Hearing the noise, Ares subconsciously looked up and met Sheng Jiu's resentful gaze.
Ares felt guilty for a second, quickly looked away, grabbed another pair of chopsticks, and carefully picked up a shumai from his basin, placing it neatly on Sheng Jiu's plate. At the same time, he picked up the slightly flawed shumai that Sheng Jiu had accidentally dropped onto the plate, put it in his basin, and swallowed it!
Sheng Jiu: ...
There was no need to do that.
Sheng Jiu's first attempt at tasting the delicious food ended in failure, leaving her slightly annoyed.
But Ares's actions were somewhat amusingly sneaky, and she couldn't help but laugh a little before picking up the shumai again.
The crab roe is on the top layer of the shumai, and the lovely white skirt is wrapped with a bright golden color. This color contrast alone is enough to arouse people's curiosity about new things.
Sheng Jiu observed for a while and found that her wrapping was not bad, then slowly brought it to her mouth and took a bite.
One bite and it bursts with flavor, a unique salty and fresh taste of the ocean.
The shumai had been sitting for a while, so the broth inside wasn't as hot anymore.
This bite was salty, fragrant, and gentle, with a slightly sweet aftertaste.
The temperature is perfect, the flavor just right.
The pork here becomes merely a garnish.
The shiitake mushrooms are even more of a supporting element.
The savory aroma of the crab roe instantly takes center stage.
However, the rich, meaty flavor of the pork and the umami of the shiitake mushrooms cannot be overlooked.
They are like flowers on a cliff, blooming resolutely yet silently in a corner.
Their vigorous vitality gives them more strength, allowing them to burst forth with even richer aromas upon maturity.
At this moment, within this small shumai, they and the crab roe are perfect partners.
They allow their respective umami flavors to blend even better, blossoming more perfectly.
Sheng Jiu nodded in satisfaction after taking a bite.
She only ate two, then stopped.
Ares ate the whole basin of shumai as quickly as possible. After he finished, the two woks that had just been steamed were ready to be opened.
Sheng Jiu let them cool for a while before packing them up for Ares.
After they went upstairs, upon seeing Paul, they both guiltily looked away.
Ah this…
They'd forgotten about him again.
Ares said quite naturally, "I'll feed him when I get back. Don't worry about it. Go downstairs and prepare the food. I'll be right back."
After he finished speaking and received a response from Sheng Jiu, he went straight out the door.
Hearing Ares's words, Paul wasn't surprised, but...
Do you two want to listen to what you're saying? Aren't you going too far?
While you guys were feasting down there, you let me smell the food up here?
Or, why don't you plug my nose too?
Paul's resentful gaze fell on Sheng Jiu.
Sheng Jiu quickly looked down to check if her hair was tucked into the hair cap, then checked if her hands were clean, and then checked the floor upstairs.
Anyway, she pretended to be very busy and didn't dare to look Paul in the eye.
Then, Sheng Jiu went downstairs amidst this flurry of activity.
Paul: ...
His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, could finally die.
Ares was indeed going quickly and returning quickly.
Just as Sheng Jiu started steaming a new wok of shumai, Ares returned.
This time, Sheng Jiu opened the door for him remotely.
Ares, though surprised, but wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sheng Jiu possessed some methods he couldn't even comprehend, but that only made him feel more at ease.
If the little girl didn't have a way to protect herself, Ares felt he wouldn't be able to leave with peace of mind.
The food preparation was finished, and the two of them sampled the dishes.
Now they could officially open for business.
Ares went to open the door, while Sheng Jiu went to prepare the crab roe sauce.
When Ares opened the door, there were six elderly men, four aunties, and seven young people with hair of varying lengths and colors standing there.
They stood in two neat rows.
Seeing Ares open the door, they smelled the delicious aroma wafting out.
The elderly men wore expressions of pure bliss.
This smell…
Fresh!
The elderly men went in first, followed closely by the aunties.
The young people arrived later and were at the back of the line. They didn't rush in, they went in after the elderly men and aunties.
So many people crowded in at once, and the shop looked a little crowded.
Ares calmly gestured for them to find a place to sit, then pointed to the bar: "Scan the QR code to order at the counter."
Grandpa Hong and the other elderly men approached with practiced ease.
The aunties seemed a little unfamiliar with the place.
However, the aunties were talkative and quickly struck up a conversation with Grandpa Hong and the others, asking how to order and then expertly operating the phone.
Watching the aunties playing on their phones, and even more skilled than them, the young university students silently gave their friends a thumbs-up: "Awesome!"
The aunties actually came here because they heard that there was a small shop here that served particularly delicious millet porridge, and that the millet porridge was also expensive.
When they actually saw the menu, two of the aunties frowned immediately: "298?"
They knew it was expensive, but wasn't it too much?
Just because you put in two slices of ginseng, you can sell it for such a high price?
Two other aunties tugged at their sleeves: "Ai ai, there are cheaper options too! Don't get excited, watch your blood pressure."
The dinner menu wasn't extensive, but it was fresh and fragrant.
The elderly men almost all ordered fried rice with an 8 yuan bowl of winter melon soup.
Don't ask why they didn't eat shumai.
The answer is simple: they just don't like it!
Waaah, their cholesterol can't handle the aroma of crab roe!
Don't they want to?
They didn't dare!
The aunties didn't dare either.
So, everyone ordered millet porridge.
The two aunties who initially said it was expensive insisted on trying the 298 yuan bowl.
After the other two aunties failed to persuade them, they could only sit back down.
Seeing that the elderly men and the aunties had finished ordering, the university students hurried to the counter.
They had already looked at the menu.
Although the prices were astonishing.
But, they were already there…
They felt they'd be missing out if they didn't try it.
These young people, all they care about is their food.
Just show off!
Of course, if it doesn't taste good, it will definitely be spread far and wide so that everyone in the surrounding villages knows about it.
Seven young people, four men and three women.
The four men were relatively decisive: "One serving of Crab Fried Rice."
"+1, please."
...
Two people ordered fried rice, while the other two ordered shumai and mixed noodles.
They decided to share the food.
The girls thought the jujube tea looked good, the millet porridge would also be nice, the shumai looked tempting, and the crab roe noodles sounded delicious.
Then, the three girls decided to draw electronic lots.
One ordered fried rice, one ordered mixed noodles, and one ordered shumai.
As for who would order which?
That would depend on who drew the lot.
The girls quickly solved the problem.
Since there were many of them, it wouldn't be good for them to squeeze into one table, so they sat separately.
The millet porridge was already cooked. Ares just needed to ladle it out.
This was the first to come out, and its aroma was faint.
Ginseng And Millet Porridge has a faint herbal aroma.
The university students didn't understand this herb or that herb, it just smelled like medicine.
However, it didn't smell bad. In fact, the more they smelled it, the more they felt...
It smells like the natural scent of grass and trees from deep in the forest, with a hint of enticing exploration.
One of the girls, smelling the aroma, couldn't help but swallow hard and whispered to her friends, "What do you guys think... should we splurge and order a 300 yuan bowl of millet porridge?"