Chapter 11: The Aroma Of Lunch
Regarding the matter of her parents competing with her little sister for food, Xiang Chuan had tried to stop it, but she still underestimated the modern person’s gluttony, and could only watch helplessly as her little sister’s hand grab cake and rice flour cake were divided up by her parents and packed into each other’s lunch boxes—there were already plenty of things prepared in advance by the kitchen AI inside!
It seems she’ll need to prepare several portions when making new dishes in the future.
Now Xiang Chuan was busy; the sealed glass jar for cultivating yeast and the dough were all prepared, and she was now having the kitchen AI and servants cooperate to clear out a space in the warehouse with a temperature controlled at 20~25 degrees Celsius for fermentation.
Xiang Chuan opened the terminal and checked the time; there were less than five days until the high school new students started school, and she must produce usable yeast before then.
She didn’t want to taste those “fresh food” in the canteen.
Xiang Weiguo returned to the company in the morning to handle some rather urgent documents, then set off for the Third Fleet’s government building, where he joined other Third Fleet business representatives in attending the discussion meeting with the First Fleet.
Time came to noon.
“Chairman Xiang, good morning.”
After the discussion meeting adjourned, Lin Yu came over to greet him.
“Captain Lin, I was remiss in my hospitality yesterday; please don’t take it to heart.”
Xiang Weiguo immediately went up to meet him; although there was no longer any urgency for technical exchange with the First Fleet right now, being able to make a connection starting with this captain of the First Fleet’s production escort ship would be beneficial for Yue Xiang’s future development.
“You’re too modest; that was hardly remiss hospitality—if I didn’t have urgent business this morning and thus had to return to the hotel last night, I really would have accepted your invitation and shamelessly imposed on your household for a few more days.”
This was Lin Yu’s sincere sentiment; eating the exquisite fresh fish noodle soup delivered by the hotel this morning actually made his tongue feel a slight discomfort with the noodle soup’s taste, making him miss last night’s dough drops and yam cake immensely.
“This… you’re too kind; those were just some home-cooked dishes—as long as you don’t mind, the Xiang Family’s dining table always welcomes your arrival.”
Lin Yu’s straightforward praise caught Xiang Weiguo off guard, turning into wild joy in his heart—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“You said it; I’ll pack my luggage and come visit tonight.”
“Haha, you’re welcome anytime; to be honest with you, my eldest daughter made some new things today.”
Xiang Weiguo said the second half of the sentence in a lowered voice.
“Oh?”
This immediately piqued Lin Yu’s interest.
“My wife and I are meeting in the lounge for lunch; Captain Lin, would you like to join?”
“Then I’ll impose.”
The surrounding Third Fleet business representatives and First Fleet diplomatic mission watched the two leave chatting and laughing, all stunned speechless, especially the First Fleet diplomatic mission members, who stared dazedly at Lin Yu’s back:
“Is this still that general manager of the first production ship who’s known for his fake smile?”
“That beaming expression—could it be someone else impersonating him?”
“My god, this has to be the biggest surprise of this fleet exchange.”
Lin Minzhi was instructing her secretary to bring out the large jug of orange juice prepared by the kitchen AI that morning when she saw her husband approaching side by side with Captain Lin Yu from yesterday’s reception in the distance.
She was surprised in her heart but kept her composure as she went up to greet them.
“Captain Lin, good afternoon.”
“Madam, sorry to intrude at lunchtime; mind if I mooch a meal?”
Lin Yu smiled.
Just here to mooch a meal? Lin Minzhi secretly glanced at Xiang Weiguo; her husband’s expression was relaxed, with no apparent issues, so she suppressed her doubt and welcomed Lin Yu into the lounge.
Once inside the room, Lin Yu was immediately hooked by the food aroma wafting in the air; he looked at the diamond alloy coffee table, where three large lunch boxes were laid out—the Xiang Family’s lunch boxes all used the Yue Xiang Group’s special thermal insulation and preservation system, so even after half a day, the fried foods still looked crispy and delicious.
Inside the lunch boxes were piled things he’d seen yesterday: egg pancakes, fried bananas, fried potato shred pancakes, yam cakes… His sharp eyes immediately spotted something new on the stacked egg pancakes in two of the lunch boxes.
“Could this be…?”
It had to be said that the hand grab cake stacked with lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, and eggs was both eye-catching and appetite-stimulating; although Lin Yu didn’t recognize the cooked chicken and eggs, it didn’t stop him from swallowing hard at the sight of them.
“These are new foods my little daughter prepared today; Captain Lin, what do you think these two are?”
Xiang Weiguo pointed at the chicken and eggs.
“I can still recognize the eggs.”
Lin Yu answered confidently; he hadn’t spent over a hundred years on the production ship just eating and drinking, but he hesitated when he saw the chicken.
“So white… could it be white peony-shaped green vegetables (Northeast Chinese cabbage)? No, white peony-shaped green vegetables don’t have such tight fibers; what exactly is this…”
“Can’t guess? This is chicken.”
The reveal of the answer made Lin Yu’s expression change repeatedly; theoretically, showing him chicken in this setting was somewhat insulting, and if not for eggs as a stable protein source, even he would want to apply to release all those roosters and hens from the chicken farm into the biological ecological protection zone to serve as food for the beasts. But this one right here…
Seeing how Lin Yu’s soul seemed about to be sucked away by those pieces of chicken, Xiang Weiguo laughed heartily and picked up knife and fork. Since modern knife and fork were basically for cutting solid food, their sharpness was much higher than in the 21st century, easily slicing Xiang Weiguo’s hand grab cake in half.
The semi-cooked egg yolk flowed out onto the egg pancake underneath after being cut; Lin Yu had seen plenty of eggs sliced open sideways by researchers during chicken farm egg quality inspections, but only this flowing egg yolk made him rudely drool at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing the flowing egg yolk, a flash of reluctance passed through Xiang Weiguo’s eyes, but then he thought that eating that egg pancake later would make up for it, so his expression returned to normal. He picked up half the hand grab cake, folded the semicircle in half, and took a big bite on the side with the egg yolk cross-section. Lin Yu watched him eat with hands, hesitated a moment, then followed suit and took a big bite.
Instantly, the aroma of chicken and eggs, the fresh sweet crispness of tomatoes and lettuce, and the layered texture of the crispy yet soft pancake wrapper overwhelmed his brain; he mechanically chewed a few bites, with multiple flavors blending together, yet without the choking taste of mixed foods he usually tasted at the liquid food research institute, but rather an indescribable deliciousness.
There actually existed food that blended multiple flavors so perfectly!
One bite down, and Lin Yu couldn’t stop; but after all, it was just half a hand grab cake, and it was quickly finished off by Lin Yu and Xiang Weiguo in two or three bites. They took the absorption gels handed over by their drooling secretary and attendant behind them, wiped their hands clean, and began eating the other foods with chopsticks; Xiang Weiguo even immediately picked the egg pancake with egg mixture onto his serving plate, earning a resentful look from Lin Yu.
At the same time, Lin Yu also noticed the rice flour cake; the sweet and fluffy cake immediately captivated Lin Yu, this sweets lover, and as he ate it, he felt sorry that his son wasn’t here—his son was, like him, an absolute sweets enthusiast.
The three ate their lunch with utmost enjoyment, but it was pitiful for their secretaries and attendants behind them, especially Lin Minzhi’s secretary; when she opened Lin Minzhi and Xiang Weiguo’s lunch boxes, she realized what grand feast their group had missed yesterday, instantly making yesterday’s luxurious grand feast seem like nothing.
Now the three could only swallow hard against the wall.
Fortunately, the Xiang Family’s kitchen AI had prepared a large portion for lunch today, and Xiang Weiguo and Lin Minzhi often couldn’t finish it; even adding Lin Yu, there were still enough meal portions left to fill a lunch box.
Lin Minzhi, who had relied on extraordinary self-control not to overeat, was picking up the orange juice when she saw the two secretaries and attendants on standby by the opposite wall swallowing hard without looking away; she turned her head slightly, and sure enough, her own little secretary was the same. She couldn’t help smiling, saw the two men across from her also stop their chopsticks, and Lin Minzhi spoke:
“Lisa, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? You and Xiao Ye can handle this lunch box together. Captain Lin, please invite your guard as well.”
The two secretaries and attendants’ eyes lit up upon hearing this; after getting permission from their respective bosses, they politely took the lunch boxes and retreated to a nearby lounge.
Though they often ate after their bosses in the usual course, this was absolutely the most anticipated time!
