Volume 1: From Poverty to Wealth Chapter 8: In a Washing Center on the Water

  The flashing neon lights make the night market look vibrant, wave after wave of people surging forward, rushing to every stall and food table, while also being attracted by the shouts of the bosses, wandering around. ... A few rare cars in the crowd seem to have no status at all, surrounded by crowds, but with difficulty moving forward, almost stationary motion trajectory, can't help but complain a little, the laughter of the crowd is not affected by this episode, the car's horn is covered by all the noise, still moving slowly. It seems that the cars are also blending into this atmosphere, no longer complaining.

  Actually, Li Xiaoteng has a love-hate relationship with the night market. He hates its hypocrisy that tries to cover up everything, but loves the feeling it gives him, as if it's another world different from the bustling city, perhaps this is what he wants after all!

  The unique aroma of Malatang began to emanate. Li Xiaoteng was stirring the spicy sauce ingredients in the seasoning tank, adding some salt and monosodium glutamate with a flourish, stirring back and forth. Before long, Zhao Baozi came running back with a plate of spicy and fragrant dried tofu.

  The fragrance seemed to have also caught the attention of the diners. At a stall next door, a table of diners were happily chatting about something when one of the men suddenly stopped talking and looked around. His gaze focused on Zhao Baozi's spicy hot pot. He then said something to the other diners at his table, stood up, and walked over.

  Looking at the pot of spicy hot pot with red oil bubbling inside, my fingers involuntarily moved, and I swallowed my saliva. Then I asked, "Boss, how much is the spicy hot pot?" Zhao Baozi, who had just run over, excitedly replied loudly, "Vegetable skewers are 4 yuan for four pieces, meat skewers are 5 yuan per piece. You can take whatever you want and put it on the tray, I'll calculate the bill later." At this time, Li Xiaoteng suddenly smiled and said to the customer, "Sorry, our base soup isn't ready yet. The flavor isn't good enough. You have to wait a bit longer, is that okay?" The customer laughed and said, "My saliva has already come out, you're telling me it's not good? I'll forgive you this time, I'll wait a bit longer." Zhao Baozi looked at Li Xiaoteng with some annoyance, but since the customer didn't say anything, he couldn't say anything either. He just said, "You can start picking first, we'll get everything ready and send it over to you later!"

  The foodie flashed by. Zhao Baozi didn't say anything and handed the spicy fragrant dry tofu to Li Xiaoteng. But Li Xiaoteng didn't take the plate of spicy fragrant dry tofu, took a look: "Winter brother, this spicy fragrant dry tofu won't do, go exchange it for another plate, tell the boss to add more Sichuan pepper and chili, and less fragrant dry tofu!" Zhao Baozi seemed to understand that Li Xiaoteng wanted to use the ingredients inside instead of wanting the fragrant dry tofu. He remembered the spicy hot pot that the foodie had ordered earlier and was eager to earn the first income on opening day. Dragging his massive body, he galloped away like Maradona sprinting across the field, rushing past several people.

  Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Huanzi's figure, chuckled and shook his head. He lowered his head to savor the sauce he had just repaired. Suddenly, Zhao Huanzi ran back and said: "The boss says we're sick! We don't eat fragrant dry tofu, but want chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns!" Li Xiaoteng took a look, and oh~~~ this plate of spicy fragrant dry tofu was all Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers. Only a few stalks of fragrant dry tofu were visible, poking out their heads.

  Li Xiaoteng took over the small dish of Liangcai, and directly poured the whole plate of Mala Xianggan into the soup. After waiting for a while, he tasted the flavor and nodded: "It's done, I adjusted the seasoning again just now. Five strings of Mala Tiao for one spoonful of seasoning." Zhao Baozi indicated that he understood, and began to serve the customers on the side with Mala Tiao.

  Li Xiaoteng looked at Zhao Duanzi's busy figure and couldn't help but sigh at his brother's misfortune. In his previous life, Zhao Duanzi's parents had separated when he was in third or fourth grade of elementary school, leaving him with his father. However, that same year, both of his parents had remarried and quickly had children again. Under such embarrassing circumstances, Zhao Duanzi's life was extremely hard. After dropping out of school, he had sold newspapers, done odd jobs, run a spicy hot pot stall in the night market, and even been deceived by a pyramid scheme company to go to Tibet.

  Zhao Baozi, who escaped from a pyramid scheme company, had only 100 yuan on him at the time. He hitchhiked nine cars from Tibet and traveled over 1,500 kilometers before finally returning to Beijing by riding in a large truck carrying coal to Zhangjiakou. According to Zhao Baozi's account: The most impressive thing was the first driver, who listened to his experience and felt very sympathetic towards him. Although the driver didn't have much money on him either, he still gave Zhao Baozi 50 yuan. Holding that 50 yuan, Zhao Baozi burst into tears at once. After experiencing the ugliest side of human nature, he also experienced the kindest side of it. Later, when drinking, Zhao Baozi often said: "People! A thought can make you a demon, and a thought can also make you a Buddha."

  Zhao Baozi's trip back to Beijing from Tibet was amazing, he didn't spend a single penny. Most people who heard about his encounter were willing to give him a ride. All his food and drink were paid for by the drivers. When he returned to Beijing, he even had 50 yuan more than before.

  What a pity! Looking at the guests eating at the stall next door, it smells so good. I even want to have a few skewers myself!

  The effect of the point brought to the surface was perfectly presented in front of them. The guests at the neighboring table looked at the diners who were eating hot pot and also came over to choose their favorite dishes. Even the few tables of customers at Dongxing Restaurant, which had been sparse, all came over to buy hot pot. In a short time, the surrounding diners, amazingly, each table had added a dish of hot pot...

  "The beauty is in the water", this is a beautiful poem from "The Book of Songs" describing love. However, a bathhouse called "In the Water" in the capital city is using its name to attract wolves and old wolves under the guise of bathing. This is an entertainment venue that provides services similar to those found south of Qinling Mountains. The bathhouse promotes ISO service and has gained a foothold in the capital city shortly after opening, according to insiders: the boss of this bathhouse is related to the captain of the Imperial Guard! With strong backing and emphasis on service, the ISO integrated certification service allows the wolf pack accustomed to ordinary services in the capital to experience unprecedented service! At the same time, there is a strict and standardized "normalized management system" for the girls. Such a bathhouse would be hard not to thrive in the capital city.

  Du Yu drove his own blue sky and white cloud. With his trusted subordinates. He stopped the car at the entrance of the parking lot on the other side of the water. Du Yu casually lit a Huanghe Lou cigarette in the car, and then threw one to his subordinate in the passenger seat. "Yang Yawei, you kid did well on Friday," he said. "Taking advantage of the rise in the big plate, you actually made five stocks in a row, all of which were closed at the limit." His face looked honest and simple, but his small eyes always seemed to reveal a hint of cleverness.

  Yang Yaowei lit a cigarette for Du Yu and then one for himself. He said with a flattering tone: "It's all because of your leadership, Director Gu, that I've learned how to operate from you both! Even if I have achieved something insignificant, it's also the result of the leaders' guidance!"

  Du Yu took a drag on his cigarette and said to Yang Yaowei, "I don't like listening to flattery, alright! Let's go have some fun, consider it an extra reward for your contributions to the company!"

  After parking the car, Du Yu and Yang Ya Wei walked into Shui Yi Fang together. The princess and young master at the door were waiting attentively. Du Yu and Yang Ya Wei changed their shoes and went in. The young masters and princesses at the door shouted in unison: "Two gentlemen~~~~~~"

  Inside Water One, although high-end but not luxurious, the European palace architectural style is similar to ordinary bathing places. However, it wins in service...

  Du Yu and Yang Ya Wei ran naked into the bathroom and jumped in. Du Yu laughed and said, "Later I'll take you upstairs to experience the service here. Have you heard of ISO?" Yang Ya Wei nodded and said, "Isn't that a quality system certification?" Du Yu smiled lewdly and patted Yang Ya Wei's shoulder, saying, "Let you little kid also experience it, and then there's the quality system certification of a different kind!" Yang Ya Wei asked strangely, "What the fuck, Director Du? Isn't this just going up and doing some exercise? I knew that for women, their face isn't important! What's important is their figure, and the difference down below. Besides this, what else could there be?"

  Hahaha~~~~~ Du Yu said with a licentious smile: "Don't you understand? These are things that only men know! Today, let you experience the feeling of being an emperor!" He then asked: "Have you heard of what's called a 'goldfish pond'? Do you know about selecting concubines?" Yang Yaowei's sharp eyes flashed with a hint of suspicion and confusion, asking: "What are you talking about? I really haven't heard of it before!" Hahaha... Now Du Yu looks just like the vast number of wolf friends. Acting as a guide, he said to Yang Yaowei: "Selecting concubines is only one aspect. Like some emperors in the past who sat on a sheep-drawn cart and were taken to wherever they wanted to stay, that's too uncreative! Here, selecting concubines includes A-grade and B-grade. Generally, it starts with B-grade walking on the catwalk, then surrounding the hall, topless, letting you choose at will! After choosing, tell Mom or Young Master, and they'll bring her over. As for A-grade... Hehe..." Pausing for a moment, he continued: "They're all beauties dressed in various costumes like doctors, nurses, students, police uniforms, etc., striking flirtatious poses on stage. After selecting, they'll be brought to the room to serve you."

  Although he was soaking in the hot water, Du Yu's words had gotten himself all fired up! The steam was rising higher and higher. It seemed like they were at a live selection of imperial concubines, as they gazed at Yang Ya Wei. Their eyes were filled with bloodshot, their faces red and ears burning, panting heavily. They begged: "Director Du, we've been washing for half a day, can't we go up now?" Du Yu let out a sly laugh and shouted: "Service staff, what time does the show start here?"

  The waiter in the distance shouted: "Now B is on the show, A will start performing half an hour later!" Du Yu nodded and patted Yang Yawei's shoulder, saying: "Don't be in a hurry, just got here and you want to go up? You're too impatient! Let's wait a bit before going up. Otherwise, we'll be blinded by the choices! You choose one B now, and tonight will be a loss! Tonight is on the company's dime!"

  Yang Yawei's face turned red and his ears were burning, he looked up at the large clock on the wall again, took a deep breath and said: "Director Du, what is that ISO service? Is it also a quality system certification?"