Chapter 170

Qing Mengzhu: "Of course, they drink mountain spring water, eat grass seeds, and catch insects every day for extra meals. It would be strange if they didn't taste good after being raised like this."

Zhao Hexi: "It smells so good! The pickled bamboo shoots inside smell amazing too, I can smell them!"

The bamboo shoots were pickled by Qing Mengzhu and his family themselves, using only "Superior Grade" grade bamboo shoots. They started pickling them last year and have been doing so for several months now. The bamboo shoots have turned golden and have a sour and fragrant aroma. When stewed with hazelnut chicken soup, it's hard not to find it delicious.

Zhou Yan, who was frying matsutake mushrooms, turned his head and said, "I just stir-fried some pickled bamboo shoots, making sure to dry out the surface moisture and make them fragrant. That way, the stewed hazel grouse will be so delicious."

Zhao Hexi: "I knew it smelled so good, no wonder. Brother Zhou, your cooking is amazing! Top-notch skills paired with top-notch ingredients, it's so delicious!"

Zhou Yan doesn't like people getting in the way when he's cooking in private, but he couldn't today because he was busy making a late-night snack.

Hearing Zhao Hexi's effusive praise, and glancing at Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi who were processing bamboo worms nearby, he said, "He Xi, why don't you scoop out some soup and taste it? See if it's cooked through."

Zhao Hexi was more than happy to help and immediately went to the sterilizing cabinet to take out a soup spoon and a bowl. "Then I won't be polite."

Seeing Zhao Hexi deftly ladle out the soup and about to drink it, Zhou Yan couldn't help but remind her, "Add two grains of salt! Never mind, you're not sure about the amount. Come here, I'll add it for you."

Zhou Yan added salt to Zhao Hexi and then reminded him, "Drink slowly, it's covered in hazelnut oil, don't burn yourself."

Zhao Hexi couldn't slow down; he was already impatient.

He blew on it slightly, took a small sip, and instantly, the delicious and thick sour bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup overwhelmed his entire taste buds.

He ate another piece of meat and a piece of pickled bamboo shoot, and found the hazel grouse to be exceptionally tender, and the pickled bamboo shoot, besides being sour, also had an indescribable umami flavor.

It tastes so good!

Anyone who comes will probably have to drink two bowls!

Chapter 170

Zhao Hexi didn't even need to say a word; everyone could tell from his expression that this pot of pickled bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup was bound to be terrible.

Qing Mengzhu looked on with a bit of envy and asked Zhou Yan, "Brother Zhou, is the soup ready yet?"

Zhou Yan glanced down at the soup in the pot and said, "It's still a little too hot; we'll have to wait a bit longer."

Zhao Hexi rubbed his hands together expectantly. "It tastes so good even when it's almost done, how good will it taste in the end?"

Zhou Yan: "You'll see in a bit. Would you like some noodles? They'd go perfectly with soup and fried chicken with mushrooms."

Qing Mengzhu and the others had been running up the mountain late at night and were quite hungry, urgently needing some carbohydrates. Without hesitation, they said, "Yes, thank you, Brother Zhou."

After frying the chicken mushrooms, Zhou Yan went to knead the dough, quickly producing a large handful of noodles. "I haven't made noodles in a while, so please make do with this today."

Qing Mengzhu: "These noodles look very chewy, and the bamboo worms are ready too. Can we fry them now?"

Zhou Yan: "I'll use the oil from frying chicken mushrooms?"

No one had any objections; the oil left over from frying the mushrooms was so fragrant, the fried bamboo worms would definitely taste good too.

They busied themselves in the kitchen for quite a while, finally managing to eat their midnight snack before midnight.

Grilled meat skewers, ramen, fried chicken mushrooms, fried bamboo worms, cold bamboo fungus salad, and a type of mushroom called "small umbrella mushroom," along with a pot of sour bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup.

The four of them sat at the dining table, eating late-night snacks and drinking soup, feeling that their lives were complete.

Zhao Hexi, in particular, took a big gulp of sour bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup, then ate a fried bamboo worm, and sighed, "Ah, nowadays, I have no regrets."

Qing Mengzhu blew on the hazelnut chicken soup. "You're talking too soon. We'll raise even better poultry and livestock, and grow even better vegetables. Maybe in the future, we won't even need to use outside barbecue; we can just eat our own meat."

Zhao Hexi laughed and toasted him with soup instead of wine, "Then I'll be looking forward to it!"

Ming Chunxi drank a small bowl of soup and asked Zhou Yan, "Brother Zhou, can the pickled bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup replace the prawns as the farm's new signature dish?"

Zhou Yan was optimistic. "I think it's possible! I'll invite our Old Gu to the farm to try the dishes tomorrow."

After speaking, Zhou Yan looked up at Qing Mengzhu, "It's about these pickled bamboo shoots—did you pickle a lot of bamboo shoots before? Should we hurry up and pickle another batch?"

Qing Mengzhu: "I've soaked two large vats, that should be enough. Anyway, we don't need too many pickled bamboo shoots in the pickled bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup. Brother Zhou, you can limit the supply for now. Tomorrow I'll have someone dig up more bamboo shoots and soak a few more vats at the farm. By the time we finish this batch of bamboo shoots, the rest should be ready too."

Zhou Yan nodded. "Okay, then I'll arrange for someone to receive it. Will you use your well water to pickle the bamboo shoots? I feel your well water is particularly good; the water outside isn't sweet and refreshing enough, it probably won't make good pickled bamboo shoots."

Since the pickled bamboo shoots had already been given, Qing Mengzhu naturally wouldn't begrudge such a small amount of well water.

He readily agreed, "No problem, I'll have someone bring over the large vats tomorrow. We'll pack the well water and pickled bamboo shoots and then put them on the farm."

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's take the small jars. They're easier to transport, and I can open one jar at a time to avoid the flavor going bad."

Qing Mengzhu had no objections. "Then I'll have it ready by tomorrow, and you can wait to receive it."

They settled things over the dinner table and didn't go back to their respective places to sleep until after 1 a. m.

Zhou Yan was so excited about the new dish that he couldn't sleep after returning home. He got up in the middle of the night and wrote a work plan for half the day. After finishing and saving it, he finally went to bed and fell asleep contentedly.

Zhou Yan got up early again the next day, and was full of energy. He sent invitations to Old Gu to try the sour bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup and give them feedback.

With summer vegetables gradually coming into season and many new dishes available at the restaurant, Zhou Yan plans to prepare them all and asks his Old Gu for their feedback.

He has always had a wide network of connections, and his Old Gu are very supportive. After receiving his message, they all called him back, expressing their willingness to come over.

He mostly invited diners, but some colleagues also expressed their desire to come and try it after hearing the news.

For example, Chef Fan Donghua, who previously used tomatoes from Qing Mengzhu's restaurant.

Fan Donghua called to say he wanted to try the pickled bamboo shoot and hazelnut chicken soup, Zhou Yan naturally didn't refuse. "Perfect timing, Brother Fan, come over and give me your feedback."

Fan Donghua: "Hey, it's hardly an opinion, just a chat. Your President Qing's dishes have become so famous lately. Many of my fans have said they want me to try their food again, so I shamelessly came over to check it out."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's alright, come on over. I need some experienced seniors with strong expertise to help me make some decisions."

Fan Donghua: "Can I film this? It's kind of like a restaurant visit, I'll just shoot some footage."

Zhou Yan: "Then I'll have to ask our President Qing. Brother Fan, wait a moment, I'll discuss it with him and get back to you."

Fan Donghua: "Of course, I'll wait for your reply."

Fan Donghua is a big internet celebrity, so his willingness to film is actually a good opportunity for promotion.

After hearing this, Qing Mengzhu thought it was a good opportunity to get free traffic, so she readily agreed, specifying that she was willing to film in more detail, as they weren't afraid of their ingredients being filmed.

So Zhou Yan made an appointment with Fan Donghua on the third day, saying that he would make some preparations and then have Fan Donghua come to visit the store.

Before Fan Donghua arrived, Zhou Yan first invited the regular customers to try the dishes.

Although most of the regular customers don't know how to cook, they have money and time, and they have certain tastes in food; they are very discerning.

Zhou Yan entertained more than ten regular customers and didn't hear a single negative review, so he knew he had it in the bag this time.

So Zhou Yan hosted Fan Donghua at the farm.

This was also Fan Donghua's first time visiting their farm. When he brought his team to film, he couldn't help but say to Zhou Yan, "Your farm truly lives up to its reputation in Vine City. It's so impressive. I've visited so many places, but few can compare to yours in terms of size and decor."

Zhou Yan shook hands with Fan Donghua with a beaming smile, "Everything else is fine, but the plants on our farm are President Qing, so the environment here is exceptionally good."