By coincidence, Yuan Tiantian and Bai Ying were just carrying trays to serve sausage steamed rice to Table 4 when Liu Ming walked into the store with three friends.
When he saw Yuan Tiantian, he quickly asked if there was still any lard fried rice with eggs.
After distributing the sausage steamed rice in her hands to the last table, Yuan Tiantian seated the four of them and then handed the menu to Liu Ming.
"Manager Liu, there is lard fried rice with eggs, but you'll have to wait a while. See if there's anything else you'd like. However, the sausage steamed rice on the menu is sold out."
Actually, there were still three bowls left. Out of the 20 servings, 16 were served to four tables of people. Plus, Xiuxiu had an extra bowl, so there were three servings left. These were reserved for Bai Ying, and Yuan Tiantian didn't plan to sell them.
"Ah, that's a pity!"
A friend of Liu Ming's beside him looked rather regretful at the sausage steamed rice. "I really like this sausage steamed rice."
Yuan Tiantian smiled politely and then said, "It's okay. You can come and try it next time when you're free. I'm really sorry there's none left today."
Liu Ming quickly followed up, "The sausage steamed rice does look good, but I still prefer the over - powering aroma of the lard fried rice with eggs. It's really amazing. You guys have to try it today!"
"However, boss, there are rather few items on your menu."
Liu Ming also ordered several dishes and then joked with Yuan Tiantian. The latter laughed. "It's just the opening day today. More dishes will be added later."
"Hey, Lao Liu, it's quite a coincidence that you brought us here."
Yuan Tiantian greeted them and then quickly went to the kitchen. Bai Ying was also quite smart. He fetched the lemonade and was about to serve it to Liu Ming and his friends.
Yuan Tiantian gave him a thumbs - up.
Suddenly so many customers came. Although there were few dishes, it still tired Yuan Tiantian out. Fortunately, everything was in an orderly manner. All the dishes for the five tables were served within 30 minutes.
The rice was cooked by then. This special rice cooker took a bit less time than an ordinary one. Yuan Tiantian served the rice in a large bowl and then used a fan to blow off some of the moisture. The rice for fried rice couldn't be too moist. That's why it's said that overnight rice is better for fried rice. After a night, a lot of the moisture in the rice will evaporate.
Of course, Yuan Tiantian had controlled the amount of water when cooking the rice to make it drier and harder. After 10 minutes, she tasted a bit of the rice and felt that the moisture was about right. Then she started making the lard fried rice with eggs.
The aroma of lard quickly spread and wafted into the hall. Everyone couldn't help sniffing.
"Is that lard fried rice with eggs being made?" someone asked Bai Ying. The latter nodded. His own stomach was growling. With a somewhat resentful look in his eyes, he looked at the diners in the hall, wondering when they would finish eating.
The hall became lively. Although the food on the tables had already satisfied them, the aroma of the lard fried rice with eggs was even more alluring.
"Back then, I was directly attracted by this aroma and even asked the boss for the meal she was going to eat herself. The store wasn't even open at that time," Liu Ming said proudly, looking very boastful about discovering this delicacy. The other three also chimed in, truly agreeing from the bottom of their hearts. They had eaten quite a bit of the dishes on this table. The taste was really good. They had been to many star - rated hotels for business talks. To be honest, the taste of Tiantian's Food Store was no worse than those, and even seemed better.
Especially the eggs. There was an indescribable feeling when eating them. They weren't fishy, but tender with a hint of indescribable sweetness, a faint sweetness. Anyway, the taste was really good.
When they came with Lao Liu today and heard that he was going to treat them to lard fried rice with eggs, the three of them were a bit dissatisfied at first. After closing such a big deal, was he only treating them to this?
However, since they were old business partners, they still came out of courtesy. They just thought that if it was really shabby, they would consider future cooperation later.
Unexpectedly, not to mention the food, the overall decoration of Tiantian's Food Store gave a very good impression. And the signboard made people feel comfortable just looking at it, making them want to come in and have a taste.
They had definitely come to the right place! Now they were even more looking forward to the lard fried rice with eggs that hadn't been served yet.
Aunt Qian Huashen and the other aunts were also extremely tempted by the smell, but they had already eaten the sausage steamed rice and couldn't eat any more.
"It's a pity. I'm already full," an older aunt said, looking at the kitchen with regret. Aunt Qian Huashen immediately burst into laughter. "What's there to be regretful about? We live nearby. We can just order a serving whenever we want to eat it in the future."
That made sense, but the food in Tiantian's Food Store wasn't cheap. These people were a bit reluctant in their hearts, but then they thought of the delicious food they had eaten tonight and finally said,
"Okay. It's still good to come here for a treat once in a while."
"That's right!"
Aunt Qian Huashen and her group had finished eating and didn't plan to stay any longer. Mainly because they were afraid they couldn't resist ordering more food. They quickly went to Bai Ying to settle the bill.
"The total is 162.5 yuan."
Aunt Qian Huashen paid directly and then said to the sisters behind her, "We'll settle the accounts later."
The other five had no objections. The six of them left the store fully satisfied after a good meal. Before leaving, someone asked about the eggs they had eaten tonight.
"Son, do you sell the eggs separately?"
The one who asked was from the neighboring village of Aunt Qian Huashen's. Everyone called her Aunt Xia. Her husband had died in a car accident two years ago, and now she lived alone in the village. The egg - related dishes tonight were her favorites. They were soft, tender, and sweet. She wanted to buy some to store. Her little grandson was coming for the summer vacation in a few days, and he would surely like them!
Bai Ying really didn't know about this. But thinking that these people were from the nearby village, he said, "The boss is busy now. I really don't know if the eggs can be sold. I'll ask her after she's done."
"It's getting late. You'd better go back early."
It was already dark. Bai Ying saw that the aunts were not young, so it was better for them to go back early. It was always unsafe to walk at night.
"Okay, okay. Thank you!"
A few minutes after Aunt Qian Huashen's table left, Yuan Tiantian came out with a tray. Bai Ying immediately took it from her and distributed it to the customers.
The girls had ordered a total of three servings, one for each person at their table. Liu Ming's group ordered four servings, one for each person.
After getting the lard fried rice with eggs, everyone couldn't wait and immediately started eating. It was really delicious. As Liu Ming ate, he had a feeling that it seemed even more delicious than the one he had eaten the other day.
That was natural, because the one Liu Ming had eaten the other day had already cooled down a bit. This one was just out of the pan, so the taste would surely be better.
"Delicious!"
The girls had planned to lose weight and not eat this seemingly greasy fried rice. They had only ordered three servings at first to support the handsome uncle's business.
But they didn't expect it to be so delicious. After taking a bite, they couldn't stop. Soon, the three bowls of lard fried rice with eggs were all gone, and they still wanted more.
"Shall we order one more serving?" someone whispered. Unexpectedly, it was unanimously approved.
As for Liu Ming's group of men, needless to say, besides each adding a bowl of lard fried rice with eggs, they also ordered another portion of several other dishes.
Delicious food always makes people want more.