Chapter 188 Sweet Water Noodles, Cat Ear Noodles, Yellow Millet Cake, Fish...

What are cat ears?

Confused, I asked a waiter, who said it was a type of noodle dish.

"Today's main dishes are cat's ear noodles and sweet water noodles. How many servings would you like?"

The group of people looked at each other and reluctantly ordered a portion for five people.

When the waiter brought out the two main dishes, everyone couldn't help but swallow slightly.

It looks incredibly tempting.

The sweet water noodles have a rich sauce, and the thick broth coats the noodles. The portion of sweet water noodles for five people doesn't look very big. In the large bowl, besides the noodles, there is only the sauce, and you can vaguely see some crushed peanuts in it.

Cat's ear noodles are stewed and served in a soup pot. The tomato broth is rich, and the tofu skin, potatoes, mushrooms, and a little bit of chopped egg add a surprisingly homey flavor, like the shell pasta that kids are used to eating.

Especially Zhao Yu's son, Chen Zihan, who directly called it "shell noodles".

"Mom, I want to eat shell pasta."

After he led the way, the other children also wanted to eat, and some even wanted sweet noodles, but their parents refused.

"The noodles are too thick and hard to digest. This is much better for you."

As for the sweet water noodles, of course, the parents divided them up.

The sweet water noodles were about the thickness of a little finger, and each person was given two or three noodles. The sauce was a bright red color, coating the noodles in a thick, oily sauce.

"It smells strangely good."

"I love eating these thick noodles."

The thick, chewy noodles have a great texture, and the sweet, spicy, and savory flavors are all perfectly balanced. A bowl of sweet noodles may not look like much, but you can finish it without even realizing it, only then realizing that your stomach is already incredibly full.

"Oh dear, I really can't eat anymore."

The adults were too full to eat anymore, but the children ate with gusto, each finishing a bowl and asking for more.

"Still eating? You've already eaten so much!"

Chen Zihan couldn't help but burp, her little hand holding the bowl held up with exceptional determination: "I want to eat!"

Although they call cat ear noodles "shell noodles," Chen Zihan thinks they taste much better than shell noodles. Seeing her son's enthusiasm, Zhao Yu couldn't resist taking a spoonful herself.

As a result, after taking one bite, she unconsciously took another bite, and only realized when she did that she had eaten another bowl of noodles.

"...Did they sprinkle digestive tablets into the air of this store?"

Otherwise, why do I always eat too much?

...

Wen Fan was focused on cooking, while her mother stayed in the lobby on the first floor, keeping an eye on the guests.

The new store opened to a large number of people, and the hall was full before noon.

All sorts of people came; some looked like couples, some were families, and some were clearly there with friends...

Compared to other restaurants' grand opening promotions with discounts of several tens of percent, Wen Kee's opening benefits seem a bit "stingy".

A sign outside advertised a new store promotion: spend 88 yuan and get a free serving of millet jelly.

As Mrs. Wen walked past the guests' table, she heard someone muttering that Wen Ji was too stingy.

"I've never seen anything like this before, so stingy even on opening day."

Wen's mother smiled but didn't say anything.

Once the dishes were served, the guests were speechless and began to devour their food. Although Wenji had raised prices for its reopening, the portions remained as generous as ever. The diners ate until their bellies were round, and they couldn't even finish the complimentary millet jelly.

Wenji seemed to have anticipated this, and promptly packed the food for the customers.

Six pieces of yellow millet cake, with a small packet of osmanthus honey as a complimentary gift.

Yang Hong, who had a delicious lunch at Wen Ji's restaurant, was given four servings by Wen's mother before leaving.

"Hey, hey, why are you giving me so much?"

Yang Hong declined, but Wen's mother insisted on delivering the items to her car.

"Sister Yang, come visit often when you have time. Let me know in advance so I can save you a seat."

Yang Hong was very helpful to my family. Even when my family decided to move out, Yang Hong didn't cause trouble like other landlords.

After Wenji announced its relocation, someone approached Yang Hong to discuss renting a room. They immediately asked to rent the few rooms left by Wenji, offering exorbitant prices, all to take advantage of the vacancy left by Wenji. Locals might know that Wenji had moved, but even if only one out of a hundred out-of-towners didn't know and came to rent, it would be enough to make a fortune later.

The other party even suggested that they could work together with Yang Hong, which was even more malicious. They advised Yang Hong to let Wen Ji keep all the old decorations in the shop.

"Anyway, we don't want Wenji anymore, so let's keep it. When customers come, we won't know to change staff."

The other party had their plans, but Yang Hong thwarted them.

Yang Hong was too lazy to explain to him, so she asked him if he had ever eaten at Wenji's restaurant.

The man curled his lip: "It's just a small restaurant..."

Yang Hong: "That's true. You wouldn't say that if you'd actually eaten it."

other side:……

Yang Hong sighed and chased the person away: "It's no use saying more. If you're going to do something immoral, you'd better try it first."

Faced with absolute power, no means are of any use!

Unable to resist Wen's mother's enthusiasm, Yang Hong took four portions of yellow millet cakes home.

She ate too much at lunch and was thinking of skipping dinner. She was about to put the millet cake in the refrigerator when she received a call from her mahjong partner.

There was one player missing on the other end of the phone, so Yang Hong brought some yellow millet cakes.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, the four of them ate cool millet cakes, and even playing cards didn't seem so important.

"Tell me how you make this. It's sweet and has a hint of wine."

Sticky, sweet, and fragrant, with golden and white layers, it's delicious when dipped in osmanthus honey. The cool flavor instantly dispels the summer heat.

"Shall we go eat at Wen Ji tonight?"

"Didn't you say you didn't want to open on the first day? There would definitely be a lot of people."

"...The more the better."

This delicious yellow millet cake is only on sale today!

*****

Wenji has returned to the public eye.

The signature dishes served on the first day of business quickly became a hit online.

Of course, this also includes recommendations from celebrities like Su Tiantian and popular online influencers like Yang Tao.

Su Tiantian's blog post brought Wenji to the top of the trending searches, and she also left a photo of herself with Wen Fan at Wenji.

Yang Tao spent the whole day taking pictures and found that everything tasted delicious, so he released the longest video on his account.

The half-hour video was posted online and was immediately met with a barrage of question marks from fans in the comments section, asking if he had sold his account, or simply saying "Too long to read".

But wait half an hour...

[DaiDai: ...No wonder it took half an hour. You almost overdid it, bro. Do you even know how to eat all this food? Let me do it!]

[Xiao Liang: I've already added this video to my personal folder. For a long time to come, this will be my go-to video to watch while eating!]

[Ink: At first I thought half an hour was just you padding the time... My bad! Half an hour was absolutely full of fluff!]

[Wenqi: It smelled so good I ordered eight takeouts in the middle of the night.]

[Showing off a bowl of rice: Ahhhhh I can't take it anymore, I need to book train tickets right now!]

...

Logically speaking, the shorter the video length, the higher the completion rate, but Yang Tao's video strangely achieved a play rate of over 100%.

And as time went on, more and more people watched this half-hour video, and the play rate was approaching 200% or 300%.

Wenji's dishes have once again gained public recognition, and business is booming.

Du Min entered the kitchen to formally learn to cook, while Wen Fan spent most of his time supervising her and only occasionally did the cooking himself.

Master Jin would occasionally glance at Wen Fan, his eyes filled with deep confusion.

Others might think it's because Wen Fan is more capable, but how many years has Master Jin been doing this? You can tell at a glance that without a long period of training, it would be impossible to be so adept.

This restaurant is so large, it has dozens of waiters, plus kitchen staff who prepare the food and other ingredients. Everyone has their own specialty, and there are always orders coming in...

Wen Fan only delayed slightly for the first two or three days. After she became familiar with the order processing routine, she managed the entire kitchen perfectly.

Master Jin began to doubt himself. Could it be that his much-vaunted experience was actually so thin?

Frustration welled up in his heart, and Master Jin's desire to put the Jin Yu Lou signboard back up was once again suppressed.

So be it. New talents emerge in every generation. It was him before, but it's someone else now.

There's no way around it.

Wen Fan watched as the kitchen prepared the dishes, and with the sound of a bell, Ji Baiyi appeared at the window.

"Table 12, pickled pepper chicken giblets."

Ji Baiyi took the plate and handed something to Wen Fan, who was sitting not far from the window.

Du Min was sweating profusely from her busy work when she turned around and saw Wen Fan eating chocolate.

"...Master, where did you get the chocolate?"

Wen Fan squinted: "Ji Boyi gave it to me."

Du Min: ...

I don't know when it started, but the phrase "given by Ji Baiyi" began to appear frequently in Wen Fan's life. Sometimes it was cooling herbal tea, sometimes it was energizing medicated oil, and more often it was various snacks.

Wen Fan became more and more adept at handling the task, and it has now become a habit.

Du Min had previously worried that there might be something between the two, so she tentatively reached out for him, but Wen Fan shared without any hesitation, showing no sign of guilt. Du Min then realized that her master was still young.

Little Wen Fan stared at the stove; she had fried a pot of twisted dough sticks today.

The finished mini twisted dough sticks were crispy and savory. After sharing them with everyone, they all said they were delicious.

"Are you making this a free gift?" Mr. Wen asked.

This is also a recent opening promotion for the new store. As long as you spend 88 yuan or more each day, you will receive a free gift, sometimes a small pastry, sometimes a small dish.

Twisted dough sticks...

Not bad either.

However, compared to before, this time the twisted dough sticks... are slightly thinner.

Wen Fan: "No, it's for use as a side dish."

Wen Fan demonstrated how to make Yu Xiang Ma Hua Chicken, which is made with stir-fried chicken and has a fish-fragrant flavor. The crispy fried dough twists absorb the sauce and have a unique flavor.

Chef Da Jin: "It's like food for kids."

However, it's understandable. It's already the end of June, and more children are on holiday, as evidenced by the string of cat ear-shaped orders in the kitchen.

Wen Fan's Yu Xiang Ma Hua Chicken is free of contaminants, and the kitchen prepares the food quickly; over a hundred servings were sold that day.

When everyone had settled down for the night, Du Min suddenly asked what the date was.

"I don't remember... Is something wrong?"

Du Min: "Are the college entrance exam results coming out soon?"

Then everyone remembered that there was such an important matter.

I quickly pulled out my phone to check the time, and to my surprise, it was tonight.

"Ahhh, I'm so excited! I wonder how the little boss did on the exam!"

Wen Fan's grades gradually improved in his senior year of high school, but it was unrealistic to say that they improved by leaps and bounds. After reaching the basic level of most students, further improvement became extremely difficult.

However, one good thing is that Wen Fan is an exceptionally steady person.

This was repeatedly praised by the homeroom teacher during parent-teacher meetings. While many students were collapsing under the heavy pressure of senior year, Wen Fan's grades remained remarkably stable, and he never made a mistake.

Until the final mock exam before the college entrance examination, Wen Fan's score remained stable at 30 points above the key university admission line. This score was enough for her to be admitted to the business major of the best key university in the area.

...

Wen Fan, whose thoughts were on everyone, stared at the clock, while his parents waited anxiously for the time to pass.

The family has a clear division of labor: Mr. Wen is in charge of making phone calls, Mrs. Wen is in charge of monitoring text messages, and Wen Fan is in charge of using the computer.

The class group chat was filled with groans; when the moment truly arrived, everyone became anxious.

Han Lulu was so nervous that she decided not to investigate further and asked her parents to do it for her, while she chatted with people in the group chat.

[Han Lulu: I'm going crazy! I can't remember a single question from the exam, and I don't even remember if I filled in the answer sheet correctly!]

[He Yuzhen: ...Don't scare me, I'm nervous too. My living room is full of people! My uncle and aunt, and my other uncle and aunt are all here...]

[Class monitor: If you guys are really nervous, why don't you go find an internet cafe to check? I'll be waiting for you at XX internet cafe!]

[Han Lulu: Ahhhhh, it's 11:55! Five minutes left!]

...

As the clock struck midnight, Wen Fan entered the number under his parents' watchful eyes. He had expected the website to be congested at midnight, but to his surprise, the search results came out very smoothly.

Wen Fan's breathing paused for a moment.

Carefully removing the note blocking the screen, Wen Fan's heart finally settled back into his chest.

-----------------------

Author's note: Next update tonight!