Chapter 42: Saying Goodbye to the Past

What does a bowl of congee mean to a steamed stuffed bun?

When you take a bite of a bun and put it into your mouth, the juicy meat filling is the first to be squeezed by your teeth, releasing savory juices and oils.

Following that, the savory and umami flavors stimulate your salivary glands.

This chewing process is perhaps the most intensely gratifying moment for your mouth.

However, do not forget that besides the meat filling,

you have also bitten into a piece of the bun's wrapper.

The fluffy, porous structure inside the dough acts like a sponge, soaking up all those liquids entirely.

Especially when eating the heavily pleated parts of the bun, although the swirling folds provide a rich tactile sensation, your mouth will inevitably feel somewhat dry.

Therefore, at this moment, a lukewarm liquid is needed to moisten the mouth.

Congee fits this role perfectly.

Yet, a thick congee filled entirely with rice grains serves no purpose.

If the rice soup is too thin, the flavor becomes overly bland.

White congee simmered over a low heat, allowing the starch within the rice grains to be fully released, thus becomes the ultimate choice.

Just a tiny sip is enough to wash down all the lingering aftertaste of the bun trapped in your mouth amidst the faint fragrance of rice.

Eating a bun in this manner leaves little room for regret.

Having enjoyed her breakfast in such a manner, Zhao Yilin had already fallen into a deep state of intoxication.

"Junior Sister, hello!"

Chen Zhou called out to her. "Are you still half asleep? Coming in to work overtime on a weekend?"

"No," Zhao Yilin shook her head in bewilderment. "I think I might be drunk on buns."

"Never heard of such a thing..."

After finishing breakfast,

the Junior Sister helped Chen Zhou process the various documents needed for the day—

resignation certificates, employment contract termination proofs, confidentiality agreements, wage clearances, social security transfers, and so on.

Actually, these were tasks handled by multiple people,

but since she was the only one working in the office at the moment, Zhao Yilin had to be a jack-of-all-trades. It was just that certain matters required contacting several colleagues who hadn't come into work.

Zhao Yilin flipped through the documents, rummaged through her bag, searching for something unknown.

"Little Ai!"

The artificial intelligence responded emotionlessly, "Yes."

"Where are you?"

"I am right here!" Little Ai started playing a ringtone.

Zhao Yilin began spinning around in circles looking for it.

Watching her actions, Chen Zhou suddenly felt an itch on his scalp.

"Stop asking it. Little Ai is worn out just following you around. Why don't you look at what's in your hand?"

"Oh," Zhao Yilin took out her phone and smiled naturally at Chen Zhou.

"No wonder I couldn't find it; it was right here."

...The Junior Sister's personality was somewhat complex, embodying a mix of awkwardness, silliness, blankness, and cuteness.

However, once she entered work mode, her efficiency remained very high.

She took Chen Zhou to the director's office twice, and by that morning, all procedures had been completed smoothly without any dragging of feet.

Although Chen Zhou had barely worked the previous month, he had used his annual leave upon Zhao Yilin's suggestion, so the full amount of 2,500 was deposited into his account.

Counting the cash in his hands, Chen Zhou thought to himself that he really needed to thank her properly this time.

So he said to Zhao Yilin:

"During our chat last time, I mentioned treating you to a meal, but your Sister-in-law invited you over to eat at our place instead. When are you free?"

"I'm free anytime!" Zhao Yilin replied happily.

Yet Chen Zhou couldn't help recalling how he had asked her to come and taste the buns before, but she had never once come.

"Hey, why didn't you come when I called you before?"

The Junior Sister scratched her head.

"Look here, Senior Brother, the place I rent is in the opposite direction of your home, and I didn't buy a little electric scooter, so I have to take the subway home. You sell buns right during the evening rush hour, so going there means getting squeezed in the crowd once, and coming back means getting squeezed again. Your buns are so delicious that if I ate two, I'd definitely want to take two more back with me, and then..."

Chen Zhou hurriedly helped her schedule a time:

"This weekend, I'll come pick you up!"

"That would be so embarrassing. Hee hee." Zhao Yilin laughed.

Leaving the gates of the design institute and mounting his electric scooter once more,

Chen Zhou felt an indescribable sensation. After all, he had worked here for several years, and today marked a complete break with it.

Old Song, though a greasy senior colleague who represented the pessimism of many coworkers regarding his venture into entrepreneurship, had nevertheless shared a simple farewell today.

And the director, who shouted about cost reduction and efficiency enhancement all day while monitoring attendance logs, looked just like an ordinary old man today.

Was he sad? Certainly not; he had wanted to resign long ago. Happy? Not really either.

Actually, he was somewhat happy.

Chen Zhou suddenly realized,

this felt just like the sensation of finishing a TV series or a novel. Good or bad, it had ultimately reached an ending.

His life was about to officially open a new chapter. From now on, he would wholeheartedly dedicate himself to his catering business.

When setting up his stall again in the evening, the familiar customers and friends who had come to look somewhat recognizable helped dilute Chen Zhou's lingering trace of melancholy.

"Still two buns!"

"Meat filling."

Familiarity breeds ease, and although many people came and went every day, after a few visits, Chen Zhou could recognize most of them.

And some people were excessively familiar.

For instance, the aunt who lived right across from him.

They crossed paths constantly. The two households had even exchanged food and drinks a time or two recently.

However, up to this day, Chen Zhou still didn't know the aunt's name.

Today, the other party seemed to have come with a question in mind:

"Young man, I thought you also sold congee here. Or do you only sell buns?"

Chen Zhou smiled and replied, "No, I just casually made some at home this morning."

"It smelled quite fragrant, though. I caught the scent the moment I opened my door this morning." The aunt seemed to still be reminiscing.

Chen Zhou offered politely, "Then I'll cook some congee for you to try next time."

"No need, no need," the aunt waved her hands repeatedly. "You're running a business; if I buy, I should definitely pay for it."

"Actually, cooking congee isn't difficult at all. Let me briefly tell you how, and you can make it yourself at home."

This aunt had recently retired, and her child was not yet married, so she had plenty of spare time every day. She danced square dances, helped out at the neighborhood committee, planted flowers at her own expense downstairs, and was active in the residential WeChat group... Her figure was a frequent sight in the community.

Chen Zhou figured she probably had plenty of energy to cook a proper pot of congee.

So he told her a few points that required attention.

Specifically, how to choose the rice, how many times to rinse it, the water-to-rice ratio, the cooking time... and that was without even mentioning the shortcuts that were "totally unnecessary at home."

Halfway through, the aunt could only put on a cooperative expression while losing her initial enthusiasm.

Sensing this, Chen Zhou tactfully wrapped it up, "And that's it, the congee you make will definitely turn out great."

The aunt remarked that professional matters should be left to professional people.

Thinking about it, that made a lot of sense. If everyone had superb culinary skills, time, and energy, there wouldn't be many restaurants left in this world.

Well, nothing could be done about that.

Chen Zhou smiled and painted a picture of the future for her: "Just wait until I open my restaurant after a while; I'll make sure breakfast is all sorted out then."

Hearing this, the aunt laughed as well: "When that day comes, I will definitely go and show my support!"