Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

After several days of cleaning, the windows in the shop, which had been covered with cobwebs, were now sparkling clean; the peeling paint on the walls was scraped off, and Li Chunsheng, along with Yunniang, repainted them with lime water. Although there were no fancy decorations, the shop was clean.

Li Chunsheng even bought several kilograms of mugwort and fumigated the house inside and outside for a whole day. Now, when you walk in, there is only a faint fragrance of herbs and the smell of lime water.

Li Chunsheng dismantled the dilapidated earthen stove in the back kitchen and hired a bricklayer to rebuild two large stove holes.

One was used to hold the large iron pot, specifically for braising; the other was a powerful stove with a bellows, specifically for stir-frying.

Now that he had opened a restaurant, he couldn't keep customers by just serving wontons, chicken soup noodles, and braised pork buns; so he also sent Yunniang to the liquor store to buy a jar of strong liquor.

People in Beiping (Beijing) value having both wine and dishes. Although braised offal is good with wine, it is still offal. They also need to have a few decent stir-fries, even if they are just home-style dishes, as these are considered signature dishes.

Li Chunsheng stood in front of the newly built stove, holding a newly bought wrought iron wok in his hand.

On the cutting board, there were chopped vegetables and a large bowl of freshly chopped scallions, ginger and garlic.

"Chunsheng, are we really going to sell stir-fried dishes?" Yunniang, wearing a blue apron and picking vegetables, asked. "Stir-frying uses a lot of oil and fuel. Can we manage?"

"Sister-in-law, let's try out the dishes at our restaurant today. You and Yaya can be the judges." Li Chunsheng smiled as he poured a spoonful of oil into the pot.

As the bellows was pulled, the flames in the stove roared upwards.

The oil temperature rose instantly, and blue smoke appeared.

Li Chunsheng first grabbed the pre-marinated pig liver.

The pig liver was cut into thin slices, then marinated with a mixture of scalded pork, sweet potato starch, and a little soy sauce.

"Sizzle!"

Quickly stir-fry the pork liver in hot oil until it changes color, then remove it from the pan.

Next, leave some oil in the pan, add scallions, ginger, and garlic and sauté until fragrant, then add wood ear mushrooms and cucumber slices. Finally, pour the pork liver back into the pan and pour over a bowl of pre-prepared thickening sauce.

boom!

A flame rises from the wok; this is the soul of Chinese stir-fry: the smoky aroma emanating from the wok.

Li Chunsheng stir-fried the pork liver over high heat for only a dozen seconds, and the sauce coated each piece evenly, releasing a fragrant aroma.

"Out of the pot!"

A plate of authentic braised liver tips was served.

Immediately afterwards, Li Chunsheng continued his work.

Hot and sour shredded potatoes, twice-cooked pork.

In later generations, if you want to open a small restaurant, you need to know a little about different cuisines in order to have business.

Three dishes, all done in less than fifteen minutes.

[Host cooking behavior detected, new recipe being activated...]

[Congratulations, host, you have unlocked the Home-Style Stir-Fry Series]

[Technique to be acquired: stir-frying over high heat, coating with batter and starch.]

【当前熟练度：熘肝尖（10/100）、酸辣土豆丝（20/100）、回锅肉（15/100）。】

"Come on, have a taste," Li Chunsheng invited.

Ya Ya had been craving it for a long time, so she picked up a piece of pig liver and put it in her mouth.

"Mmm!" The little girl's eyes widened. "So tender! Just like tofu!"

Yunniang also took a bite and exclaimed in surprise, "This pig liver has absolutely no fishy smell, it's smooth, tender, and savory! Chunsheng, with your skills, people would believe you're a head chef from a fancy restaurant!"

Li Chunsheng took a bite himself and nodded in satisfaction. The key to this stir-fried liver tip dish is tenderness. Too much heat and it becomes tough, too little heat and it becomes fishy. He had cooked it countless times before his rebirth, so he naturally knew exactly how to do it right.

"Please try the other dishes as well."

-----------------

Opening a shop in this day and age is far more than just opening the door and doing business.

Both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and the complexities of human relationships, are indispensable.

The next morning, Li Chunsheng carried two bags of freshly baked pastries and bought two jin of good wine at the street corner, heading straight to the police station on Qianmen Street.

The police chief in this area is called Fatty Liu, and he's a shrew who takes every penny he can get.

When Li Chunsheng arrived, Fatty Liu was sitting with his legs crossed, drinking tea.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Li?" Fatty Liu didn't even lift his eyelids. "I heard you bought that haunted house?"

"Master Liu is well-informed." Li Chunsheng said with a smile, placing the pastries and wine on the table and casually pulling out a silver dollar from his sleeve, placing it under the pastry package.

"It's just a small business, enough to make a living. We're opening tomorrow, so I've come to invite Mr. Liu and the brothers over for a drink."

Fatty Liu glanced at the silver coins peeking out from under the pastry bun, and his chubby face immediately lit up with a smile.

He sat up straight and laughed heartily, "Brother Li, you're too kind! We brothers definitely need to ask for a drink with you! Don't you think so?"

"That's right! With Mr. Liu's words, I feel much more at ease!" Li Chunsheng seized the opportunity. "Tomorrow at noon, I'll prepare a small feast at the shop and await Mr. Liu's arrival."

After getting Liu Pangzi on board, it became much easier to talk to Ma San, but even though it was easier to talk to him, the gifts still had to be given.

Li Chunsheng bought another serving of pastries and went to Longxing Teahouse.

Ma San only said one sentence: "Don't worry, I'll bring the brothers over tomorrow."

After running between these two places, Li Chunsheng went straight to a time-honored wine shop on Xiheyan Street: Chen Ji Wine Shop, because the jar that Yunniang bought yesterday was definitely not enough.

"Shopkeeper, I want to order wine," Li Chunsheng called out as soon as he entered the door.

The wine shop owner, a lean old man, looked up upon hearing this: "How much do you want? For yourself or as a gift?"

"Fifty catties, loose liquor, the strongest kind, not diluted with water."

"How many?!"

The shopkeeper thought he had misheard. "Fifty catties? Young man, you can't sell fifty catties of wine in two or three months!"

"Don't worry about that. Can you deliver it first thing tomorrow morning?" Li Chunsheng took out the deposit.

The shopkeeper, considering the money, didn't ask any more questions: "Alright! Fifty catties, delivered first thing tomorrow morning!"

Back at the shop, Li Chunsheng told Yunniang about ordering fifty catties of wine, and Yunniang almost dropped the plate she was holding.

"Fifty catties?!" Yunniang stamped her feet in frustration. "Chunsheng, are you crazy? This is a restaurant, not a tavern! How much does fifty catties of wine cost? We just opened, we need to be careful with our money!"

In Yunniang's opinion, this was simply wasteful; restaurants sell wine by the pot that customers order, how could they buy it like this?

Li Chunsheng chuckled, found a huge wooden board, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote several large characters on it in a flamboyant style.

Grand Opening Special: For the first three days, all drinks are free when you dine in!

Yunniang stared at the sign, dumbfounded.

"Free alcohol?" Yunniang felt a wave of dizziness. "Chunsheng, isn't this a losing proposition? Those drunkards will bankrupt you!"

"Sister-in-law," Li Chunsheng explained, placing the sign in the corner, "this is called a grand opening sale. We need to attract customers first. Are you worried about not making money?"

"But..." Yunniang still felt bad about the money.

"No buts," Li Chunsheng said confidently. "This little bit of strong liquor only costs one silver dollar, but the reputation we've built up in these three days is something no amount of money can buy. Sister-in-law, just wait and count your money!"