Chapter 31 The acne scars have faded; is the environment of Jiang City good for people? ...
When Su Yixiao first suggested going to Gu's Private Kitchen for dinner, his two friends were a little reluctant. After all, it was hot, and they could have just found a nearby restaurant to sit down and enjoy the air conditioning, but now they would have to ride their bikes for two kilometers.
But after seeing the photos of various delicious dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen that their good friend had dug up, they hesitated but were tempted. So they rode all the way to Suli Street, parked their shared bikes, and then walked in.
"I think I see a peach tree ahead, and that's the restaurant with the log cabin style. It should be that one," Liang Siyun said excitedly, pointing to the spot with her sharp eyes.
Zhao Kexuan breathed a sigh of relief: "We're almost there! I'm so sweaty!"
Su Yixiao was tired, but mostly happy. He chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I guarantee you won't regret coming all this way when we get to the restaurant."
As the three approached, the irresistible aroma of braised food instantly made them hungry. However, the shop was packed with customers, so they had to ask a staff member for a number and find chairs to sit and wait in line. Fortunately, there was only one table ahead of them in line, so it shouldn't be long.
Zhao Kexuan pulled out a small fan from her bag and blew it directly into her face: "Luckily, there's a place to sit. The air conditioning in the shop is radiating out, and with my little fan, I can barely bear it for a while."
Liang Siyun leaned over to share the breeze from the small fan: "There's a tree here to provide some shade, so it's cooler than outside."
At this time, the sun was just setting, casting a hazy orange glow over the western sky, and the earth was releasing heat; it was truly hot.
Su Yixiao was very hot, but the cool air emanating from the restaurant, with its back to her, slowly soothed her restlessness. Coupled with the irresistible aroma of the braised food, she had plenty of patience while waiting.
She searched for "Gu's Private Kitchen" on Weibo with her phone and unexpectedly found the official account of Gu's Private Kitchen. It seemed to have just been launched today, and it had only posted one Weibo post, which was today's menu.
Su Yixiao handed his phone to his two good friends: "Look here, this is today's menu. Let's see what we want to order."
Zhao Kexuan and Liang Siyun leaned closer, their eyes immediately falling on the tempting photos that looked and smelled delicious. They reached out and tapped to view the food in full screen.
"Wow, this braised pig's trotter looks so delicious. It's soft, chewy, and glistening with oil. I especially love eating the skin of pig's trotters."
"I think the braised pig's feet and the braised platter are delicious. These meat dishes look really good in photos and make me want to eat them."
Su Yixiao nodded: "Indeed, just looking at the photos makes my mouth water. Now we're standing right outside the store smelling the aroma, and we'll be able to eat meat and vegetables like this later. This is just too much to bear."
As the three were talking, a group of customers in the restaurant paid their bill and left happily, while a group of customers in front of them excitedly entered the restaurant.
Feeling excited that it would soon be their turn to eat, the three of them started discussing what to eat.
The restaurant only has five dishes. The braised pig's feet and the braised platter are obviously the main dishes and are the restaurant's signature dishes on the menu of the day. While sitting at the door waiting, we smelled the delicious braised meat and the three of us decided without saying much that we must order these two dishes.
And if you're going to eat, eat the best. For example, you must order the braised pig's feet with four golden spots, which costs 88 yuan a serving.
The braised vegetarian dishes looked very appealing, and the Chaoshan steamed noodles looked quite fresh, with minced meat, fresh shrimp, oysters, and bok choy on top. After discussing it, the three of them decided to choose the braised vegetarian dishes.
The three of them decided to order the bitter melon, soybean, and pork rib soup without much hesitation. After all, how could they eat without soup? Besides, they felt a bit feverish after having barbecue in Jiang City last night, and the bitter melon soup would be perfect to cool them down.
After deciding what dishes to order, Su Yixiao and the other two began to look forward to their number being called soon, while also being glad that they had arrived relatively early. In just a short while, three more tables were lined up behind them.
As they waited expectantly, time seemed to drag on, and after about eight minutes, their wish finally came true.
Led by the shop assistant, Su Yixiao entered the restaurant and sat down at the empty table. He said directly to the shop assistant, "Hello, today's menu includes everything except the Chaoshan steamed noodles. I also want the braised pig's feet with four golden bits."
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed. After noting it down, she remembered something and went to ask through the glass window connecting to the kitchen. Then she returned apologetically and said, "Everyone, I'm so sorry, all the Four Points of Gold are sold out. We forgot to update the menu in time. Would you like the 68 yuan pork knuckle or..."
Su Yixiao and the other two exchanged a disappointed glance, but still said, "Then let's have the pig's feet for 68 yuan a serving."
“Okay, we have free tea here: Tieguanyin, Pu’er tea, barley tea, chrysanthemum tea, and lemonade. What would you like?” Sister Zhou asked after nodding.
Zhao Kexuan asked, "Is the lemonade iced?"
Su Yixiao and Liang Siyun also looked at the shop assistant expectantly. In this kind of weather, who would want to drink hot tea? They wanted iced tea!
It's okay if the lemonade isn't iced; they've already seen all the different drinks in the freezer.
Sister Zhou smiled and nodded: "Yes, how about I get you a glass of iced lemon water?"
The three nodded repeatedly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Sister Zhou went to get three sets of bowls and chopsticks, small teacups and hot water washing tools, and then took out a large pitcher of lemon water from the refrigerator and poured it into the teapot used to serve tea to customers.
Servings like lemonade and chrysanthemum tea are served in tall, transparent glass teapots, allowing customers to see the yellow lemon slices floating in the lemonade, the clear, bright yellow color of the chrysanthemum tea, and the scattered chrysanthemum buds.
Su Yixiao and the other two each took a few sips of the cool lemon water from their teacups, and couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief, feeling as if they had come back to life.
"I saw that the braised pig's feet and braised platter on the next table looked really good, even more tempting than in the photos!" Liang Siyun shared excitedly.
Zhao Kexuan nodded: "It smells even better now. I just heard the people at the table across from me say that the fish cakes and rolled pancakes in the braised platter are all made by the owner himself. They're healthy, hygienic, and delicious."
Su Yixiao looked towards the kitchen and, through the glass window, could see a tall and slender girl wearing a white hat and a white apron standing in front of the stove, seemingly taking the pig's feet they had ordered from the pot and slicing the meat with a knife.
She exclaimed, "It's amazing that the owner himself makes such delicious meat dishes!"
"Many restaurants are run by owners who are the best cooks. They open their own restaurants with their culinary skills, attract customers from all directions, make money from all over the world, and reach the pinnacle of life. But it seems that once business is good, the owners don't like to go into the kitchen anymore and hire people to cook. We should cherish the days when the owners are still in the kitchen, haha." Liang Siyun, who reads a lot of novels, couldn't help but laugh after rambling on.
However, what she said was about 80% true; many restaurants were indeed like that. Zhao Kexuan and Su Yixiao laughed when they heard this.
They chatted and joked, glancing at their phones every now and then. Before long, the waiter brought over two dishes.
"This is braised pig's feet and a platter of braised dishes. Please enjoy."
"OK, thanks."
Su Yixiao and the other two looked at the glistening, reddish-brown braised pig's trotters, the richly colored braised beef, fish cakes, and rolled rolls. The aroma was irresistible, and they couldn't help but swallow their saliva before picking up their chopsticks.
The braised pig's feet are tender and soft, with a perfect balance of lean and fatty meat. The aroma of the braising sauce bursts in your mouth, making you feel almost dizzy from the fragrance.
The lean meat of the pig's trotters is tender and not dry, while the fatty meat is oily but not greasy, with a soft and chewy texture. The best part is the skin hanging on the pig's trotters, which is soft and has a gelatinous feel.
The braised beef was also delicious. The reddish-brown slices of meat had clear marbling visible through the dark brown braising liquid, and the flavor was savory and fragrant. The beef had a slightly chewy texture, yet was tender and bouncy.
The fish cakes were surprisingly delicious. Every bite felt like it was filled with solid fish paste, and the savory braised flavor was complemented by the fresh and fragrant fish meat. You can imagine how generous and sincere the owner was in using the ingredients when making these fish cakes.
The texture of the rolled cake is similar to that of fish cake, with the aroma of braised meat complementing the freshness of the filling, which is also quite good.
Su Yixiao nodded repeatedly: "It smells so good! The braised pig's feet are delicious, and there's nothing bad in this braised platter."
After swallowing the rolled-up meat, Zhao Kexuan said, "I think the fish cake and rolled-up meat taste pretty good compared to the braised beef."
"This pork knuckle and beef is so delicious! I've never had curd before, and I didn't expect it to be this good," Liang Siyun said. "Do you two want some rice? I have to have a bowl; this pork knuckle and beef is so good with rice."
Su Yixiao and Zhao Kexuan nodded and called over a waiter to order three bowls of rice.
Sister Zhou served them three bowls of rice and a small dish of braised peanuts: "Today is Labor Day, and the first ten tables of customers in our store will receive a small dish of braised peanuts for free. Please enjoy."
"Thanks."
After the shop assistant left, Su Yixiao exclaimed in surprise, "We're so lucky! We even got a free plate of braised peanuts!"
No one can resist free dishes, especially those that don't require the staff to take their phone and write a good review on Dianping (a Chinese review platform).
"Hehe, that means we're pretty lucky today." Zhao Kexuan was the first to pick up a braised peanut and put it in her mouth. The peanut had the same braised aroma, a soft and glutinous texture, and it was quite fragrant to chew.
Liang Siyun also ate one, thinking that if she had these braised peanuts as a snack, she could lie on the sofa and read novels all day without moving an inch.
After chewing five braised peanuts, Su Yixiao scooped a spoonful of the braising sauce from the pig's trotter plate and poured it over the rice in his bowl. Instantly, the dark brown braising sauce spread everywhere, infusing the distinct grains of rice with its aroma.
She picked up a piece of pork knuckle and started eating. After tasting the rich meaty flavor, she mixed it with rice, which doubled her happiness.
Zhao Kexuan and Liang Siyun did similar things, eating braised pork trotters, beef, fish cakes, and rolled rolls with rice.
The three of them were quite hungry after shopping all afternoon, and the braised meat was so delicious that their appetites soared, and the two large plates of meat were quickly devoured.
As a bowl of braised vegetables was served, Su Yixiao and the others finally moved their chopsticks away from the two plates of meat and began to try the new dishes.
The soup bowl contains various vegetables, which are soaked in the braising sauce and dripping as you pick them up, making them even more savory and flavorful.
The lotus root is crisp, the potatoes are soft and tender, the kelp is refreshing yet crunchy, the dried tofu has a strong bean flavor, the eggs are well-braised and flavorful, and the yolks soaked in the braising liquid are even saltier and less dry. The shiitake mushrooms are smooth and tender with a unique aroma. Each of these dishes can be served as a side dish with rice.
The three of them also really liked this braised vegetarian dish, and they ate it one bite after another with their chopsticks.
Only after the waiter served the bitter melon, soybean, and pork rib soup did I use a soup spoon to scoop soup from my already empty bowl and drink it.
The hot soup was a little too hot to drink, but the unique aroma of bitter melon rushed into my mouth, along with the meaty fragrance of pork ribs.
It tastes refreshing even after being cooled slightly. The pork ribs are meaty, tender, and soft, and won't get stuck in your teeth. The bitter melon isn't bitter and has a slightly sweet taste. The soybeans are cooked until soft and sticky, and the flavor is only slightly inferior to braised peanuts.
The three of them drank the soup voraciously, gulping down a bowl in no time. They even ate the soup ingredients that they usually didn't like with gusto.
After all, the pork ribs used for this soup are clearly high-quality just by looking at their color. They would be excellent even if used alone as a meat dish. This time, the flavor isn't bland at all; it's the original meaty aroma of the ribs, not fishy at all, and tender with a hint of bitter melon fragrance. The bitter melon and soybeans are also delicious.
The three of them ate until their bellies were round. If they hadn't been so full, they would have finished the last bit of vegetables in the soup bowl.
Su Yixiao sighed, "It turns out Chuntang wasn't lying to us after all. A restaurant that she would specially post a Weibo recommendation for is definitely something special."
When she finished reading the blog post by her favorite blogger, she was impressed by the alluring photos and Chuntang's vivid descriptions. The occasional comments in the comment section, saying that they had eaten at the restaurant and that it was incredibly delicious, further enhanced her positive impression of the restaurant.
I finally got to visit Jiang City and get to eat at Gu's Private Kitchen. It was definitely worth the trip!
Zhao Kexuan leaned back in her chair, looking languid: "It's over. I can't even imagine going back to Lu City without Gu's Private Kitchen."
Liang Siyun took a picture of the nearly empty table: "We were so busy eating that we forgot to take pictures, but it was a bonus to have eaten. I'm so envious of the people in Jiang City, they can come and eat at Gu's Private Kitchen anytime."
Let alone taking pictures of sightseeing, food, and hotels while traveling, they usually take pictures of everything before eating. This time, they were so focused on eating the braised meat that no one thought about taking pictures.
With high hopes, Su Yixiao said, "Be bold! Maybe if Gu's Private Kitchen becomes a big business, we can open a branch in Lushi in a few months and bring happiness to everyone!"
Liang Siyun chimed in, "I'm even bolder. I hope this place becomes a branch of Gu's Private Kitchen, with the owner coming to Lushi to open the main branch. After all, these meat dishes are so fragrant, and that fragrance comes from the owner's cooking skills. If a branch opens and hires a chef, it definitely won't taste as good as what the owner makes himself."
Zhao Kexuan suddenly said, "I think if the boss starts recruiting a few apprentices now and teaches them his life's work, he should have a chance to open a branch in Lu City, and the taste won't be too bad. This is the most likely and bold idea, okay?"
The three of them exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.
Gu Qingqiu was busy in the kitchen. After receiving the order, she started preparing the dishes according to the menu. Cutting braised pig's feet, beef, fish cakes, and rolled fritters were all simple. For braised vegetables, she only needed to distinguish them and take out roughly the right amount. The Chaoshan steamed noodles, which required a little effort to steam and then top with fresh shrimp, oysters, and sauce, were unexpectedly popular today. The noodles were sold out, and the minced meat, fresh shrimp, oysters, and bok choy were all used up.
Although she has always insisted on keeping the portion size of each dish consistent for both dine-in and takeout, and ensuring consistent quality control when serving dine-in dishes, the plate of Chaoshan steamed noodles that Sister Zhou just served to customers did indeed contain excessive amounts of meat.
Since there weren't enough ingredients left to make another serving of Chaoshan steamed noodles, Gu Qingqiu figured the noodles were just the right amount, and there was still some minced meat left, so she simply spread them all out on top to steam.
The ingredients added were just two extra spoonfuls of minced meat, two fresh shrimp, three oysters, and four stalks of bok choy. The resulting Chaoshan steamed noodles looked quite impressive. The ingredients on top almost completely covered the noodles at the bottom, and you could only see the thin noodles from the side.
Consider it a pleasant surprise. Gu Qingqiu leaned against the kitchen window for a while, watching with satisfaction as the expressions on the faces of the customers at that table changed from surprise to excitement and joy. She smiled and lowered her head to pick up her phone to look at it.
The new post on Xiaohongshu is doing very well. In half a day, it has received more than 2,000 likes, more than 1,000 favorites, and more than 200 comments. Gu Qingqiu replied to some of them, and then saw that the number of followers had increased to more than 500.
That's a very good omen.
Gu Qingqiu checked Weibo again and found that she had gained more than a dozen new followers, more than a hundred likes, more than twenty reposts, and more than a dozen comments. This was the result of her adding a trending topic about a food-themed TV series when she posted the article and trying to ride the wave of its popularity.
She also selectively replied to a few comments before switching to her usual Weibo account to check the trending topics to see if there was anything new today.
During holidays, traffic jams on highways are an unavoidable topic of conversation.
Gu Qingqiu clicked on the link and saw that the highway map posted by netizens was completely red. Some netizens said that they had been stuck on the highway for more than 20 hours and had just gotten off the highway when no one was there. Some netizens said that the annual badminton event on the highway was so exciting that they wanted to come again next year. Of course, some netizens also said that it was better to stay at home, enjoying the air conditioning, watching TV, browsing Weibo and watching other people get stuck in traffic.
Gu Qingqiu chuckled and shook her head, thinking that it was good enough for her to be busy cooking and serving customers to make money during the holidays, instead of going out and joining in the fun with others.
The restaurant was indeed doing better than usual today. They had prepared plenty of meat and vegetables, but in the end, Sister Zhou had to put up a sign at the entrance saying "Ingredients Sold Out" to politely decline any more customers who wanted to queue up.
Perhaps braised dishes are really good with alcohol. Several tables of customers went to the freezer to get beer and chatted while eating. By the time they saw off the last table of customers and closed for business, it was already 8:30.
Sister Zhou cleared the dishes and wiped the table, then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. She would also have to clean the restaurant later.
Gu Qingqiu thought that Sister Zhou had been busy all day, serving customers, cleaning up, and so on. She decided to pay her three times the holiday pay for the next few days.
It was hot, and even though the work in the kitchen was quite relaxed, it was easy to sweat. Feeling sticky and uncomfortable, Gu Qingqiu greeted Sister Zhou and went upstairs to turn on the air conditioner. She then took her clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
The warm water washed over her, easing the day's fatigue. The water dripped onto the ground, making a soft, rhythmic sound. Gu Qingqiu pondered what meat and vegetables to serve at the shop the next day.
All the braised pig's feet and beef are sold out. The braising liquid can be reused though. I'll buy more pig's feet to braise tomorrow, but I have to do it early. If it's not braised long enough, the pig's feet won't taste good, the meat won't be tender enough, and the skin won't have much gelatinous texture.
You can substitute beef with braised chicken or duck. The most classic options are braised chicken feet and braised duck necks, but braised chicken and braised duck are also delicious.
The fish cakes and rolls I made yesterday are all sold out today. They were quite popular and received a lot of praise from customers.
It's unrealistic to do it again; she doesn't have enough time and she's too tired. She chopped all that minced meat and fish paste herself.
Let's just change the braised platter to a double braised platter, with braised chicken and braised duck. Braised vegetables are quite popular. Today's pot of braising liquid can be reused at least once more. Vegetables are easy to prepare and don't need to be braised for too long, so we can keep it.
Let's change the soup; she already has a classic soup in mind.
After showering and getting dressed, Gu Qingqiu walked out of her room and thought through the entire menu for tomorrow. She went back to her room to dry her hair, then went downstairs to find Sister Zhou had already mopped the floor and was washing the mop and bucket.
When Sister Zhou came out, Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, you've worked hard today. Go back and get some rest."
Sister Zhou smiled and said, "It's a bit busy, but not tiring. Boss, you should get some rest early today."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed. After Sister Zhou left, she closed and locked the wooden door, and also closed the restaurant's windows. Then she went into the kitchen and poured the braising liquid from the three pots into a special braising liquid container, and covered it with a sealed lid.
These basins for holding brine were custom-made by my parents back then. They are big enough to hold a lot of brine in one pot. The matching lids are airtight, so there's no need to worry about the brine getting contaminated or growing bacteria in the refrigerator.
She took these out and cleaned them in the morning, just waiting to use them now.
After putting all three basins of brine in the refrigerator, Gu Qingqiu went upstairs to her room and lay on the bed to play on her phone.
After Su Yixiao and his two companions left Gu's Private Kitchen, they did not go straight back to the hotel. For tourists, the night view of a city is something to look forward to.
After deciding on their destination, they walked out of Suli Street, scanned the QR code, and rode shared bicycles all the way to the riverbank. Riding along in the sweltering river breeze, they saw the towering buildings on the opposite bank, their colorful lights adding a touch of brightness to the riverside night scene.
Zhao Kexuan sighed, "Those are all big companies. Whoever can get a job there will reach the pinnacle of their life."
Looking at the buildings across the street, many floors still had lights on: "I don't think so. We have to work overtime on holidays, and we don't know how late we get off work on weekdays. I wouldn't dare to do a job where you can make money but don't have the life to enjoy it."
Su Yixiao laughed and said, "Don't think about horse-drawn carriages while traveling. The three of us have good jobs, no worse than those people in those buildings across the street. I heard there are cruise ships on the river at night. Let's ride to the dock ahead and take a look. It's a must-do tourist activity in Jiang City."
She passed the civil service exam and became a civil servant. Zhao Kexuan is a primary school teacher, and Liang Siyun is also a teacher, working in a middle school library. Just like the saying goes, everyone has a bright future.
The three of them took a night cruise on the river in Jiang City, and then went shopping at a famous shopping mall. By the time they got back to the hotel, it was already 11 o'clock. After taking turns removing their makeup and showering, it was past midnight. Su Yixiao was too lazy to even do her daily skincare routine and just fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.
The three of them slept until almost 10 a.m. the next morning and got up still feeling quite energetic.
Su Yixiao was washing up in the bathroom. After brushing her teeth, she washed her face with a washcloth. Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but blink. The next second, she leaned closer to take a look, then screamed and ran out: "Ahhh, look at my face! It seems like my acne scars have faded a bit!"
She didn't know why, but she had been getting acne on her face since puberty, and it was more severe than that of her peers.
No matter how much care I take, and even though I've seen many doctors and been prescribed a lot of oral and topical medications, I still end up with a lot of acne scars on my face, and in severe cases, even some acne pits.
Even now at 27, occasional periods of staying up late, irregular eating habits, or eating too much spicy food can still cause breakouts.
She spent a lot of money and effort on getting rid of acne scars, and even joined an acne-fighting group to discuss acne-removing knowledge with other members, but the results were minimal.
Zhao Kexuan sat on the outermost edge of the bed and leaned over to take a look: "It seems to be real, but the feeling is a bit faint!"
Liang Siyun leaned over to look and said, "It is a bit lighter, visibly lighter! How amazing."
While Su Yixiao was happy, he was also a little doubtful: "I didn't do anything yesterday. I even had barbecue the night before. Is it because the water and soil in Jiang City are good for people?"
Zhao Kexuan and Liang Siyun exchanged a glance, both feeling that this claim was a bit far-fetched. No matter how nourishing the environment of Jiang City was, it shouldn't be enough to fade acne scars overnight.
Regardless, they were happy for their friend.
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