Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

"Hey, I want one too."

"Then I'll wait until yours is cooked and try it first."

Compared to the other two girls who placed their orders directly, the girl on the far right seemed a little hesitant, worried that a handsome guy like Zhou Yu might not be able to cook well.

"Wow. Your soup base smells so good!" Gao Jing'an looked at Zhou Yu as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Okay... Hey? Do you want two bowls?" Zhou Yu looked up in surprise.

Seeing Zhou Yu's reaction, the three girls hesitated, but finally nodded in confirmation.

There was no way they could resist; the soup base was just too delicious.

"Hey, hey, I bought the first bowl of noodles, don't forget to give it to me first."

Gao Jing'an, who had only been reluctantly helping Zhou Yu with his business, suddenly became anxious.

"You should give me this bowl first."

Zhou Yu filled the noodles with an old-fashioned rooster-shaped bowl and handed it to Gao Jing'an first.

Chicken bowls are an indispensable part of the local food culture in Lingnan.

During the heyday of street food in the last century, because the word for chicken sounds like the word for auspicious, chicken bowls were the most frequently seen item at street stalls and open-air food stalls.

People outside of Lingnan region may know about the rooster bowl more through Stephen Chow's movies—all the bowls related to eating in his films are rooster bowls.

However, these days, very few shops still use rooster bowls, so when the owner of the secondhand market brought out a rooster bowl for Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu was pleasantly surprised.

Zhou Yu's stall didn't have tables and chairs, but Gao Jing'an's convenience store had two steel tables and chairs fixed to the ground, like those in a canteen.

Gao Jing'an held the bowl and began to eat his noodles. Only then did he notice that the wontons Zhou Yu had cooked had wrappers so thin that the shrimp and filling inside were clearly visible.

With one bite, the savory aroma of the meat and the egg flavor from the dumpling skin combine to create a delicious treat.

He picked up another bunch of noodles, firm and chewy. Only after quickly finishing the wonton noodles in a few bites did he exhale a deep breath and say to Zhou Yu:

"Your wonton noodles are really delicious! They're so much better than Afu's."

This time, his praise was genuine.

Seeing Gao Jing'an eating so heartily, the girls standing in front of the stall urged him on, "Boss, is it ready yet?"

"Alright, alright, do you want to eat here or take it home?" Zhou Yu asked.

Seeing that the person opposite him was gesturing for him to eat there, Zhou Yu took out two rooster-shaped bowls and filled them with wontons.

Although he bought a whole set of bowls, he actually only brought ten to the stall.

There was no other way; the only places to sit were the two tables and chairs at the entrance of the convenience store. He didn't want to wash dishes, so he only brought ten bowls and chopsticks, and used disposable ones for the rest.

He planned to be like the mugs in Starbucks, providing only disposable cutlery if no one asked.

Three girls, three pairs of chopsticks, two bowls of noodles.

As soon as she sat down, the girl who had been hesitating took a bite of the noodles and her eyes lit up: "Boss, give me a bowl."

The girl who was initially willing to share with her stopped sharing after trying the noodles, and kept muttering, "When your noodles are ready, you have to give them back to me."

As the aroma of three bowls of wonton noodles wafted out, this fresh fragrance was like a clear stream in a turbid world, passing through the pungent chili smell of the barbecue stall and the smoky aroma of the stir-fry. It awakened the polluted taste buds of all passersby.

One after another, college students passing by began asking Zhou Yu, "Handsome guy, how much are your wonton noodles?"

"A bowl of wonton noodles is ten yuan, and a serving of smashed cucumber is three yuan," Zhou Yu said.

"These noodles are made using traditional, hand-pressed bamboo-pressed noodles, which are especially chewy and delicious." He began to regain his initial enthusiasm.

Only then did Zhou Yu realize what mistake he had made.

From the very beginning, he underestimated the irresistible aroma of the wonton noodle soup base that the system had given him. Instead, he masked it to keep it warm, causing customers to only notice his incongruous demeanor.

That's why he failed to penetrate the market.

Sun Zhigang stared at Zhou Yu, somewhat incredulous. He never expected that this seemingly respectable man, who didn't look like a chef at all, could cook such an enticing soup base.

"This must be fake," he wanted to swear.

"Feifei, how about trying the wonton noodles?"

Two girls were hesitating in front of Sun Zhigang's stall when one of them whispered, "It looks delicious."

"Yeah, it looks really delicious. Shall we try it?" another girl whispered, glancing at Sun Zhigang.

Sun Zhigang could only pretend he hadn't seen it.

What else can I do? Go and yell at the customer: "You're already about to place your order, why are you ordering wonton noodles?"

"What's the difference between me and that stupid villain in the short drama?" Sun Zhigang thought helplessly.

He could only force a smile and watch his customers leave.

It's like when you're called upon and you meet a regular customer's technician.

After hearing a regular customer shout "Change the batch!", what else can you do but smile, turn around, and hope that the regular customer will order from you again next time?

"Boss, a bowl of wonton noodles, please."

"Boss, another bowl of noodles!" This was a guy who came out with his girlfriend.

"Boss, give me another serving of smashed cucumber."

This is the first customer who is not used to eating red Zhejiang vinegar and does not like the taste of alkaline water.

However, the "crack" sound of smashing cucumbers made a bunch of people swallow hard.

"Boss, I'll have a cucumber salad too."

Then came the sounds of "crunching" and "slurping" as people ate noodles in different tones.

This attracted a large number of new customers to come forward and inquire.

Zhou Yu was already drenched in sweat from his busy work.

Although it was snowing heavily in the north, and although it was getting dark.

But the autumn heat in the south was still intense, and with the steam rising from the boiling noodles, Zhou Yu felt as if he were in a sauna.

"Looks like I'll have to bring a towel tomorrow." Zhou Yu thought to himself, feeling completely soaked, as he glanced at the tissue box he had used up most of.

By this time, Zhou Yu's stall was already surrounded by people.

Gao Jing'an was also very happy because, as Zhou Yu's customer traffic increased, many students who were waiting for their meals also started buying snacks and water from his shop.

"Students, if you feel hot, you can come inside the store to enjoy the air conditioning. You don't have to buy anything."

He also enthusiastically helped Zhou Yu greet people and began guiding them into his shop.

"Mommy, Uncle's over there!"

"uncle!"

The familiar voice rang in Zhou Yu's ears again.

Before he could react, a little girl with two braids squeezed through the crowd and hugged his leg.

"Huihui, what brings you here?" Zhou Yu then realized that it was his niece Huihui, who loved to tattle.