Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 740: Chapter 637: Northeast Fried Chicken Ribs (Part 2)

Zhuo Qianqian pursed her lips, prepared to breathe onto the ice cream, using her hot breath to thaw her tongue.

"Huff..."

Zhuo Qianqian only felt two more waves of coldness strike again, and then found, tearlessly, that her lips also stuck to the ice cream.

"My tongue, the ice cream is biting me!"

With her tongue and lips both stuck to the ice cream, her pronunciation became indistinct, and the muffled voice amused Wang Fan greatly.

"It’s minus 20 degrees now. The telephone pole is off-limits for licking. How dare you lick ice cream?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a thermos from the large pocket of his down jacket.

Warm water with a sweet goji fragrance slid down the ice cream, finally rescuing Zhuo Qianqian’s lips and tongue from the ice cream, though the ice cream had shrunk by a quarter.

Zhuo Qianqian didn’t feel embarrassed or annoyed, as if she wasn’t the person who had just experienced that, and she held Wang Fan’s arm, continuing to move forward.

With fewer people, business wasn’t good, and many stall owners, seeing no customers, were already packing up, incomparable to the bustling scene of a few days ago.

"Boss, shall we buy two fried chicken racks?"

Following Zhuo Qianqian’s pointing finger, Wang Fan saw a stall owner standing in a slightly wind-sheltered area, not far from her fried chicken rack stall.

Fried chicken racks are a specialty of the Northeast, with many small shops and stalls making a living from them. Since chicken racks themselves are relatively cheap, even selling them at a lower price yields a bit of profit.

Seeing customers approaching, Xu Hong hurriedly pulled her hands out from the slightly warmer pockets of her pants, rubbed her nearly frozen face, and quickly came over, afraid of missing these two customers.

"Do you want to try a couple of chicken racks, little brother and little sister?"

Xu Hong had the typical character of a Northeast lady, warmly greeting the two, around forty years old, with cheeks passively red.

Wang Fan could tell from the lady’s attire that she surely had a story, and coupled with the fact that she was still vending on such a cold day with few customers, it was most likely out of necessity.

Seeing her frostbitten hands, Wang Fan felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow.

"How much for the fried chicken racks, Miss?"

Xu Hong replied enthusiastically, "6 yuan each, 10 yuan for two. Want to try one, little brother?"

Wang Fan sniffed; the freshly heated oil told him it’s new oil for the day, free from impurities, indicating no sales had been made today.

"Miss, we left in a hurry today without money, and our phone is frozen and won’t turn on. Could we take two to try first? If they’re good, we’ll come back tomorrow."

Zhuo Qianqian looked at Wang Fan curiously, about to say her phone could turn on, and she had money with her, but Wang Fan lightly pinched her hand.

Quick-witted, she immediately changed her tone, "Yes, yes. Miss, can we try two first?"

The lady’s face showed a trace of difficulty, but it was only for a moment: "Sure, little sister, I can tell you’re not from around here, so treat it as my treat."

"Thank you, Miss."

The lady took marinated chicken racks from the basin, and after the oil temperature went up, put them in the pot. Wang Fan curiously asked, "How often do you change the oil, Miss? I heard some people may not change it even once a month."

As she clamped the chicken racks, the lady laughed and said, "That kind of person is rare in the Northeast. We generally change it every three or five days. If business is good, every three days; if worse, every five days. I’m in the less fortunate camp but still change it every three days. These have been changed today."

Zhuo Qianqian asked curiously, "It’s so cold today. There’s hardly anyone in the streets, and I saw many stall owners have gone home. Why are you still braving the cold here?"

The lady’s smile was somewhat wry, "If it weren’t necessary, who would want to freeze in this cold wind? The household’s breadwinner left early, leaving two children and two elders to support, so who dares to rest?"

"Yet, you’re still willing to give us two?"

Zhuo Qianqian felt a pang of guilt.

The lady’s voice turned cheerful again, "Two chicken racks aren’t going to make me rich, and since little sister came from afar, it wouldn’t do to let you down."

Zhuo Qianqian’s warm palm deftly slipped into Wang Fan’s down jacket, giving the tender flesh at his waist a hard twist.

"Hiss..."

Wang Fan couldn’t help but take a cold breath, the familiar yet never to be accustomed pain causing his mouth’s muscles to twitch involuntarily.

Knowing this kind-hearted girl was angry about his earlier actions, Wang Fan quickly turned to the lady and said, "Miss, it’s done now; frying it more would overdo it."

The lady was surprised, "It’s done now? I generally fry for a full six minutes."

Wang Fan had already determined that the lady’s method of frying chicken racks was unconventional, not surprising that business wasn’t doing so well. Never mind a unique formula; it probably hadn’t even reached the Northeast’s average fried chicken standard.

As for her claim of changing oil every three days, Wang Fan knew it to be true; the lady might lie, but the smell from the fried chicken cart couldn’t deceive his nose. Stale oil had a distinctive rancid smell, which Wang Fan could identify instantly.

"Frying too long dries it out, makes the meat seem less and taste not as good."

Zhuo Qianqian looked at Wang Fan suspiciously, now somewhat grasping the situation.

This must be out of pity for the lady, intending to give her some pointers?

Realizing this, Zhuo Qianqian felt a bit embarrassed — did she perhaps pinch too hard earlier?

Reaching out, she gently soothed the area on Wang Fan’s waist that she had just twisted.

"Little brother seems to know quite a bit?"

The lady said as she obediently took out the chicken racks, "Would you like chili with that?"

"Normal spice please."

Zhuo Qianqian proudly declared, "Miss, let me tell you, he’s quite skilled. Let him teach you a thing or two, and I guarantee your business will flourish."

The lady laughed heartily, "Little sister, you’re quite the joker. This little brother doesn’t seem like he’s graduated yet, looking not much older than my eldest. Here, your fried chicken racks, eat while they’re hot. I’ve already torn them open for you."

Accepting the fried chicken, Wang Fan tasted it. The flavor, passable at best, was slightly overcooked because of the lady’s earlier hesitation, making the chicken slightly dry.

Nonetheless, the chicken rack was quite fresh, lacking the icy taste of those frozen for long periods, giving it a unique aroma though somewhat faint.

"Miss, you should fry all these chicken racks. Fry each side for 1 minute and 20 seconds, then flip, and fry the other side for 1 minute and 20 seconds before taking them out."

At that moment, Wang Fan suddenly remembered his old friend Gang Ge, who often had an early off-duty series, and thought giving this lady an early end of the day might suit her quite well.

The lady was taken aback, "Fry them all?"

Wang Fan took out his phone and said, "After warming it for a while, the phone turned on. You can fry all the ones in the basin and those you brought. I’ll take them all."

The lady hurriedly said, "I have quite a few left; if you can’t finish them, it would be a waste."

Wang Fan pointed at sanitation workers who had just appeared in the distance, wiping garbage cans, "Just fry them; I’m treating them."

Xu Hong felt as though it wasn’t real — such good fortune landing on her?

"Little brother, don’t joke with me. I have a lot left."

Wang Fan shook his head, "I’m not joking; I really want them. Just start cooking, count them first, and I’ll pay you in advance."

"I bought 100 chicken racks in total today. The ones I sent you were the first I made today. If you’re buying so many, I’ll give you a discount; 400 yuan will do."

Wang Fan directly transferred 500 yuan over, then said to Xu Hong, "Miss, I also have some insights into making fried chicken racks and have come up with a recipe. If you’re interested, I can write it down for you somewhere later; business might improve."

"Huh? Just write it down for me? Shouldn’t I give you some money or something?"

The lady was stunned at this point, feeling like either she or this little brother in front of her was foolish. If it was a good recipe, could it really just be given away?

Wang Fan shook his head, "It’s just some nonsense I’ve come up with, not worth much. If you want it, just wait a bit; I’ll go to that store up front to find some paper and pen to write it down for you."