Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
While Zhou Xi and Zhou Shijie were rushing to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, a huge crowd was already in front of the restaurant. In fact, the crowd today was larger.
That was because the restaurant was once again emitting a mouth-watering smell, attracting the large crowd.
This was a world that was always moving forward, and a keen sense of smell was important if one wanted to have the chance to eat good food.
“There is definitely a new breakfast today. Wahahaha, it has been a long time since Boss Yuan made a new dish,” said a customer that was roaring with a burst of odd laughter.
“Do we even need you to tell us that? It is obvious from the smell in the air. This is a smell that has never appeared in Boss Yuan’s place before. No smell can escape my nose that is as sharp as a dog’s nose,” said Ma Zhida, the expert of new dishes.
Of course, Broth, the dog would never agree to this. Broth believed he alone could bite two people like Ma Zhida to death anytime he wished.
“Yes, yes, this smells so good. I’m getting impatient,” said a young woman in glasses and a formal suit. Of course, she would look even more formal if it wasn’t for her swallowing while speaking.
“Little Red, it’s rare to see you. By the way, what good food is Boss Yuan making today?” said Wang Hong.
Wang Hong was a new and promising regular customer of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. He was a person who could breathe life into any place he went, and he brought the same effect to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
When he first came, the first thing he did was trying to court Sister Wan. And on the next day, he was mysteriously bruised all over. Fortunately, Wang Hong had a nerve of steel as he swiftly shifted his target to Meng Meng instead.
It was rumored that Wang Hong was presently being hunted by a bunch of Meng Meng fans.
Wang Hong was a person who fully embraced the spirit of sharing. Thus, he subsequently decided to share his love with Jiang Changxi as well.
As a result…
“Wang Hong, have your legs healed?” asked Little Hong while pushing her glasses up.
“Hehe, since Boss Yuan is releasing a new dish, I must come,” said Wang Hong.
Apart from those waiting in line, there was also a bunch of observers that had been attracted by the smell. These people were mostly the residents of the area, business owners of the food businesses nearby, and customers who had arrived after getting the news.
It was normal for the food business owners to come. The larger the crowd Yuan Zhou attracted, the better their businesses would be thanks to the increased traffic.
After all, Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was too small and he would only sell 100 sets of breakfast each morning.
It would seem like Yuan Zhou’s restaurant played multiple roles. It served as a source of traffic, a place one shared their sadness, and also a place one shared their joy.
A great embodiment of that was the couple taking pictures in front of the restaurant. It was worth noting that this couple was doing that even when they did not know each other from this restaurant.
But with someone else having done this before, they decided to follow the trend and tried doing it as well. As for Wang Hong, he was the one who had decided to come after seeing that there were many pretty girls here on the Internet. And subsequently, he was converted into a customer by Yuan Zhou’s cooking skills.
He had even started a matchmaking chat group based on Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. That was how Wang Hong and Little Hong knew each other. By the way, Yuan Zhou had also secretly joined the group with a throwaway account.
There was a saying on the internet: May one eat at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, go on a date at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, taking wedding pictures at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, and have one’s last meal before death at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, to live one’s entire life here.
In fact, one could say that this was Wu Hai’s dream life.
It had been a while since Guo Rui and A Luo came. This was how Yuan Zhou’s restaurant had always been. People would come and leave. Whatever the case, the restaurant would always be there.
Back to the topic, the crowd was joyfully talking about the new breakfast.
It was quite curious how people could have so many things to say about it.
“You guys are thinking too much. Won’t we know what the new breakfast is later?” said Wu Hai while he leisurely rubbed his mustache.
“Shameless Wu, you will sound more reliable if you stop sticking to the restaurant,” said Ling Hong speechlessly.
Ling Hong was right. At present, Wu Hai had an extremely unique appearance. As usual, he was wearing his pajamas with both his hands sticking on the door, as if he was trying to squeeze himself into the restaurant.
With how impatient he seemed, he actually dared to tell others to be patient.
“Shameless Wu is truly shameless,” lamented the crowd.
Zhou Shijie and Zhou Xi arrived late. When they saw the long line, they grew anxious.
“That Shameless Wu is the first in line again,” said Zhou Shijie when he saw Wu Hai who was sticking to the door like a lizard.
“Shameless Wu?” Zhou Xi looked over and found the person familiar. But he did not think too much and asked,” He was also first in line yesterday. Why is he always this fast?”
“He rented an apartment on the second floor opposite the restaurant. Moreover, he would set around seven or eight alarms every morning so he can wake up in time for breakfast,” said Zhou Shijie. His lips twitched when he thought of how obsessed Wu Hai was.
Naturally, Zhou Shijie was unaware that Wu Hai had long been painting here and had not rented an apartment just to stay opposite Yuan Zhou. But of course, Zhou Shijie’s version of the story was the widely spread one.
Within the restaurant, Yuan Zhou started making the mincemeat. The Dan Dan Noodles required different mincemeat than the mincemeat used for Shaanxi Mincemeat Noodles.
The deliciousness of a bowl of Shaanxi Mincemeat Noodles was entirely dependent on the mincemeat gravy used. But for the mincemeat of Dan Dan Noodles, both the noodles and the mincemeat would complement each other.
Although both versions of mincemeat were based on pork, the part of the pork used and the cooking method were entirely different.
The mincemeat used for Dan Dan Noodles was the pork shoulder part with a balanced ratio of fat to meat while the meat was tender. As for the Shaanxi Mincemeat Noodles, the ratio of fat to meat was about seven to three. Although Yuan Zhou did not know the recipe for the Shaanxi Mincemeat Noodles, he still had some knowledge about it.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A clear sound rang out as Yuan Zhou sliced the meat into cubes. He was extremely skilled with his knife, slicing the cubes into even sizes.
The evenness in size wasn’t due to this OCD. Rather, it was because if the cubes were different in size, there would be a slight difference in the time they were required to cook. That was why Yuan Zhou tried his best to keep the size even.
As the saying went, a good flavor originated from hard work, from the tiny details during preparation. The more Yuan Zhou learned, the more he agreed with this saying.
He poured the cubes into a bowl of cooking wine. After soaking for about three seconds, he immediately took them out before chopping them into smaller sizes, similar to the size of mung beans.
Next, the newly chopped meat would be soaked in cooking oil again. Soaking in cooking wine was a rather technical task as one had to be swift enough. Next, the oil must be added into the pot before the cubes were chopped.
After taking the meat out, the oil would be sufficiently heated. The meat would be added into the pot, allowing the moisture to be dried from the meat.
“Hua Hua”
Next, salt, soy sauce, and a unique paste made by Yuan Zhou were added to the meat.
When all the condiments were done seeping into the meat, a layer of oil would be added on top of the meat. Thus, the mincemeat became flaky and aromatic with a golden color to it. Finally, the mincemeat was removed from the pot and placed into a bowl. In the bowl, the golden mincemeat rested while white steam billowed up from it.
“Um, smells decent,” said Yuan Zhou with a satisfied nod. He could smell it through the mask he was wearing.
First step, complete.
