It's New Year's Eve in a blink of an eye.

The people who went to work in the city have already left the city one after another, and the usually noisy streets and alleys of city A are rarely quiet.The city has become empty, and red lanterns are scattered on the street trees, swaying in the wind in the winter sun.

These are almost the bleakest days on Anxu Road in a year.

After Jiang Ci counted the things to be transported to the food festival, she took a breath of white steam and rubbed her hands together.

She had no plans to do business on New Year's Eve, so she sent the employees back to their homes early.Wang Jianian returned to Wang's house a few days in advance, Lin Wu is a local, while Liang Hui and He Mingcan's homes are in nearby small cities, and they can go back and forth on the same day.

After the afternoon, Feng Qianguan was left alone.

Jiang Ci looked at the clean shop.

This is the first Spring Festival she has celebrated since she came to this world.

The festival is familiar, but the situation is different from the past.Here, she has no former family and friends, and in order to avoid trouble, she has basically cut off her past relationship with Xiao Jiang Ci.

On weekdays, except for shop assistants, diners, and suppliers, she hardly interacts with anyone else.

So, when the clerk left, Jiang Ci rarely...felt a strange tranquility.

It was as if the world suddenly became empty, and only she was left.

Jiang Ci was silent for two seconds, put on her scarf, and after checking that everything was fine, she went to Zhao Sulan's home in the suburbs.

On this day, Zhao Sulan refused to let her granddaughter cook and insisted on making dumplings herself. Jiang Ci obeyed the old man's wishes and raised her hands, expressing that she would just be a good granddaughter who opened her mouth and waited to eat.

However, when Zhao Sulan was slowly chopping stuffing, Jiang Ci couldn't help but suffer from an occupational disease, took the knife from her hand, and then drove grandma aside.

"Grandma, I'll chop stuffing, and you make dumplings. Let's cooperate, so it's faster." Jiang Ci said, "I'm hungry, I'm in a hurry to eat."

The little granddaughter said she was hungry, so of course Zhao Sulan didn't continue to be persistent, and walked aside to make dumplings with the already chopped fillings.

Dumplings are stuffed with three delicacies. The fat and thin pork belly is chopped into puree, mixed with dried shrimps, and then chopped together with leeks. The minced fillings are pink and tender, mixed with emerald green and orange red.

The white dumpling wrapper was spread out in his hands, round and cool, he scooped up a spoonful of filling and stuffed it in, and then carefully kneaded each pleat.

Zhao Sulan's movements were slow but serious.While chopping stuffing, Jiang Ci looked at her back, and a sudden warmth flowed from the bottom of her heart.

Back then, in order to fulfill Xiao Jiang Ci's last wish, she decided to take good care of Zhao Sulan.But at this moment, Jiang Ci suddenly felt that if Zhao Sulan was really her grandmother in this world, that would be fine.

"The stuffing is all ready." Jiang Ci quickly finished his work, and adjusted the seasoning by the way. The originally plain three fresh stuffing suddenly exuded an attractive meaty aroma.

"Smells so good! Xiaoci, you are amazing!" Zhao Sulan smiled happily as she smelled the fragrance.

Jiang Ci joined the dumpling-making team. She said it was a team, but in fact there were only two people, but she made a team of dumplings by herself.

Zhao Sulan stared blankly at her granddaughter's actions.

Thin white fingers pinch the dumpling wrapper, shake it off, and press down on the filling at the same time. The fingers move quickly. After a few seconds, a big, bulging dumpling is wrapped, and every fold is beautiful.

The dumpling was gently thrown on the large porcelain plate, almost without stagnation, and the next dumpling was formed in the girl's hands immediately after.

That's... the speed of a career.

Jiang Ci didn't pay attention to Zhao Sulan's hesitant eyes. She was really hungry and wanted to eat. It didn't take long before the whole pot of stuffing was wrapped.

Zhao Sulan looked at the... dumpling crooked in her hand, and was stunned.

"It's too fast, didn't you come out of it by opening a restaurant?" Zhao Sulan's eyes were both gratified and emotional.

Jiang Ci smiled: "Well, that's it."

Jiang Ci put the dumplings into the pot and began to steam them over water. After ten minutes, a plate of white and fat dumplings came out of the pot.

Three delicacies stuffing, pay attention to one fresh.

The fresh pork belly is fat and thin, and the taste is sweet and mellow. After biting, the full gravy in the pork is squeezed out, bringing out a very strong pork aroma.And the chopped dried shrimps are very salty and fresh after being sun-dried, which is responsible for providing the freshness of seafood.

Continue to chew, the green leeks are tender and refreshing, and the unique aroma is firmly sealed in the dumpling skin, flowing and invading into the plump and juicy meat filling.

"Delicious, delicious!" Zhao Sulan nodded after eating, "Today's stuffing is so delicious, it's never happened before, how did you adjust the taste!"

The dumplings were warm, and Jiang Ci squinted her eyes after eating them, and said, "It's grandma, the stuffing you made today is really good."

Zhao Sulan smiled happily: "Haha, good is good, good is good. Eat more."

After eating the dumplings, Zhao Sulan turned on the TV and started watching the show.In the past few months, this was the first night that Jiang Ci rested and did not work. She washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.Everything should be ready?

Jiang Ci pursed her lips, recalling bit by bit.

Zhao Sulan: "Oh, granddaughter, please sit down. It's New Year's Eve, don't be so diligent."

Jiang Ci followed Zhao Sulan's wishes and sat down, struggling to get out of this uncomfortable state.She fiddled with her mobile phone for a while, and sent a red envelope to each employee, but no one received it for the time being, and everyone was celebrating the holiday with their families.

Spend the holidays with the family.

Jiang Ci was thinking ecstatically.

Suddenly, the phone vibrated.

Jiang Ci scratched it open, her eyes widened slightly.

It was the news from Qi Yan.

Qi Yan: [Happy New Year.]

Jiang Ci's eyes curled up. This was the first blessing she received this night, except for Zhao Sulan.

It seems that the network is sluggish, and [the other party is typing] is still displayed on the top of the chat box, Jiang Ci ignored it, typed with his fingers, and quickly sent a sentence back.

Jiang Ci: [Happy New Year!]

The chat box freezes all of a sudden.

After two seconds, [the other party is typing] popped up again, blinking.

Qi Yan: [Tomorrow, I will continue to help?]

He added an explanation: [There is nothing wrong with the Spring Festival.]

The gourmet festival in Province A lasted from the first day to the third day of junior high school. In the early morning of the first day of junior high school, Jiang Ci had to go back to work again.

Jiang Ci was a little surprised: [Are you in City A?]

She knew that Qi Yan's home was in the same city as Pan Xingchang's, both in City B.

Qi Yan: [Yes.]

Jiang Ci wanted to ask if you didn't come home?After thinking about it, he stopped his fingers again.

When she was in Pan's House, she actually noticed that when Pan Xingchang mentioned Qi Yan's family, Qi Yan's face was quite impatient, which was an expression he rarely showed.

That's why Jiang Ci voluntarily left the scene and went to the parking lot alone.

Recalling Pan Xingchang's vague words, Jiang Ci suddenly realized something.

Qi Yan is not a person without a family, there is only one reason for him to do this.

He doesn't want to go back.

Everyone has things they don't want to talk about.

Jiang Ci didn't continue to ask, and continued to type: [Okay, but how much will you be paid for hiring you?]

Qi Yan: [These three days, Feng Qianguan's three meals.]

Jiang Ci thought, what kind of reward is this?We're all going to the gourmet festival, and it's not finished until we fill our stomachs.

She smiled and replied: [deal.]

Another corner of City A.

Qi Yan looked at the reply on the phone, and silently bent his lips in the quiet room.

...

At five o'clock the next morning, when it was still dark, Jiang Ci yawned and transported the prepared ingredients to the venue with the truck.

The gourmet festival starts at eleven o'clock every day. On the first day of the festival, Jiang Ci plans to cook a beggar's chicken.

This is a dish with a strong aroma and a strong penetrating aroma, which is suitable for her to attract diners in a venue with complex aromas and competitive incentives.

Moreover, beggar chicken can be prepared in advance. You only need to take care of the roasting time on site, and you don't need to worry too much about other things.

The fat, tender and plump three-yellow chicken, after being cleaned, is smeared with a special sauce, and then stuffed into the refrigerator to marinate slowly.Then, carefully hollow out the inside of the three-yellow chicken, stuff it with seasonings such as mushrooms, fungus, red dates, and chestnuts.

The condiments determine the flavor of this beggar chicken that is different from other restaurants. Jiang Ci seasoned it carefully. Before it is baked, the whole chicken seems to have a strong fresh and sweet aroma.

After the three-yellow chicken is processed, it is wrapped with big lotus leaves, folded several times to wrap the deliciousness inside, and the outer layer is tightly tied with hemp rope.

Finally, apply yellow mud on the outer layer of the lotus leaf and spread it evenly.The beggar chicken then becomes a solid piece, which at first glance looks like a clod of dirt on the outside.

Jiang Ci brought such a cart of "clods" to the venue.

In the past, to be a beggar chicken, she had to take out an earthen kang and carefully watch the fire burn the mud, and it was difficult to control the heat.Now, a stable and clean oven solves this problem.

With ten ovens working at the same time, more than 20 beggar chickens can be baked in one batch.

...

When Feng Qianguan's employees arrived at the venue and started working early.

Countless tourists who had heard about the name of the Food Festival in Province A and planned to come to have a look also started to set off from their homes.

Among them, there are old gourmets who have traveled from far away.

Liu Yuanmao tied his tie in front of the mirror, and then put on a low-key long woolen suit. The winter in City B was extremely cold, so he had no choice but to wrap himself in a thick overcoat.

In the end, Liu Yuanmao combed his hair carefully again, and made a delicate hairstyle out of the gray hair.

At the door of the room, the little grandson poked his head in, and when he saw his appearance, he immediately said, "Grandpa, you've cleaned up like a dog today!"

"Hush. If you don't know how to use idioms, don't use them indiscriminately. How can grandpa make you look like a dog?" Liu Yuanmao corrected him, "This is called romantic and suave."

The little grandson followed suit: "Suave and suave!"

Liu Yuanmao: "Hey!"

"Still romantic and suave? It's pretty stinky." Liu Yuanmao's son looked at his father, "Do you have to go on the first day of the new year? Is the food festival so fun?"

"Yes, of course." Liu Yuanmao looked at his son's suspicious expression, and hurriedly said, "You don't know, President Zhao is here for real this time! He sent invitations to a large number of industry and gourmets.There will be a lot of people coming. Your father is proficient in multiple languages, and this time he has a heavy responsibility, so he has to do a good job in reception work."

The son laughed: "Are you still receiving it? Aren't you just here to eat?"

"Hey, you little bastard." Liu Yuanmao made a gesture to hit him.

The son hid to the side, and led the dazed little grandson out of the room.

Liu Yuanmao: "I won't tell you anymore, I'm in a hurry, my old friends are waiting for me at the airport, don't be late."

The son moved out of the way: "You go quickly. The hairstyle is pretty good, don't mess it up, you have to wear a hat anyway."

Liu Yuanmao: "..."

The son said again: "It's okay to go, if you find something delicious, don't always think about Panjialou's fried chicken with sauce. You can be greedy, don't make it yourself at home, recently I vomited from eating chicken at home, you don’t have that skill, so stop messing around.”

Liu Yuanmao: "You guy can die if you don't talk? You didn't hear half of the sentence."

Ever since that day, when he tasted the fried chicken with sauce in Panjialou, Liu Yuanmao's dream has always been like that.He only found out later that he praised Pan Xingchang for a long time, but he praised the wrong person, and that dish was not made by Pan Xingchang at all!

Whose skill could it be?Liu Yuanmao was extremely curious, but he seemed to have offended Lao Pan. No matter what method he used for more than a month, Pan Xingchang would not let go.

Thinking of this, Liu Yuanmao couldn't help becoming angry again.

Liu Yuanmao snorted angrily: "Let's go!"

...

At eleven o'clock in the noon, tourists entered the venue one after another, and the first batch of beggar chickens were baked at about this time.

Zhao Zhichen got up early in the morning. On this day, he had no papers or big questions in his mind, but he was only looking forward to the delicious food wholeheartedly.He got up slowly, washed up, and after breakfast, he was in a daze for a while, feeling a sense of long-lost relaxation.

Seeing him like this, Old Zhao and Mrs. Zhao frowned and smiled.

After the car arrived at the venue, Zhao Zhichen got out of the car first, and the Zhao couple went to another branch venue to find the Zhenwei Pavilion of old friend Feng Pingfeng.

Zhao Zhichen found Lin Hong at the same table and several other classmates in the crowd - they made an appointment in advance, and went to Feng Qianguan's stall together on this day.

These days, many people in their class are used to Feng Qianguan's dishes and are deeply impressed.If possible, everyone wants to come, but some students have other arrangements, so they can only choose the next two days.

In the class, many people paid close attention to the front-line developments of Zhao Zhichen and the others.

[@Zhao Zhichen, Brother Zhi, I will take two pictures of Boss Jiang’s new dishes later to see, I haven’t eaten for a few days, I’m going crazy!】

[@林洪, Brother Hong, you went too, right, don’t stop Brother Zhi from posting, or I really can’t swallow the food at home today!】

Zhao Zhichen looked at the contradictory words in the group, was speechless for a while, and turned off the chat interface.

"What can Boss Jiang do? On her account, she only said that she can cook new dishes, but she didn't say what it is, which made me scratch my head." After entering the venue, a student looked around curiously.

"Anyway, everything Boss Jiang cooks is delicious. Even if she makes a piece of mud, it's also a fairy mud." The person who answered has become a loyal fan of Feng Qianguan.

"Hey, those guys in the group are so naive." Lin Hong said while replying to the group message, "Come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? I'm afraid they won't be able to join Boss Jiang's team!"

Zhao Zhichen was the most reliable among them. The tall and thin young man didn't speak up. He just grabbed his phone, found the distribution map of the merchants published by Feng Qianguan, and identified the location: "Let's go there, Feng Qianguan is in that direction."

A group of people moved quickly.

Lin Hong said while walking: "I heard from my mother that Boss Jiang is very, very beautiful. I don't know if it's true. I haven't seen it yet..."

"You haven't seen it yet! You must have not looked carefully at the class group, someone picked up the link of "Looking for City A" in it."

A classmate held up his mobile phone and approached Lin Hong.

Lin Hong glanced at it, opened his mouth dryly, and a slight blush appeared on his face: "Yes, it's quite beautiful..."

Seeing his appearance, the classmate quickly put the phone back: "Virtue!"

The venue is not big, and the few people had a clear goal and walked quickly. They found booth No. 18 in Area A in a short while.

"Wow, this is Feng Qianguan. It's the first time I've been eating..." A female classmate stared blankly, and then her eyes lit up, "That's Boss Jiang!"

The ceremony had only started for a few minutes, and there were not many people in the venue, only sporadic tourists walking around, so there was no queue in front of Feng Qianguan's stall, and a few students could easily see what was going on inside the stall.

Feng Qianguan's booth is about 30 square meters in size, at least two-thirds of which are surrounded by counters for food preparation.

At the counter, several people were busy, and the girl standing outside was slender, fair-skinned, and her black hair was coiled up behind her head. From their angle, she could see her delicate profile, hanging downHer eyelashes were dark and thick, her thin lips were slightly pursed, and she was writing and drawing on the counter.

"Okay, so beautiful..." the girl said blankly.

The boy next to him blushed and didn't answer, but just lingered on the spot for a while.

Jiang Ci noticed a few boys and girls who stopped a few meters away, and waved at them: "Come and try?"

A few students pushed me and pushed you over.

Probably because the usual image is more reliable, Zhao Zhichen was pushed to the front by several people.

Zhao Zhichen: "Boss Jiang, what are you selling today?"

"The main dish at our stall today is beggar's chicken, 40 yuan a piece." Jiang Ci pointed to a paper bowl with a diameter of about ten centimeters next to it. "A piece is so big."

Then, she pointed to a small table five meters away: "There is a free tasting area. You can try it before deciding whether to buy it or not."

"I want one." Zhao Zhichen directly ignored the tasting area, does this still need a tasting?

"Me too!" "Boss Jiang, we want two!" Several students ordered quickly.

"Okay, wait a minute." Jiang Ci smiled, her peach blossom eyes slightly curved.

He Mingcan brought out the first beggar chicken from the oven. After a long time of roasting, the yellow-brown soil on the surface of the beggar chicken has become dry and hard.

Jiang Ci took a kitchen knife casually and hit the mud with the back of the knife.With a firm sound, lightning-like cracks suddenly burst out from the originally seamless clod.

Jiang Ci knocked again, and the soil shattered, revealing the tightly wrapped lotus leaves inside.

In an instant, a strong fragrance exploded——

"Damn it, it smells so good!" The girl standing closest couldn't help but let out a small exclamation, and quickly shut her mouth when she realized that she had accidentally slapped her.And those eyes hidden behind the glasses seemed to be shining slightly, staring intently at the lotus leaf in front of Jiang Ci.

The scent comes from there.

Jiang Ci picked apart the lotus leaf with a clean blade and chopsticks, revealing the cooked roast chicken inside.

After being marinated and baked, the surface of the Sanhuang chicken has turned into a very attractive light brown color. Under the light, there is a layer of light luster. At first glance, it looks like a gray-green lotus leaf has a piece ofHuang Yingying's jade.

Jiang Ci took a meat cutter with a thin blade and slid it down skillfully——

The thin and tender chicken skin is cut open, revealing the white, soft and smooth chicken inside. In the inner cavity of the three-yellow chicken, full of seasonings are exposed: dark red dates, brown chestnuts, ruddy ham, rice whiteSliced mushrooms... Various seasonings are made of chicken, which has been stewed to produce rich juice. The juice is flowing on the tender chicken, and there are golden chicken fat floating on the surface...

"...!"

The students watching... suddenly swallowed heavily.

The students who once exclaimed "Boss Jiang makes a piece of mud is also a god's mud" sighed again silently in the bottom of their hearts...

It's really fairy mud!

Jiang Ci skillfully decomposes the chicken. The chicken she uses is not big. One chicken is divided into four parts, which can fit into four small bowls, and make sure that each small bowl gets a chicken wing or drumstick.

After the chicken was completely cut open, the soup that was originally contained in the inner cavity flowed out, flowing along the lotus leaves onto the baking tray.

Several students stared intently at the baking tray.

What the hell...it feels so pity.

If it weren't for the sake of face, really want to drink those soups.

Jiang Ci interrupted their thoughts. She evenly divided the ingredients inside the chicken into small bowls and handed them to them.

Jiang Ci: "Your beggar chicken."

"Thanks, thank you!" The students came back to their senses and stammered thanks.

Soon, each student was assigned a paper bowl,

Zhao Zhichen looked down at the paper bowl in front of him. Inside the paper bowl was a sliced lotus leaf. On top of the lotus leaf was a part of a whole chicken.

Zhao Zhichen put on his gloves and carefully picked up the chicken bone with his index finger and thumb - he was lucky to get a chicken leg.

The beggar chicken was just out of the oven, and it was still hot. The heat made his fingers tingle, but he was completely reluctant to let go.

So...so fragrant.

With the movement, the chicken leg was lifted into the air, and the soup seeped down from the gap between the chicken bone and the leg meat, and dripped onto the lotus leaf.

After biting it, Zhao Zhichen was so shocked by the deliciousness in his mouth that his arms stopped in the air.

The chicken wrapped in the mud and roasted for a long time is extremely smooth and soft. With a light roll of the tongue, the chicken will be peeled off from the chicken bone... Even, it seems that the more force you lift the chicken bone, the more plump and delicious it will be.The chicken thigh meat will fall off automatically.

The flavors of chestnuts, mushrooms, ham and other seasonings have completely penetrated into the chicken drumsticks. Every bite...every bite, the unique and delicious flavor blooms in the mouth. The complex, charming, delicious taste passes through the taste buds and nerves.To communicate, directly and strongly to his brain.

Zhao Zhichen opened his eyes wide.

The world seemed to fall silent at this moment.All around, the chattering voices of the students had disappeared, and everyone was eating—eating with all their heart and soul.Any extra speech is a sacrilege to the deliciousness of the moment.

After a while.

Zhao Zhichen looked blankly at the bottom of the empty bowl, only a few small chicken bones remained inside.

Uh-huh?

there is none left.

But he wasn't satisfied yet.

Zhao Zhichen looked up, Feng Qianguan's first batch of baked beggar chickens had just started selling, and there were still many bulging earthen bags that hadn't been cracked open. Thinking of the deliciousness in those earthen bags, he made a decision in an instant.

Zhao Zhichen: "Boss Jiang, I want four more beggar chickens."

The family of three who participated in the food festival, plus the grandmother at home, happened to have a portion for each person.

However, Jiang Ci tapped on the small blackboard next to the counter.

Zhao Zhichen looked along and saw two lines written on the small blackboard.

[Beggar's chicken: 40 yuan/serving

Quantities are limited, limit to two per person.]

Before Zhao Zhichen could speak, the students next to him who had the same idea as him couldn't help but screamed.

"Damn it, no!"

"Boss Jiang, how can two servings be enough! I have to bring it to a friend!"

"Boss Jiang, look at my sincere eyes, I really like your food, please be accommodating~" The girl tried to win by being coquettish.

"Sister, I don't want four as many, just three, is three okay?"

"Sister, you are so beautiful, you will promise me, right?"

The slender teenagers crowded in front of the counter, with sincere eyes and a clear tone, with a hint of... imperceptible pretense.

Zhao Zhichen stood beside him, completely numb: "..."

Do you want to do this.

Jiang Ci smiled: "The mouth is so sweet, but today I followed the rules, there are not too many. You have already eaten a portion just now."

"Sister, can you accommodate me? What about the two shares, two shares?" This one worked tirelessly.

Qi Yan filled a new batch of clods into the oven, and when he turned his head, he saw a group of teenagers and girls...mainly teenagers, surrounded in front of the counter with enthusiasm, their eyes sparkling.

Qi Yan: "..."

Zhao Zhichen stared at the beggar chicken that had torn off the lotus leaves and was emitting heat, and waited silently—mainly to hear whether the efforts of the brother next door would be successful.

Suddenly, someone next to him tapped the table with his knuckles.

The teenagers raised their eyes and saw a man looking down at them with a handsome face but a serious expression.

Zhao Zhichen: "?"

Qi Yan: "Have you finished eating?"

Everyone looked at the paper box in their hands, and nodded blankly: "...It's finished."

Qi Yan pursed his thin lips slightly, and made a gesture of invitation: "If you still want to buy, please continue to line up."

Qi Yan: "You are blocking others."

The author has something to say:

Mr. Qi: "."