America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

Chapter 103 Selling Fried Chicken on Campus

"Sizzle!"

As the chicken pieces hit the pot, Chen Yuan reached out and turned on the small range hood installed on the windowsill, spreading the enticing aroma of meat far and wide.

Su Nian deftly dropped pieces of marinated chicken into the oil. The chicken wings and drumsticks, coated in a special batter, rolled in the boiling hot oil and gradually turned golden brown.

Su Nian's deep-fried snack skills have now reached an expert level. She doesn't need a timer; she can easily judge the perfect time to take the food out of the fryer just by observing the color of its surface.

At this moment, they were not at the snack window of Rongding Pavilion, but at Troy Square, the busiest place on the USC campus.

Although USC has multiple dining halls on campus, American college students are often not so conventional, especially in the evening, when many prefer to sample the snacks near Troy Square.

Therefore, the school specifically planned a commercial area near the square, allowing approved catering businesses to set up stalls and sell various local delicacies to students.

These snacks often have their own unique flavors. For example, to Chen Yuan's left is a stall selling Mexican burritos, and to his right is a stall selling vegetarian burgers.

Since there is no fixed building for business, most of the snacks are cooked and sold from mobile food carts.

Chen Yuan also took advantage of the past weekend to find a slightly used Ford food truck at the second-hand market. After making some minor modifications, he swaggered into the USC campus.

As a pilot project for social practice cooperation at USc, Rongding Pavilion is naturally qualified to set up a food stall on campus.

However, Rongdingge is registered as a non-profit organization, so Chen Yuan also wrote a public welfare statement on the small blackboard outside the stall: "Welcome to taste the healthy and delicious snacks of the East: After deducting costs, the profits from our operation on campus will be used entirely to support the hot food care public welfare program for the homeless in the South District."

Next to the blackboard, there was also a classic promotional poster of "charity girl" Lisa handing out fried chicken amidst the hustle and bustle.

With its pilot partnership with USC, coupled with its virtually unbeatable reputation for "charitable equality," Rongding Pavilion selling snacks here is a perfect fit for anyone!

Besides Chen Yuan and Su Nian, new employee Hoshino Mina was also helping to prepare the ingredients in the food truck.

Photographer Anna was outside the car adjusting her camera equipment, preparing to document Rongdingge's charity event as usual.

Since it was still early, there weren't many customers outside. As Hoshino Mina coated piles of chicken wings and drumsticks with batter, she asked, "Boss, if we donate all the profits from the food truck to charity, won't we end up with nothing but fame?"

Chen Yuan smiled slightly and casually said, "Anyway, your salaries are already included in the costs, so you definitely won't be shortchanged by a single penny."

Little did Hoshino Mina know that in the capitalists' ledgers, there were many intricacies involved in calculating "public welfare costs."

For example, there are all sorts of miscellaneous charges such as "technology licensing fees" for Rongdingge's secret thirteen-spice recipe, "equipment depreciation fees" for purchasing second-hand food trucks and various kitchen utensils, and Chen Yuan's own "CEO hourly salary".

As long as these bills are balanced, they can all be legally and compliantly included in the "costs".

So, on the surface, Rongdingge's food truck was operating at a loss for charity, but in reality, most of the money earned from the students still went into Rongdingge's account and Chen Yuan's personal pocket.

Only a tiny fraction of the money is actually used to buy chicken legs for the homeless as a form of charity.

Moreover, no one can accuse Chen Yuan of embezzling funds, because more than 90% of large charitable foundations in the United States engage in this kind of tax evasion operation of transferring money from one hand to the other.

Otherwise, if they can't make money, why would any capitalists be willing to do charity?

Of course, Chen Yuan knows these industry unspoken rules in his heart, and there's no need for him to say them out loud and show off.

Mina Hoshino pursed her lips, but didn't stop working.

This is because, according to school regulations, on-campus restaurants are required to provide students with some necessary work-study positions.

Moreover, to prevent capitalists from "exploiting students," the school stipulates a minimum hourly wage of $20, which is significantly higher than the minimum hourly wage in Los Angeles.

In other words, she would set up a stall with Chen Yuan at 4 pm and close the stall at 8 pm, earning a base salary of $80.

With the generous tips from students, earning $100 a day is a breeze.

Although Hoshino Mina comes from a relatively well-off family, she is quite content as long as she can earn some pocket money.

"Hey, there's a fried chicken food truck here?"

"It seems to be newly opened, and it smells quite nice. Want to try it?"

"Please! That's deep-fried junk food! Eating one piece of this dripping fried chicken makes all my three days of stationary cycling for nothing."

"Besides fried chicken and fries, there's also... grilled squid? Is that even edible?"

"South District Homeless Hot Food Care Program — All net profits from this restaurant will be donated entirely to community charity —"

"Okay, since it's about doing charity, I don't mind spending $5 to try and support the poor underprivileged communities. Consider it money for peace of mind."

As dinner time approached, similar conversations took place in various corners of the square, and students, driven by curiosity or a desire to do charity, began to line up outside the food trucks to buy food.

However, when the diners received the steaming hot fried chicken from Su Nian and took their first bite with a try-it-out mentality,

The expressions on everyone's faces froze in an instant.

"Oh my God!"

A blonde girl exclaimed in surprise, staring incredulously at the half-eaten chicken leg in her hand. "How can it be so crispy?! And—there's not a single bit of excess oil!"

"That's incredible!" exclaimed a boy next to her. "This fried chicken has very little oil content. If I hadn't seen it fished out of the deep fryer, I would have thought it was made in an air fryer."

Judging from diners' reviews, "healthy fried chicken" with reduced fat content due to high-temperature solidification of enzymes is indeed very popular.

This is enough to prove that it is entirely feasible to use Arthur's research findings as Rongdingge's "exclusive secret recipe"!

There's no need for mass production, nor is there any need to store them.

Simply prepare some in the kitchen each day and add it to oily dishes to make them even more delicious.

The gasping crowd gathered outside the food truck quickly attracted more hungry students who had just finished class and were passing through Troy Square.

In no time, a long queue formed outside the food cart, a scene that was practically a replica of the bustling Rongdingge snack window!

However, Su Nian's good partner Hu Dan was not here. Although she was quite skilled at the fried chicken process, she was still a little flustered when faced with the dozens of hungry people in the long line outside.

Just then, the familiar Mandarin voices of the two people reached their ears again: "Look! It really is the fried chicken beauty! She's set up a stall at our school!"

"Didn't you read the introduction to 'Streetscape Video Notes'? She was originally a USC student."

"I was originally planning to drive to Rongding Pavilion, but now I don't need to bother. Just give me 10 skewers of grilled squid!"

Seeing the sweat beading on Su Nian's forehead, Chen Yuan sighed.

This girl is great in every way, except that she's too stubborn and strong-willed.

Even when they are too busy, they will never ask for help.

He then picked up an apron and skillfully tied it around his waist.

Then he came to Su Nian's side and, to her surprise, grabbed a handful of skewered grilled squid.

It's time to show our true strength!