Chapter 467: Let You Open a Gourmet Shop, You Open for Business at Three in the Morning

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Zhu Chang put the lu hao into his mouth; as soon as his teeth chewed, he heard a crisp "crack," and a fresh fragrance burst forth, the tender texture exploding in his mouth instantly.

Immediately, the fresh juice wrapped inside the lu hao flowed out at once, carrying the unique crisp aroma of water-grown lu hao, mixed with a faint oil fragrance; this scent spread from the tip of his tongue all the way to his throat.

For this plate of stir-fried lu hao, Lu Feng did not add any extra seasonings during the cooking process, just to highlight the word "fresh."

Zhu Chang chewed quickly a few times, then directly swallowed the lu hao in his mouth, instantly feeling that even his breathing became much smoother, still carrying that unique fresh grassy aroma of lu hao.

He was not some discerning gourmet; eating food had always been about the pleasure of satisfying his appetite.

But this plate of lu hao before his eyes made Zhu Chang involuntarily slow down his eating speed.

Every bite he had to chew carefully several times before he was willing to swallow it into his stomach, his face full of a smile of enjoyment.

"Bro, how does this new dish Boss Lu put out today taste?"

The diner at the neighboring table had been watching from the side for a long time, finally unable to resist leaning over curiously to ask.

"One word: amazing! Boss Lu's new dish is so delicious it can't be described in words!"

Zhu Chang was still chewing lu hao in his mouth, his speech a bit slurred, but it did not hinder the excitement in his tone.

While speaking, he also picked up another chopstickful and stuffed it into his mouth; the "munch munch" sound of chewing was especially clear in the bustling hall.

While eating, Zhu Chang kept nodding; his originally not-large eyes narrowed into a slit: "This stir-fried lu hao is very crisp to eat, and juice comes out with one bite; this taste is really amazing!"

"Gulp!"

The diner beside him couldn't help but swallow saliva while listening.

Hu Xiaoyun behind the counter also heard Zhu Chang's praise, and couldn't help but look over here several times.

Just now when she was serving dishes, she had been made to keep swallowing saliva by this fresh fragrance.

To say working part-time at Lu Feng's place, Hu Xiaoyun was a hundred percent satisfied from the bottom of her heart.

The wages here are high, the work isn't heavy, and the boss is a good person with a good temper.

But there is only one thing that feels like a bit of torture for Hu Xiaoyun.

That is, during business hours, every time she carries plate after plate of fragrant and tempting food, she can only look but not eat.

Especially like today's new dish just out of the shop; just smelling that fragrance and looking at that appearance earlier had already made the glutton in her stomach keep stirring.

Fortunately, after business ends, Boss Lu always makes her an employee meal, so then she can taste this jade-like lu hao.

In the hall of Lu Family Restaurant, the diners' conversation, the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, and the stir-frying sounds from the back kitchen combined into a lively atmosphere of human warmth.

And among these sounds, the most eye-catching was Zhu Chang eating at a table not far from the counter.

He pulled that plate of oily and emerald green stir-fried lu hao directly in front of him; the chopsticks in his hand never stopped for a moment, the "munch munch" chewing sound was especially loud, and every bite was chewed with great force.

The diners eating around and those queuing in the hall couldn't help but frequently look over at him.

Among them, those few diners who didn't order today's new dish were now secretly starting to regret it.

Making a plate of stir-fried lu hao, although quite a few ingredients are used, actually this plate of stir-fried lu hao doesn't have much portion.

Lu Feng only used the most topmost and tender small section; stir-fried into a plate, it's about three or two liang.

For someone like Zhu Chang who usually has a big appetite, this plate of lu hao simply isn't enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

After a few minutes, the chopsticks in Zhu Chang's hand were forced to stop.

The lu hao in the plate before him was eaten clean by him, not a single root left.

Zhu Chang stared at the empty plate before him, with a look of lingering satisfaction.

And the bowl of fragrant dew rice beside him was still steaming with faint heat; not a single bite had been touched yet.

"Boss Lu!"

Zhu Chang stood up, shouting loudly toward the kitchen side, his voice carrying the regret of not having eaten his fill: "This plate of stir-fried lu hao of yours is too delicious! It's just... just that the portion is a bit small; can you add more to each portion in the future? I saw that when you were picking them just now, you threw away quite a lot of the lower stems; if you threw away less, wouldn't the portion in this plate be much more?"

"No."

Lu Feng poked his head out from the kitchen, saying to Zhu Chang in a gentle but firm tone: "This lu hao only has the best texture in that small top section; the lower stems have coarse fibers, are hard to eat, and scrape the throat when swallowed; the reason I threw those away is so that every bite you eat is the most crisp and tender."

"Alright, Boss Lu, your requirements for ingredients are indeed strict."

Zhu Chang shook his head somewhat disappointedly, then looked down at the empty plate again, and immediately discovered something strange: "Wait, Boss Lu, your stir-fried vegetable dish, how come there isn't even a bit of soup/juice left at the bottom of the plate?"

"Because all the juice of the lu hao itself is tightly locked inside; when you were eating just now, you should have noticed, so naturally there is no soup/juice in the plate."

Lu Feng smiled and explained briefly.

His explanation sounded simple; if it weren't for Zhu Chang having just eaten that plate of stir-fried lu hao, he wouldn't dare believe it was true.

Zhu Chang occasionally cooks dishes for himself at home.

Generally speaking, when stir-frying vegetables, some of the moisture in the vegetables themselves will be lost.

Of course, along with the lost moisture, some of the nutrition in the vegetables is also lost.

No matter how fresh and tender the final cooked vegetables are, as long as they have been cooked at high temperature, this cannot be avoided.

But Lu Feng achieved the skill of tightly locking all the moisture of the lu hao itself.

This level of cooking skill, even Zhu Chang, a kitchen novice, could feel how impressive it was; it could be said to be godly.

"I see, Boss Lu, your culinary skill is getting more and more amazing; I'm convinced!"

Zhu Chang nodded with a face full of admiration, then couldn't help but pat his thigh somewhat vexedly: "Sigh... I originally thought to eat this lu hao with rice, but who knew that after one bite I couldn't help myself and ate it all!"

The emptiness of his wallet made him not plan to order another plate of dishes; there was no way, he could only eat rice alone.

Fortunately, the fragrant dew rice in Boss Lu's shop is fragrant even without side dishes.

"Boss, the artemisia you just took—did you grow it yourself? It looks very fresh, much more tender than what grew on the ridges back home when I was a child."

When Hu Xiaoyun walked into the kitchen to hand Lu Feng the order, she took advantage of the moment when he wasn't very busy to ask in a low voice.

"No, it was delivered like that when the goods came in."

Lu Feng smiled and said.

"Oh, I see. No wonder I haven't seen this thing in the shop yesterday."

Hu Xiaoyun nodded as if suddenly understanding, muttering to herself.

"That's enough. If you have questions, wait until business hours are over to ask slowly. Focus on greeting customers first."

Lu Feng smiled, pointing at the diners queuing outside, and reminded her with a gentle expression.

"Okay, Boss."

Hu Xiaoyun smiled sweetly, answered, and quickly walked out of the kitchen.