Like every evening the Chinese cook Hop Sing had worked himself to the bone to put a delicious meal for the Cartwrights on the table. But it seemed like the gentlemen weren’t satisfied anymore with what they got on their plates. First Ben Cartwright looked with distrust at the potatoes and got up to walk to the kitchen.
“Hop Sing, what had happened to the potatoes?”, Ben asked directly.
“Hop Sing has smashed them instead of cooked. A change of food whets the appetite”, the cook answered.
“Smashed them instead of cooked? Hm, I bet one of your new culinary adventures?”, Ben wanted to know.
“Sure, Mr Cartwright. Hop Sing experiment with meals”, was the answer.
“As long as you do that while we are away”, was the reaction of the rancher who left the kitchen.
He already wasn’t in the best of moods but now the rancher was totally dreadful.
The boys were waiting in the dining room.
“Pa, what did Hop Sing have to say?”, Hoss asked.
“He is going to experiment with the meals. I really don’t know what has got into him lately. We used to get every night cooked potatoes but now smashed and yesterday they were baked in slices. Pretty soon he is going to turn this place into a chip shop”, Ben said.
Adam, Hoss and Little Joe were rolling on the floor laughing.
Adam said, “Don’t let Hop Sing hear it or he will go ahead with it anyway.”
“If he tries that he is fired”, the rancher threaded.
“What about a Chinese takeaway?”, Little Joe asked laughing.
“That is more up the street for Hop Sing”, Adam reacted.
“ADAM AND JOSEPH!”, Ben said stern.
The brothers were quiet at once. To not talk about it anymore they started to enjoy the meal.
“Gees, those smashed potatoes do taste quite delicious”, Hoss remarked after a while.
“Concerning food you like everything”, Adam remarked.
“At least I am not so choosy like the two of you”, his second brother reacted.
“That’s why we are much skinnier that you”, was the comment of Little Joe.
They ate along but nobody had noticed that Hop Sing had heard their suggestions for an eating-place. This came to his mind to make his dream come true. The Ponderosa was very large and that’s why the cook wanted to turn it into a good restaurant. His meals were often wanted and delicious so it would be a great success. As soon as his employer was away Hop Sing decided to make his plans to work.
The next morning Ben went away early.
“Make sure that Hop Sing doesn’t do any stupid things”, the rancher said to Adam.
“Don’t you worry”, the eldest Cartwright boy reassured his father.
Hoss was the first one to notice of the plans of the Chinese cook. Hop Sing came with a long shopping list to him.
“Mr Hoss and Little Joe get shopping for restaurant of Hop Sing”, the cook said.
Hoss made the car ready to go to Virginia City. Little Joe came outside, clearly being moody.
“I don’t understand why suddenly we must get so much shopping. Not even you eat this in one week”, Little Joe said indignant.
“Hop Sing said that it was needed for his restaurant. Let’s go before we get an even longer shopping list”, Hoss said.
They got into their pick-up truck and drove to the wholesaler dealer.
Little Joe looked at the list:
200 kg paste for the chow mein.
200 kg rice
200 kg vegetables
100 kg butter
300 kg meat
600 eggs
10 flessen olive oil
10 bottles washing-up liquid
Meanwhile Adam tried to be useful by doing the paperwork. He had put himself at the office and had switched on the computer to put the numbers into it. Suddenly the cook came to the eldest Cartwright boy.
“Good morning Mr Adam. Nice that the computer is on. Adam now can make the menu on that for”, Hop Sing said.
“Menu? What menu?”, Adam asked amazed.
“Menu needed for restaurant of Hop Sing”, was the reply.
Adam got a long list of courses for the menu and also a long stare of the Chinese cook. This forced Adam to start with the list. Once Adam was busy the cook walked back to his own property being well satisfied.
At the wholesalers Hoss and Little Joe got all the groceries which were on the list.
“Are you going to start an orphanage?”, Dan Cooper asked mocking when Little Joe had paid.
“No, that cook of ours has bats in the belfry. He is going to change our ranch into a Chinese restaurant”, the youngest Cartwright son answered.
“And you must help serving? That will be a laugh for the guests”, Dan reacted laughing.
Little Joe wanted to reply but Hoss grabbed him by the shoulders and took him to the pick-up.
“Come on Joe. He doesn’t believe us at all. Nobody will believe this but will look us foolish”, Hoss said indignant.
“Hoss, I can handle him. I am not a little child anymore”, Little Joe protested fierce.
“No, but you are still my younger brother who always gets deep into trouble. Now home or otherwise Hop Sing gets another rage attack, he quits and we are stuck with all this food”, Hoss reacted while he pushed Little Joe to the pick-up.
“Don’t you worry about that because you will eat it all”, his brother said.
“Yeah, but do you know how to make it?”, Hoss asked.
“No, that is concern of Hop Sing. It was his stupid idea to start a restaurant”, Little Joe said grumpy.
They rode back to the ranch where the preparations were full speed ahead for the new Chinese restaurant.
At the porch hung a sign which said:
The hands were also put to work because they had to set the tables and chairs right. Impatiently Hop Sing looked outside to see if Hoss and Little Joe weren’t coming with the new supply.
It didn’t take long before people had heard about the new restaurant at the Ponderosa. When they had heard that the Ponderosa had turned into a Chinese restaurant a whole lot of people came to try out the food.
Adam, Hoss and Little Joe weren’t allowed to come into the kitchen although they tried it. Hop Sing was so clever to put the brothers to work now the restaurant was open for business.
“Mr Adam, Mr Hoss and Little Joe, you serve and take orders from guests. Is there no work, then dishes”, the Chinese cook said.
“And when may we eat?”, Hoss asked worried.
He was afraid for the answer.
“After closing time. Not before”, the cook said determined.
“I am not one of the young ones anymore”, Adam complained.
“Me neither. Besides, when I see all that food I get more hungry”, Hoss reacted.
“And what is your excuse Little Joe?”, Hop Sing wanted to know.
“I……eh……I have a date with Emily Wilkins. She counts on me”, Little Joe replied.
“Your excuses are good but talks don’t work. Cartwright boys just work for Hop Sing”, the cook said.
Adam, Hoss and Little Joe looked at each other and the eldest Cartwright boy already had a genius plan in mind
“We do it this way: I drop everything while doing the dishes, Hoss, you eat the plates empty when you bring them to the guests and Joe flirts with all the girls.
If we do it this way Hop Sing must sack us and he is without staff and he stops with this stupid idea of his”, Adam explained.
“Hop Sing, why don’t you have a dishwasher? Then everything goes much faster and we have more spare time also”, Adam suggested one morning.
“Dishwasher for lazy people but not for Cartwrights”, was the answer.
Unexpectedly Ben came home. He rode upon the yard and could hardly park his Mercedes. So busy was it at the restaurant. He got out of the car and walked to the ranch house. Then his eye caught the sign which was above the porch.
“What is going on here?”, Ben asked himself.
He went inside and saw that both living room and dining room was full of eating people. He walked straight to the kitchen.
“Hop Sing, what is going on around here?”, the rancher stern.
“Hop Sing has started restaurant. Your sons don’t help good. Adam drops everything, Hoss eats everything and Joe flirts with girls”, the cook answered.
Ben sighted and looked at the ground.
“The behavior of my sons doesn’t surprise me. Just make sure that all people disappear out of MY house and well at this moment!”, the rancher answered well very moody.
Hereby all eaters looked up and they ran away with fear.
Ben woke up with a shock. He got up, washed himself and got dressed. After that the rancher went downstairs. When he got there he saw his old familiar living room and no restaurant. He sighted of relief.
“It was fortunately only a dream and not such a nice one too”, the rancher said to himself.
He did know that he had to keep it for himself because he knew that Hoss and Little Joe were able to turn the ranch into a restaurant.