Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 93 Awake, Truly Awake!

Chapter 93: Chapter 93 Awake, Truly Awake!

"Doctor! Doctor!"

Outside the intensive care unit patient room, the eldest sister hurriedly ran out, calling loudly.

Zhu Hong also pressed the call button in the patient’s room without delay.

A few seconds later, a nurse rushed over hastily.

"What happened?" the nurse asked as she walked into the hallway, addressing the eldest sister.

"He’s awake, he’s awake, my younger brother, he’s awake," the eldest sister said, her eyes brimming with excitement.

"I’ll get the doctor right away."

After the nurse took a glance inside the room and confirmed Li Lin indeed showed signs of awakening, she called for the doctor in a rush.

Li Lin lay on the hospital bed, feeling a bit numb all over, his head woozy. He was aware of his wife by his side, seemingly crying. Before long, he sensed a few more people enter and stand by his side.

It’s so noisy outside!

Li Lin took a sniff. At that moment, what concerned him the most was the wonderful smell from just before. The aroma was enticing, triggering a reaction in his body.

Inside the room, the attending physician had already arrived at Li Lin’s bedside. He checked the data on the medical instruments and then pried open Li Lin’s eyelids to take a look. Li Lin indeed showed signs of revival, but he remained in a coma at present.

Zhu Hong and the eldest sister anxiously watched the doctor.

"What happened just now?" the attending physician turned and asked the two of them. "Tell me in detail."

Zhu Hong and the eldest sister then took turns describing what had just transpired. "We were eating, and suddenly we heard a sound from Li Lin. He first made a few hoarse cries, and then he said something."

At this, the attending physician raised an eyebrow. "He said something? What did he say?"

"’He said, ’What is that delicious smell?’’" Zhu Hong, remembering clearly, hurriedly confirmed.

"’What is that delicious smell?’" The doctor looked around, his gaze settling on the leftover snack boxes on the bedside table. "It’s the stimulus from the food! His senses are almost entirely shut down. It seems his sense of taste is still intact. Buy some more of these snacks and place them in front of him. He’s still comatose; give him some more stimulation and see if it has any effect."

Hearing the doctor’s words, Zhu Hong immediately said, "I’m on it," and then headed out.

"I’ll go too. I know where the stall is," the eldest sister also followed, running out.

The doctor and nurse continued examining Li Lin’s condition together. Li Lin’s body indeed reacted; his fingers trembled faintly, and his eyelids struggled to open yet never quite succeeded. The attending physician knew this was a critical period for Li Lin. It was like a tug-of-war, and Li Lin was the rope. On one side was death, on the other, life. It all depended on whether he could make it through.

「Meanwhile, at the outdoor food stall.」

Executive Chef Jiang was serving his customers. The guests were especially enthusiastic, greeting Executive Chef Jiang from time to time.

"Executive Chef Jiang, your skills are truly impressive. Where did you learn them?"

Upon hearing this, Executive Chef Jiang humbly replied, "I researched and figured it out myself online. Don’t call me Executive Chef; I’m still running a stall. I haven’t opened a restaurant, so I’m not really an Executive Chef."

But the customer immediately said, "You’re far more skilled than many chefs; calling you ’Executive Chef’ isn’t an overstatement at all. I even want to call you ’Culinary God’!"

"Please don’t," Executive Chef Jiang quickly gestured with his hands.

Just then, two middle-aged women with tears streaming down their faces ran up to Boss Jiang’s stall. One of them cried out, "Boss Jiang, please save my husband’s life!"

Seeing the woman’s distraught appearance, Executive Chef Jiang was completely taken aback. Isn’t that a hospital right next to us? Why are they coming to a chef for help?

The woman looked very agitated and seemed to want to say something but found it hard to articulate her words. The surrounding customers all watched the commotion. It figured it would be Boss Jiang’s stall; it was always crowded, and there was always some excitement to watch.

The eldest sister was relatively composed. She quickly organized her thoughts and said, "Boss Jiang, my brother was in a car accident, severely injured and in a coma. The doctor said it’s a crucial time, but we’ve tried many methods, and my brother hasn’t woken up. Just now, we were eating the snacks you made in the hospital room, and my brother’s body had a reaction. The doctor told us to buy some more. Boss, please help us, save my brother! It’s extremely urgent!"

Hearing the eldest sister’s words, a look of astonishment appeared in Executive Chef Jiang’s eyes. Could this be a bit too incredible? But the expressions on their faces didn’t seem false.

Executive Chef Jiang immediately said, "Alright, right away!" He began to prepare with the utmost speed. After all, such matters allowed no hesitation. Saving a person’s life was more important than anything else.

The oil in the wok was still boiling, one wok for stinky tofu, the other for potato shrimp paste. Then, hot steamed buns were taken out of the steamer and packed into bags. Jiang Feng worked against the clock, preparing the food.

At this moment, an invisible scene was unfolding inside the hospital room. A person was tied with a rope, stationed at the boundary between light and darkness. On one side, an unseen darkness was pulling on his rope. On the other were doctors and nurses, along with a snack chef.

Soon, Jiang Feng finished preparing the delicious food and packed it into boxes. Zhu Hong grabbed the food, said, "Thank you," and hurriedly ran towards the inpatient department. The eldest sister quickly followed suit. They were so anxious they even forgot to pay.

Jiang Feng didn’t mind at all. From their expressions, it seemed that what they had said earlier was true. He wished only for the person’s safety.

The customers watched the two women’s retreating figures and discussed among themselves.

"A critically injured patient woke up just from smelling Executive Chef Jiang’s snacks?"

"You know what? It might actually be possible!"

"This stall’s food is so amazing, you encounter all sorts of things here."

"Haha, I remember last time at the mall when I ate Executive Chef Jiang’s Zhajiang noodles, someone even said his Zhajiang noodles made a high-profile criminal confess to their crimes!"

"Hope the person is okay. Those two looked so pitiful."

...

「Intensive Care Unit.」

Patients admitted here were often on the brink of death. This place had witnessed too many sorrows and partings, joys and reunions.

At this moment, Li Lin was still trying hard to open his eyes. Zhu Hong hurried in, holding a big bag of piping hot snacks.

"Doctor, I’ve got them!" she said. "And then what?" Zhu Hong asked anxiously.

"Place the snacks in front of his nose. See if there’s any effect," the attending physician said. There were no other options at this point. A severely injured and comatose patient could only wake up through his own efforts. The doctors had done everything they could; the rest was just keeping him alive.

Although Zhu Hong didn’t know if it would work, she still took out a skewer of shrimp paste and held it in front of Li Lin’s nose. She remembered that shrimp was Li Lin’s favorite food.

The scene looked somewhat comical, like a video clip of an owner teasing a pet. But no one in the room found it amusing. There was only tension.

In his daze, Li Lin smelled a peculiar and more distinct aroma. An overwhelming fragrance seemed to burrow into his nostrils. Li Lin’s body was stirred again. Due to his severe injuries and coma, his body had stopped responding to his brain’s commands and could only rely on instinct. In that instant, the stomach took charge.

The stomach sent signals to the whole body indicating it wanted to eat, but the body didn’t respond.

Stomach: I want to eat.

Body: Talk to the brain. We only listen to the brain.

Stomach: Where’s the brain?

Body: Don’t know. The connection is severed.

Stomach: If it’s severed, then reconnect!

Body: Connecting...

Li Lin, in his haze, felt his bodily sensations becoming increasingly acute. In the tug-of-war, the force on the side of "life" was ultimately stronger. He walked towards the light.

Then, Li Lin’s leg suddenly twitched. The twitch startled Zhu Hong.

Then, Li Lin dazedly opened his eyes.

"He’s awake!"

"He’s really awake!" the eldest sister, overjoyed, quickly exclaimed.

On the surface, the attending physician remained composed, but inside, he was overwhelmed. Could this really work? I just wanted to give it a try!

After Li Lin woke up, his voice was exceptionally weak. He was only heard groaning weakly, "What’s that smell... so fragrant..."

Zhu Hong couldn’t help but burst into tears. "It’s the snacks. We’ll eat them every day from now on."

The attending physician hurried over to check Li Lin’s condition. In Li Lin’s current condition, he could only smell the aroma; his Staminia was still insufficient for him to eat. But waking up was a very good sign.

The hospital had seen many strange and inexplicable things. However, this was the first time the attending physician had seen a comatose patient awakened by the aroma of snacks. Such things were inherently unpredictable. Perhaps it was some external stimulus, and they woke up.

As long as he woke up, that was all that mattered.