togophonebook Chapter 47, 4 copies from the same source
Chapter 47, 4 copies from the same source
At this moment, Lin Xiaoyu no longer cared about maintaining her "anime girl" image.
When the plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce was placed steadily in front of her, the domineering, alluring, sweet, sour, and spicy aroma carried by the rising steam was irresistible to her.
In her memory, this kind of home-style dish, which is stir-fried quickly over high heat with lots of oil, is usually greasy after just a couple of bites. She used to buy an iced cola to cut through the greasiness when she ate this kind of dish.
But when she shakily picked up her first chopstick and put the shredded meat, black fungus, and bamboo shoots covered in bright red sauce into her mouth, Lin Xiaoyu's eyes widened suddenly, and she seemed to be frozen in place.
"Ugh...!"
An unprecedented refreshing sensation explodes the moment the sauce touches the tip of the tongue.
The mellow acidity of aged vinegar after its pungent smell evaporates at high temperatures; the refreshing sweetness of white sugar dissolving in the pot; the mild spiciness of pickled red chilies, unique and infused with fermented aroma. All these flavors burst and overlap in your mouth.
What surprised her most was that the shredded meat was smooth and not greasy. The sauce was thin and clear, clinging to the ingredients without being sticky or cloying. Instead, it was like a light protective film, locking in the original sweetness of the ingredients.
Lin Xiaoyu originally wanted to eat slowly and reservedly, but the taste was just too "appetizing".
She glanced down at the bowl of snow-white, steaming rice, let out an unconscious, coquettish sound, and then quickly swung her chopsticks with her right hand.
She first scooped a large mound of shredded pork with garlic sauce onto the rice. The bright red sauce slowly seeped into the rice grains, turning the originally snow-white rice into an extremely tempting amber color.
"Ah...wooo!"
Lin Xiaoyu opened her small mouth and stuffed a big mouthful of rice mixed with sauce. The soft and sticky rice, the tender shredded meat, and the crisp wood ear mushrooms intertwined in her mouth, and every grain of rice seemed to be infused with a soul.
"It's so delicious... Ahhh, it's really so delicious!" she screamed in her mind, while her hands moved faster and faster, using both spoon and chopsticks to stuff food into her mouth.
Her fair face swelled up like a little bun from chewing, her cheeks twitching, completely unaware of the little bit of bright red oil stains on the corners of her mouth.
At the next table, Zhao Dafa's eating habits could only be described as "violent".
This gourmand had been starving all morning, and his stomach was already a bottomless abyss from the aroma he had just smelled. Unlike Lin Xiaoyu, who was still observing the colors, all his senses were now focused on the overflowing dish.
"Snoring...snoring..."
Zhao Dafa didn't need a spoon at all. He simply picked up the large bowl, his two wooden chopsticks flashing like afterimages as he shoveled piles of glistening, reddish-brown shredded meat into his mouth. The fish-flavored shredded meat, paired with perfectly cooked rice, was often swallowed whole, barely requiring a few chews.
"Amazing! This tastes absolutely amazing!"
Zhao Dafa swallowed hard, mumbling incoherently. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, whether from the heat or the stimulating spiciness, it was hard to tell.
In less than a minute, the large bowl in Zhao Dafa's hand was empty. After sweeping the last grain of rice into his mouth with his chopsticks, he looked at the half-eaten plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce in front of him, his eyes gleaming with hunger.
"Qiangzi! Get me some rice! And another one... Oh well, never mind, you're so slow!"
Zhao Dafa originally wanted to greet Zhang Qiang, but when he turned around, he saw Zhang Qiang standing in the aisle with a rag, about to walk towards the cashier.
Zhao Dafa found Zhang Qiang's process of walking over and taking the bowl to serve rice too tedious, so he stood up abruptly, his movements so agile that he didn't seem like a middle-aged fat man at all.
He dashed to the small table not far away, which was specially used to place the large rice cooker.
"I'll do it myself!"
Zhao Dafa picked up a rice scoop and vigorously scooped up the pot of rice that was emitting a fragrant aroma, filling his bowl with snow-white rice once again.
Zhang Qiang was holding a rag, intending to hand water to the next customer, when he saw Zhao Dafa's "self-reliant" appearance and froze on the spot, the rag in his hand hanging in mid-air, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Hey... Uncle Zhao, please sit down, I'll serve you some..." Zhang Qiang hadn't finished speaking.
Zhao Dafa, carrying a mountain of rice, hurried past him, muttering, "Don't block my way, don't block my way! It'll be hard to mix if it gets cold!"
Zhang Qiang looked blankly at his empty hands, then at Zhao Dahai's hurried back.
He suddenly felt like he was superfluous in the restaurant. He was supposed to be a waiter running errands, but now these customers were all more diligent than him in order to get a hot meal, making him feel like the redundant "waiter."
At this moment, the diners in the restaurant who hadn't yet eaten were experiencing extremely severe mental torment.
They stared at each other, their eyes like hooks, glued to Lin Xiaoyu and Zhao Dafa's bowls.
"Gulp."
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing saliva echoed throughout the store.
"Oh dear, look at that little girl. She was so quiet just now, but now she's eating like a little tiger!"
A young man wearing glasses pushed up his nose, his eyes filled with regret. "Why was I three seconds slow? If I had just scanned the code to pay, I'd be the one bragging about my meal right now!"
"Don't even mention it! I thought 38 yuan was expensive just now. But looking at the way Lao Zhao is eating, I feel like he didn't just buy food, he bought his life for 38 yuan!" Another diner wiped his mouth and stamped his foot impatiently.
They watched as Lin Xiaoyu ate one bowl after another, and as Zhao Dafa prepared a second bowl for himself. The extremely rich and penetrating aroma of fish not only tormented their sense of smell but also relentlessly challenged their psychological defenses.
"Boss... Boss Chen! Can you hurry up?! I feel like my stomach is about to cramp!"
"Yeah, only two portions were made from this pot. When will it be our turn?"
The grievances and desires of the crowd converged into an invisible pressure that surged into the open kitchen.
Despite the commotion outside, Chen Feng's movements remained composed.
He seemed to have entered a state of "flow." He didn't speed up the stirring of the food because of the diners' urging, because he knew that the heat control was crucial.
However, he demonstrated an extremely terrifying level of efficiency.
His right hand was stirring the ingredients in the second pot with a large spatula, while his left hand was already taking advantage of the break to start a third pot of simmering meat in warm oil on the spare stove. Chen Feng's figure flashed back and forth in the narrow space of the kitchen, his movements seamless.
"Xingruo, the next serving of ginger and garlic!" Chen Feng's voice was deep and powerful.
"Oh... okay! Coming!"
Xingruo was in a daze. It was the first time she had ever experienced such a "rushing" scene, and every glance from outside made her feel a chill down her spine.
Her current task is to act as Chen Feng's "ammunition depot." Whatever Chen Feng wants, she will hand him a prepared small plate within three seconds.
"Xingruo, don't just stare at my hands. Look at the smoke in the pan and listen to the sounds of the ingredients colliding. When the sound of the pickled red peppers becomes crisp after they're added, that's when you should hand over the ginger and garlic." Chen Feng said, busy at work but not forgetting to give his apprentice a "bonus."
Xingruo clutched the small plate containing minced ginger and garlic tightly in her hand, her mind racing.
"You said oil temperature was the first point, and now you're saying sound is the second point... Ugh, I feel like my brain is going to explode!"
Although Xingruo felt very tired and even couldn't keep up with Chen Feng's lightning-fast pace, she inexplicably felt a sense of fulfillment in this high-intensity interaction.
Seeing her master's calm and composed demeanor, without even a bead of sweat on his forehead, her admiration for him grew even stronger.
"Pass it! Pass the seasoning to the master!" Xingru encouraged herself in her heart, her little face turning red, her whole body spinning like a little top.
Just as the diners' patience was about to reach its limit, and some were even planning to force their way into the kitchen to watch, the iron pot in Chen Feng's hand suddenly emitted a loud clang.
"Take it off the heat!"
Chen Feng suddenly exerted force with both arms.
He didn't just serve one plate.
Taking advantage of the time difference created earlier, Chen Feng, in a very short interval, used the two pots in tandem to simultaneously reduce the sauce in the second and third batches.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap."
Four large, snow-white porcelain plates were lined up in a row on the marble table.
With a swift motion of his ladle, Chen Feng precisely placed the glistening, tempting shredded pork with fish-fragrant sauce onto the plate. Each plate was still overflowing with portions that were incredibly satisfying, and every strand of pork seemed to be coated with glaze, shimmering under the light.
The rich aroma exploded exponentially in that instant, penetrating the open kitchen and creating a small-scale smoky hurricane in the hall.
"Four servings! Four servings came out at once!"
Zhang Qiang's eyes lit up, and his previous embarrassment vanished. He quickly stepped forward, deftly picked up two trays, and shouted loudly:
"Numbers three, four, five, six! Those who have paid, come and collect your food! The rice is over there, help yourself! All you can eat!"
The four diners, who had been looking ashen-faced, instantly erupted in ecstatic joy, as if they had won the lottery, the moment they heard their numbers.
"Here it comes! It's finally my turn!"
"Make way! Make way! Don't block my way from enjoying my Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce)!"
The previously oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly. As the four bright red plates were placed into the crowd, the air in the shop was once again filled with the blissful sounds of chewing.
Chen Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead, glanced at Xing Ruo who was still dizzy and disoriented but still tightly gripping the condiment tray, and said softly, "Xing Ruo, we've got the rhythm going, don't be afraid. Let's move on to the next wave."
Xingruo paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously and replied loudly, "Yes, Master!"
At this moment, amidst the everyday hustle and bustle, a carnival of flavors is being propelled to an even higher and more intense peak by the continuous sizzling of the wok.