Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 419 - 370: The Real Feast Begins

Jiang Fei let out a sigh of relief. There were quite a few things in the yard, making it look a bit messy, but by tomorrow these ingredients would all be in the pot.

To reassure Boss Jiang further, Chen Mo called out to Liu Xiuzhen, "Mom, bring out two pig trotters from inside."

Then he said to Jiang Fei, "The pig trotters have just been braised, give them a taste."

Liu Xiuzhen brought out two pig trotters, which had completely cooled down after such a long period.

After all, they were meant to be served as a cold dish, so the pig trotters hadn’t been braised for very long, and once cooled down, you could feel the pig skin tightly wrapped around the bone.

Chen Mo took the pig trotters and didn’t even need a knife, he tore them open with his hands and placed them onto a plate. "Have a pig trotter, and hurry back to sleep. I don’t have anything else to offer at this point, but by tomorrow everything will be ready."

Lastly, he poured the red chili oil brought back from Hanyang over them.

Jiang Fei nodded, taking the plate of pig trotters, "Yaling, Wenqing, stop playing and come have some pig trotters."

In the past, Zhang Yaling had only heard Jiang Fei and Jiang Wenqing talk about Chen Mo’s cooking skills and had no real concept of how good they were.

Seeing this plate of braised, tightly bound, reddish-brown pig trotters, Zhang Yaling didn’t think much about it, casually picked up a piece with a long bone, which was merely wrapped in a layer of pig skin, now dipped in the full red oil, "Is it spicy?"

Jiang Fei chose a piece from the tip of a pig trotter, licked it once, "It’s not spicy!"

Li Jingyi and her mother also each grabbed a piece of trotter, and the group started munching away.

Zhang Yaling bit into the wrapped pig skin, and instantly, the numbing and spicy sensation from Hanyang peppercorns and chilies skittered across her tongue like electricity. She was just about to question Jiang Fei when she realized that the numbing and spicy sensation quickly faded, leaving just a slight chili fragrance in her mouth.

Only then did she start to chew on that piece of collagen with a few meat strands, almost involuntarily.

What she didn’t know was that Chen Mo’s exclusive marinade consisted of over ten spices, and after a long period of simmering, released a complex aroma of herbs and fruits, which served as a bassline in a symphony, tempering the boldness of the numbing and spicy sensations, making them less pronounced.

The pig trotters, once cooled, had pig skin that contracted during braising, and when bitten into, it had a chewy resilience that gradually softened with the warmth of the mouth, releasing a gelatinous, sticky feel that lingered around the lips and teeth.

Zhang Yaling’s chewing naturally sped up, marvelous, just marvelous!

The fat between the skin and the meat had turned into a semi-transparent gelatin after braising, where, after thorough chewing, the fragrance of the fat and marinade merged to create that "sinfully satisfying" buttery smooth texture.

"Oh my God, is this really a pig trotter I’m eating? Why does it feel so different from any pig trotters I’ve had before?"

After finishing one piece, Zhang Yaling instinctively reached for another piece but found nothing. She looked around in bewilderment.

"No way, you guys..."

She saw her husband Jiang Fei, her son Jiang Wenqing, her classmate’s mother, and a little friend, all holding a piece in each hand.

Taking bites from this side and then from that side, it was just outrageous!!!

Li Jingyi’s mother licked her lips stained red, awkwardly smiling, "Wenqing’s mother, sorry...I didn’t eat dinner tonight, so I’m a bit hungry."

Li Jingyi looked up at her mother, "We had noodles tonight, Mom, you ate two big bowls, remember?"

Jingyi’s Mother’s open mouth awkwardly froze on a pig trotter bone as she gave her daughter a fierce glare, "Didn’t you also eat a big bowl? You’re cheeky enough to call me out!!!"

There was no other way, the pig trotters were just too delicious.

A taste never experienced before.

Especially earlier when Jingyi’s mother chose a piece from the hoof, the elasticity of the tendons and the smoothness of the fat seemed to be wrestling in her mouth!

The more you chewed, the richer the contained flavors became, making you want to quickly take another bite after finishing, fearing that magical taste would be cut off. You had to keep eating to maintain it and so the tastebuds could become comfortable again.

Chen Mo saw that Zhang Yaling wanted more but there was none left, shook his head with a light sigh, "Anyway, I braised a lot today, enough for tomorrow. How about each of you take one home to eat?"

Jiang Fei: "No need..."

Zhang Yaling: "Sure!"

Jingyi’s Mother: "How could I possibly accept!"

The three of them spoke almost simultaneously, and after speaking they looked at one another, their faces full of embarrassment.

Chen Mo went into the house and brought out five pig trotters, distributing them among the three adults and two children.

Zhang Yaling snatched the pig trotter from Jiang Fei’s hand, "Didn’t you say you didn’t need any? I see you don’t want to eat it, so I’ll take it."

Jiang Fei’s pig trotter was taken, and he dared not utter a word in complaint, stewing in his frustration, "Fine then, Xiaochen, thanks for your hard work today. See you tomorrow morning."

"Bye."

Saying goodbye to Chen Mo, Jiang Fei drove the four people back to Jingzhou.

"Hey, what are you doing having the window open this late, it’s freezing," Zhang Yaling scolded on the road.

Jiang Fei replied even more irritably, "Who told you four to not sit properly but chew on pig trotters, who can stand that smell!"

Zhang Yaling let out a few humphs, "I didn’t expect Xiaochen’s cooking skills to be really this good. I should’ve brought my mom and them to taste it too, they’d surely change their minds."

Jiang Fei snorted coldly, "I’ve already told you, if you miss tomorrow’s feast, you’ll regret it yourself!"

The group headed back to the city, and on the way, Jiang Fei endured the aroma of pig trotters filling the car. It was so tantalizing he was nearly drooling.

When he got home and saw the garbage bag his wife was holding filled with bones, he exclaimed, "Geez, you guys really didn’t leave me a bite?"

Zhang Yaling was satisfied and burped, "What did you think?"

Jiang Fei gave his son a fierce glare, "You didn’t save some for dad?"

Jiang Wenqing pretended not to hear, "I’m going to do my homework now!"

Leaving Jiang Fei standing alone at the door, feeling a bit lost,

...

Until late at night, Hou Yao couldn’t hold on any longer; he said a couple of words to Chen Mo and then went back to Jingzhou with Mu Xin.

They promised to return the next day with ingredients airlifted from the south.

Mu Mu also went back with them.

Under Chen Mo’s persuasion, Chen Jinping and Liu Xiuzhen also went to bed.

With the blessing of the white clothes, not only did Chen Mo not feel tired or sleepy, but he actually found it more enjoyable the more he worked!

Watching various ingredients transform under his hands into what was needed for tomorrow’s feast, pairing all the spices needed for tomorrow’s dishes, and labeling them.

Chen Mo felt inexplicably satisfied in his heart.

This process had a good point: tomorrow, they could just use small bowls to grab what was needed directly, without hunting around for spices, speeding up the process.

Amidst the busy work, dawn slowly broke, and Chen Mo hadn’t slept the whole night, continuously working with his hands.

In the early summer, the sky brightened very early, and by six in the morning, Chen Jinping couldn’t sleep anymore, so the old couple got up to see Chen Mo still busy in the yard.

Liu Xiuzhen wanted to call Chen Mo to take a break and eat something, but Chen Jinping stopped her.

"Let him be, don’t disturb him."

Liu Xiuzhen looked at Chen Mo with concern, sighed, and started cleaning the courtyard herself.

At seven o’clock, the first guests arrived at the small courtyard.

Mu Xin and Hou Yao came!

Mu Mu dashed into the courtyard excitedly, "Brother Mo, look who I brought!"

Chen Mo looked up to see Mu Xin and Hou Yao, followed by seven or eight men dressed in white chef’s uniforms.

"These are the chefs from our restaurant, hehe."

Chen Mo was somewhat moved. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He could manage on his own, but having this many helping hands was much better.

He had thought about asking for help before, but the ingredients he brought from the south were rare in the north, and finding so many knowledgeable chefs would be costly.

"Everyone, let’s get busy. Follow the menu I gave you, prepare the ingredients, and categorize all finished items to hand over to Master Chen."

Hou Yao gave the order, and the staff immediately started moving ingredients from outside the courtyard.

These materials were all transported from the south, with a large portion being seafood, and some side dishes unique to the south.

Only a grand restaurant like Yueyun Pavilion could have such a lavish approach!

The chefs Hou Yao brought were there to assist Chen Mo, handling only the ingredients, with Chen Mo still responsible for the actual cooking!

Hou Yao teased, "Today you can experience what it’s like to be a national banquet chef."

"Oh?" Chen Mo asked in confusion, "Why?"

Hou Yao rubbed his nose, "How do you think national banquet chefs make their dishes? Haha."

Chen Mo suddenly understood and glanced at his phone.

"Master Hou, it’s time. Shall we get started?"

"Let’s get started!"

At seven in the morning, with five hours until dining time.

The real feast was just beginning!