Back in her shop, Hu Meifeng couldn't wait to put on gloves and start tasting each item.
The shiitake mushrooms are plump and juicy, the wakame seaweed is refreshing and delicious, the potatoes are soft and tender, and the braised pork is fragrant but not greasy, fatty but not oily, melts in your mouth, and leaves a lingering fragrance.
She had only intended to try it, but once she started, she couldn't stop eating it. By the time Hu Meifeng realized what was happening, a third of the more than three pounds of braised food had already disappeared.
"The taste is indeed very good."
Forcibly suppressing the urge to devour the remaining braised food in one go, Hu Meifeng reluctantly placed the rest in the shop's refrigerator.
But the enticing aroma kept wafting from the shop next door, lingering around her nose and stirring her restless heart.
Ultimately, with the thought of "I'll just eat one more piece," the refrigerator door was opened and closed repeatedly.
The next day, Hu Meifeng's shop did not open for business. A notice saying "Closed for one day" was posted on the shop door. She was going to attend a relative's child's one-month celebration banquet that day.
This time, the banquet was not held in a hotel in town. Instead, the relatives specially invited a chef from the countryside to come to their village to cook the banquet.
Looking at the village from afar, the first thing Hu Meifeng saw was not the village's outline, but the two straight plumes of smoke rising from it.
Two stoves were built on the open ground by the river, with firewood burning loudly inside. The iron pots on the stoves were glowing red-hot, and ingredients were flying up and down between two huge spatulas. A fragrant aroma wafted from the pots and filled the air above the entire village.
"We're supposed to start the banquet at four o'clock, but it's already three-thirty in the afternoon. We have half an hour left. Are all the dishes ready?"
"Almost done, the cold dishes are ready, and we can serve them right at four o'clock!"
"Okay, can the freshly cooked main dishes be served at 4:30?"
"Sure, no problem, you can rest assured!"
Once the host was certain the banquet would start on time, he nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
But a temporary rubber hose had appeared on the ground, and when he lifted his right foot, he stepped directly onto the moving hose.
ah----
Amidst screams from the crowd, the host slammed his hand on the square table piled high with cold dishes, barely managing to steady himself. Before he could even catch his breath, a series of clattering sounds echoed as the dishes hit the ground.
The homeowner, still shaken, leaned against the square table, staring blankly at the worker holding the rubber hose, and then looked bewildered at the onlookers.
"Hey, quick, pull him up! Check if he's hurt! If he's not, then that's good, as long as he's alright!"
"May you have peace in every little thing, and peace year after year. It's a good omen, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong!"
"Bring over a few metal buckets, a few pairs of gloves, and two brooms and shovels as well."
“.”
Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident, but unfortunately, the cold dishes that the chefs had just prepared were completely ruined.
"It's alright, it's alright. There are plenty of main dishes today, so let's start the meal as soon as they're served!"
"We also have drinks and sunflower seeds. We can chat while we eat some sunflower seeds!"
“.”
Looking at the scene before her, Hu Meifeng suddenly recalled what the landlord of the shop next door had said—that his relatives had bought some braised dishes to serve as cold appetizers for their housewarming party.
While Hu Meifeng was thinking about this, she blurted out without thinking, "Didn't a new braised food shop just open in town? We should be able to go and buy some to plate up in time."
After speaking, Hu Meifeng belatedly realized that her words had put her host family on the hot seat.
If it weren't for his words, the host would have simply accepted the excuses offered by others and said a few words to back down; but now that he had spoken, it would be rather awkward for the host to pretend the matter never happened.
"Haha. I was just rambling. The town is so far away, it wouldn't even take half an hour to get there and back. Haha, oh dear, my mouth is really..." Hu Meifeng said, lightly slapping her lips twice to cover up her embarrassment.
Just as Hu Meifeng was trying her best to salvage the situation, a few people in the crowd, who were just enjoying the spectacle, continued her words.
"The town isn't far, a ten-minute drive, and a round trip will only take twenty minutes!"
"The braised dishes at that shop are indeed quite delicious, and they're also suitable as cold dishes."
"The price isn't expensive either."
“.”
Amidst the chatter of the crowd, the host family had no way out and could only grit their teeth and call a few young men to go check out the braised food shop in town.
These young men were really straightforward; they sped along the road, and in less than ten minutes, the three motorcycles came to a neat stop in front of Xu's Braised Food shop.
"Boss, fifteen catties of potatoes, mushrooms, lotus root, and edamame, and thirty catties of beef, please."
"Boss, please hurry up! Our banquet starts at four o'clock, so please be quick! Thank you for your hard work!"
The guest who was pushed aside by the three young men originally wanted to scold them, but when he heard the words "the banquet is about to begin," his words changed from swearing to asking: "What's going on? Why are you only coming now that the banquet is about to begin? Shouldn't this have been prepared earlier?"
"Oh dear, we hired a chef to come over, and all the cold dishes were prepared, but with so many people and so much clutter, they all got spilled. That's why we're rushing to fix it at the last minute."
Seeing that no one else had any objections, the two shop assistants hurriedly weighed and packaged the braised dishes requested by the three young men. In less than five minutes, the braised dishes were packaged and handed to the three men.
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