"Life-threatening Fifty-Three," a specialty of Jingzhou, also known as Huang Gai Fen Wine, costs as much as 50 yuan per bottle. Compared to the ten-yuan Lao Bai Gan, this can definitely be called a gamble!
And the person involved in this gamble was unaware of it.
Chen Mo began making pork offal congee following the system's instructions.
The method of making congee in Jingzhou is very simple: boil the water with high heat, throw in the rice, and wait for about ten minutes.
But this time is different.
Chen Mo recalled the order of the recipe he memorized during the day. First, he boiled the water in the sandpot until it was full, then he scooped the rice that had been soaked for an hour into the large sandpot.
This was the largest sandpot Chen Mo could find on the market, capable of making eight jin of congee at once!
"One jin of rice, ten jin of water, can yield eight jin of congee."
As Chen Mo added rice to the sandpot, he watched the progress bar in front of him. When the light ball slid to the flash point, Chen Mo couldn't help but give a slight shake, adding a rhythm to his movements, as if this could help control his actions more precisely.
[perfect!]
Perfect!
The rice entered the pot, tumbling up and down with the boiling water. In just a few minutes, the water in the sandpot turned white. Chen Mo did not turn off the heat but continued to maintain high heat.
Uncle Liu couldn't bear to watch this scene.
"Xiaochen, your congee... no, the water is boiling, so turn down the heat a bit. Is gas free?"
Truth be told, in Uncle Liu's eyes, Chen Mo now seemed like a kid who didn't know how to cook at all. Who makes congee like this?
Haven't you heard of slow-cooking congee?
Chen Mo didn't explain much, "I saw it done like this online."
Uncle Liu wanted to nag a little more but felt it had nothing to do with him, so he turned to chat with Brother Squid.
"See, this is what happens when people get scammed by the internet. You can't trust everything online."
Brother Squid was also speechless, "With such high heat, the rice will soon be overcooked into mush."
The two continued sipping their Lao Bai Gan, eating grilled squid and roasted ham, feeling quite at ease.
The high heat had to be maintained for a full hour. The progress bar for making congee moved very slowly in front of Chen Mo, so there was no need to keep track of time, and Chen Mo found himself with some free time.
The egg dumplings were all prepared at home in advance. Today, Chen Mo made a thousand egg dumplings, enough for ten rounds of pan-fried dumplings.
He just needed to wait for the crowd to grow before frying the dumplings.
Time passed slowly, and by nighttime, just around eleven, Uncle Liu and Brother Squid began to get busy. The two had drunk a bottle of Lao Bai Gan, yet showed no signs of intoxication.
Even Chen Mo was surprised by their drinking capacity.
At this time, Chen Mo noticed a black Cadillac pulling up to the roadside, and a man in his forties got out of the car.
Unlike others, this man got out of the car with a sneaky demeanor, wearing a mask, as if afraid of being recognized.
Old Zhao was not visiting Central Avenue for the first time, as the car club frequently gathered here.
But it was his first time experiencing "fast food" by the roadside.
"I can't possibly be like those crazies!" Old Zhao, wearing a mask, scanned the roadside carefully, looking for his target.
According to the crazy folks in the car owner group, this ultimate enjoyment of fast food wasn't on the second floor of a foot massage city or the third floor of a bath center, but rather...by the roadside!
Therefore, he was extra cautious.
However, after scanning the roadside for quite a while, Old Zhao saw nothing but a bunch of vendors setting up stalls and customers out for late-night snacks, seemingly not finding his target.
"Forget it, I'll just grab a bite and maybe I'm just too early."
It was just past ten, so it was normal that those ladies wouldn't dare come out yet. Old Zhao scanned one more time and chose a vendor cart that looked very clean and appealing among many stalls.
"Boss, give me some..." Halfway through his sentence, Old Zhao noticed the sign hanging on the cart, "What kind of congee is this, why is it so expensive?"
Chen Mo had already noticed this customer, "As for the congee, it's not ready yet, you need to wait a bit longer."
In fact, Chen Mo had calculated the time well in advance.
He started cooking the congee at ten, and by eleven, it would be ready. The cart's experience value would only start accumulating after operating past eleven.
Old Zhao stepped to the front of the cart, taking a deep sniff, "Rice congee?"
Chen Mo nodded, then shook his head, "The congee isn't ready yet; it still lacks ingredients."
Old Zhao laughed and shook his head, "Can I eat the pan-fried dumplings?"
Chen Mo looked at the glowing ball floating before him. It was just a hair away from the flash point, "Almost there."
Old Zhao nodded and returned to the small street-side table, "Give me five."
For someone like Old Zhao at his age, he may not be extremely picky about food, but there aren't many things he particularly enjoys, like street food. A forty-something man wouldn't typically go out of his way to buy fried ham or grilled squid.
Old Zhao sat on the small stool, continuously scanning the roadside, starting to feel a bit impatient. If he couldn't get home before midnight, his wife would definitely check his phone again.
Every time he left the car club gathering early, and later saw the group talking about how amazing one lady was or another, he was extremely envious.
Since this was his first time out, he was somewhat nervous.
When the cursor hit the flash point, Chen Mo lifted the electric pan, unconsciously shaking his arm a bit.
[perfect!]
Perfect timing managed, allowing the electric pan to release huge bursts of steam the moment it opened. The characteristics of water frying were revealed at this moment, enveloping the street with the rich aroma of crispy egg fragrance.
Old Zhao's nervous thoughts were interrupted, and he turned his head towards the cart, sniffing hard, "Since when did pan-fried dumplings smell this good?"
Chen Mo placed the small bowl he had prepared on the table.
"Five pan-fried dumplings, ten yuan. Help yourself to the vinegar," he said, gesturing towards the cart where a vinegar pot was placed next to a flower arrangement.
Old Zhao casually scanned the QR code, picked up a dumpling, not in a hurry to eat, but first observed, "I see, so these are egg dumplings, interesting."
The bottom of the egg dumplings was crispy and golden, which was the source of the aroma just now.
Applying a little pressure with the chopsticks, he could actually see meat squeezing out from the seams of the egg dumpling!
Pouring some vinegar into the bowl, Old Zhao finally popped one into his mouth, chewing gently. The nonchalant expression on his face suddenly turned into disbelief.
"Is this... really an egg dumpling?"
He glanced down at the bowl and smacked his lips twice, "Can it really be this delicious?"
With four left in the bowl, Old Zhao didn't hesitate to turn towards Chen Mo and shout, "I'll have twenty more!"
He said this as he stuffed another into his mouth. Goodness, how could these dumplings taste so good?
While gobbling them down, Old Zhao's gaze lingered on the menu for a few seconds.
Indeed, if he could have a bowl of congee, it would be even better. But unfortunately, one bowl of congee cost fifteen yuan, while according to Jingzhou's breakfast standards, a bowl of congee cost no more than two yuan.
Old Zhao had the money, it was just that he felt like he'd be a sucker if he ordered a fifteen-yuan congee.
Chen Mo placed twenty more dumplings on the table. At this moment, a woman riding a tricycle sped in from the distance.
"Chen Mo, who is Chen Mo?"
The tricycle was fast, and even from afar, you could almost smell a whiff of a bloody scent. Chen Mo waved his hand, "Over here."
This lady worked at the slaughterhouse, and Chen Mo spent the entire afternoon negotiating a deal with her.
The lady earned 150 a day working at the slaughterhouse.
To get the "freshest pork offal" required by the system, Chen Mo spent a lot to persuade the lady to clean and deliver some pork offal right after the first batch of pigs was slaughtered.
Initially, the lady was unwilling until Chen Mo offered 100 yuan, she agreed, but she only took care of cleaning and delivery, so Chen Mo still had to pay separately for the pork offal.
In other words, Chen Mo spent over two hundred on these pork offals.
There was no other way. First, Chen Mo didn't have a kitchen, so it would be hard to clean if delivered directly. Second, it had to be the freshest, and what could be fresher than just delivered from a slaughterhouse?
The cleaned pork offal was placed in a stainless steel basin, covered with cling film, which Chen Mo took to his cart.
The lady wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I'll come back tomorrow for the basin, I'm off now."
"Alright," Chen Mo responded without lifting his head, "I'll call you if I need you tomorrow."
The lady waved her hand with her back to Chen Mo and left quickly, looking very cheerful.
Chen Mo looked at the pork offal, rubbing his hands together.
With such a big sandpot of pork offal congee, the cost was close to three hundred yuan!
The combination of pan-fried dumplings and pork offal congee – could it make him the standout on Central Avenue?
Success or failure hinges on this attempt!