Chapter 143: The Culinary Tycoon

He Couldn’t Help But Make a Move

Sizzle, crackle, sizzle…

Several skewers of pork belly and chicken fillets were placed on the heated iron plate, instantly producing the sizzling sound of oil. Before long, the oil from the pork belly started to seep out, filling the air with a delightful aroma of meat.

Yu Qingze continuously flipped and grilled the pork belly and chicken fillets on the iron plate. Once the meat was cooked to perfection, he sprinkled them with five-spice powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. When the pork belly turned translucent and the chicken fillets changed color, he brushed them with his special sauce, gave them a slight toss, and voilà, the masterpiece was complete.

The fragrant scent of grilled meat and the aroma of cumin wafted through the entire hall of House of Prosperity, tantalizing the senses of all the guests.

“Is that the aroma of grilled meat? Hey, buddy, do you sell grilled meat here? We’ll have a portion too,” one customer asked.

Xiaoshu couldn’t help but sniffle, his mouth watering at the sight. He smiled and replied, “No, House of Prosperity doesn’t serve grilled meat regularly. The boss made it specially today to entertain his friends.”

The guests expressed their regret, saying, “Is that so? What a pity. Just the smell makes me crave it.”

At this time, it was approaching dinner time, and there were already seven or eight tables occupied in the dining hall. People arrived early to secure their seats and passed the time by sipping tea.

After Yu Qingze finished discussing matters with a few business partners in the afternoon, he called them over and went to the backyard together to see him cooking Tie Ban Shao.

Master Liao picked up a skewer of pork belly, slightly charred with translucent fat, and visible specks of cumin on the surface. He took a bite, devouring two pieces.

The pork belly was fatty but not greasy, lean but not dry. The slightly charred and crispy oil residue on the side had a fragrant aroma, combined with the flavors of cumin and other spices. This grilled pork belly was simply a carnivore’s favorite!

“Mm, this grilled pork belly is delicious. I love this kind of meat!” Master Liao finished a skewer of pork belly in just a few bites and then took another skewer of chicken fillet.

The chicken fillet was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, infused with the flavors of spices and seasonings. The taste was absolutely fantastic.

“It’s delicious! Just too little to satisfy my craving! Xiaoyu, grill more!” Master Hu exclaimed while tasting it. He glanced at the shrimp marinating in the bowl and said, “Mm, it’s delicious. Don’t you dare snatch the shrimp from me later. If anyone dares to, I’ll be furious.”

Since squid and shrimp have strong flavors, they need to be grilled last to avoid flavor contamination. Both Master Hu and Young Master Zhao, who loved seafood, were eagerly awaiting the seafood.

“If you snatch my meat, I’ll be mad at you,” Master Liao teased him. He had finished his portion and sighed, “Ah, if only we had a cask of wine at this moment. Sipping on wine and eating grilled meat, life is so beautiful! Xiaoyu, you’re grilling too slowly. We’ve already finished eating.”

Yu Qingze grilled another ten skewers and placed them on a plate. Within moments, five skewers disappeared. He smiled and asked, “Do the family heads think this flavor is suitable for opening a restaurant? Can we make money from it?”

“It’s great! It’s definitely a winner!”

“Absolutely, it must be!”

Yu Qingze smiled and started grilling vegetables. He continued, “Master Liao, you made a good point earlier. With this meat, we should have some wine options as well. We can bring in different-priced wines, and they’ll surely sell well.”

Young Master Zhao suggested, “Should we have private rooms like House of Prosperity?”

Yu Qingze replied, “That’s a possibility. However, in that case, we’ll need a larger space, maybe two floors, as one floor won’t be enough.”

Another family head chimed in, “Having a bigger space is no problem. As long as we have this flavor, we’re not afraid.”

As Yu Qingze grilled, the family heads enjoyed the food and discussed their plans.

After tasting a skewer of grilled cabbage, Young Master Zhao remarked, “Grilled cabbage has its own unique flavor. Uncle Liao, give it a try. It’s delicious.”

Master Liao, being a true carnivore, didn’t touch any of the grilled vegetables and waved his hand, saying, “I don’t like eating greens. You guys enjoy.”

Master Hu murmured, “Be careful, you might do that thing again.”

“What thing?” Young Master Zhao asked, raising his head.

Master Liao’s face turned red. He glared at Master Hu and said to Young Master Zhao, “It’s nothing, nothing. Don’t listen to your Uncle Hu’s nonsense.” However, he reached out and took a skewer of grilled cabbage to eat.

Finally, the grilled squid and shrimp arrived. Master Hu and Young Master Zhao had been waiting for a long time.

Yu Qingze cleaned the iron plate, heated it, and added a little oil. He placed the marinated squid skewers on the hot iron plate. While grilling, he used a small spatula to squeeze out the excess moisture from the squid, flipping them and pressing them again. When the squid changed color and curled up on the edges, he sprinkled some onion slices, cumin powder, and Sichuan peppercorn powder as well as other spices, brushed them with special sauce. In no time, the aroma of grilled squid filled the air.

“Try it,” Yu Qingze placed a large plate of grilled squid in front of Master Hu.

Master Hu brought the plate to a small table and immediately took a skewer to taste.

The squid was delicious, tender, savory, fragrant, not greasy, and without any fishy taste. The flavor was excellent.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“It tastes good!” Master Hu nodded.

Young Master Zhao also nodded and said, “Delicious.”

While they both enjoyed the food, Yu Qingze was more concerned about the other three’s opinions. He asked, “Master Liao, Master Lin, Master Tian, what do you think? If someone who usually doesn’t care about food likes it after trying, would that be a good sign?”

They represented those who were indifferent about food on a regular basis.

“It’s not bad,” Master Lin nodded and said, “I think seafood might need a stronger flavor to be more enjoyable.”

Master Tian remarked, “The spicy flavor helps to mask the fishy smell, and Boss Yu has handled it well, so we don’t perceive it as fishy. But can an ordinary cook handle it well?”

Yu Qingze replied, “In fact, if the marination process is done properly and we pay a little attention while grilling, it can be achieved by most cooks.”

Master Liao said, “It’s very good, I think it’s feasible.” As he spoke, Master Liao ate another skewer.

Yu Qingze prepared the shrimp as well.

The taste of the shrimp was even more appealing than the squid, and the several bosses were very satisfied, especially Master Hu, who loved shrimp. He ate almost half of them by himself.

After tasting all the flavors from the iron plate, the group moved to a private room upstairs to continue their meal and discuss business matters.

The collaboration was decided upon, but the final draft of the contract still needed to be prepared. Master Hu was tasked with drafting the contract.

Master Hu worked quickly and completed the draft of the cooperation agreement within two days. The group then found time to gather together, discussing and making revisions one by one until the final version was settled.

Afterward, they rewrote six copies, and each person signed and stamped them. The agreement was finalized.

Regarding investment and profit distribution, Master Lin and Master Tian each held one share, while the remaining four families held two shares each. As Yu Qingze possessed culinary skills and Master Hu played a decisive role in shipping operations, the two of them used their expertise to contribute an additional share. In terms of investment, each of them only needed to contribute an additional sum of silver.

With an initial sum of eight hundred taels of silver gathered, the work began.

Master Hu will handle the shipping aspect, buying a few boats and leasing a few more. They also need to find experienced captains and crew members. Master Lin and Master Tian will handle the recruitment for the restaurant. Yu Qingze is responsible for the design of the shop, as well as training the chef and staff. Master Liao will find the shop location and oversee the renovation, while Young Master Zhao will purchase and customize other items according to Yu Qingze’s specifications.

Everyone became busy, and time flew by unnoticed, entering the twelfth lunar month.

After the Laba Festival, Xue family’s pharmacy, called Almond Hall, opened for business on Dongda Street. They had previously operated a pharmacy in the capital and had experience in the field. As all of them were doctors, they could provide medical consultations without the need to hire other doctors.

Xue Baizhu’s elder brother was knowledgeable about medicinal herbs and managed the procurement of herbs. Dr. Ye provided them with the herbs at cost, which they were deeply grateful for.

On the day of the grand opening, Yu Qingze and Chang Le brought gifts to congratulate them.

Having a doctor who had served in the imperial capital and could run a pharmacy while providing medical consultations was a great benefit for the people of Tongshan. Many people went to celebrate on the opening day.

Yu Qingze and Chang Le didn’t disturb for long and soon returned.

The next day, when they went to the snack shop to have dim sum, as soon as they sat down, they saw Xue Baizhu entering with his servant.

Shortly after, they noticed the servant went straight to collect their order, while Xue Baizhu walked over to Brother Chang and greeted him before striking up a conversation. They seemed quite familiar with each other.

Chang Le nudged Yu Qingze’s arm, gesturing for him to look over there.

“What’s going on?” Yu Qingze asked.

Chang Le glanced in that direction and secretly gestured to Yu Qingze, asking, “When did Brother Chang and Young Master Xue become so acquainted?”

Yu Qingze took a glance and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know. You guys go to his house every day, maybe Brother Chang got bored waiting outside and struck up a conversation with Young Master Xue?”

Chang Le shook his head and gestured, “Every time we go there, Young Master Xue has already left. Only once or twice did we happen to see him leaving, and they just exchanged greetings without much conversation.”

Yu Qingze shrugged and said, “Then I don’t know.”

Seeing that Yu Qingze was not sensitive to this matter at all, Chang Le quietly continued to observe on his own.

At the entrance, Xue Baizhu asked, ” rother Chang, what kinds of dim sum did you make today?”

Brother Chang glanced at him, handed a tray to a customer, and then smiled, “Guess.”

Xue Baizhu walked around the dim sum area and then said, “Lotus seed buns and crystal dumplings. Am I right?”

Brother Chang widened his eyes, looking astonished, and asked, “How did you know?”

Xue Baizhu smirked and said, “Guess?”

Upon hearing this, Brother Chang burst into laughter and said, “Why are you so concerned about it?”

“This is my secret,” Xue Baizhu shook his head and smiled, then called out to his servant, “Guipi, bring me two lotus seed buns, a plate of crystal dumplings, and a bowl of red bean porridge.”

“Yes, young master,” Guipi, the servant boy, responded loudly.

“Young Master Xue, you seem to be a bit late today,” Brother Chang said as he guided the guests, finding a moment to ask Xue Baizhu.

“Yeah, my father tested me on my studies yesterday, and it went late. I overslept this morning, so I got up a bit late,” Xue Baizhu glanced at Brother Chang, winked, and asked, “Brother Chang, do you know when I usually come here every day?”

Brother Chang nodded and replied, “Every day, you leave right after finishing your meal. Brother Le and his husband will come over shortly after. They arrived earlier today.”

“Oh…” Xue Baizhu subconsciously looked over at Chang Le’s table and happened to meet Chang Le’s curious gaze. He smiled and nodded, then turned his head and touched his nose. Seeing that the bill had been settled by the servant, he said, “Brother Chang, I’ll go have my breakfast now.”

“Sure, enjoy your meal, Young Master Xue,” Brother Chang said with a smile.

Xue Baizhu followed the servant to a table and began eating.

Chang Le glanced at Brother Chang, then at Xue Baizhu, and his lips curled into a slight smile.

When they were on the carriage heading to Xue’s residence, Chang Le pulled Brother Chang and tentatively gestured to him: Young Master Xue can treat patients at such a young age. He’s truly remarkable.

Brother Chang nodded and said, “Yes, in the morning, I heard that his father even tested him on his medical skills. Do you think he might misdiagnose someone?”

Chang Le smirked and gestured: Are you worried?

Brother Chang nodded and said, “A little. I mean, if he makes a mistake, it would be unfortunate for the patient.”

Chang Le winked…

He gestured, “Aren’t you worried about Young Master Xue?”

Brother Chang frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “I’m a little worried, what if the patient’s family members end up hitting him? He looks like the type that can’t help but provoke others.”

Chang Le: …Something seems off.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: LOL Brother Chang, that’s why you still single eh