Chapter 181: Ya Mu Nian

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the 60th index.]

[The culinary index you unlocked is: Fermented Bean Curd Fried Chicken Wings.]

[Culinary Score: 81 points (Good).]

[Because the culinary score is Good, reward x3.]

[Congratulations! You have received a cash reward: 400,000.]

[Congratulations! You have received a cash reward: 400,000.]

[Congratulations! You have received a recipe reward: Fermented Bean Curd Fried Chicken Wings Recipe.]

Seeing the system’s score, Li Xiao felt a bit puzzled. In his opinion, there wasn’t any major problem with this fermented bean curd fried chicken wing. Although the stall owner used frozen chicken wings—meaning the meat was clearly not as tender and juicy as fresh ones—the price was reasonable. Plus, the deep-frying method minimized the drawbacks of frozen meat as much as possible.

Li Xiao thought that even if it wasn’t rated “Excellent,” it should be very close. However, the system giving it a barely “Good” score truly surprised him.

However, his gaze soon fell on the reactions of the people around him. The chicken wing in his hand was already reduced to a bone, but Zhou Shishi still had more than half of hers left. She had clearly stopped after taking just two bites.

A thought popped into his mind.

He tossed the chicken bone into a roadside trash can and asked Zhou Shishi, “What’s wrong? Does it not taste good?”

Zhou Shishi looked at the chicken wing in her hand. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. “This combination tastes a bit too weird. I don’t really like fermented bean curd to begin with, so it’s hard for me to eat it.”

To be honest, Zhou Shishi hadn’t thought much of it at first. She initially assumed that the “fermented bean curd” part of the fried chicken wings was just a gimmick. She figured they only added a tiny bit of fermented bean curd to the batter for seasoning. Although she didn’t eat it often, she wasn’t entirely opposed to it. If the flavor wasn’t too strong, trying out a street snack would be perfectly fine.

However, to her surprise, the chicken wings were completely soaked in fermented bean curd before being coated in batter. This resulted in the entire chicken wing tasting entirely of fermented bean curd, inside and out. The flavor was far too intense for her; after just two bites, she couldn’t stomach any more.

Listening to her explanation, Li Xiao immediately confirmed his suspicion. Indeed, fermented bean curd had a rather strong flavor. People who preferred milder tastes would definitely not be used to it. Furthermore, whether due to personal preference or the fact that locals preferred saltier food, the fermented bean curd used by the stall owner leaned heavily on the salty side, so it was completely normal for some people to dislike it. Perhaps it was because its appeal was too niche and only suited a select few that the system gave it such a low score.

Having figured this out, Li Xiao reached out and took the chicken wing directly from his little assistant’s hand. Then, under Zhou Shishi’s bewildered gaze, he decisively tossed the barely-eaten chicken wing into the trash can.

“If you don’t like it next time, don’t force yourself,” he said. “It’s just a chicken wing; there’s no need to worry about wasting food.

“If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t. Forcing yourself will only make you uncomfortable.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s reassuring words, the slight anxiety in Zhou Shishi’s heart finally dissipated, and a smile appeared on her face.

After tasting it and confirming that it didn’t suit her palate, she had considered throwing it away, but her boss had bought it for her, after all. More importantly, everyone else was eating happily. If she threw her wing away after just two bites, she would feel too alienated from the group. She had originally planned to brace herself and finish it, but she didn’t expect her boss to be so understanding and solve this troublesome dilemma for her.

Zhou Shishi pursed her lips and said softly, “Thank you, Boss.”

Hearing his assistant’s gratitude, Li Xiao waved his hand nonchalantly. “It was my fault to begin with. In the future, if there’s anything you don’t like to eat, just speak up.”

As they chatted, the group soon spotted another small stall with a line of seven or eight people.

When the five of them got closer and saw the snacks at the stall clearly, a look of confusion flashed across Zhou Shishi’s face. She turned her head to look at Wenchu People beside her and asked, “Sister Chu Ren, why are the glutinous rice balls here so big? And why aren’t they round?”

Hearing her question, Wenchu People quickly explained, “These aren’t standard glutinous rice balls. This is a local specialty snack of ours called Ya Mu Nian.

“In the past, we would only eat this snack during festivals. It’s a type of stuffed glutinous rice ball.”

Hearing Wenchu People’s explanation, Zhou Shishi’s confusion only deepened. “Glutinous rice balls? Isn’t that just standard tangyuan? Tangyuan also have peanut, red bean, and sesame fillings.”

Faced with her follow-up questions, Wenchu People was momentarily rendered speechless. After high school, she had been studying in Yangcheng, and she had also worked in Yangcheng after graduating. She knew about this hometown snack but didn’t know the exact history or reasoning behind it. Asking her to explain it in detail was truly putting her on the spot.

Fortunately, Xu stepped in at this moment to smooth things over.

“Ya Mu Nian is indeed a name that was changed later on,” he explained. “There are currently two explanations for the origin of the name. The first is that in the past, these glutinous rice balls were as big as duck eggs. In the Chaoshan dialect, a duck egg is called a ‘ya mu luan,’ which gradually became ‘Ya Mu Nian.’

“The second explanation is that when these glutinous rice balls are cooked and float to the surface of the water, they look like white mother ducks swimming, hence the name Ya Mu Nian.

“Of course, regardless of which explanation is true, Ya Mu Nian is essentially a variation of tangyuan.

“It’s just that it has evolved over a long period, and us locals are used to calling it that.

“Moreover, there are some differences between it and regular tangyuan. The taste is quite excellent. You guests should give it a try.”

Hearing Xu’s recommendation, the four of them did not decline.

Soon, five bowls of Ya Mu Nian were placed on their table.

Seeing the appearance of the Ya Mu Nian, Li Xiao understood. This thing indeed had far too many similarities to tangyuan, so giving it a different name didn’t seem wrong.

The ingredients in this bowl of Ya Mu Nian were incredibly rich. Barley, wood ear mushrooms, ginkgo nuts, quail eggs, dried persimmons, clear jelly balls, longans, and taro balls—there were more than a dozen toppings alone.

The portion he bought featured mixed flavors of Ya Mu Nian. However, it was impossible to tell them apart just from their appearance, which gave him the thrilling anticipation of opening a mystery box.

He casually scooped up a piece of Ya Mu Nian and put it in his mouth.

The first one he tried had a taro paste filling. The outer skin was soft yet chewy, and the aroma of the glutinous rice blended perfectly with the smoothness of the taro paste. The taro paste filling was tender and delicate, sweet but not cloying, carrying a faint, natural fragrance.

Next, he tried a Ya Mu Nian with a mung bean filling. This slightly sweet and refreshing filling formed a sharp contrast with the sticky glutinous rice, leaving an endless aftertaste. With every bite, he could feel the freshness of the mung bean and the fragrant smoothness of the glutinous rice.

The red bean-filled Ya Mu Nian was equally surprising. The sweetness of the red bean was just right, and paired with the softness of the glutinous rice, every bite was a perfect gustatory delight.