Chapter 190: Habit and Delicacies
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
If one pretended not to see something, he would surely ignore it. Lee Yanyi waited in line unashamedly for breakfast. At that time, a delicate fragrance of vegetables gradually drifted out of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
Meanwhile, the hawkers also started to surround the customers and shout, ""Breakfast, delicious breakfast."
"Where there’s business opportunity, there will be such opportunists" having been asked consecutively for three times what he wanted to eat, Lee Yanyi sighed with emotion and then said. The opportunists spoken of by him were, nevertheless, not a derogatory term.
Yuan Zhou’s restaurant brought quite a lot business to the hawkers. It could be antic.i.p.ated what would happen when his reputation became more and more well-known by other people.
In the kitchen, Yuan Zhou was preparing to make the steamed buns following the regular steps.
The dried white tofu used in the stuffing was also made by Yuan Zhou himself. After he mastered how to make tofu, dried tofu was naturally not a problem for him.
Having got all the stuffing well prepared, Yuan Zhou began to cut the dough into small pieces to make the buns.
Yuan Zhou then used the rolling pin expertly. While the rolling pin emitted a sound of "HuHu", a dough wrapping was done in a little while. Different from that of the Soup Dumplings requiring thinness, transparency and toughness, the dough wrapping for the steamed buns required the middle part to be slightly thicker. That way, the steamed buns would have more texture and would taste sweeter and more fragrant.
After he poured hot water in the steamer and put the uncooked buns into the bamboo steamer, the customers waiting outside the restaurant then smelled the faint wheat fragrance and refres.h.i.+ng vegetable flavor.
"Gu Dong", the sounds of gulping down saliva increased.
The hawkers shouted louder at the side. There were always people who couldn’t resist the temptation and ate other foods while smelling the fragrance from Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. Of course, when the hawkers talked, they also had lots of saliva in their mouth and had to swallow it up before they spoke in case it went directly onto the other’s face.
"It’s really fragrant. The vegetable flavor reminds me of the vegetables that we ate during childhood. No wonder so many people are waiting in line," a hawkers thought of that while smelling the fragrance.
"You are right. It’s like the flavor of vegetables nipped by frost with the delicate fragrance," it turned out that the hawker spoke the words out unconsciously and afterward, Lee Yanyi answered him when he heard that.
"It is even more fragrant than that," the hawker added and then continued to peddle his breakfast.
At that time, the door was opened. Yuan Zhou was not surprised at all when he saw the customers more than usual. Naturally, Mu Xiaoyun was still the first one.
"Good morning, boss," Mu Xiaoyun greeted Yuan Zhou delightedly.
"Humm, your brother has recovered, hasn’t he?"Yuan Zhou asked her suddenly.
"Yes, but how do you know?" A slight puzzlement, but more of happiness, appeared on her innocent small face.
"I guessed." After that, Yuan Zhou went back to the kitchen.
"Boss knows everything. So awesome," Mu Xiaoyun said happily. Nevertheless, she didn’t forget her own work and hence started to greet the customers, letting them enter the restaurant.
"Boss Yuan, you have a new dish, right?" a regular customer asked.
What a joke! He claimed that he had eaten every dish in Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. With the name of Zhida, specifically Ma Zhida, he was the one who had once gambled at the entrance of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. The name definitely had a deep meaning.
The meaningful name indicated that he had a broad ambition which could be achieved in no time. Of course, it was good.
"Humm, they are all on the price list," Yuan Zhou gestured to him the new dish written on the regular place.
"There is Lotus Root Starch now. It seems that Boss Yuan has served new dishes quickly recently. There are even two new dishes that I haven’t eaten." Every time there was a new dish, Ma Zhida would come to eat it at first instance. If there were more than one, he would only come when he had earned extra income.
"Do you want the new dish, as usual?" Yuan Zhou knew his habit well.
"I’m still considering which new dish I shall start with," The usually careless and casual Ma Zhidao said with an extraordinarily serious manner as if he were considering a very important matter.
"From today on, the Lotus Root Starch will be served for breakfast every morning," Yuan Zhou brought out the surprising news calmly.
Being hesitant like Ma Zhida, the customers who had been noisy turned the head and looked at Yuan Zhou instantly.
"Boss Yuan, have you gotten a bad fever?" Wu Hai blurted that out. His hand touching the mustache slipped.
"Boss Yuan, please go to a doctor later. Don’t tire yourself. We will control the sound volume when you open the door at noon," said Ma Zhida, who believed himself to be quite considerate.
"Don’t hold on firmly when you are sick. Just a few new dishes are ok for this aged man for lunch," Lee Yanyi echoed.
"I’m quite healthy and will definitely go to rest if I catch a cold in case I get you guys infected," based on the principle of hurting each other, Yuan Zhou also said with a seemingly considerate tone.
"Actually, I feel Boss Yuan is still vigorous despite the age. Let’s order the dish now," Ma Zhida reversed his comments first. It was so quick that he even uttered ahead of Wu Hai, who had no principles at all.
"Young people always misuse Chinese idioms. How could ‘vigorous despite the age’ be used on this fellow? It should be ‘old but still vigorous in mind and body’," Wu Hai said earnestly while stroking his mustache.
"I don’t know what you guys are talking about. But it’s all nonsense," Lee Yanyi was more cultured. He directly spoke out two idioms.
Yuan Zhou nevertheless watched the scene indifferently at the side and didn’t intend to join them. Even if he was the leading role, he didn’t show any interest.
"Everybody, shall we start to order? There’s not much time," it was Mu Xiaoyun who wittily mentioned the time. Only after that did the customers stop arguing and started to order the dishes as usual.
"How many steamed buns are there in one serving?" Lee Yanyi didn’t want to be stopped again. Of course, it wasn’t for fear of the blacklist issue. He just felt it was embarra.s.sing to be stopped as an aged man.
"One for one serving," Yuan Zhou pointed at the carefully high-stacked bamboo steamers and answered.
"What kind of bamboo is that to have such green color?" As soon as Lee Yanyi turned the head, he saw the emerald green bamboo and couldn’t help asking.
"Square bamboo," Yuan Zhou answered with a calm manner.
"A bowl of Lotus Root Starch," in any case, Lee Yanyi was a learned person. For this particular bamboo that had apparently already died out, he definitely wouldn’t believe him. Therefore, he chose the Lotus Root Starch decisively.
"Ok, one moment, please," the Lotus Root Starch had already been grounded. What Yuan Zhou needed to do now was just to pour the water inside and let it dissolve, without even needing to add sugar separately. For that, only 30 seconds were needed. This was the results of Yuan Zhou brewing the Lotus Root Starch in an elegant way.
"Lotus Root Starch and Steamed a.s.sorted Vegetable Buns, one serving each," Ma Zhida continued to order his dishes.
"Humm," Yuan Zhou answered and then he took out the steamed buns and the brewed Lotus Root Starch and handed them to him.
"Two different dishes for breakfast at one time is really a blessing in my life," Ma Zhida smelled this one and then the other one contentedly.
Laid in front of Ma Zhida were the two dishes, the transparent and pink Lotus Root Starch and the white and fragrant steamed bun.
While watching the scene at the side, Lee Yanyi suddenly said, "I also want a steamed bun."
"Got it. You can get it soon," Mu Xiaoyun answered and then reported to Yuan Zhou.
"This aged man would like to see if the green bamboo is covered with paint." As soon as Lee Yanyi received the bamboo steamer, he observed it quite carefully and completely neglected the delicate fragrance emitted from the bamboo.
Covered on the bamboo steamer was a green leaf rather than an ordinary cloth. The bamboo steamer was perfectly covered with the leaf, which had a smooth surface and a dark green color along with delicate fragrance if one smelled it carefully. Any water droplets condensed from the hot water vapor would flow out of the bamboo steamer into the plate under the steamer.
The steamed bun that fully filled the steamer looked white, plump and cute. The folds at the mouth of the bun could clearly be seen and were 16 in all; each of them was identical in size. With the steam curling up, it was like a refined photo of delicacy in any way.
It wasn’t only humans that could be described as being a feast for eyes.
Lee Yanyi picked up the chopsticks and reached for the white bun. And the bun obediently got picked up. With a simple bite, Lee Yanyi became surprised instantly….