Seeing that many viewers in the livestream were quite interested in the abalone, Li Xiao didn’t hold anything back. As he ate the abalone with rice in front of him, he randomly picked questions he saw and answered them.
A curious viewer asked, "What is the fundamental difference in taste between dried abalone and fresh abalone?"
Li Xiao replied, "The taste of fresh abalone leans more toward the umami of the ocean. It has a refreshing mouthfeel, and the meat is slightly tender.
"Dried abalone, however, is completely different. After a long process of sun-drying and simmering, the meat becomes much denser and chewier, while the flavor grows significantly richer and mellower.
"This transformation makes dried abalone incredibly popular in high-end cuisine."
Then, another viewer asked, "Why is dried abalone so expensive?"
Li Xiao explained, "There are many reasons for its high price.
"First, the production process of dried abalone is incredibly tedious and time-consuming. Sun-drying requires strict control of temperature and humidity to ensure the abalone dries just right.
"Second, the yield of dried abalone is relatively low, and it has a long shelf life. Additionally, making high-quality dried abalone requires larger-sized fresh abalone. All these factors make the market value of dried abalone far exceed that of fresh abalone."
Another viewer asked, "What exactly is the process of sun-drying abalone?"
Li Xiao answered, "Sun-drying abalone is a complex and delicate process.
"First, fresh abalone must be thoroughly washed in clean water and gutted. Then, it’s placed in a well-ventilated, well-lit area to dry in the sun.
"During this process, the abalone needs to be flipped regularly to ensure even drying. The entire drying process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the size of the abalone and the weather conditions."
A curious viewer asked, "What is the difference in cooking dried abalone versus fresh abalone?"
"Cooking dried abalone usually requires much more time and skill," Li Xiao explained. "Before cooking, dried abalone needs to be soaked and rehydrated, a process that can take an entire night or even a few days.
"After rehydration, the dried abalone must be slow-cooked at a low temperature for several hours, or even dozens of hours, to ensure the meat softens without losing its chewiness.
"In contrast, cooking fresh abalone is much simpler. It usually just needs a quick wash before it can be cooked directly."
Seeing that he was almost done with his abalone with rice, he casually glanced at the live chat. A viewer asked, "How is the ’sugar heart’ in dried abalone formed?"
Li Xiao answered, "The ’sugar heart’ is a precious phenomenon that can occur when cooking dried abalone.
"This usually happens during a long, slow-cooking process. When the meat inside the abalone reaches a specific soft and glutinous state, it forms a texture similar to a soft-boiled candy heart.
"This texture is both bouncy and sticky, extremely unique, and is considered the absolute pinnacle of abalone culinary arts."
Having answered these questions, Li Xiao finished the last bite of his meal. Satisfied, he licked his lips; he was very pleased with the food. Although the price was steep, the quality of the dish was so high that it even surpassed Jiuhe Garden. It truly lived up to its reputation as a time-honored brand.
He paid the bill with satisfaction, and the waitress immediately arranged a designated driver for him.
Returning to his dorm room, he washed up before finally having time to check the messages Zhou Shishi had sent him. The final version of the mini-program had been locked in. The programmer she found was highly efficient, having finished the mini-program in just half a day. It seemed every working professional was exceptionally passionate about making extra money on the side.
After reviewing the final version, Li Xiao was highly satisfied and transferred the final payment.
Tomorrow happened to be Saturday, so there were no classes at school. He could go over and test if the mini-program could run smoothly on the hardware at the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop. If not, they would have to replace the hardware or have the programmer further optimize the software. At the same time, he would bring Zhou Yu over to adapt to working at the milk tea shop. He also needed to check if the children were getting used to the new equipment and see how they were doing with making the new drink recipes.
The next morning, Li Xiao and Zhou Yu arrived at the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop together.
The shop was undergoing an adjustment phase these few days, so it wasn’t open to the public. However, the children hadn’t slacked off because of this. On the contrary, presumably to master the entire drink menu as quickly as possible, their busy figures could already be seen working inside the shop well before the usual operating hours.
Li Xiao pushed the door open and entered, causing the Wisdom Wind Chime to let out a crisp DING-A-LING. A pleasant female voice immediately reached his ears. "I’m very sorry, sir. Our shop is currently undergoing upgrades and renovations, so we are temporarily closed for these few days..."
Li Xiao followed the voice and looked over. The girl wasn’t old, probably in her early twenties. Her facial features and figure were quite ordinary—the type of person who would completely blend into a crowd without standing out.
Her words were quickly interrupted by Huang Cuilian. "Yue, this is Li Xiao, Mr. Li. He’s the new boss I told you about before."
Huang Cuilian hurriedly stepped out from behind the bar counter and introduced her to Li Xiao. "This is Yue. Her full name is Zhou Xiaoyue, and she is the other official employee at our milk tea shop. She is also Zhou Xiaodong’s older sister."
Li Xiao and Zhou Xiaoyue gave each other a light nod as a greeting. He then glanced at the children who were practicing earnestly and asked in a low voice, "Sister Huang, how is the children’s learning progress? Have they run into any difficulties during practice?"
Huang Cuilian shook her head, her face beaming with joy. "The equipment Mr. Li bought for them is simply too easy to use. It only took them a day or two to get familiar with it, and now they are all earnestly memorizing and practicing how to make the drinks.
"At their current pace of progress, they’ll be able to learn ten to fifteen drink recipes within two to three days.
"Although that’s still a bit short of completely mastering all the recipes, it’s already more than enough to meet our operational needs.
"After all, under normal circumstances, the bar can accommodate three to four people making drinks at the same time. This means that not everyone needs to learn everything completely. As long as each person learns a portion, we can distribute the tasks as needed and produce all the drinks."
Li Xiao could naturally hear the urgency in Huang Cuilian’s tone. Perhaps she was worried that closing for too long would affect their original business, or perhaps Sister Huang was also eagerly anticipating whether customers would like the new recipes and whether the milk tea shop’s business could turn a profit.
He pondered for a moment before speaking up. "I can understand how you feel, Sister Huang.
"However, this kind of thing can’t be rushed. You shouldn’t be too hasty.
"Closing the shop for adjustments for a while won’t have a huge impact, but if we reopen before the children can operate everything proficiently, it’ll be much harder to make adjustments later.
"If business booms upon reopening, but the children end up making a ton of mistakes because they aren’t familiar enough with the new drinks, it will only end up ruining the milk tea shop’s reputation.
"Sister Huang, as the saying goes, time spent sharpening the axe won’t delay chopping the wood.
"Let’s just stick to the original plan and open in seven days. Giving the children more time to familiarize themselves with everything will also make the drinks taste better."
Listening to Li Xiao’s explanation, Sister Huang nodded repeatedly. In her eyes, this new boss had completely transformed the milk tea shop in just a few hours that day, so he was definitely highly capable. Her blind rushing would only interfere with the boss’s plans.
"I understand. I was just being too impatient," she said.
Li Xiao waved his hand and comforted her, "I completely understand your thoughts, Sister Huang, but let’s take it one step at a time. We still have plenty of time."
Just as he exchanged a few pleasantries with Sister Huang and was preparing to test out the mini-program, the wind chime behind him rang once again.