Returning to the rest room, Ning He first went to the wash area to take a shower before lying down on her sleeping bag.
Outside in the dining area, noises still echoed from time to time; the customers had not yet completely dispersed.
Today, the Ring 3 restaurants had managed to sell a considerable amount of food by riding on their coattails. After their stall closed for the day, several more waves of customers arrived one after another, all ending up spending money at those establishments.
Having already enjoyed quite a bit of the soup, they still wanted to scoop the meat into their own bowls—talk about insatiable greed.
Ning He uttered a couple of silent complaints in her heart, turned over, and closed her eyes.
Although the indoor temperature remained above thirty degrees, fortunately, the humidity had been brought under control, making it tolerable enough. Ning He was truly exhausted; even though the physical sensation was far from comfortable, she quickly fell asleep.
While she was sleeping soundly, inside a single-occupancy room in the Ring 1 area of the sanctuary, Lightel was enjoying a delicious dinner.
“Honestly, making the boy break the rules to use a shuttle just for this little bit of food—you’re being far too willful. Besides, didn’t the logistics department send us meal packages? They’re quite lavish, too. Why go through the trouble of bothering others?”
Mrs. Lightel sat across from him, her face filled with disapproval.
“Fine, fine, I was wrong. It won’t happen again. My dear, quickly try this—I guarantee you’ll love it.” Lightel admitted his mistake with a cheeky smile and handed a neatly rolled piece of lettuce to his wife.
Looking at her husband whose entire heart was devoted to the food, Mrs. Lightel let out a helpless sigh and took the offered lettuce roll.
“I really don’t know what kind of food could be so delicious to be worth going through so much trouble.”
As Mrs. Lightel spoke, she casually took a bite.
Mm—!
This flavor!
Mrs. Lightel looked at the lettuce roll in her hand in shock, taking a good moment before reacting.
“Where… where did you buy this?”
Lightel raised an eyebrow in triumph. “Didn’t I say you’d like it? It was just from an inconspicuous little noodle stall. Even I hadn’t tasted this sauce before. That kid Jack is smart; he even bought a few extra boxes for us. Doesn’t it taste like your hometown?”
Mrs. Lightel was not a native of Beiluo City. In her hometown, everyone loved spicy food, and various chili peppers and spicy sauces were local specialties. However, ever since moving to Beiluo City, such flavors had become very hard to come by.
She never expected to taste it inside this tiny cabbage roll.
“It is very similar, mm… yet also very different. There’s a charcoal aroma, like the taste of barbecue.”
Mrs. Lightel carefully savored the intense, stimulating fresh spice in her mouth, the light in her eyes growing even brighter.
“Besides chili peppers, there are probably many other aromatic vegetables added in here, right? The flavor profile is so rich—it’s both spicy and fragrant, with just the right amount of saltiness, and even a tiny hint of sweetness.”
“Right? I told you you’d like it! Try these two as well.”
Lightel attentively pushed the mayonnaise and the tomato meat sauce noodles in front of his wife. Mrs. Lightel tried a bite of each.
Finally, she set down her chopsticks and let out a sigh.
“No wonder you didn’t mind the trouble to buy it back. It truly is stunning, and it saves you from disliking vegetables, solving a headache for me instead.”
Lightel stroked his beard and laughed happily. “Then when we get outside, I’ll take you to the shop to eat! Who knows, maybe there will be other good things!”
Mrs. Lightel covered her lips with a smile. “Alright, when the time comes, I want to buy extra of this spicy sauce.”
After enjoying a wonderful meal together, Lightel and his wife lay on the sofa to rest. Idly opening his phone, he discovered that his old friends had sent many messages in the group chat.
“I heard the shop we went to this morning released another new sauce, a fresh and spicy flavor. Guys, do you want to go check it out again?”
“It’s already too late! Everything sold out, and the stall closed! *Sigh!*”
“So fast? No way, right?”
“It’s true! My wife’s cousin’s son just went, and he didn’t get to eat any either. He could only grab a quick bite at the neighboring restaurant.”
“Then didn’t we miss out?”
“Exactly! We can only find another opportunity in the future.”
Scrolling through these messages, Lightel rolled his eyes and sent out a message of his own.
“Exactly! What a pity! We can only make do with ordinary food these few days.”
After sending the message, he put his phone away to the side and leisurely began rocking his chair.
Who told him to have foresight?
He hadJack go buy a portion in advance.
Jack was a smart kid, too, knowing to buy a few extra portions of sauce for him.
Mm, he’d have to find a day to specifically praise that kid.
As for his old pals……
There really wasn’t a large quantity, not enough to share, so he had better just eat it himself.
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Ning He did not wake up until eleven o’clock the next day. After washing her face, she prepared to eat.
Now that she had money in her pocket, she had become generous with her dining as well.
Before leaving, Connie had left her two steamed buns, a small box of sliced braised pig liver, and a spoon of burned chili sauce.
Ning He felt that something was still missing, so she simply took these items to the dining area and found a seat in front of Golden Pomelo Restaurant to sit down.
With the noodle stall packed away, the number of customers coming due to its reputation had dropped sharply, and the front of the Ring 3 restaurants had returned to a sparse, quiet state.
The head chef let out a cold snort the moment he saw her and paid her no further attention. The waiter also smiled with a bit of embarrassment, asking what she would like to order.
“Just one portion of that salad of yours, nothing else.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
Ning He didn’t care about the sizing-up glances around her; she was here to spend money, not to pick a fight. Could they really chase her away?
Soon, the salad was brought out.
A palm-sized portion containing lettuce, cabbage, corn kernels, diced cucumber, and a countable number of chicken pieces.
Twenty raw coins—earning a massive profit on more than half!
Ning He’s gaze landed on the tiny dish of vinaigrette.
Although the customers’ innovative way of eating yesterday was already quite good, she could take it a step further.
Ning He picked up the vinaigrette and poured it into the burned chili sauce. Mixing the already fresh, spicy, and bold sauce with the flavor of eating vinegar was simply the finishing touch, making the sauce’s flavor profile even richer. With sour and spicy working together, it provided the ultimate stimulation and appetite enhancement.
Using a lettuce leaf to wrap up some cabbage and diced cucumber, she placed two slices of the old grandfather’s braised pig liver on top, added a bit of the adjusted burned chili sauce, and rolled it up.
*Chomp*—a huge bite!
The fresh crunchiness of the vegetables was a polite greeting to her taste buds. The soft, tender texture of the braised pig liver quickly changed her teeth’s attack pattern, while a long-lost braised aroma swept through her mouth and nose. Driven forward by the upgraded burned chili sauce, it instantly stormed its way through her nasal passages, conquering her entire stomach and even her brain.
It was so delicious she could shed tears!
The unique texture and flavor of the braised pig liver complemented the burned chili sauce perfectly, tasting even better than Ning He had imagined.
Before she realized it, the bowl was empty.
Having the waiter heat up the two steamed buns in the microwave to finish off, Ning He enjoyed an unprecedentedly satisfying meal. She paid the bill and slowly strolled back toward the rest area.
Meanwhile, the head chef of Golden Pomelo Restaurant had just learned from the waiter that several more customers had walked out directly because they didn’t have the rumored spicy sauce, without even drinking a glass of water.
The head chef’s teeth ached with rage.
When had a high-end restaurant like theirs ever encountered such a situation?
In the past, wouldn’t everyone end up eating at their shops in the end? Since when had they become so picky?
It was all that person’s fault!
Spoiling the customers’ palates while refusing to cooperate with them, leaving them stranded in limbo with half the ingredients they brought left unsold!
Their own homemade spicy sauce was always lacking in flavor; several customers in a row gave mediocre reviews, so they didn’t dare sell it outside anymore.
It was truly frustrating!
With a dark face, the head chef waved his hand, called over a waiter from the shop, and whispered a few instructions into his ear.
He wanted to see just what kind of master this girl really was!