Chapter 8: Tofu Skin and Loofah Soup.
On the seventh floor of the office building, in the third group of the Internet Technology department, everyone was scrolling through their phones, idly waiting for lunch to come back.
Her stomach rumbled every now and then, like a trio playing, and she couldn't tell who was making it. Every time she heard the sound, she would subconsciously look towards the office door, hoping that Zhang Yonghao would come back.
Looking up and looking again, they finally saw Zhang Yonghao return with meat and vegetables, and the office immediately became lively.
"You're finally back! We've been waiting forever!"
"Thank you for your hard work! Let's eat!"
"You take your lunch to the small conference room, I'll go and call the team leader over for lunch."
Everyone helped carry the lunchboxes to the small conference room. Recently, since meals have been ordered in groups, if it's a dish with lots of meat and vegetables to share, we eat in the small conference room. Luckily, the small conference room has been allocated to the three groups recently, otherwise we wouldn't dare to come here to eat.
Zhang Yonghao called to his colleagues to take out the meat, vegetables, and rice, and opened their lunchboxes to prepare for eating.
As each of the thick, transparent takeout boxes was opened, revealing the meat and vegetables inside, the aroma that wafted out was incredibly stimulating to an already hungry stomach.
Zhao Dejun exclaimed excitedly, "I didn't expect Haozi to actually find a delicious restaurant this time! Just by looking at the food and smelling the aroma, I know we're in for a treat at noon!"
Qian Jin handed out chopsticks, spoons, and rice: "Yes, if it really smells this good, we can order from this place often in the future."
Jin Shicheng plopped down in the chair, already tearing off the plastic film from the chopsticks, and began rubbing the two chopsticks together: "Waiting for this meal wasn't easy, you've worked hard in this heat, Mouse!"
As he said this, his eyes were fixed on the sour plum duck, the sweet and sour aroma filling his nostrils, and his mouth was already watering.
Zhang Yonghao smiled and said, "It's not hard work. Finding this store today makes the trip worthwhile."
At this moment, Sun Ping and team leader Li Kaiyang walked in and each found a seat.
Looking at the delicious-looking meat dishes on the table, Li Kaiyang smiled and said, "Haozi, you've worked hard. Let's start eating."
He appeared to be handling business in his office, but his stomach was actually growling quite a bit; he was very hungry.
Upon hearing his words, everyone started eating with their chopsticks, picking up meat and vegetables to eat.
The sour plum duck not only looks delicious, but its sweet and sour flavor is even more intense upon tasting. Beneath the crispy skin lies tender and succulent duck meat, perfectly seasoned with a savory aroma. Mixing it with rice is pure bliss. Qian Jin slurped down two mouthfuls of rice before finally satisfying himself: "This sour plum duck is delicious! You all should try it!"
Zhao Dejun took the advice and picked up a piece of sour plum duck to eat. He immediately fell in love with the taste: "This is the first time I've tasted sweet and sour duck meat. It's not fishy at all, and it's really delicious."
After eating the sour plum duck, Zhang Yonghao quickly picked up a piece of sour soup fish slice and ate it. The fish slice was covered with a thick golden soup, and it tasted sour and spicy with a hint of numbing sensation. The fish slice was tender and sweet, with the original freshness of the fish. He chewed it a few times and swallowed it.
He picked up another piece of fish and placed it on the rice in the lunchbox, letting the soup drip onto the rice to keep it moist. Then he picked up some pickled cabbage and bean sprouts from the soup base and put them on the rice together. He mixed it up and ate it all together. The sour, crisp, sweet, and fresh flavor spread across his tongue, which was especially enjoyable.
Li Kaiyang loves beef the most, and he immediately took a liking to those two boxes of beef. Simply put, the color was too beautiful.
Inside the transparent box, long strips of beef are slightly reddish and glossy, or perhaps glistening with oil. They are garnished with bright green scallions and lemongrass, creating a beautiful visual feast with their red and green colors. It makes you want to try it and see if it tastes as good as it looks.
He picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The beef was slightly dry yet juicy, with a crispy edge. Upon closer tasting, he found the meat firm and tender, with a satisfying chewiness. The satay sauce was rich and flavorful, with a refreshing hint of lemongrass, which balanced out any potential greasiness from the beef. One slice wasn't enough; he wanted more!
Li Kaiyang ate the steamed beef with his rice, and soon he had eaten a third of his boxed lunch before he could even think about trying the other meat dishes. And what he found was surprisingly delicious – the plum duck and the sour soup fish slices were also very tasty.
When you're hungry, you crave meat, especially lately with the heavy workload and mental strain; you need the comfort of good food even more. As typical meat lovers, Zhang Yonghao and his companions devoured the three meat dishes.
After tasting the three meat dishes, Sun Ping turned his attention to the stewed tofu skin and loofah.
The bean curd sticks, a pale yellow color, were cooked until soft and tender. The emerald-green loofah chunks partially concealed the pale green meat, and black and white mushrooms were mixed in. Upon closer inspection, there were also black fungus and green peas. It looked like a very refreshing dish, and the broth must taste good too.
He scooped two spoonfuls onto the rice and slowly began to taste it.
The loofah is tender yet slightly crisp, bursting with sweet juice with every bite. The dried bean curd sticks, presumably not deep-fried, have a clean, light yellow color, and are smooth, soft, and fragrant with a hint of bean flavor. The freshness of the mushrooms, the crispness of the black fungus, and the soft, powdery texture of the green peas combine to create a delightful chewing experience.
With high expectations, I scooped up a spoonful of the soup made with dried bean curd and loofah, and it was indeed very fresh and sweet!
It has the refreshing sweetness of melon, the savory sweetness of mushrooms, and the unique bean aroma of dried bean curd. One bite instantly quenches your thirst.
Sun Ping couldn't help but share: "Everyone should try this tofu skin and loofah soup. Not only are the loofah, tofu skin, and mushrooms delicious, but the soup is also very tasty."
Everyone had eaten a lot of meat, and now, after listening to Sun Ping's words, they all tried the braised tofu skin and loofah.
Zhao Dejun savored the crisp sweetness of the loofah: "It's really delicious. Eating loofah in the summer is quite refreshing. I didn't expect it to be so sweet and delicious after being cooked in soup with dried bean curd and mushrooms."
Zhang Yonghao tasted every ingredient in the dish, then had a few spoonfuls of soup, nodding repeatedly: "This dish is good. So many vegetables and soup, no wonder I saw a lot of people ordering it when I was waiting for my food at the restaurant."
Qian Jin silently ate the loofah, tofu skin, and mushrooms. He even ate several peas, which he usually found difficult to chew. The soft and glutinous texture was just too good.
Jin Shicheng praised, "This restaurant has excellent cooking skills. The meat dishes are delicious, and the vegetarian dishes are also delicious!"
As a leader, Li Kaiyang has keen insight. After tasting the sweet and delicious soup of dried bean curd and loofah, he immediately reached for the pea sprouts in broth that no one had touched yet.
The pea shoots are tender and cooked until soft, giving them a fresh, young-sounding quality. Each bite of pea shoot is mixed with bits of chopped preserved egg and ham, making them very fragrant. A spoonful of the broth is then added, offering a sweet and savory flavor with the unique salty aroma of salted egg yolk—a completely different taste from the tofu skin and loofah soup.
Li Kaiyang ate quite a few dishes, picked out some preserved eggs and ham to eat, before leisurely commenting, "This pea shoot soup is also very good, everyone should try it."
The others turned their attention to the pea shoot soup and began to eat.
They were all young and strong, with very good appetites. They devoured a full eight dishes and barely left any.
During this time, colleagues from other groups would occasionally walk by and peek in to ask, "What are you eating that smells so good? Which takeout did you order?"
Zhang Yonghao generously said, "There's a peach tree further down Suli Street. The restaurant under the peach tree with its rustic style is called Gu's Private Kitchen. I don't know if they offer delivery. I just went to the restaurant to get takeout."
The other person nodded and said they would go over there when they had time. As they left, their eyes kept glancing at the few remaining meat and vegetables on the table, as if they wanted to go over and take a bite.
With those envious glances, the six people in the small conference room ate even more heartily.
By the end, all six of us were stuffed, and each of us had two portions of the three meat dishes, with about one-fifth of each left.
Li Kaiyang laughed and said, "Alright, if you keep eating like this you'll need to take some digestive pills. Let's save these meat and vegetables to heat up and eat when we get hungry this afternoon, there's a microwave in the break room anyway."
Qian Jin nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to Brother Li. I really can't eat anymore."
As he spoke, he loosened his belt, which was a little tight.
Li Kaiyang asked Zhang Yonghao, "Yonghao, how much did all the food cost in total for lunch?"
He felt that the meat dishes on this table were even better than those from some high-end restaurants, and he would accept a higher price. He asked this question to weigh whether the team's budget could afford to eat meat dishes at this restaurant regularly.
Everyone understood what the team leader meant and looked at Zhang Yonghao. Their eyes showed a mixture of hope that the meat and vegetables would be cheaper, and a clear understanding that the price wouldn't be low.
Zhang Yonghao took out the menu, receipt, and invoice: "Brother Li, this lunch cost a total of 440 yuan. A meat dish was 58 yuan, the tofu skin and loofah stew was 38 yuan, the pea shoot soup was 28 yuan, and a box of rice was 5 yuan. The owner even gave us a 4 yuan discount."
If this were the price for a group meal out, 440 yuan for six people to eat their fill and still have leftovers would be very affordable, even a bargain. But as a company lunch, the average price per person is a bit expensive.
These days, when they order food, if they order a single-person set meal, the higher-end option costs around 30 to 40 yuan per person, while the option with multiple dishes to share costs a little over 300 yuan.
Everyone was secretly making plans, waiting for the team leader to speak.
After listening, Li Kaiyang understood: "To be honest, the prices of meat and vegetables at this restaurant are quite reasonable, not expensive at all. But our group has limited funds, so it's okay to eat here occasionally."
Zhang Yonghao immediately reflected and said, "I've learned my lesson after this purchase. Next time, I can order one less meat dish to lower the total price and avoid leftovers, so we won't overeat."
Zhao Dejun suggested, "Yes, we can eat the single-person set meals for a day or two more, and then have a meal at Gu's Private Kitchen. The price will be about the same when we split it up."
Qian Jin enthusiastically agreed: "Yes, Brother Zhao, your suggestion is great. I feel like having a meal of Gu's Private Kitchen for lunch will give me the motivation to go to work in the afternoon. Oh no, I mean, knowing that I can have such a delicious lunch will give me the motivation to go to work in the morning."
Jin Shicheng nodded: "That makes sense."
Sun Ping raised his hand: "I agree!"
Li Kaiyang chuckled and shook his head: "You guys are so energetic when it comes to food. Anyway, the budget is limited, so you can arrange the meals yourself. I'd be happy if we could have a couple more meals at Gu's Private Kitchen. Alright, go and rest, we have an important task this afternoon."
Everyone smiled and agreed, then got up and left the small meeting room.
Qian Jin asked curiously, "By the way, Haozi, have you seen the chef of this restaurant? A chef who can make such delicious meat dishes must have studied at New Oriental or worked for many years at a five-star hotel and became the head chef. Despite the manager's desperate attempts to persuade him to stay, he resolutely decided to open a restaurant to benefit us poor working people."
Once he's full, he starts rambling on and on, making all sorts of guesses based on the novels he's read.
Zhang Yonghao had been so focused on the delicious meat dishes that he only had time to recall the chef he had met at Gu's Private Kitchen: "The restaurant's chef, who is also the owner, is a pretty girl."
He thought for a moment to describe it, "It's the kind of thing where you just look at her slender wrists and you can't imagine her in the kitchen, tossing and turning woks and cooking, and the food she makes is so delicious!"
Qian Jin was surprised to hear this, then nodded: "Indeed, nowadays heroes are not judged by age or gender. It's a bit unexpected that a pretty girl is wielding a spatula, but as long as the meat and vegetables she cooks taste good, that's all that matters."
The others chuckled and shook their heads, impressed by his performance.
Back at their workstations, some were scrolling through their phones, some were playing games, and some were continuing to review their work. A little later, those who had a habit of taking a nap would lie down on their desks and sleep.
When Zhang Yonghao started working in the afternoon, his earlier frustration had long since disappeared. He was quite happy thinking about the meat and vegetables he had eaten at noon, and he was very efficient at coding. He even successfully overcame the problem that had been bothering him for the past two days.
Others also felt that their concentration improved and their efficiency increased.
Indeed, food is as essential as iron, and a delicious lunch can promote sustainable work.
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