Chapter 237: Chapter 169: Crispy, Sweet, Fresh Winter Melon Candy! Junior Brother, Show Qiuqiu Your Skills! [Seeking Monthly Ticket] _3
Chewing twice, his mouth was filled with the light freshness of Winter Melon and the sweetness of sugar.
It’s like tasting nature in a single bite. Delicious!
However, the Winter Melon candy wasn’t completely cooled yet. Lin Xu took advantage of this time and dumped the pumpkin strips into the pot, frying them in the same way until they were frosted.
The fried pumpkin strips were a golden color.
When placed side by side with the Winter Melon candy for comparison, they looked like exquisite pieces of shaded gold and silver.
He pinched a strip and put it in his mouth. With a gentle bite, the rich, sweet flavor of pumpkin instantly filled his mouth, tasting even better than the Winter Melon candy.
No sooner had he finished one strip than the system’s notification rang out in his mind:
"Host has successfully made Perfect Level Pumpkin candy using the method for Perfect Level Winter Melon candy, completing the Hidden task ’Learning by Analogy.’ Reward: one Perfect Level dish learning card. Congratulations to the host."
What? Another Perfect Level dish learning card? Doesn’t that mean I can secretly learn a few things when Guo Weidong teaches one of the senior brothers how to roast suckling pig later on? TSK TSK TSK... The system really plans to let me rack up rewards in this Fishing Platform instance.
By now, it had already turned dark outside.
He placed the cooled candied Winter Melon strips and candied pumpkin strips into two separate glass jars, carried them downstairs, and entered Uncle Yu’s supermarket.
"Uncle, I’ve finished making the Winter Melon candy and pumpkin strips. I brought some over for you to taste."
"My, these candies look so pretty!"
Uncle Yu leaned over, unabashedly twisted open the jar, and began to taste. "Mmm, delicious, delicious! The Winter Melon flavor is very rich, and it’s nice and crunchy, just like the old-fashioned Winter Melon candy I ate when I was young. It’s a pity that the ones sold on the streets now are machine-made and don’t taste as good."
After tasting the Winter Melon candy, he tried the pumpkin strips and was equally full of praise.
"Boss Lin, with your skill in making Winter Melon candy, you wouldn’t starve even if you didn’t open a restaurant. If you started a store selling old-fashioned candies, wouldn’t the neighbors go crazy buying them?"
Though the words were spoken casually, Lin Xu took them to heart. He suddenly remembered the previous task that asked him to invest in opening a store.
Could it really be for this Winter Melon candy? But this kind of product would have low sales. People would only eat a strip or two a day, and even then, they’d have to monitor their blood sugar regularly. One wrong move and they could become a ’little sugar person.’ Although the candy held sentimental value, opening a store for it would likely lose money. Best to save the trouble.
「The next morning.」
Lin Xu went to Cao Ji for a bowl of lamb soup and two crispy pancakes, then drove to work at the Fishing Platform with Dundun in tow.
Dundun had now gotten used to riding in the car. Every time he got in, he obediently lay on the passenger-side dashboard. Occasionally, when they encountered a street-cleaning truck and needed to activate the windshield wipers, the little guy’s head would sway along with them.
Once the car entered the Fishing Platform complex, Lin Xu parked at the entrance of Building No. 2. Carrying Dundun, he got out and headed into the restaurant.
"Dundun, did you miss me today?"
Shu Yun bent down to hug the little guy, then turned to Lin Xu and said, "I received three phone calls this morning for Braised Pork Belly. Boss Lin, your Braised Pork Belly is becoming more and more famous. A lot of people come here specifically for it."
Lin Xu replied with a smile, "It’s all thanks to your marketing efforts."
Ever since they decided to serve Braised Pork Belly at the restaurant, Shu Yun had Lin Xu prepare a serving. Then, she set up the lighting and used a digital camera to carefully take a series of high-quality photos of the dish. Whenever customers came in to order, she would bring out a tablet to show them the photos. The visual effects of the tablet were already good, and coupled with her decent photography skills, the glossy chunks of meat and their trembling appearance instantly shattered the customers’ defenses.
The fame of the Braised Pork Belly spread rapidly as a result.
After they exchanged some business-related compliments, Lin Xu headed to the kitchen. He first wiped down the stove and re-washed the utensils before starting on the day’s prep work.
Now, he could sell seven or eight servings of Braised Pork Belly per meal, so Lin Xu had to prepare in advance. He scorched the pork skin with a blowtorch and then scrubbed it clean with warm water. Next, he chopped the meat into four-centimeter cubes, rinsed them, and put them into the pot to sauté.
While he was busy, Xie Baomin strolled over casually.
"Junior brother, this afternoon, Qiu Zhenhua from Building No. 6 will come to our Building No. 2 to watch you make Crab Buns. Once you’re done with the pork, start preparing. If you need help, just call someone over. Anyway, everyone is just idling around."
Oh? Doesn’t this mean the task to upgrade the Crab Buns is about to be completed?
Lin Xu didn’t actually need help; he could manage it all on his own and even had time to chat with the fish and shrimp in the aquatics area. But thinking of this as an opportunity to build relationships, he said, "Then let Master Qin give me a hand. I really am a bit swamped all by myself."
"Okay!" Xie Baomin agreed and then called out to Qin Wei, who wasn’t far away, "Xiao Qin, don’t cook today. Come help my junior brother. He needs someone to give him a hand over here."
Qin Wei looked somewhat surprised, but he nodded anyway and walked over after putting down what he was doing.
"Master Qin, you know how to simmer aspic, right?"
Qin Wei nodded.
"What about chicken aspic?"
Qin Wei nodded again.
"Then, how about you watch me simmer it later? Point out anything that’s not quite right."
Qin Wei was bewildered. So the help you need is just for me to watch you work?
Although he was inwardly surprised, he still ended up nodding.
And so, the two of them busied themselves, one working and the other observing, until the afternoon.
At three in the afternoon, Lin Xu finished preparing the crab filling. Out of boredom, he and Qin Wei then started playing with the leftover crab shells, assembling them into new crab figures as if they were Lego bricks.
While they were playing, Xie Baomin brought Qiu Zhenhua to the kitchen.
"Qiuqiu, although my junior brother can make Crab Buns and does it quite well, there’s still a difference compared to yours. You’ll have to give him some guidance later; don’t hold anything back."
Qiu Zhenhua rolled his eyes at him. "Do you think I’m like you?"
"What’s wrong with me? I never hold anything back. If you don’t believe me, let me go to Building No. 6 to guide your chefs, and you’ll see if I keep any secrets."
Xie Baomin’s words made Qiu Zhenhua look like his scheme had succeeded. "Then later, I’ll teach your junior brother with all my heart. In return, you make that Qingshui Furong dish from your master to broaden my horizons, how about that?"
"Deal!"
Xie Baomin shouted to Lin Xu, "Junior brother, are you all prepared? Show Qiuqiu what you’ve got; he’s waiting to teach you!"
"Alright!"
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Author’s Note: Sorry, brothers, the update is late today. Someone was confirmed positive here, so I had to fight tooth and nail at the supermarket to grab some food. Tomorrow morning I still have to go down for a nucleic acid test; tomorrow’s Chapter will probably be late too, so please forgive me. This Chapter is 5,200 words. Asking for a Monthly Ticket!