Chapter 194 Okay! Boss, you lied to me?
From a great distance, Mu Yu and his companions spotted the familiar figure on the shore of Yuming Lake.
Su Yingxue was competing with her stall, pushing it out of the street corner little by little.
"This...this is the owner who used to sell roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)?"
Mu Yu, with his sharp eyes, recognized her at a glance. That familiar figure, that welcoming stall—who else could it be but Su Yingxue?
"Boss! We've finally found you!"
Before he could finish speaking, Bai He and Zhang Wei rushed forward like arrows to strike up a conversation, leaving Mu Yu, who hadn't even had a chance to speak, standing aside.
"You guys? Uh..."
Su Yingxue was busy serving a guest a full bowl of steaming beef brisket soup when she looked up and bumped into these familiar faces, which surprised her.
"Boss, didn't the group say your return date was uncertain? How come you're suddenly selling beef brisket soup at the entrance of Yuda University?"
Mu Yu stepped forward and deliberately asked a question, but the resentment and questioning in his eyes made him look exactly like someone who had been stood up and then abandoned.
Su Yingxue felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she could only laugh awkwardly and turn her head to the side, keeping quiet about this crucial issue.
"Oh, never mind that!" She quickly changed the subject, lifting the lid of a clay pot next to her.
"Come, come, try my new dish—Cordyceps Flower Chicken Soup. It's freshly made today, and it smells amazing!"
With a soft "sizzle," an irresistible aroma bursts forth. It's not a single fragrance, but a perfect blend of the rich, fatty aroma of free-range chicken, the fresh, wild mushroom flavor of cordyceps flowers, and the gelatinous fragrance of slow-cooked meat.
The soup created a complex aroma that struck the very soul, domineeringly sweeping through the surrounding air, making the four of them feel a tremor in their hearts and their stomachs rumble with hunger.
The soup was a clear, yellowish-brown color, like a piece of solidified liquid gold, with a thin, glistening layer of chicken fat floating on the surface, shimmering with a captivating luster in the morning light.
When you gently scoop it up with a spoon, the thick texture feels more like an essence broth that has been simmered for over ten hours than soup, leaving a thick layer of coating on the spoon.
Then look at the cordyceps flowers, each one plump and full, soaked in the soup, displaying a rich golden hue that is extremely tempting. Even the touch of emerald green scallions garnishing them looks exceptionally fresh and vibrant, perfectly balancing the richness of the soup base.
"Absolutely amazing! Just the aroma is intoxicating; it feels like my soul has been stolen away!" Seeing their entranced and captivated expressions, Su Yingxue was secretly delighted and tentatively asked, "Want a bowl to try?"
"Buy! We absolutely have to buy it!"
The four of them placed their orders in unison. Wei Junwei, who was closest, reacted quickly, grabbing a bowl and handing it to his girlfriend Yao Yao, saying proudly, "The first sip has to be for my Yao Yao!"
The overwhelming "sour smell of love" emanating from him infuriated the single people around him, who grumbled, "Showing off your love will only lead to your demise! Once I have a girlfriend, I'll give her the whole pot of love, not just the first bite!"
Xia Yao carefully took her first sip. She felt that the chicken soup was as warm and smooth as jade, so smooth that she hardly needed to swallow. Like a warm silk, it slid from the tip of her tongue into her stomach in an instant, bringing a comforting warmth wherever it went.
The flavor was pure to the extreme, without any off-flavors. Only the natural sweetness and umami of the chicken burst in your mouth, so fresh that it made your scalp tingle and even left an indescribable sweet aftertaste on your tongue.
Every bite is bursting with aroma; the rich, fresh fragrance seems to have a life of its own, traveling up the esophagus and straight to the top of the head, making one feel completely comfortable and blissful.
"It's so delicious! I feel like my soul has been purified by this soup!"
She couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, her beautiful eyes shining even brighter with extreme delight, her face radiating a happiness and satisfaction that came from being completely conquered by the delicious food.
After finishing the soup, Mu Yu felt much of the resentment that had been lingering in his heart soothed, but he still refused to give in easily.
Zhang Wei casually pulled out his phone, eagerly preparing to "announce it to the world" in the group chat.
"We finally caught the boss today! Everyone come to Yuming Lake for some beef brisket soup! There won't be any seats left if you're late!" He typed rapidly on the screen, his face beaming with the smugness of a landlord.
"Wait! Stop!" Mu Yu reacted quickly, grabbing Zhang Wei's wrist. His voice was tense and wary. "Are you stupid? If we send this stuff, how are we supposed to live in peace?"
He pointed to a stall not far away.
The line wasn't long at the moment, just a dozen or so people scattered around, nothing like the massive crowds that had packed the campus back at Qingdao University.
It's probably because it recently moved to the Yuda area, and its reputation hasn't spread yet; it's still in the "hidden gem" stage.
“Zhang Wei, keep it down! We’re here to ‘explore the store,’ not to ‘attract customers.’ This hidden gem of a store should be enjoyed by the few of us in private, understand?”
Mu Yu lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with a hint of conspiracy, "Let's eat secretly and make a fortune in silence!"
"Oh—! I get it, I get it!" Zhang Wei suddenly realized, then revealed an expression that couldn't help but smirk, nodding repeatedly.
"That's true, that's true, hehehe, we shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders!"
As he spoke, he deftly retracted the message that was about to ignite the group chat.
However, he had no intention of letting go of this opportunity to show off.
He slyly opened his WeChat Moments, snapped a picture of the half-eaten bowl of cordyceps flower chicken soup on the table, and added a carefully edited caption:
[Caption]: Today's dose of healing soup! I stumbled upon a hidden gem – a bowl of cordyceps flower chicken soup and I felt like my soul was cleansed! It smells amazing, I'm totally intoxicated! Shh, DM me for the address, it gets crowded! [Winking emoji][Winking emoji] #YuDaFood #DivineSoup
After sending the message, he gave Mu Yu and Bai He a wink and whispered boastfully, "Watch me, I kept my achievements hidden! Let them be envious!"
Bai He watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "You really are the kind of person who wants to show off but also wants to hide it. You say you're going to eat it secretly, but then you turn around and start a scarcity marketing campaign on your WeChat Moments."
“I call this ‘strategic showing off,’ understand?” Zhang Wei said with a straight face, spouting nonsense.
Just then, Su Yingxue finished her work and came over with a bowl of freshly sliced pickled radishes, her face showing a hint of curiosity: "You guys, what are you plotting now, whispering amongst yourselves?"
"Nothing, nothing," Zhang Wei immediately dropped his nonchalant attitude and put on a righteous face. "We were discussing the origin of the universe and the ultimate meaning of life, and by the way, we were admiring how beautiful the scenery of Yuming Lake is! Hahaha!"
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