Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 94: The Devil Incarnate, a First Encounter!

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: The Devil Incarnate, a First Encounter!

After wrapping up his stall, Jiang Feng drove his food truck away, slowly disappearing from people’s view.

He mingled with the traffic, cruising under the blue sky and white clouds.

Today’s business was still very good.

What made a deep impression on Jiang Feng were those two women who said they needed to save someone.

He didn’t know how the other party was doing, nor did he know if the snacks were really effective. He hoped the person was okay.

Today’s task reward was the "Hot Plate Beancurd Recipe."

There were also "Beancurd Ingredients" and "Shrimp Paste Ingredients."

So tomorrow’s special dishes would be roasted buns, hot plate beancurd, and potato slices with shrimp paste.

Jiang Feng returned home and took Little Black for a walk.

The little guy was full of energy, hopping and jumping about.

Whenever they encountered other dogs, he would actively go up to greet them.

If you were to categorize them by personality type, he’d be an E-type dog—an extrovert.

Sometimes Jiang Feng couldn’t even hold him back.

After walking for over half an hour, the little guy finally calmed down.

So Jiang Feng took him home.

Life went on as usual.

「The next day,」 Jiang Feng was busy in his rented shop preparing all the ingredients. Then, he drove the food truck to the area outside the hospital, where there were still many people.

"Please wait a moment."

Jiang Feng heated oil in the wok and started frying the shrimp paste.

He had several orders that needed to be handled in advance. These orders came from the orthopedics ward of the inpatient department. Those people came over with crutches every day, and their perseverance made even Jiang Feng admire them. When there were fewer people, it was manageable, but now with too many customers lining up, they couldn’t stand outside for too long, especially since they couldn’t stand firmly.

So, after they discussed it with Jiang Feng, he agreed to prepare their food in advance, and they could just come and collect it.

Special circumstances required special treatment.

The other customers in line didn’t see any problem with it.

The customers formed a long line again.

Before long, Zhu Hong and an older woman approached Jiang Feng’s stall, Zhu Hong carrying a fruit basket.

"Boss, Boss!" Zhu Hong called out with a beaming smile, looking completely different from her worried, sorrowful self from the day before.

"Oh, it’s you. Hello," Jiang Feng responded with a smile, seeing her relaxed expression.

"Thank you so much for yesterday! My husband really woke up," Zhu Hong said. "It’s kind of miraculous; he reacted as soon as he smelled the snacks you made. This fruit basket is a small token of our appreciation. You must accept it."

She offered her heartfelt thanks.

"It’s good that he woke up." Jiang Feng looked at Zhu Hong and accepted the fruit basket.

Sometimes, accepting a gift makes the giver happier and puts their mind at ease.

"Boss, I should head back now," Zhu Hong said.

"Okay, take care!"

After a brief exchange, Zhu Hong left.

The connections between people can sometimes be very brief, yet they can have a significant impact.

The customer at the front of the line watched, puzzled.

What’s going on? A food stall receiving a fruit basket? People have seen commendation banners given to doctors and milk given to firefighters. But this is the first time I’ve seen someone bring a fruit basket to a street vendor.

Unable to contain his curiosity, the customer at the front asked, "Boss, why is someone giving you a fruit basket? What happened?"

Hearing this, Jiang Feng replied with a faint smile, "It’s nothing much, not worth mentioning."

Jiang Feng couldn’t say exactly what had happened because he still found it unbelievable. A snack waking up a comatose patient? Who would believe such a thing? It must have been a coincidence. Li Lin was already hovering between unconsciousness and waking when the scent of the snack appeared. It only takes a small weight to tip the scales. Jiang Feng’s snack was that weight.

"I’ll have a serving of potato slices with shrimp paste and a serving of hot plate beancurd."

The customer at the front didn’t pry further and continued with his order.

"Alright."

Jiang Feng got busy.

The essence of hot plate beancurd lay in its sauce and sprinkled toppings. The sauce was made by first frying onions, minced garlic, Jing Tiao powder, broad bean paste, chili sauce, five-spice powder, and seafood sauce, then simmering them to produce a pot of thick, fragrant sauce. The toppings were a mix of cooked chili powder, cumin powder, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, MSG, chicken powder, sugar, Sichuan pepper, salt, and thirteen-spice powder, all measured by proportion into a bowl and stirred by hand until evenly mixed.

With the beancurd and chopped green onions ready, he could now make the hot plate beancurd.

The beancurd Jiang Feng had received was soft tofu, exceptionally tender. He scooped the beancurd out from a container of cold water and, using a long knife typically used for cutting watermelons, sliced the beancurd into thin rectangular pieces, laying them out on the hot plate.

Once one side was fried to a golden brown, he drizzled it with oil and flipped all the pieces to fry the other side.

He then brushed the beancurd with his secret sauce and sprinkled a handful of the toppings over it.

Finally, he added some chopped green onions and white sesame seeds.

The hot plate beancurd was ready.

The customer watched the beancurd on the hot plate.

At first, it was a fresh, pale white, looking soft and tender. After frying, it turned golden yellow, and its texture seemed even better. Then, when smeared with the secret, rich red sauce, the beancurd immediately became glossy and red, releasing its aroma. After the toppings, chopped green onions, and white sesame seeds were sprinkled on, the sight alone was enough to tantalize the taste buds.

The customer gulped.

Jiang Feng brought over a small, disposable round container, used a spatula to scoop up six pieces of the hot plate beancurd, and placed them into the box one by one. He stuck a toothpick on top, and the hot plate beancurd was ready.

The customer could hardly wait.

Upon receiving the hot plate beancurd, they speared a piece with the toothpick, blew on it twice to cool it, then popped it into their mouth.

The beancurd was scorching hot, almost scalding the tongue. After a couple more puffs of air, it cooled down. Immediately, the fragrance of the sauce filled their mouth. It was slightly spicy, a little salty, and extraordinarily aromatic. Who knew how many different seasonings were mixed in there?

Then, after just a few chews, the taste of the beancurd itself began to dominate the sauce. The skin of the beancurd was crisp, while the inside remained soft and tender. Frying had made it more elastic. While chewing, one could hear the beancurd making a soft "SQUELCH SQUELCH" sound as it was compressed. Although the inside of the beancurd wasn’t seasoned, the seasonings on the surface dissolved in saliva, making the taste even more flavorful. The addition of green onions and white sesame seeds made it even more appetizing.

These two ingredients were like the "dynamic duo" for snacks—perfect with stinky tofu, squid, fried skewers, fried potatoes... you could add them to almost anything.

The customers waiting in line behind watched him eat the hot plate beancurd, and they couldn’t help but gulp.

It looks so delicious! one thought.

Someone called out to the man, "How’s the hot plate beancurd? Is it good?"

Hearing this, the man replied excitedly, "It’s incredibly tasty! The flavor is amazing! This beancurd is especially fresh; it must have been freshly made today. Plus, it’s very chewy. Even though it’s fresh beancurd, the texture is a bit like dried beancurd, but much softer. The seasonings are rich too. I recommend everyone try it!"

Hearing his words, the customers behind grew even more eager. They felt a bit impatient too.

Fortunately, the hot plate beancurd was prepared and sold quickly. Since Jiang Feng could fry more than twenty pieces at once, he could fulfill orders for four people in a single batch.

The potato slices with shrimp paste were also quite popular.

Potato enthusiasts and seafood lovers were ecstatic. The potato slices were crispy and delicious, while the shrimp meat was fragrant and firm. Together, they were a perfect combination.

"Hurry up, let me get my order! This is making me so hungry!"

"There’s definitely a reason why business is this good!"

"They won’t sell out, will they?"

"Don’t worry, we came early. We’ll definitely get to eat."

The customers discussed amongst themselves.

On the food truck, Jiang Feng looked completely at ease.

Making snacks wasn’t that exhausting. Everything was prepared in advance; he just needed to fry or grill and season them. Previously, stir-frying in the wok was really tiring. That required prepping side ingredients, tossing the wok, and perfectly controlling the timing. After a week of stir-frying, making snacks was certainly more comfortable.

He had prepared some extra today because he found that snacks could be made quickly, so customers didn’t linger and cause congestion. It wouldn’t create any problems.

This is good; I can make more this way, he thought. Otherwise, it always feels like a pity when people queue up and don’t get to taste the food.

「Meanwhile, in the intensive care unit ward.」

The attending doctor came to check on Li Lin’s condition. After confirming Li Lin had no issues, the doctor also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rest for a few days and avoid any vigorous movements. His condition is very good now," the attending doctor told Li Lin and Zhu Hong. "Your injury wasn’t too severe. Waking up meant you were out of danger."

At this moment, Zhu Hong had an idea and suggested to the doctor, "Doctor, since the smell of that street food was helpful for my husband, perhaps it could also be helpful for other patients? Maybe we could try it."

Hearing this, the attending doctor smiled and said, "That kind of outcome was a fluke. It’s difficult for someone who has been in a vegetative state for many years to wake up from mere olfactory stimulation. Li Lin’s case was different because his injuries weren’t that severe; he was hovering between a coma and consciousness. Besides, that’s not a recognized medical treatment. A person in a vegetative state might not regain full consciousness, but they still have sensations. If you let them smell delicious food that they can’t eat, that’s not treatment—it’s torture."

Upon hearing the attending physician’s words, Zhu Hong had a sudden realization.

Indeed, I oversimplified things, she thought.

Imagine a patient in a vegetative state lying in the ICU, already unlikely to wake up. Then, doctors bring delicious food to their nose every day for them to smell. Whether the patient would want to eat is uncertain, but they would definitely want to hit someone! I’ve heard of living Bodhisattvas, but a living Yama? That would be a first! Individual cases don’t have universal applicability. This whole incident can only be described as a fortunate coincidence.