Chapter 694 - Hot and Cold Tofu

“Dinner time has arrived. Everyone, please enter,” standing at the door, Zhou Jia spoke with a bright voice.

“Yu Chu, here,” said Jiang Changxi the moment she entered.

“Ok.” Yu Chu nodded. Then, he placed his luggage and briefcase near the shelf before sitting down beside Jiang Changxi.

Ling Hong and Wu Hai both made way for them. However, Wu Hai still decided to take the seat beside Yu Chu.

The reason Wu Hai selected that seat was quite clear. After all, the memory of the Tangyuans he stole last time was still clear in his mind.

He was obviously looking for more chances to steal Yu Chu’s food.

“One Dongpo Garra Fish, one Dual-taste White Oil Tofu, one Salt Baked Chicken, one Braised Pork Cooked With Preserved Vegetable, one Dongpo Pig Knuckle, one bowl of plain white rice, and a glass of lemonade. That’s all.” The first thing Yu Chu did after sitting down was to place his order.

“Ok. How about you, Sister Jia?” Zhou Jia turned and asked Jiang Changxi.

“Give me a moment.” Jiang Changxi politely smiled at Zhou Jia before turning to look at Yu Chu.

“Since you have just gotten off a flight, I feel like it’s better for you to eat something bland,” Jiang Changxi earnestly advised.

Even Jiang Changxi who would normally not worry about money felt like Yu Chu was intentionally doing this when she heard what he ordered.

“Exactly. Braised Pork Cooked with Preserved Vegetables is quite bland,” Yu Chu said with a nod.

“I meant it’s better if you just order some vegetables,” Jiang Changxi said while gnashing her teeth.

“I see. Ok, add one set of Jin’ling Grass then. I heard this dish is very bland,” Yu Chu ordered after thinking about it for a second.

“Are you intentionally robbing me just because I am rich?” Jiang Changxi grumbled.

“It is very rare to see Director Jiang treating someone to a meal. Of course I have to order more,” Yu Chu earnestly explained.

“Forget it, I’m not talking about this with you anymore.” Jiang Changxi rolled her eyes. She didn’t really care about that much money. Therefore, there was no point in talking too much about it.

“Director Jiang, the dishes I ordered are only for myself. If you want to eat as well, order your own dishes,” Yu Chu reminded after seeing that Jiang Changxi wasn’t making her own order.

When he saw Jiang Changxi glaring at him, Yu Chu immediately explained himself, “I had not eaten anything as I was rushing to get onto the flight. After breakfast, I hadn’t eaten anything for an entire day.”

“You will be blacklisted if you can’t finish your food. Think again,” Jiang Changxi reminded, finding this funny.

“Don’t worry, Director Jiang. I can finish what I ordered,” Yu Chu nodded and promised that he would be fine.

“Ok. I want a set of Dongpo Pig Knuckle, a set of Jinling Prawn, and a glass of lemonade,” Jiang Changxi ordered.

“Ok. Please wait for a moment. It won’t take too much time,” Zhou Jia calculated the price and said.

Among the customers that had entered, Yu Chu was the first to order. After all, he had arrived with a luggage bag while the other customers were not in any rush. In any case, they were already in the restaurant.

Therefore, the first dish to come out of the kitchen was what Yu Chu ordered. It was the Dual-taste White Oil Tofu that he had been looking forward to.

“Your Dual-taste White Oil Tofu. Enjoy your meal,” Zhou Jia said after serving the dish.

“Thank you,” Yu Chu thanked and shifted his gaze onto the dish and tableware in front of him.

“Give me a spoon,” Yu Chu said towards Zhou Jia who had yet to walk far away. It was natural for one to use a spoon when eating tofu. After all, tofu would be hard to pick up using chopsticks.

“You don’t need a spoon to eat our tofu. You will understand once you start eating,” Zhou Jia turned and said mysteriously.

Before Yu Chu had a chance to say anything, Wu Hai who was sitting beside him spoke.

“Don’t you worry. Let me demonstrate how you eat this dish. It is quite easy to eat tofu using chopsticks,” Wu Hai said while reaching over with his chopsticks.

“No thanks.” Yu Chu quickly protected his food.

“Tsk, tsk. Yu Chu, you have been corrupted. I am just trying to help,” Wu Hai said with a pained expression.

“I suggest you to only start eating when your own food arrives.” Yu Chu was unmoved. With one hand, he protected his food. With the other hand, he started eating with his chopsticks.

“You won’t be able to trick anyone who has tried Boss Yuan’s food before,” Ling Hong spoke lazily.

“That might not necessarily be true.” Wu Hai still had the courage to dream.

“You might even meet someone that is even more shameless than you. You might get your food snatched by that person instead,” Ling Hong said.

“Such a person does not exist,” Wu Hai said with confidence.

“I guess you’re right. Nobody is as shameless as you,” Ling Hong nodded and agreed.

“I don’t understand you. If you are saying that I’m shameless, why are you trying to make me feel shame?” Wu Hai complained, as if Ling Hong was impervious to reason.

This rendered Ling Hong completely speechless. He turned his head and stopped speaking.

As the name implied, the White Oil Tofu was, in fact, tofu cooked with lard. As for the so-called dual-taste, it was because this dish could be cooked two ways, one sweet and one salty.

The tofu was neatly arranged on a crystal plate. In the middle of the tofu was a gap separating the tofu into two.

This was probably the dividing line of the two flavors.

“Interesting.” Yu Chu did not know which flavor would be at which side. Therefore, he casually picked at the right side with his chopsticks.

“Huh? It’s cold? Yu Chu was astonished when he put the tofu into his mouth.

“Oh, this feels kind of weird, It’s sweet tofu,” Yu Chu added. Then, he immediately shut his mouth as the tofu was melting in his mouth.

That’s right. The tofu on the right side was cold. After entering his mouth, the warmth in his mouth immediately melted it.

A sweet flavor started slowly spreading in his mouth. A layer of starch was around the tofu, further amplifying the tenderness and smoothness of the tofu.

Gulp! Yu Chu swallowed the tofu. A faint fragrance of bean gushed down his throat.

“Interesting,” Yu Chu picked up one more piece of the tofu at the right side and impatiently stuffed it into his mouth.

Since this tofu was cold, it did not feel greasy to the mouth. Rather, it felt refreshing. Moreover, the cold temperature actually helped one better appreciate the tiny trace of springiness amid the tenderness and smoothness of the tofu. A sweet flavor lingered in his mouth without stopping.

After finishing half the sweet tofu, Yu Chu suppressed his desire and picked at the left tofu with his chopsticks.

The sweet tofu looked quite simple. It was merely white tofu wrapped with a layer of translucent starch. With some green leaves added on the plate as decoration, it looked both minimalistic and pleasant to the eyes.

As for the salty tofu, it was rather brightly colored. Some green peas and red pieces of ingredients had been added to it, making it look both pretty and alluring.

“Looks like everyone likes to add peas when cooking tofu,” Yu Chu recalled the frozen peas added in the tofu he tried when he was at Gan River.

It hadn’t been two days since he tried that tofu. That’s why he still remembered it clearly. When he thought of that tofu, he frowned unconsiously.

Yu Chu was unlike others. He was not someone who would first eat what he liked. That was why he first picked up the pea from the salty tofu’s side.

“Well, the peas here do look much better,” Yu Chu commented while looking at the pea.

Humans were a visually inclined species. If a dish looked good, one would instinctively feel like this dish was delicious.

This was Yu Chu’s current feeling.

He then stuffed the pea into his mouth and started chewing.