stjorthotic Chapter 79 Reproduction Failed
Chapter 79 Reproduction Failed
Chapter 79 Reproduction Failed
Wang Sheng had just accepted those friend requests when his phone started vibrating like crazy.
News about Xiao Liu from Chuangke Software spread the fastest.
"Boss Wang! I've finally added you! What kind of magical spices do you put in your boxed lunches? Our office hasn't had a moment's peace all day, everyone's been talking about the smell wafting from Xinghui! Twenty boxed lunches, rabbit heads—one rabbit head per person to start! Twenty! Can you deliver them by 11:30 tomorrow? How much do I pay?"
Wang Sheng tapped his fingers on the screen.
"Hello Manager Liu, delivery is possible. Each boxed meal is 15 yuan, and each rabbit head is 5 yuan. Twenty boxed meals plus twenty rabbit heads will cost 400 yuan in total. WeChat transfer or payment via QR code upon delivery is accepted. The address is Chuangke Software Park, right? I've noted it down."
"Okay, okay! I'll transfer 400 yuan to you via WeChat right now! It's a deposit! We're counting on this meal tomorrow!" The other party replied instantly, and then a transfer of 400 yuan came through.
Wang Sheng clicked "Receive Payment" and replied with a handshake emoji.
Zhou, the founder of Xunda Technology, speaks more directly.
"Boss Wang, thirty portions, and thirty rabbit heads as well. I'll send you the address and phone number. Prepayment or cash on delivery? I suggest prepayment to avoid trouble." The message was followed by the company's detailed address and phone number.
"Mr. Zhou is very generous. Thirty boxed meals plus thirty rabbit heads, totaling six hundred yuan. If it's convenient for you, you can prepay, and I'll give you a receipt. I'll bring it with you when the meals are delivered tomorrow," Wang Sheng replied.
"Okay. Six hundred yuan transferred. Receipt doesn't matter, I trust Zhang Ya, so I trust you." Old Zhou transferred the money even faster.
The person on the blueprint design team was a girl, and her tone was much more lively.
"Boss! Five boxed lunches! Rabbit heads—a few people in our group don't dare to eat rabbit heads, so let's get one first! Can we mix and match? For example, can someone order two rabbit heads without vegetables?"
Wang Sheng thought for a moment and replied, "It can be adjusted. The standard meal includes one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, rice, and soup. The rabbit head is an extra. If you don't want the vegetable dishes, we can convert it to adding more meat or rice, but the price will remain the same. Please tell me your specific needs so I can prepare accordingly."
"Understood! I'll ask them again and get you the list as soon as possible! Can I pay half the deposit upfront?"
"OK."
Wang Sheng carefully noted the needs of these three new clients in his memo. Xinghui Technology's original order of thirty-five meals, plus these sixty-five, would make a total of one hundred boxed lunches. Xinghui usually orders twenty rabbit heads, and with the sixty from the new clients, that would be eighty rabbit heads.
The numbers represent tangible gains—orders and revenue that are visible and measurable. But Wang Sheng's mind is working even faster on another set of numbers:
One hundred boxed meals, eighty rabbit heads.
My mom, Wang Xiulan, prepares all the ingredients, cooks, and stews all by herself; the orders will only keep increasing in the future...
Without hesitation, he dialed his mother's number.
When the call connected, there was a lot of noise on the other end: the sound of water, the clatter of spatulas, and Aunt Zhang's occasional loud commands.
"Feed? Shengzi? What's up? I'm busy right now, the sauce is frying in the pot and I can't leave it alone!" Mom Wang Xiulan's voice was filled with rapid breathing, and in the background there was a sizzling sound, the sound of ingredients being put into the oil.
"Mom, new orders, lots of them. We need a hundred boxed lunches and eighty rabbit heads for lunch tomorrow. And there will be more and more." Wang Sheng got straight to the point, speaking steadily but clearly.
"How many?!"
"One hundred portions?! Eighty rabbit heads?! Even if you treat your mother like a donkey in the production team, you need to take a break!"
"I know, Mom. That's why we need to hire someone quickly, specifically to help you with the food preparation and chopping for the boxed lunches." Wang Sheng's tone was firm. "We must hire someone, immediately."
There was a two-second silence on Wang Xiulan's end, broken only by the bubbling of the oil in the pan. Then her voice came through, weary but more resolute: "Hire! You're right! This job can't be done by one person. Hire someone quick and efficient, hardworking, and reliable. You set the wage, but the person has to be dependable. We can't hire the kind who's lazy and deceitful, someone who'll cause problems."
"I understand. I've thought about the compensation. It'll be about half the amount Aunt Zhao is getting, but because the working hours are different, it will definitely be lower. Two meals will be provided." Wang Sheng stated his plan.
"This offer is good. You should hurry up and send out messages to recruit people. I'm here—oh, the sauce in this pot tastes just right, I need to go and keep an eye on the heat, I'll hang up now!" Wang Xiulan seemed to be in a hurry and quickly hung up the phone.
Wang Sheng put down his phone and immediately opened the job posting app. He found the job posting section with practiced ease and began filling out the form.
Job title: Lunch helper.
The work location is described in detail: a catering and processing point near Jinling University (not the on-campus canteen; you need to arrange your own transportation).
He listed the job duties one by one: washing various vegetables and meats; cutting and preparing ingredients according to standards; assisting with basic pre-treatment (such as welding and marinating); maintaining the cleanliness of the work area. The requirements were simple: good health, able to work late and endure hardship; quick hands and feet, and observant.
Hygienic and responsible; kitchen experience is preferred, but willingness to learn is also acceptable.
He listed the salary and benefits in a very prominent way: 3500 yuan per month during the probationary period, and 6000 yuan per month after becoming a regular employee. Breakfast and lunch are provided during working hours.
After reading it through from beginning to end and confirming that there was no ambiguity, Wang Sheng clicked "publish".
Seeing the "Published successfully" message, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he was still on edge.
When we can recruit the right people, and whether they will be suitable, are all unknowns.
He exited the recruitment app and returned to WeChat to continue confirming the final quantity and layout with the girl at the blueprint design studio. Once everything was finalized, he had also received the deposits from the three new clients.
He looked at the more than 1,000 yuan added to his WeChat wallet, feeling a great sense of accomplishment, but the burden on his shoulders also became noticeably heavier.
Around nine o'clock, after packing up and cleaning up, Wang Sheng sat down on the old chair in the small warehouse and let out a long sigh. He took out his phone and subconsciously opened his favorite short video platform, wanting to relax his mind.
In the popular video list of the local channel, a title caught his eye: ["A Novice's Challenge: Jin Da's Spicy Rabbit Head Recipe! From Beginner to Giving Up - A Complete Record! You'll Laugh Until You Die!"] The poster was named "Little Li Who Loves to Cook".
Wang Sheng raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.
The video begins with a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, who looks like a college student or recent graduate, standing in what appears to be a clean kitchen, facing the camera with barely suppressed excitement and eagerness.
"Family members! Brothers! You all know about that spicy rabbit head at Jin Da's cafeteria, right? It's gone viral! I've been there three times, and every time there was a long line, and every time it sold out! With my fiery temper, can I stand this? I've decided to recreate it myself! I refuse to believe it!"
The camera pans to the kitchen counter. The countertop is covered with various small bags and boxes containing Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, star anise, and...
Cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, white cardamom—a wide variety of products, a dazzling array.
"Look! I went all out for this recreation! I bought everything from the most comprehensive Sichuan-style braising sauce recipes online, without missing a single one! It has to be authentic!" The blogger "Little Li Who Loves Cooking" exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
Next, he showed the prepared rabbit head. "The rabbit head was specially reserved by a familiar uncle at the market; it's the freshest! I followed the instructions, trimming the eyelids and ears, removing the trachea, and washing it clean! Then, I blanched it to remove the fishy smell!"
In the video, Xiao Li puts the rabbit head into a pot of cold water, adds cooking wine and ginger slices, brings it to a boil, and skims off the foam. This step looks fairly professional.
"Alright, here comes the crucial step—stir-frying the spices! I've heard many experienced chefs say that for the spices to release their aroma, they must be thoroughly stir-fried in oil, and the heat must be just right!" Xiao Li heated the wok and poured in a noticeably large amount of oil. The oil looked very hot, slightly smoking. He then poured in the entire large plate of mixed spices all at once.
With a sizzle, the oil in the wok boiled. Xiao Li picked up a spatula and began to stir-fry.
"Stir-fry until fragrant and flavorful—wait, isn't the color a bit too dark?" After stir-frying for less than two thousand seconds, Xiao Li's tone already carried uncertainty. The camera zoomed in; some of the peppercorns in the pan had turned a very dark color, almost black, and the dried chilies were charred at the edges. A faint, unpleasant burnt smell seemed to emanate from the screen.
"The smoke... the smoke seems a bit too thick?" Xiao Li coughed twice, choked by the fumes, and hurriedly continued to stir, but the oil temperature was too high and there were too many spices, so the smoke coming out of the pot soon became thicker, and some of the small spice fragments turned black.
"Never mind! It should be about right, right? Any more and it'll burn!" Xiao Li consoled himself, quickly adding a large spoonful of fermented bean paste to the pot, stirring it a few times, then adding a large amount of water, followed by plenty of soy sauce and dark soy sauce. "Add water and braising liquid! The color needs to be right!"
The braising liquid, a mixture of burnt spices, soy sauce, and water, simmered in the pot, its color a murky dark brown, far from clear, let alone reddish.
Xiao Li placed the welded rabbit heads into the braising liquid, covered the pot, and turned the heat to medium-low. "Alright, now comes the long braising process! Looking forward to it!"
The video was fast-forwarded, showing Xiao Li lifting the lid and stirring the pot several times. His expression slowly shifted from anticipation to confusion, then to apprehension. He leaned closer to the pot and smelled it, his brow furrowing. "This smell—something feels off? It seems—a bit stuffy, and a bit—bitter?"
Finally, the braising time was over. Xiao Li turned off the heat, let the rabbit heads soak in the braising liquid for a while, then took them out and placed them on a plate. The rabbit heads were coated with a thick layer of dark brown braising liquid, their color dull and without any luster.
"Next is the last step, drizzling with chili oil! I used chili powder myself, and it smells pretty good!" Xiao Li poured the chili oil, which was cooked in another small pot and was red but not very clear, onto the rabbit head.
The finished product was placed in front of the camera. The dark brown rabbit head, drenched in red oil, looked—indeed, rather "appalling," and had absolutely no appetite.
"Alright! The exciting moment has arrived! Let me try it and see how similar my replica of Jin Da Cafeteria's spicy rabbit head really is!" Xiao Li rubbed his hands together, picked up a rabbit head, broke it open, revealing the cheek meat and brain inside. He leaned closer to smell it, wrinkled his nose, and seemed not to smell the complex aroma he was expecting.
He carefully took a small bite of his cheek.
chew.
One second, two seconds.
Xiao Li's eyes widened suddenly, and the muscles on his face twisted instantly, an expression that was a mixture of extreme surprise, disbelief, and physiological rejection.
"Pfft—! Cough cough! Ugh—" He suddenly turned his head and spat all the meat in his mouth into the trash can next to him. Then he grabbed the water cup that he had prepared in advance and gulped down several big mouthfuls, his face turning a little red.
"Oh my god! Cough cough—bitter! Bitter and astringent! And it tastes like burnt pot bottom! It's numbing and spicy, but it's all that kind of—very pungent and awkward numbing and spicy, not fragrant at all! The taste is completely wrong! It's so awful! It's a disaster! A complete disaster!" Xiao Li cried out to the camera with a mournful face, his expression vivid and comical, full of comedic effect.
At the end of the video, Xiao Li clasps his hands together and bows to the camera, saying, "Family, I tried my best! Burning the spices was definitely the biggest mistake! But exactly which step went wrong? The heat? The order?"
Or did I buy the wrong spices? I'm begging for help from an expert! @Master Wang of Shengji Canteen, help me! How exactly do you make your rabbit heads? Even a little guidance would be appreciated! Please reply!
This video has already gone viral, with tens of thousands of likes and thousands of comments. Wang Sheng opened the comment section, which was bustling with activity: "Hahahaha! From overflowing confidence to existential doubt, all it takes is one rabbit head!"
"The blogger is really pitiful! But why am I laughing so loudly?"
"The spices are definitely burnt. Burnt spices will taste bitter, and bitterness ruins everything, brother!"
"You can tell it's no good just by looking at the color. Boss Wang's rabbit heads are bright red and glossy, while yours are dark and look like they were pulled out of a coal pile."
"@Boss Wang of Shengji Canteen, come quick! There's a lost sheep here that needs saving!"
"Boss Wang: If you could replicate this exclusive recipe so easily, how would I survive?"
"Although it was a complete disaster, the courage is commendable! And the video is top-notch! Let's wait and see if Boss Wang will reply."
"Don't be discouraged, blogger. At least your technique for handling rabbit heads looks quite professional (except for stir-frying the seasoning)."
"Besides the spice paste, could the bitterness also be due to improper preparation of the rabbit, resulting in a gamey smell mixed in?"
Looking at Xiao Li's expressive face and dismal final product in the video, and then at the various jokes and tagging requests in the comments section, Wang Sheng couldn't help but grin.
The feeling of satisfaction is direct – the food I made is so popular that it even sparked a challenge to replicate it. Although the other person failed, this failure proved the uniqueness and value of my skills.
Isn't this more convincing than any other guy?
At the same time, he also realized that this was a great opportunity.
This is an opportunity to showcase professionalism, solidify reputation, and even further connect with diners (audience). Don't be too aloof; you have to catch the joke.
He thought for a moment, found the comment box, and typed "Little Li who loves to cook":