A little before one o’clock.
West City Old Street finally began to return to normal.
No more traffic jams!
This also ant that Wang Zhoubin’s directing work had co to an end.
He didn’t dare to waste a single mont and dashed toward the Delicious Restaurant.
Seeing a small crowd still queuing at the front of the store, he couldn’t help but feel a burst of joy.
He imdiately felt there was still hope!
He quickly rushed over to join the line, taking a deep breath and gratefully saying, "There are still people in line; there might still be a chance."
The portly middle-aged man in front, upon hearing him speak, turned to size him up. Seeing that he was in a traffic police uniform, he understood imdiately, though his eyes didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise.
After all, even police officers ca because of its reputation; it’s no wonder a traffic police officer would join the line too!
Realizing the traffic officer was also looking at him, the portly middle-aged man said, "..."
He imdiately offered an awkward yet polite smile and made small talk with Wang Zhoubin, "Officer, you’re here to buy lunch too?"
"Yeah, that’s right."
Wang Zhoubin nodded with a smile, then remarked with a face full of regret, "The pan-fried buns here are really good, but unfortunately, by the ti I ca over after my morning duty, they were already sold out..."
Darn...
Even the officer couldn’t get any...
This realization brought a sense of balance to the plump middle-aged man, who, having missed the new sesa rice balls in the morning because he overslept, also failed to grab any pan-fried buns.
If everything was sold out by the ti it was their turn, he wouldn’t feel so bad about it anymore.
After all, he had the company of the officer!
Soon, it was their turn to order.
Wang Zhibin felt a wave of anxiety, fearing that when his turn ca, everything would be gone.
If there was nothing left, he would be overwheld with sadness!
Wang Zhoubin craned his neck, peeking over the shoulder of the portly middle-aged man, looking at the automatic ordering machine, anxiously asking, "Big brother, is there anything left to buy?"
The portly middle-aged man courteously replied, "Only two portions of chicken leg brine rice and one tonic fish soup left."
"There’s still so left!"
Wang Zhoubin was pleased but simultaneously worried. He patted the portly middle-aged man’s shoulder, pleading, "Big brother, please take it easy! Don’t order everything; please leave a portion of chicken leg rice for ! To be honest, I’ve been craving the food from this restaurant for a long ti."
Darn...
A traffic police officer pleading with an ordinary citizen for a portion of stewed chicken leg rice.
The reason being, the officer had been craving Boss Huang’s food for ages...
The portly middle-aged man, feeling a sense of kinship, sympathetically glanced at Wang Zhoubin.
What is it like to have an upright officer plead with you for a portion of stewed chicken leg rice?
The portly middle-aged man: Although I really didn’t want to share, for the sake of companionship, he held back and ordered one less portion.
He had to reluctantly order one less chicken leg rice to let the officer have one.
The remaining tonic fish soup wasn’t enough even for him and his family dog; he couldn’t leave any more.
In a mont.
Wang Zhibin, lucky enough to get the last chicken leg rice, thanked the portly middle-aged man and swiftly scanned the QR code to pay.
Then he waited to pick up his order aside.
Seeing the kitchen staff call out to the busy boss Huang Tao in the kitchen, he was slightly surprised.
He didn’t expect that the father-daughter pair he asked about in the morning turned out to be the owner and his daughter of this place.
And he didn’t expect the owner, who made such delicious pan-fried buns, to be so young.
Younger than him!
He could only sigh in his heart: Young and promising!
Once his number was called, he rushed forward, took the packaged food bag handed over by Ding Suqin, and happily walked out of the store with it.
Mounted his police motorcycle.
Returned to Traffic Police Unit Two.
He sat at a long table, opened the food bag, and noticed the logo on the lunch box, exclaiming, "This takeout box is quite exquisite."
Opening the lid of the takeaway box.
A strong aroma of brine filled his nostrils instantly.
Even though he had slled the fragrance in-store, it still amazed him.
He glanced down at the al in front of him; the honey-colored sauce glistened and wrapped around the chicken leg, shining with oil. The side dish, a brined egg, was so deeply colored it looked full of flavor; the greens were fresh and verdant, making it very appetizing.
He picked up the chicken leg with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth; the savory brine was followed by tender skin, and the at was so succulent and juicy without being greasy.
His whole palate was opened up.
He quickly scooped a mouthful of rice and chewed it down.
They say with brine rice, aside from the flavor of the brine, the rice itself is most important.
The rice grains are plump and distinct.
It’s clear that good quality rice was used.
The water used for cooking was just right too.
The rice is sufficiently soft without becoming mushy; biting into it is effortless yet you can feel the grainy texture.
Wang Zhoubin’s mood beca even more cheerful; the exhaustion from directing traffic all morning instantly dissipated.
Then he took half a marinated egg and had a taste. The egg white was tender and bouncy, and the yolk was flavorful, even better than salted egg yolks.
With infinite anticipation, he took a bite of the most ordinary greens. The greens were whole, perfectly seasoned, and refreshing, with a hint of pork flavor, probably blanched with lard. It was incredibly satisfying.
This was simply the best marinated chicken leg rice Wang Zhoubin had ever eaten.
It was truly a culinary delight!
Not far away, a colleague, Sun Linhai, after finishing his al, sat at his workstation for a rest and played a ga to relax.
He was almost winning.
Suddenly a strong aroma of marinade wafted mysteriously from the break area.
This distraction cost him the ga.
He didn’t get annoyed, stood up, and followed his nose to the source of the aroma.
There he saw Wang Zhoubin eating with his head down.
Given their familiarity and partnership, he walked over and curiously asked, "Hey, Zhoubin, what are you having for lunch? I can sll the fragrance from far away; it’s way more aromatic than our canteen food."
While speaking, he didn’t forget his own purpose in coming over.
Looking at the packed box with the chicken leg that had a few bites missing, the caral-colored exterior hit him harder than pork.
He felt his stomach, which had just eaten not long ago, suddenly feeling hungry again!
He swallowed a gulp of saliva and continued asking, "Zhoubin, this al of yours, where’s the takeout from? Just the look of this marinated chicken leg is quite decent!"
"Yeah, yeah, Zhoubin, tell us which place your takeout is from, I’ll note it down. Next ti, I won’t eat in the canteen either; I’ll order one to try." A colleague not far away spoke with a smile.
Other colleagues also perked up their ears to listen carefully, wanting to know as well.
"This place is on West City Old Street, right at the corner, and the taste is really good."
Wang Zhoubin candidly said, rembering how there was a delivery guy who, like the custors, was queued outside the store, likely making purchases on behalf of others. He hesitantly said, "This place probably hasn’t opened on the delivery platform yet. I’ll ask next ti."
After speaking.
Under the intense gazes of several colleagues.
Wang Zhibin polished off the remaining marinated chicken leg, scooping a few bites of rice with it.
Thus.
The entire marinated chicken leg rice was eaten cleanly by him.
Sun Linhai swallowed again, rembered the address by heart, and decided to buy so to eat when he had ti.
Another colleague seed more thorough: "Hey, by the way, what’s the na of this place?"
"Delicious Restaurant!"
Wang Zhoubin smiled and reminded them, "This place’s stuff is really in demand. There’s a lot of people queuing up early. If you go late, it’s hard to buy anything. I couldn’t buy even one bun when I went to get Sheng Jian Bao after my morning shift, and it was only through luck at lunchti that I managed to get a portion of marinated chicken leg rice amidst the queue of custors..."
"The na sounds familiar!"
Sun Linhai thought for a mont, then recalled, "This place was featured in the current food festival! That ti, I saw many friends on social dia posting pictures of this place’s food. Back then, I thought their captions were a bit exaggerated. Now, slling the aroma of their marinated chicken leg rice, I find their words were quite accurate."
The other colleagues also finally rembered the incident.
"Indeed, everyone who’s tasted this place’s food says it’s delicious. The aroma you slled is among the top ones."
After the marvelous experience with the dried vegetables, Wang Zhoubin sincerely smiled and said, "That marinated chicken leg, even if you go buy marinated foods, it might not be as tasty. My recent portion, the marinated chicken leg was fatty and tender with juices flowing without feeling greasy, the marinated egg was flavorful, the greens blanched with lard were very refreshing, along with the aroma of lard, and the rice grains were full, soft yet just right..."
"Alright, stop! If you go on, I’ll really get hungry again."
Sun Linhai hastily stopped him, decisively deciding, "Tonight, by all ans, I’ll figure out how to go taste this marinated chicken leg, to see if it really is as good as you said, Zhoubin!"
Wang Zhoubin laughed, "They have other tasty things as well, let’s head over after work tonight, hopefully, we can buy so."
"So, who’s on duty tonight?"
"..." That colleague looked at them with a face full of grievance: "After you guys are done eating, be sure to bring back a packed marinated chicken leg rice!"
Wang Zhoubin thought for a mont and said, "I’ll swing by there tonight to see if there’s any traffic to direct."
Sun Linhai’s eyes lit up instantly: "Right! We can go check it out!"
The others imdiately understood: "You two want to seize the opportunity to have a bite, right?"
Wang Zhoubin also didn’t hide his true intentions: "If there’s a chance, of course, I’ll go have a bite! But let tell you, the traffic on West City Old Street is indeed quite congested! The situation with haphazard parking is severe!"
One colleague, sowhat puzzled, said: "How could there be congestion on West City Old Street?"
Wang Zhoubin, a bit resigned, said: "Isn’t it because of this place?! You guys don’t know. Before alti even starts, nearly a hundred people are queuing outside the store. At alti, it’s even more outrageous, with several hundred people queuing. It’s an impressive sight!"
This statent, while dropping jaws, also gave rise to so skepticism.
"Jeez, people causing a traffic jam over marinated chicken leg rice by parking carelessly, that’s too much, way over the top."
"Several hundred people queuing? That sounds too exaggerated, doesn’t it, Zhoubin? Do you know what it ans to have several hundred people queuing?"
Wang Zhoubin earnestly said, "Really, it’s not exaggerated at all. You’ll see for yourself that I’m not exaggerating."
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