Chapter 50: Garlic, Noodles, and Broth
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
The reactions of the two customers were quite straightforward. They were stupefied, the exact same reaction which Yuan Zhou had upon seeing it.
What the h.e.l.l was this?
“Young master, is this the set meal?” the grandpa looked around and then realized it really was just broth and cloves of garlic. Moreover, there were only two cloves of garlic on the plate, the unpeeled kind.
“Boss Yuan, even if they are the rare redskin garlic, they are still garlic.” Wu Hai was looking at the so-called set meal speechlessly. The mere broth and two cloves of garlic were worth 40RMB.
This is way too deceitful.
“Humm, just have a taste,” Yuan Zhou said directly without wasting any other words.
“Young master, if it was pickled garlic I can still have a taste. However, for raw garlic...” the grandpa didn’t finish his sentence, but had already clearly revealed his inability to accept the raw garlic.
“I may be able to eat spicy dishes, but even I can’t eat the raw garlic.” Wu Hai pushed the plate of the garlic away. Was boss Yuan Zhou kidding? If he ate the garlic, how would he be able to flirt with the girls? With a mouthful of garlic breath? The girls would faint immediately from the smell.
“This is ruby-red garlic. It leaves no offensive smell in the mouth. You will understand after eating.” Yuan Zhou said convincingly.
After all, the system had given him this answer.
The system read, “The redskin garlic provided by the system will not leave any peculiar smell after being consumed.”
“Garlic is a herbaceous plant that matures in half a year. Its bulbs can also be used as medicine. The system has made exclusive changes to the ordinary garlic, removing the peculiar smell after consumption and thus, developed the exclusive ruby-red garlic. This new breed can instead help to remove the bad breath by eating it.”
“A unique substance which existed only in purple garlic and white garlic were injected into the ruby-red garlic. This lead to a new breed being developed, which has increased the alliin and allinase contained within them. Therefore, the garlic containing those two specific nutrients will be able to eliminate the cystine in the bacteria and improve one"s immunity. Hence it is one of the best ingredients to maintain one"s health.”
“These substances all exist in raw garlic. However, once the garlic is heated, they will be damaged and even lose the original effects.”
“Eh, I don’t really like eating raw garlic,” the grandpa still insisted.
As for Wu Hai, he considered for a while and then said, “Alright, let me taste the raw garlic first and then only eat the noodle soup.”
If there really was an offensive smell, the delicate aroma of the noodle soup would cover it.
“Boss Yuan, at least peel off the skin before serving it to us.” Wu Hai picked up the garlic and started to peel it while complaining.
“Food should be made by one"s own hands, only then will it taste better.” Crossing his arms, Yuan Zhou took a look at Wu Hai.
“Cough cough. Boss Yuan is skilled in using words,” Wu Hai said in embarra.s.sment.
“Thank you for your compliment. I think so too.” Without any hesitation, Yuan Zhou graciously accepted Wu Hai’s praise.
Wu Hai didn’t know what to say anymore. Fortunately, he finished peeling the garlic at this moment. The ruby-red garlic looked great from outside. The skin was red while the freshly peeled garlic was a light pink rather than the ordinary white color. It looked fresh and cute.
It didn’t have a pungent smell like other breeds of garlic. On the contrary, it had the fragrance of plants.
After taking in the hand and having a look, Wu Hai put the clove of garlic directly in his mouth. With a small bite, he started to eat it.
It was very popular to eat raw garlic in some provinces and cities, such as Jin Cheng. Every restaurant in that city prepared complete bulbs of garlic on the dining table for customers. On the other hand, people In Chang’an only ate the raw garlic whenever they had noodles.
Undoubtedly, Wu Hai belonged to the group who wasn’t used to eating garlic. He stuffed it directly into his mouth and chewed. It was fortunate that Yuan Zhou had provided him with ruby-red garlic, as ordinary garlic would have an excessively pungent taste, which some might not enjoy.
The garlic that was bit emitted a stronger fragrance. Wu Hai’s eyes brighten up and he started chewing faster. Along with the repeated chewing, the fragrance became much stronger, bringing about a refres.h.i.+ng feel. After the clove of garlic was eaten, Wu Hai felt refreshed, the sense of chaos in the mind completely cleared away.
“This garlic is really nice.” While speaking, Wu Hai covered his mouth for fear that the smell would drive others away. However, the odor that was reflected back smelled refres.h.i.+ng and fragrant, not offensive at all.
“Ho,” he tried to breathe out and then realized it really smelled like that. Wu Hai recalled the brand of the toothpaste that he was currently using, Yunnan Baiyao brand, with the smell of mint. However, it obviously did not smell of mint now.
“It really doesn"t have an offensive smell,” after muttering to himself, he started to peel the other clove of the garlic.
“Grandpa Zheng, this garlic can stimulate your appet.i.te. It’s really nice. Why don’t you give it a try?” While peeling off the skin, he didn’t forget to promote the garlic to the grandpa seated beside him.
“See? I already ate the garlic but there is no smell in my mouth. Besides, it is not spicy at all.”
“Really? Not spicy?” the grandpa, who was called Grandpa Zheng, set down the chopsticks and then asked.
“You give it a try and will understand.” Wu Hai gestured the grandpa to taste it.
“All right. Let me have a taste.” the Grandpa Zheng was actually a frugal person. Only a bowl of broth and two cloves of garlic cost 40RMB. It would be a waste of money if he didn’t manage to eat them.
Having peeled off the skin, the grandpa gave it a sniff before putting it into his mouth.
He was also impressed by the rough garlic’s unique fragrance and the way it stimulated his appet.i.te.
As an old man, his internal organs would inevitably weaken. Therefore, no matter how delicious the dishes cooked by Yuan Zhou were, Grandpa Zheng would be full with only one dish. Of course, two Soup Dumplings were not a problem for him.
After eating the rough garlic, he felt more spirited and comfortable physically. Every bite brought about a blast of flavor, as if his taste sensitivity became sharper. His appet.i.te also improved tremendously.
Of course, the increase in his appet.i.te was merely due to the sudden sharpening of his tastebud. It didn’t mean he merely wanted to eat an additional bowl of noodles. It was just that interest of food was suddenly aroused.
“Is this really garlic?”
“None of the ingredients Boss Yuan provides are simple and ordinary.”
“Originally, I don’t enjoy garlic. But today, I ate two cloves successively.”
“40RMB for two cloves of garlic. On average, it is 20RMB for each clove. Though fairly expensive, it deserves that price.”
The ruby-red garlic instantly obtained two fans.
Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was usually open for an hour in the morning. After that hour pa.s.sed, when those other customers, who were used to Yuan Zhou not opening the restaurant in the morning, came at the regular time, they were met with a tightly closed door.
“Slurp slurp”
As usual, Yuan Zhou cooked his noodle soup and devoured the dish with only a few bites. Then he walked out of the back door while holding the bowl of the leftover broth in his hand.
The alley in daytime did not appear to be so gloomy and damp. Some unknown flowers grew from the brick cracks and numerous mosses covered the stone bricks, which contrarily, gave the alley a primitive and quiet feel.
He went up to the end of the alley, where the dog was still lying on the large plastic bag. However now, it wasn’t barking miserably, nor scratching his hind leg.
Yuan Zhou could see better under the daylight. The dog was not a purebred Maltese; several strips of black fur could be seen apart from the usual chocolate brown, and the fur wasn’t all curled. A dozen large and small wounds could be seen on its body.
It must have contracted a disease and then be discovered that it wasn’t a purebred, thus was abandoned and thrown here.
The bowl that he placed on the ground last night was empty and had been dragged closer to the dog. At Yuan Zhou’s arrival, the brown and black dog raised its head, gave him a look and then lay back down, seemingly reluctant to move.
Yuan Zhou still didn’t intend to raise the dog. He went up, as usual, poured the broth into the bowl on the ground, then turned around and left.
The dog lying on the ground looked at Yuan Zhou and got to its feet after ensuring that Yuan Zhou had left before starting to drink the broth in the bowl.
This scene was captured by a grandma who happened to bring some food to the dog. She appeared to live not far from here and was dressed in an ordinary cotton T-s.h.i.+rt, with a piece of bread in her hand.
“Why did this guy only give the dog soup? Oh, no, it’s broth and smells fairly good.” When she smelled the aroma wafting around her, the grandma corrected herself.
Then she started to coax the dog in front of her, “Good little dog. You can’t eat your fill with the broth. I have the bread for you. Come and eat it.”
…