Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 93: Boss, Go Home Already—I Don’t Want to Clock Out Yet

After all, Amiens is just a small city, with only two well-known malls in the city center, and the others are all located in the suburbs.

Following the principle of proximity, he could only come to the same old spot in the city center.

"Huh?"

While patrolling the first floor, Meng Qi had just finished a round and was enjoying the air conditioning at the mall entrance when he saw a familiar figure brushing past him.

"Lin??"

"Hmm?"

"Haha, it really is you! How come you have free time to stroll around the mall today, aren't you vending?"

Upon seeing Meng Qi, Lin Chen was not surprised, as he already knew Meng Qi worked as a security guard at the nearby mall. He just didn't expect to bump into him right away.

"I am, but today I got off work early, so I finally have the time to buy a few clothes for a business trip next month."

"Business trip? Where to? Want me to recommend some places?"

Thinking about having no late-night snacks for a few days, Meng Qi felt a little sad for some reason.

He patted his increasingly round belly and sighed inwardly.

Consider it as dieting, what else can I do.

"To the seaside."

"Wow, beach! Beauties! Alright, alright, speaking of casual wear, you've got to hit the third floor, take this escalator up and go all the way to the right, you'll see a shop with a coconut tree at the entrance, it's absolutely great!"

Sure enough, Meng Qi's recommendation was reliable. With a mindset of giving it a shot, he went in to have a look, and not only were the prices cheap, but the quality was also quite good. Most importantly, it wasn't a chain brand, so he wouldn't end up wearing the same clothes as people walking on the street.

After spending over half an hour shopping and dropping off his purchases at home, he pulled out his food truck and met up with Lucas, and it was already around six o'clock.

At this time, it was precisely the peak hour for foreigners to go out looking for food, and several long-lost food trucks lined the streets.

Besides Lunard and Sakura Sushi, the hot dog and ice cream trucks also had long lines, and there was a new Crêpe vendor he'd never seen before.

In addition, the kimchi food truck had surprisingly reappeared in the area, though almost no one was queuing.

Those who came here for dinner were mainly nearby residents, so word spread fast. The food truck owners would also gossip amongst themselves, hoping no one would come to disgust them—a competitor less is a good thing.

Food trucks that neglect hygiene are likely to diminish customers' dining desires, leading to a chain reaction.

Seeing the familiar large red food truck drive across the road and steadily park by the roadside, Lunard silently rolled his eyes and casually tossed the spatula in his hand.

"Almost time to wrap up for the day..."

Neo: "Boss, just go home already, leave the rest to me. I still don't want to clock out. Can I earn an extra two hours? My expenses have been high lately..."

"You brat, didn't I tell you not to spend so much on your girlfriend! Take it easy, got it!"

"Ah, I know, I know, but she calls me baby~"

Lunard reluctantly took off his apron and mask, stepped out of the food truck, and the customers in line were bewildered.

"Hey! Old Lunard, where are you running off to? My taco isn't done yet!"

"Though we're all regulars, you can't just openly slack off like this. I was supposed to wait just five minutes, but at Neo's pace, I'm going to be starving for ten!"

He pointed to the red food truck beside them.

"Going to learn some skills, my new menu depends entirely on Lin."

He had gradually figured out Lin Chen's routine. If he came around ten at night, basically all the ingredients were prepared, and he just started selling, so he could only learn the cooking process.

Coming at other times, he could learn a lot since it usually involved preparing from scratch.

By then, Lucas also arrived, turned on his hazard lights, and parked in front of the food truck, unloading three entire insulated boxes from the pickup bed.

"Quick! Help me fill a few buckets of water, I can't wait to start making shaved ice!"

His home fridge was a regular one, not fitting the commercial metal barrels he brought, so he could only make them fresh once Lin Chen's food truck arrived.

The shaved ice solidified quite quickly; it wouldn't take more than an hour or two, ready to sell by eight at the latest.

He even went through the trouble to buy several extra metal barrels, planning to make a large batch at once to sell through midnight, ensuring his income would undoubtedly double.

Apart from the insulated boxes, the truck was also piled high with several boxes of fruit, including watermelon, pineapple, blueberry, strawberry, mango, and more.

"A pickup truck is so handy."

Even after buying so much, the pickup bed used less than a quarter of its space.

After helping to unload all the ingredients and fruits, Lucas went to park the car. Lin Chen took the opportunity to bring down the foldable plastic tables and chairs from the food truck, set them up, filled the metal barrels with water, and got everything ready.

At this hour, there were hardly any of his regulars buying food nearby, but pairs of curious eyes followed him around.

While others were still on the sidelines, Lunard's customers couldn't hold back and came over.

"I've got to see what skills you're learning that make you so highly praised—I've never seen it before."

"Hey, don't believe me?"

Lunard chuckled, "Just dig in."

Lin Chen casually picked up the remote, turned on the TV on the side of the food truck, and began playing a promo video.

The eyes of several curious customers focused on the screen, watching intently as they unknowingly began to swallow.

"What kind of noodles are these? They look too amazing, why are they different from the handmade pasta on the food programs?"

"That thing that looks like a burger doesn't look very appealing, but when it's sliced open, it starts oozing soup, interesting."

"Wow, this bright red tofu looks super spicy, no way I can handle it."

"I think I've seen this jelly-like dessert covered in fruit on my friend's social media, and I heard even Dreya comes running here every day. I have to try it."

"They sell barbecue too? This food truck sells way too much stuff, oh my God, they have milk tea as well?"

"Hold on, I've never seen a food truck selling so many unrelated foods at once, do they change their menu daily?"

"You got it right!"

Lunard, puffing out a smoke ring, gave a thumbs up, "But unfortunately, there's no prize."

Seeing that Lin Chen had already washed his hands and put on his apron and mask, Lunard quickly stubbed out his cigarette and crushed it with his foot, leaning into the window to take a peek.

"What's cooking today?"

"Tofu."

Lin Chen took out a large, chilly bag of tender tofu from the insulated box, poured a bowl of water, added salt to it until slightly salty.

Cut the tofu horizontally and vertically, dividing it into small cubes, then soak them in the salted water.

This not only pre-seasons the tofu, shortening the cooking time, but also slightly removes the raw tofu taste.

Once all the tofu from the insulated box was processed, the clean box could be used as a container for soaking the tofu, convenient for storing and keeping warm without taking up fridge space.

The recipe for the salted egg yolk tofu casserole had already been exchanged while Lucas was shopping. He'd also modified some of the side dishes, planning to add seafood mushrooms and wakame to enhance the flavor.