The entrepreneurial story of the prodigal son returning to Dali, Yunnan Province to open a restaurant with an annual income of 11 million yuan
This morning, Zhao Junlei's restaurant began to kill pigs and prepare to make a famous dish in Dali-Bai raw skin. Bai people in Dali have the habit of eating raw pigskin and pork since ancient times, but the raw skin of Bai people is not completely raw, but needs special treatment.
Bai people don't need hot water to remove pig hair, but spread straw on pigs and burn them like this. In about ten minutes, when the pigskin turns black and the open flame goes out, you can shave the pig hair.
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: Straw is burned for pork flavor. First burn one, remove the hair, and then burn another to cook it. This back should be burned three times.
The unhairing pigs should be covered with straw and burned repeatedly for ten minutes at a time. Bai people are very particular about raw hides. They should not only burn the pigskin properly, but also burn the pigskin, not to be stained with straw ash.
reporter: to what extent should it be burned?
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: If you want to burn it until it feels soft, it's still hard now, just like here, all these can be done here, but these will continue (burning).
reporter: do you have to burn it very dark?
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: If you want to burn it very dark, it will foam, and foaming is the best.
In order not to burn the pigskin, wet the freshly burned straw ash every time, and wipe the burned parts repeatedly with the wet straw ash.
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: Put it on the cooked part of the pig. You can't put it on the uncooked part. After putting it on, it won't be cooked. After you put it on the cooked part, the skin will be soft. If you don't put it on, it will be hard. (If you burn it again) If you flip the skin, it will burst, and grass ash will be dipped in the meat.
It takes more than an hour to burn a pig, and the process is complicated and hard. The traditional practice of cooking pigs entirely with straw like this is rare in Dali. Many restaurants use alcohol blowtorch to cook pigs, which is convenient to operate and saves time. Dali locals who often eat raw skins are also unfamiliar with this traditional technology of cooking pigs with straw.
Sun Shulong, a citizen of Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: There is no other place, even this is my first time to meet him. I thought it was delicious.
Zhao junlei: after the burnt raw skin of the Bai nationality was served on the table, everyone just tasted it very delicious, but they didn't know how it was made. Make this thing outdoors, and everyone will understand it more intuitively. We all do this on holidays. Show it to tourists and diners. Usually we use (pigs) in fixed-point slaughter places (slaughter). After today's slaughter, we will take it for inspection later. Make sure there are no parasites. Only when it is safe can you let everyone taste it.
On holidays and some ethnic festivals, Zhao Junlei will hold similar tasting activities to show customers the making process of special dishes and attract everyone's attention.
After repeated washing and wiping, the burnt pig's black color faded and gradually showed golden color. After passing the quarantine, Zhao Junlei invited diners to taste this unique food of Dali Bai people on the spot.
Zhao junlei: now you can eat Huang Cancan's. This piece is eaten with meat and skin. If the skin is used, the whole pig will be delicious, and the back will be a little harder. Then what tastes best is it? See the sky? This piece, this place where the sky is invisible, this place, and this place under the limbs are all very good. The leather is very thin.
This pig, weighing about 111 Jin, can eat more than 11 Jin of raw skin, and the pigskin is already seven or eight times ripe.
everyone: delicious. One, two, three.
reporter: aren't you afraid of this blood?
Li Biao, a citizen of Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: No, we ethnic minorities eat like this.
Li Zhenkun, a citizen of Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: It's delicious, wonderful and fragrant.
Not only do they eat skins, but the Bai people in Dali also eat some raw pork while it is fresh.
reporter: raw?
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: Eat it raw. Look, dip it in some salt. It's delicious. This is dipped in water. It's delicious, too. The best is this small tenderloin.
Shi Cuixian, a citizen of Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province: It's delicious and tender.
Zhao junlei: drink some white wine after eating.
Wang Yongquan, a villager from Longquan Village, Xiaguan Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, said: It's better to drink white wine when eating raw meat.
After eating, the raw hides of the Bai nationality are delicate, and compared with the eating method of hand-tearing and knife-cutting, they are less bold and unrestrained. Zhao Junlei organized such a tasting activity, which made diners have a deeper understanding of the dishes and a better understanding of the characteristic catering culture of ethnic minorities.
Zhao Junlei runs six restaurants with completely different styles in Dali, and he runs a fire shop. The original small shop is now a catering group with more than 511 employees. So, what's so extraordinary about Zhao Junlei? How did he do it?
After graduating from high school, Zhao Junlei followed his parents to set up a stall in the street to sell small pots of rice noodles. At the age of 22, he rented a closed restaurant in Dali, took the lead in making a wedding banquet, and was the first to introduce karaoke in the local area. At that time, the average office worker earned about RMB 111 per month, while Zhao Junlei earned RMB 21,111 to RMB 31,111 per month.
Zhao junlei: at that time, the market competition was not fierce, and there were very few restaurants on a large scale. I think it may be like this from now on, and I can earn so much money every day. Money is easy to come by, as if it doesn't hurt to spend it.
The booming business gave Zhao Junlei a taste of success as a teenager, and his life began to be extravagant. At that time, he invited friends to dinner almost every day and ignored the business of his hotel.
Zhao junlei: use the mobile phone. The phone bill is more than one yuan a minute, and it is charged in both directions. It can cost four or five thousand yuan a month, and it feels quite cheap to pay three thousand yuan. Why is the phone bill only three thousand yuan this month?
Zhao Junlei's friend Yang Xixi: There may be more than a dozen people around him to eat and drink with him during the rush hour. Not only eat in your own shop, but also eat everywhere and go to delicious places. Play all night for one or two, maybe not in the store for half a month.
Zhao Junying, Zhao Junlei's younger brother: Anyway, he spends all his income and business expenses every month, resulting in problems in subsequent operations and funds.
when Zhao junlei was 31 years old, the hotel closed down due to poor management. There is no profitable business, no friends around, and the huge gap makes Zhao Junlei unable to face the fragmentation of life. In order to escape from reality, he stayed at home all day, and it took more than five years.
Zhao junlei: I felt guilty at that time. Stuffed at home reading and watching TV, I don't want to go anywhere. Anyway, it was really hard at that time, some inner struggles.
During the five years of depression, Zhao Junlei tried to be a driver and drive a tourist bus. He also reflected a lot. At the age of 36, Zhao Junlei decided to start over and start a business again.
Seeing the gradual rise of farmhouses around Dali, in June 2113, Zhao Junlei suggested to his family that he wanted to take over a closed farmhouse. Originally, he was going to borrow money, but his father took the initiative to take out his only savings of 1.5 million yuan to support him.
Zhao junlei: my dad usually lives frugally. At that time, 151 thousand yuan could buy a set of 111 square meters commercial housing in the city center. He took out 1.5 million yuan without saying anything at once.