Chapter 158 Steamed Bun with Meat

Director Hao chuckled dryly twice: "You're joking, right?"

Wen Ji has been popular since last year, so who would believe it if they suddenly said that Wen Ji's head chef is a young girl?

Director Hao looked at Wen's mother with hope in his eyes.

Mrs. Wen: "I'm not kidding... Otherwise, why don't we just stop selling our own dishes on weekday evenings? It's not like we hate money."

Director Hao: ...

Director Hao left in a daze.

The staff member who was so enthusiastic at the beginning now has several cracks between the buttons of his shirt.

"director?"

What? The deal fell through?

Director Hao seemed to want to say something, but then waved his hand and finally only asked one question.

"...How do I make a reservation for Wen's private kitchen this weekend?"

Business is out of the question, so I'll just bring my family over for a try this weekend.

*****

Before the May Day holiday, Wenji put up a "Closed" sign again, and Mi Xiao also posted a notice on her account that the business would be closed from May 1st to 2nd.

A chorus of wails erupted.

[Xiaoqi: No way, I already made plans with my classmate!]

[Disillusionment: Waaaaah, this unlucky college student has already booked his train ticket home, all for Wen's new dishes!]

[Wandering the World: ...Not surprising at all, it was the same last year, always closing down. The owner is really skilled and capricious.]

[Youyou: It's the May Day holiday! How many tourists will there be? Boss, are you sure you don't want to open for business to boost popularity?]

Looking at the numerous comments, Mi Xiao felt sorry for Wen Ji and whispered to Du Min, "It seems like a lot of people want to come and eat here... Is this really a good idea?"

After tidying up the lobby, Du Min was washing rags to wipe the kitchen when she heard this and said, "That's a good boss."

Unlike some shops, which are endlessly greedy and don't care about their employees' livelihoods, making them work all month without a break. They always say business is good and they're unwilling to spend money, but all that money ends up in the boss's pocket, leaving the employees with nothing.

Now, Wen's mother is fulfilling her promise of two days off a month, which, although not much, is being done quite well.

What are you planning to do these next couple of days?

Du Min was planning to go out for a walk since she had no one to go with. She could ask Mi Xiao to come along.

Mi Xiao shook her head vigorously: "I plan to... paint at home."

Du Min, a pure-hearted person: ...

Okay.

The store employees had their own arrangements. Wen's parents received several hundred yuan in holiday bonuses, and the family members enthusiastically discussed going hiking.

"Let's go to Qingtang Mountain. We'll hike there for two days and stay overnight."

If you try to go up and down in one day, it will require a lot of physical strength. It's better to split it into two days. Anyway, there are guesthouses and hotels on the mountain. You can stay one night, watch the sunrise, and then happily take the cable car down the mountain.

Wen Fan had no objections; her only thought was—

Let's bring a few more bags.

The mountains are full of treasures in spring. If you happen to find some wild vegetables along the way, pick some to bring back.

"When we get down the mountain, we'll stop by He Yuzhen's hometown village for a visit."

May has arrived, and Wen Fan is now thinking about the pumpkin blossoms she didn't get to eat last month, as well as the big, fat pig from the Lunar New Year, which she can't stop craving. She's eaten basket after basket of wild vegetables lately, and although everyone is trying to lose weight in the spring, after eating so much vegetarian food, she still craves some meat to satisfy her cravings.

Wen Fan wanted to buy some meat this time, whether it was fat pig or fat chicken, to make something savory and flavorful.

Wen's parents readily agreed and packed their backpacks for the hike up the mountain overnight. They also prepared a small bag for Egg Yolk, who was almost a year old and full of energy. Wen's father would take him with him when he went grocery shopping during the day, and whenever they saw no one around, they would let him run around on the leash for a while. Wen Fan would walk him every night.

Fortunately, the new house is on the first floor, so Egg Yolk's energy has finally been satisfied. Now that the dog is tired, it barks less. Sometimes when we take it for a walk, people are surprised and ask why the Beagle doesn't bark...

It only rained lightly for a short while on the morning of May Day. After the rain stopped, the sun came out again, and the sky was clear and blue. Wen's mother applied sunscreen to Wen Fan's face at the foot of the mountain and sprayed mosquito repellent all over his body several times.

"Set off!"

As a well-developed and famous scenic area, Qingtang Mountain is always crowded with people on its mountain roads during holidays.

The three people and the dog were quite spry at first, especially Mr. and Mrs. Wen. After taking Chinese medicine for a period of time last year, and with the shop becoming more staffed and not too busy, their physical condition improved a lot.

Wen Fan goes without saying; she still maintains the habit of exercising. Even during the school's recess exercises, she does them seriously instead of just standing there and swinging her arms and legs.

They climbed for forty or fifty minutes straight, and the family only broke out in a light sweat.

"Take a break."

I started climbing at nine o'clock in the morning, and only ate a bite or two in the morning.

Wen's mother gave water to Wen's father and Wen Fan, and then took out the breakfast she hadn't finished that morning from her pocket.

"It's alright, not too cold."

A large plastic bag contained about ten sesame seed cakes.

To be precise, it's not called a sesame seed cake.

Wen Fan made the pastry dough last night using sesame oil, and baked it fresh this morning. The baked pastry dough had an oily aroma, a soft and flaky interior, and a flaky outer layer.

Wen Fan said this is called a baked bun.

"People in the Northwest eat this stuffed with smoked meat."

Wen Fan didn't use smoked meat; instead, she made a big pot of braised meat. She diced the braised meat and stuffed it into baked buns, doubling the aroma. Wen's father, who had been bombarded with oil all morning, couldn't resist and hurriedly ate a few bites. However, he couldn't bear to put the rest down, so he packed it all up.

If a roujiamo (meat-filled baked bun) is perfect for breakfast, then after climbing a mountain for nearly an hour, it becomes a divine treat.

Wen's father ate ravenously, finding the rich, oily, and meaty food incredibly satisfying.

"This stuff tastes pretty good even when it's cold."

Because of the slight drop in temperature, the meat fat inside the baked bun didn't seep out as much, making the crispy and fragrant bun even more prominent, so fragrant that it made one's head spin.

Mother Wen also ate the baked bun with meat in big bites, nodding as she ate: "If I had known it would be this delicious, I would have made more."

Wen Fan, afraid of getting crumbs on her clothes, said, "It's okay, we can make it again later if you want to eat it."

Making baked buns is not difficult, especially for Wen Fan who has made flaky buns before. The most crucial step is breaking the flaky layers. If the flaky layers are broken well, the baked buns can be kept for a week without any problems.

The family even included some egg yolk in the meal. The disposable box contained large kibble, topped with a small piece of baked bread and a few diced pieces of meat.

Egg Yolk is quite shrewd now. After eating the baked bun and diced meat, it squatted down in front of Wen Fan and stared at Wen Fan's mouth.

If Wen Fan softens and gives it some more, it will happily eat it. If Wen Fan doesn't give it any, it will droop its tail and eat its "minimum meal" after the whole family has finished eating.

Today, Wen Fan was clearly unwilling to give it to him, so Egg Yolk lay on the ground, patting the ground with its tail.

Wen Fan:......

Hmph, it's no use trying to cheat. She turned her back and continued eating.

Among the tourists eating dry rations, their family stood out. Many passersby, panting, stared at the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in their hands.

There are still people selling roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) on Qingtang Mountain? That's great!

I mustered my courage and climbed for another ten minutes, chasing after people at the convenience store to ask if they had roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).

The owner behind the sausage grill was bewildered: "Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)? We don't sell that?"

The person who had been hanging on by a thread felt like the sky had fallen. After climbing for so long and being hungry, they finally had to buy two grilled sausages. The fragrant sausages tasted less and less delicious, and all they could think about was the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).

Which convenience store did that family buy it from? It even looks like it's crumbling!

The sausage vendor had been tending his stall for half a day, and he was still wondering when his wife came to relieve him.

"So many people are asking about roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) today, how about we buy some?"

Where there's demand, there's a market; making roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) isn't difficult!

...

The Wen family had no idea that they were unintentionally poisoning the food. After finishing the baked bun with meat, they continued climbing. After climbing for another hour, they took out another baked bun with meat. In this one, Wen Fan put a braised egg and some bean curd skin inside.

Father Wen: "Hey, this one tastes even better than the last one."

The bean curd sheets were braised to perfection. Wen Fan used thicker ones, so that the braised and cooled bean curd sheets had a bit of chewiness. Even if you put them on their own, they would still be a pretty good side dish.

This time, when the family was eating together, someone next to them finally couldn't resist anymore.

"Excuse me, I'd like to ask... where did you buy this roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)?"

A group of young people, clearly college students, were hiking. One of the boys was so tempted that he had to ask for directions.

Wen's mother: "This is something we made ourselves... Oh? Baiyi?"

Ji Baiyi, whom I hadn't seen much recently, was wearing a gray windbreaker and standing in the middle to rear of the group of boys.

Ji Baiyi was so focused on looking around that he didn't notice this side at all, but when Wen's mother called out, he quickly went forward.

"Aunt Xia, Uncle Wen... Xiao Fan."

Wen Fan nodded, while his father chuckled and said, "What a coincidence."

Wen's mother: "You're here to go hiking today too?"

Ji Baiyi was a little embarrassed: "Is it a holiday today...? Teacher Duan's place is also closed."

Grandpa Duan has become quite willful these days, taking breaks every few weekends and holidays. He's even started learning to fish under the guidance of Mr. Qu, taking his fishing gear to the river every weekend.

Ji Baiyi had nothing to do during the May Day holiday, so his classmates invited him to go hiking.

As soon as Wen's mother and Ji Boyi started talking, the boys next to them automatically stepped back and waited for Ji Boyi to finish his pleasantries.

Wen's mother had a good impression of Ji Baiyi, and took out two baked buns with meat inside from her bag: "Take these and eat!"

Ji Baiyi really couldn't refuse, so after thanking her, he asked Wen's mother if she wanted to go up the mountain with him.

Mother Wen: "No need, no need, I'm perfectly healthy now! You young people climb fast, you don't need to wait for us."

Ji Baiyi then left, but after a short while, he returned and brought out several cups of milk tea.

Wen Fan's eyes lit up when he saw the milk tea: "There's milk tea for sale on the mountain?"

Ji Baiyi smiled and said, "No, it was bought by everyone at the foot of the mountain... The baked goods smelled very good, thank you."

Leaving behind a few cups of milk tea, Ji Baiyi quickly caught up with the group.

Wen Fan picked and chose among the three cups, and finally chose his favorite, the lychee iced wine.

After drinking the icy, sweet milk tea, Wen Fan instantly felt energized.

"Keep climbing!"

After the family finished resting, Mr. Wen looked at the map and pointed to one of the spots: "Let's climb for another hour and then have dinner here."

The baked buns made by Wen Fan were small, only the size of a palm. They were consumed quickly while climbing, so they eventually had to have a proper meal on the mountain.

The family climbed quickly and soon saw their destination.

However, from a distance, I could see a group of people gathered there.

Is there a show?

Only when you get closer do you see someone lying in the center.

"Call 120 immediately! Someone has fainted!"