"Master, where are you from?" Li Mu asked casually.
Although the man was puzzled, he hesitated for a moment and said, "From the state-owned restaurant."
"It's a stable job. Unlike me, I can only set up a stall to sell wild eels." Li Mu smoked while pretending to casually mention what he was doing.
Apparently this trick was useful. When the man heard about wild eels, he became interested.
"Wild eels, caught in your hometown?" the man asked with an interested smile after taking a puff of his cigarette.
Li Mu nodded, took a last puff of his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and prepared to go back.
The man behind him stood there thinking for a while, then shouted towards Li Mu's back: "Wait... do you still have eels now?"
Hearing the expected voice, Li Mu did not turn around in a hurry, but turned his head and looked at the man with a puzzled look on his face.
"Do you still have eels? I want to buy some to try. They are very rare in the county." The man looked at Li Mu and said.
Li Mu turned around and walked back, handed the man another cigarette, and said, "Yes, how many do you want? I still have a lot left."
...
...
"Well... young man, bring it here now so I can buy some to try?" the man said with a frown.
"Then you wait a moment. I'll go find my brother. He's setting up a stall on the roadside ahead. I'll be back soon." Li Mu heard him say that and walked towards Zhou Qiang.
Zhou Qiang had been waiting for Li Mu to come to him at the street side of the back alley. Many people saw the eels in the bucket next to Zhou Qiang and kept asking about them. Zhou Qiang didn't dare to sell them, but just perfunctorily told the people around him that they were for his own consumption.
"Qiangzi, take the bucket and follow me." Li Mu shouted to Zhou Qiang who was surrounded by the crowd.
Zhou Qiang heard the voice and followed Li Mu silently.
"Brother, how much do you want? I have about ten kilograms of eels here." Li Mu said with a smile as he looked at the man who was still smoking and waiting for him.
The man saw the two approaching, holding a large bucket of eels in his hand, and said with a smile: "So many, let me see. By the way, my last name is Feng, you can just call me Master Feng."
Li Mu was not polite and said, "Master Feng, please see how much you want."
Master Feng walked forward and took a look. He saw that the wild eels in the bucket were all quite large. He was very satisfied and took a puff of cigarette and said, "Give them all to me."
Li Mu was a little surprised when he heard that Master Feng wanted all of them. He hurriedly asked, "You bought so much? This is more than ten kilograms. Can you finish it?"
Master Feng waved his hand and said, "How much?"
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "Master Feng, let me ask you something. Are you going to cook and eat in a state-owned restaurant?"
Hearing what Li Mu said, Master Feng's expression changed immediately. The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground and he looked at Li Mu with vigilance.
I thought to myself, "How did this guy know this? How could it be such a coincidence? What is he going to do?"
"Master Feng, don't get excited. I'll tell you the truth. Our meeting is not accidental. I'm just waiting for you to come out. I want to sell these eels in the state-owned restaurant." Li Mu knew clearly that Master Feng was very wary of her.
Hearing what Li Mu said, Master Feng silently lit a cigarette and smoked it without saying anything.
Seeing that Master Feng did not refute, Li Mu took out a cigarette from Zhou Qiang's arms and said, "Master Feng, please help me introduce this yellow eel of mine."
As he spoke, he stuffed the cigarette into Master Feng's arms.
"I don't have any other intentions. I just want to have more sales channels. I have the skills of making yellow eels passed down from my family. I can teach you. Please help me, Master Feng."
Hearing what Li Mu said, Master Feng took the last puff of his cigarette and walked into the house without paying any attention.
As Master Feng was about to go in, he remembered that the leaders had been clamoring to eat something fresh recently. He paused and said to Li Mu behind him, "Come in and try. I want to see how good your family's ancestral cooking skills are."
After hearing what Master Feng said, Li Mu hurriedly pulled Zhou Qiang and followed Master Feng into the kitchen.
Several chefs who had just entered the kitchen and were still taking a break looked over. Li Mu did not hesitate and directly took out three fat eels from the bucket, drained the blood and bones, and cut them into pieces about one finger length.
Then add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, white pepper and rice wine and mix well for later use.
Master Feng, who was originally a little distrustful of Li Mu, saw Li Mu's skillful techniques and couldn't help but walk to Li Mu's side with some curiosity and stare at him.
Li Mu just smiled faintly, heated up the oil in a pan, and fried the marinated eel until it was slightly curled, then added wild rice stem, ginger slices, and garlic slices, stir-fried, added light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar, stir-fried these seasonings evenly and cooked until they were well-flavored.
When it’s almost done, make a small hole in the middle of the fried eel and sprinkle with chopped green onion and pepper. Pour hot oil on it and it's done.
Master Feng watched Li Mu's movements with admiration in his eyes.
The chefs who were resting on the side smelled the aroma and came closer. Some of them couldn't wait to taste it, but when they saw Chef Feng staring at it in a daze, they suppressed their impulse and didn't pick up their chopsticks.
Master Feng was very surprised that the eel had not done so yet. He picked up the chopsticks at hand, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The eel meat was tender and tasty, and tasted better than soup.
The chefs nearby saw Master Feng's enjoyment and each of them took a piece of food with chopsticks and put it in their mouths, praising him as they ate:
"It's delicious. It's really delicious. The cooking skills are pretty good, young man."
Master Feng looked at Li Mu and said, "Young man, that's great. Keep all the buckets. I will talk to the manager today."
After hearing what Master Feng said, Li Mu nodded, pulled Master Feng aside, and handed him the cigarette he had prepared.
He said, "Thank you, it's too much trouble for you. It's okay even if it can't be done."
Hearing him say this, Master Feng put the cigarette into his arms and nodded.
When Master Feng came back after chatting with Li Mu, he was about to try the dish made by Li Mu again. When he turned around, he saw that the plate was empty. He looked speechlessly at the few people in the kitchen who were still unsatisfied.
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Master Feng followed Li Mu's method and re-fried it, and asked the person next to him to bring it directly to the leader who came to do business today.
After waiting for the waiter to bring it over, I don’t know how long it took, the waiter who originally served the dishes said to Master Feng with a look of surprise on his face:
"Master Feng, Secretary Li said this dish is delicious and asked if we could make another one."
After hearing what the waiter said, Master Feng was even more satisfied.
His impression of Li Mu became even better, and he decided to find the manager to recommend Li Mu after he was done with his work today, so as to try to get Li Mu's eels on the tables of state-owned restaurants.
Master Feng smiled with great satisfaction.
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