Chapter 10: Cultivate a trumpet?

After a while, Zhou Anan negotiated the price with the store owner and took back a small gas tank, a single-burner gas stove, and an iron pot.

Originally, the store didn't have any gas tanks for sale, but the store owner couldn't resist the high price of thirty yuan offered by Zhou Anan, so he rented out the half-full tank of gas he had left.

To be honest, if Zhou Anan wanted to buy a new gas tank and gas directly, the money in her pocket would definitely not be enough.

I spent 20 on fireworks, 10 on a taxi, 15 on the bus, 40 on a wooden cabinet, 66 on plates, 68 on sockets, 60 on a barbecue grill, 105.6 on groceries, 157.5 on crayfish, 30 on a small gas tank, 35 on a single-burner gas stove, 20 on a pot, and 22 on oil.

The original capital was 705.8 yuan, and the remaining amount was 51.7 yuan.

After running to the vegetable market and spending 15 yuan to buy condiments for crayfish, Zhou Anan was left with only a few dollars in her pocket.

In other words, Zhou Anan only had thirty-six yuan and seventy cents left at this time.

Going all in, this was the summary of An An’s first day of entrepreneurship last week.

If today's business is bad and the barbecue stall cannot earn enough money to buy groceries tomorrow, it will probably not be able to continue.

Perhaps, Zhou Anan could use the thirty-six yuan to buy eighteen lottery tickets, hoping to gain some luck in being reborn.

"You should take a rest first."

Zhou Anan said to Wang Rong, who was sweating profusely, while skillfully removing the head and tail intestines of the crayfish.

It’s the first time we open a business, so it’s not good to exploit this old classmate too much.

The most important thing is that if this barbecue stall goes out of business, it can reduce the other party's anger at being cheated.

"It's okay, I'll help you dial it too."

After just one look, he remembered the trick to peeling lobster heads. On his first day at work, Wang Rong answered eagerly.

If you are earning a high salary of 2,000 yuan, you have to show some expression, otherwise, what will you do if you are fired?

After Wang Rong's fingers were pinched five or six times, Zhou Anan, who couldn't bear it any longer, assigned him the task of cutting open the crayfish's back.

Twenty minutes later, a plate of freshly-baked lobster meat came out, and the soup steaming on the side also exuded a faint aroma of chili.

Everything is ready.

“It’s time to show off my craft.”

As it was getting dark, Zhou Anan looked at the growing crowd in the night market not far away, smiled and turned on the gas stove again.

Zhou Anan heated the pan, poured in some oil, and poured in a plate of crayfish. The pan immediately began to make frying sounds.

The meat of crayfish is easy to become tough, so it must be fried in oil first to ensure that the meat remains fresh during the cooking process.

Generally speaking, there are two main ways to cook headless crayfish in Lizhou. One is to fry it and then stir-fry it with chili peppers, commonly known as stir-fried crayfish; the other is to fry it and then boil it in soup, commonly known as spicy crayfish.

The former is suitable for young people who like to drink and chat, while the latter is suitable for white-collar workers who like to eat slowly.

Without any extra conditions, Zhou Anan only chose the second method of roasting, which is more convenient and requires lower technical skills.

When it comes to cooking soup, some lobster restaurants that have secret recipes make crayfish that are indeed delicious.

It’s a pity that Zhou Anan doesn’t know any secret recipe. She just makes the crayfish more flavorful by opening the back, adjusting the ratio of chili ingredients, and adjusting the steaming temperature. The taste is still much better than ordinary home-cooked crayfish.

However, for the people of Lizhou, who have not yet become fond of eating crayfish, this is enough.

A few minutes later, the originally gray flesh gradually turned into an attractive red color, with a faint meaty aroma, attracting the attention of tourists passing by the stall.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhou Anan took out the crayfish, replaced the oil in the pot with the base soup that had been steamed in advance, turned the heat to the lowest, and then put the crayfish in.

Tiny bubbles rise from the reddish-brown soup, and the crayfish with their backs opened quickly absorb the flavor of the soup, which gradually becomes an irresistible delicacy.

Customers passing by also turned their heads frequently and immediately realized that there was a new barbecue stall at the intersection.

It's just that it's still early and no one has come in to eat yet. Barbecue is a standard midnight snack and not a staple food.

Zhou Anan was not worried at all as she watched the crayfish rolling in the red soup.

“Is it delicious?”

Wang Rong swallowed his saliva and, having no expectations at first, had an urge to reach out and grab it after smelling the fragrance.

I didn’t expect that such ugly crayfish would become so appetizing after being boiled.

"Don't be impatient."

Noticing the attentive eyes around him, Zhou Anan said with a smile.

Although the crayfish has been decapitated and its back opened, it still takes some time for the soup to penetrate the lobster meat. Some old restaurants will soak the crayfish in the soup for more than half an hour, and then quickly heat it up after the customer orders it, which makes it taste better.

After nearly half an hour of cooking over low heat, Zhou Anan picked up a crayfish, looked at the lobster meat exposed on its back, tasted it, and nodded with satisfaction.

Although the taste is not as good as those of the old shops, it has a bit more flavor than ordinary home-cooked dishes, so it should be no problem to fool the people of Lizhou today.

Without tasting it immediately, Zhou Anan first filled a small bowl of crayfish and took it to the cake shop next door.

"Auntie Chen, we just cooked some crayfish, please try it."

Even though she had to pay the electricity bill, Zhou Anan still felt that she shouldn't owe too many favors.

The most important thing was that he wanted to see the other party's reaction after trying it, so as to avoid having unnecessary illusions.

"Wow, it smells so good. An An, your cooking skills are really good. If a girl marries you in the future, she will be blessed."

Chen Yuehua had occasionally noticed the barbecue stall not far from the door before, and she knew that the crayfish were all prepared by the little boy in front of her.

It's not easy for a young man to do this.

If the stinky girl at home was half as good as the other one, she would be satisfied.

"Auntie, please try it and give me some advice."

Not inflated by sweet words, Zhou Anan urgently needed the other party's evaluation.

"Well, how do you eat it?"

"Just peel it, like this."

"Mm, it's delicious. I didn't know crayfish is so delicious."

"Auntie praised me, but I didn't cook it well, please forgive me."

"If my girl was half as good as you, I'd be so lucky."

The crayfish were so delicious that Chen Yuehua couldn't help but eat three of them.

Look at this young man again, the more I look at him, the more I like him.

Thinking about my troublesome daughter again, I became angrier and angrier.

Or, have a second child? Raise a younger one?

"Auntie, you eat first. I'll go get busy."

Zhou Anan had no idea that it was because of her that Chen Yuehua wanted to have a second child early. After waiting for her to give him a satisfactory evaluation of the crayfish, she said a few polite words and rushed back to the barbecue stall without stopping.

The first business after opening the store has arrived.

(End of this chapter)