NOVEL WEB Chapter 24 - 24 1 Want to Eat Chocolate
Chapter 24: Chapter 24 1 Want to Eat Chocolate
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The aroma quickly penetrated Su Xiaoman’s stomach, forming an almost uncontrollable desire to eat. A horrific sense of hunger was teasing every nerve in her body!
It smells so good!
It must taste delicious!
Su Xiaoman greedily sniffed the aroma of the secret recipe smoked duck, and she had a feeling… the food she had eaten before was simply garbage! It was all trash!
At the same time, she felt very fortunate that within her lifetime she could smell such an aromatic gourmet dish.
Her heart was bursting with happiness, all her worries tossed away to Guava country!
Su Xiaoman couldn’t wait to try the smoked duck, but she restrained herself!
‘No… this… this is the secret recipe he gave me, the first person to taste it…
should be him!’
At this moment, Su Xiaoman suddenly thought of Huang Xiaolong.
Her heart was instantly filled with warm and touching emotions.
Su Xiaoman was in the food business, and she knew very clearly what such an exquisite dish meant- Wealth!
Growth!
Even a change of fate!
Indeed, it was Huang Xiaolong who gave Su Xiaoman the opportunity to change her path of poverty and despair!
Tears silently fell from her eyes. Within the bleak and desperate world, Su Xiaoman saw a glimmer of hope!
Su Xiaoman had fantasized countless times that a real prince would appear in her life to rescue her. At this moment, Huang Xiaolong’s clear and shining eyes appeared in her mind, along with his brilliant smile…
Su Xiaoman suddenly realized– the Prince Charming in her life has finally arrived!
She wiped her tears, took out her mobile phone and dialed Huang Xiaolong’s number.
The call went through.
“Little Long, have you gone to bed?” Su Xiaoman choked up a little. “I tried to make some smoked duck following your cooking secret recipe, I want to invite you over to try… can you?”
“Sure, Sister Xiaoman, I’m just outside your store, it really smells so good… I’m so hungry, almost starving…” Huang Xiaolong chuckled on the phone.
At this moment, Huang Xiaolong saw a growing crowd gathering outside Su Xiaoman’s fast-food shop. The corners of his mouth lifted into a satisfied smile. “Sister Xiaoman will make a lot of money in the future. Hehe, I am her benefactor. After meeting me, she’ll get rich even if she doesn’t want to….” Soon, Su Xiaoman hurried out of the kitchen carrying a tray.
The crowd outside naturally saw the smoked duck on the tray. The duck’s skin glistened with an orange hue, like the golden grains of autumnal harvest, its appearance was simply unbeatable.
“Boss lady! I want to eat it!”
“Wow– it’s duck meat! I love duck meat, but… I’ve never smelled such heavenly aroma…”
“Boss lady, how much does it cost? Damn! It smells so good! What kind of duck is this? Oh my god, I can’t take it anymore!”
“Boss lady, if you don’t sell it to me today, I’ll just drop dead in front of you!”
“Boss, how much is it? Geez, I’ll pay 200 Yuan for a duck!”
“200 Yuan and you want to eat? Get lost! I’ll pay 500 Yuan!”
It was chaotic!
The people outside the fast-food shop, like a bunch of beasts in heat, were shouting anxiously, salivating all over the ground.
Su Xiaoman was wearing a tight skirt that highlighted her curvaceous figure with a fashionable charm. She didn’t wear makeup, giving off a simple, elegant, and refreshing air.
The duck was so enticing, and the boss was so beautiful, it was driving a lot of people on the verge of madness.
“Everyone… everyone… please… don’t be in a hurry… Today I just made a few smoked ducks to try out, can’t sell it to you yet…” Su Xiaoman quickly explained.
Her shop was usually empty, business was terrible. To suddenly see so many people crowding at her storefront, she was a little flustered and started looking for Huang Xiaolong in the crowd.
“Sister Xiaoman!” Huang Xiaolong handed the Sony LCD TV he had been carrying to the muscular man behind him, then rushed into the shop in a stride.
“Little Long, I want you to taste it…see if the taste is right…” As soon as Huang Xiaolong appeared, Su Xiaoman’s eyes only had him.
“Um, Sister Xiaoman, actually for this dish, I only know the secret recipe, haven’t had it before…” Huang Xiaolong disregarded everything, directly grabbed a smoked duck from the tray, crammed it into his mouth, gnawing it messily.
The duck meat melted in his mouth, remarkably tender and flavorful, leaving no residue! Just as a bite of duck was swallowed, the elegant tea aroma started to rise, making Huang Xiaolong feel so intoxicated, like he was in the midst of a spectacular spring. His taste buds were filled with indescribably extraordinary flavors!
It’s so delicious!
Huang Xiaolong was munching while grabbing the remaining smoked ducks from the tray with his free hand.
Originally, some foodies outside were about to rush in to eat, seeing Huang
Xiaolong eating so fast, they were deterred by his shabby appearance. This also
made the foodies give up their “snatching food” impulse and started to whisper
complaints.
“Little Long, eat slowly, eat slowly.” Seeing Huang Xiaolong eating so messily, Su Xiaoman quickly took a few napkins from the restaurant’s table and carefully wiped the grease and crumbs from his mouth and cheeks.
“Sister Xiaoman, it’s really delicious.” Huang Xiaolong said vaguely. “This dish was Emperor Qianlong’s favorite royal cuisine. If it’s not delicious, the Imperial Chef would lose his head… Later… After Qianlong passed away, this dish was lost… Fortunately, the Imperial Chef handed down the secret recipe to me… Otherwise I wouldn’t get to eat such delicious duck…”
Huang Xiaolong was chewing on the duck meat, talking rapidly. Su Xiaoman couldn’t clearly hear what he was saying, she just kept voicing her concern.
“Little Long, eat slowly, don’t choke…”
“Sister Xiaoman, you should try too.” Huang Xiaolong tore off a piece of duck meat and instinctively fed it to Su Xiaoman.
Without thinking, Su Xiaoman accepted and bit into the piece of duck meat he held to her mouth.
After several chews, she blushed, her face turning beet red down to her earlobes. She hung her head low.
Eh… this piece of duck meat was covered in Huang Xiaolong’s saliva!
Just then— “Disperse! ”
A furious male voice thundered, and a group of men, all with terrifying tattoos bare on their lean bodies, pushed through the crowd.
Leading them was Brother Hu, with Brother Earthworm following by his side.
Brother Hu’s arrival was met with a group of underlings emanating arrogant, provocative expressions. The people crowding around the entrance scattered like birds.
“Xiaoman…ah, where’d you get this secret recipe? This duck meat is absolutely amazing…” Brother Hu sauntered into the store, his eyes filled with greed and excitement.
The main business on Floral Lake street was catering and midnight snacks, Brother Hu himself ran a few barbecue stalls and a cantonese restaurant.
Like Su Xiaoman, Brother Hu understood very well what a unique secret recipe implied.
Take roast duck, for instance, the “Quanjude” restaurant owes its fame to its secret recipe, creating a nationally renowned everlasting brand!
It even became part of culinary culture!
The business is even on the A share market!
The duck meat that Su Xiaoman cooked today, regardless of its flavor, at least its aroma, was surely on par with Quanjude’s roast duck.
Brother Hu was moved!
It seemed as though, if only vaguely, he had found a shortcut to wealth and a seat among the high society of Binhai!
“Yeah, the duck meat tastes great.” Huang Xiaolan gulped down his food as he spoke to Brother Hu. “This was Emperor Qianlong’s favorite dish back in the day. The ordinary peasants just couldn’t get their hands on it. Even if they learned the secret recipe, they wouldn’t dare cook it for themselves. If found out, they’d be punished by having their homes raided and faces beheaded…” “What? Emperor Qianlong’s favorite?” Brother Hu was shaking with excitement!
The seductive aroma filling the store allowed Brother Hu to believe at least eighty percent of what Huang Xiaolong claimed.
“Brother Hu, we’re in for a fortune! With the gimmick of ‘a dish fit for an emperor,’ countless wealthy people would be willing to spend fortunes on a taste, as if eating it would grant them the status of an emperor!” Brother Earthworm excitedly exclaimed.
“Xiaoman, listen up, you’re to write down this secret recipe verbatim for me. You no longer owe me one million, just…,” Brother Hu’s eyes rolled around greedily. “Half a million will do. You’re getting off easy, to sell me a small secret recipe for five hundred thousand, you’re really making a killing, Xiaoman!”
“This…” Su Xiaoman shot Brother Hu a glare filled with annoyance, slowly shaking her head. “Brother Hu, I won’t sell the secret recipe. No matter how much money you offer, I won’t sell it.”
In Su Xiaoman’s eyes, more than just an opportunity to change her luck, this secret recipe represented Huang Xiaolong’s kindness, and it was something she would guard no matter the cost!
“Xiaoman! Don’t be unappreciative!” Brother Hu grew furious. “What do you, a woman, need a secret recipe for? Keeping it could invite calamity. You get me?”
“Eh… Brother Hu, right? Didn’t we agree this was a debt wagered and won?
Don’t worry, Xiaoman and I will repay it,” Huang Xiaolong said as he spat out a duck bone. “Since you’re always in a haste to collect… fine, I’ll go to your casino and win a few rounds to repay the million…”
“Oh?” Brother Hu’s eyes flickered. He seemed to have come up with an idea. “Good! Little farmer, since you’re eager to play, come to my casino… but… you must bet this secret recipe! If you lose, this secret recipe is mine! You understand?”
“Alright,” Huang Xiaolong said with a chuckle. “Your word is bond.”
“Peasant boy, I’ll be waiting for you!” Brother Hu laughed, proud and satisfied as if everything was within his control, “Ha ha ha ha- Let’s go!”
With a wave of his hand, Brother Hu led his underlings away.
“Little Long…” Su Xiaoman looked at Huang Xiaolong anxiously. “I’m sorry, I’m to blame… I should not have cooked the smoked duck… I got you involved…”
“Why would you say that, Sister Xiaoman? Rest assured, we won’t lose the secret recipe,” Huang Xiaolong replied confidently. “Sister Xiaoman, take me to Brother Hu’s casino.”
“Little Long, you mustn’t go!” Su Xiaoman shuddered at the mere mention of the casino, treating it like a viper’s nest, a terrifying den of iniquity.
“Sister Xiaoman, believe in me,” Huang Xiaolong insisted. “I’ll pay him back tonight.’
Having said that, Huang Xiaolong walked out of the store and said to the muscular men helping with the prizes, “Brothers, please come in and sit for a while. Wait for me for an hour, oh, no, a half-hour is enough. After I pay off the debt, you can help move these things to my house.”
The muscular men looked at each other and finally nodded in agreement. It was Cui Feiyan who gave the orders. They couldn’t risk messing it up or they may lose their jobs.
“Sister Xiaoman, let’s go to the casino now,” Huang Xiaolong said with a smile. “Oh, and could you go to a nearby supermarket or convenience store to get something for me?”
“Little Long, what do you want me to buy?” Su Xiaoman asked.
“Feodora chocolate, made in Germany, also known as Feodora Duchess 60% pure dark chocolate, ” Huang Xiaolong replied with a smile. “This chocolate is quite bitter and has a faint tobacco flavor.”
“Huh? Chocolate?” Su Xiaoman was confused. “Little Long, we’re about to go to a casino. Why…why are you buying chocolate?”
“Oh… it’s because we’re going to the casino that I want to eat chocolate,” Huang Xiaolong explained. “Because once, someone told me that if you’re gambling in a casino, you should eat Feodora chocolate… and then you can win a lot of money, unbeatable!”
“Does… does that work?” Su Xiaoman was puzzled. “Who told you this?”
“Sister Xiaoman, please go buy me some chocolate.” Huang Xiaolong walked out of the store. “That person is long dead.”