Put the popcorn kernels, salt, vegetable oil into the cold wok. Optionally the chili oil too.
Put the Lao Gan Ma into a small mesh strainer to squeeze the oil into the wok, reserve the solids
Mix everything up and cover the wok in thick foil, crimping the edges down to secure it down
Turn to the highest heat and puncture the foil to let some steam out
Start shaking, stirring, moving, agitating the pan when you hear the popcorn popping
It'll really start going, shake it back and forth while listening for the popping
Once it slows down and gets to about 4-5 seconds between pops, take it off the heat
Peel back the foil and add the reserved Lao Gan Ma solids and red pepper powder
Put the foil back on, cover the wok with a towel, and shake the whole thing up. I pour everything into a big stock pot to shake it up, depends on how big your wok is and how much you make