Chapter 350 - 148: Dock! Dock Bai Xiaobo’s Bonus

Chapter 350: Chapter 148: Dock! Dock Bai Xiaobo’s Bonus

"Boss Su, what’s all this...? It’s still morning."

Su Chen gave a wry smile. "Do these three animals care if it’s morning or night? One bowl of meat is at least a pound. I’ve never seen anyone eat pork like this!"

A pound of lamb or beef would be one thing.

But a whole pound of pork...

Even Old Tang couldn’t help but gulp.

’These guys are beasts!’

"Um, Boss Su. I’m the one who booked a lunch with you. The reservation is for noon tomorrow. I just came early to, you know, pay you a visit first."

Su Chen automatically ignored the last part. "A reservation for tomorrow at noon?"

"Yep~"

"How come I don’t know about it?" Su Chen turned to look at Zhang Heping. "Do you know?"

Zhang Heping, his mouth stuffed with several pieces of braised pork belly, mumbled, "I dunno!"

Chen the Eighth spoke up first. "Don’t look at me. I was out drinking with Old Er yesterday, so I know even less."

Su Chen gave Old Tang a strange look, not caring about the time anymore.

First, he sent a WeChat message to Ling Shuyu.

The girl had probably just gotten home not long ago, as her reply was quick.

[Ling Shuyu: I don’t know. Xiaobai didn’t tell me.]

He then messaged everyone else one by one.

[Liu Shengnan: I was busy with the ledgers yesterday. Xiaobai didn’t say anything to me.]

[He Shuting: I was busy researching live streaming and our accounts yesterday. I don’t remember Xiaobai mentioning any orders.]

[Aunt Fang: I was watching the door for you yesterday, making sure no one disturbed your sleep. I don’t think Xiaobai ever came by.]

After asking around, Su Chen was getting a little angry.

’What is up with Xiaobai these days? Ever since his goddess started giving him the cold shoulder, his work performance has been getting worse by the day.’

’Dock his pay!’

’I’m definitely docking his bonus!’

"Teacher Tang, what’s the deal with your order?"

Old Tang took out his phone and showed Su Chen. "Your manager here said you’re not taking orders under twenty thousand yuan recently, so I ordered one right on the line for twenty thousand. It’s for tomorrow at noon, and there are no special requests. Just a few home-style dishes will do."

Old Tang had seen plenty of high-end cuisine.

He understood one thing: home-style cooking was the true test of a chef’s skill.

If a chef could master high-end cuisine and still perfectly execute all sorts of home-style dishes, now that was a truly badass chef!

Su Chen glanced at the chat history between Old Tang and Bai Xiaobo.

He thought for a moment.

"Teacher Tang, how about this?"

Su Chen said, "You just want some home-style food, right? Don’t spend so much. To be honest, it’s not that I won’t take orders under twenty thousand, but our company is undergoing major renovations right now, so I’m not really looking to take on many orders."

"If you just want home-style food, don’t even place an order. This afternoon, just go directly to the Pedestrian Street near the Jingzhou Botanical Garden. I’ll be there tonight with my employees, running a stall and selling all sorts of home-style dishes."

The first part of what Su Chen said sounded normal to Old Tang, but by the end, he was completely baffled.

"You? Running a street stall?"

"Yeah." Su Chen spread his hands. "The company’s under renovation. The employees still need to be paid and fed, right? This is just a way to generate some extra income."

’Damn!’

Old Tang barely stopped himself from cursing out loud.

’Your Chinese pastries go for over forty fucking thousand, you turn down a twenty-thousand-yuan order that’s handed to you on a silver platter, and now you’re telling me you’re broke?’

But since Boss Su had put it that way, and Old Tang knew how to read a room, he said, "Alright then, I’ll come find you at the Pedestrian Street this afternoon."

After saying that, he glanced at the three men who were still busy wolfing down the meat. "Are you selling this braised pork belly now?"

Su Chen heaved a heavy sigh. "Forget it. I only made this small batch, and the three of them have devoured it all. I’ll probably be selling it at the stall this afternoon."

"Okay, then." Old Tang agreed and left with his team.

As soon as he got back to the hotel, Old Tang immediately instructed his assistant.

"Get to editing the video! This episode is going to be interesting! Edit the first part now, we’ll continue after we eat the home-style food this afternoon, and get it posted as soon as it’s done!"

In an instant, Old Tang was filled with anticipation for his afternoon trip to the Pedestrian Street!

Back at the Meiweilai Company, after Old Tang and his group had left, Brother Fang Chang ladled out a bowl of rice and mixed it directly with the few remaining pieces of meat and sauce in the serving bowl.

After wolfing down the large bowl, he said with utter satisfaction, "Boss Su! You’re really one of a kind. Devouring a big bowl of braised pork belly first thing in the morning is surprisingly amazing!"

"Isn’t it overwhelmingly salty for you?"

Fang Chang shook his head. "Not at all. I was wondering how you made it. It’s not greasy in the slightest. It felt like I wasn’t even eating fatty pork."

"You saw the process; it’s very simple," Su Chen said. "Not only is it simple, but it’s also very home-style. You can try making it for your wife at home."

Jiang Yuan hadn’t been around for a while.

It was probably because he wasn’t taking orders. As long as he wasn’t making Huaiyang Cuisine, she rarely came over with Fang Chang.

Fang Chang shook his head. "No can do. My wife isn’t used to our style of food. Her family eats sweet-style braised pork belly."

’That’s right!’

Su Chen found himself ridiculous. He had a perfect taste-tester right in front of him. Fang Chang had helped him test the savory Northern-style braised pork belly, so his wife was the perfect person to try the sweet Southern-style version!

"Fang Chang, have your wife come over if she’s not busy. Just say I’m going to make sweet-style braised pork belly, her regional style. It’s fine if she can’t make it; I can just have my employees taste-test it anyway."

"What!" Fang Chang shot to his feet. "You’re really making it?"

"Of course. I’m going to make two styles of braised pork belly to sell at the stall this afternoon. This is still the experimental phase."

"No problem, she has time. I’ll have her take time off work and come over right away!"

Su Chen was about to say something else, but Fang Chang had already ducked over to the stairwell with his phone.

"Honey, hurry and take the day off! Don’t go to work today, just come straight to Boss Su’s place!"

"Are you crazy?" Jiang Yuan hadn’t been up for long. "I’m about to leave for work. What would I be doing at Boss Su’s company?"

Fang Chang was frantic. "Listen, Boss Su is about to make braised pork belly, and it’s your regional style! If you don’t come, I’m eating your share, you hear!"

After all, getting to eat a truly satisfying meal at Su Chen’s place...

...was no longer a matter of money.

Even if it was just a street stall, Fang Chang knew that you’d be lucky to get one serving after waiting in a long line. If you wanted a second, you’d have to wait until who knows when.

This kind of exclusive service was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

"Braised pork belly?"

"Agh, just stop asking questions! I just polished off a huge bowl myself, and it was free."

Hearing the word "free," Jiang Yuan was suddenly interested. "For real? An offer that good? I’ll ask for the day off and head over."

After all, Jiang Yuan only made six or seven thousand yuan a month, which was less than what Fang Chang earned in a single day.

This was a workday she could afford to skip.

Once it was settled, Fang Chang straightened his clothes and sauntered back to shoot the breeze with Zhang the Second and the others.

Su Chen had already left the second floor.

To make the sweet-style braised pork belly, he had to adhere to one concept.

Home-style!

It had to be home-style!

’How can you make sweet-style braised pork belly feel home-style?’

Su Chen reappeared in the practice room.

’Southerners are different from Northerners; they tend to be a bit more refined. And for sweet-style braised pork belly, you can’t rely on pan-frying to render the fat.’

This was purely a matter of understanding the flavor profile of the ingredients.

Not many people could think on Su Chen’s level.

For the savory style of braised pork, pan-frying it to let the meat absorb the flavors of soy sauce and fermented tofu was fine.

But that wouldn’t work for the sweet style.

If the meat absorbed that much sugar, wouldn’t it be cloying enough to kill someone?

The cloyingness of the braised meat combined with the cloyingness of the sugar... one bite would probably be enough to send a person to the afterlife.

So, this next step was absolutely essential...

Su Chen added green onions, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon bark to a pot of cold water, then placed the neatly squared-off pork belly, with its edges trimmed, into the pot.

If he couldn’t use pan-frying to remove the gaminess and render the fat, this was the only way.

SIGH...

’If the braised pork belly meets the standard, then the progress on that mission will probably shoot up, right?’

As for the price of the braised pork belly, Su Chen already had a number in mind.

Now, all that was left was to see how Jiang Yuan would react!