Chapter Nine: Barbecue

Chen Huajiang saw no need to explain further—once these two tried it, everything would be clear. He could make charcoal himself, after all, he had plenty of space here. Tomorrow morning, after arriving, he’d start by making some charcoal.

“Where can I buy good-quality mutton?” he asked.

At that time, there was no adulteration, and people’s sense of honesty was still very high.

“Brother Jiang, when I was buying groceries today, it seemed like there was only one stall selling mutton at the market, but by the time I got there, it was already sold out.”

“Let’s go check it out now,” Chen Huajiang said, grabbing Daguang and Liang Long, and making their way to the market.

Sure enough, the mutton vendor was sitting at the entrance, resting. When he saw them approaching, he waved his hand and said, “All sold out. Come early tomorrow. After ten in the morning, there’s basically none left.”

“Boss, can we reserve five pounds? We’ll pay now and pick it up tomorrow, is that alright?” Chen Huajiang was straightforward—mutton was two yuan a pound now, pricier than pork.

The vendor paused, surprised someone would pay in advance.

Chen Huajiang took ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to the man.

“Alright, I’ll remember your face and have it ready for you,” the vendor said, pocketing the money.

After they left, Chen Huajiang thought of another issue—where would he get skewers? In this era, there weren’t any bamboo skewers for sale. It seemed he’d have to use iron skewers instead, though none were ready-made.

“Liang Long, can you get your hands on wire or steel wire, about this long and this thin?” He had to ask Liang Long for this sort of thing.

“That’s easy—have you forgotten what we used to do? What kind of factory do we work at? A machinery factory, of course we have that stuff. Come on, I’ll get some for you,” Liang Long replied, always quick to act. There was plenty of discarded wire or steel wire, and Liang Long brought it all over.

Chen Huajiang took out pliers and cut them all to the same length, then needed to sharpen one end. That way, threading the meat would be easier.

That was simple too—he found an electric grinder and quickly finished the job.

“What are you making? The two of us can’t figure it out,” Liang Long asked as he worked.

There was no way they could understand, and Chen Huajiang just smiled, telling them they’d find out tomorrow night.

“Liang Long, is there a welding place nearby? Take me there,” Chen Huajiang said after finishing with the wire.

Liang Long found it interesting and led Chen Huajiang away.

The master welder quickly put together a stove as Chen Huajiang described, all for just two yuan—a bargain. When they brought it back, Chen Huajiang clapped his hands, smiling, “Tomorrow night, I’m treating you all to meat and drinks here. Bring a few more friends and let’s make it lively.”

At the mention of drinks, Liang Long was delighted—drinking and gambling were his daily routine.

“Finding people is easy. How many do you want?”

“No need for too many, just the ones you usually play cards with.”

Those card players were big spenders; win them over and they’d be regular customers.

“Okay. Where will you get the drinks?” Liang Long realized this was a problem.

“I’ll find a beer wholesaler tomorrow morning and get three cases,” Chen Huajiang had already made up his mind.

Back home, Lin Jiayin was puzzled as to why there were so few people in the morning. Chen Huajiang gave a brief explanation, but told Lin Jiayin to rest assured—he was certain this business would succeed.

The next morning, after arriving at the snack shop, Chen Huajiang began making charcoal. Since cooking required fire anyway, he might as well use wood. By noon, he’d made a good amount of charcoal.

At lunchtime, there were even more customers for the braised pork than the day before—it sold even better. After selling out, Chen Huajiang went to the wholesale market and found a place selling beer.

“Brother, how much is a case of beer?” he asked.

“Twelve bottles to a case, one yuan and twenty cents per case.”

That worked out to one cent per bottle; when he’d bought retail before, it was about two cents each.

“I want ten cases.”

The young man at the door was taken aback—no one had ever bought ten cases at once, five at most.

“Dad, someone wants ten cases of beer!” the young man shouted inside.

A man in his forties hurried out, face beaming with delight at the news.

“I’ll give you ten cases at one yuan and ten cents per case, how about that?”

“No need for one ten, just one yuan. Here’s ten yuan, load them onto the cart for me,” Chen Huajiang replied crisply, handing over the money.

“Alright, since you’re buying so much, ten yuan it is!” The boss was secretly thrilled—if he had more customers like Chen Huajiang, he’d be rich in no time.

Chen Huajiang pushed the cart back. Daguang had already cut the mutton into small cubes as instructed.

The two of them began threading the meat onto skewers. Chen Huajiang grinned, “Daguang, do you know? Put these over the fire, sprinkle on cumin, salt, and chili powder—it’s incredibly delicious.”

Daguang had never tried it, but hearing this, he swallowed hard, amazed there was such a way to eat meat.

“Daguang, go fry some peanuts for us. We might sell them tonight!” Chen Huajiang instructed.

“Alright, Brother Jiang!” Daguang replied.

One pound of mutton made thirty skewers. Chen Huajiang planned to sell each for fifteen cents, meaning one pound would bring in four yuan and fifty cents. That was roughly fifty percent profit, similar to the braised pork.

By seven in the evening, Chen Huajiang had set up the stove. Liang Long arrived with three or five of his card-playing friends, boldly announcing, “Drink as much as you like—this place belongs to me and Brother Jiang. Bring your buddies here often to support the business.”

If Liang Long was good at anything, it was this.

“Brother Jiang, what are you doing? Why skewer the meat and roast it?”

“Is this mutton? It doesn’t look that appetizing.”

“Is it cooked yet? Let me try it for you.”

None of them had seen this before and crowded around the stove, curious.

“Let me tell you, this is called barbecue—using the most primitive method to roast the tastiest meat,” Chen Huajiang explained. In truth, he’d never really learned to grill skewers, but had occasionally done it with friends. It was really simple.

“Brothers, come, each of you try one skewer and see if the seasoning is right,” Chen Huajiang said, handing out the freshly grilled mutton.

At the first bite, their eyes were opened to a whole new world.

“This is really delicious grilled like this!”

“Brother Jiang, did you invent this? How much will you sell it for?”

“If my buddies hear about this, they’ll want to come every other day.”

Everyone ate enthusiastically, watching the unfinished skewers longingly.

“Open the beer and have a drink, it’ll be ready soon,” Chen Huajiang said.

“My mutton skewers are fifteen cents each, beer is twenty cents a bottle. Tonight is on me; from now on, those are the prices for everyone,” he announced.