Chapter 490 - 324: Braised Meat Hodgepodge

The driver hadn't bought a large steamer, so he could only use his small home steamer, steaming the buns in batches. Each batch held only two steamer baskets, with six buns per basket.

Just steaming the buns would take over two hours. Luckily, it was still early, so there was no rush.

After setting an alarm, the two of them cleaned the kitchen. Lin Chen also put the last pot of pork tails on to stew, then immediately dove into the final stages of his video editing.

After several days of hard work, he had finally edited all the footage he'd accumulated into several video installments for different series.

The episode with Marcia's wilderness survival experience had been uploaded two days prior. While it lacked the urgent, challenge-style tension of the show, it had more of a leisurely feel—a sense of enjoying nature.

This relaxed, carefree style was exactly the kind of life that foreigners yearned for. The video's view count was even higher than he'd expected, breaking one hundred thousand views within twenty-four hours, with over ten thousand comments.

The most common questions from the audience were about when his restaurant and manor would be finished, whether there were any more slots for a free experience, and when they could buy tickets to visit.

If he hadn't kept the specific address private, impatient fans would have probably already swarmed the place.

He gave the newly edited video one last check, let out a long breath, and uploaded it directly.

The content of this installment was simple. It was just an update on the construction progress and related plans—a short response video, of sorts.

Following that, the video of the lunch he was making for the workers today would need to be edited as soon as it was filmed. It would be best to post it tomorrow to keep the momentum going.

"Lin, I've already contacted the second viewer for the free experience. It's the person with the most-liked comment on the last video. And guess what?"

"It's not your mom again, is it?"

"Get lost! As if!"

Erica rolled her eyes in annoyance and placed her phone in front of him. On the screen was her chat with the netizen.

He tapped on the user's profile picture and immediately saw the striking number in the follower count section: over a hundred thousand.

"A vlogger?"

"Yep." Erica quickly swiped down, bringing up the person's videos. "I took a quick look. She seems to be a moderately famous travel vlogger. She's currently traveling in North America, happened to come across your video, and thought it was interesting. She left a comment just for fun, but she never expected that our fans and hers would push it all the way to the number one most-liked spot."

While Erica was explaining, Lin Chen casually tapped on one of the videos. A young, beautiful woman with exquisite makeup appeared on the screen.

Judging by her facial features, she didn't quite look like a Da Xia person, but she was definitely Asian.

The moment the woman started speaking, he heard the familiar accent and blurted out instinctively, "A vlogger from South Korea?"

"Probably. I don't know much about Asia, so it's good you can tell. That's not important, though. What's important is that she has a built-in fanbase. If we make this episode well, we might be able to convert some of her fans over to us."

'Is this the legendary collab?'

Lin Chen scratched his head. He hadn't expected that he, an ordinary guy, would already be getting into vlogger collaborations. It felt a little surreal.

"Since she's number one, let's talk to her. See if she's free to come. If not, we'll just have to find the second-place person."

"Of course she's free. Otherwise, what would I be telling you?"

Erica gave him a strange look. "She said she's been traveling in Canada for two weeks already. It's whale-watching season right now, and she just happens to be in the Vancouver area. As long as we set a time, she can be here within half a day."

Early April was the peak season for whale watching near Vancouver Island, and tourists from all over the world flocked there for it. He hadn't expected her to be one of them, what a coincidence.

But for a travel vlogger, a visually stunning spectacle like whale watching was a must-film. It was worth staying in the area for a week or two just for that.

"We just finished up our work anyway. Why don't you ask her when she can come over?"

"Up to you. You can talk to her. But if she comes, what about the meal for the workers? We need to figure something out."

"What about that guy Andre? When is he coming?"

"Sometime in the next few days, probably. There's a direct ferry from Seattle to Victoria, so it's pretty convenient. We can see if the driver can pick him up on the way."

As the two were discussing the schedule for the next few days, the driver walked in through the back door, yawning, his eyes heavy with sleep.

As soon as he entered the house, a rich, meaty aroma hit him, and he couldn't stop sniffing the air.

"Oh man, that meat smells incredible! It really hits the spot. A great chef's skill is just on another level!"

"Hey, sir, you're awake? We were just talking about you," Lin Chen said with a smile, waving him over. "So, we have a foreigner coming over. In a couple of days, he'll be taking a ferry from the United States to Victoria. Would you mind giving him a ride over here?"

"Victoria?"

The driver froze.

"Well, thing is, I don't go to Victoria. I'm comin' from Nanaimo."

"Huh? So you bought all these ingredients in Nanaimo, too?"

"That's right. It's closer to Salt Spring Island, and there are lots of farm stands, kind of like a farmers' market. I always go there to buy groceries. It's cheap, and you can bargain if you buy a lot!"

Lin Chen hadn't expected that. He'd assumed the driver came from Victoria, but it turned out to be Nanaimo all along.

"No problem. There's a bus from Victoria to Nanaimo. Just give me the foreigner's picture and phone number, and I'll go pick him up at the station. Can he understand Chinese?"

"He can't."

"Well, then we're sunk. It'll be a case of a chicken talking to a duck with us two~"

The driver threw his hands up in the air, and his helpless expression made Erica giggle nonstop.

"Even though I can't understand what he's saying, his tone and intonation are so interesting! No, I have to learn it!"

"It's fine," Lin Chen said, waving his hand to tell the driver not to worry. "I already had him download WeChat. We'll do a three-way call, and I'll translate. I guarantee you'll be able to meet up. After that, you just have to drive. You don't need to talk to him; he's not very talkative anyway."

"Okay, okay, okay! I like foreigners who don't talk much. Why would they try to chat me up anyway, with all that jibber-jabber? Can't understand a single word~"

With that tone, it wasn't just Erica who found it amusing; even he, a Da Xia person, thought it was fun.

'How does a middle-aged man who looks to be in his forties or fifties suddenly become so cute when he opens his mouth?'

By the time Erica finished talking with the travel vlogger, Lin Chen's steamed buns were almost done. There were just two more batches to go.

He checked the time. It was about time to start the finishing touches.

There was no rule that lunch had to be served at exactly 12 o'clock. This was his project, after all; he could call for lunch whenever he wanted. Wang Jun wouldn't be so stingy as to not let people eat over a ten-minute difference. At worst, they could just start work a little earlier in the afternoon.

First, he took the fattier parts of the leftover pork belly, sliced them thinly, and stir-fried them in a wok. After rendering out most of the lard, the fatty pieces turned into golden, crispy cracklings.

He scooped them out, sprinkled them with a little salt, and set them aside.

"Here, try this. When we Da Xia people were kids, this would show up every now and then when our families cooked. We all ate it as a snack. You have some too, sir, as an appetizer. This is a special treat, haha. The workers won't get to eat this."

Even though it was rendered from fatty meat, it no longer looked like fat. Instead, it resembled freshly cooked bacon and looked very tempting.

She casually picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth. The moment she bit down, a jet of scorching hot lard shot out.

It wasn't a large amount, just a drop or two, but the intensely rich aroma of lard combined with the faint saltiness instantly awakened her stomach, which had been numb with hunger.

CRUNCH... CRUNCH...

She ate several pieces in a row. The more she ate, the more her appetite grew. The crispy little things were just like a snack; once you started, you couldn't stop.

Only then did she remember that she had been so busy with work she'd forgotten to taste the big white steamed buns.

Lin Chen had put the previously steamed buns in a wooden bucket, piling them on top of the rice to keep everything warm. The moment she lifted the lid, a rich aroma of rice mixed with the scent of flour wafted over her.

Afraid of letting the heat escape, she quickly grabbed a bun from the edge and hurried to put the lid back on. She stared at the bun in her hand for a few moments before tearing it in half.

Fluffy air pockets filled every crevice. It looked no different from a cross-section of bread, but the smell was completely different.

She took a bite. There was no familiar milky or eggy flavor, just the purest fragrance of wheat, exactly like it smelled.

The soft, fluffy body of the bun was distinctly springy and chewy, completely different from bread.

But as it came into contact with the saliva in her mouth, that small piece of bun instantly melted, releasing a faint sweetness.

"Oh? This steamed bun is quite fragrant when you chew it, and the aftertaste is a little sweet. I feel like it would be delicious dipped in hot pot sauce or broth."

"?"

Lin Chen gave her a strange look. He never would have thought she'd come up with such a pairing. 'Foreigner logic, indeed.'

But he couldn't blame her. After all, she had only ever eaten hot pot, not stir-fried dishes. Once he showed off a few of his skills, she wouldn't think that way anymore.

'Dipping a steamed bun in hot pot base? That's just drinking straight oil!'

He continued to heat the lard in the wok until it smoked. He tossed in green onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic, giving them a quick stir. Then, he threw in all the chopped cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions, and soaked wood ear mushrooms, stir-frying them rapidly to coat the surface of every ingredient with the lard.

Once the vegetables were lightly browned on the surface, he poured in all the leftover braising liquid from the stewed meat and let it cook for fifteen minutes.

When the vegetables were almost cooked, he added the glass noodles, the braised pork tails, braised pork belly, and beef tendon. He also added the deboned and chopped pork knuckle.

He poured the fried meatballs directly into an insulated container to form a bottom layer. Later, after the sauce came to a boil again, he would let it simmer for five minutes to cook the glass noodles until they were just done. Then he could pour everything into the insulated container, letting the residual heat finish cooking it and allowing the noodles and fried meatballs to fully absorb the deliciousness of the broth.