In a daze, Chen Mo decided to use Memory Card One.

In a trance, Chen Mo found himself in a mountain courtyard, a very distinctive yard, unlike any rural Northern scene Chen Mo had ever seen.

This yard seemed to be carved out of the edge of a mountain, with towering mountains behind the house, and a cemented yard outside. The very edge of the yard dropped off into a series of ravines, with a small river running at the bottom.

"Where is this?" Chen Mo looked around, finding the surroundings unfamiliar.

Even the person who suddenly appeared at the door was unfamiliar.

"Qiu'er, Qiu'er, your father made the bang bang chicken, do you want some?"

"Yes, I do!"

A little girl, about seven or eight years old, bounced in from outside the yard.

Chen Mo followed the little girl into the kitchen at the corner of the yard, where many ingredients were hanging inside.

Chinese bacon, sausages, smoked duck... just looking made Chen Mo drool. These were purely homemade goodies, different from the flamboyant stuff sold in supermarkets.

When he looked down, the little girl who had just bounced in was holding a small mallet handed to her by a man, "Tap slowly, don't smash the chicken to bits."

"I know!" The little girl started to tap the chicken hanging on the rack with her hammer.

Each time she hit it, a smile as bright as a flower bloomed on her face.

The woman at the door coughed twice, and the man patted the little girl on the head, "Qiu'er, tap slowly."

"Mm!"

The man walked out of the kitchen and returned to the room with the woman.

Chen Mo followed them in.

The room was simply furnished, with only a square table at the entrance, surrounded by four stools.

The couple sat on opposite sides of the table, facing each other.

"When you went out to set up the stall today, the second one came looking for you again. I said you weren't home and didn't let him in. He seemed a bit unhappy."

"I know what he's up to. You did the right thing not letting him in. He didn't remember a word of what Dad said before he left. The second one is too eager for success."

"He asked me to leave you a message, saying that we're in an era where poverty is more laughable than prostitution. He also said he's planning to develop in Yu City and will take Dad's brand with him, claiming that leaving it in your hands would just..."

The man slapped the table and stood up, clearly showing anger, "That useless guy! Dad made it clear that Lu Fang's small dishes can't be expanded in scale. The Lu Family's skills can ensure a life without worry for the descendants, but it won't make them extremely wealthy. Expanding the scale will inevitably ruin the brand! He!"

The woman said nothing, just sighed, "What do you plan to do?"

"What can I do? If he wants to do it, let him try. Even when Old Lu was around, he couldn't handle the youngest. What can I do!"

The man lit a cigarette, "Okay, I'm heading to the shop. Be careful when you take Qiu'er to catch loaches by the river."

"Mm..."

Chen Mo continued to follow the man.

He took the chicken, which Xiaoyingqiu had pounded, from the kitchen and packed it into a large bamboo basket, then kissed Xiaoyingqiu's cheek before leaving the house.

Unexpectedly, after exiting the yard, there was a winding mountain road. The man walked down the road, continuously, for about twenty minutes, until he reached another more sizable village.

He stepped onto the street, and as he walked, the townsfolk greeted him warmly.

"Boss Lu, opening a bit late today?"

The man replied with a simple smile, "Soon, soon!"

Stepping on the cobblestones, Boss Lu stopped at a small shop with a wooden door by the roadside, took out a key to unlock it.

Chen Mo looked up from the street; the shop's style differed from the neighboring stores, a large wooden sign cleanly displaying the words: Lu Fang.

As soon as the door opened, someone burst in.

"Boss Lu, give me some bang bang chicken!"

"Sure."

Boss Lu took the whole chickens from the bamboo basket, placing them in the counter of the kitchen, then picked one out, quickly tearing the meat apart.

He fetched a pot of seasoning sauce from the bottom of the bamboo basket, ladling a spoonful evenly over the chicken.

Chen Mo leaned in for a closer look, noting how the chicken seemed almost to breathe as it met the sauce, faintly twitching as if trying to soak up the flavors.

Red oil sauce dripping over the chicken, dotted with white sesame seeds, looked exceptionally inviting.

The man at the door took a bite of the bang bang chicken, "It's delicious!"

In no time, as Chen Mo looked back, a long line had formed at the door. Boss Lu then began bustling about.

Besides the customers who took their bang bang chicken to go, some sat inside to eat.

The store wasn't big, with only two long tables, each side seating four people.

Sixteen people gathered together, oblivious to whether they knew each other, just chatting away.

Chen Mo followed into the kitchen, and Old Lu tied on a white apron, skillfully began cutting and preparing the ingredients.

"Oh? Twice-cooked Pork!"

A pot of pork was cooked and divided into two portions, delivered to the table in front of two customers outside.

The two customers got up, holding their bowls to the huge rice tub at the kitchen door to serve themselves, "Speaking of twice-cooked pork, Boss Lu, your skills are not inferior to your father's!"

Old Lu in the kitchen laughed heartily, "Thanks for the compliment!"

Chen Mo continued to watch as Old Lu swiftly whipped up another dish, Kung Pao Chicken!

Seeing this dish, Chen Mo began to recall how when he first sold meals at the bridgehead, he had made spicy chicken cubes, and back then, he had learned about Kung Pao Chicken.

At that time, the food cart system refused to provide the recipe for this dish.

The reason was rather absurd; if you want to make an authentic version, you might not succeed. If you want an improved version, I can't give you one.

Seeing Old Lu's version of Kung Pao Chicken now, Chen Mo was somewhat shocked.

This... looked a little different from the Kung Pao Chicken he knew. Apart from the main ingredient, chicken, the other ingredients were extremely simple: dried chili, Sichuan pepper, peanuts, and scallions.

Just these few ingredients.

A dish of bright and glossy Kung Pao Chicken was sent out to the table outside, and Chen Mo closely followed. The chicken cubes in the dish were tightly wrapped in sauce, and at the bottom of the plate was not broth but a thin layer of oil!

What does this indicate?

The sauce Old Lu used while stir-frying had all been absorbed by the chicken cubes, with none flowing onto the plate!

The customer who received the dish scooped it up with a spoon and put it into their mouth, "Mmm... this tangy, spicy lychee flavor, you make it even better than your father did!"

Boss Lu just smiled without saying much and once again delved into the kitchen.

Sometimes using high heat, sometimes using fierce fire, he was extremely busy.

Besides that, the cold dishes like marinated pig's head and sliced beef and tongue in chili sauce were selling particularly well.

Even though Boss Lu was working alone, he seemed very busy but was actually well-organized.

The customers outside finished eating and placed their money in a box on the counter; Boss Lu neither came out to check whether the amount was more or less.

As each customer left, the new ones would clear away the previous customer's dishes and bowls, placing them in a large aluminum basin outside the small restaurant, then wipe the table with a cloth from the counter, and sit down.

People came and went, but the two large tables in the dining hall never had a moment to spare! Some customers waited for a long time without a word of complaint.

After being busy for five or six hours, Boss Lu wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked out of the small restaurant, and stopped in his tracks when he reached the seventh or eighth person, "This is the end for today, please no more lining up behind."

"Oh, Boss Lu, my kid has been wanting to eat Bang Bang Chicken for days, can't you make an exception?"

Boss Lu looked at the woman in front of him helplessly, "The ingredients for today are almost gone, Granny, I'll set aside a portion for you tomorrow morning specifically, anytime you come, it'll be there, okay?"

"Alright!"

The people behind the old lady dispersed, and no one said anything, as if such things were commonplace.

Boss Lu quickly returned to the restaurant and continued to be busy.

Chen Mo roughly summarized it.

The restaurant didn't offer a wide variety of dishes: the hot dishes were twice-cooked pork, Kung Pao Chicken, and Mapo Tofu.

The cold dishes were Bang Bang Chicken, sliced beef and tongue in chili sauce, and marinated pig's head.

Interestingly, even with the cold dishes, Old Lu used three or four different types of sauces in the mix, and the care put into the ingredients was something even Chen Mo found himself admiring.

As for those ingredients, Chen Mo inspected them closely, and the meat was all very fresh. Having bought meat from the slaughterhouse, he could distinguish between good and bad quality.

Most of that meat was freshly slaughtered, and it hadn't even been frozen yet.

As the sun set, Boss Lu, having been busy the entire day, finally saw off all the customers in the shop.

At this time, the woman who had been playing with Xiaoyingqiu all day arrived.

"Hurry up and take a break, leave the rest to me."

Boss Lu rubbed his back and nodded, "Finish up early, I'll go see if there are any live chickens left today."

The woman struggled to bring the accumulated aluminum basin outside inside, closed the door, put on gloves, and began to slowly clean up.

Xiaoyingqiu was also squatting on the ground.

For every bowl the woman washed, she would rinse it clean in clear water. The mother and daughter worked in unison quite cleverly.

Watching this scene, Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh.

"Whew..."

Chen Mo only felt he had a beautiful sleep, and when he opened his eyes, he jumped up in surprise.

Damn, how did it get dark?

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