Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System-Chapter 158 - 99: Watch Carefully, This Pot Will Smell Amazing!
Chen Kunjie was stunned for a long time.
He sighed complicatedly and then said, "Let me taste your hot pot base later and then we’ll talk!"
...
Even though Chen Kunjie had already eaten two bowls of seafood fried rice with egg, he was now starting to dip shrimp paste again. The hot pot was boiling, and the aroma filled the air.
As Li Younan said, a good hot pot doesn’t have to be spicy, but it must be fragrant.
The level of spiciness can be adjusted based on the fragrance.
Chen Kunjie poured himself a glass of beer, clinked glasses with Li Younan, and said, "You’re right, I should find a job."
This time, Chen Kunjie didn’t have his usual quirky change of mind; he seemed to genuinely believe it.
Li Younan blinked and saw a rarely-seen dejected expression on Chen Kunjie’s face, which made him pause in silence for a moment before saying, with feigned annoyance, "Really got you down, huh? That’s not like you."
Chen Kunjie raised his head, thought for a moment, then suddenly slammed his beer glass down on the table, causing the foam to spill over.
Chen Kunjie stared at Li Younan and said, "How about you teach me how to stir-fry this hot pot base? We can partner up to open a hot pot restaurant."
Li Younan was taken aback, his expression somewhat strange: "Partner up to open this hot pot restaurant?"
Chen Kunjie nodded: "Let me be honest with you, I came out this time with a grudge. My parents have been running the family hot pot restaurant for years, and I have an older brother who always listens to them, and they prefer him."
"I don’t have to start a business to achieve great success; I just want to do something independently. You get me, bro? If your career isn’t independent, you’re always living in your parents’ shadow, unable to say ’no’ to them."
"I just want to break out of this predicament. But no matter how much I think about it, I don’t know what I can do. Although we both graduated from the same university, I studied arts and sports, while you studied something prestigious and became an engineer. I have no idea what I can do."
"Many of my classmates ended up becoming teachers, but I’m a bit unwilling. After thinking about it, since I grew up in a hot pot restaurant and understand hot pot, I just want to open a hot pot place."
"But then it goes back to the same issue—if I open my own hot pot restaurant, my parents would say, ’Isn’t the big family hot pot restaurant enough for you to mess around with?’"
Li Younan silently drank the last bit of beer in his cup before saying, "So, to sum up everything, you’re opening a hot pot restaurant to gain economic independence, right?"
Chen Kunjie displayed that mischievous, grinning expression again: "That’s exactly it. You summed it up so well, my high-achieving friend."
Li Younan leaned back in his chair, glancing around the shop.
The place was indeed a bit run-down, and the shop was small, but the kitchen had almost everything needed. Although some things were old, it wasn’t a big deal; a little cleaning would make it acceptable.
Li Younan asked again, "Do you have a chef and waitstaff?"
Chen Kunjie opened another beer, poured himself a glass, and tried to pour one for Li Younan.
Li Younan gently covered his glass: "I’m about done."
Chen Kunjie, unfazed, said, "You’re not driving, and you came just to hang out. You’ve barely had anything; what’s there to be afraid of? Just a little more."
Beside them, Lu Xiaolan blinked her big eyes at Chen Kunjie. After he filled Li Younan’s beer, she sneakily took the bottle herself and poured a small glass, taking a curious sip.
Her family was quite strict, and to be honest, she hadn’t had beer before.
Of course, Li Younan noticed, but he couldn’t be bothered to mention it to Lu Xiaolan.
At this point, Chen Kunjie lazily circled back to their earlier conversation: "Since the shop is small, I’m not planning to hire a chef; I’ll do it myself. I’ve hired two waitresses, young girls around eighteen or nineteen, who haven’t finished high school. They’re quite honest and should be enough. Also, there’s an auntie who does the dishes and lives nearby."
Li Younan nodded. Subsequently, Chen Kunjie looked at Li Younan with anticipation: "So, what do you think?"
Li Younan pondered for a moment, not agreeing immediately, and instead asked, "How much is the annual rent for this shop?"
Chen Kunjie laughed: "This shop doesn’t cost us anything."
Li Younan was slightly surprised: "Nothing?"
Chen Kunjie nodded: "This shop belongs to my family."
"After years of doing business, my parents have acquired some assets. This shop is mine, but, of course, my brother has one too."
"It was leased out before, also as a hot pot restaurant. The owner was from Longchang and ran it for seven or eight years before returning to his hometown, leaving all the stuff behind for me to inherit."
Li Younan nodded, silently calculating in his mind. After a while, he slowly spoke: "How do you plan to split the shares?"
Chen Kunjie hesitated for a moment, unsure of how best to manage it.
Growing up in a business environment, Chen Kunjie had seen many acquaintances fall out due to unfair profit distribution when partnering in business.
Seeing Chen Kunjie unable to make a decision for the moment, Li Younan suddenly smiled: "Let me propose a plan, and you can listen to it first."
Chen Kunjie nodded.
Li Younan said, "I will teach you how to make this hot pot base."
"Even though you watched me do it once, I’m sure you didn’t catch everything. Especially some key aspects like how to control the heat and the proportions of the spices. You must understand that for different amounts of hot pot base, the proportion actually changes because with different spices, the heat may vary with the amount. It’s quite complex."
