Chapter 334: Chapter 334

The Chinese Restaurant had a total of five tables of guests. It wasn’t many, but since the restaurant didn’t have that many tables to begin with, it still seemed lively.

One dish after another was brought out from the kitchen.

Jiang Feng was in the kitchen making cola chicken wings. He noticed that customers at two tables were very interested in the cola chicken wings.

He cleaned the chicken wings, placed them on the chopping board, and scored them several times in a flower pattern to help them absorb flavors better. Then, he prepared green onions and ginger. Next, he blanched the chicken wings in cold water and rinsed off any scum. After that, Jiang Feng placed the chicken wings on a griddle, frying them until golden on both sides. Finally, he added cola, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and cooking wine. After stirring well, he let it simmer for 15 minutes to reduce the sauce, ensuring it thoroughly coated the chicken wings. Just like that, a delicious plate of cola chicken wings was ready.

The chicken wings themselves were golden, but the cola reduction gave them a deep, sauce-like color. After the sauce reduced, the wings were shiny with oil and slightly sticky—all part of the delicious seasoning.

Cooks from China were truly formidable, capable of turning even cola into a seasoning agent. In fact, it was the main flavoring for the cola chicken wings.

Before long, the cola chicken wings were served.

The young couple from the gift shop was eating with enjoyment. Seeing the cola chicken wings, the boy immediately became interested. "Look at this dish, cola chicken wings! They’re really made with cola!" he exclaimed.

Just then, three tall white men walked in. Overhearing the comment, they all looked over and then approached the couple to ask.

"Cola chicken wings? What are cola chicken wings?"

Hearing them, the boy answered, "It’s a dish here in the restaurant; cola is used as a seasoning for the chicken wings."

"That’s unbelievable!" one of the tall white men found it curious.

The boy, unable to wait, speared a chicken wing with his spoon, placed it in his bowl, and began to taste it. He cautiously brought the chicken wing to his mouth, looking a bit nervous, afraid it might be a culinary disaster. After all, in his mind, cola was only good to drink with ice; how could it be used to cook a dish? Then, he took a bite of the chicken wing.

In an instant, a sweet and sour taste exploded on his taste buds. The wings, already delicious from being fried, became even tastier coated with the cola and ginger, enhancing the chicken’s flavor. Cola and ginger proved to be a great combination, gently stimulating his taste buds.

The boy’s mouth instantly formed an ’O’ shape, his eyes widening in wonder. He truly hadn’t expected the cola chicken wings to be this good!

Seeing his reaction, the girl quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"

"It’s very tasty!" the boy exclaimed. "No, it’s *too* tasty! You can really taste the cola. How can cola create this kind of flavor? Are they magicians or something?" He kept marveling.

Their conversation caught the attention of several other tables.

The three tall white men didn’t even look at the menu. They immediately said to the waiter, "We’ll have an order of cola chicken wings, thank you."

"Alright, no problem," Wang Junkai replied, busily noting it down.

Clearly, the cola chicken wings had piqued everyone’s curiosity. Perhaps even the staff at the Chinese Restaurant hadn’t expected the cola chicken wings to be their most popular dish.But there was no denying it; using cola as a seasoning was truly beyond most people’s imagination.

The wings, having been scored and fried, already tasted like the grilled chicken wings from a barbecue stand. Building on this foundation, the cola, ginger slices, and other seasonings formed a sauce that was reduced over high heat until it coated the wings. The sensation was indescribably good.

The boy continued to savor the cola chicken wings. They started out sweet and tangy, constantly making his mouth water. Upon biting into the meat, there was a subtle numbing sensation. It felt slightly spicy, yet not quite—just a faint tingle on the tongue. This was the effect of the ginger.

Cola chicken wings were very popular in China, especially among children, and they really appealed to young people’s palates.

At the Chinese Restaurant, the boy who ate the cola chicken wings first resisted the dish, then was skeptical about it, then tried it, and finally just purely enjoyed it.

Seeing his enjoyment, the girl also speared a chicken wing and tried it. She too was surprised.

People are often most shocked by things they could never have imagined. Cooking chicken wings with a soft drink had indeed exceeded their expectations.

"It’s really good! Chinese cuisine is so magical!"

"I’ve heard of using wine in cooking, but I’ve never heard of using cola!"

"I saw the chef’s introduction posted outside. He seems to be a very popular chef from China."

"The braised pork is also delicious! I’ve never eaten meat before!" the two of them discussed quietly, their expressions animated.

The atmosphere in the Chinese Restaurant was very good.

The staff members who saw this scene exchanged knowing smiles, and Huang Xiaoming let out a rare sigh of relief.

Given the current situation, achieving a 20,000 euro turnover in 21 days seemed more than attainable. Jiang Feng is just too impressive, Huang Xiaoming thought. Maybe even the production team didn’t expect things to go this smoothly.

Back in the kitchen, Jiang Feng had just finished preparing two dishes and found himself with nothing else to do for the moment. The restaurant could only accommodate a limited number of guests with its nine tables, serving a maximum of nine parties simultaneously. It was a small, beautifully decorated restaurant in a prime location, with an exquisite interior.

When things quieted down, they sometimes found themselves unsure of what to do. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fire.net

"Jiang Feng, there are no orders right now. Why don’t you take a break for a while?" Zhao Liying, who was also in the kitchen, said with a smile. Ever since they had gone looking for abalones, the two had gotten along well. While everyone else called Jiang Feng ’Chef Jiang,’ Zhao Liying simply used his first name. Calling someone with a two-character name by their given name often felt more personal.

"Okay," Jiang Feng responded, looking relaxed. "I’m still not quite used to this pace.

"Back when my restaurant first opened, I’d be in the kitchen simultaneously handling dozens of tables.

"Sometimes, dozens of orders would come in all at once.

"I really wished I could have split myself in two back then."

"That’s why you’re the backbone of the Chinese Restaurant," Zhao Liying added. "With you here, everyone feels a lot less pressure.

"The atmosphere used to be quite tense; after all, we all had a lot weighing on our minds."

The two chatted idly, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. Just then, another customer’s order came in, and Jiang Feng returned to the stove, ready to cook again.

Yeang Zi came in. Seeing her, Zhao Liying quickly asked, "How did it go? Are the customers satisfied with their meals?"

Hearing her, Yeang Zi immediately smiled. "Extremely satisfied! Several customers were so dramatic, shouting, ’Cola! This is really cola!’ It was hilarious.

"Wang Junkai and I could barely stop ourselves from laughing."

Her description made Zhao Liying vividly picture the scene outside.

It seemed the opening of the Chinese Restaurant was a great success. Around two o’clock in the afternoon, the restaurant’s lunch service ended.

There were still many chores to be done, like washing plates, bowls, and general cleaning.

As per the production team’s requirements, the cast members themselves had to do these tasks. Luckily, everyone was down-to-earth. Despite being big stars, they showed no airs and pitched in with the washing up as needed.

Of course, with several kitchenware brands sponsoring the show, there was a highly professional dishwasher in the kitchen, so washing dishes wasn’t too troublesome.

"Sister Ying, how much was the turnover from lunch?" Wang Junkai asked eagerly.

"Yeah, how much exactly?" Yeang Zi chimed in, equally impatient to know.

Huang Xiaoming and Jiang Feng were also watching, as everyone was keenly interested in the turnover figures.

Zhao Liying, who was in charge of managing the money, had already calculated the day’s earnings.

They were using cash here, as scan-to-pay hadn’t become popular in this area yet, so all the money was kept in a square box. Zhao Liying took out the box, her face brimming with joy as she announced,

"For lunch, we served a total of 19 tables, with an average spend per customer of around 60 euros.

"So far, our turnover is 1,142 euros.

"We’ve already exceeded our daily target!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately cheered.

In fact, the high customer flow was largely due to the savory pancakes they had served in the morning. Several of the lunch customers were people who had eaten the pancakes earlier or had learned about the Chinese Restaurant because of them. This explained the larger crowd.

Plus, during the meal, many customers were audibly impressed, which made new arrivals eager to try everything. Consequently, they ordered more dishes, and the average spend per customer was higher.

Overall, it was a fantastic first day of business, and everyone knew they owed much of this success to Jiang Feng.

At this point, Yeang Zi turned to Huang Xiaoming and asked, "Manager, since we’ve exceeded our sales target, does that mean we can take a break this evening?"

Hearing her, Huang Xiaoming pondered for a moment, then said, "Well, today is Monday, so we’ll work our normal hours.

"However, if by Friday our turnover reaches 7,500 euros,

"we’ll take the weekend off, and I’ll give everyone double their daily pay so you can go out and have some fun!"

Huang Xiaoming was definitely feeling the pressure, but this approach was a good one.

Hearing this, everyone laughed again. After all, they had all signed agreements stating that any personal expenses during their stay had to be covered by earnings from the Chinese Restaurant.

They were on a daily wage; a portion of the daily turnover was allocated to pay the five of them, allowing them to buy things they liked. This, at least, was the arrangement for the duration of the show’s filming.

So, the prospect of extra wages was certainly good news for them. Plus, having the weekend off to explore the island would be even more exciting.