The young man closest to Chen Mo felt it most distinctly.
It was a flavor beyond words.
Fried ham might not always taste great, but it sure smells inviting, and grilled squid is the same; that's why they top the charts at various food street stalls.
When these ingredients mixed together, the aroma blended with the sautéed onions.
The young man took a deep breath, "Whoa, boss, how does everything you cook smell so good?"
The aroma alone was mouthwatering; imagine taking a big bite, wouldn't that be something?
Chen Mo was too busy to chat, he just glanced up to acknowledge him, knowing that the cooked ham and squid didn't need much stir-frying, he quickly added the rice to the pan.
This time the young man was surprised, "Huh? Isn't fried rice supposed to be made with overnight rice?"
Next to him, Uncle Liu and Brother Squid realized what Brother Jiaozi was planning.
"Amazing! Brother Jiaozi is really going all out to make money!" Brother Squid sighed.
With ingredients sold out, he found ways to acquire more to keep the business going. At this moment, Brother Squid had only one thought: he envies everyone who makes money, but not Brother Jiaozi!
Old Liu was also a bit dizzy by Chen Mo's antics. He managed to say with his last bit of rationality, "There has to be a reason for it; his food is just really delicious. Smell this aroma!"
At the bridge on Central Avenue, there's an unwritten rule.
Rather than a rule, it's more of a tradition passed down by generations of vendors doing business here.
No matter who sets up a stall here, the nearby vendors will buy some of what the "new colleague" is selling to taste.
They could try a new flavor, show support for the business, and everyone gets to know each other quickly in the marketplace.
It's just that Chen Mo's stall was doing unbelievably well since day one, leaving Old Liu and Brother Squid no chance to buy egg dumplings as a friendly gesture.
Today, all of Chen Mo's dishes were sold out, but truth be told, this fried rice smells fantastic! It's absolutely no less enticing than the aroma of spicy diced chicken!
Seeing Brother Squid's worried look, Uncle Liu had a clever idea, "Want to bet?"
Brother Squid was so engrossed that he dropped his guard, "Bet on what?"
"I bet this fried rice will sell at least 10 more portions tonight!"
"Wow..." Brother Squid checked his phone, it was already 1:40 a.m. In recent days, Brother Jiaozi would have closed up by now; plus, hardly anyone was around at this hour. In front of Brother Jiaozi's stall, there was only one young man.
"Alright, let's bet! What's the stake?"
Old Liu smirked, "A deadly '53 plus two of Brother Jiaozi's fried rice!"
Brother Squid hesitated at first, but then he thought, he's lost two consecutive days, so odds should favor him winning today, right?
"Deal! I want to see; we've got a row with no fried rice being sold; what's Brother Jiaozi got up his sleeve... What the heck, he's selling it for 20 Yuan?"
There are other stalls selling fried rice at the bridgehead, typically priced between 10 to 12 Yuan.
Brother Squid just overheard Chen Mo's small speaker announce a 20 Yuan receipt.
A full double the price of neighboring stalls left Brother Squid dumbfounded, wondering if this could sell, why couldn't his 10-Yuan squid sell?
The young man felt a pinch after receiving the fried rice.
It did smell great, but the 20 Yuan price was quite steep.
After all, it was just one serving of fried rice. The young man stood in front of the food cart, using the disposable spoon Chen Mo provided, scooping a full spoonful into his mouth.
"Wow!" The young man exclaimed with delight to Chen Mo, "Boss, you've got skills! Why are you running a stall? You should be working at a big hotel!"
Chen Mo patted his pants, grinning dumbly at the compliment, "As long as it tastes good. I'm sorry, we sold out of egg dumplings and pork congee. You can come earlier tomorrow."
The young man, with a mouthful of rice, mumbled awkward grunts, finding it impossible to eat and talk at the same time.
Humans tend to get really hungry late at night if they don't sleep, especially college students like him who sneak out to internet cafes overnight. If not for limited funds, he could eat an entire cow!
Now he's satisfied.
He stuffed a big mouthful of fried rice into his mouth and chewed laboriously.
With each bite, his body felt pleasantly filled with carbohydrates; the unique taste from squid and onions paired with the inherent aroma of fried ham was simply incredible!
"Chomp chomp~"
The young man seemed to forget he had to take food for others and just stood there, devouring it.
Uncle Liu and Brother Squid were left dumbfounded.
A portion of rice was already quite large, and with a squid skewer and two sausages added, the volume nearly doubled.
Yet, the young man still finished it in under five minutes.
Gazing at the empty lunch box, savoring the lingering aroma in his mouth, an idea flashed through the young man's mind, "Boss, give me four more servings, I need five boxes in total!"
"Are you delivering it to your classmates?"
Chen Mo received the three portions of rice from the young man, then stepped out of the food cart to buy more white rice from other stalls. He didn't forget to shout to the people nearby, "Uncle Liu, Brother Squid, give me four more portions! Oh, and the chili powder and onion bits, be sure to make it for four servings."
The two of them exchanged a glance.
Thinking, are you here to stock from us?
But since Chen Mo was purchasing at market rates, they were reluctant to refuse. They were at least making a profit, and a decent one at that.
So, despite some grumbling, Uncle Liu and Brother Squid got up to start working, while Chen Mo went to a neighboring stall selling plated meals to buy more white rice.
Without any toppings, it was just 2 Yuan.
In other words, the cost for Chen Mo to make a single free-style fried rice was already 17 Yuan, not including the cooking cart's gas, manpower, or the two eggs Chen Mo contributed!
20 Yuan really isn't expensive.
The young man understood this because he saw Chen Mo hustling to buy things and settle accounts from nearby stalls just to make him a midnight snack, so he had no objections to the 20 Yuan charge.
With the rice in hand, Chen Mo repeated his earlier method, but this time he poured all the ingredients for four servings into the pan to make them all at once.
For this final batch of fried rice, Chen Mo wasn't after profit, he mainly wanted to see if he could max out the food cart's Experience Value before packing up!
Eggs, ham, onions, and squid go in!
Rice goes in!
Chen Mo twirled his body according to the rhythm of flashy beats, thinking the move looked pretty cool!
After stirring it evenly, he added some soy sauce, stirring it until it penetrated the rice grains, then sprinkled in some of Uncle Liu's chili powder too.
Sizzle~
The rice grains turned slightly saucy in color, with visible pieces of squid and diced ham. Just looking at it would make anyone drool.
Besides, the young man had just eaten a serving!
All four portions were packed up, and Chen Mo also provided an extra empty box.
The young man chuckled foolishly, not in a rush to deliver to his classmates, but instead placing all five boxes on a small table by the roadside.
Then...
"I may not be able to get 1 Yuan from everyone nationwide."
"But I can have a mouthful of rice from each of my four godfathers!"