One look at Li Huaide's face and he knew that this scoundrel was really not doing so well these days.
Otherwise, why would they care about spending a hundred or two hundred yuan on a meal?
In the TV series, Li Huaide didn't appear until the day Sha Zhu's big restaurant opened and he treated the people from the courtyard to a meal.
He took You Fengxia with him, and after they finished, they went into a private room. The wine they drank was Jiannanchun, I think, which was ordered by Xu Damao.
They didn't order many dishes, so from these details, you can see that Li Huaide wasn't doing very well in 1988.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any scheme orchestrated by Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui.
"..."
Li Huaide came to invite Xu Damao today, still for this matter.
Unlike in the TV series, where Xu Damao actively approached him, and You Fengxia clearly looked down on him.
They even used Director Li's name to say that this wasn't a connection given by Xu Damao, so they could only give him a commission.
Judging from the thickness of the envelope she gave Xu Damao, it was probably only a thousand or so yuan, which was enough to get rid of him!
But who is Xu Damao now? Would he even look at his paltry sums?
Li Huaide was quite straightforward and got straight to the point: "Da Mao, to be honest, the reason I invited you here today is to discuss a business deal with you, and you won't have to pay a single penny!"
If it weren't for that last sentence, Xu Damao would definitely have stood up and left.
What level are we talking about when you discuss business?
But upon hearing that he wouldn't have to pay, Xu Damao became more interested in hearing what Li Huaide was really up to.
Li Huaide poured Xu Damao a glass of wine.
This liquor was also ordered from Fatty. He provided the funding and technology, and then used the name of his master, Master Lu Xingbang, to brew a strong-aroma baijiu in Jinan.
It's called "Shudao Mountain"!
This liquor is different from the 52-degree baijiu that is currently popular on the market. It is only 45 degrees and has a smooth taste. In addition to being sold by Qilige, it is also sold by Qilige.
The fat man also got involved with his third sister and Lou Xiao'e, packaging it as a high-end gift wine.
This wine has exquisite packaging and an elegant appearance. Whether it's a family gathering or a business banquet, bringing out this wine will make you look good.
"..."
Xu Damao picked up his wine glass and introduced it to Li Huaide: "Director Li, this is wine brewed by Fatty's master. It's mellow and smooth. Please try it."
Of course, Fatty's master, Li Huaide, knew that he was a grandmaster of Shandong cuisine!
The wine he brewed naturally benefited from the celebrity effect, just like the wine that Gu Zi sold later.
Upon hearing this, Li Huaide tilted his head back and downed the whole thing in one gulp.
After savoring the moment, he exhaled a breath of stale air: "Good, really good."
Xu Damao's eyes were practically disappearing with laughter. He quickly refilled the man's wine, then eagerly drank a glass himself, saying, "I'll finish this one."
After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Li Huaide exclaimed with deep emotion, "It's been so long since I've had Fatty's cooking, it's still so delicious."
Upon hearing this, Xu Damao subtly curled his lip.
Nowadays, apart from those four courtyards, there are important banquets and feasts, but Fatty basically doesn't cook himself anymore.
The chefs were all his apprentices, as well as master chefs recruited from outside.
He and his senior colleague were mainly responsible for ensuring the quality of the dishes.
It's similar to the scene in the TV series where Sha Zhu takes Fatty to cook for Yan Jiecheng. Sha Zhu is in charge of adding ingredients, processing them, and making sauces, while Fatty is the one who cooks on the stove.
This gave Yu Li, who had never seen much of the world, the illusion that the fat man was a very good cook.
However, whenever Xu Damao came, Fatty always cooked for him personally. He was also tight-lipped and never told anyone, so very few people knew about this.
Putting down his chopsticks, Li Huaide finally got back to the business: "It's like this, those two old bastards from the Liu and Yan families in your courtyard, back then they wrote letters of complaint everywhere, and those little beasts of theirs, they ate my food and took my things, but they turned out to be like a bunch of ungrateful wretches, they did a lot of dirty work on me back then."
It's been only a decade or so since then, but it feels like a century has passed, so long that Xu Damao can hardly remember the people and events from back then.
After the second glass of wine, Xu Damao seemed to have flipped a switch to recall the past: "Director Li, do you know what kind of life I lived back then?"
Li Huaide was slightly taken aback, but then realized that Xu Damao was referring to him; back then, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he had held a meeting overnight and removed Xu Damao from his position as deputy director...
Where did Xu Damao go after that? Li Huaide didn't pay much attention.
Xu Damao seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to You Fengxia: "The Fifth Workers' Club, now a dance hall, used to be a movie theater. My buddies showed movies there for the workers. Later, those bastards wouldn't let me show movies anymore, they made me check tickets at the entrance!"
Li Huaide quickly realized that although Xu Damao was no longer a leader of the steel rolling mill, with his connections and his top-notch film projection skills, finding a receiving unit would be a piece of cake.
It's not like it's a Korean joke; it can't even sweep the streets properly.
Xu Damao picked up a piece of braised camel hoof with scallions, which was made using the braising technique of Shandong cuisine. Then, on a plate with a strong Western Region style, he carefully arranged the camel hoof into the shape of an oasis. On the side of the plate, he used watermelon rind to imitate the shape of a cactus, and there was actually a model of a camel on it.
This dish was created by Fatty, who borrowed the old method of preparing bear paws and replaced them with camel paws. It has become one of the new must-order dishes at Qili Pavilion.
As Xu Damao ate, he commented, "Mmm~ This dish is meticulously prepared. Not only is there no fishy or gamey smell at all, but the camel hoof is stewed until it's tender and flavorful, yet it still retains a chewy texture. Plus, the aroma of scallions is perfectly infused into the meat and the broth. Eating this dish makes me feel like I'm witnessing a merchant traveling in the desert, who's run out of water and is so thirsty, suddenly seeing an oasis and feeling that kind of ecstatic joy. Great! Truly great!"
After saying that, he gave a thumbs up.
Is it really that delicious? Li Huaide also tried picking up a piece with his chopsticks, and before he could even put it in his mouth, Xu Damao said again, "Who doesn't know me, Xu Damao? I never skip or interrupt movies, and I've never had an accident in a hundred screenings. They actually made me check tickets?"
Upon hearing this, Li Huaide knew that if he didn't bleed some money today, he wouldn't be able to have a peaceful meal.
Li Huaide was also a decisive person, and he directly held up five fingers: "Xu Damao, this number."
Xu Damao, on the contrary, pretended to be confused: "Oh, Director Li, what's going on?"
"5,000 yuan. As long as you help me set up a scheme, I'll give you a 5,000 yuan commission, regardless of whether it succeeds or not."
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