CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: THIS STEAMED BUN IS EXTRAORDINARY

"Shiitake beef bun? 10 yuan for 3?"

"Pepper eggplant bun? Can that even taste good?"

"Minced meat with green beans?"

"Why is there no sauced meat anymore?"

"Oh dear, I’ve been looking forward to the pork and sauerkraut bun for ages, and just like that, it’s gone?"

When these elderly people shop, they focus on reputation. The previous fillings had been tried and tested by others, but now with three new kinds, they’re all hesitant to try.

However, after hearing Wang Fan’s words, old Liu was overjoyed.

"Oh wow, beef is my favorite, give me three to taste first."

Wang Fan opened the fresh food box, picked out three shiitake beef buns, and handed them to old Liu.

Old Liu took the buns and, under the watchful eyes of the elderly crowd, brought them close to his lips.

The bun’s dough was as soft as ever, and just pressing it lightly with his lips left a little dent.

Seeing this, quite a few people were already swallowing their saliva, reminded of how their taste buds were dominated by these buns this morning and yesterday.

"I don’t know how they make the dough for this bun, but even without filling, the bun itself never gets boring."

This was the sentiment of many.

Old Liu didn’t need any sentiment because he was holding the bun.

The sweet aroma of flour lingered at the tip of his nose, along with a faint beef scent.

"Uncle Liu, be careful..."

"Sss..."

Just as Wang Fan was about to remind him about how to eat, impatient Old Liu took a big bite of the bun.

At the moment the bun’s skin broke, a clear hot oil spurted out instantly. Old Liu hurriedly moved away just in time to avoid getting the hot oil on his body, though quite a bit still landed on his hand.

"Whoa?"

"Is this bun really that intense?"

"I love it, I love it. Just for the fact that this bun can squirt oil, I have to buy some and try."

Old Liu recovered and asked Wang Fan blankly, "What’s going on here?"

Wang Fan explained, "The beef is somewhat tough, so I added more seasoning water to the bun filling and used a relatively high ratio of fatty meat. This way, once steamed, the buns are full of oils inside. You used to just stuff them in your mouth directly, but this time you bit it, and I was a little late in reminding you."

"Oh, so that’s how it is."

Hearing Wang Fan’s explanation, the surrounding elderly finally understood what was going on.

Aunt Wang’s nose twitched uncontrollably as the rich aroma kept stimulating her senses.

The scent had the unique flavor of beef and the distinctive aroma of shiitake mushrooms.

Aunt Wang was puzzled, thinking they often had shiitake mushrooms at home, yet even a whole plate of them never smelled as fragrant as this one bun.

No, she had to buy and try it herself!

"Young man, give Auntie three shiitake beef buns first."

Old Liu immediately teased, "Oh, Sister Wang couldn’t resist the smell?"

Aunt Wang ignored him and took a bun to eat.

With Old Liu’s earlier lesson, Aunt Wang ate her bun in an orderly fashion.

She gently bit a small opening with her teeth and first took a big sip of the meat juice.

The hot meat juice flowed into her mouth, and the delicious taste made Aunt Wang widen her eyes and hurriedly take a bite of the bun.

And the chewing was even more remarkable.

The tender beef wasn’t tough at all, instead, it was very smooth and tender. Besides the full meat juice, there was also an even smoother texture.

Aunt Wang realized it must be the minced shiitake.

As for the more chewy bits, it was certainly the beef particles.

What impressed her even more was another substance that was chewier than the beef particles.

That texture Aunt Wang didn’t know how to describe—neither hard nor overly chewy, but the more she chewed, the more fragrant it became, surprisingly more so than the beef particles.

Old Liu had also finished a bun by then, and praised with admiration, "In my life, I’ve never been this impressed, young brother, but these buns truly have won me over. They say ’sparrows may be small, but they have all vital organs’—your buns are not lacking in any way."

Old Qian teased from the side, "Old Liu, are you being paid to praise them?"

"Exactly, after all, it’s just a bun. Handmade ones being more delicious is normal, do you really need to praise them so much?"

"I bet this young man must be related to the Liu family, otherwise why praise so hard?"

"Hahaha, I doubt it, with the kind of genes the Liu family has, could they produce such a good-looking young man?"

Old Liu glared at them and grumbled, "Go away, cool off to the side. Do you think I’m that kind of person? Let me tell you, there are a lot of secrets to this bun, and just to say, starting with the filling."

At this point, Old Liu broke open a bun to show them.

As he split the bun, a gush of meat juice flowed out through the crack, soaking his hand.

Once fully open, everyone could see inside the bun.

The bun’s skin was thin and still steaming, the inside skin soaked in meat juice had turned a dark brown, the meat filling originally a meatball had been split in half by Old Liu, revealing little granules inside.

Seeing what was inside this bun, many couldn’t help but swallow again.

It was so incredibly fragrant!

Especially that meatball, it looked extremely appetizing.

And with the meat juice still dripping continuously, no one doubted for a moment whether the bun was delicious or not.

Old Liu pointed to the small granules in the bun and said, "See this? It’s minced and ground meat, soft and smooth but with a good chew. Apart from that, the essence of this bun isn’t them, it’s this."

He pointed to a small brown granule, "This is wet shiitake."

Then he pointed to another somewhat shriveled granule, "This is dried shiitake."

With a face full of admiration and nostalgia, he said, "Wet shiitake provides the smooth texture, dried shiitake enhances the overall bun’s aroma, and these dried shiitake absorb the beef juice’s oils, making them taste even better than real beef, it’s unbeatable this bun! Young man, pack me 18 more, today I’m going to have my fill."

Compared to what was said, the elderly clearly trusted what they saw more.

Old Liu’s display made the inside of Wang Fan’s shiitake beef bun quite evident.

And having lived so many years made them wise. Just from the aroma, they knew the ingredients had to be fresh. The fragrance was purely from the shiitake and beef, if it were lesser quality beef, they must have used a lot of spices to hide the gamey taste.

"This young man’s business is genuine, even though these buns are small, the filling is more than those big buns at the entrance. Pack me 9."

"I want 12, I’m starving here, add more chili oil, just put it straight in the bag."

"I want 15."

"I want 30!"

"Hey, at the front, take fewer so those behind can have a taste too!"