Since he had some backing, Lu Yingqiu forcibly took the item that had just been sold back from a customer, then took a few steps and stuffed it into the food cart, "No need to pay, it's on me."

Originally, there was no plan to pay at all.

Chen Mo chuckled, "Alright, you get busy first."

"Brother Xiao Chen, what are you planning to make?"

Chen Mo opened two food containers, a rich aroma of meat wafted through the air, prompting him to take a deep breath, "I'm going to make twice-cooked pork."

"Huh?" Lu Yingqiu looked at Chen Mo in surprise, "Why?"

"No particular reason, just curious. I've never made this dish before and wanted to give it a try."

"Oh."

After chatting briefly, Lu Yingqiu returned to the front of Lu Fang to continue helping out.

Chen Mo, on the other hand, rubbed his hands together and grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

The two portions of twice-cooked pork looked almost identical. After a few pokes with his chopsticks in the food container, Chen Mo noticed that the bottom of the transparent container had a bit more grease, while the red one had less.

No matter!

Chen Mo first picked up two pieces of meat from the red container and stuffed them into his mouth.

With one bite, his mouth...

It's hard to judge.

Chen Mo smacked his lips a few times, unsure if his palate had become too picky or if there was indeed something wrong with the dish.

The texture was tender and bouncy, the aroma of the meat filled the mouth as he chewed, and the fresh flavor of fried garlic sprouts was layered distinctly with the other seasonings — the aftertaste was also strong.

Overall, it had everything it needed, yet it felt like something was missing.

Chen Mo then picked up two pieces of meat from the other transparent container and put them in his mouth.

In terms of taste, flavor, and aroma, there was not much difference from the first dish.

It was only after several bites that Chen Mo identified the biggest difference between the twice-cooked pork in the transparent container and that in the red container: the wok hei!

Chen Mo could even vaguely trace back the cooking method of this dish just based on his current skills.

"High heat, quick stir-fry, with all the seasonings poured around the edge of the wok."

"Letting the ingredients and seasonings gradually warm up under extremely high heat right from the start... no doubt, this dish was made by Lu the Second's chef."

The transparent container belonged to Lu the Second, while the red container belonged to Boss Lu — that was Chen Mo's guess.

The reason is simple: Lu the Second's chef came from a big restaurant, and at such places, efficiency is key, with most dishes cooked using high heat for quick stir-frying.

However, not all dishes need wok hei, and twice-cooked pork really doesn't.

Lu Yongjun is different. Chen Mo could feel that the first portion of twice-cooked pork was carefully crafted, yet it always felt like something was missing.

Missing...

"Yes!" Chen Mo suddenly realized, "Fusion."

That portion of twice-cooked pork was delicious when eating the meat alone, and the fried garlic sprouts were also tasty on their own. But if you mixed the ingredients inside and took a bite, it would feel somewhat disjointed.

It lacked the feeling of merging multiple flavors together.

"Huh, it seems like making just a simple twice-cooked pork isn't that easy, huh."

"I wonder how my version of twice-cooked pork will turn out."

The meat in the food container wasn't finished, so Chen Mo stood up straight.

Twice-cooked pork belly, let's get started!

Chen Mo cut the large slices of pork belly into strips and then cut them in half again.

He discarded the piece near the abdomen, keeping the section closer to the ribs.

Selecting pork belly is indeed a skill; Chen Mo had suffered this loss before.

Every time he went to the supermarket, just seeing the pork belly at the counter made his mouth water, so he bought it. The shopkeeper would usually say, "This piece of meat can't be cut, it's sold as a whole."

Fine, but after buying it, you'd find out:

The three-layered fat and lean meat you saw were only surface-level; in reality, the part near the abdomen made up the majority!

That part of the meat was practically two large layers of fat sandwiching a little lean meat, and the key issue was that this part of the meat would separate when cooked!

Even with a little handling in the wok, the lean and fatty parts would come apart.

So this time, Chen Mo just directly chose the three-layered part near the ribs. Not only was the meat tasty, but crucially, it wouldn't separate during frying.

Chen Mo felt perplexed. Why could the masters inside cook so quickly? Even though the ingredients arrived at the same time, they finished serving before he even started.

Finding a hook, he hung up the four pieces of pork belly prepared for cooking, then pulled out a blowtorch from the cupboard.

This gadget was something Jiang Fei had bought when he went abroad and picked up some cigars, gifting a few to Chen Mo.

Wanting to smoke the cigars, Chen Mo ended up buying a blowtorch and a cigar cutter, only to discover that cigars weren't meant for ordinary folks.

Setting aside whether or not they were enjoyable to smoke.

Just a few puffs, and the house would retain that smell for a whole day without dispersing.

Eventually, Chen Mo passed the cigars on to another friend, but he kept the blowtorch, never expecting it to come in handy again.

Lighting the blowtorch, he began to fiercely sear the outer skin of the pork belly!

[Fire roasting can effectively remove the odor of the pork skin; it requires three cycles of repeated torching, scraping the blackened skin clean with a knife before proceeding to the next cycle of torching.]

While Chen Mo was roasting the meat, more and more people gathered in front of Lu Fang, showing a sheep-herd effect.

Hanyang Town was bustling today; at this time, past nine o'clock, there were lots of people out and about. Many strolled over here, curious about the intense crowding in the alley.

What's happening in there?

One group after another came, and the crowd kept growing, to the point that those who initially lined up found it difficult to stand their ground.

Nevertheless, those who managed to snag a seat at the long table in front of Lu Fang were steady and secure!

Uncle Tie finished off two small portions of twice-cooked pork in a few bites, smacking his lips.

He initially planned to cast his "vote" for Boss Lu — although it wasn't really about voting; he just intended to buy a portion of Boss Lu's twice-cooked pork as a means of kind of boosting sales after eating.

The result...

"Goodness, I've been eating the Lu Family's twice-cooked pork for about twenty years now, and yet... I can't tell which portion was made by Boss Lu!"

"It feels like they're identical! I can't sense any difference, though I do think the red one seems slightly better, with a richer meat flavor!"

"Nonsense! Clearly, the transparent one tastes better. Didn't you taste that smoky flavor?"

"You're all wrong! This was obviously cooked by the same person; they taste exactly the same, so there's no difference!"

The customers who got their hands on the twice-cooked pork couldn't stop discussing. Having tasted both dishes, they could only line up again to prepare for a second purchase. However, there was significant debate about whose dish to buy next time.

The three judges from the Culinary Association invited from Yu City by Lu the Second sat steadily at the long table.

He had three portions of twice-cooked pork.

Each of them picked out a piece from the container to taste, then tried a piece from the other one. Their expressions varied — one nodded, one pondered, and one frowned.

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