Chapter 126: Possibility of Overtaking on the Bend

"Not bad, not bad, pretty good! It's a good idea to read more books and enrich yourself. Your advice is also very effective, and..."

As Carter was speaking, the restaurant's door suddenly swung open.

"Hey, saw your car, knew you'd be here! What are you up to? How about coming over to mine tonight for a drink? Just bagged a couple of wild boars, gonna have a barbecue tonight, wanna join?"

With his brown leather jacket, work pants, and a pair of big leather shoes, the identity of the newcomer was unmistakable.

"Thanks, Mr. Trifali, but we've got plans for tonight."

"Ah, alright then."

Seeing the young employees standing aside nervously, Trifali didn't mind. His focus was never on these people.

With a smile, he pulled out the chair opposite Carter and sat down, casually placing his keys on the table. Seeing the chicken bones still sitting in front of Carter, Trifali's expression turned a bit strange.

"So this is what rich folks like you eat?"

"Don't even mention it. I just realized now that this franchised restaurant serves nothing but damn fried chicken. Kris, please bring Mr. Trifali a Coke, put it on my tab. Oh, and each of you, grab a bottle too, it's on me."

Taking a sip of Coke, Carter grumbled. Then, out of habit, he took out a cigarette and flicked it towards Trifali:

"Feel free to smoke it yourself. Why did you come over here today?"

"Last night, Montbart and I went to the mountains near Wilcross and bagged two wild boars. Just woke up, came over to invite the guys here for dinner tonight. You, too! Since you're rarely available, I thought I'd catch you while I can."

"Alright, I'll come tonight!"

Agreeing to Trifali's invitation, Carter then turned to Chris for a chat. Apart from discussing which meat to use for the burger patties, they also had a slight disagreement about whether to include side items like fries on the menu.

In Carter's view, with a fast-food joint like this, the main items are quite limited, so it's natural to have some side items like chicken wings, especially if they choose chicken as the main meat for the burgers. But Chris strongly opposed Carter's idea. He believed that what they lacked most were main course items, and what the truck drivers needed most were filling, high-calorie foods. Side items weren't necessary.

Facing this unfamiliar issue, Carter had to temporarily set aside the discussion. Borrowing the book from Chris, he planned to read up on the American fast-food market at home later. At least, he needed to understand the market before making any decisions.

For now, it was time to keep the appointment!

"Mr. Blake!"

"Mr. Blake!"

The dinner was held at Trifali's repair shop in the city center. Compared to the last time they were here, the attitude of the burly men was much better.

Facing Mani, even Rambo would bow his head!

"Hello! Long time no see, how have you all been lately?"

With the men's improved attitudes, Carter was even more courteous. After a round of cigarettes, he suddenly realized that Trifali seemed to be missing. He asked:

"Where's Trifali? The master of this place is nowhere to be seen?"

"He's in the kitchen, says he's working on some new dishes."

Rubbing the cigarette in his hand, Monbart was deliberating whether to smoke now or later. After hearing Carter's question, he replied without looking up.

Hmm... working on new dishes?!

Amused by the thought, Carter asked for the location of the kitchen and walked over.

In the kitchen, Trifali was standing in front of the rudimentary stove, wearing an apron and carefully adding something to what looked like a tortilla.

"Your outfit is quite unique!"

"Damn it, can't you make some noise when you walk? You scared the hell out of me!"

Startled by Carter's sudden voice, Trifali couldn't hold onto the cucumber slice he was holding. It fell with a "plop" onto the tortilla on the stove.

The tortilla looked familiar. It was the corn tortilla that Carter had eaten before.

Wait a minute! Tortilla, tortilla... no, this is a burrito!

Mexican Chicken Burrito!

A term flashed through Carter's mind.

"Let's not talk about that. Come, try this! Wild boar meat with cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and salad dressing. The prices these days are outrageous. A big piece of Kobe cheese that could last us three days is $5, but this little bit of cheese on this thing costs $6! And this cucumber, I..."

It seemed that the casually dropped cucumber slice had ruined Trifali's idea of perfection. He hastily rolled up the corn tortilla, handed it to Carter to taste, and started ranting.

"Forget it, forget it. You should try it and see how it tastes! Instead of thinking about how to make burgers, why not consider my corn tortilla! Burgers? Can you compete with McDonald's or Burger King now?"

"We bikers all know that the bends are the best places for overtaking! Everyone knows how to floor the gas pedal in a straight line, but only on the bends can you be truly fast! The cost of this corn tortilla is much lower than that of bread."