Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 421 - 371: Banquet? No, It’s War!_2

Chen Mo placed a card and a timer by the earthen stove—Stewed Pig Knuckle, countdown, 3 hours.

One stove after another was occupied, and the courtyard gradually filled with various aromas. It was still early in the day, and the feast preparation was entering a feverish stage!

Twenty clay pots were neatly arranged on the workbench. Chen Mo opened one, and Hou Yao leaned in for a look, "Goodness, when did you make this stuff?"

"Did it last night."

What’s in the pot?

A cleaned stuffed duck, clearly with its leg bones broken and the thick bones of its duck feet removed, and its beak chopped off!

Moreover, the duck skin looked somewhat firm, evidently having undergone preliminary processing, probably scalded in hot water; that was as much as Hou Yao could deduce.

"Goodness, you worked all night and did all this?"

"Otherwise, how would I dare to make it fresh today?" Chen Mo was quite smug.

Not to brag, but even the most seasoned banquet chefs wouldn’t dare do what he did, processing all the ingredients and then cooking them fresh.

The duck spine, after being chopped into two pieces, was laid at the bottom of the clay pot, with the duck meat placed belly up in the pot, duck neck, along with scallions and ginger stuffed inside.

Mushrooms were arranged in a row in the center of the duck’s belly.

Also, there were magnolia slices, ham, and shiitake slices, placed on either side of the mushrooms.

No wonder Hou Yao was a bit shocked at first glance, it didn’t look like a banquet dish at all. With this level of exquisite detail, it wouldn’t be considered expensive even sold for over two hundred yuan in a hotel.

After all, the duck itself isn’t cheap and was processed so meticulously, while fresh duck preparation is skill-intensive work.

At this moment, all twenty or so clay pots were of the same style, and Chen Mo ladled the clear broth he had prepared the day before into each one.

He added soy sauce, saltwater, and cooking wine. After covering the clay pots with lids, he used soaked watch paper to seal the edges of the lids.

"Wow, what do you call this dish? I don’t think I’ve seen it before."

Chen Mo clapped his hands, "You might not believe it, but the name of this dish is a bit extravagant."

"What’s it called?"

"Immortal Duck!"

Hou Yao’s face twitched, feeling that Chen Mo was teasing him.

"Master Hou, there’s indeed such a dish in Lu Cuisine, you know about that clear soup, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Mo pointed to a clay pot, "This thing here, inside it’s full of ingredients to enhance freshness. Don’t think I’ll simmer it on the stove."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Watch this."

Chen Mo directed Brother Da Niu to first take down the steamer holding the pig knuckle, then placed each of these clay pots into a new steamer, layer by layer, until all twenty plus were set up.

Brother Da Niu grumpily stood on a stool and put the pig knuckle steamer back on top.

"Is it okay to stack it this high?"

"Why wouldn’t it be?"

Seeing this, Hou Yao finally understood what Chen Mo meant earlier. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

It’s not for simmering, but for steaming over water!

The soaked watch paper on the lid’s edges prevents the flavors inside the clay pot from escaping. In other words, the dish relies entirely on slow fire to bring out the intrinsic flavors of all the ingredients, using the soul of Lu Cuisine—clear broth—as the medium!

Hiss...

Hou Yao couldn’t help shivering, just imagining the freshness of the dish entering the mouth!

’Being able to eat a thank-you feast, today’s help was certainly worthwhile; I’ve profited!’

With this kind of dish, you wouldn’t find Chen Mo’s level even in a proper Lu Cuisine restaurant.

Who would be willing to wait in a restaurant for four hours just to eat a duck?

But if prepared in advance and kept warm, the duck meat’s texture would lose a lot of its appeal.

Suddenly, Hou Yao felt a bit envious of those attending the feast today.

Following tradition, Chen Mo placed a note next to the [Garlic White Pork].

[Immortal Duck]

He set a four-hour alarm, then left the stove position.

Pork was ready, duck was ready.

Next up, chicken!

Making chicken is a specialty of Cantonese chefs, so Chen Mo simply entrusted it to Hou Yao. A top-level White Cut Chicken from Yueyun Pavilion should conquer the guests’ palates.

The fish was not urgent; the sea bass flown in was swimming in the tank. Given Chen Mo’s current level of skill in preparing fish, plus the help of the chefs from Yueyun Pavilion, the Steamed Sea Bass dish would certainly take no more than twenty minutes from start to finish!

All morning, the courtyard appeared chaotic at first glance.

In actuality, if you looked closer, you’d find order within the chaos, with everyone busy with their tasks, everything proceeding in an organized manner.

Time flowed by second by second.

Near noon.

A burst of chattering noise came from outside the yard. Chen Mo lifted his eyelids for a look, and Jiang Fei arrived.

Today, Jiang Fei was wearing a very fitting shirt and slacks, and Zhang Yaling had clearly dressed up a bit too.

Jiang Wenqing wore a set of...

"Hair styled like an adult, wearing a dashing suit?" Chen Mo exclaimed, "Why does a kid dressed like this look a little funny."

"Tch, he’s obviously very handsome! I want to take a picture with little Wenqing~" Mu Mu dropped the plate in her hand and ran to the door, hugging Jiang Wenqing tightly and snapping away.

In the midst of taking pictures, Mu Mu suddenly... froze.

"What’s this?"

Her tone was obviously full of confusion.

Jiang Fei and Mu Mu were in the same department, theoretically, the people Jiang Fei invited should be their relatives, and the rest would be colleagues.

But at this moment, the noisy group chatting outside the yard, Mu Mu didn’t recognize a single one. That’s not the point.

The point is...

Mu Mu stared at this group of women at the door, each holding a child by the hand, and mumbled to herself.

"Black silk, white silk, flesh-colored silk, Balenciaga? Fake. And... hss! Purple silk??? Who are they?"

Why are there so many women wearing various types of stockings at Jiang Wenqing’s banquet?

And they’re all moms?

Mu Mu was dumbfounded, watching as these women chatted and laughed, first going to the gift table at the door to hand over the money, then releasing their children to play, and finally...

"Oh Xiaochen! Is it really you behind the stove?"

"Ah haha, Xiaochen, long time no see! So much good food today, looks like I’ve got the blessing of good fortune today!"

"Ever since that summer camp ended, I’ve had a bit of a loss of appetite. I thought it over the other day, hey! Turns out I was missing Xiaochen’s cooking!"

"Oh, I just got married too early, otherwise a boy as excellent as Xiaochen definitely couldn’t be missed. I wonder who’ll be so blessed to marry Xiaochen someday~"

The married women, speaking without reservation, turned the busy Chen Mo’s face beet red, leaving him at a loss.

’If only Old Zhao were here, he’d surely love this kind of scene, wouldn’t he?’

Chen Mo thought silently to himself.

Little did he know, this scene was seen clearly by Mu Mu at the doorway, her cheeks puffed up like an angry pufferfish.

Looking down at her own sneakers, jeans, and apron, Mu Mu felt her anger flare even more.

"Hmph, so you all have stockings!"

"But how come I didn’t know Brother Chen Mo liked stockings? Damn it..."

Thinking about how every time she met with Chen Mo, she dressed in a pure desire style, Mu Mu suddenly realized why Brother Chen Mo didn’t feel anything for her.

Turns out, it was because she wasn’t wearing the right clothes!

Luckily, her suitcase was still on the dining car from when she returned from Yangzhou.

Regardless of whether Chen Mo still needed help.

Mu Mu ran out of the yard into the RV, closed the door, took out her suitcase, and started fiddling with it.

Released by the adults, the children gathered together, and this time, they were really happy.

Birthday boy Jiang Wenqing had to be the brightest star today.

Li Jingyi looked at Jiang Wenqing’s outfit with some admiration, "When it’s my birthday, I want to be like you!"

Jiang Wenqing proudly puffed out his chest, "This is nothing! My Brother Chen Mo’s pig trotters are super delicious, you guys have to get Brother Chen Mo to cook to taste it."

"I don’t believe it, what’s so good about pig trotters? My family has a lot, and I don’t even like them."

"Exactly, pig trotters step in pig poop every day, so gross, I just don’t like eating pig trotters."

"You guys!" Jiang Wenqing was a bit annoyed, "Don’t believe me? Come with me!"

Leading a pack of little brothers and sisters, Jiang Wenqing and ten little rascals directly occupied a table.

As the host, Jiang Wenqing generously took a box of yogurt drinks from behind the doorman, "Come on, don’t be shy!"

He gave one to each of his classmates.

"Don’t believe me? Try it, and you’ll be drooling and biting your tongues for sure!"

Snap!

In Jiang Wenqing’s little head, he only remembered one thing the adults said to him.

At a big banquet...

Ten people must be present before you can start eating!