Chapter 38: Preparing Thoroughly

“Since you support me so much, I will go out to buy equipment and ingredients later. Tonight, I will set up a stall at the night market. Don’t worry, half of the money earned from the stall will be yours,” Tang Feng promised with conviction.

“No need,” Su Xiaoli shook her head, “Just treat me to a big meal with the money you earn.”

“No problem! That’s easy!” Tang Feng agreed readily.

“Where do you plan to buy the equipment and ingredients?” Su Xiaoli asked with a smile.

“Trade District,” Tang Feng answered.

“I’ll go with you,” Su Xiaoli offered.

“I think there’s a tricycle in the garage; we can ride that there,” Tang Feng thought for a moment and decided.

Then, he casually picked up a stool and led Su Xiaoli out. Opening the garage, he pushed the tricycle out and placed the stool on it. He then called Su Xiaoli to get on.

Once Su Xiaoli was seated securely, he pedaled the tricycle towards the Trade District. After a half-hour journey, they finally arrived at their destination.

Trade District was a commercial marketplace where you could buy almost everything you needed. Especially since online shopping wasn’t available yet, everyone’s first instinct for shopping was to come here.

Tang Feng first bought a barbecue grill and charcoal, then purchased gluten flour, an essential ingredient for making gluten. With this, he could make very chewy gluten. After that, Tang Feng bought some seasonings, spending less than three hundred yuan in total.

“Let’s go home!” Tang Feng declared grandly.

“Is that all you’re buying?” Su Xiaoli was puzzled.

“These are enough. If nothing goes wrong, we can make two to three hundred yuan in one night,” Tang Feng explained.

“Are the profits really that high?” Su Xiaoli was startled by the figure.

“Of course! But to make big money, just setting up a stall at the night market won’t suffice. I plan to sell the recipe to others, making a tidy sum that way,” Tang Feng decided.

“Will people buy it?” Su Xiaoli was worried.

“Don’t worry! There will definitely be buyers! After all, Grilled Gluten is a very trendy snack right now, and many customers are willing to pay for it,” Tang Feng was confident.

“It’s getting late, shall we go home to eat, or just grab something outside?” Su Xiaoli discussed with him.

“How about we find a restaurant and order a couple of dishes?” Tang Feng suggested.

“Okay!” Su Xiaoli agreed readily. For her, the most important thing was to have a meal with Tang Feng. What they ate didn’t matter as much.

Tang Feng found a decent-looking restaurant nearby, parked the tricycle outside, and led Su Xiaoli inside.

“What would you like to eat?” Once they were seated at a table by the window, the waiter came over to ask.

“Order whatever you like,” Tang Feng pushed the menu towards Su Xiaoli.

“A plate of hot mixed vegetables, a plate of minced meat with vermicelli, and a bowl of dumpling soup,” Su Xiaoli ordered without hesitation.

The waiter carefully noted the orders and then left. The dishes were served one after another, starting with the hot mixed vegetables, a specialty of Binjiang District with cucumber, tomato, black fungus, and glass noodles at the bottom, topped with stir-fried shredded meat and garlic paste.

Tang Feng mixed everything together, inviting Su Xiaoli to eat. The minced meat with vermicelli and dumpling soup followed, and they enjoyed their meal while chatting.

“I loved dumpling soup as a kid. I could drink three bowls when I was hungry,” Tang Feng shared with a smile.

“Me too. But my favorite was always the dumpling soup my grandma made,” Su Xiaoli responded.

“Really? Take me to your grandma’s house sometime. I’d love to try it,” Tang Feng proposed.

“That depends on how well you behave. If you do really well, I might consider taking you,” Su Xiaoli said, laughing.

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave,” Tang Feng assured.

After finishing their meal, Tang Feng went to pay the bill, which came to twenty-three yuan — not exactly cheap. They then rode the tricycle back home, stopping by their family’s supermarket on the way.

“What are you and Xiaoli up to?” Tang Long asked, seeing his cherished son.

“We went to Trade District,” Tang Feng replied.

“Why did you buy a barbecue grill? Are you planning to have a barbecue tonight?” Tang Long speculated.

“No,” Tang Feng shook his head, “I plan to sell grilled gluten at the night market tonight.”

“Grilled gluten? What’s that?” Tang Long was baffled.

“It’s a kind of snack. I’m going to prepare the gluten at home first and then sell it at the night market,” Tang Feng explained.

“Do you need to grill a few skewers to test first?” Tang Long suggested.

“No need. I’m very confident in my skills. If you have time, you can come by tonight,” Tang Feng said.

He had exchanged for the Cooking Secrets Manual, so he was confident that no matter what he made, even a snack, it would be the best!

Then, Tang Feng went back home and got busy. Su Xiaoli stayed by his side the whole time, never leaving. Once Tang Feng was almost done, she brought him a cup of water, which he drank in one go.

“Drink slower!” Su Xiaoli cautioned him.

Tang Feng just smiled. He threaded the prepared gluten onto skewers and placed them in a white plastic box.

“When do we leave?” Su Xiaoli asked.

Looking at the clock, it was already five in the afternoon. “We leave now,” Tang Feng replied.

“What about dinner?” Su Xiaoli continued.

“There are lots of snacks at the night market. You can buy something there if you’re hungry,” Tang Feng suggested.

“Okay,” Su Xiaoli nodded, and they headed to the night market square, where many vendors had already set up shop.

Finding a good spot was impossible, so Tang Feng chose a relatively secluded corner. “Can we really make it here?” Su Xiaoli was concerned.

“Of course! We believe in ‘good wine needs no bush’!” Tang Feng assured her.

Without saying anything, Su Xiaoli just looked at him. Soon, Tang Feng had the stall set up and lit the charcoal, which produced a lot of smoke. Once the smoke cleared and the charcoal was red hot, he began grilling the gluten with practiced ease.

In less than ten minutes, fifteen skewers of gluten were ready.

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