Chapter 141

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

An Liang finished thinking, and spoke with a somewhat tsundere tone: "I said I'm not going, so I'm not going. That shop has so many rules, I really dislike it. If you want to go, go by yourself."

"Then... I'll go by myself? Teacher An Liang, tell me what you want to eat, and I'll bring it back for you later."

Seeing his firm attitude, Xiao Yue could only say helplessly.

An Liang's breath hitched instantly upon hearing this.

How could you give up so readily?

You're really not going to persuade me a couple more times?

"No need, I'm not hungry."

An Liang stared fixedly at the screen, fingers hammering the keyboard, venting the frustration in his heart: "You go eat, don't worry about me."

Xiao Yue nodded, then closed the door and left.

After the door closed, the room instantly fell quiet.

An Liang really wanted to chase after Xiao Yue and go together, but the lingering rationality in his mind, plus his pride as a gourmet, kept his butt from leaving the chair by even a fraction.

He stared at the dense text on the screen, yet discovered he couldn't take in a single word.

The hamburger he ate at noon had long since been completely digested by now; his stomach was empty, gurgling and protesting at him incessantly.

An Liang sat for no more than five minutes, feeling a wave of irritation in his heart, and couldn't help scratching his head.

He stood up, paced back and forth in the room, his heart full of conflict.

Every step felt like wrestling with himself, and he muttered: "Said I'm not going; if I go and get recognized, how embarrassing would that be..."

An Liang's gaze fell on the suitcase in the corner of the room, his eyes brightening slightly, as if he had an idea.

…………

By five-thirty, Lu Feng had already finished the other preparation work.

He wiped the water stains from his hands, turned, and walked to the pot still stewing pig trotters.

The gas stove had long been turned to low heat; the pot made a soft, muffled bubbling sound, and rich aroma continuously surged out through the gaps in the lid.

Lu Feng raised his hand, gripped the lid handle, and carefully lifted the lid.

The moment the lid was lifted, white steam instantly rose, carrying a rich fragrance that instantly spread throughout the entire kitchen.

Once the steam dispersed, the pig trotters in the pot were finally fully revealed.

The pot was still bubbling with small bubbles; the brown soup inside had already become thick, and a thin layer of oil flowers floated on the amber-colored soup surface.

Each piece of pig trotter, after long stewing, looked slightly plump; the skin was puffed up tight, looking as if it had soaked up the soup.

The pig trotters gleamed with a glossy reddish-brown — the look of caramel color and soy sauce fully penetrated — making one want to take a bite just looking at them.

Lu Feng held chopsticks and gently picked up a piece of pig trotter.

The moment the chopsticks touched the skin, he felt a slight tremor.

The tendons under the pig trotter skin had been stewed semi-transparent; through the chopsticks one could feel that soft, tender resilience.

Lu Feng felt that with just a little more force from the chopsticks in his hand, he could lift the trotter clean off the bone.

He carefully brought the trotter closer, and his nose was immediately enveloped by a mellow aroma.

The meat fragrance of the pork, and the mellow depth of the spices, after long stewing merged together, forming an irresistible fragrance.

Lu Feng couldn't help swallowing his saliva, leaned in and blew gently, then bit off a small piece to taste.

His mouth had just approached; with a slight exertion, the skin and meat separated along the grain, and in his mouth they almost melted into a sticky, glutinous flavor without chewing.

Sticky collagen coated his tongue, carrying a slight springy resilience from the skin; the soy sauce soaked into the meat dispersed on his tongue tip, stimulating every taste bud.

Even more intoxicating were the tendons inside — after stewing they became soft but not mushy; biting down produced a crunching sound, with a springy, toothsome texture.

Lu Feng savored the taste in his mouth carefully; the various seasonings and spices, after merging, formed an incomparably delicious fragrance in his mouth.

He swallowed the meat in his mouth, then used a spoon to ladle a small spoonful of soup to taste.

The soup base was viscous, savory and throat-soothing; there wasn't a trace of herbal bitterness in the soup, only the mellow aroma of spices stewed through; one sip made his whole body feel incomparably comfortable.

"Not bad, this pig trotter counts as properly stewed."

Lu Feng couldn't help nodding, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

He could already imagine that when business opened later, those diners tasting this delicious pig trotter would wear expressions of incomparable satisfaction and enjoyment.

…………

Near six o'clock, Lu Feng was still busy in the kitchen, putting portions of noodles into the pot to cook.

On the other side, Hu Xiaoyun outside the door was striving to maintain the diners' queuing order.

"Everyone don't rush, line up properly; business starts promptly at six. Today the boss launched a new flavor — Pig Trotter Noodles. I just smelled it in the kitchen for you all; that fragrance is amazing!"

Hu Xiaoyun greeted regular customers while loudly maintaining the queue's order.

Although this was only her third time working at Lu Feng's shop, these two days the diners' enthusiasm had made her personality become considerably more cheerful.

The diners queuing today were only more, not fewer, compared to yesterday; by now the line had already reached the street corner.

Those rather impatient diners smelled the fragrance wafting out of the shop and loudly discussed Lu Feng's culinary skill.

Hu Xiaoyun's gaze swept across the middle of the queue and suddenly paused.

In the queue, a person wore a baseball cap with the brim pulled very low, a dark blue mask on the face revealing only a pair of eyes; even more noteworthy, this person also wore a gray long-sleeved jacket.

In this scorching heat, this person wrapped themselves up so tightly that among a crowd of diners in short sleeves, they stood out conspicuously.

That person seemed to notice Hu Xiaoyun's gaze, pretended to naturally raise their wrist to check the time, then casually looked away.

Although that person's attire made it impossible to see his face clearly, Hu Xiaoyun still recognized him at one glance — he was An Liang, who had come yesterday.

It wasn't that she had X-ray vision; rather, she saw the watch on An Liang's wrist.

Hu Xiaoyun remembered very clearly that An Liang had been wearing that watch when he came yesterday; although she couldn't recognize the brand, it looked very expensive at one glance.

Hu Xiaoyun couldn't help muttering in her heart: What's with this person? Didn't he say he wouldn't come again when he left yesterday?

Today not only did he come, but he also dressed up like a masked hero.

Could it be he hasn't discovered that this instead attracts more attention?

However, she did not go forward to ask; she merely glanced at An Liang a few times and then continued running off to maintain order.

An Liang in the queue dodged Hu Xiaoyun's gaze, still comforting himself in his heart: Anyway, this shop doesn't have many items; once I've tasted all the flavors, I won't come again.

Simultaneously he thought in his heart: If there's delicious food and I don't taste it, that would be letting down my identity as a foodie.

The moment he thought of these things, An Liang instantly felt much more justified and at ease; his originally somewhat stiff body also relaxed.