Ouri Hotel.
CEO's office.
Fang Ya was sitting sideways on Shen Muyan's desk, half her butt on it.
"Shen Muyan, do you know where Lu Qin is setting up his stall?"
"No idea."
"Can't you just ask him? I want to eat his iced Ice Crystal Cake!"
"If you want to ask, then ask yourself."
Shen Muyan kept her head down, flipping through files.
Fang Ya clenched her fists, nearly ready to punch someone.
Actually, Shen Muyan also wanted to eat Lu Qin's iced Ice Crystal Cake.
But she was too embarrassed to ask Lu Qin again.
...
Lu Qin left Ouri Hotel, hopped on his three-wheeled scooter, and headed to the vegetable market.
It was past the peak time for grocery shopping, so the market wasn't crowded.
Lu Qin found a pork stall and looked at the pork's color — it was fresh pork slaughtered that day.
Fresh pork is bright or dark red, while chilled pork tends to be pinkish.
"Boss, how much is your pork per pound?"
"19.5 yuan per pound. If you buy more than three pounds, I'll give you a discount, 19 yuan."
Lu Qin smiled. The pork stall owner probably saw him as a young guy and quoted a random price.
Lu Qin actually knew the prices better than the old folks who shopped here every day.
"That's too expensive, no thanks. I'll check another stall."
Lu Qin turned to leave.
"19.5 yuan isn't expensive, it's already cheap."
"I'm going to the stall next door."
"Hey, wait a minute, young man, how many pounds do you want?"
Seeing Lu Qin about to leave, the pork stall owner hurried to stop him.
"Twenty pounds."
The owner was stunned but quickly smiled.
"Come on, handsome, if you want twenty pounds, I'll sell it for 18.5 yuan per pound, that's the lowest price."
"16.8 yuan per pound. If you don't sell, I'll buy from next door."
The market price for ordinary pork was about 17 yuan per pound. Lu Qin buying twenty pounds and bargaining down by two-tenths was reasonable.
If he ran into a nitpicking bargain-hunting granny, she'd probably drag a stool over and bargain for half an hour until you sold it at 16.5.
The pork stall owner realized Lu Qin wasn't a rookie and his tone was firm, so he said:
"Alright, young man, 16.8 it is. Come buy here often!"
"What part do you want?"
Lu Qin was buying pork for Twice-Cooked Pork, so he was picky about the cuts.
The ideal ratio is: four parts fatty, back leg, cut twice; six parts lean, wide about three fingers.
Too fatty is greasy, too lean burns easily, too wide or too narrow won't hold shape well.
After buying the pork, Lu Qin left the market.
Back home, he started preparing ingredients for the afternoon stall.
He added a new item on his whiteboard:
[Twice-Cooked Pork30 yuan / per serving, limit one serving per person, while supplies last]
Usually, Twice-Cooked Porkin restaurants is made fresh after ordering.
Selling it at a stall had its inconveniences.
But Lu Qin had a fresh-locking temperature-controlled box won from a system lottery.
He could blanch the pork, slice it, and store it in the temperature-controlled box.
When customers ordered, he just took the pork out and stir-fried it.
Why not cook the Twice-Cooked Porkfully in advance, then store and sell it ready-made?
That was impossible — anyone who knows a bit could tell any stir-fried dish changes taste and texture after sitting for a while.
Besides, Lu Qin's Twice-Cooked Porkwas no ordinary dish.
If the flavor stayed perfect after being pre-cooked and stored, it would defy common sense.
Modern technology still can't make such an amazing preservation box.
Lu Qin spent two hours making 300 cups of Mung Bean Paste and 150 boxes of iced Ice Crystal Cake for the afternoon.
The Mung Bean Paste went into the fridge to chill; the iced Ice Crystal Cake was stored in a cool, shaded place.
Then he started preparing the Twice-Cooked Porkingredients.
He put the pork into cold water with slices of ginger, scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, and cooking wine.
After the pork was cooked, he dunked it once in ice water.
This process helps the pork slice better and hold shape.
With his maxed-outTwice-Cooked Porkskill, Lu Qin's knife work was naturally superb.
He sliced all the pork into coin-thick, evenly thin pieces.
He prepared a large stainless steel bowl, laid a layer of lettuce leaves at the bottom, then put in all the sliced pork.
The bowl was full — enough pork for about eighty servings of Twice-Cooked Pork.
He also sliced onions and garlic sprouts as side ingredients.
By the time he finished, it was already 12:30 PM.
Lu Qin felt hungry.
He cooked some rice. Since he was alone, one dish was enough. He stir-fried a serving of Twice-Cooked Pork.
The moment the pork came out of the pan, a strong fragrant aroma filled the air.
The pork looked excellent — golden and appetizing.
Lu Qin took a piece and put it in his mouth.
Tender yet crispy, fragrant without greasiness — the perfect flavor and texture caressed every taste bud.
Twice-Cooked Porkmade with max-level skill tasted flawless, without a single flaw.
After a busy morning, Lu Qin was indeed hungry.
Twice-Cooked Porkis the perfect dish to go with rice; he ate two and a half bowls.
He was very full.
He originally planned to take a nap, but the fullness made it hard to rest.
Lu Qin was restless by nature, extremely action-oriented, disliked slacking off or being lazy.
He decided to go out and set up his stall.
The earlier he finished, the earlier he could pick up Lu Xiyao and go home.
Lu Qin opened his phone to check the stall location app.
At this time, the pedestrian street at People's Square wasn't the busiest.
The app showed the highest foot traffic was at Huaguo Mountain Park in the west of the city.
It was Sunday, so many people were at the park.
There was a stall spot at the foot of the mountain.
But business there wasn't great because most passersby weren't there to shop — they were there to walk, exercise, or enjoy the scenery.
If selling drinks, it might be good business.
But there were very few snack stalls.
However, none of this was a problem for Lu Qin's snack stall.
He had never been to Huaguo Mountain Park, so he turned on map navigation.
His scooter drove about twenty minutes on the rbefore arriving.
Sure enough, at the foot of the mountain was a sausage stall. Other stalls sold water, drinks, or balloon toys.
Huaguo Mountain Park was slightly high in altitude; climbing up and down was tiring and made people sweat. Drinks and water were necessities.
Lu Qin's Stir-Fried Rice Noodles stall looked out of place, clashing with the quiet, elegant green surroundings.
Most people came to the park to lose weight by hiking.
Who would eat Stir-Fried Rice Noodles?
Some people curiously glanced at Lu Qin's stall to see what he was selling.
When they found out it was Stir-Fried Rice Noodles and other snacks, they shook their heads and lost interest.
Holding a box of Stir-Fried Rice Noodles while hiking looked odd.
So nobody bought anything.
Two older ladies selling bottled water next door chuckled quietly.
Seeing Lu Qin's brand-new food cart, they kindly advised:
"Young man, is this your first time setting up a stall?"
"This place selling food isn't likely to get business."
"You should go to a busy urban area."
Lu Qin smiled and nodded along:
"Yeah, I don't have much experience. I'll pick a better spot next time."
At first, business was slow.
Some passersby and tourists bought water or drinks from the ladies next door.
Lu Qin's stall got no customers.
Actually, Lu Qin also had chilled Mung Bean Paste.
But when customers had already gone to the next stall, he didn't shout to steal their business.
That wouldn't be right.
A couple strolled over slowly, didn't buy anything, just stood near Lu Qin's stall enjoying the lake view.
"Stinky Bao, I want bubble tea."
"You should've said earlier. This remote spot won't have any bubble tea shops."
"Want water or a drink?"
"No, I just want bubble tea."
"With such a beautiful view, it'd be a pity not to have bubble tea."
The man was speechless. There really wasn't a bubble tea shop nearby.
At that moment, Lu Qin turned and smiled at them:
"Would you like some chilled Mung Bean Paste soup? It tastes just as good as bubble tea."
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]