Chapter 306: Taste and Memory
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"I can show my dormitory to you next time. Let’s get something to eat first." Eventually, Yuan Zhou didn’t take her to the male dormitory building.
"No need. We can eat on the way back or it’s also a good choice for you to specially cook a meal for me." Jiang Changxi answered mischievously with a tone full of teasing.
"There’ll be BBQ served tonight. You can come." Yuan Zhou said primly just when Jiang Changxi thought that he wouldn’t answer her.
"Gee? A new service?" Jiang Changxi became surprised.
"Humm. Let’s go to eat something." After a nod, Yuan Zhou turned around and took her toward the main avenue.
"Where are you going to eat, the dumplings of that Granny Zhang or the cold rice jelly over there? If not that the BBQ will be served tonight, I really want to try the taste of the Little Yang Grilled Squid."
Jiang Changxi brought out a long series of foods continuously. Most importantly, all these foods were introduced by Yuan Zhou just now.
It seemed that although Jiang Changxi just answered him with sort of simple words of "ok" or "humm", she had been actually listening to him carefully, rather than doing that perfunctorily.
"Where do you want to go?" Yuan Zhou was a little touched in the heart and hence answered gently once in a blue moon.
"Why don’t you come to my home and cook for me? Come and try the difference between your kitchen and mine." Jiang Changxi rolled her eyes and teased him again frankly.
"Sometimes, you look more like an elegant woman when you don’t talk." Yuan Zhou couldn’t help saying that.
"Well, sorry, I’m much too good. Don’t you also feel it’s not good of me to be so beautiful, right?" Jiang Changxi lifted up a strand of hair with a narcissistic manner.
"Let’s go to eat the wonton. It’s over there." Considering the considerate deeds of Jiang Changxi, Yuan Zhou said nothing about his opinions of pretty girls, thus he had to change the subject.
"Sure. Compass Boss Yuan, are you treating?" Jiang Changxi revealed a surprised expression.
"Yes, I’m not a stingy person." Yuan Zhou emphasized once more.
"I didn’t say you were stingy, Compass Boss Yuan." Jiang Changxi covered her mouth and snickered.
"Humm, let’s go." With a nod, Yuan Zhou indicated that he believed in her. Then, he brought her to the stall to eat wonton.
"Is this the small wonton that you mentioned just now? It seemed that the owners changed." Looking at the two men who were apparently not the couple, Jiang Changxi asked in puzzlement.
"I don’t think so. That couples had sons." Yuan Zhou looked at them carefully and then said affirmatively.
"Really? Boss Yuan even knows about that?" Even if Jiang Changxi sat in the dusty store, she likewise appeared glamorous. This thing called aura was really strange.
"I guess so." Yuan Zhou answered honestly.
Jiang Changxi shrugged, not knowing if she believed or not. But Yuan Zhou didn’t really care about that. Instead, he turned the head and directly started to order the dish.
The preparation method of the small wonton was very easy. Flatten a thin dough skin about a young girl’s palm size, scoop up a little pure meat stuffing with the bamboo chips, pinch the dough skin with the palm tight after wrapping the meat stuffing inside and then a small wonton was good.
With such a preparation method, a proficient person could make about half a bowl’s amount within one minute.
"Puff puff"
After throwing them into the boiling water for an instant, the dough skin of the wonton immediately became transparent, vaguely revealing the pink meat stuffing inside.
Then, pour some seasoned hot powder, chopped green onions and a little salt into the water. The most important ingredients were naturally the dried little shrimps and seaweed powder in the end of the cooking.
With the little shrimps and seaweed, even the chicken powder or MSG wasn’t needed at all.
The soup of the little wonton was merely the broth scooped up along with the wonton.
Once the steaming hot broth and the small wonton were poured into the bowl, they instantly soaked into the dried flavorings.
In an instant, the delicate flavor blended with some pungency of the seasoned hot powder evoked people’s appetite.
"Yum. It really looks nice. Let me savor the taste first." Having showed no dislike to the bowls and plates, Jiang Changxi took the chopsticks and said excitedly.
"Um. This wonton is suitable to be eaten hot." Yuan Zhou felt both slightly nostalgic and a little disappointed.
With his sensitive taste sense, he naturally found out the taste had slightly changed and was no long like before.
Since the owners changed, the taste changed, too. Even if the previous owner’s sons were running the stall now, the taste still changed. It was so much for the saying of "a particular taste belonging to a particular person."
"Awoo, awoo." Jiang Changxi was eating quite happily. Having eaten a lesser half of the wonton, she raised the head and then found Yuan Zhou wasn’t eating, thus she asked.
"Didn’t you tell me it’s good to eat it hot?"
"Um, I’m going to eat now." After a nod, Yuan Zhou picked up the plastic spoon and started to eat.
As the dough skin of the wonton was fairly thin, it slightly melted in the hot water after a while. When Yuan Zhou ate it, the dough skin had slightly melted and thus the taste was a little different.
But still, Yuan Zhou was eating with appetite. Back to this place, he was actually eating the memory rather than the taste itself. Therefore, he basically finished the wonton at the same time with Jiang Changxi.
"I’m stuffed. Yeah, it’s tasty." Jiang Changxi answered smilingly. In front of her were two empty bowls.
Nevertheless, Yuan Zhou checked the phone for the time. It was 7:30 in the evening.
"It’s the time to leave. Do you have anything else to do?" Yuan Zhou had originally intended to leave, but he suddenly remembered that Jiang Changxi came to fetch something. Therefore, he was a little embarrassed.
"Never mind. My problem has been solved as I have asked others to get it," Jiang Changxi said with a comforting manner.
"Um. Then come to my restaurant to eat the BBQ." Yuan Zhou invited her again.
"Don’t worry. I definitely won’t miss the new service of Boss Yuan, not to mention you invited me personally." Jiang Changxi nodded the head and agreed.
"Good. Let’s go." While they were talking, Master Bai’s car had approached them. Yuan Zhou helped Jiang Changxi open the car door.
"Thank you." Jiang Changxi sat in the passenger seat while Yuan Zhou sat in the back seat alone.
After they got on the car, Yuan Zhou recovered his normal wordless state and Jiang Changxi just closed her eyes and rested there while leaning against the seat.
In the car, the driver Master Bai was playing his favorite old songs. Well, the old rock songs.
The nameless singer was singing some lyrics unknown to Yuan Zhou with his cracking voice.
While the atmosphere was quiet and peaceful at Yuan Zhou’s side, it was totally different at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
Starting from the moment the customer saw the A4 paper, they didn’t feel good.
"What’s the matter? Why are they in such a chaos?" It was a man who was dressed in business suit and wearing a tie, on which there was a diamond tie clip.
"Manager Shi, let me go over to see what happened." Beside him was a slender woman who was dressed in a business dress. When she heard that, she revealed an inquiring expression on her delicate face.
"No need. Let me go to check it myself. What’s wrong with Boss Yuan?" The man called Manager Shi frowned and said that while walking forward.
"He might not have noticed the situation here." The woman guessed.
"You are new and might not know about my temperament. I don’t like others talking much beside me." Manager Shi glanced at the pretty woman beside him and said indifferently.
"Sorry, I get it now." The woman immediately restrained herself and stood back to the rear left of Manager Shi.
Then, manager Shi nodded the head contentedly. As they were getting closer, they heard the discussion at the entrance of Boss Yuan’s restaurant.
"On seeing the white color, I had a premonition. As I got close, I found it’s really a leave request. Boss Yuan, you are way too deceitful." It was Wu Hai who was about to cry into the air.
"There weren’t any clues at all. It’s surprisingly the unexpected leave request again. Come on. I came here for the first time in the past three weeks." Another customer was just speechless.
"I strongly request that Boss Yuan not rest." Yuan Zhou would definitely say it’s not humane if he heard this proposal.
Even other customers at the side couldn’t tolerate him.
"You can’t be too mean. He’s not likely to work all day long. I think he can work twelve hours every day and the remaining twelve hours are for rest." This customer said that with a generous tone.
Then, the customers started a heated discussion. After Manager Shi knew the reason for leave, he really wanted to say, "I don’t know if it’s good for me to swear."
...