Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 386 - 354: The Perfect Life, Achieved at This Moment_2

Chapter 386: Chapter 354: The Perfect Life, Achieved at This Moment_2

"Boss Xiao Chen, don’t leave, I haven’t had the shrimp yet!"

Cries of lament rose from the crowd.

"Nonsense, I clearly saw you eat fifty skewers just now!"

"Who says if you’ve eaten you can’t eat more! I was born to eat, is that not allowed?"

Listening to the customers’ noisy chatter, Chen Mo chuckled silently, taking back his second-hand loudspeaker from Xue Ping’s hand, "Everyone, it’s getting late. Six o’clock tomorrow evening, same place, see you there!"

"Boss Xiao Chen, will there be new dishes tomorrow?"

Chen Mo hesitated for a few seconds, "I’ll think about it, okay! Creating new dishes isn’t something you can just do on a whim, it takes time. Everyone, go home early, get some rest~ see you tomorrow."

Under the reluctant gazes of everyone, the yellow food truck turned on its big lights and slowly left the North Gate, merging into the night.

"Maybe this is what it means to be favored by heaven; not only skilled, but also handsome, and with a unique style that sets him apart from ordinary people, practically a celebrity influencer!" Gao Hao lamented as he pointed his phone at the silhouette of the food truck receding into the night.

Huang Bo, hearing this, sneered coldly, "Using ’influencer’ to describe the boss is a bit insulting."

"You!"

Ignoring Gao Hao’s indignation, Yang Wenhua also agreed, "Indeed. Just look at today’s Phoenix Tail Shrimp."

He expertly pinched a shrimp from his pocket and put it into his mouth.

Slowly chewing for a long time, he let out a long breath, "Amazing, the chefs at Tingfeng Tower could spend their entire lives and still not figure out how to make a shrimp like this."

The surrounding customers who hadn’t yet dispersed watched this scene bewilderedly.

The Xue Brothers were dumbfounded, "No way, Chef Yang, when did you sneak a shrimp?"

Smugly, Yang Wenhua pinched another shrimp from his pocket, "Hmph, if a chef doesn’t sneak food, the crops won’t grow, what do you know." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Then, hands behind his back, he swaggered off as well, leaving the Xue Brothers and Huang Bo to stand in place, realizing something crucial.

Meanwhile, Old Zhao, with a mouth greasy from food and a full stomach, felt like he met Yu Hongtao too late in life; he’d love nothing more than to kneel down and become sworn brothers on the spot.

Yu Hongtao glanced at his watch, "Brother, it’s getting late. Let’s come back here tomorrow to eat and chat some more!"

Old Zhao was tempted to keep Yu Hongtao around.

After all, he wasn’t keen on heading home to face Guo Aiping again that night—just the thought of it was unsettling him.

The reason he could come to Yangzhou this time,

was that while he was in Jingzhou, Old Zhao had vowed that his recent poor state was for a reason, because he was in a bad mood!

He was convinced that with a bit of relaxation, he would definitely get better.

Sure enough, Guo Aiping wasn’t even lured by the gourmet food, returning to the hotel early and sending Old Zhao dozens of messages to hurry home.

"Hongtao, really not staying to chat a bit longer? How about this, I’ll treat you, let’s hit up a bathhouse to get a massage, continue our conversation!"

Yu gave Old Zhao a comradely slap on the shoulder, "Brother, you wouldn’t understand, my wife is still waiting at home, and how did I get to where I am today, heh..."

Men often need little more than a look to understand everything.

Old Zhao was startled, "Hongtao, at your age, you still can?"

On this topic, Yu Hongtao smacked his forehead suddenly, "Ah! Almost forgot about that, the drink! Yes, come on, let’s go find Boss Xiao Chen and have a drink of his special beverage."

As for the mysterious drink, Old Zhao had already heard about it at least five times that night without experiencing whatever it was himself.

As long as he didn’t have to head back to the hotel, he was up for anything.

So Old Zhao followed Yu Hongtao inside from the North Gate, strolling toward the South Gate parking lot.

...

Returning to the parking lot, Chen Mo relaxed only after confirming no one was around, then started stashing everything into the cupboard.

Capable of auto-cleaning and preserving freshness perfectly.

The river shrimp bought today was almost all used up, since Chen Mo had previously insisted that only the best river shrimp would do.

Such ingredients are graded, and while it wasn’t that Tingfeng Tower couldn’t source river shrimp at night, getting the best kind was impossible by then.

For such upscale establishments, subpar ingredients simply aren’t considered.

Having been busy all day, Chen Mo had only managed to eat some buns in the afternoon. During the hustle and bustle, he didn’t feel it, but as soon as he took a break, hunger hit hard.

Even more so than usual, making him feel like he could eat a whole cow in one go!

"Man, what’s going on!"

[While White Robe can enhance your stamina, it also consumes a great deal of your energy.]

"So it’s draining my life force?"

[...]

[Not to that extent, just makes you hungrier.]

That’s manageable.

Chen Mo mused that if it truly drained his life force, he couldn’t afford to wear it often, as he had everything he needed now, and living even a second longer would be a bonus.

But tonight, he was truly famished, so he opened the cupboard, fishing around its contents, thinking about what to fix himself for a meal.

Anyone who cooks regularly understands that when cooking for too long, you might find yourself starving yet averse to eating anything.

Chen Mo found himself in such a quandary now.

Ignoring the river shrimp, moving past the pork belly, going through dozens of sorts of ingredients without wanting any of them.

"Tsk, I know what I’ll do."

Chen Mo pulled out the ingredient he’d grasped from the cupboard, which had been stored away for quite some time.

If not for the absolute freshness capability, it would’ve spoiled long ago, despite being frozen in the fridge.

A Yellow River Carp, or Opening River Fish!

This was the fish left unsold on the highway that day; the fish supplier couldn’t take them along, so he gifted Chen Mo a few, as well as some to the hardworking police and toll station workers who helped out.

With no time to cook it then, Chen Mo simply stored it away.

Next, he scooped out half a basin of river shrimp and pulled an A-grade free-range chicken from the cook machine.

The chicken came from Sichuan, where Lu Yingqiu’s father raised it himself, now it had become Chen Mo’s own exclusive chicken.

"Perfectly set! Though limited, these ingredients boast great quality!"

Having toiled all day, Chen Mo craved something light for dinner, avoiding any greasy foods completely.

Fortunately, with White Robe bestowing strength, he was as indefatigable as an ox, swiftly dealing with the ingredients.

"Sichuan has its hot pot with chili oil, the north has lamb hot pot, and Guangdong has its ’da bin lou’ cooking! Let’s give it a try today."

’Da bin lou’ cooking method, while simple in the past, had evolved alongside the ages and wasn’t much different from hot pot today.

Yet, Chen Mo opted against a simple clear water base.

Deftly, he deboned the free-range chicken, threw the carcass into a black pot to simmer and hacked the meat into mince, crafting a very plain Clear Soup.

Basically a simplified high broth akin to those used in Lu Cuisine’s Boiled Cabbage, though Chen Mo skipped many steps just for his own dining.

While the chicken broth simmered, he ground river shrimp into a paste, gathered in semicircular dishes, and voilà, freshly made shrimp paste was ready.

Handling the Opening River Fish, a single slice of Black Blade removed bones in a breeze, cutting two gorgeously ample fillets into thin slices, each appetizingly draped with fat led to pure craving just from gazing.

Finally crafting the dough, delicately rolling it out with a pin, sectioned into pieces of equal size, all dabbed with some vegetable oil on standby.

Now, stretching noodles was complete.

"Ha, it’s a fusion of northern and Guangdong hot pot; delightful!"

Popping up a small yellow table beside the food truck, he seated a black pot on a butane stove, continuing to simmer, as Chen Mo poured himself icy lemonade, diluting it tenfold, then stirred in some sugar.

Back in the driver’s seat, he switched on the stereo, letting a slow-paced tune flow.

Only then did he recline with the lemonade over the table, savoring the night breeze.

"What a life, what a treat!"

Enjoying food, drink, money, a house, a car—all essentials—he could go wherever whim took him, this was the life Chen Mo had long pursued.

Now attained, oddly, he also felt a bit sentimental.

"But something seems amiss."

[A woman.]

Chen Mo: ???

Just as he was about to argue with the system, a familiar voice reached from behind.

"Boss Xiao Chen, Boss Chen? Are you asleep, are you there?"

Setting down the lemonade, Chen Mo turned to look.

Why had Old Zhao shown up?