"Brother, are we just going to eat it like this?"
"It's still early, we need to stir-fry the ingredients."
Ye Cheng added oil to the pot, stir-fried the scallions, ginger, garlic and chili peppers to release their aroma, then added fermented bean paste, most of the pot of water, the crayfish and spice packet, and put the lid on to start cooking.
The aroma and spiciness wafted out through the pot lid, choking Xiao Hu so much that he fled from the kitchen.
"This is way too spicy, bro. Are you sure? The shrimp will lose its freshness in a bit."
"This isn't the kind of shrimp you're eating for its freshness. Don't worry, it'll be delicious in a bit, cough cough cough." Ye Cheng himself was also choking, damn it, he probably put in too much chili.
The two stood outside for a while, waiting for the smell to subside a little before going inside to take a look. One by one, the crayfish were soaking in the dark brown broth. Thinking of the taste of spicy crayfish, Ye Cheng couldn't help but swallow.
As a seasoned foodie, Xiao Hu was now pretty sure this pot of food would be delicious. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and looked at Ye Cheng.
"Brother, did we eat too little?"
Ye Cheng turned his head and gave him a big eye roll, "Who, come here, tell me, who said they weren't going to eat?"
"Hehe, bro, that was just something I said in anger, don't take it seriously." Xiao Hu chuckled sheepishly and brushed it off.
Seeing that the broth was starting to thicken, Ye Cheng added the cucumber and potato slices.
Then I found two more instant noodles, soaked them without any seasoning, rinsed them with cold water, and added them to the crayfish.
A pot of cucumber and potatoes as a base, paired with instant noodles and crayfish, is all you need. Little Tiger couldn't wait and grabbed one to eat right away.
The moment it entered the mouth, the two bull's eyes widened, and it looked at Ye Cheng with surprise, saying...
"Brother, it's delicious."
"Nonsense, everyone in the country knows it's delicious." The popularity of crayfish in later generations goes without saying; it's suitable for all ages, offers a variety of flavors, and is truly incredibly popular.
However, just to be on the safe side, Ye Cheng told Xiao Hu not to eat the head this time, as it contains more heavy metals and might also contain bacteria.
If it's just about eating shrimp meat, 40 crayfish would be gone in no time. In the end, Ye Cheng saw that Xiao Hu was eating too fast.
There was no other way but for everyone to count the number of animals they ate, and no one was allowed to eat more than that. Otherwise, at Ye Cheng's speed, he would probably finish eating 10 animals, and Xiao Hu would finish eating 30.
After finishing the shrimp, Xiaohu picked up a mouthful of instant noodles. The noodles, soaked in broth, had a chewy texture that was simply perfect.
Ye Cheng only ate a little bit of the broken noodles at the end of the two packs of instant noodles; Xiao Hu ate the rest.
The refreshing cucumber and potato slices completely changed Xiaohu's perception of crayfish. After finishing, he even made plans for another meal.
"Brother, how about I get some more tomorrow, and then you can cook some crayfish again?"
Ye Cheng took a sip of beer and shook his head. "Tomorrow won't work. Brother Zhao asked me to lunch tomorrow; he probably has something to do."
"The day after tomorrow?"
"Even the day after tomorrow won't work. You can't eat this stuff often; it's too high in heavy metals." Ye Cheng continued to shake his head.
Xiao Hu looked annoyed. "Brother, if you said it had too much heavy metal, then you shouldn't have made it for me to eat. Now that I've eaten it once, you're saying I can't eat it anymore. You're just harming me."
Seeing Xiao Hu's adorable, submissive expression, Ye Cheng almost burst out laughing. "Damn it, you stubborn bastard, now you know how delicious it is, huh? I'll bring some back in a couple of days and raise it myself for a few days until it's clean before we eat it."
......
Zhao Zhiming invited Ye Cheng to dinner at a seafood restaurant, where they booked a small private room.
Ye Cheng could hear Brother Zhao's loud voice chatting with someone right outside the door, so he knew there must be other people there, and this meal was for business purposes.
However, when he went inside, he realized that he recognized both of the people at the table.
Cui Shuran and Xiaorou.
The situation is obvious. It's highly likely that Cui Shuran or Xiaorou has something to ask of him and asked Zhao Zhiming to act as a go-between.
Having eaten so many meals for business purposes, I still have some discernment.
When Zhao Zhiming saw Ye Cheng come in, he quickly pulled him down to sit down. "Brother, you've finally arrived!"
"Young Master Cui, Xiao Rou." Ye Cheng greeted the person opposite him, then said to Old Zhao,
"Is there something you can't say over the phone, that you have to call me over specifically?"
"Can't I call you to eat if there's nothing wrong? You're really something. Come on, waiter, bring the food!" Zhao Zhiming called out to the waiter to bring the food, while he started pouring wine, without mentioning anything about business.
Cui Shuran remained the same, sitting there with a lifeless expression, like a cold and aloof Buddhist monk.
Xiao Rou, on the other hand, was much more lively. Across the table, she asked Ye Cheng, "Cheng, were you alright when you got back?"
Ye Cheng was taken aback. "What do you mean, 'whether there's something wrong or not'? I haven't offended anyone recently."
Xiao Rou glared at him with her big eyes and said irritably, "I said, you weren't feeling unwell after the last dive, were you? You were down there for so long."
"Oh, you mean that? Never mind, I already mentioned that I met a Taoist priest when I was a child..."
Before Ye Cheng could speak, Xiao Rou interrupted him with a single word, "Get lost!" She said, "Stop it. My dad told me when I got back that encountering a Taoist priest is just an old trick used by swindlers. Don't try to fool me."
"Wow, Xiaorou has become smarter," Ye Cheng teased.
Zhao Zhiming poured the wine, raised his glass, and said, "Come on, let's not talk about that anymore, let's drink first. We're all old friends, it's been so long since we got together, let's have three drinks first!"
After saying that, Old Zhao downed his drink in one gulp, then looked at the three of them.
The three men's wine glasses were still in the air, untouched.
Old Zhao looked at the three of them in surprise, "No, you guys drink, three cups, down all three cups in a row."
Ye Cheng calmly said, "We just heard you say that you drank three cups in a row, so we've been waiting for you, don't you think?"
“Yes, yes, you drink three cups yourself,” Xiaorou immediately chimed in.
Cui Shuran nodded in agreement.
"Damn! After all these years of drinking, you're going to fall for a bunch of young punks? Fine, I'll have three drinks first."
After saying that, the guy drank three cups in one go.
Ye Cheng began to frown. Drinking so heartily, something big must be going on.
After having a drink, he asked directly, "Brother Zhao, what do you want from me? Tell me."
Old Zhao chuckled, "It's nothing much, it's just that Young Master Cui wants to ask you for a favor."
“Yes, Shuran needs your help, it’s not a big deal,” Xiaorou interjected.
Ye Cheng looked at Cui Shuran and said with a serious expression, "I wonder if there is anything about me that would please Young Master Cui. I will definitely improve next time."
This is a phrase often used to make fun of people in later generations, and the three of them didn't understand it at first.
Once she figured it out, Xiao Rou burst out laughing and pointed at Ye Cheng, saying, "You're such a bad person, but it's so funny, it's killing me with laughter."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com