After finishing the soup, she fished the pigeon out of the small steam pot. She picked a piece of at from the pigeon’s leg, dipped it into the ginger paste prepared nearby, and popped it into her mouth. Mmm, delicious.
The ginger paste had been fried in oil, which removed all its spiciness, leaving only a fragrant aroma.
It was a perfect match for the pigeon at.
Lin Xu fished a squab out of the large steam pot, spooned so ginger paste onto his own plate, and said,
"I originally planned to make a Scallion Oil dip. However, considering that ginger paste promotes sweating and is more suitable for this cooling weather, I switched to ginger paste. How does it taste?"
Aunt Liang’s heart ward. What a good kid, she thought. No wonder the restaurant’s business is so good.
She said to Lin Xu,
"I just posted about it on my social dia feed, and my old colleagues and close friends are all asking when the steam pot squab will be available at the restaurant. They want to try it too..."
We already have potential custors? Lin Xu and Dou Wenjing exchanged glances before he replied,
"Probably in two or three days. The main thing is waiting for the supplier to deliver the equipnt. Since it’s a national holiday, deliveries might not be very prompt."
"Alright, no problem. Just give a shout on your social dia feed when it’s ready, and I’ll let them know. There’s no rush."
Lin Xu finished two bowls of rice and then headed to the kitchen to get started on dinner preparations.
Dry Pot Cauliflower was on the nu tonight, so he needed to prepare the woks and other necessary items to avoid a last-minute scramble.
Additionally, the stones used for the stone-cooked dishes needed to be cleaned and soaked. This was to prevent any vegetable scraps from sticking to their surfaces and burning in the hot oil.
With an expanding nu, every detail required careful attention.
Otherwise, a single oversight could lead to a culinary disaster or even a dangerous accident.
Outside, Zeng Xiaoqi, who had almost finished eating, took out her phone. She sent a photo she had taken at the start of the al to the group chat and said, sowhat smugly,
"Boss Lin is truly amazing! Who would have thought of using a steam pot for pigeon? The flavor is simply divine, and I feel like my complexion improved the mont I drank the soup."
She had been too eager to eat earlier and hadn’t gotten around to posting. But now, full and satisfied, it was the perfect ti to share so photos and make others jealous. After all, they had a ’dear relative’ out on the grasslands who hadn’t tasted it yet. She had to describe the flavor, texture, and dicinal herbs in vivid detail so that ’relative’ could experience it vicariously.
Sure enough, the mont the photo appeared, Chen Yan responded with a ’going crazy’ emoji.
Everyone else was at the restaurant; she alone was vacationing on the Hulun Grassland. Director Zeng’s intention was as clear as day—like a louse on a bald head.
"You guys secretly had pigeon! Soup! Without !"
Chen was furious. She wasn’t the type to suffer in silence. Since you’re ’poisoning’ , don’t bla for fighting poison with poison!
Soon after, a short video of her eating lamb hot pot appeared in the group chat.
Lamb hot pot wasn’t uncommon. However, having a waiter in a Mongolian robe right there, slicing fresh lamb from a hanging piece of at and putting it directly into the pot—that was quite sothing.
What’s more, the table also featured chive flower sauce, an excellent accompanint to lamb.
"I was craving at for lunch, so I got freshly slaughtered lamb, butchered on the spot. I mourned for the little lamb even as I ate. The at wasn’t gay at all and really hit the spot!"
Seeing the video of the at being cooked in the hot pot, Director Zeng felt like she’d taken a critical hit:
"You’re actually eating freshly sliced lamb for hot pot?!"
Isn’t that too cruel (tempting)? she thought. She felt like it was a Pyrrhic victory.
"When are you coming back, President Chen? Soone seems to be waiting for you to deliver her Crystal Shoes."
Since ’poisoning’ with food pictures wasn’t working, it was ti to switch tactics.
Sure enough, as soon as this was brought up, President Chen imdiately lost her confrontational edge:
"I have a whole closet full of shoes; why would I need anyone to give so? The signal’s a bit weak right now, so I’m not chatting anymore. I’m going for another horseback ride, then I’ll get ready for dinner."
Zeng Xiaoqi said smugly to Shu Yun, who was sipping pigeon soup beside her,
"Humph, every woman has a weakness. I’ve finally grasped President Chen’s Achilles’ heel."
Shu Yun took another slurp of soup, then cast a aningful glance at Zeng Xiaoqi’s Xiongxiong.
Zeng Xiaoqi: "!!!!!!!!!!"
AAAAH! Shu Yun is so an, cursing her Xiongxiong to sag prematurely! Why do I always end up shooting myself in the foot? Being the underdog really sucks!
After five in the afternoon, custors began to trickle into the restaurant in twos and threes.
They didn’t imdiately order food but instead went straight to the front counter and surrounded Dundun.
"Is this the cat?"
"That’s him. He’s so chubby and adorable."
"The netizens weren’t wrong; this little guy really does have a smug look, as if he disdains everyone."
"If I could code and play the piano, I’d look at you all like that too."
"To perform with such spirit and resemblance, he certainly has the right to be arrogant... Those celebrities with zero acting skills have far bigger tempers than Dundun."
"That’s so true! Dundun, co on, give big sister a smile!"
" too, too! I want to take a picture too!"
"..."
After taking their photos, everyone found seats and picked up the tablets handed to them by the staff to browse the nu.
When they saw that the hopage recomnded Dry Pot Cauliflower as today’s special, their spirits imdiately lifted:
"Is this the Dry Pot Cauliflower that soone posted about in the Lin Ji discussion thread today? We’ll take one!"
After ordering the Dry Pot Cauliflower, they selected a few other dishes. Their hearty al for the day was about to begin.
Before long, the dishes arrived. The crisp texture and the savory, fragrant, spicy, and numbing flavor of the Dry Pot Cauliflower instantly awakened the custors’ taste buds.
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