The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 3 San Francisco

Gan Guoyang devoured half a roast chicken, a bowl of wontons, two servings of noodles, three shrimp dumplings, four pieces of char siu, and five small cups of lemon tea before wiping his mouth with a slightly satisfied expression and letting out a burp.

"Dad, your cooking skills seem to have improved again."

When Gan Youwei saw that his son had such a good appetite, he finally felt relieved. Being able to eat meant that there was nothing seriously wrong with his health.

"It's not that Dad's cooking has improved, it's that you're hungry. Would you like some more?"

"No, I don't want to eat too much. Besides, this is food from the restaurant that we're selling; it's not good to eat too much..."

Uncle Gan Youtang, who was standing at the door, came in, sighed, and said, "Eat up, eat up, Guoyang, eat more. Anyway, if you can't finish it, it'll just go bad in the kitchen. Look at this, it's the middle of the day and there's not a single person here. This shop has only been open for half a year and the business is already this bad. Youwei, I'm really sorry for bringing you here from the mainland, only to lead you into a fire pit."

Gan Youwei quickly waved his hand and said, "I came of my own accord. Besides, you didn't lie to me when you asked me to come. You said the shop was struggling and needed a chef with a specialty. I'm skilled and thought I could turn things around, but who knew..."

"Who knew these American wild boars couldn't eat fine food! They wouldn't eat well-made, high-quality food, they wouldn't be willing to spend the money! They just love Chinatown's chop suey! I'll eat it!"

Gan Youtang picked up the conversation, both brothers looking worried about their sluggish business and the hefty monthly rent.

Gan Bingguang and his son Gan Youtang have been working in the United States for more than ten years. The old man has been the head chef of a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, while Gan Youtang manages the restaurant.

They saved up some money, thinking of ending their working lives, becoming their own boss, and owning a restaurant.

Through an acquaintance's introduction, I rented this shop located near the bustling intersection of Tiandelong District. The renovation was completed and the shop opened for business six months ago.

The owner of this shop is a Cantonese man from Chinatown named Chen Yaoming. Before opening the shop, he exaggerated the location to the extreme, saying that the feng shui was good and that it was the most prosperous area in the Tiandelong District, with many residents, tourists, and white-collar workers, so the business would definitely be good.

Five years' rent, you can recoup your investment in just one year, and everything after that is profit.

When it opened, they found that the place was indeed located in a bustling area with a large number of guests, tourists, and white-collar workers, and the flow of people was abundant. They had also inspected the place several times and found that there was no problem.

Unexpectedly, there were also many homeless people, hippies, and hooligans in the area. They would always appear in groups around mealtimes and evenings, wandering around and occasionally coming to this store to freeload.

They can't afford expensive meals and drinks, so they always order cheap fried rice and tea, and sit there for an entire afternoon, taking up space and deterring tourists and office workers who want to eat from coming in.

These people can't be driven away, and it's impossible to cultivate them into a customer base—it's already a good thing if they're willing to pay a little money for food.

Gan's Restaurant targets urban middle-class customers. Gan Bingguang, who has been a head chef for many years, is determined to open a high-end Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, change the stereotype in American society that Chinese food is low-end fast food and chop suey, and promote the profound and extensive Chinese cuisine.

As a result, the large number of homeless people, hippies, and drug addicts made middle-class consumers hesitant to patronize the restaurant.

Gan Bingguang upholds the Chinese spirit of hard work and perseverance, believing that hard work will always bring good fortune. He insists on pursuing a mid-to-high-end strategy and does not lower standards in terms of ingredients and materials.

He believes that good wine needs no bush, and if he persists, he will eventually build a good reputation.

Thanks to this, the restaurant's delivery business did quite well, increasing revenue and reducing losses.

However, breaking even or making a profit is still a long way off, since delivery is only a supplement and cannot even cover the rent.

The restaurant quickly became unprofitable, the kitchen was severely understaffed, the chefs were not receiving their full wages and quit, so the old man had to take over the cooking himself.

Working in the kitchen is physically demanding. Gan Bingguang is experienced but too old, and his son Gan Youtang isn't cut out to be a chef. They can't find suitable chefs in the area for the time being, and they're unwilling to come because the restaurant isn't doing well.

When he was feeling down, he suddenly remembered that there was a nephew named Gan Youwei in his hometown of Ganjiacun, which was far across the ocean. His family was the largest in the village and had inherited the Gan family recipes from his grandfather. If he could bring him to the United States to work as a chef, there might be a glimmer of hope.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Gan Bingguang finally contacted Gan Youwei, who was thousands of miles away. After a long-distance phone call, Gan Youwei surprisingly agreed, saying he would bring his son across the ocean to help out at Gan's restaurant. At that time, it was during the honeymoon period between China and the United States. According to the 1965 Immigration Act and the agreement after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, 40,000 Chinese were allowed to go to the United States each year (half from mainland China and half from Taiwan), and immigration restrictions were greatly relaxed.

With the help of Gan Bingguang and his son, Gan Youwei and his son Gan Guoyang successfully arrived in San Francisco and began their life in the United States.

Gan Bingguang was worried that his nephew, despite his reputation, had long since abandoned his culinary skills and wouldn't be able to cook the Gan family dishes. However, after his arrival, he personally cooked a meal that even Gan Bingguang, a seasoned chef, praised, saying that his culinary skills were beyond question.

But good cooking skills alone are not enough. In 1979, the US economy stagnated, and an economic crisis broke out in California. Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland and other places fell into a severe economic recession.

In 1980, Reagan took office and released an economic reform plan, but it did not work. On the contrary, by 1981, the US economy had entered a stagflationary quagmire, with the unemployment rate soaring to 8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling from 2600 points in 1965 to 800 points, and it was still declining.

Large cities are experiencing a hollowing-out trend, with a large number of new immigrants and middle-class people moving their homes to satellite cities in the suburbs, which has severely impacted San Francisco's tourism industry.

With groups of homeless people, criminals, and drug addicts occupying the streets, the survival environment for the catering industry is becoming increasingly harsh.

This is not something that can be determined by the chef's skill level. Even if Gan Youwei has amazing culinary skills, he cannot turn the tide if customers don't come to his door or if those who do come don't do business.

Several gay men carrying handbags, wearing black fishnet stockings and tight short skirts, and sporting various colored wigs, pushed open the door and entered. After finding a place to sit down, they waved to Gan Youtang and called out for a steamer of potstickers.

Gan Youtang rolled his eyes, shook his head and cursed inwardly. These stinky bastards always come in groups of three or five, but they only eat a little bit like chicks. After they finish eating, they don't leave. They stay in the restaurant chatting and playing cards.

Even when you try to chase them away, they still act all cute and flirtatious, which is really unbearable. There's just no way to deal with them.

After they sat down, they started chatting noisily and soon lit cigarettes. Gan Youtang had no choice but to entertain them, while Gan Youwei got up and went to the kitchen to make potstickers.

Gan Guohui came downstairs just then, holding a basketball in his hand. He told Gan Youtang that he was going to play basketball and then left.

Gan Guoyang quickly stood up and called out to him, "Hey! Guohui, going to play ball? Take me with you!"

Gan Guohui said, "Guoyang, you've just recovered from your illness, are you sure you can manage? Besides, don't you dislike playing basketball?"

"Who says I don't like playing basketball? I'm so tall, it would be a shame if I didn't play. I just hadn't gotten used to it before."

"Hehe, I knew it! It's a waste that you're not playing basketball with that physique. Come on, let's go together. Anyway, there's no business at the store. Perfect timing, you can go and teach that Chen Xing kid a lesson for me."

As Gan Guoyang passed by those women, one of them reached out and pinched his arm, while another took off her Bohemian wreath and put it on Gan Guoyang's head.

The group laughed and joked, even giving Gan Guoyang flirtatious glances, which made him feel uneasy.

Looking at these strange and unusual people, a song from the movie Forrest Gump, called "San Francisco," suddenly came to his mind:
If you're going to San Francisco
Make sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

If you're going to San Francisco
You're going to meet some gentle people there.

For those who come to San Francisco

Summertime there will be a love-in-the-place...

He touched the flower wreath on his head, but instead of taking it off and throwing it away, he smiled and left the restaurant with Gan Guohui while wearing it.

The women smoked their cigarettes, silently watching Forrest Gump's departing figure.

(End of this chapter)