Chapter 156: Chapter 156: If You Have the Guts, Open the Door!
Jiang Feng’s smile visibly diminished.
On his first day of vending, he was leisurely, like a local, laid-back shop owner, just waiting for customers to come and buy once he set out his skewers.
The second day, more customers arrived, including a few fellow townsmen who were visiting Chengdu. Jiang Feng beamed as he took photos with them.
On the third day, even more customers came, and the Bowl Chicken in the bucket sold out quickly, necessitating him to occasionally get up and cook some skewers.
By the fourth day, the news of the delicious Bowl Chicken had spread in the vicinity, drawing an endless stream of customers and inadvertently boosting the business of nearby shops as well.
On the fifth day, before Sous Chef Jiang even opened up, there were already customers waiting outside his shop.
"Boss, open up! Open the door already!"
"If you’re capable of running a shop, then be capable of opening its doors!"
Customers were clamoring at the door.
This booming business wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Fortunately, Sous Chef Jiang never added customers on WeChat and always left quietly after closing up, making sure the customers didn’t know where he lived. Otherwise, there might have been people calling him early in the morning begging him to set up his stall, or zealous customers could have shown up at his doorstep before dawn pleading for extra hours.
Overtime? Not a chance!
During this period, Jiang Feng was living in a room behind the greasy spoon. It was just for a week anyway, as he would be moving to a spacious flat the following week.
Little Black had been brought over and was happily enjoying everyday life. This fellow was particularly clever; sometimes when Jiang Feng let him out, he’d run over to the neighboring greasy spoon to ask for food. It wasn’t that Jiang Feng didn’t feed him; Little Black wanted to eat everything and also knew what was tasty. Lately, Jiang Feng had been preparing Bowl Chicken. The skewers without any seasoning didn’t have much taste, and the seasoned ones were all spicy due to the chili peppers, not as tasty as the neighboring shop’s brain flower. So Little Black would go next door to wag his tail and act cute. At that time, Little Black wasn’t very big and looked quite adorable, so the brain flower shop owner liked him too.
Amidst the eager voices of customers, Sous Chef Jiang got the Bowl Chicken ready, and the shop finally opened. It indeed became popular.
The customers came over to pick their skewers, paid with a scan of their smartphones, and left satisfied. Jiang Feng was in charge of collecting money, checking out customers, and putting skewers in disposable cylindrical containers to hand over to them. The process wasn’t exactly tiring, but it left no time to rest or zone out, and it was a bit busier than the first two days.
"Boss, what’s your Bowl Chicken shop called? Doesn’t it have a name?" a satisfied customer inquired after enjoying several skewers of Bowl Chicken.
Popular eateries usually have names, but Jiang Feng, planning on running his stall for just seven days, saw no need for one.
"I really haven’t named it yet. Let’s name it now."
"How about we call it ’Sous Chef Jiang’s Bowl Chicken’ then!" Jiang Feng casually came up with a name for his stall.
"Sous Chef Jiang’s Bowl Chicken... bar?"
"Boss, you can’t say ’bar’ after saying ’chicken’; it’s not refined!" The customer burst out laughing.
"Sous Chef Jiang’s Bowl Chicken," Jiang Feng, realizing his slip, corrected himself. He had blurted it out without thinking. Saying ’chicken’ followed by ’bar’ was universally considered inappropriate.
"Alright, I’ll definitely recommend Sous Chef Jiang’s Bowl Chicken to my friends. It tastes really good," the customer commented again. "It’s sure to be a hit."
"Yes, but it won’t stay open for long. I might not sell Bowl Chicken after this," Jiang Feng replied warmly. "But you’re still welcome to come by."
"Won’t stay open for long? Why not? Is there some kind of gang interference?" The customer, with a rather active imagination, immediately leaned in close, lowered their voice, and asked with a face full of gossip.
"That’s not it. I might just sell something else. Can’t say for sure," Jiang Feng replied with a laugh, trying to explain. So far, he had not encountered any gang troubles. Moreover, as just a small shop owner selling Bowl Chicken, gangsters wouldn’t bother to come to his little shop looking for trouble.
"Ah? You’re not going to sell such amazing food anymore? That’s a real shame!" the customer looked genuinely regretful.
"Vending is a hobby. Maybe I’ll sell something else that might taste even better. We’ll see how it goes," Jiang Feng chatted with the customer. He was always able to strike up a conversation with people, whether they were from the north or the south. This is just part of doing business—pretty standard. The customers enjoyed talking to him as well, finding him to be a great guy, which also uplifted their mood.
"Boss, I want these skewers." At this moment, a customer came over with a bunch of tripe skewers to pay.
Tripe was a good ingredient. It’s the perfect match for hot pot, shabu-shabu, and skewers. This customer didn’t want anything else, just the tripe. It was apparent he was a tripe enthusiast.
"Sure, no problem."
The water in the pot was already boiling, with just the right amount of salt added. Jiang Feng picked up a skewer of tender tripe and dropped it into the pot. As the water continued to boil, the tripe began to undergo an amazing transformation. The initially soft surface visibly turned firm, and the slight bumps on its exterior grew harder. The tripe didn’t need to be cooked for too long, just enough to cook it through. Timing it perfectly, Jiang Feng took the skewer out just as the tripe was perfectly cooked, then immersed it in cold water. Once the tripe cooled down, he dipped it into the chili oil seasoning and turned it several times to ensure every bit was coated. After waiting a moment, he put the tripe skewer into a disposable round container.
The customer watched the whole process intently. Looking at the tripe smothered in chili oil seasoning, he couldn’t resist swallowing. The tripe that Jiang Feng blanched was especially fresh, and its texture was particularly tender. He grasped the cooking time for the tripe perfectly. A minute longer and it would be overcooked; a minute less and it would be undercooked. It had to be just right—this perfect level of tenderness.
Jiang Feng handed the box to the customer. "The tripe is ready."
"Great, thank you," the customer politely expressed his gratitude. Then he directly grabbed five skewers of tripe, stuffed them all into his mouth, and in one go, pulled out all the sticks. This unrestrained way of eating even surprised Jiang Feng.
The tripe was chewy, yet it crunched satisfyingly. Indeed, this was a must-eat ingredient for hotpot and skewered dishes; the texture was superb. One couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made the tripe so savory, but it was simply a delight to eat. If the seasonings were even more delicious, the experience of eating the tripe would be even more enjoyable.
The customer chewed the tripe and swallowed it all. Then he took out another five skewers of tripe and once again stuffed them all into his mouth, pulling out the sticks. The main appeal was the thrill of eating. The tripe Jiang Feng made was too delicious. It was best when freshly blanched, at the peak of its flavor.
In the streets and alleys of Chengdu, there were many connoisseurs. These people, walking by, upon seeing various signs and smelling the aromas, would know whether a restaurant was good or not. They highly approved of the Bowl Chicken Jiang Feng made; it was certainly delicious. And in Chengdu, the competition for Bowl Chicken was fierce; only extraordinary individuals could stand out. With such culinary skills, he could make a living anywhere in the country. Of course, business was more challenging in cities where people did not eat spicy food. After all, Bowl Chicken is immersed in chili oil seasoning.
The neighboring brain flower seller had been very happy these past few days. Since Jiang Feng didn’t make brain flower himself, when customers ate his Bowl Chicken, they often bought a serving from the little shop next door. Business for brain flower had increased a lot. They had Jiang Feng to thank.
With business booming, Jiang Feng couldn’t handle it alone any longer and had to hire two aunties. A somewhat busy Bowl Chicken eatery usually employs two staff members.
In fact, Jiang Feng was also a bit puzzled. There are several ways to sell Bowl Chicken. The ordinary setup is just a small stall with a few basins filled with chili oil seasoning and different types of skewers. Customers just pick up whatever skewers they want; it’s convenient. Some Bowl Chicken shops are more formal, resembling dedicated skewer eateries, where customers pick a bunch of skewers, the shop prepares them, places them in a bowl, pours over a few spoonfuls of chili oil, and serves them to the customers.
Jiang Feng had planned to operate like the former this week, preparing the skewers himself so customers could select and take away what they wanted, which would have been easier for him. But as business went on, the prepared skewers in the basins weren’t enough, and he had to blanch more himself. After blanching a few times, customers started to specifically request the freshly blanched skewers and wanted to eat them at the tables inside and outside the shop.
Suddenly, it was like he was running a proper Bowl Chicken restaurant.
Wait, wasn’t I just a street vendor?
Wasn’t it enough to just count the money and settle the accounts?
Now I also have to cook, serve bowls, clean up, and I’m still overwhelmed.
How did my little Bowl Chicken stall turn into a Bowl Chicken shop?
Jiang Feng looked up to see customers packed inside and outside the greasy spoon; he alone couldn’t keep up.
No choice but to follow the old rule—hire people. He figured he’d pay the helper aunties 350 for what was now a full day’s work, maybe even a little more.
Actually, Jiang Feng could have sold a limited number of skewers and closed the shop, but the patrons’ enthusiasm made that difficult. Besides, he hadn’t planned to do so. After all, doing business requires responsibility. If customers come for your business, you try to do as much as you can.
The world is never short of aunties for odd jobs. Especially since Jiang Feng paid well, the aunties flocked to him.
Jiang Feng hired two aunties. They were responsible for serving bowls, cleaning, and pouring sauce over the skewers. Jiang Feng himself took care of blanching the skewers and making the chili oil seasoning. Customers would pick a bunch of skewers and give them to Jiang Feng. He would blanch them and hand them over to the aunties. The aunties would then soak the skewers, place them in a bowl, ladle a portion of seasoning over them, and then serve the bowls to the customers.
After five or six days of running the stall, Jiang Feng successfully transitioned from a street vendor to a small boss, though it took him a while to realize.
When he went to bed that night, the thought crossed his mind.
Wait a minute, wasn’t I planning on having a relaxed week running the stall?
I finally stumbled upon making Bowl Chicken, a task that didn’t require much effort.
Why did I end up being so busy every day?
He decided not to think about it anymore. After all, there were only two days left.
So be it.
「The next day.」
"Boss, open up! Open the door already!"
"You have the guts to run a restaurant, you have the guts to open the door!"