tomato hot pot bases.

The broth is made from large bones and chicken carcasses, making it incredibly flavorful; you can drink it straight from the broth.

Elderly people often have poor teeth and don't like to eat tripe or similar foods because they are difficult to chew. Various kinds of meatballs are suitable for them. The specially marinated beef is especially tender, and beef rolls and black-boned chicken rolls are also suitable.

The drink is hawthorn water that has been brewed in advance. Fresh hawthorns are used. After removing the pits, water is added to a pot and boiled for half an hour. Then, dried tangerine peel, red dates, goji berries, and apple slices are added and boiled until the fruit is soft. Finally, rock sugar is added.

After cooling, sprinkle with osmanthus sauce and chill for an even better flavor.

Hawthorn juice is sweet and sour, tastes great, and can also whet the appetite, cut through greasiness, and aid digestion.

Jiang Can, along with several waiters, helped the grandmothers prepare dipping sauces: sesame paste, mushroom sauce, crushed sesame and peanuts, minced garlic, chopped scallions and cilantro, and then added sesame oil and vinegar.

First, we made various kinds of meatballs for the grandmothers.

Jiang Can: "These are all freshly made handmade meatballs, very fresh. Grandma, have a taste."

Actually, a bowl of this is all fish ball soup.

The grandmothers were just there to show their support; they didn't plan to eat anything, and they don't really like hot pot anyway.

I picked up a fish ball, dipped it in the sauce, took a bite, and it was fresh, sweet, and bouncy—delicious!

Try the fish tofu again, it's delicious!

Try the honey-glazed beef again, ah, so tender! Absolutely delicious!

Grandma Xie said, "Cancan, go do your work elsewhere. We'll cook whatever we want to eat ourselves. Bring two more plates of this secret-recipe beef cubes. If we need more, we'll call the waiter."

Jiang Can called the waiter for two more plates of her secret-recipe beef and then went downstairs.

The area downstairs was already bustling with activity. Lu Man had brought her classmates, and she was treating everyone to dinner, expressing her support for her roommate's new shop. Her classmates, however, said they would split the bill, also wanting to support Jiang Can.

Lu Man is now more considerate of others' feelings when she speaks. There are students in the class who are not well-off. Does she expect them to starve themselves for half a month after eating this meal? She's not short of money, but she can't say that. She said, "This meal is on me. You can come again next time. Let's all support Can Can."

When we arrived at the Flaming Mountain Hot Pot restaurant, we first praised the decor. The style was truly beautiful, somewhat resembling a grand restaurant from a period drama. The solid wood tables and carved armchairs, each with large cushions, were very comfortable to lean against.

There's a pretty little solid wood box under the table, perfect for storing winter clothes and bags.

Even if the food isn't that great, I'd still be willing to come back a couple of times just to sit here.

But the place to eat still has to be good.

Everyone praised Jiang Can for her good taste and Fang Heng for his skill in decorating the hot pot restaurant so beautifully.

Lu Man didn't order any food, just told the waiter to bring it to her.

The waiters were all trained and knew how much seven or eight people could eat. They ordered all the signature dishes, and then brought out several plates of pickled chicken feet and boneless duck feet in hot and sour sauce. These cold dishes were a gift from Jiang Can.

I wanted chilled hawthorn water as my drink.

The hot pot base was also a spicy beef tallow broth. A few people who couldn't handle too much spice sat together and ate the mushroom broth and the mildly spicy beef broth.

Their class had six tables, which were also surrounded by screens. No matter how much noise everyone made inside, it was fine. Outside, you could only hear the noise but couldn't see anyone.

The food is still being prepared, and the broth has only just started cooking.

We couldn't just sit there idly, and it would be a waste of the environment to sit in such an ancient-style shop and not play a game of "Flying Flowers".

After a semester of accumulation, Lu Man and Shen Junxi's mastery of poetry has increased rapidly, and now they no longer have to stare blankly at each other and be unable to keep up.

Not only Lu Man and Shen Yunxi, but others who were less skilled in poetry were also frantically studying in private.

Who wants to be unable to join the conversation while playing a game?

However, under the leadership of Xia Kexin, the class's academic representative, their class particularly loved playing poetry relay games.

Once the broth was bubbling away, a waitress in a red cotton cheongsam pushed a cart full of ingredients onto the table and showed them how to prepare the dipping sauce.

Also, the cooking time for different kinds of dishes.

You can make your own dipping sauce. There's a condiment station next to you with recipes and instructions on how to mix the sauces. There are also servers who can help you make the sauces. Also, please make sure no one gets the sauces on the condiment station dirty.

You can only use the shared spoon; you can't use your own spoon.

The hot pot broth has an incredibly strong flavor, filling the entire hall with a spicy and savory aroma that tantalizes the taste buds.

Lu Man had long wanted to try the hot pot from Flaming Mountain to see how delicious it was. After the first plate of the secret-recipe beef slices and beef cubes were cooked, she tasted them and immediately fell in love with them.

The braised beef is very tender and delicious on its own. After being cooked in a spicy beef tallow broth and coated with red oil, it's absolutely amazing when dipped in the sauce.

It was the best beef she had ever eaten.

She thought it was delicious and couldn't stop eating. She only ate two slices of the two large plates of beef before they were gone! "Add two more plates of our secret-recipe beef to each table."

The waiter suggested, "The various kinds of meatballs are also very delicious. Try them first, and you can ask for more if you're still hungry."

Lu Man found it amusing: "Is your shop afraid that customers will eat too much?"

The waitress smiled sweetly: "I'm afraid you won't be able to finish it and it will go to waste."

Lu Man insisted on adding more of the secret-recipe beef; she hadn't had enough.

After Jiang Can came down, he visited everyone one by one to thank them for their support.

Fang Heng's dormitory also came over. They heard others praising the beautiful decoration and delicious food here, and they felt extremely proud. They also thought it was beautiful!

Just like looking at your own child, the more you look at them, the more you like them.

Xi Ling and Lu Li arrived a little late. If Jiang Can hadn't reserved a private room in advance, there would have been nowhere to sit. The first meal after the opening was attended by familiar faces who were there to show their support.

The real guests who arrive at the restaurant later have nowhere to eat and are all queuing outside.

Lu Man saw this and knew it wouldn't work. She told everyone to hurry up and eat and drink, and make room for the guests outside to eat. They couldn't let Jiang Can's money-making be delayed!

Everyone ate quickly and finished eating in no time.

Lu Man paid 93 yuan per table, for a total of six tables, which was 558 yuan. After a 20% discount, it was 446 yuan, and after rounding down, it was 445 yuan.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be that expensive, but Lu Man ordered a lot. There was already enough food, but she added two plates of secret-recipe beef, a plate of fish balls, a plate of beef balls, and a plate of shrimp paste, which added up to quite a bit of money.

Finally, everyone ate until they were stuffed and burping. Jiang Can gave everyone bags of snacks he had prepared in advance, which contained packaged spicy chicken feet, spicy shredded tripe, spicy dried fish, and spicy fish tofu. It was also a way of advertising for the food factory.

If you can't eat spicy food, we'll send you five-spice food instead.

The waiter quickly cleared the table, rearranged the screen, and invited the other guests in to eat.

Xie Yu also urged her classmates to eat quickly and clear the table for other guests.

Most of them were young girls. It cost 61 yuan per table, 244 yuan for four tables, and 195.2 yuan after a 20% discount. Rounding it down to 195.

Xie Yu paid the bill, and the group of teenagers said they would come back to eat again next time.

Everyone received a bag of snacks and left happily.

Some people even asked Jiang Can if there would be any snack bags to give away after dinner.

They assumed Jiang Can only gave gifts to acquaintances.

Jiang Can smiled: "Yes, we have both."