"Brother, are we going to the same place tonight?"
In the afternoon, Zhang Weiyang, his pockets bulging, his small eyes squinted, was already impatient to go for seafood.
Lobsters and abalones, these were things only emperors used to eat. He never imagined he'd get to eat them in this lifetime. Whether they tasted good or not was a secondary concern; could anything an emperor ate be bad?
Even if he went back, this would be capital for bragging.
"What about you guys? If you like it, you can go too."
Hong Kong City isn't huge, but it's not small either. If you really want to find something to eat, you can find it everywhere. Chen Yang was also planning to take them to eat claypot rice and pork trotter rice.
Hong Kong City was originally part of Guangdong Province. Its customs and food tastes were largely similar to Guangdong. Many of the delicacies Chen Yang was familiar with from his previous life could be found here.
"Let's go, let's go! That lobster, I think, dipped in some vinegar, it's unbelievably fresh."
"And that swimming crab, the meat is so sweet. After a lifetime of eating river crabs, the ones from the sea are truly fragrant."
Lei Baoguo and the others quickly chimed in. They were all from inland areas and rarely ate seafood, yet this stuff tasted so good, and it wasn't even expensive in Hong Kong City.
How expensive could a dai pai dong be? The raw ingredients were caught by the men themselves, almost at zero cost. As long as the price was slightly higher than what they sold to fishmongers, they were making a profit.
Of course, there were still costs for rent and labor. No matter what, it wouldn't be the same price as selling raw seafood. But compared to eating in a restaurant, these dai pai dongs run by fishing families would definitely be cheaper.
"Alright, we signed 8 orders this afternoon, nearly thirty thousand cans of fermented fish. Worth celebrating. Whatever you want to eat, go ahead and order, don't hold back for my sake."
Chen Yang grinned. He had initially worried about earning foreign exchange, but after visiting wholesale shops one by one, he had to admit that the fermented fish was quite appealing.
Of course, Chen Yang encountered many problems during the sales process. For instance, people didn't trust him; what if they paid a deposit and he didn't deliver? Where would they find him?
It wasn't until Chen Yang had a flash of inspiration and pulled out the key to his HSBC bank safe deposit box, along with the payment receipt, that people began to believe him.
Huang Lizhen charged Chen Yang a custody fee of 700,000 Hong Kong dollars equivalent. 700,000 was enough to convince everyone that he had the capability to do this business.
However, Chen Yang still needed someone to act as a guarantor, otherwise, he could withdraw the money at any time, and people were still uneasy.
But Chen Yang didn't know anyone in Hong Kong City. For some small orders, totaling only a few thousand cans, ten to twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars, those wholesale shop owners were willing to trust him.
But if they encountered some really large orders, people probably wouldn't believe his payment receipt.
"Having opportunities to make money but finding them difficult to grasp is also a troublesome matter," Chen Yang mused. This was how it was now; merchants' credibility was still quite good.
When the reform and opening up happened, everyone, good or bad, started doing business, and there were many scams. Many Hong Kong businessmen were defrauded in the mainland, and equally, many Hong Kong businessmen lost everything by being swindled by mainland merchants. Su Dan Novel Network.
If Chen Yang had tried to do business like this back then, asking for orders and deposits, it would have been impossible. Without any assets or guarantors, how could you take a 10% deposit from someone for nothing? If you ran off, could they chase you all the way to the mainland?
"Boss lady, the same dishes as lunch, and add six swimming crabs and two small lobsters for everyone."
As soon as Chen Yang arrived, the boss lady eagerly came over. At noon, Chen Yang and his four companions spent over a hundred Hong Kong dollars, which was equivalent to someone's monthly salary. They had made a small profit.
"Alright, please wait. We'll bring you the freshest lobsters and swimming crabs."
The boss lady did some quick calculations. They were eating even better tonight than at noon, which would easily cost close to two hundred. This meant that for Chen Yang's table alone, she would pocket almost three hundred a day, which was equivalent to a month's income for her and her husband working outside.
Chen Yang and his companions sat down at the table. Soon, some simply blanched clams and scallops were served. Chen Yang asked the boss to prepare some soy sauce dishes and vinegar bowls, and they started eating immediately.
Fresh seafood didn't need many seasonings; a little vinegar was enough.
Of course, with the development of the seasoning industry, people's tastes would become heavier, and various ways of cooking seafood, such as braised in oil, spicy, numbing spicy, and garlic minced, would become more popular.
For people now, they were reluctant to use much oil even when stir-frying, and seasonings were basically just a little salt for flavor.
A bite of this fresh live seafood was absolutely satisfying, some even had a hint of sweetness.
While Chen Yang and his group were enjoying their meal, Huang Lizhen limped outside a dai pai dong.
Smelling the vinegar and hearing the sound of people shelling lobsters inside, she could almost smell the aroma of the lobster, her mouth watering at the taste of the tender white lobster meat.
"Gulp."
Her stomach rumbled in response.
"Forget it, I'll eat here. I need to fill my stomach. Once I'm full, I'll have the energy to find people."
Huang Lizhen swallowed a mouthful of saliva and stepped into this Cao Ji Dai Pai Dong.
"Grandma, a bowl of seafood congee, with scallops and razor clams, sprinkled with chopped scallions."
Huang Lizhen ordered expertly. Although there were many seafood dai pai dongs in Hong Kong City, some dishes were common to all, like seafood congee.
It was made by adding razor clams, scallops, or other seafood to ordinary white congee and simmering it. If handled well, it was incredibly delicious; if not, the whole pot of congee would be fishy.
Handling seafood was second nature to the fishermen of Hong Kong City.
Therefore, seafood congee could be found everywhere, but whether it tasted good or not depended on the boss's skill and the ingredients you added.
Adding kelp shreds and adding sea cucumber and abalone to boil would both result in seafood congee, but would the taste be the same?
"Coming right up."
After ordering, Huang Lizhen prepared to take off her shoes and rub her chafed ankle. Only in the noisy environment of a dai pai dong would she be so unrestrained.
If she were in a bank, even if her skin broke and bled, she would never do something so ungraceful.
But just as Huang Lizhen lifted her shoe, preparing to bend down and rub her ankle, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from next door.
"We had a great victory today, let's celebrate with a drink. Here's to me."
Hearing this voice, Huang Lizhen almost lost her balance and fell to the ground. The high-heeled shoe in her hand dropped to the floor.
She had never been so flustered in her life!
Huang Lizhen couldn't believe her ears, fearing she was hallucinating. She turned her head blankly.
It was him, indeed!