Jiang Feng spent a good part of the evening marveling at Wang Hao's lengthy infomercial. The over-the-top phrasing and obvious flattery were so cringe-worthy that he felt embarrassed to even like the post.
In the end, his hand slipped and he accidentally liked it.
Jiang Jiankang had already secured the suppliers for vegetables and poultry. The original plan was to open the day after tomorrow, but everything was going so smoothly that they could start regular business tomorrow noon.
After some thought, Jiang Feng composed a post for his Moments.
The grand opening of Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant on the east side of Food Street tomorrow! UAL University students with empty plates will enjoy a 10% discount on their meals.
Turn off phone, go to sleep.
There's a tough battle to fight tomorrow.
On the first day of a new store's opening, customer traffic is usually quite high.
Jiang Jiankang personally hung up the big red sign, effectively ruining half of Jiang Zaidi's interior design.
Whether driven by curiosity or the lure of special opening discounts, new customers would step into the new restaurant.
Early the next morning, Jiang Feng arrived at the restaurant to help wash and chop vegetables. Knowing the Jiang Family didn't hire any extra help and worried they would be too busy, Wang Hao also came to volunteer his assistance.
The cost of living in Alan City was high, and so were the prices at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant. Ordinary dishes were about thirty percent more expensive than at surrounding diners, with signature dishes like pork knuckle priced the same as those at regular restaurants.
Mr. Jiang Jiankang never expected anyone to order the expensive dishes on the first day. The Jiang Family was bustling about the kitchen, prepping ingredients commonly used in stir-fried dishes and rice toppings.
Mrs. Wang Xiulian washed the vegetables while Wang Hao assisted her; Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang were responsible for chopping. Their division of labor was orderly and efficient.
Chop the leeks into sections, mince the green onions, peel and smash the garlic cloves, shred the carrots, cut the cucumbers into strips, slice the radishes, and mince the green chili peppers...
Different vegetables required different knives. Vegetables and meats were not to be cut with the same knife, nor were ingredients with clashing flavors. This was a habitual practice when the Jiang Family Members prepared food. An ordinary chef might be fine with just one or two preferred knives, but Jiang Jiankang had more than a dozen, and Jiang Weiguo even had a special rack of knives.
To quote Jiang Feng's grandmother, it was just unnecessary fuss.
Indeed, it was uncalled for, but to an outsider like Wang Hao, it exuded the air of master chefs.
Jiang Feng took care of the vegetables while Jiang Jiankang handled the meat. The father and son shared a similar knifework lineage; their techniques differed, but to Wang Hao, they both looked the same—steady, accurate, and fast. With rhythmic chopping, "thump, thump, thump," small mountains of chopped ingredients quickly piled up on the plates beside their chopping boards.
Wang Hao took out his phone to record a video and shared it to Moments for one final round of hard-selling promotions before the opening.
In Jiang Feng's mind, the sound of a video game notification kept ringing.
"Ding! Received 1 point in Knifework Proficiency."
"Ding! Received 1 point in Knifework Proficiency."
"Ding! Received 1 point in Knifework Proficiency."
...
If this were a game interface, a continuous stream of "+1 +1 +1" proficiency points would definitely be floating above Jiang Feng's head right now.
At ten o'clock, they officially opened for business.
Jiang Feng put up a sign at the door: Grand opening of the new store, sweet plum juice on the house for every guest.
The sweet plum juice was made by Mr. Jiang Jiankang the night before with the best ingredients: dark plums, hawthorn, dried tangerine peel, licorice, and osmanthus flowers, all of which had been chilled in the fridge overnight, perfect for cooling down and quenching thirst.
The first table of guests were Jiang Feng's clubmates.
There were only 4 members of the Chess Club who had returned to UAL University early; not one was missing, and 2 of them had even tasted the "straw-coat cucumbers" Jiang Feng had made the previous day.
The four deliberately chose a table near the entrance, so people outside could see there were customers inside.
The menu was posted on the wall, with prices listed right after the dish names. As the four looked at the menu and the prices, they all hesitated a bit.
The prices were indeed a bit steep.
"Feng," Qiu Chen, who was closest to Jiang Feng, spoke up without much restraint, "even if Uncle and Auntie borrowed quite a bit of money to start this restaurant, setting the prices this high might..."
"With Uncle Jiang's skills, these prices are a bargain," Wang Hao interjected as he brought out four cups of sweet plum juice from the kitchen. The juice, just taken out of the fridge, was still emitting a chill.
In the transparent glass cups, the sweet plum juice looked intensely brown, utterly tempting just by sight.
There were still traces of sweet plum juice at the corner of Wang Hao's mouth.
Knowing he would likely help himself to some, Jiang Feng asked, "How many cups have you had?"
"Not many, just two," Wang Hao said with a grin as he placed the four cups of sweet plum juice on their table. "I only intended to taste it, but I couldn't control myself."
"Drink less, they've just been taken out of the fridge. Be careful not to upset your stomach," Jiang Feng cautioned.
The four patrons all picked up their plum juice and took a sip together.
It was cool and refreshing, with a hint of smokiness, perfectly tangy and sweet—not a drop too much or too little.
The four gulped it down, and soon the cups were empty. They had been a bit dissatisfied with the prices at first, but as the plum juice slid down their throats and into their stomach, their dissatisfaction evaporated like smoke.
If the plum juice, which was only a drink, was this delicious, what about the other dishes?
"Feng, how much for a cup of this plum juice? I want another cup!" Jiang Feng's junior, Liu Zixuan, couldn't wait to ask.
"15 a cup." Afraid that he would think it was too expensive, Jiang Feng explained, "My dad spent over two hours simmering the plum juice last night, he'd feel bad if we sold it too cheap."
"Not expensive at all." Liu Zixuan shook his head like a bobblehead.
The other three, having finished their plum juice, also expressed their desire for a refill.
Selling four cups of plum juice at the opening was beyond Jiang Feng's expectations.
The four ordered four dishes: aside from Jiang Feng's recommended Kung Pao Chicken, Qiu Chen ordered sweet and sour pork loin, Liu Zixuan went for the patted tofu, and the other two discussed and decided on stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
The four dishes totaled 120 yuan, with rice for free, and adding the plum juice, it came to a total of 180 yuan—which was a steep price near UAL University.
With the precious plum juice as a prelude, the four had no complaints, savoring their drinks in small sips as if they were treasures.
Jiang Feng would only sell them two cups each, and they cherished every sip, knowing each one brought them closer to the last.
While Jiang Feng went to help in the kitchen, Wang Hao stayed to chat with them, boasting about the previous night's delicious dishes, how flavorful the lion's head meatballs were, and how tender the braised pork knuckle had been. It made the four drool and regret not ordering more boldly before.
Wait, the lion's head was sold separately.
Qiu Chen rushed to the menu, scanning for the lion's head meatballs.
20 yuan each.
The four generously added four lion's head meatballs to their order.
A few minutes later, Jiang Feng came out of the kitchen with The Kung Pao Chicken—a standard Jiang Jiankang creation.
All four sets of chopsticks reached for The Kung Pao Chicken at once.
Soon, they all abandoned their plum juice and crowned The Kung Pao Chicken as their new favorite.
Not long after, a couple who seemed to have wandered in by mistake arrived at the restaurant.
When the girl saw the menu, she couldn't help but exclaim softly, "So expensive!"
The boy's expression also turned sour as he whispered, "Shall we go?"
"Let's go, let's go," the girl urged, tugging at her boyfriend's sleeve to leave.
The table of Liu Chen and his friends was near the entrance. As the couple passed by, the boy suddenly caught the scent of the food.
It smelled amazing.
And slightly sweet.
The boy turned his head and saw the four men hungrily devouring a dish.
"What are you guys eating?" the boy asked.
"Kung Pao Chicken." Qiu Chen, with his mouth full of meat, answered unclearly.
"Is it good?" the boy asked involuntarily as he swallowed.
Qiu Chen was too busy eating to respond; with these three guys, every word he wasted meant one less bite for him, so he just nodded noncommittally.
Actions spoke louder than words.
"Maybe we should just order a Kung Pao Chicken?" the boy's resolve was wavering.
The girl wasn't interested in Kung Pao Chicken, but seeing her boyfriend wanted to try it, she didn't object and nodded reluctantly.
Just then, Jiang Feng came out with the sweet and sour pork loin.
The pork loin was fried to a golden crisp, the sauce perfectly sour and sweet, and artistically thickened, with a carefully crafted broth poured over by Jiang Jiankang, creating an enticing aroma.
Gulp, the girl swallowed her saliva.
"Add a sweet and sour pork loin too," the girl said decisively as she took a seat by the window.