Gourmet: Midnight Vending

Putting my skewers of chicken priced at one yuan each aside, are you all really eating his eight-yuan-a-serving bangbang chicken?

Li Xiaobo's confidence, which had just soared because a customer visited his stall first, was dashed back into dust.

Zhou Xudong was holding onto pure chicken leg meat. This snack had left an incredibly deep impression on his childhood. Whenever he could eat something of this level, he was the coolest guy in the class all week.

The prepared bangbang chicken, neatly packed in a small lunchbox, with each strip of meat pulled into nearly even strands, was covered in rich red oil after mixing, with a sprinkle of some green onions on top. Just the sight of its vibrant colors made one salivate uncontrollably.

"I can't wait any longer!" Zhou Xudong stretched out his chopsticks and grabbed all the meat strips from the small bowl.

He opened his mouth wide and stuffed it in hard.

"Wow!" As soon as he took a bite, Zhou Xudong was overwhelmed with a tingling scalp.

How many years has it been, and how far has he been from his hometown—finally, he tasted a flavor that was closest to his memories!

The peculiar seasoning technique caused the sauce-laden meat strips to burst with incredibly rich flavors the moment they entered his mouth.

Leading the charge was the most distinctive Sichuan flavor—numbness and spiciness!

However, these two flavors weren't too intense; they didn't overwhelm the mouth immediately. Before Zhou Xudong could savor them thoroughly, a flood of fresh savory, and sweet notes immediately drowned out the numbing spiciness.

The taste buds' cells instantly became active under the influence of multiple flavors.

Zhou Xudong munched on the chicken strips zealously, discovering that the texture of the shredded chicken leg meat was even better than he remembered!

With each bite, the juices filled his mouth, and the texture of the chicken was firm yet not dry, leaving a bouncy sensation as he chewed.

Every chew squeezed out the meat juices, which merged with the seasoning, creating a symphony of richly layered flavors.

"Delicious!" Zhou Xudong let out a long breath, but felt a bit regretful when he looked down again, "It's really tasty, but the portion is too small."

The small lunchbox wasn't large to begin with, and the handful of meat strips he grabbed was gone in one bite.

"You're complaining about the small portion, but did you see how you just ate?" Jing Zhaodi looked at him speechlessly, "Your mouth was wider than the bowl!"

Zhou Xudong chuckled awkwardly and looked at his wife and child.

The two were eating slowly and methodically, especially their daughter, who picked out each meat strip as if savouring diluted treasures.

Although the spiciness wasn't too high, the little one's taste buds were still quite tender.

She kept panting from the spiciness, but the later burst of fresh salty, sweet notes from the peculiar sauce made the numbing spiciness less prominent. Coupled with the chicken's enticing texture, the little one kept eating one strip after another, unable to stop.

"Mum, so tasty!"

"Compared to spicy sticks, which one is better?" Jing Zhaodi teased Zhou Xintong.

"The chicken is better!"

Oh wow!

Chen Mo felt a bit happy hearing this; kids at this age don't lie much. If she says it's good, then it must be good. If she thinks it's better than spicy sticks, then those can't compare to these chicken strips.

"Brother Xiao Chen, I think you should try making this into bagged spicy strips and sell them!" Su Shasha felt inspired.

Yino also saw potential in it, "Yeah, aren't chicken strips healthier and more nutritious than those things? It would definitely sell like crazy!"

Lu Yingqiu stared blankly at them, thinking that her two roommates were still a bit too naive and oblivious to the food industry. However, she didn't say anything, just dazedly watched the three customers.

Zhou Xudong wasn't satisfied with just his share and looked eagerly at his wife's portion, "Is the vine pepper flavor good?"

"Try it." Jing Zhaodi pushed the small bowl over.

Zhou Xudong didn't hesitate to empty the meat strips from the bowl with his chopsticks.

Jing Zhaodi was left speechless seeing him eat like this and tilted her head again, saying, "Boss, could you bring me three more servings?"

"Do you want to choose any?"

Jing Zhaodi shook her head, "No, no, just pick any for us. As for flavors..." She looked at the blissful Zhou Xudong, "Do you want the vine pepper or the peculiar flavor?"

Zhou Xudong smacked his lips, finishing the chicken. "Let's have six! Three of each. I didn't expect the vine pepper flavor to be so good, it's a real surprise!"

Unlike the peculiar flavor, vine pepper seasoning is essentially a low-key version when there's no vine pepper added; each taste is present but subtly.

Once vine pepper oil and fresh vine pepper are added, a new layer of taste immediately emerges beyond the peculiar flavor.

The mild and fragrant numbness of vine pepper delivers a refreshing taste when added to the bangbang chicken, while regular Sichuan peppercorns provide a milder numbness and a heavier aroma.

Hence, adding just a bit of vine pepper oil and fresh vine pepper makes it feel like a completely different style!

Jing Zhaodi got interested, "You have to tell me which one is better after all!"

Even the most delicious things should have a comparison, right?

Zhou Xudong breathed through his mouth so he could continually feel the aroma of the bangbang chicken weaving through his nose and mouth.

"The peculiar flavor is like Liu Yifei, and the vine pepper flavor is like Yang Mi. How can you ask me to choose between them?"

"What?" Jing Zhaodi aimed her chopsticks at Zhou Xudong, "What did you say?"

"Uh! I mean, they're both not as good as you."

"That's more like it." Jing Zhaodi rolled her eyes playfully, acting annoyed. This guy had gotten a bit cocky lately, daring to fantasize about Liu Yifei and Yang Mi?

Six servings of bangbang chicken were served again.

Zhou Xintong still hadn't finished her portion yet; although young, she's quite understanding.

At the beginning, she noticed a total of three servings on the table.

Hers, dad's, and mom's.

So, she ate particularly slowly, worried that if she finished too fast, there wouldn't be any left. If hers was gone, mom would surely give hers to her, but Xintong didn't want mom to eat less.

Seeing six more servings coming, there's no way they wouldn't have enough?

Impossible to finish it all!

Zhou Xintong stopped restraining, digging into her small bowl and shoveling strips into her mouth, cheeks stuffed and lips red, looking like a little chili pepper.

Jing Zhaodi looked exasperated on the outside, but happily pulled out tissues to wipe her daughter's mouth, then unceremoniously lifted the tissues to Zhou Xudong's face, "Head up! Pucker your lips!"

"Hehe." Zhou Xudong chuckled, puckered his lips, allowing his wife to roughly wipe his mouth.

Chen Mo and the three girls quietly watched this scene unfold.

Truly, it's happiness.