CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: SECRET SAUCE MEAT BUNS!

The secret sauce meat buns were steaming in the bamboo steamer, the specially marinated tea eggs had been marinating overnight, and the egg fried rice required on-site frying, for which the ingredients were already prepared.

All that was left was to prepare the pumpkin corn porridge.

Jiang Feng added clear water to the large pot, then poured in the crushed fine cornmeal to simmer.

The corn he selected was still of a high-quality variety, offering a delicate texture.

Next, Jiang Feng took out pumpkin and sweet potato, placed them on the chopping board, and wielded the Dark Metal Kitchen Knife. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The knife moved exquisitely in his hands, picking up and cutting at lightning speed, as if there were afterimages!

Although he was just a street food vendor, his techniques were on par with those of a star-rated chef.

No wonder that when Jiang Feng used to sell rice combo sets, many people enjoyed watching him cook.

Watching his cooking process was indeed a pleasure.

The pumpkin and sweet potatoes were all cut into uniform cubes.

Jiang Feng waited for a moment, and when the corn porridge in the pot was nearly ready, he went over and lifted the lid.

The hazy steam rose, accompanied by the fresh aroma of corn.

Jiang Feng controlled the water-to-corn ratio perfectly, creating a large pot of golden corn porridge that looked somewhat translucent and dazzling.

Jiang Feng took a spoon and stirred the corn porridge a few times.

The yellow corn porridge was glossy, neither too thick and sticky, nor too thin and watery.

The corn porridge looked so appetizing that merely looking at it was enough to stir one’s appetite.

"Not bad."

Jiang Feng was quite satisfied with the cooked corn porridge.

Then, he pushed all the cubed pumpkin and sweet potatoes into the pot.

He held the spoon and stirred the pumpkin and sweet potatoes until they were evenly distributed.

Pumpkin and sweet potatoes were harder to cook and required a longer time to simmer.

In the early morning kitchen, the stove was alight, buns were steaming in the bamboo steamer, and corn porridge was simmering on the stove.

At this time, many people were still in the land of dreams, many had just put down their phones to sleep, and yet many others had already started their new day.

Jiang Feng went to the garage to check the equipment on the food truck, such as disposable plates and biodegradable paper bags.

The paper bags were expensive, but Jiang Feng felt that it was better to use paper bags to serve buns in the scenic area. Plastic bags, if littered, could harm the scenic spot, especially if accidentally consumed by animals.

After all, some people had the bad habit of littering, even in scenic areas.

Then, Jiang Feng lit the stove on the food truck and got the steamer ready.

Soon, he would place the buns in the steamer and the corn porridge and tea eggs on the stove.

Only when everything was ready did Jiang Feng start the food truck, preparing to go to Fengqi Mountain to sell breakfast.

「5:10 a.m.」

The garage door of Villa No. 8 in Longxi Elegant Garden slowly opened.

From the low-key yet luxurious villa garage, a delicately designed minibus pulled out.

Jiang Feng pressed the remote control, and the garage door closed again slowly.

Soon after, the night-shift security guard noticed the activity on the road.

Once he confirmed it was Jiang Feng’s food truck, the security guard immediately opened the gate and stood at the roadside waiting.

When Jiang Feng’s food truck passed the main entrance, the security guard stood at attention and saluted.

This was the community’s etiquette; although Jiang Feng felt it was a bit much, he didn’t say anything about it.

The security guard watched Jiang Feng drive away, clicking his tongue and thinking to himself:

The rich really do work hard, living in a villa but still setting up a stall before five in the morning!

That’s why they’re rich!

The food truck minibus drove towards the outskirts.

Fortunately, the distance wasn’t far, about 20 kilometers, and it would take roughly forty minutes to arrive.

At this time, the sky was still dark, and there were few vehicles on the road.

The stars and the moon had not yet faded.

Jiang Feng drove at the boundary between night and dawn, bringing a vehicle full of delicious food to the base of the mountain.

Then he continued along the road up the mountain.

The food truck had enough power to make the journey up.

When he reached the small plaza at the mountain road’s bend, Jiang Feng stopped the food truck and quietly waited for the tourists descending the mountain.

At six o’clock, the first wave of people who had watched the sunrise and were descending the mountain arrived.

These were young people full of vigor and stamina, who had hiked the mountain late at night, watched the sunrise at dawn, and were still descending briskly on foot.

Everyone’s physical constitution is different.

Some people can stay up all night and still be full of energy when waking up at seven the next day.

Others could go to bed early and still feel as drowsy as a dog when they wake up at nine.

Those coming down the mountain now were the energetic ones.

The plaza was a place for rest, with some benches and pavilions.

People would always stop here for a while.

At this time, five fitness enthusiasts came down from the mountain.

They were young and full of vitality, apparently university students and outdoor enthusiasts at that.

Just then, one of the students noticed steam rising from a bend in the road.

He immediately stopped in his tracks.

It was just past six o’clock and somewhat dark, making the road difficult to see clearly.

Under these circumstances, seeing steam rising from a place inevitably made one’s heart thump.

It couldn’t be a ghost from the mountains, could it?

"Look over there, there’s something going on!" he exclaimed, pointing ahead.

The others also looked forward. One of them, bolder than the rest, quickly took a few steps forward and saw what was around the corner.

"What are you scared of? It’s a street vendor setting up shop," he told the others.

"A street vendor?"

"Someone’s setting up shop here? Are you sure it’s a living person?"

"This vendor’s got quite the idea, setting up shop in the mountains instead of the city early in the morning!"

"Let’s go have a look; I’m a bit hungry."

"Aren’t you guys scared?"

The group discussed among themselves.

They were the first group coming down from the mountain, and with no one else heading up at this time, they were the only ones around.

Their conversation reached Jiang Feng’s ears clearly.

Jiang Feng was somewhat at a loss for words.

If I’m not a living person, could I be a ghost?

Jiang Feng ignored them and just lifted the lid from the pot of corn and pumpkin porridge to check on it.

The pumpkin had completely cooked down, melting into the creamy corn porridge. He stirred it with a spoon to distribute it evenly, which would improve the texture.

The buns were also steamed through, fluffy and soft to the touch, seemingly elastic, and they looked quite enticing.

All five, carrying small backpacks, continued their journey down the mountain.

Upon reaching the corner, they saw the vendor’s setup clearly.

The food truck was parked sideways, with its side glass window opened. A handsome young man in a white chef’s uniform, wearing a transparent spit guard mask, was in the truck, next to a sign that read:

"Nutritious Breakfast"

"Sauce Meat Bun 5 yuan each"

"Fried Rice with Egg 12 yuan per serving"

"Tea Egg 2 yuan each"

"Corn and Pumpkin Porridge 5 yuan per bowl"

Seeing the sign, the group suddenly felt hungry.

It had to be said that Jiang Feng had chosen a great spot.

Recently, there had been quite a few people coming to watch the sunrise, some of whom would wait until after seven, when the cable car started, opting to take it down the mountain.

Others would simply hike down.

Anyone hiking down had to pass by this spot.

And who passing by could resist grabbing a bun?

The prices at the mountaintop were high: a bottle of mineral water sold for 10 yuan, and a grilled sausage also went for 10 yuan.

Jiang Feng’s stall halfway up the mountain, charging these prices, was quite reasonable.

"I’m hungry, I’ve got to buy some buns," one person said.

"Shall we just wait and eat back in town? What’s so special about buns from this place, and so cheap they probably don’t taste good," another remarked.

"Let’s eat something to hold us over."

Finally, they decided, "Let’s get a few buns."

One of them walked over to Jiang Feng and said, "Boss, give me five sauce meat buns, and I scan this code, right?"

"Yes, that’s right," Jiang Feng responded.

He opened the steamer, pulled out a paper bag, and then used tongs to pick up five meat buns.

The buns made by Jiang Feng were quite large, one about the size of four small steamed buns together, so the price of 5 yuan each was a bargain.

Seeing the quality of the sauce meat buns, the customer was pleased, feeling the money was well spent.

University students generally didn’t bother with small talk with the vendor; they paid, waited for their purchase, and left, which was fine.

Carrying a bag of buns, he returned to his group. As the five of them continued down the mountain, each took one to eat.

The buns were extremely soft and still a bit hot to the touch.

They had been chilled from spending the night on the mountain, and now, holding the hot buns, they felt a comforting warmth.