Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 374 - 348: I Underestimated My Opponent!

Before driving to the North Gate, Chen Mo had already replaced the daily limit of fifty catties of grade Flour with archived dough skins and paired them with the archived filling for the Three-Piece Buns, all prepared in advance.

At this moment, the steamer was filled with buns wrapped by Chen Mo, and after a second proofing, the timing was just right. He couldn’t be bothered with the onlookers, nor did he care to entertain Yang Wenhua, who came to cause trouble for no apparent reason.

Chen Mo directly turned on the stove.

This action officially announced the start of tonight’s competition, even if, in Chen Mo’s heart, he didn’t regard tonight’s business as a bet with Yang Wenhua.

Seeing that Chen Mo officially began operations, the onlookers sprang into action.

Leading the way were, of course, the old Jingzhou crew.

Dunzi was the first to approach the front of the queue, "Boss Xiao Chen, no need to say more, is there a limit today?"

Chen Mo nodded, "Yes, there is. Otherwise, you’d just buy up all the buns yourself, and then what’s the fun in that?"

"Hehe," Dunzi awkwardly scratched the back of his head as his plan was exposed, "Okay, I’ll eat whatever we’ve got, one of each dish."

"Alright."

After Dunzi spoke, people who had traveled all the way from Jingzhou followed suit and placed orders from afar.

"One of everything!"

"Emma, a Lion’s Head, fried rice, another bun, and hey, Boss Xiao Chen, your Phoenix Tail Shrimp is two yuan each, if they’re limited, we wouldn’t have enough to eat!"

"Exactly, one shrimp isn’t enough for anyone, right? You need at least a dozen to fill up!"

Only then did Chen Mo realize the problem, so he picked up a loudspeaker and addressed not only the old Jingzhou crew but also the other customers in line. This might as well be the rule starting today at the North Gate!

"Phoenix Tail Shrimp is capped at ten pieces, and each other dish can only be ordered once at a time. Mainly because there are quite a few people queuing today, to ensure everyone gets a chance to taste the food without it being a wasted trip, I ask for your understanding!"

In the crowd, there were quite a few people who came last night for both the spectacle and a meal, but after queuing for quite some time, still hadn’t eaten even by the time Boss Xiao Chen packed up for the night.

Everyone was obviously happy to hear about the purchase limits.

Meanwhile, seeing that Chen Mo had begun operations, Yang Wenhua next door quickened his pace.

Because before arriving, Yang Wenhua had only prepared the bun filling and dough. He hadn’t started making buns yet!

The reason was simple, much like Jingya Pavilion’s Yangzhou Fried Rice, Shuyue Pavilion’s Five-Pepper Bun’s making process was a selling point, combining various ingredients in strange ways before pinching them into buns.

Each bun had to have thirty-six pleats, not one more, not one less. This was the craftsmanship found only in upscale restaurants and was a technique Yang Wenhua prided himself on.

"A bet’s a bet, go queue and buy a Three-Piece Bun from next door, it’s also a gesture to support the opponent," Yang Wenhua said to his colleague while preparing his tools and ingredients.

"Chef Yang, we’re going to support the competition?"

Yang Wenhua smiled mildly and said calmly, "Winning or losing, it’s not about just one or two buns. Go buy one, both as a sign of respect for the opponent, and to taste and see just how good this Boss Xiao Chen’s skills are."

"Chef Yang, you’re so generous!"

Yang’s crew went to queue up, but the line was quite long, and who knew how long it would take?

But everyone soon realized, although the line was long, it only stopped briefly at the beginning. Once it started moving, the pace was remarkably fast.

"What a good method, everyone only needs to buy buns and Phoenix Tail Shrimp from Boss Xiao Chen, then they can leave the queue to buy Lion’s Head and fried rice next door. That’s great."

Yu Hongtao, along with his wife, was also in the line and couldn’t help but praise the quick progress. He then added, "I wonder if there’s any black beverage today."

Yuan Xiaolin gently squeezed Yu’s arm, "I feel like you don’t have to drink it."

Can he? Yu wasn’t sure in his heart.

After all, the beverage was made from various fresh, random ingredients, with no special additives. Yu drank it with confidence, not worrying about any side effects.

"Hey, it’s our turn," Yu Hongtao tiptoed to see the inside of the food truck, "Give me one of everything."

Chen Mo saw his eyes darting around, quietly laughed, "Enjoy your meal first, when I’m done with this rush, I’ll make you the drink."

"Oh, Boss Xiao Chen, stop it! I never said I wanted a drink, come on, give me two buns, and twenty shrimp, I’ll wait for the fried rice next door then."

With that, Chen Mo took two buns from the steamer and placed them on the tray, then picked out twenty shrimps from the black pot’s broth, placing them in a bowl and drizzling a ladle of broth over them, "Here, enjoy."

After pulling out those twenty shrimps, only the white broth was left in the pot. Although the buns were ready-made, the Phoenix Tail Shrimp still needed to be freshly cooked.

New customers stepped up, "I want a bun!"

Chen Mo was reaching for a bun when this customer added, "Why don’t you give me ten Phoenix Tail Shrimps too, the shrimp is quite cheap."

"You’ll have to wait a bit then."

"Huh?"

"The shrimp needs to be cooked fresh," Chen Mo said.

"Alright then. I’ll wait a bit."

This customer queuing was from Yang Wenhua’s side, initially only intending to buy a bun, but after noticing the fragrant broth in the black pot and how inexpensive the shrimp was at two yuan each, decided to buy some Phoenix Tail Shrimp to try.