Chapter 80: Complete Defeat of Fried Rice Noodles
In the state-owned restaurant early in the morning, only a few people ordered wonton noodle soup and enjoyed their breakfast leisurely.
Most people bring their own lunch boxes and buy some steamed buns, then leave in a hurry after getting them.
"Jaime, they're here." Hu Lan caught a glimpse of the three people while collecting the tickets and pointed to the side, "Enter the kitchen from that way."
"Okay, thank you Sister Lan. Eat the seafood rice noodles while they're hot, and also the spicy dried squid made by Lele." Zhang Haimei responded.
As she spoke, she placed the aluminum lunch box and an oil paper bag on the counter.
The three figures disappeared in the lobby, and the people waiting in line to pay started chatting with Hu Lan.
"Yuanyuan's mother, is that the girl who does delivery work at the pickled pepper stall at the market?" The person who spoke was Hu Lan's neighbor.
He works in a shipyard and happened to run into Zhang Haimei delivering pickled pepper powder to the people in the factory last time.
Hu Lan was too lazy to pay attention to this gossipy neighbor. He just hummed and lowered his head to write the note.
After receiving a positive response, the neighbor immediately started talking.
"What is she doing here with two little girls?"
"Last time I smelled the pickled pepper powder, it smelled good, but I heard that there was only half a spoonful of meat for three cents, and the rest was just worthless seafood. What good was that?"
"It's not worth it at all. I have to pay five cents to send it to the factory."
Another customer who treated the state-owned restaurant as a canteen laughed and said, "Uncle, you are wrong. The dry pot seafood stew here is delicious."
The neighbor had heard of this dish a long time ago, but he was the kind of stingy person who would rather spend every penny he had, so he was reluctant to try it at all.
Therefore, his understanding of seafood is still limited to its fishy smell and little meat.
"Hu San's cooking skills are inherited from his ancestors. How can the country folks at the food stalls at the market compare with him?" the old man said with a hint of arrogance.
Hu Lan sneered: "Lao San was taught this dish by the man at that stall."
The old man was slapped in the face in public, his face turned blue and red. After serving the porridge and steamed buns, he walked away in shame.
After hearing what Hu Lan said, the other guests became somewhat interested in the food stalls in Haiyu Village.
In the back kitchen, Zhang Haimei borrowed a small stove, an old iron pot, and five pounds of eggs from Hu Laosan.
"What do you want to borrow these things for?" Hu Laosan was puzzled.
Zhang Haimei told him about Taohua Village. When she talked about the braised pork ribs rice noodles at their stall, she specifically mentioned that there was a man with a big mole on his neck in the stall.
When Hu Laosan heard this, his face immediately turned bad, and he thought about going to talk to his superiors tonight.
He temporarily suppressed all his emotions and handed the things Yu Zhile wanted to borrow to Zhang Haimei one by one.
"Le Le is still waiting for me. I'm leaving first. You guys work hard." Zhang Haimei said goodbye to her two sisters.
Zhang Hailan and Yu Mengjun nodded.
On the other side, more and more workers came to the market, and the market became a blue ocean.
Those who wanted to eat pickled pepper powder last time but came back empty-handed went straight to the stall in Haiyu Village and looked at the two identical stalls in confusion.
Regular customers of Haiyu Village were also watching from the sidelines.
Jafar shouted as hard as he could, but his voice was far inferior to that of Getai.
"Don't miss it if you pass by. It's the first seafood rice noodle shop in Daji. The seafood is fresh and the taste is delicious and authentic." Ge Tai's voice was like a bell.
Jia Farn's voice became hoarse, so he simply emphasized the price: "Two cents, only two cents!"
The low prices attracted some customers to Taohua Village, and Xu Yu looked at Yu Zhile proudly.
"I want a bowl of noodles for fifty cents, everything remains the same." Huo Tianhe firmly chose the stall in Haiyu Village.
His choice influenced the cannery workers, and most of them followed him to sell food at the stall in Haiyu Village. This then influenced some people from other factories.
As a result, the tables in Haiyu Village were instantly filled with people.
At this time, Yu Zhile said loudly: "Dear guests, today we at Haiyu Village are launching a new dish - fried rice noodles, which is also 30 cents per serving. It's free to try today, and you can make a decision after trying it."
Her words stopped some people who wanted to go to Taohua Village's stall.
"Can everyone try it?" someone asked loudly.
Yu Zhile replied: "Everyone can try it. If you don't like it, you can go to other stalls. We won't force you to buy or sell."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Haimei, sweating profusely, squeezed out of the crowd with difficulty.
"Le Le, I'm back." She panted heavily and showed Yu Zhile the things in the car, "Is there anything else I can do?"
"You take a rest first and leave it to me." Yu Zhile pressed her on the bench.
Then she glanced at Zhang Wenxin and turned to wash the pot.
Zhang Wen understood, took out the small stove and started to make a fire.
Under the expectant gaze of everyone, Yu Zhile added a proper amount of oil into the dry pot to lubricate the pot.
The fire was burning brightly and the oil soon began to sizzle. She beat in two eggs and quickly stirred them into egg crumbs.
Next, she grabbed a handful of rice noodles, shook them loose, slowly stir-fried them until they shrank, added the minced meat and stir-fried until it changed color, then added the bean sprouts.
Finally, season with soy sauce and oyster sauce, stir-fry evenly, and sprinkle with a handful of chopped green onions before serving.
The oily fried rice noodles are light brown and exude a complex and tempting aroma.
Suddenly, someone's stomach made a rumbling sound and everyone burst into laughter, but their eyes never left the steaming rice noodles.
At that time, Ge Tai happened to buy lettuce from another stall and washed it.
This is the most suitable disposable tableware that Yu Zhile thought of on the spur of the moment. It is cheap and easy to use.
Everyone lined up consciously, holding up half a piece of vegetable leaf and taking a mouthful of fried rice noodles from Yu Zhile's spatula.
Soon, all the rice noodles in the pot were divided.
Many people stuff it into their mouths along with lettuce.
Biting through the crispy lettuce, they were pleasantly surprised by the tender and smooth rice noodles, which left them with an unforgettable aftertaste.
"Each serving of rice noodles contains an egg and half a spoonful of minced meat. This is the amount for one serving." Yu Zhile grabbed a handful of rice noodles and showed them.
Huo Tianhe's eyes lit up as he ate. He quickly took out a dollar and said, "I want another serving of fried rice noodles."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Yu Zhile asked Ge Tai to collect the money and start cooking immediately.
Zhang Wenxin started cooking noodles in front of the six-burner stove.
The other customers came to their senses and started to place their orders.
Those who fall in love with it right away only order fried rice noodles, while those who don’t like it that much still order seafood rice noodles.
There was also a small group of people who wanted to eat both and found it hard to choose. So, at Zhile's suggestion, they asked a few acquaintances to share a portion of fried rice noodles.
After all these operations, the stall in Taohua Village lost half of its customers, and Xu Yu was so angry that his face turned blue.
Xiao Li's expression was not very good either. He looked at Yu Zhile with some resentment and cooked noodles for the customers in a very annoyed manner.
When the noodles were served, the guest tasted them and began to make retching sounds.
"What the hell? It stinks. The rice noodles at the stall next door are not that hard. It's so disgusting. Give me my money back!" the aunt said angrily.
Xu Yu quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "It's just that our chef made a mistake. I'll change the bowl for you and give you two kinds of seafood and one kind of vegetable. Don't be angry."
"Okay, I'll give you another chance." The aunt's anger dissipated a little.
When the other customers heard this, they also started clamoring for free dishes, otherwise they would get their money back and leave.
After some tug of war, Xu Yu compromised.
"Do your job well. No one will feel good if we lose money." He walked to the stove and said in a cold voice.
Xiao Li snorted, prolonged the cooking time of the noodles, and only added the seafood that were still alive into the pot.
This time, except that the noodles were a little too soft, the taste was acceptable and the customers did not make a fuss.
Ten minutes later, the first batch of guests from Haiyu Village finished their meal, and the tables were immediately filled up again, and a lot of take-out orders were received.
The stall in Taohua Village seemed deserted with only one or two customers coming occasionally.
After the morning rush hour of the market, the rice noodles in Haiyu Village were basically sold out, while there was still more than half left in Taohua Village.
"Hmph, let them learn. They will suffer a great loss." Zhang Wenxin felt happy when he saw the gloomy faces of Xu Yu and others.
Yu Zhile didn't say anything, just glanced at them.
Nearing ten o'clock, the two of them cooked noodles for lunch for the other members of the sideline group.
The unique pickled pepper flavor attracted several customers from their stalls at the market, one of whom had lived in Shu Province for several years.
"It smells so good, I can't resist it." The elder sister spoke with an unconscious Sichuan dialect accent.
The moment she put it in her mouth, she shook her head and exclaimed, "It's so authentic. It's just the right taste. I've been thinking about it for years."
Zhang Wenxin asked her about other eating habits in Shu Province, and was so surprised by the hot pot in her mouth that her mouth widened.
"Is it really a full pot of chili peppers?" she confirmed again and again.
The eldest sister laughed and said, "Yes, they have been eating spicy food since they were little."
"If I have the chance I'll have to go and see it for myself," said Zhang Wenxin.
The eldest sister smiled cheerfully: "Yes, it's good for you to go out more often when you have the chance. The more you see, the better you will judge people."
Afterwards, she also told everyone about the mountains and rivers of Shu Province and the living habits of the local people.
Everyone was fascinated by her and yearned for Shu Province. They continued to discuss it after she left.
"Oh, it's so far. I haven't even been to the provincial capital. I probably won't have the chance to go there in this lifetime." Ge Xiaoju sighed.
Zhang Ling echoed: "As far away as the sun."
Yu Zhile shook his head and said confidently: "In the future, everyone can go wherever they want."
Her words sparked a small spark of hope in their hearts.
By then, the sun was almost overhead.
Yu Zhile and Zhang Wenxin returned to the stove and started cooking noodles according to the delivery order placed last week.
Considering that there were a lot of deliveries this time, they also brought dry straw for warmth to ensure that the noodles were still hot when they were delivered to the customers.
There were still more than ten minutes before the workers got off work. All the noodles were cooked, and the three delivery teams set off with their respective orders.
Bang, bang, bang! The shipyard rang the bell for the end of get off work, and workers from several surrounding factories began to walk towards the market.
Yu Zhile and his companions were ready, as were Xu Yu and his three companions at the stall next door.
When the blue figure appeared again in the crowd, Xu Yu no longer cared about his face and shouted at the top of his voice: "The taste is exactly the same as that of the state-owned restaurant. It only costs 30 cents, no ticket required."
His words aroused the curiosity of the workers, and everyone slowly walked towards this side.
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