Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 87: The Unique Quest Reward!

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: The Unique Quest Reward!

Four patients gathered around Jiang Feng’s food truck. Three of them had already tasted the stinky tofu and were full of anticipation. The one with the bandaged arm was still watching.

"Boss, we’d all like a serving of stinky tofu."

"Add a grilled cold noodle for me."

"Then I’ll add one too!"

"If you’re all adding, then I’ll add as well!"

After some discussion, each of them ordered a serving of stinky tofu and a serving of grilled cold noodles.

Jiang Feng didn’t have much stinky tofu left, just about enough for five or six people. He fried them all at once, planning to go home after finishing this order.

"Okay, just a moment."

Jiang Feng started to bustle about in the food truck.

At this time, some pedestrians on the roadside noticed the situation with the food truck.

"Look over there, why are four patients surrounding a food truck?"

"Did the owner break their legs and arms, and now they’ve come to settle the score?"

"Can you not make stuff up? Do they look like they’re here to settle scores?"

"They just came out to buy some stinky tofu, don’t be ridiculous."

Soon, Jiang Feng had finished making their stinky tofu and grilled cold noodles.

The four of them left, wobbling away with their tofu and noodles. Two of them with trouble walking used crutches, and someone else carried their tofu and noodles for them. They were all fellow patients, and helping each other out was only natural.

Jiang Feng watched their receding figures and sighed. It’s really not easy for them.

Then he began to clean up the food truck. He locked and packed up all the seasoning containers, scooped out the oil residue from the fryer, and then drained the oil into a bucket through a pipe. The oil could be used for a few more days. Some street-food vendors, to save costs, would not change the oil for a long time. For Jiang Feng, using it for a few days wasn’t a problem.

Everything in the truck was tidied up, and then Jiang Feng drove the food truck home.

「Orthopedic ward.」

The group of four struggled back, including the guy with the cast on his arm who also made it to their ward.

He couldn’t wait to pick up a piece of stinky tofu and put it in his mouth. At first, it was the taste of the broth. As he chewed finely, the flavors of garlic and chili paste inside the tofu began to spread in his mouth. Garlic and chili are highly stimulating foods. Mixed together to become delicious, they can directly hit the deepest parts of a person’s taste buds. The tofu was merely a vessel carrying these tasty ingredients. The deep-fried crust of the tofu was crispy, which turned soft once chewed, offering quite a nice texture.

"Mmm! Really good!" he exclaimed in amazement.

Looking at the other three, they had no time to talk, focusing solely on eating their stinky tofu.

He didn’t say more, eating up an entire bowl of stinky tofu. There was still half a bowl of the original broth left in the bowl. The broth was still hot, with bits of coriander and green onions floating on top. He picked up the paper bowl and drank all the broth; the sensation was indescribable. His whole body felt comfortable. It was as if even the pain in his arm was less severe.

Then he opened the grilled cold noodles, picked up a piece, and tasted the flavor. Eggs wrapped around the noodles, fried thoroughly with sauce, sausage, green onions, and coriander inside. Another supremely delicious sensation.

The four devoured the cold noodles as if in a whirlwind, leaving none behind. Afterward, they lay comfortably on their hospital beds, enjoying the feeling of the food’s warmth flowing through their bodies.

"This stall’s stuff is good, the owner has skills!"

"Let’s see how it goes tomorrow, and maybe buy some more."

"Sure."

They chatted idly.

Most of Jiang Feng’s customers today were people going to the hospital. Some were there for medical check-ups or treatment, some to visit patients in the inpatient department, and a few were hospital staff. Now, many at the hospital had tasted the snacks and couldn’t forget the flavors of what Jiang Feng made. Many became regulars, returning the next day.

Jiang Feng got back home and claimed his daily task reward.

[Served 193/100 customers, task completed.]

[Received additional reward: Iron Plate Squid Recipe]

[Received additional reward: 300 Premium Squid Skewers]

[Note: Premium Squid Skewers have a shelf life of 36 hours, exclusively for serving customers.]

Today’s reward directly included the squid skewers. A squid skewer is a whole squid threaded onto two parallel sticks. Later, lay some onions on the grill plate, press the squid on top to cook, spread some sauce, sprinkle with chili, sesame, and green onions, and that’s it.

The essence of Iron Plate Squid is the sauce formula. It requires garlic, soybean paste, chili bean sauce, sugar, salt, oyster sauce, seafood sauce, etc. The key flavor profile is fragrant and spicy. Street food, in general, has strong flavors that hit the taste buds directly. Different places have different sauce recipes.

With the recipe, it’s easy for Jiang Feng to make a batch of squid sauce. Once the sauce was made, preparing Iron Plate Squid would also be simple.

The reward for this task includes ingredients, which is great. It saves me from running to the market.

But what does ’exclusively for serving customers’ mean? Are they afraid I’ll hoard them all for myself? Jiang Feng pondered.

The God of Cookery System needed to earn the satisfaction of the diners, so naturally, the system hoped that the rewarded ingredients would be provided to the customers. Jiang Feng didn’t pay much attention to these details.

Looking at today’s sales, the difficulty of running a street food stand isn’t high. He started selling at about 9:15 a.m., and by around 12 p.m. everything was sold out. Jiang Feng didn’t aim to do a big business; as long as he completed the tasks and the customers were satisfied, that was enough.

In the afternoon, he had his free time and took Little Black out for a walk.

「The next day.」

Jiang Feng was getting the food truck ready, planning to set up his stall after 12 p.m. from now on. This time frame was busier; at 9:30 in the morning there were still too few people.

Around 10 a.m., in the ENT department, Nurse Yang Juan was chatting with two other junior nurses.

"That new snack stand outside is really delicious. I’ll go check later if he’s there; I want to buy another bowl of grilled cold noodles."

"It tastes so much better than anything I’ve had in the snack street!" Yang Juan said with lingering enjoyment.

Hearing her words, one of the junior nurses thought of something, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"The snack stand you mentioned, do they also sell stinky tofu?"

Yang Juan nodded, "Yes, what about it?"

The junior nurse smiled and replied, "Yesterday I heard from a friend in orthopedics that many of their patients were eating stinky tofu. Some patients even went there with their crutches. Apparently, the stinky tofu was so delicious. Even with mobility challenges, they’re determined to go; that’s devotion."

It was the first time Yang Juan heard about this, but she wasn’t surprised.

"Orthopedic patients went with their crutches? That seems normal, the snack stand is really good. You just exit the inpatient department and head towards the main hospital building; it’s right there. I plan to go and buy some more in a while."

The two nurses saw Yang Juan’s serious expression and knew she wasn’t joking.

"Is it really that good?" they asked again.

"Definitely, otherwise who would go there with crutches."

"Alright then, let’s go together."

"Should we get some for the head nurse?"

"Are you kidding me? If she catches you going out to buy stinky tofu, she’ll definitely scold you, and you still want to bring some back for her?"

"Just one person go; someone needs to stay and watch the department."

The three quickly reached an agreement. In the end, Yang Juan decided to personally go out and buy the stinky tofu.

At the same time, Shi Meng in the ward was waiting anxiously. He was waiting for his wife to take the subway over and bring him a serving of grilled cold noodles and stinky tofu from the snack stand. Yesterday, he thought his improved appetite was the reason he found Jiang Feng’s food so delicious. But by evening, he started feeling uncomfortable again, and he had no appetite for dinner. He then realized it was because Jiang Feng’s snacks were so delicious that they stimulated his body, making him enjoy the food that much. So, he was eagerly anticipating his wife bringing the snacks up to him.

Not long after, his wife arrived in the ward, only carrying a pancake.

"Where are the grilled cold noodles?" Shi Meng asked eagerly.

"He didn’t come today, I don’t know if he changed locations," his wife replied.

"Ah? He didn’t come?"

"How could he not come?"

"How could he not show up!"

Shi Meng let out a disappointed sigh and leaned against the headboard, looking utterly forlorn. His wife felt the same way. She also felt regretful, not having seen Jiang Feng by the roadside.

Several patients from the orthopedics department with casts also went out and returned disappointed when they didn’t find the snack stand, hobbling back to their wards. They felt as if their bodies were aching even more. It was a heartache.

Boss, come quickly! We want your stinky tofu!

Surely yesterday’s stinky tofu wasn’t just an illusion! they thought to themselves.

It wasn’t until around 12 p.m. that Jiang Feng arrived near the hospital with his food truck, parking it on the inner side of the road as usual. By 12 p.m., there were already a lot of people at the hospital, and there was some congestion on the road.

Today’s offerings: Stinky Tofu, Grilled Cold Noodles, and Iron Plate Squid.

Jiang Feng planned to sell only three types of snacks from now on. He could manage just three kinds on his own. He planned to rotate one item on the menu daily.

Before long, pedestrians passing by saw there was a stall and came over to buy. People found it unusual. Usually, street food vendors looking for good business would either go to pedestrian streets or places like subway entrances and school gates where the pedestrian flow was high. So, it was unusual to see someone set up a stall outside a hospital, especially with such a professional-looking food truck. Still, it was a welcome sight, offering a good chance to buy something and try the flavors.

Jiang Feng’s business was still doing well.