1995: From a small restaurant to a culinary genius

Chapter 9 Escaping One Calamity

"I didn't expect you to cook so well, Liangwa. It really is quite delicious."

Aunt Zhang was quite shocked; this plate of Sichuan-style twice-cooked pork was equivalent to seven or eight of her tea eggs.

He never expected that the half-baked chef who used to be an apprentice could now make food that was better than his own, which really impressed him.

"I told you, I'm going to treat you to a big meal, Auntie. Don't you think this is a big meal?"

"Wow, that's impressive! You don't just seem carefree at the factory, but you're actually working hard to improve your cooking skills behind the scenes, do you?"

"No, my cooking skills have always been this good."

This twice-cooked pork is so delicious that you'll want to eat another bite. It's mainly because of the perfect balance of lean and fat, its tender and juicy texture, rich and savory sauce, fresh and spicy flavor with a sweet aftertaste, and a satisfying chewiness.

She finished the twice-cooked pork on the table in one go, and couldn't help but let out a burp afterward.

The panel will display a message after the auntie finishes eating.

[Ding! +1 recognition from a diner]

[The player performed well; please keep up the good work!]

Aunt Zhang still had expectations; she guessed that Xu Liang must know more than just this, and must be able to make other delicious foods as well.

They just don't want to show it right now.

"Next time, I'll invite Auntie to eat something else."

This time, Aunt Zhang didn't say a word, but nodded repeatedly to Xu Liang.

Of course, Xu Liang would never go back on his word. Based on his memories from his previous life and his experience from the 1990s, he estimated the value of the Sichuan-style twice-cooked pork.

If I remember correctly, it should be around five yuan. If this were in the restaurant before his rebirth, a decent plate of twice-cooked pork would cost at least twenty-five yuan.

So he took out the money he had saved from buying groceries and renovating the small restaurant from the cash register drawer.

"Look, I, Xu Liang, always keep my promises. I just promised Auntie that I would treat her to a big meal and that I would pay her afterwards."

In that instant, Xu Liang stuffed the money into Aunt Zhang's apron pocket.

"Auntie, please accept this. I know your family isn't well-off; take this money home as a living allowance!"

What is certain is that Aunt Zhang would never accept Xu Liang's money. She only wanted to try it because Xu Liang had repeatedly asked her, and she herself is a soft-hearted person.

I also have a great deal of curiosity.

"No way, I won't take your money. I'm the elder, and you're the junior. How can an elder take money from a junior?"

Having said that, she was both firm and decisive, because this was a matter of principle that could not be abandoned. She took the money that Xu Liang had put in her apron pocket and pushed it to Xu Liang.

"No way! Even if Aunt Zhang is poor, she won't take your money. Besides, you treated me to a big meal, so why are you paying me? The correct way is that I ate your food, so I should pay you!"

As she spoke, Aunt Zhang pushed the money to Xu Liang, then ran to the sack in the cart, took out six or seven one-yuan bills, and handed them to Xu Liang.

"It's not a lot of money, but the dish is worth it."

"I won't accept your money, because I've already said I'd treat you to a big meal. Once I've said that, there's no going back. A gentleman's word is his bond."

After saying this, Xu Liang continued, "If you feel indebted to me, why don't you just teach me when I ask you to learn how to make tea eggs in the future?"

"Alright then... If you want to learn how to make tea eggs or want to eat them in the future, you can come find me anytime!"

"The auntie is so kind."

A little while later, Xu Liang packed the remaining breakfast into bags and handed them to Aunt Zhang one by one.

After seeing Aunt Zhang off, he rested for a while at the shop entrance.

However, not long after they left, a group of people appeared in a nearby alley.

Because he was still some distance from Xiao Liangzi's restaurant, Xu Liang couldn't see clearly. In his field of vision, there seemed to be quite a few people in the distance, but their figures were still blurry.

After a while, the group seemed to have discovered something and kept rushing towards Xu Liang. When they got closer, Xu Liang saw that the person leading the way was none other than Xiang Pao, whom he had just knocked to the ground with a single punch.

That's not fair, they got the person here so quickly.

However, the person who had been talking to Xiang Pao was physically imposing and followed behind Xiang Pao, but Xiang Pao had to turn around from time to time and obediently listen to the person behind him.

The man was wearing a black leather jacket and looked very imposing.

Xu Liang immediately guessed that this person was the leader of the group of unknown forces that Xiang Paoyao had come to.

The row of men around me looked very capable.

Oh no, I'm really in big trouble this time.

If things go wrong, Xu Liang will only end up getting beaten up by the mob.

In this situation, Xu Liang had no choice but to go into the small restaurant, lock the door tightly, and then hide in the kitchen.

If those people break down the door, you can escape through the kitchen door behind the kitchen.

There was no problem that Xu Liang couldn't solve.

The group spotted Xiao Liangzi Restaurant from afar and ran while yelling for Xu Liang to come out like mad dogs.

When they arrived at Xu Liang's small restaurant, they found the door tightly locked.

"You bastard in that little restaurant, come out here, you old man."

The loudest shouter was Xiang Pao, because he harbored the most resentment.

"Xu Liang, you're destined to be a coward your whole life. Do you dare to come out and fight me? I know the kid inside is so scared that even your old man can't do anything about him."

Despite being called several times, the small restaurant remained unmoved; Xu Liang refused to come out no matter what.

"Why isn't that brat coming out yet?"

"Boss, don't worry, he must be inside. Since he refuses to come out, let's use some force to force Xu Liang out."

"Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Xiang Pao had a sudden inspiration and came up with a plan.

"There are a few trash cans over there, why don't we just smash up the shop!"

The leader in the black leather jacket thought for a moment, then kicked him.

"You bastard, the sweet potato porridge price has gone up too much. This is illegal. If the police see us, none of us will escape."

"It's okay, boss. See this dark bump on my face? You can use it to cover it up!"

Upon hearing this, the leader found the idea of ​​using one crime to punish another quite amusing. He first sent out several men to look around the area again and again, inspecting it thoroughly. Only after his men reported back and confirmed that everything was correct did he begin to consider taking action.

The leader chose his youngest disciple, pointed him in a direction, and winked at him, signaling him to give the order.

The underling had no other choice, so he picked up a trash can from the roadside, lifted it up, and smashed it against Xu Liang's shop.

Unfortunately, Xu Liang's shop door was made of glass and couldn't withstand the enormous impact of the trash can. The moment the trash can touched the glass door...

With a loud bang.

A large hole was instantly smashed into the glass door, and a crack line radiated outwards from the hole.

Broken glass shards littered the floor.

Just after I finished doing this, a motorcycle with a loud "wuhu wuhu wuhu" sound happened to drive by.

A patrol officer on the motorcycle noticed something unusual about Xu Liang's small restaurant. He parked his motorcycle on the side of the road and quickly got off to check.

"What are you all doing?"

"What happened to that big hole in the glass door?"

"I'm asking you a question!"

"So everyone's against it, huh!"