Sour Plum Drink

As the mealtime arrived, more and more people began to enter the restaurant. Some, like Qiu Chen, had heard the news early and came to support Jiang Feng. Others, like the young couple, were simply curious and wandered in.

Those who were familiar with Jiang Feng, no matter how displeased they looked after seeing the menu, would politely sit down, drink the refreshing Sour Plum Drink, and let go of their dissatisfaction and heat.

Among those who stumbled in, only a minority, like the young couple, chose to stay. Most would look around at the customers with surprise, mutter "black shop" under their breath, and then quickly slip away as if their shoes were greased.

"How many have left?" After finishing their meal, Qiu Chen and his three companions didn't forget their roles as actors. Despite being so full they were uncomfortable sitting, they remained in their seats, pretending to wait for their food.

The four plates on the table were so clean they looked licked clean; not even the sauce was wasted, all of it used to mix with rice.

"The 6th one," said Li Jian from the Chinese department, counting carefully. "It's a shame they left without even getting to try the Sour Plum Drink."

Qiu Chen rubbed his stomach and surveyed the customers on the first floor. It was just past noon, not yet the peak mealtime, but the first floor was already more than half full. A sense of worry arose in him.

"It's not even the start of the semester yet, and Brother Feng's restaurant is already this busy with such high prices. When school starts, will we have to fight for a table if we want to eat here?"

The other three also felt a sense of threat.

"Why don't we come back tonight too?" suggested Liu Zixuan, who was quite wealthy.

"Good, good, good." This excellent suggestion received unanimous approval.

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

Liu Zixuan and Qiu Chen, whose seats faced the entrance, jumped up as soon as they saw the people.

"Hello, Professor Wang!"

"Hello, Teacher Li!"

"Hello, Professor Chen!"

"He-Head of Department!"

The group of nine were all teachers from the Physics Department, and four of them had taught both Liu Zixuan and Qiu Chen.

"Professor Wang?" Hearing the commotion, Jiang Feng placed the Sour Plum Drink he was carrying on a customer's table and hurried to the entrance. "Hello, everyone."

"We're here to eat. Professor Wang is treating us. I didn't expect to see so many students. Jiang Feng, are you working here during the summer break?" Professor Chen, the youngest, asked with a smile.

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

As they walked in, they noticed that more than half of the customers were students from the Physics Department. The professors were taken aback; almost every one of them could spot a student they had taught.

"This is… are our Physics Department students having a gathering here today?" Professor Wang, usually serious, couldn't help but make a joke at the sight.

"This is my family's restaurant. It's the opening day, so I invited everyone to come and support us. Please, teachers, head upstairs. We have private rooms and round tables upstairs. Would you like a private room?" Jiang Feng led the way.

"No need for a private room. We're here to support you too, then," Professor Chen said with a chuckle.

The second floor had menus. Jiang Feng first went downstairs to get some Sour Plum Drink for the teachers, allowing them to look at the menu and order.

As soon as they opened the menu, Professor Li smiled, "It's not easy to find a restaurant near A University that offers such a complete Lu Cuisine menu!"

For the students, the prices at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant were a bit steep. However, the A University teachers had good salaries, and these prices were quite reasonable for such a thick menu.

Generally, if you don't have the skill, you don't dare to take on the job.

The professors didn't stand on ceremony, ordering several vegetable dishes and some main courses, including Sweet and Sour Carp and Dongpo Pork Hock.

Jiang Feng and Wang Hao brought the Sour Plum Drink. Jiang Feng glanced at the menu, saw no issues, and went to the kitchen to inform Comrade Jiang Jiankang.

Jiang Jiankang had stewed two pork hocks. His original plan was to eat them himself, one for lunch and one for dinner. Since the professors had ordered them, Comrade Jiang Jiankang would have to eat one less. As for the carp, it was a coincidence. Yesterday, following Jiang Feng's instructions, Jiang Jiankang went to the small market behind the wholesale market and met a vendor selling aquatic products. He bought two very fresh live carp and kept them.

He hadn't expected one of them to be cooked today.

Professor Chen picked up his cup and took a sip of the Sour Plum Drink, praising, "This Sour Plum Drink is delicious!"

"Everything tastes delicious to you," Professor Li, a native of Yanjing, was the most authoritative speaker among the teachers when it came to Sour Plum Drink. "The Sour Plum Drinks nowadays are bought from supermarkets and made with additives. Unlike in our childhood, when they were simmered with rock sugar. This imperial drink requires smoked..."

Professor Li picked up his cup and froze as soon as he took a sip of the Sour Plum Drink.

There was a faint smoky flavor, just like the Sour Plum Drinks from the old shops he drank in his childhood.

No, perhaps even better.

"Smoked what?" Professor Chen pressed.

"Smoked plum," Professor Li swallowed the Sour Plum Drink in his mouth. "Is this restaurant owned by a student you taught?"

"Jiang Feng, that kid's professional courses aren't great; he almost failed last semester," Professor Chen took another sip of his cup. "I think this Sour Plum Drink is already very good."

"This is the authentic imperial method, slowly simmered with rock sugar," Professor Li seemed a bit lost in thought, as if remembering something. "Since those old shops closed, I haven't had such authentic Sour Plum Drink in a long time."

"Then we're in for a treat today," everyone laughed and started drinking their Sour Plum Drinks.

In the kitchen, Jiang Jiankang tearfully contributed his pork hocks.

These two pork hocks were the result of Jiang Jiankang searching all the markets and supermarkets near A University, carefully selecting from hundreds of pork hocks. He soaked them in ice water for a full twelve hours just to remove the bloody smell. Even the pork hocks from last night's meal didn't receive this treatment.

Jiang Jiankang loved pork hocks and was particularly meticulous about every one he intended to eat.

To make the pork hocks well, he went to great lengths to find the finest Huadiao wine to use as an ingredient.

In the kitchen, Jiang Jiankang sadly took out his treasured Huadiao wine and poured it into the pot, muttering, "Xiao Feng, if it weren't for you, Dad wouldn't have taken out such good Huadiao wine."

Jiang Feng: ...

Every time a customer ordered pork hocks, Comrade Jiang Jiankang acted as if he was parting with something precious, even though he had hundreds of bottles of Huadiao wine hidden away himself.

He always served the worst Huadiao wine to his customers.

Finally, Jiang Jiankang poured a ladle of broth over the pork hock.

This was Jiang Jiankang's cooking habit; he liked to add a ladle of broth to everything. His kitchen always had a pot of broth simmering.

The broth diluted the sauce on the pork hock, but it also enhanced its umami and aroma. As Jiang Feng carried the pork hock out, almost all the customers on the first floor turned to look.

"So fragrant," people exclaimed.

Although tempted, no one ordered the pork hock.

They were all students, and few could bring themselves to spend a hundred yuan on a pork hock.

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

"What's that smell?" Professor Chen asked, his appetite whetted.

"Dongpo Pork Hock. Please enjoy, everyone," Jiang Feng said as he placed the dish on the table.

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

"This isn't Dongpo Pork Hock. The Dongpo Pork Hock from my hometown isn't made like this," Professor Chen shook his head and picked up a piece of the pork hock with skin and meat. "Perhaps it's their own recipe, and they just call it Dongpo Pork Hock. This dish smells much better than the usual Dongpo Pork Hock."

The pork hock melted in his mouth.

"It tastes much better too!" Professor Chen added.

Everyone reached for their chopsticks.

The first floor gradually filled up, and Jiang Feng and Wang Hao were getting busy. Qiu Chen and his three friends prepared to pay the bill and help out.

"You get a 10% discount if you post a picture of your clean plates on your social media," Jiang Feng reminded them.

"A 10% discount for clean plates?" A girl from the young couple sitting not far from Qiu Chen overheard this. The plates on her table were as clean as if licked, except for a plate with some leftover water spinach juice. Even the sweet and sour pork's syrup was gone.

She hadn't been able to control herself and had ordered another plate of Stir-fried Water Spinach.

Not only did she reveal her appetite, but she also spent days' worth of meal money in one go. She was sitting there regretting it.

"Yes, A University students get a 10% discount for posting clean plates on their social media," Jiang Feng nodded.

"I'm from A University, Chinese department. I can show you my student ID if you don't believe me!" the girl quickly said. She glanced at the four spotless plates on Qiu Chen's table, made a firm decision, picked up the plate with the remaining juice, and drank it all down.

Jiang Feng: ...

This girl really had a personality.

Putting down the plate, the girl took out her phone and started taking pictures to post on her social media.

"Ding! Gained 1 Fame. Mission progress (2/100)."