Chapter 183 - 168: A New Level of Flavor

Chapter 183: Chapter 168: A New Level of Flavor

With a busy day ahead of him, Xu An got up unusually early. Just after five, he was already riding his small three-wheeler to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. The journey was smooth and uneventful, and he arrived at the storefront without a hitch.

He took out his key, inserted it into the lock, and with a gentle twist, heard a crisp CLICK. The lock on the roll-up door was open. After putting the key back in his pocket, Xu An gripped the iron handle at the bottom of the door with both hands. He gave a hard push upward, and the door opened about a third of the way. The instant the door opened, a thick, spicy chili aroma blasted out from inside...

Before his brain could even process it, his nose reflexively inhaled, sucking a large amount of capsaicin-laden air into his body. Xu An lost control, letting out a series of violent sneezes as tears and snot streamed down his face. He quickly let go of the door and staggered back a few steps, not stopping until he reached the edge of the road, where he finally felt a little better.

’The smell definitely wasn’t this strong when I left yesterday. How did it not only fail to dissipate overnight but actually get even stronger?’

He waited by the roadside for a while. The smell outside the restaurant had mostly dissipated, but the concentration inside remained unchanged—still at a suffocating level. ’This won’t work. The employees will be here soon, and the restaurant needs to open for business. Before we open, this smell has to be brought down to a tolerable level.’

Gritting his teeth and pinching his nose, Xu An charged into the shop. He turned all the fans and ventilation systems to their highest settings and threw open all the doors and windows. After this flurry of activity, the smell inside finally began to slowly dissipate...

By the time Zhang Dezhen, Liang Dani, and the others arrived for work, the smell in the shop had lessened considerably, but it was still overpowering. As they came out of Restaurant No. 1, every single one of them had red eyes and noses, looking as if they had suffered some terrible injustice.

’Hiss! The power of this Shuanshuang Spicy is even greater than I imagined,’ Xu An thought. ’Looking at the situation, there’s no way Restaurant No. 1 can open for business today. It seems I can’t prepare the Hellish Braised Flavor in any of the three restaurants. It either affects the employees’ work or the restaurant’s business, neither of which I want.’

For a moment, Xu An considered giving up on the idea of making the Hellish Braised Flavor with Shuanshuang Spicy peppers. ’Maybe I could just use regular Thai chilies and add a lot more. The effect should be similar, right? But if I give up now, wouldn’t all the pain and suffering I went through yesterday be for nothing? How can I give up on such an ultimate delicacy over a small setback like this? There are still many days until the braised food shop opens. Maybe I can think of a solution by then!’

’After all, I can’t be the only one to suffer like this!’

He moved all the portable fans and other equipment from Restaurant No. 2 and Restaurant No. 3 into Restaurant No. 1. Xu An also went to some nearby businesses and borrowed all of their potted plants—devil’s ivy, cacti, lucky bamboo, and so on—placing them all inside Restaurant No. 1, hoping they would pull their weight and do something to freshen the air.

Finally, Xu An made a special trip to the supermarket and bought five cans of air freshener. If the smell simply wouldn’t go away, it would be time to use them. ’The combined scent might be a bit weird, but it’s better than this pungent, spicy smell. At least the restaurant can open for business normally.’

Thanks to Xu An’s efforts, by ten o’clock, although a faint chili smell still lingered in the restaurant, it had returned to a normal level. At least people could walk in without their eyes instantly turning red...

He had come to the shop so early today intending to get the commercial shoot sorted out, then handle the loan application, and if there was time, discuss the menu for the braised food shop with Zhang Dezhen. But instead, he’d been wrestling with this chili smell all morning and hadn’t accomplished a single thing.

’One thing at a time. I’ll start with the commercial.’

Sitting down behind the cash register, Xu An took out his phone and dialed the number for the Hai City TV Station employee that Lu Shengnan had sent him. The phone only rang twice before someone picked up. A gentle female voice came through the receiver, "Hello, this is Hai City TV Station. How may I help you?"

"Hello," Xu An said politely. "I was referred by President Lu Shengnan of Victory Supermarket. I’m Xu An, the owner of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. I’d like to inquire about advertising during prime time on Hai City TV Station."

"Hello, President Xu. President Lu has already told us about you." The voice on the other end instantly became even gentler. "May I ask what stage your restaurant’s commercial production is currently in?"

’Hmm... It’s currently in the ’calling to talk to you’ stage,’ Xu An thought. But of course, he couldn’t actually say that. He embellished it with a bit of linguistic artistry and replied, "We are currently in the preliminary planning stage."

"I see. In that case, let me first explain Hai City TV Station’s advertising process to you..."

After a conversation that lasted over half an hour, Xu An gained a full understanding of the proper procedures for placing an ad on Hai City TV Station. It was different from what he had initially imagined—signing a contract, paying the money, and then having the commercial air as soon as it was produced. To advertise on Hai City TV Station, one had to go through a long and tedious series of steps.

First, Xu An would need to compile the general concept and ideas for the commercial into a document and submit it to Hai City TV Station for a content review. If there were no issues, they would contact him to submit the relevant business qualifications for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant for approval. Next, a corresponding contract would be issued. After both parties signed it, the advertising proposal would be sent to the Hai City Advertising Review Department for a second approval. Once they confirmed the content aligned with core societal values and didn’t contain anything illegal or improper, Xu An and Hai City TV Station could officially sign the cooperation agreement. After payment was complete, they would discuss the advertising schedule. After the commercial was filmed, it would have to be reviewed again by the Hai City Advertising Review Department to ensure no hidden messages were slipped in.

Only after all these procedures were completed could Hai City TV Station, according to the schedule negotiated with Xu An, officially add the commercial to its broadcast lineup and air it on television.

This series of complex and trivial procedures, with its two, three rounds of reviews, made Xu An’s scalp tingle. And this was just Hai City TV Station, a local station. The review process was already so strict. ’If I wanted to run a commercial on Haiyang Province Television, or even a national channel, would the process be long enough to reach the heavens?’

Xu An took detailed notes on the process described by the Hai City TV Station employee. After double-checking them for accuracy, he hung up. Then, he opened his contacts, found Wei’s information, and dialed his number.

When Wei received Xu An’s call, he assumed Xu An wanted him to shoot the new weekly menu, and he practically started drooling. But after a few words, he realized that this time, Xu An didn’t want a flyer—he wanted a commercial! A ten-second commercial that would air on Hai City TV Station during prime time!

He was instantly thrilled. He’d been working at the company for a while now, but the tasks he usually got were small, piecemeal jobs like the ones for Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. He had only ever observed a commercial shoot a few times and had never officially worked on one himself.

This time, Xu An had come to him directly and even personally requested him for the shoot. How could he not be excited? ’I, Zhao Wei, after struggling in the advertising industry for so many years, am finally entering a new stage of my career!’

After learning that Xu An wanted to film a commercial for a product called "Hellish Braised Flavor," which boasted the most extreme level of spiciness, Wei invited Xu An to bring the product to his studio for the shoot. He mentioned they had a room specifically designed for filming food with such extreme flavors.

Having already put in so much effort and preparing to spend a significant amount of money on promotion, Xu An naturally wanted the best possible results for the commercial, so he nodded in agreement with Wei’s suggestion. After some more discussion, Wei got a general idea of the effect Xu An was looking for and suggested he bring a sample of every type of braised dish from the restaurant. This would enrich the commercial’s visuals and content, a proposal Xu An gladly accepted.

Just as he hung up the phone, the day’s batch of braised dishes, freshly cooked by Zhang Dezhen, emerged from the kitchen. The rich, savory aroma of the braised food completely drove out the last remaining traces of the Shuanshuang Spicy smell. Xu An breathed a sigh of relief. Restaurant No. 1 could open for business as usual; he no longer had to worry about customers not being able to handle the spicy air inside.

Xu An then walked into the kitchen and took out five large food containers. He carefully selected the three most visually appealing pieces of each braised dish and placed them inside. Shiitake mushrooms, kelp, corn, tofu skin... pork intestines, braised pork belly, duck necks, chicken feet... five-spice, soy-braised, spicy... The five containers were packed to the brim.

While packing the spicy-flavored braised dishes, Xu An kept catching a faint, unique spicy aroma of the Shuanshuang Spicy peppers. After asking Zhang Dezhen, he learned that the spicy-flavored dishes had been cooked in the same pot used for yesterday’s "Hellish Braised Flavor," and had therefore picked up a hint of the Shuanshuang Spicy’s essence.

"I just tried it," Zhang Dezhen said. "The Shuanshuang Spicy aroma doesn’t clash with the texture of the spicy braised dishes. In fact, it adds a certain kick." He tried to describe the sensation, gesturing for a while before giving up, unable to find the right words. He simply picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Xu An, letting him try it for himself.

Xu An took the chopsticks and picked up a piece of the spicy pork intestine, popping it into his mouth. The first thing he tasted was the frightening aroma of the Shuanshuang Spicy, but when he bit down, it was the familiar spicy flavor. Today, however, that spiciness had an extra jolt to it. With one bite, it felt as if the top of his skull was lifted for 0.01 seconds before being quickly clamped back down.

The unique aroma of the Shuanshuang Spicy and that feeling of his skull being lifted gave this batch of spicy braised dishes a completely new dimension! It added layers to the spicy flavor!

After putting down his chopsticks, Xu An looked up at Zhang Dezhen with a serious expression and said, "Master Zhang, I want you to figure out how much Shuanshuang Spicy to add to the spicy flavor to achieve this effect. From now on, this will be the standard for our spicy dishes!"

Hearing this, the smile on Zhang Dezhen’s face froze. ’This is terrible news!’ he thought. ’The flavor is great, and I even like it, but I’m not a customer—I’m the chef! The chef who has to handle the Shuanshuang Spicy peppers directly!’ The horrifying scenes from yesterday flooded his mind again, making him shudder. ’It was just too painful!’