Chapter 791

“Boss Yuan, I am here again,” Liu Zhang greeted Yuan Zhou the moment he sat down .

“You’re here . What do you want to eat today?” Yuan Zhou asked .

“I’m here with someone else today . We’re here to eat Thousand Thread Mantou,” Liu Zhang pointed Ji Yi who was sitting silently by the side .

“Hello,” Yuan Zhou politely greeted .

“Um,” Ji Yi nodded, not saying much .

“He doesn’t speak much . Get us two servings of Thousand Thread Mantou, two servings of Egg Fried Rice, Phoenix-Tailed Prawns, and White Oil Tofu,” Liu Zhang explained before ordering .

“Ok . One moment, please,” Yuan Zhou nodded and went to the kitchen .

“Ok . I’m starving,” Liu Zhang said longingly .

Yuan Zhou did not say anything else . He started focusing on cooking while Ji Yi paid for the meal . After all, this meal wasn’t a cheap one .

“You are playing a trick on me, right? Bringing me to eat something so expensive,” Ji Yi looked at Liu Zhang doubtfully .

“Don’t worry . You will understand after trying the food . Don’t even think of snatching my Thousand Thread Mantous later,” Liu Zhang gave a forewarning .

“Do you think I’m a thief like you?” Ji Yi said with contempt .

“That’s good to hear,” Liu Zhang replied, not angry at all .

The two bickered back and forth, stopping Ji Yi from meticulously studying how Yuan Zhou cooked . Nevertheless, he was still able to get a rough glance at how Yuan Zhou cooked .

“Not bad, he’s actually kneading the flour by hand,” Ji Yi nodded approvingly as he looked at the Mantous that were being steamed .

Snacks would only be served after the other dishes were served . Beside Ji Yi, Liu Zhang was already stuffing himself with food like a pig . As for Ji Yi, he was waiting for the main dish to be served .

Of course, Liu Zhang had been asking him if he required any help to deal with the other dishes . Naturally, Ji Yi had strictly forbidden Liu Zhang from helping him .

“Two Thousand Thread Mantous . Please enjoy your meal,” Zhou Jia said as she served two bamboo steamers with the Mantous in them .

“Thank you,” Liu Zhang nodded and took his Thousand Thread Mantou before he continued digging into his food .

Ji Yi finally started eating as well .

The moment the lid of the dark green bamboo steamer was lifted, a fragrance of wheat assailed his nostrils with steam spiraling up into the air .

“It smells good,” Ji Yi nodded and started studying the Mantou .

The Mantou was tiny and seemed to only require two bites to finish . It was not as snowy white as regular Mantous as well . Rather, it was somewhat yellow in color .

“It looks good as well,” Ji Yi acknowledged the Mantou’s appearance .

Although the Mantou had “thousand thread” as its name, not a single thread could be seen from it . This was how this dish should look like .

Ji Yi picked up the Mantou with his chopsticks . From the sensation, he could feel that the Mantou was soft and springy . After studying it for a bit, he sent it into his mouth .

A unique characteristic of this dish was the “thousand threads”, and a side effect of splitting the dough into a thousand threads was the reduction of springiness with an added loose feeling to it . But this was not the case for the Mantou made by Yuan Zhou . It was still very soft and springy .

Onom . Onom . Ji Yi started eating .

“Weird . ” Ji Yi was not using his chopsticks anymore . He pulled the remaining Mantou apart and saw numerous thin threads interweaving together in it . After tearing the Mantou apart, the smell of wheat became even denser .

Ji Yi pulled a single thread out . At first glance, the thread was somewhat yellow in color, but now that he was studying it in detail, it appeared glossy . It was spotlessly white and was as pretty as a snowflake, emanating a pleasing aroma at all times .

Ji Yi stuffed this thread into his mouth . Logically, with how thin this thread was, it should be tasteless . However, that was not the case .

The thread did not immediately dissolve upon entering his mouth due to the layer of lard wrapped around it . Rather, the aroma of the lard started spreading in his mouth before a gentle flavor of wheat started appearing .

This reminded him of his childhood . Back then, he did not get to eat much meat and when he finally had the chance to eat a bowl of rice mixed with lard, the pleasant aroma of the lard would spread in his mouth . This was exactly the sensation he was feeling currently .

“Wu, when chewed upon, it is sweet and has the unique flavor of lard attached to it . Even so, the odor of meat is nowhere to be found . Rather, it gives off a gentle feeling . Delicious, really delicious . “

“This is an exceptionally good snack,” Ji Yi was extremely satisfied .

Ji Yi rained praises on the dish while eating . The taste was exceptional and it was finally proven that Liu Zhang was not playing a trick on him by bringing him here .

It was quite unexpected that Yuan Zhou who made his name from Steamed Rice Served With Japanese Grenadier Anchovies could actually prepare a dish like this as well .

Both Yuan Zhou’s grasp over the strength exerted during the kneading and the grasp over the fermentation period was perfect with zero mistakes .

“Apart from me, someone else is actually capable of making a Thousand Thread Mantou like this as well,” Ji Yi stared at how young Yuan Zhou was, feeling like it was time to be replaced by the young . Ji Yi’s hand started itching for a challenge .

But…

He set his chopsticks down and paused for a bit .

“This Thousand Thread Mantou is still not better than mine . I can only consider them equal . ” Ji Yi was still confident in his Mantou . His evaluation was given fairly .

The two Mantous were equal .

Liu Zhang was not one to speak for no reason . Since he had claimed that the Mantou here surpassed his Mantou, there must be a reason for it .

“There is still a slight difference . Try eating again,” Liu Zhang said .

“Oh?”

Was there any flavor that he had missed? Ji Yi did not argue and started eating again . This time, he chewed slowly and was more meticulous on tasting the Mantou, as if he was going to uncover every flavor hidden within it .

Although Ji Yi was old in age, his taste buds were still in pristine condition . With a few bites, he managed to sense something . His expression shifted, turning more and more solemn .

After he finished the Mantou, the nerves on his face were already visible .

“Boss Yuan, a moment of your time, please,” Ji Yi suddenly raised his head and said to Yuan Zhou .

“Um?” Yuan Zhou merely glanced over instead of walking over . After all, there were other customers waiting for their food .

“No sugar . You did not add any sugar to your Thousand Thread Mantou, right?” Ji Yi asked, his tone solemn .

“Yes,” Yuan Zhou nodded . Someone was actually able to figure this out .

No matter what type of sugar one used, there would be a sugary taste to it . For most people, a sugary taste was simply a sweet taste . However, the flavor on this Thousand Thread Mantou was a type of sweetness that was unlike the sugary type of sweetness . Rather, it was a natural type of sweetness .

Although Ji Yi had already figured it out, when Yuan Zhou finally admitted to it, he was still incredulous .

“Impossible . That is impossible . “

“Honey? Or something else?”

“No, none of them can give off that natural type of sweetness . “

“This feels like the flour’s own natural sweetness . “

“Illogical . This is too illogical . “

Ji Yi seemed to have gone crazy as he started talking to himself . He had also done extensive research on the Thousand Thread Mantou before . He had never been able to discover a better method of making it . Numerous ingredients appeared in his mind, yet he was unable to identify the ingredient capable of giving off the natural sweetness he tasted from the Mantou .

What was going on?