Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 435 - 433: Small Bites, Big Power

It’s not that Wang Fan is being lazy and doesn’t want to do more; it’s mainly because snacks are oily and rich in flavor, and eating too much might indeed affect their performance.

So although the coaches didn’t ban the athletes from eating them, they did tell Wang Fan to limit their portions.

Moreover, the coaches secretly approached Wang Fan, afraid that the athletes would find out about their sneaky actions.

There’s nothing they can do; some of these athletes are stubborn, especially when it comes to defying the coaches.

So Wang Fan had to take the blame for limiting the portions himself.

Fortunately, some team members who love to defy the coaches are very polite to Wang Fan.

Qin Haiyang is 19 this year, and although he’s young, it’s already his second time competing in the Olympics. Four years ago, at the age of 15, he already won an Olympic silver medal.

He also has a fun nickname—"Rice Eater Bro."

This is mainly because his Weibo name is interesting, called "Surviving on Rice," and sitting beside him is his partner, Fang Zixin. The two are competing in the mixed team 10-meter air rifle event.

Fang Zixin is even younger, only 17 this year, and is still a high school sophomore.

Both of them have finished their meals, with not only two servings of snacks but also some of their favorite dishes.

Although Qin Haiyang’s online name is casual, the fact that he got such a name shows his dedication to eating.

A few days ago, he was quite disgusted by the food in the Olympic Village, so he’s planning to indulge himself these days.

Qin Haiyang and Fang Zixin are both quite introverted, and although they are partners, they don’t talk much. They just quietly eat their meals.

Qin Haiyang is very curious about the pan-fried crispy tofu; he hasn’t eaten much of this snack before. Compared to snacks, he prefers his mother’s braised pork.

But today, the flavor of this pan-fried tofu is just too intense. The rich sour and fragrant aroma made his mouth water even at the smell.

The golden-brown tofu is covered with glistening, alluring sauce; its perfect and tempting appearance makes it impossible to stop drooling.

Qin Haiyang picked up a piece of tofu, with red chili, green onion rings, and golden garlic crumbs tightly held by the thick sauce, the edge of the tofu slightly curling up, forming a thin crispy layer.

Can’t resist it, even the Heavenly King couldn’t resist it!

Three big exclamation points appeared in his mind, and Qin Haiyang stuffed the whole piece of tofu into his mouth.

The pan-fried tofu block isn’t small, about a third of a hand size. Stuffing it all into his mouth would inevitably get the sauce on his lips, but Qin Haiyang doesn’t care about that at the moment. He feels that not putting this tempting tofu entirely into his mouth would be a disrespect to the food.

Sour, spicy, salty, fresh, sweet, aromatic—all these flavors launched an attack on his taste buds the moment it entered his mouth.

Especially that unique and extremely enticing sourness almost makes one wish to just pour the whole plate of tofu directly into their stomach.

Qin Haiyang couldn’t help but take a heavy bite.

"Crunch..."

The tofu’s skin has a thin crispy crust, and when bitten, the fine sound can be heard. If the tofu is over-fried or over-cooked, the skin will be crispy but the inside will become hollow, severely affecting the texture.

But Wang Fan, who has mastered the cooking technique to perfection, wouldn’t make such a mistake.

The thin crispy crust encases the incredibly tender tofu inside; the slight hollowness not only doesn’t affect the texture but becomes the best sauce reservoir.

"Boom!"

Qin Haiyang’s eyes widened; he felt his teeth just pressing against the crunchy skin, and then his mouth felt like it was hit by a flood!

A large burst of spicy and tangy sauce swiftly gushed towards all corners of his mouth, with the rich aromatic flavor almost overwhelming his entire palate.

True "one bite bursts with juice!"

The crunchy exterior, soft and tender interior of the tofu, the tangy and salty sauce was already enough to be mesmerizing, and along with the constantly released spiciness from the little chili and the charming garlic paste during chewing, suddenly even mom’s braised pork didn’t seem so desirable anymore...

Not only did Qin Haiyang enjoy the tofu, everyone who got the pan-fried tofu enjoyed it.

Some people even ate so fast, they started eyeing others’ plates.

"Dragon, you’re eating so slow, you must not like it, right? Let me help you."

Chang Yixian said while reaching his chopsticks towards Dragon’s lunchbox.

Dragon’s gaze sharpened, his chopsticks darted out, blocking Chang Yixian’s chopsticks: "No need, I just like to save the best for last!"

Frustrated, Chang Yixian licked his lips and then turned his gaze to Liu Hang.

Liu Hang didn’t even lift his head, just silently drew his lunchbox into the curve of his arm.

"Sigh..."

Chang Yixian sighed heavily and focused on his pot-crusted potatoes.

Compared to the pan-fried tofu, the pot-crusted potatoes had a less striking appearance, looking softer.

The outer layer glistened with an alluring golden color, and the caramel covering looked even more tempting.

There was a long toothpick on the lunchbox, stabbing a piece and taking a bite, his mouth immediately made a "crunch, crunch" sound.

"Wow, these potatoes are delicious too."

Compared to the texture of the pan-fried tofu, the pot-crusted potatoes have a thicker crispy layer. Breaking the crispy layer reveals the soft and fragrant inside, tasting somewhat floury. The soft, sweet taste contrasts sharply with the crunchy outer layer.

Chang Yixian chewed continuously, savoring every piece, feeling the potatoes’ delicate and dense texture.

Slightly sour, slightly spicy, lightly salty, fragrant, with a hint of sweetness; the rich layered flavors left Chang Yixian feeling endlessly satisfied.

By the stove, Chen Menglong watched everyone eating, unable to help but shake his head with a wry smile.

"The dishes that a whole team of top chefs put effort into can’t compete with Wang’s little snacks in popularity."

Sichuan Cuisine master Liu Fei laughed heartily and said: "The Yangtze River’s waves push the older generation forward, each wave stronger than the last; it’s having young people like him that keeps our cuisine alive and thriving."

Chen Menglong snorted lightly: "You might accept that you’re getting old, but I don’t yet. I’m far from retirement."

"Hahaha, you can’t not accept getting old. We indeed can’t compete with Wang; his cooking skills are genuinely outstanding, especially his precise control of heat, it’s certainly better than mine."

"I really don’t know how he got so skilled; even if he started in the womb, his cooking can’t be that good."

"Some people are just born for this craft; no matter how hard you work, you can’t compete with someone the heavens have blessed. Besides, he might be even more diligent than us."

The group of masters chatted idly. Since all the dishes were cooked, they didn’t have much else to do.

Except Wang Fan didn’t rest; the tofu on his cast iron pan kept coming, and so did the potatoes, one batch after another. As soon as something was ready, it would immediately be snapped up, leaving him no time to rest.

But Wang Fan enjoyed it, and thinking about how he was contributing to the Olympics filled him with a sense of pride, almost giving him endless strength.