Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 387 - 355: Liu Xu: I’m Just Not One to Stand on Ceremony

Chapter 387: Chapter 355: Liu Xu: I’m Just Not One to Stand on Ceremony

"Old Zhao, what brings you here?"

Seeing that it wasn’t just him, but Yu Hongtao as well, Chen Mo wondered how these two got together since they didn’t know each other before.

Yu Hongtao was about to bring up the topic of the black drinks when his eyes fell on the pot on the table. "Wow, Boss Xiao Chen, you’re just having dinner now? That’s tough."

"Not too bad."

Old Zhao looked enviously at the hotpot, though his stomach was ready to burst after eating hundreds of shrimp.

If he wasn’t so stuffed, he’d shamelessly join in for a meal.

"Boss Xiao Chen, didn’t you promise to give me a complimentary drink when I arrived?"

Yu managed to tear his eyes away from the pot, "Right, I haven’t had one today."

Chen Mo was taken aback, not expecting these two to show up in the parking lot so late just for this.

Looks like the sturdy drinks are really effective.

Since he promised, he had to deliver. Chen Mo got up and quickly poured two cups of drinks from the food truck.

"The taste is a bit strong."

Old Zhao sniffed it, just as he thought!

It smelled really potent!

"Thanks a lot, Boss Xiao Chen~"

After getting their black drinks, Old Zhao and Yu Hongtao didn’t linger. Even though both wanted to try what was in the little black pot, their stomachs just couldn’t handle it.

Watching the two leave, Chen Mo leisurely fished out chicken bones from the black pot, then filtered the broth lightly with minced chicken breast. The chicken soup in the pot became visibly clearer, presenting a faint pale yellow hue.

When smelled closely, there was a distinct fresh aroma.

"Maybe this is what they call chicken essence," he mused.

Chen Mo picked up a piece of fish, just about to cook it, when someone called his name again.

"Boss Chen, Boss Chen!"

Chen Mo sighed helplessly, putting the fish back on the plate.

What’s going on so late?

Following the voice, it turned out to be none other than the director of the park.

"Director Liu?" Chen Mo waved his fist, "Oh man, I said I’d visit you when I’m not busy, and then I got too caught up and forgot! Sorry about that."

It was absurd, he promised Liu Xu to meet days ago.

Liu Xu, slightly out of breath, waved from afar as he made big strides, "It’s fine, it’s fine. Didn’t I come to you anyway? Are you about to sleep?"

Chen Mo pointed at the table’s contents, "I was just about to eat; I’ve been busy all day without eating much."

Liu Xu stood nearby, "That’s tough." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

That said, his eyes were glued to the hotpot.

Recently, the Ecological Garden had become very popular, and everything happened so suddenly. Liu Xu only knew it was bustling at the North Gate, but he hadn’t had time to check it out.

There were always queues, especially for visitors from other places. When they realized they couldn’t eat immediately, they often strolled into the Ecological Garden.

The staff in the garden had gotten used to uneventful days, so they were a bit overwhelmed, and Liu Xu was busy arranging various tasks in the park.

If not, he would’ve sought out Chen Mo earlier in the day.

Chen Mo noticed his unblinking gaze at the hotpot, "How about having some with me?"

"Oh my!"

Liu Xu sat down while eagerly grabbing chopsticks, "Oh my, how can I impose? I came to discuss something, not to freeload, you know how I am..."

Chen Mo interrupted, "Then let’s not eat?"

Liu Xu was suddenly embarrassed, quickly changing his tune, "You know me, I’m not one to stand on ceremony!"

He changed his tune so quickly.

Chen Mo handed a sauce dish to Liu Xu, "Director Liu, what brings you here?"

Liu Xu mimicked Chen Mo, using communal chopsticks to pick up fish slices and put them into the pot. The boiling broth instantly calmed down.

But within a few breaths, the broth was bubbling again, filled with a rich aroma.

It was a unique flavor with no seasoning involved, purely the fresh aroma of the ingredients themselves.

The sauce dish was also very simple, with shredded scallions and ginger seared in hot oil, then mixed with soy sauce.

This is the most common sauce dish in Guangdong, mainly to enhance the saltiness and unique umami flavor.

Liu Xu hadn’t tried this kind of hotpot, so he wasn’t sure about the fish’s doneness and had to closely watch Chen Mo’s actions.

Seeing Chen Mo scoop out the fish, he followed suit.

Seeing Chen Mo place the fish on the sauce dish and switch chopsticks to dip a bit, Liu Xu did the same, but he didn’t stop talking.

"Boss Xiao Chen, here’s the thing. Did cultural tourism leaders contact you today?"

Chen Mo ate a slice of fish. "Yeah."

Liu Xu also ate the fish slice, just about to speak when the burst of fresh aroma in his mouth left him speechless.

It was a hard-to-describe feeling, as if all the taste buds woke from their slumber the moment the fish touched his mouth.

But he’d eaten dinner tonight!

However, now his stomach felt incredibly hungry.

Liu Xu couldn’t resist and continued to use the communal chopsticks to cook more fish slices. Trying to hide his immense appetite, he quickly brought up another topic.

"The leaders spoke to me today too!"

"They said the Ecological Garden is now a huge online hit, and the cultural festival plan from a few years ago can be restarted! They’ll probably talk to you tomorrow, so I wanted to give you a heads-up today."

"Oh?" Chen Mo was genuinely intrigued now.