Chapter 176 Beef Risotto in Sauce
When the director arrived at the location, he discovered that he was not the only one who was interested in Wen Fan's craftsmanship.
The Wen family's small restaurant was still lit up. Pushing open the door, I saw a dozen or so staff members and several NPCs. The group of people, their eyes bloodshot from staying up all night, were either standing or sitting, but they were eating at a surprisingly fast pace.
Director: "...Where are the Wen family members?"
The assistant director licked the spoon until it was sparkling clean, but still wasn't satisfied, so he got up to get another bowl of rice. Hearing this, he replied, "I'm leaving."
The show ended around 10 p.m., and after confirming that there was nothing else going on, the people packed up their things and left.
The assistant director pointed to the pots and pans on the kitchen stove: "I left some stewed rice."
The director went into the kitchen, completely bewildered. This wasn't an order? Wen Fan had practically done everything he could.
Six bowls of rice were served in stainless steel basins the size of washbasins, along with leftover drinks and side dishes from today's cooking, and a few pieces of crispy fish.
"Why did you do so much?"
Did she exhaust herself? That young girl doesn't look much fatter than Su Tiantian today. She fed so many guests today, and now she's feeding the staff. It makes the director think that the few thousand yuan service fee he paid her today was a bit too low.
The assistant director served himself a spoonful of bright red tomato-sauce fish risotto, and under the director's watchful eye, added another spoonful, pressing it down firmly with a rice paddle, paused, and then added another spoonful...
Holding a steaming bowl of rice, the assistant director said cheerfully, "I didn't know. Everyone was eating when I arrived."
So without a second's hesitation, he grabbed his rice bowl and rushed in!
However, the NPC lady dressed as a courtesan kindly chimed in: "They're from the casino. They came as soon as they finished. I don't know how, but they've done a lot here. We were all called here."
Some of the NPCs were local temporary workers, some were nearby residents, and some were villagers from Carp Village. As soon as they heard there was food, they all quietly came over, hiding from the camera.
Seeing that there were many people, Wen Fan simply did everything that could be done in the kitchen.
Tomato fish risotto, mushroom and chicken risotto, sausage and pumpkin risotto, eggplant and potato risotto, beef risotto in sauce, minced meat and green bean risotto...
Why make risotto?
Because we didn't have enough pots!
As the number of people increased, even if the rice cooker ran non-stop, it couldn't keep up with the demand. In the end, Wen Fan simply steamed the rice in batches and cooked it into a stew, along with some cold dishes, and fried all the fish.
Everyone who has eaten this employee meal has a positive opinion of it.
The director's eye twitched. Generally, the production team provides meals, but this only applies to boxed lunches. For example, today they ordered two meals from a local fast food restaurant, which were supposed to be delivered around midnight.
Who would have thought that the Wen family would be so kind as to cook for the NPCs?
"...Never mind."
Smelling the enticing aroma, the director also pulled out a bowl and squeezed into the crowd.
The risotto was rich and flavorful, especially since Wen Fan used a lot of the sauce powder she brought to save time; it was delicious even with just a quick cook. The director made a beef risotto with sauce; the sauce clung to the beef slices, carrying a hint of honey aroma. The tender beef was so soft that it could be easily cut through the fibers with a snap of the teeth. The savory and slightly sweet sauce was evenly mixed into the rice, making it springy and chewy. Unlike rice bowls, the risotto's broth gave the rice a texture that was neither quite porridge nor quite rice. The savory broth flowed down the throat, and the director's day's work was instantly soothed by this bowl of risotto.
If last night's dishes impressed the director, then today's simple risotto made him realize the hidden talents within ordinary small shops. This wasn't a fully equipped kitchen; it was just an empty shop the production team randomly picked. How could they produce such delicious food?
The director wiped his mouth, looking somewhat reluctant to part.
Unlike other staff members who could postpone their departure, he couldn't spare a single moment; he had to finish filming today and go back tomorrow.
We also need to oversee the editing!
As for the others, they're already discussing what to eat at Wenji tomorrow.
...
On the other side, Wen Fan's family was already driving home in the dark. The village roads were difficult to drive on at night. Wen's father was focused on the road ahead, while Wen's mother took out a coat and put it on her daughter.
"Are you tired? Take a rest."
I thought today would be a very easy shooting task, but who knew so many people would come to support me?
However, Wen Fan was quite happy. The more guests there were, the more screen time she would get. Even if the production team cut some of it out, it would still be enough to give Wen's restaurant a good advertisement.
"Mom, I'm not tired."
This is nothing.
The night breeze was a bit cool, unlike the heat of the daytime, and this cool breeze made the whole family feel relaxed.
Wen's mother carefully kept all the small gifts given to her by the program crew. These people film for a long time, so who doesn't have a few autographed photos or celebrity merchandise?
So Wen Fan's bag was stuffed with a lot of things. Wen Fan wasn't interested in any of them and decided to give the autographed photos to Han Lulu and the others.
However, Wen's father suddenly remembered the key point while driving.
"Hey, don't you think we should take a photo with the celebrity? I've seen a lot of old shops do that."
Putting photos of celebrities in the store is also a form of advertising. Jin Yu Lou used to have a wall like that in its lobby, which is also a symbol of the store's longevity.
Wen Mu, Wen Fan:...
"Did I say something wrong?" Mr. Wen asked cautiously.
Wen's mother: "...Do you think it's still possible for us to drive back now?"
It was definitely too late. This little incident made Wen's mother regret it deeply. What was the point of participating in the show? Wasn't it just to increase her fame? Now such a good opportunity had been missed, and Wen's mother was so regretful that she kept slapping her thigh.
"Why didn't we wait a little longer!"
The whole family felt a little regretful.
As it turned out, this regret was made up for the very next day.
The day after Wen's mother arrived at the store, the employees surrounded her, asking her all sorts of questions, and they were all more excited than Wen's mother herself.
"Boss lady, is our shop really going to be on TV?"
"Ahhh, did you guys see Zhou Xuanli yesterday? Isn't he handsome?"
"How different is Su Tiantian in real life from her videos?"
"I'm so excited! Boss lady, shall we buy a TV? We can put it in the shop, and when the show airs again, we can keep replaying that episode!"
Wen's mother: "It's not that serious. We don't even know how many shots there will be."
When she got back, she searched online and found out that these kinds of variety shows are edited down from a day's worth of footage to just over an hour, inevitably involving the removal of any unwanted segments.
The employees were still very excited. Even Master Jin quietly came over today, listened for a bit, and was genuinely happy for Wenji.
A group of people surrounded Wen's mother, chattering away, almost causing her to miss the phone call.
Mrs. Wen shushed him before answering the phone, and the person on the other end asked if Wen's restaurant offered delivery service.
Mrs. Wen: "I'm sorry, sir, we are not offering takeout at the moment. If you would like to dine in, please do so."
They asked again if we had any private kitchen dishes for dinner tonight.
"I'm sorry, this one has already been reserved."
Do you have any private rooms?
"Our store only has a main hall."
...
The assistant hung up the phone and shrugged at Su Tiantian: "There's nothing I can do. How about I go buy it and you eat at the hotel?"
Su Tiantian: "I won't—bringing it back is nowhere near as delicious as freshly stir-fried food!"
"Then what are you going to do? Go sit in the store and let people watch you? Also, Sister Hu told me to talk to you and tell you to watch what you say. You're about to start filming, and if you keep eating and drinking like this, you won't look good on camera."
Su Tiantian picked at her fingers: "Where is there such a thing as eating and drinking excessively... I combined three meals into one yesterday."
"Yes, yes, yes, it takes five hours to finish one meal."
Su Tiantian: ...
"I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to find someone else!"
Su Tiantian went straight to the other guests' rooms. Everyone was supposed to be catching a flight today, but when Su Tiantian knocked on the door and went in, she saw that the other six people were there, except for Zhou Xuanli, who had flown away in the early morning.
"...What are you doing?"
The two, who had been following Su Tiantian through the casinos yesterday, laughed and said, "Let's discuss how to eat."
This gave everyone something to talk about, and they eventually decided to find a director.
The director had been hesitant to leave, even thinking that the 5 pm tickets were too early. But after hearing the explanation of their purpose, he didn't seem to mind the celebrities' meddling at all. Instead, he seemed to have found a reason to call Director Hao.
Director Hao was stunned after hearing this. He thought to himself that these people were making a fuss, but no matter what, it was a program that had been negotiated with great difficulty, so he could only rush to go and negotiate with Wen Ji.
"...We'll set up a table this afternoon, less than ten people. Don't worry, we won't work for free; we'll be paid as usual. Once the show airs, our local publicity team will release a separate video of you. The director said there will be a behind-the-scenes segment themed around Wenji."
Wen's mother instantly recalled the regret from last night and said she could, but—
"Come to the store. The private menu is in a separate room and won't be too conspicuous."
Wen Fan arrived at the store quickly.
After Wen's mother finished explaining the situation, Wen Fan started sending people to deliver things.
"Have Zhang Hainiu bring some seafood, and some crayfish too. Aunt Huijuan said she harvested some pumpkins and eggplants these past few days, so bring those as well."
Everything else in the shop was complete. In the morning, Wen's mother had sent over some large watermelons, cut in half and placed in the refrigerator. Wen Fan cut off a piece, ate it while looking at the things in the kitchen, and pondered what to make for dinner.
Meanwhile, the celebrities, upon learning that a banquet would be held in the afternoon, all changed their clothes and headed straight to the hotel's gym.
Su Tiantian also changed into her swimsuit and went swimming.
"Let's burn some calories quickly so we can eat more this afternoon!"
Running back and forth between the swimming pool and the gym, by 3 p.m., when Su Tiantian got into the car, she was starving.
Several cars arrived at Wenji's entrance, and thankfully there weren't many customers for a while, so the group was able to enter smoothly.
As soon as they entered, before they could even take in the small room, they were enveloped in a fragrant aroma.
The small kitchen was filled with aromas, permeating the entire little restaurant.
Su Tiantian took a deep breath and couldn't wait to offer her a seat.
"Teacher X, shall we sit down first?"
Usually when a group of people are together, everyone has to give way to each other, but today it's much easier. The most senior actor quickly sat down and eagerly asked the waiter what dishes were served today.
Du Min was still in a daze when asked this question. After a while, she replied, "I don't know yet."
When Wen Fan was in a hurry while cooking, everyone in the restaurant would tacitly leave him alone. Even Xiao Ge, who helped out, would come out as soon as he finished cooking.
Soon, Wen Fan asked Du Min to go in and serve the dishes.
Because there were so many people, Wen Fan finally cooked a proper banquet meal today.
The first dishes served were four cold dishes.
"Sliced beef and tripe in chili sauce, braised whelks, stir-fried dried shrimp with bean curd, and walnut salad stuffed with cherry tomatoes."
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Author's note: This is the only update today. I plan to go to bed early tonight. It's the end of the month, so I wish everyone a smooth December.
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