Zhao Wenping patted Zhang Xiaobin, "You wait here, I’ll go buy a bottle of milk. I’ve heard drinking milk can relieve spiciness."

"Master is really committed to solving the case!" Zhang Xiaobin secretly decided to learn more from his master in the future.

Qian Zhijie took in a breath, deliberately glancing at the tofu brain vendor as he passed, thinking to himself that Zhao Ming might have a point. In this nearly forty-degree heat, the vendor was wearing a black suit, which was indeed a bit odd.

As he walked out of Night Market Street, Qian Zhijie got into his car, grateful that the car windows were tinted dark. In the dim light of the night, no one could see what was going on inside.

He slumped over, stuffed the water bottle into his crotch, and a very comfortable expression appeared on his face.

Five minutes later.

The four of them were gathered around a small table, on which lay only a paper tube containing some kind of indescribable liquid.

"Master, this is the third test strip and still one line. Are we overthinking this?"

Zhao Wenping, with a cigarette in his mouth, said, "It’s not impossible. By logic, this thing is very accurate, and there should be no mistakes."

Qian Zhijie was also well aware.

In fact, even if they had just eaten a bowl of tofu brain, and tested it half an hour to an hour later, if there was really something, it should definitely be two lines.

But now, with three consecutive negative test results, it could only mean one thing: the snacks made by the young vendor were truly delicious and made people want to keep coming back!

Zhao Ming was still not convinced.

"Impossible. I’ve never known any food that makes people yearn for more after eating. It’s too strange."

With a sense of responsibility to the public, Qian Zhijie wrapped the plastic bag and stuffed it into his pocket, "Alright, tomorrow we’ll take it for testing. Regardless of the result, we’ll inform you. Is that okay?"

Without any evidence, you absolutely can’t just arrest people.

Zhao Ming understood this too, and could only nod, "Okay."

The farce came to a temporary end.

When Qian Zhijie and the others left, they deliberately stopped at the tofu brain stall, just in time to see the young vendor packing up, clearly getting ready to close up shop.

"He won’t be coming back tomorrow, will he?"

Qian Zhijie shook his head, "No, who wouldn’t want to do more business when it’s this profitable?"

In fact, Qian Zhijie knew well that if the test strips showed nothing, sending the food samples for further testing likely wouldn’t yield different results.

As he suspected, the results from the testing agency the next afternoon showed that the food was completely normal, with none of the special substances the complainant claimed.

"Tsk, then their rabbit head and tofu brain must really be made well."

"What’s up, Master? You want to eat more?"

Qian Zhijie shifted slightly, feeling some discomfort in his backside, "Yeah, that rabbit head yesterday was really delicious. I couldn’t stop eating, and that tofu brain too."

As he said this, an expression of longing and satisfaction unconsciously appeared on his face, leaving Zhang Xiaobin stunned.

"Is there a possibility that Master was eating so voraciously not just to test his urine yesterday?" Zhang Xiaobin’s mind birthed a strange thought.

...

Honestly, with the great success of Emei Tofu Brain, Cheng Xiuli had become utterly trusting of Chen Mo.

"Boss Chen, what new snack are you planning to add today?"

Chen Mo, sitting in front of the food cart soaking up the sun, holding a cup of orange juice, didn’t even bother to open his eyes, "Today we’ll make something simple."

"Oh?" Cheng Xiuli’s face lit up, "Starting now?"

Chen Mo nodded, as it was already the third day he promised to do something; he wasn’t concerned about the start time, only the progress of that issue.

"How’s it going on contacting Yingzi’s parents?"

"Still in contact," Cheng Xiuli noticed an empty seat next to Chen Mo and sat down, smoothing her dress, "But the other side is very cautious, afraid we’re scammers. But it doesn’t matter, I’ve promised that they can try it without any upfront fee. If they find it suitable, they can pay later. They said they need some time to think it over."

Chen Mo nodded.

Sometimes, the opportunity to change one’s fate is right in front of you, and it’s crucial whether or not you can seize it.

Cheng Xiuli had seized hers. It’s not an exaggeration to say that with the techniques he taught to Bao Shuai and the others these past few days, they could generate substantial profits for their company.

If Yingzi’s parents chose to set up a stall, no matter what product they chose, earning thirty thousand yuan within a year wouldn’t be a problem at all. It would certainly be much better than working a regular job.

Running a snack stall is truly hard work. Customers may only see small business owners busy making food and handling money, but they don’t see them start preparing ingredients long before the stall opens.

For instance, today, although the stall opens at 7 PM, Chen Mo had to start preparing ingredients at 3 PM. This is because he is already skilled; inexperienced vendors would need to start preparing three or four hours earlier.

"Today we’ll make some fresh snacks, I’ll first go out to buy the ingredients."

Cheng Xiuli wanted to go along, but remembering that she had to go to Dashuang Village in the afternoon to negotiate again with Yingzi’s parents, she didn’t insist.

Whether it’s a snack or a main course, making it delicious requires following one main principle.

And that is to choose the best possible ingredients within your capability.

The quality of the ingredients can, to some extent, mask minor technical flaws, and this has always been Chen Mo’s guiding principle.

According to the navigation system, Chen Mo found a local slaughterhouse and bought 200 pounds of pork ham at market price, all lean meat!

Back at the parking lot, Chen Mo started preparing today’s snack.

"Huaxia foods are really diverse. Eating meat directly is great, but preparing it this way seems even better?"

Fuding Meat Slices originated from Fuding.

This snack is not uncommon in southern cities, even quite common, but becomes less so as you head north.

At least, Chen Mo hadn’t seen anyone selling it at Night Market Street in Dongyang.

In the early years, while scouting different places with Jiang Fei, Chen Mo had it once in Guangdong, and then again in Fujian.

At that time, he thought...

This is a dish that’s hard to evaluate.

Some shops use seaweed to enhance the flavor, and when you eat it, it feels like a bowl of wontons filled with meat slices.

Some shops may prefer traditional methods, using only salt, MSG, and pepper for the broth, plus rice vinegar and yellow peppers, finished with shredded ginger and cilantro.

All kinds of flavors, so varied.

But the core of the dish is always the meat slices themselves.

No matter what flavor is made, it must ensure that the cooked meat slices have a chewy texture and a rich meat aroma to be considered a qualified Fuding Meat Slice.

Unfortunately...

In Chen Mo’s memory, he has rarely tasted Fuding Meat Slices with a strong meat aroma, mainly due to cost issues.

Some businesses, seeing poor sales, think of reducing costs, so they use 60% to 70% tapioca flour instead of the half meat they should add.

And they even proudly say: Fuding Meat Slices are supposed to be all about the texture!

Chen Mo does not agree with such statements.

Back in the food cart, he deftly placed a piece of ham into the input slot, awaiting the food cart’s analysis for a recipe.

In fact, for certain foods he’s already tasted, Chen Mo doesn’t really need the input slot to analyze a recipe.

After all, there are only so many cooking techniques, and the same few condiments, combining different techniques and spices repeatedly. After tasting a few times, you can basically imagine how to make it based on the taste and even think about how to improve it.

Soon, the recommended recipe from the food cart appeared before him.

[Ever-changing Flavorful Fuding Meat Slices!]

Oh?

Chen Mo’s eyes lit up. In Yu Province, he’d only made spicy rabbit heads and tofu brain, so the past few days making snacks seemed a tad repetitive, lacking in excitement.

With the emergence of a new recipe, Chen Mo felt a sense of joy.

Ever-changing, flavorful?

Now that’s interesting!