Chapter 12 The First Ten-Year Plan (Bug Fixing): Building a Braised Food Kingdom

An explosion occurred in the laboratory early in the morning, alarming everyone in the research institute.

Thankfully, the facility had a medical room, and Sister Miao and the others knew a bit about first aid; otherwise, given that guy's artery was severed, he probably wouldn't have survived until he was taken to the hospital.

But he also benefited from the misfortune. After suffering so much, even Sister Miao was too embarrassed to ask Wang Xiao to take his place. So his position was saved, and Wang Xiao was able to continue hiding in the warehouse to avoid experiments.

No, no, I have to get out of here quickly. Otherwise, one day I'll be the one with my arteries cut.

Having finally made it to the end of the workday, Wang Xiao didn't dare to waste even a minute and quickly grabbed her bag and suitcase and ran off.

As she ran, she became worried again. She didn't know how to get from the research institute to the steel factory's residential area. She couldn't even remember which building her home was in.

Wang Xiao pondered how to subtly inquire about transportation options.

Or she could lie and say she wanted to go to the Civic Park first, but didn't know how to get back from there, and heard that the bus routes had been changed.

When she looked up, she saw two familiar faces outside the main gate of the research institute.

Wang Tiejun and Chen Yanqiu were standing on tiptoe, peering inside.

Upon seeing his daughter, Wang Tiejun quickly went over to help her with her suitcase. He even reached out to take the small bag she was carrying, fearing it would tire her out.

This made Wang Xiao feel particularly awkward; she really wasn't used to the warm concern from male elders. With Chen Yanqiu, however, she could empathize with her grandmother a little more, at least she could directly cling to her arm and act coquettishly: "Mom, what brings you and Dad here?"

As soon as she said it, she came to her senses, "Oh, you're worried that Ruan Rui will come looking for trouble with me? No, no, I've secretly inquired, and no one at the research institute has seen him come to my door."

It's clear that Ruan Rui truly dislikes the original owner of this body and still harbors feelings for his beloved ex-wife, which is why he can't even care about sucking blood anymore.

Chen Yanqiu rolled her eyes at her daughter, annoyed: "I know."

In fact, she was quite aggrieved on her wedding day. She put on a haughty act, hoping to take the opportunity to thoroughly ridicule that shameless conman.

As a result, Ruan Rui didn't give her a chance to show off at all, and only said: "Not getting married? Fine, just don't regret it later!"

With that, he strode away, even more dashing than if he had just walked away in style.

It's as if they're trying to climb the social ladder and are clinging to the Ruan family.

But honestly speaking, it was the woman's side that insisted on it. Now Chen Yanqiu has brought her husband to pick up their daughter because she's afraid that this muddle-headed girl might not be able to get married and will run off to the Ruan family to live together illegally as a maid.

She sternly warned her daughter: "I'm telling you, don't be foolish. What good can a conman like Ruan possibly find? He's putting on a show of pride and being high-minded now, but when he comes back to bother you, you absolutely mustn't be swayed. Let me tell you, men are very pragmatic, never try to win them over. Their heads are full of calculations, they have no conscience."

Comrade Wang Tiejun was displeased: "Hey, hey, hey, you can criticize the demolition party all you want, but why are you including me in your criticism? I've never been dishonest."

Chen Yanqiu immediately sneered: "You have a conscience? Do you think I'm senile and forgetful? Back then..."

Wang Xiao silently took a step back. "Old Wang, good luck to you. You're not young anymore, and you're still a level eight fitter. How come you have absolutely no survival instinct? You're just asking for trouble today."

Wang Tiejun couldn't withstand his wife's nagging, so he quickly begged for mercy and changed the subject, pointing to the truck on the side of the main road ahead and gesturing to his wife: "Hey, hey, the guy selling chicken heads, weigh two pounds and I'll go to the bar tonight."

Chen Yanqiu was getting into the old grievances when she glared at her husband angrily, complaining, "All you ever do is drink. You'll drown in a vat of alcohol one day."

"I don't drink it every day."

Wang Xiao wasn't going to get involved in the couple's flirtatious banter. She ran to the front of the truck, full of curiosity. She'd only ever seen trucks used to haul watermelons and apples for sale, oh, and yams and sweet potatoes too. But selling chicken heads by truck was a first for her.

She clung to the truck at the meat processing plant, trying to peek inside.

Good heavens, the strong smell of blood hit her nose, making her stagger.

A burly meat processing plant worker shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't push, don't push! These are all fresh goods just brought from the factory. Chicken heads are one yuan a pound, and chicken feet are one yuan for three pounds."

Wang Xiao's eyes lit up immediately. Oh, she was wondering where to buy chicken feet wholesale, and it turns out it's also a meat processing plant, delivering them right to her door.

She raised her voice and shouted, "Can I get a discount if I buy more?"

The man glared at him and said, "If you don't buy it at the back, you'll have to wait until at least eight o'clock to get a cheaper price."

People around were cursing, "Damn it, everything's getting more expensive. What's the point of buying anything at 8 pm? It's like a ghost market!"

Wang Xiao was secretly pleased, as this meant that the price of chicken feet could be pushed down further, and it might even be possible to sell four or five kilograms for one yuan.

She wasn't surprised that chicken feet were much cheaper than chicken heads, because many people love to eat chicken brains.

Cough cough, roasted chicken heads are delicious, let's have some late-night snack!

Chen Yanqiu complained about her husband, but her hands were quick to reach for her wallet, ordering three jin of chicken heads in one go.

Hearing her daughter haggling with the meat processing plant workers, trying to buy 10 jin of chicken feet for 2.5 yuan, I couldn't help but wonder: "What are you doing? Weigh out 2 jin, that's enough. Mom will buy you some ribs to cook at home."

“I need it.” Wang Xiao conceded a step, “Two yuan and eighty cents it is, give me 10 jin. Your chicken feet are good, I’ll buy more in the future.”

Perhaps because chicken feet have less meat and are not as popular as chicken heads, the meat processing plant finally relented and gave Wang Xiao a large bag of chicken feet for 28 yuan.

Good heavens, that's quite heavy. If Wang Tiejun hadn't been quick-witted and caught it, throwing it off the truck, Wang Xiao really wouldn't have been able to catch it.

Ignoring Dr. Chen's complaints, she hurried to the stalls selling dried goods from both the north and south of China at the market to find seasonings.

Thank goodness, the vegetable market in the provincial capital was indeed much better than Zhouzhen's. It had everything from green and red Sichuan peppercorns to bay leaves and cinnamon. She even found some small red chilies and green pointed peppers.

However, since the idea that lemons can whiten skin isn't popular yet, she couldn't find any fresh lemons at the fruit stand.

"What do you need that thing for?" Chen Yanqiu was already disgusted, but she still gave her daughter some advice: "Go to a Chinese medicine shop and buy it. They have dried lemons there."

Wang Xiao adheres to the principle of "I am useful".

By the time we had bought all the seasonings we could find, it was already dark outside.

While cursing and swearing, Chen Yanqiu first started stewing radish and pork rib soup for her daughter on the gas stove.

Wang Xiao was exceptionally well-behaved and didn't fight with her parents for the stove. Instead, she trimmed the nails of the chicken feet she had just bought and soaked them in her hands. She waited until the kitchen was empty after dinner before starting to cook them.

By 1990, the living standards of ordinary people across China had improved significantly, but the supply of agricultural and sideline products in the market was still incomparable to what it would be thirty years later.

For example, she didn't see any Sichuan peppercorn oil or similar products, and she had to make her own chili oil.

Fortunately, the three years of the pandemic really toughened her up, and she really learned these skills; her cooking is even more delicious than what you can buy outside.

Chen Yanqiu frowned as she watched her daughter bustling about in the kitchen, asking, "What are you up to now?"

"Keep it a secret, Mom. Just you wait. Tomorrow night, I guarantee you and Dad will eat a pound, ah, ten pounds!"

Wang Tiejun, fearing his wife's temper would flare up and she would scold their daughter again, quickly acted as a peacemaker: "Alright, let her do what she wants. At least she's cooking for us now, which is better than letting outsiders benefit from it."

Chen Yanqiu muttered subconsciously, "I don't even know what she's up to, just wasting things."

When the conversation returned to the dinner table the next day, Dr. Chen was too embarrassed to say it aloud.

She swears that when she got home and saw the dinner table, she wanted to yell at people.

There were 10 bowls on the table filled with chicken feet. People hold tofu feasts at funerals, but this brat is holding a chicken feet feast. What is she trying to do?

Wang Xiao quickly pushed the person to sit down at the table, and then forced chopsticks into the person's hand: "Mom, try it. I didn't mess it up, it's really delicious."

Comrade Wang Tiejun once again demonstrated his responsibility as the head of the family, quickly praising his daughter by picking up a chicken foot and taking a bite: "It's delicious, oh my, oh my."

My God, what is this smell? It's so strong it almost brought tears to his eyes. But just as he was about to spit it out, he pulled his tongue back in.

It was so exciting, so incredibly exciting, that he couldn't bear to put his chopsticks down.

Seeing her father devour three boneless chicken feet with Sichuan peppercorns and chili sauce in one go, Wang Xiao had to remind him, "Dad, try this one too. This is garlic chili oil chicken feet, it tastes pretty good too."

Wang Tiejun was sizzling from the spiciness, but he kept eating one after another.

Chen Yanqiu, on the contrary, could handle spicier food than her husband; after eating a whole round of spicy food, she was only sweating slightly. She didn't even touch the pear soup her daughter had specially cooked to help them cool down from the spiciness, and just ate her rice instead.

Wang Xiao waited until they had almost finished eating before asking for their opinions: "Mom and Dad, what do you think of the chicken feet?"

"It's delicious." Wang Tiejun praised his daughter. "Where did you learn to make this? I've never eaten anything like this before."

As an eighth-grade fitter, he was often lent out as a technical instructor. He considered himself someone who had traveled all over the country and tasted many local delicacies. Tonight, however, he was surprised to see his daughter's cooking.

Wang Xiao grinned: "I saw it in a book I borrowed from the university library. The book said that these chicken feet were very popular, and business was booming back then."

The couple then showed expressions of relief. No wonder, although their daughter had been able to cook since she was little, she hadn't paid much attention to her culinary skills. If she hadn't learned from books, it couldn't have been a dish she figured out on her own.

Wang Xiao quickly seized the opportunity: "Mom and Dad, with my skills, opening a braised food shop selling chicken feet shouldn't be a problem, right?"

From the very first day he transmigrated, Wang Xiao pondered what kind of business he should start to make big money.

She started selling braised chicken feet as a side business, but now she believes that selling braised food is a business worth developing, especially selling braised chicken feet.

Why? Because of good quality control.

As long as the production process and raw materials are well controlled, even producing a thousand tons of chicken feet can guarantee the same taste. This is extremely important for running a food service business.

Guaranteed quality control means it's easy to open chain stores. Once she masters the recipe, she can open braised food shops all over the province and even the whole country.

Wang Xiao had it all planned out: the braised food shop would be named "Fengzhao Wang" (King of Chicken Feet), specializing in various kinds of braised chicken feet, supplemented by inexpensive braised dishes like braised tofu strips. If necessary, they could also add braised chicken heads, braised chicken wings, stir-fried chicken pieces, and fried chicken legs, making it a one-stop shop for chicken lovers.

Honestly, Ms. Chen Qiuyan's braised chicken heads are quite good, but Wang Xiao makes an even better roasted chicken head. He first braises it, then roasts it until it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a vibrant color and incredibly flavorful. Add a sprinkle of cumin and crushed peanuts—his secret seasoning—and wow, it's absolutely divine!

The frequent bouts of acne she experienced before transmigrating into the book were partly due to the roasted chicken's head.

The first step is to open a chain of braised food stores. Once the sales network is initially established, her next plan is to expand in both directions.

To the left, after cultivating enthusiasts of delicious chicken feet, we will further develop this channel and move towards vacuum-packed chicken feet products.

In the 1990s, the land's binding force on people further weakened, population mobility increased dramatically, and convenience foods emerged and flourished, inevitably ushering in their golden age.

To the right, they started selling fast food using the established network of braised food shops, with braised food rice bowls as a side dish and Western fast food as their main product.

Why? Because the 1990s were dominated by KFC and McDonald's.

Wang Xiao didn't think she had the ability to compete head-on with the catering giants; what she wanted to do was to reap the benefits of the market that others had developed.

Based on her limited life experience, she believes there is a simple and quick way to make money: to go down to the grassroots level, or more specifically, to bring the things that can only be enjoyed in big cities to small and medium-sized cities and counties.

The reason why there is no township option is because rapid urbanization has led to the hollowing out of rural areas, and townships no longer have much purchasing power.

Small and medium-sized cities are different from county towns. When she made her first fortune by doing Sam's Club shopping, she knew how big their consumption potential was.

She lacks the ability to cultivate Western fast food enthusiasts in China; that's the task of the Western fast food giants.

As a native (even if she transmigrated into a book, she would still be a native), all she could do was start with the braised dishes that are currently popular among ordinary people, take a step further, establish a chain sales network, and then naturally expand to become a county-level alternative to KFC and McDonald's.

This is her career plan for the next ten years.

How to develop after the millennium is the next ten-year plan.

Of course, there's no need to mention these things to Comrade Wang Tiejun and Ms. Chen Yanqiu for now, lest we scare them.

She wants to proceed step by step.

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How did you feel about the end of your holiday?

Another day that A-Jin didn't want to go to work.