Chapter 1862: Fried Bird's Nests and Seafood Porridge

Zichen asked an auntie nearby about "Li Family Restaurant," but the auntie was puzzled: "There isn't one; I've never heard of such a restaurant."

Just then, a middle-aged woman carrying a basket walked toward him, and he stopped her to ask: "Do you know if there's a restaurant nearby called Li Family Restaurant?"

The woman also shook her head: "Never heard of it. How could there be any big restaurants on this street? The people living here are all ordinary folks; there are only snacks, no big restaurants..."

"Oh, wait, the old man who sells fried bird's nests is surnamed Li. Could it be him?"

"No, no, his place is just a snack stall; it doesn't even have a sign..."

Zichen interrupted the woman's chatter: "Auntie, the old man who sells fried bird's nests that you mentioned, does he have a girl around twenty years old at home?"

"You mean Li Xue? That's his daughter; she helps him sell the fried bird's nests..."

"Just turn the corner up ahead and you'll be there!"

Zichen thanked the women and walked forward.

Soon, a snack stall appeared before him.

It was just as the women had said; the snack stall didn't even have a sign and was very crude.

It was a small storefront with two simple tables set up in front, and a large stove next to the tables served as the workstation.

The stove fire was burning fiercely, and an old man stood by it with gray hair and a gray beard; he looked to be about eighty years old.

Yet, he was very nimble.

He held a spoon in one hand and a strainer in the other, scooped a spoonful of shredded potatoes from a basin with the spoon, placed them into the strainer, and gave it a quick spin to shape it; he then lowered the strainer into the oil pot, and with a "Sizzle—" sound, the surface quickly hardened and detached from the strainer.

Then the old man repeated the process to make the second one...

Soon, a large pot of bird's nests was fried; each one looked just like a bird's nest, golden and crispy, looking delicious.

After scooping them out and letting them cool slightly in a basin, Li Xue would nimbly pack them into bags, hand them to customers, and collect the money.

When she wasn't doing that, she would be at the table nearby, shredding potatoes.

Watching her shred potatoes was also a pleasure.

The peeled potatoes seemed to perform magic in her hands; with a flash of the knife, a pile of hair-thin shredded potatoes instantly appeared on the cutting board.

Even though it wasn't mealtime, there was still a line in front of the stall.

People chatted with the father and daughter while buying the fried bird's nests.

"Lao Litou, how does your daughter's skill compare to yours?"

"Hehe, her? She's still young and needs more experience..."

Zichen stood there for a while, then walked over and lined up at the very back.

Soon it was his turn, and he paid to buy a few fried bird's nests.

The girl had originally been smiling, but upon seeing Zichen, her smile instantly turned icy.

"Not for sale!"

"Why?"

"No reason. I just don't like the look of you, is that enough?"

Zichen smiled without getting angry, and said generously: "Why aren't you telling the truth? Isn't it because..."

"Don't say it! I'll sell them to you, okay?"

Li Xue nimbly packed two fried bird's nests and handed them to Zichen. After paying, he didn't leave immediately but sat down at the table to eat.

These two tables were prepared for diners, and there were a few stools beside them. The people who came here to eat snacks were basically local residents, dressed casually and comfortably; Zichen sitting there looked clearly out of place.

But the bird's nests were truly delicious—fresh, fragrant, and crispy; they crumbled with every bite.

Zichen was an expert; he could tell the ingredients after just one bite!

Since he could tell, he just blurted them out.

"One-third cornstarch, one-third high-gluten wheat flour, one-third low-gluten flour, whole egg, sesame oil..."

"What do you do for a living?"

Lao Litou stared with wide eyes, his gaze filled with shock.

He was too surprised.

What did this person do?

He was actually able to name his ingredients without a single error!

"Old man, I'm in the same trade as you; I'm a chef," Zichen said with a smile.

Just in the moment of his distraction, a pot of fried bird's nests burned completely.

The old man simply turned off the fire; he wasn't selling anymore today!

"Young man, come in and sit; let's have a good chat..."

Lao Litou enthusiastically invited Zichen inside to sit. Li Xue was incredibly anxious; if Zichen really chatted with her father, then her plan to participate in the culinary competition wouldn't be able to be kept secret.

"Go away, you're not allowed in." Li Xue blocked the doorway, refusing to let Zichen enter.

In her haste, she had no other choice but to use this tactic.

Lao Litou was displeased and his face sank: "Xue'er, don't be rude. Clean up the stall and boil some water to make tea."

Li Xue didn't want to go, but she couldn't disobey.

Thinking quickly, she suddenly came up with a plan.

"Dad, he's not an ordinary chef; the Red Event House and White Event House in the city are both owned by him."

This worked.

Lao Litou's eyes widened even more than before, and they were filled with hostility. He looked Sheng Zichen up and down and asked him: "Is that true?"

Zichen saw things were going poorly, but he didn't deny it: "It's true."

"You go now. Our temple is too small to hold a big Buddha like you. Get going, don't delay our business."

Lao Litou turned hostile faster than flipping a book; once he turned, he didn't recognize anyone, and he drove Zichen away.

He saw that this wouldn't work, so he simply stated his purpose: "Old man, I would like to invite Li Xue to work as a chef at my restaurant; you can name your own salary."

"Not going, not going, my daughter isn't going anywhere. You hurry up and leave, we don't welcome you here."

Xue'er stood behind her father with a smile, sticking her tongue out and making a face at Zichen, looking completely relaxed.

She thought that after this youngest judge was driven away by her father, he would surely not come again.

But what she didn't expect was that this person came again the next day.

Lao Litou's face darkened when he saw Zichen: "Why are you here again? Didn't I make it very clear to you yesterday? My daughter will not go to work at your restaurant, so you can give up on that idea."

Zichen smiled slightly: "I'm buying fried steamed buns; you wouldn't refuse to sell even these to me, would you?"

Lao Litou really didn't want to sell to him.

He had no good impression of rich people, especially since his daughter had told him quite a few bad things about this person yesterday, so he didn't want to pay him any mind at all.

But Zichen said: "I specifically drove halfway across the city to eat your family's fried steamed buns. If you don't sell them to me, that would be too heartless."

Lao Litou nodded at his daughter, meaning: sell it to him, let's see what other tricks he can pull.

Li Xue then took the money and handed over two fried steamed buns.

Zichen came early today and discovered that besides fried steamed buns, there was also seafood porridge, so he bought a bowl of seafood porridge as well and began to taste it.

After just one sip, he discovered that the porridge was truly fresh, the flavor was exceptionally delicious, but the ingredients in the porridge were not particularly abundant.

Although the ingredients were not very abundant, it was sold cheaply, only five yuan a bowl, which was completely worth the price.

There were many more people coming to buy breakfast in the morning than in the afternoon, and the tables were already insufficient, so Zichen, just like many others, casually squatted by the side of the road and finished the bowl of porridge and two fried steamed buns.

Although Lao Litou and Xue'er were very busy, they didn't forget to cast a few glances in his direction from the corners of their eyes.

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