Chapter 34 - 33: Pocket Bread

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Pocket Bread

Connie nodded after hearing Ning He’s news.

"In that case, let’s go with your suggestion and order more stock starting next week. We shouldn’t have any problem selling it all."

"That’s what I was thinking, too. But with more inventory, we’ll probably have to come in even earlier. It’s going to be tough on you both."

Connie waved it off. "What’s the big deal? Back at the noodle shop, we worked over ten hours a day. This is nothing. As long as it sells, nothing else matters."

Ah Huai agreed as well.

With that settled, Ning He brought up her idea of setting up a stall at the food festival.

"...It’s only for two days, but we should be able to make a decent amount. I wanted to ask if you two are interested in joining me."

The academy would be on break during the food festival, so not many students would be on campus. With little demand for meals, the cafeteria was allowing its stalls to close.

"We were going to ask you about that! Our meat sauce noodles and salad were so popular. It’d be a shame to just stop selling them. The food festival is the perfect chance to cash in again." As she spoke, Connie frowned. "But with the noodle shop shut down, we can’t apply for a spot. That makes things tricky."

"Don’t worry, I already applied. The spot is just a little out of the way."

"That’s great. A little remote is fine; nowhere is short on people during the festival. Where is it exactly?"

Ning He gave an embarrassed laugh. "In... the Fifth Ring."

"The Fifth Ring?!" Connie’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yeah. I applied too late, and all the other spots were taken. Besides, my stall is only rank E, so I can’t go anywhere else. The Fifth Ring was the only option."

Connie was still processing this, but Ah Huai spoke up first.

"We can set up a stall in the Fifth Ring, but we’ll have to change the menu. With the residents’ purchasing power there, they’ll never be able to afford meat sauce noodles and salad."

Ning He nodded. "I’ve thought about that. I wanted to ask, do you two still have any of your sauce?"

"We do. We make a new barrel every month, and we never finished the last batch. There’s still a lot left."

Ning He’s eyes lit up. "That’s perfect. I’ve got a few ideas. I’ll head over to your place later to test them out."

Connie had snapped out of it by now. Hearing this, she sighed.

"Fine, the Fifth Ring it is. The festival will have security, so we should be safe. I’ll go with you."

At ten o’clock, the three of them packed up the stall and left. After returning to the Fourth Ring, Ning He first made a trip home to grab some ingredients from her fridge. She then stopped by a supermarket on the way to pick up a few more things, finally arriving at Connie’s house with two large bags.

As soon as she walked in, Ning He saw Ah Huai helping a frail little girl practice walking. The girl wore braces on her waist and legs. Her face was etched with pain, but her eyes were bright with spirit as she gritted her teeth and pushed on with Ah Huai’s encouragement.

"Is this Ding Xiang, the one Ah Huai mentioned before?" Ning He asked.

Connie took the bags from her, smiling as she looked at the little girl. "Yes. She had a spinal correction surgery a couple of days ago, and the doctor said she needs to keep up with her physical therapy, training every day. Ding Xiang, this is the big sister who made all that delicious food last time. Her name is Ning He."

Ding Xiang stopped, her bright eyes turning to Ning He as two sweet dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Hello, Sister Ning! Your food is so delicious!"

’What a cute little girl!’

Ning He laughed. "You’re welcome! Today, I’ll show you what I can do and make something delicious you’ve never had before!"

"Okay!" The little girl’s face lit up.

"You little foodie, get back to your training!" Connie said with a fond, chiding smile.

’So that’s how it is.’

Ning He finally understood why Connie was so concerned about money.

In Beiluo City, residents spent almost nothing on minor ailments. There were even free allowances for things like antibiotics, painkillers, and fever reducers.

But for major illnesses or chronic conditions that affected a person’s ability to work, treatment costs skyrocketed.

Qiu Luo’s mother had suffered from a chronic illness that left her unable to work, and most of the money the body’s previous owner had earned went toward her treatment.

The money Connie and Ah Huai had earned from their noodle shop must have been tight, too.

’Surviving in this post-apocalyptic world really isn’t easy.’

"The stove is ready. What are you planning to make?"

Connie’s voice broke Ning He from her thoughts. Ning He grinned. "We’re going to make two kinds of flatbread. You can help me with the dough. And I’ll need a bowl of your sauce. I want to try making a new one."

"It’s all ready for you."

Connie grabbed a jar from nearby and opened the lid. Inside was a dark brown paste that gave off a rich, savory aroma.

Ning He’s eyes lit up. She took the jar to examine its consistency, then sampled a small amount.

It was salty, savory, and sweet with the aroma of fermented soybeans. It was very similar to a soy paste she’d seen before—so thick you could thin it with water and use it as soy sauce.

’Something this good is wasted on just meat sauce noodles,’ she thought. ’Let’s give it a new lease on life!’

After telling Connie how to prepare the dough, Ning He took out the scallions, garlic, sun-dried red chilis, and a few ripe tomatoes she had brought. After washing them, she began to prepare her sauce.

She finely minced the scallions and garlic and fried them until fragrant. Then, she added blanched, peeled, and diced tomatoes, simmering them down until the mixture thickened. At this point, a simple tomato sauce had formed.

Next, she stirred in two spoonfuls of the sauce paste, which she had thinned with a little water. The deep red tomato sauce in the pot slowly turned a rich, brownish-red, BUBBLING thickly with tiny pockets of air.

Once the two sauces had nearly combined, she sprinkled in chopped dried chilis. The heat brought out their fragrance, and as soon as she could smell a hint of spice, she immediately removed the pot from the stove. She seasoned it with salt and sugar, poured it into a deep bowl, and covered it. It would be ready to use once it had cooled completely.

Ning He rarely ever failed when making this kind of complex sauce. It was so good it could make a shoe sole taste delicious.

While the sauce cooled, Ning He quickly washed and julienned the other vegetables: cilantro, carrots, purple cabbage, green cabbage, onions, potatoes, and chives. The resulting mix of shreds was a beautiful, colorful pile. To this, she added the shredded dried tofu she’d bought at the supermarket as a savory protein, and the ingredients were complete.

Connie had finished kneading her dough, but it was still proofing. In the meantime, Ning He mixed a thin batter of her own, grabbed a flat-bottomed pan, and started making crepes.

Without her usual tools, Ning He’s first crepe was a bit of a failure—the shape was irregular and the thickness was uneven. But after three attempts, she got the hang of it.

After she finished making the crepes, Connie’s dough had finished proofing.

She rolled the dough into a log, pinched off small portions, and flattened them into round discs. She then spread an oil-and-flour paste in the center of each disc, pinched it shut into a ball, and finally flattened it into a long, oval-shaped flatbread.

She made twelve of these flatbreads in total, cooking them over low heat in the pan.

"It’s puffing up in the middle!" Connie exclaimed, watching the flatbread in the pan suddenly swell up.

Ning He grinned. "That’s the idea."

She cooked a first batch of three, then took one and cut it in half to show Connie.

"What does it look like?"

Connie looked with novelty at the palm-sized flatbread in her hand. The cut revealed a hollow interior, perfectly separated, fluffy and soft.

"Like a pocket."

Ning He nodded. "Exactly. This is called Pocket Bread. You can stuff all sorts of things inside. Let’s try both types of bread and see which one is better."

With that, Ning He fired up the stove again, added oil to the pan, and began to stir-fry the shredded vegetables and tofu she had prepared earlier.

Just looking at the colorful mixture in the pan made Connie’s mouth water. When she saw Ning He add a spoonful of the sauce she’d just made, intuition told her it was going to be absolutely divine!

But her attention was quickly stolen by Ning He’s incredibly skillful pan-flipping technique.

Despite her constant tossing, almost none of the vegetables in the large wok fell out. The heavy iron pan seemed weightless in Ning He’s hands. With a light flick of her wrist, the ingredients would trace a beautiful, colorful arc through the air before landing precisely back in the pan.

The whole process was as smooth as silk and a delight to watch.

’Is this the power of a Third-level Chef?’

Connie was secretly impressed, a hint of aspiration stirring in her heart.

’When will I ever be that skilled?’

"Alright, let’s all give it a try."

Ning He had stir-fried two separate batches: one with her new sauce, and one seasoned with only salt and sugar. She dished them out, and Connie called over Ah Huai and a very eager Ding Xiang, who had been sniffing the air for a while. The four of them gathered around the table, each taking a piece of Pocket Bread and a pair of chopsticks.

"Stuff the filling into the bread—take as much as you want—and then take a big bite!"