Gourmet: Midnight Vending

A half rack of lamb doesn't provide much meat, and after making it four times, about eight pounds were gone.

This stuff doesn't just have little meat; it also consumes a lot of broth. The mutton soup made early in the morning was all used up for the scallion mutton.

"No wonder restaurants today don't like to sell this dish. After all the effort yesterday and today, I made less than a thousand Yuan. Who would be willing to make it?"

Chen Mo quickly washed each piece of cookware and put them in the cabinet for automatic cleaning. Outside the food truck, six people were still craving more.

"Don't just look. If I make more, I'll have to boil the mutton soup again and braise the mutton, which will take at least seven or eight hours in total."

Yu Hui took a deep breath, "No wonder this dish is delicious. With so much effort, how could it not be tasty?"

The Feng Family's Three Brothers nodded in agreement.

Feng the Second lamented, "It's a pity. If our big market on the first day of the lunar year was successful, Boss Xiao Chen could definitely earn a lot tomorrow!"

Old Yu thought so too.

Many things work like this, one link leading to another. A single mistake can lead to a chain of missteps. Other villages invited various internet celebrities, drawing many people to watch the fun. Now, Dakang Stronghold is almost beyond redemption.

Even the local residents went out to join the fun. What else can we expect?

Yu Hui sighed, "That's indeed the case. Keeping Younger Brother Chen in the village to set up a stall feels like wasting his talent. Hehe, I feel a bit embarrassed."

Chen Mo wasn't one for politeness, "To be honest, I share the same thoughts as you. Moreover, you all should be more aware of these policy-related matters than I am."

The Feng Family's Three Brothers remained silent, while Yu Hui looked frustrated. Previously his thoughts were nothing more than last-ditch efforts.

Chen Mo felt his trip to Yu Province was about finished. According to his initial plan, he didn't intend to stay too long in Yu Province.

The cuisine of Yu Province shares common elements with many northern provinces—it's delicious but often only regarded as such by locals due to its distinct regional traits.

Since everyone felt like it was beyond turning around, Chen Mo didn't linger, "Alright, Old Yu, if you don't need me to set up a stall, I might as well leave first."

"You can leave, but you must first come home with me."

"Oh?"

Half an hour later.

Yu Hui stood in the courtyard, looking at the yellow food truck, his head buzzing.

"Younger Brother Chen, how come this car holds so much?"

Chen Mo carried a sheep to the floor of the food truck, "Just a normal car. Hey, Old Yu, give me a hand."

Yu Hui, with a dark face, helped hoist the freshly taken whole sheep from the cold storage onto the food truck, "Younger Brother Chen, this really holds a lot!"

Initially, Yu Hui genuinely wanted to give Chen Mo two sheep. He sincerely wanted to give them.

But at the last moment, whether on impulse or to show off, Yu Hui changed his tune, saying, "Since Younger Brother Chen loves my lamb so much, I'll give you a few. Your car isn't that big, take whatever you can. I have plenty in my cold storage."

As everyone knows, Chen Mo doesn't bother with those polite words.

When the eighth perfectly cleaned whole sheep was loaded onto the truck, Yu Hui's mouth began to twitch uncontrollably.

Dunzi came running out of the cold storage, carrying a sheep on his shoulder, "Can it still fit?"

Chen Mo wanted to laugh, but he couldn't, "Enough, enough, it's basically full. Thanks a lot, Old Yu."

"Just... no big deal." Yu Hui's heart was bleeding.

Chen Mo came out of the food truck and got into the driver's seat, "Well, nothing else to say, Old Yu, I'm off. See you on the road!"

"See... oh!"

Chen Mo stepped on the gas, and the food truck wobbled away from Dakang Stronghold. Feng the Second, standing at the back, took a breath, "Younger Brother Chen is really not polite!"

Yu Hui stood with his hands in his pockets, "No big deal, huh?"

From his pocket, he pulled out a stack of something, and upon closer inspection, it was a wad of cash, tied with a slip of paper. It was a whole ten thousand Yuan freshly withdrawn from the bank.

"Emma, how can Younger Brother Chen be like this?" Yu Hui glanced at it and then put it back in his pocket, "If you're giving a gift, just give it. What's the point of this?"

Feng the Second thought to himself how quickly Old Yu's mood changed. Just moments before, he was gritting his teeth in pain, and now he acted so nonchalant—how disgusting!

After leaving Dakang Stronghold, Chen Mo drove on a rural road, with a Cadillac following behind for escort.

LuLu called Chen Mo, "Boss Xiao Chen, we're heading back too. Safe travels!"

"Heading back, huh? Not following me for food anymore?"

LuLu's voice was sweet and cheerful, "I can't, I have to return and study. Whenever you create some earth-shattering delicacy again, even if you go abroad, I'll chase you down!"

"Okay, you guys drive slowly on the way back, and tell Dunzi not to fancy himself as Takahashi."

The two vehicles parted ways on the road to the city, one heading north and the other south.

Chen Mo chose the route towards the Pingding Mountain area of Xuchang, from where he could head south into the Xiangyang district.

Finding a deserted spot, Chen Mo packed the freshly loaded whole sheep into the cabinets inside the food truck and wasn't in a hurry to leave. Since watching the sunrise at Wanglong Mountain, he'd discovered a very special spot—the rooftop.

"Damn, where's my Xiao Juzi?" Chen Mo returned to the driver's seat and searched around, resentfully realizing that focusing on loading whole sheep had made him forget about Xiao Juzi.

"Juzi!"

"Meow!"

Following the sound, Chen Mo looked over to find Xiao Juzi trembling, nestled in the seam connecting the head and tail of the food truck.

"What are you doing there?"

Xiao Juzi: ???

Holding Xiao Juzi, he climbed onto the top of the food truck and lay down steadily. It must be said, the sky in Yu Province is much bluer than in Jin Province.

Moreover, looking around, there are endless green fields with no obstacles, unlike Jin Province where you see continuous mountain ranges as soon as you look up.

Chen Mo lay on the roof enjoying the serenity of the moment. As his mind moved slightly, the multimedia automatically started playing Xu Wei's "Travel".

"Life is probably just like this... one person, one cat, one car, going wherever you want, stopping whenever you please. It's indeed very comfortable."

After the song finished, Chen Mo wondered if he should make some food to eat. Today he was so busy that he only had a bowl of noodles and a few slices of lamb.

Once he decided, he acted on it!

Turning over and jumping off the food truck, Xiao Juzi was so frightened that all four of its paws clutched tightly onto Chen Mo's shoulder, only to be thrown into the driver's cabin by Chen Mo, "You're not allowed in the food truck."

"Meow!"

So sensible.

Chen Mo returned to the food truck to start figuring out what delicious food to make to comfort his stomach. Another reason being, after having autonomous driving, Chen Mo has always preferred to travel at night.

That way, he could sleep in the car. When he is not busy, it would be even better to buy an inflatable doll to place in the driver's seat, so he could lie in the back and sleep comfortably!

"Little car, how far can our sky eye detect road conditions?"

[One kilometer.]

"So can I use autonomous driving, and if you detect anything, you just stop on the roadside?"

[???]

Traveling down this road, Chen Mo discovered a problem. This national highway seems to have been newly constructed, and there were hardly any cars on it. Several surveillance cameras passed by were just empty frames without any monitoring equipment installed yet.

Even if there are cars, our food truck has an anti-peeping privacy feature. With the speed of the car, nothing could be seen. Chen Mo felt that he could completely eat while driving, and he was reminded of a movie—Let the Bullets Fly.

"Having a hotpot shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The food truck, indeed obedient, started moving forward slowly with its owner still inside, while Xiao Juzi curiously perched on the steering wheel, looking around.

If someone saw this now, they'd probably be startled, "A cat can drive?"

Chen Mo opened the food truck's window to let the outside breeze blow in freely, enjoying the summer evening sunset and breeze, then took out some dried goods to soak in water.

Wood ear mushrooms, dried green beans, dried shiitake mushrooms, lily flowers, and Sichuan vermicelli noodles.

Of course, these are just supplementary ingredients. The main ingredient has to be the lamb given by Old Yu!

Chen Mo took out a whole lamb and compared it, closing his eyes, and as his mind moved slightly, a black kitchen knife appeared in his hand.

[Black Blade: Made from some unknown material, cuts through bone like mud, automatically adjusts sharpness based on the touched ingredients, and won't absorb any food flavors.]

[Advanced Feature: X-ray vision.]

After Chen Mo made several plates of braised lamb with green onions, he completed a side quest. Unlike the previous two rewards, the Black Blade appeared directly in the system panel in his mind!

The method of use is extremely simple, just close your eyes and think about needing a knife in your mind.

Chen Mo had questioned before, why couldn't the black spoon and black pot work like that?

The system's response at the time was: Don't you think it's quite silly to summon a pot or a spoon from your hand?

Indeed, if it's a knife, it does seem a bit cool.

The Black Blade is quite beautifully shaped, with three sharp edges on the back, forged into a color of stainless steel, and the extravagant part is that the handle is also made of metal, sculpted into a lifelike golden dragon, very handy to hold!

The whole lamb was on the chopping board, Chen Mo holding the Black Blade, wanting to experience what the so-called [X-ray vision] feature is all about, and just how sharp the so-called [Bone-cutting like mud] really is?

Hotpot lamb sliced thin is a popular way to eat for Northerners.

Southerners often disdain this way of eating, thinking that wrapping sesame paste and eating hotpot is not something humans should do!

Chen Mo is a fan of both Northern and Southern cuisines, without rejecting any; however, the current ingredients are more suited for Northern-style hotpot lamb.

The Black Blade descended on the rear leg of the lamb.

The choice for this spot was because the rear leg meat has a high fat-to-lean ratio and even distribution of muscle fibers. If you can cut very thin slices, once cooked in hotpot, the taste will be extremely tender and juicy.

Chen Mo felt worried. He had helped with sheep slaughtering at home back in junior high, but never had experience in slicing meat.

But when the Black Blade landed on the rear leg, Chen Mo's eyes suddenly widened with astonishment in his expression.

"This is..."

He wasn't sure if it was what he saw with his eyes or just an image appearing in his mind. It felt as if he suddenly gained a new perspective.

And that perspective began from the edge of the Black Blade, expanding forward, passing through the lamb leg meat fibers allowing Chen Mo to clearly see the location of the bone joints!

Chen Mo applied slight pressure on his wrist, having gained a new perspective, the direction in which the Black Blade would cut was entirely controllable!

A cut from the upper side of the rear leg, tracing along the joint, the process encountered no resistance at all, as if he was cutting through a block of tofu.

This...

Chen Mo held the Black Blade up for a closer examination, the blade was free of any grease or residue. With slight breaths, there was no scent of any odor.

So impressive!