Chapter 6 (2/2)

“You only need to add three of these seeds, it’s got a strong aroma, if you add more, the flavor will change, remember only three… This is for lifting the overall aroma, just a small piece is good… This is the secret to having a creamy soup, to use a whole fish, the bones aren’t enough to create this flavor. Once you fry it, you add in the hot water. Once it’s boiling, you add in larger pork bones. Remember to pull the fish out, otherwise it’ll disintegrate in the soup… And this, you can’t forget this, it’s to remove the smell. The bones are critical as well, come with me to the market tomorrow, there’s a really good butcher that sells the freshest bones. I buy from him year round. He knows me, if you say it’s for XiQin Restaurant, he’ll know how much to give you.

“Remember, you can raise the price but you can’t change the ingredients. Whether or not a noodle tastes good is wholly dependent on the soup. The prices are rising and my noodles have gotten pricer, but people still return because my ingredients never change…” Old man Yang talked as he taught Lin ShuYi. Lin ShuYi nodded, remembering every step. Then, much to his surprise, old man Yang discovered that Lin ShuYi learned everything only by seeing it done once.

How much of these complicated spices to put in; how to put them in; when to put them in; he remembered them perfectly. Actually, when he first started as a server, old man Yang was shocked. Although he didn’t have that much variety on his menu, when it got busy, there were at least tens of take-out. So who wanted what, who wanted is spicy and who didn’t, he remembered it all without a single mistake.

This child was unusually smart, if it wasn’t for his family…he would have much greater accomplishments.

When the sauces were done, old man Yang tasted all of them. It was just enough seasoning and so the sauces had an intense aroma and the flavor was just like his. Everything solidified his assumption that not only was Lin ShuYi smart, he was also a talented cook.

The noodles weren’t easy to make either, some were skinny, while some were thick. Usually the thicker noodles were sliced noodles while the thinner noodles were hand pulled. Due to that, how to roll the dough, how much water and salt to add, what temperature the water should be at; these were all critical in making a chewy but not fragile noodle.

Once all the preparations were done, the sun started to rise.

“Xiao Yi, what do you want to eat? Even if we make noodles, we can’t eat them every day. Since we have already worked through the morning, we won’t be cooking. In front of ChaoYang Street there is a good breakfast place with a lot of variety. I’ll give you the money, you go see what you want to eat and bring some ShuMai back for grandpa.” Old man Yang pulled out some cash from his pocket but Lin ShuYi didn’t take it.

“I have money.” He barely spent any money since he arrived, everything he ate was from the restaurant and everything he used was from a nearby supermarket. He had never gone further than that, so he didn’t have any place to spend his money either. However, he knew that everything needed money here, so he always carried cash with him, although not much. Normally he wouldn’t even leave ChaoYang Street, so it was his first time hearing about a breakfast place.

When Lin ShuYi saw the store with the long line, his lips raised to a smile. This meant delicious food.

Before he arrived, he was noticed by some of the young girls in the line and one of them even greeted him with a smile, “You’re here for breakfast too huh?”

Lin ShuYi: “….”

Lin ShuYi had a weird memory. He could easily remember stuff but not people. If it wasn’t someone he was familiar with, even if they walked passed him multiple times, he wouldn’t remember their face. Thus, even though this girl looked particularly familiar, he couldn’t recall anything.

The young girl spoke with shock, “You don’t remember me? My house’s next to XiQin Restaurant and my grandma goes to eat there everyday!”

Lin ShuYi thought about it for a while and finally remembered. This girl was the granddaughter of the woman who talked a lot. Currently she was in eleventh grade, younger than him by a year. Her grandma often went to the restaurant and talked about her granddaughter.

Lin ShuYi smiled, “I remember now.”

Once Lin ShuYi smiled, the girl turned a bit red and turned around, whispering something to the other girl with her. Lin ShuYi wasn’t interested, his focus was on those steaming bamboo baskets. Like XiQin Restaurant, it wasn’t a big breakfast place, actually it was even smaller than the restaurant but it had everything and had a great assortment of food.

“Owner, I want two Mushroom Chicken ShuMai, a box of Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, and a Purple Sweet Potato Crystal Rice Dumpling to go!”

“Got it!”

Lin ShuYi’s smile deepened. It looked like there was really a lot of good things. He lined up for a good half hour before it was his turn.

The female owner looked at him with a smile, “Young lad, what do you want?”

Lin ShuYi saw the menu and said with a smile, “Give me one of each.”

The owner was dumbfounded, although they didn’t have that much stuff, there was a huge variety, at least ten to twenty pieces. With one of each, could this young lad finish it all?

“To go?”

“To go! Also give me three ShuMai!” Lin ShuYi took a bunch of small bags back to XiQin Restaurant.

When old man Yang saw it, he was shocked, “Why did you buy so much?!”

It was because he hadn’t tried all of them, so he wanted a taste of each. As it turned out, a young man who was growing could eat a lot. Although the portions were small, Lin ShuYi bought enough for at least two or three people, but he managed to eat it all by himself. By the end, the rubbed his round belly and let out a satisfied sigh.

The food in this world was really good, he liked both the sweet and salty.