Xiao Zhang was already intoxicated.
In his eyes, the Three Meat Buns had vanished.
Now, his heart was all about one snack, and that was the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls!
Swallowing the last bite of the fresh meat filling Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Ball, Xiao Zhang felt as though he had been elevated, strolling in the clouds.
The rich pork flavor of the fresh meat filling still lingered on his tongue, while the three sweet fillings he ate before had already settled in his mind. Xiao Zhang was surprised to find that after finishing them and savoring the taste, they actually seemed more delicious than when he was eating them.
Each rice ball was delicious on its own, but together, they were super delicious.
It would be great to drink something at times .
Xiao Zhang smacked his lips in contentment, took a sip of the flavorless rice ball soup, and glanced at the time, 6:20.
Mind you, he had entered Yunzhong Restaurant at exactly 6 o’clock, queued for three minutes, and was seated by 6:04.
Amazingly, he took a full 16 minutes to finish one bowl of rice balls!
Indeed, deliciousness requires careful savoring!
Xiao Zhang looked around and noticed he was the slowest eater in the entire hall. The bowls of the grandpas and grandmas were already empty, and they were chatting leisurely. A few who thought they could eat more and didn’t fear overeating had ordered another bowl and were gobbling up happily.
Sitting by the window, Xiao Zhang glanced across the street.
The first thing he noticed was the sign for the bright green Xiao Ou Handmade Lemon Tea.
Xiao Zhang recalled that yesterday Master Qin had specially reminded him he could go to this handmade lemon tea shop for a non-handmade lemon tea drink. Xiao Zhang had no impression of the opening times of nearby milk tea shops, but he was quite familiar with the coffee shop downstairs from his company.
Aside from the ones open 24 hours, the rest opened at 7 in the morning.
There were still 40 minutes until 7 o’clock.
Have another bowl of rice balls!
Looking at his balance, Xiao Zhang felt deeply that saving up was indeed useful. Days of saving just for this morning’s indulgence.
Standing up, Xiao Zhang quickly walked to the window: "Hello, could I please have another bowl of the same rice balls!"
From start to finish, Xiao Zhang didn’t spare a single glance at the untouched Three Meat Buns and tea eggs on the table.
While Xiao Zhang was waiting for the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls, Xu Tuqiang and Grandpa Qian at table 9 unintentionally glanced at Xiao Zhang.
As known faithful patrons of Yunzhong Restaurant and holders of table 9, veterans of the Morning Jogging Grandpas, possessing Master Qin’s WeChat and remembered by Master Qin, Xu Tuqiang and Grandpa Qian instantly recognized Xiao Zhang as the newcomer this morning.
They weren’t exaggerating; every morning, among the guests precisely entering Yunzhong Restaurant at 6 a.m to eat the first batch of breakfast, they remembered each and every one.
"Ah, youth, being able to eat two bowls of rice balls," Xu Tuqiang muttered sourly under his breath.
Xu Tuqiang also wanted to eat two bowls but was afraid of overeating and hurting his stomach, leading to a hospital visit. Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls are not ordinary snacks; they are bona fide glutinous rice products with 3/4 being sweet fillings. Really overeating them and having to visit the hospital would not be a risk Xu Tuqiang wanted to take.
Qin Huai is back, and there will be plenty of snacks in the future. Life is long; there is no need to give up future days’ snacks for the tiny immediate gain.
"If you can, you eat two bowls too," retorted Grandpa Qian, looking somewhat wistfully at the manuscript in his hand, "Do you think Master Qin even needs my tips now?"
He had written a full 27 pieces!
Grandpa Qian said on the first day of the year he was bursting with ideas and wrote six pieces in a day; his efficiency amazed his 11-year-old grandson, who begged him in tears to help him write two essays.
"What do you think?" Xu Tuqiang stirred his bowl of soy milk, looking quite dejected, "Who would have thought that during the New Year, Master Qin’s Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls suddenly became so delicious?"
"Better than Three Meat Buns and Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns. At this rate, will people be scrambling for Three Meat Buns and Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns? In the future, what people will be scrambling for are Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls. Look, these young office workers are joining us at 6 in the morning to dine. If..."
As Xu Tuqiang talked, he suddenly froze.
Grandpa Qian froze too.
Grandma Ding froze as well.
While vigorously writing a new piece, Wang Gen Sheng noticed the table fell silent, looked up to see everyone furrowed brow and deep in thought.
"What’s up with you all? Overeaten?" Wang Gen Sheng was puzzled.
"Wang Laogen, need to ask you something."
Grandma Ding looked at Wang Gen Sheng very seriously, making him nervous, straightening his back, and putting down his pen.
"Wh... what is it?" asked Wang Gen Sheng.
"You’re the one among us who has eaten the most guo’er; weigh in for us, what tastes better, the guo’er or Master Qin’s current Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls?" asked Grandma Ding.
Without hesitation, Wang Gen Sheng said, "It’s definitely the guo’er, wasn’t it on some magazine cover? You guys have seen the lines at Huang Ji, right? My God, young folks queuing up at two, three in the morning, not sleeping just to queue, standing there before dawn in a row."
"People queue from morning till night without stopping. If Master Qin didn’t give my wife and me a backdoor pass, even if we broke our backs in line, we might not be able to beat those young folks."
"You’ve seen it yourselves, Old Qian, Old Xu, you guys queued at 5 a.m. to buy new snacks."
After Wang Gen Sheng fairly and justly stated his opinion, the three furrowed their brows even tighter.
"Then Wang Laogen, in your opinion, are the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls tastier or the Premium Three Filling Buns?"