Chapter 22

For an old chef, making new-style dishes is not difficult as long as there are detailed ingredient instructions. Moreover, Dongku wrote the instructions in great detail, including precautions and some tips. Even a waiter, except for lacking knife skills, could make a dish with almost the same taste by following the recipe.

Soon, a large copper pot filled with soup base was brought into the room where Dongku and the others were, followed by various condiments.

Looking at the large copper pot with its bright red broth and the slightly pungent and spicy aroma, the invited master chefs and Liu Rujì gathered around, watching as Dongku carefully mixed the condiments...

"Really spicy..."

Liu Rujì stuck out her tongue from the spiciness, but the rich and fragrant flavor, the tender and fresh fish meat, made her unable to resist picking up another piece of fish with the communal chopsticks...

"Spicy and numbing, tender and fresh. Boss, if this dish is launched tomorrow, it will surely make the old restaurant a huge success!"

A middle-aged man in his forties, clearly the head chef, squinted his eyes and tasted for a moment before giving his conclusion.

"Slightly numbing and spicy, oily but not greasy, just right for this season. The snow hasn't melted yet, and there are at least three more months of good weather."

Another older chef also praised it...

"Mr. Dong, since you don't want money for these three recipes, how about a compromise? I'll give you 3% of the dry red wine profits, what do you think..." After everyone left, Liu Rujì's eyes sparkled with hope as she proposed her idea, but she didn't know if this condition would satisfy Dongku.

"Miss Liu, you're too kind. I didn't intend to exchange these for money. As long as I can taste the delicious food, that's enough for me. It's also a way to honor those who taught me the recipes, so their efforts won't be in vain, and the delicious food can continue to be passed down."

"That won't do. I'm a businessman and can't do things without capital. If Mr. Dong insists on not taking money, then I'll make this dish only for you, and it won't be served to others. If you think it's too little, I'll add another percentage point, 4% of the dry red wine profits, what do you think..."

"Don't, don't, don't..." Dongku, seeing that Liu Rujì was really insistent, waved his hands. "Since Miss Liu insists, let's stick with 3 percentage points. I feel guilty accepting it, considering the labor and materials..."

"Alright, it's settled. From today on, Mr. Dong is one of the owners of the old restaurant."

Liu Rujì made the decision and smiled, instructing, "Uncle Tie, get paper and pen..."

Dongku didn't refuse, took the profit-sharing document written by Liu Rujì, and gave some instructions about the exhaust system for the teppanyaki and the mechanism for adjusting the charcoal fire, then got up to leave.

After Dongku's figure disappeared from the door, Liu Rujì frowned and muttered, "His accent isn't purely Northeastern, yet he carries fish blanks made by the Ewenki people. His skills are such that even Uncle Cheng admits he can't handle him, yet he flatters and fawns. What are you really up to?"

She stood still for a while, shook her head, and sighed, thinking, "I hope this won't bring trouble..."

Dongku wasn't as complicated as she thought, but one thing was true: he was flattering and even fawning.

Dongku followed Uncle Tie to the front hall. Uncle Cheng already knew everything. Although he hadn't tasted it himself, he trusted that the dish wouldn't be bad if it was praised by Master Liu, whose ancestors were imperial chefs. Thus, he hid his vigilance behind a smile and politely invited the new "boss" to the second floor.

Sun Tao and the others were already a bit anxious, having no heart to eat as they waited for Dongku, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, Dongku entered the private room.

"Boss..."

Huzi quickly stood up, about to ask.

Sun Tao and Mazi also stood up, their concern evident on their faces.

"Don't stand, I haven't eaten yet. Hurry up and eat, or it will get cold."

Dongku waved his hand, sat down, and started eating without much explanation.

Seeing that Dongku was fine, Huzi and the others relaxed and started eating with gusto, wolfing down their food...

After Dongku and his group left the silk shop, Uncle Tie had the helpers load the 500 steamed buns and sticky rice cakes onto the sled tied with cloth. He stood to one side and said, "Boss, the steamed buns and sticky rice cakes you asked for are ready, along with 200 pounds of sorghum. Is there anything else you need?"

"Uncle Tie, don't be so formal. I don't deserve the title of boss. These things are enough. When we get back, please thank Miss Liu for me. Next time I come, I'll treat the brothers to a drink." As he spoke, he saw that the items were already tied up and said, "I'll take my leave then."

"I'll see you off."

Uncle Tie, with a poker face, instructed the helpers to return.

Dongku glanced at the three people not far away, hesitated for a moment, but didn't refuse, and let Mazi and Sun Tao pull the sled out of the city...

"Uncle Tie, are you going out?"

The guard at the gate bowed and welcomed him from a distance.

"Maizi is on duty," Uncle Tie said with a cold face, "I'm seeing the boss out of the city."

"Boss..."

The guard with a pockmarked face looked at Dongku in surprise, quickly stepped aside, and said politely, "Please go ahead."

Dongku flicked a silver dollar and threw it to Maizi, not waiting for him to catch it, and waved his hand for Mazi to start moving.

"How can I accept this, sir?"

Maizi, with a beaming face, bowed and thanked him, quickly putting the silver dollar in his pocket.

Seeing that the Japanese soldiers in the guardhouse didn't move, Dongku had already passed the checkpoint. Uncle Tie looked at Maizi and said, "Maizi, bring the brothers to the old restaurant for a drink one day, I'll treat you." As he spoke, he turned and walked back.

"Too kind, too kind."

Maizi, flattered, said, "Uncle Tie, you're too kind. How can I dare to eat at the old restaurant? Even the Japanese officers don't dare to go there. I wouldn't dare to go even if I had three heads."

After Uncle Tie walked away, Maizi straightened up and muttered, "Even a corporal wouldn't dare to go without the captain. Asking me to take the brothers for a drink, isn't this just teasing me?" He felt better after feeling the silver dollar in his pocket and quickly returned to the checkpoint...

"Huzi, don't look back," Dongku said as they walked.

Huzi scratched his head, resisted the urge to look back, and pulled one side of Sun Tao's sled, walking with his head down.

Behind them, two shadowy figures followed, hiding at every turn, waiting for Dongku and his group to turn the corner before following closely.

An hour after leaving Hulin, the two trackers hadn't noticed anything unusual, just following at a distance.

Suddenly, as they walked, snowflakes flew, and five figures suddenly emerged from the snow on the side of the road. Before the two trackers could react, the black gun barrels were pointed at them.

"Behave!"

A man in a sheepskin coat, his face covered with a black cloth, hit one of them with the butt of his gun, knocking him to the ground, and stepped on his neck, pressing the cold gun barrel to his cheek, saying coldly, "If you move again, I'll make your gourd bloom and seed!"

The other was kicked in the knee, falling to the ground, with two black gun barrels pointing at his face, preventing him from moving.

"Overmountain Tiger, search them."

The man who hit with the gun butt spoke in a dialect, instructing one of the others.

"Sure thing!"

The shorter man responded, searching the two thoroughly.

"Second Boss, look, they're really rich, even carrying brand new revolvers!"

The masked man who searched them held up some items and two brand new revolvers, handing them to the leader.

"Great! Now we won't have a spring famine." The leader nodded and instructed, "Take them to the others!"

The three men responded, lifting the two trackers and pointing their guns at them, leading them forward.

At this point, the two trackers realized they had encountered bandits. Whether from fear or something else, they walked obediently down the road without any resistance.

At a turn, they saw the people and sled they had been following. However, the people were already tied up and lying by the roadside, and the sled was left alone, guarded by a similarly masked, strong man.

Seeing the group approach, the man greeted them, "Second Boss, the Chief has already taken the captives and left, telling me to wait for you to take these back."

"Understood."

The leader approached and kicked the two laborers pulling the sled, saying, "Let these two go, have them deliver the goods to the mountain. The assistant is worth at least a couple of silver dollars."

"Sure."

The man who had been guarding and the one who had searched the trackers responded, untied Sun Tao and Mazi, and lifted the assistant Huzi, kicking Mazi and ordering, "Pull the sled!"

"Sure."

Mazi, with his head down, obediently pulled the sled off the road. Sun Tao, not daring to resist, pulled the other sled and followed behind Mazi.

"Where are you taking our boss?!"

Huzi struggled and shouted.

"Behave!" The man holding him slapped his head and ordered, "If you keep talking, you'll be fetching the night pot for the Chief!" He then dragged Huzi off the road.

"Second Boss, what about these two with the revolvers?"

"Revolver men aren't worth much and need to be fed. Let them go back and send a message!" The leader punched one of them in the ribs, and before he could fall, hit him in the stomach, making him groan and convulse on the snow.

"Take care of the two."

The leader straightened up and instructed.

"Sure!"

The remaining four men swung their gun butts, beating the two mercilessly, focusing on their thighs and waist to prevent them from running back to Hulin quickly.

The two men, despite being beaten, were tough and didn't make a sound, allowing the bandits to use them as punching bags.

"Leave them a breath, let's go!"

Finally, as the two were about to pass out from pain, the leader stopped and ordered the group to leave.

The two men, though in pain, with one possibly having broken ribs, were relieved to have survived. If the captured boss wasn't valuable, and they hadn't been mistaken for assistants, the bandits wouldn't have let them live.

Leaving their struggle to return to Hulin aside, the bandits had already reached a rendezvous point, quickly loading the items from the sled onto horses, and disappeared into the forest in a cloud of snow...

PS: Sticky rice cakes, a specialty of Northeast China, are unique in that they are made with perilla leaves at the bottom, giving the cakes a fragrant perilla scent. Perilla: a herbaceous plant with seeds similar to sesame. Northeasterners pick the leaves during the growing season, either drying them for use in other seasons or using them fresh as a lining for the cakes.

Old Chief: A term used by residents of the Northeastern mountains to refer to the mountain god.

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