Chapter 35: The Impending Wave of Diners

Returning home, his wife had already steamed today’s fresh seafood. Fresh ingredients required no elaborate preparation, and with Mrs. Lin’s culinary skills, it was an effortless task.

Chen Zhou noticed she had also picked a small basin of oysters, placed beside the rice cooker. It seemed she intended to make a pot of seafood congee.

He sifted through the pile of crabs and said to his wife, “There are still a few shrimp in the basket. If we fry the shrimp heads and use the shrimp oil to cook the congee, it will taste even better.”

Mrs. Lin blinked in surprise. “Shrimp oil?”

Chen Zhou smiled. “Let me handle it. This might be a bit beyond your usual scope.”

Seafood congee was all about capturing that fresh umami flavor.

The shrimp, caught less than two hours ago, were rinsed and had their legs clipped off. The shrimp bodies were shelled, deveined, and sliced twice, ready for cooking.

For the shrimp heads, he heated oil in a pan, added ginger slices, and sautéed them until fragrant. Using a spatula, he gently pressed the heads to squeeze out the shrimp paste until the oil at the bottom of the pan took on a faint reddish hue.

At this moment, Chen Zhou turned off the range hood, lowered the heat to the smallest flame, and called his wife over. “Here, take a sniff.”

Mrs. Lin leaned in, flaring her nostrils to inhale deeply. The aroma in the pan was indeed exquisitely fresh and fragrant.

“You weren’t lying before?”

Chen Zhou scoffed, “This is just talent.”

Mrs. Lin shook her head and walked away.

After she’d smelled it, Chen Zhou turned the hood back on, added water to the pan, and brought it to a boil over high heat. He skimmed off the residue and poured the broth into the rice cooker.

He intended to use this broth to cook the congee.

Once the rice cooker switched modes, Chen Zhou retrieved salted duck eggs from the refrigerator. The salted eggs would add a touch of saltiness and enhance the porridge’s texture when stirred in.

Shrimp took longer to cook than oysters, so he added the shrimp meat first until it turned opaque, then added the oysters.

When the oysters were just cooked through, he tossed in a handful of fresh lettuce leaves.

He seasoned the pot with a bit of salt and sugar to taste.

No matter how fresh the seafood, a slight fishy odor lingered, so aside from ginger strips, pepper was indispensable.

He unplugged the rice cooker to let it simmer in residual heat for a while longer.

In the living room, Mrs. Lin cracked open two crabs, feeding their daughter while waiting for Chen Zhou to join them.

Chen Taotao had snacked quite a bit at noon and wasn’t very hungry now.

After tasting a couple of crab legs, she used a small spoon to crush the crab legs and tossed them to their mischievous cat.

Fortune, their cat, seemed to celebrate the new year alongside them.

Meowing, it finished eating and then turned its head toward Chen Taotao.

Chen Zhou brought the seafood congee to the dining table and said with satisfaction to Mrs. Lin, “Look, at her age, she can barely take care of herself, but now she’s even looking after the cat.”

Keeping a pet could cultivate a child’s sense of responsibility, or so Lin Yifan had read in parenting books.

But Chen Taotao seemed to find the spoon too slow. She tossed a crab leg onto the floor and tried to step on it.

Mrs. Lin hurriedly stopped her, “Taotao, don’t step on it!”

“Okay~”

Chen Zhou took the congee from his wife and thought, my daughter is really obedient.

The seafood congee smelled delightful.

Chen Taotao blew on her portion and slurped it up, momentarily forgetting about Fortune.

Chen Zhou tasted it himself.

The rice had blossomed in the pot, taking on a light brown color thanks to the shrimp oil and salted egg yolk. The milky-white oysters and green lettuce scattered throughout made it visually appetizing.

The aroma seemed to seep into every crevice.

A gentle blow, a sip—the grains were soft and tender, the tiny granules of salted egg yolk caressed the palate, elevating the sensory experience.

The flavor was savory and fresh; the richness of the egg yolk intertwined with the seafood’s umami, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

Then, he tasted the seafood separately.

The oysters were perfectly cooked, silky and tender, releasing a slightly sweet juice upon biting.

Chen Zhou’s bowl had no shrimp, so he asked his wife across the table, “How’s the shrimp?”

“Quite tasty.”

...

The next day, business resumed. The intelligence agency reported that customer traffic hadn’t peaked yet. Chen Zhou simply preemptively bought another steamer, upgrading the heating equipment on his little cart.

That evening, Chef Li’s account posted a new video.

“Old Li’s Food Finds (Restart) | Haibin City, a little-known steamed bun stall that only operates at night—highly recommended.”

Chen Zhou didn’t watch the video closely; after all, he had already seen uncut footage of the two chefs up close.

But opening the comment section, Chen Zhou knew his business was about to boom.

“Finally something I can afford! But posting such delicious buns so late at night—is that really okay?”

“Hehe, perfect timing for summer vacation. I want to try them. Anyone from XX leaving together, any sisters?”

“500 yuan for 200 buns—really not expensive.”

Some even asked for details, clearly interested in visiting.

“Waiting for a local here. Has anyone tried it?”

“[Screenshot] Location should be here. It really is a new bun stall. I’m a local, and I haven’t heard of it before. [Facepalm]”

“Calm and gentle as always: ‘Their buns are amazing!!!’”

Calm and gentle as always—that was Lin Yifan.

As the video gained more views, debates inevitably arose:

“Who dips buns in chili oil?!”

“No dipping chili oil? Dip in butter instead?”

“Upstairs IP is correct.”

... Might as well call it a century-old feud and draw swords.

Having skimmed the comments, Chen Zhou sent an order to Old Zhang.

“Twenty jin of meat for tomorrow.”

“OK.”

After a night of viral exposure, the video had fermented into excellent popularity.

Even Comrade Wang Meng found time on Monday to send Chen Zhou a congratulatory message.

[Screenshot]

“Master Chen, is this you?”

Chen Zhou: “That really is me.”

“Why haven’t I seen you buying buns these days?”

Wang Meng: “Master Chen, can you teach me how to write—

‘How Urban Management Supports Street Vendors’ and ‘Guangming District’s Experience in Creating a Favorable Business Environment’?”

Honestly, I don’t know how... Chen Zhou joked:

“Wang, why not think about your old blind date?”

Wang Meng: “Funny you mention that; I used to know someone who was an expert at writing reports for ten years! But she’s on maternity leave this year, so I’m reluctant to bother her.”

He really had a connection!

A while later, just as Chen Zhou began preparing the bun filling, Wang Meng sent another message saying he could come over for buns today.

Chen Zhou grew curious.

“You used AI to write it, so fast?”

Wang Meng sent an angry emoji. “I must be crazy.”

It turned out that after Chef Li’s food find video was published, netizens spotted the same bun stall on the Guangming District urban management account.

What had been an unremarkable video suddenly became the most liked and viewed.

The leader, who had only considered this a political accomplishment, decided to personally bring Wang Meng for an “on-site inspection.”

“What kind of inspection? He just wants to eat.”

Wang Meng left a sarcastic comment, venting his frustration after days of overtime.