Chapter 129 Meow Meow Meow
Wang Peng stared at the hot and fragrant porridge.
——He has been in the Eastern Base for more than 20 years, but he has never seen such porridge.
After the end of the world, factories in the Eastern Base began to specialize in producing various kinds of heavy-tasting food flavor enhancers. Even the blandest food would become delicious after adding them, and even people without an appetite would be able to eat, and then they would be converted into labor and productivity.
The most popular type of high-tech porridge in the black market food area, which sells for ten credit points at takeout stalls, has very bright colors, red, green, and yellow, because it contains many heavy-tasting flavor enhancers. Each bowl is very full, with many rice grains and large chunks of meat. It is hard to say whether it tastes good or not, but one bowl of it can stimulate a person's long-dormant taste buds and satisfy a person's hungry stomach, which is enough.
Over time, everyone started to think that porridge should be like that.
But the porridge in front of me is completely different from those porridges.
The porridge rice, which was cooked till soft, revealed a delicate milky white color;
The lean meat cooked in the hot porridge is fresh and light pink, floating in the snow-white porridge bottom, with a little black pepper and chopped green onions sprinkled on the surface;
The smell that hits your nose is different from the heavy seasonings that irritate your nasal cavity. It smells very fragrant, but it is not a technological fragrance.
It is a light aroma of porridge cooked naturally over a slow fire, the aroma of rice, the aroma of green onions and the fresh aroma of meat, mixed with heat.
Smells...very special.
It's very comfortable and makes people feel warm all over.
Wang Peng couldn't tell why, but just by looking at and smelling the porridge, his stomach couldn't help but growl.
Gurgle, gurgle.
He swallowed and made up his mind: "Boss, give me a bowl! Three credit points?"
"Yes." Jian Yunlan nodded with a smile.
Wang Peng handed over his ID card, and the card machine on the bunk swiped the card and collected three credit points. After deducting the handling fee, 2.5 credit points were credited.
[Task progress: 1/500]
This voice echoed in Jian Yunlan's mind. At the same time, the first step of 2.5 credit points was deposited into his ID card which showed a balance of zero.
This is his first guest in the apocalypse!
Jian Yunlan perked up, took the bowl, and asked the guest in front of him: "Would you like to drink it here, or take it away?"
"Can it still be packed?" Wang Peng scratched his head.
Most of the stalls in the food area here can only be eaten on site, and few owners are willing to take away meals for customers, unless they bring their own tableware - otherwise, the owners have to spend extra money to provide disposable tableware.
"I'll eat here." Wang Peng thought about it and said.
The reason is simple: I was really hungry!
The tiredness from working outside for a whole day came up at this moment. Wang Peng looked at the porridge and couldn't help swallowing. While Jian Yunlan was serving the porridge, he casually chatted with Jian Yunlan: "Boss, what flavor enhancer did you add to this porridge? It smells so good, you must have added a lot, right? You really have a good technique to add it, I can't even tell you added it."
The food area tries to add more flavor enhancers to the more fragrant the food is.
Wang Peng meant this as a compliment.
“…”
Jian Yunlan was stunned.
What a strange question, why do we add flavor enhancers to porridge? If you add strange seasonings to truly delicious porridge, it will ruin the taste.
It was only his first day in the apocalypse, and he had not guessed the market situation here, but he just said to Wang Peng sincerely based on professional ethics:
"I don't add any flavor enhancers to my porridge, only basic seasonings like oil, salt and pepper."
As he said this, he handed over a bowl of porridge that had just been served.
——However, Wang Peng did not reach out to take it.
"No, no flavor enhancer?" Wang Peng was about to burst out with anger. His face changed drastically. He looked at Jian Yunlan in disbelief and repeatedly confirmed, "Really nothing? Not at all?"
Jian Yunlan patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, the bag is not added, not at all."
Wang Peng: “…”
Jian Yunlan: “……?”
Wang Peng hesitated for a long time before slowly taking the porridge from the young stall owner.
The hot porridge was emitting steam and fragrance. Just now, he was salivating and couldn't wait to taste it. But now, holding it in his hand, Wang Peng didn't even have the desire to hold the spoon.
He was extremely disappointed and looked very unhappy.
He could barely maintain a polite expression.
...He was just thinking that the stall owner seemed very attentive. Not only did the shop look clean and tidy, but the food also looked fresh and delicious. Such a stall should not appear in Area F. Sure enough, when something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.
Now, Wang Peng finally found the reason.
If he told others that he spent three credit points to buy a bowl of porridge without flavor enhancer, everyone would probably laugh at him for being stupid and being cheated.
"Even if you want to save money, you shouldn't do it on such an important thing," Wang Peng muttered to himself, "Even the stale porridge sold at one credit point in District F knows to add some flavor enhancer. It's not expensive."
Even in the dim stalls nearby, many vendors who had long been numb couldn't help but laugh at Jian Yunlan's words.
"Look at how fancy he made the shop look, but he didn't even bother to put in flavor enhancers? And he's selling it for three credits?"
"My porridge only costs two credit points. It's a little spoiled, but I put a lot of flavor enhancers in it. Boss, why don't you buy it from me?"
"I also."
Wang Peng did not respond to other people's greetings, but his disappointment was indeed growing.
Can porridge taste good without flavor enhancers? Just the taste of rice and meat.
People who lived before the end of the world might have enjoyed this light taste, but they live after the end of the world, and flavor enhancers are added to all foods. Food without flavor enhancers is so bland that no one would pay for it.
Wang Peng couldn't help but sigh.
To be honest, at that moment, he even wanted to turn around and leave.
But...these three credit points were his food allowance for one day, and he was short of money. Moreover, in the end times, the concept of not wasting food is ingrained in everyone's bones.
Wang Peng had been working for a whole day and was already starving. He was tempted by the fragrance all the way. It took him nearly ten minutes just to walk from the entrance of the dining area to here. He was so hungry that his vision went dark and he couldn't make it back to the exit.
What’s more…
Wang Peng looked down at the hot porridge in his hand again.
The temperature of the wooden bowl was transmitted to the palm of the hand little by little along the skin. It was slightly hot, warming the whole body.
Although I know in my brain that this porridge without flavor enhancers will probably taste no different from water and is very bland.
But Wang Peng's stomach still growled instinctively:
“Gulu——”
Wang Peng couldn't help but pick up the spoon and stir the porridge.
He hadn't noticed it just now, but when he stirred the soup spoon, Wang Peng discovered that the porridge was very thick, with a delicate and smooth milky white color, and a layer of crystal porridge oil floating on the surface.
As the spoon stirs, the lean meat and preserved eggs rise from the bottom. They look very fresh and tender, and are extremely fragrant against the backdrop of green chopped green onions.
Wang Peng couldn't help but take a deep breath.
How about he just try it?
After all, we can't waste food, and... the porridge is still hot.
It costs ten credit points to buy a bowl of hot porridge outside, so he is not at a loss.
As I thought about it, the balance in my heart gradually began to waver.
The hot porridge in front of me is still emitting warmth and fragrance.
Finally, Wang Peng made up his mind.
He picked up the spoon and scooped a spoonful of porridge into his mouth.
“…”
The vendors nearby were all attracted and secretly observed Wang Peng's expression, trying to judge whether the porridge was delicious or not.
However, after taking a mouthful of porridge, Wang Peng kept his head down for a long time.
No words were spoken, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Then Wang Peng put down the spoon.
"Is this porridge so bad?" A vendor laughed. "Look, he drank a spoonful and put the spoon down. What a waste of money—"
The vendor's words got stuck in his throat.
...Because the next second, Wang Peng put down the spoon, put the bowl of porridge directly to his mouth, and started drinking it with big gulps!
The porridge must have been very hot, fresh out of the pot, but Wang Peng didn't seem to feel the heat at all. He drank several mouthfuls before stopping. Siha gasped for breath, pouting and praising:
"Fuck, Boss, your porridge is so fragrant! So delicious!!! I have never tasted such delicious porridge in my life!!!"
Yes, after just one bite, Wang Peng was completely amazed by the taste of the porridge!
The porridge was very thick, delicate and smooth. The rice grains inside had been completely cooked until they were soft and tasty, with a faint aroma of rice and paddy. The first bite you take, you’ll taste the porridge’s dense and silky texture, soaked in the salty and oily flavors of lean meat and preserved eggs. It’s warm and delicious, incredibly tasty.
"As long as you like it." Jian Yunlan nodded with a smile.
Nothing makes him happier than seeing the happy faces of his diners.
The vendor next to them looked at Jian Yunlan and then at Wang Peng in surprise and doubt, and was a little bit unbelievable about this sudden reversal.
...Is this porridge really so delicious?
Looking at the steaming hot porridge and smelling the aroma of the porridge, the vendors felt a little hungry without realizing it.
However, as vendors at the bottom of the food court, it was hard for them to make a living, so how could they have spare money to buy three credit points of porridge? So even if the vendors were somewhat tempted, they quickly dismissed the idea.
Wang Peng had no time to care about what other vendors thought.
"Gurgle."
After it cooled down a little, Wang Peng eagerly put the bowl to his mouth again and gulped down a few big mouthfuls, as if he was afraid that if he drank it a little slower, someone would come up and snatch the porridge from him.
——While drinking the porridge, you can chew the particles of lean meat and preserved eggs, which is amazing.
The lean meat is very tender, without any fishy smell. It tastes salty and fragrant when chewed, but the taste is not very strong. It goes perfectly with the overall light and fragrant porridge.
The preserved egg is cooked until it is extremely soft and melts in your mouth, yet one cannot help but want to savor its flavor.
What was even more irresistible was that the warm, even boiling porridge slid down his throat and esophagus into his stomach, warming up Wang Peng's whole body all of a sudden.
Wang Peng had been working on a mission outside the base for a whole day and was exhausted both physically and mentally. It was also drizzling outside today and his clothes and shoes were all soaked. The damp and cold feeling penetrated into his bones.
...But the slightly scalding hot porridge immediately dispelled the coldness and warmed Wang Peng's stomach, which was cramping due to hunger.
My whole body feels incredibly smooth.
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