Chapter 5: Is It Really That Delicious?

Wang Ruowei glanced at Shang Zhaoyun, who was devouring his food with gusto. It seemed Shang hadn’t even heard Liu Zhen’s question, as he kept shoveling wontons into his mouth with a spoon, his face beaming with happiness.

Liu Zhen, on the other hand, didn’t seem in a hurry to get an answer either. After swallowing the wonton he had just eaten, he popped another one into his mouth, the corners of his lips curling upward. Just moments ago, before eating, he had looked like he was on the verge of collapse, but now he seemed like a completely different person.

“Is it really that good? You guys must’ve been starving…” Wang Ruowei muttered to himself as he eyed the perfectly presented wontons and the baked cakes. The golden hue of the baked cakes made the crust look irresistibly crispy, and there was no greasy sheen, indicating that the oil had been applied with precision.

Gently squeezing the baked cake, Wang Ruowei took a bite. The moment his teeth touched the crust, it cracked open, and the sweet aroma of baked dough quickly spread through his mouth. As he savored it, he could also detect a subtle hint of saltiness, which perfectly balanced the flavor without overpowering the original taste. Everything was just right.

“You guys should try these baked cakes too. They feel like they were made by a master chef, someone with at least eight to ten years of experience,” Wang Ruowei said, impressed. As someone who enjoyed flour-based dishes, he could tell these baked cakes were of high quality. The dough must have been made with cooked soybean oil, which was why the cakes were so crispy.

Moreover, making hollow baked cakes like these required great skill. When rolling out the dough, it had to be layered and rolled up repeatedly, and after portioning, the edges had to be sealed properly. This wasn’t just a matter of pinching the dough a few times; one side had to be flattened and folded back multiple times. Missing any of these steps would prevent the hollow baked cakes from puffing up.

“Really? Then you should try the wontons too. I’m not kidding!” Liu Zhen, who had already devoured half of his wontons in the blink of an eye, immediately took a bite of the baked cake. His eyes, which had just returned to normal, widened again.

“What kind of treasure stall is this? Where did you buy this? Are the wontons and baked cakes from the same place? How come I’ve never seen it before?” Liu Zhen, whose hunger had now subsided, looked across the table at Shang Zhaoyun, whose bowl was almost empty, with little soup left.

“They’re from the same stall, right outside our police station. You’ll see it as soon as you step out. Eight yuan for a bowl of wontons, one yuan for a baked cake. The owner said they’re planning to open a shop soon and asked me to support their business,” Shang explained as he took a bite of the baked cake. The crisp sound it made was so tantalizing that anyone who heard it late at night might lose sleep—not from noise, but from craving.

“Oh?” Liu Zhen blinked, thinking about it. It must have been the stall not far from the entrance, since the nearest stall to their police station was usually about forty to fifty meters away.

Seeing how much the other two were raving about the food, Wang Ruowei looked at the wontons. Although there was no chili or vinegar, the presentation didn’t suggest it would taste bad. He picked up his spoon and took a small bite.

“You said these wontons are eight yuan?”

Chewing the wonton in his mouth with disbelief, Wang Ruowei felt that all the wontons he had eaten before were a waste of food. Some had only a tiny bit of filling, while others had wrappers as thick as shoe insoles. The ones he had recently eaten lacked any springy texture, clearly mass-produced frozen food from factory assembly lines.

The wonton he was eating now, however, was just like the ones his mother used to make when he was a child—thin wrappers, generous filling, and delightfully chewy. Paired with pickled vegetables, it offered a crisp and springy texture, with the meaty aroma complementing the occasional bite of scallion. There was no hint of cheapness at all. If the price hadn’t been mentioned, Wang Ruowei would have thought this bowl of wonton was worth at least fifteen yuan, even in a residential area. If it were sold in a chain store, it would easily start at twenty, given how substantial the meat filling was.

“See? Isn’t it delicious? Even you, who only likes sour and spicy food, find this mild wonton tasty. That must mean it’s genuinely good. Am I not great at picking food?”

At this moment, Shang Zhaoyun felt a sense of pride. After all, he was the first to discover this hidden gem of a breakfast stall. Like a student waiting for praise from a teacher, he unconsciously tilted his head back.

“You really are good at picking. This is the first time I’ve enjoyed wonton without chili or vinegar. I always thought non-spicy wonton was bland and tasteless, but this has completely changed my perception.”

Wang Ruowei now felt like he had been a frog at the bottom of a well. Only today did he realize that such a seemingly simple bowl of wonton could be so delicious. The baked cake, too, showcased the maker’s skill in its details.

At this point, the three of them began devouring their food again. In no time, their bowls were completely empty. Liu Zhen even poured the crumbs from the baked cake into his mouth from the plastic bag, not wanting to waste a single bit.

“You didn’t buy enough,” Liu Zhen complained, feeling like he could easily eat two more bowls.

“Yeah, you didn’t buy enough,” Wang Ruowei chimed in with a laugh, genuinely still hungry.

“Come on, when I bought breakfast earlier, you both complained I bought too much, saying you were tired of the food on this street and could imagine the taste with your eyes closed.”

Wiping his mouth, Shang Zhaoyun was also still hungry. After all, being a police officer was physically demanding.

“It’s just the same few things over and over, so we got tired of it! I thought we’d just have a light bite, but who knew it would be so good… No, I’m going to buy more. Do you want any?”

Wang Ruowei stood up. His work was almost done, and he needed to eat his fill to stay energized.

“I’ll have another bowl! And a baked cake!” Liu Zhen was the first to raise his hand, while Shang Zhaoyun extended a finger, indicating he wanted the same.

“Alright, I’ll go buy it~”

Wang Ruowei dashed out and disappeared in the blink of an eye. After all, he was the fastest runner in the Chunhe Police Station.

As soon as he stepped out of the station, Wang Ruowei spotted a striking red food cart parked right at the entrance. He had assumed the so-called “entrance” meant somewhere nearby, never expecting it to be directly in front of the station’s main door.

Before he could get closer, he noticed a long line had already formed in front of the cart. The owner inside was frantically busy, looking as if he wished he had a few more hands.

Upon closer inspection of the person’s appearance, there was no trace of someone with eight to ten years of experience. Instead, it was unmistakably a young man who looked to be in his early twenties!