Chapter 136 Stinky Tofu
He nodded, closed the notebook, and said politely to Su Xiaonuan, "Ms. Su, thank you for your cooperation. Now that the suspect has confessed, you can leave. I will record what she just said, and may contact you again if needed."
Su Xiaonuan knew that asking any further would be pointless, so she could only suppress her doubts and the incomprehensible feeling in her heart and give Li Li a deep look.
Li Li was also looking at her, her eyes cold, resentful, and with an almost insane calm, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce and devour someone at any moment.
Su Xiaonuan didn't linger and turned to leave the interrogation room.
As soon as she came out, An Ran, who was waiting outside, immediately came to greet her. Seeing that her face was a little pale, she worriedly grabbed her arm: "Xiao Nuan, what's wrong? What did she say to you? Did she slander you again?"
Seeing An Ran's concerned gaze, Su Xiaonuan didn't want her to worry about her anymore, so she forced a relaxed smile, shook her head, and tried to sound nonchalant: "It's nothing, just a mad dog barking. It's already confessed. Let's go home, I'm a little tired."
Seeing that she clearly didn't want to say anything more, An Ran opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally just sighed with worry, taking her arm: "Okay, let's go home."
Qin Haochu, who had been waiting at the other end of the corridor, took in Su Xiaonuan's change in expression in that instant, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
He looked at his younger brother, Qin Haoran, beside him.
Qin Haoran immediately understood and lowered his voice, saying, "Brother, don't worry. When I have some free time later, I'll go and ask that woman myself to see what she's up to."
Not long after Su Xiaonuan and An Ran left, the landline phone on Lu Zheng's desk rang urgently.
He answered the phone, listened to the report on the other end, and his cold expression changed slightly.
"Are you sure? Okay, I'll be right there!" he replied in a deep voice. He then immediately stood up, grabbed his coat draped over the back of his chair, and hurriedly left the office, heading straight for the hospital where "A Zhe's Movie Commentary" had died.
Night falls and the city lights come on.
Su Xiaonuan drove her wooden stall cart, carrying An Ran, to the designated stall location for tonight—the entrance to the famous Fragrant Hills scenic spot.
In the system's "Reputation List," a name flashing with an ominous red light is active in this area.
The target's sin value is as high as 68, and the crimes are: rape, murder, and disposing of a corpse.
This is an extremely dangerous and cunning criminal who is accustomed to appearing at night.
Fragrant Hills lives up to its reputation as a famous tourist attraction; even at night, it is still teeming with visitors.
The foot of the mountain was brightly lit, and people were coming and going in an endless stream.
Across a shimmering river, rows of residential buildings line the opposite bank, their lights adding to the bustling atmosphere of the area.
There are several other food stalls nearby, selling common foods such as grilled sausages, boiled corn, and tea eggs, but business seems rather slow, and the appearance and aroma of the food are rather unremarkable.
After observing the surroundings, Su Xiaonuan and An Ran became increasingly certain that, thanks to the top-notch recipes produced by the system, her "stinky tofu" stall would likely become the most eye-catching spot in the area tonight, with high traffic being almost inevitable.
It was the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the golden autumn season, and the osmanthus flowers on Fragrant Hills were in full bloom.
A gentle evening breeze carries the sweet, rich, and refreshing fragrance of osmanthus blossoms, lingering around the nose and making one feel relaxed and happy.
Smelling the intoxicating fragrance of the flowers, Su Xiaonuan felt much of her fatigue from the past few days dissipate, and she was filled with energy.
She deftly parked her stall cart, opened the side extension panel, hung up a small blackboard that read "Changsha Stinky Tofu, 15 yuan/serving," and then began to prepare the ingredients and tools in an orderly manner.
She's selling stinky tofu today.
This is undoubtedly a snack that contrasts sharply with the elegant fragrance of osmanthus in Fragrant Hills, but precisely because of this, it is more likely to attract the curiosity and attention of passersby.
Su Xiaonuan first took out the black stinky tofu embryo, which had been made through a specific fermentation process.
These tofu blocks are uniform in size, bluish-black in color, with a smooth surface, and emit a unique and strong "stinky" smell.
The smell is a bit pungent at first, but for those who enjoy it, it is an irresistible temptation.
Heat the wok and pour in enough rapeseed oil.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Su Xiaonuan used a dry wooden chopstick to test the oil temperature. When she saw fine and even bubbles rising around the chopstick, the oil temperature had reached its optimal state.
Using long chopsticks, she carefully slid pieces of black stinky tofu along the edge of the pot into the oil.
"Sizzle—!"
In an instant, the hot oil reacted violently with the steaming tofu, producing a series of pleasant crackling sounds. White oil bubbles rolled merrily, tightly enveloping the tofu.
A more domineering and distinct stench, like a boulder thrown into still water, exploded and forcefully swept across a radius of more than ten meters centered on the stall!
This smell created an extremely strange and contradictory collision with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus in the air!
Sure enough, the unique flavor immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding tourists.
"Huh! What's that smell? So...so pungent?" A college-aged boy wearing glasses sniffed hard, his face showing a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
"It's stinky tofu! Wow, selling stinky tofu at the foot of Fragrant Hills? This owner is something else!" His companion, clearly a foodie, immediately brightened up and dragged him toward Su Xiaonuan's stall.
"Oh dear, the lovely fragrance of osmanthus is ruined by this stench! It's such a spoilsport!" An elegantly dressed woman, arm in arm with her husband, couldn't help but frown, fanning her nose with her hand, looking utterly disgusted.
"Mom! I want to eat that black thing!" A little boy, being led by his mother, pointed at the oil pan, his eyes shining, his mouth practically watering.
"What are you eating! That stuff smells awful and looks unclean!" The child's mother quickly pulled him away.
Su Xiaonuan seemed oblivious to the curious, disdainful, or eager glances and discussions around her, her sweet, signature smile on her face, focused on her work.
She used long chopsticks to occasionally stir the tofu pieces in the oil pan, watching them gradually become crispy on the surface under the baptism of high oil temperature, puffing up cute little bubbles, and changing color from bluish-black to a deeper ink color.
During this time, two young men who looked like hooligans, probably local thugs, strolled up to the stall. One of them casually knocked on the cart.
"Hey little sister, are you new here? Don't you know the rules? You have to pay a management fee to set up a stall here!"
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