Ye Jiujiu returned to the kitchen and immediately got to work. The cold seaweed salad and clam congee were already prepared; the rest needed to be cooked fresh.
Standing by the window, she cracked three eggs with practiced ease. After whisking them smooth, she added warm water, strained the mixture, and poured it into a white porcelain bowl lightly brushed with oil. The bowl's rim was circled with a delicate blue pattern—simple yet elegant.
She carefully placed a dozen blanched clam meats into the bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, and set it in the steamer for ten minutes.
To avoid keeping her guests waiting, Ye Jiujiu multitasked. She boiled a fresh kettle of water to brew Longjing tea for later, then tossed cleaned sweet snails into bubbling water, waiting for them to cook before removing them.
Once the sweet snails were done, she heated oil in her wok, hands moving swiftly. The garlic and Sichuan peppercorns she had chopped earlier sizzled to life, releasing a rich fragrance. She added her homemade base sauce, stir-frying until aromatic, then added eight cleaned whelks. These snails, red-brown and round, looked delicious even before cooking.
When the whelks were ready, she removed the sweet snail meat, sliced it thinly, and mixed it with chopped celery and a touch of seasoning. She plated it like a miniature pagoda at the center of a blue-rimmed plate, tucking two celery leaves beside it as garnish.
Glancing at the clock—six minutes had passed. Four more minutes for the steamed clam egg. She turned to prepare the scallops next. They were large, their plump white meat almost the size of her palm.
If there were more of them, she would have happily eaten one herself. Ye Jiujiu sighed, arranged the vermicelli neatly, and poured over a layer of fragrant fried garlic sauce. Once the steamed egg finished, she swapped in the garlic vermicelli scallops and set the timer.
After wiping away sweat and straightening her apron, she brought out the appetizers—cold seaweed salad, steamed clams with egg, and cold sweet conch slices.
"Please enjoy," she said with a polite smile.
Lele's mother blinked. "Boss, you cook really fast. I thought we would wait for ages."
"I helped in restaurants for many years," Ye Jiujiu replied. "I'm used to it."
She had prepped every component ahead of time; now all she needed to do was finish each dish in order. The only downside was that she couldn't tend the front of the shop at the same time—she would hire someone once business stabilized.
After serving freshly squeezed juice and the affordable white wine the guests ordered, she returned to the kitchen to finish the spicy stir-fried snails.
She added broccoli as garnish, placed it beside the pot of seafood congee she had prepared earlier, and served them both. Then she headed back to the kitchen to start the Longjing clam and bamboo fungus soup and the cheese-baked mussels.
---
In the dining area
"Let me see what this 88-yuan seaweed salad even tastes like," Grandma Lele muttered. She had felt cheated the moment she saw the price. If not for her grandson and daughter-in-law insisting, she would never have come.
She stabbed a bite with clear disapproval—but as soon as she tasted it, her expression shifted, becoming oddly stiff… almost as if she wanted to admit it was good.
Lele's mother noticed everything. "Mom, how is it?"
"It's alright," the old woman said, pretending to be indifferent. "I could probably make something like this too."
"You've tried making it before," Grandpa Lele exposed her mercilessly. "But this version is really good. It goes perfectly with rice."
He sipped the seafood congee next and sighed. "This is so fresh—almost too delicious."
"Grandpa, I told you!" Lele puffed up proudly.
"Yes, yes, Lele wasn't lying." Grandma Lele picked up a big whelk for the child. "It cost 38.8 yuan. If it wasn't delicious, would it be worth that price? Don't waste any—eat everything inside."
"Such delicious whelks for only 38.8 yuan is actually cheap." Lele's dad, who had eaten in high-end private restaurants, commented, "Those places charge seven, eight hundred for a single dish. Compared to that, this place is very down-to-earth."
Carrying dishes toward their table, Ye Jiujiu overheard this and paused—
Was she being too kind?
Should she have priced them higher?
But since the order was already placed, she put the thought aside and delivered the garlic vermicelli scallops, cheese-baked mussels, and Longjing clam and bamboo fungus soup.
"Your dishes are all served," she announced.
Lele's mother quickly made space on the table. "Thank you, boss."
Noticing the nearly empty plates, Ye Jiujiu asked, "How's the taste so far?"
"It's exceptionally fresh and delicious." Grandma Lele gave a big thumbs-up. "The conch meat is plump and tender, the clams are crisp and sweet, and even the kelp strips have a natural sweetness—nothing artificial."
Lele raised his hand proudly. "I know why! It's because they grew up in the ocean. So the ocean is sweet!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Everyone knew the sea was salty, but the child's logic was too cute to argue with.
"This conch is so big, bigger than my palm," Grandma Lele added. "And the meat—mm! So satisfying. I'll need several bites to finish it."
"I've eaten seafood before," she continued, "but it always tasted fishy. This doesn't at all. It tastes fresh, and eating it makes me feel… relaxed."
Hearing such praise, Ye Jiujiu's eyebrows curved with genuine happiness. "I'm glad you like it."
"I really do." Lele's mother drank a spoonful of the Longjing soup and froze for a moment. "This soup is incredible—so fresh it almost overwhelms the tongue. And it has a gentle tea aroma… it's perfect."
"Drinking more of it is good for your health," Ye Jiujiu said. Seeing everyone enjoy the food lifted the weight off her chest. Earlier, she had worried they might flip the table if something wasn't good enough. "Please enjoy everything slowly. Just call me if you need anything."