"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. The pie she'd drawn was a bit too small.
The little one is trying to trick his little savings with just twenty cents for an egg baked pancake.
"Sweet or savory?" the owner asked with a smile.
"Sweet!"
"Savory."
The siblings gave two different answers.
"Brother, don't you want sweet?" Zhou Momo turned to look at him.
"I want to add pork floss, and I want it salty." Zhou Yan nodded very firmly.
The little one ordered a sweet one, with fruit jam and cream filling.
The egg baked pancakes these days aren't that outrageous yet, the fillings are limited, with only four or five options to choose from.
The variety and absurdity of the fillings that have evolved into egg baked pancakes in later generations give people the illusion that anything can be made into an egg baked pancake.
Cream, jam, chocolate, Oreo, beef, pork floss, red bean paste, cowpeas, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce... If you dare to imagine it, you might just find it in those bowls of fillings.
After all, if they can add Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, what else is impossible?
It's so outrageous that it even surpasses the numerous tofu puddings from various sects in Jiazhou.
To make egg baked pancakes, a small, flat-bottomed copper pan about the size of the palm is used.
Lifting the lid of the enamel basin, you'll find a golden yellow batter inside. The owner picks up a spoon, scoops a spoonful of batter into a small copper pan, and with a gentle twist of his wrist, the batter spreads evenly in the pan, coating even the sides of the pan.
In no time, the batter expanded rapidly in the pan, and a sweet aroma wafted up with the steam, a blend of the fragrance of eggs and flour.
Zhou Momo stared longingly, swallowing her saliva countless times.
Two honeycomb briquette stoves were set up on the stall, enough to make two egg baked pancakes at the same time.
After the golden brown dough puffed up, the owner started adding ingredients, adding cream and jam, and then adding pork floss and cream, letting the heat of the egg skin heat up the filling.
Use tweezers to roll up the filling inside the golden brown, crispy egg crepe. Then, place it in a pre-folded piece of oil paper. This insulates it from the heat and keeps it from getting too hot, while also allowing a corner to stick out for easy eating.
"Forty cents, here you go." Zhou Momo opened her small bag, took out forty cents, and handed them to the owner.
"Okay, be careful when you eat it, it's a little hot." The owner smiled and handed her the egg pancake, his voice unconsciously rising in pitch.
Zhou Yan reached out and took the egg baked pancake with pork floss from him, blew on it twice, and took a bite.
Egg baked pancakes should be eaten hot. The outer layer of the egg baked pancake is fried until slightly crispy, while the inside is exceptionally tender. With one bite, the aroma of cream instantly fills his mouth, and the savory pork floss is the finishing touch, making it both fragrant and refreshing.
The taste was quite good.
[A pretty good egg baked pancake]
Zhou Yan glanced at the appraisal result and found that it was basically consistent.
Zhou Momo, standing to the side, held the egg baked pancake in both hands, blowing on it gently, and taking small bites like a little squirrel. Her eyes were sparkling, and her delicate eyebrows almost reached the sky. It was clear that she was enjoying her meal very much.
"The egg baked pancake is delicious! It's sweet and have a milky flavor."
The little one ate half of one in one go and even gave a few comments.
The little one's eating manners were so cute and tempting that passersby stopped to watch and couldn't help but swallow their saliva. A young couple immediately came over and ordered two, and even the people sitting at the next stall eating wontons ordered one.
The owner beamed with joy, busy making egg baked pancakes while praising, "This little girl is so well-behaved, she's a lucky charm!"
As he spoke, he scooped a small handful of raisins with a small spoon, wrapped them in oil paper, and handed them to Zhou Momo with a smile: "Here, take these raisins as a snack."
Zhou Momo didn't reach out, but looked up at Zhou Yan.
"The boss gave it to you in front of you, so take it." Zhou Yan nodded.
Zhou Momo happily accepted it, smiling and saying, "Thank you, boss."
"You're welcome, you're welcome. Come again next time." the boss replied.
"Okay." Zhou Momo put the raisins in her pocket and continued eating the egg baked pancake.
Zhou Yan took her to eat tofu pudding. He ordered a sweet version for her at Gan Ji Emei Tofu Pudding, while he ordered a version of Niu Hua Tofu Pudding from the neighboring stall.
The owner of Gan Ji Tofu Pudding had a complicated expression. When they saw Zhou Momo sprinkling the raisins she brought with her on the tofu pudding, they all turned away, afraid they wouldn't be able to control themselves.
What could they do? The little one was so cute, it was perfectly reasonable for her to want some sweet tofu pudding, right?
The owner of the Niu Hua Tofu Pudding stall next door was practically laughing his head off.
"Thank you, boss! Your tofu pudding is so delicious! I'll definitely come back next time." Zhou Momo picked up her bowl, licked the bottom clean, put it down, and praised the owner and his wife.
The owner and his wife immediately smiled, their lingering unease vanishing completely.
The owner's wife said with a beaming smile, "You're welcome, dear, come again next time!"
Zhou Yan paid the money, picked up Zhou Momo and put her on the bicycle. He slowed down a bit when he rode past the Qiu family's old house.
This house will be his soon. Once he saves up 10,000 yuan, he'll immediately own a house in the city.
Looking at the braised food shop again, there were a few customers inside, carrying bags. They were clearly tourists.
That's what a good port is like. It can make up for any shortcomings in taste.
Zhou Yan pondered that once he acquired the property, the first thing he would do was to take back the shop when the lease expired, to prevent the braised food shop from ruining its reputation and causing him to have to spend energy to turn it around after he opened his own restaurant.
With a powerful push on the pedal, the bicycle shot off, accompanied by Zhou Momo humming a children's song, leaving the city and turning onto a country road, heading towards Suji.
There weren't many large vehicles on the road, but there were still quite a few bicycles passing by.
A shuttle bus swayed past Zhou Yan, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Zhou Yan slowed down and reached out to shield Zhou Momo's face.
Suji is close to Jiazhou and has a large factory like Jiazhou Textile Factory. Its economy ranks among the top in Jiazhou's towns and villages. There are also many shady characters, many of whom are dishonest and steal wallets on buses. They were notorious for carrying knives.
Therefore, many people who go to Suji ride bicycles if they can.
It's tiring, but better than having their wallets stolen.
The police station has cracked down on it a few times, but with little effect, the thefts always resurface after a while.
Zhou Yan remembers Little Zhou who also suffered this fate, his pocket was slashed open with a knife while he was asleep, and his wallet was stolen.
When he woke up, his wallet was still on his lap, but the eighty cents inside had been taken, leaving a note that read: "Such a big wallet holding eighty cents, you poor bastard!"
The red exclamation mark made eighteen years old Little Zhou feel extremely humiliated.
Zhou Yan could still feel that anger and frustration in his memory.
It wasn't because his clothes were torn by a knife.
It was because of those words.
They were utterly insulting!
When Comrade Little Zhou got off the bus, he comforted himself: "I guess it's because I respect money. I didn't steal, I didn't rob, and I didn't do anything wrong."
Zhou Yan had experienced poverty, so he could empathize.
But he also genuinely wanted to laugh.
Even the thieves in Sichuan and Chongqing are masters of satire, and their magical abilities are indeed among the best in the country, most of their households have a magical cloak that can be summoned at any time.
Zhou Yan rode his bicycle forward at a leisurely pace and saw the bus that had just passed parked on the side of the road, swaying from side to side with an unusual amplitude.
Of course... don't get the wrong idea. Normally, something like that wouldn't cause a bus with a capacity of 36 but an actual load of 63 to sway like that.
Passengers on bicycles also noticed the unusual activity on the bus and slowed down.
The door opened, and a skinny young man flew out, landing face first on the ground. Just as he yelped and tried to get up, a short, stout young man flew out and landed squarely on top of him.
Then a tall young man wearing a gray linen jacket got off the bus, carrying a skinny young man in his hand as if he was a chick. He grinned at the two young men who were struggling to get up and pulling out folding knives from their pockets: "You stole from me, and you still dare to use a knife?"
"Guo Guo, isn't that Guo Guo Ming? Is he catching those thieves?!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up as she pointed.
"It really is him!" Zhou Yan's eyes also lit up. The young man getting off the bus was his cousin, Zhou Ming. It seemed he had encountered those thieves on the bus and even had a conflict with them.
There were three people on the other side, and they were carrying knives. Although Zhou Yan knew that Zhou Ming had practiced martial arts since childhood, but he didn't dare to just stand by and watch. He stopped his bicycle by the roadside, picked up Zhou Momo and put her aside, and instructed her, "Stand here and don't move!"
"Mmm!" Zhou Momo nodded, her eyes showing no fear, only excitement at catching the thief.
Zhou Yan glanced around and saw a wooden stick about the height of a person leaning against the door of a house by the roadside. He quickly went over and picked it up. It was just the right size to hold, and it was a bit heavy.
With a suitable weapon in hand, he immediately calmed down.
Zhou Yan charged forward with his stick, while Zhou Ming was still confronting the two thieves wielding daggers.
Suddenly, a dark figure jumped out of the bus, a cold glint in his hand, and lunged straight at Zhou Ming's back.
A gasp immediately erupted from the onlookers and those in the bus.
"Brother Ming! Behind you!" Zhou Yan exclaimed in alarm.
Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Ming took half a step back and raised his arm to block the dagger that was thrusting straight at him.
The sharp dagger sliced open his sleeve, and blood immediately gushed out.
The other two thieves also rushed forward, shouting, trying to take the opportunity to stab him twice.
"Damn!" Zhou Yan didn't know martial arts, but his physical fitness and explosive power were good. He rushed forward in three steps and smashed the tall, thin man on the back with the stick, knocking him to the ground. The man rolled around on the ground in pain.
Despite being stabbed in the arm, Zhou Ming's fighting ability was not affected in the slightest. The smile on his face disappeared, and a hint of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes.
Dodging two daggers that were thrust straight at him, Zhou Ming knocked the dagger away with a palm strike, then punched the man in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing onto the bus.
The man who had ambushed him slid to his knees with a thud, clutching his stomach and howling in pain.
"Brother Ming! Catch the stick!" Zhou Yan tossed the stick over.
Zhou Ming caught the long stick, twirled it casually, and then charged towards the short, fat youth holding the dagger.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Three blows.
The first blow struck the hand, deforming the forearm instantly, the dagger flew out and embedded itself in the ground some distance away.
The second blow struck the leg, the sound of bones breaking echoing crisply, the opponent immediately knelt on the ground.
The final blow struck the shoulder, a scream escaped his lips before he collapsed face down, unconscious.
The man he had dragged off the bus got up and tried to run away, but he was hit on the buttocks with the stick, causing the man to roll on the ground and howl in pain. He then hit the man's leg with the stick, rendering him immobile.
Zhou Yan was stunned. After being stabbed, Brother Ming's attack was incredibly ruthless.
Zhou Ming slammed the long stick into the ground, looked at Zhou Yan, and laughed, "Little Yan, well done!"
Zhou Yan looked at him. His left hand was still dripping blood, but he didn't frown at all. His smile was cheerful and heroic.
A sentence suddenly popped into his mind: "Theyouth treats danger as a flat plain, leaning alone on his long sword in the cool autumn sky."
A young swordsman, none could be more perfect than this!
In the blink of an eye, all four knife-wielding thieves were subdued.
The onlookers and passengers on the bus cheered and applauded.
"Guo Guo! Guo Guo Ming! You're amazing!" Zhou Momo's childish cheers, tinged with pride, were especially loud.