Chapter Thirty-Seven: Eating Stir-Fried Dishes in a Hot Pot Restaurant

The city’s development was changing with each passing day. Cao’s Barbecue had long since closed, and even the shop from his memory had been torn down and rebuilt, replaced by a bathhouse. Perhaps the demolition had made the owner rich overnight, allowing him to leave for a bigger city in search of greater fortunes.

“If everyone else is changing, maybe it’s time I say goodbye to my old life, too,” Lin Lei resolved silently.

To celebrate the start of this new chapter, Lin Lei stepped into the bathhouse… or rather, into the hotpot restaurant next door.

The moment he entered, Lin Lei felt he might have made a mistake. It was right at dinner time, yet the hotpot place was completely empty. Even in a small county town, a hotpot restaurant with such poor business probably didn’t taste very good.

“Hey there, are you here for dinner? How many people?” The restaurant owner greeted him with enthusiasm.

Well, no wonder—after all, it wasn’t often someone walked in. He had to find a way to keep the customer.

“Do you serve stir-fried dishes?” Having come in, Lin Lei felt awkward leaving right away, so he searched for an excuse.

Who else but a reckless soul like Lin Lei would go to a hotpot place and ask for stir-fried food?

“You want stir-fried dishes? We can do that. What would you like?” The owner thought for a moment, then agreed.

Clearly, business wasn’t easy for the owner.

“In that case, I’ll have twice-cooked pork with green peppers, but go easy on the peppers and heavy on the pork, a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes, and an egg fried rice.” Since the owner was so welcoming, Lin Lei decided to stay and order.

He wasn’t going to order hotpot—nobody came here to eat it, so who knew how it tasted? Simple country-style stir-fries were less of a risk; as long as they weren’t too salty or bland, they should be acceptable.

After he finished ordering, the owner gave instructions to the kitchen and brought over a plate of pickles and some peanuts, inviting Lin Lei to pass the time.

“I’ll have a bottle of beer too.” Seeing the owner’s friendly manner, Lin Lei added a drink to his order.

Nibbling on peanuts and sipping his beer as he waited, another person entered the restaurant.

It was a girl in the local high school’s uniform. As soon as she walked in, she called out, “Dad, I’m starving—make me something delicious, quick!”

“Lili, why are you back again? Didn’t I tell you to eat near school? It’s so far, and you’ll have to go back for evening study. Isn’t all this running back and forth exhausting?” The owner scolded his daughter while instructing the kitchen to make extra-large portions of the pork with peppers and the shredded potatoes.

That was the habit of small eateries—cook a bit extra at once to avoid firing up the stove again.

“Oh, come on! The food near school is expensive and awful. Only a fool would eat at those places again after being burned once.” Pan Lili made a face in disgust.

Well then… the “fool” she was talking about was sitting right here. For the past three years, Lin Lei had eaten most of his meals at those small restaurants near the school. He had to admit, though, the food there really wasn’t great.

“Even if those places have bad food, at least they don’t have to drag in customers off the street!” Lin Lei thought with a touch of scorn.

The two dishes arrived quickly, generous in portion and pleasing in color. The taste remained to be seen.

As for the owner’s daughter, perhaps to drum up business, she sat at a table near the door, not far from Lin Lei, and started eating.

“At the very least, she ought to order a plate of peanuts to look like a real customer,” Lin Lei mocked inwardly before starting his meal.

“Hmm… this is actually pretty good!” He couldn’t help but praise it after biting into a piece of pork.

Maybe his expectations had been so low that the reality exceeded them, prompting his admiration.

“With food this tasty, why is there no business? I get it—it has to be the hotpot. They should change the sign outside and make this a home-style stir-fry place. I’m sure the place would be packed.” Lin Lei silently appraised.

“Eat a little less now, and come home early tonight. We’ll have hotpot together,” the owner told his daughter.

He’d only given her small portions—perhaps to save her appetite for the evening feast.

“Yes! Hotpot again! Ours is the best—I love it!” Pan Lili replied enthusiastically, the perfect cheerleader.

That made Lin Lei second-guess himself, wondering if he should order hotpot after all.

“No, I’ll wait till next time. The stir-fries are good, so I’ll come back tomorrow and try the hotpot. If both are good, I’ll make this my regular spot,” he decided.

Lin Lei wasn’t picky. As long as the food was good and the prices fair, he’d be a loyal customer.

Just as Lin Lei and Pan Lili were eating, a group of young men swaggered into the restaurant. They looked about eighteen or nineteen, cigarettes dangling from their lips, hair dyed in every color—a classic bunch of street punks.

Their leader, whose hair was bleached white, glanced at Lin Lei before turning to the owner. “Mr. Pan, I hear you’ve reopened. Business is booming, eh?”

“Gong Xing, why are you bringing people here to cause trouble again?” Before the owner could respond, Pan Lili challenged him.

Clearly, this wasn’t their first visit.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our class president. No need to be so formal—just call me Old Gong, or Little Star. Anyway, I’ve brought my buddies here to congratulate your dad on the grand reopening. We’re paying customers—surely you won’t go reporting us to the teachers?” the white-haired youth said.

So, they were classmates. Lin Lei knew full well that many students at No. 1 High weren’t great academically, especially those about to graduate. Many of the seniors had already started running with the wrong crowd, extorting, fighting, and never thinking about the consequences. When they acted, they went all in.

Because of this, Lin Lei had spent money on some fake security cameras and put them up on his family’s fence to deter such troublemakers from sneaking in.

As for getting a dog… Lin Lei could barely remember to eat on time himself; who knew if he’d remember to feed a pet? After a painful farewell once before, he found it hard to invest his feelings in another animal—he dreaded the sorrow of parting again.

“I told you, the hotpot recipe isn’t for sale,” Mr. Pan said, knowing exactly why they were here.

He’d turned them down once before, and after that, two different groups had staged fights in the restaurant, smashing several tables.

Mr. Pan had called the police, but both groups insisted it was a private brawl. They paid fines and compensated him for damages, but weren’t even detained and walked free.

The restaurant had to be renovated and only reopened today.

But before opening, word had already gone around from “Brother Long” on the street: anyone who dared eat hotpot at Mr. Pan’s should be prepared to take a beating and deal with it themselves.