Chapter 93: [Sounds Like the Host is Disappointed?]
"Quick, shut the door!" Shen Lu said sharply.
"Got it." Ye Fan walked over and slammed the door shut, trapping the vast majority of the crayfish in the pantry.
Lin Zhou’s double pupils turned an uncanny purple. Shen Lu noticed that the escaped crayfish seemed to be bound by some mysterious force, standing frozen in place.
Ye Fan picked one up and examined it closely. "These crayfish aren’t mutated. They’re normal."
Mrs. Wang, holding Wang Xiaohui and pulling Wang Xiaoci along, kept her distance. "This is too scary."
Shen Lu rubbed her nose in embarrassment. "My bad. The cage for the crayfish broke. Alright, let’s start prepping them now."
Lin Zhou tossed all the crayfish that had scurried out into a sink. Since the one-click cleaning machine could only wash three kilograms of ingredients at a time, it took a full ten batches to finish the sinkful of crayfish.
The crayfish that came out of the one-click cleaning machine were all in a dazed state, which significantly reduced the difficulty of deveining them.
Shen Lu demonstrated the method for pulling out the veins a few times, then let Mrs. Wang and her daughters give it a try.
Lively, scuttling crayfish were quite intimidating, but motionless ones weren’t nearly as scary.
The three women of the Wang Family got the hang of it pretty quickly. Pinch the crayfish’s body, find the middle tail fin, and pull—one was prepped just like that.
Shen Lu took out the old braising liquid, set out four deep stockpots, and added ingredients like pork leg bones and whole chickens to prepare the braising liquid for the crayfish.
This needed to simmer for a while. Before that, Shen Lu heated a generous amount of oil in a wok and flash-fried the prepped crayfish.
Ye Fan stood to the side, watching as Shen Lu’s slender, delicate arms picked up a strainer ladle larger than her face. Unflinching, she placed the raw crayfish into the scorching hot wok. The oil crackled and spat, but she remained perfectly still, showing no fear, and even occasionally used a spatula to stir the crayfish.
’This job seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?’
Ye Fan asked Shen Lu if he could give it a try.
Shen Lu hesitated for a moment before nodding. "You can use a smaller pot. Start with a small batch of crayfish."
She was afraid that if Ye Fan messed up, he might blow up her new kitchen.
But having an extra pair of hands would certainly improve efficiency. They had five thousand kilograms of crayfish, after all; who knew when they’d ever finish frying them all.
Lin Zhou secretly rolled his eyes. ’Ye Fan is getting into character way too fast, isn’t he?’
’A Superpower User like him is actually taking the initiative to cook. What, does a mercenary who lives on the edge want to switch careers and become a chef?’
At that moment, a rich aroma began to waft from the braising liquid in the four deep stockpots.
Everyone in the kitchen simultaneously sniffed the air. Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci, in particular, stared eagerly at the deep stockpots bubbling away on the stove.
’It smells so good... I wonder what Boss Shen is cooking. I really want to try some...’
But the two young girls only dared to entertain such thoughts in their minds. Food was so precious. The delicious things they ate last night were something they had never even dared to dream of before.
In fact, Mrs. Wang hadn’t wanted to come today. She had only agreed after Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci pleaded with her.
They couldn’t help it; they just really, really wanted to eat something delicious.
Wang Xiaoci thought, ’Boss Shen didn’t say what the pay for two days of work would be, but if it includes meals, I’d be okay with not getting any money.’
’Even just one bite of fluffy, fragrant white rice would make it all worth it,’ Wang Xiaoci felt.
Shen Lu walked over and turned down the heat on the four stoves with the braising liquid. As she turned her head, she saw Ye Fan holding the strainer ladle high in the air, about to pour the raw crayfish into the wok from a considerable height.
"Ye Fan, stop!" Shen Lu shouted urgently. ’Good grief, is he really trying to blow up my kitchen?’
Ye Fan’s obedience was impressive. The moment Shen Lu yelled stop, he froze, a look of confusion on his face. "Boss Shen, what’s wrong?"
Shen Lu walked over, lowered the flame on his stove, and pressed down on his arm, trying to force his hand down a bit.
But her attempt failed. The man’s arm was thicker than her thigh; she couldn’t budge it at all.
"Don’t pour raw crayfish into hot oil from high up. It’s best to slide them in close to the surface. Otherwise, the oil will splash out, and if you’re not careful, it could start a fire."
"Oh, oh." Ye Fan lowered his arm, following the pressure she applied. With a gentleness he’d never before shown in his life, he carefully tipped the crayfish into the hot wok.
TSSSSSS!
The oil in his wok had been heating for a while and was very hot. The moment the crayfish, still carrying some water, hit the wok, hot oil exploded everywhere.
Ye Fan quickly pulled Shen Lu behind him, taking the full brunt of the splashing oil.
"That’s not right. How come it didn’t splash this much when you were frying, Boss Shen?" Ye Fan asked, confused.
"...Didn’t I tell you? Before putting the raw crayfish in, you need to shake off the water. Minimize the water on the shells to avoid splashing."
Shen Lu was speechless. Ye Fan was the perfect example of someone with more brawn than brains. He hadn’t listened to a single word of the precautions she had just mentioned.
Ye Fan rubbed his hands together. "Cooking really isn’t that simple."
’Killing mutant beasts is simpler,’ he thought. ’A clean stab in, a bloody pull out. No need to worry about splashing oil or minding your posture. As long as you get the kill, you’re good.’
Still, it wasn’t a complicated task. After Shen Lu patiently taught him a few more times, Ye Fan got the hang of it.
Plus, he was strong. After switching to a larger wok, he could fry more crayfish at once; he had no trouble tossing them, anyway.
Shen Lu glanced enviously at his bulging muscles. ’If only I had that kind of strength.’
Around ten o’clock, Shen Lu turned off the heat for two of the woks and had Ye Fan put the fried crayfish into the four deep stockpots.
"While I’m gone, don’t fry any more crayfish. Just keep an eye on these four pots and stir them once every twenty minutes. I need to go out for a bit."
Shen Lu went to the front counter, grabbed a kettle and some cups, and placed them on the prep table. "You all don’t have to work non-stop. Make sure to take breaks. There’s water here, so help yourselves."
After giving her instructions, Shen Lu set off for the No. 3 Landfill.
Cai Su and Wang Daguo had gathered a lot of things and were just waiting for Shen Lu to come and collect them.
As Shen Lu dismantled the parts, she sighed to the system, "After today, I doubt I’ll ever be coming back to the landfill again."
[Sounds like the Host is regretful?]
Shen Lu: "That’s not what I meant. A place like a landfill is best avoided."
The landfill wasn’t a pleasant place. It was tolerable on sunny or overcast days, but coming here during rain, snow, or sandstorms was suffocating.
Shen Lu stored all the dismantled metal parts in the System Warehouse. She would figure out what ingredients to exchange them for when she got back.
The three of them returned to the shop. After washing their hands, Shen Lu and the other two went into the kitchen.
Ye Fan was leaning against the prep counter, chatting with Lin Zhou while keeping an eye on the deep stockpots.
The women of the Wang Family sat on small stools, diligently deveining crayfish.
Seeing Shen Lu return, Ye Fan immediately stood up straight. "Boss Shen, all normal. No issues to report."
Shen Lu nodded, indicating she understood.
The job of fetching the crayfish was still Lin Zhou’s responsibility. After all, his superpower allowed him to control them, making him the most suitable person to get them from the pantry.
Wang Daguo was assigned to devein crayfish with his family, creating a rather harmonious scene.
Cai Su was assigned to fry crayfish with her. Shen Lu figured she would probably get the hang of it faster than Ye Fan.
Just as she was about to resume frying, Shen Lu suddenly clicked her tongue. ’Shoot, how could I forget about filming a video!’