Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country-Chapter 295 - 296: How Could the Chicken’s Standing in Jianghu Be Mere Words?
"Wow, boss, we have a senior today who’s quite amazing. An old man fell into the water and he jumped in to save him."
Zhuo Qianqian vividly told Wang Fan, "Later, the old man and his family came with a banner to thank him, and no one in the whole department could find where he was hiding. Guess where they finally found him?"
A scene from the afternoon flashed through Wang Fan’s mind and he said uncertainly, "Was he found in my line by any chance?"
Zhuo Qianqian burst out laughing, "He really was. That senior is quite unlucky too, just wanting to eat the food you make, but every time he came, he couldn’t catch it in time. This time, he was almost at the front of the line, but then two seniors dragged him back to the department. You could visibly see how saddened he was, hahaha."
"Oh, by the way, I heard from our advisor that when the principal asked if he had any requests, he blurted out that he wanted the juniors to save a meal for him, hahaha."
Wang Fan couldn’t help but laugh as he listened to Zhuo Qianqian’s story, but there wasn’t much he could do. The current workload was already quite saturated for him, and increasing it any further would be a bit too much for him physically.
However, for such a heroic figure, Wang Fan didn’t mind giving him a special treat.
"How about this, if you know him or know someone who does, ask him what he wants to eat and I’ll make a special meal for him."
Zhuo Qianqian reluctantly said, "Won’t that be too tiring for you? You’re already so busy, can’t you just save him a portion?"
Seeing how busy Wang Fan has been lately, Zhuo Qianqian felt quite concerned for him. Even when Wang Fan asked her what she wanted to eat, she always shook her head, saying she would just have the same as everyone else, because everything the boss made was delicious.
Wang Fan shook his head, "It’s nothing if it’s just once or twice."
"Then, if you’re really going to do it, wait until I don’t have classes and I’ll help you."
...
Cooking up meals for the students has become something Wang Fan enjoys immensely.
The pace was still intense on Wednesday at noon.
In Guangfu, there’s an animal that’s a must-have at banquets, and that’s chicken. No feast is complete without it.
In Cantonese, chicken is synonymous with "regular guest." There’s a type of regret called "missed chicken," a dim sum called "glutinous rice chicken," a term for getting drenched called "soaked chicken," a phrase for being certain called "no missing chicken," a phrase for a tranquil environment called "quiet chicken chicken," a term for small change called "one dollar chicken," and a term for being flustered called "praying but losing the chicken."
"Chicken" holds a deeply ingrained position in the heart of Guangfu people.
Chicken, with its auspicious and favorable connotations, has always been a beloved fixture on the dining tables of Guangfu people. Their particular affection and enthusiasm for eating chicken have reached an unparalleled level.
White cut chicken, salt-baked chicken, salted chicken, ginger chicken, master chicken, lotus leaf chicken, shredded chicken... There are at least dozens if not hundreds of ways to cook chicken.
Among them, the most widely known and well-loved is undoubtedly white cut chicken.
But Wang Fan didn’t want to make white cut chicken; he wanted to try steamed chicken over water.
After all, the all-in-one machine has a steaming function, and he didn’t want to waste it.
Wang Fan ordered 300 chickens and also hired two people through the "Didi Helper" function to help with food preparation. He hadn’t noticed this feature in the System Mall before.
The hourly rate was 150 yuan per person, which wasn’t cheap, but given their working capability and the time saved for Wang Fan, he thought it was well worth it.
The yellow chickens, each weighing about three jin, had already been gutted before arriving at Wang Fan’s place, so he didn’t need to slaughter them. However, he still needed to clean out the insides.
The two hired helpers were guys in their twenties with years of experience in kitchen and food preparation. They were diligent and swift, quickly cleaning all 300 chickens, and then gave each chicken a thorough rubdown with salt, fresh ginger, and scallions, all within just an hour and a half.
Wang Fan was quite satisfied with the result, paying them each 300 yuan. The two were naturally pleased to work for a generous boss, expressing that they’d prioritize his needs first.
After sending them off, Wang Fan got busy.
These chickens were quite large, and he didn’t plan to sell one chicken per serving but rather half a chicken as a serving, making the number of required servings sufficient.
Laying peeled ginger slices and scallion segments evenly on perforated trays, Wang Fan placed the halved chickens directly on top.
One tray could hold five chickens, amounting to ten servings.
Placing tray after tray of chicken into the all-in-one machine and setting different steaming times for each layer, he then started preparing the dipping sauce.
The dipping sauce was quite simple. He didn’t plan to add other seasonings, focusing on the pure original flavor of the chicken. Just scallion segments and fresh ginger with a pinch of salt, then pouring a spoonful of hot oil finished it off.
Although it appeared simple, the aroma of scallions and ginger released by hot oil was already appetizing enough. The salt he used wasn’t ordinary salt but roasted salt.
Roasted salt was only slightly more fragrant than regular salt, but in such a straightforward cooking method, the difference lay in those minor details.
Today’s goal — to make their mouths water with just a whiff!
At the entrance of the second cafeteria.
"Guess what we’re eating today?"
"No idea. We only know that lunch is meat and dinner is vegetarian, lunch is more expensive and dinner is cheaper. There’s really no pattern to what’s cooked each day; it seems to depend entirely on the boss’s mood."
Just at 11 AM, there were already a few students in line, while some others enjoyed reading in the shade and some were loudly reciting vocabulary.
Most of these students belonged to the same dorm or even the same class.
For them, not having classes in the morning or just having fewer morning classes was certainly something to be thankful for.
This meant they could come early to the cafeteria, line up, and enjoy the delicacies they eagerly anticipated.
Today was quite fortunate as Zhuo Qianqian’s class happened to have no morning classes.
With nothing to do while lining up, they started discussing what they might eat for lunch.
"Well, it’s definitely something solid for sure. Lunch is always the best meal of the day."
"Ask Zhuo Qianqian, she must know. I heard the boss is her boyfriend."
"Huh? You shouldn’t make unfounded statements. If it’s not true, that’s spreading rumors."
"Exactly, don’t buy or spread rumors. How long has that window even been open?"
Zhuo Qianqian suddenly turned and confirmed, "That’s right, he’s my boyfriend, but I don’t know what he’s cooking for lunch."
There weren’t many secrets between her and Wang Fan, and many people knew, but of course, there would always be some students who were oblivious to what happened outside the window and naturally weren’t aware.
She indeed hadn’t asked Wang Fan what was for lunch today. Opening a blind box for meals each day, isn’t that interesting too?
Anyway, whatever the boss makes is always the best!
