A portion of people ate the spicy broth, their faces flushed with heat.
The young men scrambled for food, making Su Xiaotian worried about them tipping over the hot pot!
Qiao Guangyuan watched these people devour their food as if they hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes, feeling utterly disgusted.
Did these fellows understand respect for elders and care for the young?
Their company commander was still here, and they were snatching food so wildly. Could they not eat properly?
But after all, hot pot wasn't something one person ate from a single pot; it was all about grabbing.
Qiao Guangyuan felt tears welling up in his heart. His hot pot was being snatched by this group of unscrupulous brats. What could he do?
Some people with milder palates, unable to tolerate spice, went to grab the white broth instead.
To be sure, the numbers on both sides were roughly equal, and the white broth was also being snatched with great gusto, no less enthusiastically than those eating the red broth.
Su Xiaotian and her brother Su Wureng watched, both smiling.
"Hongmei, you need to hurry up, or all the good stuff will be gone."
Su Xiaotian saw her classmates being a bit hesitant and called out loudly.
At this moment, a few soldiers noticed that these female students were eating very little and proactively helped them to dishes.
Qiao Guangyuan became even more annoyed.
Why didn't these brats think to serve their company commander any dishes?
They were all fawning over the young ladies!
If only Su Xiaotian knew Qiao Guangyuan's thoughts, she would surely say, "Commander Qiao, thinking like that will surely leave you single for life!"
Zhao Hongmei and the others, with the help of the soldier brothers, also ate a good amount.
At school, they were instructors and students, but here, that layer of formality was gone, and their conversations became much more casual.
Soon, the group of male and female classmates of similar ages were mingling freely, even making plans to keep in touch.
Su Xiaotian suddenly felt as if she had inadvertently organized a matchmaking event.
However, if it could achieve that purpose, it would be excellent.
As she thought about this, she cast a wistful glance at her brother, wondering why he didn't take advantage of such a good opportunity to interact with female classmates.
Perhaps one of these classmates could become her sister-in-law.
But Su Xiaotian, to be frank, was also carefree, and such thoughts quickly passed.
Fate couldn't be forced; when the time comes, they would naturally be together.
The meal concluded with all the meat and vegetables Su Xiaotian and her family had prepared being consumed.
Indeed, they were all young men. Although Su Xiaotian had prepared a lot, the young men were still left wanting more.
At this point, the meat prepared by Grandma Su became the perfect supplement.
It had to be said that Grandma Su's cooking was truly excellent. Even the young men, who had already eaten their fill, praised the meat when they tasted it.
Qiao Guangyuan even asked, "Wureng, your family's restaurant must be very popular, right?"
With such skill, establishing a presence in Beijing would be no problem.
Among Beijing's restaurants, the most top-tier ones were naturally occupied by those with centuries of heritage and deep foundations.
Those century-old establishments had very meticulous cooking techniques.
However, such restaurants were not affordable for ordinary people.
The ones with the most customers were precisely the middle-class segment of the population.
These people had money, but not enough to frequent high-end restaurants.
Restaurants like Yimingge, with their good taste and not-too-exorbitant prices, became the best choice.
Su Xiaotian's initial target customers were also this demographic.
And to keep these customers loyal to her family's hotel, the cooking skills could not falter.
In fact, over the past two years, Grandma Su's skills had not only not faltered but had also been steadily improving.
Su Xiaotian believed that as long as this level of culinary skill was maintained, Yimingge could remain standing for twenty to thirty years without issue.
But she also thought that they couldn't rely solely on the established reputation of this one restaurant forever; continuous exploration and innovation were necessary.
For opening branches, apart from having her elder sister-in-law, Li Linlin, open one, her family truly had no other way to open a second, as skill was the most crucial factor in attracting customers.
Therefore, Su Xiaotian thought of opening a hot pot restaurant.
Speaking of which, opening a hot pot restaurant had much lower demands on culinary skill.
As long as the hot pot broth was simmered well, everything else could be outsourced.
However, Su Xiaotian hadn't had the chance to discuss this matter with her family yet.
Today, encountering Qiao Guangyuan, who was from the Sichuan-Chongqing region, Su Xiaotian felt inclined to consult him.
Qiao Guangyuan held a large bone in both hands, gnawing on it with a look of utter contentment!
"Commander Qiao, you're from Sichuan-Chongqing. What do you think of our hot pot base?" Su Xiaotian asked directly.
Soldiers generally had straightforward personalities, and Su Xiaotian didn't intend to beat around the bush.
Qiao Guangyuan narrowed his eyes and said, "It's very good. It tastes exactly like home. If I didn't know I was in Beijing right now, I'd think I was back in Sichuan-Chongqing."
"Commander Qiao, if we were to open a hot pot restaurant, would this flavor attract customers?"
Upon hearing Su Xiaotian's words, Qiao Guangyuan's narrowed eyes snapped open.
"Xiaotian, what do you mean?"
"As you know, my family runs a restaurant, but we can't just offer one type of cuisine. What do you think about expanding into the hot pot business?"
Hot pot, of course, existed in Beijing, but currently, most of it was Beijing-style lamb shabu-shabu.
Flavors like the spicy, fragrant, and savory Sichuan-Chongqing style were indeed rare. Su Xiaotian's idea was to capture the market's attention first.
Before others thought of it, occupying a large portion of the market was very important.
In the future, as long as people became accustomed to eating their family's hot pot, and their family could maintain the flavor and quality, they could ensure decades of enduring success.
"It's absolutely perfect. With your broth, not only could you open a hot pot restaurant in Beijing, but you could also establish yourselves in Sichuan-Chongqing," Qiao Guangyuan said very seriously.
This was his honest opinion. He had grown up smelling the aroma of hot pot and knew very well which kind of hot pot was most easily accepted by people.
Su Xiaotian, this young girl, had asked him directly, and she had asked the right person.
"Do you think there's anything else that could be improved?" Su Xiaotian pressed on.
"If it could be even spicier!"
Su Xiaotian: "..."
Are you sure everyone can handle spice like you?
Didn't you see the other comrades drinking water furiously after every few bites?
The two large barrels of apricot skin water prepared today were completely emptied.
Seeing Su Xiaotian's surprised expression, Qiao Guangyuan sheepishly touched his head and said, "I can handle spice quite well!"
"I plan to develop four flavors: mild, medium, extra spicy, and super spicy!" Su Xiaotian said with a smile. "The flavor you're eating today will be designated as medium spicy!"
This was actually a common practice in later generations, not particularly novel, but a single trick could conquer the world.
On the path to becoming wealthy, it wasn't about innovation, but about walking down someone else's road before they did, leaving them with no path to take!
This is what is commonly referred to as: walking in others' shoes, leaving them no shoes to walk in!