Gourmet: Midnight Vending

"Honey, my mom is bringing my brother and sister-in-law to our house tomorrow, make sure you arrange it well!"

In the BMW Mini, the man in the passenger seat nodded with a complex expression, "No problem. Today, the two of us come here to check it out first. If the conditions here are decent, we'll book this place for tomorrow."

Jing Zhaodi parked the car in the resort's parking area and unbuckled her seatbelt, "I brought the kids here to play before. The environment is quite nice, but unfortunately, the hotel's restaurant is somewhat ordinary, and the price of the dishes isn't very high."

Zhou Xudong got out of the car and took his daughter out of the safety seat, "That's not acceptable. Back when we got married, they were adamantly opposed. How can I let them see the kind of food I've arranged?"

Jing Zhaodi tidied up the stuff in the car while talking, "That's what I mean. Anyway..." Her face didn't look too good, "Anyway, we can't lose face!"

Ten years ago, Jing Zhaodi met Zhou Xudong while working in Yu Province. As they spent time together, they developed feelings for each other, neither being locals.

Jing Zhaodi is from Gan Province, and Zhou Xudong is from the impoverished mountains of Sichuan.

When Jing Zhaodi first took her boyfriend home, her parents stopped them at the door and scolded them before they could even step inside.

That day is one Zhou Xudong would never forget.

"Without 688,000, don't even think of marrying my daughter!"

"How dare you, a poor kid, think about getting married and having children? Are you worthy?"

"What can you give my sister to make her happy? Someone like you isn't fit to be my brother-in-law!"

Zhou Xudong lost all face, turned and left without stepping into the house. What touched him, though, was that three days later, Jing Zhaodi snuck out from her home in Yu Province to join him.

From that day on, they worked together as strangers in a foreign land, starting from working in a materials factory to becoming renovation workers, from taking small renovation jobs to gradually moving to bigger ones.

Step by step, relying on good credibility and solid quality, Zhou Xudong gradually established a foothold in this city.

Their car upgraded from a Wuling Hongguang to a Corolla, then to an Audi A6. Last year, to facilitate their child's schooling, they bought Jing Zhaodi a BMW Mini.

Their house also upgraded from cheap public rental housing to a nice, upscale community in the city center, with a spacious 240-square-meter flat.

Four years ago, as life improved, they finally decided to have a child.

However, during these ten years, neither mentioned that home; even Jing Zhaodi herself was disheartened. Just a few days ago, though,

Jing Zhaodi's mother suddenly reached out to her.

Apparently, her brother found interest in a girl from Yu Province, and they were coming to propose marriage and also pay a visit to this sister.

Zhou Xudong knew they weren't visiting this sister who had lost contact for ten years; they probably just wanted to see how wretched this sister, who desperately followed him back then, had become! And then deliver some sarcastic remarks, telling Jing Zhaodi she deserved it for not listening to her parents.

"Xudong," Jing Zhaodi didn't want to think about the past, "Tomorrow..."

Zhou Xudong held the child with one hand and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder with the other, "Don't worry, although we're not considered wealthy, we're definitely better off than your brother."

The two forced smiles that looked awkward.

Only to hear their three-year-old daughter, Zhou Xintong, babbling while pointing outside the resort's gate, "Bobo Chicken, Bobo Chicken, Bobo Chicken! One yuan a skewer of Bobo Chicken!"

Zhou Xintong babbled as she repeated the tune she heard while watching videos with her parents, "Mom, what's Bobo Chicken?"

The forced smile on Jing Zhaodi's face turned genuine as she saw her daughter's curious expression, and all her displeasure vanished.

"Bobo Chicken is... let your dad explain, he's from Sichuan, he surely knows!"

Zhou Xudong burst out laughing.

In recent years, the real estate business hasn't been doing well, and his industry has entered a cold winter period. Fortunately, he accumulated many connections in the past years. Although his income has declined, it's stable enough, leaving him with plenty of time for life.

Ten years ago, the words hurt him so deeply that he hadn't stopped working himself to the bone for the past decade, not even knowing how much he needed to earn.

Only recently did he realize that money, as long as you have enough, is okay. Why would making money compare to the comfort of spending time with one's wife and kids?

"Bobo Chicken, huh? It's stuffed with lots of delicious things in a Bobo pot. Does Xintong want to try it?"

"Yes~"

"Oh!" Jing Zhaodi elbowed Zhou Xudong, "That stuff is way too spicy, how can the child eat it."

"It's all right, our Xintong has a bit of a knack for spicy food. Let's go and take a look!"

Jing Zhaodi looked speechlessly at Zhou Xudong carrying their daughter on his shoulders, thinking to herself, who knows how spoiled the kid will become at this rate. If she wants the moon from the sky, will you pick it for her?

"Walk slower!"

...

Li Xiaobo squinted at the yellow food truck, where a man and three women stood foolishly at the door.

"Chen Mo, are you sure this is how it's done? Why does it feel a bit..."

"A bit strange. Yeah, I think it's strange too. Even after becoming food, can't this poor chicken escape its fate?"

Su Shasha and Yino folded their arms, focusing on the chicken in front of them.

After nearly an hour of soaking in cold water, the cooked chicken became exceptionally firm. Though they hadn't tasted it yet, just from the look, the once plump chicken seemed to shrink by a size.

Chen Mo had earlier gathered some sticks from the roadside, cleaned them, and built a very simple rack. He hung all the soaked chickens on this rack. After allowing the surface moisture to slightly air dry, he spread a layer of sesame oil over them, which brought them to their current state.

Dozens of chickens hung in a row, swaying slightly with the wind, emitting an aroma of chicken meat and sesame oil. Surprisingly, it was quite a spectacle.

Chen Mo, holding a stick, confidently declared, "A great task is assigned to this chicken as well, so it must endure hardship. Who's in?"

Yino and Su Shasha took a step back simultaneously.

Brutal, they both found it too cruel.

What did the chickens do wrong?

Why, after being slaughtered and made into a delicacy, do they have to suffer like this?

"I'll do it."

Chen Mo turned his head to look, "Alright, you go."

The stick in his hand was taken by Lu Yingqiu, while Yino and Su Shasha behind them looked bewildered.

She's going?

She usually gets so nervous talking to strangers she could cry, and now she's going?

Chen Mo grabbed a chicken from the rack, went to the food cart, and pulled out a knife with an exaggerated look from who knows where.

Li Xiaobo next door watched in a daze.

This little boss is too much, isn't he? It's just a cleaver; no need to make it so fancy, even with a dragon design. Can you really use it well?

Li Xiaobo was even more frustrated, feeling like Chen Mo was just a flashy guy.

With the Black Blade in hand, Chen Mo took a deep breath as the image of making bang bang chicken flashed through his mind, and the tip of the knife glided across the various parts of the chicken.

Chicken head, chicken neck, chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken breast, back meat.

Chen Mo had some parts cut apart, Lu Yingqiu stepped up with the stick, her movements surprisingly sharp!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chen Mo nodded slightly, Lu Yingqiu lightly tapped each part with the stick, the force neither too heavy nor too light, managing to loosen each part with about three or four hits yet not making it fall apart.

It was a very curious state.

Loose, but not scattered.

Even if Chen Mo did it himself, he wouldn't have done better than Lu Yingqiu.

If the force was slightly too much, the meat would be pounded loose; if not enough, it wouldn't loosen up and would keep the meat tight or even lead to juice loss.

So when he saw Lu Yingqiu handle a piece of meat with just two or three taps, Chen Mo was quite surprised.

Had this girl practiced?

No, why is she so good at making this niche snack?

Looking at the quest guide, after spending a whole morning and even cooking together, Chen Mo noticed their familiarity level only increased to 21, making him feel this girl was indeed hard to approach.

"Amazing! Yingqiu, you're awesome!"

"Why do I feel like this isn't the Yingqiu I know? Boo hoo hoo..."

Yino and Shasha were almost dumbfounded – is this still the gentle, invincibly socially anxious Lu Yingqiu they knew, who only wanted to hide when something came up?

Chen Mo nodded slightly; Yingqiu did a great job!

If I opened a Sichuan Cuisine restaurant, I would definitely hire such a waitress – not only is she good-looking, but she can help with cooking too. Tsk, not bad.

And she loves wearing white socks.

After Lu Yingqiu finished with one chicken, Chen Mo continued cutting and pounding, the sound of "bang bang bang" ongoing.

Li Xiaobo was filled with envy, although his face showed disdain.

"Boss?"

Li Xiaobo turned back with a forced professional smile, "Hello, one yuan per skewer of Bo Bo Chicken!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yino and Su Shasha watching this side, and Li Xiaobo immediately felt like he was back on track.

What's the use of impressing girls?

What's the use of pounding chickens?

All those fancy moves, what's needed for a food stall is experience and wisdom, not showing off!

Don't customers still choose one yuan per skewer of Bo Bo Chicken?

"Honey, you choose. I don't know what to do."

"Isn't it simple?" Zhou Xudong hugged a whole pot and sat at the small yellow table, "Just eat, pick whatever you want, and count the sticks at the end to pay."

Li Xiaobo was a bit embarrassed; it was his first time seeing a customer eat like this.

In fact, when he went to Sichuan for research, that's exactly how they ate there – every store or street stall had many pots filled with skewers.

Customers would just grab a whole pot and sit down to eat.

However, returning to Yu Province, he found that people here couldn't quite accept this method and felt like they were eating someone else's leftovers.

Of course, if a customer insisted on eating like this, Li Xiaobo wouldn't refuse, though he kindly reminded, "Hello, if you do this, you can't put what's taken out back."

"Alright, I know." Zhou Xudong wasn't even looking at what he picked, grabbing a handful out of the pot, roughly fifty or sixty skewers, "You can take the pot back."

Li Xiaobo quickly provided a clean disposable lunch box, "Got it."

Zhou Xudong first took a bite of the bamboo shoots, his eyebrows furrowed then relaxed. The taste wasn't right, too sweet, more like some northern sweet skewer rather than Sichuan's Bo Bo Chicken.

But in a way, that was fine, at least his daughter could eat it.

"Tongtong, come, have some fish tofu." Zhou Xudong picked out a skewer to give to his daughter, but she didn't reach out to take it.

Instead, she was staring blankly at the side, at the cute yet imposing food cart.

"Bang bang, bang bang, I want the bang bang too!"

Zhou Xudong then noticed the sign in front of the food cart, his eyes instantly lighting up.

Oh?

Bang Bang Chicken?