Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 417 - 369: First Batch of Braised Pig’s Trotters (2)
Opening the door next door, Chen Mo was still very familiar with the layout here and went straight into the kitchen.
Several large bowls on the cabinet were covered with lids, presumably they belonged to Old Man Lu.
Red oil is rapeseed oil infused with the flavor of chilies and spices; the chili is what’s left after making the red oil, blended with soy sauce.
The dish "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" cannot be made without either.
Chen Mo unceremoniously took the whole pot and also found some other items.
"I’ll take this too!"
The cabinet also held Old Man Lu’s Sichuan pepper powder, sesame powder, and coarse crushed peanuts.
Given Old Man Lu’s high standards for ingredients and spices, these were all fine items. The Sichuan pepper is sourced from Qingxi, the sesame needs to be roasted over low heat until tooth-yellow before being ground into a coarse meal, and the peanuts are fried crisp with fine salt over low heat, then crushed into coarse particles after peeling.
You really can’t find such quality stuff at a supermarket!
If Chen Mo were to make them himself, it would take a lot of work.
"Take it all, Brother Chen, are you heading somewhere else to set up a stall?"
Chen Mo didn’t know how to explain; mainly, he wasn’t in the habit of lying, so he said, "A friend in the village is holding a grand feast for tomorrow noon, I just don’t have the time."
"Need a hand?"
"Help... Sichuan is so far from Jingzhou," Chen Mo said, "You won’t be able to help, come on, help me move things to the car."
"Oh."
The two of them busied themselves loading everything into the food truck. Chen Mo handed Lu Yingqiu a glass of orange juice, "Take care of the restaurant here, I’ll come back to see you when I have time."
"Mm."
Lu Yingqiu, as always, said little. Apart from the slight surprise upon their meeting, he returned to his usual calm demeanor.
Chen Mo didn’t say much, there were still a lot of matters at home. After bidding farewell to Lu Yingqiu, he drove the car to a secluded spot.
That damned dizziness...
Reappearing again at an unfinished building.
"Looks like I need to find some time to transfer the house from my dad to my name, it’s so inconvenient."
Driving the food truck with a few more flashes, he made it back to Jiuniu Pass in no time.
The courtyard was still bustling as ever; little did anyone know that Chen Mo, who had only been away for a while, had actually been to Sichuan from Jingzhou and back!
"Brother Niu!"
Xiao Niu was eagerly guarding a braised pot, staring at his pig trotters. Hearing Chen Mo call for him, he quickly jumped up and ran out.
"Help me move stuff."
"Alright!"
Both of them moved everything Chen Mo brought back into the courtyard.
With this, all the ingredients for "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" were complete.
The next task couldn’t be helped by anyone else but Chen Mo.
Handling the ingredients.
The hot dishes for tomorrow had to be prepped beforehand, including chicken, duck, fish, pork, and lamb, especially those needing to be marinated.
Chen Mo alone was at the workstation, sometimes chopping, sometimes mixing ingredients. A grand feast was different from regular stalls; all dishes were made in large batches simultaneously.
Especially such items as knuckles, marinating thirty to forty at a time was quite a spectacle.
Seconds and minutes ticked by, and Hou Yao’s pig trotters were also due.
"Xiaochen, take them out?"
Chen Mo put down the work at hand and poked a few times inside with a ladle; an hour of simmering wasn’t enough to make the pig trotters completely tender, pressing on them was still resilient, "Done, scoop them out."
The big skimmer went in, scooping ten or so pig trotters at a time, needing several rounds to get them all out.
Brother Niu couldn’t wait any longer; he casually grabbed a pair of chopsticks, skewered a pig trotter, and took a huge bite!
"Satisfying!"
"How is it?" Chen Mo curiously asked.
Braising meat in Jingzhou was quite simple, commonly using those spices and fine salt, focusing on the salty flavor.
The Sichuan-style braised meat was his first time trying it; while knowing it would taste good, he wasn’t sure how exactly.
Brother Niu happily chewed a couple of bites, the juices dripping down his mouth, "Delicious!"
Not highly educated, all he could say was "delicious, very delicious!"
Villagers watching Xiao Niu thought it amusing; sometimes words were inadequate, instead, actions expressed everything.
Just a few bites, Brother Niu devoured all the pigskin, unafraid of the heat, snapped the bones open, chewed one bone and tossed one, making slurping noises.
Watching villagers’ stomachs grumbled, their throats involuntarily moved.
Uncle Liu Ping put on a stern face, "Xiao Niu, why are you only caring about yourself? Can’t you see all these uncles and aunts staring at you, how can you eat alone?"
"Why should I? I bought all these pig trotters, I’m having one first, the rest are for me to enjoy later."
Liu Ping took a deep breath; this kid was so clueless.
Adding, "Don’t you know to share a few with us to taste?"
"Why should I! These delicious pig trotters, I don’t even have enough for myself!"
Oh boy. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Liu Ping, huffing, looked at Chen Mo, "Xiao Mo, you tell me. Why should Xiao Niu have all these pig trotters to himself? Not asking for much, is it too much to share one to taste amongst everyone?"
Chen Mo was stumped.
It was agreed with Brother Niu before cooking, now Uncle Liu demands otherwise. Liu Ping had helped since morning, refusing would offend him.
Seeing Chen Mo’s dilemma.
Household head Chen Jinping stepped in, not speaking to Liu Ping or Xiao Niu, but to his wife Liu Xiuzhen.
"Xiuzhen, take the braised pig trotters inside first."
"Huh?" Liu Xiuzhen was slightly confused.
Brother Niu was also anxious, "Uncle Jinping, what’s this? I just talked to Xiao Mo, aside from those for tomorrow’s feast, the rest were sold to me!"
Chen Jinping handed Xiao Niu a cigarette, "Xiao Niu, what’s agreed will be sold to you. Xiao Mo is too confident in managing; my point is if more tables are needed tomorrow, what if they run out? Let’s prioritize tomorrow’s feast, if there are extras, I’ll save them for you."
Xiao Niu wanted to speak, but given Chen Jinping’s reasoning, continuing would make him seem unreasonable.
As for Liu Ping’s side, Chen Jinping cheerfully handed out cigarettes, "Why rush? Tomorrow there’ll be a thank-you feast, you’ll get plenty, don’t worry about not tasting the pig trotters. If you don’t get pig trotters tomorrow, you can eat my pig trotters!"
Chen Jinping’s words caused neighbors to laugh, with a few bold old ladies teasing him with sunflower seeds.
"Who wants your pig trotters? It’s all bone and no meat!"
"Exactly, not Old Chen’s trotters, should eat your wife’s instead!"
Chen Mo sighed with relief, looking at his father with complex emotions.
Truthfully, he might outdo his dad, but in handling such things, there’s much to learn from his father.
Without offending anyone while perfectly solving the problem.
Some aunts helped Liu Xiuzhen move all the braised pig trotters inside, covering them.
Only then did Chen Mo return to the workstation, continuing to handle the ingredients.
As time passed, villagers couldn’t stay up, going home to rest, leaving only Chen Mo’s family of three, and the reluctantly working Master Hou in the courtyard.
Mu Mu followed Old Mu somewhere, and Chen Mo didn’t have time to care for her.
Meanwhile, in Jingzhou.
Pregnant Zhang Yaling, teased by her parents and maternal aunt and uncle for a long time, couldn’t take it anymore.
She rushed to her bedroom with her phone, calling Jiang Fei.
"Are you going to do something? Can you come home to have a look? I’m about to be driven crazy by my parents!"
Jiang Fei wasn’t ignoring things, he had no choice; the event was hastily planned, with invitations just recently sent, and he was still at the office.
After hearing Zhang Yaling’s complaints, Jiang Fei frowned, "How about this, take your parents to see tonight? Maybe they’ll understand after seeing."
Zhang Yaling agreed, "Then hurry and arrange it, I really can’t take it anymore."
Without noticing, Zhang Yaling made the call while Jiang Wenqing, at the door, listened attentively.
Little Genius Watch, activate!
