I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 699 - 317: The Braised Rice Can Be This Delicious! Cinderella’s Crystal Shoes? [Subscribe Please]
After a lively evening with a large crowd where he showed off his cooking skills, Grandpa Gao inadvertently drank too much. Consequently, the RV caravan, which was supposed to depart in the morning, was delayed until this moment.
Chen Yan had been wandering around the yurts since early morning. She had drunk three bowls of milk tea and eaten some shaomai and milk crisps. She didn’t dare to go take pictures of the sunrise or ride a horse. She waited all this time for Grandpa Gao to wake up.
The moment she received the power of attorney, Chen Yan was rather surprised. She had already prepared to cover for Grandpa Gao and had even learned from her cousin that the person who didn’t speak Mandarin was named Lucy. While waiting for Grandpa Gao, she had even imagined a series of thrilling scenarios involving clandestine meetings, like those of an underground party.
But it turned out to be just... a property transfer?
Nevertheless, since it was Grandpa Gao’s request, she had to agree.
Curious, she asked, "Who are you planning to transfer the property to?"
"It’s for Xiao Xu," Grandpa Gao replied. "Before coming here, I handed all the property documents to a lawyer. I’ll send you his WeChat contact card later. When you get back, contact him to figure out how to transfer the house to my apprentice."
For her cousin’s husband?
That house must be worth several million now, and he’s just giving it away like that.
He really dotes on his apprentice.
Chen Yan asked, "Without the house, where will you stay when you return to Beijing?"
"I’ll stay at my place. I have several properties in Beijing. This particular one has always been rented out. Since Xiao Xu doesn’t have a house yet, I might as well give it to him."
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Several properties.
I’ve been so focused on Grandpa Gao being a kept man lately. But in reality, even if he weren’t, he’s still a wealthy man with several properties in Beijing.
Soon, Luo Shan urged them to get on the road.
After saying goodbye to everyone, the giant RV, flanked by two smaller RVs, slowly drove out of the camp gate, heading south. Next, they would travel northwest through Inner Mongolia. Who knows when they would meet again.
「Back at the store.」
The simmered rice on the stove wasn’t ready yet, but the aroma of rice and chestnuts was already wafting out with the steam. The rich fragrance was so tempting, it made one want to lift the lid and scoop out a bowl to indulge.
"When will it be ready, boss?"
"It needs a few more minutes. The rice has just cooked through but isn’t fragrant enough yet. Plus, there’s no rice crust at the bottom of the pot. It needs to simmer a bit longer."
It’s not just Claypot Rice that has a delicious crust; simmered rice does too. And the crust from simmered rice is no less delicious than that from Claypot Rice.
Lin Xu patiently waited.
When the aroma in the pot grew more intense, he lifted the lid, scooped some Steamed Fish Sauce, and drizzled it into the pot along the edges. Then he covered it again and let it continue to simmer. Adding Steamed Fish Sauce gave the simmered rice a tempting soy fragrance. It also effectively reduced the greasiness of the simmered rice.
He simmered it on low heat for another five minutes, then turned off the heat. He kept the pot covered for a few more minutes, allowing the fragrance to fully permeate the rice. Only then was the simmered rice truly ready. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Tell everyone outside it’s time to eat."
Lin Xu stirred the rice in the pot to loosen it, then scooped it into a serving basin. The rice, having absorbed the rich meat broth, was intensely fragrant. It carried the mingled aromas and savory notes of pork belly, chestnuts, cured sausage, and Sea Scallop. The smell alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.
After he scooped out the rice, a layer of slightly golden-brown rice crust remained at the bottom of the wok. He carefully scraped it off with a spatula, cut it into small pieces, and arranged them on top of the rice. This way, when serving, everyone would get a piece of the crispy, delicious rice crust.
Che Zai carried out a whole basin of simmered rice and began serving everyone.
Zeng Xiaoqi, who had been waiting for much of the morning, felt a keen sense of anticipation. To avoid being teased by everyone again, she had specifically washed her hair that morning, making sure it was fragrant, and had blow-dried it before coming to the store.
Last night’s video was a huge success. It made Zeng Xiaoqi walk with her chest puffed out like a proud peacock. She asked everyone she met, "Did you see the video Boss Lin uploaded last night? I made it! How were the special effects?"
"What, you haven’t seen it yet? Go watch it now! Dundun is so cute, and the boss’s wife is so gentle. Hurry up and boost the view count, or you’ll risk your bonus being docked!"
Under her enthusiastic promotion, the store staff added more views and bullet comments to the video. Of course, this small number of additional views was merely a drop in the ocean for a video that already had over 500,000 views.
On Lin Ji’s Food’s page, there were all sorts of screenshots turned into memes. For instance, someone took a screenshot of the spacious and luxurious living room of the villa and created a series of "New Dream Material Tonight" memes. Others used screenshots of Dundun playing on the Cat Castle with captions like, "Even the cat has a castle, while you’re still renting," triggering an early wave of "online depression" posts. There were also GIFs of Dundun trotting, turned into reaction images captioned "Your little cutie has arrived" or similar.
These various memes further boosted the popularity of Lin Ji’s Food. Although it didn’t surpass the second-place spot, it significantly narrowed the gap.
"Director Zeng is really fired up today! Making a contribution certainly makes a difference, huh?"
Dou Wenjing teased her good friend, and Shu Yun chimed in, "Exactly! A meritorious official indeed! That’s why the boss specially made the chestnut simmered rice that Director Zeng wanted. Here you go, Director Zeng, your simmered rice, served in an extra-large bowl just for you!"
"Go on, you two, keep up with your snide remarks. I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t bother cursing you."
Zeng Xiaoqi lowered her head, took a deep sniff of the simmered rice in her bowl, her face alight with an expression of pure bliss.
