Chapter 77 077 Duck's Confusion [Third Update]

With the October holiday over, the most important and pressing matter for Wen Fan is the upcoming midterm exams.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Wang, stood on the podium and ruthlessly announced the date of the midterm exam.

"...After this exam, the school will hold a parent-teacher conference, so everyone must be on their toes."

Wen Fan felt a sudden sense of urgency.

Despite receiving tutoring from top students in each subject, Wen Fan still lacked confidence.

Qin He encouraged her, saying that although she hadn't caught up with the current math pace, she had at least finished the first-year high school curriculum.

Han Lulu said that the biology questions themselves were not difficult, and Wen Fan's current progress is almost up to par. Although his grasp of the material is not yet solid, there is still a lot of time to catch up.

The English class representative said she memorized vocabulary very diligently, and has a good chance of passing this time.

Physics class representative...

Chemistry class representative...

As soon as the homeroom teacher announced the midterm exams, Wen Fan's desk was surrounded by students as the bell rang.

There's nothing else to it, it's just that these people are vying for Wen Fan's pre-exam tutoring time.

Qin He: "Stop messing around, she hasn't caught up in math yet. I'll at least explain a few essential test points to her!"

Physics class representative: "It's not like nobody says that. Physics class is important too!"

English class representative: "Hey, hey, hey, I still need to cram a few essay topics..."

Wen Fan's face was numb. She knew that what these people said about her being in control was just to comfort her.

Actually, they were all more panicked than she was.

That's right. Han Lulu told her that these people were making a bet in private, and the stake was the breakfast that Wen Fan would bring in the future. Whoever improved their subject the most could eat it for a week!

Wen Fan:......

The homeroom teacher was equally speechless.

Teacher Wang had noticed something strange about the students in his class long ago. How could their enthusiasm for learning have suddenly soared overnight?

After thinking it over, she gathered several students and asked them for their reasons.

After asking a few questions, I finally arrived at a conclusion that was quite unbelievable.

Just for the breakfast Wen Fan brought this morning.

Teacher Wang: ...

"...Are their families all struggling financially?"

That shouldn't be the case. She knows the physics class representative among her subject representatives; his family owns an electronics store.

They don't look short of money at all!

The student gestured exaggeratedly: "Teacher, you don't know, the breakfast Wen Fan brought was so delicious!"

He was someone who had gone on a class team-building trip with Wen Fan, and he almost swallowed his tongue after eating the stewed chicken in the clay pot.

In addition, Wen Fan's family now makes breakfast, such as persimmon sesame cakes and fresh meat sesame cakes. Sometimes he doesn't know which to choose, so he buys two at a time!

Unfortunately, he was an average student and didn't have any strong subjects, so he never got to eat the special breakfast that Wen Fan brought.

When Teacher Wang saw the regret written all over the students' faces, he felt like he was seeing a ghost.

So, while their teachers hold meetings every day, constantly mobilizing students, talking about school-family collaboration, and mutual learning, the students only need breakfast to study diligently?

Teacher Wang waved for the students to go back, while she herself complained to another teacher in the office.

"I always felt it wasn't that simple, and that it was too much to ask for breakfast."

Another teacher agreed: "Why don't you come earlier in the morning and go see what kind of breakfast that student's family sells?"

Ms. Wang nodded. She had now developed a habit of ordering takeout two or three times a week, always from the restaurant outside the school, but she always ate breakfast at home.

"I definitely want to go and take a look."

Teacher Wang admitted that he had some prejudice against Wen Fan. But ask yourself, which teacher wouldn't be prejudiced against a student who doesn't take his studies seriously and whose mind is full of romance?

Wen Fan cancelled his tutoring classes during the summer vacation, and Teacher Wang didn't take it seriously, since Wen Fan did seem to be more serious after the start of the new semester.

Who would have thought that just as things were starting to look up, Wen Fan and Jin Rui got into a fight again...

Teacher Wang was finally convinced.

She went to have breakfast and also wanted to chat with Wen Fan's parents.

As for those students in the class who suddenly became incredibly enthusiastic...

Teacher Wang still didn't believe they were just after a meal.

"I don't know what's wrong with these kids."

...

As Teacher Wang was saying this, another teacher, seeing that it was almost time, urged her to order takeout.

"The winter melon and meatball soup I had yesterday was pretty good. I wonder if they'll still give it away for free if I order it again today?"

Teacher Wang was helpless and opened her phone: "The soup changes every day, I don't know either."

Just like last week, they delivered vegetable and meatball soup, tomato and egg soup... Sometimes it tastes good, sometimes it's just so-so, there's no pattern to it.

Teacher Wang opened her phone, suddenly rubbed her eyes, and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, there's a new product today!"

"What? What?" Another teacher stuck his head over and looked anxiously.

Teacher Wang looked at the blank product image, which only had a name written on it.

Duck muddle-headed.

What is this thing?!

I've never even heard of this name before, let alone eaten it!

The female teacher patted her on the shoulder and said, "You call yourself a Chinese teacher? Isn't this just from 'Suiyuan Shidan'? It's called 'Ya Hutu' (鸭糊涂), a dish name."

Teacher Wang: "...You think I'm like you?"

She is indeed a Chinese language teacher, but who reads "Suiyuan Shidan" (隨園食單) in their spare time?

Are you going to order or not?

"Of course!"

Despite having never tried the food before, Teacher Wang still chose to trust the restaurant's culinary skills.

The two had just placed the order and paid when they clicked back in, and the "Duck Hutu" item showed as sold out.

"Luckily we were quick!"

If you wait any longer, you won't be able to buy them!

After placing the order, Teacher Wang was also interested in checking out the comments section.

Many other shops' review sections are filled with posts showing off their positive reviews, and the reviews have a strong artificial feel to them. But this shop, perhaps because it has never had much organic traffic, relies almost entirely on repeat purchases.

With more regular customers making purchases, the comments section started filled with various memes and jokes.

Teacher Wang sometimes starts to laugh while watching.

[4**d: Waaaaah, this is so delicious! It's making me feel like I'm floating on air. If Liu Yifei and Rouwanzi were standing in front of me at the same time and asked me who I wanted to be with, I would bite Rouwanzi in my mouth, get down on all fours, and say to Liu Yifei, "Actually, I'm a dog. Would you keep me?"]

[9**n: Those in front, eating and taking things are prohibited.]

[2**x: When my boss was yelling at me, I suddenly remembered that I had ordered braised pork belly for lunch today, and I couldn't help but laugh. Then my boss made me stand up and asked me if he looked like a clown... Anyway, I'm going to write my self-criticism now.]

[9**q: When a pretentious colleague said I couldn't save money every month because I loved to eat too much, I really wanted to throw braised pork with preserved vegetables on his head. He's always talking about Engel and Engel coefficients, has that old Engel ever eaten anything decent?]

[2**w: The school doesn't allow us to receive takeout, I'm so angry! Why are the teachers' takeout orders allowed to be delivered?!]

[8**q: Hey, are you stupid? Give the delivery guy a two-yuan red envelope, have him take off his coat and come in, just say he's your dad. Tested and proven, it works, the security guard doesn't even stop him!]

[2**w: Thank you for what you said earlier. Damn, the delivery guy was only a few years older than me, and he kept calling out "son" as he came in. Our homeroom teacher happened to see him and asked what my dad ate that made him look so young...]

[6**p: You're lucky. I've run into my teacher a few times, and she's always been very polite to me, asking if my family background is complicated.]

...

Teacher Wang couldn't stop laughing. Only the students themselves probably thought these little actions were very subtle, but the teachers had known about them for a long time.

However, since the teachers also ordered meals and knew that the food at that restaurant was relatively clean, they didn't pursue the matter further.

"These kids are hilarious."

As we were talking, the phone rang. The deliveryman said the food had been delivered and asked which floor it was on.

Teacher Wang: "It's on the third floor, just come up and turn the corner."

The deliveryman brought the food, and Teacher Wang and another teacher closed the office door and opened the food delivery before the students were dismissed.

The two bowls of duck soup were opened, and they didn't look very appetizing. There were also two servings of rice and winter melon soup.

Two small bowls of winter melon soup, with wide slices of kelp floating in them.

"Seaweed and winter melon soup, that's good too."

The shop owner gave us chopsticks and a spoon separately, clearly indicating that we were supposed to eat by scooping.

The duck paste was practically indistinguishable from soup; it was thick and gooey, and you couldn't even make out the shape of the duck meat.

Teacher Wang was getting tired of this kind of bland dish. She wished she had searched for it online beforehand. With its appearance, she didn't even want to eat it.

The other teacher, however, didn't seem to mind. He scooped up a full spoonful, put it in his mouth, and started yelling and screaming within half a second.

"tasty!"

The duck meat is almost undetectable; its loose fibers don't play a leading role in the soup, but rather are part of the overall harmony. The yam is cooked until soft and fluffy, its fine texture contrasting sharply with the slightly chewy duck meat. Diced shiitake mushrooms and ham not only harmonize the colors of the dish but also contribute their own unique flavors.

All the ingredients are intertwined, making it difficult to determine which is superior or inferior. This confusion, however, does not diminish the deliciousness of the soup at all.

Teacher Wang took a spoonful with some skepticism, and then silently soaked the rice in it.

This kind of soup will only make rice taste better when used to soak up the broth.

Rice porridge, like thick congee, glides smoothly and gently down the throat, as if posing a philosophical question. From its name to its taste, it exudes a Zen-like quality.

After finishing his meal, Teacher Wang rarely offered his own comments.

【5**r: "Rarely Confused," this is really well done. I hope the store can keep it on sale long-term.】

The accompanying picture shows what it looked like before it was eaten.

As soon as she sent the message, a huge building immediately sprang up below.

[4**p: No way, how did you get to order the special meal?!]

[6**w: Waaaaah, sob sob! I only hesitated for a second, and it showed as sold out. I just called the owner, and they said there probably won't be any more. I feel like crying.]

【8**o: What does this taste like? I'm really curious.】

[9**x: It must taste really good, otherwise the original poster wouldn't have commented like that.]

【2**h: Please, please put it on the menu! We haven't been able to get any!】

【3**s: +1】

【1**c: +1】

Seeing the comments, Wen's mother felt somewhat helpless and complained to her daughter who had come out for lunch.

“See? I told you it would be better not to sell them and just keep them for your own consumption. But your dad insisted that you made too much and that the leftovers wouldn’t taste good, so he put two portions on the shelves. Selling them would just cause trouble.”

Wen Fan was also eating duck paste with rice, reading comments as he ate.

"So what if we sell it? This stuff just doesn't taste good when it's left over. Mom, do you still have any duck?"

"Yes, your dad bought two more today."

Wen Fan: "Okay, tonight's Friday. Does anyone have a food order for tomorrow?"

Wen's mother flipped through the notebook: "Yes, three tables."

Landlady Yang Hong finally realized that the Wen family had opened a private restaurant, and said she would bring her mahjong partners to patronize it the next night.

The other table was filled with college students who had frequented the restaurant before. Since their school was local, they brought their roommates over the weekend.

The last table was also filled with acquaintances.

The principal of Wang Zihao's kindergarten is only one person.

Wen Fan: "She can't fill a table by herself."

Wen's mother: "So they gave us three hundred."

That's alright then.

Wen Fan pondered how to cook the duck.

This season, should we make plum-flavored duck, old duck soup, or...?

Never mind, let's talk about it tomorrow.