“A-choo!”

The chill came over Ah Bing, who sneezed and ran into the public kitchen.

Compared with the dark sky outside, the warm light in the public kitchen looked particularly attractive.

As he stepped into the public kitchen, the warmth from the stove immediately surged over me, dispelling most of the coldness around him.

Listening to the orderly “chop chop chop” sound of cutting vegetables behind the counter, Ah Bing washed his hands and walked to the counter to see the breakfast to be prepared today.

The shredded pork had been marinated and placed aside. Wen Mingtang and Tangyuan were cutting cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, and other main dishes and side dishes. What was left for Ah Bing was the long strip of rice cake on the chopping board.

Compared to the smooth cutting of various dishes, it took some effort to cut rice cakes. However, for a teenager like Ah Bing who had a lot of energy, it was just right.

After all the side dishes were prepared, Wen Mingtang poured oil into the pot and stir-fried the marinated pork shreds while teaching Ah Bing how to make the dumplings: “Stir-fry the pork shreds until they turn white, then add the green onions and ginger, stir-fry the cabbage stalks and mushrooms until soft. The leaves are easy to cook, so you can add them later…”

As the weather turned cooler, Wen Mingtang chose more soups like Lenna for breakfast. A bowl of it warms both the stomach and the body.

When the sky outside turned from dark to white, the public kitchen welcomed the first wave of diners of the day – Liu Yuan and Wu Bucai and others who got up early.

As soon as he entered the public kitchen, Liu Yuan was so moved by the warmth of the stove that he couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s cold, a public kitchen with a stove on is a good place!”

It was not surprising that Liu Yuan and others came early, but it was rare to see Wu Bucai come so early.

Thinking of the case they were following, Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but ask him, “Has the coffin of the businessman surnamed Wen been dug out?”

Wu Bucai nodded, rubbed his hands, and said, “We will go over after breakfast. What did Master Wen prepare for breakfast today?”

Wen Mingtang said”Nián gāo tāng!”

Nián gāo tāng? What was that? Everyone was a little confused, but they were not surprised at all: Chef Wen’s dishes were always novel.

When Liu Yuan saw the pot of steaming nián gāo tāng, he suddenly realized: “It turns out to be a soup made of cabbage, pork, mushrooms, and rice cake!”

He recognized each of these dishes; they were very common. Green onions were floating in the bubbling soup, which gave it a simple and warm feel.

“It has a home-cooked taste.” Liu Yuan said as he took the bowl of nián gāo tāng and sat down at the dining table.

Everyone nodded and picked up spoons to scoop up the soup. After a long period of stewing, the soup had turned milky white. Because of the addition of rice cakes, it had a slightly thickened texture after stewing.

Because the soup was just scooped out of the pot, there was still a stream of hot air in it. Liu Yuan blew at the hot air and took a sip of the soup. Then his eyes suddenly lit up: “Why is it so delicious?”

As soon as these words came out, Wu Bucai, who had also taken a sip of the soup, nodded and said, “It tastes like home cooking, but it’s so fresh… It’s almost making my eyebrows fall off!”

The last sentence “his eyebrows are about to fall off” was learned from Master Wen. Master Wen always had some strange sentences to describe food, and after hearing them many times, everyone learned it too.

This was the first time he knew that these dishes could be so delicious when stewed! A sip of the soup aroused everyone’s interest, and they all stretched out their chopsticks to pick up the dishes in the soup.

(End of this chapter)

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