BSI Chapter 92 "Visiting" Zhang Qiang
Chapter 92 "Visiting" Zhang Qiang
Su Chen held a large iron ladle in his hand, and almost half of his body was inside the iron pot.
He scraped the edge of the pot hard, making a "crackling" sound.
"Stop scratching, Su Chen."
Chen Feng untied his apron and casually draped it over the back of the chair next to him, looking at Su Chen's incredulous expression.
"If you keep scraping, you'll scrape off a layer of the metal from the bottom of this pot."
Su Chen straightened up and pointed to the two large pots in front of him.
"Brother Chen, there really isn't a single drop left." Su Chen's tone was filled with disbelief and amazement.
He turned his head and looked at the neatly arranged receipts on the table. "One hundred. Did we really sell them all so smoothly today?"
Xingruo stood by the sink, carefully washing the last few porcelain plates.
Upon hearing Su Chen's words, she turned around, her eyes sparkling.
"Brother Su Chen, I was counting when you brought out the last serving. There were exactly one hundred numbers, not a single one was mixed up."
Xingruo stacked the cleaned plates, walked to the cashier, and patted Mengmeng's head. "Today, we didn't even have a single mistake in serving the wrong dishes."
"Yay! Mission accomplished! The four of us were awesome!"
Mengmeng jumped down from the high stool, raised her two little hands, and ran around the store like a little general who had won a battle, before finally jumping into Chen Feng's arms.
"Daddy, Brother Su didn't do anything wrong today! And Sister Xingruo ate all the potatoes she cut!"
Hearing Mengmeng's happy cheers, the store instantly erupted in a joyful cheer.
Su Chen leaned against the stove, panting heavily.
His hoodie was soaked through, and his hair was plastered to his forehead, but he was still smiling brightly.
"Brother Chen, thanks to your plan." Su Chen looked at Chen Feng and rubbed his hands together vigorously.
"These five groups of people today followed our rhythm perfectly. Even though it was my first day as a waiter, I didn't feel rushed at all."
Chen Feng patted Mengmeng on the back, put her down, walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"Don't get too excited yet. People need to eat, let's have lunch first." Chen Feng pointed inside.
"While I was stewing the second batch of beef brisket, I stir-fried a few dishes and left a big bowl of beef brisket broth."
The four of them quickly gathered around the table.
Without the noise of other diners, the meal was very peaceful.
Chen Feng didn't collapse into a chair from exhaustion like he did yesterday.
His breathing was steady, his face was rosy, and he looked relaxed.
"Master, aren't you tired today?" Xing picked up a piece of beef brisket and looked at Chen Feng with some curiosity.
"I'm definitely tired, standing all morning." Chen Feng took a sip of water, his tone relaxed.
"But today we have control of the pace, and I don't have to deal with the urging from the outside. I don't have to pay attention to anything else, so my physical exertion is reduced by more than half."
Su Chen wiped the grease from his mouth: "Brother Chen, what are we doing this afternoon? There are still several hours until dinner."
Chen Feng did not answer Su Chen directly, but dialed a number on his mobile phone.
"Beep—beep—"
The phone was answered after ringing twice, and Chen Feng casually pressed the speakerphone button.
"Buzzing—clicking—"
A deafening sound of an electric drill came from the other end of the phone, mixed with the sharp echo of steel pipes colliding.
"Hello! Who is it?"
Zhang Qiang's gruff voice blared from the phone speaker, startling Mengmeng so much that she quickly covered her ears.
"Qiangzi, it's me," Chen Feng called out into the phone.
"Fengzi?"
The drilling on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped, followed by a series of hurried footsteps, as if Zhang Qiang had gone to a slightly quieter place.
"What's wrong, Fengzi? Is the shop too busy? Did Su Chen run into some trouble?"
I knew it! I knew you guys couldn't handle a hundred servings!
"Wait here, I'll go ask the foreman for leave right away, and I'll take a taxi there immediately!"
Zhang Qiang's rapid-fire words were filled with anxiety and deep worry.
Su Chen, standing to the side, couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard Zhang Qiang's words, but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.
"Don't get excited, Qiangzi," Chen Feng interrupted him calmly, suppressing a laugh.
"The shop is doing great. All 100 servings of beef brisket sold out ten minutes ago. The customers all left happily."
"Huh?" Zhang Qiang on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned. It took a full five seconds before he spoke with an uncertain tone.
"Sold out? No problems? Are Mengmeng and Xingruo not exhausted?"
"Of course, my darling is too busy to wait." Su Chen couldn't help but lean closer to his phone and shout.
"Hey! You actually have time to talk to me?" Zhang Qiang still seemed a little skeptical. "Fengzi, you called me, really not to ask for help?"
"Really, no." Chen Feng leaned back. "I just wanted to call and ask which construction site you're working on right now."
"It's in Jinxiu Phase II, Building 4, on Nanba Road, interior decoration." Zhang Qiang instinctively gave the address, then immediately became wary. "Why are you asking this?"
"Alright, get back to work. Bye."
Chen Feng didn't give Zhang Qiang a chance to ask any further questions and hung up the phone decisively.
"Brother Chen, why are you asking for Brother Qiang's address?" Su Chen asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down, somewhat puzzled.
Chen Feng stood up, clapped his hands, and glanced at Su Chen, Xing Ruo, and Meng Meng.
"We not only completed the task ahead of schedule today, but also emerged completely unscathed."
Qiangzi looked so worried when he left yesterday; I bet he won't be able to work in peace today.
Chen Feng walked to the freezer in the back kitchen. "Since he's not at ease, we have to show him the facts."
The four of us can not only keep this shop afloat, but we even have time to "visit" him.
"Visiting Uncle Qiangzi?" Xingruo also came over.
"Yes." Chen Feng opened the freezer door, took out a plastic bag containing more than half a bag of mung beans, and then took out a small bag of peeled dried lilies.
"However, we can't go empty-handed."
Construction sites are stuffy, hot, and dusty places, so Qiangzi and his friends sweat a lot and expend a lot of energy.
"When we visit the set, we need to bring something substantial."
"Brother Chen, are you making mung bean soup?" Su Chen asked, looking at the contents of Chen Feng's hand.
"Yes."
Chen Feng poured the mung beans into a huge stainless steel basin, turned on the tap, and began to wash them.
"It's just chilled rock sugar lily and mung bean soup, served with small taro balls."
Mung beans clear heat and relieve summer heat, lilies moisten the lungs and remove dust, and rock sugar and taro balls can quickly replenish their lost energy.
"Wow! Sweet little taro balls!" Mengmeng jumped up and down excitedly. "Daddy, Mengmeng wants to help roll them into little balls!"
"Okay, everyone, let's get started." Chen Feng poured the washed mung beans into the pressure cooker and added enough water.
"Su Chen, go and take out the taro and purple sweet potato from the refrigerator, peel them and steam them."
"Xingruo, come and soak the lilies for me, and pick out the black spots inside."
"They're here!"
The kitchen, which had just calmed down, became lively again because of this "home visit dessert".
Chen Feng's pressure cooker hissed rapidly. He turned down the heat and let the pressure cooker continue to press the mung beans inside.
"The key to making mung bean paste is the word 'sand'," Chen Feng said to the three of them while observing the valve.
"We can't keep the mung beans from having a grainy texture. We need to press them until they burst open completely, then use a sieve to filter out all the mung bean skins, leaving only the smooth mung bean paste inside."
Twenty minutes later, Chen Feng opened the pressure cooker.
Sure enough, all the mung beans in the pot had burst open, and the soup had turned a cloudy yellowish-green.
Chen Feng placed a strainer on a large iron basin, poured the mung bean soup from the pot into it little by little, and then used the back of the spoon to press it forcefully through the strainer.
"Look closely, what's blocking the outside is all rough mung bean skins, what goes through is pure red bean paste."
A layer of fine, muddy mung bean paste gradually accumulated in the basin.
On the other side, Su Chen and Xing Ruo also mashed the steamed taro and purple sweet potato into a paste.
"Xingruo, add tapioca flour. Add it little by little, kneading as you go," Chen Feng instructed as he walked over.
"The tapioca flour determines the chewiness of the taro balls. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky and has a smooth surface."
Xingruo's hands were covered in purple powder, and she rubbed them vigorously until sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Master, is this alright?" Xingruo held up a small, smooth, purple dough ball.
"Perfect." Chen Feng handed over a plastic knife.
"Now, roll it into a long strip and cut it into segments about the size of your little finger."
"Mengmeng, you're in charge of rolling the taro balls that Sister Xingruo cut into perfect round shapes, okay?"
"Leave it to Mengmeng!"
Mengmeng stood on a small stool, her two little hands moving quickly across the cutting board.
In no time, the cutting board was piled high with small taro balls that were purple and white, like pearls.
Chen Feng started another pot, and once the water boiled, he poured the small taro balls in with a "whoosh".
Watching the taro balls tumble in the boiling water, slowly floating to the surface, becoming crystal clear.
Chen Feng immediately scooped them up with a slotted spoon and threw them directly into a basin of ice water that had been prepared beforehand.
"Thermal expansion and contraction, this step is the key to the taro balls' chewy texture."
Finally, Chen Feng poured the large bowl of smooth mung bean paste back into the pot, added the soaked lily bulbs, two large pieces of yellow rock sugar, and simmered it over low heat.
As the rock sugar melted, the mung bean paste took on an enticing sheen.
Chen Feng turned off the heat, lifted the pot off the stove, and poured all the taro balls that had been soaked in ice water into it.
"Done."
Chen Feng took a large soup ladle and stirred it in the pot.
The thick, pale green red bean paste is dotted with white lily petals and purple-white taro balls. Just looking at it makes you feel a cool sweetness rushing straight to your body.
"Brother Chen, this looks so tempting." Su Chen couldn't help but swallow.
"We'll put the mung bean paste in the buckets later and freeze it in the freezer for twenty minutes to let the temperature drop completely before we set off." Chen Feng took two huge double-layered insulated buckets and divided the mung bean paste into them.
2:30 p.m.
Four figures appeared at the entrance of "Human Fireworks".
Chen Feng walked at the front, Su Chen carried the two insulated buckets that weighed dozens of kilograms together, and Xing Ruo held Mengmeng's hand.
"Su Chen, is it heavy? Shall I lift it?" Chen Feng turned around and glanced at Su Chen, who looked a little strained.
"No need!" Su Chen took a deep breath, his arm muscles tensing.
"I'm incredibly strong now. Brother Chen, do you think Brother Qiang would be shocked if he saw the four of us swaggering onto the construction site?"
"Absolutely." Chen Feng opened the door of the beat-up van.
"However, if he saw how relaxed we were, his anxiety would finally be relieved."
"Let's go! Let's go see Uncle Qiangzi!" Mengmeng cheered as she climbed into the back seat of the car.
The black sedan's engine emitted a muffled roar.
The little car, carrying a sweet coolness, slowly drove out of the alley and steadily headed towards the construction site on Nanba Road.