Chapter 48: Golden Broth Fish Maw Chicken Soup

Before the livestream, Zhou Shishi still had her doubts about her new boss’s financial standing, wondering if she had stumbled into some new type of scam.

After all, the job paid 10,000 yuan a month, with six days off and remote work only. For such an easy job, the compensation was just too good.

She would have more readily believed it if someone told her it would cost 300,000 to bribe her way into this position. For a windfall like this to suddenly fall into her lap, it honestly made her a little anxious.

Now, however, the doubts in her mind had completely evaporated.

She had just looked up the details of this private kitchen restaurant.

Although the average price per person for Jiuhe Garden circulating online was 1,500, she had just checked several food review websites, and the average on most was between 1,800 and 2,500 yuan.

This price point already placed it firmly in the category of a high-end restaurant. Furthermore, because Jiuhe Garden was composed entirely of private rooms, there was an 8% service charge added to the bill.

For someone who could spend over 10,000 on a single meal, hiring a junior assistant for 10,000 a month to handle daily trifles was probably as natural as breathing.

Pushing aside her complicated feelings, Zhou Shishi quickly began to watch the livestream with focus.

After all, she hadn’t forgotten that she would need to create a short video based on this stream later.

Now that she was certain he wasn’t a scammer, she had to give it her all. She definitely didn’t want to lose this great job by failing the probationary period.

Meanwhile, Li Xiao watched as wave after wave of viewers in his chat complained about being broke.

He felt a bit helpless. He had to hand it to these guys for their shamelessness.

"Alright, alright, I’ve got to hand it to you all. In other streams, the viewers give the streamer gifts. You guys are the opposite—you’re all asking me for red packets."

Although he was verbally complaining about their thick-skinned persistence, his actions were quite honest.

He sent out six lucky draw red packets, each worth 1,888 yuan.

"There. I just picked up my new car today, so let’s all celebrate together."

"There are 5,700 people in the stream right now. The claim limit for each red packet is 1,000 people. Whether you manage to grab one is all up to you."

After chatting with the viewers for a bit, there was a knock on the door, and the first dish was brought in by four young women in qipaos.

The Golden Consommé with Fish Maw and Chicken was served in individual portions. Four snow-white soup tureens appeared before the four of them.

One of the women reached out with slender, pale fingers and lifted a pristine white lid. A rich chicken soup aroma instantly assailed the senses.

Breathing in the rich fragrance that filled his nose, Li Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

As the old saying goes, "Ten pounds of fish for an ounce of maw," which shows just how precious fish maw is.

Ordinary fish maw costs several hundred yuan per catty, to say nothing of the rarer varieties.

And this Golden Consommé with Fish Maw and Chicken used a relatively precious type of fish maw.

Red-lip croaker maw, a renowned variety, is called "ocean’s gold" by seafood merchants.

This type of fish maw holds its value even better than abalone of the same grade and is more liquid as an asset.

In the dried seafood market, you might not be able to trade a large box of dried abalone for cash, but for Red-lip croaker maw of the same value, a merchant would even take out a loan to buy it.

There are four types of red-lip croaker maw, known as the "Four Great Red-Lips": Taishan red-lip, red chicken red-lip, Zhanjiang red-lip, and big-ear red-lip.

Among them, the "red chicken" red-lip croaker maw is the cream of the crop, with delicate flesh and the most potent nourishing properties.

According to the menu, the restaurant uses the male maw from the "red chicken" red-lip croaker, which is over forty percent more expensive than the female maw and boasts a superior texture and nutritional value.

Li Xiao had looked this up before. Currently, a catty of male "red chicken" red-lip croaker maw sells for as much as 16,000 yuan.

So, when he saw that each bowl of Golden Consommé with Fish Maw and Chicken was priced as high as 360 yuan, he wasn’t too surprised.

After all, the cost of the ingredients was what it was. If it were too cheap, they simply couldn’t provide high-quality fish maw.

Cutting the price would be getting one’s priorities backward. Besides, the people who dine at a place like this wouldn’t care if a bowl of soup was 360 yuan or 36.

Lifting a spoonful of the shimmering golden soup to his lips, Li Xiao’s eyes immediately narrowed in pleasure.

The system’s notification chimed in his ear.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked the 6th item in your Food Guide]

[The culinary item you have unlocked is: Golden Consommé with Fish Maw and Chicken]

[Cuisine Score: 91 [Excellent]]

[As this dish received an Excellent rating, you receive a 4x reward.]

[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward of 800,000]

[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward of 800,000]

[Congratulations, you have received the recipe for Golden Consommé]

[Congratulations, you have received the recipe for Chicken Soup]

[Note 1: All rewards are automatically legitimized. You do not need to worry about their origin.]

[Note 2: Reward amounts vary based on the score.]

The next moment, Li Xiao saw his phone screen light up.

[Your savings card ending in 7700...]

The corners of Li Xiao’s mouth turned up slightly. ’Nice, another 1.6 million in the bank.’ He glanced at his current bank balance: 5.8 million.

If his luck held, there was a high probability his bank balance would break 10 million by the end of this meal.

Sometimes, when money comes too easily, you start to become numb to it.

Li Xiao’s attention quickly returned to the chicken soup in front of him.

He licked his lips, savoring the sweet aftertaste on his tongue, then scooped another spoonful of soup into his mouth.

The soup was thick and viscous. The rich broth, coated in a light layer of fat, was smooth as silk and elegant as poetry, like a tapestry of interwoven, leaping notes.

The rich flavor of the chicken and the subtle, reserved aroma of the fish maw conquered his taste buds in an instant.

The deeply fragrant aroma, the mellow scent unique to the Red-lip croaker maw—the long simmering process had allowed the flavors of the fish maw and the free-range chicken to meld together perfectly.

The golden broth, made with pumpkin, was used sparingly. Its main purpose was to brighten the color and add another layer to the texture. Because only a small amount was used, it didn’t disrupt the overall harmony of the flavors.

The ratio of chicken to fish maw was just right. Any more of either would have caused them to overpower each other, disrupting the harmony of the entire bowl of soup.

Li Xiao nodded in satisfaction. ’As expected of a dish that scored 91 points from the system. This flavor is the real deal.’

A look of enjoyment appeared on his face as he said:

"This bowl of Golden Consommé with Fish Maw and Chicken is extremely high-quality. If I were to rate it, I’d give it over 90 points."

"The golden broth is completely clear, without any sediment. After being simmered, the all-natural fish maw imparts a pleasant, thick, gelatinous quality, giving it a silky-smooth mouthfeel."

"According to the menu, this chicken is something special. It’s not your ordinary grain-fed chicken, but a free-range chicken raised in an orchard for over two years. A genuine old bird."

"I thought the menu description might have been a bit exaggerated, but now I can only say it was pretty accurate."

As he spoke, he used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken from the soup and held it up to the camera.

"Everyone, take a look at this piece of chicken. Even after being simmered for a long time, the meat itself is still very firm. I can’t even pierce it with my chopsticks, no matter how hard I try."

"Although this kind of chicken has a very tough and stringy texture and isn’t suitable for eating, it’s indirect proof that this was definitely an old, mature free-range chicken. At the same time, this kind of chicken is perfect for making soup."

"That’s because these aged chickens have a particularly rich chicken flavor and are more nutritious."