Chapter 8: Shredded Chicken with Lemon

Just as Yu Qing and her friend arrived at the table, the fermented rice milk ice dessert was quickly served, perfect for cooling them down after their hot walk.

Yu Qing couldn’t wait. She gently stirred it with the porcelain spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and took a bite. Not only did she want to drink the milk on top, but she also made sure to scoop up the fermented rice that had settled at the bottom. That way, each bite carried the rich creaminess of milk and the light sweetness of fermented rice. The smooth texture combined with the chewy rice grains, and occasionally, a small glutinous rice ball would pleasantly surprise her like a cool breeze blowing away the lingering summer heat.

“What a rich milk aroma!” Yu Qing praised. “And a faint orange fragrance, so refreshing.”

When ordering, Yu Qing had mentioned that she preferred the fermented rice milk ice with less sweetness, so hers didn’t include osmanthus syrup. Instead, it was topped with freshly grated orange zest. It wasn’t too sweet and carried a light citrus scent.

“The one I got with osmanthus syrup is also delicious. Sweet but not cloying.”

The two of them casually complained about how milk tastes increasingly bland nowadays.

Just as they finished their rant, the rest of the dishes they ordered were ready.

Yu Qing immediately pointed to the cold noodles with meat sauce and said, “This beef sauce—Old Yang brought me some before. I finished it in just a few meals. I’ve been craving it for days.”

Her friend teased, “Cold noodles that cost over twenty yuan. Yu Qing, if I didn’t trust your taste, I’d think I was being ripped off.”

Yu Qing urged her, “Then hurry up and try it!”

Her friend mixed the noodles well, ensuring that every strand was coated with the sauce and beef bits. She took a big bite, eyes squinting in satisfaction.

She couldn’t speak at first, only nodded repeatedly.

After swallowing, she excitedly said, “This beef sauce is made with such solid ingredients. It’s full of crispy and fragrant meat bits, not just mushroom pieces and soybeans used as filler. The noodles are super smooth too. Mixed together, they’re amazing. Is that pine nut? No wonder it has a nutty aroma.”

As she ate the noodles, she was already planning to take some of the beef sauce home. The owner had reminded them earlier that the sauce wasn’t sealed, nor did it contain any preservatives, so even when refrigerated, it should be eaten quickly. It couldn’t be stored as long as the canned beef sauce sold in stores.

Recalling this, she felt the owner was just being overly cautious. With how tasty this was, the sauce would be gone in no time.

Just as she was wondering how much sauce to buy, Yu Qing across the table suddenly let out a puzzled “Hmm.”

“What is it? Doesn’t taste like the one you had before?” her friend asked.

Yu Qing replied with surprise, “It’s even better than last time!”

She muttered to herself, “Could it be that the noodles here are better than the ones I cooked at home? Or maybe the owner improved the recipe? Looks like I’d better eat here more often.”

The two of them devoured half a bowl of noodles before remembering the shredded chicken with lemon still sitting on the table.

Yu Qing said, “I totally forgot about this one. Let’s eat. I thought the chicken would go well with the cold noodles. Since they don’t sell shredded chicken cold noodles separately, I ordered this shredded chicken with lemon so we could mix it into the noodles.”

Just then, Xin Huan passed by and reminded them, “Ladies, we’ve recently added shredded chicken cold noodles to the menu. It’s listed right below the beef sauce cold noodles. You can try it next time.”

Yu Qing hadn’t noticed it earlier. Hearing that, she frowned in dilemma, “But the beef sauce… and the shredded chicken…” She couldn’t bear to give up either. “Sigh! Whatever, eating this way is even more satisfying!”

Her friend had already picked up some shredded chicken with her chopsticks. The cooked chicken was shredded into small pieces, each carrying a bit of chicken skin. This was for a more satisfying chew. Upon closer inspection, the chicken skin was quite dark. They were actually using black-bone chicken.

Was there something special about this? Her friend curiously took a bite. A refreshing, spicy-sour flavor hit her taste buds right away. The chicken was well-seasoned and not bland at all. Compared to regular chicken, the meat was more tender, yet it had a slight toughness to it. The lime aroma was strong as soon as it entered the mouth. The heat from the millet pepper came on gradually, but it had a strong afterkick.

She gasped for air, exhaling through her mouth, but her hand couldn’t help reaching for another bite.

“Yu Qing, this is delicious! Tangy, spicy, and refreshing!”

It was a bit spicy, but thinking about it, if you took away that little bit of heat, the dish wouldn’t be as stunning. Maybe this was what people meant by “painfully enjoyable.”

Yu Qing quickly joined her, afraid her friend’s bottomless stomach would gobble up all the shredded chicken. Look at her. Always claiming she had a small appetite and picky taste. This restaurant’s food is too bland, that one’s too greasy—yet here she was, not even pausing her chopsticks. Strange.

After one bite of the shredded chicken with lemon, Yu Qing understood.

“Stop!” She quickly halted what was about to become a full-blown food war. “Half for each of us.”

Yu Qing scooped half of the shredded chicken into her own bowl. To her surprise, she found several slices of cucumber underneath, soaked in the sauce and full of flavor. Their taste rivaled that of the chicken, so she included those in the division too—three slices each.

They nearly split the plate in half.

Mixing the shredded chicken into the noodles created a perfect new combination.

The two of them ate every last bit of what they ordered. Every plate was wiped clean. Looking at the empty dishes filled them with a strange sense of pride. They took a picture of the empty plates and posted it on social media with the caption: “You’d do the same if you came.”

Before long, several friends messaged her asking where she had eaten. Yu Qing responded to each one with the address of Nanlai Restaurant.

That got her thinking—and grumbling a bit about her husband, Yang Xinzhi. How could he keep quiet after finding such delicious food? Not even a word of promotion. Didn’t he realize how hard it is for restaurants these days? Shops change owners every few months. If they didn’t recommend it to more people, what if this place closed down? Where would she find food this good again?

Nanlai Restaurant didn’t have many customers. To Yu Qing, that felt dangerous.

Back in college, there was a tiny shop nearby that totally suited her tastes. She visited almost every other day. But the shop still closed down, leaving Yu Qing full of regret. Since then, whenever she finds a place with food she loves, she never forgets to promote it.

Before leaving, Yu Qing and her friend left with full bellies, each carrying ten portions of the beef sauce they had packed to go.

——

Lately, business at Nanlai Restaurant had gotten much better. Although the total number of customers was still not very high, those who had been there once kept coming back, and that alone was enough to push the daily revenue up a bit.

Nan Tu could finally be sure that running this restaurant could indeed support her livelihood. In the first week or two after opening, even without the burden of rent, she still lost money every day. The ingredients that couldn’t be used up and would no longer be fresh the next day had to be given to the nearby neighbors. Although the food wasn’t wasted, her wallet kept shrinking day by day.

Now things were different. Even Sun Ying, upon seeing her at the market and noticing the amount of ingredients in her cart, said her business was clearly getting better.

As soon as she earned a little money, Nan Tu started looking around the restaurant to see what else needed to be purchased. The kitchen of the former noodle shop had quite a few small stoves, which Nan Tu hadn’t removed after taking over. Now she was planning to buy a batch of clay pots, which could be used for making soups, stews, and claypot rice.

High-quality clay pots came at a steep price. Nan Tu gritted her teeth and bought a whole batch, putting not only the money she had just earned into them but also spending a bit more out of pocket.

She glanced in the direction of the back door.

If only more plane customers would show up. Nan Tu hadn’t forgotten that the time Ji Xiangming appeared, a plate of assorted fried rice, a pot of cold brew tea, and a jar of beef sauce had brought in nearly five hundred yuan.

All the other customers had become regulars after just one visit, but those plane customers… why did they disappear without a trace after leaving?

——

In the Anjin Desert, Ji Xiangming’s mercenary team was in the middle of a fierce argument.

“After something like this happened, what else can we do besides heading back immediately?”

“Have you calculated how much purified water we have left? Even if we set off now, can you guarantee everyone will make it back to Tianling City?”

“Then what should we do? Act like those second-rate squads and kick someone out to fend for themselves? If we do that, how can we even hold our heads up again? What kind of team cohesion would we have left? How could we ever trust each other again with our lives?”

“That’s why I said we should stay and hunt mutant beasts to drink their blood as a water source.”

“Most mutant beast blood is poisonous. What are the odds we’ll just happen to find a non-toxic, large enough one?”

In the midst of this intense quarrel, a low and deeply regretful voice spoke up. “It was my fault for not watching the water pouch. I’m sorry. Let me leave the team. I’m doing it willingly.”

Last night, the one on night watch, Pan Yang, due to inexperience, hadn’t noticed the largest water pouch getting gnawed by a meridian sand rat. The water leaked silently onto the sand and was absorbed completely without a sound. By morning, when everyone got up, the large water pouch was already half empty.

Compared to the loss of precious purified water, the lost jerky and canned goods were insignificant.

Everyone kept arguing. Pan Yang, after saying that, took advantage of the distraction and gritted his teeth before resolutely running off in one direction.

Ji Xiangming, who had been silently standing to the side, grabbed Pan Yang’s backpack strap and pulled him back.

Still holding tightly to Pan Yang’s strap, Ji Xiangming suddenly raised his voice. “Since we’re already at this point, we might as well take a chance on the restaurant I told you about.”

No one had considered that possibility, and for a moment, everyone went silent. Their eyes met, but they were still full of doubt and confusion.

“Xie Wei, did you see the beef sauce I brought back?” Ji Xiangming pointed to someone and asked.

“I saw it.” Xie Wei, who had short, neat hair and a scar on her temple, answered truthfully. Not only had she seen it, she had even tasted it. It was really delicious. When spread inside their dry flatbread, the oil from the meat sauce seeped into the hard, dry bread, making it less difficult to swallow. Not to mention the crisp, aromatic meat bits that crumbled between her teeth—just thinking about that rich, satisfying taste now made her feel blissful.

Ji Xiangming turned and looked at someone else. “Old Duan, we lived and packed together back in Tianling City. Did you ever see me buy that jar of beef sauce and bring it into the Anjin Desert?”

Old Duan hesitated for a moment, then still said, “No.”

“Then where did my beef sauce come from?” Ji Xiangming said firmly, looking at each of them one by one.

The team members all avoided his gaze.

It was just too unbelievable. No one really believed he had been to some restaurant in the middle of the desert. Ji Xiangming wasn’t demanding that they believe him, but now that their lives were on the line, he wanted to gamble on that mysterious restaurant still being there, and that he could get food and water from it again.

Maybe then, none of his teammates would have to die in the desert.