Grandpa Wu, and Grandpa Zhou and others who joined them yesterday...
They were all too captivated by the smell to move.
They stood at the doorway, inhaling the aroma of the fried rice, which gradually enveloped them, yet none of them wanted to leave.
"This lard, the flavor is so pure."
"It smells good too, just one whiff tells you it's good pork."
"Good pork is hard to find these days."
"My wife went to the countryside with some people two days ago to buy some, but she went through a lot of trouble and her legs are hurting terribly. She even went to the hospital yesterday to have an X-ray. Luckily, everything is fine. The problem is, that pig is no good either."
"Many pigs in the countryside are fed commercial feed, so they don't taste good."
…
The elderly men, drawn by the aroma, stopped and began discussing it.
Li Cheng Xiang had been craving it anyway.
Listening to the old men's analysis, about how they had eaten this and that when they were young, describing how fragrant and delicious it was, he almost couldn't control his drooling.
Li Cheng Xiang: ...
I just opened the shop a little earlier, I didn't break any rules, there's no need for this!
After the rich aroma of fried rice, came the light taste of loofah soup.
Compared to the rich and vibrant flavor of fried rice, it's like a graceful, understated beauty from the Jiangnan water towns, slowly approaching you in a small boat.
In the misty rain, just one glance back, and you'd never want to move forward again.
The loofah sold by that woman was indeed of excellent quality.
When Sheng Jiu was cutting it, she could smell a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Loofah's flavor is inherently mild.
And when it's stir-fried, only a subtle, natural aroma emerges.
As water was added to simmer the soup, a faint aroma slowly diffused into the air, subtle and elusive, yet easily detected unexpectedly.
The fragrance seemed to emanate from a mountain breeze, gentle and soothing, truly refreshing.
Sheng Jiu inhaled the aroma and thought to herself, "I could easily have another bowl."
[This soup is good, mainly because the loofah is so good. Priced at 8 yuan a bowl.]
Sheng Jiu: ...
Not particularly surprising.
Compared to other dishes in the restaurant, this soup was practically a steal.
[However, egg supply is limited, so if you choose this soup, you'll need to reduce the amount of Egg And Ham Rice Bowl, or cancel it altogether.]
After hearing the system's words, Sheng Jiu thought for a moment.
Once the newbie benefits end, she'll have to find a way to get eggs and ham herself.
This basic dish…
It seems inevitable that it will be dropped sooner or later.
Therefore, she needed to plan ahead.
Let's start reducing the portions today.
Thinking this through, Sheng Jiu instructed Ares to serve the soup later while she went to the front to revise the menu.
There were plenty of ingredients today, so the variety of dishes could be increased.
Cumin Mushrooms, Spicy Stir-fried Octopus Feet, Pork Lard Fried Rice, Chili Eggs, and Millet
Porridge.
The Chili Eggs dish used thorny peppers, which, for Sheng Jiu, were only slightly spicy, which was acceptable.
Recalling the spiciness of the thorny peppers, Sheng Jiu muttered to herself, "But this stuff isn't really suitable for children."
It's clearly rich in growth hormones, yet it's not suitable for children…
It feels a bit contradictory.
[…It wasn't born to be eaten by you all.]
Sheng Jiu: ...
Ah, this, she felt she couldn't refute that.
For today's millet porridge, Sheng Jiu prepared two clay pots.
One pot was ordinary, and the other was high-end.
She generously chopped up some green ginseng, trying her best to ensure there were at least two slices in each bowl.
Although this millet porridge costs 298 yuan a bowl, but!!!
She herself felt the pinch when it came to the ingredients she used.
In other words, the supply for her eldest aunt's side is sufficient for now. The lotus seeds and green ginseng Ares and his team obtained last night have been perfectly used to make a new batch of ginseng and lotus seed tea, enough for her eldest aunt to drink for a while.
Furthermore, Ares and his team will soon be able to return to command post. Returning to a normal environment means that the Gene Nourishing Liquid will no longer be limited by the environment.
However, the supply of Gene Repair Liquid is still limited.
Most of it is mainly supplied to the military for use by frontline soldiers suffering mental breakdowns.
Therefore, Ares can't guarantee how much he can send back to Sheng Jiu.
However, he can guarantee that he will be hunting Exploding Lotus Seeds regularly.
While the amount of Gene Repair Liquid they can obtain is uncertain, but they can still acquire a considerable amount of Exploding Lotus Seeds with some effort!
For these two reasons, Sheng Jiu was generous today.
The millet porridge was started cooking first. Ares suggested that he help with the other ingredients after he delivered food to his teammates.
Sheng Jiu saw that there was still time, so she nodded in agreement.
She accompanied Ares upstairs to open the door, and then realized…
They seemed to have forgotten something.
As soon as the two of them reached the top of the stairs, they met Paul's eyes, which were practically glowing green with hunger.
His eyes were already green, but now they were a chilling green.
Sheng Jiu was startled when she saw him.
Sensing Sheng Jiu's fear, Ares stepped forward, shielding her behind him, his gaze sharp as a knife as he looked at Paul.
That morning, Paul had first smelled the delicious aroma of wontons, then the rich fragrance of Pork Lard Fried Rice, and then the refreshing and natural Loofah And Egg Drop Soup…
His eyes gleamed with hunger, wave after wave of green!
Paul thought, he was just a pirate, he had only committed a crime, he hadn't broken any cardinal rules!
Even with severe torture, you wouldn't go this far!
The problem was that Ares was ruthless, not only did he tie him up tightly, but he also thought he was too noisy, so he gagged him completely.
By now, the cloth in his mouth was soaked with Paul's saliva!
He'd been craving the aroma all morning, unable to move or speak.
He could only watch helplessly as his eyes grew increasingly green.
Now, seeing two people come upstairs, and their first reaction upon seeing him was surprise, how could Paul not understand?
These two, damn it, had completely forgotten about him!
He was, after all, a living, breathing human being!!!
Is it reasonable to just forget him upstairs like that?
He spent the whole night as bait, helping you catch so many Exploding Lotus Seedpods and green ginseng!
Doesn't he deserve a bite to eat?
Sheng Jiu only realized what was happening after coming up and seeing the person…
Oh right, there's someone else upstairs.
At this moment, peeking out from behind Ares and looking at the starving, green-eyed Paul, Sheng Jiu asked the system worriedly, "He won't starve to death, will he?"
[He can go hungry for at most another day and a half.]
Sheng Jiu's eyes widened upon hearing this: "And then he starved to death?"
[At most, he fainted from hunger.]
Hearing this, Sheng Jiu felt much relieved.
As long as he didn't die.
However, considering that he might become an employee in her restaurant in the future, Sheng Jiu thought…
How about giving him some early benefits?
She tentatively tugged at Ares's clothes: "How about… giving him something to eat?"