Gourmet: Midnight Vending

Chapter 436 - 378: No More Grabbing, Everyone Eats in Turn! (2)

Chen Mo gave him an affirmative look, "Don’t worry, we’ll eat last."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing much, just help skim off the oil."

Hou Yao finally understood, for all the dishes under Chen Mo’s supervision today, he wouldn’t have the chance to touch any core techniques, only doing things like skimming the scum.

This is the kind of work he did when he entered the industry thirty or forty years ago.

Watching Chen Mo lift the lid of a large iron pot, one couldn’t immediately see what was cooking inside, but the incoming aroma clearly indicated it was chicken!

The pot was filled to the brim with whole chickens, compressed by a round iron grate from above, with the water in the pot maintaining a state of being almost at a boil.

Chen Mo had been preparing this dish two hours ago, and after such a long period of stewing, it’s expected that the chicken inside would be incredibly tender.

"Dezhou Roasted Chicken?"

"Right on, just skim off the fat and plate it." As Chen Mo was about to prepare other dishes, he suddenly remembered something, "Oh, when you scoop it out, be careful not to break the skin, it wouldn’t look nice."

"Do I need you to tell me that?" Hou Yao glared at Chen Mo with raised eyebrows.

Chen Mo didn’t feel offended, chuckling foolishly as he quickly moved on to another dish, his eyes scanning the courtyard.

The appearance of Immortal Duck and Steamed Sea Bass finally calmed the guests for the time being, but for some reason, the colleagues at the table near the courtyard gate were making a fuss.

No one was eating, rather they were gesturing at the fish on the table, leaving one curious about what they were doing.

Chen Mo wasn’t bothered to care.

When working at the company, Chen Mo didn’t have the best relationship with the employees in the investment department. That department’s staff always gave off an aloof vibe, unlike their marketing department, which was full of quirky characters.

Over here, as soon as the Steamed Sea Bass was served, Wang Heng immediately reached out with his chopsticks to take the fish, his chopstick tips almost touching the side of the fish.

It’s widely known that this part of the fish is the finest, with tender, juicy meat that melts in your mouth, tasting exquisite.

Before his chopsticks could touch the fish, Liu Jingqi lightly tapped them away with hers, "thap."

Subsequently, Liu Jingqi pulled the entire fish to her side, catching other colleagues off guard, and then she said, "Wang Heng is too quick in grabbing food, no one can outmatch him. We can’t eat the fish like this!"

Wang Heng was instantly amused by her.

At a banquet, everyone eats based on their ability. If your hands are fast, you get to eat more. Now just because your hands are slow and you can’t compete with others, you think you’re in the right?

Before Wang Heng could retort, unexpectedly Liao Feng also nodded in agreement, "Indeed, I never expected Xiao Wang to be not only capable at work but also adept at eating! Xiaoliu, so how do you suggest we eat this fish?"

Liu Jingqi thought for a moment, "This is only the third hot dish, there are more coming. In my opinion, we should take turns eating! Manager Liao eats first, and only one bite per person! The next dish starts with Fangfang, the one after that..."

According to Liu Jingqi’s proposal, starting from the Steamed Sea Bass, we take turns eating, each person taking only one bite; how much you eat in that bite is up to you.

However, Liao Feng sits next to Wang Heng, and Fangfang sits next to Liao Feng, so by this arrangement, it would mean Wang Heng has to wait until the tenth dish to eat first.

Wang Heng immediately wanted to object.

But before he could voice it, his colleagues at the table simultaneously raised their right hands.

"Agreed!"

"Great idea!"

"This is the fairest way!"

If going through ten people doesn’t finish the food, continue from the first person again.

Seeing everyone agree, Wang Heng knew he couldn’t avoid it today, reluctantly saying, "Alright, we’ll take turns, after all, I will get to eat first eventually!"

This was the reason everyone agreed.

It’s fair.

Liao Feng was pleased with Liu Jingqi’s plan, picked up his chopsticks, and eyed the tender fish, pondering but hesitating to make a move.

"Manager Liao, what are you waiting for?" Wang Heng hurriedly asked.

Liao Feng was slightly troubled too, "The fish belly is the best part, but the meat here is the most tender, a slight touch and it might break, hard to pick up."

"The meat on the sides of the fish back is easiest to pick up but is much inferior in quality compared to other parts, let me think more."

Goodness, the colleagues present all took a deep breath.

Initially thought to be a simple and fair way to eat, Manager Liao managed to turn it into something slightly competitive.

This was no longer merely eating, it seemed more like a demonstration of one’s IQ and EQ!

Liao Feng pondered a moment, his chopsticks returning to hover above the fish, while everyone at the table took a deep breath and held it, feeling slightly nervous.

Where would he pick?

Only watching as Liao Feng gently inserted his chopsticks at the upper side of the fish belly, then his wrist dipped downward, transitioning from pinching to lifting with his chopsticks!

A whole piece of meat with belly fat was easily lifted onto his chopsticks, Liao Feng holding his breath, as if even breathing could affect him.

Others also grew tense, with Liu Jingqi clenching her fist secretly, watching the wobbly piece of meat until Liao Feng placed it onto a plate, at which point everyone released a collective sigh.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

No one knew who started it, but in excitement, someone began to clap, and others followed suit.

Liao Feng was even more thrilled, holding his plate and finishing the piece of meat in one go.

As soon as the fish entered the mouth, the belly fat melted like early spring snow, unleashing the pure freshness of the sea breeze.

The umami of the steamed fish soy sauce mixed with the fish’s juices created a complex savory taste, while the volatile aroma of the scallions ignited by hot oil gave the taste buds a brief excitement, preventing the umami from being too plain."Phew..."

The collagen in the fish skin was elastic, contrasting the tenderness of the fish meat, leaving even Liao Feng, accustomed to feasting, heaving a long sigh.

"Somehow, the big piece of fish you truly work for seems to taste better."

Seeing this, Fangfang next to him didn’t hesitate any longer, immediately moving her chopsticks!

Following Manager Liao’s method, she also didn’t use the "pick" method, instead opting directly for the "lift" method.

Another big piece of meat!

Liao Feng’s excellent start prompted everyone to use the lift method, easily getting a big piece of meat.

Chen Mo had sliced the fish during the slaughtering process, so everyone could access the entire fish without turning it over.

With each person, Wang Heng’s expression twitched.

"You all are ruthless! Who plays like this? You’re leaving nothing for the last person!"

Feeling his words lacked strength, Wang Heng pulled in his colleague ranked ninth, Zhou Gang, "Right, Zhou? Forget when it’s your turn; I reckon by then, there won’t even be fish bones left!"

Zhou Gang grinned foolishly; truth be told, it was already his turn.

The bare fish bones lay on the plate, exceptionally clean. Wang Heng assumed he found an ally, attempting to overturn Liu Jingqi’s absurd eating proposal.

After all, for this dish, he was tenth, and ninth for the next; how long would this keep going?

Zhou Gang chuckled a few times, "No problem, no big deal, I love eating fish heads."

With that, Zhou Gang extended his chopsticks, taking the head along with the bone entirely into his plate, snapping the bones and discarding them, and then noisily began sucking on the fish head, tossing away small bone pieces while patting Wang Heng’s shoulder, "Gotta say, the fish head has quite a bit of meat, the fish brain is delightfully tender, really!"

Wang Heng’s eyes almost rolled back in anger, and Liu Jingqi didn’t miss an opportunity to add salt to the wound, "Hey Wang Heng, what are you doing? It’s your turn, get picking!"

"Alright, alright." Wang Heng picked the few strands of green onion left on the plate and put them in his mouth.

"Just wait, when the tenth dish comes around, just you all watch!"

Nine colleagues exchanged a triumphant smile.

The tenth dish?

By that time, everyone would likely be full, and nearly ready for the main carb dish, which according to Jingzhou tradition, at least includes buns!

By then, get Wang Heng to eat ten buns, let him burst!