Zhang Xiaobin noticed the curiosity of the people around, but for a long time, no one spoke up, and he felt a bit uncomfortable with his hands twisted together.

It was like catching an 80-pound fish and showing it off all day, yet no one asked about it, which was quite frustrating.

Finally, a guy who just came in from the crowd saw Chen Mo forming the steamed rice paste into cylindrical shapes and asked curiously, "Boss, are you not selling Fuding Meat Slices today?"

Chen Mo opened his mouth to respond.

Zhang Xiaobin quickly answered, "You might not know this, but this boss offers a new snack every day. Yesterday, he sold Fuding Meat Slices, which you can buy from the stall two stalls over."

The guy was slightly taken aback, then pointed at the cylindrical rice paste in Chen Mo’s hand and asked, "Then what is this? Aren’t you selling Crossing-the-bridge Rice Noodles today?"

Obviously, he had already noticed the sign on the cart: Crossing-the-bridge Rice Noodles/25 Yuan

In everyone’s impression, street vendors selling rice noodles usually need rows of small gas stoves, at least eight burners.

Then a small clay pot is placed on each stove, and if a customer orders, the broth in the pot is boiled by turning on the stove, then ingredients like hotpot balls are added in order.

Finally, a handful of rice noodles are thrown into the pot, covered with two leaves of lettuce, and the rice noodles are considered done.

Chen Mo was about to speak when Zhang Xiaobin cut him off again!

"Haha, you are really behind the times. Do you know why I’m at the front of the queue?"

The guy stared bewildered at the young man at the front, thinking to himself, "How am I behind the times? How does having a meal turn into a matter of knowledge?"

"Why?"

Zhang Xiaobin pointed his thumb at the cart behind, "This is freshly made noodles. Have you ever seen freshly made ones? It’s not like those showy items in supermarkets, otherwise, why would I queue so early?"

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaobin looked quite proud, as if everyone should know he knew this fact.

Chen Mo could only hold back his laughter behind the cart.

The gathered customers burst into noisy chatter upon hearing this, clearly having never seen this freshly made noodle style before.

"Noodles can be freshly made? Gosh, I always thought you just buy noodles from the supermarket."

"Grinding rice into paste and making fresh noodles? Wow, that’s genuinely done with real ingredients, I have to try it."

"Will freshly made be better than supermarket ones?"

"Either way, fresh ones are at least fresh, definitely tastier than supermarket noodles, boss, when will they be ready? Give me a portion!"

Zhang Xiaobin’s show-off response immediately sparked a strong reaction among everyone, seeing all of them clamoring that they must try these freshly made noodles, Chen Mo finally felt relieved.

Though Crossing-the-bridge Rice Noodles are tasty, at first, he was indeed a bit worried.

Worried that such a snack might not be popular because it’s so common, but now it seems he was overthinking!

Turns out his initial idea of having to freshly make the noodles is useful. At least quite a few customers here are queuing because of the fresh noodle appeal.

Luckily, making fresh noodles isn’t too difficult, Chen Mo raised his head and asked Zhang Xiaobin, "Do you want thick or thin ones?"

Zhang Xiaobin was startled for a moment, realizing there’s such a distinction?

He thought of asking the difference between thick and thin.

But Zhang Xiaobin previously showed off in front of everyone, leaving him with a bit of an "image burden," so asking directly would show he doesn’t know much?

"Thick, it has to be thick! The texture of thick is so much better."

Chen Mo pressed the button, and noodles as thick as three millimeters were extruded from the noodle machine, passing through steaming vapor into the boiling water, just looking at them felt bouncy.

Chen Mo compressed all the steamed rice paste at once, and after cooking, the noodles were soaked in cold water.

This operation left the customers even more puzzled.

"I thought after cooking, it would be ready to eat right away? What’s happening?"

"Yeah, hey, little buddy, you’re quite knowledgeable, right? Tell us, if the noodles are cooked why aren’t they serving us yet?"

Zhang Xiaobin was a bit thrown off by the question, thinking to himself that he had no clue either, he was just showing off earlier.

"This..." Zhang Xiaobin hesitated a bit, then his eyes lit up, "This is their trade secret, how could I casually say it? If anything, it’s the boss who should explain, right?"

Looking at Zhang Xiaobin’s pleading eyes, Chen Mo chuckled in silence.

"Actually, it’s not much of a trade secret, you can think of it as improving texture and flavor."

These kinds of things, people who understand will naturally understand. For those who don’t, explanations are redundant.

Like in noodles or noodles-related foods, they are usually cooked first and then rinsed in cold water when made in restaurants, the classic being noodles.

In the north, why do many find restaurant noodles tastier than homemade ones?

Simply put, noodles are cooked then cooled in cold water, and added to boiling broth for flavor.

This keeps the noodle texture elastic and the broth clear and pure, the same goes for rice noodles.

Chen Mo didn’t explain further, and some uninformed customers also assumed it was a trade secret not to be disclosed.

The noodles soaked in cold water could steeper a while, and Chen Mo began preparing today’s batch of noodles.

Looking up, the queue was already quite long, these were mostly regulars from the past few days, most of whom recognized Chen Mo, although it was a one-sided recognition.