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墨書 Inktalez
Strolling upstairs with his phone in hand, Shi Tian searched for the cheap master’s phone number he had saved from the airport and dialed it casually.
"Hello! Who is this?"
As soon as the call connected, Shi Tian recognized the voice he had heard on the plane. Good, he wasn't dead! The chances of this being a scammer seemed low now. But what did that "who is this?" mean? Had the old man not saved his own number?
He glanced at the screen; the number was correct! It was the same one he had called before. Had that old guy deleted his contact?
"You didn’t save my number?" After a moment of thought, Shi Tian decided to confirm. He had seen the old man save his number just a short while ago. How could he have deleted it so quickly?
If the old man had indeed removed his contact, there was no need to bother him anymore. After all, if he had actively deleted Shi Tian's number, it meant he wasn't interested in keeping in touch. There was no need for Shi Tian to impose himself and risk being unwanted!
"Just say what you need! I'm busy!" The old man mumbled something indistinctly, and Shi Tian concluded that he was definitely eating at that moment, probably chewing away!
"Oh! Wrong number!" With that, Shi Tian hung up immediately and deleted the old man's number from his contacts, deciding it was best to forget about him entirely.
That old man was quite friendly; he had even offered him a book on the plane, a true social butterfly. He had given Shi Tian a recipe but then deleted his contact information. It seemed he didn't value that recipe much. Besides, since their chance encounter led to him receiving the book, it was only right for Shi Tian to help him fulfill his wish of promoting Shandong Cuisine. That would wrap up their brief interaction nicely!
Finding a flimsy excuse to comfort himself, Shi Tian got up and headed downstairs directly toward the Dumpling House across the street.
This Dumpling House wasn’t large; in fact, it was even smaller than Shi Tian's Fishing Tackle Shop. Behind it was a tiny kitchen that made the space feel even more cramped! However, it was tidy—perhaps because it had just opened.
Inside sat a young couple who looked to be in their thirties, both wearing expressions tinged with worry. Upon seeing Shi Tian enter, they quickly stood up and greeted him with smiles.
"Welcome! What would you like to eat? We have dumplings, wontons, knife-cut noodles, or we can make stir-fried dishes!" The Little Boss said as he handed a menu to Shi Tian.
Glancing at the menu, Shi Tian noted that the prices were quite reasonable. However, if the quality didn’t improve, even low prices wouldn’t matter!
Hearing the boss's accent revealed he was from the north too. "I’m from across at Fishing Tackle Shop," Shi Tian replied casually as he placed the menu on the table without rushing to order.
As for that water—Shi Tian definitely wouldn’t order it. Even if he had to exert some effort to buy ingredients at the market and whip up a couple of dishes himself, it would be better than eating those subpar dumplings from this place!
"Oh, so we’re neighbors! Order whatever you like; this meal is on me!" The Little Boss smiled and introduced himself: "I’m Shanxi; my wife is from here. My surname is Luo—Luo Yongshan!"
After exchanging pleasantries and introductions, Shi Tian smiled as he pulled out a recipe he had just written down and placed it on the table. "Brother Shan, I have a few dumpling filling recipes here; I’m not sure if you can use them! If you can incorporate them into your menu, I’ll give them to you for free!"
"I love dumplings but am too lazy to make them myself. Now that you’ve opened this Dumpling House, it’ll be convenient for me to enjoy dumplings!"
Upon hearing Shi Tian offer recipes right off the bat, the young couple seemed puzzled by his intentions. Was this some kind of street rule? They hadn’t heard of such things before! Their Dumpling House had only just opened for one day—was this guy already coming around to collect protection fees?
Out of the corner of his eye, Shi Tian glanced at the recipe that Luo Yongshan had pulled out. It consisted of ordinary ingredients. Shan Ge hesitantly spoke up, "If Boss Shi needs it, I can prepare the filling according to Fang Zi's recipe for you, but it might take a bit longer. You'll have to wait a while!"
With Luo Yongshan being so enthusiastic, Shi Tian naturally wouldn't be polite. He stood up and said, "We have all these things in the store, right? I'll handle the filling myself while Shan Ge and Sister Shan can learn a bit and record it on your phones!"
Rolling up his sleeves, he walked into the kitchen to wash his hands and got busy without any hesitation, which startled the young couple.
Shan Ge stood in front while Sister Shan positioned herself behind, holding her phone ready to record. If Shi Tian made any sudden moves, she was prepared to run out and call for help; she had checked the hallway behind her several times!
After preparing the filling, Shi Tian turned to look at the countertop and said with a troubled expression, "Shan Ge, I can only handle the filling; you'll have to take care of rolling out the dumpling skins! I really can't do that!"
Casting a suspicious glance at Shi Tian, Luo Yongshan thought that Shi Tian seemed even more dubious now. You can't even roll out a dumpling skin, yet you claim you can make filling?
However, curious about what Shi Tian was really up to, Luo Yongshan stepped forward and cut off a piece of dough. In just three rolls, he managed to produce over ten dumpling skins!
To open this shop, he had practiced quite a bit; he had learned how to roll out skins well. Unfortunately, the filling recipe he found online wasn't ideal!
Once Luo Yongshan got into it, Shi Tian lost interest in doing it himself and decided to let Luo Ji Shan handle wrapping the dumplings.
"Shan Ge," he said, "the filling should ideally sit for half an hour to let the flavors meld. Given how hot it is outside, it's best to refrigerate it so it doesn't spoil! But it's about ready now; hurry up and wrap those dumplings. Once they're cooked, we can all taste how they turned out!"
Listening to Shi Tian's words, Luo Yongshan felt somewhat speechless. Is he really here to teach me how to wrap dumplings? What does he want from me?
Once the dumplings were wrapped up, without further ado from Shi Tian, Luo Yongshan directly tossed them into the pot. In less than a minute, a steaming plate of dumplings was served on the table!
Grabbing a pair of disposable chopsticks casually, Shi Tian picked up a dumpling and took a bite.
"Mmm! This tastes right! You all should try some too!"
With Shi Tian's unexpectedly warm invitation, Luo Yongshan cautiously picked up a dumpling and took a bite.
Just one bite was enough for Luo Yongshan's face to twist into a bitter expression!
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