bioinnovel Chapter 50 The Amazing Soup
Chapter 50 The Amazing Soup
5:20 PM.
The early summer breeze in the plaza on the first floor of Yintai Building dispelled some of the sweltering heat.
Lin Chen and his group stopped at their usual spot.
Today, since the planning department did not have any busy meetings scheduled for the afternoon, Liu Wei and his group slipped downstairs early and took the front of the line.
"Boss Lin, Brother Wang, the three of us have won first place today."
Liu Wei stood at the front, looked at Lin Chen who was getting off the bus, and greeted him with a smile.
"No need to work overtime today, so I came down early to queue up, just waiting for this hot meal."
Zhao Qiang rubbed his hands together beside him.
"Good."
Lin Chen nodded slightly, took out the car keys, and tied the faded apron around his waist.
Wang Hai deftly lowered the partition in the carriage and unfolded the folding table.
Then he took out several small stools from his car and neatly arranged them on the empty space to the side of the stall, specifically for customers who wanted to eat there.
Tangtang hugged her little stool and obediently walked to the side of the control panel and sat down.
She placed the plastic bag full of disposable spoons on her lap, her little hands ready to distribute the spoons at any moment.
On the other side, Wang Hai and Lin Chen worked together to carry down two stainless steel insulated containers filled with rice.
Then, the two carefully lifted the heavy soup pot with the sealing ring to the most conspicuous position on the counter.
Wang Hai took out a large stack of unopened, transparent disposable soup bowls and arranged them.
He straightened up, looked at the long queue in front of him, and cleared his throat.
"Everyone, please line up! Have your payment codes ready!"
Wang Hai, with his booming voice, announced loudly, "Today, anyone who buys fried rice will receive a free bowl of soup!"
These words immediately sparked a discussion within the group.
"There's even free soup?"
The boss is particular!
"Great! I ate too fast yesterday, so I even went to the convenience store to buy some water."
Liu Wei stood at the front, looking at the large soup pot, and also became interested.
As Wang Hai spoke, he reached out and unsealed the sealing ring on the lid of the soup pot, then lifted the lid.
The moment the lid was removed, a fragrant aroma wafted out of the bucket and instantly entered the nostrils of Liu Wei and the other two people at the front of the line.
Li Na sniffed hard, her eyes lighting up: "It smells so good!"
Brother Wang, what kind of soup is this?
It smells like old hen soup that's been simmering for a long time.
"Li Meizi has a really keen nose!"
It's made with pure old hen and pork bones.
Wang Hai smiled smugly, picked up a long-handled ladle, and stirred the contents of the bucket.
Liu Wei and Zhao Qiang also stepped forward and peered into the bucket.
Upon seeing this, both of them were stunned.
"Brother Wang, your soup smells delicious, but it looks..."
Liu Wei pointed at the soup bucket, a hint of doubt in his voice, "Why does it taste like plain water?"
There wasn't a speck of oil or any meat scraps in it.
Li Na also came over to take a look, and indeed, the liquid in the bucket was a light amber color, crystal clear, and did not look like the kind of thick meat broth that had been simmered.
"This is called clear soup."
Lin Chen stood in front of the stove, pressed the gas stove knob with his left hand, and with a "click", a dark blue flame shot up.
As he poured oil into the pot, he calmly explained, "What you're drinking is the original flavor."
Oily soup with fried rice makes my stomach feel uneasy.
After saying that, Lin Chen didn't offer any further explanation.
Crack in the egg mixture and pour in the aged rice.
As the shovel flips, the dry rice grains scatter evenly in mid-air, blending perfectly with the golden eggs and emerald green scallions.
While Lin Chen was making fried rice, Wang Hai deftly took three transparent plastic soup bowls and ladled in the steaming hot broth, then covered them with plastic lids.
"Brother Liu, your food is ready!"
Two minutes later, Lin Chen pushed the three servings of fried rice with minced meat to the side of the table.
Since they were eating there, Wang Hai didn't put the food in a bag; he simply handed them the lunchbox and soup bowl.
"There are 297 in total. Scanned."
Liu Wei waved his phone.
"Uncle Liu, Uncle Zhao, pretty auntie, here are your spoons!"
Tangtang tiptoed and pulled three spoons out of the bag, carefully handing them to the three people.
"Thank you, Tangtang."
Liu Wei and the other two took the lunchbox, soup bowl, and spoon, turned around and walked to the newly set-up folding table, pulled out the small stools and sat down.
"Hurry up, I'm starving!"
Zhao eagerly opened the lunchbox.
The aroma of scallion and egg custard wafts over.
The three of them picked up their spoons and began to eat heartily.
The texture of the fried rice with broken pieces is still amazing, with distinct grains, dry and fragrant.
With every bite, you can feel the freshness of the egg and the unique chewiness of the aged rice.
Liu Wei took four large bites in a row.
As the rice went down, the dry texture was satisfying, but it inevitably caused a slight dryness in the mouth.
Liu Wei felt a tightness in his throat and instinctively stopped eating, reaching into his bag for the thermos.
As soon as his hand touched the water glass, Liu Wei's gaze fell on the transparent soup bowl on the table.
"I almost forgot, there's also this bowl of soup today."
Liu Wei withdrew his hand and lifted the plastic lid of the soup bowl.
Without the lid blocking it, the aroma wafted out again.
Liu Wei picked up the plastic bowl and tentatively took a big gulp.
The warm soup slid into my mouth.
At that very moment, Liu Wei's chewing motion completely stopped.
The seemingly light and watery broth explodes with rich umami flavor the moment it touches the tip of the tongue!
It's not greasy at all, nor is it heavy with any spices; it's just the aroma and sweetness of meat.
The warm, clear soup flowed down my esophagus, perfectly washing away the dryness and greasiness that had lingered in my throat.
"Oh my god..."
Liu Wei, holding a bowl of soup, stared wide-eyed at Lin Chen, who was tossing the wok, and exclaimed in admiration, "Boss Lin, I am completely impressed by your skills!"
This soup is amazing!
Hearing Liu Wei's exclamation, Zhao Qiang and Li Na, who were engrossed in eating, also stopped.
"What's wrong, Brother Liu? Is it really that good?"
Zhao Qiang quickly picked up his soup bowl, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful.
After drinking the soup.
Zhao Qiang slammed the bowl down on the small table, smacked his lips, and turned to give the stall a thumbs up: "Boss, I take back what I just said!"
This isn't just plain water! It's even fresher than the soup I had at that fancy restaurant in the Romantic Kingdom last month!
Li Na also took a sip, and her eyes lit up instantly.
"Boss, this soup is absolutely amazing!"
As Li Na shoveled fried rice into her mouth with a spoon, she exclaimed excitedly, "It tastes so fresh, yet it looks so clear!"
I felt a bit dry after eating fried rice, but after taking a sip of this soup, I felt completely refreshed, and it perfectly relieved the dryness!
A perfect match!
The three sat at a folding table, each bite of fried rice accompanied by a sip of clear soup.
The two complement each other perfectly in the oral cavity.
"This feels so good! Those ninety-nine yuan were totally worth it!"
Liu Wei shoveled rice into his mouth while sighing with emotion.
"Uncle Liu, is the soup Daddy made delicious?"
Tangtang sat on the small stool, tilted her little face up, and asked happily.
"It's delicious! It's so delicious! Tangtang's dad is a super chef!"
Liu Wei responded with a smile.
Lin Chen scooped the fried rice out of the pot, glanced at the three people sitting at the folding table, nodded slightly with a calm expression, and continued to stir the rice with the spatula in his hand.
Meanwhile, the white-collar workers who were initially skeptical of the "soup that tasted like plain water" in the queue in front of the stall heard Liu Wei and his two companions' evaluation throughout the entire process.
Seeing Liu Wei and the others eating their rice and soup with such satisfaction, the group immediately stirred with excitement.
"Brother Wang! Hurry up, hurry up! I wasn't thirsty at first, but seeing Brother Liu and the others drinking has made my mouth water!"
"Boss, give me four takeout orders!"
"Make sure you fill my bowl up with soup, don't spill it!"
"Hey buddy, could you hurry up a bit? I can smell the soup! I'm starving!"
The crowd's appetite was completely ignited by this free bowl of clear soup.
Wang Hai was all smiles as he quickly packed up the packages and collected the money.
"Everyone, don't rush! There's plenty of soup today! Buy one meal and get one soup free!"