Next, a few more waves of guests arrived at the restaurant.
In recent years, Zhou Zhongming had taken an interest in health and wellness. Since his retirement, he had grown quite fond of Phoenix Temple, because the place not only offered scenery to admire but also a chance to get some exercise. Afterward, he would go into the temple for a bowl of vegetarian noodles—light and low in oil, making it the perfect brunch.
The vegetarian noodles and dishes at Phoenix Temple were quite famous externally, and many people came from afar to taste them on weekends.
Only this time, he had woken up a bit late. By the time Zhou Zhongming finished his workout, the restaurant inside the temple already had a long queue, and there were no seats left in the dining hall.
Therefore, he had no choice but to head outside the scenic area and casually find somewhere to grab a bite.
Over the years, however, he had gradually grown accustomed to a vegetarian diet. Whenever he passed by restaurants and caught the scent of alcohol, meat, and cooking oil, he would find it greasy.
Gradually, he walked further and further off the beaten path, until a signboard caught his eye.
"Qiongye Restaurant? This will do. I'll just order a couple of vegetarian dishes."
Walking into the dining hall, he found that this unremarkable agritainment restaurant actually had quite a few people inside. Many young people were chatting animatedly, creating a noisy environment that made him frown involuntarily.
However, when his gaze shifted to the blackboard and he saw the menu, a hint of a smile appeared instead.
Although there weren't many dishes, they were very seasonal. It seemed this place knew how to eat.
"Bring me a serving of wontons, and a bowl of soup."
Hua Guduo quickly wrote it down and passed the order to the back kitchen.
The shepherd's purse and fresh pork wontons had already been wrapped by Bai Mengmeng in the morning. When a guest placed an order, they only needed to be boiled in the pot and could be served right away.
Bai Mengmeng didn't like fatty meat. Although dumpling fillings needed some fat to be fragrant, Bai Mengmeng still chose lean meat as much as possible.
She chopped up the shepherd's purse picked from the mountain, added a tiny bit of seasoning to give the dumplings a hint of umami.
Moreover, when boiling them, she only used bone broth instead of dried shrimp and nori, which instead better highlighted the fresh and delicious flavor.
"Your wontons are ready. However, our wontons don't come with soup, so we've given you a complimentary bowl of shredded pork and vegetable soup."
Wang Hao spoke cheerfully.
"Thank you."
Zhou Zhongming didn't mind. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the wontons. Although they weren't large, every single one was plump and shaped like a gold ingot, looking quite cute.
The soup was also very clear, floating with a few strands of green vegetables, though hardly any shredded pork was to be seen.
Feeling a bit thirsty to begin with, he picked up the spoon first, preparing to taste the soup.
The flavor turned out to be unexpectedly wonderful. When swallowed, it tasted exceptionally refreshing; the mouth was filled with the fresh fragrance of vegetables, punctuated by a trace of meaty umami.
It was neither heavy on oil nor heavy on salt, with no MSG or sesame oil. Once it reached his belly, it left his whole body feeling warm.
Furthermore, those greens were exceptionally delicious. Because of his advanced age, his palate tended toward blandness, making his tongue quite sensitive.
Zhou Zhongming only felt that the greens were crisp, tender, fresh, and sweet—more delicious than all the vegetables he had eaten in half his lifetime combined.
It was just that there were only two or three strands; before he could fully enjoy them, they were gone.
Having finished the soup and whetted his appetite, Zhou Zhongming hurriedly popped a wonton into his mouth. After chewing gently for a moment, his eyes widened abruptly.
The shepherd's purse was simply too delicious!
Between his lips and teeth was the absolute freshness of shepherd's purse. Even the meat had become a supporting role at this moment. Coupled with the generous filling, the texture was also sublime. It was safe to say that the deliciousness Zhou Zhongming had imagined was precisely this!
The wontons were slippery, and before he knew it, they were polished off completely. By the time he came to his senses, the plate was already empty, yet he still felt somewhat unsatisfied.
At this thought, Zhou Zhongming felt a little ashamed.
Previously, he pursued health and wellness, and his diet had always been very restrained. He hadn't expected that today he would be so eager to eat more.
He paid his bill and headed out. Before leaving, he carefully stared at the store's name and detailed address to prevent himself from failing to find the exact location next time.
Those old friends of his had always complained that he was picky about food, saying there were very few places outside that could satisfy him. When the chance arose, he simply had to bring those people over and let them have a taste.
It wasn't that he was picky; it was clearly that those restaurants cooked food of far too poor quality. Wasn't this seemingly ordinary little shop right before his eyes thoroughly satisfying to him?
...
Before dark, the food had already sold out completely.
Because it was the first day, Bai Mengmeng was afraid things wouldn't sell, so she hadn't bought that much when purchasing ingredients. She never expected the sales to far exceed her expectations.
The shepherd's purse wontons sold the fastest, and the few meat dishes she had prepared also sold out early, leaving only a few leftover vegetables.
Bai Mengmeng felt a bit regretful in her heart; she felt that the vegetarian dishes she made were clearly more delicious than the meat.
"Hang up the sign; our business for today ends here," Bai Mengmeng instructed Wang Hao with a grin, while beginning to count the money.
Liang Cha seemed still to harbor a lingering resentment over Bai Mengmeng doubting whether he knew how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide earlier, so instead of letting Bai Mengmeng count the money, he directly produced a financial report.
Bai Mengmeng glanced at it twice and felt pleasantly surprised. Although it was the first day of business, the revenue was quite substantial.
However, this was also related to the environment. After all, it was the weekend, close to the scenic area, and coupled with the area's events, the foot traffic was heavy.
Their own agritainment restaurant was located in a remote spot, and Phoenix Mountain wasn't particularly famous—just a township-level scenic spot. Unless it was a holiday or a few special events were held, business wouldn't normally be this good all year round.
Bai Mengmeng truly liked making money, but she didn't necessarily have to make a fortune.
The dishes she had prepared were mostly sold out, so she simply took a rest.
She didn't have any grand ambitions; the money she earned was enough as long as it sufficed, so she wouldn't eat through her savings.
Perhaps she naturally possessed a tranquil temperament.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have run off from a top-tier tertiary hospital to such a remote place.
Having been an overworked corporate drone before, Bai Mengmeng understood very well and set down three rules with her disciples, trying to let them work flexibly as much as possible.
When the restaurant was busy, they had to come to work and make money; at other times, they could engage in free activities.
Hua Guduo cultivated and fought, Wang Hao studied Qi Refining, and Liang Cha practiced swordplay.
Bai Mengmeng herself also had to farm and train.
Everyone had their own matters to attend to.
A day had passed, and everyone's stomachs were long since empty.
Bai Mengmeng boiled a large pot of noodles, added the already prepared Chinese mahogany sauce, and stir-fried a bowl of Chinese scholartree flower and egg as a side dish. That was how they ate their dinner.
Whether it was Chinese mahogany or Chinese scholartree flowers, they were actually spring delicacies and gifts from nature.
First, wild scallions were chopped, then mixed with fermented soybeans. After blanching the Chinese mahogany and draining the moisture, they were stirred evenly, a bit of salt and sugar was added, and a few drops of sesame oil topped it off to make a delicious Chinese mahogany sauce, which was extremely appetizing whether spread on steamed buns or added to noodles.
The Chinese scholartree flower and egg dish was completely different. First, fresh scholartree flowers had to be picked, washed, air-dried, mixed with flour, fried until golden brown in an oil pan, and then stir-fried together with beaten eggs.
Moreover, the scholartree flowers naturally carried a hint of sweetness, so aside from salt, no other seasonings were needed to stir-fry them into a fresh and sweet side dish.
Just as everyone was slurping down their noodles, another customer walked into the shop—and a rather familiar-looking one at that.