Chapter 22 Efficiency First

Time is life, efficiency is money.

Being a man of action, Gao Yi found the biggest small supermarket in Suakoko on the very day, and within five minutes had struck a deal with the only local Chinese owner.

For three thousand dollars a year, the supermarket owner was overjoyed to rent the restaurant space to Gao Yi, and even gifted him three boxes of noodles worth ten dollars each for free.

When he returned to the hotel, Gao Yi first sought out several bosses staying there to help him exchange some cash.

He had brought too little cash, and since he needed a thousand dollars for the restaurant rent, Gao Yi exchanged two thousand dollars from a few timber merchants.

Transferring the money to the timber merchants' bank accounts was straightforward, and they would provide the cash.

At first, the bosses were reluctant to exchange the money, but knowing Gao Yi intended to open a restaurant, they even neglected the risk of getting cheated, decisively handing out the cash and stated they would provide more if necessary without charging any fees.

Gao Yi had completed all these activities on the same day.

The next day, Gao Yi spent twelve dollars to hire twelve locals to clean for him for a day.

On the third day, the spices and three cast iron pots Luca had bought in Monrovia arrived, and Gao Yi had the locals continue cleaning.

The third day was exceptionally efficient. The hotel bosses believed the locals were too inefficient, so all seven guests of the hotel collectively volunteered to help Gao Yi clean the kitchen. They built three stoves in the backyard and arranged for a truckload of wood scraps for fuel.

By the third day, Gao Yi's restaurant was ready for business.

It was a proper restaurant, not only having a building but also equipped with two round tables and four square ones.

Iron Pot Stewed Chicken required constant heat, and the chicken had to be cooked before serving pancakes, but it was obviously not feasible to eat continuously around a stove in a hot restaurant with no air conditioning.

It wasn't that Gao Yi hadn't considered other methods, but frying chicken and serving it directly to the tables would be easier if he knew how to do it.

So, Gao Yi's solution was to dig holes in the middle of three tables, and after stewing the chicken and cooking the pancakes in the iron pot in the backyard, he would carry the whole pot into the restaurant, place it on the table with the holes, then lift the lid and start eating.

Except for the lack of fire underneath, everything else was pretty similar. It was a make-do solution but it still worked.

Still on the third day, after a day of hard work, the bosses found themselves in an argument.

"That idea of yours is incorrect. Iron Pot Stew can be used for ribs or goose, but how can you do Iron Pot Stewed Chicken? Listen to me, make pan-fried chicken; it's the simplest!"

Plump Boss Lin, a connoisseur of food, reportedly had a fortune of at least ten million, but he insisted on showing off his hometown specialty, pan-fried chicken, and invited everyone to try it.

The boss named Wang, who initially only wanted to set rules for Gao Yi and changed his attitude upon learning about the restaurant plan, supposedly had a fortune surpassing Boss Lin's. He had brought three minions, so his voice was the loudest.

"Pan-fried chicken? I've never heard of it. Have you all tried chili chicken? Stir-fried chicken is also good! It's absolutely delicious, let's have mutton stewed tomorrow, for today my brother will make chili chicken for you to try."

The supermarket owner, eager, said, "Do all three, since today is a whole chicken feast, I'm treating everyone to chicken soup, Turkiye chicken soup, really fresh!"

Gao Yi couldn't take it anymore, he earnestly said, "Gentlemen, I'm trying to open a shop, let's at least try the dishes!"

When Boss Gao spoke up, the other bosses fell silent. In the end, Boss Lin reluctantly said, "Then let's do the pan-fried chicken tomorrow, let's start with stir-fried chicken and Boss Chen's Iron Pot Stewed Chicken today, and some chicken soup wouldn't hurt either."

The chicken had been slaughtered, and the plan was set: three pots, three stoves, and rapid progress was made by everyone involved.

Gao Yi was also planning to try his hand when the others appropriated the work that was meant for him.

Watching Gao Yi's slightly awkward bustling around, Boss Lin couldn't help but say, "Ah, Boss Chen, I have also had Iron Pot Stew, but this doesn't seem quite right. Aren't your chicken pieces too small? And you didn't blanch it either. Look, this is how I…"

Gao Yi realized he should have opened a buffet, not a restaurant.

Let the guests cook, serve, and even wash their dishes, then still have them pay.

With nothing much to do, Gao Yi decided to steal some skills. As long as he watched these people cook a few meals, he figured he could probably become a chef here.

Of course, the prerequisite was fooling the locals.

As smoke rose and laughter filled the air, just when everyone was looking forward to a feast, someone quietly approached the observing Gao Yi.

"Boss Chen, hello."

Gao Yi turned and looked at the person greeting him, only to find it was a hotel guest he was meeting for the first time today.

Both being from China, but this man had never interacted with Gao Yi before, perhaps today's delicious food had enticed him to join the others.

Looking about thirty, slightly shorter than Gao Yi but sturdy, dressed in a quick-drying shirt, with a neat haircut, he seemed quite honest.

"My name is Lin Xianghua, I'm pleased to meet you, Boss Chen."

Gao Yi nodded politely, "Boss Lin, nice to meet you. In the future…"

Before Gao Yi could finish being polite, Lin Xianghua shook his head, "I'm not a boss, I work for one. I'm just checking things out."

Interestingly, his story was similar to what Gao Yi had fabricated.

Gao Yi laughed, "Still a boss, still a boss, Mr. Lin, where are you from?"

Lin Xianghua spoke Mandarin quite standardly, sounding like a northerner, but with an occasional accent, making him sound like a southerner as well.

Gao Yi had just asked casually, but Lin Xianghua quickly said, "Oh, I'm from the south of China, uh, Boss Chen, I'm encountering some problems and would like to ask for your help."

"Say it, say it."

Lin Xianghua looked distressed, "My boss sent me to see if business was good here. I've been here for half a month now and it doesn't look promising. Then yesterday, my boss suddenly decided not to do business here and asked me to return, but I've spent all the money he gave me…"

Gao Yi still had a smile on his face, but his mind was already sounding alarms.

Lin Xianghua continued with a helpless look, "Boss Chen, you are running a shop here alone, you can't possibly handle it all by yourself. What if I work for you? I don't ask for much, just three hundred dollars, three hundred dollars a month, how about it?"

Gao Yi was rather surprised, as he initially thought Lin Xianghua was going to ask for a loan.

But Lin wasn't asking for money, he wanted to work.

Living in a four-hundred-dollar-a-day hotel, now asking for a three-hundred-dollar-a-month salary?

What was this, a meeting of minds or encountering a peer?

Either Lin Xianghua was foolish or he was taking Gao Yi for one. Either way, Gao Yi's answer was simple, "No, thank you."

Gao Yi regretfully shook his head, "I'm just running a small shop, I really can't afford to hire anyone, and as you can see, I don't need to. If you're looking to earn your travel expenses, I think you could work for Boss Lin, he is in need of people."

Lin Xianghua paused, then turned to look at Boss Lin. He hesitated a moment, "This… uh…"

With no way out, Gao Yi looked away, then quickly said, "Ah, I need to go tend to the pancakes, sorry, I must get busy."

Lin Xianghua was left standing there, looking troubled and not too bright.

Gao Yi suddenly began to doubt his own judgment. If Lin Xianghua was really a peer, surely he wouldn't be this foolish?

Could a fool be an assassin?

While Gao Yi was puzzled, Lin Xianghua suddenly made up his mind. He then approached Gao Yi and whispered, "Boss Chen, the hotel is too expensive. I'll work for you, no salary needed, just food and lodging, how about that?"

Could it really be that he had no other options and just wanted a meal and a place to stay?

Gao Yi took another look at Lin Xianghua, stepped closer to him, sighed, and patted Lin's back.

Very firm, the latissimus dorsi muscles well-developed but not overly large, not the muscles specifically worked out for aesthetics.

Gao Yi, feeling helpless, said, "Brother, it's not that I don't want to help. We just don't know each other well, and this place is lawless. I can't just take you in. Try asking the other bosses, sorry."

Acting intimate but delivering a rejection.

After speaking, Gao Yi quickly added, "It smells so good, can't wait any longer, is it almost ready?"

Gao Yi felt his acting was too stiff, but no matter what, he wouldn't keep Lin Xianghua in his shop.

This time Lin Xianghua did not persist.

All three pots contained chicken, and the first to be ready was the stir-fried chicken. Boss Wang excitedly shouted, "Done! Bring the pot over, come on, first try my brother's cooking."

Boss Wang hadn't cooked himself, but one of his minions was skilled.

People, unable to wait, gathered in the restaurant. They placed the iron pot on the specially designed table, and with chopsticks in hand, no one bothering to sit, everyone began to taste.

"Not bad, really good!"

"Delicious, delicious…"

Once they started, they couldn't stop. If not for thinking about the chicken still stewing and pancakes awaiting in the backyard, Gao Yi would have refused to put his chopsticks down.

However, at that moment, the restaurant's door was suddenly pushed open.

Gao Yi turned his head and was stunned, and the others, looking up, also froze, placing their chopsticks down.

A black man, extremely muscular, wearing a camouflage uniform and a beret, stood at the restaurant door. He looked at the people gathered around the table, then turned to look at the pot on the table, and after sniffing deeply, he nodded and said, "Smells good."

Speaking in English, one of Lao Wang's minions replied in English, "Chicken."

After the exchange, the black man stepped towards the table. He looked inside the pot, sniffed again, and nodded, "Smells really good."

Gao Yi remained silent. Lao Wang looked at his minion, who hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "He says it smells very fragrant."

Boss Lin chuckled, "Should… should we invite him to try some?"

It was unclear whether the black man understood Boss Lin's words, but he seriously announced, "The General is coming."

The minion immediately said, "He says the General is coming."

Everyone exchanged glances.

Gao Yi was impressed. He thought his own efficiency was high, but he hadn't anticipated Gray Horace's efficiency to be even higher, lured straight here by the scent.

Truly masterful.