Chapter 80 Making boxed lunches is fine, it's my old profession.
Night had just fallen over the warm yellow lights of the food cart.
Lin Xiao ran over, wearing a navy blue coat, her ponytail swaying with her steps, her face still showing signs of fatigue from just finishing her work at the funeral home.
He opened his mouth with great excitement: "Boss Su! I'd like five servings of stinky tofu today, to share with my colleagues!"
Su Yingxue was wiping the iron plate when she heard this. She looked up and smiled, her wisps of hair on her forehead swaying slightly in the night breeze: "Okay, same old rule, scan the code over there yourself."
With a flick of her wrist, she neatly arranged the soaked stinky tofu on the iron plate with a shovel, and the sizzling sound, along with the aroma of soybeans, instantly spread out.
Lin Xiao stood nearby, her eyes sparkling as she stared intently, her fingertips even twitching slightly in response to the heat emanating from the hot plate.
In less than two minutes, five servings of stinky tofu, drizzled with a secret braising sauce and sprinkled with minced garlic and chili peppers, were ready. When Su Yingxue handed them over, she also added a packet of pickled radish cubes: "If they like spicy food, adding this will make it even more flavorful."
Lin Xiao took the bag with a grin. The plastic bag felt heavy in her hand, and her steps became lighter. "Thanks, Boss Su! I'll give you feedback on their positive reviews tomorrow!"
After saying that, she turned and ran towards the funeral home. In the darkness, her figure quickly blended into the shadows of the trees along the roadside.
Back at the funeral home, a few lights were still on in the office building. Nighttime was always busier than daytime, but fortunately there were fewer bodies to handle today, so Lin Xiao was able to sneak a moment to buy stinky tofu.
As soon as she pushed open the office door, she bumped into her colleague Sheng Deyu, who was carrying a blood-stained scalpel as he came out of the inner room. The cuffs of his white coat were rolled up to his forearms, and there were still some dark red marks on the collar. He had faint dark circles under his eyes—it looked like he had just finished an autopsy.
Lin Xiao subconsciously shrank back, almost dropping the stinky tofu in her hand.
Upon seeing this, Sheng Deyu quickly put the knife back in the sterilization tray, rubbed the stain on his cuff with his fingertip, and smiled helplessly: "Don't be afraid, this isn't human blood. I just cut a piece of pig liver to have for dinner and didn't notice it splashed on me."
"Brother Sheng, you scared me to death!" Lin Xiao patted his chest, his expression gradually calming down. He put the stinky tofu on the table and pushed a portion in front of him.
"Try this! It's from a newly opened stinky tofu stall, made by Boss Su. It's even more fragrant than the old-established one we had last time!"
Sheng Deyu raised an eyebrow, picked up the box, and as soon as he opened the lid, the aroma of braised meat mixed with minced garlic wafted out.
He picked up his chopsticks and poked a piece. The tofu, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, was coated in gravy. He took a small bite, and the aroma of garlic and the spiciness of chili exploded on his tongue first, followed by the sweetness of the tofu itself.
His eyes lit up, and with his mouth still full, he mumbled, "Delicious! Much better than my pig liver. I don't have to eat cold food tonight!"
The two of them huddled together and ate two portions in no time.
Lin Xiao looked at the remaining three portions, pointing at the box with her finger as she calculated: "One to keep as a late-night snack, one for the security guard at the gate, and the last one..."
"Still thinking about food? Have you finished organizing the family member information?"
Suddenly, the voice of the curator, Guan Ren, came from the doorway. He was wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit and his hair was neatly combed.
Looking at the stinky tofu on the table, he couldn't help but twitch his lips. "You two should at least be mindful of the occasion. If the smell of this stinky tofu wafts into the family lounge, it'll scare people away!"
"Director Guan!" Lin Xiao and Sheng Deyu quickly straightened up, their tone becoming more obedient.
Lin Xiao, quick as a flash, picked up the last untouched stinky tofu and handed it over with a smile: "Director, you should try some too, it's really delicious, just a bite won't delay your work!"
Guan Ren initially wanted to refuse, but the aroma of braised meat kept wafting towards his nose, so he hesitated for a moment before accepting it anyway. He opened the box, took a bite, and was stunned by the crispy outside and tender inside texture. He then nodded, "The taste is indeed not bad."
As he ate, he sighed and said, "Chef Zhang's wife in the kitchen is sick. She's been on sick leave for several days, and we've been eating instant noodles every night for the past few nights."
"Before, we had food delivery during the day, but at night, there's nowhere to eat around, even though there's still a lot of work to be done at night."
Lin Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up, and she leaned over and said, "Director, how about we ask Boss Su to make boxed lunches? Her stinky tofu is so delicious, she'd definitely be a good fit for boxed lunches!"
"A stinky tofu stall owner making boxed lunches?" Guan Ren frowned, a little uneasy. "Can that be done? Hygiene and taste have to be guaranteed."
"Don't worry! Boss Su's stall is very clean, and she's very skilled, so it'll definitely be fine!"
Lin Xiao patted his chest and assured him, and Sheng Deyu chimed in, "That's right, curator, it's better than eating instant noodles, we're willing to give it a try!"
Guan Ren thought for a moment, finished the last piece of stinky tofu, wiped his mouth, and said, "Okay, I'll go with you to ask. As long as the hygiene is up to standard and the taste isn't bad, I'm willing to pay more. We can't let everyone keep eating cold food all night."
It was almost 9:30 p.m. when the two followed Guan Ren toward the food cart.
In the night, Su Yingxue's food cart was lit with warm yellow lights, the griddle was polished to a shine, and even the small table next to it was spotless. Guan Ren looked at the tidy appearance and breathed a sigh of relief, whispering to Lin Xiao, "She's quite particular."
As you get closer, the lingering aroma of stinky tofu from the fryer becomes even stronger.
Su Yingxue was wiping the shovel with her head down when she heard footsteps. She looked up, saw Lin Xiao and Guan Ren, and greeted them with a smile: "Lin Xiao, you're here so late?"
Guan Ren stepped forward, his tone softening slightly: "Miss Su, I am Guan Ren, the director of the funeral home. The chef in the kitchen is on leave, and about twenty people in the facility will not have dinner tonight. I heard from Xiao Lin that you are a good cook, and I would like to ask you to help make some boxed meals. I wonder if you would be willing?"
Su Yingxue paused, her fingertips brushing against the cold countertop, her mind racing: relying solely on a stinky tofu stall meant fluctuating customer traffic, while making boxed lunches would provide a more stable source of income.
She looked up and smiled, her eyes filled with certainty: "Don't worry, Director Guan, I can guarantee the hygiene and taste. I'll go to buy the ingredients first thing tomorrow morning and start preparing them in the kitchen at noon."
The next day, just as the setting sun shone through the glass windows of the funeral home's kitchen, Su Yingxue arrived carrying a cloth bag. Inside the bag was a preserved duck bought from her hometown, its dark red skin glistening with a layer of amber-colored fat.
She smiled and explained to Guan Ren, "This preserved duck is homemade from my hometown, without any additives. It's soaked to soften it and remove the saltiness, making it especially fragrant when stewed."
She filled a large basin with warm water and immersed the whole piece of preserved duck in it. Then she turned around and took a section of nine-hole lotus root from the storage shelf. "Nine-hole lotus root is soft and powdery when stewed, and it absorbs the aroma of the preserved duck. It is more suitable for stewing than seven-hole lotus root."
Holding the peeler, she deftly peeled the lotus root, the blade making a soft "shh" sound as it sliced through the flesh.
As she cut the lotus root into chunks, the crisp "thump-thump" sound echoed through the empty kitchen. Guan Ren stood by and watched, seeing that she had even carefully cleaned the mud from the lotus root holes, and his last bit of worry disappeared.
Next, we'll process the ducks.
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