Sour Plum Drink

As mealtime arrived, more and more people began filing into the restaurant. Some, like Qiu Chen, had heard the news early and came to support Jiang Feng. Others, like the young couple, had entered simply out of curiosity.

Those who knew Jiang Feng, no matter how unpleasant their expressions became after reading the menu, would sit down out of courtesy. After drinking a cup of cool, heat-relieving Sour Plum Drink, their dissatisfaction and irritability faded away together.

Of those who had wandered in by mistake, only a few, like the young couple, chose to stay. More stared at the diners in surprise, muttered "rip-off restaurant" under their breath, and slipped away as fast as their feet could carry them.

"How many have left?" Even after eating and drinking their fill, Qiu Chen and the other three had not forgotten their duties as actors. Though they were so stuffed that sitting was uncomfortable, they remained firmly in their seats, pretending to wait for more dishes.

The four plates on their table were so clean they looked as though they had been licked spotless. Even the sauce had all been mixed into rice; not a drop was wasted.

"The sixth one." Li Jian from the Chinese Department counted carefully. "They left without even trying the Sour Plum Drink. How pitiful."

Qiu Chen rubbed his stomach and surveyed the diners on the first floor. It was only noon, not yet past the lunch rush, but the first floor was already more than half full. He could not help feeling a trace of concern.

"It's not even the school term yet, and Brother Feng's family restaurant is nearly full despite charging so much. Once school starts, won't we have to fight for seats if we want to eat here?"

The other three immediately felt the threat as well.

"How about we come again tonight?" Liu Zixuan, who had plenty of money, suggested.

"Sure, sure, sure."

The great proposal passed unanimously.

Just then, a group of people appeared at the entrance.

Liu Zixuan and Qiu Chen were seated facing the door. The moment they saw who was there, they shot to their feet.

"Hello, Professor Wang!"

"Hello, Teacher Li!"

"Hello, Professor Chen!"

"H-Hello, Department Head!"

All nine of them were teachers from the Physics Department. Four of them had taught Liu Zixuan and Qiu Chen before.

"Professor Wang?" Hearing the commotion, Jiang Feng set down the Sour Plum Drink in his hands on a customer's table and hurried to the entrance. "Hello, teachers."

"We came here to eat. Your Professor Wang is treating us, and we didn't expect to run into so many students. Jiang Feng, are you working a summer job here?" Professor Chen, the youngest of them, asked with a smile.

"I'm just helping out at the restaurant," Jiang Feng said.

Once they entered, they discovered that more than half the diners in sight were Physics Department students. The professors were stunned; nearly every one of them could spot a student they had taught.

"What, are all the Physics Department students having a gathering here today?" Even the usually stern Professor Wang could not help cracking a joke at the sight.

"This is my family's restaurant. It's opening day, so everyone came to support us. Teachers, please come upstairs. There are private rooms and round tables upstairs. Would you like a private room?" Jiang Feng asked as he led the way.

"No need for a private room. Then we can count as having come to support you too," Professor Chen said cheerfully.

There were menus on the second floor. Jiang Feng went downstairs first to get the teachers some Sour Plum Drink, leaving them to look over the menu and order for themselves.

As soon as he opened the menu, Professor Li smiled. "It's not easy to find a restaurant near A University with such a complete selection of Lu Cuisine!"

Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant's prices were a little steep for students, but A University teachers were paid well. At these prices, paired with such a thick menu, it was perfectly reasonable.

Generally speaking, if you did not have the skill, you would not dare take on such a job.

The professors did not stand on ceremony. They ordered several vegetable dishes and several main dishes, including Sweet and Sour Carp and Dongpo Pork Hock.

Jiang Feng and Wang Hao brought up the Sour Plum Drink. Jiang Feng glanced over the order, found no problems, and went to notify Jiang Jiankang in the kitchen.

Jiang Jiankang had braised two pork hocks, originally planning to eat them himself—one for lunch and one for dinner. Now that the professors had ordered one, Jiang Jiankang would have to reluctantly eat one less. The carp was even more of a coincidence. Based on what Jiang Feng had said, Jiang Jiankang had gone to the small market behind the wholesale market yesterday and found two exceptionally fresh live carp at a seafood vendor's stall. He had bought them and kept them alive.

He had not expected one of them to end up in the pot today.

Professor Chen lifted his cup and took a sip of the Sour Plum Drink. "This Sour Plum Drink is delicious!"

"You think everything you drink is delicious." Professor Li was a genuine Yanjing native and had the most authority among the teachers when it came to Sour Plum Drink. "Nowadays, Sour Plum Drink is all bought from supermarkets and mixed with additives. When we were children, it was simmered with rock sugar. A proper Imperial drink needs smoked..."

Professor Li picked up his cup. The moment he brought the Sour Plum Drink to his lips, he froze.

That faint smoky flavor was exactly like the taste of the old shops that specialized in Sour Plum Drink when he was young.

No, perhaps it was even better.

"Smoked what?" Professor Chen pressed.

"Smoked plums." Professor Li swallowed the Sour Plum Drink in his mouth. "This restaurant belongs to one of your students' families?"

"Jiang Feng? That kid isn't good at his major courses. He nearly failed last semester." Professor Chen took another sip from his cup. "I already think this Sour Plum Drink is very tasty."

"This is the authentic Imperial method, slowly simmered with rock sugar." Professor Li seemed somewhat dazed, as though he had remembered something. "Ever since those old shops closed down, I haven't had Sour Plum Drink this authentic in a long time."

"Then we're in for a treat today." Everyone laughed and began drinking the Sour Plum Drink in their hands.

In the kitchen, Jiang Jiankang tearfully sacrificed his pork hock.

He had searched every market and supermarket near A University, carefully picking these two pork hocks from among hundreds. He had soaked them in ice water for a full twelve hours just to remove the bloody smell. Even the pork hock served at last night's meal had not received such treatment.

Jiang Jiankang loved pork hock and put particular care into every one he intended to eat himself.

To make the pork hock properly, he had asked around everywhere to find fine Huadiao wine, all just to use it as an ingredient.

Standing in the kitchen, Jiang Jiankang sadly poured his treasured Huadiao wine into the pot while muttering, "Xiaofeng, if it weren't for you, Dad wouldn't take out such good Huadiao wine."

Jiang Feng: ...

Whenever a customer ordered pork hock, Jiang Jiankang acted as though they were being torn apart by life and death, even though he still had more than a hundred bottles of Huadiao wine hidden away.

The Huadiao wine he used for customers was always the worst kind.

Finally, Jiang Jiankang ladled a spoonful of stock over the pork hock.

That was Jiang Jiankang's cooking habit. He liked to ladle stock over everything, and there was always a pot of stock simmering in his kitchen.

The stock diluted the sauce on the pork hock, but also enhanced its savory flavor and aroma. As Jiang Feng carried the pork hock out, nearly every customer on the first floor turned to look.

"It smells so good," people kept exclaiming.

Though tempted, no one ordered pork hock.

They were all students. Few could bring themselves to spend more than a hundred yuan on a serving of pork hock.

The aroma drifted all the way up to the second floor.

"What's that smell?" Professor Chen sniffed the air, his appetite instantly stirred.

"Dongpo Pork Hock. Please enjoy, teachers." Jiang Feng placed the pork hock on the table.

"Teacher Chen, Dongpo Pork Hock is a famous dish from your hometown. You couldn't even recognize it?" another young teacher teased.

"This isn't Dongpo Pork Hock. The Dongpo Pork Hock where I'm from isn't made like this." Professor Chen shook his head repeatedly and reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of pork hock with skin and meat. "It might be this restaurant's own method. They just call it Dongpo Pork Hock. This plate smells much better than ordinary Dongpo Pork Hock."

The pork hock melted in his mouth.

"And it tastes much better too!" Professor Chen added.

Everyone reached for it with their chopsticks.

The first floor gradually filled up. Jiang Feng and Wang Hao were starting to struggle to keep up, so Qiu Chen and the other three prepared to pay their bill and help out afterward.

"You can get ten percent off if you clear your plates and post it on WeChat Moments," Jiang Feng reminded them.

"Clearing your plates gets you ten percent off?" The girl from the young couple seated not far from Qiu Chen overheard him. The dishes on her table were also as clean as though they had been licked spotless. Aside from a little water spinach sauce left on one plate, even the syrupy sauce from the Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin was gone.

She had lost control and ordered another serving of Stir-fried Water Spinach.

Not only had she exposed her appetite, but she had also eaten through several days' worth of food money in one meal. She was sitting there feeling heartbroken over it.

"That's right. A University students can get ten percent off if they clear their plates and post on WeChat Moments." Jiang Feng nodded.

"I'm from A University too, from the Chinese Department! I even brought my student ID if you don't believe me!" The girl hurriedly said. She glanced at the four spotless plates on Qiu Chen's table, gritted her teeth, picked up the empty plate that still had vegetable sauce on it, and drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Feng: ...

This girl certainly had character.

After putting down the plate, the girl took out her phone and began taking photos to post on WeChat Moments.

"Ding. Obtained 1 Fame Point. Mission progress: (2/100)."