Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country-Chapter 401 - 402: The Perfect Dinner Rhythm

A spoonful of cake enters the mouth, the refreshing and sweet fragrance of cantaloupe instantly fills the mouth, and the texture is as light and delicate as a cloud, so soft that the elderly’s eyes immediately squint into a narrow slit.

Gently chewing, the cream melts away instantly, leaving only the refreshing, chewy green apple jelly in the mouth. The jelly’s QQ texture contrasts sharply with the mousse’s delicate softness, and the tart green apple flavor blends perfectly with the sweet fragrance of cantaloupe.

Bringing rich fruit aroma, intoxicating. The mousse’s smooth texture, melting in the mouth, complements the cake’s soft texture, making the entire cake taste more refreshing and pleasant.

It is evident that the elderly love this taste, but Aunt Cai, the caregiver, worries because the cake is a calorie bomb, all those exercises would go to waste after consuming this.

Zhuo Qianqian clearly notices Aunt Cai’s concern, and quickly explains, "No need to worry about the calories, there’s hardly any sugar added, just the natural sweetness of cantaloupe and green apple, so it’s not high in calories."

Only then does Aunt Cai breathe a sigh of relief, "Thank you, that’s very considerate of you, now I don’t need to worry."

Zhuo Qianqian smiles and says, "It’s okay to finish the whole piece, you watch her, I’ll go get some soup for Grandma Wu."

Wang Fan happens to be finishing up the soup.

The winter melon soup in the pot is still simmering, and sure enough, the color is milky white.

The delicious aroma of the soup has already spread, and Wang Fan promptly adds the dried shrimp to the pot, followed by a couple of tofu sheets, which are also known as bean curd skins.

With the addition of shrimp and tofu sheets, the soup’s already tasty aroma gets a hint of shrimp’s freshness and the bean fragrance, making it richer and more varied.

Hearing footsteps outside the door, Wang Fan adds wolfberries to the pot, then sprinkles a little salt and white pepper, and adds no other seasonings.

As Zhuo Qianqian appears in the kitchen, a handful of chopped green onions is tossed into the pot, and with a quick stir after turning off the heat, two ladles are served into the soup tureen.

Unable to resist taking a deep breath, the rich savory aroma makes Zhuo Qianqian’s stomach growl, a small piece of cake couldn’t possibly fill her up.

Wang Fan laughs and says, "Let’s take it over, then we can start preparing the final dish and have our meal."

"Alright."

Appearing in the elderly’s room again, an entire piece of cake has been eaten without a trace left, even the last bit of cream sticking to the plate wasn’t spared.

Aunt Cai sighs, "Aunt Wu hasn’t eaten like this in a long time, thank you so much today."

Zhuo Qianqian quickly shakes her head, "It’s what we should do, her being happy while eating also makes us, her children who grew up on her sweet melons, delighted."

"This is winter melon egg soup, which can boost immunity, protect the liver, enhance intelligence, and aid diuretic and detoxification. Drinking soup first can increase Grandma Wu’s sense of fullness and help control her food intake."

Aunt Cai nods continuously, her mouth constantly repeating "Very thoughtful," clearly satisfied with Wang Fan’s arrangement.

Zhuo Qianqian places the soup tureen before the elderly, lifting the lid, releasing a rich aroma that makes the elderly who just awakened her appetite with cake eager to scoop the soup.

Zhuo Qianqian quickly grabs the elderly’s hand and softly says, "Grandma Wu wait a moment, the soup’s still a bit hot, how about I feed you instead?"

Grandma Wu smiles and nods in agreement, Zhuo Qianqian turns to look at Aunt Cai.

Aunt Cai nods too, then Zhuo Qianqian picks up the spoon joyfully.

Scooping a spoonful from the tureen, two thin slices of winter melon lie moist like polished translucent jade, alongside a small piece of golden egg resting harmoniously with the winter melon slices.

Gently blowing the spoon to cool it down before offering it to the elderly.

"Thank you, dear girl."

Grandma Wu’s words instantly make Zhuo Qianqian elated like flying, if she tells her dad about this right now, it would surely make him jump with joy.

A mouthful of delicious soup disperses the remaining sweetness in the mouth completely, and the savory scent alternates to capture the taste buds’ territory.

Winter melon inherently has a faint sweetness, but different from cantaloupe, it’s not obvious yet impossible to ignore.

The light saltiness doesn’t stand out either; the soup emphasizes freshness above all.

Grandma Wu chews gently, the winter melon is soft yet has some firmness, with the feeling of her teeth cutting through it distinctly.

The sliced winter melon flesh absorbs the delicious soup well, and after a fleeting resistance, it melts entirely, leaving a mouthful of refreshing flavor.

While the egg’s texture offers more resilience, it’s not hard; soaked in the soup, it transforms into a rich flavor.

The textures of winter melon and egg intertwine, alternating crispness and richness, making the elderly feel it’s intriguing, chewing with joy.

Seeing the elderly enjoy the meal so much, Zhuo Qianqian feels filled with pride, obviously proud of her boyfriend’s excellent culinary skills.

...

Wang Fan’s final main course is nearing completion, and he had started preparing it while cooking the soup.

The sea cucumber was soaked to a ratio of 1 to 5, whereas some restaurants opt for an astonishing 1 to 12 ratio, substantially diminishing the flavor.

The essence of braised sea cucumber with scallions lies in a potent scallion flavor, for which oil alone was infused with scallion flavor three times.

Aside from water for blanching sea cucumber initially, the subsequent cooking used broth and seasoning.

With such meticulous preparation and premium sea cucumber, how could the flavor not be exquisite?

Pouring the sauce over at the final step, Wang Fan doesn’t see Zhuo Qianqian back, deciding to cover the plate, and carrying it himself to the elderly’s residence.

Entering the room just as Zhuo Qianqian finishes feeding the soup and is tidying the tableware, Wang Fan naturally takes over the position.

After a comforting bowl of winter melon soup, Grandma Wu’s complexion visibly improves, and she appears more lucid, not mistakenly calling Wang Fan by another name.

Wang Fan feels a slight regret.

"Grandma Wu, this is tonight’s main dish, I named it Ji Scallion Braised Liao Cucumber Rice, please have a taste and see if it suits your taste."

Although she hasn’t worked in the Northeast, who in China who has ever eaten melons hasn’t tasted the varieties developed by Grandma Wu?

Representing one’s hometown to thank the elderly isn’t out of place.

Removing the lid from the plate, inside there’s only a single dark sea cucumber, a chunk of golden onion segment, a piece of vibrant green vegetable, a bowl of plated white rice, and a little red flower decoration.

The portions are few, yet the color combination of the ingredients looks quite pleasing together.

"Sure, thank you young man."

Everyone in the room hearing this shudders with astonishment, staring at the elderly in disbelief.

It’s known that post-Alzheimer’s diagnosis, occasional lucid moments occur but are extremely rare; the elderly’s aware periods are scarce, unexpectedly today she became lucid again!

Aunt Cai hurriedly leaves the room, such delightful news must be reported to authorities, while to avoid disturbing the elderly’s meal, those leaders aren’t present here.