Chapter 140: Rice Cuisine Cooked in Various Ways
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"Boss Yuan?" The new customer was a girl who appeared to be incomparably innocent with a pair of watery eyes. She asked while looking at Yuan Zhou.
"Humm, what do you eat?" Yuan Zhou nodded and asked as usual.
"Boss Yuan, you really have a good-looking face," with a seemingly innocent-looking appearance, the girl said point-blank.
"Thanks. What do you want to eat?" Being complimented by the pretty girl, Yuan Zhou was in a good mood.
"Herbal Tea Egg, Phoenix-Tail Prawns and 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine, that’s all," this time, the girl ordered the dishes with a rather earnest expression.
"Good. It’s 3274 RMB in all, payable either by cash or by netpay. Please pay first," immediately, Yuan Zhou calculated the total price.
Suddenly, the girl leaned forward and put her head on the long table in one go, making her smooth and beautiful black hair instantly pour on the table. With sparkling eyes, she said, "Boss Yuan, I didn’t take the money with me today. But I can pay by my body. How do you like the idea? Remember, I have unlocked various gestures, in whatever way you like.
While speaking, she stared at Yuan Zhou with her seducing eyes earnestly.
"No way," Yuan Zhou felt tightened in the heart. He took a look at the girl earnestly and numerous thoughts flashed through his mind. In the end, he confirmed one, "This girl is surely unwilling to pay him."
"Gee? Boss Yuan, don’t you like girls like my type?" the girl was puzzled.
"Pay first before eating," the thought in Yuan Zhou’s mind upgraded to, "A person who wants to cheat his money."
"Boss Yuan, you don’t have the slightest sense of humor," the girl straightened her body up and revealed a look of "You lack the sense of romance", which was totally different from her formerly innocent expression.
"How would you like the 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine to be prepared?" Yuan Zhou remained unmoved
"Boss Yuan, you know for sure about the Black Sugar Rice Cake, right? I want to eat that one." the girl revealed a cunning smile and just waited to defeat Yuan Zhou.
"Ok, one moment, please," nonetheless, Yuan Zhou agreed straightforwardly before he turned around and left, appearing to be faster than normal.
"Boss Yuan, you must be single, right? It’s quite easy for you to evolve into a magician①," the girl said with a regretful tone.
"Do you really have some fondness for Boss Yuan?" Having watched a grand scene at the side, Wu Hai asked with a smile.
"Why not? Yes, of course," the girl supported her chin with one hand and casually put the other on the table, saying while giving a humph.
Others always did this alluring action in an inelegant manner giving off a sort of vulgar sense. This girl, nevertheless, revealed a natural and free feeling with that action which matched her comely face.
"Really?" Wu Hai became even more curious. Surprisingly, there was even a girl that could possibly take a fancy to Yuan Zhou.
"Of course…. not." the girl turned her head and glared at Wu Hai.
Then Wu Hai got confused, not knowing what exactly the girl wanted.
Speaking of which, the girl was called Jiang Changxi, who had already known about Yuan Zhou through her friends. Therefore, Yuan Zhou didn’t actually know her. Although appearing to be quite young, she was actually almost 30 this year. She was never stingy in flirting with whoever she was interested in, after all, she described herself as a "Three Lost" woman, one who had unlocked many new positions with her ex-husband and had lost her marriage, her virginity, and her husband.
"Boss Yuan, you can tell me your view on choosing lovers. Let me search around my acquaintances for you. Pity you don’t like me, otherwise I wouldn’t have made way for the younger girls," Jiang Changxi said in a leisurely tone.
"I think no one would love Boss Yuan," Wu Hai counteracted her words at the side.
"Small mustache, judging from your gesture of wiping the chopsticks just now, I feel you are also single, right?" She suddenly turned her head, looking at Wu Hai, and said.
"Yeah, but I feel it’s good to be single," Wu Hai’s face glowed with pride but he couldn’t figure it out how was that connected to wiping the chopsticks.
"Yep, of course it’s good. It’s merely that your left and right hands would get more tired. After the hard work at daytime, they still have to work overtime at night. God bless them, look how thin they became now," Jiang Changxi revealed a secret smile.
"Err…" having understood her instantly, Wu Hai was at his wit’s end. He was merely an innocent artist, hence was unable to bear such blunt and open hint by a girl.
This "Three Lost" woman was so powerful that she directly made this adult man bashful.
Seeing Wu Hai quiet down obediently, Jiang Changxi continued to talk to Yuan Zhou.
"Boss Yuan, it’s actually a woman like me who holds great fascination as I know a lot about that kind of thing." While speaking, she blinked to Yuan Zhou and revealed a shy expression.
Now Yuan Zhou finally knew he was totally being toyed with by this woman. The only advantage for him was that he was cooking at the moment. While cooking, he had gotten used to putting his heart into the dishes and therefore had sufficient reasons to disregard the words of Jiang Changxi.
At the beginning, she was just curious about Yuan Zhou, who was said to be awfully earnest and good-looking while cooking. If so, she would definitely give it a try. However, when she saw Yuan Zhou really disregard her, she stopped talking anymore and turned to watch Yuan Zhou make the rice cake.
To Jiang Changxi who was already tired of eating the plain white rice, the 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine was a tailor-made dish for her.
The cooking method of the Black Sugar Rice Cake was actually very easy. The first factor was the selection of the ingredients, which were the best provided by the system; the second factor was the cooking method, which was also very easy for Yuan Zhou.
First, soak the Jing Shan Qiao Rice until it was good for blending with clear water in a small bowl; then prepare a stone mortar and slowly pour the rice and clear water inside before starting to grind. After carefully grinding once, add the black sugar inside. Then with slightly stirring, pour them together into the stone mortar again to continue grinding.
With a moderate amount of water, the denser the rice milk was, the easier the rice would bloom. The Jing Shan Qiao Rice, nevertheless, contained a great many of farinaceous substances. As a result, the rice could directly be steamed to make the rice cake without adding any flour.
Before putting the bowl into the steaming pot in the end, Yuan Zhou added the yeast into the rice and stirred it evenly. Only then did he slowly pour the blended ingredients into a round bowl up to 80% it could contain. The steamer with big holes was then covered with a lotus leaf. After that, Yuan Zhou poked thin holes in the rice ingredients with the toothpick before setting down the round bowl onto the steamer and started to steam the dish.
After no more than 10 minutes of steaming on high heat, the sweet and fragrant Black Sugar Rice Cake was done.
At the same time, the other dishes ordered by her were also ready.
"Please enjoy," having set down the tray in his hand, Yuan Zhou stayed away from her immediately and prepared to greet other customers.
"Boss Yuan, why do you walk away so quickly? I still have something to consult you." Jiang Changxi grinned.
"What’s that?" Yuan Zhou asked seriously with a straight face.
"The rice cake is so beautiful, but it’s too hot. Then how shall I eat it?" pointing at the brownish red rice cake that had divided into exactly six petals in the bowl, she asked worriedly.
"You can use the chopsticks," Yuan Zhou’s answer was simple and powerful.
"Ok, got it now. You can get back to your work now," she just wanted to see how Yuan Zhou responded. The fact that he was defeated and fled in a calm manner nevertheless increased her appetite.
As for Wu Hai who was trying his best not to laugh at the side, he definitely thought that way, too.
Yuan Zhou got back to the kitchen without saying a word and decided not to go out for the moment. He left the work of greeting the customers to Mu Xiaoyun and just concentrated on cooking.
Rarely was there a girl carrying an innocent and pretty face but speaking so casually. Yet, when she started eating, the actions were gentle and graceful.
The dish 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine served this time had only three ingredients. Rice, black sugar and yeast. The appearance was nevertheless like a wild flower. With six petals, the rice cake stayed still at the plate, with the green cirrus around it.
Jiang Changxi picked up a small piece easily with the chopsticks. She could even perceive the softness of the rice cake with the help of the chopsticks in her hand. Bringing it close, she found that there were tiny air holes inside the rice cake.
Every time before he ate, it was definitely the eyes that got to enjoy first, followed by the nose. The faint sweet and fragrant smell of the mixed rice cakes and black sugar immediately rushed to her nose.
When she stuffed the piece into her mouth and chewed, the rice cake spread out softly and hence had exquisite texture. Unlike the softness that didn’t require chewing, it was still a little chewy. With the rice cake going down through her gullet, what eventually remained in her mouth was the refreshing fragrance of the lotus flowers.
"Boss Yuan, the rice cake cooked by you is so so so delicious, without the slightest bitterness of the black sugar," Jiang Changxi complimented him generously.
① The new meaning of "magician" originated from manga. It specifically means an adult man who kept his virginity until 30. At this age, if he is still a virgin, then he could transform into a magician.