Seeing that nearly a hundred people were really going to follow along and learn, someone complained, "Old Xu, you're just agreeing to this?"
"Old Xu, with so many people, we don't have enough practice materials prepared for today!"
"Where are they all setting up their stalls? Don't they try to steal our business, we won't stand for it!"
Old Xu slammed his hand on the table: "Stop arguing! What are you all yelling about! They won't steal your business!"
"Aren't you going to steal our business?"
"With so many of them, how could it not affect our business?"
"Old Xu, stop trying to fool us!"
Old Xu said irritably, "If you all had the ability to go to Hong Kong, they would definitely affect your business."
"Port City?"
"No wonder these people don't look like people from the mainland."
"Don't they look like those petty thugs in TV dramas?"
"In Hong Kong, they wouldn't be called petty thugs, they'd be called gangsters, I think."
"That's right, they're just like the gangsters in Hong Kong movies."
They originally considered these young people as competitors, so they kept their distance and didn't even bother with them.
Upon learning that they were from Gangcheng, they all approached them to chat and inquire about Gangcheng.
"I've heard that gold is everywhere in the port city?"
Wang Dao's lips twitched: "I've also heard that there's gold everywhere in your mainland!"
"I heard that houses in the port city are very expensive, and the houses are like pigeon coops?"
"I've also heard that houses in mainland China are crowded, with very low ceilings and the whole family crammed into one room without even air conditioning."
"I've heard that food in Hong Kong is extremely expensive, several times more expensive than in mainland China?"
"I heard that imported goods from the mainland are subject to a lot of taxes, and mobile phones and computers are very expensive, much more expensive than in our port city!"
"It seems there's some information gap between us. How about we team up?"
"That's good. I've been in the mainland for so long, but I haven't met many people I can talk to about these things."
Han Chengshan was surprised to find that the gangsters from Hong Kong were actually chatting happily with the middle-aged men who were setting up stalls.
"Young man, let me treat you to dinner!"
"Uncle, when you come to the port city for tourism, I'll take you to eat the most authentic char siu rice!"
"I've made a lot of money following Boss Han, and now I have some spare cash, but I don't have time to travel. Once I've made some more money in two years and my son can take over the stall, I'll travel everywhere. You have to remember to treat me to char siu rice then!"
"One word! Uncle, I happen to be broke for dinner tonight, so you'd better remember to treat me to drinks and meat!"
"Haha, in short, I can afford to treat all of you to a meal, let alone just you!"
Wang Dao's eyes lit up: "Uncle, is that really true!"
"It's true! Let me tell you, I've made a lot of money this year, getting rich by following Boss Han! It's not too late for you to join us. Boss Han is the god of wealth, you'll definitely make even more money in Hong Kong!"
"Really?" Wang Dao inquired, "Uncle, would you mind telling me how much you earned this month?"
"These glutinous rice-stuffed hawthorns sell very well, and many tourists from other places come specifically to eat them. I earned 30,000 yuan a month!"
"Thirty thousand! That's quite a lot!" Wang Dao's eyes lit up.
The henchmen around him got excited: "We never thought selling candied hawthorn skewers could actually make so much money! That kid wasn't lying to us!"
"Maybe this uncle is very talkative, so customers like him and he has many repeat customers! If we were to sell to him, we might not be able to make money!"
"That's true, individual cases cannot represent the entire industry!"
"Let's ask other people; maybe some of them aren't making money and are even losing money!"
The younger men started chatting up other middle-aged men, and occasionally even an elderly gentleman.
They assumed the old man looked too old, was slow-moving, and not talkative, so he couldn't earn money.
When I inquired, I was shocked: "Grandpa, you earned 100,000 last month!"
"Sir, don't try to save face by bragging here!"
"Exactly! How could you possibly earn 100,000 yuan a month from just a small candied hawthorn skewer? Who are you trying to fool!"
"Is it because you think we're from Hong Kong and don't know the market, so you're exaggerating?"
The old man blushed deeply and, not being good with words, could only pull out his bankbook: "See for yourselves, I never lie!"
The gangsters passed the bankbook around, eventually ending up in the hands of their boss, Wang Dao.
Besides the old man's deposit records from last month, there are also the deposit records from the month before last, and going back even further... a whole two years!
The old man had been selling candied hawthorn skewers his whole life, but he could never save any money. He lived a life of hardship, and it was already good if he didn't lose money each month. As for making money, it was only in the last two years after he started working with Boss Han that he truly began to earn money. He opened his savings account in the first month he started selling candied hawthorn skewers with Boss Han.
“10,000, 30,000, 20,000, 50,000, 80,000... 100,000... 120,000…” Wang Dao recited the deposit records one by one, his eyes red.
"The old man wasn't lying to us; he really is making money!"
“He clearly earned 150,000 last month, but he conservatively said he earned around 100,000, even underestimating it!”
"My God, is this stuff really that profitable?"
"Do you have any that made? Can I have a bite?" A gangster asked, his mouth watering, as he saw someone practicing making candied hawthorns on the shelf.
Old Xu chuckled and took out an iron plate covered with freshly made candied hawthorns sandwiched with milky glutinous rice chocolate. They hadn't been skewered yet, but there wouldn't be enough to go around if they were skewered, so now was the perfect time to give each of them a taste.
Each person received one and carefully examined its appearance.
The red sugar coating is crystal clear, encasing a hawthorn with its inside removed. Where the hawthorn pit should have been, there is white glutinous rice, which looks very soft and sticky.
Wang Dao took a bite and was surprised to find chocolate sauce in the middle of the glutinous rice.
This glutinous rice isn't just plain sweet glutinous rice; it's glutinous rice with a rich milky aroma, chewy and sweet.
The chocolate sauce, combined with the creamy glutinous rice and the sweet and sour hawthorn, creates a rich and layered flavor profile.
The chocolate isn't the overly sweet kind; it has a slightly bitter, pure cocoa flavor. But when combined, you don't feel the bitterness at all, and it actually eliminates the cloying sweetness of the glutinous rice and hawthorn.
"This...this is candied hawthorn?"
"This has truly defied my expectations!"
"This is a dessert, it's perfect for our port city's taste!"
"Don't even mention us Hong Kong locals who will love it, even the British living here will definitely love it! This milky aroma, this pure chocolate flavor, it's so delicious!"
"I originally thought it was the kind of old-fashioned candied hawthorn from the mainland, and I was worried that trendy people in Hong Kong wouldn't buy it. But now I'm confident that as long as we bring this to Hong Kong, those girls who love desserts will definitely go crazy for it!"
"Boss, this business is definitely worth it!"
"I can almost see huge amounts of Hong Kong dollars swarming towards us from all directions!"
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