Gourmet: Midnight Vending

Chapter 52: Boss Xiaochen Has Changed!


The noodles were dropped into the boiling water, resembling white dragons rolling in the waves, accompanied by an extraordinarily rich aroma of wheat—a fragrance Zhou Hu and his fellows had never experienced before!

Steamed buns have their own aroma, and so does baked bread, but boiled noodles usually lack any distinct scent.

Chen Mo precisely caught the light sphere in front of him and turned off the heat just as it was about to reach the flash point!

"Ingredient Identification!"

Chen Mo now found the newly added feature in the food cart particularly useful. Not only could it identify ingredients, but it could also analyze any food.

For example, the other night, it even analyzed the broth of spicy hotpot, though it only gave a simple analysis without a specific rating.

[Noodles made with Level A grade flour, cooked to 90% doneness, with excellent texture and appearance, are top-quality noodles.]

Chen Mo felt quite satisfied with the system's evaluation.

The concept of 90% cooked noodles was new to him. Based on the noodles he had tasted that morning, this level of doneness provided a smoother and chewier bite.

"Alright, alright, we can finally eat!"

"This is great, such a big bowl of noodles is going to be a delight to eat."

Under the expectant eyes of the six, Chen Mo took out six large bowls, first sprinkling some salt at the bottom of each bowl.

Then he scooped the noodles into the bowls, ladled in plenty of broth, poured in a dash of soy sauce, and added two drops of sesame oil.

Finally, he topped it all with a spoonful of chopped green onions and a spoonful of cilantro.

"The noodles are ready, would you like to add an egg?"

Chen Mo lowered his head to ask, while busy fetching the pot of stewed eggs, but he heard no response from the customers.

Curiously raising his head, he saw Zhou Hu and the others standing there dumbfounded, their anticipation vanished, replaced by sheer bewilderment.

"Would you like to add an egg?" Chen Mo asked again.

Ma Qiang coughed twice, "Add... never mind, forget it, just leave it as is."

With a bland tone and expressionless face, he took a bowl of noodles and sat at a small table by the roadside.

There were three small square tables here, each with four small plastic stools, all of which Chen Mo had bought on a whim when he went to buy pork belly in the afternoon.

Previously, at the bridgehead, he could borrow tables and chairs from other vendors, but now that they had moved to a new spot, they had to bring their own.

Setting down the large bowl of noodles, Ma Qiang tugged at Zhou Hu, "Let's just eat."

Zhou Hu and the others, equally expressionless, carried their bowls to the table, six of them squeezing around one table.

Ma Qiang, suppressing his voice, said, "Forget it, Brother Hu, at worst, we'll just stop eating noodles in the future, it's just a little loss."

Zhou Hu poked at the noodles in his bowl with chopsticks, the whole bowl gave off an impression of blandness.

The noodles were slightly yellowish. Up close, the aroma of sesame oil and noodles, plus the scent of green onions and cilantro, were detectable, but without even the tiniest oil sheen on the surface of the broth, it was genuinely unappetizing.

"I once read an answer on Zhihu, haha. These business people today, when they think their business is doing well, they like to fleece regular customers, thinking those customers won't act up. Later, when their business declines, they shamelessly go online asking why their old customers never come back. It's really laughable."

Ma Qiang patted his speaking roommate, "Alright, stop talking. Boss Xiao Chen's buns and whatnot are still delicious. I see his steamer still running, at worst, we'll just have a few more buns later."

Zhou Hu took a few deep breaths, he wanted to explode but held it back, "I originally thought that since we're around the same age, we and Boss Xiao Chen might become friends, but unexpectedly, he only cares about business."

After saying that, Zhou Hu picked up some noodles with chopsticks and slurped them into his mouth, the sound as loud as possible, as if venting his dissatisfaction with this bland bowl of noodles!

But, at the moment the noodles were slurped into his mouth, Zhou Hu suddenly froze.

The bitten noodles, with half still dangling at the corner of his mouth, left Zhou Hu in a stunned state, as if time had stopped.

Ma Qiang noticed Zhou Hu's expression, thinking that the noodles were surely bad and made his adoptive father stupid from eating.

Little did he know, Zhou Hu wasn't made stupid by the noodles, but utterly bewildered!

Because he had slurped deeply, the noodles accompanied by a strong wheat aroma entered his mouth, vastly different from the blandness he imagined—the wheat flavor was almost at its peak!

For the first time, he experienced such a wonderful sensation.

The sesame oil and soy sauce gave the noodles a unique umami, with the green onions and cilantro adding a touch of distinction.

The noodle aroma rushed down his throat, the umami sinking down the esophagus. As his teeth instinctively chewed, the 90% cooked noodles offered a distinct resilience, as if for a moment, his teeth were stuck in a swamp but gently pulled free again.

All kinds of flavors enveloped the noodles as they flowed down, gradually warming the stomach.

The warmth radiated from the abdomen, spreading outwards, until his whole body felt heated.

Zhou Hu finally exhaled a breath.

Refreshingly satisfying!

After training, nothing pleased Zhou Hu more than a bowl of noodles with broth. The original soup turning into original food not only filled him up but was also easily digestible. Crucially, after eating, his whole body felt warm, sweeping away the exhaustion from training.

Zhou Hu took another big bite.

This time, the experience was even more intense.

Clearly, it was just a simple taste, but for some reason, eating it imparted a magical allure—compelling and irresistible, often not even finishing one bite before immediately wanting the next.

"Slurp, slurp, ss~~~"

Zhou Hu took two big bites, then sipped some broth.

His eating manner completely baffled his roommates.

Ma Qiang initially thought Brother Hu had been overwhelmed by bad taste, but seeing him almost burying his head in the bowl, got utterly confused.

"Brother Hu, Brother Hu!" Seeing Zhou Hu still ignoring him, Ma Qiang anxiously shouted, "Godfather!"

Zhou Hu finally raised his head, "What are you fussing about, can't you even keep quiet while eating noodles?"

After speaking, he buried his head back into the bowl.

Ma Qiang glanced at his godfather and then at the large bowl of noodles.

Damn it, could there really be something different in these noodles?

Just as Ma Qiang prepared to have a try, they heard the roar of engines from the road. In the development area, it was exceptionally quiet at night, with even slight noises standing out.

Ma Qiang and the others turned to look.

At a distance near the traffic lights, over a dozen Cadillacs lined up, looking quite impressive from afar!

Among them was a car Ma Qiang recognized!

It was the one they took with Kai to Ning County!

"Damn! The people we were eating with have followed us from the bridgehead!"

Zhou Hu chugged down the remaining noodles and broth in his bowl, not even chewing, just directly swallowing!

"Boss Xiao Chen, Brother Mo! Two more bowls, give me two more bowls!"

If we don't order now, we won't get any later!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.


Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter