You son of a bitch?

Yes, Shi Lei just wanted to say these three words.

Am I that annoying?

"You still don't believe what I'm saying?"

"Huh? I believe, I really believe."

Chen Mo seized the right moment, gave the pan a toss, and flipped both pieces of fish over. The black pan didn't stick to anything.

Shi Lei didn't care about any of this, "You just don't believe!"

"I believe!"

Chen Mo seized the right moment, feeling the other side was almost done, and without checking, turned the heat up high!

The moment a slightly charred aroma wafted, he immediately poured a ladle of boiling water into the pan!

The boiling water sizzled upon impact, quickly turning milky white. Chen Mo calmly began adding seasonings.

"No, you don't believe!"

"No, I really do believe!"

Rice wine was poured along the side of the pan, soy sauce drizzled in, two more ladles of hot water added, and the previously deep-fried spices returned to the pan.

Sugar, MSG, and salt were all added without missing a beat.

Shi Lei was almost in tears, "Can't you just say you don't believe?"

"But I really do believe..."

The broth in the pan, though mixed with soy sauce, wasn't very dark and looked tempting to sip.

Shi Lei was hopping around like a little kid, almost crying, but he stopped when he saw Chen Mo put the lid on the pan.

If there's controversy over whether red-braised fish should be fried or deep-fried, if there's debate over whether to add spices during the process, and even if there's argument about using single or mixed oils.

Then there's one step in making red-braised fish that is absolutely indisputable.

Shi Lei's eyes widened as he stared intently at the black pan, waiting for Chen Mo's next move.

Chen Mo cleaned up the workspace and washed his hands—red-braised fish was almost done now.

The recipe from the food truck was quite homely; such a method would be impossible in a restaurant.

Now we just need to wait, simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

"By the way, buddy." With some free time, Chen Mo started chatting, "I haven't asked your name yet?"

"Shi, like stone. My name is Shi Lei, they call me 'Four Stones'."

Shi Lei wasn't paying much attention to Chen Mo's attempt at conversation; he responded automatically—it was already his customary way to introduce himself.

What a simple and pure name, Chen Mo thought, "Where are you headed?"

"Zhengzhou," Shi Lei replied, then asked, "What about you?"

"Sichuan."

Shi Lei snapped out of his earlier frustration, suddenly puzzled, "You're going to Sichuan? Shouldn't you be going through Shaanxi? Why are you in Yu Province?"

Indeed, it would be shorter from that direction.

But Chen Mo wasn't in a hurry to reach Sichuan, "I'm just traveling around. Planning to hit Yu Province first, then Hubei, Xiang Province, Mountain City, and finally into the Shu Region."

"Wow!" Shi Lei was startled by Chen Mo's travel plans, "Youth is so wonderful."

For someone like him with a family, he couldn't even walk around the neighborhood at night without getting a call.

Chen Mo turned his head away.

Yeah, youth is great, but if he hadn't unexpectedly gained the system, he'd be suffering endlessly. What's so great about that?

Ahead, an old uncle was still sitting on the ground, no longer crying, just gazing blankly at the floor, ignoring everyone speaking to him.

The traffic officer tried to take the keys from him to move the car blocking the exit, but the old uncle angrily tossed the keys inside the car.

Seeing this, Chen Mo shook his head. It looked like clearing the traffic was nowhere in sight, and at the back of the traffic jam, disorder grew worse because of those unruly cars cutting in.

"Isn't it about done cooking?" Shi Lei asked.

Although the earlier conversation diverted his attention a bit, Shi Lei hadn't forgotten his mission.

This act must be pulled off today!

"Almost done, but not quite." Chen Mo glanced at the progress bar; with it, he didn't need any alarms.

He waited another minute.

This is it!

Shi Lei got excited too—this is it!

Most of the red-braised fish's cooking process could be debated, but this last step—what's there to argue?

Thickening the sauce.

As everyone knows, the red-braising method involves frying the ingredients before seasoning and simmering, then thickening the sauce to pour over the cooked ingredients.

This is the basic method for most red-braised dishes.

So now, Shi Lei was waiting.

But Chen Mo didn't follow the expected procedure; instead, he turned the heat up high.

Thankfully, the fish was fried just right; otherwise, Shi Lei thought, such high heat would have broken the fish apart.

Shi Lei was suddenly happy.

Normally, you would take out the carp, plate it, and then thicken the sauce and pour it over the fish.

This little boss directly boiling it on high heat was rather laughable—the opportunity had arrived!

"Hey hey hey, what are you doing? If you keep cooking it like this, the fish will fall apart. Quickly, take it out."

"I won't," Chen Mo answered succinctly, startling Shi Lei.

"No, you should quickly take it out and thicken the sauce."

"That won't do."

Shi Lei got more excited, "Don't you believe what I'm saying?"

Chen Mo had no time for discussions, as this was a crucial and challenging step, "It's not that I don't believe you; I have my own method."

"Alright, alright, you don't believe me, huh? Haha. Just wait, little boss!"

Shi Lei happily ran to the back of his Audi Q7. As soon as he moved, the car's trunk opened—he'd clearly been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo was still focused on the fish in the pot.

As the broth of the red-braised fish boiled violently, the once crispy fish skin began to soften, entering a state of... soft on the outside, crispy inside.

Chen Mo could no longer fully rely on the progress bar.

The boiling broth shook the small glowing ball on the progress bar, wobbling with the boiling intensity!

The situation was unpredictable.

Recalling the recipes from memory.

[After ten minutes of simmering, the fish skin becomes tender, then boil vigorously; the stronger the boil, the less "soaking penetration" occurs.]

[So, the heat must be high, the broth must be agitated, softening the fish skin and infusing it into the broth, forming a gelatinous fish broth, then reduce the sauce over high heat.]

Chen Mo understood what this was.

As a child, leftover fish would have a layer of aspic on the broth the next day, although too much broth made it unnoticeable.

With the glowing ball shaking more and more, it got closer to the flashpoint.

Under the fierce boil, the broth rapidly reduced.

Chen Mo saw the fish surface start to detach, slightly sticky starch and fish skin separating, exposing new fish skin underneath.

This is it.

Turn up the heat!

And finish up!

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