Today was so worth it!
Liu Xu and the others posted a video of the entire final step, pressing the tofu, to the foodie group chat.
The people in the group who didn’t come saw it and exclaimed in disbelief.
They never would have thought that such delicate tofu was actually made by pressing it with a heavy object.
It was a real eye-opener!
"I just wonder how long it has to be pressed before it sets?"
"Well, the boss said about half an hour should do it."
"That’s fast. Later, you guys have to take a video of the set tofu and post it in the group!"
"No problem."
"..."
The people in the group who couldn’t make it were waiting, and everyone at the scene was waiting too.
Soon, half an hour had passed.
Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Li You took the water bucket off the wooden box, removed the lid, and peeled back the cheesecloth.
A whole, perfectly square block of tofu appeared in the wooden box.
It was gorgeous!
This was the form of tofu everyone was so familiar with.
The tofu-making was a success!
Everyone was incredibly excited.
Li You was also very happy.
Liu Xu and the others took photos and videos of the finished tofu and posted them in the foodie group chat.
The people in the group who had been waiting, the ones who hadn’t come, were just as excited when they saw it.
That was it, that was exactly how it should look, exactly the right form.
The tofu really had been pressed out.
This tofu is gorgeous!
The boss really knows how to make tofu; he’s awesome.
To make tofu with his customers right in front of his restaurant was incredibly creative and meaningful.
There are countless hotels and restaurants all over the country, but he must be the first boss to make tofu with his customers, right?
And he even used a traditional stone mill.
This was a one-of-a-kind boss.
’It’s such a shame we didn’t go today. I hope the boss holds more meaningful events like this in the future. We’ll definitely participate next time.’ That was what everyone in the group who didn’t come was thinking.
Meanwhile, back at the scene, Li You was wondering what to do with this block of tofu.
’Should I divide it equally among everyone?’
But the block was only about five and a half pounds. If he divided it among everyone, each person would get barely a bite, which would be pointless.
’But if I don’t divide it equally, what else can I do?’
Li You thought for a moment. ’Perhaps there’s only one way.’
He could divide the tofu into ten portions, each about half a pound.
Then, through a lottery or some other method, he could pick ten lucky winners from among all the customers, and each would get one portion of tofu.
This would not only take care of the tofu but also be fun and liven up the atmosphere.
’It’s a perfect plan.’
Li You’s eyes lit up.
’Let’s do it.’
So, Li You told the customers his idea.
The customers, however, were all taken aback.
They all assumed Li You would keep the tofu for his own use.
Logically, he should have kept it for himself.
"Boss, you should keep this tofu for yourself! It’s not a lot, but you can make at least a dozen servings of mapo tofu with it."
The customers all said.
Li You shook his head. "We all made this together, so I won’t keep it for myself. Besides, sharing it with everyone will make this tofu more meaningful, and it will make the entire process of making it today more meaningful. So, I really hope to share it with you all."
"Well..."
The customers looked at each other and finally nodded slowly.
Since the boss was so sincere, they wouldn’t stand on ceremony.
At once, everyone expressed their thanks to Li You.
At the same time, they all became incredibly excited once again.
Every single person wanted to win a portion of tofu.
It wasn’t because a portion of tofu was worth a lot of money, but because a portion like this was incredibly meaningful.
The tofu itself wasn’t valuable, but its meaning was something that no amount of money could buy.
Everyone looked at Li You.
Li You had Da Bai bring his Exquisite Kitchen Knife from the kitchen, then he divided the tofu into ten equal portions.
The ten portions of tofu were ready. Now, it was time to see who the lucky winners would be.
Even Li You couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
"Boss, how are we going to decide who the lucky ones are?" the customers all asked.
"Well... do you all have any suggestions?"
"Hmm... a drawing? Or maybe we could play a game?"
"How about this, let’s all discuss it."
All the customers began to discuss it with great enthusiasm.
The scene was very lively, and the atmosphere was fantastic.
In the end, everyone unanimously decided to hold a drawing.
They would write each customer’s name on a separate slip of paper.
Then, they would crumple the slips into balls and put them into a drawing box.
Li You would be in charge of drawing ten lucky winners.
The method was simple and very easy to execute.
’Let’s do it that way, then.’
The restaurant had paper and pens. A large sheet of paper could be cut into many small slips. As for the pens, they could just take turns using them.
Wei Ping and Liu Xu took charge of cutting the paper slips, while Li You found a cardboard box and made it into a simple drawing box.
Soon, every customer had a slip of paper in their hands.
Wei Ping’s two children each got one as well.
It was per person, not per family.
If multiple people from the same family won, that was just their good luck.
The customers wrote their names on the slips one after another.
Then they crumpled them into balls, walked up to the drawing box, and placed the paper balls inside.
Before putting their paper balls in, many customers blew on them for good luck.
Wei Ping’s two children also came over to put their paper balls in.
Li You asked with a smile, "Yu, Xiaoxi, do you want to win?"
"Yes!" the two little ones said in unison.
"Then Uncle Li You wishes you good luck. How about that?"
"Okay! Thank you, Uncle Li You!"
"Such good kids."
Gradually, all the customers’ paper balls had been put into the drawing box.
Liu Xu handed another slip of paper to Li You and said, "Boss, you should put your name in, too."
Li You took the slip and laughed, "Alright. Then I wish myself luck in drawing my own name."
"Hahaha! That’ll depend on your luck, Boss."
Hearing Li You say this, all the customers broke into smiles.
Li You wrote his name on the slip, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the drawing box.
Next, the drawing officially began.
"First, let’s have someone shake the drawing box. How about a beautiful lady? Xiao Yue, could I trouble you?" Li You said to Xiao Yue.
"Of course!"
Xiao Yue gave a sweet smile, walked to the front of the drawing box, picked it up with both hands, gave it a good shake, and then set it back down.
Li You reached his hand into the drawing box, grabbed a paper ball, and pulled his hand out.
Then, he slowly uncrumpled the paper ball.
At that moment, every customer’s eyes were fixed on Li You’s hands.
Every face was filled with anticipation.
Some people were even a little nervous, as if a valuable grand prize was about to be announced.
After Li You uncrumpled the paper and saw the name on it, he looked quite surprised.
But then a smile quickly spread across his face.
The name written on it was Wei Yuxi.
This was the name of Wei Ping’s younger son.
The little guy really won. And he was the very first winner.
’Luck is a strange thing sometimes.’
"Wei Yuxi!" Li You read the name aloud.
When Wei Yuxi heard his name, he cheered ecstatically.
Wei Ping’s family was also grinning from ear to ear.
They hadn’t expected to be the first to win. ’Not bad, not bad at all.’
The whole family was thrilled.
The other customers also had smiles on their faces. They all gave Wei Yuxi a thumbs-up.
"The little guy was the first winner, impressive!"
"The kid’s got great luck!"
"Good job, kiddo."
"..."
Hearing everyone say this, Wei Yuxi was even happier, and a little shy. He looked absolutely adorable.
Seeing this, all the customers burst out laughing.
Next, the drawing continued.
Li You drew the second paper ball.
"Zhou Yang!"
This was a photography student from the Xingshui Academy of Fine Arts. He had come with four of his classmates.
Zhou Yang was quite surprised and delighted to hear his name.
’Looks like my luck is pretty good today!’
Then he let out a laugh and said, "Thanks, Boss!"
After that, his four classmates and the other customers all congratulated him.
Even though the prize was only about half a pound of tofu, it was so meaningful that it was definitely worth celebrating.
"Thanks! Thanks!"
Zhou Yang quickly expressed his gratitude.
...
A huge thank you to Sanshi Busan for another 1,500 coin donation!
Thank you, big shot!
...