Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

After checking into the hotel room, Su and her three housewife friends didn’t linger at the hotel but started walking back along their usual route.

The fewer people know about this, the better. After all, they’re exploiting a loophole in the system. Three or four people is manageable, but buying food for eighty or ninety people at once will definitely get them noticed.

They might change it to limit purchases then, making it not worth the trouble.

So, after a discussion, they agreed to keep it a secret from their husbands, just the four of them, plus a few more friends they recruited.

Even though they opened a big group chat with nine people, it doesn’t matter; the four of them can start a smaller group chat. Just don’t spill the beans in the big group.

After a few days, they’ll tell them the plan is canceled and disband the group.

Perfect!

After all, they only mentioned it casually over the phone, nothing substantial was planned.

She used to work in sales, doesn’t have many abilities except quick thinking and lots of crafty ideas.

Once home, seeing her boyfriend completely focused on gaming on the couch, Su pretended nothing had happened and went straight to her room as usual, lying on the bed and starting to browse on her phone.

In reality, she had already opened Lucas’s social media profile, ready to catch up on his previous food videos.

The big group chat had already started buzzing, everybody was asking them about the food truck offerings. The full-time housewives were clearly curious at home but didn’t dare leave for too long, worried their kids might wake up.

[When are we going to start the plan? I’ve wanted to try the food from this place for ages!]

[I queued up with my husband at the kite festival all afternoon last weekend, and let me tell you, the food was really good, especially the crispy and juicy fried Chicken Fillet. Now I’m craving it again.]

[How come I never thought about a plan like pooling resources to book a room? Whose genius idea was it?]

[The receptionist said that due to the Olympics, room prices have risen, and they’re tight on availability. No rooms available for today.]

[We need to discuss the specifics of the plan; normally the people queuing up only buy one or two portions, very rarely three, we have too many people, and it might expose us.]

[Currently, the plan is that the number of participants each time doesn’t exceed four. Whoever is available can join, since they serve breakfast and lunch anyway. If everyone is free, then split into groups - one for breakfast and one for lunch.]

[Getting free meals is already pretty great, better than having none at all. I think the plan is solid.]

Su didn’t participate in the discussion, quietly hiding behind the screen, carefully contemplating their conversation, brainstorming various excuses she’d use to fool them later.

"Hey, when did you get back?"

Her boyfriend appeared at the doorway, clutching a bottle of cold cola, looking like he’d finished a gaming session and needed to quench his thirst.

"Just got back a few minutes ago."

"What should we do for lunch, want to order pizza?"

"If you want it, go ahead and order. I’ve planned to go shopping with friends, and their husband is home to watch the kids, so it’s a rare opportunity."

"Alright then, I won’t bother you."

With just a few words, she sent her boyfriend off without much surprise.

This guy is engrossed in console games every day, playing from the moment he wakes to the moment he sleeps, completely indifferent to whatever she’s up to, which suits her perfectly.

Elsewhere.

Having just finished breakfast service, Lin Chen hadn’t even packed up when Boss Magna’s pickup truck roared in, calmly parking at the restaurant’s entrance.

King crab?!

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered, quickly approaching to greet him.

"Hey! Good morning, Lin, is there still food left, am I late?"

Boss Magna jumped out from the driver’s side, glancing at the empty food truck area, sighed regretfully.

"No worries, lunch is ready in advance, can make it for you anytime!"

"Huh? So quick this time, what delicious food did you prepare?"

Boss Magna looked delighted, not forgetting to unload two large foam boxes from the trunk.

Opened.

"Look, just brought in fresh live king crabs this morning, specially picked two big ones for you, each weighs 7-8 kilograms, enough?"

"Enough, more than enough, definitely a lot, save you a portion to taste later!"

Lin Chen nodded repeatedly, knowing clearly what the guy had in mind, yet it didn’t clash with his plan.

After all, the cooking challenge didn’t specify how much crab roe tofu should weigh, as long as it’s roughly the normal portion size.

Two crabs adding up to over thirty pounds surely could make two or three servings, right?

"When are you cooking the crabs?"

Though he had no clue what Lin Chen was up to, whatever it was, it would surely be something he hadn’t seen before.

Even though the crabs hadn’t been carried into the restaurant yet, he was already looking forward to it.

"Not sure yet, should be within these couple of days, whenever there’s time. If lucky, maybe tonight."

"Oh right, you still have dinner guests, there’s quite a bit to do."

Speaking of this, Lin Chen remembered John hadn’t shown up either today, though he hadn’t placed any order, so not appearing seemed normal.

But given that guy’s personality, if he’s free, he should definitely come over for a meal.

Is the farm really busy today?

To be honest, since the restaurant has been open for so many days, he hasn’t been to the farm or the fishing grounds even once, mainly because he really hasn’t had the time.

Looks like I’ll have to go see what’s going on this Sunday when I’m off.

According to Dais and Elsa’s previous introduction, the farm and fishing grounds are open to hotel guests, not just limited to dinner guests.

As for how they handle the harvested ingredients, that’s their business.

They can take them away or sell them to the farm at cost price, focusing on the experience.

Besides those living nearby or tourists coming by car, he estimates most tourists would choose to pick fruits, which are easier to carry.

After walking into the restaurant kitchen with Magna, he took out two king crabs from the ice water and put them in the pool to keep them, not worrying about them for now, and focused on rewarding Boss Magna.

"Lunch today is malatang, don’t know if you’ve heard of it. You can choose your favorite ingredients and flavors for me to cook; the ingredients haven’t been moved over yet, they’re all here, you can pick them first."

The cold storage is neatly filled with baskets of various prepared ingredients, mostly unfamiliar except for some common vegetables.

Magna scratched his head and handed the plastic basket Lin Chen handed him back to him.

"You recommend something; I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know what’s tasty."

"Alright, I remember you can handle a bit of spice, right? Should I make it as spicy as the crayfish from before for you?"

"Yes, yes, no problem!"

Upon hearing the word crayfish, Magna’s eyes lit up.

This lunch might be tastier than expected?!

Lin Chen nodded and quickly grabbed the right amount from each ingredient basket, moving so fast almost without pausing, as if he had already mentally completed the combination.

"Malatang can be made two ways, with soup or mixed. You can eat spicy, so you can choose both types, see which one you want?"

"Which is tastier?"

"Mixed has a stronger flavor. Personally, I like mixed, but it’s easier to accept soup for guests who haven’t tried it, so I recommend trying with soup first to get used to it."

"Hmm..."

Magna pondered with his hand on his chin for a moment, "Then I’ll have it with soup. Went out to sea last night, forgot the jacket, nearly froze, need some hot soup to warm up."

"Oh, in that case, you should have it with soup. Alright, let’s go, the ingredients are ready, let’s make it at the food truck."

He only noticed when he was distracted that the plastic basket Lin Chen was holding was already packed full, mostly with leafy greens, with colorful and strange ingredients hidden underneath.

There were still patrons dining in the restaurant, with some just finishing and staying for a chat.

Seeing Lin Chen walk out with a basket of ingredients, countless eyes instantly fell on him, following his footsteps until he reached the food truck.

"What’s going on, breakfast is over, is it time for lunch?"

"The chef seems to be holding completely different ingredients from breakfast, and they’re all raw. Is it an employee meal?"

"I’ve seen the man next to the chef often, he always delivers goods."

"Let’s go and see what delicious thing he’s making."

Many curious patrons immediately followed, leaning over the food truck’s window to peek in.

Lin Chen pulled out a small saucepan, bent down to scoop a few ladles of red-white broth from a hidden bucket, and set it on the stove to heat.

There was also a large pot on the stove, at least twenty liters in size, heating as well, but its contents were unclear due to its height.

Originally, Lin Chen planned to drag the kitchen’s mobile stove over, but it couldn’t be hooked up to the food truck, so he resorted to using a small pot to cook the food.

Though he could cook fewer portions at once like this, it allowed for more precise control.

He paid no mind to the curious eyes at the window; there was no intention to hide.

"What is he making?"

Someone’s curiosity finally prompted them to speak.

"Malatang."

"!!!"

"Is this malatang?"

"The one from the website poll? Oh yeah, I forgot to check the result; did malatang win?"

"The pictures online looked tempting, didn’t realize the actual process was like this."

"What’s in that pot?"

"Bone broth, made from simmering pig, beef, and chicken bones."

Lin Chen pointed to the large pot and explained, then to the small saucepan in front of him, "This is a spicy malatang base made from bone broth and spicy seasoning, but if you can’t handle spice, you can choose original or tomato; tomato is vegetarian."

"Besides the soup version, there’s also a dry mixed version with intense flavor, those who can’t handle spice shouldn’t choose it."

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