Chapter 133: The Taste of Dumplings

When Qiu Fengyu arrived at the noodle shop early in the morning, he saw a tall figure pacing by the entrance. It was Sandra. As soon as the man caught sight of Qiu, he hurried over. "Did I come too early? I arrived an hour ago. It’s just... it’s quite cold out." He rubbed his hands together as he spoke.

"Yes, you are too early. We sell Chinese food, not breakfast. Sandra, how about this... later, I’ll give you a key. If you arrive early, you can just let yourself in and clean the shop." Qiu opened the door, let Sandra inside, and pressed a key into his hand.

Once inside, Sandra immediately took the initiative to find a mop and start cleaning the floor. Qiu stopped him, saying, "Don't worry about that for now. I have a task for you, one that plays to your strengths."

"Boss, just name it. I guarantee I can get it done," Sandra said confidently.

Qiu led him into the kitchen, pulled a large slab of beef from the refrigerator, and said, "I’ll slice the beef, and then you need to mince it with your cleaver. After that, use these two wooden sticks to beat it—keep beating it until I say it’s enough. Use all your strength. That’s the effect I’m looking for."

"No problem, leave it to me." Sandra nodded, convinced that he was the only one capable of such a task.

By the time Davis arrived, Sandra was already in the kitchen, rhythmically pounding the mound of minced beef with the two sticks, creating a steady "thump-thump" sound.

Sandra had taken off his jacket, wearing only a tank top, his thick muscles bulging. Davis couldn't help but feel envious. He stepped forward to reach out and touch a muscle, only to hear a crisp "click." Startled, he turned around, only to hear another "click." He looked up to see Ryoko Yonekura standing there, grinning as she waved her phone at him triumphantly.

"Davis, I never took you for a damn homosexual!" Ryoko shook her phone. "The photo on here is sure to make all the gay guys fall for you."

Qiu Fengyu came over to see what the commotion was about. Sure enough, he saw Davis looking utterly pathetic, his hand reaching out to stroke Sandra’s chest with a look of infatuation, and the follow-up shot of his panicked, guilty expression as he turned around was devastatingly funny. The two photos were extraordinarily damaging.

Qiu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Seeing Qiu laughing, Davis started to panic. He hurried over, took one look at the photos, and felt like dying. He lunged to grab the phone, but Ryoko was faster; she flipped her hand and tucked the device away, leaving Davis empty-handed.

"Delete them!" Davis demanded, his face flushed with anger.

"I’ll delete them when I feel like it. No one can force me," Ryoko scoffed. "Davis... I’ll be watching your performance from now on. Which is to say, if you ever make me feel even slightly uncomfortable, I’ll send these photos..."

"To Lola!" Qiu added, twisting the knife.

"Haha, right, to Lola. That girl would surely love to see this side of Davis," Ryoko chimed in, laughing as well. "She would absolutely adore these photos."

"Oh, my God. How can you guys do this?" Davis groaned in despair, clutching his forehead. When it came to brute force, he was no match for Ryoko.

"So... it would be best for you to do exactly as I say from now on," Ryoko said with a smug smile, waving the phone in front of Davis again.

"Sandra..." Davis shouted, "You have to back me up! You’re in these pictures too!"

"I’m sure I don’t have that pathetic look on my face like you do, Davis. I don't care," Sandra replied bluntly, swinging the wooden sticks with even more vigor.

As Davis prepared to complain further, Qiu Fengyu shouted, "Alright, guys! I didn't hire you to stand around chatting and joking. Davis, get back to mopping. Ryoko, wipe everything down, and... wash all the tableware again before putting it in the sterilizer."

Qiu clapped his hands, putting an end to the farce. The two went back to their tasks. Just then, a man walked in—the clockmaker, Ray Breslin. He went straight to Qiu and said, "I’ve got it sorted. This is the price list he faxed over. Check it against your notes; if it looks good, I’ll have him ship the goods."

Qiu took the list and looked it over. The prices were decent, certainly cheaper than what he could get on his own. While he wasn't familiar with every single bottle, some of the common ones were nearly forty percent cheaper than market price. Since he didn't sell huge quantities, he gave the go-ahead on the spot.

"Go ahead and contact him. I want these..." Qiu pointed to several common wines, brandies, and rums on the list, then indicated a few more expensive wines and champagnes. He ordered fewer of the expensive ones.

You couldn't expect many people to drink fine wine while eating noodles. Just like at Brekin’s bar, few people could afford high-end alcohol; most just drank cheap rum or cocktails.

"Alright, Qiu, wait for my good news. I’ll have the shipment sent to you by tomorrow at the latest. You can pay him via electronic transfer, that’s perfectly fine." Ray Breslin seemed pleased, as if he had accomplished something meaningful. He genuinely wanted to find a way to repay Qiu.

"You’re a good man, Ray!" Qiu patted him on the shoulder.

"You too!" Ray laughed, shook Qiu’s hand, and turned to leave. He walked briskly, as if eager to get the task done immediately.

Watching Ray leave, Ryoko leaned against the counter, propping herself up with one hand as she smiled at Qiu. "A good man? The mutual flattery between you two is truly sickening."

"You’ll get used to it. It’s far more sincere than when men flatter women," Qiu said, tilting his head at her. "Now... what work do you think you can do? You’ve already taken over the job Davis was supposed to be doing..."

"I don't mind one bit!" Davis interjected from the sidelines.

"Shut up, Davis. Your salary is getting cut. We’ve hired extra help, so your pay is dropping by three hundred dollars. We need to sign a new contract..." Qiu announced loudly.

"Boss... did we ever even sign a contract?" Davis chuckled. "You’ve been hiring me illegally this whole time. You’re lucky the labor board hasn’t caught you yet. You’re breaking the law..."

"That’s none of my business," Qiu scoffed. "That’s not the point. The point is... your pay is dropping, and furthermore... everyone’s pay—except for Sandra’s—is dropping."

Ryoko shrugged, indicating she didn't care. Davis shrugged as well, but couldn't help asking, "Why isn't Sandra’s salary being cut?"

"Because he is irreplaceable. If you can spend over two hours straight pounding meat with wooden sticks just like him, I’ll take back what I said about the pay cut." Qiu glanced at Sandra, whose chest muscles rippled with every strike, his arms looking increasingly rock-solid.

Davis looked over, realized he couldn't possibly handle that kind of work, and resigned himself to his fate. In truth, he didn't care much about the money. He had over two million dollars in cash; he only stayed at the restaurant to keep his connection to Qiu strong.

"Boss, I heard what you said. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with my performance. I’ll definitely be worth my salary... uh, by the way, what is my salary? Do we need to sign a contract?" Sandra only just thought to ask, his nerves truly made of steel.

Qiu held up three fingers. "Three thousand dollars, buddy. That’s your salary. If you aren't satisfied, you can leave anytime. You should know... no one is indispensable here."

"Of course I’m satisfied! Three thousand dollars... that’s way better than when I was a cowboy," Sandra grinned. "You know... I only used to make two thousand. Thank you so much!"

"This isn't fair! Why... my previous salary was twenty-three hundred, and now it’s down to two thousand? Is the difference in our workload really worth a thousand dollars? That’s like the distance from Abilene to Portland!" Davis jumped up. "You can’t do this, Boss."

Qiu sneered, "Your workload has been split in two, buddy. By that logic, I should only be paying you half your salary, not just cutting it by three hundred. You should thank God... no, thank my mercy. If you want a salary like Sandra’s, no problem—just work like him!" He shrugged.

"I knew it..." Davis had no choice. After all, Qiu was his boss—not just at the restaurant, but the head of their group—no, their team.

Qiu checked his watch and told Sandra to stop. The man was drenched in sweat, and with his powerful muscles, he looked quite formidable. Unfortunately, even as envious as Davis was, he wouldn't dare touch him again.

Qiu used the beef filling, added his signature spices, and took advantage of the texture created by the intense pounding. He boiled a bowl as a test run and set it on the table with chopsticks for everyone to try. As soon as it hit the table, several pairs of chopsticks dived in.

"Boss... you really should enter a cooking competition. You’d be a top-tier chef!" Davis immediately raved. Indeed, dumplings made with this much effort couldn't be compared to anything ordinary.

"I helped!" Sandra claimed credit, picking one up and skillfully popping it into his mouth.

Ryoko didn't say a word. She just kept stuffing dumplings into her mouth, one after another, silently focused on the task. She had no intention of speaking and wasting precious dumpling-eating time.